Taro lay on his bed, phone hovering above his face as the chat blinked on the screen. The room was quiet except for the faint hum of the ceiling fan.
The contact name still read Mystery ID.
He stared at the last message for a moment, then typed.
["What's your name?"]
The typing bubble appeared almost instantly.
Then the reply came.
["Oh, you are just gonna ask like that?"]
Taro raised an eyebrow.
"…Yeah," he muttered.
His thumbs moved again.
["If you don't, I will just call you Info."]
The typing bubble appeared again.
Stopped.
Appeared again.
It was like whoever was on the other side was deciding whether to laugh… or be offended.
Finally the message arrived.
["Wow. Straight to the nickname, huh?"]
Another message popped up before he could reply.
["And here I thought you were the polite type, Taro Yamada."]
Taro slowly sat up.
"…Right."
He typed.
["You dodged the question."]
Three dots appeared again.
["Maybe."]
Pause.
["But if I tell you my name, the mystery disappears."]
Another message.
["And you seem like someone who enjoys solving mysteries lately."]
Taro's eyes narrowed slightly.
He typed back.
["I don't enjoy them. I survive them."]
There was a longer pause this time.
Then:
["Fair."]
Another message followed immediately.
["But calling me Info isn't exactly wrong either."]
Taro frowned.
["Meaning?"]
The reply came.
["Meaning I know things."]
A second later:
["For example… the girl with the ponytail you're thinking about right now."]
Taro froze.
The phone felt suddenly heavier in his hands.
Slowly, he typed.
["You know her name?"]
The typing bubble appeared.
Then stopped.
Then appeared again.
Finally—
["Of course I do."]
A final message popped onto the screen.
["The real question is… do you want to know why she's trying to kill your childhood friend?"]
Taro stared at the screen.
Day 4 might have been ending.
But the mystery had just begun.
Taro stared at the screen for a moment longer before locking it.
"I guess I will just call her Info."
He sighed and leaned back against the headboard.
"As if I needed more mystery."
His gaze slowly drifted down to his hand.
For a moment… he remembered it again.
The static noise.
The strange pressure in the air.
And then—
Everything snapping back.
Back to April 1st.
Over.
And over.
And over again.
Taro closed his eyes.
"I should probably answer her…"
He unlocked his phone again.
The chat window opened.
His fingers moved across the keyboard.
["Yeah, I wanna know why Ponytail is after Osana"]
He paused.
Then typed another message.
["But you won't say it will you?"]
The message sent.
Three dots appeared almost instantly.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Like the person on the other side was smiling at the screen.
Finally a reply came.
["Wow. You're learning."]
Another message followed.
["You're right. I won't."]
Taro let out a quiet breath through his nose.
"Of course."
The phone buzzed again.
["Not for free anyway."]
Taro raised an eyebrow.
["So this is where you ask for money?"]
The reply came almost instantly.
["Wow. You think so little of me."]
A pause.
Then another message appeared.
["No. I want information too."]
Taro frowned slightly.
["Information about what?"]
The typing bubble appeared.
Stopped.
Then the next message popped up.
["About you."]
Taro went still.
Another message followed.
["Because a normal high school boy doesn't predict accidents."]
Buzz.
["Doesn't notice things that haven't happened yet."]
Buzz.
["And definitely doesn't survive things he shouldn't."]
The final message appeared.
["So tell me, Taro…"]
A pause.
["How many times have you died?"]
The room went silent.
Even the ceiling fan suddenly sounded louder.
Taro stared at the screen.
His heart skipped once.
Then he slowly typed back.
But he didn't send the message yet.
Because for the first time since the loops began…
Someone else might already know.
The phone buzzed again in Taro's hand.
He stared at the screen, trying to keep his expression neutral.
Then he typed.
["I haven't died"]
The reply came almost immediately.
["Oh, but I thought that's how it works"]
Taro frowned.
Great.
Even more cryptic answers.
He rubbed his forehead and typed again.
["Great, more mystery, but I have a question"]
Three dots appeared.
