#haruki misora | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

kaibutsushidousha · 2 months ago

Text

The Story of the Boy Who Left to Pick Up Sand from the Moon (Sagrada Reset 4) - Chapter 2

[INDEX]

Since Nonoo said she wouldn't leave the shrine until it was dark, Kei and Haruki decided to stay with her. Admiring the night sky wouldn't help them find Kusakabe Shouta, but mission or no mission, the summer vacation was the ideal occasion to watch the stars.

Kei and Haruki climbed down the mountain, passed through the main shrine, bought onigiri and sandwiches at the nearest convenience store, and returned to the shrine to share the food with Nonoo. Upon giving an onigiri to the cats, they relinquished their space on the stone staircase for Kei and Haruki to seat. After taking a bite of her sandwich, Nonoo commented about it having cheese.

The sun only went down at 7 PM. One hour before it, the white moon already showed up in the eastern sky.

The moon was bigger than it were half a month ago. As its surroundings grew darker, the moon began to reflect the sun's light and shine beautifully. Even on the hottest season, the serene moon looked chill.

(Is there a boy collecting sand on the moon right now? The moon's surface must be very cold.)

"Can you recognize the constellations, Kei?"

There were no streetlights or bright billboards next to the shrine. The night sky had plenty of stars littered across its dark blue infinitely close to a black.

Kei shook his head.

"I'm confident I can get a question about them right in the science test, but that's about it."

The stars shining in the sky don't care about anyone's opinions, so they don't bother complying to the constellation diagrams about them. Kei liked the night sky but never had any interest in constellations.

"That one looks like Orion to me."

But Orion is a winter constellation. It allegedly also appears on summer in the early morning, but it being in the sky at that time was inconceivable.

"Do you know the constellations?"

"I don't know a lot either. I believe the Summer Triangle is maybe over that way."

"Then that's Cygnus."

Deneb was a component of the Summer Triangle. It's the brightest star in the Cygnus and lies 1800 light-years away from Earth. With very powerful light, it emitted about 50000 times the amount of energy the Sun did.

None of this information helped identify which star was Deneb. He was pretty confident he found the one, but pointing and calling the name didn't deliver the answer. Besides, when seen from Earth, the Moon's mirror of sunlight looked a lot brighter than Deneb.

"What did you and Shouta usually talk about?", Kei asked with his eyes still up to sky.

"It was always about the moon and the stars. Also about that one cat. In retrospect, I don't know much about him.", Nonoo answered relaxedly.

"Do you know anything that happened at his school?"

"Nothing. Shouta didn't talk much about himself."

"He's a lot like you, Nonoo."

"You're the same when it comes to not talking about yourself.", she giggled. "I already had this same conversation with Shouta. That's probably what I like about that boy."

"How he doesn't make the conversation about himself?"

"Yeah."

"You prefer to keep conversations short?"

"I don't prefer anything. I'm just not interested. When I'm chatting with someone, I don't care about their past or their daily routine."

"It doesn't matter if you're talking to a criminal or to the king of another nation?"

"Yeah, doesn't matter. I say something and they reply. There's this back-and-forth. Nothing else is essential."

(I can somewhat relate. That's one way to have an impartial perspective. Correct words don't become less correct by coming out the mouth of a liar. Wrong words don't become less wrong by coming out the mouth of an honest person. If every word is treated with due attention, their context grows less significant. But…)

"Does that mean you see no difference between the words of a friend, the words of a lover, and the words of a complete stranger?"

"If they're saying the same thing, who is saying it doesn't change a thing. Life's a lot easier if you can think like that.", she nodded.

He strongly identified with her answer but hearing it said out loud felt cruel.

Kei shifted his attention to Haruki's profile. She watched the starry sky in silence.

"Nonoo, did you say the same thing to Shouta?"

"Uh-huh."

"Your mindset is very fair and a little unfair.", Kei spoke after some hesitation.

