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Epilogue | "From Now On" | Remake our Life!

Thus, I came back to 2007.

In the end, I never did figure out the reason why I flew to the world

of 2018. The boundary with this world remained so vague that I wondered if

it had been a long, long dream. After the conversation with Tsurayuki, and

lying at the entrance of the share house, I couldn't help but recall the

moments in between.

But I guess it wasn't a dream after all. Because the world of 2018

has taught me so much. I've been slapped on the butt, head, and many other

places, and encouraged to be strong.

I don't think there is such a thing as a convenient dream, and if

there was, I think the god who showed me that dream must be very kind or caring.

The day after I came back, I was immediately confused by the world

of ten years ago.

I suddenly felt like crying when I listened to Nanako's song, and

whenever I made eye contact with Shinoaki, my face started to flush. There

was no way I could forget about them 10 years from now, but it seemed easier to

live with partial forgetfulness in my life.

But I decided to bite the bullet and live with it. There existed a

world where things that should have been taken for granted had disappeared so

cleanly. It seemed to me that I was ready to live my life feeling grateful for

that.

After the Golden Week, I started to attend the university.

"Gahahahaha, what's wrong, Hashiba? You've suddenly lost your

energy. Is it the summer heat?"

He was still the same, which made me strangely happy.

"No, I'm fine. No problem."

"Oh, I see! Whenever you're tired of living, let me know and

I'll pick up a game recommendation that works so well that you'll feel silly

for worrying about it!"

It seems that Hikawa has been selected as the deputy director of

the ninja club, and he is devoting himself even more to his training. If

his on-stage antics improve, he'll be ready to take the lead in no time. ......

was a remark from a senpai I met recently.

Other than that, there were no significant changes as the grade

level changed from 1 to 2.

The circle was still the same place with a peaceful atmosphere.

Kakihara-san was dancing in front of the club room, saying that it was before

the test, and Sugimoto-san was singing an opera with a voice that could reach

the other side of the mountain.

Ah, if there was one thing, it would be that a certain senior who

used to treat me like a new student to an excessive degree suddenly stopped

treating me like that, like he had turned his attitude.

"Hassy is like this, why are you suddenly getting old?"

"I don't mean to be."

"I understand! I understand, but this is the kind of thing

you notice when someone tells you, and you don't know it yourself, right,

Hiyama-chan."

"You're the one who's aged like crazy in the last two months,

though."

A certain senior hurriedly began to check his gray hair in the

mirror.

"Hashiba, didn't you take the philosophy next?"

And here is one woman who confuses me.

"Ah, y-yeah, I took it, I took it."

Seeing her face, I couldn't help but act suspicious,

"What's with all the panic? If you've picked it, let's go.

It's first come, first served."

She said in astonishment and walked briskly away.

Kawasegawa was the same as usual Kawasegawa. Of course, the woman

who had given me courage was not there.

Here is that strong, stubborn Kawasegawa Eiko, who is still in the

middle of fighting for all directions.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that she is a she, and I can't

help but remember the incident at the airport and can't help to ask Kawasegawa.

"Ne~e, Kawasegawa, I have a little question."

"What"

"You know, ...... if I'm in a lot of trouble and I ask you to

help me, will you drop everything and ...... help me?"

Kawasegawa looked at me with the most suspicious eyes she could

muster,

"... Hashiba, don't you think you should go to the hospital

for a checkup?"

"Ah, yes... I'm sorry."

The 10 years later Kawasegawa, wasn't she a little adapted to the

memories of the past?

Rokuonji Tsurayuki disappeared from the university quickly.

Just after the vacation, Kanou, the teacher in charge of the

grade, made an announcement in the general class. My classmates did not react

with any surprises. It wasn't that they were all cold-hearted, it was just that

it wasn't that uncommon for people to drop out of art school because of its

high dropout rate.

"He said it was a family matter, but Hashiba, did he tell you

anything else?"

During the break, sensei suddenly asked me about that.

"No, I don't really..."

I couldn't tell her the truth, as I should have.

"I see... Even though now that the tuition matter is settled,

that's too bad."

"Yes, but it's his choice."

Sensei was a little surprised, and then, with a strangely gentle

face, said.

"...I see, that's right."

With a few short words, she brought the talk to a close.

If he is still Kawagoe Kyoichi. And if I can live my future in a

different way. I believe that we will meet somewhere.

And.

There was a gradual change in the girls.

"Kyouya, this is about the other day... what do you

think?"

Nanako asked me while biting into a piece of curry bread in the

school cafeteria.

"I wonder what it was about, the e-mail from that ardent male

fan? But didn't Nanako reply to it in a very casual way."

"N-Not about that! Well, I wanted to talk to Kyouya about

that too!"

Nanako replied with a bright red face.

"So, what? Is this about a request to create a personal

website?"

