Kaito had a plan.
The plan was the epitome of apathetic efficiency. The "date that isn't a date" was set for 14:30. The train station was exactly twelve minutes away at a slow walk from his apartment. He calculated: wake up at 14:00, take a three-minute shower, throw on the same old hoodie, leave at 14:15, and arrive at 14:27. Three minutes to spare for any unforeseen incidents, like an untied shoelace.
It was a perfect plan.
Kaito woke up.
Sunlight streamed through the gap in his curtains. The apartment was silent. He stretched in his beanbag chair. He felt... rested.
He glanced at the digital clock on his desk.
14:21
It took Kaito's brain three full seconds to process the information.
14:21.
He had nine minutes.
"How... troublesome."
There was no panic. Just a wave of deep, utter annoyance. The universe had conspired to ruin his minimum-effort plan. He didn't even have time to brush his teeth.
Kaito vaulted off the beanbag chair (as fast as his apathy would allow), jammed his feet into his sneakers (no socks), and grabbed his keys. He was wearing the same hoodie and sweatpants he'd worn the day before.
He was out the door and running.
Well, "running" was a strong term. It was more of a quick, reluctant jog, the kind someone does when they realize they left the stove on.
"You're going to be late!" Fia's voice shrieked in his head, full of panic. "Kaito, she said she'd leave! You can't be late for the first date!"
"It's not a date," Kaito panted, more annoyed by the cardiovascular exertion than the delay. "And I'm not late. It's 14:28. I'm two blocks away."
He was right. The train station was just ahead. He was sweating, which was disgusting, and his breathing was ragged, but he would make it. He'd arrive at 14:29 and 50 seconds.
That's when he heard it.
A cry.
Kaito stopped, his jog dying. There, near the entrance of a small alley between a convenience store and a laundromat, was a little girl. She couldn't have been more than four or five. She was alone, clutching a worn-out teddy bear, and crying with the quiet, gasping kind of despair that meant she'd been lost for a while.
Kaito froze.
The setup was so specific, so painfully familiar, it felt like a trap.
Sakuta. The lost little girl. The high school girl who sees him. Tomoe Koga. The lolicon accusation. The fake dating. The time loops. The drama. The effort. Oh, God, the effort...
"Absolutely not."
The decision was instant. That child wasn't a child; it was a "plot hook." It was a wormhole that led directly to weeks of logistical and emotional trouble. It was not his problem.
Kaito veered around the little girl and tried to bypass her, picking up his pace.
He took two steps before a bright pink wall of frills and indignation materialized in front of him, blocking his path.
"KAITO!"
Fia stood before him, arms outstretched as if trying to stop a truck. Her face was red with anger.
"Fia, move," Kaito growled, trying to sidestep her. He glanced at his watch. 14:30. "I'm officially late. And it's your fault."
"My fault?!" she shrieked. "You were just... you were going to ignore a lost, crying little girl!"
"She's not a little girl, you divine idiot!" Kaito hissed, keeping his voice low. "She's a 'Trigger Event'! Don't you get it? If I interact with her, the girl from the next arc is going to show up and accuse me of something! My life is going to turn into a paradox-management hell!"
Fia stared at him, her anger momentarily replaced by confusion. "Arc? Plot hook? What are you talking about?"
"Meta-knowledge! It doesn't matter! The point is, touching that little girl is the equivalent of pushing a giant red button labeled 'More Trouble.' I'm not doing it."
He tried to push past her. But Fia held her ground, her spectral form strangely solid in her indignation.
"I don't care about your 'meta-hooks'!" she yelled, and this time a few people on the street glanced at Kaito (who appeared to be yelling at the air). "That is a child! She is scared! And you are the Chosen! The System has rules, Kaito! And Rule 1-A, subsection 3, is 'Don't be an apathetic monster'!"
[SYSTEM ALERT! PRIORITY MISSION: 'Basic Human Decency'] [Objective: Help Lost Child.] [Penalty for Failure: -100 Affinity (Fia). 'Guilt Paralysis' (Duration: 1 Hour).] [Note: 'Guilt Paralysis' is an excruciating headache that simulates a conscience.]
Kaito stopped walking. He read the note. A one-hour headache. A headache simulating a conscience sounded exponentially more troublesome than a quick kick.
