Reincarnated as Inaba Hanerus Classmate: Destined to Be Teased Again - The transfer student's name was my oshi from my previous life.

"……Haaah." 　Sakura Tasuku let out a sigh as he buttoned up his uniform dress shirt. 　Outside the window, the June morning sun shone down on the residential streets of Minase City, a coastal town in the southwestern part of Kanagawa Prefecture. A few office workers on their morning commute walked along the shopping street in front of the station, "Shiokaze-dori." 　He'd lived here for seventeen years. A peaceful town where nothing ever changed. 　He picked up his smartphone from beside his pillow. His fingers moved on their own. "……VTuber." 　Zero search results. 　Of course. In this world, nobody knew what a VTuber was. (Doing that pointless check again.) 　In Tasuku's previous life—or rather, what he believed were memories of a previous life—there had been girls on the other side of the screen. Beings who wore virtual avatars, laughed, sang, played games, and sometimes seriously answered his worries. 　Among them, the one Tasuku had been obsessed with was "Inaba Haneru." 　Black hair that bounced at the sides of her ears, eyes that curved like crescent moons when she smiled. Sharp-tongued yet kind, smart, strangely skilled at calligraphy, and always dragging her viewers around with her outlandish projects. There had been a time when her streams were Tasuku's entire life. 　He'd watched the archives over and over, written comments, and sent superchats more times than he could count. "I'll make your life fun"—every time he heard her catchphrase, it had truly been the case. 　But now. (Those memories can't be shared with anyone in this world.) 　Nobody knew about VTubers. Tasuku alone carried memories of a culture that shouldn't exist. 　That loneliness came hand in hand with his current plain, unnoticeable self. 　He looked in the mirror. Slightly droopy brown eyes that immediately reflected his emotions. Soft black hair that easily got bedhead. A slim build at 170 centimeters. A completely ordinary second-year high school student. "……Well, let's just get through today like always." 　He shrugged and left his room. 　The scent of the tide rode the wind from the top of the hill. 　Minase Minami High School sat halfway up the hill ahead. The route from the station was about 1.4 kilometers, passing through the shopping street and climbing the slope. Along the way, there was a steep curve called "Naname-zaka"— "Tasuku! Morning!" 　Takanashi Mio popped out from behind a utility pole. 　Fluffy, light-brown semi-long hair. A small red hairpin held the left side in place. Her large, round, slightly droopy eyes were smiling at full power from the morning. "Here, onigiri. Tuna-mayo, and I made kombu today too." 　She held out a white wrapping. Mio was his childhood friend from kindergarten, living in the house next door. She was the kind of girl who embodied the phrase "taking care of others is my reason for living." "Ah—thanks. Sorry you do this every morning." "It's fine. I make them because I want to, anyway." 　Mio lined up beside Tasuku and started walking. (She really is a good person.) 　Tasuku opened the wrapping and was about to take a bite of the onigiri—then stopped. 　He'd never once told her about his past-life memories. 　No—what would happen if he did? Mio would probably seriously worry. She'd either think he'd lost his mind, or— (……No, knowing this busybody, she'd drag me to a hospital whether I liked it or not.) 　That was fine. He'd thought hiding it was a kindness. 　But somewhere in his heart, there was a small sense of guilt. "Did something happen?" "Huh? Nothing." "But you were staring at the onigiri. Want me to take back the tuna-mayo?" "I'll eat it, I'll eat it! Thank you for the food!" 　Tasuku hastily took a bite. Mio giggled. 　……This was exactly it. His emotions showed on his face immediately. 　When he entered the classroom, the class representative, Himuro Ren, was handing out printouts in front of the teacher's podium. 　Glossy black hair with long bangs that slightly covered one eye. Sharp, single-lidded eyes with calm, deep navy irises that always seemed to be quietly observing something. 　Height: 178 centimeters. He was the tallest in the class, yet he himself seemed completely uninterested in that fact. "Morning. I'll go over today's announcements during lunch break. Please look over these by then." 　A clear, composed voice—but impossible to read emotionally. 　Ren consistently maintained grades within the top three of their year and had deep trust from the teachers. He was the only person who could instantly settle the classroom's atmosphere. (He's the complete opposite of me.) 　Tasuku thought this as he took his seat. 　His plain, unnoticeable self. A coward who could barely manage the bare minimum of conversation with his classmates. 　Suddenly, his eyes met Ren's. 　Ren gave the slightest nod. 　Huh? 　Tasuku hurriedly nodded back. It felt awkward, but also a little reassuring. Even though he had no idea why Ren would pay him any attention. 　……After school. 　After the closing homeroom, Tasuku was stopped by his homeroom teacher, Sudo Kanae, in front of the faculty office. "Sakura, a transfer student's coming tomorrow. Read the room and show them around." 　Sudo was an English teacher in her mid-thirties with a straightforward personality. A teacher without unnecessary frills, but one who kept an eye on the whole classroom. "A transfer student? That's unusual for this time of year." "Well, yeah. Apparently their parent got transferred here." "Understood. Um, seating and stuff?" "We'll decide seating tomorrow. You just put together today's printouts for them." "Got it." 　