"Uu... I'd really like to talk to you about that too, but

that's another thing, etto!"

Shaking her head, she took a breath,

"It's about the request! I got an e-mail from some doujin

game circle, ano."

She said as if to gather her strength.

"You're talking about writing and singing the theme song,

right? I think you can try it."

"Hmm... I see"

She sang the theme song for a doujin game, and through her

reputation on the Internet, she began to receive requests to work around music.

"It's kind of... scary to accept a request from someone you

don't know."

Even though she had even broadcasted her work to the world, Nanako

was still a scaredy-cat.

"Go ahead, take the plunge. Like the last time we uploaded a

song."

"But that was done by Kyouya..."

Then she glanced at me to see how I looked.

Here, it was easy to answer that I'll give Nanako a helping hand

and then take care of uploading and negotiating with people who request it.

But I wondered if it would really be good for her. I couldn't

tell, and it wasn't something that could be easily answered.

"Yes, good luck and try to do it alone!"

"Uwaan, Kyouya is mean!"

I was tapped on the head, but I didn't bend my will.

By herself. Do it herself.

It's important that she's willing to do that on her own, even if

it seems a bit of a pushover.

If she asks me for something after that ...... then we can do it

together.

Not because I want to do something with her, but because I want to

run at full speed with her.

―― If I do so, I believe that I will meet N@NA.

The change in Shinoaki was much more apparent than in Nanako.

"Kyouya-kun, you're not going to make another game?"

On the way home from college, she unexpectedly asked me such a

question.

"Eh, no... I don't really have any plans at the moment."

I replied,

"I see......"

A little disappointed, Shinoaki replied.

After our doujin games were successfully distributed, people

started to expect our "next work" which we had never thought of

before.

However, I was estranged from the people of Hallucigenia Soft as

if we had never made a game together, and I can only vaguely remember how we

were working on the game at that time.

(I wonder if it's because the production schedule was ridiculously

tight...)

It was such a dense production that when I look back on it now, I

am impressed with how well it was completed.

However, Tsurayuki is no longer with us, and the connection with

Hallucigenia is weak.

It was a high hurdle for me to make my so-called next work.

"I don't feel like drawing."

While eating the ramen with insufficient hot water, she tilted her

head.

While watching the flock of crows from the veranda on the second

floor of the share house.

She was snoozing on the futon she had hung out to dry.

Shinoaki said that in a laid-back tone as usual.

She was just sort of saying it, but I was not so sure.

(Perhaps Shinoaki will stop drawing at this point)

I hadn't asked her exactly when she quit drawing, it could have

been tomorrow, it could have been today.

"Why don't you feel like drawing?"

I took a chance and asked Shinoaki.

"Hmm..."

Shinoaki thought about it, and,

"I've run out of inspiration."

Shinoaki was looking for a reason to draw.

Originally, she had shown her existence by drawing. But when she

met friends at the share house, she found another reason to exist.

"Maybe it's burnout, of a sort"

When I talked to Kawasegawa on the phone about the situation, she

gave me such an answer.

Perhaps the fact that she drew so many pictures within the

limitations of the game production stage caused her to suddenly awaken after

she finished.

When I was told, the answer was believable.

"Assuming that's the case, what should I do..."

The most obvious way was to create a game.

However, I don't have a clear goal and reason as I did last time.

I don't think anyone, including Shinoaki herself, would agree with the idea of

making a game to keep her motivated.

Besides, if I took care of her too carefully, it would be no

different from what I did before. I need to bring her something that will

motivate her, while still valuing her independence.

Then what would be a good reason?

" ―― Let's think, there must be something."

I was remembering Kawasegawa's words again. There is no such thing

as futility in this world. If that's the case, then there must be a reason why

I flew to the future, experienced many things, and came back here.

There is one thing that is certain.

Shinoaki has always loved drawing. It was because she loved it

that she quit drawing when there was nothing left to draw, and it was because

she wanted to draw that she picked up a paintbrush at that moment.

If I can ignite the fire inside her, that's all that matters.

If only I could push her back just a little bit.

The next day. I had to come to school for a required class.

I was going down a long slope alone in the slightly sweaty air.

While folding my arms, look up or down.

What I was thinking about was, as usual, about Shinoaki.

I was impatient. I'd been thinking about it for the past few days

since I'd returned, wanting to take some action before the enthusiasm that had

been revived by 2018 wore off.

But the answer was not so easy to find. No matter how I looked at

the sky or the clouds, there was no model answer marked anywhere.

"Hmm..."

It was a Saturday, so there were few people on the street. So I

let my guard down and started walking.

Then, a girl came running towards me in an unusually hurried

manner while facing down,

"Waa!"

"Kyaa!"

We had a collision, something you don't see very often

nowadays.

"Ouch ~ ……"

I was hit with a thrust full force in the stomach area, and I

couldn't breathe for a moment.

