The next day, Taichi left home early.
He could not afford to arrive any later than twelve o'clock.
He was immune to the phenomenon (although not confirmed yet), but should everyone else turn into a child at the same time like «Number Two» said, it would prove disastrous.
«Number Two»... How much of what he said could be trusted?
While he didn't seem to be lying, there was no real way to tell.
But one thing Taichi could be certain of was that 'Time Regression' didn't occur after 5PM yesterday.
To verify that, everyone in the CRC contacted each other in the morning. Based on what everyone said, 'nothing out of the ordinary' happened.
"Did I come too early...?"
It was eleven o'clock. Taichi had already arrived at the train station near Inaba's house.
...Yes, they were going to meet at Inaba's house.
Taichi could not help but feel very conscious of his visit to the house of the girl who had feelings for him.
He loved Nagase, and he said so. But he might have been loving her more because 'Nagase loves him'... His feelings might have been somewhat influenced by that.
If he added 'Inaba loves him too' to the equation...
Sometimes Taichi thought that he should just make it clear that he preferred Nagase.
Yet he didn't want to tread on Inaba's feelings.
Since they did not ask Taichi for an immediate response, he had been indecisive and never gave a final answer.
Taichi knew he should not drag on like this, but——
As he exited the station gate, Taichi's contemplation was interrupted by the sight of a familiar chestnut-hued hair.
"Kiriyama."
"Oh, good morning Taichi."
Kiriyama waved at Taichi. She was wearing a thick, cream colored duffel coat and was carrying a large shopping bag in her hand.
"Aren't you too early?"
"Right back at you."
Kiriyama smiled lightly. She seemed a little tired.
"...It didn't happen to you again, right? 'Time Regression'."
"Umm... I don't think so... I was worried about whether it would go wrong, but our prediction seems to be accurate so far. I'm saying that, but I've never actually seen the phenomenon myself..."
"I guess you're right... Did you find anything else strange?" Taichi inquired.
There might be the chance that Kiriyama ran into a peculiar situation like Taichi did.
An extreme situation...such as the existence of a «Number Three».
"Not... that I can think of... Yawn~"
"You didn't sleep well?"
"I went to bed late... I was nervous and..."
Kiriyama stopped short and curled her chestnut-hued hair around her finger.
Taichi believed Kiriyama to be the sensitive type of girl. Based on past experience, she was very vulnerable to these phenomena. Taichi thought that he should take care not to hurt her feelings.
"...I thought about things from back then."
"Things from back then... I see."
"When I got home, my mind was in chaos. All sorts of stuff... I mean, when you recall them, you get all these sorts of feelings, don't you think? It's... too complicated for words."
"Hm... Too complicated for words you say... But if you don't tell me the specifics, it's really difficult to understand."
"Um... That's why I said it's... too complicated for words... No!"
Kiriyama waved her hands in denial.
"Say, Taichi. If you compare yourself now with yourself back then, how do you feel?"
"How am I gonna answer that? ...I feel like I was a brat... too complicated for words... Ah."
"You said 'too complicated for words'. Game over!"
"Crap... What kind of game was that anyway?"
"Feels kinda dumb, doesn't it?"
They both smiled wryly.
"Yeah... But these are the kind of feelings that are too complicated for words."
Kiriyama murmured. He could sense the sorrow in her voice.
"Let's put that aside for now. Taichi, what do we do now? We might inconvenience Inaba if we visit her right now."
"I thought so too... Why don't we just walk around to kill some time?"
They could not think of a good place to spend the time, so they decided to just take a casual walk.
It was not snowing nor was it windy today, so it wasn't cold to the point where people would need to take refuge in their rooms.
"Ah, this place nearby..."
Just as the two were about to head to Inaba's house after a bit of walking, Kiriyama stopped suddenly.
This area seemed to be undergoing reconstruction. The open ground surrounded by fences was sort of eye catching. There were also several abandoned buildings there.
"What's wrong?"
"...Back when I still visited the dojo, my jogging route passed by this area."
"You mean karate? Now that you mention it, Kiriyama, when did you stop practicing karate?"
"Second year in middle school... Right around when I was almost assaulted, I think."
Crap, he stepped on a land mine.
"Ah... Sorry."
Kiriyama shook her head.
"It was way back then. I'm fine now."
Kiriyama had androphobia, but now she was slowly transitioning to merely 'finding it a little difficult' to deal with them. She was getting visibly better every day.
"But this place has changed a lot since I last jogged here... Such as that open ground over there. Ah, the store that was here is gone too..."
"You sure remember it well. Did you have some kind of memory here?"
"Not really... But how did I remember? Ah, was it because of that event yesterday? ... I think I was... eleven years old... Whoa, I recalled something again..."
"——Kiriyama!"
A female shouting voice suddenly sounded.
Taichi and Kiriyama looked around in surprise.
There was a girl with pony-tailed hair in flexible attire: a wide, black jacket and jeans. She looked to be slightly older, although it could be argued that it was due to her stern expression. Her incisive face accentuated that.
The girl was staring sharply at them... No, only at Kiriyama.
"Eh...? Who are you?"
Kiriyama asked, looking somewhat intimidated.
"W—Who am I...? Are you saying you don't remember me!?"
The girl walked towards them, her voice filled with anger.
"Huh? Eh... Ah, you are Mihashi... Chinatsu?"
"That's right... How come you didn't recognize me right away?"
"Eh, that's because... your look has become so mature, it felt really different than from what I remember..."
"... I see... Who's that guy next to you? Are you guys dating?"
Kiryama was caught completely off guard by the question and was panic-stricken for a while (her expression was so obvious Taichi was tempted to publish it in a textbook) before she finally calmed down and introduced Taichi and the girl to each other. It turned out that the girl, Mihashi Chinatsu, was in the same year as they were.
"Er~ This is Yaegashi Taichi-san. He's in the same club as I am, and we're about to head to a friend's house. He is not my boyfriend. I can guarantee that. He is definitely just a friend!"
"... Don't you think your denial is a little too specific?"
Did Kiriyama really dislike being mistaken as a couple with him that much? Maybe she was just being shy.
"This is Mihashi Chinatsu-san. We used to be... er... friends in the karate tournaments organized by the karate school I was a part of..."
"I don't consider us friends."
The other commented bluntly. Kiriyama made an "Auu..." sound and winced.
Mihashi was not very friendly towards Kiriyama.
"B—But it sure has been a while hasn't it? We never saw each other again after you moved, Mihashi-san. I think that was around our second year in middle school..."
"——Never mind that for now, Kiriyama."
Kiriyama gathered herself and tried to cheerfully start a conversation, but Mihashi interrupted her coldly.
"You haven't...given up on karate, have you?"
She said it in a sad and low tone. It made Kiriyama stiffen like a rock, unable to give a response.
Mihashi stared at Kiriyama with a harsh but slightly earnest expression.
"It can't be true, right?"
As Mihashi persistently questioned her, Kiriyama finally answered:
"I have...given up."
Mihashi's eyes widened in astonishment.
"You—You're kidding! I've heard the rumours about the 'Prodigy' Kiriyama retiring but..."
Kiriyama, with her outstanding athletic abilities and overwhelming talent for martial arts, was a legend in the female karate league.
"...I'm sorry... I really have given up."
"But... What about our 'promise'!?"
Mihashi suddenly raised her voice and shouted.
"Our... promise?"
Kiriyama said in an uncertain manner. Mihashi's expression became overwhelmed by shock.
A sorrowful shadow spread across Mihashi.
"...Why? Are you... injured?"
Mihashi asked in a way as if she was squeezing words out of her throat.
"No... It has nothing to do with injury."
"Then why?"
"It's because... I can't do it anymore..."
"What... What you mean you can't do it anymore?"
"Eh... That's..."
As Mihashi kept questioning her, Kiriyama was gradually losing her ground.
Taichi initially thought that he should not intervene until their relationship was clarified, but now he decided to step in. Besides, there wasn't much time left.
"Excuse me, can you two talk about this later? Kiriyama, it's almost time."
"Wait, this has nothing to do with you!"
Mihashi threw a vicious and intimidating glare at Taichi.
"I may have nothing to do with your conversation, but we have something important to take care of now."
Taichi proceeded to grab Kiriyama's hand, but she responded by wincing "No!" and avoided Taichi's hand.
Crap! Taichi thought, and remembered that this was one of Kiriyama's greatest fears. He had lost his composure.
"I'm sorry, Kiriyama..."
"Ah... It's alright, I should be the one apologizing."
"What are you two doing?"
Their awkward behavior had left Mihashi dumbfounded.
"A—Anyway, we are in a hurry. Sorry, if you will excuse us."
Learning from his mistake, Taichi grabbed hold of Kiriyama's shopping bag instead. He pulled the bag, hurrying Kiriyama.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
"Uh... I really can't help it right now... I'm sorry."
Kiriyama said this while avoiding eye contact with Mihashi, and, as if trying to escape, hurried off with Taichi.
"I will not accept this!"
Mihashi shouted in the end, watching the two leave with utmost animosity.
□■□■□
"So... what exactly is your relationship with that girl back there?"
Taichi asked while they hurried to Inaba's house.
"... We practiced the same school of karate... Oh, but we visited different dojos. We only really saw each other in tournaments..."
Kiriyama lowered her head.
"I see. So you two had that kind of friendship."
"Yeah. Well... I'd say our relationship was closer to that of being rivals than friends."
"So that's what your world was like back then huh, Kiriyama... That's amazing isn't it? To have a rival like that."
"... Used to be like that."
Her brief muttering was filled with many different emotions.
"After Mihashi-san moved far away, we never met each other again. Our karate school doesn't organize cross-country tournaments. Not to mention, I don't practice karate anymore..."
"I see. But why did Mihashi-san suddenly appear in this town again?"
"I don't know. Maybe she moved back."
She did not seem to be very happy about her reunion with an old acquaintance. Then again, Mihashi was not very nice about it either.
Taichi began to worry if this reunion would stir up any emotional problems for her.
They were undergoing the 'Time Regression' phenomenon, after all (it seemed that way). During critical times like this, even minor nuisances could have the potential to become disasters.
"Good morning-hello~"
A cheerful greeting sounded. Nagase Iori, who was dressed in an orchid tone down jacket and jeans, joined the two from across the street. She also had a knit cap over her head.
"...Hm? How come you weren't coming from the station? Where did you... C—Could it be that, Taichi... after Inaban, you are now trying to conquer Yui as well?"
Nagase's remark was really unnecessary.
"Eh? After Inaba... what?"
Kiriyama's head was filled with question marks.
"No, it's nothing, Kiriyama! It's not important! And Nagase, we're clean! We were both just walking around the area because we were too early!"
Inaba's confession to Taichi and their involvement in this love triangle were secrets kept from the others at the moment (Taichi proposed to stay low, but the two girls didn't seem to mind in the slightest. Sometimes Taichi wished that they would give him a break).
