The Beginning

Part 1

[01.09.12.10]

Early morning.

The alarm is set for 6 a.m.

I check my watch.

All right.

I still have a little time before school starts.

— It would be much more if I didn't live in the Bear Corner...

But most of it will take to get there.

I look out the window.

It's sunny. The blue sky is dotted with a few clouds.

Looks like a great start to the day.

By the way, the nightmares haven't gone away.

But now they have... less dangerous now?

Now they are less realistic. I almost immediately forget what happened in them.

On the one hand, this is good. Less stress.

On the other hand...

— ...Okay, it's time.

I quickly finish all the morning preparations and go out.

It's a fifteen-minute leisurely walk from the house to the station.

I know the train schedule, so I've never waited long.

I always arrive just in time.

I can be proud of my punctuality, haha!

At least something...

Since I live in the city of the rich (I called it that), it is obvious that the infrastructure here is obviously pretty good.

The power lines are hidden underground. There are practically no places where there is a bad smell.

The sidewalks are paved with perfectly aligned cobblestones. Perfectionists won't complain.

Various green spaces are planted all around, often combined in different ways.

I only know about home gardening, but it is unlikely that cheap plants would be used here.

The city is surrounded by mountains and is located far enough from... all densely populated places, but, nevertheless, there is a very stable connection and high Internet speed.

The huge radio towers high up in the mountains are a factor. They can be seen from almost anywhere in the city and are a bit like the Eiffel Tower. You could even call them a local landmark.

Even though I call it the city of the rich, it doesnэt officially have the status of a city.

Just a small town. An urban-type settlement, if you want.

It doesn't have more than 15,000 people.

A kind of paradise for the rich who are tired of the hectic megacities. It has everything for a comfortable life and even more.

However, the financial situation of my family is not so rosy. It is easy to understand because of the location of our house. It is at the very edge of town. The last residential street before the out of town.

This house was a kind of gift to my great-grandfather. He worked as a foreman for a construction company that built almost every building in this town. All the houses, that's for sure.

In honor of the completion of the work, he got the rights to one of the houses.

You would think that a man who reached the position of foreman of a company that builds luxury apartment complexes couldn't be poor. Well, that's true.

But it's also true that my great-grandfather is long gone. And times change.

At these times, the family may not be poor (by the standards of this town), but we certainly not living in the best of times.

Although, maybe it's just me being a greedy bastard who wants an easy life.

— ...What, I can't even complain anymore?

Well, It's fine anyway, so not that I'm particularly unhappy.

— Oh, here comes the train.

The layout of the city implies the division into districts in relatively flat places, and a railway station is provided in each of these districts.

Thanks to this, even despite all sorts of height differences and distances, there are no problems with movement.

Of course, the presence of such a large number of stations for such a small number of residents is due to the special status of the city.

(However, as far as I heard, he recently lost it...)

But the functionality of a separate railway track scheme that exists separately from the general one in the country has not gone away.

You could even call it a kind of surface metro.

The only high school in the city is located in the central quarter, adjacent to all administrative and government buildings. Libraries and other highly cultured institutions can also be included here.

The concentration of vile slippery types is off the charts.

Speaking of the regular railroad... it is definitely connected to the local "surface metro": I regularly saw trains from the outside world, but not to say that the opportunity to use them fell out often. In fact, I don't remember the last time I went anywhere at all.

— ...It feels like I was destined to be stuck here for the rest of my life....

Part 2

— ...

I'm really alive.

I still can't believe it.

And my parents are alive.

Although I've seen them so many times... in the form of...

The same scene pops up in my eyes.

I feel a little queasy.

Don't think about the bad.

Think about the good.

They're alive now.

I should call them.

With trembling hands I dial the right number.

A lot of money will be charged for roaming.

But I want to be sure.

After a couple of rings, a melodious female voice is heard from the other side.

Like a balm for the soul.

[— Oh-oh, is that Akuta? Called? First?! Is it going to snow tomorrow?] – She tried to hide her sincere surprise behind jokes.

— ...Um...

[— You did it on purpose, didn't you? Are you trying to ruin our vacation? Besides, we're going to Hawaii, so why the snow?]

— What snow? Does the fact that I called really surprise you that much?

[— Of course! You never call first! That's never happened before! Something happened?]

Is that so...?

— ...Nothing... I just wanted to... How are you doing?

[— You're always like this...]

I'm changing the subject? I admit, I am sinned.

Mom immediately realized what such a gesture meant, and began to talk about her own. Soon she started talking and all I had to do was occasionally agree.

...

.....

......

— ...Okay, I have to go to school.

[— Eh? What, already?! There was a note of panic in her voice.

I'm not going anywhere, so there's no need to be so dramatic...

— I'll call you later.

