Taro arrived at school with Osana.
They walked through the front gate together. Students were gathering in the courtyard. Morning chatter filled the air.
Taro's eyes went straight to the fountain.
Water poured quietly from the stone statue in the center.
Nothing looked strange.
Osana stretched her arms. "Alright, see you in class."
She walked toward the school building.
Taro stopped.
Then he turned and walked toward the fountain.
He circled it slowly.
Students were sitting nearby, talking, eating snacks, scrolling on their phones.
Normal.
Too normal.
Taro leaned slightly over the edge and looked into the water.
Clear.
No wires.
No tools.
No strange objects.
'No traps,' he thought.
He crouched and checked the base.
Nothing.
He stood up again, narrowing his eyes.
'Have they not been set yet?'
He looked around the courtyard.
Too many people. Too many places to hide something.
Or someone.
After a moment he turned and headed to class.
Class started.
Taro sat at his desk, staring at the board.
But he wasn't listening.
His mind replayed the message.
"Don't let Osana walk near the fountain during lunch."
His fingers tapped lightly against the desk.
'If there's no trap…'
'Then what happens?'
Another thought followed right after.
'And who sent that text?'
His phone ID showed nothing familiar.
Not Hanako.
Not Osana.
Not anyone in his contacts.
Just a blank number.
Too many questions.
So when the teacher suddenly called his name—
"Yamada."
Taro blinked.
The whole class was looking at him.
The teacher pointed at the board.
"What is the answer?"
Taro looked at the math problem.
He hadn't heard a single word of the explanation.
For a moment he almost laughed.
'Of course.'
'The one time I need answers…'
'I'm the one being asked questions.'
He stood up anyway.
"...42."
The class went quiet.
The teacher blinked.
Then slowly nodded.
"Correct."
Taro paused.
'Huh.'
He sat down again.
Osana turned around from the seat in front of him, whispering.
"Did you actually listen?"
Taro shrugged.
"Wild guess."
Osana stared at him.
"...You're weird today."
Taro leaned back in his chair.
'You have no idea.'
Lunch bell rang.
Students began leaving their classrooms.
Taro slowly stood up.
'Alright.'
'Let's see what happens at the fountain.'
He stepped into the hallway—
His phone buzzed.
Another message.
Unknown ID.
Taro opened it.
[Good. You're paying attention.]
Taro stopped walking.
Another message appeared.
[Lunch. Fountain. 12:17.]
He stared at the screen.
Then typed back.
["Who are you?"]
The reply came instantly.
[Someone who prefers you alive.]
Taro sighed.
"...Great."
He slipped the phone back into his pocket.
Then he walked toward the courtyard.
Toward the fountain.
The courtyard was louder during lunch.
Students filled the benches around the fountain. Some were eating. Some were talking. A few were throwing coins into the water.
Normal school noise.
Taro stopped near the edge of the courtyard.
His eyes moved across everything.
The fountain.
The statue.
The benches.
The paths.
'12:17.'
He checked the time on his phone.
12:15.
Two minutes.
Taro walked closer to the fountain and leaned against the stone rim like he was just another student killing time.
But his eyes kept moving.
Left.
Right.
Second floor balcony.
Tree line.
Trash cans.
Anything that could hide something.
Or someone.
Osana's voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Taro?"
He turned.
Osana walked up to him holding a lunch box.
Her eyebrows pulled together.
"What are you doing here? I thought you eat on the roof."
Taro scratched the back of his head.
"Just felt like a change."
Osana gave him a suspicious look.
"You're acting weird again."
Taro opened his mouth to answer—
Then his phone buzzed.
He glanced down.
[12:16]
Another message appeared.
[Look up.]
Taro's head snapped upward.
Second floor balcony.
A flower pot sat on the railing.
Too close to the edge.
Too unstable.
And right behind it—
A familiar figure stepped back into the shadows.
Black ponytail.
Ayano.
The pot tipped.
Taro moved instantly.
He grabbed Osana's wrist and pulled her hard.
"What—HEY—!"
CRASH!
The pot shattered where Osana had been standing.
Pieces of clay exploded across the ground.
Water and dirt splashed everywhere.
Students screamed and jumped back.
Osana stared at the broken pot.
Then slowly looked up.
"What the—?!"
Students were already crowding around.
"Did that fall from upstairs?!"
"Someone could've died!"
"Is someone hurt?!"
Taro didn't answer.
His eyes were locked on the balcony.
But Ayano was gone.
Like she had never been there.
'She changed methods.'
Taro looked down at the broken pieces of the pot.
'Yesterday it was a bucket.'