"I'm not so sure about that... You made that Inaba fall for you after all. Considering that, Taichi, you have immense potential you know..."
"Hm? What you mean by 'made Inaba fall for you'?"
"It really is nothing, Kiriyama! And Nagase! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
"It's fun to see Taichi so shaken, you know! Teehee!"
Nagase giggled happily.
As the three walked side by side, Taichi peeked at the side of Nagase's face.
About 'that deal', Nagase appeared to have come to terms with Inaba. But how did Nagase really see it?
It had been a month since the end of the 'Desire Unleash' phenomenon, and Nagase seemed to be no different than her usual self. In fact, she seemed to have returned to the state before she and Taichi confessed to each other.
After the confession, there was a time when the two were trying to decide what kind of relationship they would maintain. But the Nagase now was behaving like how a good friend would towards Taichi. It was as if nothing had happened.
Nagase's shift in behavior was one of the reasons why Taichi had been indecisive.
"Hm? What's wrong, Taichi? Do I have something on my face?"
"No, it's nothing."
What exactly was Nagase thinking about beneath that pure and beautiful smile?
"Ho ho, are you captivated because I'm too cute? Hm? Hm?"
"H—Hey don't push your face towards me like that!"
...Just what was she really thinking?
"To be honest, even though yesterday I said that it would be fine to go home, I was really scared; so scared that I thought I was gonna die. I wouldn't have known what to do if my deduction was wrong..."
Inaba Himeko let out a deep sigh as all of the CRC members gathered at her house.
"Inaba-chan is still amazing though! You made such a bold decision even though you were worried sick!"
Aoki was stretching his legs and seemed completely relaxed as he spoke.
Taichi might argue that Aoki was equally impressive for maintaining such composure despite the hairy situations they were in.
Inaba's room appeared almost exactly the same as it was the last time they visited—it was well composed and emphasized efficiency—but there were some slight differences. Vivid colors never seen before could be found in the room.
Also worth mentioning was that Inaba was actually using a pillow with big red heart designs on it. Given Inaba's personality before, this was unimaginable.
"It's going to be twelve soon... yet it still doesn't feel real to me; are we really going through this again?"
Nagase remarked. She had completely taken over the bed.
"You'd probably freak out... I'd really love not to get freaked out again, but I doubt things will go that smoothly."
Inaba remarked, and continued:
"While I'd really like to prepare something beforehand... It seems for now, we can only wait."
"But is it really gonna occur again? It's so farfetched, I still have a hard time believing it..."
"This is actually the first time we know when a phenomenon will occur though~ Ack, my gut is wrenching."
Nagase and Aoki said respectively. Meanwhile, Kiriyama made out an "Ah" sound.
"Now that you mention it, Inaba... Is waiting at your house okay?"
"Yeah, it should be. My family won't be coming home till five, so we don't need to worry about causing a commotion by having somebody see us turn into children... but that's only if the phenomenon really does end at five."
Inaba checked the time on her cell phone and answered.
"It's almost twelve— ...Why is somebody calling here now? Who is it? What's with this timing?"
Inaba frantically picked up her phone.
"What do you want, stupid Aniki[1]? Hurry and spit it out!"
It would seem that it was her older brother who called, but that certainly didn't sound like how a younger sister would treat her brother.
"Okay... Mhm... Wait what?! You're bringing girls home and you're telling me to get out of the house!? The hell with that, you thick head! I have things——"
Inaba hung up her cell phone.
"Ugh...!"
She pressed against her chest with one hand, while barely managing to hang up the phone with the other.
"Huh? Wait, Inaban?"
Nagase stood up anxiously.
Meanwhile, Aoki also started moaning.
"Eh... Whoa... What the..."
"Ah, Aoki!"
Kiriyama screamed.
The next moment——
Inaba and Aoki shrunk.
Actually, shrunk was not the right word. It looked as if it was a trick played by god, who used some kind of method incomprehensible by the human mind to switch the bodies.
Inaba, who was just standing there, suddenly became a toddler before learning age. Aoki, on the other hand, became what seemed to be a grade-schooler.
"You're kidding————"
"Wha—Wha—Wha—What in the world is going on!?"
Needless to say, Nagase and Kiriyama, who had both just witnessed the phenomenon for the first time, exclaimed in awe.
At first, Nagase and Kiriyama were squealing in excitement. Sounds of "Wow~", "Hyaaa~", "Whaa~", "Whoa~" could be heard in the background. Although, they eventually exhausted themselves.
They inquired about the age of the children. Aoki answered "Ten", while Inaba replied "Four" in a small voice.
They could not just leave the over-sized clothes on them, so Taichi and the others helped the two get dressed.
They had brought clothes of different sizes under Inaba's instructions.
As expected from Inaba, she had considered all possible scenarios.
It was worth mentioning that when Taichi asked his sister to lend him some clothes, he was met with her howling: "Thick head! Pervert! What are you gonna do with them? I hate you! I prefer the Onii-chan from before, the one who wasn't like this!" Taichi had almost lost all hope of living.
Nagase tilted her head in front of Inaba(4) in puzzlement.
"Hm~ Aoki's jersey and sweat pants should be fine with a bit of folding... But what are we going to do with Inaban?"
Next to Taichi, Aoki(10) raised his arms meaninglessly and said: "Yay~"
Since the CRC members did not have the proper clothes for a four year-old child, the group folded the clothes several times before putting them on Inaba(4). Hence, Inaba(4) looked puffy in the clothes. She stared in astonishment as Nagase helped her with the clothes.
"Say..."
Nagase and Kiriyama lowered their heads, and sounds of anxiety could be heard.
Even though they had handled the situation fairly readily, it was very strange no matter how one would think of it. It was not surprising that the two felt stressed out——
"Mini-Inaban is SOOOOO ADORABLE~~!"
——or not.
"Yui thinks so? Me too! Look at those big round eyes and soft mushy cheeks! Too cute~~!"
Kiriyama and Nagase began fondling Inaba(4) all over.
"Ah! So cute~~ You can see the face that will grow into an ice queen beauty, yet with a heavy dose of cuteness only a little child would have. This is WONDERFUL~~!"
"To think this is that Inaban, I can't take it anymore! Ahaha~~!"
Intimidated by the girls' sudden frenzy, Inaba(4)'s eyes anxiously looked around for help.
The boys could only watch and maintain a safe distance.
"...Girls are scary."
Aoki(10) sighed.
Girls, let's not traumatize this ten year-old young man.
"Phew... I'm satisfied."
"I've refilled my 'Cuteness Meter'..."
After some passionate hugging and cuddling, the two were finally satisfied and let Inaba(4) go.
Inaba(4) seemed to be terrified of the girls due to that, and was glued behind Taichi.
"Say... Himeko-chan~~ You don't have to be this scared, you know."
Nagase tried to lull her in a sweet tone, but Inaba(4) held even tighter onto Taichi's sleeves.
"Er... You might want to take it easy for now."
"Mmm... Sorry... I'm reflecting right now."
"Ah! I should apologize too. I'm sorry Himeko-chan."
Kiriyama apologized. Since they found it awkward to address a young child by their last name, they had decided to address the two with their first names instead.
Aoki(10) was engrossed in the manga he found on the shelves, which was why he was behaving very nicely.
"They really did 'turn into children'! That was amazing... Hm?"
Nagase, who was murmuring while gazing at the ceiling, suddenly faced forward.
"Say... Are we forgetting something important?"
"Something important?"
Now that Nagase mentioned it, what was happening before?
"Let me think... I remember Inaban was on the phone..."
"Ohhh!"
Kiriyama noticed something and shouted.
"I remember... something about Inaba's brother saying 'bringing girls home so get out'..."
"That's the one!"
Nagase snapped her finger.
"So Inaba's brother is coming home, right? If he sees this..."
Taichi murmured and peeked at Inaba(4) behind him. Inaba(4) blinked, as if she was asking "What's wrong?"
...This is bad, Taichi thought. This is beyond bad.
"Oh no! If only Inaba didn't turn into a child, she could have at least thought of something. But this is not good!"
Nagase's tone became something like that of a child from the Edo era. A panic-stricken Kiriyama asked her:
"Is there anyone home at your place, Iori? What about Taichi?"
"No, my mom isn't home at the moment, but she'll be home before five."
"I can't guarantee there won't be anyone at my house before five either... But it might work out if we just stay in the room..."
"You're bringing home two girls, a ten year-old boy and a four year-old little girl. Are you sure your family won't say anything about that?"
Kiriyama fixated on Taichi.
"My mother probably won't... but there's no way I can make it past my sister."
"...You mother won't say anything, huh."
Kiriyama looked at Taichi in sympathy.
"Club room... but bringing a child into school will gather too much attention... Ugh! Some place that doesn't catch people's eyes... What about karaoke? How's that?"
Nagase suggested.
"Ah, that's not a bad idea. Let's try that."
"But if we walk in with children and then walk back out with everyone being high-schoolers... Don't you think that would gather suspicion...? Ah—"
Taichi said and realized that he needed to take that factor into account as well.
Inaba(4) and Aoki(10) would most likely return to normal at five o'clock.
"How about a love hotel?"
"Hm? Love hotel?"
As Nagase was suggesting that, Aoki(10), who was supposed to be engrossed in the manga, responded.
"Can you not pick a better timing to respond? You dirty brat!"
Kiriyama smacked on the floor.
"How are we supposed to even step into a hotel like this..."
Taichi remarked. Suddenly, a scene during the morning reemerged in his mind.
"Hey, Kiriyama, how about that place we went by earlier?"
"That place we went by? ... Oh! I see. Is there an entrance there? If we can find one then it doesn't seem like a bad place. I hope it isn't too cold..."
"What? What? Taichi and Yui, stop being so secretive, you're making me curious."
"You'll see when we go there. Anyway, let's head out. Ao... I mean, Yoshifumi-kun too."
"Eh~ Lemme finish this volume!"
"We don't have that kind of time to waste!"
Kiriyama smacked at the floor twice.
Kiriyama and Aoki's relationship didn't seem to have changed much despite the latter being turned into a ten year-old kid.
"Oh, amazing. Not bad at all."
Nagase looked around the room.
This place was one of the buildings in the reconstruction zone. They broke into one of the abandoned four-story apartments.
Even though it was abandoned, the building seemed to be in use until only recently, as they could tell by the fairly clean environment. It was made of concrete and steel, and appeared to be insulated as well, so the interior was not unbearably cold.
If it weren't for the 'To Be Taken Down' sign at the gate, people would think of this as nothing more than an empty apartment.
"This looks like a good place for a 'secret hideout'! Wow, I'd be thrilled if I were a little younger!"
Upon hearing Aoki(10)'s remark, Taichi and Nagase looked at each other, and burst out laughing.
"Wha—What are you laughing about?"
"We were thinking that... you're a child too."
Nagase continued giggling.
"Pfft, you're a kid too you know."
