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~ - The Cool Vice President's Sweet Trap for Aqua Alone!
A week had passed since then.
The morning classroom was, as always, filled with everyone's laughter.
But my head was nowhere near that.
(*Auu... I was up until three in the morning again last night, thinking about Kanata-senpai...*)
The math teacher was saying something at the blackboard, but it wasn't reaching my ears at all.
Because I just couldn't get that senpai I met at the entrance ceremony a week ago out of my head.
Soft chestnut hair. Clear, almost transparent blue eyes. Those gentle arms when he picked me up.
"...Ehehe."
Before I knew it, I was doodling what looked like Kanata-senpai in the corner of my notebook.
And I was drawing it in crazy detail, down to his hairstyle and eye shape.
This is bad. This is really bad.
" Aqu-tan, whose face is that~?"
Suddenly, a voice came from right next to my ear.
"Eek!"
I let out a loud yelp and frantically hid my notebook.
But it was too late.
Fubuki, in the seat next to me, was peering at my hands, her shimmering silver hair swaying.
Her golden eyes were sparkling with curiosity, and her mouth was curled into a smirk.
" Come on, let me see~ Wait, that's Kanata-senpai, isn't it!? You drew him so well!? Ah, but aren't the eyes a little too big? He looks like a manga protagonist."
"N-No, it's not! This is, um, a character from a new anime starting soon...!"
" Right, right, an anime character. Aqu-tan, you're way too bad at lying."
Fubuki lowered her voice, speaking so only I could hear.
" But you know, Aqu-tan. I'm not going to lose either."
Those words made my chest tighten.
Right.
Fubuki and Mio both like Kanata-senpai too.
We're best friends, and rivals.
Just then, a voice came from the seat in front of us.
" Both of you, we're in class. Be quiet."
Mio had turned around and was looking at us with half-lidded eyes.
Her black hair, a little longer than shoulder-length, was tied back with a red cord, and her brown eyes under her straight-cut bangs looked a little angry.
But I didn't miss the small note saying "Student Council" written in the notebook she was holding.
" You're one to talk, Mio! You spent the whole break talking about Kanata-senpai!"
" Wha—! F-Fubuki, we promised not to mention that!"
Mio turned bright red and tried to stand up.
But the teacher glared at her, and she hurriedly sat back down.
The sight was so funny that Fubuki and I looked at each other and giggled quietly.
---
Lunch break.
The three of us gathered on a bench under the big zelkova tree in the courtyard.
The sky was blue, and we could hear the shouts from club activities in the distance.
The zelkova leaves rustled in the wind, and the sunlight filtering through the trees sparkled on our uniforms.
" So, what do we do? Just sit around twiddling our thumbs?"
Fubuki said, biting into a bread roll she'd bought.
Today, her hair was braided only on the left side, tied at the end with a red ribbon.
Her usual sparkling aura.
" Of course I don't intend to do that. First, we gather information."
Mio said with a serious face as she opened the lid of her lunchbox.
Today's lunch was tamagoyaki, karaage, and broccoli.
Well-balanced, just like Mio.
" Gather information...?"
When I asked, Mio replied, looking a little proud.
" The place Kanata-senpai is always at after school. The Student Council room on the third floor of the main building."
" As expected of Mio! You already looked into it!"
" Th-This is just... as class president, it's only natural to know the school's facilities..."
Mio looked so cute when she was embarrassed that I couldn't help but laugh.
" Alright! Then let's go to the Student Council room right after school! We might get to see Kanata-senpai!"
Fubuki stood up and thrust her fist into the air.
" Eh... But, isn't that kind of like stalking...?"
Anxious, I gripped the hem of my skirt tightly.
Because I absolutely didn't want to cause trouble for senpai.
Besides, if a klutz like me went, I was sure to mess something up.
" It's okay, Aqu-tan. We'll just sneak by so we don't get caught."
" Also, just in case, let's decide on an emergency signal. For example... three coughs."
When Mio said that with a straight face, Fubuki burst out laughing.
" Jeez, Mio! Three coughs? That just makes you look like you have a cold!"
" Th-Then you come up with a better signal!"
" Ahaha! That part of you really hasn't changed since our past life, has it, Mio!"
The words "past life" made my chest sting a little.
Past life.
The other life where we were virtual idols.
Fubuki was from my generation, and Mio was too.
But my memories are hazy, like a dream, and there's a lot I can't clearly remember.
Though Fubuki seems to remember quite a bit.
" ...Aqu-tan, are you okay? Are you really scared to go?"
Fubuki peered into my face.
Her voice wasn't the bright one from before, but incredibly gentle.
" Yeah... I just always end up messing up. I might cause trouble for senpai..."
" It's okay. Aqua, you're definitely clumsy, but you're even kinder than that. And if the three of us are together, nothing is scary."
Mio gently squeezed my hand.
Her hand was warm, and trembling just a little.
Mio's actually nervous too.
" Yeah, yeah! Fair and square is my motto! Let's go, Aqu-tan!"
Fubuki pulled my other hand.
" W-Wait a second...!"
My resistance was futile, and I was pulled to my feet by the two of them.
---
After school.
We were in the hallway on the third floor of the main building.
The Student Council room was at the very end of the hall.
There was no one else in the hallway, and only the sound of someone cleaning in the distance echoed.
The evening sun streaming through the windows dyed the hallway orange.
" ...It's here."
Mio said, staring at the door in front of us.
A plate reading "Student Council Room" hung on the door.
My heart was pounding annoyingly loud.
" I can hear voices from inside! It's Kanata-senpai's voice!"
Fubuki, her eyes sparkling, pressed her ear against the door.
" Hey, Fubuki, that's dangerous! We need to check the situation inside first."