'Today… a flower pot.'
Osana crossed her arms.
"Seriously, what is wrong with this school lately?"
Taro exhaled slowly.
His phone buzzed again.
He already knew who it was.
[Good reaction time.]
Taro typed back while the crowd was still forming.
["You knew that would happen."]
The reply came instantly.
[Obviously.]
Another message appeared.
[You saved her again.]
Taro's eyes narrowed.
He typed slower this time.
["Again?"]
Three dots appeared.
Then stopped.
Another message arrived.
[Let's just say... you're improving.]
Taro stared at the screen.
'Improving?'
His mind ran through the words.
Yesterday.
The stairs.
Today.
The fountain.
Then something clicked.
His grip on the phone tightened.
'She knows.'
Not guessing.
Not warning.
Knowing.
Another message appeared.
[By the way.]
[She's watching you right now.]
Taro slowly lifted his head.
Across the courtyard.
Near the school entrance.
Ayano stood there.
Perfect posture.
Blank face.
But her eyes were locked on him.
And when their gazes met—
She smiled.
Just a little.
Then turned and walked away.
Osana looked back at him.
"Why are you staring like that?"
Taro slipped his phone into his pocket.
"...Nothing."
But inside his head, the thought was clear.
'Loop 32.'
'And now I'm not the only one who knows.'
Rooftop — Same Time
The wind moved softly across the rooftop.
It was quiet up here. No students. No noise from the courtyard except distant voices and the splash of the fountain.
Ayano stood near the fence.
Her eyes were pointed down toward the courtyard below.
She watched him.
Watched Taro standing beside the broken flower pot.
Watched the crowd of students gathering around him and Osana.
Her expression didn't change.
But her fingers moved slowly as she pulled out her phone.
She opened a contact.
Info Chan
Ayano typed.
["You said Senpai would be on the rooftop."]
She paused, glancing down again.
Taro was clearly still in the courtyard.
Her thumbs moved again.
["He wasn't here. I'm here, and he is down there."]
Three dots appeared.
They vanished.
Then appeared again.
Finally the reply came.
["Maybe he changed his mind."]
Another message followed.
["I can't predict everything 😏"]
Ayano stared at the screen.
Silent.
Her eyes slowly drifted back to the courtyard.
Taro was talking with Osana now.
Students were still looking at the broken pot.
Her fingers tapped lightly on the phone again.
["He reacted too fast."]
The response came quicker this time.
["Maybe your trap was sloppy."]
Ayano blinked once.
Her grip on the phone tightened slightly.
["It wasn't sloppy."]
She turned and looked at the flower pot that used to sit near the rooftop ledge.
Perfect position.
Perfect timing.
Perfect drop.
It should have worked.
It always worked.
Her eyes narrowed just slightly.
Back to the phone.
["He pulled her away before it fell."]
Three dots appeared again.
Then—
["Interesting."]
Ayano tilted her head slightly.
["Interesting?"]
The reply came after a short pause.
["Senpai might just have really good instincts."]
Another message followed.
["Or maybe he just cares a lot about Osana."]
Ayano stared down at the courtyard again.
Her eyes settled on Osana.
Then slowly shifted to Taro.
Students were already starting to disperse.
Lunch would continue like nothing happened.
But something inside her mind turned quietly.
A new variable.
A problem.
Ayano typed one more message.
["Next time will work."]
The reply came instantly.
["I'm sure you'll try something creative."]
Then another.
["Keep me updated."]
Ayano locked her phone.
She slipped it back into her pocket.
Then she looked down at Taro one more time.
Her voice was quiet.
Almost thoughtful.
"Senpai…"
She turned and walked toward the rooftop door.
"Next time I won't miss."
Somewhere Else in the School
Info Chan sat comfortably in a chair surrounded by monitors.
Headphones around her neck.
Phone in one hand.
Laptop open in front of her.
On the screen—
Security cameras.
Courtyard.
Hallways.
Rooftop.
Her finger tapped the desk slowly.
She looked at one monitor showing Taro near the fountain.
Then another showing Ayano leaving the rooftop.
A grin slowly appeared on her face.
"Yep."
She leaned back in her chair.
"He's learning."
Her phone buzzed.
She opened the message she had sent earlier.
["Look up."]
Her grin widened.
"Now this..."
She spun slightly in her chair.
"...is getting interesting."
Back in the Courtyard
Students slowly went back to their routines.
The crowd around the fallen flower pot started to break apart. Some people still whispered about it, but most lost interest once teachers started yelling for everyone to get back to class.
Near the fountain, Osana was still catching her breath.
Then someone rushed over.