"What? I'm a grown up!"
"Well then have you 'smooched'? 'Smooooch'~"
"Wha—wha—wha—smooch! Smooch! Smooch!"
Nagase peeked at Taichi. Her cheeks became bright red.
Taichi felt the same; his face was burning up as well.
"Of—Of course I did! 'Smooching' and stuff... I mean... strictly speaking it wasn't my body... No, that has to be a 'smooch'. It wasn't a hundred percent, but it was certainly a seventy percent 'smooch'."
"Seventy percent? Why do I get the feeling that you're lying~"
"I—I did not lie!"
"Then what does it taste like?"
"You—You—You—You say taste? What on earth have your parents been teaching you!?"
Nagase seemed to get along with Aoki(10) very well.
Perhaps it was due to Nagase being able to see things at a child's perspective (not saying she's the same as a grade-schooler though).
Like Nagase and Kiriyama during their 'Time Regression', Aoki(10) and Inaba(4) did not question their situation.
While the CRC members had no idea how a child's brain worked, it would seem correct to say that the two would 'simply accept what was happening' without a second thought.
"...Say, we sort of just ran out here. Was that really okay? What if one of us underwent 'Time Regression'... Wouldn't that be chaotic?"
Taichi replied to Kiriyama's comment from behind:
"Probably. I mean, we did rush out under the assumption that 'we'd stay this way until five o'clock'."
"But judging by what we've seen so far, maybe that assumption is correct."
This phenomenon wasn't a random occurrence between twelve to seventeen o'clock, but rather some random person would undergo 'Time Regression' at twelve o'clock and stay that way for five hours.
While they could not be certain, chances were this was true.
It didn't seem to be completely random since everything up until now followed a rather orderly pattern.
"I guess being able to find this place is a pleasant fluke. It's a bit dirty, but it isn't unacceptable."
Kiriyama swiped the thin layer of dust on the floor with her finger tip.
"This building isn't as old as the others. Good thing the windows on the first floor weren't locked. We couldn't just destroy the property just to get in..."
It was obviously a crime when they trespassed in here. But since this was an emergency, Taichi hoped that they would be allowed some leeway.
——Cough, cough!
Inaba(4), who had been grabbing onto the bottom of Taichi's shirt, started coughing.
"Are you alright?"
Taichi inquired. Inaba(4) nodded in response.
"Let's pick a room and clean it up a little. The dust here is too much for Himeko-chan to handle; she might get ill."
Taichi and the others followed Kiriyama's opinion, and cleaned up what seemed to be an office room with eight working desks located on the second floor.
"I bought us drinks and snacks. And I also bought us this~"
Nagase returned from the store.
At that point, they were becoming certain that the remaining members would not transform.
"What's that bulky thing you're carrying?"
Taichi asked. Nagase eagerly took out a box.
"It's a portable lamp! That way we won't have to worry about light source when it gets dark."
"Do we really need something that big..."
"It's a discount item from the department store clearance sale anyway. No big deal. And besides, I get to keep it after we're done with it. Teehee!"
What was she going to do with that? She was a curious creature as always.
Nagase turned around and asked Inaba(4):
"What would you like to drink, Himeko-chan?"
"This one. Orange juice."
"Here you go~"
Inaba(4) picked up the bottled drink from Nagase. Since Iori and Yui were behaving towards her nicely, Inaba(4) seemed to be less alert around them now.
"Say... an Inaban that can't enunciate clearly is TOO CUTE~~!"
"Easy, you're gonna scare her again!"
Inaba(4) fled behind Taichi.
"Mmm~~ Seeing Inaban glued to Taichi like that kinda stings."
Feeling discouraged, Nagase picked up her own bottled drink.
"Here, thanks for cooperating with us so nicely, Yoshifumi-kun."
Kiriyama gave a bottle of juice to Aoki(10) and petted his head.
"Thank you very much~"
Aoki(10) thanked shyly.
"...You alright?"
Taichi whispered to Kiriyama.
He did not mention 'touching a boy', but hinted it towards her.
"Mhm, he's just a child after all."
Kiriyama beamed gently.
"Hehehe, Nana's sister's compliment makes me feel lucky!"
Aoki(10) smiled innocently.
"Hm? Nana?"
Kiriyama raised her eyebrow.
"Eh? Is onee-chan not Nana's sister? I thought that was the case."
Aoki(10) said surprisingly.
Something was odd.
"Hold just a second, Ao...Yoshifumi-kun, can you say my full name?"
They had not verified that yet.
"Yaegashi Taichi-san?"
"What about the girl over there?"
"You called me?"
Taichi pointed towards Nagase, who was sitting on the chair eating.
"Nagase Iori-san."
"Then...what about this girl right here?"
"Isn't she Nishino Nana's sister? Oh, or was it her relative? They look very alike."
Aoki(10) seemed to believe that Kiriyama Yui was a relative of someone called Nishino Nana.
"Eh... I am... Kiriyama Yui..."
Kiriyama asserted and smiled confusingly.
"...Kiriyama Yui? So you're not Nana's relative?"
"I don't know...that person you speak of."
"I see. You sure look alike though! ...Okay, so onee-chan is Kiriyama Yui. Understood!"
"What? What's going on?"
Nagase Iori rushed towards them and asked.
"I'm not sure, but ten year-old Aoki seems to have mistaken Kiriyama for someone else."
"Mistaken Yui for someone else?"
"...Let's wait till after Aoki returns to normal and see if he knows anything about that. There's no point in pressing the child."
Kiriyama quickly ended the conversation. Taichi decided to leave it alone for now as well.
The sky had become darker.
The room did not have power, but they had the portable lamp that Nagase brought back. Therefore Taichi and the others were able to maintain a minimal light source.
"I. Na. Ba."
"I~ Na~ Ba~"
Inaba(4) wrote as she followed Taichi's reading.
"Hi. Me. Ko."
"Hi~ Me~ Ko~"
"Wow. Impressive, Himeko-chan! You can already write your own name with romaji."
Taichi petted Inaba(4), who smiled happily.
There wasn't much a child could do in an abandoned apartment. Inaba(4) seemed to be bored, so Taichi decided to teach her writing.
Inaba(4) was very intellectually curious and a fast learner too. There were traces of what would become the present Inaba's clear and sharp mind(not that it was supposed to mean anything).
Meanwhile, the door flung open with a loud bang.
"Alright! I win! I'm faster!"
Nagase, who went out before to explore the apartment, barged into the room. Aoki(10) came in right after.
"Darn! You are older and you cheated!"
"Did not! You're going to look bad if you don't gracefully admit defeat!"
They seemed to be racing.
"Ugh. This is why you're never gonna get to 'smooch'!"
"Wha—!? Didn't I say I've 'smooched' before? Seventy percent had! No wait... that absolutely counted as my 'smooch'! I've decided! My first kiss was perfect!"
"Th—Then what does it taste like?"
"Er...tastes like tuna?"
...Is Nagase completely oblivious to the fact that her 'smooch' partner is sitting right here?
"What's wrong?"
Noticing Taichi's awkward expression, Inaba(4) asked innocently.
"It's nothing. I'm just thinking that 'that' must be very important to girls..."
"Smooch?"
"D—Don't worry about it. It's too early for Himeko-chan..."
Taichi suddenly remembered that he pretty much kissed the future version of the child in front of him (due to their special condition, he wasn't sure whether 'future' was the right word).
Although he wasn't exactly going to blush nor feel embarrassed towards a child, it still felt a little awkward.
"Will I become a grown up if I smooch?"
"It's not like that... more like it's something only a grown up gets to do."
"When will I get to smooch?"
"At least not until the autumn of the first year in high scho— Wait, that's not the point! It's too early for Himeko-chan. I forbid you to say 'smooch.'"
"Kiss?"
"Using a synonym doesn't make it any better..."
"Deep kiss?"
"That's even worse! Where did you learn that term anyway!?"
"Lemme think. From a German film."
"That's...deep. You watched that as a four year-old? I'm...I'm in awe."
"Sorry to interrupt you guys, but it's almost five o'clock!"
Kiriyama reminded.
"Oh, that's right... So no changes so far, but will return to normal at five... Is that so?"
They should be able to verify it soon.
Nagase reponded to Taichi's murmuring.
"Yep. By the way, Taichi, how do they change back? Is it as sudden as the beginning?"
"Yeah. Before you realize it, the two will return to normal right there. Something like that."
"So, if you fixate on them during the change, will you see anything?"
As Nagase murmured, Kiriyama jumped up suddenly, making a loud rattling noise with the chair.
She looked like a strategist who suddenly found a fatal flaw in the plan right before carrying out a mission.
"...the clothes?"
"Huh?"
Kiriyama's voice was barely audiable, so Taichi inquired again.
"I said, what happens to the clothes?"
"The clothes stay the same... Ah."
Nagase and Kiriyama were wearing their normal clothes yesterday, but today they dressed Inaba and Aoki with child-sized clothes. Needless to say, those clothes were way too small for their original bodies. Worst case scenario was that the clothes would rip... Since they had no idea how the transformation worked, they couldn't really tell.
"This is bad! If she finds herself naked after returning to normal... Inaban will go nuts!"
"Ack, we better hurry and change her clothes! Iori, do it now. As for Aoki... he should be fine! His clothes look like they're made of flexible materials."
"Eh? What's the hurry?"
Aoki(10) asked in astonishment. Nagase and Kiriyama rushed towards Inaba(4).
However, as they approached her with such uptight expressions, it seemed to have revived the terrible memory in Inaba(4) (even though the two insisted that they were just spoiling her,) who fled behind Taichi.
"Taichi! Move out of the way! Hurry!"
"I-I know! It's alright, Himeko-chan."
"Mmm~~"
Inaba(4) clung tightly to Taichi's shirt and refused to leave his side.
"Now what..."
"This is not the time for that, Taichi! Just... Ah! We're out of ti——"
Kiriyama stopped short and became speechless.
At that instant, Taichi felt somebody growing bigger behind him.
"Ack! I can't breath... the shirt is too tight!"
Aoki, who was standing at the front of Taichi's view, had returned to normal and began tidying himself.
Nagase and Kiriyama, who were right in front of Taichi, recovered from shock as well.
"Ahhhhhhh! Inaban! Stop! Don't move!"
"Taichi! DO NOT look back! You absolutely MUST NOT look back!"
"G—Got it!"
Taichi pretended that he was a statue and remained still, thus barely averting the crisis in the end. (At some point Taichi was struck in the back of his head by a certain someone. That attack was dangerous, he thought. He really wished she would be at least more mindful.)
"I see. It is indeed commendable that you were able to find this place." Inaba remarked.
After the chaos subsided, the club members began their discussion.
"This time also had somebody stay transformed from noon to five in the afternoon. I'm guessing we can call that a verified fact now."
Just as Inaba pointed out, it was hard to believe that having people transform and revert back to their usual selves twice at exactly the same time was mere coincidence.
