V3Ch9: Colorless Reunion

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Translator: Soafp

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Renji approached me with a smile still on his face.

Back when I had lost everything and had nothing left, the only thing that remained was this best friend of mine. Today's reunion meant something special to me—

“…”

When Renji reached me, he swiftly turned around, grabbed his bag from his desk, and tried to leave without saying anything.

“Wait, don't just ignore me!”

I couldn’t help but call out, and Renji burst into laughter.

“Your comebacks are as weak as ever.”

“…Shut up.”

With that exchange, I was sure of it.

Even though my appearance had changed drastically, and no one else had recognized me—not childhood friends like Akazawa or Aoyama, not my former classmates like Kuromine and Nekoda, not even Masahiro—Renji noticed right away. That realization filled me with indescribable happiness.

“I really didn't recognize you for a second, looking like you did when we were kids, but yeah, there's no mistaking it now. You're really back, huh?”

“Yeah, I'm back.”

Renji turned to face me again, his eyes glistening slightly.

“You're alive, right?”

“I'm not a ghost.”

“I see… You really came back. I'm so glad.”

As Renji spoke, he placed a hand on my shoulder. Tears streamed down his cheek. I was probably making the same face as him.

“Welcome back, Shota.”

“I'm back, Renji.”

And so, after several years, we finally reunited.

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We spent some time basking in the joy of our reunion.

We excitedly caught up on things that had nothing to do with our current situation—like what happened to our old elementary school teacher, whether the candy store we used to visit was still around, and our thoughts on the latest single from our favorite singer. It was all trivial stuff, but the kind of conversation we hadn't had in years.

Even though it had been so long since we last talked, the subjects of our conversation hadn't changed a bit.

After a while, our conversation died down, and Renji suddenly seemed to remember something.

“—By the way, what's up with that uniform?”

Renji asked as he looked at me.

It was a reasonable question, considering he didn't know I was attending this school.

“Did you borrow it to sneak in here or something?”

“No, I actually go to Tenka Academy too.”

“…?”

Renji blinked in confusion.

He was probably searching his memories, but no matter how hard he searched, I wouldn't be there—because we hadn't met face to face even once since I transferred here.

“No matter how hard I think about it, I don't remember seeing you anywhere.”

“I transferred here at the start of this school year. But we've never crossed paths until now, and you've never seen my face before.”

“A transfer student… Then why didn't you come see me earlier!?”

He was right.

Renji's words hit the mark, but I had my reasons.

“I'm sorry. But to be honest, I didn't know you went to this school until the end of the first semester. I had a lot of other things on my mind too.”

My focus had been on dealing with those devils they call goddesses, and I didn't have time for much else.

I only found out Renji was attending Tenka when the results of the end-of-term exams were posted. Until then, I'd been imagining him attending some other high school. Never did I think that Renji was the one who held the title of the male god.

The summer vacation had started right after the exams.

“You still had time, though, didn't you?”

“Yeah, but it would've been hard to find time to talk alone. You've always got people around you, right?”

I definitely had time, but whether or not we could've had a private conversation is a different story. Renji was always surrounded by people—his popularity made it difficult to find an opening. Plus, he had moved houses. Even if I had visited, I wasn't sure if we would have had the chance to talk one-on-one.

But judging by how he's acting now, Renji probably would've suggested we talk privately the moment he saw my face.

Renji let out a breath.

“There's a lot I want to say, but… fine. I guess that makes sense.”

“Well, honestly, the biggest reason is that I didn't have the guts to face you.”

“…”

“I ran away without saying anything back then. I didn't know what kind of face I could show you after doing something so cowardly.”

I let out a deep sigh.

“So why did you finally decide to come see me now? You've known about me for a while, right?”

“A few days ago, I happened to overhear you and Momoka talking behind the school. And before you say anything, it wasn't on purpose—it was a complete coincidence.”

“W-What!? You heard that conversation!?”

I decided to confess everything, including the fact that I had overheard that conversation.

“I'm sorry.”

I said as I lowered my head and continued.

“That letter caused you a lot of trouble, didn't it? To be honest, I didn't think Renji was so concerned about me. It got to the point where I couldn't ignore it anymore, so I waited for a chance to talk to you one-on-one, and that led to today.”

Hearing this, Renji let out a small “I see” as if he was trying to slowly process my words.

After a few seconds, it seemed like he had gathered his thoughts, and he gave a small nod.

“I get it. I've got my complaints and frustrations, but at least we were able to meet again in one piece.”

“I'm glad to hear you say that.”

“I owe you an apology too. You probably already know from what you overheard with Momoka, but I lost my temper with those damn demons. I broke our promise to not make a big deal out of it.”

Renji explained what had happened during the Divine Conference.

The content was exactly as I had already heard.

“You don't need to apologize. You got angry on my behalf.”

“…Well, yeah, but I still acted impulsively. You must have been shocked when you found out, right?”

“Not really. I heard the whole story from someone else beforehand.”

“Huh? You heard it from someone else?”

Renji squinted at me.

“Hey… Can I ask you something?”

“Why are you being so formal all of a sudden?”

“I remembered something when you mentioned the transfer student. The ‘Shota Nijitani' who transferred here in the first semester, that's you, right?”

“Y-yeah.”

So he knew my name.

Still, it wasn't all that surprising. A new transfer student always stirs up talk, for better or worse.

“I heard rumors that the transfer student was getting along pretty well with those demons, so I lost interest. If it were really you, there's no way you'd be friendly with them. So I convinced myself the transfer student was someone else with the same name.”

Whether or not I have a “good relationship” with them is debatable, but there's no doubt I've gotten close to those demons. From the outside, it would look like we're on friendly terms.

We've gone to the summer festival together, participated in a gaming tournament, and even gone to the pool together. Anyone watching would think we're good friends. At least anyone who knows my situation would raise an eyebrow.

“The truth is, guilt wasn't the only reason I wanted to meet with you.”

“Oh?”

“I've gotten into a pretty tricky situation. I was hoping you could help me out.”

“Let's hear it, then.”

“It's pretty complicated. I want to explain it as clearly as possible, but first, I'd like you to meet someone.”

After confirming that Renji was willing, I pulled out my phone and sent a message.

Before long, I heard approaching footsteps.

“—Oh my, is it alright to enter now?”

“Yeah, it's fine.”

“Since it's a reunion, I can wait a bit longer if you'd like.”

“Unfortunately, we're short on time. Come on in.”

The person stepped into the classroom.

“—Huh, Mayuki Shirase!?”

Renji's expression tightened the moment Shirase walked in.