Minato Aqua's School Romance Brain Battle!? ~Reborn with Five Childhood Friends~ - Natural Okayu's bombshell statement kicks off the love brain battle!

Fourth period ended. The chime rang, and the classroom erupted into noise all at once. Aqua remained slumped over her desk, glancing sideways at the seat next to her. Fubuki swept back her long silver hair and shot Aqua a wink. The red ribbon at the tip of her left braid bounced with the motion. " Aqu-tan, wanna eat lunch in the courtyard?" " Huh? Sure, but... why?" As Aqua lifted her head, Fubuki's golden eyes sparkled, and she lowered her voice. " Because the courtyard has the highest probability of Kanata-senpai passing through. I did my research, you know." " F-Fubuki! That's the thing from your strategy notebook?!" " That's right. Data doesn't lie." Aqua leaned forward without thinking. The "Kanata-senpai Capture Data" Fubuki had given her was incredible. It laid out senpai's behavior patterns like a class schedule, and it was Aqua's treasure. Just then, a voice came from the seat in front of them. " You two, talking about that stuff again?" Mio turned around, staring at Aqua and Fubuki with a deadpan look. Her black hair, just past her shoulders, was tied back with a red cord. Beneath her blunt bangs, her brown eyes seemed a little angry—or maybe just exasperated. " Today, I'm introducing my best friend, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't do anything weird." " Best friend?" " Wait, Mio had a best friend?!" " How rude! Of course I do!" Mio put her hands on her hips and glared at Fubuki. But her expression quickly shifted into a slightly bashful smile. " We went to the same middle school and were together all the time. Her name is Nekomata Okayu." " Oh? What's she like?" " Hmm... it'd be faster to meet her than to explain. We made plans, actually. She should be here any minute." Mio turned her gaze toward the classroom entrance. Aqua and Fubuki followed her lead and looked that way too. —At that moment. " Mio~, sorry to keep you waiting~" A girl with a soft, airy presence stood in the doorway. Her hair, slightly brownish, fell to about her shoulders. Her bangs were cut blunt above her eyebrows, and her large eyes left a strong impression. But what drew the eye most of all was that laid-back smile. How to put it... just looking at her made you feel sleepy—a warm, fluffy aura. " Let me introduce you. Nekomata Okayu. My best friend." As Mio gestured toward her, Okayu approached Aqua and the others with a leisurely gait. " I'm Okayu~. I've heard about you from Mio~" " I-I'm Aqua! Nice to meet you... agh." Aqua scrambled to stand up and banged her knee against the desk. " I'm Fubuki. Nice to meet you, Okayu-chan." Fubuki waved with a laugh. Okayu slowly waved back. " So you all like the same person? That's rough~" —Huh? Aqua froze. Fubuki's smile froze too. " O-Okayu...! Hold on!" Mio turned bright red and tried to clamp her hand over Okayu's mouth. But Okayu, seemingly unbothered, just kept smiling. " Mio came to me for love advice~. She wanted to know how to get closer to Kanata-senpai. And while we were talking about it, she mentioned that other girls liked the same person." " Aaaah! Stop, don't say it!" Mio grabbed Okayu's arm, desperately trying to stop her. But Okayu slipped away as easily as grasping a cloud and continued. " And then she said 'Aqua-chan' and 'Fubuki-chan' like the same person too. I was like, whoa, this is a love triangle~. But then Mio said, 'It might not be a triangle—more like a pentagon.'" " Please, forgive me... Okayu...!" Mio collapsed onto her desk. Even her ears were bright red. The classroom had gone oddly quiet. Several classmates were sneaking glances their way. (*A pentagon... what does that mean?