"...I must say though, having no recollection of the past five hours gives me the creeps. I mean, I'm going to be completely helpless during those hours should anything happen..."
"You could at least trust that we'll cover for you."
Taichi said, and Inaba agreed and nodded: "Yeah. I guess you're right."
"So those writings on the board were hints left by «Heartseed»?"
Nagase murmured to herself.
"In that case, the fact that only four of our names were written on the board might mean something..."
Inaba shifted her eyes towards Taichi, who cringed inside his chest.
"Could it be that Taichi is the only one not affected by the 'Time Regression' phenomenon?"
Aoki precisely pointed out the correct answer, which made Taichi even more nervous.
"Hmm, that's the only possibility we can think of now. Whatever, I'm sure we'll find out later... Well then, any other problems?"
Inaba changed the topic. Taichi sighed in relief in his mind, and proceeded to ask:
"Oh, now that you mention it, when Aoki was a child he seemed to have confused Kiriyama with somebody else."
"What do you mean?"
"Eh? What's that? Please tell me the details!"
Kiriyama did not look at the exclaiming Aoki, and said in a calm and quiet tone:
"May I ask...if you knew Nishino Nana?"
Aoki frozed in an awkward gesture.
"How did Yui... Where did you hear that name?"
"The ten year-old you insisted that I was Nishino Nana's sister."
Aoki held his breath and was unable to say another word.
"Who is...Nishino Nana?"
Kiriyama's question struck Aoki speechless.
After a short pause, he seemed to have forfeited. He smiled wryly and said:
"She was a girl about my age who used to live near me. I think we became familiar with each other around third or fourth grade. She was the daughter of some big name firm owner, I think, and went to a private school, so we weren't in the same school. And then... we went out around the first year in middle school."
Aoki was not talking about anything bad. But for some reason Taichi wished he could stop listening. He kept feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
"And then?"
Everyone else was silent, but Kiriyama hurried Aoki to continue.
"At the end of that year, she moved away with her parents... so we broke up. After that we only remained in touch with New Year cards... That's about it."
"Could it be...that Nishino Nana and I...look alike?"
Kiriyama asked.
——whether Aoki's ex-girlfriend looked like her.
——whether the ex-girlfriend of Aoki, who declared his love for Kiriyama, looked like her.
"...Yes."
Aoki answered.
——that his ex-girlfriend looked like Kiriyama.
——that his ex-girlfriend looked like Kiriyama, whom he declared his love for.
"I know you two don't seem to have met for a long time... But, if she had entered high school, would she look like me now?"
Kiriyama held her hand on her chest.
"...Very likely," Aoki answered.
The temperature of the room suddenly dropped. They could feel a chilly wind breezing from the darkness of the corners of the room, where the light could not reach.
"That's almost as if..."
"——In other words, if we add that to the conclusion."
Inaba interrupted Kiriyama.
"First we know Aoki knew a girl named Nishino, who looked like Yui. Then Aoki was turned into a child by some freaky phenomenon. Even though his child form would automatically assume everyone around him to be people that he knew, due to Yui's likeness with that Nishino girl, Aoki(10), who had the memory of that time, confused Yui with Nishino's sister. That's all. There are so many rhetorical factors, it just happens to have turned out that way."
Inaba didn't give anyone else a chance to speak and made a seemingly endless speech.
"Mmm~ It must've been that. I mean some of us were turned into children after all. With the body going through all those changes, anything could go weird."
Nagase added, and the conversation ended there.
The group decided to directly meet up tomorrow right at this place, and parted on their ways home.
If they followed their temporary "this should be it" assumption, there should be no problem going home.
Taichi, who had more information than the others, was able to confirm that.
As everyone slowly parted on their separate ways, only Taichi and Aoki were left.
The two sat side by side on the train. Aoki, who would normally be chattering about all kinds of random topics, remained unusually quiet.
His eyes were fixated on the windows before him.
Taichi was hesitant to ask, but thinking that it would be better to ask first than to later regret not asking, he chose to proceed forward. Taichi had already learned that from experience.
"Say, Aoki... That wasn't like you."
He knew it might be a sensitive topic, but Taichi inquired anyway.
"...Hm? Like me?"
Aoki seemed to be dazing out, and appeared a bit slow at responding.
"Er... I thought it was strange to see Aoki looking that awkward."
"...Ahh, you mean my ex looking like Yui. Anyone in my shoe would feel awkward I think. It's as if I..."
Aoki was unsure how to describe it, so he gave up trying to convert it to words.
"Well, in my opinion, if it were Aoki, he'd normally strongly insist on the 'I love Yui no matter what!' kind of stuff."
Taichi said, but Aoki did not immediately respond.
"...Because of the phenomenon, I suddenly recalled those memories and feelings from that time."
Aoki said in a low voice.
"I'm saying... I'm not sure... Even though I know that 'the me from before' would most likely say that... But now... putting all those together..."
"What do you mean by 'the you from before'? What's that about?"
"I remembered my feelings from when I loved Nana. I can't deny those feelings."
Aoki was reverted to his past self, and had to face his past feelings.
"...When we first met, I thought Yui looked like Nana. There was no doubt about that. But, I did not pay any attention to it... Regarding the fact that they look alike, the only thing in my mind was 'they look kinda alike!'... Nothing more."
The train came to a stop.
People got off the train , and then people came on again.
The train began to move again.
"I love Yui. But I... did love Nana. I've always loved Nana, but I, too, feel I love Yui more right now. Then... when did I start to dislike Nana?"
Aoki held his head, and continued to soliloquize.
"I don't remember myself ever disliking Nana... We only broke up because she moved... When did I forget that I 'love Nana'? Did that feeling dissipate? Is it still here?"
Aoki looked towards Taichi, his expression looking as if he were a lost lamb seeking redemption.
"Hey, Taichi... What does it mean to love someone?"
Taichi knew he had no right to answer.
The CRC was about to face yet another drastic event.
Something would definitely change.
Things that were changed could never be undone.
No matter how wrong the choices were, they could never be reverted.
Ever.
+++
Kiriyama tip-toed into her parents' bedroom, which she rarely visited.
There was a cabinet by the wall.
On it was a display of her past glory.
Trophies.
Medals.
Medallions.
Certificates.
These were all prizes that Yui earned back when she practiced karate.
Yui opened the cabinet, picked up a small medal, and gently rubbed it with her finger.
It was a medal from her participation in a small scale tournament for the first time.
Become a strong girl both in body and spirit —— that was her parents' wish. Yui began practicing karate.
It started out as a hobby, but as she became skilled in karate, her father made the decision to have her receive professional training.
Yui, herself, enjoyed karate as well.
Yui reminisced about her eleven year-old self. Although she was not exactly keen about the idea that "karate was her life", practicing karate was indeed part of what had shaped her today.
But since that day —— the day she was almost assaulted by a man, she began to fear all men in the world, and she gave up on karate.
Yui did not hold any grudge towards that man.
She only felt that it couldn't be helped, and chose to give up.
There are many tragedies in this world, such as accidents and illnesses. There will always be someone who will run into such misfortune.
She just happened to be one of them.
Since it was not injury or illness, it may not be as bad as it sounds.
It couldn't be helped.
Besides, happiness also exists in this world.
Things like having such great companions by her side.
Slow as it may be, she was able to move forward.
Would that not work out?
That's how the world turns, right?
There could be bad times, and there could be good times.
For humans, some things could never be achieved, regardless of effort —— this was what she learned from the encounter with «Heartseed».
She had done her best...
"Onee."
Someone called her name.
Yui jumped and quickly placed the medal back into the cabinet, then looked back.
It was Anzu, her two-year-younger sister. She was standing next to the paper door.
"W—What's wrong?"
"I should be the one saying that, Onee... Are you alright? You're looking at things from when you practiced karate. You rejected them ever since you gave up on karate..."
"It's nothing. I just happened to remember something from back then..."
"Oh."
Anzu did not put another thought into it, and nodded.
"Oh, yeah, Onee, I ran into Mihashi-san today. Do you still remember her? She was the one you always competed against, like your rival."
Mihashi Chinatsu.
Yui didn't expect to hear that name again today.
"I know Onee probably didn't get along with her, but I used to chat with her a lot. And then, Mihashi-san came back to this town. I heard it was only for a short while though."
Why did Mihashi choose to come back now? Right when they were caught in this strange phenomenon?
Was she running into a series of misfortune?
That's right, Yui thought. It must be... She must hold on.
"Huh..."
For some reason, Yui seemed to have missed the chance to mention her encounter with Mihashi.
"I'm not supposed to say this out loud, but Mihashi-san's parents seemed to have divorced. She went through a lot. And then..."
Anzu's words pierced through Yui's ears.
Anzu didn't mean anything particular.
She was just telling Yui what she heard.
But Yui could not help but to think:
That girl was not all that close to her; they had only ever met in tournaments. Yui had already given up karate, so what was the point of hearing about that girl's recent situation?
What was the point of connecting her past memory with her present?
Those past events, for the present Kiriyama Yui, were things that couldn't be helped.
There was no way to start over, and no way to change.
It was meaningless to her now. All meaningless.
Since it was meaningless, there was no point in knowing.
——The same could be said that, since it was meaningless, there was no point in knowing the past of the boy who declared his love for her.
Aoki Yoshifumi, who was transformed by 'Time Regression', mistook her as someone he knew from the past.
Aoki said that she and that person looked alike.
Aoki said that he loved that person back then, and dated her.
He said before that he loved Yui based on instinct.
Instinct.
There was no particular reasoning, only instinct.
He loved her at first sight —— she could put it that way, right?
But, if he fell in love with her at first sight, and at first she looked a lot like that other girl, it was as if...
——He loved her because she looked like that other girl.
Not to mention, the only reason Aoki and the other girl broke up was because the girl moved. It was as if...
——Yui was nothing more than a replacement.
Yui didn't know the truth.
Maybe she was overthinking it.
But it felt uncomfortable.
That being said, Yui did not have the courage to ask for an explanation.
She wanted to mock herself.
She used to reject him, deny him, want him to give up; but now, when he started having doubts regarding his feelings for that other girl, Yui felt uneasy and wanted to blame him.
"——Hey... Onee, you listening?"
"Ah, eh? Sorry, I'm listening."
"I was saying... If you wish to, would you like to practice karate again? You never told me why you gave up... But I really loved the cool and strong onee from when you practiced karate..."
Why? Why did Anzu have to bring it up?
Yui's past self.
The past that could not be changed.
The present that could not be redone.
Pain pierced through her chest.
Why did it hurt?
She did not know.
But she knew the present her could not face the past.
She wanted to forget.
She did not want to know about Aoki.
She hated it.
It hurt.
She hated this feeling that hurt.
"...What's wrong, Onee? Why're you crying? Did I say something wrong? Please don't cry, I'm sorry, Onee..."
She did not know why she couldn't stop the tears either.
