Became a Manga Artist

Chapter 6: Chapter 6 (V2) Alone on the Track



After school, Junichi found Haruto already waiting for him at their usual spot by the main gate, leaning casually against the fence.

"Hey," Haruto greeted, pushing off the fence.

"How'd it go with… you know?" He subtly nodded in the direction of the expensive apartment complex where Shirahashi Yukine lived.

Junichi shrugged. "Couldn't get past her cousin, Shirahashi Rika. But I left the new hearing aid, and… the notebook."

Haruto looked surprised. "You actually went through with it? And gave them that old diary? Dude, you paid your dues. You bought her a new hearing aid, that's way more than the old Junichi ever would have done. You should just forget about it and move on. Seriously, what more do you want?"

Junichi started walking, Haruto falling into step beside him. "It's not about dues. And it's not about forgiveness, either. I don't know if I deserve it. I just… want to do something. Make peace with this past. For him." The last two words were almost a whisper, a quiet acknowledgement of the boy whose memories now intertwined with his own.

Haruto frowned slightly, then nodded slowly. He didn't quite understand, but he respected Junichi's quiet conviction. "Alright, alright, I get it. Still, that's a decent chunk of change you blew on this. You need cash for food or something. You've been skipping meals, right?"

Junichi chuckled dryly. "Please. You know my appetite. I'm a bottomless pit. Don't worry, I've got it handled. Besides, didn't you say your little sister's birthday is coming up? You should save that cash for her gift."

Haruto's eyes widened slightly. "Wait, how'd you know about that?"

Junichi just shrugged, a small smirk playing on his lips. "I have my sources." He didn't elaborate, letting Haruto wonder how he knew about a detail even Haruto himself had barely remembered. A perk of sharing a mind with someone who paid too much attention to other people's lives, he thought wryly.

They walked in comfortable silence for a while, the afternoon sun casting long shadows.

Meanwhile, in her room, Shirahashi Yukine sat on her bed, a brand-new hearing aid nestled in her palm. The sleek, modern device felt alien compared to her old, broken one. Beside it lay a small bag of fresh oranges and apples, their bright colors a stark contrast to the muted tones of her room.

And then, there was the notebook.

Her cousin, Rika, had given it to her with a grim, tight expression, saying only, "He left these. That delinquent. Don't worry, I chased him off."

Yukine had taken it silently, her fingers brushing the worn cover. She looked at the picture inside—a faded image of herself, younger, smiling hesitantly. Underneath, the stark apology from Aoki Junichi.

She had read through the entire notebook, her eyes widening slightly with each page. It was a raw, unfiltered outpouring of regret, of a troubled boy's desperate attempt to understand his own cruelty. She could feel his agony, his confusion, his gradual descent into self-loathing. His feelings, though messy and disjointed, were undeniably real.

A single tear tracked down her cheek. It wasn't a tear of sadness, or even anger. It was a tear of… recognition. Of a shared loneliness. He regretted it. He really did.

She carefully put on the new hearing aid. The world instantly burst into a symphony of sounds—the distant rumble of traffic, the chirping of birds outside, the hum of her air conditioner, even the faint rustle of her own clothes. It was overwhelming, but also… clearer. Sharper. For years, her world had been muffled, distant, a constant strain of effort just to understand. Now, voices might still be difficult, but sounds were no longer a struggle.

"Thank you, Junichi," she mouthed silently, her voice still a whisper, barely audible even to her own ears.

The next day, during P.E. class, the stark reality of Junichi's school life became painfully clear.

"Alright, listen up! Today, we're doing the three-legged race!" the P.E. teacher, a barrel-chested man with a booming voice, announced. "Pair up! Quickly now!"

Immediately, the classroom erupted into a chaotic flurry of students rushing to find partners. Laughter and excited chatter filled the air as friends linked arms and tied their ankles together.

Junichi remained standing by the wall, watching the scene unfold. No one approached him. No one even spared him a glance, except for fleeting, anxious looks. He was an invisible pariah.

He spotted a small, nervous boy hovering at the edge of the crowd, looking desperately for a partner. Their eyes met for a brief second. The boy started to take a step toward Junichi, a flicker of hope in his eyes.

But then, Hayashi Mikami and Yano, the two bullies from Junichi's class, caught his eye. They weren't even looking at him, just casually leaning against the wall, but the message was clear in their presence: associate with the outcast, and you become one.

The nervous boy quickly looked away, retreating into the anonymity of the crowd, avoiding eye contact. He eventually found another reluctant partner.

Junichi's expression remained impassive. He hadn't expected anything else. This was the consequence of his predecessor's past. He just stood there, waiting for the teacher to notice him. Eventually, the teacher, realizing there was an odd number of students and that Junichi was the only one left, paired him with another reluctant boy. The race was over quickly.

Later, sitting on the track, a quiet breeze rustled through the trees. Junichi watched the other students, their faces bright with laughter and camaraderie.

"The beast walks alone," he murmured to himself, the words rising unbidden from some deep, cynical part of his new soul. "Cattle and sheep move in herds. Lions hunt alone. Makes sense. It's always been that way for me, even in my old life. Why would it be different now?"

He pulled out his sketchbook. His drawing skills, he'd noticed, were improving rapidly, unnaturally fast. What would normally take weeks of dedicated practice, he was grasping in days. The system, he suspected, was subtly giving him a boost. Probably some kind of hidden buff from his reincarnation. It was a useful cheat, and he intended to exploit it.

He began to sketch, drawing a lone figure standing against a vast, empty landscape. He wasn't drawing to impress anyone. He was drawing for himself. For the story that was slowly forming in his mind.

He would master this. He had to. Not just for a vague idea of redemption, but because this was his path now. His way to truly make peace with this new life.


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