Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was late... but the sky was brighter than it had ever been before. The warmth the sun once gave was now a scalding embrace that I had to endure as I walked through the dense forest. The heat was unbearable, but I have to go... I must go.

From the distance, I see it. The Myoujou Shrine's bell tower. (Just a little more... 'till I get there...)

My mind is numb, legs feel like they're made of lead.

Still, I kept on going.

It seems the heat was also unbearable for the trees as they burst into flames from inside out. Spreading to other trees, creating a forest fire. The smoke makes my breathing ragged and unstable, but I have to get there!

I need to because... he's waiting for me.

Who...? It's unclear. Still, I have to get there.

In minutes that felt like hours to me, I finally reached the shrine. It was on the top of a hill, shrouded with short trees. The town was painted in eerie red light. Upon looking up, I can't believe what I saw.

"Oh god..." My breath got caught in my throat as tens of hundreds of meteors rained down on the small town of Buraza. The horror wasn't stopped as I saw the entire decimation of the town... and I've got front row seats for it.

Eventually a meteor hit the shrine's bell tower. The structure crumbled down to its feet... the debris were all falling towards me and...

.

.

.

"Ahhh!!!" with a loud thud, I stumbled down from my seat and fell on the floor. All eyes turned towards me, some in concern, but mostly in amusement.

The class teacher, Miss Kanon, turned towards me with a angry smile as she stepped focused her eyes on me. "My my! How was your sleep Shin?" The entire class erupted in giggles.

All I could do was looked down on my desk as I try to tidy up the mess called "my life". (Okay... Loner Rule #32: If you embarrassed yourself... think about other ways you could've fucked up and scream internally on how you hate yourself even more.) Even if it looks like I've regained my grace from the outside perspective, a storm of anxiety and self-hate began to brew inside my mind, ready to take out my cognitive seaside town of confidence.

It seems like one person wasn't convince at all however, as he waved at me, discreetly... well, as discreet as he can get...

"Hey! Shin-chan! You alright there?" my childhood friend, Budo, called out quietly. His voice was quiet but still loud all the same.

I just sighed and shook my head. He'll get me. He probably has a catalog on how I react to certain things... He grinned back and shot a playful wink. "It's gonna be fine! They'll probably forget about it... probably...".

All I could do was nod. Why does high school have to be so difficult?

Time passed on... Time...

If... I had the power to control time...

I just leaned my head on my arms in amusement. (What a silly thought... but...) I turned my head to face Budo's seat. His face scrunched up as he punched through his calculator. His face was in a perpetual frown while others around him had no problems.

It would be nice to do things I regretted not doing. I shoved my head down to my desk, feigning sleep. Still, I'm glad I reached this time... I'm happy with the present....

.

.

.

or am I?

That day was so casual... so... typical... It was just like a page of one of our adventure diaries we made as a kid. This day was the day I finally found courage to say it. To be honest with him and to not deceive him any longer. In truth, I had the hope of reciprocation... I should've known my place as his "childhood friend". 

He suddenly invited himself in my house to be my model. I was practicing on sketching humans and he came through for me.

Alone in the room, just to of us, we spoke in unison. "I have something to tell you."

After that, a string of "you go first" was dished out before Budo gave up and spoke first. I should've insisted on being the first to speak. His next words broke my spirits.

He needed help in asking out his classmate Kokona on a date. Time might as well stopped in that moment... I felt numb. I swallowed everything I was supposed to say and cheered him on with a smile.

I gave him tips. Tips that I myself, searched for in the internet to gain the courage to ask him out. I was dumb. That was the second chance I could back out of helping him and yet I stuck to his side.

He suggests a practice, and he asks me to pretend to be Kokona. I pretended as he told. Pretended that I didn't dream of this scene everyday in my whole life.

His confession was passionate, and sincere. It made me fall into bliss... a fantasy where it's actually directed for me... until he spoke of her name and it shattered the illusion of my delusions.

Through all this hurt, I prided myself as his childhood friend and helped him along the way. I continued being an idiot. That was the third chance I could back off, but I was still there.

It was as if the god of fate wants me to suffer more as I received a phone call from Budo at night. His happy voice only filled me with loneliness as he explained his date with her today.

I forced a laugh and congratulations before hanging up.

I don't want this to happen anymore...

I can't do it...

I...

A pair of hands shook me awake as I slowly rose from my slumber. The shaking stop and patted my shoulder. I looked up to see the "cursed boy" of the school. Taro Yamada.

He backs off in surprise and hits a desk, tumbling it down to other sets of seats. "Ah! Sorry to wake you up... um... you were sleeping here for a while now... and it's lunch.. so..." he scratches the back of his head in embarrassment.

I stretched my limbs for a bit before replying. "Thanks Yamada-san. I needed it. Can't believe I slept through class and didn't get scolded by Kanon-sensei..."

"Yeah...." He shuffles his feet. "Well... the halls seems to be empty now so... See ya!" He rushes out and gives me a wave.

I shook my head in amusement. Sheesh. I don't know why he's called the "cursed boy" of the school he's nice... and unfortunate. It hurts that he's been treated as an outcast for something he had no control over.

It just started a month ago. Girls that were particularly close to him would suddenly vanish, never to be seen again.  As if they were being spirited away.

Right now, it has claimed 6 girls. His childhood friend. The cooking and drama club leaders, an athlete, a delinquent, and his own sister. I can't imagine what it must be like to get through. He must be lonely... he was once one of the more popular students but now he's hit rock-bottom... It must be bad for his mind to deal with loss and being an outcast.

I got up and rearranged the fallen seats, my eyes lingered to the door... and made up my mind. It wouldn't hurt to spend time with him... After all, apparently, Budo left me to be with his girlfriend... (Get over it Shin... that was a year ago...)

I headed through the door, and set off to find him.

Where could he be...?

I wandered through the halls, checking every room for his presence. My eyes landed to the weird stuff on the bulletin board. It was a missing persons poster, all for the six missing girls, they were poorly made, but it was something... (Is this Taro's doing?)

My hand picked off a poster. "Osoro Shidesu. This was that delinquent girl... if they were able to kidnap someone like this... what are my chances of surviving...?" I shook my head and went to put back the poster... "ah... where's the drawing pin?"  Great.... now I have a poster in my hands. Littering is against school rules...

Feeling kind of annoyed, I pocketed the poster and left in search for him once more.

Through my trek, I heard voices in the rooftop... of course... the rooftop, duh.

As I ascended the stairs, the voices became clearer and their words nastier. Various mocking words were thrown out of their mouths as they continued to berate their victim... (Ah... delinquents... I ain't messing with that...) just as I was about to turn and leave, I hear it. Taro's voice, shaky yet containing a fighting spirit. "It wasn't my fault! I don't know where she went! It wasn't me who killed her!"

"Can it Plain Jake! We know it was you, you psychopath!"

"And I kept telling you.. I-it's not me!"

The delinquents have him surrounded. They were each taking turn in beating him down with their weapon of choice. This was a tense situation... do I interfere...? What should I do? Budo would know what to do in this situation...

"I don't know what happened to her..." Taro started, "but I know she wouldn't want to see all of you like this!"

The "leader" immediately took Taro in his hands. Glaring straight into his eyes. "What do you know? Cursed Boy." and hit him in the head with a baseball bat.