The next day, Taichi left home early.
He could not afford to arrive any later than twelve o'clock.
He was immune to the phenomenon (although not confirmed yet), but should everyone else turn into a child at the same time like «Number Two» said, it would prove disastrous.
«Number Two»... How much of what he said could be trusted?
While he didn't seem to be lying, there was no real way to tell.
But one thing Taichi could be certain of was that 'Time Regression' didn't occur after 5PM yesterday.
To verify that, everyone in the CRC contacted each other in the morning. Based on what everyone said, 'nothing out of the ordinary' happened.
"Did I come too early...?"
It was eleven o'clock. Taichi had already arrived at the train station near Inaba's house.
...Yes, they were going to meet at Inaba's house.
Taichi could not help but feel very conscious of his visit to the house of the girl who had feelings for him.
He loved Nagase, and he said so. But he might have been loving her more because 'Nagase loves him'... His feelings might have been somewhat influenced by that.
If he added 'Inaba loves him too' to the equation...
Sometimes Taichi thought that he should just make it clear that he preferred Nagase.
Yet he didn't want to tread on Inaba's feelings.
Since they did not ask Taichi for an immediate response, he had been indecisive and never gave a final answer.
Taichi knew he should not drag on like this, but——
As he exited the station gate, Taichi's contemplation was interrupted by the sight of a familiar chestnut-hued hair.
"Kiriyama."
"Oh, good morning Taichi."
Kiriyama waved at Taichi. She was wearing a thick, cream colored duffel coat and was carrying a large shopping bag in her hand.
"Aren't you too early?"
"Right back at you."
Kiriyama smiled lightly. She seemed a little tired.
"...It didn't happen to you again, right? 'Time Regression'."
"Umm... I don't think so... I was worried about whether it would go wrong, but our prediction seems to be accurate so far. I'm saying that, but I've never actually seen the phenomenon myself..."
"I guess you're right... Did you find anything else strange?" Taichi inquired.
There might be the chance that Kiriyama ran into a peculiar situation like Taichi did.
An extreme situation...such as the existence of a «Number Three».
"Not... that I can think of... Yawn~"
"You didn't sleep well?"
"I went to bed late... I was nervous and..."
Kiriyama stopped short and curled her chestnut-hued hair around her finger.
Taichi believed Kiriyama to be the sensitive type of girl. Based on past experience, she was very vulnerable to these phenomena. Taichi thought that he should take care not to hurt her feelings.
"...I thought about things from back then."
"Things from back then... I see."
"When I got home, my mind was in chaos. All sorts of stuff... I mean, when you recall them, you get all these sorts of feelings, don't you think? It's... too complicated for words."
"Hm... Too complicated for words you say... But if you don't tell me the specifics, it's really difficult to understand."
"Um... That's why I said it's... too complicated for words... No!"
Kiriyama waved her hands in denial.
"Say, Taichi. If you compare yourself now with yourself back then, how do you feel?"
"How am I gonna answer that? ...I feel like I was a brat... too complicated for words... Ah."
"You said 'too complicated for words'. Game over!"
"Crap... What kind of game was that anyway?"
"Feels kinda dumb, doesn't it?"
They both smiled wryly.
"Yeah... But these are the kind of feelings that are too complicated for words."
Kiriyama murmured. He could sense the sorrow in her voice.
"Let's put that aside for now. Taichi, what do we do now? We might inconvenience Inaba if we visit her right now."
"I thought so too... Why don't we just walk around to kill some time?"
They could not think of a good place to spend the time, so they decided to just take a casual walk.
It was not snowing nor was it windy today, so it wasn't cold to the point where people would need to take refuge in their rooms.
"Ah, this place nearby..."
Just as the two were about to head to Inaba's house after a bit of walking, Kiriyama stopped suddenly.
This area seemed to be undergoing reconstruction. The open ground surrounded by fences was sort of eye catching. There were also several abandoned buildings there.
"What's wrong?"
"...Back when I still visited the dojo, my jogging route passed by this area."
"You mean karate? Now that you mention it, Kiriyama, when did you stop practicing karate?"
"Second year in middle school... Right around when I was almost assaulted, I think."
Crap, he stepped on a land mine.
"Ah... Sorry."
Kiriyama shook her head.
"It was way back then. I'm fine now."
Kiriyama had androphobia, but now she was slowly transitioning to merely 'finding it a little difficult' to deal with them. She was getting visibly better every day.
"But this place has changed a lot since I last jogged here... Such as that open ground over there. Ah, the store that was here is gone too..."
"You sure remember it well. Did you have some kind of memory here?"
"Not really... But how did I remember? Ah, was it because of that event yesterday? ... I think I was... eleven years old... Whoa, I recalled something again..."
"——Kiriyama!"
A female shouting voice suddenly sounded.
Taichi and Kiriyama looked around in surprise.
There was a girl with pony-tailed hair in flexible attire: a wide, black jacket and jeans. She looked to be slightly older, although it could be argued that it was due to her stern expression. Her incisive face accentuated that.
The girl was staring sharply at them... No, only at Kiriyama.
"Eh...? Who are you?"
Kiriyama asked, looking somewhat intimidated.
"W—Who am I...? Are you saying you don't remember me!?"
The girl walked towards them, her voice filled with anger.
"Huh? Eh... Ah, you are Mihashi... Chinatsu?"
"That's right... How come you didn't recognize me right away?"
"Eh, that's because... your look has become so mature, it felt really different than from what I remember..."
"... I see... Who's that guy next to you? Are you guys dating?"
Kiryama was caught completely off guard by the question and was panic-stricken for a while (her expression was so obvious Taichi was tempted to publish it in a textbook) before she finally calmed down and introduced Taichi and the girl to each other. It turned out that the girl, Mihashi Chinatsu, was in the same year as they were.
"Er~ This is Yaegashi Taichi-san. He's in the same club as I am, and we're about to head to a friend's house. He is not my boyfriend. I can guarantee that. He is definitely just a friend!"
"... Don't you think your denial is a little too specific?"
Did Kiriyama really dislike being mistaken as a couple with him that much? Maybe she was just being shy.
"This is Mihashi Chinatsu-san. We used to be... er... friends in the karate tournaments organized by the karate school I was a part of..."
"I don't consider us friends."
The other commented bluntly. Kiriyama made an "Auu..." sound and winced.
Mihashi was not very friendly towards Kiriyama.
"B—But it sure has been a while hasn't it? We never saw each other again after you moved, Mihashi-san. I think that was around our second year in middle school..."
"——Never mind that for now, Kiriyama."
Kiriyama gathered herself and tried to cheerfully start a conversation, but Mihashi interrupted her coldly.
"You haven't...given up on karate, have you?"
She said it in a sad and low tone. It made Kiriyama stiffen like a rock, unable to give a response.
Mihashi stared at Kiriyama with a harsh but slightly earnest expression.
"It can't be true, right?"
As Mihashi persistently questioned her, Kiriyama finally answered:
"I have...given up."
Mihashi's eyes widened in astonishment.
"You—You're kidding! I've heard the rumours about the 'Prodigy' Kiriyama retiring but..."
Kiriyama, with her outstanding athletic abilities and overwhelming talent for martial arts, was a legend in the female karate league.
"...I'm sorry... I really have given up."
"But... What about our 'promise'!?"
Mihashi suddenly raised her voice and shouted.
"Our... promise?"
Kiriyama said in an uncertain manner. Mihashi's expression became overwhelmed by shock.
A sorrowful shadow spread across Mihashi.
"...Why? Are you... injured?"
Mihashi asked in a way as if she was squeezing words out of her throat.
"No... It has nothing to do with injury."
"Then why?"
"It's because... I can't do it anymore..."
"What... What you mean you can't do it anymore?"
"Eh... That's..."
As Mihashi kept questioning her, Kiriyama was gradually losing her ground.
Taichi initially thought that he should not intervene until their relationship was clarified, but now he decided to step in. Besides, there wasn't much time left.
"Excuse me, can you two talk about this later? Kiriyama, it's almost time."
"Wait, this has nothing to do with you!"
Mihashi threw a vicious and intimidating glare at Taichi.
"I may have nothing to do with your conversation, but we have something important to take care of now."
Taichi proceeded to grab Kiriyama's hand, but she responded by wincing "No!" and avoided Taichi's hand.
Crap! Taichi thought, and remembered that this was one of Kiriyama's greatest fears. He had lost his composure.
"I'm sorry, Kiriyama..."
"Ah... It's alright, I should be the one apologizing."
"What are you two doing?"
Their awkward behavior had left Mihashi dumbfounded.
"A—Anyway, we are in a hurry. Sorry, if you will excuse us."
Learning from his mistake, Taichi grabbed hold of Kiriyama's shopping bag instead. He pulled the bag, hurrying Kiriyama.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
"Uh... I really can't help it right now... I'm sorry."
Kiriyama said this while avoiding eye contact with Mihashi, and, as if trying to escape, hurried off with Taichi.
"I will not accept this!"
Mihashi shouted in the end, watching the two leave with utmost animosity.
□■□■□
"So... what exactly is your relationship with that girl back there?"
Taichi asked while they hurried to Inaba's house.
"... We practiced the same school of karate... Oh, but we visited different dojos. We only really saw each other in tournaments..."
Kiriyama lowered her head.
"I see. So you two had that kind of friendship."
"Yeah. Well... I'd say our relationship was closer to that of being rivals than friends."
"So that's what your world was like back then huh, Kiriyama... That's amazing isn't it? To have a rival like that."
"... Used to be like that."
Her brief muttering was filled with many different emotions.
"After Mihashi-san moved far away, we never met each other again. Our karate school doesn't organize cross-country tournaments. Not to mention, I don't practice karate anymore..."
"I see. But why did Mihashi-san suddenly appear in this town again?"
"I don't know. Maybe she moved back."
She did not seem to be very happy about her reunion with an old acquaintance. Then again, Mihashi was not very nice about it either.
Taichi began to worry if this reunion would stir up any emotional problems for her.
They were undergoing the 'Time Regression' phenomenon, after all (it seemed that way). During critical times like this, even minor nuisances could have the potential to become disasters.
"Good morning-hello~"
A cheerful greeting sounded. Nagase Iori, who was dressed in an orchid tone down jacket and jeans, joined the two from across the street. She also had a knit cap over her head.
"...Hm? How come you weren't coming from the station? Where did you... C—Could it be that, Taichi... after Inaban, you are now trying to conquer Yui as well?"
Nagase's remark was really unnecessary.
"Eh? After Inaba... what?"
Kiriyama's head was filled with question marks.
"No, it's nothing, Kiriyama! It's not important! And Nagase, we're clean! We were both just walking around the area because we were too early!"
Inaba's confession to Taichi and their involvement in this love triangle were secrets kept from the others at the moment (Taichi proposed to stay low, but the two girls didn't seem to mind in the slightest. Sometimes Taichi wished that they would give him a break).
