‘Ah… I’m exhausted again today…’

The last thing I remembered was collapsing onto my bed.

I had spent the train ride answering countless work emails, and even after getting home, my boss had called me.

Without even taking a bath, I had fallen face-first onto my futon, still wearing my clothes.

There was no one waiting for me at home, and I didn’t even have the energy to heat up a convenience store meal.

I had no hobbies.

My weekends were spent sleeping.

I had already given up on getting promoted.

I was still working, but it felt like I was merely surviving.

…Before I knew it, I had even forgotten how to smile.

Thirty-four years old.

A company employee.

Single.

Chronically exhausted.

That was my life.

Ordinary, in the most unremarkable way.

Then—

A sharp pain suddenly stabbed deep inside my head.

The scenery before my eyes slowly began to blur.

“…Huh…?”

A voiceless whisper escaped my lips.

The next instant, my heartbeat accelerated violently before gradually fading away.

‘Ah… this is bad… I’m going to die…’

My vision slowly darkened.

I could feel the strength draining from my body.

A sharp pain pierced my chest, but I didn’t even have the strength to get up.

…

…

“…Mm.”

I opened my eyes.

It was strangely quiet.

As I sat up, my body felt oddly light.

Then I looked around the room—

“…Huh?”

Something was off.

No…

Rather than strange, it felt… nostalgic.

The first thing I noticed was the wooden ceiling.

The kind you would never see in a modern apartment.

Beside me stood a brown bookshelf.

A cheap wooden one with its veneer peeling away.

I recognized it.

Far too well.

In the corner of my eye sat my old study desk.

One corner of the drawer was chipped.

Resting on top were the plastic model kits I used to collect.

Among them was my faded Strike Freedom Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.

“No, no, no… there’s no way…”

I hurriedly looked around the room.

Beside the bed sat a small television.

A bulky CRT television.

Underneath it was a PlayStation 2.

The shelves were lined with CD-sized game cases instead of DVDs.

The titles read: ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, and Sakura Wars.

“This is… my room… my high school room…”

No…

Wait.

Maybe even earlier than that.

Sitting on the desk was a notebook labeled “Ninth Grade Mathematics Summary.”

The date written on it was April 2005.

Slowly, with trembling fingers, I looked at the calendar hanging on the wall.

It was the flower calendar my grandmother faithfully sent every year.

April 1, 2005

“…April Fools’ Day…!”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

No…

Laughing was the only thing I could do.

Yet no matter how hard I stared, it didn’t feel like a dream.

The smell of the room.

The dryness of the air.

The faint sound of a television coming from somewhere in the house.

Everything felt overwhelmingly real.

I looked into the mirror.

A younger version of myself stared back.

My face still carried traces of childhood.

There were no dark circles under my eyes.

My hair was thick and healthy.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.

I’m a middle schooler again…”

It seemed I had awakened in this room as the fourteen-year-old Katsuragi Kyoichi.

I couldn’t move for several minutes.

Confusion.

Shock.

Panic.

And beneath it all…

A small sense of excitement.

It was the kind of development I had read countless times in manga and novels.

I never imagined it would happen to me.

“So… this is reincarnation?”

Even after saying it aloud, it still didn’t feel real.

But my mind had already begun working.

If this was a dream, then I’d wake up eventually.

If so, I might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

But if this was reality—

“…Then maybe this is my chance.”

Back then, I hadn’t accomplished anything remarkable.

I took entrance exams.

Went to high school.

Then university.

Joined a company.

Spent every day exhausted.

And that was the end of it.

Wasn’t life supposed to offer more freedom?

More choices?

Maybe that was why this second chance filled me with just a little hope.

“Still… this brings back so many memories…”

Everything I looked at stirred up old memories.

The floral curtains had been picked out by Mom.

Honestly, they were kind of tacky.

But somehow, they felt comforting.

The view outside the window was completely different from the skyline of the city where I had lived.

Instead, there was a peaceful residential neighborhood.

A few bicycles had been carelessly left by the roadside.

Chuckling to myself, I crawled back under the covers.

My heart was still racing.

It was unbelievable.

