“My fathers and Kou. I also plan to buy friendship chocolate for my friends at Seio. How about you, Mashiro?”
“Same as you. Oh, but I also plan to give some chocolate to a teacher at my school.”
“What?! To your teacher?!” Taken by complete surprise, Kon’s eyes popped. I went ahead and told her all about Tomoi.
“He’s my math teacher, but don’t let that fool you, because he’s a great guy! The rules at my school are pretty lenient on this stuff, so plenty of students give chocolates to their teachers.”
“Really? You’re so lucky! None of the teachers at my school are worth giving chocolate to. I’m so jealous!”
I smiled at Kon as she repeated saying how lucky I was while we shopped. I splurged on Tomoi and bought him champagne truffles. Only four truffles were in the box, but they cost a good chunk of money, which hopefully meant they tasted amazing. A smaller box seemed like it would be easier to give and for him to accept. Kon chose all brand-name chocolates for her gifts.
Kon called Mr. Nonaga on her smartphone when we finished up our shopping and entrusted him with our shopping bags so we could go for tea.
“Oh yeah, is it okay if we drop by the bookstore first?” Kon asked.
“For sure! There are a couple of magazines I wanted to check out too,” I happily agreed. She had just reminded me that I wanted to check the bookstore for Tomoi. The whole reason why I had picked Sunday to go out was because I wanted to look for Tomoi and observe him on his day off! I can’t believe I almost forgot.
We took the escalator upstairs while chatting away about fashion magazines. Things got weird once we got to the front of the big bookstore. Kon suddenly stopped dead in her tracks next to me.
“…It can’t be…” she rasped in a deathly whisper.
Her cheeks tensed, and her jaw was set in such a hard line it forced me to look in the same direction to see what was bothering her so much. My gaze landed on Tomoi and Hanaka together. Even my eyes bulged at the unusual pairing.
I totally thought she was on a date with Shinji today. I was wrong?
The pair was looking at the same book together. Hanaka puffed out her cheeks and poked Tomoi in the side. Tomoi had a big frown on his face, but his joy showed through the farce as he looked admiringly down at my sister.
Why doesn’t Hanaka notice? How can she not read his body language and see his feelings for her?
I knew my sister’s personality better than anyone else. She wasn’t the type to flirt with her boyfriend’s friends. She was a natural airhead with a few loose screws, but she possessed a stronger moral compass than most. It wasn’t feasible for her to betray Shinji by having a secret rendezvous with his best friend.
I quickly pulled myself together and stepped forward to call out to them when Kon’s dainty hand pulled me back.
“I can’t…I’m sorry, I just can’t do it…” Her voice was on the verge of falling apart, and it ripped the air out of my lungs. The light and life died in her gorgeous eyes. It was as if all of her feelings had been whisked away to some faraway place.
My shock was accompanied by what felt like a physical blow to the head. My brain felt rattled.
I KnOw. I KnOw SoMeOnE wHo MaDe ThIs SaMe FaCe.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I’d demanded in the ugliest burst of anger.
Your face froze over and crumbled.
I’m sorry. I’d become stubborn halfway through our argument.
I had thought that you, the person I cared about the most, had left me behind.
Halfway through our argument, I was just being a brat.
He was just someone I’d admired. I already knew what his answer was.
It was never my intention to hurt you until you made that face.
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Hana.
Everything before my eyes was buried in a blindingly bright, white light.
I had regained the sealed memories of my past life.
I should’ve turned right around and led Kon far away from there. But all I could do at the time was stand dead still like an idiot. Remembering the other Tomoi and how ugly I was in my moment of cruelty towards my sister left me unable to do anything other than squeeze Kon’s trembling hand.
The one who noticed us rooted to the spot first was my “current” sister Hanaka. Her hair was bright-pink, her eyes an olive brown. The lack of black hair and eyes completely changed her image from the sister I knew in my past life. Of course it’d be different—it was almost like she was wearing a disguise.
“Hey, Mashiro!” Hanaka smiled like a sunflower and happily walked over to us.
Kon slammed her eyes shut before assuming her usual mask. She greeted my sister with a sweet smile. “Hello. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Hi there! I think I last saw you at the piano recital? You’ve gotten even prettier since then!”
Tomoi followed Hanaka over to us. He waved to me, then shifted his gaze to Kon. “Hello. You’re the girl who attends the same piano lessons as Shimao, right? It’s nice to meet you. My name is Tomoi Matsuda.”
Kon’s hand was noticeably shaking. Her heartbreaking state made me gnaw on my bottom lip.
“I-I’m Kon Genda… Nice to meet you.”
I hadn’t remembered everything yet. My hypothesis could’ve been wrong too. I mean, when you think about it carefully, it’s a strange theory. How could there be two versions of my sister from my past life in this world? One had the exact same appearance. And the other was—
How could this have happened?
But I was certain. I knew with certainty exactly what Kon was feeling in the moment and the pain she kept hidden away in her chest.
Now I understood why Kon was so thrilled that day we met for the first time at Miss Ayumi’s house. The reason why she always worried about me. The reason why she was in so much shock after meeting Hanaka for the first time. The reason why she always shut her mouth in despair every time she was about to say something more. The answer that solved all the mysteries was presented in front of me, telling me the truth.
Kon, you were my “Hana” all along, weren’t you?
…How could this happen? How was it possible? If my conjecture was right, then the god, or whatever it was that reincarnated us into this whacked world, was a cruel bastard.