If someone had asked me what my favorite place was, I would have answered without hesitation: my home. Most people would probably say the same.
After all, for as long as I could remember, I had spent most of my life there.
It wasn't like my house was a mansion where you could stumble upon something exciting around every corner—it was simply that sense of familiarity and comfort you grew into.
I think you get what I mean.
So, why the sudden mention of my house? Was I trying to show it off, or claim it was built with the finest materials available?
Neither. It's simply because right now, I was on my way there…
"Oh, a dog wearing a hat!"
"Raiden, stop sticking your head out the window—you're not a kid anymore."
"This is the first time I've seen a dog dressed so cool. Maybe I should buy clothes for Kuro."
"If you put clothes on our cat, he'll probably go straight to your room to tear your stuff apart."
"…Right, I forgot. That cat's too cunning. Sometimes I think he's an alien."
"You brought him home, so take responsibility—and don't buy him anything weird."
"Yes, yes, I understand, Mother."
Where's the law that says I can't dress my cat like a noble from centuries past?
From that little exchange, you could already tell a few things: that I was currently in my mother's car, that I had a black cat named Kuro, and that I was the one who adopted him.
Am I going too fast? Do I really have to spell out things you can figure out just by paying attention?
What's that supposed to mean, I'm not the best person to be calling others idiots?
Anyway, that morning I had been discharged from the hospital with some painkillers in case the pain lingered—but nothing I wasn't already used to.
After that, I hopped into my mother's car when she came to pick me up and take me home.
"If I remember correctly, there are still two other members in our family, right? Or did you get divorced while I was in the hospital and now I live with you?"
Part of me had been expecting a big welcome from everyone at home—and I was even ready to suggest breakfast at a restaurant.
"Would that scenario be bad for you?"
"I could ask for double my current allowance."
"You want to sleep on the streets for a week?"
"As I was saying, family is the foundation of society! Down with divorce!"
"I don't know if you inherited your stupidity from your father or from me…" my mother said with deep resignation.
"Maybe both?"
"Could be… that would explain why you're dumber than I expected."
"That's where you're supposed to deny it."
"I'm not going to lie."
Ugh. Low blow from my own mother…
"As for your earlier question, your father had to go to work early to check some documents—he shouldn't be long. And Rumi was still sleeping, with Kuro beside her, so I didn't want to wake her."
"I see… in that case, can we go have breakfast at a restaurant?"
More for me than for anyone else.
"I cooked before I came to get you. Just wait a little longer—we're almost there. Unless you want to say restaurants cook better than me. In which case, I might just let you walk the rest of the way home."
Her tone had no malice, but her words were another matter. I know her well enough to be certain she's not bluffing—and that's the scariest part.
"Why go to a restaurant when my dear mother has already cooked, hahahaha."
"Well said."
I'd rather not walk all the way home, so I decided to drop it.
…
"There's nothing better than being home!"
As soon as I got out of the car, I stretched with exaggerated relief.
"You were gone for one day. Don't be so dramatic," Mom said as she got out and headed for the front door.
"I get bored easily, and there wasn't much to do…"
Maybe next time I end up in the hospital, I should bring something to read—though I'd rather not become a regular.
I followed my mother inside, left my shoes at the entrance, and walked into the living room.
Nya!
Before I could sit down on the couch, a black furball leapt at me, but I managed to catch him just in time, sparing my face from a claw test.
"Could you stop trying to sharpen your claws on me?"
Nya.
"Is that a yes or a 'go to hell'?"
Nya.
"I'll take that as you leaving me alone for today."
I cradled Kuro in my arms, giving him a few strokes until his steady purr rumbled against my chest. Kuro has his quirks, but he's pretty cute, so I let his little assassination attempts slide.
"Good to see you're still your usual self, onii-chan."
From the stairs, I spotted my adorable little sister, dressed in her classic panda-print pajamas.
"I missed you too, Rumi."
"It's only been a day."
"One day felt like an eternity without seeing you."
"Ugh, that's creepy." She narrowed her eyes at me.
"Glad to see you're still the same." Mom's voice drifted in from the kitchen. "Come have breakfast."
Rumi and I exchanged a quick glance before heading to the dining room. Of course, before eating, I set Kuro down and washed my hands.
