Archive of Our Own

A beautiful morning, that's what it was when Tsukasa woke up on this fine Saturday. The birds chirped outside, the sunlight shone from above and the smell of breakfast downstairs permeated throughout his lack of a fourth wall room.

He sat up from his resting position with a burst of energy. With a bright smile on his face, he simply stated to himself, “HAHA! Today will be an amazing day, and nothing will change my mind!” unaware that something would indeed change his mind in the near future, or the near present. For now, we'll let him have his fun.

Then, as if the day hadn’t finished getting better by the minute, his phone pinged with a message. From Nene no less.

“Hey, are you free today? Maybe we can hang out.” Tsukasa read the text aloud to himself.

“Nene is inviting me out?!” Even though he had been with the Wonderlands X Showtime troupe for over a year at this point, he knew Nene wasn't the type to initiate a meeting like this, much less with Tsukasa himself. Sure, they definitely had a lot of tension in the beginning, but their friendship only blossomed from there.

If anything, Tsukasa's heart pounded at the sight of the invitation. “It's just a friendly hangout between close comrades, nothing more, nothing less.” It's embarrassing for him to admit that he definitely fell for the Diva sometime after the formation of their group. Did he want to confess these feelings and get it off his chest? Yes, but in the case that it didn't go well, it would surely cause a rift within the group, and Tsukasa didn't want that just because he was selfish.

But can you blame him? Nene is an amazing actress, singer, and person altogether. No one shone brighter than her on stage. Plus, he saw their interactions and bickering as endearing. Though he wasn't sure if she saw him like that in return, hence the hesitancy.

Oh, right, his response to the invitation.

Tsukasa quickly typed up his answer to her question.

Tsukasa: Of course I'd be available for our dearest Diva! Are you planning on inviting Emu and Rui as well? Or have you already done that?

It's a safe assumption that when one is invited, the whole group is involved. They're just that close with one another.

Nene: No, I was only going to invite you.

Never mind, that idea can be thrown out the window along with Tsukasa’s mental processing power. ‘Nene’s inviting me out ALONE??’ His heart’s not going to survive this day, but it was definitely a good day to end on if he somehow didn't wake up tomorrow.

Tsukasa: Oh my! I can't believe that our Diva is asking to be alone with a star such as I!

Nene: I take it back, I regret asking.

Tsukasa: Wait a minute! I'm available. What's the plan?

Nene: I have two tickets to a musical later today, and I need someone to come with me. You're the first person that came to mind.

Tsukasa: Then you've absolutely come to the right person! I'm indeed available, just tell me when and where and I'll be there!

Nene: Good, I'll send you a location in a second, as for time, it's around 4.

Tsukasa: Perfect, see you there!

Nene: Yeah, cya.

Well, there's no point in staying in bed now. The morning was fresh, and he had best get some work done before the afternoon meeting. But first? Freshen up and get some breakfast, he was hungry.

He made his bed and then quickly freshened up before going downstairs, where Tenmama and Saki were already eating.

“A fine morning we're having today!” Tsukasa announced whilst descending the stairs, wearing the biggest of smiles.

“Good morning, Oniichan! You look like someone who won the lottery. What happened?” Saki was the first to respond; meanwhile, Tenmama moved to fix up a plate of food for Tsukasa.

“Well, if you're so curious, Nene invited me out today! Just the two of us."

Saki’s eyes widened, and her grin even wider. “Oooh~ A date with Nenechan? Finally making progress!” Saki couldn't help but tease her romantically hopeless older brother.

Yes, she sort of knew the woes of Tsukasa and his crush for his troupe mate after he came to her room to ask for advice.

“I-it’s not a date! She says it's just a hangout.” He quickly corrected, though a small part of him wished it were considered a date.

“Sureeeee.” She wasn't totally convinced but moved on anyway. “What are you two doing later?"

“She invited me to go watch a musical later.”

“So like a movie date but for theater people?”

“Not a date!”

Tenmama chuckled as she approached the table carrying Tsukasa's breakfast plate. “Well, date or not, be sure to have fun and treat her with respect.”

“That goes without saying!”

So Tsukasa ate breakfast while Saki tried to convince him that today was the perfect opportunity to confess his love for Nene, but he kept trying to push back, albeit without success. Tenmama had to step in to calm Saki down a bit, though she added a bit of her own teasing into the mix.

Only after breakfast did he retreat to his room. He had a few more hours to kill before the fateful hangout with Nene, so he did what he usually does to pass the time: Memorize his parts for their best performance which had him and Nene as main characters with a romantic connection once again, working on outfits, either fixing his own or others’ costumes, or adding details, brainstorming new ideas and writing them down in his idea book, and much more.

When all was said and done, he simply sat on his bed and browsed around on his phone, seeing what everyone else was up to. For example, Leo/need went out together since Saki posted a group image with them at the mall, or MMJ finished up a stream as of recently with them at their More More house.

The time wasters proved effective as it was time for him to get ready to meet up with Nene. He threw on a casual outfit since he was under the impression that this was simply just a thing between friends.

So he headed out and speed-walked his way to the designated meet-up location. Was he late? Not even close, in fact, he was early! He just wanted to get there quickly.

Upon making it, he sat down and checked his phone, only five minutes early. Usually, he would be earlier, but that just meant more sitting around and mindlessly scrolling his phone until Nene arrived.

Five minutes later, there she was. She noticed Tsukasa, and with a small smile, she approached him casually.

“Ah, Nene! You're here at last."

“I'm on time, that's what I am. Hope you weren't waiting for long." Since she noticed that he was at the location before her, she came at the right time.

“Nonsense! I've only been here for a few minutes, I promise. Now, what was it we were going to watch? You didn't explain any details about the musical." He asked.

“Oh, right.” She dug into the bag she had on her and pulled out a ticket to hand to Tsukasa. “Here, it's your ticket. Just don't somehow lose it."

He took it with grace and read the title of the musical they were about to go watch. It was… A romantic musical? With a suspicious brow raise, he turned his head over to Nene, whose face was slightly red.

“D-don’t look at me like that. Rui handed them to me because he said he was too busy today to go watch it with someone.”

“Rui? That's interesting, I wonder who he would've invited." Tsukasa thought about it for a bit. It could've been Emu, or Mizuki, or even Mafuyu. Strange that he only got two, though, and not three or four.

“No idea, but he knocked on my window with a drone this morning and handed me the tickets without saying much.” She shrugged. No, she will not mention how she nearly jumped out of bed from the prospect of being woken up by someone or something waking her up when her room was not ground level.

“Sounds like Rui.” Tsukasa grimaced at the idea of being that guy’s next-door neighbor. Endless racket and potential explosions disturbing his peace (as if he himself wasn't disturbing the peace with all his yelling). “Well, we can't let Rui’s efforts go to waste! We shall enjoy this musical to the fullest in his honor."

“Yeah, let's get going." Nene agreed.

So the two walked towards the theatre while talking about the play itself. One that neither had seen, but it's pretty popular, so it's nice that they get to see it. Upon arrival and getting to their seats, they got comfortable as this musical was slated to last for two and a half hours. Once it started, the lights dimmed, with only the stage having the spotlight.

