Day 160 – Loop 12.6
Yuto Nakagawa was standing on the school rooftop, holding a juice box, a slightly crumpled note, and the weight of six collapsing timelines on his back.
Across from him, Aira leaned against the railing, wind teasing her hair as if the universe was shipping them harder than Kana did.
"So," she said, not looking at him, "we're really doing this?"
Yuto nodded slowly. "A pact. A real one. No matter the loop. No matter the timeline."
A seagull squawked dramatically overhead, clearly sensing the romantic tension.
---
Flashback: One Hour Earlier — The Chaos Below
Down in the clubroom, things were not so poetic.
Kana was taping an alarm clock to a Rubik's Cube, muttering something about "loop beacons," while Hiro was constructing what appeared to be a sword entirely out of sharpened pencils.
Sera had taken control of the whiteboard and was writing:
> "RULES FOR NOT DYING IN THE NEXT 7 DAYS:"
1. Don't trust the Shadow.
2. Don't kiss anyone unless you're 93% sure they're real.
3. Stop glowing in public, Yuto.
4. Kana is not allowed to build any more sentient toasters.
"I'm not glowing!" Yuto had protested.
"You lit up the gym like a disco ball yesterday," Yuzu deadpanned.
Aira had sighed, packed two juice boxes, and grabbed Yuto by the wrist.
"We're going upstairs."
---
Back to the Rooftop
The sun was setting now, casting gold across the sky like a promise they might actually survive this.
"I keep seeing different versions of you," Yuto said softly. "In dreams. In flashes. You always stay."
Aira chuckled. "That sounds like me. Recklessly loyal and annoyingly stubborn."
He offered her the second juice box. She took it, their fingers brushing.
"I don't know how many versions of us exist," he said. "But this one... I want to remember this one."
Aira nodded. "So let's make it count."
---
They etched it into the rooftop.
Literally.
With a pocket knife Hiro had sneakily planted on Yuto (for "self-defense against aggressive cafeteria sandwiches"), they carved a simple symbol into the concrete:
> ∞
Not an emoji. Just a loop. And a forever.
---
Elsewhere – Inside the Loop
In a dimension between seconds, the Shadow turned.
"He's binding himself to her," it whispered. "This will complicate things."
The Masked Stranger appeared beside it, arms crossed.
"Let them bond," the Stranger said. "Let them hope. It'll make the collapse more tragic."
But even the Stranger's voice trembled slightly. As if something inside them... remembered the rooftop too.
---
Midnight – Countdown T-minus 6 Loops
Back in their dorms, Yuto lay in bed, eyes wide open. Retrospection had gone quiet tonight. No voices. No flickers. Just silence.
But his heart beat steady.
He pulled out a folded piece of notebook paper.
Aira's writing.
> "If this version of us ends, Make sure the next one finds the rooftop again. I'll be waiting."
He smiled softly.
"For the record," he whispered to no one, "I'm 100% sure she's real."
---
End of Chapter 17 – The Rooftop Pact
Next: Chapter 18 – The Other Looper