Taro waved once.
"Bye."
Osana stood at her gate.
"…Bye."
She turned quickly and went inside before he could see her face turning red.
The door shut.
Taro watched it for a moment.
Then he turned and walked down the street to his own house.
A normal house.
Small yard.
White walls.
Familiar.
He opened the door.
"I'm home."
THUD!
Something slammed into him.
Two arms wrapped around his waist.
"TAROOO!"
He looked down.
Fair skin. Light gray eyes. Black fluffy pigtails bouncing everywhere.
His little sister.
[Insert image of Hanako Yamada]
Taro patted her head.
"Hey, Hanako."
Hanako squeezed tighter.
"You were late today!"
Taro gently peeled her off like removing a very clingy backpack.
"Personal space."
Hanako stepped back.
"Ok."
She smiled like nothing happened.
Taro looked around the house.
"Mom and Dad home?"
Hanako shook her head.
"Nope."
Taro sighed.
"Still at work?"
"Yep."
He nodded.
"Alright. I'll be in my room if you need me."
Hanako waved.
"Okay!"
Taro walked upstairs.
The hallway creaked the same way it always did.
His door.
His room.
He stepped inside and closed the door.
Click.
Silence.
Taro leaned against it and let out a long breath.
"…Finally."
He walked over to the wall.
A calendar hung there.
April.
Several days had heavy pen marks scratched through them.
He picked up a marker.
APRIL 3rd.
X.
He stared at the mark for a second.
"Finally another day."
He tossed the marker onto his desk and collapsed into his chair.
His eyes drifted to the notebook sitting there.
A thick one.
Worn edges.
Dozens of messy pages.
He opened it.
Notes filled the paper.
OSANA ARC
Bucket trap – staircase – 8:12 AM
Dog event – 7:40 AM
Alley muggers – 4:18 PM
Poison attempt (bento) – cafeteria – avoid
Fan sabotage – rooftop
Taro flipped through more pages.
Numbers scribbled everywhere.
Loop 3 — failed (late)
Loop 7 — poison
Loop 12 — mugging
Loop 23 — push from roof
He stopped on the last page.
A number written in the corner.
32
Taro leaned back in his chair.
"…Thirty-two tries."
He rubbed his face.
"Just for day three."
Taro stared at the words.
His hand rested on the notebook.
"…So it works."
If Osana lives…
The day continues.
If she dies…
Everything breaks.
He leaned back in his chair.
"And then…"
His eyes drifted to another note he had written earlier.
A single line.
Girl with ponytail.
Watching from above.
Taro remembered the moment.
The eye contact.
Her face when she realized he saw her.
"…Ayano Aishi."
He said the name quietly.
He wasn't sure why.
But something in his gut told him.
She knew.
Or at least…
She knew more than she should.
Taro closed the notebook.
"For now…"
"Rule one."
He looked toward the calendar.
"Keep Osana alive."
He leaned back in his chair.
"Rule two…"
He remembered Ayano's eyes.
The panic.
"…figure out why she's killing her."
Meanwhile, back at Akademi High School.
The campus was quiet.
Classes were over.
Most students had already gone home.
Only the faint sound of wind moving through the courtyard could be heard.
On the third floor landing, a girl stood beside the staircase railing.
[Insert image of Ayano Aishi]
Ayano Aishi looked down at the bucket.
It still hung from the thin string tied carefully around the railing.
She brushed her finger across the metal.
"It was perfect."
Her voice was calm.
Flat.
"No one should have seen it coming."
Her eyes moved to the stairs below.
"And even if they did… there wouldn't be enough time to react."
She paused.
Her finger stopped moving.
"…My mistake."
She slowly straightened up.
"I didn't expect someone to be with Osana."
The memory replayed in her mind.
Osana walking down the stairs.
The bucket swinging.
And then—
Taro moving.
Fast.
Too fast.
Ayano tilted her head slightly.
"…Senpai saw it."