My face twisted into a silent scream as I saw blood flowing on his head. The delinquents immediately backed up, each one wore a terrified expression. Heart racing more than ever before, Immediately I reached my hand out to him and-!

"Taro!!!!"

I'm back in the classroom. I stood up too fast, the chairs clattered down. "What? Why am I here? Where's Taro??"

I glanced at the time... (the time is earlier...?) If that was true then, I glanced around only to see the fallen chairs in disarray. (Huh?)

My knees feel weak... I just saw Taro bleeding!

I can't calm down... (Did I actually time rewind? Only one way to prove it...)

My hand slowly went through my pockets, and drew it out. "The poster... I really am back! I'm not crazy!"

"If I truly can rewind time then..." I glanced at the fallen seat. Focusing all I had, I raised my arm.

Flashes of memories came to me, like a rewinding movie it kept on going. The illusions that I see... They were there, but not there at the same time. I've seen it.

The chair was back up, without me ever touching it... "If that's the case then Taro..." 

Without ever hesitating... I went up to the rooftop, not caring about anything else. (Taro.. I hope you're fine...)

Ascending the stairs, I don't here those voices anymore... which means the delinquents are not there yet... perfect.

I slid down on the wall I was leaning against and dropped to the floor in exhaustion. My heart is racing and wouldn't calm down. My head craned to the corner of the wall as quiet as I can and couldn't believe my eyes.

(It was... it was real! He's not dead anymore... I... I saved him!)

Without wasting a chance, I rushed to his side.

"Are you okay?"

Taro raises his head in confusion, his chopsticks midway to his mouth. "Uh... yes?"

"Come with me." I dragged his arm.

"Huh? Hey... wait!" Taro struggled but to no avail was overpowered. "Why did you take me away?"

I should keep silent... for now. "I'll tell you later."

My heart is still raising... (I can't believe this... This is real... I saved Taro's life!)

"What was.... that about... Higaku-san?" Taro huffed. 

His eyes scanned my face looking for an answer... what should I say? Do I lie to him or tell him the truth?

"I... saw the delinquents following you... so I wanted to get you out of there. Are you alright?" (No. He'll never believe me.)

He looked down in concern. "They've been... chaotic after Osoro was gone. They have been more reckless and their usual dormant volcano demeanor changed to an active one."

(A weird analogy, but it works.) "I'm sorry you left your lunch though..."

He laughs. "It's fine! You saved me from the delinquents... thank you so much Shin." his eyes turned blank for a moment before his face reddened. "Ah! Sorry Higaku-san!"

"Heh. It's fine... you can call me Shin." he nodded. "Then, call me Taro."

In the end, we shared my lunch and ate in the classroom. Surprisingly, he was into occult a bit, and he loves horror films. It would be nice for him to join the "club of rejects" the Ocult Club.

Suddenly, the door swung open and in comes Budo with his arms around Kokona. "Oh! Hey Shin-chan! You know you're not supposed to eat in the classroom, right?"

"Eh. We're fine, right Taro?"

He laughs along "Yeah! The teachers should be busy right now... so we're good."

"Wow Shin-chan! That a Pork Cutlet? Can I have some? Pleaseeeee~?" Budo begged jokingly.

I gave his head a light karate chop. "Sorry, sharing it with Taro... he forgot his lunch today." Taro looks at me for a second before nodding.

"That's mean... Shin-chan." Kokona was giggling on the side.

"I already made you pork cutlet you dork!" Kokona admitted.

Budo's face was in shock. "Betrayal! I was gonna snag more from Shin-chan!" the sound of laughter filled the room. I looked over at Kokona before sighing.

Taro leaned closer to me and whispered. "You have nice friends Shin."

"Yeah..." I smiled back.

I looked down in my hands. (I have this power... I can't believe it. Why was this given to me?)

The answer was unclear... but hopefully, the future is going to be brighter.

I'm not a hero... or anything like that... but I want to use this power for good.

Chapter Text

After lunch, we returned to our respective seats as Kanon-sensei entered the class and started a new lecture. This time however, I'm not taking notes or listening. All I could think of is this newly power I've discovered within myself. I rummaged my bag for a notebook and began to take notes of what this could mean. My hands were in a writing fever as I poured out my thoughts on the back pages of my notebook.

'Why am I able to do this?'

'Am I actually sure that what I saw wasn't just a dream of premonition?'

'Is Taro actually safe from death from now on?'

'Does this mean I've hopped into a different time line where Taro is alive?'

'What happened to the timeline where Taro actually died?'

After writing this particular question, I shook my head and ignored of even thinking of a world where someone like Taro died. Lastly, one more question popped up in my mind.

'Does letting Taro live have consequences?'

I paused and gave it a thought. Surely, the world wouldn't require Taro's death as a catalyst for something... isn't it? Still, I thought about those missing girls. The perpetrator hasn't been arrested or even identified and the targets have always been girls in Taro's life... so perhaps... no. I know that Taro isn't cursed. Curses don't work this way and I've established that.

(So then, what happened to those girls?)

All of this thinking and not even bearing any answers or theories frustrates me so. I can't answer any of these unless I experience them myself. I looked down on my hands.

(This power that I have... I wonder how long my limits are in using it, and how much I could change the outcome of the future.)

I can't face this alone.... I need to consult someone. In fact, that is what I'll do. Sneakily, I drew out my phone and hid it behind the notebook and texted all of my club members. We don't usually have club meetings in Mondays, but I'm the president of the club so this should be fine.

"To every member of the Occult Club...

I have a serious matter to discuss with all of you.

That is why I have called for an impromptu club meeting at 4PM in our clubroom.

My heart sincerely wishes that everyone will be able to come.

-President Shin"

and.... sent. I let out a sigh, I never realized that I was holding my breath for so long. If it's something of the unusual or the supernatural, the occult club will surely have a great idea on what my situation will be. Who knows? Maybe they'll know of the origins of this power. Upon looking up, I noticed the stares everyone is giving me. Facing to the front, I saw Kanon-sensei glaring at me through her glasses.

"Shin, are you texting in my class?"

Ah... shoot. I got found out... "Y-yes... maam." I admitted quietly. The class laughs along until she raises her eyebrow, and stops to glare at the other students.

"What is happening to you Shin? Is there something troubling you? You are usually one of the best students in this class and you are usually attentive..." she says in worry.

"O-of course not.. just... one of those bad days... y'know? Thanks for your concern Kanon-sensei."

She sighs out. "Just tell me if something happens... okay? Okay! Back to the lesson." She claps and snaps back to the board. Budo and Taro crane their heads towards me and looks at me in concern. I shrug it off and smiled at them which reassured them and went on to do their thing.

Oh... boy, is this going to be a rough ride.

The chime of the school bell gives me a great sense of relief as I'm finally able to walk away from class and talk to my club members. However... before I could even reach the stairs, a white-haired girl blocks my way. Her eyes fierce and she clearly doesn't intend to fool around. She crosses her arms as she regards me.

"Good afternoon... student of Aka Demi."

Oh no.... it's the Student Council President... Megami Saikou. "Ah... well... good afternoon to you too President! My name's Shin by the way."

"Right... Shin. I knew that. I have a request for you." She draws out a pure-white clip board. "I humbly ask for you to sign a petition for the good of the school."

