Interlude 1-03: Shijo Maki Wants a Serious Conversation
In the end, despite their best efforts, the security guards were utterly unable to catch up with Takakai. They could only watch helplessly as he leaped three meters into the air, vaulted over the school fence, and quickly disappeared into the residential area.
With agility far beyond human limits and extraordinary reflexes, escaping from the guards was child's play for Takakai, unless he was completely surrounded.
Compared to dodging bizarre entities in the Shirakawa apartment, this escape even felt somewhat relaxing. Of course, during his escape, he was careful to wear a mask and hat for disguise and avoided most surveillance cameras.
Even so, as he fled from Shuchiin and used the residential area to lose the guards, Takakai noticed a shadowy figure tailing him.
The pursuer's physical capabilities were exceedingly strong, beyond what an ordinary human could achieve, giving Takakai the impression of facing a character straight out of a 2D world or a gamer who had just received a massive buff after clearing a stage. However, even so, their speed couldn't compare to Takakai's, who had one foot firmly in the realm of the superhuman. Before long, he managed to shake off the pursuer.
"Phew, that's done. Time to head home," Takakai muttered as he navigated past traffic cameras on his way back. Changing his clothes and lying comfortably on his bed, he closed his eyes and slept soundly until late afternoon.
Sitting up on his bed, he felt the tension accumulated from the Shirakawa apartment had completely dissipated. Takakai let out a sigh of relief and glanced at the watch on his wrist.
The clock hands pointed firmly at 2.
Ten resets remaining.
After destroying the core of the horror story in the Shirakawa apartment, causing the entire building to collapse and disappear, the watch had absorbed everything generated from the core, converting it into energy to restore one revival attempt.
In other words, to recover revival chances, Takakai needed to destroy the core of horror stories, resolving the central obsession of each tale. Only then could the watch activate to absorb the manifestations, thus increasing the number of revivals.
It didn't sound easy at all.
But at this point, there was no other choice but to take it step by step.
Takakai recalled the sensation when the watch activated its ability. At that moment, it felt as though he was influenced by something. The emotions in that instance, the words he spoke, the actions he took—they didn't seem to truly originate from his own will. It was as if something else had borrowed his body to carry everything out.
"…Do you actually have a consciousness of your own?"
Takakai couldn't help but look at the black watch on his left wrist and ask.
There was no response.
Of course not.
Even so, Takakai increasingly suspected that some form of consciousness resided within the mysterious watch.
He had yearned for a fresh start, and as a result, he obtained the power to turn back time.
He wanted to utterly defeat two veteran players, refusing to let those he cared about forget him, and thus gained the ability to reclaim Obsession and bring others back in time with him.
Then, at the moment of escaping Shirakawa, his watch gained the ability to absorb the manifestations spawned from horror stories.
Everything seemed perfect.
Far too perfect.
But why?
Takakai didn't think this was merely a "deus ex machina" scenario.
From the moment the watch activated, he had known that eventually, he would have to pay a price for this power. When the clock hands returned to zero, when he exhausted all twelve chances given to him, he would face a steep cost, forever trapped in the city of death. Although he didn't yet know what awaited him in that city, Takakai was certain it wasn't anything good.
What are you, really?
As Takakai pondered, he recalled the small box he had picked up in the tiny house.
When he woke up, the box was gone.
Along with it was a note that had been on the box:
[Don't let anyone know where you're from.]
The words on the note were still so vivid they sent chills down his spine.
Ah, it really felt like he was caught up in some sort of conspiracy.
Could it be Aizen pulling strings behind the scenes?
Takakai scratched his head in frustration.
Moreover, this Sacrifice Game offered no guidance for newcomers. To this day, he still didn't understand the distinctions between levels like Dusk, Dark Night, and Red Moon. Were there basic rules players had summarized? The three players he encountered in Shirakawa—Old Guo and Fake-Maeda—were completely unhinged, incapable of communication, and could only be eliminated. As for Green... well, his reactions always made Takakai suspect he had just lucked into hitching a ride with a "big boss" to clear the stage, without understanding anything about the Sacrifice Game.
There had to be a gathering place for players.
There had to be a way to find other players and exchange information.
Not to mention Old Guo and Fake-Maeda—they had both headed straight for the Shirakawa complex. It was clear they had prior knowledge. They must have obtained that information somewhere. Furthermore, the system announcement had mentioned the ability to trade entry tickets, which strongly implied the existence of a marketplace-like environment for players.
Speaking of which, why didn't he receive an entry ticket after completing the game? Was it because he destroyed the entire map?
His thoughts spun endlessly.
Finally deciding to get out of bed, Takakai aimed to search online for any potential leads. He picked up the phone he had found in the house—presumably belonging to the "Takakai" who lived there before. Upon turning on the screen, he saw several missed calls.
Whose number was this?
He returned the call. Almost immediately, the other side picked up. A woman's voice, trembling with restrained anger, came through the line:
"Kai-kun, do you have any idea how painful it was for me to wait this long?"