A girl with golden-blonde hair tied into two slightly curled pigtails grabbed Osana by the shoulders.
[Insert image of Raibaru Fumetsu]
"Osana! Are you okay?!" she said quickly.
Her eyes scanned Osana up and down like she was checking for injuries.
"Are you hurt?"
Osana blinked at the sudden attention.
"I'm fine," she said. "Taro moved me in time."
Raibaru finally looked at him.
Her eyes sharpened slightly.
Taro scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah…"
Raibaru crossed her arms.
"Well," she said calmly, "you have good reflexes."
Taro smiled awkwardly.
"Guess so."
Inside his head though—
'You have those after thirty-two loops.'
He looked at the broken flower pot again.
Same sound.
Same drop.
Same timing.
Except.
This was new.
Very new.
Raibaru turned back to Osana.
"You should report this," she said seriously. "Someone could have died."
Osana rubbed the back of her neck.
"Yeah… I guess."
Her eyes drifted toward Taro.
Then she crossed her arms.
"But seriously, why were you just standing there looking at the fountain earlier?" she said.
"You were acting weird."
Taro blinked.
"...Was I?"
Osana gave him a flat look.
"You were staring at it like it insulted your ancestors."
Raibaru nodded.
"Yeah. You looked pretty suspicious."
Taro laughed nervously.
"Ah… I was just thinking."
Osana raised an eyebrow.
"About?"
Taro looked at the water in the fountain.
Then at the broken pot.
Then at the rooftop door.
Too many things.
Too many questions.
But only one thing mattered right now.
'Keep Osana alive.'
He looked back at them.
"Nothing important."
Osana squinted at him.
"...You're weird today."
Raibaru nodded again.
"Very weird."
Taro just smiled.
Inside his head though—
'Day 5…'
He glanced around the courtyard.
'Let's see what kills her this time.'
Taro slipped back into the flow of students, letting the chatter wash over him. Most were debating whether the flower pot was an accident or something more… some swore they saw a girl near the edge of the roof, but no one believed them.
Taro didn't bother with the rumors. His mind was elsewhere.
'Day 4 is almost over… Day 5 will start soon, maybe,' he thought, his eyes scanning the courtyard for familiar patterns.
He slid into a bench near the fountain, notebook in hand. The pages were already filled with sketches of rooftops, staircases, and traffic patterns, alongside notes about Osana's daily routines and the exact timing of potential hazards.
He flipped open a fresh page and started writing again, pen moving fast.
'Need to figure out who that ponytail girl is. Name. Deal. Motive. Is she a threat? Or just… curious?'
He paused, tapping the pen against his chin, glancing at Osana laughing with Raibaru a few meters away.
'If she's the one behind the bucket… I need to know before she tries anything else.'
He scribbled another line, underlining it twice:
'Focus on her patterns, her timing, and why she didn't expect me this time.'
The fountain's water rippled gently, and Taro leaned back, eyes narrowing. This wasn't just about survival anymore. It was about understanding the rules of the game.
'And maybe, just maybe… figure out who's really pulling strings.'
He snapped the notebook shut, sliding it into his bag. Tomorrow would bring Day 5—and he intended to be ready.
Taro walked back into cafeteria
People where taking about the flower pot.
They where taking about if it was dropped on purpose, or accident.
Some them swear they saw a girl there, but people didn't believe them.
Taro leaned back in his chair, tapping the pen against the notebook. The cafeteria chatter faded into background noise as he thought.
'Day 4 is almost over… Day 5 will start, maybe,' he muttered to himself.
He flipped the notebook open, scanning the scribbled notes from the past loops. Names, times, methods. Everything Osana had survived—or almost hadn't.
'That ponytail girl… who is she? What's her deal?'
He wrote it down again, slower this time, as if repeating it might make the answer appear.
'Bucket yesterday… flower pot today… poison… roof… bathroom…'
His pen hovered over the page.
'Was she the reason why all this happened?'
He shook his head slightly, running a hand through his hair.
The memories of the loops pressed in. Every narrow escape, every sudden death, every split-second decision. And always, just out of reach, that girl.
Taro closed his eyes for a moment, letting the quiet of the cafeteria settle around him. Then he opened them again, more determined.
'I need to figure this out before the next loop. Whoever she is… she's important. And I can't let Osana—anyone—get hurt again.'
He tapped the pen one last time and started jotting down observations, the methodical rhythm grounding him. Every detail mattered. Every little thing could be the key.
The notebook wasn't just paper. It was survival. And right now, it was the only thing standing between him and another day of chaos.
To be continued
Hope people like this ch and give me power stones and