Note, the details of the musical’s plot will not be spoken about, nor does the author have a specific musical in mind for this occasion, so nothing will be brought up for further details.

That being said, there were many moments where Tsukasa leaned over to Nene to comment on the acting and the overall plot, very much studying it on top of enjoying the performance like the hard worker he was. Other times when romantic scenes were ongoing, he'd look over at Nene. Sometimes a glance, others a longer stare, which Nene would catch, causing his head to snap back to the musical with a blush on his face (thank god for it being dark). Though confused, she didn't notice his redder face and went back to watching.

And once the whole play was over, everyone gave their applause as the actors took their bow and exited the stage, letting the audience leave the venue as the lights came back on.

“That was amazing!” Nene and Tsukasa were in the midst of leaving the theatre as he rambled about almost every aspect of the musical they just watched.

Nene simply listened to Tsukasa’s awestruck comments and nodded along with a small smile. He talked about their acting, their techniques, and most importantly, wondered how he could incorporate any of what they saw into their own performances.

By the time Tsukasa was done, his stomach growled.

“Ah, I suppose it was quite a long performance,” He muttered with embarrassment. “Did you have anything else planned for the day?”

Nene shook her head. “Nope, but I don't have anything to do later today, so I'm down to find a place to eat and hang out some more if you're free.”

“For you, Nene? I'm more than free!” That came out more direct and down bad than he initially intended, but seeing how she smiled told him it was a good mistake to make.

So they walked around for a bit, seeing as it was already getting a bit dark since it was almost seven, some places were already closing. But with a few Google searches, they easily found one nearby. We'll skip over it, but they simply walked in, got seated, ordered, chatted while eating, and had a grand old time (they had to call their respective families to tell them that they weren't going to eat dinner at home).

Maybe too much of a grand time because two hours passed with them in that restaurant, bonding and chatting about random things. At some point, Tsukasa switched to plot writing since the conversation cycled back to the musical they just watched.

Then they finally left after paying the tab, which Tsukasa took liberty of paying fully, much to Nene’s annoyance at wanting to pay her part of the bill. The two exited the restaurant into the darkness of the night. Right, it was basically nine at night now. Quite late for a couple of teenagers, but they can handle themselves.

So they walked around a bit through the lit streets of Shibuya, enjoying the peaceful Saturday night, walking off some of the food they had just eaten.

It's not often they get time alone like this. Usually, whenever Rui or Emu is around, they'd have to keep an eye on them, lest they want to find out too late what one, or god forbid both of them, are up to when unsupervised. But time isn't endless, so they had to eventually call it a day, at 9:25.

“Nene! It's very much too dangerous for a lady such as you to walk home alone at such a time! Allow me to accompany you and keep you safe from the horrors of the night.” He offered.

Nene simply rolled her eyes, but still found the gesture endearing. “Whatever you say, Tsukasa. Just let me know when you get home as well."

“Of course. Lead the way, Princess!”

But just as they started walking towards Nene's home, everything faded to black at exactly 9:28 pm…

So it begins.

It was a beautiful morning, that's what it was when Tsukasa woke up on Sunday? The birds chirped outside, the sunlight shone from above and the smell of breakfast downstairs permeated throughout his lack of a fourth wall room.

He sat up from his resting position with a burst of energy. With a bright smile on his face, he simply stated to himself, “HAHA! Today will ALSO be an amazing day, and nothing will change my mind!” This weekend is shaping up to be one for the books in Tsukasa’s memory. He had a productive and very fun day yesterday, and now he’s super motivated to work on the next part of the script for the day. Maybe he'll even go out and take a nice stroll.

But his plans were interrupted by a text. Without much thought, he opened his phone to see if it was from Nene… Again!

Nene: Hey, are you free today? Maybe we can hang out.

“..."

What? But they just hung out yesterday! So, unless Nene enjoyed his presence that much, this started sounding some alarms in his head.

But he'll reply and act normally. For now.

Tsukasa: Indeed, I am! What do you have in mind, Nene?

Maybe she wants to go to the arcade today? Or hang out at Phoenix Wonderland?

Nene: I have two tickets to a musical later today, and I need someone to come with me.

“Huh…?" Tsukasa was now more than confused. That's when it hit him; he checked the date and watched as his phone read it as Saturday!

“What's going on!?” His body shot out of bed in an instant as he immediately got into thinking mode. He paced around his room in a circle, just trying to make sense of what kind of joke the deities were playing on him.

“Maybe it was all a dream? But that doesn't explain why I remember it so well… And why it feels like things are playing out like that dream.” With many paces later, he surrendered himself to the idea that somehow he just had a Prophetic dream of sorts. Meaning that today will be an amazing day because his dreams said so!

Tsukasa: I'm more than happy to fill that slot! What time are we meeting up?

He asked, but with a huge smile, he stared at the phone already knowing the answer.

Nene: 4 pm, and we can meet up [location]. Sounds good?

Tsukasa: More than good! I'll see you later, Nene!

Nene: Yeah, cya later.

“Okay, Tsukasa, if it's anything like the ‘dream’, then just stick to the script!” He gave himself a small pep talk before tidying up his bed, freshening up, and heading downstairs to eat breakfast with Saki and his mom.

Breakfast went by the same as his dream, then he proceeded as normally. He went back to his room to work on various projects like script making, costume fixing, and other productive things. Only now it felt faster, as if he had already done this before and his body remembered it.

And when it was time to leave, he simply got ready to head out to the meet-up location. “Nene got there exactly on time in the dream… I'll continue to leave just a little earlier and get there first." He shrugged to himself. No reason to change such a small detail if he knew she wasn't going to be late or early herself.

The day continued just like what Tsukasa remembered from his ‘dream’. They walked to the theatre and sat down, ready to watch a two and a half hour performance. But… Tsukasa remembered the plot and most details as if he had watched it yesterday, so what will he do now? The answer is to watch it again! It was so good, why not watch it a second time?!

So he did just that, and yes, he still snuck in glances at Nene. In fact, he snuck a few more considering he knew exactly when the lull periods were, meaning he wouldn't be missing much of the musical if he timed it right.

The musical ended up being as enjoyable the second time around as much as the first. And so the two exited from the theatre.

‘That's weird, everything is exactly like the dream I had. But if it was a dream, why can I remember almost every detail of that musical? Don't people usually forget dreams? Why did I remember this one so vividly?’

But his thoughts were interrupted when he heard “Tsukasa?" from next to him. Nene wasn't sure why Tsukasa had gone quiet since they exited the theatre and sat down on a bench, but she knew it wasn't right.

“Ah, sorry! I was just trying to piece my thoughts together. We just watched something so spectacular that I can't help but be inspired by it. Maybe I'll go home and work on a completely new script later tonight!”

“Always the hard worker, aren’t you?” Nene commented, taking the lie with no suspicion of anything funny going on.

As if on cue, Tsukasa’s stomach growled, most likely at the same time it had in the ‘dream.’ “It appears that the long performance really stirred up an appetite. Are you available for dinner, or do you want me to walk you home?”

Nene shook her head, “I'm free to find a place to eat, but I don't know what's still open at this time."

