Leave a comment

It was about thirty years ago when I first realized I had the power to turn back time.

What had triggered it, though, I didn’t know. I think it started on graduation day when I wished I could stay a high school student a little longer.

The next day.

Is it okay to call it “the next day,” though?

Anyway, after falling asleep on graduation day, I found myself back on the day of the entrance ceremony.

That day, I think I was more surprised than I had ever been in my life. I remember thinking, “Was everything up until now just a dream?” or “I must have some incredible power.”

After that, I enjoyed those three years to the fullest again. I went to festivals with my friends, to the beach, skiing—just having fun.

Through all that, I realized that rewinding time required storing up power, and that after turning back time, I couldn’t go any further back until April of my third year of high school.

Once I learned that after April of my third year, I could rewind time whenever I wanted, I rewound time as much as I pleased.

I repeated the same years over and over, enjoying myself each time.

I thought, “I could just stay a high school student forever.”

But that changed, probably during my fifth time repeating high school.

I got bored. Even though I was with the same friends and family, they were still the same people, so no matter how many times I rewound time, the things we did didn’t change much.

My mom made the same New Year’s dishes on January 1st every time, and my closest friend always won a toy gun at the festival lottery.

Predictability was dull.

When I decided to stop rewinding time, I was horrified.

Even though I wanted to stop, I couldn’t.

It wasn’t that my power was out of control—it was a mental issue. After repeating high school for so long, I had become too scared to move on to college.

Even though I found the repetitive days boring, I had become dependent on them.

I was scared. Moving on to the next stage was terrifying. It was comforting knowing everything, and it was still a little fun, so it felt like the better option.

What if I went to college and lost my power?

What if something awful happened, something worse than anything I had experienced in my life so far?

After repeating the same enjoyable high school life over and over, I had stalled at the point where I was supposed to move on after three years, and as a result, I became afraid of change.

What had once been fun became something I clung to out of fear.

And so, I entered the eighth time of my third year of high school.

One day, possibly because I was mentally exhausted, I couldn’t sleep at night. I got tired of being at home, so I wandered into school early in the morning.

I still remember it clearly—the classroom, which should have been empty that early, had its door unlocked, and I sensed someone inside.

The moment I pushed open the rickety door of the private school, I was shocked.

I smelled hamburgers.

“Hmm… Ah, if I remember correctly, you’re Inazuki, right?”

There was a strange girl in the classroom.

Her chestnut hair, which reached her shoulders, had a slight wave to it, and her sleepy brown eyes were fixed with a doll-like expression.

I knew her name.

She was the only girl who had been in my class for all three years. Amakawa Iroha.

“Oh, yeah. I’m Inazuki. And you’re Amakawa, right?”
“Yep, that’s me—Amakawa,” she replied, lazily waving a hand while staring at me with her sleepy eyes.

In that hand, she held a muffin stuffed with bacon and eggs.

Noticing my gaze, she hesitated for a moment before rummaging through the paper bag from the burger joint.

“Splitting this in half would be a hassle… hmm… here, you can have this.”

She tossed something at me, and when I caught it, I realized it was a hash brown.

Wait, what? That was so sudden.

What’s with this girl?

“Why?”
“Hmm? Oh, you just looked like you wanted some.”

I’m not that desperate. I’m not the kind of person who’d envy a few hundred yen’s worth of food. But I guess that’s how I appeared to Amakawa.

She had a faint smile on her face, but her eyes were so devoid of emotion that it was a bit unsettling.

I’ve become friends with all sorts of people, but there’s always been something about Amakawa that made her hard to approach. We hadn’t really spoken much before now.

And now that we’re actually talking, she’s proving difficult to get a read on.

She’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met.

“Do I really look that poor?”
“Not at all. You’ve got that whole ‘rich girl’ vibe going on, Inazuki.”

She continued to nibble on her muffin while staring at me.

Her brown irises reflected my image. They were captivating, more like the deep ocean than something beautiful.

“But still, you’re probably hungry, right?”

I guess… maybe I was a little hungry. I haven’t had much of an appetite lately and haven’t been eating much at all.

It was already May of my third year, so I could turn back time whenever I wanted. Even if my nutrition became imbalanced, I could just rewind time and erase it all. So, I only ate what I felt like eating.

…But still.

Eating potatoes first thing in the morning felt a bit heavy.

“Go ahead, eat it. It’s good. I mean, I haven’t tried it, but still.”
“Wait, you’ve never eaten one?”
“Nope. I didn’t even know burger places were open in the morning. It was a surprise.”

