Chapter 1: It Began With A Warning

First there was the body-swap, and then came the Liberation. Now, at last, this ludicrous year was coming to a close.

Enrolling in high school should’ve been a major milestone in their lives, and yet Taichi found he could scarcely remember anything from the first half of the year. Too much had happened ever since their first encounter with «Heartseed» nearly four solid months ago.

Looking back, the pre-«Heartseed» era of his life was utterly ordinary... but then all of a sudden everything took a turn for the supernatural. Was there any way he could have avoided it?

If he’d enrolled in a different school—joined a different club—never met the other members of the CRC—could he have enjoyed a more idyllic high school career? Sure. Maybe his grades would’ve been better, too.

But Taichi didn’t regret enrolling in Yamaboshi High School, or joining the newly created Cultural Research Club, or making friends with his fellow members. If he were asked to do it all over again, he was certain he’d make all the same choices.

In taking this path, maybe he lost some things along the way... but to Taichi, what he gained in return was far more precious.

□■□■□

The closing ceremony was held in the auditorium. Once it concluded, the students returned to their assigned classrooms for the final homeroom period of the year, led by their class advisor.

The advisor for Taichi’s class, 1-C, was Gotou Ryuuzen (AKA “Gossan”), the school physics teacher popularly known for his casual, laid-back attitude.

“So, setting aside everything the principal and school counselor said on stage, you’re all basically free to do whatever you like over winter break—as long as you don’t cause trouble or commit any crimes. I don’t wanna have to get called in, you understand me?”

For a teacher, he was... refreshingly honest. Sure, let’s go with that.

“Now then, I’ve passed out all the worksheets... Am I forgetting anything, Fujishima?”

“I don’t know what you expect me to say. As far as I can tell, you’ve covered all the bases, Sensei,” class president Fujishima Maiko responded. As she was a highly competent and responsible individual, Gotou had been foisting a lot of his workload on her as of late (as well as the CRC’s own Inaba Himeko).

“Oh yeah. Come to think of it, it’s Christmas, isn’t it? Okay, well, none of you better sneak off to any love hotels, you get me?! Love hotels are for adults only! If you’re gonna do it, do it at home, and always use protection!”

“You should refrain from making any comments that could be construed as inappropriate, Sensei. These days they’re really cracking down on that sort of thing.”

As was readily apparent, Fujishima was practically Gotou’s supervisor at this point.

“Alrighty then, let’s wrap this up! It’s still a little early to let you go, but I’m sure they’ll let it slide for today. Class dismissed!”

Instantly, the class roared to life with excited chatter. The last day of each semester always tended to evoke a certain giddy vibe among the student body.

“Yo, Yaegashi!” Taichi’s friend Watase Shingo called out to him. “Remember: no unprotected sex this holiday season! Not that you’re at risk of getting laid anytime soon!”

“Nope. And neither are you.”

With good looks, athletic skills, and a fun personality, Watase was a triple threat—and yet he was still single. Why? Because he only had eyes for stone-cold Fujishima Maiko, and despite his best efforts, she hadn’t given him a second glance.

“Aw, shut up! Anyways, remember how I was saying we should hang out over winter break? Well, I was thinking—”

“Taichi! We’ll see you at the clubroom!” Inaba called across the classroom.

“Don’t be laaate!” Nagase added.

“O-Okay!”

With that, his two fellow clubmates left the room.

“Clubroom? What’s the story there?”

“Oh, well, we decided we’d throw a little CRC Christmas party today...”

“Sheesh! You guys are super tight with each other, huh? I guess that might make it a little tricky to date one of ‘em...”

“I dunno... Seems to me we don’t have to worry about that...”

“Then why haven’t you hooked up with Nagase already?”

“Well... Things’ve gotten a little complicated lately...”

“You’re always so vague about this stuff, you know that?”

Trust me, I know I ought to set the record straight, but... well...

“Eh, whatever. Looks like you gotta get going, so we can work out all the details later. I’ll shoot you an email.”

“Sounds good.”

Watase walked off, and Taichi got to his feet.

On his way out, he paused to chat with some of his other classmates—Any Christmas plans? New Year’s Eve traditions? What day of the week is January 4th, anyway? Fuck the homework, this school can suck my dick!

(The latter sentiment was one Taichi himself didn’t share.)

Before he knew it, the time flew by. At this rate, the other club members would get mad at him for sure. He hurried to the door.

There, a group of girls waved to him from across the room. “See you next year, Yaegashi-kun!”

Over the past few months, the CRC had been tormented with one supernatural phenomenon after the next, often making a scene in front of their whole class, and yet their classmates still welcomed them with open arms. Taichi sincerely appreciated it.

Their entire ordeal had given him a newfound sense of appreciation for the mundane.

Just then, as he turned down the hall, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

A casual little tap, no different from any of the countless interactions happening on a daily basis at Yamaboshi High School.

But in that instant, goosebumps shot up his arms.

Something wasn’t right.

The air itself felt... unearthly somehow. He sensed it—smelled it—right there in the school hallway. And it was a smell he was all too familiar with.

No, it can’t be. Taichi shook his head. Today was just another ordinary day.

At least, it was supposed to be.

Admittedly, the CRC clubroom had been corrupted by this otherworldly abnormality in the past—but the rest of the school was safe. That was «Heartseed»’s policy. Sure, it was capable of turning up at any given time, but once it set a rule, it always committed to it, right?

The chatter in the background felt so... distant.

