NOVEL NEXT Vol.11, Ch.346 – Picking Up Where They Left Off
Saki looked back and forth in the classroom. It was third period, and everything was still the same as usual. Her friends, Yuito and Kasane, listened idly to the lecture, bored as ever. Nothing had changed between them, even after Saki had revealed that she was secretly Hanako Nakajima.
The world had not turned upside down, like Saki feared. Looking back, she found it quite silly that she needed to hide something like that from them. Perhaps, she was just afraid of success, or being labeled as something different from normal. After all, the others had penned her as something unique, which made it hard to reveal something that proved that point.
The bell chimed, signaling lunch time. A chorus of books closing and chairs shuffling erupted. And pretty soon, the chatter of school kids joined in.
“Hey, did you hear? Hanako Nakajima put out another song online.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely a banger! I had it on repeat for hours!”
“Say, wasn’t there someone in this class that was a big fan?”
Saki’s ears perked up at that question. She turned to the group of girls whose eyes turned to her. Within moments, a barrage of questions came at her, asking the superfan what she knew.
Saki started to back up from it all, but then, she felt a pair of hands on her back.
“Go on, tell them.”
“We’re right here with you.”
Yuito and Kasane smiled. It was the courage that she needed to take the next step. Beyond those that were immediately around her, Saki sought validation. For so long, she had kept to herself about things. But no longer. Today would be different.
“I am Hanako Nakajima.”
The girls before her froze. They cocked their heads and looked at each other like giraffe heads had been placed on them.
“She’s the avatar I use for singing. Thank you for listening. I’m glad you could enjoy it.”
“Whoa, whoa, there! What are you saying?” A boy broke through the group of girls, the same one that called her ‘Miss Gloom and Doom’. “Now isn’t that just a laugh. How can someone so bright and inspirational be a person like you?”
“Well, I- uh…” Saki backed out of her chair, unsure what to do.
“That’s some lame joke that-”
The rhythmic tapping of fingers upon a desk interrupted them. They turned to see Yuito and Kasane drumming a beat while humming a melody that Saki recognized. It was the same one for her new song.
Taking the clue, Saki joined in, putting her talent on full display.
For the next few minutes, the ones in the classroom all turned to her, in awe as Saki fell completely into the persona of Hanako. Doors opened and more people poked their heads in. But all throughout it, the crowd was silent, clinging onto every note that came from her.
Ending the song, Saki looked up to see a room filled with awe. Gradually, people started clapping their hands and cheering. It was enough to make Saki’s face flush bright read, wondering why she had been roped into breaking out into song suddenly.
“She’s been trying to keep it a secret, unsure of how to tell anyone.”
“But don’t you think this suits her better?”
Yuito and Kasane hugged her from behind, like she had just done the best thing in the world.
“I… I suppose so. It’s good that you finally came out of your shell….”
The boy bashfully backed away, no longer sure of himself. One of the girls that he sauntered by came forward and whispered to Saki.
“I heard that he’s a megafan of Hanako. Probably doesn’t know how to face you after all the rough treatment.”
“What about all of you?” Saki wondered aloud.
“Well… we never really had anything against you. But since no one really spoke up until recently, we kind of pushed things aside. Sorry for acting in such a way. We really shouldn’t have let things play out like it had.”
It was often that a vocal few would determine the mood for any given situation. People had a tendency of becoming ‘bystanders’ who didn’t have the courage to say otherwise, leading to a situation becoming worse than it actually was.
There were few in the class that directly treated Saki badly, but no one wanted the same to befall them, so they stayed out of it. It took the outburst of the two new transfer students to send a breath of fresh air through the class. Finally, such things had the opportunity to air out.
“Isn’t it great that people don’t find you as weird as you thought yourself to be?”
Kasane’s direct jab at Saki’s silly concerns felt a bit too close to home. They were now in the courtyard, having lunch as usual. Kasane handed her a bento box, filled with delicious side dishes. A few bites were all it took for Saki to melt and forgive her.
Several moments passed by as they ate in silence.
“Say, I know you two from somewhere, don’t I?” Saki said, breaking the silence.
“What makes you say that?”
“What makes you say that?”
Saki got up from her seat and faced her two friends. She pointed a finger at them accusingly.
“I can tell! The two of you have been in cahoots from the start! I was wondering what was going on, but these feelings… these memories… you make it too obvious that we’ve done something like this before!”