Even though he couldn't see her face, Takakai could feel the fury radiating from her.
"Ah, Maki?"
Only then did Takakai remember. Before escaping from Shuchiin, while holding Maki and preparing to flee, he had whispered his phone number—this phone's number—into her ear.
As it turned out, after returning home, Takakai was so exhausted he didn't take her calls right away. In fact, he only just discovered the phone had been on silent mode all along, something he hadn't noticed before. Wasn't it the Japanese phones not to have silent mode? Or was this phone a special version?
"Sorry, I was so tired when I got home that I fell asleep," he apologized immediately, his thoughts racing but his tone genuinely contrite.
"Oh, so I wasn't tired?" she shot back. "After running away from that cursed place, I still had to go to school all day. Do you have any idea what kind of rumors are spreading about me at school now? They're saying I was deceived by some scoundrel from outside the school, tarnishing the reputation of an innocent girl—all because of your hug. Broad daylight, a strange man, filthy and covered in torn clothes, hugging me tightly. Do you know how much trouble you've caused me?"
Her voice grew louder, like an enraged lioness roaring through the phone.
Takakai was seriously considering whether he should record a video apology while kneeling, but after her tirade, her tone abruptly softened.
"In short, don't sneak into the school again. If you must come, at least dress properly and present yourself decently. Don't pull a stunt like today—sneaking into the school and taking a teacher's belongings. When living in the real world, you need to be mindful of appearances."
"The Obsessions you gave me, I've kept them carefully. They can still be used in the real world, but I'm worried they might get out of control. So tomorrow, we need to meet up to transfer those items back to you—the person who can use the black watch to reclaim them. I've also contacted oba-sama; she can mobilize some assistants to trace other players' whereabouts. Don't go searching for them yourself—you might end up being tracked in return."
"Old Guo and the woman pretending to be Maeda Miwa gave me a terrible feeling. Maybe the player community isn't united; it might even be in a predatory, cannibalistic state. Even though we're new players and seem to have grown stronger, if someone takes an interest in us secretly, it won't be a good thing."
"Besides, I've noticed my body has become much stronger. My strength, speed, and control over my body are all vastly different from before. That strange voice during the Sacrifice Game said I received an A rank. Then I heard a little girl say goodbye to me, and after that, I realized I could sense the goodwill or malice of people around me. As long as someone stands in front of me, I can instinctively tell whether they'll treat me well. Although my judgment is still vague, I think it might be a blessing from that little girl."
"You have this power too, don't you? Anyway, be careful. Our increased strength needs some time to control. This afternoon, in class, I accidentally broke the doorknob. Hey, are you listening? Why aren't you saying anything?"
It was clear that Shijo Maki had a lot she wanted to say to Takakai. She kept talking without pause until she noticed the lack of response on the other end, at which point she sounded displeased and began to grumble.
"I'm listening. We're meeting tomorrow, right? When? Morning or afternoon? Around what time?"
Takakai spoke up immediately, his tone focused and enthusiastic.
"You only picked up on the part about meeting up tomorrow after I just said so much?! Ugh, I don't even know what to say to you anymore. Today, because of you, I became the center of attention at school. My dad even called to ask if I was dating a stranger. All of it—your fault."
The girl's voice now carried a hint of resentment.
"You can tell your dad I'm not a stranger," Takakai suggested after a moment of thought.
"You think leaving it vague like that will make me agree we're dating?! Baka! How can anyone start dating after just four days? This... this sort of thing needs to be approached carefully. You—stop rushing all the time, can't you… can't you give me a little time to think? My head's still a mess; I can't even process this right now…"
From anger to embarrassment to hesitation and uncertainty—all of it unfolded in less than ten seconds.
Takakai wasn't sure whether she was doing this on purpose or if it was just her nature. He could only sigh and think to himself that anime girls were truly skilled at making everything more dramatic.
"I get it. I'm sorry. Maybe I was a bit too hasty. Anyway, it's great that we both made it out safely. That's something to celebrate. I'm really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, Maki."
His words brimmed with undisguised cheerfulness, his smile growing wider.
"Ugh… stop saying weird things. Just—don't show up looking ridiculous tomorrow!"
Click.
In the end, she hung up abruptly, wrapping up the call in a casual manner.
Takakai set the phone down and sat in the chair at the study desk near his bedroom. He sat quietly for a long moment before clenching his fist, giving it a small shake, and muttering softly:"That's great."
No matter what situations he might face next, Takakai felt ready to confront them. Whether it was a twisted, rule-riddled horror story, adorable girls, or even falling in love. Of course, gathering information and understanding his own circumstances were crucial, but ideally, neither should interfere with the other.
With that thought, Takakai turned to look out the window, then glanced at his phone.
He paused for a moment, then looked back at the window.
And there, pressed against the glass, was the pale face of a woman.
They locked eyes for a moment.
Takakai: ????