“Well, luckily for us, I have just the location! Just follow me, my Diva!”

He took her to the same restaurant he remembered them going to, and to his expectations, she ordered the same thing as in the dream. He, too, ordered the same thing, and the time there went similarly to the dream, too.

‘It tastes like how it did in the dream too…’ Now Tsukasa was really confused. He had never had a dream so surreal that it felt like he was truly living it. But whatever he just went through was the prime example of one. ‘Maybe I'll ask Rui another time.’

The dinner went by, and soon they were back on the streets again, walking around before it was soon time to depart once more.

“Nene! Seeing as it is late, will you allow me to walk you home?” He theatrically asked.

“You're such a dork, but sure, I wouldn't mind the company.”

Tsukasa expected the day to continue. The dream ended just about here, but that didn't mean anything… Right?

But once again, the moment they started walking back to Nene’s house, the clock struck 9:28 pm. And Tsukasa’s vision faded to black.

It was a beautiful morning- No time for that. The moment Tsukasa’s eyes opened, he shot up into a sitting position and snatched his phone from where it rested on his bed.

“It HAS to be Sunday now-” That's when his eyes saw what his homescreen read. Saturday.

“WHATTTTTT?!!”

He was beyond confused. Had he somehow dreamed while in a dream? Was the first cycle a dream in the first place??

Before he could even begin to answer his own questions, rapid footsteps approached his room, and then his door swung open.

“Oniichan?! What happened???” Saki yelled as she caught her breath from sprinting upstairs. She looked around, only to see her brother sitting up in his bed.

“Ah.” He realized just how loud his shock was. “I-it’s nothing, Saki! Don't worry!”

“Uh-huh, are you sure?" She asked skeptically. "You wouldn't be yelling first thing in the morning if something didn't happen. And don't say you're doing vocal training! I can tell you aren't.” His little sister expressed great concern for the older boy, so he shouldn't just brush her off. That'd make him too suspicious.

“Well… If you need to know... Nene just invited me out, alone! Can you believe that?"

Nene hasn't sent the message yet, but considering the strange anomaly he was in, he'll get it soon. His tracks were covered, as long as Saki doesn't ask for proof at the current moment.

“Nenechan?! That's great! Maybe now you can confess your love for her instead of making excuses!” Saki’s face shifted from concern to one of most expectancy.

“Excuses?! They're valid concerns! Now, if you'd allow me, I'll freshen up for the day and come downstairs to eat with you and mom.”

Saki, seeing that indeed nothing was wrong, nodded with a smirk. “Whatever you say~” She closed the door and went back downstairs.

Only then did Tsukasa get the same message he had already seen twice. He groaned, but he needed to confirm that something was indeed wrong, and unfortunately, two was not a good enough sample size.

So the day went just as the other two did. He responded to Nene and got the details of time and place, but now he questioned how much of the musical he'll actually watch this time. Given that he had already seen it twice.

Then he freshened up, ate breakfast, and then speedran any productive work he had been doing during the time after breakfast to before it was time to leave. But doing the same things twice already does help his efficiency, so he finished much faster than ever before. But he didn't work on anything else; who knows if such progress would even be saved.

That left him with more time to ponder his current situation.

“So the first time probably wasn't a dream as I thought. Meaning I've lived out this day twice already. Everything is the same as the last two times, and this day probably won't be any different…”

But then he shook his head in confusion.

“But what’s even happening? Is it only for me? Or is someone else experiencing the same day just like I am?” Questions he knew would never be answered, not by himself, and not by some random deity.

Instead of ruminating on it for the entire duration, he just sat down and read a book he had lying around. Might as well take advantage of the whole ordeal a little and finish a book he never got around to doing.

When it was time to leave, he simply braced himself. He got there early… Again, met up with Nene and watched the musical a third time (he felt a bit guilty since he lied about it being his first time seeing it when he had seen it two other times prior), then “watched” the musical with her.

He mainly just looked for much more minute details he might have missed the first two times, like focusing solely on the background characters and watching what they were up to, rather than the main cast.

Then, after the musical, they left, sat on a bench, and then ate. Just like the last two times, maybe he should try a different meal next time. Wait, he doesn't want there to BE a next time. He wants to escape whatever this loop is, whatever it is!

Then, once it was time to go home, he once again proposed to take her home, but once again, the time hit 9:28 pm, and it faded to black… Like the last two times.

Tsukasa woke up. Sat up. And stared at his phone with conviction, only to have said conviction crumble once he saw that it was still Saturday and not the hopeful Sunday. ‘Yep, that confirms it. This day is repeating.’

Now what? Is there a way to escape it? What even put him on this weird day to begin with?

He waited for a bit, waited for the eventual text from Nene.

*Ping*

There it was, the same invitation, the same message. But what should he do? Keep going with the script and hope that one day this day will end? That's the literal definition of insanity.

But he enjoyed this day. Or, what this day will turn out to be. He wanted this day to continue to go as it did when the calendar would eventually change in date. But how many more times would he need to do this? 5? 10? 50? Nothing would indicate just how many repeats he would need to go through just to have that version of Saturday be the canon one.

And say he chose to deviate. Not to go on this hangout with Nene. Sure, he'd be able to do a lot more and potentially get a lot done, but if it so happens that the day passed, then that would mean he missed out on alone time with the person he likes.

So he was at an impasse. To risk missing out in favor of trying to take advantage of his unique situation.

He stared at his phone on Nene’s direct messages. To go on the fourth musical viewing in a row, or not to.

“It always ends after I try to walk Nene home… maybe that's the reason?” He tried to answer the unanswerable.

Tsukasa: I'm more than available. What do you have in mind?

Nene: I have two tickets to a musical later today, and I need someone to come with me.

Tsukasa: That sounds like fun! When is it?

Nene: At 4 pm, we can meet up at [location]. Sounds good for you?

But Tsukasa had other plans. What if he ended their hangout earlier? Maybe it was a combination of how late it was when the original hangout ended, with him walking her home, that caused this temporal distortion?

Tsukasa: I'm available for then! But how about we hang out before the musical, too? Maybe hang out around the mall or some other place.

Nene: I'm down for that.

They solidified their plans for the day, to meet up around 1 pm to hang out together and do whatever to waste time before the showing.

Then Tsukasa pocketed his phone and went about his morning. Make his bed, wash his face, eat breakfast with his family, and then be productive. Then, once it came time to leave, he headed out. This marked the first repeated day that had a proper deviation.

He arrived at the mall, walking inside and choosing a random place where he could sit and wait for Nene.

Eventually, Nene arrived, and the two got started doing whatever came to mind. They hung out at the arcade, with Tsukasa either watching Nene get high score after high score or him getting his ass handed to him in games where he had to play against Nene. Well, except for dancing ones, he actually beat Nene in those after a round or two.

He even went as far as winning her a cute little plushy from a crane machine using an ancient Tibetan technique he borrowed from Toya. To say he was satisfied with the blush he received from her when he handed it to her was an understatement.

Once they had their fun, they exited the arcades and continued to stroll around the mall. Either window shopping or just enjoying their time together, until they heard someone call out to them.