Once we were seated, we said our thanks and started eating.
"I really missed your cooking."
"Hospital food doesn't even come close to mine!" Mom said proudly, puffing out her chest. She's very competitive.
"That's not exactly a fair comparison," Rumi chimed in.
Mom raised an eyebrow at that.
"By the way, Raiden, while you were in the hospital, someone was very worried about you."
At her words, Rumi's cheeks turned red and she looked away.
"Oh? That's so sweet of you, Rumi-chan," I said with a big grin, popping a bit of rice into my mouth with my chopsticks.
"That's not it! I just thought, since I saw you lying on the floor, maybe your brain got damaged, that's all!"
Tsundere? Or just bad at showing affection?
Over the years, I've updated my vocabulary with a few manga and novels—no way I'm getting left behind.
"As you can see, your brother's still the same. Honestly, I wish at least his personality had improved," Mom sighed.
"That's rude. My personality's fine… I think."
Is there really something wrong with me?
If I think about it carefully, I can come up with a few things, but I'd rather not say them out loud.
"I'd rather not answer."
"The food would get cold if I started listing all your flaws," Mom said with a sly smile.
Aren't my mom and little sister just adorable?
"Fine, fine, I get it. Maybe I have a few flaws…"
"Plenty," Rumi corrected.
"Calling them 'a few' is sugarcoating it," Mom added.
Like mother, like daughter. With the same black hair and dark eyes, it's easy to imagine Rumi looking just like Mom once she's older.
"Why am I getting no support here? Where's that guy when I need him?"
"I doubt Dad would take your side," Mom replied.
If I didn't know better, I'd think I was adopted or something.
"I give up." I raised both hands in defeat.
The two of them chuckled softly and went back to eating.
If you can't beat them, join them—so I enjoyed the meal too.
…
After breakfast, Rumi headed to her room to do whatever little sisters do—though not before making sure I was really okay.
"Tough as a rock," I said.
What can I say? I have great endurance.
To prove my point, I struck a few bodybuilder poses before she left. She looked more at ease now, though she still warned me not to be stupid enough to fall down the stairs again.
My little sister is so cute.
With nothing else to do after washing the dishes, I headed to my room.
"Missed keeping me company?"
Kuro ignored me, hopping onto my bed and rolling around like he owned the place.
"I guess you play by your own rules…"
I let Kuro's coup slide and settled down at my desk, pulling out tomorrow's schoolwork.
I wish I could say I was happy to have homework again, but who am I kidding? No one would ever say that after getting a second chance at life.
I never thought I'd have to deal with math again. It's exactly why I chose a major that didn't involve many numbers.
And since being reborn didn't mean losing my memories, my preference for words over numbers is still as strong as ever.
Sometimes I wonder what goes on in the heads of people who can solve an equation in seconds…
I cleared my mind and focused on the sheet of math problems in front of me.
If I could speak to my high school teacher from my previous life, I'd tell him his math lessons were so "useful" that I managed to die without ever needing them.
…
I really hate math.
After about two hours of unmatched effort and dedication—ninety percent of which I spent distracted on my phone—I finally finished all the math problems.
And with each year, they only got harder…
Forgetting that I still had three years left before I could even apply to a university, I got up from my desk and headed to my wardrobe.
Staying cooped up was exhausting, and being stuck in the hospital hadn't been pleasant either, so I figured I would go out for a walk.
I picked out a gray T-shirt and a pair of blue shorts for comfort, and once I was dressed, I left my room.
It was still autumn, so it wasn't cold enough to need warm clothes. Not that I get sick easily anyway.
As I headed down the stairs, I spotted my mom in the living room with her laptop.
"More work at home? Looks like I'm not the only one with homework."
"Unlike your school assignments, I have to go over some market reports your father sent me so I can present them at a meeting on Monday with a company we're planning to work with."
It's not that I didn't understand what she said—I'd just had enough studying for one day, so I'd rather skip the mental strain.
"Putting aside things I don't want to think about right now, is that guy coming back for lunch?"
Everyone has their own way of referring to their father; I just call him "that guy" or "old man."
It's not disrespect—he asked me not to be too formal. He says he gets enough of that at work and likes to feel relaxed at home.
