Living in another country doesn’t feel all that different once you actually experience it.
If it were another region, like in Chalara, maybe the story would have changed. The U.S. or Europe… or some other place altogether.
The language and lifestyle are different, but ultimately, my hobbies from my previous life and those in this life are so similar that it feels like I’ve just extended my “vacation abroad” until it spiraled into an everyday routine.
I studied quite hard until I graduated university, and I ended up with decent grades.
Between me, Yuka, Koko, and Kagami, there was no one who had to study more due to lack of grades. Sure, we took a few different classes separately, and we didn’t always have the same schedule, but at least we were always together on the way home.
Yuka lived alone in our apartment throughout university.
There were many fun times. Whenever we got bored, we’d drop by each other’s rooms to hang out, and sometimes we grilled meat in the parking lot. Though we couldn’t do it too often since we didn’t want to bother the neighbors.
The number of cars in the parking lot kept increasing.
By the time I graduated university, Kagami’s compact car had turned into quite a large van. It seemed Kagami was fully aware that I would be out and about with friends and gladly purchased a new vehicle.
Not wanting to part with the compact car that Kagami used to drive, I inherited it. It was cute in design, and even though it was a few years old and showed some wear, it was still a Japanese car. If I had driven it in another country, I might have had maintenance issues, but here in Japan, it didn’t bother me much.
Most importantly, I’m the type to get attached to things like this. I didn’t want to easily let go of a car filled with memories.
When I got my driver’s license, Koko naturally got hers too. She didn’t buy her own car but drove the Lafina I inherited from Kagami together with me.
I finally fulfilled the nationwide trip I always talked about. Though, it was just a trip to the main cities of Japan’s four large islands, with a day spent in each.
The three of us took turns driving, and we went into hotels that looked nice without a second thought.
We all meticulously recorded the journey and snapped tons of photos and videos.
About six months after the trip, I edited the footage and uploaded it to my channel, which surprisingly gained quite a bit of popularity as a series featuring three semi-pretty girls traveling together. The fact that Koko and I were twins was probably one of the main reasons for its success.
We were able to compile a guidebook from the journals we created during our trip around the time we graduated university.
The sales were decent. It wasn’t enough to live off, and with three of us sharing the royalty, the amount became even less, but it sparked one dream in me.
Someday, I truly want to be called a writer by people.
Funny enough, I jumped into the light novel scene. My ultimate goal became to aim for an animation adaptation of my novel. Whether I can accomplish that or not, I can’t be certain, but hey, life is a game, right?
Ah, right, Yuka also bought a car. Since the three of us moved together for trips, we used the Lafina, but Yuka got her license with intentions of buying her own.
She got a boxy compact car. Unsurprisingly, it was named “Cube.” I remember it because it was the same car a celebrity I saw on TV drove when I was a kid.
Mako, Yu, and Harumi also lived in our apartment up to graduation. All three of them got their driver’s licenses, but only Yu bought a car.
Mako was a bit cautious about driving because of her personality. It wouldn’t have been strange for them to buy a car given their family’s wealth, but she kept postponing her decision because she wanted to think it over.
Still, on graduation day, Mako arriving in a red sports sedan was quite impressive.
With fashionable sunglasses and her hair slightly longer than it was in high school.
However, when she took off the sunglasses and showed her embarrassed expression, the atmosphere changed completely, but hey, that suited her too.
Yu surprisingly bought a pretty big SUV.
Out of nowhere, he seemed to have a yearning for camping, and consistently prepared equipment seasonally to go pretty far. He always tried to arrange his schedule so he could include long weekends, leaving on Fridays or Mondays.
Sometimes alone, sometimes with friends.
A few times, everyone, including Kagami, followed Yu on his adventures.
Setting up tents in a campsite, we would lie back and quietly stare up at the stars, surrounded only by the shimmering starlight falling from the sky.
It’s an unforgettable memory.
Harumi didn’t buy a “car.” Here, “car” means a vehicle that can usually carry at least two people.
Not front and back, but side by side.
Harumi bought a vehicle that could carry “two up and down,” not a car.
Yep. I mean a motorcycle.
Honestly, I expected her to pick a cute little scooter, like a gyaru would, but she surprisingly brought over a rather robust German-brand motorcycle.
She gave me rides a few times, and honestly, it was refreshing and fun.
Every time, Kagami would look worried, so I had to control my excitement a bit.
Whether Harumi has good driving skills, or she’s just safe in her own way—or maybe it’s both—there have been no accidents so far.
Just like Yu sometimes did, she’d ride far on her bike and send over photos. Her photography skills had been improving, and I’d say she might’ve become the best at photography among us after Kagami.
Sometimes she’d take Mako along, and they looked great together, curiously.
The literature club kept welcoming new students. Haru would regularly visit and buy the literary magazine up until Shii’s graduation, but after that, she stopped going.
Even if she did, there was only Suzuki-sensei left that she knew.
Suzuki-sensei still brightened up when she saw me and Koko, with her smiling face. I still visit occasionally, and judging by the fact that the kids still love her, she seems to remain “the best teacher” for many students.