“Oh! Oniichan! Nenechan!” Saki called out from behind them.

The moment they looked back, Saki was already rapidly approaching their location while the rest of Leo/need followed behind. Tsukasa then remembered what he saw in the previous repetitions. Yep, Leo/need was at the mall today, and he somehow forgot that.

“Ah! Saki! I didn't know you were at the mall today.”

“I totally mentioned it at breakfast earlier today! Did you forget it already?” Saki looked at him with a pout.

He gave her a blank stare before finally remembering what she was talking about. “Ahaha… My bad.” By now, breakfast had been a blur, especially eating the same thing four times in a row with almost the same dialogue, his brain started to filter it out altogether.

Ichika chimed in, “Saki really just wanted to say hi to you two.” Then she looked between Nene and Tsukasa, the former more shy than usual, having been caught alone with Tsukasa. "I'm sorry if we're interrupting something.”

“Ichi! Call it for what it is, it's totally a date!” Saki blurted out, causing both Tsukasa and Nene to blush.

“I-it’s not a date…” Nene tried her very best to defend both of them in their speechless state.

“Saki.” Shiho sighed a little, then gave Saki a small chop on the head.

“Ow…" Saki faked being hurt by that move. Even to go as far as rubbing where she was chopped with a hand.

"Don't just jump to conclusions, you're going to make it weird.” Shiho scolded, causing Saki to give a small "aww…” in response. Both being scolded and the fact that it isn't actually a date (she still had her doubts).

“There there…, though, we should get back to our plans, the movie starts pretty soon,” Honami said. “Sorry for the disturbance, Tsukasa-san, Kusanagi-san.”

Tsukasa shook his head. "Nonsense! I'm always happy to see my amazing little sister and her wonderful girlfriends, but alas, you have arrangements to attend to!” Then the two groups split off from each other with smiles and waves, mainly from the Tenmas.

There was still an abundant amount of time remaining, so Tsukasa proposed that they eat before the very long musical they were supposed to watch. Safe to say, Tsukasa was glad to be eating at a different place. As much as he would be fine trying out every item on the menu had he chosen not to alter the script, a change in setting is nice.

So they ate, chatted, and passed the time. By the end of it, Tsukasa still hogged the bill from Nene, and then they set off to go watch the musical. By the fourth time around, Tsukasa didn't exactly feel the excitement he first had. For how grand his passion is in the art of acting, for how much he enjoyed the idea of spending countless days with Nene, none can prevent the boredom that he will feel if he had to watch the same musical over and over and over again in a row.

Somehow this showing felt longer than the last three, as who knows how long it felt for him before the two exited the theatre once the musical was over.

“Well, that was most enjoyable! I'm very happy you invited me out today, Nene.” He smiled, hiding the vast dread of having to watch this musical however many times in the near future.

“Yeah, it was pretty good.”

“Well, I'd call our hangout a success, but there's one last thing I need to do before going home." He needed to test that the trigger wasn't walking her home. It always felt like things faded to black the moment they started walking to her house.

“Huh?” She didn't know what he meant by that. “And that is?"

“Walking you home, of course! What kind of a gentleman would I be if I allowed my dear friend to walk home alone just as the sun sets and the moon rises?"

Nene rolled her eyes, of course, but she stopped walking, allowing Tsukasa to walk side by side with her. "Fine, just make sure to get home safely yourself.”

“I'll do my best!” If he could actually live to see the end of the day, that is.

To Tsukasa’s surprise, he was able to walk her home AND get home himself. All was perfect, but then why did the past few repeats end when he tried to take her home?

He stood in the middle of his room in a thinking pose once again. “So it isn't walking Nene home that's the problem, and it certainly wasn't because of Nene in the first place. Or maybe… I've somehow escaped!” He felt a burst of optimism. Maybe the world just didn't want these two to be out too late because something bad happened, so it kept resetting? And by shifting the hangout back a few hours, they were able to subvert a bad scenario!

“You're a Genius, Tsukasa Tenma!!” With that conclusion locked in, Tsukasa decided to spend the rest of the night doing whatever, texting Nene that he was able to get home without any problems and that he looks forward to maybe hanging out more often. Then he went back to working on more projects he had since he was expecting the day to move on.

That is, until it hit 9:28 pm and his vision faded to black once again.

The moment he had autonomy, his eyes shot open, and his body rose to a sitting position, but there was a lack of a smile on his face, but rather a face of dread. He for sure remembered how he was clearly still awake; never once did he have a memory of getting into bed and sleeping. Which meant that… Then he opened his phone to see Saturday.

He groaned and felt some frustration building. Just when he thought he had escaped. The hangout was a complete success and managed to end the day right, which he thought would allow for the day to pass, but this definitely wasn't the case. Now what can he do? Keep testing factors that might lead him to dead ends?

Then his thoughts were interrupted when his phone pinged. Nene’s message as always. Once an opportunity for a day filled with joy, now slowly turning into a reminder of this strange prison he can't seem to escape.

Nene: Hey, are you free today? Maybe we can hang out.

Tsukasa stared at the text longer than any previous iteration of this day. A voice nagged at the back of his head, telling him to do something different. To deviate heavily from the script and start improvising a new script. And to do that, he needed to change the plot.

Tsukasa: As much as I would enjoy spending time with you, Nene, this star is a bit occupied with things for our upcoming shows!

Nene: That makes sense, good luck with that then.

Tsukasa: Thank you very much!

It hurt, it hurt a lot. Given that he knew what the hangout would entail, this meant that he was missing out on some quality alone time with his crush. And yet here he was, declining with a lie all for the sake of some supernatural phenomena he didn't get asked to be placed in.

It raised a few concerns, though. If this gamble paid off and he did make it to the following Sunday, what did that mean? To avoid the day with Nene was somehow the answer? As if the world played a giant prank on him, knowing what he could have had but was denied by life itself?

A small part of him wished this day would repeat after this cycle, to tell him that these worries weren't reality, that the answer lay elsewhere.

Now he was left with way more free time than the original script had intended, but luckily for him, the day passed by in an instant. It felt hollow, knowing exactly what he was missing out on, what he denied himself the pleasure of experiencing.

‘Did Nene find a partner to watch it with? Or maybe she watched it alone?’ He couldn't help but wonder what a Tsukasa-sized hole in the script looked like. Did some higher being scramble to fill it in? Or leave it completely.

Whatever his thoughts were, he brushed them aside, opting to distract himself with whatever was available. He did the work, read the rest of the book he didn't finish in the last cycle, and watched a movie in the living room alone. He wasted away the day until night fell.

There he sat on the living room couch staring at the TV until he turned it off. ‘According to the usual script, we would be done right about now…’ He pulled out his phone and saw that it was 9:25 pm. But he didn't put down his phone. No, he stared at the time.

9:26 pm

9:27 pm

9:28-

And then everything went dark, but this time, he wore a smile as it happened.

He woke up in the morning. Sat up with the speed of light and checked his phone. Still Saturday, at least out of all that was happening, his biggest fears had passed. No god, from what he can understand, was playing a cruel trick on him. No carrot on a stick that he couldn't reach. And what's more, he possibly figured out one major component of this loop; it ended at exactly 9:28 pm.