Yet terrifyingly real.

Before long, I heard my mother’s voice from outside the room.

“Kyoichi! Breakfast’s ready!”

“…I’m really back at my parents’ house.”

That voice.

The way she called my name.

It was definitely Mom.

We hadn’t talked much over the past few years, but I still remembered it perfectly.

“…I’ll be right there!”

The words came out far more naturally than I expected.

Slowly climbing out of bed, I looked around the room once more.

There was no doubt about it.

This was my room when I was fourteen.

Spring of 2005.

Was today a holiday?

The clock read nine o’clock, so it couldn’t be a school day.

This was my life, right before I started my third year of middle school.

As I walked downstairs, the scent of breakfast filled my nose.

Miso soup.

Grilled fish.

Freshly cooked rice.

How many years had it been since I’d eaten a breakfast like this?

After getting used to convenience store meals and frozen food, my stomach reacted with unexpected excitement.

Sliding open the living room door, I saw Mom busy in the kitchen.

Her long hair was tied back in a ponytail.

She wore an apron while arranging dishes on the table.

She looked younger than I remembered.

“Morning, Kyoichi.

You actually got up.

Just because it’s spring break doesn’t mean you should sleep all day.”

“…Yeah.

Morning.”

It was almost unsettling how naturally I answered.

I still wasn’t used to hearing my voice before puberty.

A perfectly balanced breakfast was already waiting on the table.

Grilled salmon.

Boiled spinach.

Rolled omelet.

Tofu miso soup.

Steaming white rice.

“Weren’t you up late last night?

You still look half asleep.”

“Well… kind of.”

The very concept of “last night” was already questionable for me.

Without asking any more questions, Mom placed the bowl of miso soup in front of me.

“Thanks for the meal.”

I pressed my hands together before picking up my chopsticks.

…Delicious.

That was the only word that came to mind.

It was nothing like convenience store miso soup.

Nothing like instant soup.

The broth was rich.

Gentle.

Comforting.

Nostalgic.

“Today’s miso soup… really hits the spot.”

“Huh?

That’s unusual coming from you.

Lately you’ve been saying you’re a ‘bread for breakfast’ kind of person.”

Maybe she was right.

Toward the end of middle school, I really had gone through a phase where I ate sweet bread every morning.

“…What day is it today?”

“April first.

It’s April Fools’ Day, so don’t go overboard with the pranks.”

“April first…”

That confirmed it.

The calendar had said the same thing.

I was…

In April 1st, 2005.

The realization made my chopsticks stop.

“What’s wrong?”

“No… it’s nothing.

The miso soup is really good.”

Mom smiled happily.

“Really?

I’m glad.”

My eyes drifted toward the television.

From the CRT TV came a familiar announcer’s voice.

[“The World Expo has been drawing huge crowds.

Everyone’s excited about Japan’s first World Expo in thirty-five years…”]

“Whoa… this brings back memories!”

The words slipped out before I realized it.

It was Tokudane!

Normally, I watched Mezamashi TV before school.

Only during long vacations did I get to watch this program, which always made it feel special.

“…So it was still on back then.”

“Hm?

What was?”

“Oh, nothing.”

The program was covering the Aichi Expo, which had opened about a week earlier.

“This is just… way too real…”

Everything around me kept proving that this world was truly 2005.

At this point, it no longer felt like a dream.

The idea that I had been reincarnated was becoming more believable by the minute.

“By the way, did you have any plans today?”

Mom asked while sipping her miso soup.

“No.

Not really.

I’ll just stay home.”

“Then could you clean your room?

At least keep it tidy while you’re on spring break.”

“…Got it.”

Cleaning, huh?

Just looking around the room already sounded entertaining enough.

Now that I was looking back with the mind of an adult, I could calmly observe what my fourteen-year-old self had been thinking and collecting.

After finishing breakfast, I carried my dishes to the sink.

Mom looked at me curiously.

“You’re being awfully obedient today.

Did something good happen?”

“…Maybe it did.”

Smiling faintly, I returned to my room.

That was when I noticed a nostalgic old laptop sitting quietly in the corner.