Reversal Reignited

Sweat began to run down my back again. However, Mom didn't seem angry. No matter how you look at it, Mom has noticed something, and Yukari knows it too. Why have I ended up in such a confusing situation?

"You see, as soon as I got home, Yukari came running to the front door."

Mom began to explain. Yukari turned to face me, but she kept her head down and didn't meet my gaze.

According to her mother, Yukari's face was red and she said, "Ohhh, welcome home Kaori-sama! Um, thank you for all your hard work today! I'll take your bag!"

"You'd think something had definitely happened, right? So when I looked Yukari in the eyes, she collapsed on the spot."

Yukari is the type of person with a clear conscience. She froze up and couldn't move.

"So, I told her that no matter what happens, I won't get angry, so it's okay to tell me. Then, with tears in her eyes, she told me that she had been pressed up against Shun, and that she had pressed her body against you."

It seems like they're slightly misleading in their reporting. But in this world, it's probably still a big deal. Looking at it from my old worldview, having a male housekeeper press down on an unsuspecting teen girl would've been no short of criminal. 

"But, as long as Shun doesn't dislike it, I don't mind. So, if Shun says he's okay with it, then there's no problem, and I think it would be good if we could be closer."

After telling me that, Mom turned to Yukari. She was a little trembling, but she stood there listening to what I was saying. 

"Also, Yukari, you say this sometimes, but I don't think there's any need to speak to us in such polite language. I mean, we're like family, you know... right?"

Seeing Yukari nod, Mom turned to me again. She looked at me with a soft, yet penetrating gaze. 

"...Shun, I'll ask you again, you didn't mind touching Yukari and being close to her, right?"

Since I was asked that question, I gave a clear answer.

"Of course... there's no way I'd mind being so close to a beautiful person like Yukari..."

When I answered her, my mother looked surprised for a moment, but then she smiled. Meanwhile, Yukari blushed and looked down, and it felt like she was confessing something. I felt very embarrassed.

"Yeah, from the looks of it, it seems like everything will be fine. Shun-kun hasn't gotten angry like before recently, he's like a completely different person... Maybe he'll be even more popular with the girls in his new class than before?" Mother looked a little serious, but I'm not particularly good-looking, so I don't think that just because I became a little kinder would change him that much. Anyway, it looked like I'd be able to continue being with Yukari-san. That was the most important thing.

Yukari had finished washing the dishes and was returning to her room to get ready to go home. Just as I was thinking that I should return to my room this time, my mother called out to me again.

"Hey Shun, there's just one thing I want to ask you... Yukari said that she 'pressed herself against you' but... was that really all?" 

Just as I was wondering how to respond to this, Mom's expression turned serious.

"You see, you don't have to force yourself to answer, but there's something I want you to remember. I think that if that's what you want, Shun, then it's fine for you to be friends with whoever you want. But at the same time, if you ever fall in love with a girl, I want you to be sincere with her."

I paid close attention to what she was saying. I needed all the help I could get.

"In today's world, there are very few men who can become friends with women without any ulterior motives. So, if there were a man like that, women would definitely approach him."

I think Yukari is a shy person, but as if reading my mind, Mom adds, 

"That's why I want you to be careful. As a mother, I don't want to interfere your Shun's freedom, but I still don't want him to get caught up in any bad business."

Since there are more women than men and they are becoming more assertive, I guess I should be careful about a lot of things. To be honest, I don't think there's any romantic approach to me, but I can't tell them that.

Anyway, I nodded at what Mom said. Then Mom went on to tell me her own wish. 

"Also, I think it's good for you to interact with lots of different people, but I'd be happy if you talked to me and Yuki a lot too. I know it's a bit selfish of me, though."

In reality, I was the kind of person who refused to accept the love of my family. And yet, here was the chance to gain it right in front of me. I felt like this was the one I couldn't let slip away. 

To be honest, I did have some deceptive feelings because they were both beautiful women, but more than that, here I was, starved for the love of my family.

"Of course... I want to get to know you two better, and, well, I might not be able to speak very well, but... please." When I replied, Mom poked me on the forehead with her index finger, but said with amusement, "You're using polite language again... hehe, but I'm happy."

I felt like I was acknowledged, just a little, just a little. Of course it was far from self-respect, but there was someone in this house who was happy that I was there. I don't know if that's 100% true. But I felt like I had met someone I could trust. And so, after saying goodbye to Mom this time, I returned to my room. I checked my uniform and bag hanging on the hanger and imagined tomorrow's entrance ceremony.

My real high school life is nothing but a memory filled with gray, and I hope it will be better than that. Of course, I don't just hope, but I also made a small resolution to have a conversation with at least one person.

After taking a bath, I went to bed in my room. I fell asleep feeling a comfortable sensation, a sensation I had forgotten in reality. I woke up just after 7 o'clock and was bathed in the morning sun. 

I had slept longer than I expected and was still fully conscious. To be honest, at that moment I couldn't tell the difference between my old world and my current world, so I felt a bit lightheaded.

However, I personally feel that this world I live in is a place where I can live more freely than my old world. Almost as if I was liberated from the stress, hardship, and strife that was from my old life. 

And it seems like it's fine to think of it that way. Of course, I have no right to decide such things. Since I'm heading to the entrance ceremony, I decide to head to the living room in my pajamas. Just like yesterday, Yukari is preparing breakfast, and the smell of miso soup wafts through the air. I love Japanese food, so I also like this smell.

The four of us continued eating breakfast and chatting. Yukari still looked a little nervous, but when Mom praised her omelet, she smiled shyly. I wanted to compliment her as well, but I couldn't muster the courage, which is just like me. I then changed into my uniform and left the house with Mom. Yuki also wanted to come to the entrance ceremony, but generally only parents or guardians are allowed into the venue.

