Yuto had been followed before—by shadows, by fate, by an overexcited Hiro with snacks—but this was different.
For the past two days, he felt it: a presence just out of sight. Not the loop. Not Aira. Something colder. Watching. Waiting.
Even in the noise of the school courtyard, Yuto's ears buzzed with silence.
Until it happened.
After school, as rain painted the world in gray streaks, Yuto stepped outside—and the street froze.
Literally.
A pigeon halted mid-flap. A falling umbrella stopped midair. The raindrops hovered like glittering glass beads.
And at the center of it all… stood the Masked Stranger.
Clad in a black coat, white gloves, and a smooth porcelain mask with no mouth—just a slit where each eye should be. One eye glowed faint blue. The other red.
"Finally," the stranger said, voice echoing like wind across a canyon. "The boy who wasn't supposed to wake up."
---
Ten Minutes Earlier – In the Library
Kana had finally built her "Loop Tracker 2.0"—a bunch of wires, copper rings, and an old camera taped to a toaster. She was very proud.
"I swear this time it won't set off the fire alarm," she promised Hiro, who looked very unconvinced.
"You said that last time, and my eyebrows still haven't grown back!"
Yuzu popped her head in. "Guys! Yuto's missing, and my time sense is buzzing like mom's lie detector!"
They exchanged glances.
"Oh no," Kana muttered. "Another dramatic rooftop monologue incoming?"
"Nope," Yuzu said. "Worse. We've got a masked villain situation."
---
Back on the frozen street
Yuto clenched his fists. "Who are you?"
The Mask tilted their head. "A correction. A backup protocol. A reminder that time obeys us, not the broken ones."
Yuto's vision blurred. His heartbeat slowed—like something was pressing down on time itself.
"Why me?" he managed to say.
"Because you're the crack in the system. The one who wasn't meant to remember. The one she keeps bringing back."
Aira.
Yuto gritted his teeth. "I won't stop remembering."
"Good," the Masked Stranger whispered. "Then you'll finally see."
The figure raised a hand—and time snapped.
---
Explosion of motion.
Yuto blinked and the stranger was suddenly in front of him, hand inches from his chest. Instinct kicked in. He moved—not fast, not strong, but precise.
A flicker of light. A ripple in the air.
He stopped time.
Just for half a second.
But enough to dodge.
"What?" the stranger muttered. "You've already touched the core?"
"No idea what that means," Yuto gasped, "but it felt awesome!"
He backed up, heart racing, rain still hanging midair like a frozen storm.
---
Enter: Hiro.
Crashing through a school gate on a stolen bike, wielding a broken lacrosse stick like a lance.
"Unhand my anime protagonist, you creep!"
The Masked Stranger sidestepped effortlessly, but the distraction was enough—Yuto grabbed Hiro's hand, and time slammed back into motion.
WHOOSH.
Rain crashed to the ground. Thunder cracked. The stranger was gone.
Yuto collapsed onto the pavement, soaked and shaking.
"Dude," Hiro said, "that was so cool! You were like—slow motion power-up dodge plus time freeze! You've officially hit Shonen Main Character Tier 2."
Yuto laughed breathlessly. "I think I nearly died."
"Pfft. Semantics."
---
Later That Night
The gang gathered in Yuto's room—Aira, Kana, Hiro, and Yuzu, who brought emergency snacks.
"I've read about people like that," Kana said, flipping through her conspiracy binder. "Mask-wearers. Loop enforcers. They only appear when time anomalies go critical."
Aira's face was pale. "If he's here, the system is aware of us. We're not glitching anymore—we're threatening the whole structure."
"Cool," Hiro said. "So… war?"
Yuto stared at his hands. He could still feel the echo of that moment—when time obeyed him.
"I think we just leveled up."
---
Meanwhile… in a place outside time
The Masked Stranger knelt before a glowing wall of gears and void-light.
"They're adapting faster than expected," the Mask reported.
A deep, rumbling voice answered.
"Let them awaken. Let them believe they have a chance. When the final loop comes… they'll beg for a reset."
---