CHAPTER 44

“It’s not fair Yui!”

Shion sticks out her tongue, playfully teasing Yui.

“C’mon Daisuke, you have to admit I’m right.” she tugs my arm.

“D-Don’t drag me into this…” as I try to brush her off.

I wouldn’t want it any other way to be honest.

Despite how small it actually was, I’ve never felt cramped in here. Right now, I was with my two sisters, Yui and Shion. Shion was pretty busy with her part-time job, but she’d often come whenever she had a spare moment. Even though Shion was technically my half-sister, it didn’t really matter in the end. What mattered was we were a family.

Mary had told me the truth – we were stuck in an eternal loop. Time will never go forward, as the day would automatically reset after a certain amount of hours. That essentially meant that everything is going to stay the same – forever. People who die will come back to life the next cycle, almost as if they never really died to begin with. And the people that live will continue on living, making it impossible for anyone or anything to change.

Yui will live as long as this loop continues…

Immortality came at a cost though. People’s memories reset as well, making it also impossible to create new ones. It was impossible – unless you possessed an “object.”

Mary had given me hers. It’s in my pocket right now, my hand gripping onto the pin. It didn’t look like anything special, but this is probably the most valuable item in the world right now. Not only was it a symbol of Mary’s resolve to maintain this loop, but also her trust in me, to let me to hold onto it. I wanted to ask what her grand plan was, but maybe it was for the best that I stayed in the dark. After realizing what was happening, I can barely keep a straight face, as I am suddenly burdened with this indescribable pressure. What was the point for me to remember if I was going to reenact the same thing over and over? Wouldn’t it be easier just to start from zero every day? At least in that case, I wouldn’t be feeling this pressure.

Maybe I should have shown Kaz the pin like I planned…

“Daisuke…you okay?”

“Hmm?”

Shion notices I’ve been spacing off for too long.

“It’s nothing.” I reply.

“Ahem!” Shion stands up from her seat next to Yui. She points her index finger at me.

“The trial of Daisuke Akatsuka is on!”

“W-What?!?”

“Will the honorable Yui-chan please hear my case?”

Yui sits up straight, and clears her throat.

“The court is in session!” she plays along.

Just what is she up to now?

Whenever Shion was around she’d always come up with these ridiculous situations for us; I’m not sure if I ever told her how much that meant to me. It was getting harder and harder for me to maintain my composure every passing day, especially when I got the news that Yui was not going to get better, bar a miracle. But now, the miracle has arrived, and it’s in my hands.

“The accused, Daisuke Akatsuka, is on trial for favoritism against his sister, Shion Masaki. He prefers Yui-chan instead.”

“Objection!” I play along.

I strike my best pose, pointing my index finger at Shion.

“T-Then, does that mean y-you prefer me?!?” Shion blushes, burying her face into her hands.

“W-Where’d you get that idea?!?”

Shion immediately drops her act, and a smug expression appears across her face.

“I rest my case, your honor.” she grins.

Yui claps her hands.

“I find the defendant guilty of his crimes! He must carry out his punishment.”

“P-Punishment?!?”

Maybe this was going too far…

“Yes…your punishment!” Shion grins. “You must…get us chocolate! Don’t you agree, Yui-chan?”

Yui laughs in joy.

“Alright. I promise to get you chocolate soon.”

Maybe I should practice making some in the home economics room…

It was little moments like this that made life worth living. I don’t want this to go away. I will do anything to preserve my everyday life.

“C’mon big bro, you can tell me now.”

“Tell you…what?”

Visiting hours were over, so Shion and I headed back home.

“What was the deal with you spacing off? It seemed like you were staring straight through us back there.”

Shion was more perceptive than I thought she was. Well, who could blame me? All things considered, I thought I was handling this pretty well.

“I’ve got a lot on my mind Shion.”

She wraps her arm around my neck. Shion was shorter than me, so I hunch a bit down to her level.

“Is it lady problems big bro? If you needed a feminine touch, you could’ve asked me…” she whispers into my ear.

Immediately a chill runs down my spine.

“I-It’s not that.” I stand up, breaking free of her hold.

“Then what is it? If you can’t talk to your sister, who can you talk to?”

Shion stands in front of me, her arms crossed, tapping her foot, waiting for me to just tell her.

Should I…?

I suppose there was no real harm in telling her. Memories were going to be reset pretty soon, so maybe it was a good idea to get an opinion from her.

“What if I told you we were stuck in a never-ending loop?” I reveal to her.

A wry grin appears on her face, followed by gut-retching laughter.

“W-What? L-Like that one movie we saw as kids? What was it called? ‘Groundhog Days?’”

I roll my eyes back. Of course it sounds stupid. Even I didn’t believe Mary at first when she told me.