Kaoru and Izumi kept in touch even after they became university students. They frequented the literature club café like us, but it seems they stopped going after Shii graduated. During our hangouts, they would sometimes join us as well. Just like we did, they followed us by car. Sometimes Kaoru drove, other times it was Izumi.
After graduating, the two started a small publishing company and appeared to be a bit interested in my new work and Koko’s. “Let me know if you plan to travel again!” they said.
Should I write again? It could be interesting to write about traveling abroad this time.
One chaotic year later, while I was in my third year of university, another housemate joined us in the remaining room of our apartment.
It was Shii.
Shii casually followed me to the same school and department. Honestly, I figured if it were Shii, it’d be understandable. If Shii couldn’t get into this school, who else could?
Both Shii and I worked part-time until graduation from university. Our boss, a bit older maid, welcomed us pleasantly, and thanks to that, we had a decent allowance while attending university.
Shii and Sota’s relationship remained the same. Sota was the caring brother, while Shii was the somewhat clumsy sister keeping a close eye on her brother.
Though they had a rough history with their mother, they steadfastly didn’t seem to care. After all, Shii had that terrible childhood because of those people.
As for their relationship with their father… it was slowly recovering, at least.
Time heals, they say. I guess there was some merit in finally being able to communicate in a blunt manner.
Perhaps growing older has changed my thoughts, too. Honestly, I don’t think it’s an easy relationship to accept, but that’s something Sota and Shii should handle rather than me butting in.
All I can do is keep watch and be there silently when they need help or support.
Speaking of part-time jobs, our boss took off the maid outfit once she hit her early thirties. Honestly, it felt like she could stay on a few more years, but around that time, she transformed the café into a fairly serious atmosphere and has been running it since.
Some of the maids, who didn’t quit for a long time, became full-time employees when the café expanded to the upper and lower levels.
Miki, too.
She became a university student a bit late but studied diligently. Although she didn’t have the best grades, she could genuinely smile on the day of graduation.
Miki also started running the café alongside our boss, and nowadays, the café continues to thrive in Akihabara as one of the must-visit spots.
At least that legacy will continue, so I’m relieved.
Oh, and Sota.
Though he didn’t live in our apartment, I ended up seeing him often because he still hung around with Shii.
After graduating high school, for some reason, Sota seemed to have grown a bit taller and somehow more attractive. Without the gakuran, he looked more refined.
Nanami went to the same university as Sota, but unfortunately, they ended up in different majors. By some twist of fate, Tsugumi worked relentlessly to get into the same major as Sota the following year, and they ended up having a fierce rivalry.
That rivalry went on until graduation—right after graduation, while Sota was trading playful banter with the two of them, a white foreign car pulled over.
The person who got out was Hagiwara, who graduated a year earlier.
Indeed. For so long, Hagiwara has been sharpening her skills, despite only keeping in touch sporadically.
The rivalry shows no signs of ending.
…
And then, Kagami, Koko, and I—
Ultimately, we left the apartment.
It wasn’t that the three of us split up. Neither I nor Koko took jobs far away, needing to move.
In fact, by that time, I was slowly starting to earn some money writing, so I had no need to move out, and I didn’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend anyway.
However, Kagami finally acknowledged that Koko and I couldn’t live with Mom forever.
I hadn’t even tried persuading her first.
We decided to purchase a house near our family home in Tokyo and moved there.
For the first time since living with Kagami, I had my own room.
The moving day was the day after Shii’s graduation.
With Mako, Yu, Harumi, and Yuka already having left one after another, the apartment felt somewhat lonely.
When the three of us finally packed up the last of our belongings, everyone who had lived in that apartment gathered together.
Even after fixing and repainting it a bit, the old atmosphere was still undeniable. The somewhat gloomy ambiance too.
But for us, who had lived many years intertwined in that place—all of that atmosphere became memories.
“This place will remain just like this.”
Kagami said while looking up at the apartment.
I don’t know how long it’ll stay like this.
Just like I inherited Kagami’s car, it seems Kagami isn’t the type to easily give up on this part of our memories either.
“Yeah, forever.”
“Uugh…”
For a long time, we gazed at that place where our memories had accumulated and overflowed.
We took a group photo and then headed to our cars.
One by one, we drifted off in the direction of where we each lived.
I know this isn’t the end.
After all, this weekend will soon become a golden holiday, and whenever we have time off… we’ll naturally gather again.
But just like throughout university, we probably won’t be able to be as rowdy and joyous as we were before.
And thus, we each step forward, changing little by little.
I’ve felt this before; even when graduating high school.
But still, shedding old layers feels awkward.
After a bit less than an hour of driving, the car stopped, and I looked out to see an unfamiliar house.
This would be where we’d build our “new home.”
Much like when we left the apartment, the three of us gazed at our new house for what felt like an eternity.
“Well then, shall we go in?”
Kagami said with a smile.
Koko and I nodded, and together we slowly entered the house.
A place to fill with our new memories.
And the story isn’t over yet.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.