When I Thought I Was Reborn, My Family Turned Out to Be a Huge Landmine - Chapter 13: "Ren-san" and "Kamisato-san"

Chapter 13: “Ren-san” and “Kamisato-san”

Lately, I’ve felt time passing incredibly quickly. It’s not like I’m sleeping in class, nor am I zoning out, but it always seems to quickly become after-school time.

“Hey Arika, do you want to go to karaoke after this?”

“Sure. Just the two of us?”

“We’re in too!”

“Quiet down, will you!!”

“Ouch!?”

As I was getting ready to leave, I overheard this exchange happening in front of me. Hearing their conversation, Arisaka sighed and left with a look of reluctance… Hang in there, days like these happen.

“Come to think of it, I feel like today was the first time we actually talked face-to-face.”

That’s right, today was the first time I had a conversation with Arisaka. We had exchanged greetings before, but it was the first time Arisaka had initiated a conversation with me.

“Kamisato-kun… say, are you and Arika close?”

“We talk in class, so I guess we’re pretty close?”

“I see… no, sorry, I was just curious.”

That was the gist of our conversation. It was similar to a previous discussion I had with Kenichi, but I was a bit surprised to be asked this by Arisaka. Whether that was all Arisaka wanted to know or not, he walked away, leaving me, Kenichi, and Sogo who were nearby, puzzled.

“Alright, I guess I’ll head home too.”

It was a slightly intriguing matter, but in the end, it wasn’t a big deal, so I decided not to dwell on it. As I stood up and was about to leave the classroom, Arika called out to me.

“Ren-kun, see you tomorrow, okay?”

“… Yeah, see you.”

Speaking of which, being called by my name like this felt really fresh. I overheard some of the girls around asking when we started calling each other by first names, but Arika would probably explain that part well.

After changing my shoes and exiting the school gates, I had no particular errands, so I just walked home. As I listened to music through my earphones connected to my smartphone, I noticed a familiar scene.

“…Ah, isn’t this that place?”

I instinctively took out my earphones to take a closer look.

This scene was the same one used in a game I played, where Arisaka would just stare at that place without any choices or prompts. It was an ordinary street, nothing special or remarkable about it.

“I remember being puzzled at first, wondering what the point was of just looking at this scene. It didn’t seem to progress at all.”

Eventually, I clicked to move forward, but the purpose of that event… if it could even be called an event, remained a mystery.

Was there some meaning behind it, or was it just a red herring? Lost in thought, an unfamiliar voice reached my ears.

“…Um, are you Kamisato-san?”

“Eh?”

Startled by the sudden call, I turned towards the voice. There stood a boy in a nearby middle school uniform… yes, the voice was unfamiliar, just as I thought. I didn’t recognize his face at all, so we were definitely meeting for the first time… right?

Confused by being addressed by my surname by someone whose face and name I didn’t know, the boy noticed my bewilderment and apologized, then explained how he knew my name.

“Sorry for the sudden approach! Um, do you know me if I say I’m Arika Yumeno’s younger brother?”

“…Ah, could it be?”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Takuma Yumeno. I’ve seen your photo that my sister has.”

“I see, a photo… Oh, I should introduce myself too. I’m Ren Kamisato, nice to meet you.”

I never expected to encounter Yumeno’s brother like this. But, as expected of Arika’s brother, he’s quite handsome. I bet he’s popular in middle school. Now that I think about it, about the photo… I haven’t taken any photos with Arika or given her any, so maybe she has one from the entrance ceremony. I think mine is probably buried in my closet, but maybe Arika has displayed it in her room.

“Anyway, I didn’t expect to meet you, Kamisato-san, like this. It’s such a coincidence. What were you doing here?”

“…Ah, nothing much, just spacing out a bit. I didn’t expect to meet Arika’s brother either.”

“You can call me Takuma. ‘Arika’s brother’ is a bit long.”

“Haha, that’s true. Alright, I’ll call you Takuma then.”

“Yes! And, um, can I call you ‘Ren-san’?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you!”

…He’s a nice kid. I wonder if everyone in Arika’s family is like this.