When Saki sung her latest song, a flood of emotions swept her up. Visions of things that she couldn’t recall entered her mind. And then, the food that she ate, the activities that they did, and the fun that they had – she had done all of this before, somehow in the past.
Saki started glowing purple once again, putting her foot down hard. The impact caused a crack in the cement, which traveled right up to her two friends.
“Whoa, now! There’s no need for that!”
“Yeah! We had to bring your powers back somehow! But now that you have them…”
Kasane reached over and placed a hand on Saki’s forehead. A flood of memories returned to her, recalling both a treasured time with the girl she loved and the circle of friends she made in a fantasy world.
After the memories died down, Saki pulled Kasane to her into a big embrace. Several moments passed by until they parted slightly, with Saki bringing her face right up to Kasane’s.
“Thank you… ‘Claude’.”
Saki headbutted the girl, leaving her to rub her head in pain. She walked right over to Yuito and stared.
“Thank you… Rika-chan.”
“Oh? So you figured us out, even though we gender swapped in this world?”
“How wouldn’t I? You don’t have faith that I know the tells of those I care for? You are a terrible cook and trash at video games. Don’t think I didn’t notice how you shied away from those whenever it came up.”
Saki turned back to Kasane. “And you! I know you wanted to do stuff with me if we ever got back to the modern world, but you might as well have written a checklist and taped it on me!”
Kasane stuck out her tongue cutely and smacked herself with a knuckle.
“Hey, it was my only excuse to try out some things without it looking utterly weird as a guy to do.”
The two of them began explaining what had happened in this world. As Saki suspected, she was living in one of those sites that cultivated heroes. Claude had entered and randomly found Rika, who had ended up here with Saki and was trying to change her life for the better slowly. She was able to manipulate the environment, but not to the extent of Eryn’s access.
Rika was too afraid of repeating the failures of the past, so she didn’t put herself forward to befriend Saki again. But that all changed when Claude’s spirit barged into the place. Two could face what one couldn’t, and together, they fabricated bodies to interact with Saki.
Knowing that Saki needed to regain her confidence, they had set up that imaginary stage, just to pull Saki’s inner self out for everyone to see. Talent was something that she always had, but it became buried in what was perceived as ‘weird’. And until she found herself, she couldn’t be truly ‘strong’ once again.
“And what is with those fake names, anyways?!” Saki wondered, thinking that it was pointless to disguise themselves.
“Uhhhh… I may have taken the opportunity to play a game that caught my eye when I got here. After speed running through it, it just seemed like a neat idea to go incognito as the dual protagonists’ names….”
Kasane, or rather, Claude received a chop on her head for that.
“I suppose letting him enjoy a week to grow accustomed to the body was important.”
Now, Yuito, as Rika, received a chop to the head. Saki hugged the two of them right after.
“And so, what are we supposed to do now?”
“Standby. Keeping on living. You’ll need to have tip-top morale when we eventually have to fight. Which means… I’ll leave the two of you to bond for now. Going to head off to the next site that Rika tipped me off to. Remember to send invites before you have too much fun.”
Claude waved to them as he walked off and disappeared.
Saki turned back to Rika with a skeptical look.
“What does he mean by that?”
Rika smirked, pulling Saki close to her.
“It means this.”
Not giving Saki time to react, Rika planted a kiss on her lips. Not stopping there, they continue kissing for nearly a minute. Finally, Rika drew back.
“I always wanted to do that. It’s been several hundred years. Shouldn’t we catch up on things while we can?”
“Did you have to do that as I guy? I mean, I’m fine either way….”
Rika placed a finger on Saki’s lips to silence her.
“It’s okay. My soul can be put in whatever body that can love you best. Besides, I kind of wanted to try being the dominant one.”
Rika winked, making Saki facepalm. But then, she laughed. It had been forever since they could experience a normal life once again. Why did appearances matter at all?
“Hey, and if you don’t like this test trial, then I can ask Claude to weave my soul into Kasane’s body instead.”
“I forgot how frustratingly devious you can get!”
“Still as easy to tease and innocent as ever….”
The two of them looked up at the sky where a purple light floated off in the distance. They knew that Claude would be back at some point. But until then, they would enjoy their little reunion, living a school life that was cut short – once upon a time.