"World fusion complete, memories automatically corrected."
Jhin looked around. What greeted him was the room he had left six years ago. Even the bottle of coke he had just twisted the cap off before leaving was still fizzing.
After the world fusion was complete, Mihama Academy was established not far from Shuka High School, and Jhin attended classes back and forth between the two schools as a special student.
Kusakabe Asako and Julia maintained their status as members of Interpol, while '9029' and the special department disappeared. Those were the main changes. Oh, and it seems that because his performance was good this time, the boss directly gave him a luxurious mansion where Kazami Kazuki now lives.
Knock, knock, knock A knocking sound came from outside. Jhin thought it was Gabriel coming to freeload a meal from him again early in the morning.
"Gabe—Huh? Kazuki, what are you doing here?"
"I was only gone for a little while, and you've already stopped calling me 'big sister'?" Kazami Kazuki's brow furrowed slightly, a hint of displeasure flashing in her eyes.
"Uh... Sorry, big sister." Jhin immediately deployed a head-pat to soothe Kazami Kazuki. Although he called her 'big sister', in their interactions, Jhin had always seemed more like the older brother. Whenever Kazami Kazuki was upset about something at school or wanted to slack off, she would come to Jhin to be pampered.
Creeak
Gabriel pushed the door open, yawning. She heard the noise and knew Jhin was back. It wasn't in vain that she'd dedicated a part of her attention to his house; now she could freeload a meal again and save her breakfast money for in-game purchases.
What she didn't expect was to see her meal ticket, her true best friend, her schoolmate, standing at the door intimately hugging a silver-haired child.
"Hello? Military police? I've got someone here making a move on a destroyer."
"Gabriel, stop messing around. Let me introduce you, this is my older sister, Kazami Kazuki."
"Huh?" Gabriel's gaze darted back and forth between Jhin and Kazami Kazuki. She pulled her hands out of her red tracksuit pockets and gestured a couple of times. "There's such a huge difference in your height and age, and you're telling me this is your sister? Plus, your last names are different."
"Uh, my sister is the type that develops slowly. As for the last name, just assume it's a complicated family situation."
"Is what you're saying true?" Gabriel looked suspiciously at Jhin, who didn't seem to be lying. She even used a portion of her angelic power to test if he was telling the truth, and the result was, naturally...
Angel Gabriel, he is not lying.
Hearing this, Gabriel felt as if a blond man with a gun was about to stand behind her and shoot her in the back of the head.
"Since your sister's here, I won't come to freeload. I still have an online game event to finish." Gabriel dropped this line and hurried back to her room.
Who would have thought Jhin's sister would actually come looking for him? It caught her completely unprepared. Ah, her hair wasn't combed, and her clothes still had noodle soup stains from when she carelessly ate instant ramen.
Gabriel sat cross-legged on the floor, her leg bouncing nervously.
It's all Jhin's fault! He didn't tell me his sister was coming. No, wait, why should I care about my appearance in front of his sister? She's a mere mortal. Shouldn't she be moved to tears of gratitude just for being able to witness the form of an angel like me?
Before Gabriel could ponder it any further, a message from her gaming friends urging her to join a raid immediately made her forget the trivial matter entirely.
"So you're still planning to live here? Even though I went out of my way to buy the house next door."
Kazami Kazuki flopped onto Jhin's bed and rolled around, wrapping herself in the blanket and burying her head in the pillow, enjoying the feeling of being surrounded by her little brother's scent.
"It's the same no matter where I live. It's only a few steps away from here anyway, so it's convenient if you want to see me."
"Alright, but remember to come see your big sister often, okay? Mmm~"
"Hey! Kazuki, what are you doing?" Jhin stared at Kazami Kazuki, who had wrapped herself up like a caterpillar and was getting high on her own supply. He never expected her to be so uninhibited in front of him.
"I've been away from you for too long. Your sister really missed this feeling, I couldn't help myself."
"...As long as you're happy. Don't disturb the neighbors. I'm going to see my girlfriend."
"Go ahead..."
Kazami Kazuki, lost in her reverie, didn't quite grasp Jhin's words and answered perfunctorily. Only when the blood that had rushed to her head began to recede did she notice the three most crucial words Jhin had said.