I don't think much of it, and Mom mentioned it probably had to do with the way he was raised. Not something worth overthinking.
"You're in luck. Your dad will be done around one, so we'll meet him downtown and have lunch at a restaurant."
I smiled at that. No breakfast out, but at least lunch.
"Can I drive?"
"My car, I drive."
"Tch…"
"Get your license and turn eighteen, then maybe I'll give you one."
Over three years to go for that…
"You'll give me yours and buy yourself a new one?"
"Exactly. See? You've inherited my intelligence. Hahaha."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Anyway, I'm going for a walk. I'll be back in time to go together."
"Try not to get into trouble," she said, turning her attention back to her laptop.
"It's not like I go looking for it…"
With a sigh and a laugh at my six-year-old self for thinking I wouldn't have so many problems in the future, I headed out.
…
How long has it been since I last came to this park?
I walked over to a vending machine and bought a bottle of water.
I guess I rarely come this far—usually I just go to the park about twenty minutes from my house. Not that it makes much difference.
After finishing the bottle and tossing it away, I took a seat on a bench and relaxed.
If I remember correctly, it's been about six years since I last came here.
That day, Mom and I went to an ice cream shop, but when an emergency meeting came up at her work, I decided to kill time at this park until she was done.
You see kids walking around alone from as young as five, so being here alone at nine wasn't anything unusual.
"Memory lane, huh…"
I stood and walked toward a tree that looked familiar.
"Rematch?"
Leaning against it, I began to climb, eventually reaching one of the bigger branches where I sat and took in the whole park.
If I'm not mistaken, this was the same tree I tried to climb back then—though I fell when I thought I was about to make it. I got careless right at the end, too confident when I was almost at the branch.
Beautiful and painful memories of my younger self—I was energetic and stupid.
My grandmother once told me I take after my father in that regard. He was just as hyperactive as a kid.
Some things really are in the genes.
Thinking back to that day…
When I fell from the tree, there was a girl two or three years older than me nearby. I think I almost fell right on top of her.
Luckily, I landed on the grass instead. I didn't get hurt too badly, but it still hurt.
In that situation, a normal person would probably help the idiot kid who just fell out of a tree. But she just watched me out of curiosity—probably because I cursed Newton for inventing gravity and his stupid apple.
Come to think of it, I'd probably look the same way at someone younger who didn't act like a kid. Maybe I should've cried and called for my mom.
After a few seconds of staring at this strange specimen of a child, she finally asked if I was okay. I think I told her it was nothing and got up on my own.
If I remember right—and this is all I really recall—her appearance was… how was it again?
I think I forgot. But one thing I'll never forget was her long hair and violet eyes. Honestly, she was beautiful.
Would I get in trouble for thinking that, even if I was mentally older at the time? Dilemmas that can't be legislated, since the situation doesn't actually exist.
What happened after that, I don't remember clearly. I do recall we talked for quite a while, right up until she left.
"Hmmm. I really don't remember what we talked about that time."
I glanced down at the ground from the tree branch, but the memory of our conversation was still gone.
The last thing I can recall was her smiling warmly as we said goodbye—she had to go back and take care of her duties.
Even after all these years, I still don't pay much attention to people who aren't part of my life.
The fact that I can't even remember what we talked about back then proves it. But honestly, I don't really care.
They're just people from a fleeting encounter, the kind you'll never meet again, so asking their name or memorizing the words you exchanged feels pointless—it's not worth it.
Same with the girl from yesterday. Normally, you'd ask her name and all that, but it's just not important.
Remembering the past doesn't bring you anything new. It never does. The past is just that—something you can't change.
No matter how much you regret or want to do something about it, it's already too late.
"I guess that's it for now." I checked my watch to make sure I still had enough time to get back and take a shower. "Time to go."
I jumped from the branch to the trunk, my hands and feet finding support for just a second. Then I pushed off again and landed on the ground.
I'm definitely not making the same mistake twice.
Stretching a little, I started walking home.
Would it be cliché to go to a restaurant and order ramen?
As I thought about the consequences of not taking advantage of the chance to order something more extravagant, I began to drift off into my usual daydreams, letting my feet carry me home.