(The good of the school?) "H-huh? What do you mean Saikou-san?"

She lowers her head then faces me with the same fierce expression. "Students have been going missing for a while now. As of right now, it has claimed 6 girls, 2 of which were club leaders of our school. It is very concerning isn't it? After all, you are also a club leader. That is why we must do... advancements... in terms of the security of this school."

"H-huh? P-pardon me? What?" What is she even talking about?

She fake coughs "My apologies. Let me state this in a more... simple way. I proposed to the faculty of the installment of security cameras and metal detectors in our school. For that to happen however, I need to gather proof that it's also what the students of this school want. That is why I've been asking everyone to sign a petition, the other student council members are also doing it now as we speak."

"I see... so I sign that?" I said pointing to her clip board.

"Yes. Would you mind giving me your signature?" Do I sign the petition or not...?

In the ended I decided to... "I'm sorry but... I value my privacy as a student in this school. What happened to those girls were unfortunate, but there has been no proof that they were kidnapped in this institution... I'll have to refuse, Saikou-san." (That... and I don't know what the faculty would do if they found out what we do in that club room in Fridays....)

She hugs the clip board unconsciously. "That is fine. You may now leave."

Phew. That was scary. As I reached the second floor, Megami's voice suddenly called out to me. "Hey! Shin... was it?"

"Uh... yeah. What's the matter president?" (What does she want now..?)

She looks away and gives a soft smile. "Thank you for talking to me... as soon as I approached the other students they... they got afraid and ran away... thank you for our meaningful discussion."

"N-no problem president." I nodded and went down on the stairs faster than I would've naturally. (She thank me... for what I did? If she thinks that our conversation earlier was worth thanking for... what kind of life is she living in....?)

I shook my head and set it aside as I kept on going. I've got occult club members to meet.

As expected, all of the club members are here, all on their own special spots in the room, either reading or studying unknown symbols.

Oka rushes to my side and looks at me in worry. "What took you long Shin? Why are you sweaty?"

"Ah... I had a run-in with Miss Prez... nothing too bad though... just some petition..."

Daku pushes his glasses up and looks at me square in the eye. "Leader, why have you summoned us here? Is the time of Armageddon upon us?"

Ah... same old Daku with a Chuunibyou.... I chuckled and patted him in the head... "All shall be revealed in a matter of time. Now, let's all gather around, I've got something to tell you."

We each drew our chairs to the center of the room and formed a circle around the candles. It has been an inside joke here in this club in which if someone has something to say or announce to everyone, we would do this and have the person be in the circle to tell us his/her news.

Chojo regards me sternly, as if he was the senpai between the two of us. "So what is it.... Shin-senpai?"

"Oh! Oh! I bet you found a cursed doll and you want me to have it!" Supana cheers in glee.

Kokuma scoffs. "That's highly impossible dimwit. Why are you even in this club? You're too bright."

"Cursed dolls are love! Cursed dolls are life!" She says as she removes her eyepatch, revealing a glass eye.

The school might be thinking of how much of a freak all of us are but it doesn't matter. I found my true friends and I'm grateful for that. I raised my hand in the air and the room immediately fell into silence. From the corner of my eye, I saw Kuroko Kamenaga walk through the hallways through the door.

"This morning, I had a vivid dream or was it a dream? of me, going back in time." My dialogue was cut as one of the banners slipped and fell. I disregarded it and continued. "within that dream, I saw someone... die... long story short... I saved that guy that was supposed to die in that dream..."

Daku raises his hand. "Question, great Leader!"

"You don't have to do raise your hand like that... but okay.... what is it Daku?"

He stands up. "How do you know that you truly saved that someone's life, Leader?"

"That is what concerns me... it was such a blur... a spur of the moment... I felt the consciousness and the unconsciousness of my mind meld together and wake up again in an another time. I wanted to confirm if what I saw was a dream... or did I truly... travel back in time." 

Oka hums in thought and then snaps her fingers. "I know! Why don't you try to do it again?"

"Do what again?"

"How did you travel back in time?"

I thought it up and gave my answer. "I was focusing on a specific scene from my memories."

"Did it work when you used it?" Kokuma questions.

"I haven't tried it again since then."

Daku stands up and grabs my shoulders. "If you truly can travel back in time, then observe the surroundings and tell us what would happen. Show us your power Leader, no, Master of Time!"

Daku's too... enthusiastic for this.... "Okay. I'll try this." I raised my hand up, and thought of a memory... a memory... a recent memory.

My visions swam in dark and grey before regaining their color. I looked around to see that I'm...

(I'm back! They're all... dragging their chairs towards the center... I'm.. really back...!)

As they all sat in their chairs, as I went to the center and raised my hand up to silence them all. "Guys... I can travel back in time." (Yeah, straight to the point. All I have to do is prove it.)

They all voiced out their disbelief and concerns. "This already happened. I went back in time to prove it to you guys."

Daku cheered from the side. "Yes! Show us your power Master of Time!" (Ah... still the same ol' Daku...)

"First, let me tell you what Supana thought this meeting would be."

Supana brings her hands to her back and swayed to the side. "What would it be.... leader?"

"You thought that the meeting was.... 'I found a cursed doll and I'm giving it to you.' that's what it was isn't it?"

She puts both her hands in her cheeks and gasps dramatically. "Oh no! So this is not what the meeting is about!!?!"

However, the others were still not convinced. "Anyone could do that if they knew Supana enough.... give us another concrete evidence Leader."

"I faced towards the door." Kuroko Kamenaga will pass through the hallway any second now." I said as I pointed to the hall.

True to my word, the strict Vice-President, walked and stared at us with the same stoic look on her face.

"W-what?! Impossible... she should be finished with her rounds by now... why is she roaming the halls?" Chojo hissed in surprised.

"Convinced?"

Chojo looks away. "Just one more."

"Okay, then the banner is going to slip." pointing to the particular banner.

It happened just the same as the last time... the banner fell, upon closer inspection, the banner's hook was destroyed, but there was no way of knowing that unless you remove the banner from the wall itself...

"How about it?" I asked once more.

Dake immediately made a beeline and dropped down to his knees and bowed in praise. "Oh Master of Time! Forgive me for ever doubting you! Please take me as your disciple and turn me into the Master of Sand!"

Figures this would be Daku's reaction...

The girls were still in disbelief, while Chojo bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry... I know that you would never lie to us."

"Hey, do you really expect me to break the own rules of this club? "Speak of the truth and only truth?"."

Kokuma calls out to me "Why would you tell us this leader? Wouldn't it be better to keep this power a secret?"

"I needed to tell someone and you are the most trusted people I have." I admitted lamely.

Everyone gave a soft smile in return. "Thank you for placing your trust in us..."

"Always..."

Amidst the peaceful silence, the club room's door was given a knock. We all looked each other in confusion.

"Who could that be?" "Oh no!!!! They mysterious Sneople has made a move to claim Shin-senpai!!!!!" "Ooooo! New member~!!!!!" "I hope this one's hot like Shin-senpai."

Deciding to not listen to their antics, I opened the door to find... "Shin?"

"Taro?! What are you doing here?!"

Chapter Text

To my surprise, the one behind the door was none other than Taro Yamada. He is clutching his book bag close to his chest as he tries to awkwardly stare at all of us.