“I’m serious.” I reply.

“Uh-huh. If you’re so serious, then surely you should’ve predicted everything that was happening today right?” she points out. “You sure have a vivid imagination, like your partner-in-crime Kazuhira.”

“You don’t believe me?”

I take out Mary’s pin from my pocket.

“What is that?”

She takes a closer look at it.

“Wow, it’s brand new. Isn’t that like from that TV show you watched as a kid?”

“Yes. It’s my object.”

I explain to her verbatim what Mary told me, barring a few irrelevant details.

“Okay, this joke has gone along far enough.” she laughs, though this time I can hear the hint of anxiety.

Shion suddenly stops as her face turns pale.

“You’re serious…?”

She leans in, and looks deep into my eyes.

“Oh my God…” she gasps. “Then that means…”

“Yes.” I finish her thought. “We can all be happy together with Yui forever.”

Shion stands in silence, still processing everything.

“But then…none of it is real. W-We can’t make new memories…why-“

I instantly hug Shion tight. I think any longer and she would have had a mental breakdown.

“It doesn’t matter what’s real or not. What matters is for our family to be happy together. I will do anything to make sure that happens.”

I have made my choice. Kaz and the transfer student are the two people in my way. Mary and I will do everything to stop them.

“N-No!”

Shion pushes me away.

“You can’t decide that for us!” she shouts.

“Us?!?” I shouted back. “Think about everyone living in this world? Don’t they have a right to live as well? It’s not about just you and me, but everyone!”

We’re not just props in a story.

“Don’t give me that family crap as an excuse Daisuke! What if Yui doesn’t want to-“

“I’m trying to protect her!” I interrupt. I couldn’t hold back anymore. “Can’t you understand? If this loop breaks, Yui…”

“At what cost Daisuke…?” Shion was on the verge of tears. “Being stuck in here with Yui’s condition…it’s worse than dying.”

I never thought of it that way.

“What are you talking about?”

I knew my sister’s condition was getting worse, but lately, I thought she was more energetic than usual.

“She’s just putting on a brave face for you Daisuke! We all have roles to play. There’s an elephant in the room, but none of us want to talk about it. Instead, all we do is play pretend and act as if everything’s fine!” Shion wipes away the flowing tears from her eyes to no avail.

“If this loop is real…then you can’t run away from this Daisuke. We can’t be stuck in this purgatory forever.”

No…I’ve already made a choice!

Shion looks at me with a feeling I’ve never felt before – disgust. She can barely look at me in the eyes anymore, her puffy face held low to the ground. Maybe she did have a point – maybe my decision was impulsive and selfish. But isn’t that what an older brother is supposed to do? Aren’t I supposed to protect the people I love? I would do anything for my sisters. What do I do with this impossible choice?

Mary…please tell me what to do…

“I hope I forget everything Daisuke…I’m sorry.” she says.

“It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay.”

Without an object, Shion was going to forget everything. In the end, this was meaningless. I thought Shion was going to understand, but she was adamantly against me. We walk home together in silence.

“My name is Akane Yuki. I don’t care about anything except for Kazuki Kaneshiro.”

Today is February 2nd – yet again.

Class 2-B erupts into chaos.

I think a few people were wondering why she was calling me Kazuki, but none of them were really sure if my name was that or Kazuhira. To be honest, I’m not sure either.

Ah jeez…

Akane was acting much bolder today than usual, though I didn’t judge her considering none of it really mattered in the end. She was fortunate that some people thought of it as “first day anxiety,” but on the other hand, I’d been in this class for almost a year technically, and not once did anyone ever give me the same benefit of the doubt for lesser things.

“If anyone knows where Kazuki’s object is, please let me know.” she says aloud to the class.

Did she just say o-object?!?

She didn’t have to word it that way! But, if my object really was that obvious, then maybe someone actually did know. It didn’t hurt I guess for her to just ask everyone at once for simplicity’s sake.

“Whoa! Does that mean she’s his girlfriend or something?”

“So she had complex feelings of love and hate for him, but his ‘object’ must’ve been so big that she’s chased after him and transferred to our school. I’m sure of it!”

I guess my class had already formulated their theories on why the new transfer student was acting this way.

“Darn it! How did he seduce such a beauty?!?” someone slams their desk in a mix of frustration and jealousy.

Our classmates carry on as they please, while ignoring us, the actual people involved.

Just how do they get these ideas?

“…What a pain.” Yuki-san glares at me. “Thanks to you, they got even more interested in me, rather than being put off. Great job, idiot.”

Uh…how is this my fault again?

Right after Yuki-san’s introduction, she and I rush out of the classroom. While some of my classmates hooted and hollered as she dragged me out, I could also sense some blood-thirsty glares from some of the other guys. I don’t really have too much time to think about that stuff anyways. There’s no reason for us to bother attending class anymore.

