About One Month Ago—
I, Kanzaki Eiji, suddenly regained the memories of my past life.
—or rather, it felt more like the consciousness of my past self and my current self suddenly merged.
Whatever the case, I was overcome by a bizarre sensation unlike anything I’d ever experienced in my life, and I had no idea what was happening at first.
“Eiji!”
“Huh!?”
My mother tapped my shoulder.
She looked concerned—like she wanted to scold me but was holding herself back.
I quickly snapped my focus away from the memories of my past life and returned to the present.
Two familiar faces in photographs, surrounded by flowers, were smiling back at me.
(R-Right. I’m here now... Wait, why now of all times!?)
At the moment, I was in the middle of offering incense at a memorial altar with my mother.
To suddenly remember my past life during this of all times... My past self really had no sense of timing!
I felt like I could hear my past self protesting, “Hey, I didn’t plan this either!”
Trying to shake it off, I turned around and followed my mother.
There, seated near the front with the person officiating the funeral—my father—was a girl.
I hurriedly bowed and returned to my seat.
Today was the funeral of my uncle and aunt.
I heard it was due to an unfortunate traffic accident.
(...Wait. That girl earlier—)
(Suzuna... That’s right. That was my cousin, Suzuna-chan.)
I’d met her a few times during family gatherings.
Because my past life had wedged in about thirty years of memories, it felt like ages ago.
But what really caught my attention was how empty her eyes looked—so vacant, like a lifeless doll...
(...Well, of course they are. She just lost both of her parents.)
Her mother and father had died.
Just imagining myself in her shoes made my chest tighten with grief.
Even for me, losing my uncle and aunt was painful... but—
(This... feels overwhelming.)
Honestly, my head felt so exhausted that I could collapse at any moment.
I had no idea how it worked. But suddenly having thirty years’ worth of memories dumped into my head—
For a fourteen-year-old middle schooler like me, that was more than double my lifetime’s worth of experiences.
The memories of me as Kanzaki Eiji, my current self, were already starting to feel hazy.
My mind was spinning with chaos, and I felt sick to my stomach.
The only reason I hadn’t passed out yet was because we were at a funeral—
a place where it would be absolutely inexcusable to cause a scene.
I couldn’t embarrass my father either, who had to step in as chief mourner in place of my hospitalized grandfather after suddenly losing his own younger brother.
Thinking about it, that felt surprisingly mature of me.
I was already feeling the influence of my past life’s memories.
Ideally, I’d want to take some time to sort out my thoughts...
But to keep myself from blacking out, I decided to completely shut down my thinking for now.
Unfortunately, the day didn’t end there.
We had to go to the crematorium as well.
To be honest, I could barely stay on my feet, and I don’t remember most of what happened.
I feel guilty toward my uncle and aunt, but the blame lies entirely with these untimely memories of my past life.
I silently promised myself I would visit their grave later to properly apologize.
◇◇◇
Several days passed, but my daily life hadn’t changed all that much.
Thankfully, regaining the memories of my past life didn’t reset my fourteen years as Kanzaki Eiji.
It felt more like my memories up to now stayed intact, and the memories of my past life—where I lived almost thirty years—were layered on top of them.
Sure, my experiences and knowledge from that past life might have influenced my thoughts and personality to some extent, but the reality of my current life remained the same. I was still Kanzaki Eiji, a third-year middle school student who had just entered the high school entrance exam season this spring.
Having a sense that I now had two sets of parents felt weird, and going to middle school in a uniform despite having already experienced adult life was… well, kind of rough.
But right now, that wasn’t even the biggest issue I was facing.
“I’m heading out… Ah.”
“Ah…”
As I stepped out of the house for school that morning, I ran into the one person currently causing me the most stress.
“Y-Yo, Wakana.”
“…!”
“Wait—hey!? She just left…”
All I could do was blankly watch her retreating figure as she turned away with an obviously irritated expression and ran off.
Amamiya Wakana.
She was my next-door neighbor and childhood friend. We were the same age and had practically grown up together like siblings.