"I don't get it. You're contradicting yourself.", she answered with no confused reaction.

Conversation that exclude the backgrounds of the parties are faithful to the words said. But they're not faithful to the person speaking. They sound fair to the conversation itself but unfair to their personal relationship. Because one facet of developing intimacy is reframing the meaning of previous actions and words. And because when you repeat something, you want your voice to reach deeper for one specific person.

Kei decided to ask a mean question.

"Will it make any difference to you if Shouta dies, but you have someone else to talk about the stars and the moon in his place?"

He didn't know what were Kusakabe Shouta's feelings for Nonoo Seika. But he disappeared in front of Nonoo and promised to meet her on the day he'd move away. It's very likely he thought of her something more than a simple acquaintance.

Nonoo subtly lowered her gaze.

"No, that's not how it works."

"Yes, I know."

"I can see someone as special, like anyone can."

"I know the feeling."

Kei internally sighed. He clearly said too much.

Kusakabe Shouta's and Nonoo Seika's relationship didn't need Kei's input. That was for Shouta to deal with. It's not something Kei should take away from him.

Haruki pointed to the stars.

"That one is probably Vega."

She's been searching for the Summer Triangle this whole time.

But Kei couldn't tell what was the star she was pointing to.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The trio watched the night sky by the shrine until 8:30 PM.

After that, they climbed down the dark mountain relying on the moon's light. They could hear frogs in the distance. The streetlamps and traffic lights seen below the mountain looked awfully bright.

The mountain track eventually led to a narrow stone staircase going to the side of the main shrine. The main shrine had its own set of stone stairs leading to the streets.

Kei wanted to walk Nonoo home but she refused.

"That's the usual time for me.", Nonoo said. She told them her house was very close to the place. Kei found no need to push it, and parted ways with Nonoo in front of the main shrine.

He and Haruki walked the night streets side by side. His steps were slightly shorter than they are when he's walking alone.

She looked at the starry sky again.

"What's sand from the moon like?"

"Just basalt sand with smaller grains."

"Do you find that beautiful, Kei?"

"Not sure. The moon looks prettier to me when seen from Earth."

"Why did Kusakabe Shouta went to take sand from the moon?"

"Don't know. It was probably the only decent idea he had."

(The only idea he had for a good enough gift for Nonoo.)

Kei didn't know Nonoo all too well.

He could please her by buying cream puffs, but he couldn't think of what would be a more memorable present. She didn't seem to care about clothes and accessories.

The only thing he could say for certain Nonoo liked was cats. But giving away a cat as a present would probably offend her. That was not the way she interacted with cats.

"It's hard to find a present the person will like.", Kei said.

"I was pleased by the hairpin you gave me, Kei", Haruki responded.

Kei gave Haruki a hairpin as a present exactly 10 days ago.

"I cheated on that one."

"What do you mean?"

"That's confidential. Still, I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Words existed to convey messages, but not every message needed to be passed. However, Nonoo Seika and Kusakabe Shouta lacked enough conversation, in Kei's opinion.

"Supposed you wanted to give someone a present."

"I do. I want to give you something in return for the hairpin."

"Thank you, but don't bother.", Kei quickly shook his head before continuing. "Anyway, Haruki, what do you do when you want to give someone a present but you don't know what they like?"

"I ask them what they want."

"Very constructive approach, but that's not always the right call."

"How so?"

"I believe there are presents that you must choose yourself. At times like this, you need to look at all of their words and actions to guess what's the best pick."

Haruki was puzzled.

"Is the return gift for the hairpin one of those I must think about on my own?"

"No, that's not it at all."

Kei was getting upset at how he couldn't make the conversation about Nonoo and Shouta, but not enough to shut down Haruki's topic, so he switched to the listener role.

"I believed it should also be an accessory to match the hairpin, but you don't tend to wear any.", she said.

"Yeah, putting trinkets on is a chore and they don't make me look much better."

