Tokyo: Oreimo

Tokyo: Oreimo

Author: Only Morning and Evening

Summary:

A parallel universe of Japan, during the bubble economy era.

A detective dad, a gossipy mom, a haughty sister, and a broken man.

Following his plan, Ryosuke Takagi embarked on a path of plagiarism, but after a family meeting, he accepted his mother's task.

Mieko: "There's something I need to ask you."

So, Ryosuke got a tracker, and its location device was on his younger sister Takashiro Ryōno's backpack.

Main text

Chapter 1 Family Meeting

"I will punish you in the name of the moon! *kiss*!"

On the TV, a magical girl transformation anime from the 90s was playing, and the upbeat opening theme started playing. It was also dinnertime at the Takashiro family's house.

At the dinner table, a blonde girl stared intently at the television, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

That rare focus made Ryosuke Takagi take a second look.

"What kind of look is that? It's disgusting."

The blonde girl keenly sensed his gaze, and her eyes, which had been relatively innocent just a moment ago, suddenly turned sharp as she looked over.

"Tsk."

Ryosuke Takagi's lips twitched slightly, then he looked away and focused on the rice.

Since the family reorganization, he had become somewhat accustomed to his sister's dislike and defensiveness.

"Ling Nai, how dare you speak to your brother like that?"

The father, Takashiro Isao, rang out with his authoritative voice, and the atmosphere at the dinner table instantly plummeted to freezing point.

"What? Dad, is it my fault?"

Takashiro Ryou raised her voice, "He looked at me first!"

"What's wrong with an older brother showing concern for his younger sister? Didn't I teach you what respect is when you were little?"

"Takashiro Isao said solemnly."

"He's not my brother, he's an outsider..."

Takashiro Ryouko's voice gradually decreased because she saw her father's serious face slowly becoming somewhat frightening.

"Alright, Yongfu, don't be too hard on the kids. They'll get along better with each other eventually."

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Mieko Takashiro quickly poured a glass of wine for the head of the family.

"Since you're already living together, you should understand each other so that you can have a good life. Ryosuke is a good kid, and I hope you can get along peacefully."

Takashiro Isamu put down his wine glass and said seriously.

Hearing this, Ryosuke sighed inwardly.

This stepfather is indeed on my side, but if I want this family to be harmonious in the future, he can't talk like this.

He tried to speak up to ease the tension, but it was too late.

Takashiro Ryouno put down her chopsticks with a displeased expression.

"I'm stuffed!"

The girl moved the stool aside, ran upstairs, and heard the sound of a door closing upstairs.

“This child!” Takashiro Isao looked helplessly at his son, who was working hard to eat at the table. “I’m sorry, Ryosuke, I spoiled her before.”

"Don't worry, Father, we'll get along well."

Ryosuke smiled and continued eating.

.....

The second dinner meeting at the Takashiro family's table came to an end, ending in discord.

Ryosuke returned to his room and sat down at his desk.

Ever since he broke free from the mystery of his birth and awakened his past life memories on the night of his twelfth birthday, he has become a sensible child in the eyes of adults.

She has excellent grades, is obedient and not rebellious, and is so perfect that no one can find fault with her except for her poor performance in sports.

In fact, for a period of time at the beginning, Ryosuke was in great pain. The extra memories in his mind caused him a strong sense of disconnect.

Because this place was similar to yet different from the world he remembered living in, the impression of the intertwined history and culture tormented him for a long time.

For example, his younger sister, Takashiro Ryōno, loves magical girl anime. The art style and plot are exactly the same as "Sailor Moon" that he watched in the orphanage in his previous life, but at the same time, there are also considerable differences.

Ryosuke's mind was filled with the beauty of another world, but he could never be sure it was real.

This situation improved somewhat after he entered high school.

He alleviated his symptoms by continuously learning about history and gaining a new understanding of the world today.

When he was 14, his parents divorced, which was a heavy blow to him.

