Chapter 4: Price of changing fate

"I've been thinking about it a lot these past few days. The safest way to save Yuka would be to stop her from heading that way. But that's the only path she take to get home," Hayato muttered, his mind heavy with the dilemma as he walked to school. "If I can't stop her, then I'll have to delay her somehow. And to do that, I need to talk to her." The plan was far from perfect, but it was the best he could come up with under the circumstances.

"However, there's a problem," Hayato thought, letting out a heavy sigh as his shoulders slumped under the weight of his failure. Three days had passed since he resolved to save Yuka, and unfortunately, today was the day—the day that incident was supposed to occur on her way home.

In those three days, despite finalizing his plan, he had failed miserably at the most crucial step: talking to Yuka. Every time he faced her, the words would get stuck in his throat, and a cold sweat would drench his back.

It was the bitter result of years spent avoiding social interaction. In his previous world, no one had cared to speak to him. Most people avoided him outright, or ran away when he tried. Eventually, he gave up on making friends altogether.

And now, he was paying the price. Talking to a stranger was nerve-wracking enough, but Yuka wasn't just any stranger. She was a beautiful girl—someone who could make any guy nervous under normal circumstances. Hayato had underestimated just how much his inexperience would affect him.

After his first failure, Hayato kept trying, but each attempt ended the same. No matter how many times he tried to talk to Yuka, the words never came out. He kept watching for any opportunity, hoping for a moment to speak with her, but things took a turn for the worse when some people started calling him Yuka's stalker behind his back.

But! Hayato didn't care. He had already grown immune to people whispering about him. The harsh words of those he doesn't care about had no power over him anymore. He'd been through worse, and nothing would stop him from doing what he wants.

He slapped both of his cheeks, as if trying to snap himself out of his hesitation. The sound echoed, startling a few people nearby. "Today will be fine, I've watched plenty of videos on we tube about 'how to talk to a girl' before bed."

Hayato entered the classroom and immediately spotted Yuka sitting alone at her desk, her attention fixed on the book in front of her. This was his chance. He exhaled slowly, trying to calm his nerves, before walking up to her and standing in front of her desk.

As he did, he could hear the quiet whispers of some students around him. "Here he goes again," they muttered, clearly gossiping about his every move.

The familiar nervousness crept in, but this time it felt different. For the first time, Hayato could feel himself gathering the courage to speak.

"T-Takahashi," he called, his voice shaky at first, but it was enough. He had done it. He had called her for the first time.

Yuka closed her book and looked up at him, or more accurately, glared. "Yes?" she asked, her brow furrowed in clear annoyance.

It was understandable. Hayato had appeared in front of her multiple times, only to say nothing. Of course, she'd be irritated by his persistence. The whispers of the other students only added fuel to the fire, making the situation even more uncomfortable for her.

Hayato was taken aback by her glare, his mind blanking for a moment. Beads of sweat quickly formed on his forehead as he desperately tried to recall what he was about to say. Then, in a panic, something blurted out of his mouth, something he hard on those we tube videos.

"cutie, wanna hit a cafe with me?!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening in horror the moment the words left his lips. "Wait, no! I mean—help me study after school!"

Laughter erupted across the classroom, echoing off the walls as Hayato stood there, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment, too mortified to move. Yuka remained silent, her glare deepening as she watched him squirm.

When the laughter finally started to die down, she spoke, her voice cold and unamused. "I reject both your requests." With that, she opened her book and focused on it again, as another round of laughter filled the room.

Hayato forced a smile, though only a single tear escaped from his left eye. 'Just kill me, this is too embarrassing', he thought as he made his way to his desk, and slumping into it. He was too embarrassed to even lift his gaze.

"Another failure, huh?" A voice came from his side, clearly directed at him. Hayato peeked at the source and, as he had expected, it was Misaki. She stood there with a look of sympathy on her face, as if she genuinely felt sorry for him.

"W-What?" Hayato stammered, not sure what she meant by that. his mind still reeling from the earlier embarrassment.

"Are you an idiot? I'm talking about your failure to get close to Yuka again," Misaki said with a teasing smile, her gaze flicking between Yuka and Hayato. "You really like her, don't you?" she added, clearly enjoying his discomfort.

