Kokoro Connect Volume 3: Kako Random (eBook)

Sadanatsu Anda (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2018
318 Seiten
J-Novel Club (Verlag)
9781718326040 (ISBN)

Infos

Cultural Research Club, more like Babysitter's Club!
Winter break is here, and it's nearly time for New Year's festivities... but there's a new troublemaker in town, and its name is «The Second». This time, the members of the Cultural Research Club-minus Taichi-are chosen at random to physically regress into younger versions of themselves from 12 PM to 5 PM every day! Tensions build as old, painful memories come to light. Meanwhile, Taichi is forced to keep quiet about «The Second» or else it threatens to make things even worse... Can they last until the clock runs out? Find out in volume 3 of the hit ensemble dramedy light novel from award-winning author Sadanatsu Anda!

Textauszug

“Why, if it isn’t Inaba-san and Yaegashi-kun! Fancy meeting you here. Happy New Year’s.” Out of the frying pan and into the fire. She always seemed to turn up at the worst possible moments, almost as though she’d planned it all from the start. “Anyway, what a hilarious predicament I appear to have walked in on. So hilarious, I couldn’t help but snap a pic.”

“Mmnomnom... Knock it off, would you? Delete it!” Taichi demanded (or rather, he tried, but the mouthful of food dampened its impact considerably). The last thing he wanted was photographic evidence lying around.

“I don’t think I will. After all, it’s not every day you encounter a scene out of a harem anime in real life.”

“I don’t have a harem!”

“A cute girl on each arm, plus Inaba-san hand-feeding you? If this isn’t a harem, I don’t know what is.”

“...I’m sorry...” Why exactly he felt the need to apologize, even he wasn’t sure.

“Do tell: is Nagase-san alright with this little arrangement?”

“Who, me?” The little Nagase lookalike perked up. Immediately, Taichi let go of her hand and instead clamped it over her mouth. “Mmffgg?!”

“I need you to stay quiet until I say otherwise. Can you do that for me, please?”

She looked confused for a moment, then nodded. Good girl.

“What was that about?”

“N-Nothing! It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

This did little to dispel the look of suspicion on Fujishima’s face. “I’m not sure I buy that... Oh well. Setting that aside... Why is it I find the two of you here canoodling in broad daylight? Where’s Nagase-san?”

“W-We’re not canoodling! And Nagase isn’t my girlfriend.”

Neither of them were, to be accurate. Taichi hadn’t made things official with anyone as of yet.

“Ah, I see. So your plan is to maintain this vague, formless status quo and thus avoid having to commit to anyone in particular... I’d be very careful if I were you, Yaegashi-kun. In the end, men like you will always get what’s coming to them.”

“I... I’m telling you, I didn’t plan this!”

“Oh, so it ‘just happened,’ did it? You truly are the worst sort of person. As an apostle of love, perhaps it’s my duty to dole out some justice... in the form of my fists.”

“What kind of ‘apostle of love’ goes around punching people?! And why aren’t you helping me deny it, Inaba?!”

“Hmm? Oh, I was thinking I’d let Fujishima get the wrong idea about us. Maybe she’d spread some rumors, y’know? Win-win.”

You’re a monster, Inaba Himeko!

“Don’t you think maybe this isn’t the best time for—”

“Relax! I was kidding, alright? Chill.”

Was she? Lately it was getting hard to tell. Sometimes it seemed like it was all part of a calculated plan, and yet other times she came across like she was just messing with him for fun...

“Still, we probably don’t want any photos of this,” she muttered as an afterthought. With that, she headed over to Fujishima and started whispering in her ear. Her eyes glinted sharply behind her glasses. The next moment, she started tapping away on her cell phone, then held the screen up for the other girl to see.

After Inaba gave it a once-over, the two girls exchanged a firm handshake, and she walked back over to Taichi like nothing had happened.

“What was that about? Did you guys strike some kind of bargain, or what?”

Fujishima didn’t strike him as the type to easily concede.

“Don’t worry about it, Taichi. It’s between me and her.”

“She’s right, Yaegashi-kun. You see, the bonds between girls are like a secret garden where no boys may enter...” Fujishima chuckled and wiped the drool oozing from the corner of her mouth... but Taichi pretended not to see it. He got the sense he wasn’t going to like where this was headed.

“Fair enough. As long as you deleted the photo, I can’t complain. A-Anyway, see you sometime next semes—”

“I’m not finished.” Fujishima adjusted her glasses. “Pray tell, who are these sweet little girls you’re holding hands with?”

Damn it, I knew she’d ask about that...

“Oh, uh... These are my, y’know, second cousins twice removed...”

“So they’re related to you?”

“Y-Yeah?”