When I looked at her, I saw that the girl was also holding her

head in her hands and groaning.

"Sorry, did you hurt?"

It must have been overwhelmingly painful for me because I was on

my stomach and she was on her head, but since she was a girl, I called out to

her.

Her hair was long and black, and she wore large glasses. Her

clothes were plain, or rather, they were generally fluffy.

"Ah, aah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's okay."

While saying that, the girl was trying to pick up things that were

scattered around.

"Ah, I'll help you."

I will pick up the things scattered around me for the time being.

A student ID card, a DVD case, and a sketchbook.

First, I picked up the sketchbook.

(...She's skilled, this girl)

The page that was just turned out had an illustration of a girl on

it.

The designs were realistic, and although they weren't what you

would call a successful line, I could see the atmosphere of having studied from

a drawing.

Then I pick up the DVD case.

(I wonder if she's going to watch some movies)

With that in mind, I casually picked it up, turned to the front,

and,

"Eh?!"

I was so surprised that I dropped the case.

"Ah!"

The girl was also surprised and snatched the case and quickly hid

it in their bag.

"That's..."

"N-Nothing, it's nothing!"

Her face turned bright red and she emphasized that nothing had

happened.

Still, I couldn't forget what I had seen once.

Because that DVD package.

(It was the package of "Haru Sora" ...)

It was a package for that doujin game we had made.

"Ah, the student ID card..."

She remains stiff with embarrassment, but I pick up the last one

and hand it to her.

The student number, 07, indicating the first year of study, was

written in the grade entry field.

I see, she just enrolled in university...?

"......"

And that was the end of the story.

Ah, I was supposed to end the conversation by saying, "Oh, so

there are some first-year students who play the games we made".

Student ID card.

I looked and froze. This time it was me.

No way. No, but surely,

"Aaaa, I-I am sorry!"

She reached out with all her might and snatched it, just like she

did with the case, and took the student ID card.

"I-I'm really sorry, I'm late for class, please

excuse me!"

She said, half running, and left.

I watched in a daze as she hurriedly walked up the slope, still in

the same position I had been in when I picked up her student ID.

"Haha... hahaha..."

Seen from the surroundings, I must have been quite a strange

fellow.

After bumping into a girl, I stiffened up and just laughed.

"I see... That's what it was"

I was in the most exhilarated mood ever.

I've seen the future, and I know what I need to do next. Of

course, I didn't know how or in what way I would do it, but I felt as if the

pieces of a puzzle were fitting together in the most perfect way.

When I thought about the future, I was anxious, but I was much

more excited about what was to come.

"...Alright"

I stood up. My heart was pounding, and my body was trembling

heavily. The top of the hill I looked up at seemed to be filled with glimmering

light.

Special Booklet Newly Written

Short Story

Shinoaki often does a lot of

thinking. It's not something she does when she's alone in her room, but she

always does it outside her room.

One of the most common is to

cover the futon mattresses that are drying and think. She would put her whole

body on her own futon out of the futons lined up on the balcony, as if they

were being hung out to dry together. She didn't know why she was doing it,

but apparently it made her think more calmly.

"I've become addicted to

it."

Again today, Shinoaki answered

as she put herself on the futon.

"When I stare at the sky

in this fluffy, puffy state, a good composition naturally comes to mind ~"

If you say so, there is no

reason for me to stop you from my position.

Besides, I personally enjoy

watching this kind of Shinoaki. I'd like to make a video of this little animal,

who is humming and making small flapping motions with her feet, and save it

forever.

"Fufufuunfun, fufufuufu,

fūfufufuufun ~♪"

I wonder what the song is

about. It's a melody I've never heard before.

"What song is that?"

"A song about Niwaka Okaki.

It's on a commercial. Sometimes it came out in a fight, but you've never heard

of it, right."

Was it Kyushu local? It's

natural that I don't know it.

"After all, Shinoaki like

the place where you were born, don't you?"

"Hmm"

Shinoaki stopped moving her

feet, tilted her head and seemed to be thinking.

"I like it. It's relaxing,

there's the sea and the mountains, I want to go back there someday ~"

In a fluffy way, Shinoaki gave

me such an answer.

"Someday Kyoya-kun should

try coming too ~"

I wonder what kind of place

gave birth to such a calm and gentle girl.

From what I've read on the

internet, Fukuoka looks a bit scary, but from what I saw in Shinoaki, it looks

like there are many sides to the city. A city is like that, it can be a good

place or a bad place depending on how you look at it. I would like to see it

with my own eyes someday.

Then I opened my mouth to speak.

"So, Shinoaki... I thought

it would be tough if you didn't give me a composition."

"Uu... I-I understand, I'll

bring it out. Just give me a second..."

The heartwarming atmosphere was

torn apart by few sad words.

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