Kurumi's School Life Reincarnation: A Sweet and Bitter Love Triangle!?
During an after-school piano session in the music room, Kurumi suddenly finds herself transported to another world. She arrives at 'Kurumi Academy,' a slightly peculiar high school, retaining only the memories of her original life.
Enrolled as a first-year student with the same name, Kurumi Hazakura, she begins a new life full of heart-pounding and exciting events with new friends, all while thinking she used to be a normal high schooler with no special powers.
The most popular boy in class, T
Kurumi's School Life Reincarnation: A Sweet and Bitter Love Triangle!? - You were the only one I could see.
Morning light slipped through the gap in the curtains.
Kurumi lay curled up small in her bed.
Her eyes hurt.
Because she'd cried so much yesterday.
The pillow was still a little damp, cool against her cheek.
"...Morning. Though I guess it's not really a good one."
Her voice was hoarse.
From outside the window came the cheerful sounds of the Noisette Festival's second day.
Someone's laughter.
The light music club's performance.
The sizzling sound of yakisoba on the grill.
All of it, every bit of it, felt like something happening in a faraway world.
Yesterday's events kept spinning around and around in her head.
After the contest.
Takuto, laughing with the other transfer student girls.
*"Because everyone's important to me."*
Those words clung to her ears and wouldn't let go.
"I was just... one of the transfer students to him."
She clutched the blanket tight.
Her fingers were trembling.
Mom.
What am I supposed to do?
The first friend she'd made since coming to this world.
The first person she'd ever fallen for.
But that person... she wasn't special to him alone.
A tight, aching pain gripped her chest.
Beyond the curtain, someone shouted, "They're replaying the Miss Kurumi Contest in the courtyard!"
Kurumi squeezed her eyes shut.
She couldn't go to a place like that anymore.
She couldn't laugh with everyone.
"...I know I shouldn't run away, but..."
But her body wouldn't move.
It felt like a heavy stone was sitting on her heart.
—That was when it happened.
A faint melody began to play in the back of her mind.
The song her mother always played for her on rainy days.
That gentle, slightly bittersweet song.
(*Mom...*)
Before she knew it, Kurumi had slipped out of bed.
Still in her pajamas, not even wearing slippers, she left her room.
The dorm hallway was utterly silent.
Everyone was at the festival.
Barefoot, she walked down the stairs.
The cold concrete felt pleasantly cool against the soles of her feet.
The covered walkway leading to the old school building.
A twenty-five-meter roofed passage.
No one was there.
Only her footsteps echoed, tap, tap.
The wooden hallway of the old school building creaked with every step.
Cracks ran along the walls.
The ceiling lights flickered unsteadily.
But she wasn't scared.
Because this was her place, and hers alone.
The music room on the third floor.
She took a deep breath in front of the door.
The handle was cold and slightly rusted.
With a soft clatter, she opened the door.
No one was there.
The morning sun filtered through the curtains, dyeing the whole room orange.
The air was cool and clear, carrying the scent of old wood and a faint hint of piano oil.
In the center of the room stood a large, black grand piano.
"Capella."
Kurumi slowly approached the piano.
She sat down on the bench.
She opened the lid and placed her fingers on the keys.
The cool sensation of white and black.
(*Mom.*)
She murmured in her heart.
I'm so, so sad right now.
I feel like someone betrayed me.
But maybe... I just got my hopes up on my own,
and got hurt on my own.
Her fingers moved.
—The first note.
*Plink.*
It was a small, faint sound, like a raindrop.
But it definitely resonated through the world.
Slowly, her fingers began to walk across the keys.
Her mother's favorite song.
The one she always played on rainy days, gazing out the window.
(*"Kurumi, the piano... it turns your heart into sound."*)
She felt like she could hear her mother's voice.
Her eyes grew hot.
Her fingers quickened.
She struck the keys harder.
The sound came overflowing out.
Sadness.