He didn’t want to turn and look—but he knew he had to confront it. There would be no escape.

Swallowing hard, Taichi turned to find... someone who wasn’t Gotou Ryuuzen.

He blinked. There stood a tomboyish girl with short hair—Oosawa Misaki from the track team.

I guess «Heartseed» didn’t turn up after all... Was it just all in my head?

Wait.

Her eyes were half-lidded.

She exuded the same lethargic lack of energy as «Heartseed»... and yet her presence felt different somehow—

“...Oosawa...?” he asked timidly.

“...You will be their knight,” she replied slowly—her tone in stark contrast to her usual self. After all, the Oosawa he knew was always babbling excitedly about something.

“Wh... What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Tell no one of my presence... Can you promise that?”

Now he was sure of it. This was not Oosawa.

And... it wasn’t «Heartseed», either.

“...If you break this promise... I will change ‘noon to five’ to ‘all hours.’ Understand?”

“Hold on. What are you even talking about?”

“Soon it will start... and then you will know... Farewell.”

With that, Oosawa’s body promptly collapsed to the floor.

“Wh—?!” Taichi quickly grabbed her by the arm to stop her fall. “You okay?!”

“Nnngh... Huh...? Wh-What’s going on?!” Oosawa jumped to her feet in wide-eyed surprise. “Uhh... What was I doing...? Yaegashi-kun?”

“I’m not sure... Looked like you collapsed all of a sudden...”

“For real? Maybe I’m anemic or something... But what am I doing in the hallway?” Evidently she had no memory of what had taken place. “W-Well, anyway, thanks for looking out for me.”

“No problem.”

And so she went back inside the classroom, a puzzled look on her face.

“Man, what was that...?”

You’ll be their knight. Tell no one. Noon to five. All hours. None of it made any sense. And if it wasn’t «Heartseed», then... what on earth was possessing Oosawa’s body just now?

Baffled, Taichi headed up the four flights of stairs to Rec Hall Room 401, home to the Cultural Research Club.

When he arrived, he found everyone else waiting for him. The tables were lined with drinks, snacks, and even some board games—all the stuff they’d brought in yesterday in preparation for the party.

“Hey, Taichi, did you write that?” Inaba asked, her almond-shaped eyes sharply narrowed. Paired with her slender, stately figure, it was a good look for her, strangely enough. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the chalkboard, and Taichi’s gaze followed suit.

There, someone had written four of their names:

INABA HIMEKO NAGASE IORI KIRIYAMA YUI AOKI YOSHIFUMI

“What the heck? How come I’m not on here? Or was I supposed to write it myself?”

At this question, Inaba’s scowl deepened. “Seriously? So it wasn’t you, either?”

“We found it when we got to the clubroom,” Kiriyama explained, her arms wrapped tightly around her petite frame. “But none of us remember writing it...”

“Then who did?”

“If we knew that, we wouldn’t have asked you, dipshit!”

“It’s a mystery!” exclaimed Aoki Yoshifumi, his wavy locks bouncing.

At this, Nagase put her hand to her chin in an exaggerated display of contemplation. “Perhaps the culprit intentionally set this up as a puzzle for us to solve...”

“Oh, I get it! It’s like a murder, and this is the victim’s dining message! In that case, the killer can only be... Taichi! Because his name isn’t on there!”

“I didn’t kill anybody! Your solution is way too simple! And furthermore, it’s not ‘dining message,’ you idiot, it’s ‘dying message’!”

Aoki’s stupidity had managed to earn three different snarky retorts at the same time. He was clearly on top of his game today.

“If this is like a prank somebody’s pulling on us... then my guess is Iori. I mean, they say the guilty party is usually the first person to point something out.”

“Y-Yui! You don’t trust me...?”

“No, no, of course I do! It was just, like, a theory! Obviously our sweet Iori would never lie to us!”

“Oh, Yui... You do understand me!”

“I’d never doubt you, Iori!”

The two girls embraced each other tightly like they were actresses in a stage play. Inaba stared at them for a moment, then grimaced. “Did an outsider come in here...? And if so, what for?”

“It’s probably just a prank, right? I mean, all they did was write four of our names... That said, I still think it’s weird that they left me off...”

“They wrote more than just our names, Taichi.”

“Huh?”

Taichi glanced back at the chalkboard. That was when he saw it:

12:00 PM - 5:00 PM

“Noon to five? ...Wait...”

Come to think of it, that was the same time frame “Oosawa” specified. Her voice flickered through his mind once more.

—I will change “noon to five” to “all hours.”

A chill ran down his spine. Was this just pure coincidence, or...?

The clock on the wall indicated 11:50 AM.

He debated whether to detail his earlier experience in the hallway, but she—it?—had warned him not to tell anyone, lest he “break this promise.” Maybe his best bet, then, was to keep quiet and see where things went from here.

They were still okay. There was nothing around to derail their lives anymore.

At least, for the moment.

“This is a little too nonsensical to be a prank, if you ask me. Is anything missing?”

At Inaba’s question, the five of them looked around the room... but everything seemed to be in order.

“Hmmm... Whatever. It’s kinda creepy, but we can worry about it later. For now, let’s start the party.”

They clinked their cans of soda together in a toast, and the Christmas party began in earnest. Time to eat, drink, and be merry!

“Whew! Soda is so dang good!”

“God, Iori! Sip it, don’t chug it!” Kiriyama rolled her eyes and took a swig of her drink. “Gah, what the heck?! This stuff is like BURNING! How does anyone drink this?!”

