Chapter 81 – A Smile Like the Sun
Two glasses of iced coffee we ordered were brought to our table.
The sound of ice clinking lightly echoed between us as we reached, with a trace of tension, for the cold glasses.
After taking a sip each, I slowly opened my mouth.
“You said Fusegawa Raito’s been acting strange. How exactly? I’m not really friends with him, so even if you say he’s been acting weird, I can’t picture it.”
“Well, that’s understandable. Even Yuna and Sakuramiya-senpai, who are always with him, haven’t noticed anything. But I can tell. I’ve known him since we were kids—we’ve always been side by side, so I just know.”
Himeno Karen quietly stirred her iced coffee, listening to the faint sound of the ice clinking inside the glass.
From her expression alone, I could tell she was absolutely certain about the change in Fusegawa Raito. And somehow, I felt that whatever it was, it wasn’t something that had nothing to do with me either.
“The timing when Raito started acting strange... it was after you started coming to school. Until then, he was the same old Raito, but something changed that day.”
“What exactly changed?”
“Hmm... it’s not like I can point to one thing. It’s more like... instinct. I just felt it. Raito seemed like a completely different person.”
“So it’s something only you could sense, Himeno-san. I guess that’s not something a guy like me, who barely knows him, could understand.”
I shrugged and lifted my hands.
There was barely any connection between me and Fusegawa Raito.
For someone like me to share some intuitive discomfort that only his childhood friend could sense—that would be odd.
But the truth was, I’d noticed it too.
The difference between the Fusegawa Raito I knew from the original story of Fusekoi, and the Fusegawa Raito I’d met in this world.
At first, I thought it was simply the result of the irregularities I’d caused by changing the original plot. But as those irregular developments kept piling up, the sense of discomfort surrounding Fusegawa Raito became harder to ignore. I felt it most clearly when we faced each other during the beach volleyball tournament.
“Shindo-kun, you saw Raito then too, right? When we played against each other in the beach volleyball tournament.”
“Yeah, I remember. Who’d have thought we’d both end up at the same beach on the same day, and then face each other as opponents in a local event.”
“We were just as shocked. It was too much of a coincidence. But that’s not the point. What matters is how Raito acted during that match. He was like... a completely different person. Not the Raito I knew at all.”
Himeno Karen clenched her hands tightly and lowered her gaze.
Her voice trembled softly as she continued.
“I know Raito hates losing. But even if he was about to lose, he would never say such cruel things to us, his teammates... nor would he act so rudely toward the opposing team. That wasn’t him.”
“Yeah... it was pretty bad. I saw it too. I honestly felt sorry for you and Hanasaki-san.”
Fusegawa Raito had been so obsessed with victory that he neglected the heroines who were precious to him.
It was behavior unbecoming of a protagonist—something the original Fusegawa Raito I knew would never have done.
I felt a strong sense of wrongness then, and for Himeno Karen, his childhood friend, that feeling must have been even stronger, more personal.
“And you know, I realized something else through that beach volleyball match—something about you, Shindo-kun.”
“Me? What about me? I was just having fun playing volleyball that day. I didn’t really—”
“Is that so? Because you looked... dazzling back then. So bright it was hard to believe you were once a delinquent. You looked honest, sincere... like someone who genuinely cared about the people around him. Even your smile showed it. I remember thinking, ‘I’m a little jealous.’”
Himeno Karen stared into her glass, watching the ice float and shift. Her lips curved into a faint, strained smile.
“That version of you, Shindo-kun... you were just like the Raito I used to know. The kind of person who loves everyone’s smiles, who’s the first to notice when someone’s feeling down, and always tries to cheer them up. So kind... so thoughtful.”
“...Back then, I just wanted, my childhood friend, Mashiro and, my little sister, Mai to smile. Winning didn’t matter as much as enjoying the game together, making a fun summer memory. At first, I got caught up in the urge to win... but then I realized there’s something more important than that.”