—But for some reason, she was now avoiding me.
The reason… I couldn’t remember.
No, I was sure there was a cause.
Wakana’s personality was calm, caring, and to our classmates she was like “everyone’s big sister.”
With me, she was a bit more casual because we were childhood friends, but even so, she wasn’t the type to dislike someone for no reason.
Still, I couldn’t recall what had started it.
Because my past life memories had crammed themselves in, some of the smaller episodic memories got pushed deep into the background… In simpler terms, I’d completely forgotten.
(I really do want to make up with her, though…)
It’s awkward living next door and being on bad terms, and regardless of gender, she’s a really reliable person.
Honestly, up until recently, I had this mindset of “it’s fine if we grow apart,” but after regaining my past life’s memories, that had changed.
As you grow older, your circle of friends starts to shrink. Different paths, jobs, marriage, and all sorts of things can turn friends and acquaintances into strangers.
This year is the high school entrance exam. If we end up in different schools, it’s easy to imagine Wakana becoming just another stranger.
And more than anything—
(Losing a cute childhood friend would be a total waste!)
…Or so my past life memories insisted.
It’s true. I hadn’t really noticed until recently, but Wakana is cute. She’s a beauty.
Maybe even the cutest in the class—no, maybe the entire grade. Heck, possibly the whole school. She’s that ridiculously cute.
Of course, I know her too well, and with the memories from my past life mixed in, I don’t have any lewd thoughts about her.
Still, staying on bad terms with her is just a net loss. I want to fix things somehow.
(But… I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before…)
A strange sense of familiarity tugged at the edge of my mind.
I felt like I knew her—but not the current Wakana. A slightly older version of her.
“…No way, right? Probably just confusing her with an actress or someone who looks like her.”
“Eiji.”
“Wah!? M-Mom?!”
“Why are you still standing there? You’re going to be late.”
“Ah, crap!”
“Oh, and make sure you come straight home today. No detours.”
“Huh?”
“I need to talk to you about something.”
“O-Okay. Got it.”
I was curious about what she meant by that, but if I kept thinking about it, I really would be late.
I pushed the question aside for now and took off running toward school.
◇◇◇
The same as always—unchanging, ordinary daily life.
Even after regaining the memories of my past life, nothing in the world had changed.
Speaking of the world, it seemed almost identical to the one I had lived in during my previous life.
I guess you could technically call it another world. From trending idols to the prime minister, the famous people living in this era were almost completely different from the ones I remembered.
However, the proper nouns in history and things like that, the morals and common sense—all of that remained the same.
Oda Nobunaga was still Oda Nobunaga. Tokyo was still Tokyo. A smartphone was still a smartphone.
There were no sudden robots falling from the sky, no getting caught up in supernatural battles, no getting isekai’d to some strange fantasy world.
Just like in my past life, everything here felt very modern (yeah, not the best vocabulary, I know).
If there was anything unusual, it would probably be… me, Kanzaki Eiji.
Judging from what I remembered from my past life, I seemed to be pretty high spec.
Not to brag, but I didn’t look bad, I had decent athletic skills, and I’d always been good at studying. Now, with the added benefit of my past life memories, that ability had been enhanced even further—at this point, I could understand most of the material at a middle school level just by attending class once, without any need for review or prep.
Things I had once taken for granted now seemed special when seen through the lens of past-life knowledge.
Honestly, it wouldn’t be wrong to call me a genius.
Maybe, just maybe, with this kind of spec, I could live a way richer, happier, and more enjoyable life than I ever did before!
(Could this be some kind of reward for the me who got worn down working at a black company in my past life?)
To be honest, I was kind of riding high on myself.
And maybe that’s why—I missed the signs that I should’ve picked up on.
I was so focused on myself that I completely overlooked the situation I was already in.
“Eiji. Starting today, she’ll be living with us as part of the family.”
“Huh?”
When I got home, I found my dad—who was usually still at work at this time—already back.
And as soon as he saw me, he introduced the girl sitting next to him.