“Sit your ass back down, Yui! I swear, am I the only girl around here who has any goddamn decorum? What a joke.”

“I don’t think slouching over the table like a middle-aged man at his second bar of the night counts as ‘table manners,’ Inabacchan—OUCH!”

“Slouching? Fuck you! My posture is perfect!”

As usual, the Cultural Research Club was always squabbling over something. Glancing nervously at the clock, Taichi took a sip of his drink.

“Relax, Taichi! The party’s just started! Or do you have a hot date after this?” Nagase joked, peering at him curiously. His heart thumped in his chest. She was generally considered the prettiest girl in their grade, and it was easy to see why.

“What? No!” He glanced at the clock again. Noon was just seconds away.

Not that anything would happen, of course—

But then anything did happen.

“Nngh...!” Out of nowhere, Nagase groaned and slammed her drink down onto the table.

“N-Nagase...?”

“M-My body... feels all hot...” The color drained from her face as she began to shiver violently.

“Whoa... Are you okay?!”

Her mouth moved, but the words didn’t come.

“Wait... Whoa... I’m feeling really warm, too...” Kiriyama croaked beside her, wincing and clutching at her reddish-brown hair with both hands.

“What’s going on here?!” Inaba demanded.

“What’s wrong, ladies?!” Aoki piped up in alarm.

Noon to five... the mysterious non-«Heartseed» entity... the message scrawled on the chalkboard... and now this.

Apparently noon signaled the start of something—but what?

And then Nagase and Kiriyama blinked out of existence.

“WHAT?!” Taichi screeched in an almost inhuman voice. He couldn’t begin to process it. He rubbed his eyes and looked again—at which point he realized that their chairs weren’t actually empty.

In their place sat two cute little girls, each practically drowning in extremely oversized Yamaboshi High School uniforms.

“Huh... wha... who...?” Inaba stammered.

“Wh... What happened to Nagase and Kiriyama?” Taichi asked.

The two small girls—one with dark hair, the other reddish-brown—peered curiously around the room.

“Nnn... My clothes awe too big!” the dark-haired girl exclaimed, waving her oversized sleeves.

“Mine too,” nodded the other girl, the one with long chestnut-colored hair. She paused to roll up her sleeves, then turned to the smaller girl beside her and helped her roll up hers. “Ooh, snacks! Can we have some?”

The three of them nodded wordlessly in response.

“Yay!” She took two small packages of snack cookies and offered one to the other girl. “Want one? Here.”

“Thank you vewwy much!”

With that, the two girls happily began to devour their prize. Meanwhile, Taichi and Aoki exchanged glances... then grabbed each other by the shoulders.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-What the heck is HAPPENING?! What’s going on?! Am I hallucinating or did they trade places with two random kids?!” Aoki screamed, his eyes as wide as saucers.

“How should I know?! Maybe I’m hallucinating!”

“Hallucinating... Aha! That must be it! Okay, let’s close our eyes and count to three, and when we open them again, everything will be back to normal! Ready? One... two... three... IT DIDN’T WORK!”

“Whose kids are these?! Where are their parents?! Somebody come get your daughters!” Taichi yelled, now in a full-fledged panic.

As for Inaba, she chuckled dryly, got to her feet, and walked to the window. There, she opened it and screamed at the top of her lungs—

“WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUCK?!?!”

Her scream echoed all across campus.

Once they had finished venting out all their panic, the three of them began to analyze the situation. Together, they arrived at the following hypothetical (and utterly impossible) conclusion: Nagase Iori and Kiriyama Yui had gone back in time and physically reverted to their childhood selves.

The two younger children now present with them in the clubroom looked undeniably similar to their missing clubmates. (“Nagase” looked to be about six years old, and “Kiriyama” was likely around eleven or twelve.) They had also appeared in the exact same spot as their older selves in what amounted to a split-second—not nearly enough time for them to trade places and hide somewhere.

Plus, it wasn’t just that the two of them had shrunk in size, either; their features were noticeably more round and youthful. Ultimately, their hairstyles were the only thing left unchanged—unless you counted the Yamaboshi High School uniforms they were wearing, which were identical to their original owners’, right down to the contents of their pockets.

When they asked the miniature Nagase to stand up during the clothing search, her skirt and panties threatened to fall straight to the floor, causing a slight panic. (Inaba promptly poked both Aoki’s and Taichi’s eyes out, then made the necessary clothing adjustments while they were busy flailing in agony.)

But the final nail in the coffin was the testimony from the children themselves.

The two girls sat across the table from Aoki, Inaba, and Taichi, dressed in their oversized, rolled-up uniforms. The once fairly short skirts were now practically blankets on their legs.

Inaba cleared her throat. “Alright, let me ask you one more time, just to be sure... What’s your name, and how old are you? Starting from this older girl here.”

“I’m Kiriyama Yui, and I’m eleven years old!” Kiriyama [age 11] replied enthusiastically. She seemed a bit more headstrong than the Kiriyama they were used to—the sort of go-getter who would run around town in wintertime without a coat on.

“...And? What about you there?”

“My name is Nagase Iori, and I’m six!” Nagase [age 6] answered with an equal amount of verve. Her scrunchie had come loose at some point during the... transition?... but now that she was wearing it again, she really did look like a picture-perfect mini-Nagase.

“Alright, next question. Who’s this gangly-looking horndog over here on the left?”

