Aki gently patted little Kanro on the head and whispered, "I'll be right back. Don't worry, okay?" Reluctantly, the child nodded, his tiny hand slipping from her grasp. His eyes, wide and trusting, followed her as she and Kanro stepped a few paces away.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Kanro's expression darkened. The warmth in his eyes turned to a smoldering anger. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, his voice low but sharp like a blade. He took a step closer, his gaze intense. "No… how did you get here?!"
Aki's breath hitched, but she steadied herself, determined to stay calm despite the tension crackling between them. "I don't know," she admitted, her voice wavering. "I woke up in the middle of the forest. I had no idea where I was, so I started looking for you. I thought I'd find you,"—her voice softened—"but I found… the younger version of you."
Kanro stared at her for a long moment, his eyes narrowing as if searching for hidden truths in her words. His jaw clenched. "My power shouldn't have brought you here," he muttered under his breath, his tone as much confusion as frustration. "This… this isn't possible. There's something else going on."
Aki tilted her head, curiosity sparking in her eyes. "Wait—you have a power?" she asked, her voice rising slightly in surprise.
Kanro sighed, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. "Kind of," he replied curtly, clearly reluctant to elaborate.
Aki's mouth fell open as she processed his words. Her amazement was short-lived, though, as she noticed the pallor of his face. Concern swept over her, and she took a hesitant step closer. "Are you okay? You look so pale," she asked, her voice now laced with worry.
Kanro forced a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm fine," he said, pulling his hand away from hers before she could press further. But his attention was suddenly stolen by the device strapped to his wrist—a small, sleek watch with glowing numbers that seemed to flicker in a silent countdown.
His breath caught as he saw the timer rapidly approaching zero. The faint, pulsing glow seemed to reflect in his widened eyes, a silent warning that time was slipping away. He barely registered Aki's startled expression as he muttered, more to himself than to her, "We're going back… in a moment."
Aki's brow furrowed, her mind racing to understand. "Back?" she echoed. "Back where? What are you talking about?" She stopped mid-sentence as she realized what he meant. "Wait! Hold on—I haven't said goodbye to him yet!"
She started to leave, but Kanro grabbed her arm. "Where do you think you're going?" he said authoritatively.
"I'm going to say goodbye to him," she answered firmly.
"No, you can't go back there," Kanro stated flatly.
"But I promised I would come back!" she argued.
"It doesn't matter if you return. Nothing will change. The past cannot be—" He stopped speaking when he saw the pleading look in Aki's eyes. "Argh, whatever, fine. Go," he relented, his irritation palpable.
.
.
.
"Sorry, Kanro but we have to leave" Aki said to the child.
"But why?" the younger Kanro asked sadly, his voice quivering.
"Don't worry. Everything will be okay," Aki reassured him gently.
"But—" the child began, only to be silenced as Aki wrapped him in a warm embrace and whispered, "Everything will be fine, alright? So don't cry anymore."
Afterward, she rummaged through her bag and handed him a small charm. "What's this, big sister?" the boy asked curiously.
"It's a lucky charm," she said with a soft smile.
"AKI!" Kanro's sharp voice called her back. She turned toward him apologetically. "We really have to go," he insisted.
As they began to walk away, the little Kanro called out, "Will I see you again, big sister?"
"Of course," Aki replied with a bright smile, waving back at him. The child beamed, his hand waving until they were out of sight.
As they walked farther, Aki suddenly fell to the ground, surprising Kanro. He moved to catch her, but before he could, everything turned dark, and they both passed out. Then, with a loud *boom,* they hit the ground.
"Argh," they groaned as they held their aching heads. Slowly, they got up and looked around, realizing—they were back.
Aki held her head as if it hurt. Kanro glanced at her, confused. "How did I manage to bring her with me?" he wondered quietly. "Does she have powers too? But—"
"Even Shiki, who has powers, couldn't come along. How could this happen? Could it mean we are the same, but—" Kanro stopped talking when he noticed Aki staring at him curiously. Noticing that Aki was also looking at him, Kanro quickly looked away.
"So, you really do have powers?" Aki asked, breaking the silence.
"As I said earlier, yes, I do," Kanro answered calmly.
"How do they work?" Aki asked curiously.
Kanro didn't answer. In his whole life, only two people knew about his powers. He wasn't sure if he could trust Aki yet, so he stayed quiet. The silence between them grew once more.
Aki could sense Kanro's hesitation. She decided not to push him and gave him a small smile. "Alright, I think I should go now. It's getting late, and I have school tomorrow," she said. Before leaving, she added with a reassuring smile, "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about what happened." Then she turned and walked away.
As Aki walked home, her thoughts kept returning to Kanro. She couldn't stop wondering about his powers and how she was able to travel with him. At the same time, Kanro stood in place, lost in thought. He couldn't figure out how Aki had joined the jump. Deep down, he felt like there was something special about her, something he hadn't realized yet
.
.
.
It was lunchtime, and Aki sat with her classmates in the corner of the convenience store. The group was discussing how tough college algebra had been lately, their groans filling the air.
"Ugh, why do they have to make it so complicated?" one of her classmates, Trisha complained, stirring her iced coffee.
"I know, right?" Aki said, unwrapping her sandwich. "It's like the formulas were made to torture us. Who even thought mixing letters with numbers was a good idea?"
Mike nodded, laughing. "It's not so bad once you get it, though. You just need to know the rules."
"Oh, just because you're good at math, you make it sound so simple. Ugh, I wish I were like that too," Aki said, pouting. "And what rules? The only rule I know is that I'm doomed if I don't pass this class," she added.
"Come on, as if you're not going to pass!"
"Why are you going to treat me?" Aki teased, smiling. "Just kidding," she added with a laugh.
They all chuckled at that, the conversation easing into lighter topics. Before long, they switched to talking about —.
"If only I had the power to time travel," one friend, Adrie, said. "Imagine being able to visit the past and fix all your mistakes, then return to the present with everything corrected. Especially the wrong answers in math! HAHAHHAHA!"
"Or make things worse!" Mike pointed out. "Every time travel story I've seen always has some huge disaster because of one tiny mistake —one wrong move and everything falls apart."
"Boo, you're so over the top, Mike," Adrie complained. "You said it," Aki added, pouting.
"You're still not used to him, huh? It's like you don't know him at all," Trisha interjected while sighing, and they all burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, Kanro walked into the store to grab a quick snack. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Aki sitting with her friends, her laughter ringing through the small space. His gaze lingered for a moment before he caught fragments of their conversation.
"Power," "Time travel," "visit the past."
Kanro's stomach churned. "Time travel? Why are they talking about this?" He stepped closer, pretending to browse the shelves, but his mind was racing.
"Did Aki tell them about me? About my power?" His heart sank as he listened to their laughter, his thoughts spiraling into doubt and anger.