This was his 6th time living this Saturday, and he felt like he only knew the absolute tip of the iceberg. That Nene has nothing to do with it, and that these loops have a hard time limit. To know the whys would be impossible to figure out.

But before he could start trying to piece it all together, he had to do something first. He whipped out his phone and opened up Nene’s direct messages, though they've long had read receipts off, Tsukasa knew she was typing up that invitation at the current moment.

Nene: Hey, are you free today? Maybe we can hang out.

Yep, the now very familiar message. But what should he do? Now that he knows that simply declining (as much as it hurts him) doesn't stop the loops, this means he has as many repeat days to get out of this temporal prison as he needs. Though he would rather figure it out sooner rather than later, as he was starting to miss living life normally.

Tsukasa: Sorry, my Diva! I'm busy with a dilemma that I must handle myself. How about I make it up to you tomorrow?

Nene: Sure, if you're offering. See you tomorrow.

It was, in a way, a cruel joke on Tsukasa’s end. He won't be seeing tomorrow for at least many more days. But since he had now given himself a day of problem solving, he might as well go through the morning motions before racking his brain. So he freshened up and went downstairs to join Saki and his Mom, just like every morning.

Saki was talking about her plans with her girlfriends, going to the mall and watching a movie, among other plans. Things he had heard a few times by now. But he figured it was time to start asking for opinions.

“Hey Saki, I have a matter that I believe your personal opinion could aid my woes!”

Saki looked over at him with a confused look, but one that gave him the go-ahead to ask away.

He cleared his throat. “You see, I've been tasked with creating a rather interesting script for one of our plays. A girl who had the best day of her life! But somehow, that day never ends."

“Huh? Never ends? Like… It just keeps going and going?” Saki tried understanding the concept her brother tried to describe.

“Not ending per se, it ends, but it starts again. So she ends up repeating the day over and over." He made the story convincing enough not to suggest that it was what he was going through. Not that anyone would come to that conclusion, it was so far in the supernatural that one would likely never figure it out without Tsukasa being direct about it.

“Ooooh! So the same day replays!”

“Correct!” Tsukasa pointed at her as she had just won something on a game show.

“So what about it?” Saki asked, not knowing what he was stuck on.

“Well, I don't know what the girl would do with all the extra time. Hmm… For example, what if you were that girl? What would you do if the same day kept happening over and over?"

Saki took some time to mull it over. “Well, it depends really, but I'd use it to do so many things that I might not have time for normally!”

“What does that entail?" Tsukasa asked as if he were interviewing her.

“I dunno, maybe learn new languages or new skills. Or maybe get to know people I want to know more about, like Yoisaki-san! Or maybe use it to learn about secrets of people that they won't remember telling me!”

“That does seem productive, yes-that last sentence scares me, Saki-, but that's only one half of the story. Imagine that same girl, but she didn't willingly want the day to repeat, and she doesn't know how to get out of it.”

“Aww, that sounds awful…”

“Indeed, it does, she doesn't know how many loops she needs to live through to get out of it, or how to stop it, if there's no clear answer of a stopping point.”

“And you're trying to figure out…?”

“What will the girl do at that point? Keep in mind that the repeating day is one of her best days ever, so nothing goes wrong. Would she still use those repeating days to do new things and have fun, or use the repeating days to escape it?”

Saki’s face couldn't give a clear answer. Clearly, that was way above her morning brain at the moment.

“Hrmm… Sorry, oniichan, I can't really think of an answer there. My brain isn't braining this early in the morning.” She frowned.

“None taken, really! I've sort of cornered myself with such a strange and convoluted plot, but I'm determined to see it through. Thanks for hearing me out anyway, though, Saki."

“Of course, Oniichan! If you ever figure the plot out, tell me when you'll perform it! I'd like to watch this come to life, and I'll even bring the girls with me!”

“Will do, my amazing little sister!”

With basically no more answers than when he started, he went back to his room after breakfast. Then, it hit him: what about the SEKAI? Surely they have answers, right? It's a pretty magical place, and if what he's going through isn't magic, then he doesn't know what to do anymore.

So he pulled out his phone, opened up his music player, and scrolled over to The World Hasn't Even Started Yet to press play. In an instant, he's in the giant magical amusement park dimension.

He walked toward the main tent where he hoped to find someone to talk to, preferably someone who might have a single clue about what the heck was going on. Upon his arrival, Tsukasa noticed Kaito was present, which was great. Of anyone who might have an idea, it was definitely him.

“Kaito!” Tsukasa called out to him, getting his attention.

“Ah Tsukasa-kun! What brings you here today?”

Tsukasa walked up to the virtual singer. “Well… It's a long story?”

“You don't seem too sure about that," Kaito asked with concern.

“That's because it's technically only been happening for a day… That never stops.”

Kaito was honestly confused. “Could you elaborate on that?”

“So let's just say that this is my 6th time living out Saturday. I wake up, go about my day however I want, but at exactly 9:28 pm, no matter where I am, my eyes, I guess, close. And then I wake up in the morning, but instead of it being the next day, it's just Saturday again.”

Kaito nodded along with the explanation. It sounded crazy, but it's not like they weren't standing inside a pocket dimension within a phone, so crazy things definitely can happen.

“So I came here to ask anyone, really. Did you notice anything weird lately?” Tsukasa continued. A world that was created by his feelings alone, now shaped by more than just him, surely they would've noticed an oddity or two, right?

“Not that I know of, no.” Kaito frowned. “We just go about our day as usual, but I'll let everyone know to keep an eye out for any strange occurrences that might help your case.”

Tsukasa smiled, though it was just a small one, seeing as one of the largest sources of magical beings doesn't seem to have a clue about his situation.

“I appreciate it, Kaito.” Tsukasa then bowed and left the SEKAI altogether with a pause of a song, returning him to his room.

“Well, that was a bust.” So he deduced that the SEKAI didn't have any part in the loops either, which is pretty surprising.

He sat on his bed and idled by, trying to think of any other ideas that could lead him on the right path. He googled time loops for a bit, though he only got more confused when he was met with a different kind of time loop, something about a supercomputer of sorts. But then he had an epiphany. He quickly opened his contacts and scrolled right to Rui’s number.

“Surely if there's anyone who can help me, it'd be him." Then he pressed the call button.

The first ring, the second ring, the third ring, and then Rui picked up.

“Tsukasa-kun?” He sounded genuinely surprised to be getting a call from him for some reason.

“Rui! I need your advice on something, and it's VERY URGENT! Can I come over right now?!” Tsukasa sounded a little desperate when he asked.

And it was thanks to that desperation that Rui cut straight to the point. “I am home today, so yes, yes you can. "

“Perfect! I'll see you very soon!” Without any hesitation, he hopped out of the bed, ran downstairs, put on his shoes, and booked it towards Rui’s place. Though it was only the early afternoon, we need to remember that he is on a time limit.

Tsukasa ran as fast as he could, while being as mindful as he could of any other pedestrians before making it to Rui’s house. Upon arrival, he rapidly knocked on the door of Rui’s workshop.

