Again An Oddity

{Please don't read if you are easily offended. This Chapter [4] contains crime, violence, etc.}

"I left after the commotion I created in class, out here in this park waiting for a certain someone. It took less than 20 minutes for the person's arrival, and the face I wanted to see the most, Haibane Shana (the woman's name), appeared. I came to know her name while the teacher roll-called in our class and marked her absent. I was stupid enough to never ask her name during those loops, my time-loop girl.

"Oh, you're in your school uniform. That's weird, I don't think they will let you enter at this time," I said, making a smug look with my warm welcome. I never thought we would get in touch with each other after all that. She must be brave enough to come.

"Isn't that the same for you? You left school midway to meet me," she said, sweeping her hair and showing no sign of emotion on her face to my words, simply mumbling. After the loop, the drastic change in her personality could be seen, and well, it was obvious that I gained self-awareness of my own changes too. I became short tempered.

"By the way, how did you get my number? I was surprised when I got the unexpected call."

"You really are stupid, Shiou. During that loop, I had to memorize your number, trying to change the fate of the accident and trying to save you in different ways."

Yes, she used to get recollections of memories after reaching the road, as for me, a phantom creep crawled over my body, somehow knowing what could happen—déjà vu. It was easier for her to keep tracks and memorize my number as unlike me she had complete recollection, whenever she reached the tragic path, which is the road.

"Kisahara Shiou, let's get straight to the point. I tailed a certain someone from our class, and it was something abnormal," she continued, focusing on her main topic.

"Abnormal in which way?" I tilted my head in confusion, even though I understood it's probably something related to the loop or an anomaly.

But isn't that too soon. Are we in loop again? 

She didn't answer and told me to follow her instead. I followed her up, and we ended up near the school gate. We didn't speak to each other and in fact, it felt like just another day. The loop was ended, but it felt like there was no way to return to normal life. We had lost ourselves. She pointed out a tree that was growing closely to the wall, a hint to climb up and trespass, jumping over the wall to school as the gatekeeper would waste our time with his scolding if we got caught. Despite her fragile-looking, light body, she was the first one to climb and leap without any problem. I did the same too. Silently, we headed towards our class, and by the time we reached near the class, the class was still going on, and we were just standing outside the door. Without any hesitation, she slammed the door open, and everyone's glare fell on us. She paid no attention to the teacher's reaction and pointed out a fellow student.

"H-huh?"

The student looked baffled at our sudden entrance, and without speaking, she pointed her finger at him as if he had committed some kind of crime.

"Kisahara, do something about it."

"What the hell? What do you want me to do about him?"

There is no way I could know what he did or the reason without her telling me about it. Looking towards my confusion, she clicked her tongue in disappointment and spoke again.

"Can't you see this guy properly? Look at him closely, dumbass." She sounded pissed but in a monotone voice, with no sign of feelings towards it as if she was a malfunctioned cyborg who can't express feelings through expressions.

"W-what are you guys doing? We are in the middle of a class. Stop messing around!" The teacher got boiled and started ranting, but she paid no attention to him, and I played along with her.

I tried to look closely, but nothing strange I could see. He is the same classmate I have known, though I never interacted with anyone, so I don't have any memories of him. I tried checking up his uniform, hair, eyes, but nothing wrong it felt. Is Kisahara joking with me? Or had the loops really made her go insane, making her go delusional? We already managed to pull the attention of the whole class towards us, and before I even got into a fight, though the teachers said nothing to me, this time we might get suspended for a stupid reason like this.

"Time loo—I mean, Shana, you should go take some rest. I found nothing extraordinary about him though?"

"Are you retarded? Can't you notice his beard? How can you keep pretending it's normal?"

I looked at his face again, and this time, I could clearly see the anomaly. This dude had a beard. He is no way a young, healthy student like us. What just happened was beyond my understanding, but after she told me to notice this guy's beard, it was nothing like a common student. The classmate changed his appearance to an uncle, a complete old man.

"O-old man..." I muttered with wide eyes in shock.

