“You… you remember too… right?”

  The wind passed between us.

  Cherry blossoms drifted across the empty courtyard like the world was pretending everything was normal.

  Like time itself wasn’t broken.

  I stared at Tsumugi Aiko.

  She stared back at me.

  Waiting.

  Scared.

  “…Yeah,” I said.

  Her shoulders dropped.

  Not in relief.

  In exhaustion.

  Like someone had just confirmed her worst fear.

  “…So it’s real…” she whispered.

  “Yeah. Unfortunately.”

  “…It’s not a dream…?”

  “If it is, it’s a really low-budget one. They keep reusing the same assets.”

  “…Eh?”

  “Nothing. Ignore me.”

  She hugged her school bag to her chest.

  For a while, neither of us spoke.

  It felt weird.

  Standing there after school, talking about time loops like it was homework.

  “…How many times?” I asked.

  “…Huh?”

  “How many times has today repeated for you?”

  She went quiet.

  Too quiet.

  Her fingers tightened around the paper.

  “…I don’t know anymore,” she said softly.

  “…What?”

  “I stopped counting after… twenty.”

  My brain froze.

  “…Twenty?”

  “I think it’s more than thirty now…”

  Thirty?

  I’d only experienced three.

  My stomach twisted.

  “Wait,” I said. “You’ve been stuck way longer than me?”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “…Y?Yes…”

  “…Since when?”

  “…Last month…”

  Last month.

  That meant she’d been repeating this one day for weeks.

  Alone.

  “…Why didn’t you tell anyone?” I asked before thinking.

  She gave me a small, sad smile.

  “…Who would believe me?”

  “…Fair.”

  If she told a teacher, they’d probably send her to the nurse.

  Or a psychiatrist.

  Or both.

  “…At first,” she continued, “I thought it was a dream too. But every time I slept… it just went back. Morning. Same date. Same everything.”

  Her voice trembled slightly.

  “…I tried changing things. Talking to different people. Going home early. Skipping school…”

  “…And?”

  “…Nothing worked. No matter what I do… the day resets at night.”

  So the reset wasn’t tied to the confession.

  It was tied to midnight.

  Or sleep.

  Or something bigger.

  “…But,” she said, clutching the paper tighter, “…I think I know the reason.”

  I already had a bad feeling.

  “…Suzuki?kun,” she whispered.

  Yeah.

  Of course.

  “…You’re trying to confess,” I said.

  Her face instantly turned red.

  “I?It’s not like that— I mean— it is— but—”

  “So it is.”

  “…Yes…”

  She nodded shyly.

  “…Every time I try to confess… something stops me. Something always interrupts.”

  Soccer ball.

  Friends.

  Teachers.

  Coincidences stacked perfectly like fate itself was trolling her.

  “…And when I fail,” she said, “…the day feels heavier. Like something’s wrong. Like the world is… rejecting me.”

  Rejecting her.

  That word bothered me.

  “…So you think the loop won’t stop until you confess successfully?” I asked.

  “…I think so.”

  “…That’s a pretty harsh game condition.”

  She gave a tiny laugh.

  “…Yeah…”

  Silence again.

  Then she looked up at me.

  “…Matsuda-kun… why do you remember?”

  “…No idea.”

  “…You’re the only one who noticed me acting strange.”

  “…Guess I’m just observant.”

  “…Or unlucky,” she said.

  “…Probably that.”

  We both laughed a little.

  It felt weirdly normal.

  Talking like this.

  Like we were just two friends complaining about homework.

  Not two idiots trapped in a broken timeline.

  ---

  “…Can I ask you something?” she said.

  “Depends. If it’s math, no.”

  “…W?Why are you helping me?”

  “Huh?”

  “You stopped Suzuki-kun earlier. You changed what usually happens.”

  Oh.

  That.

  “…I was testing something,” I said.

  “…Testing…?”

  “Science experiment. Turns out fate is weaker than a soccer ball.”

  “…I don’t understand…”

  “Me neither, honestly.”

  I scratched my head.

  Then sighed.

  “…But if you’re stuck repeating this day because of a confession…”

  “…Yes…”

  “…Then let’s just make it succeed.”

