Chapter 6
Facing Shinji, whose expression seemed both angry and wary, I exhaled deeply. A strong determination welled up inside me—this time, I was going to make it happen.
“Just listen to what I have to say, no matter what.”
“Huh? Why?
“We don’t have time, so I don’t have the luxury of answering your questions. But if you listen, you’ll understand why I’m doing this. So please, just hear me out.”
I stared intently into Shinji’s eyes.
Shinji remained silent, his face tense, perhaps intimidated by my intensity. I’ll take that silence as an affirmation!
“First of all, my name is Natsumi. Summer sea—Natsumi. And your name is Shinji.”
“Wh—.”
As Shinji was about to speak, I gently placed my index finger on his finger. A signal to be quiet.
“Shinji—the ‘shin’ in ‘believe’ and the ‘ji’ from the kanji for ‘two’. You acted alone. Your once-in-a-lifetime big job failed. I might not seem like an ordinary person talking to you like this, but I’m not an off-duty cop, and I’m not trying to hit on you.”
Shinji’s mouth was hanging open. This is what they mean by being speechless. He looks a bit like a goldfish—cute.
“Let me continue. I’ve met you many times before. But this is the first time you’ve met me, right, Shinji?”
“…… yeah.”
“What’s going on is, I’m stuck in a time loop. I don’t know why. But every time, you die. And every time you die, I have to start over from the moment we leave the bank.”
“Huh!?”
I guess hearing that he’s going to die really took him by surprise. Yeah, I can understand how you feel.
“I’m going to tell you the proof that I’m in a time loop. First, the name. I know your name. Also, I think this will probably convince you…… You secretly raised a cat at a shrine when you were little, didn’t you?”
“…… What?”
“The cat’s name is Kinako. She’s a tabby cat. How about it? Is that right?”
“…… Who the hell are you?”
“I want to help you, so I need you to cooperate. This bus will be in an accident soon.”
“Huh?”
“A truck is going to crash into us from behind. But it’s okay. We shouldn’t be hurt here.”
I point to where we’re sitting.
“For the first three times, we traveled by car. But it didn’t work out any of those three times. So for the fourth time, I took the bus. But I failed just now. We were sitting in the very back seats, so you got crushed in the gap between the seats and died. I heard the story about the cat from you just now… during that fourth time. I asked you to tell me a story only you would know.”
“……”
Shinji seemed confused. He shifted his gaze restlessly, seemingly deep in thought.
“Okay? This bus is about to be hit by a truck. But you will survive. The problem is, what we do after that?”
“…… Are you serious?”
“I know it’s hard to believe a story like this out of the blue. But I heard that story—the one only you could know—from you yourself. I promised I’d definitely save you. Shinji, I want to stop your death from happening again. So please, I beg you, trust me.”
“…… but.”
I glanced at the scenery outside the window.
I’m pretty sure that’s the intersection….
“I think the impact is coming soon. Brace yourself so you don’t hurt your head.”
I gave Shinji a bright smile.
The very next moment,
BOOM!
A loud noise and a jolt engulfed the bus. The rear window shattered and scattered, and the passengers screamed. I heard the driver mutter, “Oh no, a t, truck!”
I looked at Shinji.
He stared at the crushed seat with his mouth agape.
“Are you okay?”
I asked Shinji.
“Yeah, if I had been sitting in the very back, I definitely would’ve been crushed. Looks like I’ve got no choice but to… believe you.”
Great!
I was genuinely happy that I had finally managed to save Shinji. But the real problem starts now.
If we stay here any longer, the police will arrive. And if they question us, Shinji will be exposed as a robber. I stood up and said to the bus driver.
“It’s dangerous if there’s a fuel leak. Let’s get out!”
My words caused the other passengers to cry out in fear.
“Open the door!”
“Hurry! Get us out of here fast!”
The driver did as he was told and opened the bus doors. The passengers tumbled out. I urged Shinji to follow me, and we got off too.
A crowd of onlookers was starting to gather. It’s dangerous to stay here.
This is where it begins.
We need to figure out how to proceed from here.
Will he turn himself in?
No, repeating a failed action feels dangerous. Maybe it would’ve been okay if the timing had been different.
“Where are we going?”
I told Shinji, who looked at me anxiously.
“For now, I think we should go somewhere where there aren’t many people.”
There are countless security cameras in the city. If we stay here much longer, we’ll be found immediately. So first, somewhere with no people. Anywhere will do—let’s aim for a place like the mountains or something like that.
“First, a jacket and a hat… I guess.”
I looked at Shinji and muttered.
Wearing all black is conspicuous, and I’m sure he’d been caught on the bank’s security cameras and put on a wanted list.
I dragged Shinji into a second-hand shop that caught my eye, and pretending to be an ordinary couple, I bought him a navy bucket hat and a camouflage jacket. With his sunglasses off, Shinji has a cute face that still retains a touch of boyish innocence. I buy him a pair of fashion glasses while I’m at it. Yeah, they suit him.
It makes me chuckle a little—it feels like I’m spoiling a young guy.
“Huh? What? It doesn’t suit me?”
I smiled at Shinji, who furrowed his eyebrows,
“No, the opposite. I think they look great on you.”
“Oh, really?”
Shinji turned away, blushing.
Stop it. That’s cute.
“Okay, let’s go.”
I opened my phone and checked the schedule for the local train. I picked the destination on a whim, but it’s fine, right?
“I hope everything goes smoothly this time.”
Muttering that under my breath, I headed toward the station.
Sads Translates 