Haru's Decision
The time was 12.52 PM. Haru and Sora and had finished their lunch.
At the time, Haru was washing the dishes. Simultaneously, he could sense an intense gaze on his back. He was aware that the perpetrator was Sora, but he decided to be silent.
After their kiss, Sora often stole a glance in his direction; her look screamed, "Let's do it again!"
In truth, Haru preferred to do it again, but he stopped himself before succumbing to the temptation. He wanted to focus his mind on more important matters. If he succumbed to Sora's temptation, he feared that it would destroy the fragile balance of his relationship with his two little sisters.
Besides, he weighed his decision in telling his sisters about his reincarnation and power or not. After contemplating for a while, Haru made up his mind; he was going to give them a white lie. He wouldn't tell them that he was actually a body poacher who indirectly killed their beloved brother. That's just stupid! A direct route to Bad End!
Haru's decision was backed up by his knowledge from reading self-insert, wish-fulfillment fanfiction. More often than most, the protagonist who stole the body of a character hid the truth from the family of the guy whose body got taken over. The author often forgot that those background characters were also sentience, intelligent lifeforms, and they could perceive the change.
Haru didn't care if his present life got written as a crappy fanfiction in an alternate world, but he didn't want to disregard that pitfall and got bitten on the ass later. He believed that he should tell Sora and Suzuka the white-lie to cut off all chances of future misunderstanding.
Haru didn't feel confident in keeping the secret of his reincarnation and system forever. He was still a human, after all. He would involuntarily slip off. It could create a disastrous misunderstanding if he didn't prepare a countermeasure beforehand.
Another reason behind Haru's decision was Haruka's feelings for Sora and Suzuka that he had assimilated. It had affected Haru, deeply. In other words, Haru was in love with both Sora and Suzuka. Furthermore, it was Haru's first time falling in love!
Haru didn't want them to hate him. He swore to carry the grim truth behind his reincarnation into his grave. If only the assimilated memories never affected him like this, he wouldn't think twice to leave them be and choose to live his second life freely. It isn't like Sora and Suzuka were the only interesting girls in this alternate world.
In truth, according to his assimilated memories, some of Haruka's female friends were female characters from some famous series Haru had watched and read. He could chase them if he wanted.
After washing and then drying the last utensil, Haru turned his body around and saw Sora sit on her chair while giving him an expectant look.
Haru was speechless, but he quickly recovered. "All right, I'm gonna return to my room now," Haru bluntly told her.
Sora's bed eyes turned into shock and disbelief. "Why?" Sora asked after recovering.
"I'm going to write a novel," was Haru's answer.
Sora blinked her eyes, seemingly bemused. "Writing a novel? Why?" She demanded Haru's answer.
"I'll send it to a publishing company. If it gets accepted, I can have a stable income to support our lives."
"I see," was Sora's subdued reply; she guiltily averted her eyes away from Haru.
When Haru saw Sora's reaction, he involuntarily made a wry smile.
From his predecessor's memory, Haru knew that Sora had strongly opposed to their relatives' adoption. Her reason? She didn't want to get separated from Haru. At that time, despite Suzuka didn't seem to be receptive to the idea of separation with Haru, she didn't oppose it like Sora. Either way, they weren't adopted because Sora and Suzuka were against it.
Because they willfully refused to be adopted, it became Haru's responsibility to think about their lives without adults' support. They had their inheritance and some money from insurance, but it wouldn't be enough to cover their living expenses.
That was why Sora showed such guilt whenever the subject of their situation came out. If she accepted the adoption offer, Haru wouldn't need to think about working to support them.
"Sora," Haru called for Sora gently; he had moved closer to her. After standing next to her, he put his hand on Sora's shoulder and ignored Sora's flinch. When Sora stubbornly kept her face away from Haru's vision, Haru gently continued, "Look at me, Sora. Please."
When Sora still stubbornly kept her face away from Haru's vision, Haru felt exasperated and then held Sora's cheek with his free hand. He then moved her face to meet his and gave her a reassuring smile.
"No need to feel bad about it. I also don't want to get separated from you," Haru said.
Sora deeply gazed into Haru's eyes. "Haru, you won't leave me, right?"
"Even if you got tired of me, I wouldn't leave you."
"You promise?"
"I promise!"
Sora had a faint smile after hearing Haru's answer. Haru then kissed her forehead.
After that, Haru went to his room, leaving the red-faced Sora, who stayed in the kitchen while touching her forehead.
***
Haru spent a couple of hours in his room. After entering his bedroom, he quickly moved to his study table and started writing on his laptop. Haru had chosen Sword Art Online as his project because it never got published in this alternate world. In fact, Haru wasn't sure if Reki Kawahara existed in this alternate world.
