Gray Wings No Longer Needed ~I'll Protect Your Tomorrow~ - Where the bus stopped

The world swayed before his eyes. The face in the mirror didn't look like his own. Kanata gripped the edge of the sink. His fingers trembled faintly. Right temple. A few white hairs, translucent in the morning light. They stood out against his short, black, wavy hair like something alive. He smoothed his bangs with his fingers, hiding the white strands. So no one would see. (It's nothing.) It was to save Yui. This much was nothing. His right hand, clutching his phone, wouldn't tighten properly. ◇◇◇ He reached the classroom. No one was there yet. Light streamed through the windows, dyeing the empty desks orange. He sat at his seat. The desk diagonally in front of him was empty again today. Yui's seat. "...It's fine." He muttered it aloud. His voice echoed alone in the empty classroom. Second period began. Math class. Equations lined the blackboard. The teacher's voice sounded distant. Something clung to the inside of his head. (My body feels heavy.) (Why?) He stood up. That was when it happened. The strength drained from his right leg. The sensation vanished. He should have been stepping on the floor, but it felt like nothing was there. His body tilted. CRASH! The sound rang through the classroom. He slammed into a desk and collapsed into the hallway. Textbooks scattered, notes fluttering down. "Ugh, wha..." His knee throbbed with pain. He couldn't stand. Students around him turned. A few stood up, staring at him. "Kanata, you okay?" "Just spaced out a little." Kanata forced a smile. Just lifting the corners of his mouth made his cheek muscles stiffen. "I'm fine. It's nothing." (There's no way it's nothing.) He stood. His knee hurt. But not enough to stop him from walking. ◇◇◇ The infirmary bed was terribly cold. Through the curtain, he heard the nurse's voice. "Some bruising here. You fell on the stairs, you said?" "...Yes." "Is there a reason? You've seemed unwell for a while now." Kanata stayed silent. There was no way he could say it. That every time he returned from the future, his body broke down. That to save someone, he was being scraped away, bit by bit. "Just a lack of sleep." "...I see. Don't push yourself." He hid his knee, now wrapped with a compress, under his uniform pants. The pain throbbed deep into the bone. This was the fourth time. How many more times could he last? Kanata gripped his phone tight. ◇◇◇ After school. The chime finished ringing. Students filed out of the classroom. Alone, Kanata headed for the emergency stairs behind the school building. A deserted place. No security cameras. He always opened the app here. The iron stairs were rusted, the railing loose. No one would come. Kanata leaned against the wall and took out his phone. He tapped the reverse-flowing hourglass. The screen switched. A new news article was there. *Tomorrow's News* *Friday, 5:22 PM. The Minase South High bus overturns on the hill curve. Three passengers dead. Victims: Shiina Yuika (17), Sato Kazuya (41), Nakamura Yoshimi (19)* His breath stopped. Shiina Yuika. Yui's name. Tomorrow evening. A sharp curve two hundred meters from the school. The bus Yui was on would overturn. She would die. (Again.) His fingers trembled. The hand holding his phone wouldn't obey. Last time it was an explosion at an abandoned factory. This time, a bus accident. No matter how much he changed the future, Yui's death chased him in different forms. "...You've gotta be kidding me." His voice shook. (But this time, for sure.) Kanata swiped the screen. The countdown began. And the fourth regression tore something else from his body. ◇◇◇ Early Friday morning. Kanata swayed on the first train. His body was heavy. The grip strength in his right hand had clearly dropped. His fingers trembled faintly holding his phone, making the screen shake. But he could still move. The bus company office was in the station next to Minase City. The counter opened at eight in the morning. He had to get there by then. His face reflected in the train window looked a little older. The white hairs at his temple could no longer be hidden by his fingers. ◇◇◇ The office counter was partitioned by cold, lifeless glass. A male employee in his forties sat inside. His tie was neatly knotted. He flipped through documents. Kanata stood at the counter. "Um, excuse me." "Yes?" "The bus heading to Minase South High today, the 5:20 PM departure. That sharp curve, it's dangerous. Really dangerous. So, could you change the route or cancel the service?" He said it all in one breath. The employee slowly raised his head. "...And you are?" "A student at Minase South High. Look, it's really dangerous. The turn is sharp, the speed is high, and if it overturns—" "Hold on." The employee raised a hand, cutting Kanata off. "What are you basing this on?" "That's..." There was no way he could say it. That he came from the future. "It's a prediction. That curve has always been said to be dangerous—" "We can't change the route based on a prediction." His voice was cold. "But—" "And you're a minor, right? Where are your parents or guardians?" "I don't have any. I'm alone." "Then there's nothing to discuss." Behind the glass, the employee returned his gaze to his documents. It was over. They wouldn't even hear him out. (Dammit...) The strength drained from the back of his knees. (What am I supposed to do?) He clenched his fist. His fingers trembled, unable to tighten properly. He stepped outside the office. The morning light stabbed his eyes. The asphalt ground seemed to warp and twist. "Kanata-kun?" A soft voice came from behind. He turned. Black hair in a bob, a little longer than her shoulders. Neatly trimmed bangs. Gentle, drooping eyes. Clutching her school bag, Sakura stood with her head tilted slightly. "...Sakura." "[gentle]What's wrong? Being in front of the bus company so early in the morning." Her voice was endlessly gentle. "It's nothing." Kanata looked