He shuffles his feet as he scratches the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Ah... good afternoon Shin..."

"Taro..." I raised my eyebrow in confusion.

"You must be wondering why I'm here... right?"

All of the members nodded silently as they continued to stare at the mysterious boy. "This is a surpise, actually... we...." (never get visitors cause everyone thinks we're all freaks.) "didn't think someone was interested."

His eyes widened as he flails his one free arm around. "Oh! no no! I'm not actually here to join..." Supana muttered a quiet 'booo~' as she pouted, Taro doesn't seem to notice it though as he pulls out something from his bag.

"So what are you actually here for then?"

He pulls out his wallet pictures from his bag and draws out one particular picture. "I just wanted to consult you guys... Am I actually cursed? Look at this." he gives emphasis on a picture of Taro with someone who looks like a younger girl version of him both of them smiling without a care of the world. "This picture...." He stops and shakes for a bit. "I... took this with my sister before she... before she was gone." His head was down.

I immediately grabbed his hand to lead him in. "Let's talk about this inside." without a word, Taro let himself be dragged inside the club room.

Instead of doing the "circle formation" for Taro, we just opted to have him sit on my spot. He caresses the photo as he finds the right words to say.

Chojo sounded bored yet intrigued all the same. "Looks like we have a case, people."

Kokuma bonks him in the head lightly and starts to scold him.

"Stop that. Don't you see he's grieving?" Chojo just turned his head away.

(Take control of the situation Shin.) "Why have you shown that picture to us, Taro?"

"I wanted you guys to analyze it." Taro admitted. "I've heard that cameras can capture otherworldly beings and I was kinda hoping that you might see something... I... I don't know... something supernatural... maybe?"

I gave a small sigh. "Taro... do you truly believe that you've been cursed?"

"At first I didn't! B-but... first Osana was gone... then Amai, and then Kizana and so many more followed after them. My sister was the newest victim. I... I don't even know if she's still alive. I... I'm running out of options..."

I grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look up to me. "Listen, Taro. Harmful curses are made when the caster's heart is filled with immense hatred towards you. In the few moments that I've gotten to know you, you showed nothing but kindness. This isn't a work of a curse, it's not even how curses work anyway. If you were cursed, you would be the one who is harmed and not those women."

"B-but Shin!" Taro argued. "Haven't you heard of the newest gossip of the school? They figured something out."

My eyes drifted to others and they all shrugged. Slowly turning my head back to him, I muttered. "We... do not partake in gossips Taro, but I'm honestly intrigued. What did they 'figure out'?"

"It's the Curse of the Noblewoman." Taro stated.

Just by the mere mention of that tale, the occult club was filled with an uproar. The Curse of the Noblewoman... the oldest legend of this town and one of the 7 Mysteries of the School... Why would someone bring this tale out? The story is passed through the word of mouth and there's no actual records of writing for this tale. So I don't even know which version he's talking about.

Supana, the ever-confused tilted her head in confusion as she looked at all of our somber faces. "The curse of what-now?"

"The Curse of the Noblewoman." Oka repeated. "It's an old tale or legend that originally came from the area around this town and was brought to other parts of Japan. Multiple versions of the story existed, each with different interpretations. No one knows which is true anymore. Still, the tale was melancholic and is definitely the most debated tale of Japanese anthropologists."

Supana still looked confused. "So... what's it about?"

Again, Oka began to speak. "It starts with the two daughters of a clan leader. The older who was mature, and the younger who was naive. One day, a young man from another clan visited with his father and the two was immediately smitten by him. The once strong sisterly bond they had was broken as they fought for the affection of the man. Depending on the version, he either chose the older or younger one, but the most popular version was, the girl hated her sister so much that she swore to forcefully take back her right as his rightful wife. The next day, she committed suicide but that's not the only thing that was unfortunate. Fire erupted on their clan home, taking the burning the man to death. The story then end in vague wording." Oka looks up and tries to remember the saying. "I've become a golden demon." Is what it says."

Taro nods eagerly. It seems he heard this version out of many others. "So basically, Taro is that young man... so who's the woman? What do we do??!!" Supana screeched.

"They say that she's taking out every woman who got close to him... it's similar to my situation right? Those girls were all my friends and now they're gone!" Taro argued.

Taro and the others might not have noticed it... but I did. There's a contradiction to what's happening to him and to the story. Do I agree with him or point out the contradiction?

.

.

.

(No. I can't just lie to him. That is the motto of our club. "To speak of the truth and only the truth" Honesty is the foundation of our friendship in this club and I want to do the same for Taro.)

"You are wrong Taro...." I started.

Taro looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Not once in the story did they mention what happened to the sister who actually got the guy. No information was given to us outright. It could've been easier to just say 'she got killed in the fire' but it wasn't even stated. The possibility of her being fine after that finale is still as big as where she suffers." 

"What do you mean by that...?"

"My point is... that it was the man who got 'taken out' rather than the woman. "She" took the man away, by killing him. At least, that's what I interpret the story was going for. If you really are cursed by the "Noblewoman" then the girls should've been left alone... and you would still be the only target."

"I... that makes a lot of sense... actually..." Taro admitted.

I smiled at him it's good that he's starting to calm down.

In the total silence of the room, Oka reached her hand out to him. "Hey, if you want, we can help you?"

"H-huh?"

I decided to join in. "Figure out what's happening and maybe even finding them. What do you say?"

"T-thanks guys.... I'd love to if you don't mind!" Taro smiled again. I wish he did this more often.

Chojo clapped his hands together. "So... are you three going to go home together?"

The three of us froze. "H-huh?"

"You might've not noticed it, but you all take the same road to and from school. It seems like Taro just moved houses..." Chojo bluntly said.

This is quite embarrassing. "I've walked with Oka before... but I never noticed you Taro? Anyway, how do you even know that Chojo?"

"By being a loner, I can people watch as much as I like." he cryptically answered as he shrugged.

Oka seemed happy with the idea. "Why don't we do that Shin? It might be fun!"

Just as I was about to agree... my phone rang as it received a message. "Excuse me, one moment." I muttered as I exit the club room.

The text message was from... Budo? Curious on what he might say, I opened the message.

Contact: Dokkun

Subject: Hang out? :D

Hey Shin-chan~! We haven't hanged out in a long time now... sorry about that!

Been busy... but I've got free time now and I wanna hang with you!

Let's go and spar again like old times!

I'm waiting in my club room. 

PS: You owe me a pork cutlet. XOXO - Budo

This message... I don't know how long I've been waiting for this particular message... it was true, he has been busy. Ever since that day, my time with Budo has always been cut short. It's because she's the priority now. Our everyday outings turned to weekends... to every other week until it finally stopped. I haven't spent time with Budo at all for a month now... 

I wanted to say I hated Kokona.... but I couldn't. She was a wonderful person. She's nice and I couldn't have been more proud for Budo to find someone like her.

(Why did this appear now...? Why are you doing this to me Budo?) However, I couldn't blame him. Even when he's busy... he takes time to say hi to me. To text me and tell me about how his day went even drags me out of bed sometimes on days where I don't feel like going to school. Sometimes, I even think that life would've been easier if he just hated me, but I knew that I couldn't bear to be hated by him. Not ever.

Glancing down at my phone, I've made a decision.

.

.

.

.

.