Not too long later, the garage door ascended, revealing Rui, seemingly waiting for him.

“Hello Tsukasa-kun! What troubles you that you would come running to my home on this nice day out? Better yet, I thought you would be a bit too busy today…” Rui had seen Nene leave earlier, most likely to see the musical that Rui had tickets for, but he expected her to invite Tsukasa. So with the star being in front of him, it certainly wasn't the case.

Before he started explaining, Rui let Tsukasa enter and sit on the couch to catch his breath, while also giving them some privacy.

“Rui, how much do you know about time loops?"

“Time loops? I can't say I've looked into it too much. While time is a very interesting fictional topic that’s explored in all kinds of media, I much prefer working with concepts that can be utilized to enhance our performances.”

“But you know a thing or two about them?” Tsukasa didn't want to think of a world where Rui learned how to control time only to use it for a show.

“I suppose so, why?”

“Well, believe it or not, I'm stuck in one! I have been for almost a week!” Tsukasa threw up his arms. "I've been living in this particular Saturday many times over by now, and I don't know what's causing it, or how to get out of it!”

“Hmm…” Rui’s gears were already turning. "Almost a week, was it? And have you already learned anything about your situation?”

“Well, I know that it always ends at 9:28 at night. And that it doesn't seem to be caused by the SEKAI since I visited Kaito earlier. He didn't seem to have a clue.”

Rui raised an eyebrow. “So how did your original day go?"

“Yeah, the original day was me hanging out with Nene. We watched that musical that you had tickets for-great musical by the way-but it got repetitive after having seen it four times in a row. So I've been doing things to spice things up a little! Though the last two repetitions have been me declining Nene’s invite.”

Rui nodded along. "I see, so the reason you're here now is that you're trying to deviate from the norm.”

“Exactly. Yesterday was the first day I actually told her I was busy. But then I got anxious for the entire loop. ‘What if avoiding Nene was actually the solution?’ That kind of thinking.” He explained with a grim look on his face.

“Ah, that's understandable. From the sounds of it, you two had a wonderful time, and you're scared that if you choose to do something else, there's a possibility that you'll escape but miss out.” Rui concluded.

A few moments of silence later, “I have an idea," Rui stated, forming his own theories based on Tsukasa’s experiences. “From the sounds of it, I believe it has to do with Nene in some way."

“Huh? Come again?"

“Let me rephrase that, have you ever considered that you were one of the factors?”

“Wha-Me?!”

“Yes, maybe a certain star’s obvious affection for a certain singer of ours?” Rui asked with a huge smirk.

“Rui. Are you seriously claiming that my love for Nene-” Tsukasa started the sentence…

“Is somehow causing this timeloop, indeed." Only for Rui to finish it.

“T-That's absurd! T-there could be any number of reasons why my day is repeating. It doesn't have to be because of her!”

“That's true, but it also doesn't mean we should rule it out. If the original day featured her at the forefront, then surely there has to be a connection to her in one way or another.”

Tsukasa’s body slumped a bit. "I guess that makes sense…”

“Besides, whose feelings were so strong that they made the entire SEKAI by themselves? We are no strangers to strong feelings creating miracles, you know?”

“Urk…” It was just good point after good point against Tsukasa’s crumbling defenses. As much as he appreciated the progress he had made thanks to Rui’s thought process, he felt called out by life itself at this point. “Then what do you suppose I do? Just keep spending my days with her until I find a way out?"

Rui chuckled. “Well, there's a simple solution I could give you, but I might just let you figure that one out on your own.” The answer was obvious, but he saw it as more entertaining to have Tsukasa figure it out on his own, even if he was going to forget that this conversation happened at all.

Tsukasa stared at Rui as if he had been betrayed. “Hah?! So you're just going to let me suffer the endless day without a hint?"

“I believe that I've already given you several hints! Just think carefully about them, and good luck on your timely adventures. Just remember that any version of me should be more than available to help you, should you require more assistance."

“I'll hold you -and all future yous- to your word! I'll give it a few loops, and if I'm not already out, then I'll come right back here!” Tsukasa softly stomped his foot on the ground.

“Now that we've gotten that sorted out, why not tell me about the musical and your repeated days? I'm quite curious to hear about it in depth.”

So the two talked and just chilled inside Rui’s workshop. Tsukasa simply talked the entire time, while Rui saw fit to work on something while listening to his friend’s storytelling.

And then once that was over, they simply hung out. Either with script planning and editing or Rui having Tsukasa test out some smaller gadgets like a grapple gun… for whatever reason. Tsukasa definitely yelled and flailed out of fear as he got dragged along. They were having a great time, so great that they lost track of time.

“Oh, would you look at that?" Rui checked his phone. “9:20. Almost time for you to go back.”

“Yeah, eight minutes until reset.”

“Did you ever question why it's so specific? Like, why 9:28 and not a clean 9:30?” Rui wondered.

Tsukasa blinked, “I didn't. I don't think it means much, but now that I think about it, that does kind of bother me that it's so close to the half-hour mark.”

Rui chuckled as they spent the rest of the few minutes just waiting for the inevitable. Until 9:27.

“Well, it looks like it's time for me to go. See you later, Rui.”

“Goodbye to you, too. And again, good luck with your predicament. Once you escape, be sure to tell future me all about your time with time.”

“Oh, I'm sure any version of you would want to hear about it." Then, Tsukasa simply closed his eyes. If they were going to close anyway, why not make the process just that bit faster?

Then once the clock hit 9:28 pm, it reset, putting him right back on his bed, staring straight at the ceiling as always.

Now in the 7th loop, Tsukasa woke up, sat up, and immediately got started using his deduction skills.

“Rui said it probably has to do with Nene and my feelings for her?"

Thus begins the experimentation process. In the same loop, he chose to hang out with Nene, but instead of going to the musical, he suggested a different show. Sure, the tickets would be wasted, but he just really wanted to watch something else. Still looped at the end of the day.

In the next loop, he tried an entirely different location for the hangout, the amusement park! Sure, it was an entirely different setting than the original day, but Nene still agreed, much to his surprise. ‘Maybe she just wanted to hang out?’ The thought crossed his mind. And since they weren't restricted to a set time like the musical, they went earlier in the day.

They walked around, rode the rides, and even won each other a prize at one of the minigames. It was an experience Tsukasa never imagined happening, being alone with Nene like this. It only made his sorrow grow when he realized that this was just temporary and that she wouldn't remember like he would after this day ended.

“I think we should do this more often!" Evening encroached, and they've already spent a couple of hours at the amusement park as visitors for once. Now they sat in the Ferris wheel as it climbed up to the peak.

“Do what?” Nene’s head shifted to him as she asked, sitting across from Tsukasa.

“Like, uh,” He was definitely more flustered than normal. Can you blame him? He's riding the Ferris wheel alone with Nene! “You know, hanging out like this one-on-one! It's rare and honestly… I enjoy being with you like this. Just us, it's a change of pace I welcome." He said calmly, no theatrics.

And while Tsukasa looked away and closed his eyes as he expected a quip or teasing comment or even just one of their usual banters in response to him being more… affectionate. Yeah, let's say that. What he got was a small “Sure.”

