Netori: I Shall Steal All Of My Enemies' Women For Revenge!-Chapter 260: Meeting Old Friend

For now, Haruto needed to focus on something mundane. Groceries, daily necessities, and lunch.

Fortunately, even in a quiet village like this, there were still two convenience stores nearby.

He pushed open the glass door and stepped inside, the familiar chime ringing above him. His feet carried him straight to the bento section, where he stood for a moment, scanning the shelves as he picked meals for both himself and Ayaka.

"She doesn't have any allergies… right?" he murmured, hesitating as his gaze shifted between the seafood and non seafood options.

He could not recall ever seeing her eat seafood, aside from oden with dashi stock and a few bonito flakes.

He exhaled softly. "Whatever. I'll just get both."

One by one, he placed the bentos into the basket, adding a few extra items along the way. When he reached the dessert section, however, his steps slowed to a stop.

"God, this is harder than it should be," Haruto muttered, his expression unusually serious as he stared at the shelves, eventually settling on just two desserts.

That was when a hand suddenly touched his shoulder.

Haruto reacted instantly. His body turned before his thoughts caught up, stepping back on instinct and creating distance between himself and the person behind him, positioning himself just out of reach.

"Ah, sorry. You're… Haruto, right?"

The man standing there was young, dressed casually, his bleached blond hair making him stand out. He did not look dangerous. More startled than hostile.

"Yeah," Haruto replied, his tone guarded. "Who are you?"

The man blinked, then pointed at himself, his eyes widening. "Come on, you don't remember me? It's Kazuha. We were friends back in elementary school. There was only one school here. You have to remember."

"Oh… right," Haruto said slowly, rubbing the back of his neck.

In truth, he remembered almost nothing.

His family had moved away during his last year of elementary school, and whatever memories he once had of this village had quietly faded along with time.

"You really don't remember?" Kazuha shook his head, disappointment clear on his face.

"Well, I can't blame you. This village is creepy anyway. I wanted to leave too, someday."

"Creepy?" Haruto repeated quietly, then glanced toward the exit. "Why don't we talk outside? Catch up a little."

"Sure," Kazuha said easily, lifting a pack of beer from his basket. "But you're paying for the drinks."

"That's fine with me."

Haruto paid for everything, including Kazuha's cigarettes, and they took a seat at one of the tables in front of the convenience store.

The view stretched wide before them. Rice fields now covered in snow, backed by dense forest and distant mountains in the pure white color.

It was peaceful and refreshing, even with the cold. They sat in silence for a moment. Kazuha lit a cigarette, then casually offered the pack. Haruto shook his head.

"My girlfriend hates the smell," he said.

Kazuha snorted and set the cigarettes down. "What, you're a lover boy now?"

He cracked open a can of beer, sliding one toward Haruto. It was early for drinking, but Haruto accepted it anyway, taking a small sip.

"Not a lover boy," he replied calmly. "Just grown up."

Kazuha laughed. "Yeah, that's bullshit. You were a psychopath back then."

Haruto looked at him. "What did I do?"

"You forgot that too?" Kazuha stared at him, clearly incredulous.

When Haruto did not react, Kazuha cleared his throat and leaned back, eyes drifting toward the forest.

"You see that place?"

Haruto followed his gaze.

"That was our base," Kazuha continued. "We dragged other kids there. Made them do stupid things like dancing naked or eating bugs. If they refuse, we beat them up."

Haruto kept his face neutral, but his thoughts churned violently. If Kazuha was telling the truth, then the version of himself in Dr. Watanabe's memory was real. That twisted, violent boy was not a fabrication.

It was him.

Why couldn't he remember any of it?

"One of your favorites was a kid named Ren," Kazuha went on. "He's a bastard son from the Itto family. You know, that rich old clan."

Kazuha drained his beer in one go, crushed the can, and tossed it toward the trash. It missed and hit the ground instead.

"Tch. Almost."

Haruto stiffened. So it was all connected. Him, Ayaka, and Ren.

That explained the hostility. The instinctive hatred. Even if Ren did not consciously remember him, trauma had a way of staying buried in the body, surfacing as fear or aggression.

'That makes sense,' Haruto thought.

"What did I do to him?" he asked. "I mean, I get why I didn't like him. He's a pussy, even now."

Kazuha burst out laughing, slapping the table. He wiped at the corner of his eyes before nodding.

"You're not wrong. He's a snob too. Rich, but nobody cared about him anyway."

Then Kazuha's smile shifted. "But that's not why you hated him."

Haruto's patience thinned. "Then why?"

Kazuha leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Because he liked your girlfriend. Ayaka."

Haruto's eyes widened as everything began snapping into place, piece by piece.

"Well, you can't blame him," Kazuha continued. "She was beautiful. Long black hair, green eyes." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He tilted his head. "She even looks like you, don't you think? More than your sister does."

Haruto stared at him, stunned.

"What?" Kazuha grinned cruelly. "You don't know the rumor? I never dared say it back then. You were terrifying."

Kazuha laughed softly. "But we're adults now, so I'll tell you. People used to say your father had an affair with Ayaka's mother. That's why her dad left. He knew she wasn't his real daughter."

Haruto moved before Kazuha could finish.

His hand seized Kazuha's collar, yanking him forward as Haruto glared into his face. "Is that rumor true," he snarled, "or did you make it up?"

"I don't know!" Kazuha gasped, panic flashing in his eyes. "Chill out. I can't breathe!"

Haruto tightened his grip instead, his voice dropping into something dark and feral. "You won't breathe at all if you're lying."

"Tell me where you heard it, who said it? Or I'll take you back to that forest and make sure you don't walk out alive."