["Oh? What is that?"]
Taro leaned forward slightly.
["How much information do you know"]
There was a pause.
Longer this time.
Then his phone buzzed again.
A picture appeared in the chat.
Taro opened it.
And instantly went bright red.
"What?!"
He almost dropped the phone.
The next message popped up.
["Osana underwear shot if you were wondering"]
Taro nearly choked.
His thumbs started flying across the screen.
["That was NOT what I meant and you know it"]
A second later—
A single reply appeared.
[😏]
Taro slowly lowered the phone and stared at the ceiling.
"…I hate this person already."
The phone buzzed again.
He lifted it cautiously.
["Relax, Senpai. If I wanted blackmail material, I'd have sent something worse."]
Another message appeared right after.
["You asked how much I know."]
Buzz.
["The answer is: a lot."]
Buzz.
["For example…"]
Buzz.
["You saved Osana from a falling flower pot today."]
Taro froze.
Buzz.
["Yesterday there was a bucket trap."]
Buzz.
["Before that… poison."]
Taro slowly sat up.
His fingers tightened around the phone.
Another message appeared.
["And somewhere in there… someone pushed her from the roof."]
The room felt colder.
Taro stared at the screen.
Then another message came.
["So let me rephrase my earlier question."]
Pause.
["If you haven't died…"]
The typing bubble blinked again.
["Why do you remember things that haven't happened yet?"]
Taro froze.
His brain tried to process the message while his fingers were already moving.
["I don't know, but how do you remember?"]
That was the part that actually scared him.
How did she know about the loops?
How did she know about things that technically never happened?
For a moment, the chat stayed quiet.
Then the typing bubble appeared.
Stopped.
Appeared again.
Finally—
["Oh Senpai, I have my own ways to remember things"]
Taro shot up from his chair.
"What?!"
His phone buzzed again before he could even think.
["Kidding… Maybe"]
Taro stared at the screen like it had personally insulted him.
"…This girl is going to give me a heart attack."
He rubbed his face with one hand and sighed.
Then he typed again.
Slowly this time.
Carefully.
["You're messing with me"]
Three dots appeared instantly.
["Only a little"]
Taro groaned.
["Answer the question"]
Pause.
Then—
["Fine. I don't remember loops like you do."]
Taro's eyes narrowed.
Another message followed.
["But I remember patterns."]
Buzz.
["Events repeating. Accidents happening around the same person."]
Buzz.
["Different outcomes. Same starting point."]
Taro leaned forward.
His heart was beating faster now.
The next message appeared.
["And then suddenly… you start interfering with those patterns."]
Another pause.
Then—
["Which made me curious, Senpai."]
Taro swallowed.
["About me?"]
The reply came instantly.
["About you."]
Three dots appeared again.
["Because normally…"]
Buzz.
["Osana dies."]
Taro's stomach dropped.
He stared at the screen.
The message sat there.
Cold.
Unapologetic.
Then the next one came.
["But this time… you keep saving her."]
Another pause.
And then—
["So tell me Senpai."]
["Why are you breaking the script?"]
Taro answer her.
["She is my Childhood Friend, why wouldn't I stop her from dying"]
The next text came was a voice message.
Taro stared at the screen for a second.
"…A voice message?"
He tapped it.
The phone played the audio.
Her voice came through the speaker.
Flat. Almost bored.
But there was a strange excitement under it.
> "Oh, great… you're heroic."
Taro slowly lowered the phone.
"…That was sarcasm."
His phone buzzed again.
["Don't misunderstand me Senpai"]
["Heroes are interesting"]
Taro frowned at that.
Interesting?
That wasn't exactly a compliment.
He typed back.
["You say that like you're watching a show"]
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
["That's not entirely wrong"]
Taro leaned back in his chair.
'Yeah… I hate that answer.'
He rubbed the back of his neck.
Then typed again.
["You still haven't answered my question"]
A pause.
Then—
["Which one? You asked several"]
Taro sighed.
