"Strange… I think I've seen that boy before," Kaede muttered to himself.
He got up from the table, taking his spoon with him, and went to the kitchen to get a new one. On his way, he noticed Shina wasn't there. He thought about asking Yumi if she had seen her, but remembered that something had changed—so he held back. He didn't want to make anyone suspicious.
He quietly returned to his seat and continued eating.
After dinner, the boy stood up and left in a hurry, saying his parents were looking for him.
But Kaede could tell—that was a lie.
"Hey Kaede! You should rest early. We have class tomorrow," Yumi called out.
Kaede nodded at her.
He got up and began looking for his room, but he wasn't exactly sure where it was. To avoid raising suspicion, he checked each door carefully. Eventually, he found one with his name on it. He opened the door—it was his room.
Without thinking twice, he went straight to bed. He wasn't feeling well anyway.
Lying there, Kaede thought deeply about everything. What was going on? Why did everything suddenly change?
He closed his eyes.
January 12, 2015 – Monday, 5:00 AM
Kaede woke up and looked out the window. The sun was rising, but the sky was still dark.
He got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom. As he passed through the house, he saw his mother preparing something—looked like a lunchbox.
She noticed him and smiled.
"Oh, you're up early! Go take a bath and get ready for school."
Kaede was stunned. His mother never did this when he was in high school—back then, he lived alone in an apartment.
He stared at her, a bit emotional. A tear formed in his eye.
"What's wrong, Kaede?" she asked.
"Uh… nothing. Just got a bug in my eye," he replied.
He headed to the bathroom and splashed his face, trying to make sure this was real.
While Kaede was taking a bath, someone knocked at the front door. It was Yumi. Without waiting, she casually entered and greeted Kaede's mother.
"Good morning, Auntie! Is Kaede ready?" she asked cheerfully, already in her school uniform.
They chatted while preparing Kaede's lunchbox.
Kaede came out of the bathroom in his uniform and went to the kitchen, but saw his food was already prepared.
"Come on, Kaede, eat before you leave!" his mother called.
"Yeah! Let's eat!" Yumi said with a smile.
Kaede sat down, still confused, but stayed quiet. Too many strange things had already happened—he needed to investigate more before jumping to conclusions.
After breakfast, he and Yumi headed to school. On the way, Kaede asked her:
"Is Shina alright?"
"Huh? Shina? Our classmate?" Yumi replied, puzzled.
"Yeah," Kaede said.
"Well, yeah, she's our classmate."
"Did you two know each other before?" Yumi asked.
They kept talking nonsense until they reached their classroom. There, Kaede saw Shina at her usual seat.
After class, Kaede tried to approach her.
"Hey, how are you?" he asked.
"Um, I'm okay. Why do you ask?" Shina replied, looking nervous.
Before Kaede could answer, Fina called over.
"Shina! Let's go home!" she called.
"I'm coming! Wait, someone's talking to me," Shina replied.
Kaede was shocked to hear Fina's voice. Fina approached them.
"What's going on here?" Fina asked.
"Oh, nothing. This guy just asked me how I am—so casually. "Since when do i get closed to him?" Shina's thoughs.
Shina's feeling was kinda off she feels like she also know Kaede but...
"Hey Loser! What do you want with my sister? Are you interested on her?" Fina asks with annoyed face
"Loser? Me?" Kaede asked, confused.
Fina grabbed Shina and they walked away.
Kaede just stopped and watch them walk away.
Kaede rushed to the restroom to check himself in the mirror. Yumi followed, but waited outside.
After looking at his reflection—it was him.
He stepped out and saw Yumi waiting.
"What's happening here?" Kaede asked.
"Are you ok Kaede?" Yumi asks.
She looked at him closely.
"I'm ok i'm just kinda dizzy" kaede replied
"let's go home then and get some rest, you might be tired because of this day.
That afternoon they decided to go home.
They arrived home, and Kaede went straight to bed to get some rest.
January 13, 2015 – Tuesday, 6:00 AM
He woke up again. Still in this world.
He heard his parents calling him, saying he'd be late for school.
As he opened the door, Yumi opened hers at the same time—and they bumped into each other.
"Ow! Sorry!" she laughed.
She told him to come downstairs because breakfast was ready.
Later at school, as they walked down the hallway, Kaede saw Fina and Shina laughing together, like best friends.
"What is this place…?" Kaede thought. "Something's definitely wrong."
At a distance, a group of boys spotted Kaede.
"Hey, look! It's Kaede!"
"Jackpot… we might get a huge amount of money from him," one of them said.
They were students, clearly planning to bully him.
They waited outside after class.
After school, Lary said he had to rush home because his dad called.
Kaede and Yumi walked out—and the group blocked them.
One of the boys stepped forward, mocking Kaede.
Yumi was terrified. "Hey! You again? Stop bullying Kaede!"
"Shut up, girl. Or do you want a beating too?" the boy growled.
Yumi clenched her fists, ready to hit him, but Kaede stopped her.
"Who are you? Have we met before?" Kaede asked.
The boys laughed.
"Did you hit your head or something?" one of them said.
"Come on, give us your money. We'll let you go," another added.
"Have you forgotten? You owe us every week," the leader said.
"And why would I do that?" Kaede replied coldly.
That made the boy furious. He grabbed Kaede's shirt.
"You wanna get tortured?"
Kaede shoved his hand away. "Don't touch me."
The guy got angrier and swung at Kaede—but Kaede blocked it effortlessly.
Yumi and the other students watched in shock.
The boy screamed in frustration and tried to punch again—but Kaede punched him first.
The rest of the group attacked, but Kaede fought them off easily.
One of the boys, on the ground, gasped, "How are you so strong…?"
Then he fainted.
Everyone was stunned—including Yumi.
That afternoon, Kaede and Yumi walked home in silence.