That pole was still broken. That pole had fallen on me—just a few hours ago. Before this, whenever I died, I would go back twelve hours, but now… now it's only a few hours. That means the amount of time I rewind after dying is decreasing. I don't know when it will happen or how far back I'll go. And that pole… this time, it might not fall on me—it could fall on someone else.
Mitsuha came up to me and kicked the table hard. I flinched, and when I looked up, I saw her—red with anger."What are you lost in? Can't you hear me? Our turn is about to come. Hurry up!" she said sharply.
I stood up and ran toward the ground. Mitsuha was left in shock.
"He ran off!? How can you just run like that? Come back! I won't let you go, Kazuma!" she kept shouting, but I had already reached the ground. I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Listen to me! The basketball pole is broken! Everyone look—this pole can fall at any moment! Get away from there!"
My voice spread across the entire ground. Panic. Chaos. People started running everywhere."What? How is that possible?""Is it true?"
Just then, Ichiro came up to me with a confused expression. "Hey Kazuma, what are you talking about?"
I spoke quickly. "Ichiro, there's a crack in the basketball pole! It could fall on any of us! Hurry and tell the person in charge!" Ichiro stared at me for a second, then nodded seriously and ran off. From the classroom window, Mitsuha was watching everything, her eyes narrowed."What is he doing?" she whispered to herself.
After some time, things calmed down. The ground became busy as the maintenance team arrived to check the pole. Ichiro and I sat on a bench, finally relaxed. Ichiro said in a tired voice, "Man, Kazuma, today you really saved all our lives. You know what? The principal is tearing the in-charge apart right now.
'Because of you, there could've been an accident today! You idiot, I'll fire you! How did you ignore the ground's maintenance?' Haha, gosh! …But because of this, our match got canceled. Damn it."
I was shocked. "What? They canceled the match? How can they do that?" Ichiro raised an eyebrow. "But how did you know the pole was about to fall?" I panicked and quickly changed the topic. "Forget that. Tell me— is there a second exit here that not many people use?" Ichiro looked confused.
"There is… but why are you asking?"
Before I could answer, an angry Mitsuha came running toward me with her bag, grabbed my hand, and dragged me away.
"Hey! Ah—Mitsuha, let go of my hand! What are you doing!?"
She snapped, "What am I doing? What are you doing, Kazuma!? Sometimes you're sleeping in class, sometimes you're causing a scene on the ground, and now you're sitting here chatting? Did you forget why you came here? Shize is already suspicious about how careless your 'boyfriend' is!" She glared at me.
"If anyone finds out that we're pretending and we lose this competition, you're dead by my hands! Now listen to me like a loyal dog and come with me. The couple race is about to start."
I was stunned. "What? Couple race?" Mitsuha shut me up. "Yes. Now come quietly." We went to the race ground, and that's when I realized this wasn't an ordinary race. The in-charge turned on the mic and explained the rules.
"Hello, hello! Okay, all partners—listen carefully. The rule is that you and your partner will be tied together, and you must run to the finish line."
"But… there's a twist."
He paused dramatically. "Not only your legs, but your hands will also be tied—using handcuffs. The key is in one of the boxes at the finish line. You won't win unless you unlock yourselves. Even if you reach the finish line, it won't count unless both hands and legs are freed."
I was in shock. What? Legs were fine, but hands too? I looked down—my hand was handcuffed to Mitsuha's. Beside us were Shize and her partner, Saito. Shize made a silly face and said, "Hey Mitsuha, your boyfriend finally showed up! I thought he ran away out of fear. Hahaha!"
Mitsuha clicked her tongue. "This monkey is your boyfriend? Keep an eye on him, or he might fall. Who knows, maybe next time he won't even be able to participate."
Saito got scared by Mitsuha's words. She glared at him. Then the in-charge announced, "All couples, get ready! The race starts on three. Three… two… one… GO!"
The gun fired, and everyone started running—or rather, struggling to move, since their hands and legs were tied. Mitsuha spoke calmly, calculating. "Listen, Kazuma. This isn't as hard as it looks. If we match our movements, we'll reach first and have more time to find the key. I'll say 'left, right.' Match your steps with me."
"Okay, I get it!" I replied. We moved together and quickly took the lead. Other couples kept losing balance and falling. Shize and her boyfriend were in second place. Saito said, "They're getting ahead of us! And these handcuffs are tight—my hand hurts." Shize smiled. "They're ahead, but they'll only win if they find the key. Walk properly. If I fall, you'll regret it."
We were far ahead. Others kept falling. I was drenched in sweat. "Mitsuha, Shize is right behind us!""Just a little more—we're there!" she said. We sped up and reached the finish line. "Hurry!" she said. The box was full of keys. She searched for the handcuff key; I searched for the leg key. We tried several, none worked. Then I found the correct one and unlocked the legs.
"Got it! I unlocked the legs! Mitsuha, hurry—they're coming!"
None of her keys worked.
By then, Shize arrived. Laughing, she said, "Ooh? What happened? Can't find the key? Check carefully." She searched the box too. After a couple of wrong tries, they unlocked both hands and legs. They won. The in-charge shouted, "And first place goes to Shize and Saito! Race completed!"
Others arrived one by one. Mitsuha was furious. She walked up to Shize. "Tell me the truth—you stole the key from the box, didn't you?" Shize smirked. "What nonsense." She leaned close. "Jealous because you lost?"
Mitsuha turned red with rage. "You—!" She grabbed the box and slammed it into Shize's head.
Shize collapsed unconscious. A crowd gathered instantly. I shouted, "What… what did you do!?" Mitsuha replied coldly, "She talked too much. I lost my patience. You'll remember this day forever."
My situation got worse. I thought, Why is this happening? By evening, I have to find that homeless boy, but this turned into a huge mess. If I don't escape now, I won't find him. I have to leave. And this Mitsuha… for some reason, I can't get away. But enough. I'm running. Except my hand is still locked to hers. Damn it.
No matter what, I have to leave—even if I drag Mitsuha with me. I whispered, "Sorry, Mitsuha. This might hurt.""What do you mean?" she asked.
I ran. Her arm was yanked. "Ah! What are you doing!?" she screamed.
"I'm getting out of here!" Everyone stared. The in-charge shouted angrily, "Where are you running!? Catch them! Don't let them escape!"
I ran through the crowd with Mitsuha—toward solving Arisa's mystery. Our hands were still handcuffed. Mitsuha was screaming. The crowd was in chaos. But I didn't stop.
This time… I need answers. No matter what it takes.