The Assassin Girl Who Stayed by My Side in Another World… Somehow Followed Me Back to Modern Japan - Chapter 02: I’m Sixteen Too

Chapter 02: I’m Sixteen Too

“Geez! Hiroto, how long are you gonna sleep?! Your breakfast’s gonna get cold, y’know~!”

While I stood frozen in shock from what had just happened, the one who finally lost her patience and burst into my room… was my older sister.

Light brown hair, a super trendy, slightly gyaru vibe, and a figure that screamed every guy’s dream.

Yep. That same Nee-san who’d been calling out to me nonstop.

“I-I’m coming!”

Trying to stay calm and keep myself from completely unraveling, I shut down all thoughts and just gave that quick reply.

No way I wanted to make her mad—especially when she’s actually incredibly kind underneath all that flashy style.

Besides… I hadn’t had her cooking in eight years.

There was no way I was missing out. I had to move.

I hurried after her and made my way to the living room.

…Glancing back over my shoulder—

There was no one else there.

“This is seriously amazing, Nee-san.”

“Hmm~? What’s up with you~? You never say stuff like that~ Not that I’m complaining—it makes me happy, but now I feel kinda embarrassed.”

It really hit me—just how much I’d missed this.

You don’t realize how precious something is until it’s gone.

Ever since I got thrown into that other world, I’d been craving this taste every single day.

Nothing I ate over there ever came close—well, maybe a couple dishes here and there… but this?

This was on a whole different level.

…Man. I was seriously about to cry.

But I couldn’t let that happen.

If I suddenly burst into tears now, Nee-san would totally freak out…

And I wouldn’t even be able to explain why.

“…I just realized something. The stuff you take for granted… really isn’t guaranteed at all.”

“I don’t really get what you mean~ but hearing that makes me feel like my little Hiroto’s all grown up~. …Now you’ve gone and made me blush, so I’m gonna head off to work a little early, okay~?”

“Okay. Good luck out there, Nee-san.”

“You better do your best at school too~! I left your lunch on the table~!”

And just like that, Nee-san left for work.

It was such a normal exchange…

And maybe that’s exactly why it felt so warm.

…Alright.

Now that Nee-san’s gone, let’s rewind for a sec.

That really did happen earlier, right?

Aira was here. I saw her.

But wait. I’m sure—I know—I left Aira back in the other world.

There’s no way she could be here.

This isn’t some kind of dream, right?

Which means… maybe I was just imagining things?

Like, I’ve been thinking about her so much that I started seeing things?

Yeah. That honestly makes the most sense.

Because seriously, there’s no way.

I’ve said it like ten times already—

It’s impossible.

“…A-Aira? A-Are you… here?”

Still, just in case—just in case—

I whispered it.

So softly, it was barely even sound.

“…Yes?”

And just like that—

As if it were the most natural thing in the world—

She appeared right in front of me again. Exactly like before.

“…W-Wha—What the heck!? Why are you here!?”

“Ever since that day, it’s only natural for me to be by Hiroto’s side.”

“N-No, that was only natural in that world!”

“?”

When I said that, Aira tilted her head like she was saying, “What are you even talking about?”

She didn’t look confused or like she was playing dumb—she looked genuinely serious.

“I-I get it. I mean—no, I don’t get it at all, but fine. Let’s just go with ‘I get it’ for now. But at least answer me this one thing.”

“Yes?”

“How did you follow me here?”

She was standing right in front of me.

We were having an actual conversation—well, something close to one.

And if we could talk like this, it was kinda hard to chalk her up as a hallucination.

That’s why I asked.

“Just normally.”

“That ‘normally’ is the part I don’t get! And didn’t we—didn’t we say our goodbyes properly?!”

“?”

Why do you look confused?!

Wait—am I the one who’s confused now?

I thought we said goodbye.

Like, I was pretty sure we had that whole emotional moment and everything.

But now I’m starting to doubt myself…

Oh no. My memory’s seriously starting to fail me.

“More importantly, Hiroto.”

“‘More importantly’—wait, seriously? Fine, whatever. What is it?”

Yeah, I already knew Aira marched to the beat of her own drum.

At this point, I wasn’t even surprised anymore.

I mean, I wanted to ask her a million things—

But in the end… I was weak when it came to my “daughter.”

“…Hiroto, did you get more childish?”

“Where the heck did that come from?”

“You kinda remind me of how you were when we first met.”

…Now that she mentioned it, she might’ve had a point.

Maybe my mental age really was syncing up with my body or something?

“…I’m happy.”

“Happy?”

“…Yeah. Because Hiroto, you’re sixteen now, right?”

“Eh? Ah, yeah. I am. But… so what?”

“…I’m sixteen too.”

“…? I mean, yeah, I know that.”

“…We’re the same age now. So… you’ll see me as a girl now, not just a kid, right?”

As she said that, Aira leaned in—pressing her body against mine while I sat there, completely frozen.

“W-Wait, hold on! I—I thought you saw me like a parent or something!?”

“Parent…? I’ve never thought that. …I’ve always liked you, Hiroto. But we were years apart, and you never looked at me as a girl that way, so I figured just being by your side would be enough. I’d given up on anything more.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa—hold on a second.

It was already wild enough that she somehow followed me into this world…

And now she’s telling me she’s had feelings for me this whole time?!

Nope. Too much. Way too much info all at once.

“But now… there’s no age gap anymore, right? So it’s fine, yeah?”

What do you mean “it’s fine”?!

“I-I get how you feel, Aira. I do… B-But the thing is, I only ever thought of you as my daughter, or something close to tha—

I knew I was about to hurt Aira.

But even so, I figured it was better to let her down early—get it over with before things got any messier.

That’s why I opened my mouth to speak.

But before I could even get the words out, Aira beat me to it.

“Hiroto, your face is all red. And your heart’s racing. …Back in the other world, you never reacted like this, remember?”

“……………T-That’s not it.”

I gently peeled Aira off me—she’d been clinging like I was some kind of body pillow—and stood up from my chair.

“…Time for school.”

I said it extra loud, with that fake-casual tone, on purpose.

Then headed off to my room to change into my uniform.