There were sobs on the other side.

Is she really crying?

What did I do wrong again?

— Uh... Mom?

[— Sorry... sorry... simply... I'm so happy... *sniff* *sniff*... our Akuta has finally started talking...]

I've been able to talk for a long time…

[— Finally started... to take an interest... in our lives...]

— And why cry... In short, bye! Say hello to father and Shiori for me. – I hurried to finish this dialogue as soon as possible.

(...Why do I feel like a moral bastard?)

I've always been apathetic in dealing with people, but is that a reason to be so worried? I don't get it.

Anyway, this conversation helped me relax.

I can't fully understand their concern, but, I see.

They really love me.

Even though I've always been cold with them. As with all people, in general.

Now I'm even a little ashamed of my behavior.

I'm not sure if it will work, but...

I'll try to be more open.

...

My parents are alive and well. Now the doubts are gone.

They're alive, even though I saw their bodies with my own eyes.

I have a chance to save them.

And I will use it. This time I will definitely...

Part 3

There's one more person.

— It will be much more difficult with her.

Hidemi Nomura. Head of the class.

A quiet girl with glasses who is very good at studying. A template?

If only...

She has some kind of unhealthy interest in my person.

She's too intrusive.

I assumed it was envy.

Still, I was the only one whose grades were better.

Maybe I'll be right in the end, and all this pestering will turn out to be just steps in her revenge plans. If so, then her death may even be in my favor.

But now this version seems unlikely to me.

— There's the school.

The only high school in town. I don't understand why it was necessary to give such a huge building for a school. Half the classrooms are always empty anyway. There just aren't enough kids for this place.

Maybe it's for image purposes. After all, this is a city of the rich.

Sometimes it begins to seem to me that this status is a kind of curse. So much senseless waste for the sake of... what?

Pride that any stone here is decorated to the highest standard? You won't even notice it... You'd better give this money to me. It will be more useful.

This isn't just a school problem. It's everywhere.

I'm not sure, but it's unlikely that there is any sacred meaning hidden in a bunch of empty classrooms. Except that little children play hide-and-seek there at night. Well, or not small... and not hide-and-seek...

— Ahem, ahem...

A red Lamborghini is parked near the entrance. The director, I think.

...Okay, I admit it. I'm just an envious person. Just a evil envious motherfucker.

Is that what I'm supposed to be thinking about right now?

Damn. I'm already enjoying a break. What a lazy wimp I am.

I look at my watch.

Turns out I've been standing there like a statue for five minutes.

— I'll be so late!

I have to hurry.

I don't think anything big is going to happen on the first day of school, but I shouldn't be late.

In general, you can not walk in street shoes inside the school, but in practice no one follows this. So I used to ignore this rule. At least on dry days. This saves quite a lot of time.

Now I'm doing the same thing and go to the class.

If I haven't forgotten anything, today is a normal day. The only thing is that at the beginning of each semester, students are redistributed to their desks. And, it seems, I know who I will have to sit next to this time.

It's easy to find out, even without using an extra section of memory.

Am I right? We'll find out now.

The compartment door slid aside with a slight hum, opening the way to the classroom.

Several people looked at me with interest, but even they quickly returned to their business when they saw Who had just entered.

All as usual.

How else to react to an eternally silent loner?

Since the very beginning of my studies, I have not tried to have any relationships with classmates. Moreover, I ignored their attempts. In the end, everyone realized that it was pointless to establish contact with me and stopped.

So, my current relationship with the class is like to... coexistence.

It suits me completely.

...It was.

— ...

I've decided to change? Why am I standing here and not saying anything?

I was going to say hello, but the words just didn't want to come out. They stuck in a lump in the throat, causing a tickle.

Yeah...

It's like all my nature is against it.

Still, I have to admit. People don't change that easily.

Maybe I just need to spend more time with my family. I've never been very good at getting along with my classmates anyway.

Socializing will have to wait. There's something more important right now.

— ...

Even though my relationship with my class is pretty strained, there's one person who seems to ignore the idiotic aura of loneliness that oozes out of me.

Yes, he... she was waving at me the whole time.

I guess my place is over there somewhere. All right, let's go.

Part 4

— ...

Several lessons have passed.

It's lunchtime now. At least for everyone.

For me, it's just a long break.

Even coming back from the dead isn't enough to give me the ability to eat solid food again.

Yeah, I'm still throwing up.

I'm unlikely to be exhausted much in one day, but I already know.

It's just going to get worse and worse.

That's supposed to mean I should hurry up, right?

However, I still haven't done anything.

Simply... studied. Like a diligent student... Ugh.

This habit of killing time studying has raised my academic performance to some incredible level, but in general, there is no benefit from it. Is that empty praise from teachers (read like pain in the ass).