She was a beautiful girl with silky black hair down to her waist. Her facial features were sharp and well-defined. I know it’s weird to compare, but she was on the same level of beauty as Wakana.
And I knew her.
She’d been at my uncle and aunt’s funeral—the moment I regained my memories, I remembered her.
“Suzuna-chan?”
“……”
Suzuna-chan gave me a small bow, her eyes lifeless like a doll’s.
She looked exactly the same as she had at the funeral—like all her emotions had been drained from her. I couldn’t help but straighten my back in response.
“You already know the situation. You used to play together a lot when you were little, remember?”
“Yeah… I remember.”
My dad was always a serious, stiff kind of guy, but even so, he seemed to be speaking more carefully than usual.
He was probably being mindful of Suzuna-chan sitting next to him.
“It’s sudden, I know, but I want you to support her—as her older brother.”
“…Yeah, of course.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Before I could finish replying, Suzuna cut in.
“Uncle, Aunt… and Eiji-san. Thank you very much for taking me in when I had nowhere else to go. I’ll do my best not to be a burden. I’ll take care of myself as much as I can.”
Her words were polite… but distant.
She was two years younger than me—just started middle school this year—and yet she spoke so maturely—
(Huh…?)
A sharp pain stabbed through my head.
Her image overlapped with someone. Just like with Wakana, I could see a slightly older version of her—layered over the girl in front of me.
“You don’t have to be so formal, Suzuna-chan.”
“That’s right. We’re family now.”
My mom and dad gently tried to reassure her.
As I watched, the throbbing in my head grew stronger.
(Kanzaki Suzuna…)
That was the name of my new little sister.
(Kanzaki Eiji…)
Suzuna’s older brother. That’s right—Eiji. Her brother’s name.
Suddenly, a memory floated into my mind.
Suzuna, now a high school first-year student.
And standing beside her… a high school third-year version of me.
(What is this…? No, wait. This isn’t a memory. It’s—an illustration. It’s not real. This is… this is…!?)
The pounding in my head turned into heat.
I couldn’t even hear the conversation between my parents and Suzuna anymore.
I felt like they asked me something, but I just gave a half-hearted answer and retreated to my room like I was running away.
“Kanzaki Suzuna… Kanzaki Eiji… and Amamiya Wakana…”
It’s too perfect to be coincidence. No—it’s not coincidence at all.
I knew them.
Not as Kanzaki Eiji—but as my past self.
“This is the world from that romance game I played in my past life…!?”
No crazy events like robots falling from the sky, or getting dragged into a supernatural battle, or being isekai’d to another world had happened.
Reality was simpler, more straightforward—and in some ways, far more outrageous than anything I could’ve imagined.
I had finally realized it.
This was the world depicted in the romance game I played in my past life.
And within that game, I—Kanzaki Eiji—was barely even a side character with a name.
◇◇◇
The game was called The Sky Dyed in the Colors of Love. Looking back now, that title sounds almost sickeningly sweet.
It was released during the peak of the romance game boom, specifically in the genre known as “nakige” — tearjerker games. While it followed a classic story structure influenced by many famous titles, it was only considered an average game by the public. In fact, because it got buried under the flood of similar titles, it became more of a hidden gem known only to a niche group of fans.
But to me, it left a lasting impression.
That’s because it was the very first romance game I ever played.
I first played it back when I was in college. Bored and with time to kill, I wandered into a game shop and randomly picked it up. My reasoning? A romance game with multiple endings sounded like a good time sink, it looked like it could run on my PC, and I liked the art.
That was all it took. I played it, and it left a deep impression on me.
The expressive characters. The charming voice acting. The emotional BGM and dramatic scenes. A branching story shaped by the choices you make. These are common features in most romance games, but for someone like me—completely new to the genre—they were all fresh and exciting.
It definitely helped kill time. In fact, I got so hooked I forgot to eat and sleep, and of course, I ended up completing all the heroine routes.
After graduating from college and entering the workforce, I became too busy to play games, and The Sky Dyed in the Colors of Love became just another memory.