"But you often wear a wristwatch."

"Only when necessary. Most of the time, I look at my phone to check the time."

He'd rather avoid those predicaments that necessitate him to learn what time it is at a mere flick of the wrist.

"Then how about a book?"

"I prefer buying my own reads."

"Now that you mention it, you never go to the library."

"Yeah, I love the mood of the library but I can't deal with having return dates."

He wanted to avoid packing his scheduled as much as possible. Generally, the blanker a calendar was, the better.

Haruki nodded.

"Understood."

"Understood what?"

"Choosing presents is difficult."

Kei and Haruki walked the night streets side by side.

The moon slowly moved from the east sky to the south.

Did Kusakabe Shouta really go there?

The only thing certain was that a boy disappeared last night.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the next day–July 26th–Kusakabe Shouta still hadn't returned home.

Kei met Haruki at 11:30 AM.

The two sat together at a small park bench.

The large clock in front of them was precisely 5 minutes late. Every time they've been there, it's been 5 minutes late. No more, no less. Would anyone ever fix the time? Was the 5-minute delay intentional? They'd never know. Perhaps the moral of the story is that there's nothing wrong with public clocks being late.

Kei and Haruki were the only ones in the park. No one in the sandbox, no one on the swings, no one on the slide. The playground equipment devoid of children didn't feel legitimate. It looked like curio modeled after a real playground.

The loud voices of the cicadas were the only source of noise. Straining his ears enough, he could hear a TV in the distance, but not audibly enough to make out what it was saying.

Their last Save was July 23rd at noon. The two were on the same bench of the same park. Almost 72 hours had passed since then. It takes 72 hours for the Save's effect to run out.

Kei stared at time display on his phone. It reached 11:45:00. The park's delayed clock marked 11:40:00.

"It's time.", said Kei.

Haruki Misora's ability was called Reset.

The whole world returns to how it was in the moment of the Save if she merely wills it. The rewind may be simulated, but she can turn back time up to 3 days in total. It was a very powerful and disruptive ability.

Kei's role was to press the switch.

"Haruki."

He never once gave the sign to use this ability without hesitating. He never once let his hesitation stop him from giving the sign.

Under the blue sky, the boy spoke a word with outward composure.

"Reset."

One word to wreck the world. One word to start it over from its remains.

For a short time, the continuous voice of the cicadas seemed to be interrupted.

#sagrada reset #the story of the boy who left to pick up sand from the moon #asai kei #haruki misora #nonoo seika

3 notes · View notes

kaibutsushidousha · 3 months ago

Text

The Story of the Boy Who Left to Pick Up Sand from the Moon (Sagrada Reset 4) - Chapter 1

[INDEX]

On July 25th, the blue in the 5 PM sky was serene.

The sun had waned considerably, as expected of the time, but still, in the midsummer, it was too early to call that time slot "evening".

Due to the summer vacations, the boy had lost track of the days of the week. July 25th was Tuesday, but there was no significant difference between Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays.

Raising his hand to avoid the sunlight, Asai Kei climbed the stone stairway next to Kamisaki Shrine. Haruki Misora was immediately behind him. The stairs were too tight for them to climb side by side.

The sweat going down his neck was disgusting. When tried to wipe it out with his hand, he heard Haruki's voice behind him.

"Do you need a handkerchief?"

"No, thanks. I'm fine."

"Alright."

Her voice was deep and husky for girls standards. It was a pleasant voice. At the very least, a lot more comfortable than the loud cicadas chirping nonstop above them.

The stairway eventually ended on an unpaved mountain path. With the road getting wider, Haruki speeded up and lined next to Kei. The hem of her blue dress swayed and her bag made clanking noises.

"What do you have in the bag?"

"I brought water and cold barley tea bottles."

(Makes sense. That was the sound of ice.)

"Do you want some?"

"I'll drink when we get to Nonoo."