“That’s Aoki-san!”

“Mister Aoki!”

“Horndog?! Really, Inabacchan?!”

“And who’s the handsome fellow over here on the right?”

“That’s Taichi-san!”

“Mister Taichi!”

“Oh... I was expecting some sort of insult, but okay...” He wasn’t used to her being so... nice to him. How was he supposed to respond?

“Lastly, who am I?”

“You’re Inaba-san!”

“Miss Inaba!”

“Cool. So, how do the five of us all know each other?”

“Huh? I’m not sure... We just do...?”

“We just do!”

“...Alright. Next question: do you remember what happened yesterday?”

“...Well... I’m pretty sure I went to school, then after school I went to the karate dojo... but my memory’s kinda fuzzy...”

“I goed to school and I pwayed with my fwiends!”

“Okay. This next one’s just for Yui, since it’s a little complicated.” Inaba pushed a pen and a blank piece of paper across the table at Kiriyama [age 11]. “Can you outline your weekly class schedule from memory?”

“For the second semester? Yeah, I think so...” Using the provided implements, Kiriyama [age 11] began to draw up a schedule, pausing occasionally to murmur to herself. “There, all done. I’m pretty sure I got it all right...”

Inaba pulled out her cell phone and compared it to a photo taken by someone who was in Kiriyama’s fifth grade class, passed along to her via a mutual acquaintance. (Frankly, they were lucky they managed to find someone who had still kept theirs after all this time.)

“...Yep, it’s almost completely spot-on. Alright, you girls are free to hang out and do whatever.”

“Okay! Wanna play a game, Iori-chan?”

“Yeah, wet’s pway! I wanna pway dis one!”

“Othello? Isn’t that a little too hard for you?”

“No! I can do it!”

The two of them got along so well, they may as well have been sisters. It was a heartwarming moment... and yet Inaba watched them with a dismal expression.

“Let’s review what we’ve learned.”

Nagase and Kiriyama had reverted—physically and mentally—to a younger point in their childhoods. Regardless, they readily accepted their surroundings without question (and yet, when asked to explain why they were here, neither of them could find an answer). They appeared to partially retain their memories from those particular eras of their childhoods, although not to the point that they could remember what they did yesterday—but perhaps this was to be expected of kids who basically popped into existence due to some bizarre phenomenon.

“...and that about sums it up, yeah? God, listen to me. How does that even begin to ‘sum it up’?!” Inaba was now flustered to the point that she was arguing with herself.

If this had been their first experience with these phenomena, they likely would have rejected this conjecture outright—no, perhaps they wouldn’t have made it to this stage in the first place. Perhaps they would have simply taken the girls to the staff room or the police station, then gone to search for Nagase and Kiriyama... After all, that’s what any normal person would do, right?

But Taichi and the others hadn’t taken the “normal” course of action—because they knew nothing about this was normal. And «it» would keep coming back, no matter what. And they would be forced to deal with it.

“Is it just me, or is this kinda insane?” Aoki mused aloud.

“Is it rebuilding their bodies on a cellular level? Maybe even a molecular level... all the way down to their personality and memories...? And it’s all perfect, right down to the smallest details... Maybe it transported them here to the future and sent the others back to the past...? No, that can’t be it, surely...” Inaba muttered to herself.

“What... are they?” Taichi asked as he watched over his two kid-ified friends.

“Good question. And not one we’re likely to find the answer to... All I know is, they aren’t meant to be here in our world.”

“If they’re here with us, then where’s the real Yui and Iori-chan?” asked Aoki.

“They might be out there somewhere... or they might not exist anywhere at all... Maybe they’ve been irreversibly altered—” Inaba paused and furrowed her brows. “Okay, hold on. I know this is going to sound morbid, but hear me out. If one of these kids were to die somehow—in a car accident or whatever—what would happen?”

“Well, then we’d have to report the death of... someone who wasn’t supposed to exist... Gah, forget it! I don’t want to think about it! I mean, I assume our friends are gonna go back to normal eventually, right?”

Inaba closed her eyes and nodded. “Yeah. I hope so, anyway... That’s how it’s been up until now, at least.”

And up until then, the root cause was always the same—

“As long as «Heartseed»’s behind it, then yeah,” Aoki piped up.

«Heartseed»—the culprit who turned their world upside-down. Somehow it always managed to make the impossible very possible indeed.

“Bad news comes in threes... Fuck, this shit doesn’t even faze us anymore,” Inaba spat.

Then Taichi opened his mouth to speak. “Actually, I...”

I encountered someone else earlier today. Someone who wasn’t «Heartseed».

Inaba looked him straight in the eye. “...Well? Gonna finish that thought?”

Something had possessed Oosawa’s body and demanded he make a promise. It hadn’t really been that overtly threatening, and yet somehow he could sense that it held all the cards... like it was on a whole different plane of existence. And apparently Taichi was the only one who had encountered it thus far...

He averted his gaze. “Oh, uh... Never mind. It’s nothing.”

His mind was a jumbled mess. Who was that mysterious entity? In what way was it connected to «Heartseed»? What exactly were the terms of this phenomenon? He didn’t know. Maybe there was a hidden depth to that promise... in which case, he was better off delaying his decision until he had a bit more information.

“Fine, whatever. If you figure something out, you’d better tell us, alright?”

At this, he nodded vaguely.

“So, y’know, if this is «Heartseed»’s doing... the rest of us are gonna end up like that at some point, aren’t we?” Aoki laughed nervously.