Pain.
Loneliness.
All of it, every bit of it, became sound.
Tears spilled down, wetting the keys.
But her fingers didn't stop.
Mom.
I don't know.
I don't even know myself if I like Takuto.
And Reiji... he's been on my mind too, somehow.
My head is such a mess.
"...Mom."
Her voice trembled, a mess of tears.
Still, her fingers kept moving.
As if she had no other choice.
Inside the music room, Kurumi's sorrow piled up, transformed into sound.
A lone figure walked down the hallway.
Kurogane Reiji.
He had been heading to the new school building's library, "Forest of Pages," today as well.
He didn't much like festivals.
He wasn't good with crowds and preferred to read in a quiet place.
But his feet stopped in front of the walkway to the old school building.
—A sound.
The sound of a piano.
This early in the morning, from the old school building's music room?
Reiji narrowed his eyes.
Someone was playing.
And it wasn't just practice.
The melody was speaking.
Of sadness.
Of loneliness.
Like a lost child crying for help, a voice rode on the notes, reaching his ears.
His ability—eyes that could see the world's "distortions," invisible to ordinary people.
The reason he'd noticed Kurumi wasn't from this world was the faint sense of wrongness she'd begun to carry.
His ears, attuned to those "distortions," immediately told him the source of this sound.
It was Kurumi.
She was crying.
Reiji tightened his grip on the book in his hand.
(*...Don't go.*)
Someone spoke in his head.
What are you going to do if you go?
The person she needs right now isn't you.
(*...I know.*)
Even so.
Before he knew it, Reiji was walking down the old school building's hallway.
The floor creaked, groan, groan.
The ceiling lights flickered unsteadily.
He stood before the music room.
From beyond the door came Kurumi's sobs, and the sound of her desperately striking the keys.
He stopped his clenched fist just short of the door.
(*If I go in now, you'll hate it, won't you?*)
Because that's how it was last time.
Last night, when you were crying in the courtyard, you couldn't take my handkerchief.
But.
If he turned back here, he'd definitely regret it.
Reiji took a deep breath.
Then, quietly, he opened the door.
The song ended.
The final note melted into the room and vanished.
Kurumi remained slumped over the keys, her shoulders shaking.
The tears wouldn't stop.
Her fingers were still trembling.
"...Mom..."
She murmured in a voice barely a voice.
"...Kurumi."
Suddenly hearing her name, Kurumi flinched, her shoulders trembling.
She lifted her head.
With a face a mess of tears, she turned around.
Kurogane Reiji stood there.
Jet-black, long, straight bangs.
His narrow, sharp eyes gazed straight at Kurumi.
His face was cool as always, impossible to read.
But deep in his eyes, she felt a faint, gentle light flicker.
"R-Reiji...! Why are you... here?"
Kurumi hurriedly wiped her tears with her sleeve.
But the tears kept welling up, one after another, refusing to stop.
Reiji didn't answer.
He just slowly walked toward her.
His footsteps echoed, tap, tap, in the quiet music room.
He stopped right beside her.
"...I heard the piano."
Reiji's voice was very quiet.
But it was gentle.
"You could hear it... from outside?"
"...Yeah."
Reiji averted his gaze slightly.
He looked out the window.
"...It felt like you were calling for me."
Kurumi caught her breath.
A sharp ache squeezed her chest.
Reiji gently placed the paperback he'd been holding in his right hand on top of the piano.
Then, slowly, he began to weave his words.
"...I've been watching only you, for a long time now."
"...Huh?"
"Ever since that day you transferred into this academy."
Reiji's voice trembled slightly.
He, who was always so calm, now sounded hoarse, as if frightened by something.
"I can see them. The world's distortions, invisible to ordinary people."
"...Distortions?"
"There are places where the scenery looks slightly warped. Places where the color of the air is different. And—the sense of wrongness given off by people who aren't from this world."
