"Did you need something?" Izana asked as Hiromi stood in front of him.
"Here." Hiromi held her hand out.
Izana blinked and took the items into his palms, staring at them incredulously.
"The earrings that your grandma gave you...? Why? Aren't these so you could avoid being ignorant to your family's curse?" Izana questioned.
"Yeah. But, I want you to have them. There's a gut feeling I've had for a while, and I can't help but feel that something is going to change. I want you to protect Y/n, so keep these." Hiromi smiled.
"Okay..." Izana slowly nodded, his eyes looking at the earrings on his palm.
"I have to pierce my ears now." He deadpanned.
"Don't worry! I'll pay!" Hiromi smiled.
-----
~July 30th~
"I'm gonna drop by Shinichiro-kun's place." Haruchiyo said.
He stood in front of Baji as the rain poured down at them, but luckily, they were shielded by their umbrellas.
"Hm? What's up, Haruchiyo?" Baji questioned, confused by the sudden claim.
"I'm just a little worried." Haruchiyo said.
Baji nodded and Haruchiyo turned, walking down the lonely sidewalk. As he walked alongside a body of water, he noticed something.
"Hm?" He looked up.
The sight of a familiar man standing on the railing of the bridge caused him to gasp. He threw his umbrella and ran in the man's direction.
"Shinichiro-kun?! What the hell are you doing?!" He exclaimed.
Shinichiro looked over at him and muttered, "Haruchiyo."
Then he looked back down and said, "This muddy stream...I'll die for sure."
"What are you talking nonsense for?! Get down from there!" Haruchiyo yelled.
"Today is the day of Manjiro's accident." Shinichiro said as Haruchiyo looked at him with wide eyes.
"I want to go back to that day!" He smiled and tilted his head up.
His eyes were completely white and tears streamed down his face, although a bit concealed from the rain that poured down on him.
"NO, YOU CAN'T!" Haruchiyo yelled, running forward.
The man didn't say anything and fell forward.
"SHINICHIRO-KUN!" Haruchiyo cried out.
Shinichiro fell into the water and sank with an unbothered expression.
'Finally...I can be at ease.'
Suddenly, a sort of electricity-like feeling coursed through his body as his eyes shot open.
-----
"Hm?" Izana blinked, feeling a tingling sensation.
"Hmm...Looks like something did happen." Hiromi smiled, feeling her vision slowly change.
"Huh? What do you mean? What's happening?" Izana asked.
"Izana. Remember to take care of Y/n." Hiromi smiled.
Izana only stared in confusion at the girl whose hair blew to the side from the wind, slightly concealing the soft expression on her face as she stood with her hands folded in front of her.
-----
"Get out of the way!" A blonde boy grinned, a Concorde plastic toy in his hand as he ran inside.
"Huh?" Shinichiro uttered.
"MOVE MOVE MOVE!"
'Manjiro?!' Shinichiro thought as his pupils shrunk.
"HUP!" Mikey jumped on the sofa and attempted to jump over Shinichiro.
However, his foot harshly smacked Shinichiro's face, causing him to fall back.
'A dream...?' Shinichiro thought, staring at the ceiling with a dazed expression.
He slowly sat up, completely confused.
'I'm...Aren't I supposed to be dead after jumping into that river?'
"Everything alright there? You got jumped on."
Shinichiro turned and his eyes widened.
"Hey! You woke Shin up!" The other guy turned his head to Mikey.
'Takeomi...!'
Shinichiro looked around before spotting a calendar.
'July 30th, 1997...The same date, but...four years ago?'
Mikey stepped forward to Shinichiro, nervously looking at him as he held his plane tightly in his hands.
"You usually would've avoided that." Mikey pouted.
Shinichiro felt tears form in his eyes as he stared at the blonde.
"You idiot, Mikey! Apologize to him!" Takeomi deadpanned.
"But come on!" Mikey huffed before flinching as he looked back at Shinichiro.
"Gah! Don't cry, Shinichiro!"
Shinichiro threw his arms around Mikey and hugged him tightly, afraid that he would disappear.
"WHAT WHAT WHAT?! DID IT HURT THAT MUCH?!" Mikey exclaimed. "You're acting weird, Shinichiro!"
"So it wasn't a dream..." Shinichiro said.
"Huh?" Mikey blinked.
"Manjiro. Do you want to start riding bikes?" Shinichiro smiled.
-----
'This isn't a dream! I'm suddenly living the exact same day four years ago when I should've been dead! I...really did leap through time!'
"You're doing great! That's my little bro!" Shinichiro grinned as he rode behind Mikey, Takeomi following behind with Baji sitting behind him.
'Therefore, I must fix this life.'
"This is so much fun!" Mikey's eyes shone.
'Since this isn't a dream, this time I'll protect Manjiro!'
Shinichiro pulled out his phone and dully stared at the screen.
'3:30 pm/15:30...I'd never forget it. At this hour, I got that phone call from gramps when I was working at the bike shop.'
"You feeling good, Manjiro?" Shinichiro asked.
"Yup! I'm getting the hang of it!" Mikey grinned.
'Since that day, Manjiro didn't move.'
"Shinichiro! I really do love bikes!" Mikey cheerfully said.
"I see." Shinichiro smiled.
