ALL NOVEL chapter 28
28. Memory
“I’m back!”
“I’m coming in!”
After finishing a day at the shopping mall, I visited Mashiro’s apartment as planned.
I ended up with quite a load.
The clothes Mashiro and I bought, along with daily necessities and ingredients for dinner today.
Having carried all that by myself, I was pretty exhausted.
In my previous life as a working adult, I would have taken a taxi without hesitation. But now, as a high school student, I couldn’t afford such luxuries.
As I set my bags down on the apartment floor, Mashiro, holding a black and white cat plushie, looked at me with a worried expression.
“Are you okay…? It must have been heavy, right?”
“No, it wasn’t that bad. In fact, it was a good workout.”
I tried to smile, but Mashiro still looked anxious. Sure, it was heavy, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. I really thought it was good training.
“I told you multiple times that I could carry it… Thank you so much for being considerate of my legs, Ryusuke.”
“Even if you say you’re better, I’m still worried. Don’t mind me.”
“Yeah… but, but, now that we’re at the apartment, you don’t have to push yourself anymore. I’ll help carry things too!”
“The landlord is Mashiro, so I guess I should follow her lead. I don’t even know where to put everything.”
“Then let’s carry it together!”
“But Mashiro will take the lighter stuff. I’ll carry the groceries and daily necessities to the kitchen.”
“Okay! Thank you, Ryusuke!”
Mashiro smiled happily, momentarily setting down her stuffed animal to lift a large paper bag filled with clothes. After taking off my shoes, I followed her with the rest of the luggage.
The number of times I’ve visited Mashiro’s apartment is countless for Shindo Ryusuke. It feels like I’ve spent more time here than at my own home.
But for me, who has been reincarnated, this is a first. I mean, I’ve never had the experience of going into a girl’s house in my previous life. No matter how accustomed Shindo Ryusuke was to it, I couldn’t help but feel nervous, my body tensing up. Yet, I mustered the courage not to raise any suspicion and followed Mashiro’s back.
The room where Mashiro lived was beautiful.
It was a 3LDK apartment.
I found it strange that such a spacious layout was for a single person—just after that.
Memories of the everyday life spent with Mashiro surged in my mind.
Playing games side by side, watching videos on our phones and laughing until we rolled on the floor, sometimes even fighting… Memories flowed like a lantern slide, warming my heart.
For me, for Shindo Ryusuke, every day with her was the most enjoyable, and those days were vividly bringing to life the previously hazy memories of Shindo Ryusuke.
It might have been a trivial trigger.
But it was enough to awaken all the memories of Shindo Ryusuke that had been shrouded in mist until now.
I remember clearly now.
The reason Mashiro lived alone in this spacious apartment had deep circumstances behind it.
Originally, this apartment was a home for Mashiro and her parents. But when Mashiro entered middle school—her father passed away in a traffic accident.
Mashiro’s mother, grieving her husband’s death, threw herself into work to distract herself, spending more and more time away from home. Eventually, she stopped showing up at all.
From then on, Mashiro began to spend her days alone in this apartment.
A young girl enduring the solitude day after day.
The loneliness is immeasurable. There is no one to see her off or welcome her home. Meals alone, sleeping alone, goodnights and good mornings swallowed up by empty silence. She continues this painful life even now as a high school student.
And in my heart, the man named Shindo Ryusuke tells me why he had been hanging around Mashiro’s house.
“I didn’t want to leave Mashiro alone.”
That’s also the reason I took her out to have fun. I couldn’t just leave my childhood friend, who always looked down and avoided eye contact. I wanted nothing more than to see her smile.
I shared the same time in her apartment, taking her out into the night to escape her loneliness. I wanted to create joyful memories so she could laugh.
And wanting to be someone who could protect Mashiro, Shindo Ryusuke began to yearn for strength.
But he misdirected that yearning.
The catalyst was when Mashiro, back in middle school, was harassed and nearly attacked by delinquents. Shindo Ryusuke swung his fists to protect her, but at that time, he was still weak.
Though he managed to save Mashiro from the delinquents, Shindo Ryusuke sustained serious injuries. Because of that, he made Mashiro cry; he couldn’t protect her smile.
