Her name was Masafumi Hina and she was on her way to the ocean!

  All her life, she had wanted to go to the beach and experience something all young people do – romance!

  Hina was obsessed with it. She read all kinds of books that always had happy endings as a little girl and as she grew older, she gravitated to shoujo manga and romantic light novels. Anime was also on her list of things to watch and one of the tropes she enjoyed the most were ones that involved beaches!

  A confession by the sunset…a secret rendez-vous by a secret cave at a little seaside cove…true love at first sight when you lock eyes with someone while playing in the water…the male lead getting down on one knee and proposing to his lover! Hina loved it all.

  When it came to old stories she had seen or read, Hina always fast-forwarded to those penultimate scenes, sighing and squeeing when she saw them play out a million times over so that she could recite each scene word for word. Of course, her memory was nothing to sneeze at; she knew many details of all the books and anime she came across, she was that much of a fan for the various media she came across involving romance.

  So when the chance to go on a class trip to Okinawa in her 16th year came up, she worked very hard to be able to go and, hopefully, experience the romance she so craved!

  At least, that was the hope.

  “Hinaaaaa, are you going to be nose deep in that book again?” her friend sitting next to her on the bus to the beach asked.

  Sasaki Hanako. Her friend since that fateful day in kindergarten where Hina got bullied by a boy in class and Hanako, stepped in and saved her. Hina adored Hanako! Her best friend was simply amazing. If she had to give her an archetype from anime, she’s the cool type! Hanako was not one for words, but actions and also had the ability to follow through with said actions.

  Hanako was the captain of the kendo team and would be leading their school’s team to nationals soon. She was tall, reliable, serious, smart and cool. Honestly, the opposite of Hina who was known as an airhead in class who was romance-brained. And yet, that never deterred Hanako from staying friends. In fact, it only seemed to endear Hina more to Hanako.

  One thing Hanako always said, since childhood: “I am Hana and you are Hina. A flower and the sun. Without you, I think I would have withered away long ago.”

  Seriously, she was so eloquent even as a child! Then again, Hanako came from a very good family, who strictly raised their daughter to be the best of the best. So, to Hina who was not from that world, it seemed normal for Hanako to be perfect.

  Hina on the other hand…well, she had to work hard to go on this trip for a reason. While not living in poverty, her own average family could not afford extra luxuries like class trips or even her light novel obsession she was currently going through. Everything had to be earned on her own, from her part-time job which her school, thankfully, allowed when most did not.

  And that resulted in unpleasant things, from time to time, due to her needing to support her own school social life…

  “Hina, are you really ignoring me?”

  “...AH!”

  Her friend was suddenly too close. Hanako had leaned in to try and get her friend’s attention, as her mind had wandered somewhere again. If this were an anime, this kind of scene would be heart thumping, the two leads faces mere inches away from each other, the male lead staring deeply into her own eyes as he waited for the answer…

  Of course, this was just Hanako, so there was no such feeling, but it was certainly startling!

  I can see how long her lashes are. Han-chan is so pretty…

  Hina let out a nervous giggle as she gently shut her book. “Sorry, Han-chan. Reading helps me get through long bus rides…”

  “Do you still get motion sickness on buses?” Hanako asked, still with the same distance between them, now with her head cocked to the side. At that moment Hina couldn’t help, but compare her friend to a curious dog. Maybe a doberman, considering Hanako’s sharp looks?

  “Only on long rides,” Hina admitted.

  “I see…” Hanako had moved back to allow Hina her space once again. And then, she tapped her lap, gesturing for Hina to use it. “You can use this then.”

  Letting Hina lay down on her lap was something Hanako had always done, aftering finding out that Hina suffered from motion sickness on any vehicle in primary school. It was a kindness Hina was always grateful for, though it may be a bit awkward now at their age. Hina wasn’t as tall as the statuesque Hanako (her friend was 5’10” while Hina was a modest 5’3”), but she was basically her adult size and would not be able to fit comfortably laying down with these tight bus seats.

  “Ah, no thanks, Han-chan, the fit may be a bit too tight for that here,” Hina said, waving a hand in gentle rejection.

  Hanako did not seem offended, rather her expression became pensive, a hand coming up to touch her chin in thought. “Ah, is that right? Well, how about this then?”