"No! That's not it!" Hayato immediately protested, his face still flushed with embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah, as if anyone would believe that," Misaki shrugged with a smug grin.

Hayato gritted his teeth. He couldn't protest any further. Logically, his actions—and that slip of the tongue—could easily be interpreted that way.

"Anyway, the reason I came over here is..." Misaki bent slightly, her voice dropping to a whisper as she leaned closer to his ear. "If you need my help, I could help you."

Her warm breath tickled his ear, sending an involuntary shiver down his spine. He instinctively pulled back, his heart racing. He couldn't remember the last time a girl had been this close to him. In short, he was a total beginner when it came to girls—a "monster virgin," with absolutely no experience. The thought of even holding hands with a girl felt overwhelming for him.

He quickly covered his ear with his hand, his face red as he stared at Misaki for a moment. "W-Why would you help me? You probably don't even know my name," he asked, his confusion written all over his face. He couldn't understand why she was offering to help him, especially when they barely knew each other, afterall he doesn't know much about her.

Misaki grinned confidently, her expression shifting into a playful, cocky smile. "But I do know it. I know everyone's name in this class. Your name is Amane Hayato, right?" She leaned in slightly, her tone teasing. "And the reason I'm offering to help you is because I can see the genuineness behind every one of your actions towards Takahashi Yuka."

'But I don't like her romantically, I just want to save her', Hayato protested inwardly. Perhaps it was his genuine desire to protect Yuka that Misaki had picked up on.

Before Hayato could say anything anymore, a group of girls called out to Misaki.

"Sorry, my friends are calling. I have to go," Misaki said, giving Hayato a playful wink. "You can talk to me if you ever need my help." With that, she quickly dashed off towards her group.

Hayato glanced at the group of girls Misaki had called her "friends," his eyes narrowed as his sight landed on a particular girl in the group. She seemed pretty close to Misaki, this girl is also a beauty in their group, yet she is getting overshadowed by Misaki's beauty.

Soon, homeroom began, but as usual, Hayato wasn't paying attention. His mind was too preoccupied, racing to come up with new ideas. His first attempt had failed miserably, but he wasn't the type to give up so easily.

"E-Excuse me, Takahashi, do you want to eat lunch with me?" Hayato stammered, mustering every ounce of courage he had as he approached Yuka again after homeroom ended.

Still engrossed in her book, Yuka didn't even glance at him as she replied in a flat tone, "Eating alone is more efficient. I can finish my lunch quickly and use the extra time to study."

Another failure. Once again, Hayato became the source of entertainment for the class.

At the end of lunch break, Hayato nervously approached Yuka, his palms pressed together as if begging. "Please, Takahashi, can you explain the formula we learned in math class?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"I am really sorry, but I'm actually busy after school," Yuka replied, her tone still as flat as ever.

Another rejection, he slumped on his chair with a defeated smile. With this, Hayato realized that asking her like this wasn't going to get him anywhere. He needed to rethink his approach.

After the lunch break, Hayato didn't approach Yuka again. Instead, he waited quietly for school to end. As soon as the bell rang, he followed behind her at a safe distance. He knew the incident was going to happen at a turn on the shortcut she took home, so his plan was simple: delay her before she reached that turn. He just needed to find a way to keep her from getting there too quickly.

As Yuka separated from the crowd of students and took a different road, Hayato saw the perfect opportunity. He quickly called out to her, his voice a little shakier than he intended, "Wait! Takahashi!"

Yuka halted as soon as she heard his voice, a slight hint of irritation crossing her face. "What is it this time? Make it quick, I'm in a hurry," she said, her tone impatient as Hayato caught up to her.

Hayato bent over, supporting his hands on his knees, huffing as if he had just run a long distance and was exhausted. "Y-You... You dropped your handkerchief," he said, holding out a blue handkerchief with a cute dog's face on it.

Yuka alternated her gaze between the handkerchief and Hayato, her expression skeptical. After a brief moment, she opened her mouth and said flatly, "That's not mine."

Hayato's eyes widened in feigned surprise. "Are you sure?" he asked, holding the handkerchief out a little closer. "I picked it up near your desk. Perhaps you can take a closer look." He unfolded the handkerchief, showing it to her more clearly.