That part still didn't make sense.
He had reacted before the bucket even finished swinging.
Almost like—
He already knew.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Next time."
She turned away from the railing.
"I will do better."
Her footsteps were quiet as she walked down the hallway.
Her thoughts remained calm.
Cold.
But a small question lingered in the back of her mind.
'Again…'
She remembered the last two attempts.
Both failed.
Both because something changed at the last moment.
Her eyes lowered slightly as she walked.
'Again…'
'Like the last two days.'
She stopped walking.
Just for a moment.
Her expression didn't change.
But the thought was strange.
She couldn't remember how they failed.
Only that they did.
A small crack in her memory.
Ayano pushed the thought aside.
"…It doesn't matter."
She continued walking.
"There will always be another opportunity."
From the dark rooftop above the school courtyard—
Someone was watching.
A girl sat comfortably behind a small laptop.
Several security camera feeds filled the screen.
Hallways.
Staircases.
Entrances.
And the exact staircase Ayano had just left.
The girl smiled faintly.
"…Well."
She tapped a key.
Replaying the footage.
The bucket swinging.
Taro pulling Osana back.
Frame by frame.
Her grin widened.
"He's learning."
She leaned back in her chair.
"Faster than expected."
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
"…This is going to be fun."
The screen flickered slightly.
On one of the feeds—
For just a second—
The camera pointed toward the school gate.
And the reflection in the glass showed the girl watching.
Glasses.
Messy hair.
A bored smile.
Info-chan chuckled quietly.
"Let's see how long you survive, Senpai."
The next day came.
Morning light covered the streets as students walked toward Akademi High School.
Taro and Osana were walking together like usual.
Osana was talking about something—probably a show she watched or some gossip from class.
Taro half-listened.
His eyes moved more than usual.
Left.
Right.
Behind them.
In front.
Every car.
Every person.
Every window.
His brain had started doing that automatically.
"…and then Raibaru said the teacher looked like she hadn't slept in three days—"
A blur flew toward them.
Without even looking—
Thwack.
Taro caught it.
Clean.
His hand closed around the object.
A baseball.
He lowered his hand slightly.
"Well… that was a close one."
Osana blinked.
"Why?"
Taro tilted his head toward the street.
Osana stepped forward—
Then noticed the traffic rushing past the crosswalk.
Her eyes widened slightly and she stepped back.
"Oh."
Taro looked at the baseball in his hand.
'So this is how Day 4 starts.'
He turned the ball slowly in his palm.
'Was this someone trying to kill her… or just bad aim?'
His answer arrived quickly.
A boy came jogging toward them, slightly out of breath. He had a baseball bat over his shoulder.
"Sorry! Sorry! That ball slipped!"
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Didn't mean to throw it that far."
Taro looked at him.
For a moment.
Studying.
Then he tossed the ball back.
"Be more careful."
That was all he said.
The boy nodded quickly and jogged back toward the park.
Osana crossed her arms.
"You're weird today."
Taro shrugged.
"Probably."
They continued walking toward school.
A few steps later—
Buzz.
Taro felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.
He pulled it out.
'Hanako sent something?'
He opened the message.
It wasn't from her.
Unknown number.
The text was simple.
["Hello Senpai"]
Taro stopped reading for half a second.
Not physically.
Just mentally.
'…This is new.'
He typed back.
["Who are you?"]
The reply came almost instantly.
["Someone observing your progress."]
Taro blinked.
Another message arrived before he could respond.
["Nice catch earlier by the way. Good reflexes."]
Taro's eyes moved slightly.
'…Earlier?'
The baseball.
Another text appeared.
["You also stopped the bucket yesterday."]
Taro's fingers froze on the phone.
Osana kept walking beside him, still talking.
"…and Raibaru said—wait, are you even listening?"
Taro slowly typed.
["You're watching me?"]
The response came with zero delay.