“That’s true. You all looked so close—high-fiving when you scored, encouraging each other even when you lost a point. That’s what really matters, right? It reminded me of how Raito and I used to be. Watching you and Mashiro-san made me... envious.”
Himeno Karen let out a soft fufu laugh, smiling quietly. But there was sadness in that smile—like she was looking through me at a distant, fading memory.
Maybe it was natural she’d feel that way, watching how Mashiro and I interacted.
I’d been trying to live like the protagonist from the romantic comedies I knew in my previous life—doing whatever I could to make the best out of being reborn as the villain.
Supporting the people I cared about. Doing my best to make the girl most precious to me smile. Fighting to overturn my doomed fate and grasp a happy ending.
To Himeno Karen—the heroine of Fusekoi—the way I lived must have looked like the ideal image of a protagonist.
The radiance that was supposed to shine from Fusegawa Raito, the true protagonist, was somehow now radiating from me—the supposed villain.
For someone like Himeno Karen, who’d always watched Raito closest, that was nothing short of an anomaly. And that’s why she came to me—to find out why.
She must’ve suspected there was some connection between Raito’s lost “protagonist glow” and my newfound one.
And since everything began the day I started coming to school, she wanted to know—why did Shindo Ryusuke suddenly start showing up?
But... could I really tell her the truth?
That on that day, I was reborn—literally—as the villain, Shindo Ryusuke. That my past life and Ryusuke had merged into one person.
Even if I said that, would she believe me? Or would it only lead to misunderstandings?
As I wrestled with my thoughts, Himeno Karen quietly waited for an answer. Should I tell her honestly, or keep it hidden?
After a short silence, she let out a deep sigh, stretched, and forced a laugh.
“...Ahaha. I’m such an idiot. Just because Raito started acting weird around the same time you changed, I convinced myself they were connected somehow. As if something like that could actually be true.”
“Himeno-san...?”
She laughed self-deprecatingly, sighed again, then smiled brightly—but her smile was unsteady, fragile. I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
“I’m still on bad terms with Raito, you know. Our classmate Reo-kun tried so hard to get us to make up. I thought we finally did... but the next day, when I hung out with Raito again, it just felt wrong. Yuna and Sakuramiya-senpai were smiling like always, but me... I just couldn’t smile properly.”
She raised her hands to her mouth and forced a smile.
It was a clumsy, unnatural smile—one the Himeno Karen from Fusekoi’s original story would never have shown.
“...Sorry. I shouldn’t be unloading all this on you. Maybe it’s just because... when I see you with Mashiro-san, you and Raito overlap in my mind somehow.”
Himeno Karen pressed a hand against her chest and whispered. Seeing her expression, I found myself unable to speak.
She must have been suffering alone all this time—unsure how to face the person who now felt like a stranger, hurting because she couldn’t go back to how things were.
And yet, unable to let go, she’d come to me—hoping I might have an answer.
Wanting to understand why Raito had changed. Wanting to bring back the boy she once knew. She just couldn’t give up.
“...I should go. I’m sorry for wasting your time like this. I’ll cover the bill as an apology.”
She downed the rest of her coffee in one gulp, hurriedly grabbed her bag, and stood up.
But I instinctively reached out—leaning over the table and grabbing her wrist before she could leave.
Startled, Himeno Karen turned back to me, eyes wide.
This might have been a huge decision. Maybe it would lead to trouble later.
But letting a girl in pain just walk away—that would’ve been the real mistake. That’s why I stopped her.
“I’ll help you. I want to find out why Fusegawa Raito changed too. And I want to help you two make up.”
“You... you’re serious? You’ve got nothing to gain from helping me.”
“Sure I do. I’ll gain a new friend.”
“...You really are an idiot, you know that?”
Himeno Karen shrugged and laughed.
It was the same radiant, sun-like smile she’d always worn in the original Fusekoi.