When you have a huge pile of free time, good grades cease to be something unattainable.

It has always been like this. Starting from elementary school.

And that's probably the only thing I'm good at.

But that's not the point.

Class Rep is surprisingly quiet today. We just exchanged greetings today, she showed me the place where I'm sitting in the new semester. And everything. Nothing extraordinary.

It even began to seem to me that she was always like this.

Why did she seem like such a pain in the ass to me before?

Now I see a complete coincidence of character and appearance.

She only looks at me strangely from time to time. Of course, this is also not the most pleasant feeling, but compared to what it was...

Although, maybe I'm just rushing things? It's only been one day. I still have three weeks.

Even though I was justified in words, my heart did not feel any easier.

I still want to return to my old life. And I'd like to do it as soon as possible. But I guess that's not going to happen.

How can you beat someone who knows everything about you?

I remember asking myself a similar question once. And I gave myself a pretty simple answer.

Impossible.

And at that time the answer was correct.

But now the situation is different.

There's more than one answer.

I need information.

Right now I almost have nothing. It's enough to try to come up with something blindly, but... the chances of my death in this case tend to infinity. And I don't want to die yet.

But let's start in order. What do I even know?

That the Class Rep was killed presumably on the 15th.

And me... 21st.

And that the murderer was a girl.

That's it?

I can't even remember her appearance. The memory of this is too blurred.

No. There has to be something else. Something...

Hmm?

One day I fainted on the way to school. And someone carried me there.

Stalker?

But she killed me afterwards. Why would she do such a thing?

Was it someone else?

I can't rule that out.

Damn...

This will only confuse me even more.

Don't speculate. Right now I need facts.

And the fact is that I have almost nothing to do with the information about fainting. Unless...

It sounds crazy...

But it's worth a try. I don't have anywhere else to waste my time anyway, do I?

...

...

What else?

Both murders took place in the victims' houses.

If I want to stop it, all I have to do is be in their houses on the day of their death.

I'll probably die, but at least I'll find out something more than just the sex of the murderer.

And then I can make a proper plan.

— ...

Die?

I'm willing to do that so easily?

Even now, my hands are shaking just thinking about it. Plus the stupid heat-sucking cold.

And now I'm discussing a plan that involves a repeat of this nightmare?

Like hell. I don't want to die.

I really don't.

Even if my memory of my past life is crumpled and tangled, the memory of a bloody kitchen is always clean and fresh.

Of course it is. I've been dreaming about it every day for the past month.

This scene is burned into my brain. It is tightly soldered.

It's impossible to forget. No matter how hard I try.

That's why I'm not able to eat properly right now. That's why I keep having nightmares. That's why they take the heat out of me.

Because I'm d i e d.

And now I'm saying that I'm ready to repeat it?

That's just a cheap self-deception.

No matter how brave I am, I just can't make a move on their house at the right time.

Because then I will die. Again. And again...

And one more thing... How do I know there's no limit to my reincarnation?

Maybe this is my last attempt.

— ...

Nothing has started yet, and I'm already cornered.

A plan that forces me to die is unacceptable.

I must think of something else.

But nothing comes to mind.

...

...

I'm not going to die. But the information is still needed. Nothing has to change. Just... don't do anything risky.

That's all.

The plan remains the same.

We have to get Class Rep not to come home on the day of the murder.

That's a pretty weak plan. There's nothing stopping the Stalker from doing the deed on any other day.

But my brain can't come up with anything better right now.

I have to think it through in the background. Fortunately, there's plenty of time.

...Is it?

Part 5

To force Class Rep not to come home.

Since we were practically strangers, it wouldn't be easy.

I was expecting her to be as nonchalant as usual, but the reality was different.

She doesn't do anything. Too apathetic.

What the hell?

What changed since last time? WHAT CHANGED?!

Why? She's supposed to...

(I want to bang my head against the wall...)

...Does that mean I have to take the initiative?

Sounds... so-so.

I'm not too good at building relationships. In fact, I'm terrible. Absolute zero.

It's hard for me to even respond to people.

And this...

...

Well, the problem is quite serious.

And it arose not because of any murderers, but out of my own weakness.

How do conversations even begin? With a greeting?

It won't work. We've already said hello.

So...

Then...

What then? How long do I have to stand with my mouth open?

I sigh heavily.

I have no idea how to act in these situations.

...Should I just wait for her to speak?

How pathetic...

I thought I was so cool in my head, but in reality I'm a half-wit.

...

— ...

— ...

I almost had it! Why did I stop?!

I want to cry.

No matter how much you force yourself, as long as every cell of your body is resisting it, nothing worth will not come out.

I won't be able to speak first. My modus operandi is not designed for that.

I need something else.

Like... just observing.