Slam, and the man dashed away from the class as soon as I mumbled what I saw with my eyes. Seeing that, a girl from the front seat headed out after him. We could care less about that girl; I had a feeling like that girl started tailing after him because he changed his appearance.

Wait a minute, did he even change his appearance? The time-loop girl, I meant Haibane Shana, could already see his true form. Was it some kind of illusion? I started thinking, standing at the spot while everyone in the class talked to each other with confusion.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go after him," Shana deliberately focused on him and snapped me out while I was ranting in my brain. After all, the same for me, so I nodded, and we started going after him, though we were late, and he escaped.

"Huff-huff, hold on, let me take a breathe," I spoke as I lost my breathing.

"Your fault we missed him."

"Hey, the loop ended just yesterday, and now I am getting entangled with this. I am really tired you know that already!"

"Then why were you so eager to meet me? You did know something off when I called you, right?"

Yes, my body worked on its own. I just wanted to see her, maybe I actually wanted to get involved in mysteries in the first place. I had no answer to her words, so I stayed quiet, accepting the fact. Rather, she is quite talkative than she was in the loop. She used to talk like a normal girl beforehand, and now she speaks, but it feels like a convenience store autonomous welcomer. We ran out to the school ground, and luckily, I had noticed the girl who ran after the old man earlier. She was still probably searching for him. It looked like she didn't manage to catch him up too. Soon, I let Shana know, and we went after her, who was almost entering the cafeteria. Luckily, I grabbed her before she could enter the cafeteria. A few students were looking at us, but if inside the cafeteria, the workers might take steps if they see both of us ganging up on her.

"Let go of me, bastard."

"Not until you follow us," I glared back at her, who had shown determination in her eyes.

"That's your boyfriend, isn't it? Don't worry, we will just talk for a minute. We will help you to find him, but don't worry, we don't do anything harmful. We were just playing a prank," Shana stepped up, trying to make her guard down. I understood how she is trying to team up to investigate.

"A-alright." The girl made it clear to her approval, but I could only get the creeps out of what Shana said earlier. Boyfriend? There is no way in hell that old man is her boyfriend. That's definitely some kind of illusion, but I wonder how only Shana was able to see through his illusion, but when she pointed out the oddity of his beard, I soon started to notice that it wasn't actually a student but actually an old man. I am sure that guy was a student from the start, but does that mean he was an old man attending a high school as a creep flirting every day with a high school girl, having a normal life in a disgusting way, getting a high school girlfriend? That's a crime. This shouldn't be happening normally.

We went to a place where there were fewer people around and stood in a corner to discuss with the three of us. Shana started making her move first, asking about her, so I just stood there as a spectator. In fact, I was scared I might ruin the moment she was trying to create. A women can only understand a women's heart I have read it in the book I carry with me always.

"How long have you been in a relationship with him?"

"Um... two and a half months, probably."

"Did you notice anything different or feel weird while with him?"

"That's rude. I love him, you know. He is handsome and cool in my eyes, plus he is caring too."

Ugh... she definitely doesn't know that he is actually an old man, even after Shana mentioned it in class, only I was able to unsee the lie. I don't think anyone other than me and Shana actually got to look at his real body.

"I see, so how much time do you spend with him on a weekend?" Shana kept continuously asking her.

"Well, he comes over to my house most of the time, and we go on dates too."

"What about you visiting his place?"

"...Hey, why are you desperately questioning about him? Are you in love with him, bitch?"

"You can see my boyfriend is behind me already. You got my answer, then?"

Urk b-boyfriend and that's me?, Shana is desperately trying to play it all safe. Well, it's not like I mind it anyway, I thought to myself, having mixed feelings.

It looked like Shana hit the spot. It was obvious with her reaction that she never visited her own boyfriend's place, rather, did he never tell her? Her face got pale suddenly, showing clearly that she was serious about the relationship with him, not knowing he is an old man nor where he lives. Even if Shana spits out that he is an aged man, there is no way she would believe it, neither would anyone who is sane.