away. Sakura took a step closer. "I've been watching you since yesterday, Kanata-kun. You seem so desperate. You're worried about Yui-chan, aren't you?" "Why..." "Why do I know?" Sakura smiled. Her eyes narrowed, hiding her dark pupils. "Because I'm Yui-chan's best friend too. I want to help properly." (How much does she know?) A chill ran down his spine. But there was no time. "...What are you planning to do?" "It's simple." Sakura spoke with an innocent smile. "At the bus exit, I'll pretend to have a stomachache. I'll ask the driver for help and delay the departure. While that's happening, you tell the driver directly that the road is dangerous. If we both buy time, the bus will be late. Then Yui-chan will miss it—maybe." As if she had thought it all out from the very beginning. "...How do you know all this in such detail?" "Huh? Just intuition." Sakura laughed. Her dark eyes stared intently at Kanata. (Is she really just Yui's best friend?) But he didn't have the luxury of choosing right now. "...Fine. I'm counting on you." "Yeah. Leave it to me!" ◇◇◇ 5:15 PM. The bus stop in front of the office. Seven minutes before the scheduled time. The bus slowly pulled into the departure position. Passengers boarded one after another. Students in uniform, a housewife carrying shopping bags. Yui was not among them yet. Kanata stood in front of the bus. Sakura, her face twisted in pain, clutched her stomach and crouched at the boarding door. "[scared]Excuse me... my stomach suddenly... please help..." Her voice trembled, utterly convincing. The driver hurriedly climbed down from his seat. "Are you alright? Should I call an ambulance?" "Wait, it hurts so much... ugh..." In that time, Kanata called out to another male employee who seemed to be in operations management. "Um, excuse me. The road I came down earlier, that curve—there's gravel built up on the surface. It's slippery. It's dangerous if you take it at speed." "Huh? Really?" "[serious]It's true. Please check it properly." He pressed the point. Seven minutes. Just a seven-minute delay. But in those seven minutes, no new figure appeared at the bus stop. Yui didn't come. In the distance, he could see a female student who looked like Yui, chatting and laughing with another friend. Unaware that the bus had already left. The bus, attending to Sakura, slowly departed. Kanata took out his phone. He opened *Modorinotokei*. *Minase South High Bus Overturn Accident, Multiple Injured* The article had been rewritten. Shiina Yuika's name was gone. From the list of three victims, only Yui's name had vanished. (I did it.) The strength left his knees. He desperately fought the urge to collapse on the spot. (I changed it. This time for sure.) Sakura approached him cheerfully. "[gentle]That's great, Kanata-kun. Yui-chan didn't get on the bus." "...Yeah." (It's thanks to her.) (But something is wrong.) Looking at Sakura's smile, Kanata felt something stirring uneasily deep in his chest. ◇◇◇ Evening. 5:31 PM. Kanata was on his way home. The phone in his pocket vibrated. Bzzz, it sounded. (What?) There shouldn't have been any new news yet. But on the *Modorinotokei* screen, the word "Breaking" was displayed in red letters. He tapped it. *Minase City Kawase Street Crosswalk, Car Strikes Pedestrian. One dead. Victim: Shiina Yuika (17)* His mind went completely blank. He stared at the screen, unable to breathe. Something gripped the center of his chest, tight. He stopped the bus from overturning. So the bus took a detour. A car swerving to avoid that bus plowed into a crosswalk. Yui was walking there. (I killed her.) "...Ugh, ah." A voiceless sound leaked out. Sakura peered at the screen from beside him. "[concerned]What's wrong, Kanata-kun?" Her voice was gentle. Too gentle. Kanata couldn't say anything. He closed the app. "It's nothing." Sakura stared intently at Kanata. Her dark eyes narrowed just slightly. "[gentle]Don't push yourself. It'll be okay." (There's no way it's okay.) Kanata fled from that place. ◇◇◇ He shut the door to his room. His bag fell to the floor. Still in his uniform, he faced the wall. He clenched his fist. He swung it down. Thud. A dull sound echoed in the room. The plaster on the wall dented slightly. The skin on his knuckles split, blood seeping out. It hurt. But it wasn't enough. Once more. Thud. (Because I acted.) Thud. (Because I changed the future.) Thud. (I killed Yui.) He punched the wall over and over. Blood flowed from the base of his fingers, staining the white wall red. He clenched his teeth. Tears streamed down. (I made her die a different way.) (I did that to her.) Still, his fist wouldn't stop. Tsukiko's words replayed in his mind. *'The more you change it, the crueler the end becomes.'* So that's what it meant. This was—. No matter how much he hit, no matter how much his fist broke, the fact that Yui was dead wouldn't change. ◇◇◇ Late night. Exhausted from crying, he collapsed on the floor. His consciousness slowly sank into darkness. ◇◇◇ He found himself on the riverbank of the Asase River. It was sunset. The sky was a gradient of orange and purple, stars beginning to twinkle here and there. He could hear the murmur of the river. Yui stood there. She was in her middle school uniform. The outfit from the night of the Asase River lantern festival. Soft brown hair down to her shoulders. A small flower hairpin swayed on the braid on her left side. She was smiling. The smile he had loved so much. Her large, light-brown eyes narrowed like crescent moons, her lips gently relaxed. On her right wrist was a blue friendship bracelet, the same as his. "Yui..." Yui was desperately trying to tell him something. Her mouth was moving. But he couldn't hear her voice. Kanata took a step forward. The distance didn't shrink. Another step. Another. He

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Episode 4

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

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