"I'm not so sure about that... You made that Inaba fall for you after all. Considering that, Taichi, you have immense potential you know..."
"Hm? What you mean by 'made Inaba fall for you'?"
"It really is nothing, Kiriyama! And Nagase! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
"It's fun to see Taichi so shaken, you know! Teehee!"
Nagase giggled happily.
As the three walked side by side, Taichi peeked at the side of Nagase's face.
About 'that deal', Nagase appeared to have come to terms with Inaba. But how did Nagase really see it?
It had been a month since the end of the 'Desire Unleash' phenomenon, and Nagase seemed to be no different than her usual self. In fact, she seemed to have returned to the state before she and Taichi confessed to each other.
After the confession, there was a time when the two were trying to decide what kind of relationship they would maintain. But the Nagase now was behaving like how a good friend would towards Taichi. It was as if nothing had happened.
Nagase's shift in behavior was one of the reasons why Taichi had been indecisive.
"Hm? What's wrong, Taichi? Do I have something on my face?"
"No, it's nothing."
What exactly was Nagase thinking about beneath that pure and beautiful smile?
"Ho ho, are you captivated because I'm too cute? Hm? Hm?"
"H—Hey don't push your face towards me like that!"
...Just what was she really thinking?
"To be honest, even though yesterday I said that it would be fine to go home, I was really scared; so scared that I thought I was gonna die. I wouldn't have known what to do if my deduction was wrong..."
Inaba Himeko let out a deep sigh as all of the CRC members gathered at her house.
"Inaba-chan is still amazing though! You made such a bold decision even though you were worried sick!"
Aoki was stretching his legs and seemed completely relaxed as he spoke.
Taichi might argue that Aoki was equally impressive for maintaining such composure despite the hairy situations they were in.
Inaba's room appeared almost exactly the same as it was the last time they visited—it was well composed and emphasized efficiency—but there were some slight differences. Vivid colors never seen before could be found in the room.
Also worth mentioning was that Inaba was actually using a pillow with big red heart designs on it. Given Inaba's personality before, this was unimaginable.
"It's going to be twelve soon... yet it still doesn't feel real to me; are we really going through this again?"
Nagase remarked. She had completely taken over the bed.
"You'd probably freak out... I'd really love not to get freaked out again, but I doubt things will go that smoothly."
Inaba remarked, and continued:
"While I'd really like to prepare something beforehand... It seems for now, we can only wait."
"But is it really gonna occur again? It's so farfetched, I still have a hard time believing it..."
"This is actually the first time we know when a phenomenon will occur though~ Ack, my gut is wrenching."
Nagase and Aoki said respectively. Meanwhile, Kiriyama made out an "Ah" sound.
"Now that you mention it, Inaba... Is waiting at your house okay?"
"Yeah, it should be. My family won't be coming home till five, so we don't need to worry about causing a commotion by having somebody see us turn into children... but that's only if the phenomenon really does end at five."
Inaba checked the time on her cell phone and answered.
"It's almost twelve— ...Why is somebody calling here now? Who is it? What's with this timing?"
Inaba frantically picked up her phone.
"What do you want, stupid Aniki[1]? Hurry and spit it out!"
It would seem that it was her older brother who called, but that certainly didn't sound like how a younger sister would treat her brother.
"Okay... Mhm... Wait what?! You're bringing girls home and you're telling me to get out of the house!? The hell with that, you thick head! I have things——"
Inaba hung up her cell phone.
"Ugh...!"
She pressed against her chest with one hand, while barely managing to hang up the phone with the other.
"Huh? Wait, Inaban?"
Nagase stood up anxiously.
Meanwhile, Aoki also started moaning.
"Eh... Whoa... What the..."
"Ah, Aoki!"
Kiriyama screamed.
The next moment——
Inaba and Aoki shrunk.
Actually, shrunk was not the right word. It looked as if it was a trick played by god, who used some kind of method incomprehensible by the human mind to switch the bodies.
Inaba, who was just standing there, suddenly became a toddler before learning age. Aoki, on the other hand, became what seemed to be a grade-schooler.
"You're kidding————"
"Wha—Wha—Wha—What in the world is going on!?"
Needless to say, Nagase and Kiriyama, who had both just witnessed the phenomenon for the first time, exclaimed in awe.
At first, Nagase and Kiriyama were squealing in excitement. Sounds of "Wow~", "Hyaaa~", "Whaa~", "Whoa~" could be heard in the background. Although, they eventually exhausted themselves.
They inquired about the age of the children. Aoki answered "Ten", while Inaba replied "Four" in a small voice.
They could not just leave the over-sized clothes on them, so Taichi and the others helped the two get dressed.
They had brought clothes of different sizes under Inaba's instructions.
As expected from Inaba, she had considered all possible scenarios.
It was worth mentioning that when Taichi asked his sister to lend him some clothes, he was met with her howling: "Thick head! Pervert! What are you gonna do with them? I hate you! I prefer the Onii-chan from before, the one who wasn't like this!" Taichi had almost lost all hope of living.
Nagase tilted her head in front of Inaba(4) in puzzlement.
"Hm~ Aoki's jersey and sweat pants should be fine with a bit of folding... But what are we going to do with Inaban?"
Next to Taichi, Aoki(10) raised his arms meaninglessly and said: "Yay~"
Since the CRC members did not have the proper clothes for a four year-old child, the group folded the clothes several times before putting them on Inaba(4). Hence, Inaba(4) looked puffy in the clothes. She stared in astonishment as Nagase helped her with the clothes.
"Say..."
Nagase and Kiriyama lowered their heads, and sounds of anxiety could be heard.
Even though they had handled the situation fairly readily, it was very strange no matter how one would think of it. It was not surprising that the two felt stressed out——
"Mini-Inaban is SOOOOO ADORABLE~~!"
——or not.
"Yui thinks so? Me too! Look at those big round eyes and soft mushy cheeks! Too cute~~!"
Kiriyama and Nagase began fondling Inaba(4) all over.
"Ah! So cute~~ You can see the face that will grow into an ice queen beauty, yet with a heavy dose of cuteness only a little child would have. This is WONDERFUL~~!"
"To think this is that Inaban, I can't take it anymore! Ahaha~~!"
Intimidated by the girls' sudden frenzy, Inaba(4)'s eyes anxiously looked around for help.
The boys could only watch and maintain a safe distance.
"...Girls are scary."
Aoki(10) sighed.
Girls, let's not traumatize this ten year-old young man.
"Phew... I'm satisfied."
"I've refilled my 'Cuteness Meter'..."
After some passionate hugging and cuddling, the two were finally satisfied and let Inaba(4) go.
Inaba(4) seemed to be terrified of the girls due to that, and was glued behind Taichi.
"Say... Himeko-chan~~ You don't have to be this scared, you know."
Nagase tried to lull her in a sweet tone, but Inaba(4) held even tighter onto Taichi's sleeves.
"Er... You might want to take it easy for now."
"Mmm... Sorry... I'm reflecting right now."
"Ah! I should apologize too. I'm sorry Himeko-chan."
Kiriyama apologized. Since they found it awkward to address a young child by their last name, they had decided to address the two with their first names instead.
Aoki(10) was engrossed in the manga he found on the shelves, which was why he was behaving very nicely.
"They really did 'turn into children'! That was amazing... Hm?"
Nagase, who was murmuring while gazing at the ceiling, suddenly faced forward.
"Say... Are we forgetting something important?"
"Something important?"
Now that Nagase mentioned it, what was happening before?
"Let me think... I remember Inaban was on the phone..."
"Ohhh!"
Kiriyama noticed something and shouted.
"I remember... something about Inaba's brother saying 'bringing girls home so get out'..."
"That's the one!"
Nagase snapped her finger.
"So Inaba's brother is coming home, right? If he sees this..."
Taichi murmured and peeked at Inaba(4) behind him. Inaba(4) blinked, as if she was asking "What's wrong?"
...This is bad, Taichi thought. This is beyond bad.
"Oh no! If only Inaba didn't turn into a child, she could have at least thought of something. But this is not good!"
Nagase's tone became something like that of a child from the Edo era. A panic-stricken Kiriyama asked her:
"Is there anyone home at your place, Iori? What about Taichi?"
"No, my mom isn't home at the moment, but she'll be home before five."
"I can't guarantee there won't be anyone at my house before five either... But it might work out if we just stay in the room..."
"You're bringing home two girls, a ten year-old boy and a four year-old little girl. Are you sure your family won't say anything about that?"
Kiriyama fixated on Taichi.
"My mother probably won't... but there's no way I can make it past my sister."
"...You mother won't say anything, huh."
Kiriyama looked at Taichi in sympathy.
"Club room... but bringing a child into school will gather too much attention... Ugh! Some place that doesn't catch people's eyes... What about karaoke? How's that?"
Nagase suggested.
"Ah, that's not a bad idea. Let's try that."
"But if we walk in with children and then walk back out with everyone being high-schoolers... Don't you think that would gather suspicion...? Ah—"
Taichi said and realized that he needed to take that factor into account as well.
Inaba(4) and Aoki(10) would most likely return to normal at five o'clock.
"How about a love hotel?"
"Hm? Love hotel?"
As Nagase was suggesting that, Aoki(10), who was supposed to be engrossed in the manga, responded.
"Can you not pick a better timing to respond? You dirty brat!"
Kiriyama smacked on the floor.
"How are we supposed to even step into a hotel like this..."
Taichi remarked. Suddenly, a scene during the morning reemerged in his mind.
"Hey, Kiriyama, how about that place we went by earlier?"
"That place we went by? ... Oh! I see. Is there an entrance there? If we can find one then it doesn't seem like a bad place. I hope it isn't too cold..."
"What? What? Taichi and Yui, stop being so secretive, you're making me curious."
"You'll see when we go there. Anyway, let's head out. Ao... I mean, Yoshifumi-kun too."
"Eh~ Lemme finish this volume!"
"We don't have that kind of time to waste!"
Kiriyama smacked at the floor twice.
Kiriyama and Aoki's relationship didn't seem to have changed much despite the latter being turned into a ten year-old kid.
"Oh, amazing. Not bad at all."
Nagase looked around the room.
This place was one of the buildings in the reconstruction zone. They broke into one of the abandoned four-story apartments.
Even though it was abandoned, the building seemed to be in use until only recently, as they could tell by the fairly clean environment. It was made of concrete and steel, and appeared to be insulated as well, so the interior was not unbearably cold.
If it weren't for the 'To Be Taken Down' sign at the gate, people would think of this as nothing more than an empty apartment.
"This looks like a good place for a 'secret hideout'! Wow, I'd be thrilled if I were a little younger!"
Upon hearing Aoki(10)'s remark, Taichi and Nagase looked at each other, and burst out laughing.
"Wha—What are you laughing about?"
"We were thinking that... you're a child too."
Nagase continued giggling.
"Pfft, you're a kid too you know."
"What? I'm a grown up!"