If this was anything like the previous two phenomena...

“We’ll be chosen at random... to be turned into our kid selves...” Taichi muttered.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, WAIT!” Inaba panicked.

“C-Calm down, Inabacchan! What’s wrong?”

“If this happens randomly... then what if we’re out in public when it strikes?! What then?!”

“Whoever it is would turn into a kid in front of everyone... Oh god.” The blood drained from Taichi’s face as the realization hit him.

“This is a physical change... which means other people can see it...” Inaba’s voice quavered with fear. “How are any of us supposed to go outside like this?!”

They struggled to process this new revelation.

“Wait... what? WHAT? But... Holy crap, you’re totally right...” Aoki clutched at his hair, slack-jawed.

Just how much were these entities capable of?

“Um, excuse me?” Suddenly, Kiriyama [age 11] tugged on Inaba’s sleeve. Beside her stood Nagase [age 6].

“Wh... What’s up?”

“Iori-chan has to go to the bathroom, so I’m gonna walk her there, okay?” She proudly thrust out her chest. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it all covered! Okay, let’s go!”

“Okie-dokie!”

Hand in hand, the two headed for the door.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, WAIT, you idiots!” Inaba frantically dashed over and blocked their path.

“Huh? What’s the matter?” Kiriyama [age 11] tilted her head.

“We can’t just let you walk around out there!”

“But—”

“I gotta go pee!” Nagase wailed, shifting from one foot to the other.

“D-Don’t talk like that! Stop acting like a child!”

“She is a child,” Taichi retorted, even though he knew that wasn’t the point.

“I’mma go by mysewf!”

“You most certainly are not, little missy! We can’t have a couple of grade-schoolers walking around the school dressed in Yamaboshi uniforms!”

“B-But I’m gonna peeee...!” Nagase [age 6] looked up at them with tears in her eyes.

“Aaaagh! Goddamn it! Fine! Taichi, Aoki, you two stand outside and block the path to the ladies’ room! Stand guard and make sure no one sees us, you hear me?! I’ll help her inside!”

Suddenly a harmless trip to the bathroom had become a full-scale undercover operation.

Thankfully, Operation Bathroom Infiltration was a perfect success.

Afterwards they returned to the clubroom. From there, all that was left to do was nervously watch the clock. There was no telling when the phenomenon might strike the others, too... They tried to plan for it, but with so many variables in the equation, it was next to impossible.

Meanwhile, Nagase [age 6] and Kiriyama [age 11] were busy playing and eating snacks to their hearts’ content. Taichi and the others kept a close eye on them, desperately awaiting the moment they’d turn back into their normal selves, but the nightmare showed no signs of ending.

Outside, the sky had darkened considerably.

“They’re not going to be stuck like this forever, are they...?” Inaba muttered. She was clearly getting a little antsy, and Taichi didn’t blame her.

“No way, right? I mean... that’d be ridiculous.”

If that was the case, the phenomenon easily ran the risk of ruining their entire lives.

“Ooh, it’s almost five! Finally!” Aoki exclaimed.

Five o’clock—their last hope. Taichi glanced at the clock. Sure enough, the minute hand was just moments away from hitting the 12. Then he glanced back at the chalkboard:

12:00 PM - 5:00 PM

...Maybe it was meant to be an indication of the phenomenon’s active hours. After all, Nagase [age 6] and Kiriyama [age 11] had popped into existence precisely at noon. Surely the mystery message had to be more than pure coincidence.

It was a flimsy conjecture with barely any supporting evidence, but right now it was all they had.

Taichi in particular had even more reason to believe in it, of course, considering some unknown entity had said the phrase “noon to five” in his presence earlier that day... but he had yet to tell Inaba or Aoki about it. Truth be told, he got the sense he’d missed his only chance.

“There! It’s five!” Aoki shouted.

There was a brief pause, and then—

“Ugh...!”

“Nnn...!”

Nagase [age 6] and Kiriyama [age 11] dropped their playing cards and wrapped their arms around themselves. The next thing they knew—teenage Nagase and Kiriyama were right there.

Taichi froze. At no point had he taken his eyes off either of them—well, maybe for a split-second when he blinked—and yet he somehow missed the point at which they reverted back. Instead, they were just... back to normal, almost as if nothing had ever happened.

“Th-They’re baaack!” Aoki shouted, jumping to his feet.

Inaba stared blankly. “What...? Is that how this works...? What kind of magic is this? Is this even possible? Is this allowed to be possible? ...Fuck no! I refuse to accept this bullshit!”

“Huh? What am I doing over here...?” Kiriyama tilted her head in confusion.

Beside her, Nagase blinked. “What the...? What happened to me? And why does my stomach hurt?” Beat. “Wait, what the heck is going on with my panties?!” She began to wrestle with her clothes.

“Gah! Iori-chan!”

“Whoa there, Nagase! Could you maybe not hike up your skirt and fix your wedgie in a room where guys are present?!”

“How about you two meatheads just don’t look in the first place?!” Inaba punched them both squarely between the eyes, sending them tumbling to the floor along with their chairs. “Fucking fuck, what is even happening right now?!” She turned and looked at the other two girls. “Do you remember anything that happened over the past five hours?”

They stared blankly back. “Wait... What do you mean, five hours?” Kiriyama asked.

“Holy cow, look how dark it is outside! What time is it?! Five?!” Nagase jumped to her feet in a panic.