  And with that, her friend reached around to pull Hina in to rest her head on her shoulder, holding her up with an arm around Hina’s shoulders. Hina smiled at this kindness, touched by how thoughtful Hanako was. Honestly, how did she get such an amazing friend?

  “Ah, thanks, Han-chan. This is actually quite comfortable.”

  “Hahaha. So I’m much better than a book, right?”

  “Hahaha, Han-chan is the best medicine!”

  “Ugh, do you two have to start this sort of thing so early?” another voice cut in, from a seat directly across the aisle from the friends. The girl there gave the two friends a disdainful look, her nose practically in the air with how she upturned to their display of friendship. The other girl, with luxuriously coiffed hair, overdone nails and a tan more orange than actual tan just looked down her nose at them, with arms crossed.

  “Geez, what do you see in such a nerd, Sasaki-san?”

  Hanako, for all intents and purposes, ignored this other girl, continuing to give Hina her attention instead.

  “Are you reading the same book again?” Hanako asked gently, just smiling like a Buddha unbothered by all the troubles of the world.

  “O-oh, yes…this is my new favourite novel that came out recently…” Hina answered, eyes looking down at the novel in her hands and nowhere else.

  “Ah, you mean the one you recommended to me, right?” Hanako replied, still using that stellar smile that could make the Devil weep.

  “HEY. SASAKI-SAN, I’M TALKING TO YOU!”

  Sighing, Hanako finally replied to the other girl, their classmate named Saito Nao, without looking away from Hina.

  “Saito-san, you do not need to yell. As your class representative, I request that you check that loud attitude of yours as you are currently representing our school,” Hanako said, tone level, shutting down the gyaru’s attempt to make a fuss.

  Saito Nao was their classmate, a gyaru who took issue with everything Hina did for many years now. She was someone that Hina had known since childhood as well, though they had been separated for middle school as Nao had attended a different academy. Before they parted ways the two of them had been friends, so Hina had no idea what happened in the years they were apart. They met again during their high school entrance ceremony wherein Nao began mocking her and bullying her right off the bat, coming after her whenever possible. If not for Hanako always being there for Hina, high school life would have been terrible.

  “Well, I don’t feel comfortable with how you’re acting Sasaki-san,” Nao replied, each word spoken pointedly as if she was disgusted that she even needed to speak to her.

  “I am simply helping out a fellow classmate,” Hanako replied smoothly. “As a class representative, the care of my fellow classmates is important to me. As Masafumi-san’s friend, I feel obliged to help her out when she’s feeling bad. Wouldn’t you help your own friends, Saito-san?”

  “......” Nao pursed her lips and turned to look away.

  “.....” Hanako continued to keep on smiling benevolently, sparkling.

  Hina had been in between these kinds of spats for a long time. Mainly because she was the quiet type who just wanted to enjoy her manga and light novels in peace, a person who was easily pushed around. Hina just wanted a peaceful life with no problems! Simple enough, right? She had no idea why people didn’t like her just because she was an otaku of romances.

  “Hey, Nao-Nao, just let it be, okay?”

  “But Ren…!”

  The one who spoke up was Nao’s neighbour, her boyfriend and fellow member of the kendo club, just under Hanako, Takada Ren. He was a popular guy at school, with good looks and also coming from a good family. But unlike Hanako who was raised strictly, you could call Ren as someone who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Despite his strength in kendo, his overall good grades and great looks (the trifecta of a perfect guy) he had one problem…

  “It’s nice to have friends, right?” he asked Nao, smiling.

  “I don’t care, it’s gross how they act and they should stop!”

  “....!”

  Yes, Takada Ren had one problem…

  He looked over at Hanako and Hina, with that empty-headed smile he was always known for. A smile that won over most girls, with his idol level looks…

  “Could you maybe please, tone it down?”

  “Huh?! What are you saying, Ren?! They shouldn’t just tone it down, they should just stop!”

  “...Ah, yeah, right. Can you guys stop?”

  Ren was an even bigger pushover than Hina.

  We call this a weak-willed guy. But other than that, he has top notch stats! Hina thought to herself. Alas, his good looks were wasted thanks to his weak personality.

  Hanako, in her usual calm way, simply said to them, “There is nothing wrong with friends being kind to each other. If you want to make a complaint, you can do so later when the bus reaches its destination as you can talk to the teacher in the other bus. As the designated leader of this bus, I do not see a problem, other than your rude accusations and shouts. Just sit quietly until we get there. Does everyone else agree?”

