2

Déjà Vu

Chapter 2: The Pieces Don't Fit

Denji starts testing it on the walk to the train station.

Small things at first.

He nudges Power before she can step on a crack in the pavement—just to see if she reacts differently. She does exactly what she did last time: yells about him daring to touch her, then tries to kick his shin.

He steps slightly ahead of Aki—just to see if Aki tells him to walk properly. Aki does, voice flat, irritated, like always.

The same. Everything is the same.

It shouldn't be possible.

Memories aren't supposed to be this exact. He's had déjà vu before, sure—moments where things feel familiar, like maybe he dreamt them once. But this? This is too much.

Denji feels like a puppet tied to invisible strings.

He slows his steps.

And just as he expects—Aki glances at him, frowning. "Why are you walking so slow?"

Denji shrugs, heart hammering. "Just tired."

Aki doesn't question it.

Denji clenches his fists.

He has to do something different.

If this is a loop—if this really is something unnatural—then maybe all he has to do is break the pattern.

So when they reach the train platform, Denji turns, forcing an easy grin.

"Hey, Power."

She blinks at him. "What?"

"You ever thought about jumping onto the tracks for fun?"

Aki freezes. Power cackles. "HUH?! You tryin' to get me killed, fool?!"

"Just askin'."

Aki glares at him. "Stop being stupid."

Power shoves him. "You should do it, dumbass!"

The reaction is off.

It's different.

Denji watches them carefully, waiting for the shift, waiting for reality to fix itself.

But nothing changes.

No rewind. No reset.

Denji exhales, hands shaky. It worked.

That means he's right. That means this isn't just in his head.

That means—

The train arrives.

Denji steps inside.

—that means he has a chance to break it.

It gets worse.

Now that he knows, he can't stop seeing it.

Every moment unfolds like a scene in a movie he's watched too many times.

Himeno enters the train. Smiles. Sits in the same seat. Says the same thing.

Denji counts the seconds before she speaks.

Five.

Four.

Three.

"Yo," Himeno greets.

Denji grips his knee.

The moment is playing out exactly as before, but it feels…thin. Like a piece of paper stretched too tight.

He wonders what would happen if he ripped it.

By the time they reach their mission site, Denji is fighting off a headache.

The loop is still holding. But the edges of it feel brittle, like they might crack if he pushes the wrong way.

Or the right way.

He just has to figure out how.

Aki glances at him. "You ready?"

Denji swallows.

He remembers how Aki died last time.

If this really is a loop, then—

He can stop it.

He looks at Aki and Power and Himeno.

For the first time since this all started, he feels it.

The weight.

Because if he messes up, if he can't change things—

He'll have to watch them die. Again.

Denji breathes in.

Then out.

And steps forward.

This time, he's going to win.