Life In The Reverse World

A gentle spring breeze, a lively spring day.

After finishing their bento lunch and resting for a bit, he followed his sister, Ayaka, to the next stop of their “date practice.”

Harutaki had thought Ayaka would make him sit there a while longer, but to his surprise she left swiftly and decisively. As noon drew closer, more and more people began flocking to the lawns of Kitanomaru Park for picnics.

Cherry-blossom viewing was like that, too few people and it felt lonely; too many, and it became unbearably noisy. Children running around shrieking, groups of young people laughing loudly… The reluctance he’d felt earlier quickly faded, leaving him with no desire to stay seated any longer.

“Are we not taking the train from the station?”

Walking beside his sister, he naturally took her hand, glancing at the path leading toward the far end of the park as he asked about their next date spot.

“Think carefully about what’s around Kitanomaru Park. You need to learn how to find date locations on your own, don’t ask girls about everything, idiot.”

Ayaka spoke in an annoyed tone, yet she showed no reaction at all to him holding her hand, as if it were simply how things were supposed to be.

Was that a good sign?

Some things only grew worse the more you thought about them. Staying a little muddled wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Afraid to dwell too deeply, he brushed aside the unease in his heart as usual, covering it with a joking tone.

“The National Museum of Nature and Science? Want to go experience piloting a spaceship together?”

“Tch… I think we should throw you into the earthquake simulator and shake all those pointless jokes out of your head.”

Ayaka tightened the straps of the backpack on her chest and mercilessly pronounced his sentence.

“Didn’t most people dream of becoming an astronaut when they were kids?”

“But you’re almost seventeen, Harutaki. Still being this childish…”

“Men stay boys till the day they die~”

Even after graduating and entering society, long past the phase of gaming all day, he’d still bought himself a PlayStation and a Switch with his first real paycheck, just to make up for a small regret from childhood.

But regrets were regrets, just as he’d thought before,

They represented lingering frustration, the kind that brought remorse every time you recalled them, cracks in memory that could almost never be fully mended.

“And besides, space, starry skies, the moon… don’t they sound romantic when paired with the word ‘date’? Even if it’s a bit childish, as long as it’s a date with a cute girl like Ayaka, even just pushing a swing together would be fun.”

“Id… idiot Harutaki…”

Ayaka turned her head away and stopped responding. She looked incredibly cute, but it also made him reflect on whether he’d pushed things a bit too far.

Quietly, he began thinking about what good date spots might be nearby Kitanomaru Park.

The Budokan and the Science Museum were clearly terrible choices for a date with a girl, which meant the remaining option was,

“Chidorigafuchi.”

Looking at the long, rippling waterway and the cherry trees along both banks, heavy with drooping blossoms, he finally understood why Ayaka had chosen to picnic at crowded Kitanomaru Park instead of Shinjuku Gyoen.

Chidorigafuchi was one of the most famous cherry-blossom viewing spots in the country. If you wanted to romantically drift along the river beneath the sakura with a girl, you’d have to endure lines comparable to popular attractions at Disneyland.

There were only two ways to avoid long queues: arrive early in the morning to rent a boat, or come during mealtimes, when most tourists were off eating lunch or dinner.

Clearly, Ayaka had chosen the second option.

“Hehe, well? Coming to line up right after lunch was perfect, wasn’t it? Eleven o’clock isn’t early at all.”

She bragged proudly about her cleverness.

Yet compared to her little trick of eating lunch early to beat the boat lines, what made his heart race more was the care she’d put into planning the date.

Valentine’s gifts, White Day gifts, birthday presents, weekend dates, holiday dates… even late-night snack dates—

In the past, it had always been him alone putting in the effort, searching for suitable places and considering every little detail along the way.

Sure, girlfriends usually repaid him enthusiastically once they were back in the room, but it also meant he’d inevitably grown used to being the one who gave.

Like the soft side Nogami occasionally revealed, the innocent, lively side Shihou gradually let slip, and Ayaka’s unconscious thoughtfulness and care,

The contrast born from those moments was something Harutaki knew he could never resist.

…

Because they’d come during lunchtime, they didn’t wait long at the dock before it was their turn to rent a boat.

Chidorigafuchi offered three types: electric boats, pedal boats, and rowing boats.

Without even discussing it, he and Ayaka both chose a rowing boat. Both the electric and pedal boats had obstructive canopies, and if sightseeing or photography was the goal, the canoe-like rowing boat was clearly the best option.

He paid the 800 yen for thirty minutes, stepped onto the boat first, then held Ayaka steady as she climbed in.