"Can you call him right now? We feel sorry about what we did earlier," Shana implied and stared at me with a sign that it was my turn to make a move.

As she dialed the number of her boyfriend and placed the phone on her ear, I desperately leaped on her, grabbing both of her hands and turning her backward, pulling her hands behind her back. With my knees, I pressured her leg. Shana grabbed the phone that fell from her hand, and the old man picked up the call.

"Ungh... let... let go of me... everyone is watching. That's sexual harassment, you know," she waffled in pain, giving me a disgusting look.

"Sexual harassment? You already got harassed by an old man, haha. Here I am trying to help you, but your attitude is so picky. I wonder why he even chose a person like you."

"What the...hell are you talking...guha...about..."

In any case, I shouldn't have blurted that out. It was stupid of me to say that aloud anyway, but still, yeah, I have changed. I am weak, but somehow I know how to go beyond my strength, not feeling pain, and pinned her down forcibly like that.

"...yes, I am threatening you," Shana was speaking to the phone, I didn't hear what she said on the phone but it was given that the old man has picked up the call.

It was Shana who was threatening the old dude. He picked up his girlfriend's call after all. I still wonder what she spoke to him as I was focused on this girl, pinning her down. People on the ground were staring at us, but I shouted, "We are practicing a drama," to minimize any suspicion, and they looked away easily. Surprisingly, the girl I pinned down didn't have much strength to shout after all the running she did, and now she got pushed by me.

"Shiou-kun, let's go. He told us to meet somewhere, but yes, the condition was to leave this girl, and she shouldn't be with us," Haibane Shana declared in a monotone cold voice.

She gave her phone back, and we left for the place he told us to meet. The girl went somewhere after I threatened that I would punch her face if she followed us. We were in front of the school storage room. The door was half open as if it was welcoming us especially. Towards the old man, who is a teenage student towards everyone's eyes except us.

As we entered, a voice came to us.

"Close the door." The voice clearly was a grown-up man's. As he stated, we closed the door. The storage room had ventilation that's from where the light passed, so it was dim, but we could clearly see the body, who looked weighty and at least 45 years old, wearing a school outfit that doesn't even suit him.

"How did you both get my real identity, brats?" The old man growled.

"We know nothing about you, old man, except the fact that you are a disgusting pedophile," I looked straight into his eyes.

"What? Pedophile? I am a 17-year-old dude just like you, aren't you the one who is seeing things?"

"Huh?" That's where the confusion lies. It might be the other way around. What if he is actually a normal student who looks like an old man to us? This might be possible that we are in the wrong way.

"Oi, Shiou, why do you think he desperately ran away and hid in this shack? It's clear that he is lying right now," Shana's words felt like she was disappointed in me.

"Y-you are right." I fumbled.

"Pfft, it's hilarious. I am still safe, as only two of you got to see my real face. But do you think even if you told everyone, they would believe you?" The old man smirked with utter confidence. He isn't wrong. He changed his attitude easily after knowing only both of us could see his true form.

"You are right. With that criminal act right now, I am sure you already did your deeds with her."

"Yeah, it was great. She is really stupid, you know. Good for nothing kid, frustrated over her own life. I just had to act like I understood her better than anyone else in this world, and she offered away her body. Best thing is, I don't even have to go to red-light districts for pleasure anymore. A high school life with a high school wife for free! I am reliving my days of youth, and it's not a crime! I am a 17-year-old in everyone's eyes. I am not Makoto Ifumi, and now I am Utahara Yosuke, so my crime is invalid."

I felt creeped out by his words. That was beyond disgusting, and the fact that he clearly showed his signs of committing the crime. But still, I wonder how he managed to pull off this illusion. I don't think it was a magic trick, or perhaps it's somehow the same occurrence as the loop. As I thought, Shana stepped forward. She showed no feelings, but I knew it. She definitely is pissed.

"Say, uncle, how did you manage to pull off this illusion? More like, how did you do that?"

The man looked at her, sticking his tongue out with a smirk. "I always [wished] to escape my daily life. I always wished to get back to my school days. After stealing a share from my job, I was kicked out and was living a hikikomori life, doing part-time, living alone, a loner life." He smiled creepily after saying that.