["Watching the school, technically. You just happen to be the most interesting thing on the cameras right now."]
Another message followed.
["Also… pulling Osana away from the stairs was a good move. That one usually ends badly."]
Taro stopped walking.
For real this time.
Osana turned around.
"Hey, why did you sto—"
He stared at the screen.
The next message appeared.
["Relax, Senpai. I'm not your enemy."]
Pause.
Then the final message.
["If I were, you wouldn't have survived Day 3."]
Taro slowly looked up.
Scanning the street.
Windows.
Roofs.
Balconies.
Anywhere someone could be watching.
His phone buzzed again.
["Don't bother looking around. You're not finding me."]
Then one more message.
["But I will say this…"]
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then the final text came through.
["You're learning faster than I expected."]
Osana looked at Taro. "Hey! Are you listening!"
Taro blinked and looked up from his phone.
"Sorry. Someone was texting me. I was reading that."
Osana narrowed her eyes.
"Who?"
For a second, Taro thought about the message again.
Someone observing your progress.
You stopped the bucket yesterday.
He locked his phone and slipped it into his pocket.
"A friend from school."
Osana stared at him.
"You sounded unsure about that."
Taro shrugged.
"I have mysterious friends."
Osana snorted.
"Yeah right. You barely have normal ones."
"Hey."
"I'm just saying!"
She pointed at him.
"You're the kind of guy who spends lunch reading books instead of talking to people."
Taro nodded calmly.
"That's because books rarely try to kill you."
Osana stopped walking.
"…What?"
Taro blinked.
"…Metaphor."
Osana squinted.
"You are really weird today."
They continued walking toward the school gates.
Students were already gathering outside.
Taro's eyes moved across the crowd automatically.
Entrances.
Windows.
Second floor.
Roof.
Nothing obvious.
His phone buzzed again.
He pulled it out.
Another message.
["Relax, Senpai. I'm not going to expose you."]
Taro didn't reply.
Another message appeared.
["But you should stop staring at rooftops. It makes you look suspicious."]
Taro slowly lowered his eyes.
Then he casually slipped the phone away again.
Osana crossed her arms.
"Whoever that is, they text a lot."
"Yeah."
"What do they want?"
Taro answered honestly this time.
"Apparently… they're watching me."
Osana blinked.
"…That's creepy."
"Very."
She pointed at him again.
"Block them."
"Considering it."
They reached the school entrance.
Students were taking off their shoes and switching to indoor ones.
Osana leaned closer slightly.
"…Taro."
"Yeah?"
"…You're not in trouble or something, right?"
Taro thought about:
The bucket.
The traffic.
The loops.
The mysterious observer.
The girl with the black ponytail watching from the stairs.
He shook his head.
"No."
Technically not a lie.
He stepped inside the building.
'But I definitely have a stalker now.'
Behind the scenes, somewhere inside the school's network…
Info Chan sat in a dark room filled with monitors.
Security feeds from all over Akademi High played across the screens.
Hallways.
Classrooms.
Stairs.
Entrance gates.
One monitor zoomed in on Taro walking beside Osana.
The girl leaned back in her chair.
A small amused smile crossed her face.
She tapped her keyboard.
"Yep."
She said quietly to herself.
"He's definitely learning."
She spun slightly in the chair.
"Interesting…"
Her fingers typed another message.
["Tip for today, Senpai."]
Send.
Across campus, Taro's phone buzzed again.
The message appeared.
["Don't let Osana walk near the fountain during lunch."]
Three dots appeared.
Then another message.
["Trust me."]
Meanwhile with Taro
Taro looked at the message again.
"Don't let Osana walk near the fountain during lunch."
He stared at the screen.
'So she knows the future too.'
Taro slipped the phone back into his pocket and looked at Osana walking beside him.
'Day 4,' he thought quietly.
'Let's see what kills you today.'
To be continued
Hope people like this ch and give me power stones and enjoy
Happy birthday Taro Yamada