Yuki-san drags me to our spot – the back of the school building.

“W-What?!? W-Why didn’t you say anything?!?”

Her pale face turns red. She had finally realized how lewd her introduction actually was.

“B-But! This is the first time after 27,254 loops that my introduction had somewhat of a negative effect. Isn’t that weird?”

“I think we should be taking this a little more seriously…” I sigh.

“C’mon Kazuki.” Yuki-san sighs. “New experiences excite me. Also, since we are finally working together, maybe that’s a welcome change.”

“What do you mean?”

“Maybe there was something I didn’t pick up on when working alone.”

She did have a point. They do say “two heads are better than one.”

“But what should we do now?”

Mary had seemingly lost her object, and her memories along with it. Our best shot at breaking this loop was to gather all the known objects, and then destroy them. It would be the most literal way of destroying this endless February 2nd.

“About that…I arrived at the conclusion you must be the key to all this Kazuki. Even if you still have some missing gaps in your memory.”

“So you’re still suspecting me of an ulterior motive?”

“No, that’s not it at all. Let me ask: how are you able to retain your memories?”

“Because I see things I can’t forget. Stuff like the accident and other horrific things right?”

I hope I don’t have to see horrible things any longer.

“Sure, but it’s the objects that are part of it too. Isn’t it strange how you’re the only one to retain their memories without one?”

“Of course?”

We still had zero clues on where to even start finding my object. Did I even have one? I must have one since everyone who was able to retain their memories had one. By that logic, I therefore must have one as well.

“Therefore, I assume you are the key to this loop, since it’s the only reasonable explanation on you retaining your memories without an object.”

Do I have cheat codes or something?

“But I don’t always retain my memories. If it weren’t for you, I probably would be unaware like everyone else. There was even a point when over 10,000 days had passed and I wasn’t even aware.”

“That’s the flaw in my theory. You don’t have an object so I assume it’s possible that your memory retention has to be a conscious effort.”

That sounded logical I suppose. You would forget things that are insignificant, but would remember things that are important to you. Things like making a note to remember to buy groceries or something.

“But why even allow people to retain memories? Wouldn’t that just be trouble?”

“How should I know?” Akane snaps at me. “But I know what feeling moves people the most.”

“What?”

The airy breeze sifts through my hair. She looks deep into my eyes, her face slightly blushed, and says:

“Love.”

“L-Love?”

Her expressionless face keeps me from associating that word with its meaning right away. Until I sort of get her idea.

“Yuki-san, that was quite cute of you.”

Yuki-san looks at me skeptically.

“Really? Intense love isn’t that different from hatred in any way.”

“W-What?” she surprises me. “They’re completely different feelings!”

“They’re the same…well, they are technically different. Love is a worse feeling than hatred since people aren’t aware of how cruel it can be. Sometimes I wonder what I see in you…” she sarcastically shrugs.

What’s that supposed to mean?

“But that doesn’t matter right now. Kazuki, I think we both know one person who comes to mind.”

I better be careful on how I answer this…

“Well, besides us being a thing apparently, the only other person of interest is…Mary. But it seems like she’s forgotten her memories.”

“Isn’t it a little suspicious that Mary was against us destroying this loop in the first place, and somehow her object is missing? We have to investigate this!” Akane psyches herself up.

She’s right. Right now we had to focus on Mary’s object, wherever that may be. For now, she was our only lead, our only clue. It might lead to a dead end like usual or worse – we’d be walking right into a trap.

This is messed up…

I am looking at Mary’s desk.

“C’mon, we don’t have much time Kazuki.”

Akane and I are at Class 2-A right now, rummaging through Mary’s belongings. Her class is P.E. at the moment, so Akane decided for us that instead of speaking to her directly, this was a better opportunity to search for clues. Maybe we would find some evidence that would contradict something.

Since I sort of had the same conclusion, I went along with her.

The ends justify the means I guess…

Of course, this wasn’t the first time Akane has done something like this. She had already searched through everyone’s belongings several times within the many loops she had experienced. This time, I am the one doing it, and maybe a fresh set of eyes would find something out of the ordinary.

Hmm…

As I peruse through her belongings, everything seemed right where they should be. I thought Mary would be messy and unorganized, considering how abrasive and loud she was. Her textbooks were clean and lined perfectly, meticulously placed at specific positions. Mary’s notes are also neatly written, something I never noticed when we studied together.

There’s a lot of color in her notes…

I notice a small drawing of the Masked Avenger on the edge of a page. And there’s another on the next page in the same spot. A similar image is draw on the next page, and by now I realize it’s supposed to be a moving picture, something like a flip book. I decide to flip through the pages, and it’s an animation of the Masked Avenger’s transformation. It's just a completely ordinary notebook.