"Girlfriend? When? My little brother got a girlfriend without my knowledge?"
A trace of jealousy welled up in Kazami Kazuki's heart. Even though she knew her little brother was a normal teenage boy and getting a girlfriend was perfectly normal, deciding to date someone without his sister's approval was not good. What if he got tricked by a bad woman?
Hitori Gotoh: "?"
Ryo Yamada: "Did someone call me?"
Jhin broke into a sprint, running down the road. More than going to the Problem Child Countermeasures Club to claim a random reward, what he wanted right now was to hold Hitori Gotoh for a while. It was only a short 15-minute run from his house to STARRY in Shimokitazawa.
Here, Jhin couldn't help but complain. The area he was in was called Tokyo, yet he could get to Shimokitazawa just by running—you heard that right, a 15-minute run. It felt like the city was a patchwork quilt made of pieces cut from various places.
"Manager! Are Nijika and the others still in the recording studio?"
"Oh, it's you, Jhin. They just finished practicing a song and are taking a break. You..."
"Thanks, Manager!"
Seika Ijichi watched as Jhin burst into the recording studio like a gust of wind. The breeze he created even blew a promotional poster off the wall. She sighed with emotion.
"Is this the energy of youth?"
"Bang!" The door to the recording studio was thrown open. Jhin was like a bolt of lightning, rushing to Hitori Gotoh's side. His arms wrapped around her back, pulling her tightly into his embrace, as if trying to merge her entire being into his own body.
"Huh? Ehh!!"
Hitori Gotoh stammered, "J-Jhin, what's wrong?"
"Sorry, just let me hold you like this for a bit. Just for a bit."
Jhin's racing heart gradually calmed. Holding Hitori Gotoh's soft, delicate body, the familiar yet strange scent of her usual shampoo wafted from the strands of hair brushing against his nose.
Six years. To a god, it might be but a fleeting moment, the blink of an eye. But for a mortal like Jhin, six years was a very long time.
Jhin and Hitori Gotoh's heartbeats gradually intertwined, forming a unique melody, as if they were the only two people left in this space. The longing in Jhin's heart was finally released.
"Tsk, tsk..." Nijika stood to the side, unable to stop herself from shaking her head. This couple was really something else; they had now evolved to the point where they could stuff others full of PDA just by hugging.
Kita Ikuyo was so moved by the scene that she tearfully took out her phone, snapped a photo while avoiding Jhin and Hitori Gotoh's faces, and posted it to her social media account.
"The affection between this couple makes you smile just by looking at them. [Image]"
Ryo's heart was completely unmoved. She even took out a book titled 'Encyclopedia of Edible Plants' and started reading. She had overspent on musical instruments again recently; it looked like she would have to survive on grass for the rest of the month.
The two of them just stood there hugging for a solid half-hour until Hitori Gotoh finally succumbed to her embarrassment and passed out.
Nijika complained a little, "Jhin, you made Bocchi-chan faint. How are we supposed to practice now?"
"Hehe, don't worry. I have good news. Tickets, give me six more. I have more friends coming."
"Really!?" Nijika immediately stopped blaming Jhin. Hmm, that was a good hug. If every half-hour hug gets us six more tickets, maybe we should just let Bocchi-chan take the day off to be hugged by Jhin?
The thought only circled in her mind for a moment. Nijika knew that even if Jhin brought them a hundred audience members this time, if Kessoku Band messed up their performance two days from now, they wouldn't be able to keep those fans, and it would be a disservice to all of Jhin's efforts.
When Hitori Gotoh woke up, Jhin outright refused to leave the recording studio. He sat on a chair with Hitori Gotoh in his lap, declaring that he was just a warm, high-class cushioned seat, meant to help his girlfriend build her courage, and that they could just ignore him.
Don't you get it? We just don't want any more PDA!
The other three members of Kessoku Band were speechless, because Jhin had forcefully stuffed their mouths full of PDA.
After finally enduring until the end of today's practice session, Nijika stared at the backs of Jhin and Hitori Gotoh as they left hand-in-hand and suddenly remembered something.
"About those friends of Jhin's... are they guys or girls?"
___
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