His head snapped to Nene, who was now looking away, blushing.

“I'm down for that."

Tsukasa smiled. “Great.“ But on the inside? He was a mess. Nene was too cute at that very moment, but he sat there. They both did, in pure silence as they finally descended and soon exited the car. It was a good time to call it there, so they walked out to the front entrance.

“Then… See you around?" Nene spoke up first, pointing in the direction of her home.

“Wait! Let me walk you home first!” He made sure that in every loop, if he could, he'd walk her home. Only to squeeze out that much more time with her, with this version of her in this current loop.

Nene smiled, “As long as you don't make a scene." She blushed again. Something Tsukasa took note of, something that gave Tsukasa hope that his feelings weren’t one-sided. So he steeled himself; once he finally made it out of the loops, he would confess.

In the next loop, Tsukasa did the same thing as the amusement park loop. He altered the course of the day, suggesting they go elsewhere, anywhere but the musical. He had to come up with a quick excuse as to why he didn't want to watch, but he was convincing enough to have it work.

This time, they went to the aquarium. A nice and very date-like experience, and another addition to Tsukasa’s sadness. Maybe he could do this again? With the Nene who would actually remember. If he ever got the courage to confess, and if the feelings got reciprocated, that is.

But other than that, nothing exceptional happened, so the day was a bust. Reset.

In this particular loop, Tsukasa decided to do what Saki answered with. Using it to get to know Nene better!

Nene: Hey, are you free today? Maybe we can hang out.

Tsukasa: I am available, but you see, I have a dilemma that I wish to fix!

Nene: And that is?

Tsukasa: I wish to know you better! In particular, the games you play. You always beat me at everything, and since we're both available, how about teaching me how to play?

Nene: So your dilemma is a skill issue?

Tsukasa: You mean lacking in knowledge and experience!

Nene: Whatever you say. If you want, you can come over and use my consoles. You'll probably lose at everything, though.

Tsukasa: We'll see about that!

So this loop went as follows. Tsukasa left his home, walked over to Nene's, and just hung out in her room for the majority of the day. He tried to play some of her games, but unfortunately, the skill issue was real but he was starting to get the hang of it, if only a little.

He also used the time to talk to Nene more. Maybe talk about interests that he might not be aware of, sharing details about each other.

Now, if only he didn't feel a bit of guilt from doing this. Yes, in theory, Tsukasa is using this temporal ability to get information that Nene will not remember telling him. So he vowed to stay away from potentially deep secrets; if it's something important, he wanted her to remember she trusted him with.

The day passed with Tsukasa knowing a bit more about Nene and having improved his abysmal gaming ability. Then, at the fateful time, he closed his eyes, to go on to the next loop.

In the 11th loop, he spent the day as a rest day; he guiltily declined Nene’s invite this time to maybe improve on some skills, such as his very bad English (Never again) and his cooking ability. Mainly expanding his repertoire of recipes by buying literally any ingredients with the money he had because he knew that they would just reset at the end of the day anyway.

It was a day filled with productivity as Tsukasa spent a lot of the day in the kitchen. Once Saki and her girlfriends came home from their movie at the mall, they all stuck around instead of going to Saki’s room to help taste test his food. In return, they helped him with the mess he made in the kitchen.

But productivity won't save him from the major problem at hand, so the day resets. But at least he had made some progress on his English; maybe next time he won't make a little girl cry just for attempting to speak the language.

For the 12th loop, Tsukasa decided to invite Nene over to his house instead because one of the things Tsukasa was cooking last loop was one of her favorite foods! And yes, he even had the accompanying grapefruit juice just to make the meal that much better for her.

He enjoyed Nene’s expression as she ate the food with a smile. This was a joy he was sure to remember and even came up with potential ideas for the future. It's not like the girl really has lunch for school anyway, so maybe he can make her a boxed lunch every once in a while.

After that, they decided to do some school work in his room and even watched some things on the living room TV together, eventually joined by Leo/need, who was done with their movie theater date.

For the 13th loop, Tsukasa decided that his experimentations weren't returning with any more information than when he started. If anything, he had been enjoying it a bit too much.

“Stop it, Tsukasa… you have to break out of this,” He told himself. Obviously, he wanted to escape, but with infinite time, who wouldn't want to use it to their heart's content?

But he shook the temptations from his head. If he wanted to do all the things he did in the loop, he would do it when people actually remember the experiences, just as he would. Not a shell of his friends and family who remain unchanging, while he gets to enjoy life to the fullest.

So, it's time to call upon the word of his smart friend once again, Rui.

He went through the usual motion for a bit, with a small frown. He got up, made his bed, freshened up, declined Nene’s invite, and ate breakfast, ending the usual morning routine he had lived through for almost two weeks now.

Then, once he was free from all of that, he spared no time in calling Rui’s number.

“Tsukasa-kun? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Rui, I need some advice. Can I come over?" Tsukasa said urgently.

“Oh? You don't sound too good. How about I meet you in the SEKAI instead? That'll save any travel time getting to me.” Rui suggested.

“That works too, see you in a bit.” Then Tsukasa ended the call abruptly. He was getting… Impatient. He quickly opened up the music app and pressed play to enter the SEKAI. Once in, he walked in circles as he waited for Rui to enter as well.

“Tsukasa-kun?”

“HWAH?!” Turns out, Rui was behind him.

“Let's sit down, shall we? Tell me what's wrong.”

Tsukasa sat down next to Rui and took a deep breath. “Rui, this isn't the first time I've talked about this with you, but I'm in a timeloop. Just hear me out."

Then Tsukasa explained what he and the previous Rui had talked about. How it started, what he knew, and the previous Rui’s theories. Only after giving this Rui some time to process everything did he start to tell him about the individual loops themselves.

Rui was silent once the full story was revealed. “I see, so you haven't figured it out, and so you've sought me out again.”

“Yes! You said it was simple or whatever, but it isn't simple to me! And now I really want out before I go crazy, so can you please spell it out to me?!”

Rui frowned at the star’s current condition. “Of course, Tsukasa-kun. I'm sorry for my previous self’s decision to try to let you figure this out yourself. I can tell it's causing you a lot of stress."

“It's not your fault,” Tsukasa denied. “Well, not technically your fault… If you know what I mean.”

“No worries. But if I had to guess what my other self concluded, I would assume that it really had to do with your love for Nene, in particular, confessing to her.”

“What?!”

“I know you told yourself that you'd confess after you get out of this repeated cycle, but what I think right now, and what my past self probably thought, is that your feelings for her were so powerful that you somehow gave yourself infinite chances to confess to her.”

“That's…insane…” Tsukasa didn't know what to say. He wasn't ready to confess, not right now, but he trusted Rui’s words. Which means his only ticket out was something he was scared to do this entire time. Had Rui not literally told him, then he'd be stuck in this hell forever.

“It sounds strange, but give it a try. Either today, or the next version of today."

“But what if she rejects me?”

Rui chuckled. “As someone who knows both of you well, I can say for certain she wouldn't. You even noted it in one of your loops, right? Her strange reactions when you expected a different kind?” He was referring to the amusement park date loop.