Perhaps I'll find the reason for the Class Rep's suddenly changed behavior.

I might even find something to talk about.

Class Rep recently came back with a with a bag in her hand. It looks like she went to the store to buy some food.

And she eats. Yeah.

Slowly. Little by little. Drinking after each bite.

If the sight of food didn't make me sick, I'd call it cute.

...

Heck!

I'm doing some bullshit again!

Stupid. Really stupid.

I'm done...

I need to freshen up. Otherwise I'll die again.

Nervously rubbing my temples, I get up from my seat. Then I head for the exit.

Casting a quick glance in the direction of Class Rep.

She notices me. Then waves and smiles peacefully.

(Are you some kind of kuudere or something...?)

...No, there's definitely something wrong here.

...

.....

.....

.......

.......

Oww...

It hurts...

It stuns me for a second.

I was on the ground before I realized it.

Hmm?

It seems that I was thinking too deeply and didn't notice that I was walking at a pretty fast pace in a very crowded hallway.

It didn't lead to anything good. In the end, I bumped into someone.

Seconds later, my vision returned.

A girl sat a meter away from me, plopping down on her ass and rubbing her reddened forehead.

Loose blue hair of medium length, just below the shoulders. Big eyes with purple irises. A pretty face. I'm lying, it's beautiful. School uniform (really, jeez).

And, even if I can't calculate it with absolute accuracy in this position, it looks like she's quite tall.

And also... I don't know if it's worth mentioning, but...

Our school uniforms are quite boring and heavy. You could even say it's a little baggy. It's pretty hard to see anything through it.

And yet... the center of her charm was able to break through this pile of fabric.

It... this... centre... it's pretty big.

It's hard to notice in normal state, but when she's so close to me...

Are they pulling on D, or am I overdoing it? I have no idea. This stupid school uniform makes it difficult to determine more precisely.

In my opinion, they are even bigger than Class Rep's...

Since You have the strength to study other people's boobs with such enthusiasm, then You are capable of solving a murder case, aren't you?! — From somewhere in the depths of the subconscious came a deafening roar.

Kh... I'm working on it, okay? I'm working...

Why yell that...

Okay, forget it.

It's just... do I remember them being smaller?

Or was it just something I didn't pay attention to back then?

— Ko... Kouhai-kun? It's you, isn't it?

She's finally came to her senses.

In general, she woke up a long time ago, I was just too busy looking at her appearance.

Now she looks at me with an expression of either surprise or interest. Something in between.

She recognized me. Although we are actually strangers.

How can we characterize our relationship?

In short, she is a friend of my older sister, who now has to study at the university. In Tokyo, I think.

And while my sister is her friend, I'm not.

We only crossed paths occasionally in high school. And we learned information about each other from our sister. At least, it looks like this to me.

To better understand the level of our closeness, I can say this: I don't even know her name. She always just called me "Kouhai-kun", and demanded to call me the same.

For me, a stranger to people in principle, it didn't make much difference what to call them. I just didn't interact with them.

It's the same here. It doesn't matter at all whether I know her name or not. She's still a stranger.

— ...Sorry, I didn't notice. Yes, Senpai, it's me.

— Ho-oh-oh... Kohai-kun, didn't you get sleep wall? Already standing up, Senpai asked with a slight smirk.

— Yeah, a little. Nothing serious.

I don't think she needs to know more. There's no need to talk about your condition in vain.

But it seems that Senpai doesn't think so. The kind smile has not gone away, but the eyes have become slightly... suspicious? As if she realized I was lying.

— I ger it. But you're coming to the club, right? — I understood, but decided to keep silent.

...Wait, what?

— Club?

What club?

Do I look like a person joining clubs? Of course not.

Is there something I don't know about myself?

— Yeah, club.

— Em... club? – I don't think this help, but still I decide to ask again.

— Kouhai-kun really didn't get enough sleep, did he? Full sleep is the key to good health, you know.

— ...

She doesn't look like she's joking. If I continue to stand there without understanding, I'll arouse suspicion. Even if I really don't know.

Did I really manage to join a club?

Oh, I don't like all this.

— ...Yes, you're right. I will come. My head is not thinking straight today.

— That's great! Last semester you practically didn't come in, I even started to worry. It's a bit lonely out there without you...

Is that flirting?

— Em...

I don't even know what to say...

— ...Oh, yes! What classroom it is in? It all slipped my mind over the summer.

Phew... If I hadn't asked, the hell I would have found it. I don't even know where I came in.

Senpai was a little taken aback by this, but still told the exact location.

And she's really tall. Just a third of a head shorter than me.

...

Club...

What the hell is a club?

Where the hell did this come from?

Sorry, Class Rep, but priorities have changed. I have to deal with this nonsense.

But first I need to wait for the end of lessons.