My brow furrowed deeply. I felt like I was staring my worst enemy right in the eyes.
I got up somewhat slowly, then began walking to the elevator of the apartment building to go to the rooftop.
Upon arriving, I stood on the edge of the wall. Then I simulated the feeling that the place was safe, cozy, and perfect, before jumping into the street. Upon landing, my skull cracked wide open, and then a car that was passing by hit me. But I felt my eyes opening once more; I was back on the edge again.
It works. 'Return by Death' is working as it should. But why did it activate when she died? My mind filled with more questions as I climbed down and headed home to get ready for uni.
On the way, as cars and people passed by, I couldn't stop thinking.
Recap. I have the ability 'Return by Death.' The first time I used it was when some organ traffickers kidnapped me at eight years old. I died a month after the kidnapping. Then I went back a week before it happened and avoided it.
After several years, I realized that when I felt at home, in a safe moment, a save point was created where I appear every time I die. But this...
In the past, I had tried to use the ability with someone else, but I was never able to do it. So why? Just now, a girl who appeared after reading a story is able to trigger my ability with her death. Besides, I never set a save point on April 29th.
My gaze turned to my surroundings. I had arrived at uni.
I showed my ID to a guard, and he gave me the okay and let me in. I didn't stop thinking about it as I headed to my first class of the day.
This is precisely why I feel very confident most of the time, since I have all the time in the world.
I inhaled and exhaled to calm down quickly, then entered the classroom. This time, I'm going to get to know her to understand how her existence works.
I fell asleep during classes again, both because I already knew the topics and because I needed time to pass faster.
After finishing my second class, I stood up and headed outside the uni, where there are several fast-food restaurants. Without thinking much, I headed to a café that also serves various breakfast items, where I ordered a cheese sandwich and an Arabica coffee, then went to sit at a table near the entrance.
Last time I didn't come to this place. If I can find Himari, it would be here or in two other establishments. Basically, the decisions people make vary between loops. A clear example is when you want to buy a console to play on, you have two most reliable options on the market. So in the first loop, you might choose the first option, but when you die, it might happen that you choose the other one. Unless you had already chosen an option before the save point.
That's why I came to this place. According to the story I read, Himari loves cafés for two reasons: one is the calm atmosphere, and the second is because of their products. Considering this is the one with the best quality among the three, I decided to bet on her coming here, also keeping in mind that Sameru talked to her and mentioned me. Since today is her first day here, she'd probably prefer to eat with someone who was already mentioned to her.
"Uragiri!!" The voice of an adult tired of his work echoed through the place. Just what I needed.
I stood up and received my food, then went and sat back down. I didn't have to wait long. Just a minute later, I saw the beautiful red-haired girl heading towards me. Her hanging teddy bear told me it was her.
"Hi, my name is Himari. When they called your name, I realized I knew your friend. His name is Sameru." She sat down in front of me without asking, though it was obvious I was going to let her sit anyway.
I extended my hand to her. "Nice to meet you, Himari. I assume you know Sameru from recently; I haven't heard of you." Play dumb. I knew that idiot would be attracted to a woman who is literally from a story, even if he doesn't remember her.
She brought her hand to mine, and we joined them in a shake. "Yes, I just met him today, but you can tell you're close."
"I've known him for about two or three years. We're pretty good friends." I broke the handshake and grabbed my cheese sandwich to take a bite. Then I noticed that Himari didn't have any food. I swallowed quickly and spoke. "Are you still waiting for your order?"
"Yes."
We both fell silent for a good 3 minutes, just looking elsewhere awkwardly.
"Himari!!" The adult shouted again, now her name.
When she left, I put my elbow on the table, then rested my head on my palm. I'm making a better impression than before, but right now I'm not being the best companion... I guess not socializing properly for over 5 years is taking its toll.
I simulated the feeling that the place was safe and cozy to reconfigure my save point at this moment. I feel like I couldn't have done better.
I straightened up as I saw she had received her food. Now it's just a matter of seeing if she liked me or if she'll leave. Even though she's new, that doesn't change the fact that she's a beautiful model and literally from another world, so the number of people who approach and will approach her is impressive. Leaving me as a small idiot who doesn't know how to socialize or talk.
I started watching her out of the corner of my eye. She was intercepted by two men. They weren't typical bullies; they were two normal young adults like us who approached her because of her beauty. One even had his hand near Himari's cup to help her place it on the table they were at.
I went back to my food. I didn't expect anything from this interaction anyway. I just wanted to lay the groundwork for a relationship to get closer to her in the club. I just needed a small interaction... just that.
I finished my coffee and stood up. I guess I'm not made for building relationships.
"You're leaving already? I did you the favor of seeing you eat, so you should stay until I finish. How about it?" Himari was there, in front of me. I don't know, I thought she left with them. I guess it's my fault for anticipating something that never happened.
I stood still for a few seconds without responding, then went back to my spot to sit down. "Sorry, I guess I jumped the gun."
She left her food on the table and sat back down in front of me. "Tell me, how old are you?"
"23. And you?"
"21." She grabbed her coffee and started drinking. Her left hand moved towards her food, and soon she finished eating.
When she finished eating, I checked my phone and stood up, moving next to her. "My class started 4 minutes ago. I can probably make it before they mark me absent. See you." After letting her know, I went to my class. Where I fell asleep after marking myself as present.
When the class ended, I got up and started walking towards where the theater club was, but I noticed a vending machine along the way. Should I buy her a soda? I think I have an idea of what her favorite was... but wouldn't that be too weird? I've never given Sameru anything. I think they might think I'm trying to hit on her...
I stood in front of the machine for a good 30 seconds before deciding to buy something for myself. In the end, it would look weird if I just stood in front of the machine for no reason.
When I entered the club room, I saw them all gathered around Himari again. I simply ignored them and sat on the floor in a corner, leaning against the wall.
I spent a good while just thinking about what I would do in the future. The only reason I want to get close to her is that the loop activated when she died, so I needed to think about how to bring up that topic in a conversation naturally, or if I was going to experiment by letting her die again.
I grabbed my can of soda and was about to open it, but a voice stopped me. "Hey, can I have it? If you want, I'll pay you back tomorrow." Looking up, I could see Himari standing and pointing at the can.
"Sure." I opened the can and raised my hand with it, but Himari sat down beside me and extended her hand to grab the can.
"Why are you sitting here alone?" she asked innocently before bringing the can to her mouth to drink.
"I don't have many friends. Besides, I plan to leave soon because my character appears too late. I'll start practicing next Tuesday."
"You're the weird guy who's a villain, right? I'm part of the protagonist's group. I think I have several scenes with you. Would you like to practice now?" She wiped her mouth with her wrist as she spoke.
"No, I'm about to leave. I wouldn't want to waste your time. Besides, you have many more scenes." I stood up, grabbing my backpack to leave.
"Come on~ It's not like we're going to practice until it's perfect. We'll just do it once or twice at most. Obviously, I need to practice many more important scenes." She extended her hand to me so I could help her up.
My eyes widened upon hearing her. Then I took her hand and helped her up, and we went to practice scenes. I guess I overestimated my importance.
After finishing our practice, I went home. Strangely expectant for the next day.