A few more minutes on that road took them to a tiny shrine. A girl could often be found there with cats. Meeting her, Nonoo Seika, was their goal of their little mountaineering trip. A Service Club mission required asking her questions.

They first met Nonoo 10 days ago. They needed to track a cat, so they sought her expertise in cats. Although they hadn't known each other for long, Kei had taken a liking to her.

"Why did it have to be so hot today? It's hard to believe it's already past 5.", said Kei, flapping the collar of his shirt.

He didn't dislike the summer, but daytime went on for too long.

"You mentioned before that summer is always hot, Kei."

"I might have said that, but isn't this year going a little overboard?"

"That's what you said last year."

"Did I?"

Both knew he remembered exactly when he said those things, along with his exact words and intonation. Nonetheless, he feigned ignorance. Summer was not only the hot season, but also the season of whining about the heat, he believed. Preserving silence was more of a winter thing.

"The moon's surface must be a lot more chilly.", Kei said after looking at the sky.

"Would you like to go to the moon?"

"Perhaps. I'm certainly interested."

He wouldn't survive being in the moon with his light summer gear, and a space suit didn't look very comfortable to move in. The extremely low gravity was appealing, but too much work and something he could easily go without.

"I'd rather lie down comfortably in a room with air conditioning than go to the moon, though. I'm not needing any sand from the moon right now.", Kei answered.

Last night, a boy disappeared.

His last words were, "I'm leaving to pick up sand from the moon".

Two hours ago, the Service Club tasked Kei and Haruki with investigating the boy. The initial objective was to confirm the boy's safety.

Soon enough, the small shrine came in sight. One girl sat atop the shrine's three-step stairway, at the center of a circle made of a dozen or so cats.

Nonoo Seika.

She was the last person to talk to the boy who departed to the moon.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nonoo Seika was doll-like. Unbelievably light-skinned.

(I don't understand how she manages to go this untanned in summer. Maybe there's a supernatural force at play.)

Her eyes were closed. She was surrounded by cats. Her ability lets her share her consciousness with cats while she's asleep or absentminded to the same extent. In other words, while she's not remembering who she is.

For some reason, Nonoo wore her uniform despite being on summer vacation. Once Kei reached her, she slowly raised her pretty eyelids.

"Good morning.", she said.

"Good morning. Did we wake you up?"

"No. I was waiting for you two."

A cat climbed Nonoo's knee. She put her hand on it before continuing.

"You're here because of Shouta, right?"

"Yes, exactly."

The name of the boy who went missing after saying he'd go pick up sand from the moon was Kusakabe Shouta.

"How much do you know about Shouta?"

"Not much, really. Only that he's a 10-year-old elementary-schooler with an astronomy hobby. He came to Sakurada 3 years ago and will move to another city in 2 days from now."

He read all that in the Bureau's report sheet. He also knew the boy's address, birthday, etc. but didn't think those were relevant information.

"Also that this is the place he usually goes for his stargazing."

Nonoo nodded, petting a cat.

"That's about as much as I know."

"But haven't you two known each other for a year?"

"I'm impressed you know that."

"It's because I was talking to his parents before."

He got an overview on who Kusakabe Shouta was and checked his room. There wasn't much in the room, as they were packing to move away. The shelves without most books and the closet without most clothes gave off the impression of a cast-off shell.

"What do you think happened, Nonoo?"

"The boy went to the moon and can't come back."

"Any other ideas?"

Nonoo lowered her gaze to the cat on her lap and stroke the scruff of its neck with gentle handwork. The cat squinted in comfort and yawned wide.

"Only that. What's your guess?"

"The Bureau determined it's a unique runaway situation. For now, the most likely motive is opposition to moving out of town. But there's a high likelihood his ability is at play."

Kusakabe Shouta vanished before Nonoo Seika's eyes. The report tells he very literally vanished and couldn't be found. They were at the scene of the incident.

