Minato Aqua's School Romance Brain Battle!? ~Reborn with Five Childhood Friends~
Minato Aqua, a virtual idol, awakens to find herself reincarnated as a regular high school girl in modern Japan. Her memories of her past life are hazy, but her talents for singing and streaming have been reset. Determined to enjoy a peaceful school life as a clumsy, otaku girl, her plans are shattered on the first day. Her class is filled with familiar faces—fellow former VTubers like Shirakami Fubuki, Ookami Mio, and her friend Nekomata Okayu. For some reason, even her junior, Haibara Sora, is
Minato Aqua's School Romance Brain Battle!? ~Reborn with Five Childhood Friends~ - Clumsy Girl Trips at the Fateful Entrance Ceremony!
My heart was pounding so loud.
I couldn't tell if it was because I'd been running too hard, or because today was my high school entrance ceremony.
I, Minato Aqua, stood breathless before the steep slope leading to Seiran Academy—a private school in northern Kasumigaoka, Tokyo. Everyone called it "Out-of-Breath Hill."
Morning.
The sky was high and impossibly blue.
"Alright! I'm a high schooler starting today!"
I shouted to fire myself up.
A lady passing by glanced my way, but I couldn't care less.
After all, today was an incredibly special day.
I was wearing a navy blazer and a checkered skirt—the Seiran Academy uniform.
I'd ironed it so carefully with my mom this morning, but somehow it already felt wrinkled.
My socks were matching, at least, but the left one had slipped down a little.
That's just the kind of thing I always mess up.
My waist-length black hair was tied into uneven twin-tails, pinned with my favorite big ribbon hair clip.
It calms me, somehow.
Like a dream from long ago... a really, really long time ago... comes back to me, just a little.
"Here I go—!"
I psyched myself up one more time and broke into a run up Out-of-Breath Hill.
The slope was way steeper than I'd thought.
Over six hundred meters long, with a forty-five-meter elevation change—I'd seen it on a sign just now.
This area's called Kasumigaoka, and since the academy sits on top of the hill, you have to climb this slope no matter what.
Around me, new students in the same uniform and returning students were walking.
Everyone was walking properly.
But my heart was already racing ahead, and I just couldn't help but run.
That's when it happened.
"Kyaa!"
My own foot caught on my other foot.
My body pitched forward.
The asphalt rushed up at me—I tried to throw my hands out, but I was too late.
A horrible thud.
My left knee throbbed.
"Oww..."
I sat on the ground, unable to move.
My stockings were torn, blood seeping from my knee.
My skirt, my pure white blouse—both were covered in dust.
The worst.
Day one of high school, and this.
Tears welled up in my eyes.
I'm a high schooler starting today, and I got so fired up I ran, fell, and now everyone's laughing at me.
(I can't... I wanna go home...)
Head hung low, I couldn't stand up.
"Are you alright?"
A voice fell from above.
Startled, I looked up.
A man stood there.
And not just any man—an incredibly beautiful one.
Soft-looking chestnut hair swayed gently in the morning light.
Clear, almost transparent blue eyes gazed straight at me.
He was really tall—definitely over 180 centimeters.
He was in a tracksuit, but somehow that made him look even cooler, and he smelled really, really nice.
In an instant, I knew he wasn't just some ordinary upperclassman.
Something was different.
The aura he had was incredible.
"You scraped your knee. That must've hurt."
He said that, crouched down, and peered at my knee.
Close.
His face was so close.
"Uh, um, uh..."
As I fidgeted, blushing bright red, he smiled and said:
"Can't have you late for the entrance ceremony... excuse me for a moment. I'll carry you to the nurse's office."
Carry?
The moment I thought that, my body floated up.
"Hyaaah!?"
He'd scooped me up in a princess carry.
Like I weighed nothing at all.
My heart pounded so hard I thought it might explode.
"Don't squirm. I might drop you."
He laughed lightly and started running up Out-of-Breath Hill.
In his arms, I couldn't even make a sound.
His face, seen from this close, was truly beautiful—long eyelashes, close enough that I could feel his breath.
I just froze, blushing furiously.
Passing the front of the academy, he headed straight for the nurse's office.
In the courtyard, there was a big zelkova tree, and some upperclassmen sitting on a bench underneath looked our way, but he didn't seem to care at all.
After a while, we reached the nurse's office.
He gently set me down on a bed, then with practiced hands, pulled out disinfectant and gauze.
"This might sting a little."
He said it in a gentle voice as he treated my knee.
The disinfectant stung, but more than that, the ticklish feeling of his hands touching me made my heart race so fast I couldn't think straight.
"...Um!"
"Hm? What is it?"
"Y-your name... please tell me your name!"
When I said that, he showed me that gentle smile again and said:
"Amemiya Kanata. I'm a second-year, and the student council president. And you?"
"Mi... Minato Aqua. I just enrolled today."
"I see. Aqua-chan, I look forward to knowing you. ...Well, I've got preparations for the entrance ceremony."
He stood up, gave my head a light pat, and left the nurse's office.
For a while, I couldn't move from the bed.
My face was burning.
My heart was pounding.
The spot where he'd patted my head still tingled.
"Is this... love?"
I said it out loud, then buried my blushing face in the blanket.
