Gray Wings No Longer Needed ~I'll Protect Your Tomorrow~ - Every time I change, I break a little more.

Outside the window, still dim. Kanata opened his eyes. In bed. The wound in his side throbbed. Sharp. Under the bandage, the stitches burned hot. He reached out. Grabbed his phone from the bedside. Screen on. White light floated up in the dark room. The Modorinotokei icon. A reversed hourglass. Flickering. He tapped it. *Gas explosion at the former Kanemitsu factory site. Two passersby caught in the blast, dead. Victims: Shiina Yuika (17), one other.* The article hadn't changed. Kanata bit his lip. Teeth sank in. The taste of blood spread. "...Not yet." His voice scraped. Same as yesterday. When he got stabbed in front of the station. His throat hurt. Like sandpaper rubbed raw. "Still time." He checked the clock. 6 AM. Twelve hours until the explosion. Scheduled. Kanata slowly sat up. Every time he tensed his side, the stitches pulled. Didn't matter. He stood. Put on his uniform. The navy gakuran of Minase South High. Heavy today. Too heavy. Morning classroom. Still empty. Light through the windows. Orange on the vacant desks. Kanata sat at his seat. Back row. Window side. The seat diagonally ahead. Empty. Yui's seat. A month passed. No one sat there. He pulled out his phone. Opened Modorinotokei again. Read the news. Word by word. Former Kanemitsu factory site. Back in elementary school. Went there with Yui. Test of courage. Rusted steel frames. Crumbling concrete walls. Graffiti in glow-in-the-dark paint. Yui smiled. "Pretty, like stars." A place like that. Yui dies there. Unforgivable. He clenched his fist. Knuckles white. Then. A presence. Someone stood beside him. He looked up. Silver hair. Straight. Down to her waist. Bangs cut blunt. Tied back in one bundle. Eyes so pale they looked almost white. The girl stared down at him. Unmoving. No expression. Perfectly blank. Like a doll. Kanata knew. She was a transfer student. Just arrived. But her face felt familiar. Yesterday. Shouldn't know her. Yet before that. Felt like he'd met her somewhere. "...What." No answer. She just watched him. Behind those cold eyes. Something deep. Sinking. "Who are you." His voice shook. Didn't know why. But looking at this girl. A chill ran down his back. She slowly opened her mouth. "[serious]The future is fixed." Flat voice. No inflection. No warmth. "The more you change it—the crueler the end becomes." Kanata's breath stopped. "...What." Tsukiko said nothing more. She just lowered her eyes. Slightly. That small gesture. Heavy with sorrow. She turned away. Silver hair swayed. Caught the window light. Walked to an empty seat by the window. Never looked back. Kanata gripped his phone. The app kept running in his palm. The reversed hourglass. Flickering. The future is fixed. The more you change it. The crueler it becomes. (*What does she know.*) His heartbeat. Too loud. The homeroom bell rang. Mizushima walked in. Their homeroom teacher. Twenty-eight. Discipline. Usually strict about tardiness. Today his face was a little softer. "Right. We have a new classmate today." Beside the podium. A female student stood. Black hair. Neat bob. A little past her shoulders. Bangs trimmed above her eyebrows. Drooping eyes. Gentle face. But—their eyes met. In that instant. Something cold shot down Kanata's spine. She was smiling. A perfect smile. Friendly. Likable. Anyone would warm to it. And yet. Somehow. Black. Behind her eyes. An unnaturally deep black. Pupils slightly too large. Staring at her. Felt like she was peering into your soul. "Sakuraba Sakura. Everyone, call me Sakura." Bright voice. Gentle. Her tone lifted softly at the ends. Friendly. "At my last school, I was really close with Yui-chan—" Kanata's heart jolted. "Oh, sorry." Sakura covered her mouth with her hand. Lowered her brows slightly. "Did I bring up something painful?" The classroom air grew heavy. Other students looked at Sakura. Sympathetic faces. But. (*Why apologize.*) Kanata thought it. Somewhere in his head. If she was Yui's best friend. Saying her name is natural. No need to apologize. Yet she did. Deliberately. Like it was calculated. Sakura's smile. Perfect. Nothing unnatural. Not one thing. Yet somehow. A chill down his spine. Lunch break. Kanata sat on the emergency stairs to the roof. Off-limits. Usually no one came. The wound in his side ached. Throbbing. He unbuttoned his uniform. To change the compress. Blood seeped faintly through the bandage. "...Still open." He muttered. Rewrapped the bandage. Fingertips trembling slightly. Every time the wound hurt. He remembered. Yesterday. The moment he was stabbed in front of the station. The fruit knife sinking into his side. His own blood spreading across his uniform. Red. But it changed the future. That woman. She lived. And yet. Modorinotokei announced a new death. This time. Gas explosion. And the victims— Then. Footsteps from below. "Kanata-kun." Sakura. She looked up at him from the bottom of the stairs. "So this is where you were. I've been looking." Smiling. Friendly. Warm. But. (*How do you know about this place.*) Kanata hadn't told anyone. Not even Yui. His secret spot. "What do you want." His voice hardened. Just slightly. Sakura climbed the stairs. One step. Two. The distance closed. She crouched right beside him. "You've had it rough too, Kanata-kun." Gentle voice. But her eyes. Fixed on his bandage. "I heard you got stabbed at the station. I was worried." "...Who told you." "Huh?" "Who told you that." Sakura made a puzzled face. But just before. Her mouth twitched. Slightly. "Saw it on the news. A businessman got minor injuries—your name wasn't there, but you were absent yesterday, so..." It made sense. Absent from school. Connected it to the news. But. (*Why so sure.