Kurumi's heart gave a loud thump.
Reiji clenched his fist tight.
"It's been that way ever since I was little. Everyone around me thought I was creepy. I've never had a friend."
"..."
"So I was always alone. The world of books was my only escape."
Reiji hung his head.
His bangs fell over his face, hiding his expression.
"But the day you came... you carried a stronger distortion than anyone else. At first, I was just curious about it. But—"
Reiji lifted his face.
His narrow black eyes stared straight at Kurumi.
"Every time you smiled, every time you were troubled, every time you thought of someone—I couldn't take my eyes off you. Before I knew it, I was watching only you."
"Reiji..."
Kurumi's voice trembled.
Fresh tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.
"...So this isn't kindness. It isn't just being nice."
Reiji took a step closer to Kurumi.
His hand rose awkwardly and gently touched her shoulder.
"...I like you, Kurumi. Whether you're from this world or not, I don't care about any of that."
"...!!"
"I fell for you because you're you."
Large tears spilled from Kurumi's eyes, one after another.
They were different from the sad, painful tears of moments ago.
A gentle warmth spread deep in her chest.
To think there was someone who had been watching her so intently.
"...Reiji, I had no idea you felt that way about me... I'm sorry..."
Kurumi apologized through her sobs.
Reiji quietly shook his head.
"...You don't need to apologize. It was just... that I couldn't say it."
Then, Reiji looked down just once.
As if gathering his courage.
"And... about Takuto."
Hearing that name, Kurumi's shoulders flinched.
"Yesterday, you saw Takuto acting friendly with the other female students, and you were hurt, thinking you were just one of the transfer students to him, weren't you?"
"...Yeah."
She gave a small nod.
"That guy is kind to everyone. But it's not because he's trying to be kind to everyone."
"...Huh?"
Kurumi looked up.
Reiji continued speaking, gazing out the window.
The great "Ookurumi" tree in the courtyard was reflected in his eyes.
"Takuto has no confidence in himself."
"Takuto... does?"
"He always acts cheerful, but deep down, he's convinced he has no redeeming qualities. That's why he can only find his own worth in being useful to others. He's... lonely."
Reiji's analysis was so sharp that Kurumi was at a loss for words.
"What he said to those girls yesterday. 'Because everyone's important to me.' That was just something he said because he can't think of himself as special. He wasn't trying to hurt you. If anything—"
Reiji cut his words off there.
He clenched his fist tight.
His knuckles turned white.
"...If anything, it might be precisely because you're truly important to him that he thinks someone like him has no right to be considered special by you."
A feeling different from before slowly spread through Kurumi's chest.
So that's how it was.
I didn't even try to listen properly.
To Takuto's true feelings.
I just jumped to conclusions, got hurt, and ran away.
"...I'm such an idiot."
Tears spilled again.
But they weren't the tears of sinking into despair like before.
They were complicated tears—of shame, of regret, but also of gratitude for learning the truth because of it.
"...Thank you, Reiji."
Kurumi wiped her tears and stood up.
"I still can't give you an answer. I don't know how to respond to your feelings yet. But—"
Kurumi looked straight into Reiji's eyes.
His dark, slightly lonely eyes.
"First, I want to talk to Takuto. Properly. I want to tell him my feelings properly, and I want to hear his true feelings properly."
Reiji's eyes widened for just a moment.
Then, he gave a small nod.
"...Yeah. That's a good idea."
His voice was just a little gentler than usual.
But Kurumi didn't notice.
She didn't notice that Reiji's clenched fist was trembling faintly.
Or what was happening inside his heart.
"Alright, I'm going!"
With her face still wet with tears, Kurumi forced a smile.
Then she dashed toward the music room door.
"...Yeah."
Reiji said just that, watching her retreating figure.
With a light clatter, the door closed.
The sound of Kurumi's footsteps faded away down the hallway.
The music room was wrapped in silence once more.
Reiji st
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