Contact: Dokkun

Re:Subject: Hang out? :D

Sorry... I'm busy today. Too bad.

Thanks for the invite though.

Also, no I don't. Heh. :p - Shin

I pocketed my phone and went back inside. "So... are you guys ready to go home now?"

Chapter Text

Our trek home was a quiet ordeal. Perhaps we're still too awkward with each other... I'm kind of thankful that Taro lives close to me. Just because I saved his life on the rooftop that one time, but I don't know what would happen in the future. I need to invite him to walk with me to and from school from now on... just to make sure he's safe.

Glancing back to my... what actually are they to me? Friends? My eyes turned to Taro. (Our relationship could reach that than becoming just mere acquaintances... but Oka however... She's... she's very different than me... despite being part of us, she yearns to be social, she has a leader-esque personality in her. I'm happy to leave the occult club to her once I graduate. I want to confidently say we're friends but... is she just hanging out with me because I'm her only choice? Is she genuinely enjoying spending time with me?)

I gave Oka a glance and seemed delighted to have Taro walk with us. (Will she actually enjoy people like Taro and not people like... us?) I shook my self-doubting thoughts and pushed myself up. (No sad, depressing thoughts today Shin. It's Monday.)

While walking, Taro pipes up a particular question. "I... wanna investigate more... do you think you guys would... I dunno... come and investigate with me?"

Oka looked at me in wonder. (If he's investigating... he could get into danger. It's best if we go with him.) "I wouldn't mind at all Taro. I'd love to... actually."

Taro smiles. "That's great! I was thinking of going to Myoujou Shrine. You know... since I was still bothered by the curse story..."

"That's fine... we should turn left then right on the next block if we want to got there." Oka muttered.

Taro seemed excited by her words. "Wowsers! You know where the shrine is? I thought we'd be spending the afternoon asking where it is! You're the best Oka." he raises his hand and gives Oka a pat on the head. Which makes her face tomato red, a face Taro noticed. "Eh? What? Are you feeling sick Oka?" he flashes a worried look on his face.

All I could do was grimace. (Is he seriously unaware on what's going on? A girl blushed when you patted her head. Dude. Get a Hint.) I sighed. I never knew that Oka had a crush on Taro... Well, new things to learn about others...

"A-ah! N-no I'm fine! L-let's go!" Oka says as she speeds up her pace, making her ahead of us.

I gave his shoulder a pat. "Dude. Do you seriously not know what happened?"

He gives me this blank, confused look. "Huh?"

(This guy.... he's a natural charmer...) I sighed and called out to Oka. "Hey! Don't go ahead of us! It might be dangerous."

From a far, Oka raises her hands and waves them while smiling. "N-no! It's fine! See?" she walks ahead.

Without warning, a pair of hands emerged from the corner of the street and shoves Oka towards the road. The sudden shock of falling down renders her frozen as the traffic lights turned green and speeding motorcyle recklessly drove, unaware that he was about to run over a student.

"Fuck! NO!" I raised my hand and recalled. (Calm down and reverse this Shin.)

.

.

.

"A-ah! N-no I'm fine! L-let's go!" Oka says as she speeds up her pace, however before she could get away, I grabbed her hand and stopped her from going further.

Oka shoots me a confused look. I gave her a knowing look and after a few second pass by, she sends the look back and gives a nod.

"Umm... guys..." Taro muttered... "What."

I looked back to the corner of the street ahead of us, I whispered to Oka in a low voice. (Protect Taro. Got that?) her nod is all I needed and so, I made a beeline for it. "W-wait! S-shin?! What the heck?!" Taro calls back.

However, I had no time to answer. On the other side of the corner... was someone who just tried to kill Oka in the future. I gotte stop who it is. As I approached nearer, I hear the footsteps of someone other than me running away. (That's him. The culprit.)

"Wait here! Bastard!" I looked ahead of me too see someone... he was unidentifiable with the hoodie and pants he was wearing. His identity was completely masked. (What the heck!)

He throws a random water bottle at a sign on the way above me, making it tilt and eventually fall down on me. (Not on my watch!!!)

.

.

.

I picked through my pocket and threw the small light novel I had at the back of his head. His aim was completely messed up as he barely hit the sign. The chase continues. The distance we have on each other, was unmoving. I am unable to catch up just as he was unable to run away. This guy is sneaky. Throughout out chase, he has used his surroundings to try and slow me down, but having this time ability gave me an edge to his unfair tricks.

It's clear that this person will do everything in his power to shake me off... but I'm not about that life. No. I sped up my pace and jumped high. (Time to give him my signature move.)

"Shin Drop Kick!!!!" I screeched as I kicked him in his back, making him stumbled down.

The hooded man raises his hand in defense. His hands flailing around as he begs for mercy. "What the fuck were you doing right on that corner??" I seethed in rage.

He takes off his hoodie and raises his hands up. "Okay!!! Okaaaaay~!!! I'm sorry! I'm very sorry Shin-chan!!!!"

"B-budo!?!" I was in shock. "W-what?"

"I-I thought walking ahead would make me not look like a stalker but I swear! I was bored and was following you! Not for a weird reason or anything! Just- Ah.... I was... bummed that you didn't wanna hang out so I... wanted to find out what you were doing with someone else!" He explained in a hurry.

(I chased the wrong person.) I mentally punched myself in self loathing. Well, this doesn't matter. I'll just rewind...

.

.

.

Except that I couldn't. (Why...?) I focused through the memory... but... I couldn't return... (Oh no... maybe it's because that event happened in a blur... It seems I need a complete recollection of the scene to be able to go back... (Ah shit.... I hate myself.) I stared in anger at Budo. "That's not normal Budo! I didn't wanna say this but..." I turned my head to the side. "But... What the heck?!?!"

Budo has a pained look in his face. "I know... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have done that... I didn't even know why I did that... I just... saw you leaving with two unknown students when I looked out the window and I had an urge to find out what you were doing... weird huh? Ahaha!" He scratches his head with a laugh.

"God... you're so..." I sighed. (He was in the corner... maybe he saw the perpetrator.) "Well... was someone else with you?"

"Huh?" He tilts his head.

"Was there someone nearby you when you were stalking me?"

"Hey! Stalking's a mean word!" Budo huffs.

"Just tell me."

Seeing the grave expression I had, he relented and answered. "There was someone. Though she immediately ran away. To be honest... you were kinda scary back there Shin-chan..."

(The perpetrator is a girl?) I sighed. "Well... what does she look like?"

Budo looks up in the sky in wonder before shrugging. "Eh. I don't remember."

(God... I swear... this guy...) "You're coming with me." I said as I dragged him by the ear. "Hey! That smarts! Ow! Shin-chan!!! I'm really sorry! Shin-chaaaaaaaan!!!"

By the time I finally returned to Taro and Oka, the sun was setting, bathing the sky in an yellow-orange hue. I walked ahead as Budo clutched his ears in pain. "When did you get so mean Shin-chan..."

I gave him a grunt, which stopped his whining, but it will probably start again soon...

Taro and Oka seemed to have a nice conversation as the sat on the steps of someone's house. Upon noticing me, Oka gives a wave and both of them walk towards me. "Shin! You won't believe what just happened here... a motorcyle crash just happened! It was crazy! It's probably gonna be in the news today." Taro remarked.