My mother took time off work in advance and prepared a digital camera. I hate pictures, or rather, I hate seeing myself in them, so I was thinking about quitting. But when I saw her happily charging the camera and preparing it, I couldn't say anything.

Since it was the entrance ceremony, my mother was dressed differently from usual, wearing a navy-blue skirt dress with a white short jacket, and she looked really motivated. Not only was she coming to my entrance ceremony, but she looked even more beautiful than usual, which made me very happy. As I walked towards the school with my mother, I noticed that there were more high school students and parents around us. As expected, there were more girls than boys. Like me, it seemed that most of the parents were accompanied by their mothers alone.

The mothers and daughters walking around me kept glancing in my direction. This wasn't out of self-consciousness, but rather they were simply sizing up what about 20% of the boys were like. I don't know how they were making that assessment. And at the same time, I had the feeling that most of the women, both mothers and daughters, had beautiful faces. I could vaguely sense that it might be true that appearance is a criterion in entrance exams, and that beautiful women tend to give birth to beautiful women, a sign of genetics.

Shaking off the pointless, vulgar thoughts, I continued walking to school with my mother. And at the main gate of the high school, which I hadn't seen in two days, there was a sign that read "Prefectural Kita High School Entrance Ceremony", just like the one I'd seen in real life, and I ended up being photographed in front of it, with my mother holding her camera. The reason I don't like having my picture taken is not only because I don't like being reflected in my image, but also because, more than anything, I'm not good at smiling.

I was a bit worried about whether it would really be okay, but after Mum took a few pictures, she seemed satisfied. I wondered if she wanted to be in the photo with me, but as usual, I didn't have the courage to ask. In the square in front of the school building, there was a board with the class roster posted up, and everyone was gathered around it. I was in class 2, with about 25 students, and judging by the names there seemed to be six boys.

And in the same class is Maki-san, whom I met the day before yesterday. Mom told me her last name is Yamamoto, so if there's a chance she'll talk to me, I should call her by her last name properly. I don't have any memories of myself, but I'm grateful that there's a girl in my class who knows me. If I end up in a situation where I can't talk to any girls, then nothing will change from reality, so I want to bet on her as a chance to escape that.

As Mother and son, we were registered together but had separate entrances. Mother sat in a chair at the back of the venue, and as a freshman, I was told to first line up in the hallway in order of the list before entering. Mother had said to me, "Don't be nervous, and just get along with the kids around you, okay?" Even though I was quite nervous, making friends was a challenge. After all, I was a person who didn't even understand the basics of communication.

As we began to line up in the hallway leading to the gym under the direction of a woman who seemed to be a teacher, we were reminded that the order on the roster was mixed gender. I'd somewhat expected this when I'd seen the board, but finding myself sandwiched between two girls made me extremely uncomfortable. I could smell the lovely scent of girls, but it was hard to breathe. I was told to wait there for a while, and as I was looking around restlessly, the girl in front of me turned around and suddenly called out to me.

"Hey, don't you think this hallway is a little cold?" 

The one who said that was, naturally, a classmate in her uniform. She had long hair tied up in a braid, a slight brownish color. Her big, round eyes made an impression, and she had the vibe of a friendly girl who would soon become the center of attention in class.

"I thought it might be colder than I thought today... Maybe I should have dressed a little warmer." She said this and looked at me. But I was frozen.

Talking one-on-one with a girl was almost unheard of, not only in this world but in reality, as well, so she was probably interested in the fact that I was one of the few boys around and started talking to me.

Still, I somehow managed to squeeze out the words. 

"Y-you might be right... I might be a bit cold too..."

"Hehe, there's no need to use to be nervous. We're classmates after all."

She laughed a little, but it didn't seem to me like she meant any harm. 

"I'm Sasai Asagi. You're... Sato Shun-kun, is that right?"

The reason she remembered my name was probably because I was a boy in this class. 

"...Yeah, well, nice to meet you..."

Although I couldn't make eye contact with her, I replied and bowed, and she replied with a smile, "Nice to meet you." It seemed I hadn't misunderstood the conversation. 

My name is Sato Shun. In this world, I will be living by this name. I confirmed this in my mind once more, and at the teacher's instructions, the two of us, including myself, made our way into the gym.

The entrance ceremony itself was not very different from the real thing, except that the principal, the majority of teachers, and the student council president who gave the speech were all women.

The homeroom teacher for Class 1-2 was also introduced, but she was also a woman and from a distance looked to be in her early 30s. We were told we would meet again in homeroom later. The ceremony ended without any particular incidents. The 146 new students stood up by class and filed out of the gymnasium. From my memory of attending a prefectural high school in real life, I think there were about 350 students in the first grade, so this must be the effect of the declining birthrate.

After this, the parents, including my mother, were gathered in a separate room to receive a briefing about the school from the head of academic affairs. During that time, our first homeroom was about to begin. Led by our guide teacher, we entered the classroom of Class 1-2. For a public high school, the desks and lockers were sturdy, and they seemed to be using whiteboards instead of blackboards.

I looked at the seating chart on the board, sat down, and waited for the teacher. The atmosphere in the class was one of friendship between some students and others who were still looking around. Of course, I was in the latter category.

At first, I had hoped that the class changes would help me build new friendships, but as I gradually realized that this was not going to happen, I began to think of it as just a random shuffle. But this time, for me, it really was a start from zero. So, although I wondered if I should take some kind of action, I didn't know how.

Sasai-san was sitting in front of me, so I thought about starting a conversation, or Yamamoto-san was looking around in the seat nearby, so I thought about calling out to him. But before I could muster the courage to show such initiative, the classroom door opened and the teacher came in. 

"Okay, everyone take your seats, okay?"

Using that cliched line, the woman walked up to the teacher's desk.