Of course she would say that.
He typed slower this time.
["How much do you know?"]
The typing bubble stayed there longer now.
Then the messages started coming.
["I know Osana almost died yesterday"]
Buzz.
["A bucket trap"]
Buzz.
["I know someone tried the same thing two days before that"]
Taro sat up straight.
Buzz.
["And I know Senpai suddenly has very good reflexes"]
Taro stared at the screen.
'She's watching the school…'
Another message came.
["And most importantly"]
Taro felt a weird tension in his chest.
Buzz.
["I know you are scared"]
He froze.
The next message followed right after.
["Because you don't understand why time reset"]
Silence filled the room.
Taro slowly looked down at the phone.
"…She knows too much."
Another message popped up.
["Relax Senpai"]
["If I wanted to expose you, I would have done it already"]
He typed quickly.
["Expose me to who?"]
The reply came almost instantly.
["Anyone"]
Taro didn't like how casual that answer was.
He leaned back in his chair again.
Then typed one more message.
["Then why are you helping me?"]
The typing bubble appeared.
Stayed.
Then the message came.
["Because this is the first time the story changed"]
Another message followed.
["And I want to see what happens next"]
Taro stared at the phone.
"…Yeah."
He muttered under his breath.
"I really don't like this girl."
Taro closed his phone and saved the number.
Info Chan.
He stared at the name for a moment.
"…Yeah. That fits."
His phone went quiet. No more texts.
"Big brother!"
Taro blinked.
"Coming, Hanako."
He slipped the phone into his pocket and walked downstairs.
Hanako was waiting in the living room, sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"Sorry," Taro said. "Give me a minute. I'll make dinner."
She smiled brightly.
"It's okay, big brother!"
Taro walked into the kitchen and opened the freezer.
Cold air rolled out.
He grabbed a few things and set them on the counter.
Bread. Eggs. Some sliced ham.
He moved without thinking.
First, a quick sandwich.
Something simple so Hanako could eat while he made the real meal.
He toasted the bread, fried an egg, added the ham, then cut it in half.
Hanako walked into the kitchen, peeking over the counter.
"Ooo, sandwich."
Taro slid the plate to her.
"Careful. It's hot."
She grabbed it anyway.
"Hot—hot—hot!"
Taro snorted.
"You literally watched me take it off the pan."
Hanako blew on it dramatically before taking a bite.
"Mmm."
Taro turned back to the stove.
Rice went into the pot.
A pan heated up.
Oil, vegetables, then meat.
The sound of sizzling filled the kitchen.
For a moment…
Everything felt normal.
Too normal.
Taro's hand slowed as he stirred the pan.
'This is the same.'
April 4th.
Dinner with Hanako.
Nothing strange.
No accidents.
No deaths.
Just a normal evening.
That was the weird part.
Because he knew how fragile that "normal" was.
His eyes drifted slightly toward the living room.
Hanako was happily eating her sandwich.
Completely unaware.
Taro looked back at the pan.
'Good.'
He kept cooking.
'She shouldn't know.'
The phone in his pocket vibrated.
Once.
Taro froze for a second.
Then sighed.
"…Of course."
He pulled the phone out.
A new message.
From Info Chan.
["By the way Senpai"]
Taro frowned.
Another message appeared.
["You should check the news tomorrow morning"]
His stomach tightened.
He typed back.
["Why?"]
Three dots appeared.
Then the reply came.
["Because tomorrow is Day 5"]
Taro stared at the screen.
Another message followed.
["And Day 5 is when things get interesting"]
The phone went silent again.
Taro slowly lowered it.
"…I hate when people say that."
From the living room Hanako called out.
"Big brother! Are you burning the food?!"
Taro turned—
The pan was smoking.
"…Ah."
He quickly grabbed the spatula.
"I'm not burning it!"
Hanako peeked into the kitchen.
"It smells burned!"
Taro sighed.
"…It's slightly toasted."
To be continued
Hope people like this ch and give me power stones and enjoy