  While not involved, the other students in the bus said their agreements.

  “Yeah, what Sasaki-san said!”

  “There’s nothing wrong with what they’re doing. You’re in the wrong, Saito-san.”

  “Can’t we have a day without you shouting, Saito-san?”

  “It’s a very long bus ride, can’t we have some peace for once…”

  “Just sit quietly Saito-san.”

  “...Nao-Nao, I think you should let it go…”

  “...Tsk!”

  Nao huffed, now demanding Ren switch seats with her so she wouldn’t have to look at Hanako and Hina. Hina wilted in her stea, while Hanako sighed.

  “I don’t know why Saito-san hates me so much…” Hina whispered.

  “It’s got nothing to do with you, it’s me she hates,” Hanako said back quietly.

  Hina nodded, trying to move away from her friend’s shoulder, but Hanako kept her arm firmly around Hina. If she hadn’t known better, she’d think her friend was being possessive, but she knew Hanako was being protective. She had always been the gallant knight kind of personality. It was so admirable.

  “...You know, Han-chan, you’re exactly my favourite type from my novels,” Hina remarked.

  Hanako’s eyes curved as an amused smile crossed her lips. “Oh, is that so?”

  “Yeah, if you were a guy, I’d totally fall for you.”

  “If I were a guy, huh? Yeah, that always seems to be the problem…”

  “...! I…I’m sorry, Han-chan. I didn’t mean…”

  “It’s okay, Hina, I’m not mad at all. I could never be mad at you.”

  Hina felt bad for bringing up something so thoughtlessly. For anyone else, this might be the beginning of friendly banter, but for Hanako, whose family valued old traditional ways, this was considered a sore spot.

  Although not the most wealthy, Hina was lucky that she was adored by her parents and siblings. Her family consisted of her, her two older sisters, and her parents. A normal middle class family doing their best to live in the fast paced world of Tokyo.

  Hanako had been born into an old money sort of family, and was originally the twin of a boy, named Hanahiko. However, her brother had died of a disease he inherited, but Hanako hadn’t. He passed away when they were only 6 years old, just starting the first grade. Their family lamented the loss of Hanahiko, to the point they lost sight of themselves and acted coldly to Hanako. They said things like ‘if only it had been Hanako who died instead’ – what cruel parents! The only one who didn’t treat Hanako badly was her venerable grandfather, who celebrated her life rather than damn her for surviving a terrible childhood disease by genetic luck. Her grandfather had been the one to educate her, allowing her to take on kendo and excelling in life when her own parents gave up on her, trying for another male child. With their fervent wish for a male heir, they forgot all about Hanako, who had worked her whole life to be seen as worthy as any male child could be.

  So Hina always felt stupid whenever she’d thoughtlessly bring it up as a joke, because it wasn’t a joke for Hanako who lived in such a situation.

  However, no matter how many times Hina made such a social blunder, Hanako kept smiling at her and stayed friends.

  They were each other’s only friends. The hyper reliable and competent Hanako was hard for most to get along with and the airheaded and romance-brained Hina was someone people avoided due to her lack of sociability. Maybe this was why they were so close – there was an understanding between the two. They let the other live peacefully. For Hina, Hanako was amazing and more than enough as a person, worthy of praise; and for Hanako, Hina was a supportive friend who was happy to hang out and include her in things.

  “This is the book about that saint, right?” Hanako asked, plucking the book out of Hina’s hands to look through it.

  “There’s a lot of books with saints, you’re going to have to be more specific, Han-chan.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Right, right. I mean, the one you mentioned before that became your new favourite: The Saint’s Thorny Road.”

  “Yes! You remembered?”

  “Of course, I did.” As expected of the living camera who could memorize things by looking at them once.

  The Saint’s Thorny Road was a brand new novel in the vein of fantasy novels becoming more and more popular in the regressor genre. The premise of the story was pretty simple:

  The Saint in question, named Alperene Albrecht, went back in time after being executed for treason alongside other members of the temple and some nobles.

  All of them had been innocent of the charges set against them, but they were killed anyway by the enraged people of the Empire of Aurea who had recently gotten through a plague spread by a cult whose members had people of the nobility and temple within it. Despite the imperial family wishing to save her, in order to retain peace in the Empire, they needed to execute her. Alperene begged the gods to do something and her pleas reached the god of time who reversed time for her to five years before the events of her execution.