“Harutaki, remember, on dates, you must never make a girl wait. Especially for things that require lining up. If you can reserve ahead, always pick a good time. If you can’t, then you have to find a time when the line’s short…”

“This is your first date too, right, Ayaka? You seem really experienced. Seriously impressive.”

Timely praise was essential when a girl put effort into something.

“…I-it’s not like I’m that experienced or anything… Anyway, that gentlemanly move just now gets you nine points. But sometimes, you should also be a little selfish!”

Holding the wooden oars on either side, he rowed skillfully while pondering Ayaka’s words.

Be a little selfish, sometimes?

He knew plenty of girls liked bad boys. He’d thought a good girl like Ayaka would be different, but from the sound of it, maybe he’d been too self-assured.

Was it because of the memories from two lifetimes after reincarnation?

That unconscious sense of superiority when facing others, that arrogant belief that he must be right… Yet in the end, he was just a graduate in his twenties, merely benefiting from a head start ahead of most people.

“Hey, girl, come over here and rub my shoulders and legs for me.”

“Idiot Harutaki, are you some kind of yakuza member?!”

How was that being selfish?!

Ayaka shot him an indignant glare, then actually stood up, carefully stepping over the crossbench seat to sit down between his legs, which he’d spread for leverage.

She, Ayaka, leaned into her brother Harutaki’s chest, resting her head in the hollow between his neck and shoulder. Like a boat returning to harbor, she quietly enjoyed the spring breeze.

You’re trembling~

Though Harutaki often felt like someone wearing a mask, hard to read, she’d noticed through their interactions that no matter how well he hid his expression, he couldn’t completely control his body’s reactions.

He could casually tell dirty jokes and risqué stories, yet when actually facing a girl, he became flustered and unsure.

If she hadn’t spoken with Shihou-senpai, she might really have mistaken her idiot brother for a cowardly lecher with no guts.

“Because I like you, I respect you…”

After escaping danger and lying on the same bed as the hero who saved her, hearing words like that, what girl wouldn’t fall for him?

That was why she wasn’t surprised Shihou-senpai had stayed over for only one night.

While preparing breakfast together, Shihou-senpai had said that staying another night would be an unbearable test, for both her and baka aniki.

Lying in the same bed with a girl and doing nothing might sound lame, but wasn’t that very “lameness” exactly what she, Ayaka, liked about him?

Doing things he thought were cool, and that truly were cool…

Even if everyone else thought messy relationships didn’t matter, even if virginity was mocked, she and Shihou-senpai still wanted to give their bodies only to the one they loved most.

“Mmm…”

How long had it been since she’d felt this sense of being able to trust and rely on someone?

Even though she liked being relied upon, sometimes she wanted to rest too, to have someone share the weight on her shoulders and sweep away the gloom in her heart.

Sunlight filtered through gaps in branches and petals, and her upper body swayed back and forth with Harutaki’s rowing, just like when her parents used to hold her and lull her to sleep. In the faintly tipsy midday warmth, she stretched out her legs and contentedly closed her eyes.

“At times like this, you’re supposed to hold the girl, you know~”

“……”

Strong arms settled across her collarbone, wrapping around her shoulders.

Idiot…

“Idiot Harutaki, are you trying to strangle your date?!”

After stiffening for a moment, those arms slid lower, wrapping around her stomach so she could lean back comfortably without worrying about slipping off the seat.

“Next… next comes the kiss…”

“……”

From an angle Ayaka couldn’t see, Harutaki quietly studied her.

Through his palm and fingertips, he could clearly feel the softness and elasticity of a girl’s abdomen, as well as her slightly higher body temperature.

She’d taken the initiative last time, did she expect him to do it again?

He couldn’t help recalling Fuyuno’s evaluation from that night—

“Talking about nonsense. Completely unromantic.”

Yet just as he hesitated over their relationship, Ayaka spoke again.

“Idiot Harutaki… what are you even afraid of?”

“We’ve only really gotten along for a month, and— ”

Since his sister showed him no guard at all, he saw no need to hide anything.

“But you also know we’ve lived together for thirteen years, right?”

“Like those two broken scales, ow!”

Hard-soled shoes aren’t supposed to step on feet!

With a helpless sigh, he took a deep breath, hoping to breathe out the pain, and his worries with it.

“Hey, baka aniki. At times like this, wouldn’t it be okay to be a little selfish?”

From the side above, he could see it clearly.

She bit her lower lip lightly, eyes shut tight, eyelashes trembling faintly.

“Have you heard of Kobayashi Issa?”

Kobayashi Issa?

“Stop crying, wild geese,