She chuckled as she finished her muffin and rolled up the wrapper.

“You need to eat breakfast if you want your brain to work.”

Amakawa sounded like a mom.

I mean, I knew that.

But considering everything going on right now, my appetite just wasn’t there. It didn’t really matter, though. I had my power, so I wasn’t going to starve to death or anything.

“Want me to feed you?”
“…What?”

What was she even talking about?

“I remember my friend’s little sister didn’t have an appetite once, but when I fed her, she ate just fine. I don’t really remember the details though.”

Even if you say that…

We were just classmates who had talked a few times. Having her feed me would be… weird.

Weird, but…

I guess it doesn’t matter. If it gets really awkward, I can just rewind time.

This could be a new experience.

It was ironic—someone like me, so afraid of change, was seeking out new experiences.

I let out a small, self-deprecating laugh.

“Fine, go ahead.”
“Alright. Say ‘ahhh’.”
“…Ahhh.”

She took the hash brown from my hand and held it out to me.

I took a bite. It tasted like oil and potatoes. For some reason, I didn’t hesitate at all to eat it.

“How is it?”
“Not bad, I guess.”
“Glad to hear it. Here, have some more.”

Amakawa smiled softly as she fed me more of the hash brown.

There was something oddly gentle about her expression. It made me pause.

What was this feeling? No matter how I looked at it, this was strange. Amakawa was an oddball. Though, I might be just as weird.

“You know, Inazuki, you look kind of cute when you’re eating like a little kid.”

Was that supposed to be a compliment?

I frowned slightly.

She was staring at me up close, and that’s when I noticed—Amakawa had subtle pink highlights in her hair.

Surprisingly stylish.

Looking closer, I realized she was wearing makeup too. Her features were well-defined and actually quite cute. If only she showed more expression, she’d be even prettier. What a waste.

Before I knew it, I had finished the hash brown she’d given me.

Amakawa nodded in satisfaction, clearly pleased with herself.

What exactly was she feeling so accomplished about?

This girl was definitely strange. She could easily be labeled as one of those “weirdo” types. Who in the world casually feeds someone they barely know in the morning?

“Yeah, your face looks better now. Got a little shine to it.”
“…What is up with you?”

She was being overly familiar. Her sense of personal space was all wrong. Seriously.

“…?”
“Don’t give me that ‘what?’ face. I mean, who just goes and feeds someone out of the blue? It’s way too familiar.”
“Oh, that? Well, who cares? It’s not like we’ll get to chat face-to-face like this again.”

She said this with a light, airy laugh.

She had a point. If this was just a fleeting moment, there was no need to worry about maintaining a proper distance or gradually getting to know each other.

Still, even if that were true, it felt a little… off. We were classmates, after all. Shouldn’t she show a bit more consideration?

“Inazuki, you should eat properly. You’ve been looking a little pale lately, so I’m worried.”
“Ugh… okay, fine. But why? What’s with you? How do you even know what I’ve been looking like recently?”

Amakawa squinted her sleepy eyes and gazed out the window.

Hey, look at me. We’re talking here. Seriously.

“We’re classmates, you know. You kind of stand out, so it’s easy to notice. It’s like… you seem like you’ve been pushing yourself too hard.”

She turned back to me with a smile.

Whether or not that smile was genuine, I wasn’t sure. But at least her face was shaped into something resembling a smile.

“When things get tough, you should take a break or talk to someone about it. Otherwise, your heart might break.”
“I know that already, thanks.”

Who was I even supposed to talk to? And why was she acting like she knew anything? I was starting to get annoyed.

“Listen…”

But when I looked at Amakawa, she was slumped over on her desk.

Wait, what?

We weren’t done talking yet. Was she for real?

“What are you doing? Wake up. Get up!”
“I said what I wanted to say, so I don’t have anything else to talk about with you.”
“Huh? I still have things to say! You’ve been so selfish! What is up with you?”
“Goodnight, Inazuki.”
“You little…”

I was so irritated. What was her deal?

Should I just smack her? I thought about shaking her awake, but she didn’t budge at all. In fact, she’d started snoring softly.

“W-Wha…?”

This was completely ridiculous.

I couldn’t believe there was someone like her in my peaceful class.

I wasn’t into being pushed around. I couldn’t let it end like this. At least once, I wanted to make this incredibly self-centered classmate of mine flustered.

No, I was definitely going to do it.

With that resolve, I smacked Amakawa’s head.

Support Us

Unlock Early Access ------- Select Project ------- Project Gender Bender Project Necro ∴ Support your favorite series and unlock chapters before the public release.