NOVEL NEXT Chapter 66
“What would you like for dinner today?”
“Today? Hmm.”
As he lounged aimlessly in the living room, his mother asked him this question, prompting him to cross his arms in thought. There wasn’t anything in particular that he wanted to eat, so a part of him felt that anything was fine.
“…Meat and potato stew?”
Those words had spontaneously left his mouth. Meat and potato stew wasn’t a particularly unusual dish, but his mother’s eyes widened in surprise, not expecting him to come up with such a choice.
“That’s an unusual pick. Well, not that it matters.”
“………”
It was no wonder she’d found it unusual, since the words had come out of his mouth unknowingly.
“What do you think? About my meat and potato stew?”
“It’s hella good.”
He’d been thinking about how strange it was for a while now. The memories of a person who wasn’t him kept flashing through his mind, and he repeatedly tried to remember it only to find himself stuck at an impasse.
It wasn’t his own voice, yet it somehow felt familiar, and even though he’d never heard it before, a strong feeling flooded his chest that he didn’t want to let it go…and even that was something he didn’t entirely understand.
“………”
After that, time passed. The hands of the clock pointed to the evening hours, and when he got out of the bath and it came time for dinner, he stared at the meat and potato stew on the table as he had requested…and scooped some into his mouth.
“…It’s delicious.”
The stew his mother had made for him was very tasty. Although it wasn’t to the point where he’d go crazy for it, it was enough to make him eat it with so much gusto that his rice disappeared in minutes. When he clasped his hands together and said his thanks for the meal, his mother said this.
“It’s a very nice feeling. To see you eating my food so heartily.”
“Well, it was just that good, so.”
“Thank you. It really makes me happy to hear you say that.”
“…I see.”
Embarrassed, he left the living room. He really didn’t know why a single meal had inspired such strange feelings in him, and he spent the rest of the time in his room in a daze.
“…I wonder what this feeling is.”
He stood up and picked up the book that he’d put away. He flipped through the pages and stopped at the page with the smiling face of the book’s heroine, Shizuna.
“…Shizuna.”
Just the mention of this character’s name warmed his heart, and at the same time, it made him lonely, wondering why she wasn’t by his side. Her warmth, her touch, and her voice… Even though it should’ve been impossible, it seemingly lingered in his memory clearly, bewildering him.
“This is bad; doesn’t this mean I’m too far gone?”
While there were a certain number of people in this world who spoke of manga characters as their waifus, he gave a wry smile, wondering how the hell he’d reached this point in his life.
“…Ah.”
At that moment, his hand, which had been turning pages over once more, stopped. He’d come across one of the scenes in which Shizuna uttered certain lines to Sohei, words she’d uttered after she changed from her pure and innocent image to a flashy and flamboyant one.
“I was dyed by him. You see, I wanted to be dyed in his colors. He dyed the weak and frail colors I had before!”
When he saw the scene, he inadvertently screamed that she was wrong.
He didn’t know why, but he still couldn’t help but shout… He shouted that she was wrong, and continued his words while gazing at the Shizuna in the book.
“You’re wrong… Shizuna isn’t that weak. She has her own colors… She has her own unique colors!”
It was a cry from the depths of his heart. Shizuna’s expression then changed from the suggestive smile depicted in the manga to a picture of her hugging someone’s arm and uttering similar lines.
“I will stay by your side forever, in my own unique colors.”
“…!!”
Finally, he remembered everything. As if a door of forgotten memories was opened, all the memories of his time as Ryuichi came back to him now.
“…So does that mean this’s a dream, or…what?”
Although he had remembered, he couldn’t find any answers as to what was going on. But, he had something he needed to do. He left his room and went down to the living room, where his mother was still washing dishes.
“Hmm, hmm, hmm~. ♪”
His mother, who was washing the dishes while humming a tune, noticed him and stopped washing in surprise.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing.”
The mother in front of him was definitely his mother. Not Ryuichi’s mother, but the mother he had before he became Ryuichi…in other words, the mother of his previous life.
“…I…”
“Mm-hmm.”
He didn’t know how he became Ryuichi in the first place. In cases like these, it was fundamentally assumed that something must’ve happened that triggered his rebirth, but he couldn’t recall any such thing at all.
