A large beam of light shot across the sky.
Kaito stood frozen, staring at it in disbelief. The light was so bright it felt like it was pulling him in. But before he could react, everything around him turned white.
When he opened his eyes, he was back in his bed. The room felt strangely familiar, but something wasn't quite right. He blinked and rubbed his eyes.
A soft voice broke through his haze.
"Kaito! It's morning!"
Date: November 6
Kaito turned to see a girl standing next to his bed. Her bright smile made him squint in the morning light.
"Yumi?" Kaito mumbled, still groggy.
"Yeah, it's me!" Yumi grinned. "Come on, Mom's calling you for breakfast. Get up!"
"Okay, okay..." Kaito groaned, still half-asleep.
But as he tried to sit up, a sharp pain pierced through his head. He winced, clutching his forehead. A flood of memories rushed in — unfamiliar flashes of a life he didn't fully understand. The name Aiko floated to the surface.
"Aiko...?" he whispered, confused.
Yumi looked at him with a furrowed brow.
"Huh? Who's Aiko?"
"My sister..." Kaito said quietly, his chest tightening as the memory of her grew distant.
Yumi's face softened, sadness flickering in her eyes.
"Oh… Where is she now?"
"She's gone," Kaito replied, his voice heavy.
Yumi's expression changed to one of sympathy.
"I'm so sorry, Kaito..."
He nodded, forcing a faint smile. "It's okay... I'm okay."
After a brief pause, Yumi patted his shoulder and stood up.
"Come on, breakfast is ready."
Kaito nodded, though his thoughts were far from the usual morning routine.
He got out of bed, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and dressed. Downstairs, the kitchen was bustling with activity — his second family chatting and laughing over breakfast. Despite the normalcy of it all, Kaito couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Something felt… out of place.
After finishing his breakfast, Kaito grabbed his bag and left for school. The streets were familiar, the world outside felt normal, but there was an unsettling feeling gnawing at him.
[Later...]
Kaito woke up with a sudden jolt.
He sat up in bed, disoriented, his heart racing. He glanced around. The room was the same, but everything felt off. It was too quiet.
"Huh?" Kaito muttered, rubbing his eyes.
He looked at the clock on his nightstand — but then his phone, too. The date was…
November 5.
His breath caught in his throat.
"What...? No, this can't be..."
He scrambled to sit up.
Hadn't it just been November 6? He distinctly remembered the date earlier in the day.
His heart began to pound faster.
"Kaito?"
A familiar voice echoed in the hallway.
It was Yumi, calling to him.
He froze.
"Yumi? What's happening?!"
But before he could get an answer, he felt the sharp pain in his head again — just like before. The memories from earlier rushed back:
Waking up in bed, meeting Yumi, eating breakfast... But now it was all wrong.
As the pain grew sharper, a soft whisper floated into his mind.
> "This is not real."
Kaito shot up in bed, his eyes wide.
"What do you mean 'not real'?" he demanded, spinning around, searching the empty room.
No one was there.
The whisper had vanished.
But the words echoed in his mind.
This is not real.
Kaito clutched his head, trying to make sense of it all.
Was he… dreaming? Was this a trick? How had time reversed?
Confusion spiraled in his mind. He checked the date again, half-expecting it to change.
November 5.
Again.
His mind was reeling.
He had reversed time. But why? And how?
He threw his legs over the side of the bed, breathing heavily.
"This doesn't make sense…"
Kaito stood, pacing the room.
He had to figure this out.
What was going on? Was it some kind of curse? A memory trick? Was there a deeper force at play?
Just then, Yumi's voice echoed again from downstairs.
"Kaito, breakfast is ready!"
Kaito stood frozen for a moment, then shook his head.
If he was going to figure this out, he needed to get moving.
He quickly grabbed his clothes and got dressed.
Something wasn't right.
Kaito finished his breakfast quickly, feeling restless for some reason.
He grabbed his bag and stepped outside, unsure why his chest felt so tight.
The moment he crossed the doorstep
A sudden flash of blinding light swallowed everything.
Kaito flinched, throwing his arms up.
When he opened his eyes again...
He found himself lying in his bed.
He gasped for air, sitting upright instantly.
His phone buzzed next to him.
He grabbed it with shaking hands and checked the date.
November 4.
"What...?" Kaito muttered.
He stared at the screen like it had betrayed him.
"Wasn't it just November 6...?!"
His heart hammered against his ribs.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
"Am I dreaming?" he whispered.
"No... This feels too real..."
He looked around the room — everything seemed normal.
But it wasn't.
Something was very, very wrong.
[Later...]
Determined not to trigger whatever just happened, Kaito decided to stay indoors this time.
He sat on the edge of his bed, anxiously glancing at the clock every few minutes.
Hours crawled by like days.
Maybe if I just stay put, nothing weird will happen, he thought.
His body grew heavy.
Sleep tried to pull him under.
Kaito fought it at first — splashing cold water on his face, pacing the floor, even pinching himself until his arms turned red.
But eventually, his eyelids dropped shut.
[When he wakes up...]
The morning light filtered through the curtains.
His heart sank before he even checked his phone.
He knew something had happened again.
Date:
November 3.
Kaito stared blankly at the screen, his hands cold.
His mouth felt dry.
"This can't be happening," he said under his breath.
"This doesn't make any damn sense!"
He tried harder this time.
He stayed awake.
He refused to sleep.
He did nothing suspicious.
He didn't go outside.
He barely even moved.
But it still happened.
The world bent again — the strange ripple swallowing the air — and Kaito opened his eyes to a new morning.
Date:
November 2.
[Later...]
He sat motionless on his bed, every nerve in his body screaming.
His mind raced, desperately trying to find an explanation.
No matter what I do... the day reverses...
Even if I stay awake, even if I do nothing...
He gritted his teeth.
There was no way to escape it.
No way to break the cycle.
A sudden coldness filled the room.
It wasn't the wind.
It was something else.
And then
A voice whispered right beside his ear:
> "Can't escape?"
Kaito jumped to his feet, spinning around.
"Who are you?!" he yelled into the empty room.
"Show yourself!"
But there was no one.
The voice had already vanished.
Breathing hard, Kaito clenched his fists.
It was like someone was mocking him — pulling his strings like he was a puppet.
His chest tightened with frustration and anger.
"Is this a joke to you?!" he shouted again, the walls silently absorbing his cries.
But deep down, something inside him stirred:
He knew
He had to find a way out.
Before time ran out completely.