My unresponsive self unnerved both of them. How could I not pale in fear? That motorcyle ran over Oka in an another timeline... "Let's not talk about that right now... Are you okay? What happened?" Oka asked.

I pointed to Budo. "I mistook this doofus as a stalker." (It's better to make it seem harmless, but I'm gonna tell Oka.) I sighed for a thousandth time today. "I'm sorry I ruined the day."

Taro raises his hands in reassurance. "Hey! It's fine! We can totally go there like, tomorrow or someday..."

"Really? That's nice of you, Taro" This guy's too nice...

Budo places himself in between me and Taro. "Whoa! What's this? Where were you supposed to go?"

Taro opted to answer. "Ah... well you see we were-" but I cut him off saying:

"It's none of your business. Anyway, still up on walking home together?"

Sounds of approval resounded as we went on our way.

"Ah... what about me...?" Budo said dejectedly, however within seconds he recovered with a bright smile. "Wait up! Let's walk together!!!!" He ran to catch up.

Along the way, Oka and I had a small, quiet conversation.

"That motor crash... you died on an another timeline because of it..."

"So that's why you were upset... don't worry... I'm alive."

"Yeah..."

The hot, scalding embrace was back. I was back in this weird dream... where stars fell down to destroy the city. From afar, I see the Shrine again. However this time, something is new. A transparent butterfly flitted around me. It's wings were a beautiful crimson as the butterfly lead me through another place completely different from the shrine.

The butterfly rests on a park bench and I opted to sit beside it.

"Why have you lead me here?" I asked. Obviously it's not gonna answer, but this is a dream and I deemed it worth a shot.

It flitted up and landed on a newspaper. Picking it up, I noticed nothing in particular until I saw it... the date.

"Oh god... it's this Friday?!"

I stood up abruptly and ran back to the hill that oversees the town.

(If this really happens in Friday... there should be news about a meteor shower....)

Suddenly, feeling myself weighing less, I stumbled down and....

..

.

.

"Hnnnn....."

I awoke to find myself in Budo's back, getting carried by him. "H-huh? Budo?"

"Yes?" He mutters as I see my house in the distance.

"W-why am I....?"

Budo stopped. "You passed out Shin. Look, are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine. Just tired after that chase scene... I don't train my body enough anymore.... so this was bound to happen."

"Ah... sorry again..."

I sighed. "It's fine now... it's... fine..."

Eventually I lulled back to peaceful sleep as Budo entered my home and set me on my bed.

Chapter Text

I woke up in bed feeling dazed, hungry and... cold? My eyes tried to focus on my surroundings now that the blurriness is gone, I see myself covered in blankets. Still wearing my school uniform and socks. (Agh... that's why I'm hungry... I never ate anything I slept through dinner... Wait, why am I still cold?)

My question got answered as I looked out the window, snow began to fall down, blanketing the earth in white.

Instantly, I rushed to the window. (It's still Mid-October! This should be impossible! The town doesn't even get this much snow for years!!!)

Downstairs, my mom called out to me. "Shin? Is that you baby? Are you awake?"

"Yeah! I'm awake!" I called out.

Her footsteps resounded as she went to my room. She gave the door a little knock and let herself in. "Slept well?"

I always feel small when mom looks at me. "Yeah. Why am I...?"

"Oh, don't you remember? Little Budo dropped you off! You were completely unconscious, which worried me for a bit but, he explained everything. It seems both of you had a lot of... fun..." She giggles.

(Oh god. Mom.) "Never mind that! I gotta go to school!"

She raises her hands to my face. "And I say no. Young man. You passed out yesterday, and now it's snowing outside. No way am I gonna let my baby get even more sick!"

(Mom. Please. I'm seventeen.) "No... I... have a project to pass... and it's only due for today and every other day is a no go." I lied. (Please buy it...)

"Hm.... well... then you sleep first."

"But mom!!!'"

She shushes me. "Do you even know what time it is?"

"Huh?" (Yeah...)

"It's still 5AM! You silly birdy!"

(What.) "Oh." I scratched my head in embarrassment.

"Now... go back to bed, or do you want to eat your breakfast now... maybe I can do something bout that..."

"Nah... I'll take it later. Thanks mom."

She ruffles my hair. "Sleep tight. Birdy."

Mom leaves the room with a hum.

"Okay..." I mumbled to myself. "I had a strange dream... where... that crazy event will happen this Friday. I need to tell the club about this."

My phone was in 9% but it should be fine. Quickly opening our group chat, I gave them a quick message.

"Has everyone noticed about the peculiarity today?

A snowstorm appeared out of nowhere!

From today onward, I decree a daily meeting every morning and afternoon.

Also, there's something else I needed to tell you.

Special assignment to Kokuma and Daku:

Please research anything about meteor showers and Armageddon.

I'm sorry for the short notice, but we do not have much time.

Hope to hear from you soon."

- President Shin

With the message sent, I plugged my phone on a charger and went back to sleep.

I woke up to find that the snowstorm had calmed down. The reaches of my bed was a comfortable paradise, but I know that I have to leave soon. Grabbing my bathing supplies, I went ahead to the bathroom to groom myself.

The bath tub was small, yet the warm water was comfortable on my aching muscles. My thoughts began to wander as I thought up of scenarios on why this snowstorm could've happened.

"Was me... using my powers over and over caused that anomaly?"

I hugged my knees closer. I didn't want to think it but... it was possible. "That couldn't be... that would mean that I shouldn't play around this power much longer..."

My body sunk deeper in the tub. My emotions regarding this development was unclear. "This power of mine... I really need to test my limits... but I have to protect Taro and Oka.... after all, saving them once shouldn't be all that it takes... if nothing happens then... it's a coincidence."

My mind became muddled as I tried to think of a way to be with both with Taro and Oka at the same time. "What if I... tell Taro about my powers?"

This action is easily the best one right now however, letting Taro know about my power could severely change the timeline. On the bright side, I can keep on protecting both of them if they are together.

I shook my head and sighed. Now that I know my actions regarding this power could have consequences, I can't just do it freely anymore...

"What about that time where I couldn't warp back? Is it special circumstance or..."

At that time... my powers were clearly working... but why can't I go back beyond those times? Do I have a limit and if so... can I break it? What could be the reason why I couldn't go back? This is why I have to test it.

"Gosh... I wish I was with my club now..."

Getting up from the tub, I toweled my wet body and went on to change to my uniform. I ate my breakfast, bid a farewell and went to school.

(I gotta get there soon.)

I rushed to the gates to find the whole occult club outside.

"Ah! Shin-senpai!" Supana called out and waved her hands. The other club members gave their own greetings.

"Good... is everyone here?"

They all looked at eachother. "Well... there is someone else..."

(Someone else?) "What do you mean?"

Oka steps in. "Well... someone approached us and... asked to join the club."

"H-huh"

Every club member moved out of the way revealing our newest and 7th member of the occult club.

She approaches me in light steps and stops right in front of me. She smiles shyly as she twirls her ponytail.

"Hello, Shin-senpai! I'm Ayano Aishi from 2-B. I hope we all get along."

I don't know about this girl but... she gives me a cold feeling.

Chapter Text

A sudden breeze of cool air makes me shiver as I tried to push down the bad feeling I got in my stomach. Quickly, I gestured to all of my members to come closer as she walks further ahead of us.