  She blinked.

  “…Eh?”

  “Simple, right? You confess. He says yes. Loop ends. We all go home. I finally get to Tuesday.”

  “…It’s not that easy…”

  “It never is. That’s why it’s annoying.”

  She stared at me.

  Like I’d just said something unbelievable.

  “…You’re… really calm about this,” she said.

  “I’m not calm. I’m tired.”

  “…Tired…?”

  “Yeah. If I’m going to be stuck in Monday hell, I at least want it to be productive.”

  “…So you’ll… help me?”

  Her voice was so small it almost disappeared.

  I shrugged.

  “Guess so.”

  For some reason…

  Her eyes started watering.

  “W?Wait— don’t cry— I didn’t say anything that nice—”

  “I’m not crying!” she snapped.

  Very unconvincing.

  “…It’s just… this is the first time I’m not alone.”

  …

  Yeah.

  That hit harder than expected.

  Thirty loops.

  By herself.

  Yeah.

  I’d cry too.

  “…Well,” I said awkwardly, “congratulations. You unlocked co?op mode.”

  “…C?Co?op…?”

  “Two players. Higher success rate.”

  She laughed.

  A soft, warm laugh.

  The first genuine one I’d heard from her.

  “…Thank you, Matsuda-kun.”

  “…Don’t mention it.”

  ---

  The sun dipped lower.

  Orange light stretched across the courtyard.

  “…So,” I said, “want to try today?”

  Her body stiffened.

  “The confession?”

  “Yeah. No point waiting for tomorrow. Tomorrow is illegal.”

  “…I…”

  Her hands shook.

  “…I’m scared.”

  “…Of rejection?”

  She hesitated.

  “…Of failing again.”

  …

  Yeah.

  That made sense.

  After thirty failures, I’d probably develop trauma too.

  “…Then let’s stack the odds,” I said.

  “…How?”

  “Strategy meeting.”

  “…Strategy…?”

  “We observe Yuto’s schedule. Find the safest timing. Minimal interruptions. Maximum success rate.”

  “…You sound very serious…”

  “I take Mondays personally.”

  She giggled.

  “…Okay.”

  ---

  We waited near the shoe lockers again.

  This time together.

  Like accomplices planning a crime.

  Yuto chatted with friends near the entrance.

  “…He usually leaves around now,” she whispered.

  “Then go.”

  “…Eh?!”

  “I’ll block distractions.”

  “…Y?You say that like it’s a boss fight…”

  “It basically is.”

  She took a deep breath.

  Clutched the letter.

  Walked toward him.

  Step.

  Step.

  Step.

  Each one looked heavier than the last.

  “…Suzuki?kun…”

  He turned.

  “Yeah?”

  “I— I wanted to—”

  My heart pounded.

  For some reason, I was nervous too.

  Come on.

  Just say it.

  Say it—

  RIIIIING.

  The loudspeaker exploded to life.

  “Attention students! Emergency club meeting—”

  You’ve got to be kidding me.

  Teachers flooded the hallway.

  Students rushed past.

  Chaos.

  Perfect interruption.

  Again.

  Yuto got dragged away by his team.

  “…Sorry! Later, okay?”

  And just like that—

  Opportunity gone.

  Aiko stood frozen.

  Paper trembling in her hands.

  “…Ah…”

  Her voice cracked.

  “…Not again…”

  The sky flickered.

  Just for a second.

  Like static on a screen.

  I felt it too.

  That same wrongness from before.

  Like reality itself was tired of repeating.

  “…Tomorrow,” she whispered weakly.

  I clenched my fists.

  Yeah.

  No.

  Screw that.

  I stepped beside her.

  “…Then we try again,” I said.

  “…Huh…?”

  “As many times as it takes.”

  She looked at me.

  Eyes red.

  “…Even if it takes a hundred Mondays?”

  I shrugged.

  “…Guess we’ll get pretty good at Mondays then.”

  For the first time since we met—

  She smiled.

  Not shy.

  Not forced.

  Just… warm.

  “…Okay,” she said.

  And somewhere deep down—

  I had the strange feeling

  this was going to hurt way more than I expected.