Arou's footsteps echoed softly along the sidewalk at night.
The streetlights cast a dim yellow glow. The air felt colder than usual, and the city's activity was slowly fading away. Most of the shops were already closed. Cars passed by from time to time.
He had just left the bookstore.
Today was more tiring than yesterday.
Checking the stock. Rearranging the shelves. Carrying boxes of new books that were heavier than they looked.
His hands still felt sore.
"Working like this is pretty tiring…" he muttered softly.
He took out his phone for a moment.
No new messages.
He put it back into his pocket.
His steps remained steady. His mind was empty, filled only with a very real sense of exhaustion.
Then—
The wind stopped.
Not slowed down.
Stopped.
The sound of the vehicles that had been faintly audible… disappeared.
The streetlights were still on.
But the air itself seemed to have lost all movement.
Arou frowned.
He stopped walking.
A man who had been walking across the street suddenly froze in place. One foot was still halfway through a step. His hair no longer moved.
A leaf that had been falling in the wind… hung motionless in the air.
A car at the end of the street—its wheels had stopped just before touching the road markings.
There was no sound.
No movement.
The world… had stopped.
Arou stood still.
"…Huh?"
He looked to the left. Then to the right.
Nothing moved.
Only him.
His heart was beating.
And each beat sounded far too loud in the middle of the absolute silence.
Slow footsteps could be heard.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
A small sound, like something touching the asphalt.
Arou turned around.
A small bat was perched on a streetlight pole.
Its body was pitch black.
Its eyes glowed faintly red.
Its wings were folded.
The bat lowered its head slightly… almost like it was greeting him.
Arou let out a long sigh.
"…You again."
The bat let out a small laugh.
A laugh… that was clearly not the sound of an animal.
"Hahaha…"
The small body floated down.
In the air, its form began to change.
Its wings grew larger, then dissolved like black mist.
Its body became longer.
Long white hair flowed down past its waist.
Its red eyes slowly began to glow.
A dark robe formed from shadows.
A pair of large wings folded behind its back.
Zata.
He landed gently in front of Arou.
He wore a faint, calm smile, like someone who had simply come by for a casual conversation.
Arou stared at him without any surprise.
"What do you want this time?"
Zata laughed lightly.
"Hahaha… I was just getting bored looking at your painfully boring real world."
Arou narrowed his eyes.
"Boring?"
He took a step closer.
"Just get to the point… What are you going to do?"
Zata tilted his head.
His long white hair moved gently even though there was no wind.
"Relax. I'm only going to change reality… a little."
"Your version of 'a little' usually means everything gets messed up."
Zata smiled wider.
"Why do you always think I'm a troublemaker?"
Arou snorted.
"Because every time you show up, my life gets messed up."
Zata slowly walked around Arou.
His footsteps made no sound.
"No, I'm not causing trouble. I'm just adding a little spice to your life."
Arou turned around to follow him.
"What does that mean?"
Zata stopped right in front of Arou.
His eyes stared straight into his.
"Basically, I'm going to mess with your life just a little… so I don't get bored."
Silence.
Arou let out a heavy sigh.
"You're so selfish. Why do you always play with someone's life whenever you get bored, huh?"
Zata shrugged.
"What else am I supposed to do? I don't know what kind of entertainment I want."
Arou fell silent.
He stared at the figure in front of him.
A being that was neither human.
Nor a god.
Nor simply a shadow.
"Wow… even an entity outside the pieces can get bored too."
Zata chuckled.
"Of course. Even though I'm not a living creature… I can still get bored."
The words hung in the air.
Arou looked at the frozen street.
The leaf suspended in the air.
The stopped car.
The unmoving people.
Everything looked like a painting.
Then he looked back at Zata.
"So… to keep you entertained…"
He scratched his head for a moment.
"Come to the bookstore with me tomorrow. Want to?"
Zata blinked.
"…What?"
"Instead of changing reality however you want. Just come work with me."
Zata fell silent.
His long white hair moved gently.
"I'm an entity that transcends the structure of the world… and you're asking me to work at a bookstore?"
"Yep."
Arou nodded casually.
"You said you were bored, right? Just come along. See what I do there."
Zata stared at him for quite a while.
Then he laughed softly.
"Ah… fine. Besides, I want to see what you do there."
Arou smiled slightly.
"Great."
Zata raised a hand.
"Alright. For today, I won't change anything."
"Thanks."
"But don't think I'm stopping forever."
"Yeah, yeah."
Zata looked up at the frozen sky above them.
"A human like you… is interesting."
Arou frowned.
"What's so interesting about me?"
"You don't beg. You don't panic. You don't get overly angry."
Arou crossed his arms.
"If I get angry, you'll still do whatever you want."
Zata smiled.
"True."
He raised his hand slightly.
A snap of his fingers echoed.
Click.
Time began flowing again.
The sound of vehicles returned.
The leaf fell to the ground.
People continued walking, completely unaware that anything had happened.
Zata had already disappeared.
Arou stood alone in the middle of the sidewalk.
He let out a long sigh.
"He left pretty quickly…"
He immediately took out his phone.
The screen lit up.
The time showed 12:18 AM.
Arou's eyes widened.
"Crap… it's already this late."
Without thinking, he ran.
His footsteps raced through the night.
His breathing gradually grew heavier.
The conversation from earlier still echoed in his mind.
Zata was coming tomorrow.
Which meant—
An entity that could mess with reality… was going into a bookstore.
"Hopefully he doesn't freak out the customers," he muttered.
---
A House That Was Too Quiet
Arou arrived in front of the house.
The outside light was dim.
He opened the door.
The inside was… silent.
Too silent.
There was no sound.
No footsteps.
No conversations.
The living room was empty.
The lights were on, but the place felt lifeless.
Arou's heartbeat quickened.
"Don't tell me…"
He quickly walked upstairs.
His hand trembled slightly as he grabbed the handle of Hikari's bedroom door.
He opened it.
The room was dimly lit.
Hikari was asleep on the bed.
Beside her, Lumina was sleeping peacefully on her side.
In front of the wardrobe, a white cat was curled up.
Nora.
Arou stood there silently for a few seconds.
His chest slowly rose and fell.
"Thank goodness…"
He stepped inside quietly.
He didn't wake them.
Hikari looked peaceful.
Lumina was hugging a pillow.
Nora, in her cat form, moved slightly before becoming still again.
Arou stood in the doorway.
The worry that had appeared earlier slowly faded away.
"They're still here…"
He gently closed the door.
The walk to his own room felt lighter.
He opened his bedroom door.
Went inside.
Closed it.
He leaned against the door for a few seconds.
The night sky could be seen through the window.
He walked over to the small desk.
Sat down.
And stared at his hands.
Still real.
Still here.
Zata could have changed something earlier.
But he didn't.
For the first time…
That creature had chosen to hold back.
Just because Arou invited him to the bookstore.
Arou smiled slightly.
"A cosmic being working part-time at a bookstore…"
He lay down on the bed.
Staring at the ceiling.
Today had been a long day.
Work.
Time stopping.
A strange conversation.
Running home in the middle of the night.
And a small fear he hadn't shown anyone.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Tomorrow…
Zata would come along.
And for some reason—
He felt that tomorrow wouldn't be simple.
But for tonight…
Everyone was still here.
Everything was still intact.
And that was enough.