Vanishing acts are a staple trick of stage magic, but it's not natural to assume a 10-year-old pulled this off outdoors. In this city where half of the population had unique abilities, unknown superpowers were more believable than physical contrivances. The second most reasonable possibility would be that the only witness, Nonoo Seika, gave false testimony, but so far, he couldn't find any reason why she would.

Nonoo raised her head and looked at Kei.

"I don't think he ran away."

"Care to tell why?"

"We're scheduled to meet here in the morning the day after tomorrow."

(The day after tomorrow... That's when Shouta is leaving Sakurada.)

"The Bureau's assessment is wrong. What do you think, Asai?"

"I don't know anything yet. I'm here to hear you out precisely because I can't draw any conclusions."

"What do I need to tell you?"

"Do you have any idea why Shouta wanted to pick up sand from the moon?"

A gray cat with a crooked tail coiled around Kei's leg.

Kei squatted and pet the cat.

"There was this one cat.", said Nonoo.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a cat.

Small build, yellow eyes, pure white fur.

The cat knew he was close to his final hours. He couldn't dash as fast as before. He wouldn't get fatter no matter how much he ate. Not that he could eat that much because his appetite was lower, his sleeping hours took progressively more time, and his nose was getting worse. He didn't fully understand the concept of death, but he could feel his body on the way to losing all of its function.

Accepting that, he looked at the sky.

It happened to be night and the moon happened to look beautiful. A large full moon.

That was all it took. In daylight, he would have fallen in love with the sun or the white clouds instead. But what the cat found when he looked at the sky was the full moon, thus, the full moon was beautiful.

The cat wanted to go to the moon.

The cat dreamed of being there when his body loses all function; when he's unable to see, hear, smell, or meow. If his body were to no longer move, he wanted to stand immobile in the most beautiful place in the world.

Climbing trees wasn't enough to reach the moon.

Climbing roofs wasn't enough to reach the moon.

The cat learned the moon was outrageously high up.

Thus, in search of a taller place, the moonlit cat wandered into a mountain.

Nonoo Seika had the ability to share her mind with cats. She frequently shared it the white cat seeking the moon.

[You can't reach the moon], Nonoo thought within the white cat's mind.

The moon was somewhere beyond a cat's reach.

Nonoo and the cat shared and mixed each other's minds. The cat initially believed Nonoo's thoughts were his own, but still argued against it.

[I won't know until I try.]

Nonoo's thoughts reflect into the cat's mind and vice versa. He continues to "answer his own questions" in what resembled a soliloquy.

[Climbing the tallest tree got you no closer to the moon, remember?]

[I simply have to find a taller one.]

[You can't. Look at how heavy your limbs are. Even you find a tree tall enough to reach the moon, it'd more impossible for you to claw your way up to the top.]

[Is that so? I'm a pretty good climber. Not to mention...]

[Not to mention what?]

[My whole life, I never failed to go where I wanted to.]

[Really? Suit yourself, then.]

[That's what I always do.]

[Uh-huh. I'm rooting for you.]

Little by little, the cat noticed the abnormalities in his mind.

He understood someone other than himself was in his head.

[Hold up, you're not me, are you?]

[Wow, what a surprise. You're the first one to notice me.]

[Who are you?]

[Does it matter? I love you, I have my worries about you, and I'm wholeheartedly rooting for you. What else could you ask for?]

['s that so? No matter, then. I'm taking you to the moon with me, baby.]

The cat wandered the night mountain. He searched for the tallest tree, his ticket to the moon. Nonoo watched him through his mind.

And that night, they met a boy.

The trail was dark. The exhausted kid sat down at a tree root, watching the sky.

The panicked cat hid in a bush.

[Holy crap, what the hell was that?]

[A child. A human child.]

[No, I got that part. The question's what's the brat doing here?]

[He must be lost. Oh, he has a backpack and a telescope.]