Yuka didn't even glance at the handkerchief. Her eyes were fixed on Hayato, her tone unwavering as she replied, "Yes, I'm sure."

Hayato sighed, a bit defeated. "Okay then, sorry to take your time. See you in school tomorrow," he said, stepping back and watching as Yuka turned to leave.

'This much should be enough time to prevent that incident,' Hayato thought, feeling a sense of relief, thinking he had successfully delayed Yuka. But just as he began to relax, Yuka halted in her steps. Without turning around, she said, "And one more thing, I don't know what your goal is, but can you please stop bothering me? I really want to focus on my studies and don't have time to waste on other things."

With that said, she continued walking away, leaving Hayato standing there, staring at her back as she disappeared into the distance.

"She sounded slightly angry. Well, I did annoy her quite a lot for the past few days," Hayato muttered to himself. "But with this, my job is done. I don't think we have to interact anymore for now."

With that, he also turned around and started walking away in the opposite direction of yuka.

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"That guy was really persistent for some reason, but hopefully, he won't bother me anymore," Yuka thought to herself, quickening her pace. She had to hurry home—she was supposed to help her parents at their family restaurant. Apparently, the number of customers had increased, but they didn't have enough part-timers to handle the rush. The delay caused by that guy made her even later than usual.

Yuka reached the near the end of the narrow street and the main road is just on the next turn, but then she noticed something unusual. A crowd had gathered around the turn.

"What's going on?" she thought, curiosity piquing as she walked closer. As she approached the crowd, she saw the source of the commotion—a large concrete pipe lay across the road, fully blocking the path. The pipe had even broken through the walls beside the road, creating a significant mess.

From the murmurs in the crowd, Yuka learned that the cable tying the concrete pipe to the crane had snapped, causing it to fall. Thankfully, no one had been caught beneath it.

"It could have been really dangerous," Yuka thought, felling a bit scared imagining what might have happened if the pipe had fallen on her. She felt a sense of relief mixed with a lingering unease, her heart racing at the close call.

But now that this road is blocked she have to take another road, She returned back and took a detour.

As Yuka hurried down the unfamiliar detour, her focus was entirely on getting home. She was unaware that this road, although quieter, was sometimes used by small trucks. Rounding a sharp corner, she was caught completely off guard. A truck came barreling toward her from the right, and in the split second it took for either the driver to react or Yuka to move, the collision was inevitable.

Yuka's body was violently thrown through the air. She landed with a sickening crash against the glass door of a nearby convenience store. The impact shattered the glass, sending jagged shards piercing into her skin, embedding themselves in her arms and legs.

The truck, unable to stop in time, skidded uncontrollably and smashed into a nearby electric pole. The pole snapped, falling with a loud crack, and it crashed directly onto a nearby house. Unfortunately, the section of the house struck was the kitchen, where a person was cooking at the stove. The force of the impact ruptured the gas lines, and as sparks flew from the broken electrical pole, they ignited the leaking gas...

Boom!

An explosion erupted, shaking the ground and engulfing that whole area in a fiery blast. The flames and smoke rose into the sky, an unforgiving aftermath of the chain of events.

A massive shockwave rippled through the air, shaking the very ground beneath Hayato's feet. He staggered, his body instinctively turning toward the source of the eruption. His eyes widened in absolute disbelief as a colossal pillar of flame shot into the sky, the explosion still reverberating in his mind.

"Wh-what the actual hell?" He whispered under his breath, his voice barely audible as his heart pounded erratically in his chest.

Thump!

The next moment, his heartbeat intensified, as if it were ready to burst from his chest. A sharp jolt of pain coursed through his body, and he stumbled, gasping for air. His vision blurred, and his limbs grew heavy.

"Ahh! Ugh!" His voice faltered as he collapsed to the ground. His body refused to obey his commands, and each breath became more laborious than the last. Panic rose within him, but the world around him was slipping away, the edges of his consciousness dimming.

People around him rushed over, their frantic voices filling his ears, but it felt like a distant echo. Hayato's world was shrinking, and the pain in his chest spread, tightening his lungs as he struggled to stay conscious.

But it was no use. The darkness took over, swallowing him whole.