――――
After that, I somehow made it to my classroom.
Class 1-C.
Before the entrance ceremony, we were supposed to gather by class.
The classroom was already buzzing with new students.
Everyone was meeting for the first time, a little nervous, but already talking, trying to make friends.
I looked for my seat.
By the window, near the back—this was my spot.
From the classroom, I could see the banks of the Hoshimi River, famous for its cherry blossom trees, in the distance. It was kind of pretty.
In the seat next to mine, a girl was sitting.
Waist-length silver hair. The left side was braided, the end tied with a red ribbon.
She sparkled—really stood out.
The moment she saw me, her golden eyes, slightly upturned like a fox's, went wide, and she shouted:
"Huh!? Aqua, is that you!?"
I was startled too and stared hard at her face.
That voice, that vibe, that... how do I put it, that overly friendly feeling.
"Fu-Fubuki!? Shirakami Fubuki, is that you!?"
"It is! I knew you'd come here too!"
Fubuki said that and hugged me tight.
Fubuki was a stunning beauty, about 165 centimeters tall.
Way taller than me, with a great figure.
And that teasing, knowing way she laughed—it was exactly like our past life.
Past life.
A secret I can't tell anyone.
We used to be virtual idols.
We streamed, we sang, and so many people supported us.
Now, we're just ordinary high schoolers.
But the memories from that time still linger, faintly.
Fubuki was my gen-mate back then.
"Geez, it's no fun without you around! I was so lonely!"
"Fubukiii...! Me too...!"
As we hugged, making a huge fuss, a sigh came from the front of the classroom.
"You two are loud even before the entrance ceremony."
At that voice, Fubuki and I turned around at the same time.
Sitting in the front seat, calmly reading a textbook, was a girl.
Her black hair, a little longer than shoulder-length, was tied back with a red cord.
Straight-cut bangs, slightly droopy brown eyes that were now looking at us with mild exasperation.
But the corners of her mouth were smiling.
"Mio! Ookami Mio, you're here too!"
"Honestly... you surprised me. I never thought we'd all be in the same class."
Mio's eyes got a little teary, but she quickly looked away.
Mio was always like this.
In our past life too, she was the reliable, class-rep type who always stopped Fubuki and me when we went wild.
She's 158 centimeters tall, just a little taller than me.
When she's angry, her eyes sharpen, but right now, her expression was really gentle.
"All three of us together—this has to be fate!"
Fubuki said that and took my hand and Mio's.
This time, Mio nodded honestly.
"Yeah... I guess the bonds from our past life are something else."
We're special friends who share the secret of having memories from a past life.
I don't know why we all ended up gathered at Seiran Academy.
But I felt incredibly relieved.
――――
After that, the entrance ceremony began.
All the new students gathered in the gymnasium, and the event proceeded.
My heart was pounding.
Because I thought maybe I'd get to see that upperclassman again.
And just as I'd hoped.
Standing on the stage was that upperclassman.
Amemiya Kanata-senpai.
He was there to give the welcome address on behalf of the new students.
"To all new students, congratulations on your enrollment. Seiran Academy has many charming places. For example, the student council room on the third floor of the main building, and the large zelkova tree in the courtyard. In your high school life ahead, I hope you'll each find a place where you belong."
His voice carried so well, yet was so gentle—my heart felt full just hearing it.
Beside me, Fubuki murmured:
"...That upperclassman kindly gave me directions when I got lost in the school building earlier."
Mio, in the seat in front of us, said quietly too:
"...I just happened to be next to him while preparing for the ceremony, so I said hello."
I ended up saying it too:
"This morning... he carried me to the nurse's office when I fell..."
Silence fell among the three of us.
" " "Eh?" " "
After the ceremony ended and we returned to the classroom, we looked at each other.
Fubuki spoke, her voice stiff.
"...Wait a minute. This is hard to say, but I... about that upperclassman..."
Mio continued, her voice trembling.
"...I think I've fallen for him."
I said it honestly too.
"Me too... I fell at first sight."
Silence again.
The smile vanished from Fubuki's face.
Mio was expressionless, staring at the floor.
I didn't know what to do, so I fiddled with my twin-tails.
Falling for the same person as my best friends.
"...Oh man."
Fubuki said that and sighed.
"But you know, friendship and love are separate. I intend to keep that straight."
Mio looked up and nodded too.
"Yeah. The bonds from our past life are important, but this is a different matter."
Mio said that, stood up, and looked straight at us.
"Fair and square. Let's compete."
Fubuki grinned too. But her eyes, unlike before, were serious—almost scary.
"Of course! I'll use my cheerfulness to make him turn my way, no matter what!"
I... I still wasn't sure, but I nodded.
"I... first, I want to be able to talk to him normally. I'll do my best from there."
After school, beneath the cherry blossoms lining Out-of-Breath Hill, we bumped fists with smiles.
But inside, it was different.
(How do I get closer to him? I need to come up with a plan.)
My head was already full of nothing but that.
Fubuki and Mio were surely the same.
This was the beginning of a small battle—with my best friends, and my greatest rivals in love.
From the top of the hill, I looked up at Seiran Academy.
The sunset dyed the school building orange. It was so beautiful.
I clenched my fist, just a little.
Alright.
Let's do this.
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