But I never imagined I’d actually end up inside the world of that game!
Kanzaki Suzuna and Amamiya Wakana—both of them were main heroines, or rather, romanceable characters in the game.
In the game, Suzuna was a first-year high school student, and Wakana was a third-year. So the story must be set three years from now.
The plot was a very classic school romance: the protagonist transfers into the school as a second-year, meets the heroines, and gradually grows closer to them. There were no fantasy elements like superpowers or supernatural beings.
Each heroine had her own set of problems, big or small, and the protagonist would help them work through those issues, deepening their bond along the way.
Some routes involved serious, dramatic arcs, while others were more laid-back, focusing on fluff and romance. Suzuna Kanzaki’s route was the former.
“…I couldn’t sleep at all.”
After Suzuna was taken in by our family and I realized this world was the same one depicted in the game I played in my previous life, I couldn’t stop thinking about the game all night. Morning came without me getting a wink of sleep.
My headache was gone, but now I just felt all foggy from lack of rest. At least today was Saturday and there was no school—I didn’t have to drag myself through a rough day.
Knock knock.
“Eh?”
As I sat on my bed, zoning out, I suddenly heard a knock at the door.
Dad never comes to my room. Mom, on the other hand, barges in without knocking.
Which means… there’s only one possible person left.
“Eiji-kun.”
“S-Suzuna!? …chan.”
Sure enough, the one knocking was Suzuna.
“Auntie said it’s time for breakfast.”
“O-oh, got it. Thanks for letting me know.”
“…You're welcome.”
Talking through a closed door somehow made everything feel even more emotionless.
After saying only the bare minimum, Suzuna left.
I couldn’t help feeling a little nervous… for a lot of reasons.
After all, she’s one of the game’s heroines—that Kanzaki Suzuna. The one I fell in love with through the screen.
…No, I guess it’s more accurate to say I was just a spectator, watching the romance between the protagonist and her unfold.
Because, well…
“I’m Kanzaki Eiji, after all…”
Kanzaki Eiji wasn’t the protagonist—he was just a supporting character.
You could call him the protagonist’s rival, or maybe not. He showed up in a lot of scenes, but he was most prominent in Suzuna’s route.
To sum it up, Kanzaki Eiji in the game was a “massive siscon pervert.”
He worshiped Suzuna like an angel, constantly said creepy things to her, and at times, would do outrageous stuff like jumping off the third floor of the school building without a scratch or riding on top of a bus. He was a total gag character, loud and ridiculous.
He did show a surprisingly serious side during the climax of Suzuna’s route, but still…
“Am I… really that guy…?”
I couldn’t help but picture his flamboyant, over-the-top antics, complete with upbeat BGM. Just imagining myself doing those things made me want to crawl into a hole.
Seriously, if I really have to act like that, my face is going to catch fire from embarrassment!
Some of the stuff he did seemed physically impossible too, like jumping from the third floor… but maybe not?
Honestly, if I am Kanzaki Eiji, then my weirdly high stats kind of make sense now… and it’s terrifying to think I might be able to pull that kind of stuff off, especially once I’m in my third year and my body’s more developed.
“…No, no, I shouldn’t be worrying about that.”
The finer details of “Kanzaki Eiji” in the game aren’t the point here.
Because after all, Eiji was just a side character. In some routes, he didn’t even appear. That’s how insignificant he was.
So what I really need to think about is…
“Can I accept the fact that I’m just a side character…?”
If this world really is the one from the game, then as a side character, my role is to stay out of the way and make sure things follow the original story.
The Sky Dyed in the Colors of Love had happy endings in all routes. The only “bad” ending was when the protagonist failed to get a girlfriend—every other ending led to a happy future.
I’m just a side character. I’m not the protagonist.
If I act on my own and end up interfering with the protagonist, I might ruin someone else’s happiness—something that was supposed to be guaranteed.
“Whether I go full gag character or not… the best choice is to just stay quiet and observe.”
This was the world of the game that once moved me so deeply. If this really is that world, then part of me does want to make the heroines happy with my own hands.