  From there it followed the usual plotlines for this kind of tale where Alperene would right the wrongs of the past and pass the death flags with the help of the male lead, the crown prince called Darius Alaric Aurea. He was what the fans called a ‘golden retriever boyfriend’, a popular male lead different from the usual ‘duke from the north’ with a host of problematic elements that looked like a parade of red flags. Darius was not only openly in love with Alperene, doing everything he could for her, he was reliable, competent and one to take action instead of letting his title keep a chokehold on him from acting in Alperene’s second try at life (he had not fallen for her in the first timeline, which explained why he hadn’t done anything originally).

  The crown prince was exactly Hina’s type and had become her bias in recent days.

  “So, Hina likes these prince types, huh? Well, I hope my beloved Hina-chan will find her Prince Charming on this trip to the sea.”

  “That’d really be nice.”

  She’d done a lot to prepare. Hanako had offered to pay for her, but Hina believed in working hard for what you wanted! Although,. Her best friend did help coach her on what to say and how to act when she eventually did meet the guy of her dreams, as she had no real experience. Her best friend had even studied up on several romance novels to help prepare.

  Hanako was surprisingly good at acting the part of the male lead. It probably had to do with her natural cool mannerisms. Rarely did her friend get openly mad or show upset. Her face was either blank or smiling. She was as tranquil as a still pond. A shining example of Zen.

  Of course, she also read the Saint’s Thorny Road as well, in order to talk with Hina about her latest obsession without missing a beat, as not many kept up with the light novel scene as much as her or wished to, in the case of her classmates.

  “Hey, Hina, I don’t understand why nobody suspected foul play in the first place? Shouldn’t such a great character like the crown prince be on top of things like this?” Hanako asked, landing on a random page that had art splashed across it. The crown prince, with pale hair and blue eyes was smiling up at the reader there, with loving eyes as if gazing at his one true love, the saint of the Empire. Hanako flipped to previous pages, closer to the front with an impassive look on her face. Right to the scene where the saint and her comrades were being executed. “No one else could help them?”

  “Well, there was the duke of the Empire, however, the author seemed to completely forget about them before the book was over. I’m guessing the author is saving the duke for something in the next volume, if the author’s blog is anything to go by...”

  There was another powerful character in the novel, though their appearance did taper off in favour of the budding romance between the two leads. Only mentioned somewhat, before disappearing from the plot, there had been talks of appealing to the duke of the Empire in order to avert the death flags awaiting several other characters in the novel. However, while going to meet the duke, Alperene met the crown prince by chance instead and received help from him.

  The Saint’s Thorny Road was meant to be a two parter, so Hina didn’t know the full conclusion of the story yet, but she was already hooked by how wholesome and sweet the two leads were in the story. And the best part? The crown prince fell in love with Alperene at first sight when meeting her at a seaside! It was a scene depicted in her book too so she loved just staring at that full art coloured scene and re-reading the moment. They promised to meet again by the seaside and properly consummate their union which would most likely be in volume two!

  “...You’re looking forward to this trip, Hina?”

  “Of course, Han-chan. I worked so hard to get here, after all.”

  “I’m glad you feel good about it. I’m looking forward to it, too.”

  “Oh, yeah? What part of it, Han-chan?”

  “Hmm….who knows?”

  “What? Han-chaaaan~”

  Pouting, Hina held onto Hanako and shook her playfully, pretending to be a whining child deprived of her favourite sweet. Her friend merely laughed, just enjoying the springtime of their youth together.

  “Hey, Hiiiina. How much do you loooove me?” Hanako inquired playfully, extricating Hina’s grasp on her so they could converse properly.

  “Hm….Han-chan has been my best friend since we were little, so…a lot?”

  “Well, because Hina worked so hard, I pulled some strings at my grandpa’s company.”

  Hina stared at her friend, blankly, then almost let out a shriek. “You…you didn’t?!”

  The Sasaki family ran a publishing company. They had been publishing books for over a century now and only thanks to Hanako’s own meddling in the running of the business, did they branch out from traditional literature to include some of Hina’s favourite books and their future releases, resulting in a boom of profits. Then again, it was through Hina’s devouring of online web novel content did Hanako even find some of these authors to sign on. So while Hanako got a lot of credit, Hina also got to benefit because her friend had access to the goods.

