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Minutes crawled by slowly for Rinji, as if time itself had decided to freeze in a moment of chaos. He sat in his desk in class, his eyes wandering out the window, where the last rays of sunlight broke through the sky in faint orange hues. The bell marking the end of the school day rang, but it was nothing more than another reminder of the monotonous routine that never seemed to end—a routine that had turned everything around him into a hazy fog, devoid of meaning.
Had I really been here all day? he wondered to himself, sensing the same alienation he had felt for days. He wasn't lonely, even though there were many faces around him. No, he felt like an invisible barrier separated him from everyone else. His day, it seemed, had no path or purpose.
It's strange when one realizes that life has become a series of repetitive events with no new meaning. Am I really even alive? thought Rinji, tracing his finger slowly across the desk's surface, as if searching for something hidden between its wooden lines.
Across the room, his classmates had gathered in groups, chatting among themselves. Haruto, his friend who had always been his opposite, was engrossed in his usual conversation with Miyuki, the girl surrounded by an aura of kindness and understanding. She always smiled and shared her thoughts on everything, even if it was about the latest films or games. But Rinji no longer had the ability to engage in these superficial conversations. He had a deep feeling that all the words exchanged in those crowd-filled discussions were merely distractions from the emptiness they all felt.
His gaze drifted through the room until it landed on Kazuki, the student who always seemed to fill the space with sound. Kazuki was an interesting character—there was no denying that. He had a strong presence, and every word he spoke seemed like an announcement to the world. He constantly talked about the latest games he had discovered, as if his voice was the only thing that mattered.
But in that moment, something strange crept into Rinji's mind, an unexpected thought. What if I could make him quiet? It was an idle thought, with no real meaning behind it, yet it felt strangely powerful. There was something heavy about it, something pregnant with untapped potential.
Then, as if it was merely an instinctive reaction, something happened that Rinji could not have anticipated. Kazuki suddenly stopped speaking, his face paling, his eyes widening as if he saw something invisible to everyone else. He looked around, as though the world had suddenly become incomprehensible.
"Uhm... Rinji?" Kazuki asked, his voice hesitant, his face still locked in a state of shock. The words seemed to come with difficulty. "I didn't mean to disturb anyone. I'm sorry."
Rinji sat there, still, unable to grasp what had just transpired. He hadn't said anything, hadn't made any move to indicate that he had done anything. Yet Kazuki was acting as though something had stripped him of the ability to breathe. His apology was full of confusion, as if the person speaking wasn't himself anymore.
Kazuki's words faded into the air, while Rinji struggled to understand what had just happened. Everything seemed normal. He hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. And yet, the atmosphere in the room had shifted, like some unseen energy had gathered around him, making everyone feel something strange.
Haruto eyed him warily from across the room, sensing that something unusual was happening, but unable to pinpoint the cause. He leaned in, whispering in a low voice. "Are you okay, Rinji?"
Rinji didn't respond immediately. His mind was caught in a swirl of questions with no answers. After a long pause, he finally spoke, his voice quiet, attempting to steady himself. "Yeah. I'm fine."
But there was one thought that kept circling in his mind, one that he couldn't push away. Is this... is this my reality? What had happened just now? How had he not noticed what he had done? It felt as if something had changed in his world, but he couldn't grasp what it was.
That evening, Rinji sat in his room, surrounded by the oppressive silence that seemed to smother everything around him. The soft light from the moon filtered in through the window, filling the room with faint shadows, but his thoughts were far from calm. There was something lingering in his mind, something he couldn't shake. Is this just a coincidence? Or have I discovered something that no one else has?
On his desk, his phone lit up from time to time with notifications from Haruto and Miyuki, but he couldn't bring himself to check the screen. The messages no longer held any value for him. His mind was consumed by something else—something deeper than any conversation or distraction could reach.
As he stared at the wall, he felt a strange sensation creep into his thoughts, like an invisible presence. There's something inside me, something I don't know how to control yet. He knew that what he had felt was beyond mere idle thinking. That power he had sensed earlier was stronger than he imagined—much stronger. It was as if it had been waiting for him, just on the edge of exploding.
---
The next day, Rinji returned to class with a deep sense of anticipation. Despite his efforts to ignore what had happened the day before, everything around him now felt different. The classroom buzzed with life, words, and conversations, but Rinji felt as though something invisible had slipped between the walls. He could sense the energy in every corner, every glance, every spoken word.
When he entered the room, he noticed that his classmates were looking at him differently. Kazuki, sitting in his usual spot, tried to act normal, but his eyes were fixed on Rinji, filled with apprehension. Even Miyuki, who usually sat behind him, was staring at him more intently than usual.
After a long pause, she whispered quietly, "Rinji... You know what's going on, don't you?"
Rinji turned toward her, finding himself struggling to find the words. But the silence between them answered her question. He couldn't explain what he had felt, or how everything around him had begun to shift.
Then, just as before, something unexpected occurred. Kazuki, who had always been so confident, turned to speak, but before he could open his mouth, he froze. His face contorted with sudden anxiety, his features shifting in real time.
Rinji felt something stir within him again. He didn't need to do anything. But... he could feel control, as if something deep within him was responding to every detail of the room.
Miyuki, watching the scene unfold, whispered softly, "Rinji... You know what's happening, don't you?"
Rinji replied in a quiet voice, "Yes. I know."