But more than that—though it’s kind of embarrassing to say it now—I just genuinely want those heroines I once loved to find happiness.
(To make sure I don’t get in the way… I need to be careful not to do anything unnecessary.)
My sleep-deprived brain worked overtime to reach that conclusion.
“This is the right choice… It has to be.”
I muttered as if trying to convince myself, but the very fact that I had to convince myself made me feel like I still wasn’t completely okay with it…
“…Ugh, damn it.”
The lack of sleep only made me more irritable.
Honestly, I didn’t need to spend the whole night agonizing over this. I already knew what the right answer was.
And yet, for some reason, I still kept doubting myself—and that only added to my frustration.
“…Whatever, I’ll eat first. Then sleep!”
Mom sent Suzuna to call me, so if I kept sulking in my room, I’d just end up getting scolded—and it’d cause trouble for Suzuna too.
So for now, I shut the lid on my thoughts and forced myself to stop thinking.
◇◇◇
Supporting characters should stay quiet and not get in the way of the protagonist and heroine.
With that conclusion in mind, I decided to interfere with the heroines as little as possible.
So far, the two heroines I've met are Suzuna and Wakana.
Anyway, I need to keep my interactions with them to the bare minimum.
“...Good morning.”
“G-Good morning.”
Just like that, it had already been nearly two weeks since Suzuna came to live in our house as my little sister.
Naturally, since we lived under the same roof, we saw each other often, but things remained awkward between us, just like when she first arrived.
I know she’s currently suffering with something dark weighing on her—at least, if the game follows the same story.
To pretend not to notice honestly feels cruel.
But if she's destined to meet the protagonist someday and be saved by him… then I can't risk doing something unnecessary and stealing that future from her.
Of course, if I were to follow the game exactly, I’d probably have to shower her with attention and keep calling her an angel or whatever until it got embarrassing.
But knowing what she’s going through and what fate awaits her, I just can’t bring myself to do something that might push her further into a corner.
Should I follow the game? Go against it?
I can’t deny that I’ve ended up in a halfway position just because it's easier for me.
Still, this is for the best. For both Suzuna and myself—I'm sure of it.
Our parents seem to notice the weird distance between me and Suzuna, but they haven’t said anything.
They probably think we’re both going through a difficult adolescent phase or something, and they’re being considerate.
That works out for me, since I don’t need to come up with excuses… but I still feel kind of guilty about it. I don’t even know what to say.
Thinking that this might go on for another three years—until the protagonist finally shows up—is kind of exhausting.
But that’s the price of knowing the future.
Compared to what Suzuna is carrying, this is nothing.
...Telling myself that for the umpteenth time, I was about to head home after school when—
“Hey.”
Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm from behind.
“Huh?”
“Come with me.”
“Eh? Ehh!?”
It was Amamiya Wakana who suddenly pulled my hand.
Even though we had fallen out by the time I regained memories of my past life, and I had been keeping my distance from her lately... why is she talking to me now!?
Still confused, I let Wakana drag me all the way to the deserted landing in front of the rooftop entrance.
“Waka... Amamiya-san?”
“...”
For a moment, Wakana’s face twisted in what looked like pain.
That expression overlapped with the one I remembered seeing from a younger version of her—Amamiya Wakana, as I knew her.
(That was... right before we entered middle school, I think.)
We had tried on our new uniforms and showed them off to our parents.
We were about to start middle school—a step closer to adulthood.
Maybe that made me giddy.
I pointed out something that had been bothering me about her for a while…
“...You're such an idiot, Eiji.”
“Huh?”
Lost in my memories, I snapped back as Wakana muttered bitterly in front of me.
“I heard from my mom. That you… that your family took Suzuna-chan in.”
“O-Oh.”
Given that we were neighbors, it wouldn't be strange if the Amamiya family knew my aunt and uncle and came to the funeral.
It wouldn’t be odd for our moms to talk about Suzuna being taken in.
But more than that, Wakana’s accusing gaze bothered me.
As far as I knew, Wakana had never shown this kind of hostility before.