Instantly, Inaba rounded on him. “Dumbass! You should’ve said they’re related to them!”

Crap. She was right.

“I see. That’s fascinating, seeing as that one looks nearly identical to Nagase-san, and that one is a dead ringer for Kiriyama-san.”

“Whaddya mean? I am Kiriya—mmph?!”

Inaba clapped a hand over the Kiriyama lookalike’s mouth, then pulled her into a firm embrace, burying the girl’s face into her stomach. Muffled sounds of complaint could be heard as she flailed in protest.

Naturally, Fujishima found this rather suspect.

“What did you do that for? You know, come to think of it, the more I look at them, the more uncanny the resemblance... Almost like perfect recreations of what the two of them must have looked like as childr—”

“Hey, Miss Inaba! I’m back!”

That was when the Aoki lookalike returned, candy apple in hand.

“What do we have here? A younger relative of Inaba-san’s? Wait... He looks exactly like Aoki-kun... To an almost startling degree, might I add—”

“Oh, crap! We’re, uh, gonna be late for the thing! We gotta run, Taichi!” Inaba shouted, then grabbed the mini-Kiriyama’s hand and took off, pausing briefly to elbow the mini-Aoki while making sure not to drop the tray of takoyaki balls. “Run, idiot! I’ll buy you whatever you want, so just run!”

“Wha? For real?! Heck yes! Full speed ahead!”

“Don’t just run off wherever you want! Follow me! HEY! Argh, you little dipshit! You trying to get yourself lost again?!”

“W-Wait for me!” Taichi called, but Inaba and the others were already jetting off at lightning speed. Thinking quickly, he crouched down and hoisted the miniature Nagase lookalike into his arms. “This might be a little scary, but I need you to be a big, brave girl, okay?”

A second later, he took off running after Inaba.

Thankfully, the mini-Nagase seemed to enjoy it. “Wheeeee! Am flyiiing!” she shrieked gleefully, flailing her limbs.

“Yes, you’re flying, okay? Now settle down! Don’t swing your cotton candy like th—GWAH!” The sugary pink cloud blindsided him, and the next thing he knew, he’d crashed headfirst into a passerby. “Whoa!”

“Ow!”

“Ack! I... I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t worry, I’m okay... Wait, what the? Taichi?”

Instantly, his apologetic smile vanished.

“Care to explain yourself, dearest brother?!”

There stood Rina, his younger sister by five years, glaring dully back at him. She had been in a really bad mood as of late... for a few different reasons.

“Wh... What are you doing here...?” he stammered. His luck today was proving to be the worst.

“I’m here with some friends. Now then...” She smiled coldly. “Who’s that little girl you’re carrying? She’s not a relative of ours, is she? And she’s a little too young to be a friend of yours... I’m starting to think I might need to call the cops.”

“Huh?” The mini-Nagase tilted her head, and Rina’s glare deepened. Yikes.

“I’m sorry! I’ll explain everything later, so please just let me off the hook for right now!” With that, he took off like a bat out of hell.

He could hear Rina calling after him—“Hey! Wait!”—but he ignored her. He would have to pay the price for his insolence once he arrived back at home, and it was a terrifying prospect... Nevertheless, he somehow managed to catch up with the others, and together the five of them escaped from the crowd of shrine-goers. Thankfully, neither Fujishima nor Rina appeared to be chasing after them.

Inaba gasped for breath. “Should’ve known... there was a chance we’d... run into people we knew... Think we got a bit too cocky...”

“Yeah... Agreed... No more risky moves for today... Hmm? New email?” Upon spotting the notification, Taichi flipped open his phone to find two unread messages waiting for him: one from Fujishima, and one from Rina.

Once the new semester starts, I want to hear ALL the details. And you’re not getting out of it until I’m satisfied. Pow, pow! ♡

I don’t like the look of that heart emoji, Fujishima-san!

I DeMaND aN eXPLaNaTioN. DePeNDinG oN YouR aNSWeR, THeRe MaY Be PuNiSHMeNT.

And I don’t know why you wrote it like that, but it’s giving me the creeps, Rina!!!

Taichi slumped his shoulders in defeat. “How did things end up like this...?”

“End up!”

“Dup!”

“At least little Yui and Iori are in a good mood, I guess...” Taichi sighed, gazing down at the two girls in question.

Something like this should have been...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 25.12.2018
• Reihe/Serie: Kokoro Connect
• Reihe/Serie: Kokoro Connect
• Illustrationen: Shiromizakana
• Übersetzer: Molly Lee
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• Schlagworte: body-swap • Comedy • Drama • Friendship • Paranormal • Psychological • Slice of Life
• ISBN-13: 9781718326040 / 9781718326040