[What's a backpack and a telescope?]

[Hey, could you tap the kid's shoelaces a little?]

[Haha, no way. I don't care about any stinking humans.]

[Me neither, but now that we found him, we can't do nothing about it.]

[Uh, we absolutely can.]

[C'mon, please. It won't happen again. I'll give you your favorite food later.]

[My favorite? Anything goes?]

At the moment, the cat imagined tiny moon-colored scraps.

The cat didn't know what those yellowish-white scraps were called. But Nonoo, sharing his mind, recognized them.

[Cheese? You like cheese?]

[Hohoh, cheese's what the thing's called?]

[If you do me this favor, I'll give you cheese.]

[Why are you capable of that?]

[You'll know soon enough. Go ahead, do it.]

The cat grumpily approached the boy and scratched his shoelace.

The boy looked down.

"A cat?", he whispered.

[Did it. Was that enough?]

[Yes. Excellent work. Now slowly walk to the right.]

[Can't I run instead? I'd rather get to a safe distance as soon I can.]

[You can't. Turn back for a moment and meow. It doesn't have to be loud.]

He frustratedly wondered what was the point of it all.

But since it was for cheese, the cat meowed as told. The boy stood up and slowly approached.

[Yeah, that's it, keep going.]

[For the life of me, you ARE going to give me that cheese, right?]

[Oh, trust me, I'll feed you all the cheese you could ever want.]

The cat advanced guided by Nonoo.

The boy trotted behind it.

The cat climbed down the mountain until it reached a small shrine.

It was a strange place. It had a human with her eyes closed under the moonlight. A number of cats surrounded her.

[Oh goodness, what am I looking at?]

[That's me.]

[You? You're human?]

[Unfortunately, yes. I didn't want to be born human, but there's nothing I can do about it, is there?]

[What the heck is wrong with you? You make no sense.]

But she wouldn't answer again.

The moonlit human surrounded by cats slowly opened her eyes.

"I'm called Nonoo Seika.", she said. "You've been of great help. As promised, I'll buy cheese for you."

Cats don't understand human languages. He couldn't comprehend what Nonoo was saying.

Nonoo knocked on her head.

"I'll come visit your mind again tomorrow."

"Are you talking to the cat?", the human boy asked her.

"Don't be silly. Cats don't understand human languages.", she answered clearly not joking.

Nonoo then stood up and walked to the boy.

"What's your name, kid?"

"It's... Kusakabe Shouta."

"What are you doing here this late at night?"

"I was looking for a place where you can see the sky well."

"The sky? You can see it from anywhere."

"But I want to take a closer look at the moon."

"Heh.", Nonoo smirked looking at the cat. "Lucky you, you're not alone on this one."

This is how Nonoo Seika, Kusakabe Shouta, and the nameless cat met.

The trio of two persons and cat watched the moon together on a roughly weekly basis.

Half a year later, the cat died before he could reach the moon.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kei interrupted with a few questions along the way, but for the most part, let Nonoo tell her whole story. Her voice was calm, concealed affection, and resembled someone reciting a fairy tale.

"Shouta said he'd pick up sand from the moon for this cat."

With her story concluded, Nonoo exhaled.

Kei bowed slightly.

"Thank you. I learned a lot."

Behind them, Haruki took a bottle and paper cups from her bag. She poured tea in a cup and offered it to Nonoo.

"Do you want some?"

"Thanks. You're well-packed."

"I also have cookies in here."

"This is starting to feel like a picnic."

Nonoo had an amused smirk. She showed frequent signs of liking Haruki. Kei wanted to put these to talk one-on-one some day. There was a chance they could hit off well.

Haruki offers another cup of tea to Kei. He thanked her and took a sip. It was still pleasantly cold and tasted excellent.

Nonoo drank her tea in one gulp.

"I can't understand Shouta's train of thought."

"What part?"

