Day 161 – Loop 12.7
Yuto woke up with the same headache he always got when timelines tried to hug his brain. But something was different this morning.
For the first time in twelve loops, he felt like... he wasn't alone.
And not just in the "my-friends-won't-let-me-sleep-because-Kana-attached-a-timer-to-my-socks" kind of way.
---
Morning – Clubroom
Kana was unusually quiet, staring at data streaming across three laptops.
"This isn't right," she muttered. "Our energy signature's been mirrored."
Yuzu peeked over her shoulder. "You mean like... there's another Yuto?"
"No," Kana whispered. "There's another Looper. Not a copy. Not a shadow. A real one. Different source, different wavelength. They've been hiding inside the loop."
Hiro dropped his toast. "...We're in a multiplayer game?!"
Aira's expression darkened. "Who is it?"
Kana hesitated, then turned the laptop around.
> Name: Reika Sano
Age: 16
Known Loops Experienced: Minimum 22
Status: Hidden Player
Codename: The Warden
Yuto blinked. "Wait—Reika from Class 2-B?! The girl who reads sad poetry and never joins P.E.?!"
"Yeah," Hiro said. "She beat me in arm wrestling once. And I'm pretty sure her lunch box glows."
---
Flashback – Three Loops Ago
Yuto remembered a strange moment during Loop 9.3, when Reika had passed by him in the hallway and whispered:
> "Don't trust the clocks."
He'd thought she was just being metaphorical.
Now it felt like a warning.
---
The Confrontation
After school, Yuto waited near the back stairwell—the one no one used except the few kids who secretly read manga during breaks.
Reika showed up exactly on time, carrying her usual poetry book and a look that screamed, "I know too much and also probably have a sword hidden in here somewhere."
"I was wondering when you'd find me," she said, calm as snowfall.
Yuto stepped forward. "You're a Looper."
"I prefer... survivor."
"How many times?"
She closed her book.
"Twenty-two. Not all mine."
Yuto flinched. "You're using... borrowed loops?"
Reika's eyes gleamed. "We don't all get fancy support clubs and rooftop pacts, Yuto. Some of us had to carve memory into bone just to stay sane."
---
The Truth Unfolds
Reika explained everything.
How she looped first during a school fire five years ago—an event no one else remembered.
How she learned to retain memories by writing them backward in poetry.
How she discovered "the Warden"—a masked version of herself in the late loops who tried to lock the timeline instead of fix it.
"There's more than one kind of Loop user," she said. "You're a dreamwalker. I'm a warden. Aira? She's... something else."
Yuto frowned. "What does that mean?"
Reika looked at him.
"She doesn't remember it yet. But in one of my timelines, she broke the loop."
---
Meanwhile – Student Council Office
Yuki reviewed the new intel.
"So Reika's still active," she said.
Riku raised an eyebrow. "She's unpredictable."
"She's essential," Yuki corrected. "Without the Warden, the loop breaks too soon. We need both players on the board."
"And Yuto?"
Yuki smiled.
"He's the wildcard. He always was."
---
Evening – Park Bench
Yuto sat with Reika on an old bench beneath flickering streetlamps.
"Why now?" he asked. "Why reveal yourself?"
She looked at him with tired eyes.
"Because I saw a timeline where the world ends in seven days. And in that version... I didn't tell you in time."
He went quiet.
Then he looked at her and said, "Join us."
Reika laughed softly. "I'm not a joiner."
"You don't have to be. Just... don't disappear again."
She hesitated.
Then nodded.
---
Later That Night
Aira watched from the shadows, unnoticed.
She saw Yuto talking with Reika.
Saw the tension.
Saw the trust.
Her fingers clenched slightly.
She didn't know why it hurt.
But something inside whispered:
> "You've met her before. In another version. And it didn't end well."
---
Elsewhere
The Masked Stranger watched Reika from atop a tower.
"So... the Warden has reentered the game," they whispered.
The Shadow emerged beside them.
"And she doesn't even remember the door she once opened."
---
End of Chapter 18 – The Other Looper
Next: Chapter 19 – First Kiss, Second Chance