"Well then have you 'smooched'? 'Smooooch'~"
"Wha—wha—wha—smooch! Smooch! Smooch!"
Nagase peeked at Taichi. Her cheeks became bright red.
Taichi felt the same; his face was burning up as well.
"Of—Of course I did! 'Smooching' and stuff... I mean... strictly speaking it wasn't my body... No, that has to be a 'smooch'. It wasn't a hundred percent, but it was certainly a seventy percent 'smooch'."
"Seventy percent? Why do I get the feeling that you're lying~"
"I—I did not lie!"
"Then what does it taste like?"
"You—You—You—You say taste? What on earth have your parents been teaching you!?"
Nagase seemed to get along with Aoki(10) very well.
Perhaps it was due to Nagase being able to see things at a child's perspective (not saying she's the same as a grade-schooler though).
Like Nagase and Kiriyama during their 'Time Regression', Aoki(10) and Inaba(4) did not question their situation.
While the CRC members had no idea how a child's brain worked, it would seem correct to say that the two would 'simply accept what was happening' without a second thought.
"...Say, we sort of just ran out here. Was that really okay? What if one of us underwent 'Time Regression'... Wouldn't that be chaotic?"
Taichi replied to Kiriyama's comment from behind:
"Probably. I mean, we did rush out under the assumption that 'we'd stay this way until five o'clock'."
"But judging by what we've seen so far, maybe that assumption is correct."
This phenomenon wasn't a random occurrence between twelve to seventeen o'clock, but rather some random person would undergo 'Time Regression' at twelve o'clock and stay that way for five hours.
While they could not be certain, chances were this was true.
It didn't seem to be completely random since everything up until now followed a rather orderly pattern.
"I guess being able to find this place is a pleasant fluke. It's a bit dirty, but it isn't unacceptable."
Kiriyama swiped the thin layer of dust on the floor with her finger tip.
"This building isn't as old as the others. Good thing the windows on the first floor weren't locked. We couldn't just destroy the property just to get in..."
It was obviously a crime when they trespassed in here. But since this was an emergency, Taichi hoped that they would be allowed some leeway.
——Cough, cough!
Inaba(4), who had been grabbing onto the bottom of Taichi's shirt, started coughing.
"Are you alright?"
Taichi inquired. Inaba(4) nodded in response.
"Let's pick a room and clean it up a little. The dust here is too much for Himeko-chan to handle; she might get ill."
Taichi and the others followed Kiriyama's opinion, and cleaned up what seemed to be an office room with eight working desks located on the second floor.
"I bought us drinks and snacks. And I also bought us this~"
Nagase returned from the store.
At that point, they were becoming certain that the remaining members would not transform.
"What's that bulky thing you're carrying?"
Taichi asked. Nagase eagerly took out a box.
"It's a portable lamp! That way we won't have to worry about light source when it gets dark."
"Do we really need something that big..."
"It's a discount item from the department store clearance sale anyway. No big deal. And besides, I get to keep it after we're done with it. Teehee!"
What was she going to do with that? She was a curious creature as always.
Nagase turned around and asked Inaba(4):
"What would you like to drink, Himeko-chan?"
"This one. Orange juice."
"Here you go~"
Inaba(4) picked up the bottled drink from Nagase. Since Iori and Yui were behaving towards her nicely, Inaba(4) seemed to be less alert around them now.
"Say... an Inaban that can't enunciate clearly is TOO CUTE~~!"
"Easy, you're gonna scare her again!"
Inaba(4) fled behind Taichi.
"Mmm~~ Seeing Inaban glued to Taichi like that kinda stings."
Feeling discouraged, Nagase picked up her own bottled drink.
"Here, thanks for cooperating with us so nicely, Yoshifumi-kun."
Kiriyama gave a bottle of juice to Aoki(10) and petted his head.
"Thank you very much~"
Aoki(10) thanked shyly.
"...You alright?"
Taichi whispered to Kiriyama.
He did not mention 'touching a boy', but hinted it towards her.
"Mhm, he's just a child after all."
Kiriyama beamed gently.
"Hehehe, Nana's sister's compliment makes me feel lucky!"
Aoki(10) smiled innocently.
"Hm? Nana?"
Kiriyama raised her eyebrow.
"Eh? Is onee-chan not Nana's sister? I thought that was the case."
Aoki(10) said surprisingly.
Something was odd.
"Hold just a second, Ao...Yoshifumi-kun, can you say my full name?"
They had not verified that yet.
"Yaegashi Taichi-san?"
"What about the girl over there?"
"You called me?"
Taichi pointed towards Nagase, who was sitting on the chair eating.
"Nagase Iori-san."
"Then...what about this girl right here?"
"Isn't she Nishino Nana's sister? Oh, or was it her relative? They look very alike."
Aoki(10) seemed to believe that Kiriyama Yui was a relative of someone called Nishino Nana.
"Eh... I am... Kiriyama Yui..."
Kiriyama asserted and smiled confusingly.
"...Kiriyama Yui? So you're not Nana's relative?"
"I don't know...that person you speak of."
"I see. You sure look alike though! ...Okay, so onee-chan is Kiriyama Yui. Understood!"
"What? What's going on?"
Nagase Iori rushed towards them and asked.
"I'm not sure, but ten year-old Aoki seems to have mistaken Kiriyama for someone else."
"Mistaken Yui for someone else?"
"...Let's wait till after Aoki returns to normal and see if he knows anything about that. There's no point in pressing the child."
Kiriyama quickly ended the conversation. Taichi decided to leave it alone for now as well.
The sky had become darker.
The room did not have power, but they had the portable lamp that Nagase brought back. Therefore Taichi and the others were able to maintain a minimal light source.
"I. Na. Ba."
"I~ Na~ Ba~"
Inaba(4) wrote as she followed Taichi's reading.
"Hi. Me. Ko."
"Hi~ Me~ Ko~"
"Wow. Impressive, Himeko-chan! You can already write your own name with romaji."
Taichi petted Inaba(4), who smiled happily.
There wasn't much a child could do in an abandoned apartment. Inaba(4) seemed to be bored, so Taichi decided to teach her writing.
Inaba(4) was very intellectually curious and a fast learner too. There were traces of what would become the present Inaba's clear and sharp mind(not that it was supposed to mean anything).
Meanwhile, the door flung open with a loud bang.
"Alright! I win! I'm faster!"
Nagase, who went out before to explore the apartment, barged into the room. Aoki(10) came in right after.
"Darn! You are older and you cheated!"
"Did not! You're going to look bad if you don't gracefully admit defeat!"
They seemed to be racing.
"Ugh. This is why you're never gonna get to 'smooch'!"
"Wha—!? Didn't I say I've 'smooched' before? Seventy percent had! No wait... that absolutely counted as my 'smooch'! I've decided! My first kiss was perfect!"
"Th—Then what does it taste like?"
"Er...tastes like tuna?"
...Is Nagase completely oblivious to the fact that her 'smooch' partner is sitting right here?
"What's wrong?"
Noticing Taichi's awkward expression, Inaba(4) asked innocently.
"It's nothing. I'm just thinking that 'that' must be very important to girls..."
"Smooch?"
"D—Don't worry about it. It's too early for Himeko-chan..."
Taichi suddenly remembered that he pretty much kissed the future version of the child in front of him (due to their special condition, he wasn't sure whether 'future' was the right word).
Although he wasn't exactly going to blush nor feel embarrassed towards a child, it still felt a little awkward.
"Will I become a grown up if I smooch?"
"It's not like that... more like it's something only a grown up gets to do."
"When will I get to smooch?"
"At least not until the autumn of the first year in high scho— Wait, that's not the point! It's too early for Himeko-chan. I forbid you to say 'smooch.'"
"Kiss?"
"Using a synonym doesn't make it any better..."
"Deep kiss?"
"That's even worse! Where did you learn that term anyway!?"
"Lemme think. From a German film."
"That's...deep. You watched that as a four year-old? I'm...I'm in awe."
"Sorry to interrupt you guys, but it's almost five o'clock!"
Kiriyama reminded.
"Oh, that's right... So no changes so far, but will return to normal at five... Is that so?"
They should be able to verify it soon.
Nagase reponded to Taichi's murmuring.
"Yep. By the way, Taichi, how do they change back? Is it as sudden as the beginning?"
"Yeah. Before you realize it, the two will return to normal right there. Something like that."
"So, if you fixate on them during the change, will you see anything?"
As Nagase murmured, Kiriyama jumped up suddenly, making a loud rattling noise with the chair.
She looked like a strategist who suddenly found a fatal flaw in the plan right before carrying out a mission.
"...the clothes?"
"Huh?"
Kiriyama's voice was barely audiable, so Taichi inquired again.
"I said, what happens to the clothes?"
"The clothes stay the same... Ah."
Nagase and Kiriyama were wearing their normal clothes yesterday, but today they dressed Inaba and Aoki with child-sized clothes. Needless to say, those clothes were way too small for their original bodies. Worst case scenario was that the clothes would rip... Since they had no idea how the transformation worked, they couldn't really tell.
"This is bad! If she finds herself naked after returning to normal... Inaban will go nuts!"
"Ack, we better hurry and change her clothes! Iori, do it now. As for Aoki... he should be fine! His clothes look like they're made of flexible materials."
"Eh? What's the hurry?"
Aoki(10) asked in astonishment. Nagase and Kiriyama rushed towards Inaba(4).
However, as they approached her with such uptight expressions, it seemed to have revived the terrible memory in Inaba(4) (even though the two insisted that they were just spoiling her,) who fled behind Taichi.
"Taichi! Move out of the way! Hurry!"
"I-I know! It's alright, Himeko-chan."
"Mmm~~"
Inaba(4) clung tightly to Taichi's shirt and refused to leave his side.
"Now what..."
"This is not the time for that, Taichi! Just... Ah! We're out of ti——"
Kiriyama stopped short and became speechless.
At that instant, Taichi felt somebody growing bigger behind him.
"Ack! I can't breath... the shirt is too tight!"
Aoki, who was standing at the front of Taichi's view, had returned to normal and began tidying himself.
Nagase and Kiriyama, who were right in front of Taichi, recovered from shock as well.
"Ahhhhhhh! Inaban! Stop! Don't move!"
"Taichi! DO NOT look back! You absolutely MUST NOT look back!"
"G—Got it!"
Taichi pretended that he was a statue and remained still, thus barely averting the crisis in the end. (At some point Taichi was struck in the back of his head by a certain someone. That attack was dangerous, he thought. He really wished she would be at least more mindful.)
"I see. It is indeed commendable that you were able to find this place." Inaba remarked.
After the chaos subsided, the club members began their discussion.
"This time also had somebody stay transformed from noon to five in the afternoon. I'm guessing we can call that a verified fact now."
Just as Inaba pointed out, it was hard to believe that having people transform and revert back to their usual selves twice at exactly the same time was mere coincidence.