At that moment, he felt nothing. 　But on the way home, as he walked down the stairs, he felt his heart pounding hard enough to hurt. (A transfer student?) 　No way. 　There's no way. 　In the evening, Tasuku sat in his second-floor room at home, staring blankly at his smartphone screen. 　On the video streaming site, thumbnails of face-reveal streamers lined up as usual. All of them were live-action, talking directly to the camera. 　That was the norm for streaming culture in this world. No one used avatars. Voice-only or face-reveal only. 　Virtual avatar streamers existed only in his past-life memories. 　Tasuku closed the browser. (Inaba Haneru, huh.) 　Her voice resurfaced. 　"I'll make your life fun." 　That high-pitched voice, saying it with a laugh. Those crescent-moon eyes. That serious profile she'd shown during calligraphy performances. 　What if tomorrow's transfer student was her? "No way." 　Tasuku shook his head. (These are memories of a past life. There's no way a real person would come here with the same name, same appearance, same voice. It's impossible.) 　And so, he decided to treat it as nothing. 　Night. 　Tasuku had a dream. 　Beyond the screen, she was laughing. "You guys better do your homework~" 　Her crescent-moon eyes swayed happily. 　Black hair bounced at the sides of her ears. "Today's a calligraphy stream! Wanna see Haneru get serious?" 　She picked up a brush. On white paper, she wrote characters in one fluid motion. "How's that!" 　A radiant smile. 　Tasuku had screenshotted that smile over and over and over. 　—I love her. 　He woke up. 　Sweat. 　His heart was pounding painfully. "……Huh?" 　Something was throbbing violently deep in his chest. 　A dream. Just a dream. 　But it had been so real. Her voice, her laugh, even the slenderness of her fingers holding the brush—everything had felt genuine. 　He arrived at school. 　Morning homeroom began. "All right, settle down. I've got an exciting announcement today." 　The classroom buzzed with noise. "There's someone I'd like to introduce. Come on in." 　The classroom door opened. 　The June wind blew in through the window. 　The person who walked in was—. 　Black hair, slightly flipped outward at the ends, just barely reaching her shoulders. An ear cuff swaying by her ear. 　Slightly droopy brown eyes scanned the classroom. 　And then, she grinned. "I'm Inaba Haneru!" 　Tasuku's time stopped. 　His heart was thrashing as if it would break through his ribs. His fingertips were cold. No voice came out. His body wouldn't move. 　Those crescent-moon eyes. 　Those eyes that only opened wide when she was serious. 　Those brown eyes that looked golden in certain light. 　……Huh? 　Haneru spun around once in front of the podium, "Nice to meet you, everyone in Minase! I'm here to stir up this class's atmosphere with everything I've got starting today!" 　The whole class erupted. "Whoa, she's got such a strong character." "Cute!" "What kind of self-intro is that? That's amazing." 　Everyone was laughing. Even Sudo had a wry smile. (No.) 　Tasuku alone couldn't laugh. (This is wrong.) 　Inside the whirlpool of laughter, Tasuku desperately tried to steady his breathing. 　Inaba Haneru. From his past-life memories. 　That very person was standing right there, now. 　Her name, her appearance, her voice, her way of speaking—everything was the same. "Your seat is the second row by the window. Ah, around there. Nice to meet you." "Okaaay." 　Haneru walked toward the window with a light step, as if she might skip. 　……Two rows in front of Tasuku. 　He could see her back. 　The back of her black-haired head. (I'm the only one who knows.) 　Tasuku thought fiercely in his heart. (In this world, your true identity—no, identity, VTuber, that's not what I mean—!) 　He was confused. 　Suddenly, Haneru turned around. 　Her crescent-moon eyes opened slightly wider. 　And then, she looked at Tasuku. 　She tilted her head, just a little. 　She smiled. "……Hm?" 　……Ah. 　Tasuku accidentally dropped the phone from his pocket. 　Clatter. 　The whole classroom laughed again. "Tasuku, what are you doing?" "Sakura, are you okay?" 　Laughter and worried voices mixed together. (No, that's not it. It's just—the one who just smiled at me was her—!) 　His head felt like it was boiling. 　Haneru stood up. 　She walked the distance of two rows. 　She crouched down. 　She picked up Tasuku's phone. "Here you go." 　Her slender fingers touched Tasuku's fingers. 　Their fingertips overlapped. 　Warmth. 　Tasuku was one step away from hyperventilating. "Th-thank you……" 　His voice trembled. 　Haneru narrowed her crescent-moon eyes, satisfied. "No problem. Are you the type who drops things a lot?" 　A light, casual remark. 　But he heard that voice at this distance. 　Tasuku was certain. (It's her.) (The person I devoted myself to in my past life. In the flesh.) 　Not a joke, not a dream. 　Inaba Haneru was here. 　Haneru returned to her seat. 　The classroom's laughter. The June wind. A cultural festival poster peeling near the window. 　Tasuku gripped the phone she'd picked up for him. 　His fingertips were still warm. (This encounter—it's going to change my life.) 　And then, the next problem crossed his mind. (How am I supposed to figure out the true nature of this miracle?) 　Could someone like him, terrible at keeping secrets, possibly maintain his composure in front of her? 　……There's no way. 　Tasuku listened to the sound of his own heartbeat until homeroom ended.

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Name: Reincarnated as Inaba Hanerus Classmate: Destined to Be Teased Again
Author: Novelia

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