The feeling of helplessness from that moment led him down the wrong path.
He wanted to change his weak self, to be strong enough to protect Mashiro, and that desire—rather than the strength of heart to continue supporting her—led him to choose the way of violence to demonstrate his strength.
The many delinquent manga on the bookshelf in Shindo Ryusuke’s room were not the reason he ventured into the path of evil. They were traces of his struggle to become strong to protect Mashiro, to seek what he desired.
Thus, he stepped into the world of delinquents. He fell into a deep, dark abyss. The path he had begun to walk to protect Mashiro twisted and turned, straying from its course, and before long, it became something that distanced him from her. Before he knew it, he had become irredeemably tainted by evil in this world.
Realizing this, he gradually began to distance himself from Mashiro, adopting a cold demeanor.
If she stays with me now, I won’t just fail to make her smile; I’ll make her unhappy—.
What lies ahead is the original story’s conclusion.
Shindo Ryusuke would meet his ruin as the villain of this tale, and Amanatsu Mashiro would vanish, following suit.
He understood that this would happen. Yet, he felt powerless to change it. Having continued down the wrong path, he had come to a point of no return.
This story, this world, forced him to be the villain. It sought to lead him down an inescapable path of destruction.
He let out a silent scream within his heart.
‘I don’t know what to do.
I want to go back, but I can’t.
I can’t make Mashiro happy as I am now.
Someone, please help me, anyone…!’
Shindo Ryusuke wished.
He sought help from the depths of his heart.
—And that wish sparked a miracle.
I, as a being, was reincarnated into Shindo Ryusuke’s life. I, who could lead a life completely unrelated to delinquents, with only earnestness to my name.
I possess the physical strength to protect Mashiro.
What I need is the strength of heart to continue supporting her.
I will provide that. It is precisely because there are two of us—me, who has been reincarnated, and Shindo Ryusuke—that we can protect the smile of Amanatsu Mashiro, a girl tormented by loneliness.
I will save Mashiro from the disastrous ending.
Together, we will overturn the worst future.
With the complete recollection of memories and the shared resolve, I feel that I and Shindo Ryusuke have finally become one in the truest sense.
“Ryusuke? What’s wrong?”
Having finished unloading her things, Mashiro looked at me, tilting her head in curiosity.
It seems I worried her because I was lost in thought.
I shake my head. While placing a bag of ingredients on the kitchen table, I respond.
“No, it’s nothing. Just remembering various things, you know, everything up until now.”
“Today’s events? It was fun, right? I became friends with Reo-kun and Nishikawa-kun, and we did a lot of shopping!”
“Yeah, it was fun. But it’s not over yet. I’m going to make you the most delicious dinner tonight.”
“I’ve been really looking forward to it! I can’t wait to eat Ryusuke’s home cooking!”
Mashiro beams with a carefree, innocent smile.
I step closer to her and gently place my hand on her head.
At that, Mashiro’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly closed her eyes, looking pleased.
“Mm. It’s been a while since Ryusuke petted me… I’m so happy.”
“Is that so? Yeah, it’s been a while.”
Mashiro has always liked having her head petted.
So when I do this, she shows a happy expression.
When I clearly recalled my memories as Shindo Ryusuke, I could see Mashiro’s face as she narrowed her eyes in delight from being petted.
It was so cute. That’s why I wanted to see it again. I wanted to engrave it in my memory so I wouldn’t forget.
As I tried to pull my hand away, Mashiro took my hand and placed it back on her head. Then she looked up at me, her clear blue eyes crossing with my gaze.
Mashiro said while staring at me,
“If I say I want you to do it more, will you?”
I slowly ran my fingers through Mashiro’s hair as I replied.
“Well then, just a little longer.”
At that, Mashiro smiled happily.
“Okay.”
As I gently petted her head once more, Mashiro narrowed her eyes and relaxed her cheeks in happiness.
Just watching Mashiro’s soft, blossoming smile fills my heart. My feelings grow even stronger.
This world is already moving to bring about our destruction. But I absolutely do not want to be destroyed, nor do I want that for her. I want to continue to protect Mashiro’s smile.
—Hey, let’s do this. Shindo Ryusuke.
You and I will make Mashiro happy.