Life In The Reverse World

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Graa. Graa. Graa.

The hoarse cawing of crows sweeping past the window shattered what should have been a beautiful day that had yet to begin.

Morning.

Urged awake by his internal clock, Harutaki, long accustomed to rising early, subconsciously rolled over and stretched, working the numbness out of an arm that had fallen asleep from lying on his side too long.

“Mmm…”

With a vigorous stretch, Harutaki groggily threw back the blanket and climbed out of bed. Rubbing the corners of his eyes with the heel of his palm, he shuffled toward the bathroom in his slippers.

He was someone who cared a lot about sleep quality. As long as he went to bed early and slept enough hours, no matter how early he woke up, he would not feel sleepy. But if he failed to rest properly at night, waking up the next morning always came with a sluggish sensation, like his entire body was dragging its feet.

Rumble.

“Haaah…”

Is Ayaka making sandwiches or toast again this morning?

After yawning and smacking his lips, Harutaki amused himself as usual by placing a little bet with himself on the way to the bathroom, guessing what kind of breakfast his younger sister Ayaka had prepared. If he guessed right, he would reward himself with an extra serving of meat at lunch. If he guessed wrong, he would increase the intensity of his morning training.

What he had not yet realized, in his half-asleep state, was that he had not slept in his own room last night. It was his first time staying over somewhere else in more than a month.

“Morning, Hoshikawa. How did you sleep last ni—”

Hearing the slap-slap of slippers on the floor, Chouko, who was in the kitchen preparing breakfast, turned around. Smiling brightly, she greeted Harutaki using a line she had rehearsed in her mind over and over again.

Thunk.

Mid-sentence, the spatula slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor.

“Guh… H-Hoshikawa, p-put some clothes on first! Shameless… filthy pervert! Exhibitionist!”

Th-that’s a bit too…

It was exactly the same as in that selfie?!

Realizing what she was seeing, Chouko hurriedly covered her face with both hands. Still, her fingers parted slightly around her eyes, revealing a glimpse of pale gold irises peeking through.

This was the first time she had seen the real thing, and somehow it made her heart race… and also feel a little sick?

She quickly tore her gaze away from Harutaki’s tight four-corner boxer shorts and instead inspected his physique.

Firm, powerful muscles. Clearly defined abs and back muscles.

Was this really the body of a high school student who ranked near the top of his grade?

“Ah…? Ah, sorry, sorry. I’m used to being at home…”

Harutaki gradually woke up under Chouko’s shouting. Following her line of sight, he glanced down, and when he saw how tented his shorts were, he instantly understood what she meant.

Whether in the past or now, he had always slept in pajamas. Sleeping with just shorts on was something he had not done in nearly ten years.

And yet—

“It’s fine, right? You’ve already seen it anyway, haven’t you, Tsunako-chan?”

As he spoke, he deliberately struck a bodybuilding pose. After all, Chouko had teased him so much last night that he had nearly been unable to fall asleep. Collecting a bit of interest now did not seem unreasonable.

“Selfies and reality are two completely different things! I mean… hurry up and put that thing away! You’re the worst!”

Though her tone was frantic, there was almost no actual disgust in Chouko’s heart. For no reason at all, her thoughts drifted back to that day when she had measured her own waist with a tape measure.

This is way too insane!

She could not help feeling a little relieved. Thankfully, Harutaki had not forced anything last night. Otherwise, she might not even have been able to get out of bed today. She might not have fully recovered even by the time her mother came to pick her up, and then her family would find out…

“Um, about what we talked about last night—”

“Back to your room! Get dressed!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

With a kitchen knife pointed at him, Harutaki obediently retreated to change.

…

After splashing his face with cold water and fully shaking off his drowsiness, Harutaki left the bathroom and entered the dining area. Sitting down in the chair Chouko had pulled out for him, he picked up his chopsticks, said a polite “Thanks for the meal,” and began enjoying the breakfast she had carefully prepared.

Honestly speaking, though he felt a bit bad toward his sister Ayaka, he could not help making the comparison in his heart.

The Japanese-style breakfast Shihou made was far superior to Ayaka’s simple convenience food.

Steaming white rice, tofu with soy sauce, pan-fried fish, and a cold side dish made from the leftover lettuce from yesterday.

“I really want Shihou to come live at the Hoshikawa house…”

“H-Hoshikawa, why are you suddenly saying something so weird?!”

Chouko’s chopsticks paused mid-air as she scolded him, pretending to be calm.

“Can a single selfie a day hire a live-in cook?”

“Don’t bring up the selfie again! And Ayaka-chan works hard every day to make breakfast. You should apologize to her.”

“If Shihou were the cook, Ayaka would have it much easier. A Shihou who can’t let Ayaka take it easy should also apologize to her.”

“I… I almost… ngh, I almost got tricked by you again!”

She puffed out her cheeks and shot Harutaki an annoyed glare, then stopped paying attention to him and buried herself in her breakfast.

But if it were possible—

She thought it would be wonderful to live in the Hoshikawa household. Two cute, well-behaved younger sisters, living together with Ayaka-chan, and with Harutaki too… In short, that warm and fulfilling life of happiness was a sweet dream she barely dared to imagine.

After all, she was Princess Shihou, the Kaguya-hime who would eventually return to the Moon Palace in the sky.

…

During break time, having not checked his social apps that morning, Harutaki took out his phone, opened LINE, and went through his unread messages one by one before dealing with the more troublesome conversations.

[Fuyuno: Bastard Harutaki! You shameless scumbag, you actually forwarded the chat logs to Aya-chan again?! [Pink Bunny Consecutive Normal Punches]]--- Read

[Harutaki: Middle schoolers should act like middle schoolers. I’m just disciplining a brat who never learns her lesson.]--- Read

[Fuyuno: Don’t expect me to help push your butt from behind ever again!]--- Read

Harutaki casually took a screenshot of the confirmation prompt before forwarding and sent it to his sister Fuyuno.

[Harutaki: [Image]]--- Read

[Fuyuno: [Bunny Dogeza] Fuyuno can still lick, please spare Fuyuno.]--- Read

At Fuyuno’s words, Harutaki recalled what had happened the night before last, and immediately felt blood rushing downward. He hurriedly exited LINE, pulling his eyes away from the screen and instead observing the various sights around the classroom to distract himself.

Haruto in the front row was watching NBA highlights on his phone. Miho was curling her hair with a curling iron. Ren, like Harutaki, was propping his elbow on the desk, resting his chin on his palm, gazing at some corner of the classroom.

Following Ren’s gaze, Harutaki saw Izumi, Sae, Minako, and Shihou clustered together, discussing something around a compact powder case. After a while, Izumi took the powder puff and dabbed it onto Shihou’s face as she closed her eyes, then handed her the small mirror inside the case to check for herself.

“So cute~”

“Super cute~”

The praise drifted faintly to Harutaki’s ears, and he could not help sinking into the harmony of the moment. Like the refreshing coolness after a summer rain, he wished life could go on like this forever.

…

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