Nevertheless, being able to meet his blood-related family like this made him happy.
“………”
He didn’t know what to say, and tears spontaneously spilled out from his eyes. His mother was so surprised that she dried her hands and approached him, but he reached out to her and hugged her as she came close.
“…Oh dear, you’ve remembered now, haven’t you?”
“Huh?”
Her voice was somewhat reminiscent of that of a mother in response to her troubled son, but it was also one filled with loneliness.
“…I don’t know… I don’t know, but…I was really happy.”
“Mmm.”
“Sorry, Mom. I’m heading back.”
He now knew that there was a world he had to return to. He already understood that this world was a fake, an ephemeral dream. He knew that when he woke up from this place, he would never see his family again, but now that he could remember them, he would never forget them again. He’d only had the worst of memories of his family as Ryuichi, but the memories of the family he’d had before he became Ryuichi would never be lost.
“If there’s a god out there, then I think they’ve done something really nice.”
“I agree… Do your best over there.”
“Yeah.”
It was because he couldn’t go back that he now had no choice but to walk toward the future. He awakened from his dream with the memories of his family he’d reunited with in his temporary dream, and the promise he’d made to Shizuna, which he reaffirmed once more after being separated from her.
“……?”
“Ah, good morning, Ryuichi-kun.”
“…Shizuna?”
When he opened his eyes, it was Shizuna who greeted Ryuichi. He was sure Chisa had been with him before he fell asleep, but just as he thought that, Chisa came out of the bath, wiping her head with a towel.
“You’re awake, Ryuichi.”
“Y-Yeah…”
As he was puzzled as to what was going on, Chisa explained to him. After Ryuichi went to sleep, she invited Shizuna to come because she felt lonely alone with Ryuichi.
“…So that’s how it is.”
“Yup… Was it a bother?”
“No.”
“Like hell you could be a bother,” he said as he reached his hand for Shizuna. As he heard Chisa using the hair dryer to dry her hair, Ryuichi thought back to the dream he had just had.
Although it was a dream, he felt bad that he’d forgotten Shizuna, even if only a little. It was her words and the promise he had exchanged with her that brought back his forgotten memories.
“…Shizuna.”
“What’s wrong?”
“You said you’d stay by my side from now on, right?”
“Yes, that I did.”
She nodded her head. Yes, Shizuna had promised him that, but it was by no means something that should be a one-way thing. He had never really thought about it before, but Ryuichi couldn’t just be on the receiving end; he had to give back to her as well.
“I might say something a little bit unmanly-like.”
“…Okay, what is that?”
Shizuna could also sense something from the air about Ryuichi, but she waited patiently for his words. Ryuichi paused for a moment, looked Shizuna straight in the eye, and spoke.
“I will be there for you too, Shizuna, now and in the future. I will protect you as you stay by my side with your colors so that they never become cloudy.”
With that, he kissed Shizuna on the cheek. From her point of view, she must’ve been confused and wondering what he was talking about all of a sudden, but he laughed and told her not to ask him any more questions.
As both Shizuna and Chisa’s eyes widened in amazement at Ryuichi’s unusual appearance, he muttered these words inwardly, not knowing if they would reach their intended recipient or not.
…Mom, Dad… I’ll be okay.
Ryuichi would never thank his parents, nor could he. But he, who resided within Ryuichi, and his parents were different.
He, who had become Ryuichi, smiled, knowing that although he would miss his family and his parents who were wonderful enough to fill his heart, they had loved him properly…so he would be okay now.
“Hey, seriously though, what’s up with you?”
“That’s right. Did you eat something bad?”
“…You two are seriously being rude, you know?”
If he was with these girls, he was sure he would be able to keep smiling. That was the kind of warmth he had by his side.
Afterword
This may be sudden, but it’s been decided that this work will be adapted into a manga. Its label will be Ganga Online. It will be a while before it actually takes shape, but thanks to everyone’s support, we will be able to deliver the story of Ryuichi and Shizuna as a manga. We will keep you posted on Twitter and other media, but for now, I would like to announce that the manga has been officially decided on.
HamletJr's notes:
I kid you not, the day after I released yesterday's chapter (i.e. today), my laptop magically unbricked itself. Incredible. Anyways, next chapter should come in two days. Thanks for reading!