“What? It’s already five?! How’s that possible?! Wasn’t it just noon, like, a minute ago?!”

Evidently they had no memory of the time they spent as kid versions of themselves, so Inaba gave them the full rundown of everything that had happened.

At first, Nagase and Kiriyama were convinced the others were lying, but over time, their expressions grew pale.

“I... I was [eleven] again...?”

“And I was [six]...?”

Inaba sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m afraid so... At least, that’s what you claimed. Or rather, that’s what the kids told us. So apparently you two turned into past versions of yourselves... Alternatively, it’s possible you just switched places with your past selves, but... Somehow, it makes more logical sense that your bodies physically transformed... Not that any of this is goddamn logical in the first place...”

“Now hold on a minute!” Kiriyama ran a hand over her face and body. “Now if this is true—and that’s like a big ‘if’—my body would’ve shrunk, right? So what did it do with all the extra muscle tissue and hair and stuff?! Like, this is ridiculous! Are you seriously telling me my body can handle a crazy transformation like that with no side effects?!”

“How the fuck should I know? I don’t even want to think about it.”

Nagase laughed nervously. “Wow. This is hilarious, huh? Well, I admit I can’t remember anything that happened over the past few hours, sooo...” She was clearly trying to keep the conversation lighthearted, but her smile was stiff.

Taichi decided to ask the one thing that worried him the most: “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah, I’m okay... I think.” Nagase tilted her head. “Oh, huh... On second thought, I do feel a little bit weird.”

“How so? Tell us everything, even if it’s just a minor thing.”

“Well, hmm... For some reason—maybe because you guys brought up me being [six years old]—my memories from first grade are really fresh in my mind all of a sudden. It’s weird... Most people probably would’ve forgotten all this stuff by now, y’know?”

“Now that you mention it, it’s totally the same for me, too! Whoa... Especially now that I’m, like, hyper-focused on it... Oh my gosh, this really takes me back! Aww, I got the warm fuzzies!”

“...It brings back old memories, too...?” Inaba muttered. She paused for a moment. “Then that lends even more credence to the ‘physically transformed’ theory... If it was purely a swap, then surely it wouldn’t leave any lingering effects...” As usual, she was already hard at work analyzing the few scraps of information they had. “What about now? Anything from the past few hours coming back to you?” she asked.

“Hmm...” Nagase thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think so. Right now, all I can remember is... being six, and playing with my friends, and going to elementary school, and... family stuff.”

At “family stuff,” her tone shifted slightly. Six years old... That would’ve been right around the time Nagase met her first stepdad—the second of five men Nagase would call her father over the course of her life.

“Actually... come to think of it, I can kinda-sorta remember the mindset I had at the time, too... This is so weird...” Nagase seemed to fall into contemplation.

“It’s totally the same for me. I still can’t accept that I actually transformed, but... either way, I can’t remember what I’ve been up to since noon... and now, like all of a sudden, I keep thinking back to fifth grade... It’s all so fresh and painful... and there’s a tightness in my chest I can’t really explain...” Kiriyama’s face clouded over to match Nagase’s—something Inaba was quick to take notice of.

“Enough reminiscing, both of you. Is there anything else that could give us clues about the phenomenon itself?”

Nagase and Kiriyama paused for a moment, then shook their heads.

“Then forget about all that other stuff. Right now we have more important things to be focusing on,” Inaba continued, and Taichi got the sense this wasn’t just her rational side talking. After all, she had a habit of hiding her consideration for others’ feelings beneath a harsh veneer. “That said... Man, I don’t have the first fucking clue where to start!”

Evidently even Inaba was at a loss over this new phenomenon.

“...Well...” Aoki piped up awkwardly, “if there’s one thing we can say for sure... round three’s officially started, huh?”

As for what he meant by that, there was no need to ask.

Inaba got to her feet and put a hand to the chalkboard. “Is it safe to assume this timeframe is the established duration for the transformation? And once someone transforms, will they stay in that form the entire five hours, or will we all transform back and forth purely at random? And... why exactly isn’t Taichi’s name on here...? Well, either way...” She turned back to face the others. “I think it’s safe to assume that «Heartseed»’s back, up to his fuckery again. For now, let’s call it... Age Regression.”

Silence fell over the room, and for a moment the only sound was that of the heater, hard at work. All at once, Taichi became keenly aware of the dark, oppressive vibe hanging over the room. Memories of the two past phenomena floated to the forefront of his mind. Then, slowly, it all sank in, weighing him down like a ton of bricks.

“Uggghhh... I hate this... It’s still hard to believe it really happened...” Nagase muttered, her cheek pressed to the table.

“Not again, not again, not again! UGH!” Kiriyama grumbled loudly.

“Third time’s the charm, maybe...?” Aoki asked hopefully.

“If only we should be so lucky... Hah, ‘lucky.’ As if,” Inaba replied.

They were now faced with their third phenomenon. What did the future hold? Would this simply become their new normal? The thought sent a shiver down Taichi’s spine.

Another moment of silence slowly passed—until Nagase mercifully shattered it.

“Aw, we’ll figure it out! We always do!” Her tone was bright and cheerful, drawing everyone’s attention.

Then Aoki joined in. “Yeah! We’re unstoppable!”

Kiriyama clenched her fist in front of her face, her expression steely. “It still doesn’t feel real to me, but... I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”

“One thing’s for sure: we won’t get anywhere by standing around and whining,” Inaba remarked dryly.