  Right there in Hanako’s hands was volume 2 of the Saint’s Thorny Road.

  Hina’s eyes sparkled as she looked at what was the equivalent of the Holy Grail to her.

  “I could marry you,” Hina said without thinking.

  “Do you mean me, or the book?” Hanako teased, snapping her friend out of her romance-brained trance.

  “Ah, well, I mean–”

  “Hahahaha.”

  “So…can I have it?” She really wanted the book – it’d been months since the release of volume 1 and she’d been chomping at the bit for the release of volume two with the finale written in. There was practically drool coming out of her mouth as she imagined the possible scenarios within the book.

  The book was held out in front of her, easy enough for Hina to take, but the moment she tried to, Hanako pulled it out of reach, making her whine loudly, catching the attention of others.

  “Now, now, Hina, I can’t let you have this so easily. What will you do for me in return?” Hanako asked, voice going low.

  It took Hina a moment to realize what was going on.

  …Page 177, paragraph 2, line 4…the male lead making a deal with the female lead!

  Yes, Hanako, true to her word, was reenacting a moment from one of the many books Hina had read in the past, in order to prepare her mind and heart for romance in the real world one day. Everyone had been witness to this in the months leading up to the trip to Okinawa and Hanako would surprise Hina randomly with these bouts of manliness oozing out of her every pore. Seriously, she could be an actress, she was that good. It almost felt like she was actually with a guy talking to her, not her best girl friend of over a decade.

  Honestly, with how well Hanako executed her task, it was hard not to get flustered. Other girls in their class would often squeal whenever the other girl would do something classic like a kabedon in the middle of the hallway. With Hanako’s tall stature and athletic body, she sure gave off the air of those romantic leads in that pose.

  Hina needed to respond in kind.

  “Ah, well…in exchange? How about one date?” Hina replied, unable to keep the words flowing smoothly.

  The girls sitting behind them on the bus were making audible ‘oooh’ sounds.

  “Good girl,” Hanako breathed out, letting Hina have the book after a slight pause. Again, there was oohing sounds behind them, but they were summarily ignored. “I think you’ll like the second volume. Might be a bit surprising for you.”

  “Did you read it already?!”

  “Of course, I did. I had to make sure you got a good finished copy. You’ll be surprised about the duke–”

  “AH! NO SPOILERS SASAKI HANAKO!”

  Her hands were over her friend’s mouth, book and all, to keep her from saying anything more on the matter. If there was one thing she did not appreciate, it was spoilers! She hadn’t signed into her social media lately just so she could keep the purity of experiencing the second volume with no foreknowledge.

  Something wet ran across one of her fingers.

  Hina stared at the mischief playing in her friend’s eyes. She quickly removed her hands from Hanako’s mouth, spotting a little pink tongue slipping away behind curling lips.

  “Did you just…lick me? What are you, four?”

  “I licked it, so it’s mine.”

  “Geez, you can be surprisingly immature, Han-chan.”

  “Despite what you may think I am, in fact, a hot-blooded teenager. And teenagers do dumb stuff, don’t they?”

  Rather than say anything in return, Hina settled in to read the first chapter of the new volume. However, Hanako wasn’t going to allow this blatant evasion. Leaning in enough that her shadow overcast the pages of the book, Hanako said,

  “Hey, Hina?”

  “...What?”

  “I’m a flower and you’re the sun, you know? I think I’d be wilted by now without you.”

  “Yeah, yeah. You always say that.”

  “And I’m always serious.”

  “I know…now, could you keep your pretty face away from me? I’m trying to read!”

  “Haha…as you wish, Hina. I’ll leave you to your perfect paperback prince charming, then.”

  The two were going to settle back down calmly, Hanako to her thoughts and Hina to her newly acquired book (which she was so excited to read), but fate would once again intervene and destroy the peaceful tranquility.

  A manicured hand was seen right before snatching the book away. Nao had gotten up from her seat in the other aisle and had come to the two friends, apparently fed up with both of them, behaving be damned. Ren was behind her, trying to tug her back to their seats, but she was not budging, standing in the aisle of the bus with the pilfered book between her fingers and a disgusted look on her face.