"What's so funny?" Shana stated, and he started continuing.

"I woke up one day and went to my part-time job, and they were like, 'Who is this kid?' I tried telling them I work there, but they all treated me as a brat. Then from that time, I realized I am someone else, and I managed to get into high school with my life savings and pulled some strings for a sham identity as Utahara Yosuke, 17 years old, no parents and a sad backstory like some anime main character. Lucky thing is, even in my picture, I looked like a young guy, a young guy who looked different from my own young self."

"Ah I see so that's why when I tried taking pictures in the morning when you both were walking arm in arm. When I went to the police, they thought I was the one who was at wrong and treated me as a mad girl unable to see your real form thinking the picture was of a normal highschool couple."

I see. That's why she didn't come to school early and missed it. Instead, she called me after she tried to report him to the police, as it didn't work and wanted me to tag along with her. Even so, what the hell are we supposed to do? I stayed quiet, letting Shana do all the communication part.

"Say, uncle, you said you wished, and your [wish] came true? Does that mean even after you just got into school, everyone started treating you as you were already a part of the class since the beginning, like you were already an old student?"

"Yeah, you are smart one, huh, girly. My wish was granted, haha. Though I don't understand how you both managed to see my real self." The old man chuckled.

Even if we share this picture with someone else, no one would see him as an old man, his real identity, and as a matter of fact, everyone in the class already thinks he is part of their life as it is normal, not to mention before the loop, he was already with us, and everyone of us felt like he was already a part of us, even us that Shana and me didn't realize back then. The first person to notice it was Shana, as if she was in the loop, and now on this case, she is the one to point out the oddity. Perceptual Distortion condition, I could only think of that something out of sci-fi movie, which occurs due to a malfunction in the neural or quantum structure of the brain, often triggered by exposure to powerful experimental technology, a dimensional rift, or a psychological trauma for this old man, which was him being a hikikomori, a shut-in as trauma. The syndrome causes a person's internal perception of their identity to disconnect from the way others perceive them, resulting in a persistent alteration of their external identity in the minds of others, though the individual still perceives themselves as they always have. But doesn't that mean it's all related to the quantum structure of the brain? 

For example, Shana noticed it first, and after when she tried to make me focus on his beard, I picked up the oddity too. Perhaps that's how quantum science works. In simple words, due to the loop, which is completely related to quantum science, the occurrence affected our brains with our personalities and feelings. I remember reading this tweet from a Reddit where a guy explained his own theory, even though I marked him as a weird guy four years ago, his statement made it correct. Somehow, if theoretically quantum particles exist, then our bodies can detect this strange, unknown occurrence due to our malfunction of the neural quantum structure of the brain, we managed to see the illusion by the help of that perhaps. Which also means Shana dealt broadly on her brain and nerves, and me quite less than her as she was the one to notice first. I carelessly thought, ranting my brain to solve this problem, but no matter what—

"HAHAHAHAHAHA, thanks to juvenile law applying to individuals under the age of 18, it's safe to say I will be freed after minor punishment, even if I do play a little with her."

Just after my thoughts were shattered by the ugly sight, Haibane Shana was pinned down by the old guy, the act that would let anyone's mind break and boil. Bitter, everything is bitter in this world. Shana wasn't even resisting, nor did she make any scream as if she accepted it. No, she do not accept, I should know better than anyone. It's as if she got affected by the goddamn loop. She has got fractured.

"SHE IS ALREADY FRACTURED. IF YOU TRY TO BREAK HER MORE, I AM NOT SURE IF I CAN STAY QUIET EVEN AFTER BREAKING YOUR DICK."

Rage took over my body. It felt hot. I couldn't stay calm. Of course, he didn't yet do anything to her while I was still ranting my brain, but something came to mind as if it's the most same and normal thing to do.

"Ah, well, whatever. I should just kill this guy."

I took my steps ahead towards the dirtbag and my time-loop girl...