Two years later, his mother remarried Takashiro Isao, and he gained a younger sister, who is now Takashiro Ryono.

It was during the family restructuring that Ryosuke was able to complete the division of his memories, successfully avoiding being affected by the additional memories.

He is satisfied with his current situation. He has enough to eat and drink, and his mother has found a man she can rely on, so she no longer has to work hard to support herself.

And he was no longer tormented by the confusion of his memories; everything was moving in a positive direction.

As for having an extra sister? That's a minor matter.

...

Ryosuke exhaled a breath of stale air and took out a stack of manuscript paper from the desk cabinet.

The page was covered with dense text, and the title on the first page was legible: Kino's Journey, Volume 3.

This is a light novel that exists only in my memory.

Born in Japan in 2000, it was written by an author named Keiichi Sigsawa.

A light novel written in an episodic format, resembling a fable.

The story's protagonist, Kino, after escaping his country and learning essential travel skills from his master, travels the world with his talking motorcycle, Hermes.

As far as I remember, the series has sold over 800 million copies, making it a long-standing classic.

Ryosuke has been writing this book for half a year. Although he has been studying humanities and reading classics with foresight, it is still quite difficult to achieve a perfect replica when he starts writing.

Choosing it was actually Ryosuke's way of testing the waters.

The era he lived in, after identification, was roughly equivalent to the 90s in his previous life.

Japan's ACG culture began to flourish, but Ryosuke came from nearly thirty years in the future, and he found it difficult to ensure that people of his time could accept works with such advanced ideologies from later generations.

The writing style and content of Kino's Journey are more suitable, but if we're talking about the most suitable ones, there are also works like Slayers or Record of Lodoss War.

Unfortunately, I only knew the name of the book and never had the chance to read it in its entirety.

However, a few days ago, he received a reply from ASCII Media Works, and it seems that the first two volumes of Kino's Journey have broken through the competition for the Newcomer Award.

At first, Ryosuke was unfamiliar with the name of the publishing company, but after checking the information, he found that it was not.

ASCII Media Works, also known as Dengeki Bunko.

This is one of the leading paperback publishers in Tokyo, and in their reply, they invited him to Tokyo to discuss publication.

Ryosuke Takagi took out a leather bag and carefully placed the manuscript inside.

"I'll take advantage of the winter break to finalize the publishing details and meet up with my online friends."

Ryosuke was thinking about getting some rest early.

dong dong dong-

A knock came at the door, and the mother, Mieko, asked from outside, "Ryosuke, you're still awake, aren't you? May I come in?"

"It's ok."

Ryosuke responded, and Mieko pushed the door open and entered, closing it behind her.

"Don't worry about dinner. Ling Nai is still young, and you're older than her, so you should be more considerate of her."

Mieko pulled Ryosuke to sit on the edge of the bed, her gentle gaze tinged with a hint of heartache.

"I understand, Mom."

Ryosuke shrugged. Knowing his mother as he did, he knew that her coming to his room at this hour was definitely not just to comfort him.

"Please just tell me what's wrong."

“You child…you truly are worthy of being my son, Mieko.”

Mieko was taken aback, then a smile bloomed on her face.

"I have a favor to ask you."

"As you know, Yongfu works at the police station. Ling Nai has been acting strangely lately, and he's been keeping an eye on her until just now..."

"Ling Nai told her father that she was going to Tokyo with her friends tomorrow."

Ryosuke tilted his head. "Are you worried? But it's not like it's her first time in Tokyo."

Their home is in Chiba Prefecture, which is only about 30 kilometers away from Shibuya. Even by train, the journey takes only about 2 hours each way.

Moreover, according to Ryosuke's observation of Ayano, this trendy-looking girl goes there every holiday and should be much more familiar with the place than he is.

"The most crucial point is, she wouldn't want me to come along, would she?"

This is what Ryosuke is most worried about.

If the relationship was already bad, having a parent's informant around would probably cause the favorability rating to drop to negative levels.