He weighed his options:
Ignore the child. Suffer an hour of excruciating pain.
Help the child. Suffer five seconds of sharp pain and public humiliation.
The logic was, once again, infuriating and clear.
He let out the heaviest, most put-upon sigh of his life. "What a... troublesome hell."
He mentally braced for impact and changed direction, walking over to the little girl. He crouched down at a safe distance, so as not to seem threatening.
"Hey," he said, in his usual flat voice. "You're lost."
This only made the little girl cry harder.
"Kaito, you're terrible at this!" Fia yelled. "Try being nice!"
"Kindness expends energy," he muttered. He tried again. "Okay. Where is... the adult person who brought you? Are they tall? Do they wear shoes?"
"I want my mommy!" the little girl sobbed.
"Right. And where is she?"
"What are you doing to that little girl, you disgusting lolicon?!"
The high-pitched voice. Exactly like in the premonition.
Before Kaito could even turn or brace himself, the world tilted. A tremendous force hit him square in the backside, lifting him off his feet.
BAM.
He flew forward, landing hard on all fours on the concrete. Pain radiated from his tailbone. Sharp, pure, and humiliating.
[DAMAGE TAKEN: 10 (Physical), 50 (Dignity)] [STATUS APPLIED: Stunned (Humiliation)]
"What the..." Kaito growled, twisting to look over his shoulder.
A girl stood there, her leg still extended from a follow-through kick she had clearly been considering. She wore a different school uniform, had short brown hair, and an expression of pure, righteous indignation.
"I saw you!" she yelled, pointing an accusatory finger. "Harassing a lost little girl! You're disgusting! I'm calling the police right now!"
"Ah!" Fia yelled in Kaito's head, but this time it wasn't in anger. It was in recognition. "It's her! Paradox User #2! Tomoe Koga! 'Endless Loop' Syndrome!"
"Fia, focus!" Kaito ground out, trying to push himself up.
"I wasn't..." he started.
"Mommy!"
Suddenly, the lost little girl ran, sprinting right past the vigilante girl and jumping into the arms of a woman who had just run out of the convenience store. "Oh, Haru-chan, I only turned around for a second! Don't scare me like that!"
The mother looked at Kaito on the ground, then at the girl in the kicking pose. "Thank you for watching her!" she said to Kaito, before taking her daughter's hand and disappearing into the crowd.
The kicking girl froze. Her expression of righteous anger faltered, shifting to confusion, and then to a deep shade of red.
She realized she had just kicked an innocent civilian who was, in fact, helping.
"Oh," she stammered. "Uh... S-Sorry for the kick!"
And with a speed Kaito found impressive, she turned and fled, vanishing into the crowd as quickly as she had appeared.
[NEW PARADOX IDENTIFIED: Tomoe Koga (Status: Dormant)] [PRIORITY MISSION COMPLETE: 'Basic Human Decency']
Kaito stayed on his knees, rubbing his sore backside. "Troublesome..."
He looked at the clock on his phone.
14:36
"Six minutes," he growled at Fia, who floated down beside him, looking smug.
"You did the right thing, Kaito!" she said brightly. "And you met the next arc's girl! That's progress!"
"I hate you," he panted.
He took the station stairs two at a time. He burst through the entrance to the Enoden platform...
And there she was.
Mai Sakurajima was standing exactly where she said she'd be, in front of the ticket booth, arms crossed. She wasn't in her uniform. She was wearing a long, light-colored skirt, a light cardigan, and a hat that partially hid her face. She was elegantly understated.
She was staring at the large station clock, the toe of her shoe tapping impatiently on the ground.
Then, she saw him.
She looked Kaito over. She saw his run-tousled hair. She saw his wrinkled hoodie and his sweatpants. She saw the faint sheen of sweat on his forehead.
She looked at the clock (14:37), then back at him.
Her expression was cold, professional, and deeply disappointed.
"You're late," she said, her voice flat. "Seven minutes."
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To all my readers, my sincerest apologies. I unfortunately had some health problems, but I'm recovered now and will be back to posting chapters. I promise I'll make it up to you with extra chapters for the wait.
Once again, I'm sorry, and thank you so much to everyone who has been commenting—you all make me so happy.