"I don't understand. Why has she decided to join us?" I whispered.

Oka and the others seemed confused too as they all shook their heads.

"M-maybe she likes you Shin-senpai?" Supana suggested, though it just makes me inwardly cringe.

I sighed. "What is up with you and shipping, Supana?"

"Hey! I think you deserve some girl, or guy if you're into that... cause you are a good senpai!" Supana shrugs.

Deciding to ignore that for now, I turned to Daku and Kokuma. "How is the research going?"

Kokuma raises her head and mutters in a quiet voice. "We're done on our end Shin-senpai. We did our best to compile notes for the topic you made us search."

"Great job." I mumbled back as I stared at Ayano's back. I've gotta come up with something to try to get her away...

She turns around to face me, she cups her hands together as she tries to look at anything but my face. "S-Shin-senpai? What's the matter?"

I took a deep breath... and lied. "Ayano, we are truly grateful that you decided to join us. As is costumary for new members, we are holding a ceremony to welcome you on our club. We ask that you stay away from the club room as we prepare the ceremony for you. Be there by 5PM or we won't consider your membership as valid." I catched my breath. "You got that?" All of the members had blank faces. (Perfect.)

She nods eagerly. "Right, I got it!"

I sighed in relief. "Well then, we are going to discuss on how we proceed for your ceremony. Please go to your class for now."

"Alright... see you later!" She says as she took off to the stairs.

And with that, we all proceed to the club room barely managing to get the cold person away.

The room's atmosphere gets set as Chojo and Kokuma lighted all the candles on the floor. Supana looked torn at the lie I just said to Ayano's face.

"Why did you lie to her Shin-senpai?"

My head lowered. "We can't trust her yet. I discovered my power, got mixed-up with Taro and then she appears? Don't you think it's suspicious?"

"B-but... even so..." Supana mumbled quietly.

I clapped to get everyone's attention. We had the "announcement set-up" ready as we all sat down to hear out Kokuma and Daku's research inquiries.

"Great Master of Time, we humbly present you the knowledge we had gained through the innermost depths of the inter-"

However, Kokuma cut-him off. "Let me do it, or else we're gonna take a long time." Daku turns quiet but sticks his tongue out to show discontent. "Ahem. As he was saying, what we found out wasn't much. There are now scheduled meteor showers at all."

I raised my eyebrow. "None at all?"

"Yes." Kokuma said, straight to the point. "However, we did find something interesting when we came to the term, 'Armageddon'."

Daku pipes up, clearly dying to speak about his findings. "In modern media, the Armageddon is a symbol to the falling stars of the great sky. However, it had a completely different meaning in the past."

"W-What is it?" I feel nervous.

"The day of Armageddon is a symbol of the end. The final stand. The ultimate battle between the forces of good and evil, heralding in the Judgement Day."

Chojo looked confused. "Judgement Day? What the heck is that?"

Daku paused. "It is the end of the world itself."

For some reason, the bad feeling just kept getting worse. The dream I had... was a symbol of the end of the world? Impossible.

"But... it's just a dream, right? We have no certainty that it would happen."

Daku nods somberly. "I hope that is all it really is."

Now with this new information laid out, I couldn't shake the feeling of fear.

Battle of good and evil...

The end.

How am I suppose to process that?!

After much discussion, our meeting ended abruptly. I ended up roaming the halls for a while as I tried to sort out my thoughts and emotions. 

The End.

In my vision, I was the only one to see it. The only one to survive. Wait... was I the only one to...? Without warning, a sharp pain went over to my head. My mind felt like it was spinning at full speed as I clutched my head tighter.

"T-there was.. someone else.... with me...."

But who is it?

The more I tried to remember, the more painful my head became. A strange liquid was felt on my lips. Upon touching it, I realized, it was blood. The shock made me stumble down towards the school poster hanging on the wall. Eventually, my body couldn't take it anymore and fell limp to the floor.

"Hey! Are you all right?"

(W-Who?)

"Answer me!"

(Where have I heard this voice before?)

"Oh God... is that blood?" I feel a hand on my cheek.

(So warm....)

"Quick! Girls! Get the nurse!"

"Right! Try to keep him awake ȉ̵̯̹͜a̵̩̦͖̣̤͈̙̳͑̈́͝ḡ̷̗ȩ̴̝͖̣͒̿̈̆̇̒͘͝M̶̳͓͊̆̔̓̄͝ä̵̟̬́m̶̛͚̮̼̘̦̭̃̑͝ !!

However, I couldn't keep it up anymore. The brightness of the fluorescent lights makes me more delirious as I continued to fall out of consciousness.

"No! Stay with me! Shin!"

Chapter Text

Hi! Hello there! If you've seen the summary, you'd know that I have abandoned this fanfic. You might be thinking. "Really, you really have the knack on leaving your fanfics unfinished..." and I can't blame you for thinking that way. I did the same to "Sweet Magic" after all.

It seems like my level of writing can't keep up with this complicated plot line that I cooked up. I knew where I wanted to go... but I had a hard time expressing myself and what was supposed to happen. So, as my apology, I'd give you a summary of how things would've went. I do this so that hopefully other authors will pick up on this. Sometimes, I come across a really good fanfic that hasn't been updated for years and all I could do was wonder how it could've went.

Anyways, moving on to the summary. Continuing on where we left off, Shin wakes up in the infirmary with the occult club surrounding him. But wait... there's someone missing... it turns out, the lunch meeting that was supposed to take place wasn't realized as Shin wasn't present and Oka was missing and isn't seen for a while now, not even on her class despite her belongings still there.

With the club's request, he attempts to time travel and surprisingly, it works! He wakes up just as he was dropped off to the infirmary by his savior, which turned out to be Megami Saikou and her crew. The president immediately asks him on what's the matter and what was happening to him, though he immediately goes out, stumbling as he tries to search for Oka.

He finds her soon after and she's with Ayano, talking on the rooftop. He steps in, effectively cutting-off their conversation as he drags Oka away by hand. Megami sees their closeness and gets hurt. She turns away. (Yeah... there was supposed to be a slight Shin X Megami here...)

Oka had a look in her eyes and Shin didn't like it. He attempts to ask what Ayano had said to her, but she wouldn't budge. "I can't believe what she's saying..." She mumbled. Shin attempts to time travel again, but finds out that he can't anymore. He concludes that there's a limited hours he can rewind before he loses it for the day. He nods grimly at Oka, hoping that she may not come into danger.

The occult club members proceed with the fake "initiation" for Ayano and welcomes her into the club, giving her a hair dye and a choker.

Wednesday comes and Oka isn't present. This starts to worry the club and Shin. Eventually though, they do find her but not the way they had wanted. A piercing scream resounded throughout the school. The sound was coming from none other than, the incinerator area. Teachers immediately attempts to turn-off the incinerator and what they find was horrifying. It was the half-burnt body of Oka Ruto. By the way her scream resounded, it was only mere minutes before she was stuffed inside and the machine activated. The incinerator they had takes a few minutes heating-up before burning to crisp anything that was inside it.

They find traces of dried blood on her almost burned-up uniform. Autopsy reports states that she was stabbed seven times before getting shoved inside.