*) Aqua's mind went blank. She couldn't even make a sound. " ...Mio. I need to have a word with you." Fubuki's voice suddenly dropped low. Her usual sparkling smile was gone. Her golden eyes held a serious light. " F-Fubuki...?" Mio lifted her head. Her eyes were glistening. " Why did you tell someone else about our love lives?" " Th-that's... Okayu is my best friend... and it's not like I was badmouthing you or Aqua. I just... wanted someone to talk to about it..." " ...Even so." " Ah~, it's my fault~" Okayu casually slipped herself between them. " Mio was really struggling with it. So I was the one who said, 'Tell me.' I'm the one who forced it out of her. Mio didn't do anything wrong~" " ...Okayu." Mio looked up at Okayu with tear-filled eyes. Okayu, still smiling, turned to look at Aqua. " And besides, that senpai often plays with cats in the courtyard, right~? The other day, I saw him skipping student council work to feed them." —Wait, what did she just say? Aqua's ears perked up. Fubuki's expression shifted too. Even Mio's eyes went wide, as if her tears had been startled away. " Hold on. Is that true?" Fubuki pressed closer to Okayu. " Yep. A white cat and a black cat. When Kanata-senpai calls, 'Come here,' they get super attached to him~" " Why do you know something like that, Okayu?!" Fubuki's voice had a slight edge to it. A sharp pang shot through Aqua's chest too. (*Okayu... talked to senpai about cats?*) (*Doesn't that mean... Okayu has something special with him?*) " It was just a coincidence~. I was chasing a stray cat and happened to find them." Okayu's voice was as leisurely as ever. She didn't seem to have any ill intent at all. But those words snagged in Aqua's heart like a tiny splinter. (*A coincidence...? Just like that?*) Mio was biting her lip too. The atmosphere in the classroom grew heavy. —At that moment. " ...Alright! I've decided!" Fubuki suddenly clenched her fist. " After school, we're going to the courtyard! All of us!" " Huh? All of us?" " Yes. We're going to confirm whether Okayu's intel is true or not. If it is, we get to see senpai. If it's a lie... well, that's that." " ...Fine. I'll go too." " M-Me too!" Aqua raised her hand with gusto. " Then I'll go too~" Okayu nodded slowly. —After school. The air in the courtyard was a little chilly. The leaves of the large zelkova tree rustled in the wind. Aqua hid behind a flowerbed, staring at the area near the zelkova tree. (*Not yet... not yet...*) Her heart was pounding so hard she felt dizzy. Beside her, Fubuki had pulled out binoculars and was peering through them with a serious expression. " Where did you even buy binoculars...?" " Quiet. This is my secret weapon." Fubuki whispered back. And then— " ...Ah." Mio, hiding in the shadow of a bench on the opposite side, let out a small gasp. Aqua held her breath too. Someone was standing under the zelkova tree. Tall, with chestnut hair that shimmered, backlit by the setting sun. It was Kanata-senpai. Senpai took something out of a small paper bag and placed it on the ground. Then— With a *meow*, a white cat and a black cat burst out of the bushes. " Come here. It's bonito flakes today." Senpai crouched down and stroked the cats' heads. His smile was so incredibly gentle. (*Wow... senpai makes that kind of face for cats.*) Aqua's chest tightened with warmth. " ...Let's go." Fubuki started to stand up. At that moment— *Rustle!* " Agh!" Aqua lost her balance, her foot catching on a branch in the flowerbed. " Hey, be quiet!" Fubuki grabbed Aqua's arm. " S-Sorr—mmph!" Mio clamped her hand over Aqua's mouth from behind. While the three of them were tangled up together— " Ah, shoot. It's already this late? I still have student council work left." Senpai glanced at his wristwatch and stood up. The cats rubbed against his legs, reluctant to see him go. " Sorry, guys. Next time." Senpai waved to the cats and started walking. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the main building entrance. " ...He's gone." Fubuki lowered her binoculars. Her voice was trembling with anger. " It's because you messed up and made a loud noise!" " N-No! It's because you suddenly said, 'Let's go'!" " My fault?! That's because you crashed into the flowerbed, Aqu-tan!" " But my foot got caught...!" " Both of you, be quiet!" Mio shouted in an uncharacteristically loud voice. Both Fubuki and Aqua flinched and shut their mouths. Mio, her temple twitching, glared at them in turn. " It's because Fubuki started the strategy meeting in a loud voice! If you hide that brazenly, anyone would notice your presence!" " My fault?! Well, Mio, you were so good at hiding that you just looked suspicious instead!" " Wh-What did you say?!" " That's right! Senpai definitely had a clear view of you behind that bench!" " That's because your binoculars were glaring in the light!" " Y-You two! Calm down...!" Aqua tried to step between them, but their momentum wouldn't stop. " Enough! Everything today is because Aqu-tan screwed up!" " Fubuki!" A hot sting rose behind Aqua's eyes. (*...That's so mean.*) (*I was trying my best too.*) " And you, Mio! Think about where you hide! I bet it wasn't written in your love strategy notebook, was it!" " What does the notebook have to do with this?! Besides, my notebook clearly has a memo that says, 'Location selection is critical for ambush operations'!" " Oh, really. Then why did we fail today, I wonder." " ...That's enough, seriously!" Mio clenched her fists and yelled. A cold wind blew through the space between the three of them. The leaves of the courtyard zelkova tree rustled noisily. —Silence. No one opened their mouth. Fubuki bit her lip and glared at the ground. Mio's shoulders trembled as she stared downward. Aqua had no idea what to do and just stood there frozen. (*I hate this... this kind of thing.*) (*I don't want to fight with Fubuki.*) (*I want to get along with Mio, too.*) But nothing came out of her mouth. " ...I'm going home." Fubuki said it quietly and turned her back. " F-Fubuki!" Aqua called out, but Fubuki didn't look back. She walked briskly into the school building and vanished. Mio stood up wordlessly and started walking in the opposite direction from Fubuki. " Mio...!" Mio's back grew smaller and smaller. Aqua was left alone in the courtyard. No one was under the zelkova tree anymore. Just moments ago, senpai had been there, and the cats had been running around. Now, only the setting sun cast long shadows on the ground. (*Why...*) (*Why did it turn out like this?*) Tears spilled from Aqua's eyes. —When she returned to the classroom. Okayu was sitting alone by the window. She was smiling at the screen of the smartphone in her hands. " Ah, Aqua-chan~. Welcome back~" " ...I'm back." Aqua sat down at her own desk. She felt like collapsing onto it, but since Okayu was there, she managed to hold back. " Hey, look, look." Okayu turned her smartphone screen toward Aqua. On it was a photo of the white cat and the black cat. They were curled up asleep on senpai's lap. " Those cats are really attached to Kanata-senpai, you know~. Wanna go see them together sometime?" —Together sometime. Those words stabbed deep into Aqua's chest. (*Okayu has a connection with senpai through the cats.*) (*I... have nothing.*) " ...Okayu, that's—" Just as Aqua started to speak, the classroom door opened. " ...I'm back." " ...I'm back too." Fubuki and Mio entered through separate doors almost simultaneously. Both of them wore expressions just as dark as Aqua's. " Ah, everyone's here. What's wrong~? You all look so gloomy." Okayu tilted her head. " ...Nothing." " ...It's nothing." Fubuki and Mio spoke at the same time and looked away. An awkward silence filled the classroom. " ...I see. Oh, anyway, look, look. Cat photos." Completely oblivious to the mood, Okayu showed her smartphone to Fubuki and Mio as well. Their expressions grew even darker. " ...Okayu, you also... about senpai..." Mio started to say something. But she couldn't finish. Because— " Hmm~, senpai is cute when there are cats around." Okayu's answer was in her usua

日本語

What is Novelia? →

Episode 4

Name: Minato Aqua's School Romance Brain Battle!? ~Reborn with Five Childhood Friends~
Author: Novelia

What is Novelia?

Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.

Learn more about Novelia →New sign-ups get 5,000pt