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 - Distorted waveforms, chilling fingertips
The next day.
Yuuto arrived at the clubroom and called for Mio immediately.
"Mio, I need a favor."
Mio set down her tools and looked up at Yuuto with her large eyes.
Yesterday's conversation on Shiozake Road still clung to her mind.
The moment Haruto-senpai's smile vanished.
The feeling of having slightly damaged his trust.
Yuuto clenched his back teeth.
"Yes, what is it?"
"I want to watch all the race footage from last year's Inter-High finals. And Haruto-senpai's bike maintenance records too."
Mio tilted her head slightly.
"Last year's? Is it for improving Haruto-senpai's form... or something?"
Yuuto nodded.
His heart made an ugly sound.
No.
I want to investigate how senpai died.
But he couldn't say that.
"Yeah. For reference."
Mio didn't ask anything more.
She just smiled, a little sadly.
"Sakamachi-kun, you're always thinking about senpai, aren't you."
The clubroom lockers were dusty.
Mio pulled out an old external hard drive and a file from the back.
Efficient.
Her fingers seemed to tremble slightly.
The second-floor meeting room.
He started up the projector.
The fan whirred.
Mio closed the curtains.
The room went dark.
"I'll play the footage now."
The video appeared on the screen.
Last summer's Inter-High finals.
Shizuoka's Shizuhara Circuit Course.
In the background, the crowd cheered.
But now, there was no sound.
Yuuto gripped the remote.
His fingers felt heavy.
Play.
The pack raced along the course.
Haruto-senpai's back.
The rhythm of his shoulders swaying slightly on the saddle.
Yuuto knew that movement.
It was senpai's habit right before he made a move.
His chest tightened.
He advanced the footage.
Just before the Kazakiri descent.
About eight hundred meters left.
Yuuto switched to frame-by-frame.
Click.
One frame.
The front of the pack leaned left.
Click.
Another frame.
Haruto-senpai reacted to the movement.
Click.
That was when it happened.
Yuuto's finger stopped.
"...What the hell is this."
The edge of the screen.
An unknown rider running about three meters ahead of Haruto-senpai.
A flash of light ran across the rim of his rear wheel for just an instant.
"Should I rewind it?"
Mio peered in.
Yuuto silently rewound the footage.
Same frame.
Same light.
"...That's not sunlight, is it."
Mio's voice trembled faintly.
Yuuto advanced the footage even more finely.
The source of the light.
It came from above the stands beside the course.
Around the equipment deck, where no one should have been.
"...A lens. Someone used a reflection to blind the riders."
His voice was hoarse.
His hands shook.
In the footage, the rider hit by the light lost slight control of his handlebars.
That movement transferred to the riders behind, and the pack's balance crumbled.
A chain reaction.
And then, at the Kazakiri descent curve, everything burst apart.
That crash was no accident.
Yuuto placed the remote on the desk.
His palms were wet with sweat.
"...Someone did it on purpose?"
Mio softly looked at Yuuto's profile.
Her large dark brown eyes were full of anxiety.
Yuuto didn't answer.
In the previous timeline, Haruto-senpai died.
Back then, many people dismissed it as "bad luck."
The accident investigation was closed as an accident.
But that was wrong.
The back of his head burned hot.
Rage.
Someone had predetermined senpai's death.
That fact gouged at Yuuto's chest.
"Mio, can you get me some coffee."
"Huh? Ah, yes..."
Mio hurried down to the first floor.
Yuuto stared at the screen alone.
The frozen footage.
Haruto-senpai, before he fell.
"...I'll never forgive this."
His voice was swallowed by the dark room.
The mechanic, Kurosaki Tetsuji.
The man who had approached Haruto-senpai's bike on the day of the accident.
Inside Yuuto, suspicion hardened into certainty.
If that flash of light was his doing.
To protect senpai, he needed more evidence.
Mio returned carrying two mugs.
"Here you go."
Yuuto took one.
Cold.
Iced coffee.
"Hey, Mio. Do you know anyone who can analyze the footage in more detail? A specialist who can examine it at the pixel level."
Mio thought for a moment, then looked up.
"...There is one person. An OB from the club, Kai Ryousuke-senpai. He's majoring in sports engineering at university now, and I heard he does race footage analysis and things like that."
"Kai... Ryousuke."
Yuuto carved the name into his mind.
That was when it happened.
Creak.
The sound of the first-floor door opening.
Mio and Yuuto exchanged glances.
Someone climbed the stairs.
Rhythmic, light footsteps.
Yuuto felt his heart leap.
The door opened.
Standing there was Haruto-senpai.
Short-cut brown hair.
Slightly plastered down with sweat.
Still in his training clothes.
"Oh, Sakamachi and Mio. What's this, a private movie screening—"
He was smiling.
But that smile vanished instantly.
Haruto-senpai's gaze locked onto the screen.
The frozen footage.
His own crash scene from last year.
Silence.
The air in the room froze in an instant.
Haruto-senpai's bright brown eyes narrowed.
Emotion drained from his sunburned face.
"...What the hell are you two watching."
His voice was low.
Yuuto couldn't say anything.
His throat went completely dry.
Haruto-senpai's gaze turned toward Yuuto.
A tinge of hurt seeped through.
Yesterday's conversation on Shiozake Road.
Yuuto's words telling him to quit racing.
And now, this footage.
Senpai was sharp.
He understood everything.
"...So that's how it is."
Haruto-senpai stepped back.
"When you told me to quit racing. It wasn't because you were worried about an accident. It was because you knew from the start that someone was plotting something, wasn't it?"
Yuuto stood up.
"No, senpai, this is—"
The words wouldn't come.
He couldn't explain.
How could he.
That he came from the future. Something like that.
"Enough. Just stop."
Haruto-senpai turned his back sharply.
"Senpai!"
Mio's voice didn't reach him either.
Haruto-senpai descended the stairs.
His back looked terribly small.
The moment the door closed.
"...What the hell, man."
Only that small murmur remained in the clubroom.
Yuuto burst into the hallway.
He raced down the stairs.
He looked outside from the first-floor entrance.
Haruto-senpai was already gone.
The setting sun scorched Yuuto relentlessly.
His shadow stretched long across the ground.
Yuuto placed his hand on the doorframe.
"...Dammit."
He slammed his fist against the wall.
The skin on his knuckles split slightly.
Blood oozed out.
He felt no pain.
"Senpai might be misunderstanding..."
Mio had come up behind him.
Her voice was tearful.
"But we can't tell him the truth, can we. In order to protect him."
Yuuto nodded silently.
"That's fine. I still can't tell him the truth."
His voice was hoarse.
"I... I still don't really understand what you're trying to do, Sakamachi-kun, but..."
Mio gently placed her hand on Yuuto's back.
A small, trembling hand.
"Don't carry it all by yourself. If there's anything I can do, tell me anything. Please."
Mio's tears fell onto Yuuto's arm.
Cold.
But that coldness, strangely, calmed Yuuto's heart just a little.
Yuuto clenched his bleeding fist tightly.
"...Mio. Ask that Kai-senpai to look at the footage. I will protect senpai. No matter what."
Mio wiped her tears and nodded firmly.
"Yes! I'll contact him right away."
Yuuto pulled his hand away from the wall.
The strength drained from his bleeding fist.
Deep in his heart, rage and resolve mixed together.
Next time, he would make senpai believe him.
The setting sun lit up Inori Hill.
Yuuto pictured senpai climbing that hill.
That back was still far away.
But he would catch up. No matter what.
This time, it was his turn to pull.
The wind blew lukewarm.
The summer heat clung mercilessly to his skin.
Nine days until the Inter-High.
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