Nice.

I suddenly feel Akane staring daggers at me as a smile appears on my face.

Overall, Mary Kaneko seemed like a normal girl. Maybe her personality was something people impressed onto her. The desk in front of me was a stark contrast to how she acted in real life. As I investigate further into her bag, I notice her wallet is missing. I guess she’s carrying it around with her.

“Look at this.”

I pull out Mary’s cell phone. It had a cracked screen, but it was otherwise still useable I think. We have been hoping for any clues, but now I suddenly feel like I’m about to do something amoral. I’m not willing to cross that line right now. I take a deep breath and turn it on.

“It’s locked.”

I can’t dig any deeper, which brings relief coursing throughout my body. Until I see a message pops up on her screen.

“Touch it, I left it in your bag. Message me when you remember.”

It was Daisuke Akatsuka. Akane and I haven’t seen him yet.

What could he be talking about?

I dig my hand deeper into her bag, and I find something I don’t expect.

“This is weird…”

I pull out a makeup kit. I first check the makeup pouch next to a small hand mirror. This should be the foundation, the colored lipstick, eyeliner, and mascara. Maybe I because I was a guy, but I don’t think I have ever seen Mary with makeup on. She was always sweaty and active from track practice, so I couldn’t think of any reason for her to apply makeup anyways.

“Every girl wears some form of makeup.” Akane points out. “Though I’m surprised someone like Mary even needs to.”

I can’t relate to this unfortunately

I rummage further though the contents of her makeup pouch, but nothing stands out to me.

“You want to take a closer look?” as I present it to Akane.

“I’ve searched through it before, nothing ever pops out-“

She quickly pauses mid-sentence.

Akane must have noticed something I did not. She is staring at something.

I look back inside, as I feel something familiar and take it out.

“Argh!”

My memories are being triggered. A series of images and sounds play through my head.

“Do you remember a little girl when you were younger?”

“Please wait until tomorrow.”

I pull out Mary’s Masked Avenger pin.

“What’s that doing here?!?” Yuki-san was as surprised as I was.

There was just one issue – this one looks practically brand new.

“Mary’s object looked ancient. So how did it revert back?”

Akane and I already established that this wasn’t time travel. But right now, we were looking at something that completely contradicted everything.

Suddenly I understood how.

“Daisuke spoke with me after our…uh, y’know…yesterday…”

Akane gives me a clueless expression.

“What do you-“

My stone-faced stare gets through to her. I really didn’t want to bring up awkward memories.

“O-Oh…” as her cheeks turns slightly pink.

“Anyways, apparently Mary had told Daisuke everything – and he believed her. He didn’t want me to destroy the loop.”

That wasn’t the only thing. I think he had his hands in his pockets much more than usual. Did Mary give him the pin before our meeting?

That lines up with Mary last night…

“Mary lost her object last night, so she must have done something with it beforehand.” Akane thinks aloud. “Maybe this is a fake, and the real one is missing somewhere.”

“No, that’s unlikely. This is a limited edition, super rare, overseas exclusive pin. There’s no way Mary can get an order in and expect it to arrive in such short notice.”

This pin is a “one of a kind object” in the context of this repeating day.

“So how do we figure out why it’s like this?”

Akane mumbles to herself quietly for a bit.

"Let's review for a bit." she places her finger under her chin.

"If that truly is the same pin, then does that mean it's possible to transfer objects to people?"

I couldn't believe it, but I was literally holding the proof in my hand. This was definitely Mary's pin - without a doubt.

Akane twirls her hair and plays with her red ribbon - her own object. Suddenly her eyes light up.

"I got it!" she cheers. "If Daisuke was able to remember, then that means the pin was his object, albiet temporarily."

I couldn't think of any holes in her logic right now. If that was true, then did I possibly "transfer" my object to someone else?

Wait a minute...

"If the pin is here, then does that mean Daisuke's like Mary? Don't you have to be holding onto your object at all times?" I asked.

"No actually." she corrects me. "In one of the loops, I've left my object at the hotel or at random places and I still retained my memories. I suppose Mary had to form a contract or something and consented to transferring ownership of her object to Daisuke directly. I doubt stealing an object would transfer ownership so easily."

So destroying them is our only option...

"Then...what does that mean?" I asked rhetorically.

“There’s only one way to find out. It’s time we had a chat with Daisuke.” Akane suggests. “Hold onto the pin as well, just in case.”

We couldn’t just leave Mary’s apparent object behind; we were out to destroy them after all. So long as I held onto this pin, Mary would stay ignorant about everything. This was our trump card against Daisuke.

Daisuke…what is he planning?