Devastated, he crumbled down and ran away to the rooftop. Budo arrives to calm him down and cheered him up. He talks about how brutal the way she was murdered and tries to help him through the trauma he has acquired. Eventually, Shin forces himself to meet with his club.

Only the occult clubs and the faculty were interviewed and was given information and no one else. The others begged Shin to use his powers, however he couldn't. He doesn't know what might happen to him if he pushed himself too hard. In-fighting breaks inside the club and they all went on a different side. Supana and Chojo who trusts Shin while Kokuma and Daku was appalled that he wouldn't try to bring Oka back.

Due to the pressure of both sides fighting, he gives in. He forces himself to fling so far in the past and back to the rooftop where he stopped Oka and Ayano from talking. This time, he chose to eavesdrop, his body leaning towards the wall as blood flowed from his nose.

He hears Oka confronting Ayano about how dangerous she is and she laughs. She smirked with delight and says in the coldest voice. "I might be dangerous.... but you should be careful of your little president's childhood friend. He's a monster."

Shin and Oka are surprised by the revelation. She reveals that he was the murderer everyone was looking for... Oka stumbles back in fright as Ayano steps away. Suddenly, he remembered... how did Budo know that Oka was murdered brutally? Only the Authorities knew before any of us... Shin coughs out blood and was noticed by Oka. Both agreed to confront him together.

Megami overheard them and went on to take matters to her own hands.

The next day, all of the Occult Club confronted him with Kokona on the background. His eyes darkened at the accusation but laughs it off. However, something unexpected happened. Kokona... she admitted it. Much to the chagrin of Budo.

He runs away, as Kokona cried.

She reveals that she became his accomplice when he helped her dispose the body of Kizana Sunobu, with whom she accidentally murdered due to equipment failure. He took incriminating pics about the incident and made her help him in his other crimes. This of course, startles Shin and he calls the cops but Megami's police officers were already at the gate.

They conclude that he's still on the mountains at the back of the school and he should be caught soon enough. Kokona is put in witness protection, yet still facing a sentence for juvenile for admitting the murder of Kizana.

Taro gives Shin and Oka a hug as he felt happiness. He was happy that his sister was avenged. Everything seems to be going well, however, the next day: The body of Ayano Aishi was found on the gym. Budo was finally caught and admitted to his crimes however, he claims to only be responsible of three murders, Amai Odayaka, Osoro Shidesu, and a substitute that went missing, Mida Rana.

He claims that he did those out of love. Where the cooking girl was getting too close for comfort, how the delinquent girl seemed to be harrassing his club members and him, and how he saw the pedophile eyeing Shin up and down as if he was a piece of meat as she taught in class.

The police assumed that he was bluffing and that he also killed the others, including Aishi and sent him away to be locked up.

It was only Thursday afternoon, yet he felt strange, like something was off. He gave Kokona a visit and asked if what Budo said was true... she nodded. A sudden chill went through Shin's spine.

While riding the train back home, Shin realized... it wasn't one murderer... there were two of them excluding Kokona, who was the one who actually killed Kizana. He had a panic attack, though he was luckily saved by none other than Taro. He was lead away and got offered a drink by him. It was a mistake to drink it. Shin felt dizzy as he stumbled down.

.

.

.

Taro Yamada. A plain boy, who turned out to be the other murderer that killed Osana, Muja, Hanako, and lastly, Ayano. Shin wakes up on his basement, his hands tied up. He smirks as he caresses Shin's cheek. The action disgusting Shin.

He asks Taro on why he does this and his answer was bizarre. "I value the innocence found by others and you, Shin, are the purest soul I could find. However, what I like the most... is when that innocence evolves into corruption." He raises his 'tool', much to the fright of Shin and the delight of Taro.

Taro laughs at the former memory of his 'partner' Ayano and how he killed her for his own gain.

Shin asks on why he did those fake acts of distress and his fake concern over his victims and he answers that Oka was going to be his target and that he joined the club to lure her in. He thought it would be easy, after all, the girl already liked her, but he changed his mind after meeting Shin. He loved the innocence and hopeful aura he emitted... and he seeks to destroy it in his hands.

He forces himself to time travel once more. To think out thoughts and memory of the past, but the drug is still making him feel weak and vulnerable... he was unable to resist.... Taro was able to do what he desired to do.

As the act was happening, he is slowly regaining control of himself. He wills himself to stay awake to do make his powers, he feels his consciousness slipping, but he pushes back from his assailant.

Through his mental battle of control and endurance, he was finally able to go back in time, right as Taro offered him a drink. He punches away the beverage and steps away. He calls out what he did to those girls and how he figured out that there were two killers. He stops, smiles, and walks away. Shin drops down on the floor, his legs weak and body shaking just from what he experienced on the other timeline.

He returns home at late evening. Everything that has been happening has stressed him out so much. Unknown to him, Budo had escaped his detainment center.

Shin wakes up to a Friday without any impending Armageddon in sight. That is what he would've wished. A message was received on his phone, a photo of Budo and Taro holding Oka hostage a top the hill of Myoujou Shrine.

He rushes out to save her. All the while, his thoughts were centered on one thing: I didn't have this power to save Taro! It was to save Oka all along!

As Shin ran up to the hill, the sky starts to redden. This was it... the meteor shower in his dream.... He shook his head and pressed on as he arrived at the top. He sees the two of them, grinning as their grip on Oka tightened. Narrowing his eyes, he firmly said to let Oka go.

"Only if you switched places with her."

Oka shakes her head.... but I'm not gonna make her suffer. Shin stepped closer.... until he was withing their arms, they threw Oka back and she began to run away.

Shin knew it... it was Oka... he was supposed to save Oka... these two.... who are looking at me that way... Throughout the time I spent with them... was that all a lie? Was my feelings all a lie?

STOP!

This is the point of my fanfic where I was supposed to ask the question that goes like this: If someone you loved was hiding his true self and you found out about it... will you be willing to try and love their true self? (I had two endings. Ending King yassss!)

If you answered:

Yes

He looks at both men in front of him. A fragment of his childhood friend, and a man who he thought he could trust. Surprisingly, despite everything that happened in this past week, he still found himself in love with the both of them.

Shin didn't say anything when the two men began to wrap their arms around him. He's completely on their mercy now. He's now their... "lover".

The three watched on as the town of Buraza was utterly decimated by the stars that fell down the sky.

Shin's hands were warm as the were held by both of his lovers, as they laughed in despair.

No

He steps back as those hands reached out to touch him. What he fell in love with was an illusion and not these men in front of him.

The meteor shower was clearly his fault. Time anomalies caused by constant use of time traveling.

Because of me... this is happening... unless...

Shin steps closer and embraces both men, much to their surprise. Though the men's tranquility was cut as he rushed forward and dove to a cliff, taking both of them with him. The last breaths of the trio was sighed out. Shin stared up at the sky who was now turning into blue and smiles, his last feeling was the feeling of both men's arms around him as he closed his eyes, never to open them again.

This is the end? Yep.... pretty much... hahaha. You might be surprised by the "Taro and Budo is evil plot twist" but... I planned it all along. I even dropped subtle hints but no one caught them...

There was supposed to be a cool line between the two of them, like: "I knew you liked Shin too.... you had the same scent as me... an uncouth human being."

This fanfic was supposed to focus everyone's friendship... including the occult club. Oka being a center piece to everything.