She had always been gentle, not the type to be openly antagonistic.
When we were together, she could get a bit stubborn and we’d argue sometimes, but she always cried quickly and I’d give in.
That’s why I’d been wondering for a while now—what caused the rift between us?
Even the heroine Amamiya Wakana that I knew from the game was pretty similar.
From the protagonist's point of view, she was a kind upperclassman who looked after others, someone who let you rely on her—almost like a preschool teacher.
Even when things got tense, she’d always blame herself first. She was clumsy in how kind she was.
You could only see her expressions in the standing CGs or event illustrations, but never once did she give the protagonist a look this sharp.
“Hey, are you really paying attention to Suzuna-chan?”
“Huh?”
“She doesn’t seem to be fitting in at all. I’ve never seen her talk to anyone, and apparently she always ends up doing cleaning duty alone.”
“S-Seriously? Wait, how do you even know that?”
“That’s... because I’ve been watching her.”
Wakana looked away for a second, as if realizing she’d said too much.
But then she quickly returned to her serious expression.
“Don’t dodge the question. Just answer me.”
“Well, uh... yeah, I guess things aren’t going so well.”
“...What do you mean by that?”
“I mean, as siblings. But it’s not like Suzuna-chan is trying to get closer either, so I figured it can't be helped for now.”
“...!”
Her anger flared up like I had touched a nerve.
Still, it’s not like I’m doing this without reason.
If I mention the game or my past life memories, it would only confuse her…
“It’ll be okay. Someday, someone important will show up in Suzuna-chan’s life. Someone who can help solve her problems—like a hero. That’s why—”
“Are you seriously saying that?”
Wakana stepped closer, her presence almost crushing.
“What do you mean someday? Are you okay with that? Do you really think that’s enough?”
No, this wasn’t just anger.
Her eyes were trembling with uncertainty.
She was the same dependable girl I’d always known.
Everyone admired her like a big sister, yet she lacked confidence in strange places.
Right now, her expression was on the verge of breaking—like a dam about to burst into tears.
“It’s fine if you hate me. Or if you think I’m annoying. But don’t ignore her—don’t pretend you don’t see a girl who’s all alone, feeling crushed and lonely, even though she has you right by her side! That’s not the Eiji I know!”
“Wakana…”
Wakana hit my chest with her fist, her voice calling me “Eiji,” like when we were kids.
──“Once we start middle school, we won’t be able to hang out like this anymore.”
──“Huh?”
──“I mean, it’s not worth it. Being childhood friends just sounds childish.”
That conversation played in my head—back when we tried on our uniforms.
Wearing them made us feel like adults.
That’s why I thought our long-standing relationship was childish—like a burden.
I got embarrassed about calling each other “Kana” and “Eiji,” the way we always had.
I didn’t notice how shocked Wakana was by what I said.
So that’s what caused the distance between us even now.
And also, it answered the question I’d been asking myself this whole time.
──In the game, neither Amamiya Wakana nor Kanzaki Eiji ever mentioned being childhood friends.
──They had no interactions at all. I never suspected they even knew each other.
The rift created by Eiji had never been mended.
They drifted apart and became strangers—that was the future portrayed in the game.
(Then... is this the branching point?)
My mind remained annoyingly calm.
If I accepted her scolding here, maybe we could go back to being childhood friends again.
But that would add Kanzaki Eiji—an irregularity—to Amamiya Wakana’s story.
And that might collapse the very foundation of her route.
It might even steal away her happiness.
(So in the end, there's nothing I can do...)
I’m just a side character. I can’t be allowed to take away the heroines’ happy endings.
It’s not my place. So—
—Smack!
“...Huh?”
A sharp sting spread across my cheek.
I looked up in surprise—Wakana had just slapped me and was glaring at me with all her strength.
With big tears falling down her face.
“You idiot, Eiji! Moron! Coward!!”
“Wha—huh!?”
“Why are you just standing there!? Why are you hesitating!? Is that what being an adult means to you!?”
“W-Wakana...?”
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