During the summer vacation of his second year in high school, Sakamachi Yuto suddenly finds himself thrown one month back in time.
He doesn't understand why it happened or why a senpai who should be dead is still alive. But there is only one thing that matters to Yuto: saving the beloved senpai who died at last year's Inter-High.
The senpai's name is Shinkai Haruto. He was the ace of the bicycle road racing club, a person as bright as the sun, faster than anyone else. But just before the finis
Pedal Once More: The Day We Reclaim That Summer - Running Side by Side, Passing Each Other By
He left the clubroom.
The afternoon sun scorched the asphalt.
Yuuto pulled out his smartphone.
His fingers trembled.
Shinkai-senpai.
He typed a message.
"Can we talk on Shiozake Road after practice today?"
Sent.
Read instantly.
"Sure! Five o'clock at the harbor entrance!"
Short. Bright. The same senpai as always.
Yuuto gripped his collar tight with his left hand.
The wind was lukewarm.
On the way to Minase Harbor, the scent of the sea grew stronger.
The smell of salt.
Fishing boat engines.
Seagull cries.
Haruto was already at the entrance of Shiozake Road.
He straddled his road bike, one foot on the ground.
His short brownish hair was tousled by the wind.
Sun-tanned skin.
Bright brown eyes that sparkled under the sun.
They narrowed when they found Yuuto.
"Sakamachi! You're late!"
A loud voice.
A waving hand.
Everything was exactly like the previous timeline.
Yuuto's chest tightened.
"Sorry. The preparations took a little longer than I thought."
"What's up with that? Not like you. You, late?"
Haruto laughed and clapped Yuuto on the shoulder.
The warmth of that hand only made Yuuto's heart heavier.
They started riding.
Side by side.
Haruto in front. Yuuto half a wheel behind.
The standard assist position.
Tires biting into asphalt.
A steady rhythm.
Their shadows stretched along the seaside promenade.
"Senpai. Only ten days until the Inter-High."
Yuuto broke the silence.
Haruto kept pedaling, facing forward.
"Yeah! This year, we're taking the national title!"
Not a single cloud in his voice.
That only cornered Yuuto more.
"Hey. Your training volume lately... isn't it a bit much? Maybe you should add some rest."
He chose his words carefully.
But he was clumsy.
He knew it himself.
Haruto glanced back.
"Rest? This is the most crucial period. What are you talking about?"
"But if fatigue builds up, your judgment slows. The danger during a race—"
"It's fine! You worry too much, Sakamachi."
Laughed off.
Yuuto clenched his teeth.
No. That's not it.
Images from the previous timeline flashed through his mind.
That day, he was laughing just like this.
Saying, "It's fine."
And then—
Kazakiri Descent.
A sharp curve.
The screech of brakes.
Frames collapsing on each other.
Red.
Yuuto unconsciously put more force into his pedaling.
"Senpai. The Kazakiri Descent is especially dangerous. Last year too, at that corner, there was a crash—"
—Screech.
The sound of sudden braking.
Haruto stopped.
Yuuto stopped too.
The sea breeze blew between them.
Haruto turned around.
His smile was gone.
That sun-like brightness had vanished.
"Sakamachi."
A low voice.
"You shouldn't have seen last year's race. How do you know about the Kazakiri Descent?"
Yuuto's heart leaped.
He couldn't say it.
That he had time-leaped.
That his senpai had died.
"That's... just a rumor."
His voice trembled.
A pathetic excuse.
He knew it himself.
Haruto stared at Yuuto.
His brown eyes were trying to see through something.
"A rumor? Who talks about the dangers of the Kazakiri Descent that specifically? And you still haven't said why you suddenly came back to the club. You've been weird lately."
His words were calm.
But beneath them, there was hurt.
The hurt of being walled off by a kouhai he trusted.
Yuuto was at a loss for words.
His throat went completely dry.
"If you don't want to talk, fine. But just stop hiding things. I trust you, you know."
Haruto came closer.
He placed a hand on Yuuto's shoulder.
That hand felt like it was trembling slightly.
"I have no intention of quitting the race. I'm taking this team to nationals. That's my job."
A powerful declaration.
Absolutely unshakable.
Haruto's hand pulled away.
"If you ever want to talk, I'll always listen."
With just that, Haruto pushed down on his pedals again.
His back grew distant.
A small shadow cutting through the wind.
Yuuto couldn't chase after him.
His legs wouldn't move, as if glued to the ground.
He couldn't tell anyone.
The person he most wanted to trust.
The persuasion had failed.
Despair crawled up from his feet.
Something cold tightened around his stomach.
The back of his tongue tasted bitter.
Yuuto got off his bicycle and leaned against the guardrail.
The sea was eerily quiet.
Only the sound of waves could be heard in the distance.
What next?
A method other than direct persuasion.
A way to protect Haruto.
Nothing came to mind.
Only the Inter-High poster clung to his mind, refusing to leave.
Ten days left.
No time.
Yuuto stumbled back to the clubroom.
The mechanics' space on the first floor.
Mio was still maintaining her tools.
"Oh, senpai. Were you able to talk to Haruto-senpai?"
Her large, dark brown eyes sparkled with expectation.
Yuuto couldn't answer properly.
"Ah... well."
With just that, he looked up at the wall absentmindedly.
The Inter-High poster.
The schedule.
Shizuoka's Shizuhara Circuit Course.
The Kazakiri Descent.
Yuuto bit his lip hard.
The taste of iron spread through his mouth.
He had to think of another way.
He desperately held together his crumbling thoughts.
The evening sun began to stream through the window.
It dyed the clubroom orange.
Yuuto's shadow stretched long on the wall.
He just kept staring at that poster.
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.