"...I must say though, having no recollection of the past five hours gives me the creeps. I mean, I'm going to be completely helpless during those hours should anything happen..."
"You could at least trust that we'll cover for you."
Taichi said, and Inaba agreed and nodded: "Yeah. I guess you're right."
"So those writings on the board were hints left by «Heartseed»?"
Nagase murmured to herself.
"In that case, the fact that only four of our names were written on the board might mean something..."
Inaba shifted her eyes towards Taichi, who cringed inside his chest.
"Could it be that Taichi is the only one not affected by the 'Time Regression' phenomenon?"
Aoki precisely pointed out the correct answer, which made Taichi even more nervous.
"Hmm, that's the only possibility we can think of now. Whatever, I'm sure we'll find out later... Well then, any other problems?"
Inaba changed the topic. Taichi sighed in relief in his mind, and proceeded to ask:
"Oh, now that you mention it, when Aoki was a child he seemed to have confused Kiriyama with somebody else."
"What do you mean?"
"Eh? What's that? Please tell me the details!"
Kiriyama did not look at the exclaiming Aoki, and said in a calm and quiet tone:
"May I ask...if you knew Nishino Nana?"
Aoki frozed in an awkward gesture.
"How did Yui... Where did you hear that name?"
"The ten year-old you insisted that I was Nishino Nana's sister."
Aoki held his breath and was unable to say another word.
"Who is...Nishino Nana?"
Kiriyama's question struck Aoki speechless.
After a short pause, he seemed to have forfeited. He smiled wryly and said:
"She was a girl about my age who used to live near me. I think we became familiar with each other around third or fourth grade. She was the daughter of some big name firm owner, I think, and went to a private school, so we weren't in the same school. And then... we went out around the first year in middle school."
Aoki was not talking about anything bad. But for some reason Taichi wished he could stop listening. He kept feeling that something terrible was about to happen.
"And then?"
Everyone else was silent, but Kiriyama hurried Aoki to continue.
"At the end of that year, she moved away with her parents... so we broke up. After that we only remained in touch with New Year cards... That's about it."
"Could it be...that Nishino Nana and I...look alike?"
Kiriyama asked.
——whether Aoki's ex-girlfriend looked like her.
——whether the ex-girlfriend of Aoki, who declared his love for Kiriyama, looked like her.
"...Yes."
Aoki answered.
——that his ex-girlfriend looked like Kiriyama.
——that his ex-girlfriend looked like Kiriyama, whom he declared his love for.
"I know you two don't seem to have met for a long time... But, if she had entered high school, would she look like me now?"
Kiriyama held her hand on her chest.
"...Very likely," Aoki answered.
The temperature of the room suddenly dropped. They could feel a chilly wind breezing from the darkness of the corners of the room, where the light could not reach.
"That's almost as if..."
"——In other words, if we add that to the conclusion."
Inaba interrupted Kiriyama.
"First we know Aoki knew a girl named Nishino, who looked like Yui. Then Aoki was turned into a child by some freaky phenomenon. Even though his child form would automatically assume everyone around him to be people that he knew, due to Yui's likeness with that Nishino girl, Aoki(10), who had the memory of that time, confused Yui with Nishino's sister. That's all. There are so many rhetorical factors, it just happens to have turned out that way."
Inaba didn't give anyone else a chance to speak and made a seemingly endless speech.
"Mmm~ It must've been that. I mean some of us were turned into children after all. With the body going through all those changes, anything could go weird."
Nagase added, and the conversation ended there.
The group decided to directly meet up tomorrow right at this place, and parted on their ways home.
If they followed their temporary "this should be it" assumption, there should be no problem going home.
Taichi, who had more information than the others, was able to confirm that.
As everyone slowly parted on their separate ways, only Taichi and Aoki were left.
The two sat side by side on the train. Aoki, who would normally be chattering about all kinds of random topics, remained unusually quiet.
His eyes were fixated on the windows before him.
Taichi was hesitant to ask, but thinking that it would be better to ask first than to later regret not asking, he chose to proceed forward. Taichi had already learned that from experience.
"Say, Aoki... That wasn't like you."
He knew it might be a sensitive topic, but Taichi inquired anyway.
"...Hm? Like me?"
Aoki seemed to be dazing out, and appeared a bit slow at responding.
"Er... I thought it was strange to see Aoki looking that awkward."
"...Ahh, you mean my ex looking like Yui. Anyone in my shoe would feel awkward I think. It's as if I..."
Aoki was unsure how to describe it, so he gave up trying to convert it to words.
"Well, in my opinion, if it were Aoki, he'd normally strongly insist on the 'I love Yui no matter what!' kind of stuff."
Taichi said, but Aoki did not immediately respond.
"...Because of the phenomenon, I suddenly recalled those memories and feelings from that time."
Aoki said in a low voice.
"I'm saying... I'm not sure... Even though I know that 'the me from before' would most likely say that... But now... putting all those together..."
"What do you mean by 'the you from before'? What's that about?"
"I remembered my feelings from when I loved Nana. I can't deny those feelings."
Aoki was reverted to his past self, and had to face his past feelings.
"...When we first met, I thought Yui looked like Nana. There was no doubt about that. But, I did not pay any attention to it... Regarding the fact that they look alike, the only thing in my mind was 'they look kinda alike!'... Nothing more."
The train came to a stop.
People got off the train , and then people came on again.
The train began to move again.
"I love Yui. But I... did love Nana. I've always loved Nana, but I, too, feel I love Yui more right now. Then... when did I start to dislike Nana?"
Aoki held his head, and continued to soliloquize.
"I don't remember myself ever disliking Nana... We only broke up because she moved... When did I forget that I 'love Nana'? Did that feeling dissipate? Is it still here?"
Aoki looked towards Taichi, his expression looking as if he were a lost lamb seeking redemption.
"Hey, Taichi... What does it mean to love someone?"
Taichi knew he had no right to answer.
The CRC was about to face yet another drastic event.
Something would definitely change.
Things that were changed could never be undone.
No matter how wrong the choices were, they could never be reverted.
Ever.
+++
Kiriyama tip-toed into her parents' bedroom, which she rarely visited.
There was a cabinet by the wall.
On it was a display of her past glory.
Trophies.
Medals.
Medallions.
Certificates.
These were all prizes that Yui earned back when she practiced karate.
Yui opened the cabinet, picked up a small medal, and gently rubbed it with her finger.
It was a medal from her participation in a small scale tournament for the first time.
Become a strong girl both in body and spirit —— that was her parents' wish. Yui began practicing karate.
It started out as a hobby, but as she became skilled in karate, her father made the decision to have her receive professional training.
Yui, herself, enjoyed karate as well.
Yui reminisced about her eleven year-old self. Although she was not exactly keen about the idea that "karate was her life", practicing karate was indeed part of what had shaped her today.
But since that day —— the day she was almost assaulted by a man, she began to fear all men in the world, and she gave up on karate.
Yui did not hold any grudge towards that man.
She only felt that it couldn't be helped, and chose to give up.
There are many tragedies in this world, such as accidents and illnesses. There will always be someone who will run into such misfortune.
She just happened to be one of them.
Since it was not injury or illness, it may not be as bad as it sounds.
It couldn't be helped.
Besides, happiness also exists in this world.
Things like having such great companions by her side.
Slow as it may be, she was able to move forward.
Would that not work out?
That's how the world turns, right?
There could be bad times, and there could be good times.
For humans, some things could never be achieved, regardless of effort —— this was what she learned from the encounter with «Heartseed».
She had done her best...
"Onee."
Someone called her name.
Yui jumped and quickly placed the medal back into the cabinet, then looked back.
It was Anzu, her two-year-younger sister. She was standing next to the paper door.
"W—What's wrong?"
"I should be the one saying that, Onee... Are you alright? You're looking at things from when you practiced karate. You rejected them ever since you gave up on karate..."
"It's nothing. I just happened to remember something from back then..."
"Oh."
Anzu did not put another thought into it, and nodded.
"Oh, yeah, Onee, I ran into Mihashi-san today. Do you still remember her? She was the one you always competed against, like your rival."
Mihashi Chinatsu.
Yui didn't expect to hear that name again today.
"I know Onee probably didn't get along with her, but I used to chat with her a lot. And then, Mihashi-san came back to this town. I heard it was only for a short while though."
Why did Mihashi choose to come back now? Right when they were caught in this strange phenomenon?
Was she running into a series of misfortune?
That's right, Yui thought. It must be... She must hold on.
"Huh..."
For some reason, Yui seemed to have missed the chance to mention her encounter with Mihashi.
"I'm not supposed to say this out loud, but Mihashi-san's parents seemed to have divorced. She went through a lot. And then..."
Anzu's words pierced through Yui's ears.
Anzu didn't mean anything particular.
She was just telling Yui what she heard.
But Yui could not help but to think:
That girl was not all that close to her; they had only ever met in tournaments. Yui had already given up karate, so what was the point of hearing about that girl's recent situation?
What was the point of connecting her past memory with her present?
Those past events, for the present Kiriyama Yui, were things that couldn't be helped.
There was no way to start over, and no way to change.
It was meaningless to her now. All meaningless.
Since it was meaningless, there was no point in knowing.
——The same could be said that, since it was meaningless, there was no point in knowing the past of the boy who declared his love for her.
Aoki Yoshifumi, who was transformed by 'Time Regression', mistook her as someone he knew from the past.
Aoki said that she and that person looked alike.
Aoki said that he loved that person back then, and dated her.
He said before that he loved Yui based on instinct.
Instinct.
There was no particular reasoning, only instinct.
He loved her at first sight —— she could put it that way, right?
But, if he fell in love with her at first sight, and at first she looked a lot like that other girl, it was as if...
——He loved her because she looked like that other girl.
Not to mention, the only reason Aoki and the other girl broke up was because the girl moved. It was as if...
——Yui was nothing more than a replacement.
Yui didn't know the truth.
Maybe she was overthinking it.
But it felt uncomfortable.
That being said, Yui did not have the courage to ask for an explanation.
She wanted to mock herself.
She used to reject him, deny him, want him to give up; but now, when he started having doubts regarding his feelings for that other girl, Yui felt uneasy and wanted to blame him.
"——Hey... Onee, you listening?"
"Ah, eh? Sorry, I'm listening."
"I was saying... If you wish to, would you like to practice karate again? You never told me why you gave up... But I really loved the cool and strong onee from when you practiced karate..."
Why? Why did Anzu have to bring it up?
Yui's past self.
The past that could not be changed.
The present that could not be redone.
Pain pierced through her chest.
Why did it hurt?
She did not know.
But she knew the present her could not face the past.
She wanted to forget.
She did not want to know about Aoki.
She hated it.
It hurt.
She hated this feeling that hurt.
"...What's wrong, Onee? Why're you crying? Did I say something wrong? Please don't cry, I'm sorry, Onee..."
She did not know why she couldn't stop the tears either.