*) Kanata looked straight at her. "You. Were you really—close with Yui." Sakura's expression froze. Just a moment. But unmistakably. Her smile iced over. Then instantly. Her eyes welled up. "[gentle]...Of course." Her voice trembled. Faintly. As if holding back grief. "Yui-chan was my best friend." She stood up. "Sorry. Weird question. See you later." She walked down the stairs. Watching her back. Kanata bit his lip. (*Something's off.*) Yui talked about herself often. Talked about having a best friend. Often. But. Never once heard the name Sakura. From Yui's mouth. After school. Kanata stood by the classroom window. Gripping his phone. Opened Modorinotokei again. *Gas explosion at the former Kanemitsu factory site. Two passersby caught in the blast, dead. Victims: Shiina Yuika (17), one other.* 6 PM. One hour until the explosion. Kanata looked up the gas company's number. Called. Three rings. "Minase Gas customer center." A woman's voice. "Um. Possible gas leak at the old Kanemitsu factory site. Can you check it out?" "May I ask who's calling?" "Student at Minase South High. My name is—" "On what grounds do you suspect a gas leak?" Kanata faltered. The app showed him the future. No way he could say that. "...Just a hunch. No. Really. This evening there's going to be an explosion—" "I'm sorry, but we can't dispatch on uncertain information like that. If you notice a gas smell nearby, please call again." "Wait—!" *Click.* The line went dead. Kanata stared at the screen. Frozen. (*Of course. Anonymous high school kid. No one's going to listen.*) He gritted his teeth. Time kept shrinking. Modorinotokei's countdown. 00:47:33 00:47:32 00:47:31 Kanata ran. Down the stairs. The wound in his side screamed. Ignored it. Grabbed his bike from the rack. Pushed the pedals. Wind cut past his ears. His uniform blazer flapped. Along the Asase River path. Full speed. The river surface glittered. Sunset. No time. The countdown kept ticking. Numbers falling. From Minase South High. South. Down the road. Toward the foothills. Buildings thinned out. Scrub forest thickened. He reached the old Kanemitsu factory site. The fence around the grounds. Rusted. Holes here and there. Southeast corner. A gap big enough for one person. Abandoned the bike. Slipped through. Inside the ruined factory. Silent. Rusted steel frames. Cast eerie shadows in the dusk. Crumbling concrete walls. Old graffiti still there. Faded. Same as back then. Elementary school. Test of courage. Yui said it then. "Pretty, like stars." Now. Just grimy. Nothing more. Kanata started walking. Had to find where the gas pipes converged. The article had no further details. Watching his footing. Deeper into the ruins. Glass shards scattered. Exposed rebar on the floor. —Then. Footsteps behind him. He tried to turn. Too late. A dull impact. Back of his head. A *thwack* echoed inside his skull. His vision burst white. Before the pain hit. His knees buckled. "...Ugh... ah." No voice. He collapsed to the ground. Cold concrete against his cheek. The edges of his sight. Slowly stained black. Who. Who hit me. He reached out. Tried to grab something. His fingers caught air. Consciousness sank. Slowly. (*...Yui.*) The last thing. His childhood friend's smile. Then everything went dark. ...How long was he out. A distant explosion. *BOOM.* The air shook. Kanata lifted heavy eyelids. Vision blurred. Right eye especially. Hard to see. Like a thin film over it. Slowly. He sat up. The back of his head throbbed. Pounding. Touched it with his hand. Hair wet. Blood. His own blood. Dusk wrapped around everything. And. From deep in the ruined factory. Flames rose. Orange light lit the rusted steel. Smoke climbed into the sky. Hiding the stars. The explosion had stopped. Instead. Only the crackling of fire. "...No... way." His voice shook. Pulled the phone from his pocket. Opened Modorinotokei. *Gas explosion at the former Kanemitsu factory site. Two passersby caught in the blast, dead. Victims: Shiina Yuika (17), one other.* The article hadn't rewritten. Shiina Yuika. Yui's name. Still there. "...Nothing changed." His fingers trembled. The phone nearly slipped. He gripped it tight. "I... couldn't protect anything." Then. "[sad]That's why I told you." Kanata looked up. Beside him. The silver-haired girl stood. Tsukiko. She stared at the flames. Expressionless. Lit by orange light. "...You." "The future can't be changed." No emotion in her voice. But her eyes. Held deep sorrow. "The more you change it—the crueler it gets. That's the rule of this app." Kanata stood. His legs wobbled. The wound on his head ached. Vision swayed. "What are you talking about... How do you know about Modorinotokei." Tsukiko turned toward him. For the first time. She looked straight into his eyes. Silver irises. Reflecting the firelight. Trembling. "[serious]Every time you act, the shape of the next death changes." Flat voice. Yet somehow mournful. "The outcome called Yui won't vanish. Can't be erased." "...Don't screw with me." His voice rose. Couldn't hold it in. "Even so. I'll—" "Every time you act." She cut him off. "Like today. Someone stops you. Hits you. Gets in your way. So Yui's death can't be stopped." Her words. Kanata's breath caught. (*She knew I'd get hit.*) Tsukiko clenched her fists. Fingertips trembling. "[sad]I... can only watch." Her voice wavered. Faintly. "I know. I can see the future. And I can't do anything." The flames surged. Wind. Roaring fire echoed around them. Kanata gritted his teeth. "...Even so." He gripped his phone. So hard the screen nearly cracked. "Even so. I won't—stop." Tsukiko watched him. A long silence. She said nothing. Just lowered her eyes. That gesture. Showed she wasn't just cold. Who hit Kanata. Still unknown. Sirens in the distance. Fire trucks. Probably. Red lights raced through the dark. Kanata kept his fists clenched. Staring at the f

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Episode 3

Name: Gray Wings No Longer Needed ~I'll Protect Your Tomorrow~
Author: Novelia

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