"Him going to pick up sand from the moon for that white cat. He died over half a year ago. It's too late for the sand to matter in any way."

"Does the white cat have a grave?"

"He does. Shouta made it. What about it, though?"

"Isn't he going to offer the moon sand to the grave?"

"That's pointless. There's only a corpse buried under there. Corpses can't be pleased."

"I'm not so sure about that."

Kei's doubt was about a part completely unrelated to the answer he gave.

The cat wanted to die on the moon. The boy tried to pick up sand from the moon for the cat. The two facts feel related, but they don't exactly connect.

(All the cat wanted was to die on the moon. The moon's sand was not a factor. If he gained the ability to go to the moon, the more natural idea would have been to bury the cat there. Though there'd be huge commotion if people ever found a dead cat on the moon's surface.)

"You liked that cat, right, Nonoo?"

"I love every cat. But I did get along particularly well with him. To this day, he's still a favorite."

"Did you say the same thing to Shouta?"

"We had a similar conversation last night, immediately before he disappeared."

Kei nodded.

He got the general idea of what Shouta was trying to accomplish—and for whom.

"Do you really believe in the ability to go to the moon?"

Kei's answer to Nonoo's question was yes.

"I obviously can't discard the possibility."

Sakurada's abilities were infinitely varied. Any ability imaginable had a chance of existing. There were no grounds to assert it as inconceivable, at least for now.

"But aren't abilities only usable in Sakurada? The moon is not part of the city."

Abilities don't leave Sakurada's territory. No one can bring theirs outside. That is a logic premise of Sakurada's abilities, and one people consider an absolute rule.

However, Kei disagreed.

"You don't lose your ability by leaving the city. All that happens is that you lose your memories of it."

No one can use an ability they don't remember exists. That's why there's no precedent case for an ability being used outside Sakurada. At least as far as Kei knew.

Nonoo frowned.

"That's worse. What will happen to Shouta if he goes to the moon and forgets how to use his ability?"

A suitless human being can't survive on the moon.

"That's what we fear the most. Even if with his ability, I believe it's very difficult to safely make a round trip from Sakurada to the moon."

Suppose his ability is teleportation with no distance limit. That would enable him to go to the moon, but only that isn't enough to survive on its surface. Or, if his ability is to survive on the moon, that wouldn't be of any help because he would forget how to use.

The very idea of using an ability to go to the moon was dangerous.

That's why Kei was operating with intent to use Haruki's ability if they fail to find Shouta. Her Reset can simulate a time rewind to the point of her Save.

Her latest Save is dated to July 23—Two days ago. Meaning they can return to a time before last night, July 24, when Shouta vanished.

"Doesn't the Bureau know anything about Shouta's ability?"

"No. Whatever his ability is, he obtained it very recently."

The Bureau regulates abilities all over Sakurada.

Twice a year, Sakurada's schools run tests to discover who has abilities and who doesn't. Just like they do the health checkups and physical fitness tests. It's very uncommon for an ability to manage to slip past the Bureau's examiner. It's not 100% surefire, but there's not much reason to doubt them.

(Shouta's school ran its tests in June. It was determined that Shouta still didn't have an ability at that point. We should assume he only got his power after that.)

Nonoo moved her finger in front of the cat on her lap. The cat watched the finger intently. Perhaps mistaking it for prey.

"Were your frequent encounters with Shouta planned?"

"No. He would occasionally appear while I was here late at night. We didn't schedule anything."

"Even yesterday?"

"Yeah, it's all coincidence."

The cat swung its paw at Nonoo.

Nonoo swiftly pulled her hand back, making the cat's strike miss its mark.

"When was the previous time you met him?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe one week ago."

His parents told that Shouta went stargazing every night for the past 3 days. It's never been that frequent before.

(He possibly wanted to find Nonoo. Why? Most likely because he got a new ability.)

Giving up on the hunt, the cat curled up on Nonoo's lap and closed its eyes.