“If you say it like that, then you can tell me if she likes me romantically, right?” Rui basically all but spelled it out for him. So he wanted a true confirmation.

But Rui shook his head. “I'm sorry, but that's confidential. You'll have to get her answer yourself.”

Tsukasa sighed. "Next loop. I'll do it next loop. I'll just spend the rest of this one preparing and rehearsing a confession.”

They ended the conversation there, and then Tsukasa quickly left the SEKAI and popped back into his room. From there, he spent the rest of the day thinking of what to say to Nene, while staring at himself in his standing mirror.

It was nerve-racking just thinking about it. He had less than a day to solidify how he wanted to convey his feelings and then hope that he gets the message across.

“But, what happens if she doesn't like me back? Would I still be freed from all of this?” The idea left a bitter taste in his mouth. The condition to escape didn't necessarily mean she had to reciprocate, but rather for him to just “confess”.

But there's no time for doubt. His freedom was on the line, and so was technically everyone else’s freedom too. So he passed the day coming up with his own personal script and plan to confess.

Tsukasa woke up with conviction and determination, now living in what he had hoped was the final cycle of these short yet daunting two weeks.

The first thing he did was wait for Nene’s text. He chose to keep the day as close to the script as necessary. No deviations, at least as little as he could manage. With his extensive knowledge, there's no way he can be the same Tsukasa as he was fourteen Saturdays ago.

The all-too-familiar ping came, followed by the notification popping up on his phone. Somehow, he felt like he would miss Nene sending him a message every morning once this is over.

But alas, he told her he was available and had his next response pre-typed because he knew exactly what she would send next. Once they had ironed out the details for later that day, that was when Tsukasa could get the routine moving. Get out of bed, freshen up, eat breakfast, and then return to his room, where instead of doing any work, he spent all that time hyping himself up.

“Come on, Tsukasa! You got this! You'll win her heart for sure!” He pointed to himself in the mirror. “You've had plenty of days to think about this!”

Somehow, preparing himself for the confession took up a lot of time… That, or his sense of time was somehow being distorted due to the loops, because it was already time to leave.

Actually, he was in fact late. Upon realization, he sprinted, frantic that he was already messing up. His mind raced, ‘What would Nene think? She's definitely going to be disappointed.’ The meet-up time was always set a bit before the musical to give them some leeway, but Tsukasa was always punctual, usually on time, or even earlier. But him being late? That's uncalled for.

He ran, and while he ran, his mind kept repeating his confession scene. How to say it, how it could go. His mind raced with all the possible outcomes and their subsequent branches of future outcomes. Some good, some neutral, some leaning a little negative, though he was confident that none would be outright bad.

The entire time he ran, he couldn't stop thinking, at least until he saw Nene. That's when he stopped thinking altogether.

“Nene!” He ran up to her, a panting mess. It's as if he ran a marathon just to get to her. He stood there, his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. “Sorry… I'm…late.”

Nene checked her phone, “You know, you're only five minutes late…” But then she smiled a bright smile, one of relief. “I'm happy you're okay, though. You didn't reply when I texted you since I didn't see you here already, so I got a bit concerned.”

His brain malfunctioned; it's obvious why she would worry, and it didn't have to be out of love but out of care for a friend.

But instead of a simple thanks, the next words that spilled from his mouth were ones he tried to keep in for later.

“I love you.”

“... Huh?" There was a delay at first. Only when the words clicked did Nene’s face start to heat up and turn red.

Tsukasa, now with air back in his lungs and proper oxygen flow to his brain, just registered what he accidentally said. But he took a deep breath and chose to stand his ground.

“Nene, I love you. I've been in love with you for some time now and never dared to confess until now.” Improvisation is an actor’s best friend. Whatever his heart had intended, he'll do his best to follow it up. “You don't have to tell me anything if you're uncomfortable. I didn't mean to put you on the spot like this.”

Nene grasped one of Tsukasa’s hands with both of hers.

“No, it's okay." Nene shook her head. Her face was still blushing furiously as she tried to look up and lock eyes with him. "I've also been… In love with you, too. I've just been a coward and kind of hoped that these feelings passed. But they never left, only got worse.”

Tsukasa couldn't help but laugh, "Then maybe we're both cowards.”

“Well, we can think about it later, we have a musical to watch. Consider this as our first date.” Nene held out her hand.

“A bit abrupt for a first date, don't you think?” He took her hand, one that felt like a perfect fit with his hand.

Nene rolled her eyes. “Shut it, I wasn't the one who randomly confessed.”

“Oi! I simply wasn't thinking straight after running here as fast as I could when I realized I was late.” Tsukasa defended.

“So if you were on time, you wouldn't have confessed?”

“I wouldn't confess right now. I had this whole confession scene and script I've been practicing. Once the time was right, I would've confessed! But clearly things didn't go as planned.”

“Maybe it's for the better,” Nene looked at him with some skepticism. "I don't want to imagine you doing a whole pose and confessing like you're Shakespeare.”

“I-it wasn't like that!”

“Sure it wasn't.”

The two continued on to the musical, which felt entirely different this time, despite Tsukasa knowing every little detail already. It must've been the power of love! That or holding her hand the entire time somehow changed the experience, made even more eventful when the main love interests kissed, causing the two of them to glance at each other, lock eyes, and then look away in embarrassment. Yes, they were both idiots. Idiots in love.

Once they were done, things moved along as always, now with a bit more of a romantic flair. Holding hands while they were walking, leaning on one another when they sat on the bench, overall just enjoying the other’s company in a different lens.

They still went to the same restaurant, and Tsukasa ordered the same dish as the original loop, still trying to keep up with the whole “stick to the script” idea, but the entire time, he prayed that everything would work out. If he somehow looped, he would break.

So when they finished eating and soon approached the fateful minute, Tsukasa stood still, preventing Nene from walking anymore, as they were still holding hands.

“Tsukasa?"

“Nene, could you…just stand here with me for a little bit?" Tsukasa looked up at a lamp post clock.

“Um, sure?” She moved closer to him, only to let out a small sigh as he pulled her close and hugged her.

“Sorry, it's just, I need to know if this is real. That this won't disappear in a few minutes.” Tsukasa muttered just loud enough for her to hear.

“Tsukasa, what are you even talking about?” Nene was confused. Tsukasa's not usually cryptic, so she didn't know what he was doing this for.

But Tsukasa didn't respond, only stared at the clock above them. So Nene just hugged him tight, leaning into him as much as she could.

9:25…

9:26…

9:27…

“Here it comes."

“Here what comes??"

Nene waited with bated breath as Tsukasa kept staying silent. It honestly started to scare Nene a little.

9:28.

And Tsukasa’s breath caught. The weight on his shoulders lessened drastically, as if shackles were broken. Was he finally free?

9:29.

Yes, he was free.

“YES!!” A sudden cheer from Tsukasa startled not only Nene but anyone around him.

“!?” Nene wasn't sure what was going on anymore. First, he was quiet for no reason, and now he's suddenly back to his normal self? “Mind explaining what's up?”

Once his excitement died down, he gave her a big smile. “It’s…a long story. I'll tell you tomorrow.” Because now, he’s finally allowed to see the date change.