Just like that, they turned around and sent the crushing darkness right back from whence it had come. They were scared, but together they were strong—stronger than ever before. No matter how insurmountable the obstacle in front of them, the Cultural Research Club was ready to tackle it.

Then they turned to look at Taichi.

“Oh, uh... Ditto?”

Instantly, the four of them slumped their shoulders in exasperation.

“Oh, come on! You could’ve done better than that! You were supposed to finish us off!” Nagase pouted her lips.

Inaba sighed. “Well... it’s nothing if not in character for him, I guess. Anyway, back to the topic at hand... I think it’s safe to go home for the night. Sound good?”

It was a surprising suggestion from typically hyper-cautious Inaba.

“Ya sure about this, Inabacchan?” Aoki asked. “There’s no tellin’ what’ll happen if it strikes again.”

“Well, the chalkboard says ‘noon to five,’ and sure enough, today Iori and Yui stayed in their Regressed forms precisely from noon to five. From this, I think it’s safe to assume that the Regression will only take place during those hours.”

“Isn’t it a little early to make assumptions like that?” Nagase asked.

“You’re not wrong, but... somehow I doubt that fucker would make us ruin our entire lives without even stopping by to explain the rules.”

She had a point... in theory. «Heartseed» claimed its role was that of an observer, watching to see how the five members of the CRC would fare under the supernatural effects of its various phenomena. Above all, it wanted to be “entertained.”

Nagase nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. If it was going to be that unpredictable, «Heartseed» would probably tell us in advance.”

“Mmhmm. If going home is such a huge risk, then I imagine it’ll turn up to warn us any moment now.”

For a moment, everyone waited with baited breath. A few seconds of silence ticked by.

Nothing happened.

“And there you have it. We’re good to go. Hell, that’s probably why it bothered to leave us this lovely message!” Inaba slammed her fist against the chalkboard.

“I don’t like this... I hate that our only option is to just believe literally whatever it tells us...” Kiriyama muttered, conflicted.

“At the very least, I doubt it’ll let anything catastrophic happen before it turns up to explain things...” Inaba’s voice faltered. “But that’s not guaranteed.”

“No, I think you’re right,” Nagase declared.

“Me too,” Kiriyama, Aoki, and Taichi replied in unison.

“You’re all better off taking my speculation with a grain of salt, but... I do appreciate the support.”

In the end, Taichi never told them what was on his mind the entire time—the possibility that the culprit was not, in fact, «Heartseed»—something that would shatter the foundation of their entire existing framework.

And so it was decided that they’d meet up again the next day at Inaba’s house, just before noon. With that, everyone headed home.

Alone, Taichi reflected on everything that had happened. Nagase and Kiriyama had Regressed into children; there was no use trying to claim that such a thing had to be impossible, because clearly it wasn’t. All they could do now was accept their current reality... and come up with a plan to handle it.

He believed Inaba’s logic was sound, and yet he couldn’t help but feel on edge, wondering when the Regression might strike next. Maybe this time it would choose him.

On top of the usual anxiety, he now had something else to worry about: the fact that some entity had spoken to him directly. Not only that, but his name wasn’t listed on the chalkboard, either... Somehow he got the feeling that this phenomenon would play out a bit differently from the other two—particularly for him.

Before he knew it, he’d arrived safely at home. He exhaled into the cold, wintry air and felt his tension subside ever so slightly. Granted, he knew he shouldn’t let his guard down, but home was far more secure than outside, at least. This was the one place he felt completely safe.

“I’m home!”

As soon as he stepped inside, he heard the pitter-patter of light footsteps headed his way.

“You’re LATE! You promised you’d be home early today!” Rina’s little doe eyes glinted with annoyance as she fixed him with a glare. Her wavy hair was tied back in a low ponytail, suggesting she’d been helping out in the kitchen.

“S-Sorry... Something came up.”

“What could possibly be more important than your adorable little sister?! Hmph!”

Evidently his absence had put her in a bad mood.

“Well, it is Christmas and all. I’m sure ‘something’ ‘came up’ with your girlfriend or whatever!”

“I told you, she’s not my girlfriend!”

“Seriously?! You both obviously like each other, so why don’t you just make it official?! You’re such a child, Taichi!”

“Maybe you think it’s normal to rush into a relationship, but I prefer to take my time with this stuff!”

You don’t get to call me a child! You’re in grade school!

“So you didn’t even give her a Christmas present?”

“Er... No...”

Even supposing he had a gift to give, which one would he give it to? He couldn’t just give one to both of them; that would be a cop-out.

“Good grief, you’re so hopeless! Well, if you’re not gonna get her anything, then I hope you’ll spend your money on me instead, dearest brother!”

“Fair enough... Wait, how is that fair? That doesn’t follow at all!”

Lately he was starting to get the feeling he was raising her into quite the spoiled little hellion... No, no, that wasn’t possible. Surely she would stay as pure and angelic as the day she was born!

Rina turned on her heel and headed down the hall; Taichi kicked off his shoes and followed after her. Then, suddenly, she stopped short.

“Excuse me, would you mind—”

But when she turned around, the words died in his throat.

Her eyes were empty and lifeless.

All at once, he knew something was wrong. Very wrong.

No. Not here. That’s... That’s not allowed.

This was the one place that was meant to be safe.

Silently, he prayed it was all just a misunderstanding.

Unfortunately, that didn’t make it any less real.

“Who... are you...?”