“Ren-san, were you about to head home?”

“Yeah, I don’t really have any other plans.”

“In that case, do you want to come to my house? It’s close by, and meeting like this must be some kind of fate.”

Going to Takuma’s house means going to Arika’s house… I hesitated, wondering if it was really a good idea. But it was hard to say no, especially with Takuma looking at me with those bright, innocent eyes. I decided to drop by for a bit and then head home. Takuma smiled happily when I nodded in agreement.

“Great. Then let’s go right away.”

I followed Takuma, walking towards his place.

After a short walk, we arrived in front of a fairly large house, which apparently was where Arika and Takuma lived.

“Please come in. I’m home~!”

“Excuse me for intruding~”

It seemed like their parents hadn’t returned yet, as there was no reply. We went upstairs, passing a door engraved with “Arika,” and Takuma led me to his room. It was a typical boy’s room, with a small study desk and lots of manga and video games.

“I’ll bring some juice and snacks, so make yourself comfortable.”

“You don’t need to go to all this trouble, you know?”

“Please don’t be shy. I’ll be right back.”

“Thanks.”

Takuma seemed to be a pretty assertive kid. But regardless of it being Arika’s house, visiting a younger person’s home felt somewhat refreshing. When I’m with Kenichi or Sogo, we’re always loud and boisterous, but being here, being a bit more cautious, felt strangely different.

After a while, Takuma returned. We chatted while enjoying the juice and snacks, and since we both liked games, we quickly hit it off.

“So, which game shall we play?”

“I’ve played this one before.”

“Great, let’s go with that one!”

We focused on the screen, playing cooperatively. During the game, Takuma muttered something.

“What do you think of my sister, Ren-san? I might be biased as her brother, but I think she’s quite beautiful.”

“Sure, Arika is pretty and cute. Why do you ask?”

I had just asked him back when we finished the stage we were challenging. Takuma turned his gaze from the TV to me and replied.

“Then, how about making my sister your girlfriend, Ren-san? She’s reliable but has her clueless moments too. As her brother, I’d feel relieved if she had a dependable boyfriend.”

“Whether I’m dependable or not aside, I think it would be unfair to Arisaka, so I’ll pass.”

I thought Takuma knew about Arisaka and Arika’s mutual feelings… Maybe this was a joke at the expense of someone older? I wasn’t offended, but it’s annoying to be laughed at. However, Takuma’s reaction was different from what I expected.

“Why are you bringing up Aki-nii?”

“Why? Well…”

I hesitated, and sensing something from my expression, Takuma nodded and continued speaking. His words were completely unexpected to me and seemed to challenge the way things should be in this world.

“People often misunderstand because they’ve always been together, but my sister doesn’t really have any special feelings for Aki-nii, you know?”

“…Eh?”

What did that mean…?

“It might not be the best way to put it, but to my sister, Aki-nii is just a childhood friend… In other words, that’s all there is to it. She doesn’t have any special feelings for him.”

“…”

“Besides, my sister has someone she likes… ahem, don’t you remember, Ren-san?”

“Remember what?”

I was overwhelmed, but I listened to Takuma’s story. He spoke about an incident that happened around three years ago.

“Back then, my sister looked very plain, quite different from now, and she was even mocked by some boys in her class. One day, she was buying books alone on a holiday, and she encountered those boys in town and got surrounded.”

“…Hmm.”

Why does this sound so familiar?

“A boy helped her out then. When they parted, he gave her a frog keychain. She was really happy when she told me about it.”

“Wait, was that girl Arika?”

“It seems my sister realized it when she entered high school… Ahaha, you didn’t realize it, Ren-san.”

“…Really?”

I hadn’t really looked at the girl’s face closely back then, and it was three years ago, so it’s the kind of memory that would sink into oblivion unless I really try to recall it. She did have a plain look, but her features were well-defined. And now that I think about it, her light pink hair… No, even then, the impression Arika left after entering high school is too strong to recognize her.

“Well, my sister has a romantic side, so maybe she thought that one day you, Ren-san, would remember.”

“…”

Let me just take a moment to sort this out, please.