Haru had mapped out the outline of the entire series; there were some changes he had willfully decided.
First, this story would become a harem story. Although Haru liked 'Kazuto x Asuna' OTP in his past life, he truthfully preferred the harem route. In fact, some fanfiction of Sword Art Online with the harem route had influenced his decision.
Haru decided to write the Aincard Arc of the Sword Art Online series according to the Progressive version of the novels. However, he wouldn't stretch it out too much. Perhaps, he would write a total of 10 volumes at maximum for the Aincrad arc.
After completing the outline of the story, Haru then wrote the novels. Because of his fast typing speed, he finished one-fourth of the first volume in one sitting.
When the clock displayed 2.24 PM, Haru stopped. He must prepare to go to Hakuo Academy.
Suzuka's school ended at 3.00 PM. However, because Suzuka was the student council president of the junior high division, she would come out late. Usually, she would come out around 4 PM.
The distance between the apartment complex and the Hakuo Academy was quite far. Thus, Haru needed to commute via public transportation to pick Suzuka up.
From the assimilated memory, Haruka always escorted his sister and picked her up. Although it seemed overprotective of Haruka, Haru didn't think that it was wrong.
Putting his predecessor's feelings for his stepsister aside, Haru acknowledged that it's dangerous for an attractive girl like Suzuka commuting alone.
The city in which Haru lived had a low crime rate. However, 'low' doesn't mean 'zero.' There were still crimes happening somewhere in the big and busy city they lived in!
After assimilating Haruka's feelings, Haru couldn't stomach the idea of his sisters receiving sexual harassment—or god forbids, hurt—by some random perverts in the street or public transportation. Just thinking about such a thing made his blood boil; Haru didn't want that tragedy to happen!
All digressions aside, Haru wore a plain black hoodie over a white T-shirt and dark blue jeans and a pair of sneakers. He also carried a bag, in which he brought his wallet, flip phone, and laptop; Haru planned to spend his time productively while waiting for Suzuka.
"All right, I'm off!"
"Don't forget to bring back me some snacks!" Sora, standing in front of Haru while holding her rabbit doll, reminded him.
"Of course!"
"Good."
Haru wryly smiled at Sora's imperious behavior. Inwardly, he reminded himself not to forget Sora's snacks. He then exited his apartment and locked the door from outside. He wasn't worried about Sora since she had a duplicate key.
After exiting the apartment complex, Haru went to the bus stop and waited for a little until his bus arrived. Since he had Haruka's memories, Haru had no problems with navigating his way to Hakuo Academy.
The bus surprisingly had little passengers. After picking an empty seat in the middle, Haru made himself comfortable and took out his laptop; he spent his time on the bus while writing his novel.
***
Time passed quickly. Haru finally arrived at the bus stop near the Hakuo Academy.
After approaching the tall iron gate of the school, Haru stopped next to the security post. Then, a female guard came out.
Haru knew this woman from Haruka's memory. However, he realized something about this woman after discreetly using his Appraisal ability on her.
'Rika Minami, 27 years old. In the past, she worked in the military as a special agent. To be precise, she's one of Japan's best snipers. She is very skilled in wielding firearms and in CQC. She has retired from the military early and became a guard in this school with her friend's recommendation. Height, 170 cm. There sizes, 83/57/88.'
The information appeared in Haru's mind. Haru maintained his calm mask, despite the slight headache from the mental strain.
Haru realized that Appraisal was a powerful ability. Putting the downside aside, it provided him with the information and background story of the target.
It was an ability that ignored the concept of privacy. In the wrong hand, it could collect blackmail materials. Thankfully, Haru didn't have any intention to misuse it unless there was something that forced him to do so.
'From Haruka's memory, there is a blonde nurse called Shizuka Marikawa. Rika Minami and Shizuka Mari—wait! Holy Daddy's shriveled balls! They are characters from Highschool of the Dead!'
Haru realized that Rika Minami and Shizuka Marikawa were female characters from "High School of the Dead." He'd watched the anime and read the manga in his past life.
In truth, Haru already assumed that this alternate world was the place where many characters from manga, anime, and novels in his past life lived. Some of his childhood friends were characters from some works he had watched and read, after all.
After connecting the dots, Haru felt dread instead of being happy.
'Please, don't let the Zombie outbreak happen in this world! I want to enjoy a slow, fulfilling life together with my lovely little sisters!'
Haru crossed his fingers and prayed in his mind. He dearly hoped that this alternate world wouldn't go FUBAR because of a zombie outbreak. He wanted to have a slow, fulfilling life with Sora and Suzuka, thank you very much!