  “Seriously, how can you read trash like this?” she asked, flipping through the pages. Nao stopped at a later page with a picture of the prince on display and violently bent the book, causing it to crease already. Hina’s little book loving heart screamed internally, as to bend the spine like that was basically a crime. How dare Nao do that to her brand new book! And worse, she was trying to shove the scene she found right into Hina’s face as she confronted her about it. Poor Hina didn’t know where to look. If she looked at Nao, she risked seeing a spoiler from later in the story, but if she didn’t keep an eye on Nao, she might do something worse to the book. Her precious gift from Hanako…!

  “I already looked at the first volume to see what all the fuss was about, since you talked about it so much during class. But isn’t it just dumb fantasy cringe for nerds like you who can never be with anyone?” Nao pressed on, making Hina feel even more upset. “I mean, someone like you, can’t hope to pull a guy like this, right?”

  “S-stop it, Saito-san,” Hina insisted. Having it so close, she tried to swipe it back, but Nao lifted it out of reach again, cackling as the bookworm struggled to get her precious item back. “Give it back!”

  Nao’s eyes sparkled with mean glee as she shook her head, others getting involved now. Shouts of their fellow students just telling her to stop acting so childishly and to leave Hina alone. Though many calls for her to cease were less about defending Hina and more about putting down Nao.

  “Saito-san could you please stop being such a nuisance? You’re so annoying.”

  “Seriously, whether it’s in class or outside, you always have to grab people’s attention, huh?”

  “I mean, look at how she dresses, she clearly wants people to look at her…”

  “Only children still act like this, or people in anime. Do bullies like this actually exist in real life?”

  It even grabbed the driver’s attention, considering several voices rose up to try and make Nao sit down.

  “Hey, you kids, could you keep it down? It’s starting to rain and it’s hard to drive without getting distracted.”

  Hina’s eyes darted over to the window next to Hanako, seeing the passing scenery of a mountain road now being pelted by rain. The skies outside were a deep gray, making it seem as if night was already falling, as the blocked sun could not shine down on them. It would seem that when they arrived at the resort, there would be no going outside on the first day. Right now, the buses carrying the visiting students were going smoothly, though some of the turns were a little rough due to the slippery roads and lowered visibility. There were guard railings, but for a large vehicle like this travel bus filled with students, Hina couldn’t help getting queasy thinking about their bus slipping off the side. The turns were also one of the main reasons why Hina had been getting motion sickness, too, as the driver did not drive gently in order to get to their destination on time with the other bus holding the rest of their classmates and the adult chaperones, including the teacher.

  Perhaps having all the adults on one bus and leaving Hanako, the student representative, in charge was what allowed the chaos to continue as it did.

  “Oh, shut up old man, this has nothing to do with you!” Nao shouted back to the front of the bus.

  “What did you say young lady?!” the bus driver yelled back, angrily.

  The bus swerved a little just then, making all the riders shift uncomfortably to the right. Hina almost fell out of her seat, but Hanako kept a good hold of her. Nao even became unsteady enough to fall back into Ren who barely reacted fast enough to catch his girlfriend. She still had a grip on Hina’s book, though, even as she got up to stomp up to the front of the bus to pick a fight with the bus driver.

  Hanako, displeased with the circumstances, looked at Hina with concern. “Are you okay, Hina?”

  “I’m…I’m fine, Han-chan, but the book you gave me…” Hina felt so bad that it had been taken away from her. Not just because it was the long awaited, publicly unreleased second volume of her favourite story, but simply for the fact that it had been a gift from Hanako after she went through a lot of trouble to get it.

  Hanako just smiled, bringing a hand up to pat her friend’s head gently. “Don’t worry. We’ll wait for Saito-san to simmer down and I’ll get it back for you. Do you want to change seats so she won’t get to you so easily next time?”

  “Yeah…”

  As the friends began to change seats (a needed maneuver, as Hanako would eventually need to get up and deal with Nao directly as the representative in charge of the peace of the bus), things were getting super heated at the driver’s seat as Nao continued to scream at the bus driver who was giving back as much.

  “Who do you think you are?” Nao yelled, leaning too close to the older man trying to keep his cool as he drove through the rainy road. “You’re just some poor loser driver. You have no right to speak to me like this!”

  “The hell I can’t, little girl!” the man ground back, eyes darting between her and the road. “Sit your butt down, or I can end your trip by reporting to your teachers!”

  Nao was upset at the threat. “You can’t do that!”

  “I can and I will! I can contact the other bus and ask everyone to stop right now.”