This was supposed to stay between «Heartseed» and the CRC. The rest of the world was supposed to be safe. This house was supposed to be safe. His sister was supposed to be safe.

“Who?” The entity tilted his sister’s head.

“I know you’re not «Heartseed».”

“Not? False. I, too, am «Heartseed».” It spoke in a slow, lilting, airy voice—nothing like Rina’s usual tone.

“What? You are? But everything about you is so different from the «Heartseed» I’m used to... Is «Heartseed» the name of your species or something?”

At this point, he’d accepted that his sister was now possessed by an otherworldly being. But instead of screaming and running for the door, he was instead calmly holding a conversation with this alien entity. Everything about this was abnormal—himself included.

“Oh... I see.” It nodded. “In that case... I am... the next «Heartseed»... «The Second». Yes, I am «The Second». Do you understand?”

“Your name is... «The Second»?”

“Yes... Acceptable?”

“I mean, you hardly need my permission...” Do these things not have their own names or what? At least this one seems to know the other «Heartseed»... “You possessed Oosawa earlier today, right?” he asked, just to make sure.

“Yes, we met today before noon. So far, so good... but tomorrow is still yet to come.”

“Wait—what do you mean, tomorrow?”

“Same as today. At noon, someone among those four will take the form of a child. At five, they will turn back.”

“The Age Regression phenomenon? Are you the one who’s controlling it?”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t «Heartseed» after all. Though it seemed similar at first glance, this was almost assuredly a different kettle of fish.

Fighting to control his trembling body, Taichi decided to ask it the question that had struck him regarding its statement just prior.

“When you say ‘those four,’ does that mean I’m not part of this?”

“...If all of you were turned to children... things would get... complicated... worst case scenario... fall apart.”

It had a point there.

“Why me? Why am I the exception?”

“Why? Why? There is no why.”

So it chose me purely at random? Fitting, I suppose.

Before he could ask his next question, «The Second» continued, “You must maintain control of the situation. I will have no part in this. It is up to you. I will... observe... and set things into place.”

Another observer, just like the first. But this phenomenon would be of the “sink or swim” variety... save for one designated lifeguard.

Like the original «Heartseed», «The Second» sucked at explaining things, so Taichi was forced to fill in the blanks himself.

“Also, do not tell anyone of my presence. This is very important. You must keep this promise. If you break your word... it will get much harder.”

Harder how?

“What’s your objective, anyway? Where’s «Heartseed»? And how do you two know each other?”

«The Second» simply blinked back blankly as Taichi unloaded all his other questions at once. “...I am told «Heartseed» considers you fascinating. As for me, I am far more interested in your relationship with «Heartseed». It is most unusual.”

“Okay, but what’s your end goal here?”

“...Good question.”

“Gimme a break. You don’t even know your own objective?”

At least «Heartseed» seemed to have one, even if the CRC hadn’t figured out what it was yet.

Wait—

“So... How long will this last?”

«The Second» froze. After a few seconds, it replied, “Until I find my answer?”

His sight dimmed. When would he finally wake from this aimless dream?

“...We will meet again.”

“What?”

The sudden farewell caught him off guard. But before he could react—

“...Huh? Why are we standing around in the hall?”

—the abnormality vanished.

“What the hell?!”

As usual, he didn’t get a say in any of it.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?” Rina asked, her expression sparkling with energy once more.

“Oh, uh... it’s nothing.”

“Hmph. Whatever.”

A cold sweat trickled down his back as he watched her retreat into the living room.

«Heartseed» was an illogical creature, but at least it followed its own sort of code. As for «The Second», there was no guarantee it shared the same beliefs... and like «Heartseed», its powers were limitless. If it so desired, it could easily put them in mortal danger—something Taichi knew all too well.

«Heartseed» had never shown itself to carry any intention of hurting them—but could the same be said of «The Second»? Was it planning to only ever show itself around Taichi specifically? And if so, was it little more than a simple preference, or was there some deeper significance behind it?

But most of all...

What the hell do I do now?

+ + +

That night, Nagase Iori called up Inaba Himeko.

“...Is it really true...? Did I really turn into a kid? Completely?”

“Yep. Completely... At least, I think so, anyway.”

“Weird... Okay, well... about that...”

“What is it?”

“Umm... Do you think maybe... being around my old self will make Taichi like me less?”

“I don’t think he’s that kind of guy... I’m ninety-nine percent sure, anyway.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right... Probably...”

“Yeah... Probably...”

“Yup...”

“...Pffft.”

“Hahahahaha!”

“Bahahaha! Shit, listen to us! We’re not girly enough for this half-assed girl talk! And we’re both crushing on the same guy, anyway! What a joke!”

“I know, right? I never dreamed I’d be having this conversation with you!”

“Never? Come on. I am technically a girl, you know! ...Man, this is some predicament we’ve put ourselves in. You know, I hear polyamory is in vogue these days. Why don’t we just make it official and go the ménage à trois route?”

“Wow, I guess you’ve really had a change of heart... or so you want me to think! This is just a clever ploy to make me let my guard down, isn’t it?!”

“Wink wink!”

“Inaban! Since when do you of all people say ‘wink’ out loud?!”

“...Yeah, you’re right. That was a little too weird, even for me. I don’t have the best grasp on these things... Just forget I said it...”

“Aww, man! I wish I could see your face right now! I bet you’re sooo embarrassed!”

As she spoke, Nagase did her best to keep her tone as bright and cheerful as possible.

Anything to keep their freakish reality at bay just one minute longer.