Mio tried to pull Fubuki away, but the excited Fubuki wouldn't budge.
" It's fine, it's fine! Just for a little bit... Ah, Kanata-senpai's voice is so gentle... Oh no, I love him..."
" That's exactly why you'll get caught if you're stuck to the door! I'll look through the keyhole, so you two keep watch!"
Mio said that and tried to bring her eye close to the keyhole.
But, at that moment.
" A-Aqu-tan! I hear footsteps! Kanata-senpai is coming this way!!"
"Ehh!?"
" Wh-What do we do! We have to hide!"
The three of us panicked and ran around in confusion.
Just then, Mio's foot caught on something.
"Kyah!"
Mio lost her balance and fell towards a stack of printouts piled against the hallway wall.
A massive amount of paper came crashing down like an avalanche.
" Mio, look out!!"
I instinctively jumped forward to shield Mio.
But, the next moment.
Thud!!
I had plunged face-first into the pile of printouts.
"Oww...!"
My nose hurt.
Printouts got inside my uniform, rustling around.
My hair was a mess too.
" Aqu-tan, I'm sorry!!!"
" I-I'm so sorry, Aqua!! It's my fault...!"
I could hear their voices from above my head.
I couldn't move, buried in the paper.
(*This is the worst... I knew I shouldn't have come...*)
Just then.
The door to the Student Council room quietly opened.
When I looked up, someone's shadow stretched into the hallway.
A tall person standing with the setting sun behind them.
Their near-black, indigo hair had bangs swept diagonally, slightly hiding one eye.
Their ash-silver eyes were completely expressionless, giving no hint of what they were thinking.
A simple silver ring glinted on the ring finger of their left hand.
It wasn't Kanata-senpai.
Tsukishiro Rio-senpai.
A second-year, and the Student Council Vice President.
I'd heard he was Kanata-senpai's best friend.
Rio-senpai looked down at the disaster in the hallway with an expressionless face.
Fubuki and Mio were completely frozen.
Rio-senpai's chilly aura spread through the hallway.
As if the temperature had dropped.
And then.
Rio-senpai reached out a hand to me, buried in the pile of printouts.
" ...Are you okay?"
That voice was much deeper and gentler than I expected.
As I sat there dumbfounded, Rio-senpai grabbed my arm and easily lifted me up.
With one hand.
As if I were as light as a feather.
"Wha—!?"
Before I knew it, I was in Rio-senpai's arms.
At point-blank range, Rio-senpai's silver eyes were staring at me.
I caught a faint, nice scent of laundry detergent.
My heart made a huge *thump*.
" Are you hurt?"
Rio-senpai whispered near my ear.
The voice was so low and ticklish that I scrunched up my neck.
"I-I'm fine... Th-Thank you very much...!"
Turning bright red, I desperately started picking up the printouts.
Rio-senpai just watched me intently.
And then.
Rio-senpai's hand reached for my hair.
" You two."
Rio-senpai directed a cold voice at Fubuki and Mio.
" Go home if you're going to make noise. This isn't a playground."
That voice was completely different from the one he used with me—cold as ice.
"Wha—!"
Fubuki tried to say something back, but Rio-senpai was already facing me again.
Rio-senpai's fingers touched the hairpin with my big ribbon.
Those fingers were much gentler than I expected.
" ...That hairpin suits you. It looked like it was about to fall off, so I fixed it."
Saying that, Rio-senpai relaxed his mouth just a tiny bit.
It was a change far too small to call a smile.
But he was definitely smiling.
I couldn't even make a sound anymore.
My face was bright red, and I felt like steam was about to come out of my head.
Just then.
" Oh? Are you all interested in the Student Council? Would you like some tea?"
That voice came from the Student Council room.
It was Kanata-senpai.
The three of us looked at each other.
" " "Excuse us—!!" " "
The next moment, we were running away down the hallway at full speed.
---
" What was that, what was that, what was that—!! Why was Aqu-tan the only one treated so nicely!!"
After bolting out of school, we had come to "Hanamichi Street," the shopping district in front of Kasumigaoka Station.
The evening shopping street was bustling with students on their way home.
A nice smell drifted from a croquette shop, and my stomach growled.
Now, we were on the second floor of "Café Lupo" along the street.
The semi-private sofa seat was like our secret base.
" Indeed, that difference in attitude was abnormal. There's no rational explanation for it."
Mio also nodded with a difficult expression, placing her teacup on the table.
As for me, I was looking down, stirring the straw in my orange juice into a mangled mess.
" I-I have no idea why either..."
I really didn't know.
I should have met Rio-senpai for the first time today.
So why was he so kind to me?
" ...Hey, Aqu-tan. This is just a thought, but could something have happened between you and Rio-senpai in your past life?"
Fubuki said, cutting her soufflé pancake with a fork.
The sweet scent of butter wafted from the fluffy pancake.
" Past life?"
" Yeah. I mean, that attitude wasn't normal. He definitely knew Aqu-tan in their past life. But Aqu-tan doesn't remember, and only Rio-senpai does, or something like that."
"They say the clarity of past life memories varies from person to person. I'm on the side that remembers quite a bit, but Aqua is..."
" Uuu... I can't remember Rio-senpai at all..."
I slumped over the table.
Past life.
My memories of when I was a virtual idol are hazy, like a dream.
I remember that we all sang, streamed, and had a lot of fun.
But I can't recall the details, as if they're covered in fog.
" Sorry, Aqu-tan! I'm not blaming you! But my memories aren't completely clear either... and as for Kanata-senpai, I don't even know if he has memories of his past life."
Fubuki, looking unusually dejected, patted my shoulder.
" It's okay, Aqua. You don't have
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