  “Grrr…!”

  Blinded by her rage, because how dare someone stand up to her, Nao grabbed the steering wheel and tugged hard, making the whole bus shift dangerously. As it was an abrupt, sharp turn, the bus floated sideways for a second, before thumping back onto its tires as the driver wrested control from Nao, to get them back to safety. Many students had shouted in fear, Hina included as she braced against the seat in front of her. When she dared to look out the window as the bus had been momentarily suspended on only half of its tires, she saw the darkening rainy sky before everything shifted and she could see the ground once more.

  “Han-chan..!” Hina was scared, mind spiralling with worry. She began to blame herself for what was happening.If only she hadn’t been so loud, if only she hadn’t antagonized Nao, if only she could be normal–

  “Hey!”

  Hanako’s voice cut through the dire thoughts as they once again swerved hard enough to almost tilt the entire bus. The crackle of a radio went off as a voice from the other bus behind them tried to contact the driver, asking about what was going on as they spotted their bus making dangerous movements.

  Hanako’s sharp eyes did not waver as she met Hina’s. There was reassurance that everything would be alright in that silent stare following her calling out to Hina.

  “I’ll go take care of things. Just sit tight, okay?” Hanako’s voice was level and calm. How could she be so calm in this situation? “I promise, Hina…you’ll get to see the sea. And you’ll have your seaside romance. So don’t be scared. And trust me.”

  Hina really did want to. In all the years they had known each other, Hanako always kept her word. There was no reason to doubt her whenever she spoke like this. With her tranquil smile and her air of reliability, she truly was a shining example of someone she could like…

  However, there were things even Hanako was powerless in front of.

  In their struggle for the wheel, Nao won.

  And, still blinded to the true situation, in her selfishness tried to turn the bus into stopping on the side of the road in her bid to get control over the situation. Truly, she was unrecognizable as her usual self, let alone from the girl who used to be friends with Hina back in elementary school. Screaming her outrage she had scratched out the driver’s eyes, and tugged hard on the wheel, but having no experience with driving a normal car, let alone a vehicle as big as the one half the class was using, she tugged towards the guard rail instead of the extra expanse next to the narrow mountain road for yielding in case of emergencies.

  This time, the bus careened over the edge.

  Everyone hung in the air for a moment as the bus began to plummet off the mountain road, headed to the lower ground to crash. Everyone in the bus screamed in fear.

  Hina was screaming as she felt herself be shoved up against the roof of the bus due to gravity pushing her upwards.

  Somehow, Hanako managed to get to her, pulling her close and wrapping her up in her arms, a hand to the back of Hina’s head in a useless bid to protect her. Murmurs and promises of everything turning out fine were repeated over and over as the eternity of falling through the air continued.

  The last things Hina remembered as the bus finally met the ground was feeling regret over dying so young, never being able to have true romance touch her life and hearing muffled words from Hanako.

  “Hina, I–”

  Ah, what a regret. Right until the very end, Hanako always protected her.

  But this time, it was no use.

  Just what did Hanako say…?

  Pain burned through her and she sensed the loss of feeling in her body following in the minutes afterward.

  She could see her anymore, but she could feel her friend’s body, cold, on top of her. Having died on impact, trying to protect Hina. Hina cried, which made things hurt more, because she had survived, even for a few precious extra moments. But it hurt and was so frightening, without Hanako there to reassure her that everything would turn out just fine.

  “Ha…Ha….Han…ch…chan…” Her last words in this world as her mind screamed and raged against what happened, as her body refused to respond to anything she wanted it to do. Had she broken her spine? Not surprising. That impact was incredibly hard. It’d be amazing if anyone had survived at all.

  As life faded from Hina, held still in death by her best friend, she couldn’t help, but to think she’d like it if she could meet Hanako again in a new life.

  …Those were some of the memories she recalled upon waking up that morning.

  It was a spring day, the sun was filtering through the open curtains and some birds perched on the balcony were chirping sweetly and cheerfully. Her bed felt extra luxuriously soft that morning and she did not wish to get up to start her usual daily routine. The young woman pressed her face into her pillows and groaned.

  She couldn’t believe everything she had recalled of her past life as a teenage girl from Japan.

  Her name was formerly Masafumi Hina and she had transmigrated into the story of the Saint’s Thorny Road as saint candidate, Soleil Lorainne.