Altered reality

Hayato let out a deep sigh of relief—he had won his gamble. Now, he stood once more in the Hall of return. At first glance, nothing seemed different; it remained exactly as he remembered from his last visit (That's what i am going to call it from now on). However, when he turned back, he noticed the road behind him had stretched farther than before. The scattered shards around him told the story—this time, he wasn't starting from the moment he first arrived in this world. Instead, the timeline had shifted to just moments before he leaped off the rooftop.

It didn't take long for him to piece things together. Perhaps after resolving the incident with Yuka, the "save point" had moved forward, locking onto what it consider the next major event. And right now, that event was none other than his own death.

There was no path ahead—only the road behind him, leading to the past. And that was exactly where he intended to go. Without hesitation, Hayato reached out toward a specific shard, choosing the exact moment he wished to return to.

However, the moment his fingers made contact, a sudden force repelled his hand, sending a sharp jolt through his body. Before he could react, glowing text began to surface on the shard:

[Error! The importance level of the current scenario isn't high enough! The central character involved in this scenario does not have a high impact level! Not all shards can be utilized!]

Almost instantly, most of the shards around him began glowing red, a clear indication that they were now unusable.

"So, they just confirmed that Kojima isn't 'important' to this world," Hayato muttered to himself. He wanted to feel angry, but the nature of this place suppressed all emotions, leaving him with nothing but cold rationality.

With no other choice, he shifted his focus to the remaining green shards—the ones he could still use. Although he couldn't return to the safest, most ideal moment he had in mind, this one would have to do. Without hesitation, he reached out and made his choice.

"Move!"

The familiar voice rang out the moment Hayato regained his senses. He didn't waste time thinking. Sidestepping to the left, he raised his right hand, catching the girl's hand just as the knife came for him. Trapping her weapon hand between his arm and side, he swiftly locked his left hand around her wrist, ensuring she couldn't move that hand.

At this moment, the ideal course of action would be to disarm her and pin her to the ground until the authorities arrived. That would have been the rational choice.

But Hayato was really pissed at her.

He turned towards her and yanked her forward, clenched his fist, he drove a solid punch straight into her stomach. The impact was enough to knock her out instantly.

Was that too much for a girl? Surely.

Did he care? Not in the slightest.

In his eyes, gender had nothing to do with it—if you dared to mess with him, you'd better be ready to face the consequences.

Silence fell over the scene.

Hayato's movements had been so swift that, aside from those directly involved, no one else had fully grasped what had just happened. However, the sight of the unconscious girl sprawled on the ground and the knife lying beside her was more than enough for the crowd to piece things together.

Whispers spread, and soon, all eyes locked onto Hayato. Once again, he found himself at the center of attention.

Not that it was anything new.

Ignoring the stares and murmurs, he turned away from the unconscious girl, fully aware that she wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. Without hesitation, he made his way toward Misaki.

Misaki stood frozen, completely stunned by what she had just witnessed. How could someone move like that? His reaction had been so precise, so instantaneous—it was as if he had already anticipated the attack. But that couldn't be possible… could it?

Her thoughts scattered when she saw him approaching. The sun cast a shadow over his face, making it difficult to read his expression. Still, she could sense something heavy in the air. Gathering herself, she tried to speak, though her tone carried a hint of hesitation.

"Don't you think you went a bit—"

Her words were cut short when Hayato didn't stop. Even as he closed the distance, he kept moving forward. And then—without warning—his arms wrapped tightly around her, his chin resting gently on her shoulder.

Misaki's entire body stiffened. Shock. Embarrassment. A flurry of emotions crashed over her. With so many eyes watching, why was he doing something like this?

Before she could protest, his voice reached her ears—low, trembling, filled with suppressed emotion.

"I'm glad you're safe."

At that moment, her heart skipped a beat.

She really couldn't understand him. He was the one who had been in danger—he was the one who had been attacked. And yet, here he was, relieved not for himself, but for her.

Why?

Really, what a strange guy her first ever friend is.

Before long, the police arrived at the scene. Without delay, they secured the unconscious girl and turned their attention to Hayato, requesting that he accompany them for questioning regarding the incident. Naturally, this was a standard procedure. Before he could respond, Misaki stepped forward, firmly declaring herself as a witness. She also went with them and with unwavering conviction, she vouched for Hayato, emphasizing that his actions were nothing more than justified self-defense.

By the time they finally stepped out of the police station, night had already fallen. The questioning had taken longer than expected, yet they were released earlier than they had initially feared. As they walked a short distance away from the station, Misaki suddenly broke the silence with a question that made Hayato visibly flinch.

"Why did that girl attack you? I know she hate you, but… was it really enough for her to want you dead?"

Hayato averted his gaze, his eyes shifting away as he hesitated. "That's..."

Noticing the clear reluctance in his voice, Misaki let out a soft sigh. She didn't want to pressure him. Instead, she offered him a gentle smile and spoke in a reassuring tone.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I was just worried about you."

Hayato stole a glance at her from the corner of his eye. Why was he hesitating? Did that mean he didn't trust her?

No… he couldn't be that much of an idiot. This girl had died once trying to save him.

With an inward sigh, he made his decision.

"Actually… it's my doing that Sudo ended up in that condition. She must have knew it and tried to take revenge on me."

Misaki blinked rapidly, her eyes wide in disbelief as she leaned in closer to him. "What?! You said you had nothing to do with his condition!"

Hayato quickly looked away again, his silence speaking volumes. The lie was obvious, and Misaki could tell immediately.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she shifted her tone, now tinged with both curiosity and a hint of amusement. "How did you do it?"

Hayato glanced up at the sky, scratching his cheek awkwardly. "That's a long story," he muttered, his voice trailing off. "I'll tell you another day."

Misaki let out a soft growl of frustration, her patience wearing thin. She hated being left in suspense like this, especially when she could feel an amusing story within reach. But, she realized, there was nothing she could do if Hayato wasn't ready to talk.

With a resigned sigh, she crossed her arms and shot him a playful yet exasperated look. "Fine, I'll let you off the hook for now. I also have many other things to ask you, so let's meet up this Saturday."

--------

When Hayato finally checked his phone after getting home, he was greeted with a barrage of messages from Yuka. She had somehow heard everything from the teachers—questions about his safety, what had happened to the girl, and a string of other worried inquiries.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Hayato's tired lips. She was really concerned, wasn't she?

Since he'd been tied up with the police earlier, he hadn't had the chance to check his phone, but now, he quickly typed a reply.

"Sorry I couldn't check your messages earlier and worried you. Everything's fine, I'm safe, and I just got home."

Hayato's reply was read almost immediately, and within seconds, another message from Yuka popped up, as though she had been waiting for his response.

"That's reassuring to hear," she wrote. "It must have been exhausting for you. Make sure to get plenty of rest. And about our next study session, let's meet at the library after school Tommorow."

Hayato quickly typed a brief reply, "Sounds good to me."

While he was physically fine, mentally, he was drained. All he really wanted was to collapse into bed and sleep for hours. However, there were still a few things to take care of—bathing, making dinner, and other mundane tasks.

With a sigh, he decided they could wait for a little while.