'And now he's moving just fine! Has fate changed?'
They soon arrived home and Shinichiro immediately ran in.
"Wait, Shinichiro!" Mikey called. "He's acting so weird today! Crying all of a sudden."
'I'm pretty sure they're all fine too!'
"Gramps! Emma!" Shinichiro exclaimed.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Grandpa Sano questioned as he and Emma looked at the boy.
Shinichiro felt tears form in his eyes before he yelled, "Let me help you cook!"
"What? But you've never held a kitchen knife before!" Emma looked at him, confused and shocked.
"Then I'll start cleaning!" Shinichiro grinned as he ran out of the room.
"Weird..." Emma said.
As Shinichiro grabbed the cleaning supplies and he left the room, he felt something bump into him.
"Hmph...How rude. I dropped my candy!" A strangely familiar voice said, making him freeze.
Shinichiro looked down and was met by Y/n who looked at him in annoyance.
"I know that I called you a loser and said that I am better than you, which is a fact, but there was no need to ruin my candy." Y/n huffed.
"Y/n..." Shinichiro muttered, tears falling from his eyes.
"Huh?" Y/n blinked. "Did I hurt you or something? Why are you crying?"
She then flinched as Shinichiro hugged her tightly.
"Wow. Mikey was right. You sure are acting weird today." Y/n awkwardly pats his back.
"I guess so..." Shinichiro said.
"Well, I gotta get back to cleaning! Talk to you later!" He pulled away from the girl with a grin before running off.
"How weird..." Y/n stared at him.
-----
"Gramp's fine! Emma's fine! Y/n's fine!" Shinichiro's eyes shone as he cleaned the floor.
'Everything's alright.'
"Stop, Mikey!" He heard someone yell.
Shinichiro ran over to where he heard voices and looked out from the door and asked, "What happened?!"
His eyes widened at the sight of Mikey standing with blood-stained hands as Haruchiyo was bleeding immensely.
"Smile, Haruchiyo." Mikey said with strangely familiar white eyes.
"Huh?" Shinichiro gaped.
-----
"Why did you do that?" Shinichiro asked as he stood outside with Mikey.
"I...I don't know what's wrong with me...Suddenly, I was at Haruchiyo's mouth...I'm sorry, Shinichiro...I don't even know why I did it." Mikey said as he stared at the ground with an anxious expression.
"Manjiro...I'm not the one you should apologize to." Shinichiro said.
-----
"I'm sorry, Haruchiyo..." Mikey said, sitting on the chair beside the boy's bed.
"I did...something awful to you...The scars...might be permanent..." He bit his lip.
Haruchiyo was silent as he stared forward instead of Mikey or Shinichiro.
"I'll be right back." Mikey got up and walked away with a hunched back.
Once he left, Shinichiro looked at the bandaged boy.
"Haruchiyo. I'm not saying you should forgive Manjiro right now, but if you want, you can still be his friend." Shinichiro smiled.
"Of course..." Haruchiyo smiled, raising his hand. "He's my friend for life."
"Thank you!" Shinichiro smiled, shaking the boy's hand.
Ba-Dump
"Huh?"
Shinichiro looked around and noticed a bunch of motorcycles and tools.
'Where am I?!' He thought.
He pulled out his phone and his eyes widened.
'2003?! Present day...Did I return to the present day?! Where's Manjiro?! What about Y/n?! If this is the present day, then what happened to them?!'
Shinichiro ran out of the building when a voice stopped him, making him slowly turn around.
"Hey! Shinichiro! I busted my hawk! Can you fix it?" Mikey smiled, rubbing the back of his head.
"Listen, listen, Shinichiro! Baji kinda went all out for this bike, and I just went ahead and smashed it up. Can you help fix it?" He looked at his older brother.
"How old are you?" Shinichiro asked.
"Hm?" Mikey blinked at the strange question.
"You've grown so big..." Shinichiro widely grinned as globs of tears fell from his eyes.
"Manjiro..." He cried as he fell onto his knees and held the blonde's hand.
"What's wrong?!" Mikey panicked, surprised at the sudden tears from the boy for no apparent reason.
'I did it...I changed destiny by leaping through time...!'
-----
"Thanks, Shinichiro!" Mikey waved as he rode away with his fixed bike.
As Shinichiro watched him leave with a smile, someone approached him from behind.
"Shin-nii!"
Shinichiro looked back and blinked, "Haruchiyo..."
"Have I...gone crazy?" Haruchiyo said, staring at the ground.
-----
"Huh? You've got two different memories?" Shinichiro questioned as he and the boy sat in a cafe.
"Yeah...I was just at your funeral a few days ago. Mikey died, Y/n died, and Shin-nii jumped into a river. But then, suddenly I was back home and a new memory of the past appeared. You were supposed to be a nurse, but now you're a mechanic at a bike shop. And Mikey formed his own gang, the Tokyo Manji Gang, and became the leader of it. I don't know what's going on anymore..." Haruchiyo said, placing his palm on his face.
"Haruchiyo...I time leaped in order to save Manjiro and Y/n." Shinichiro smiled.
"Huh? Time leap? What are you talking about?" Haruchiyo questioned in disbelief.
"In order to do that, I had to kill a man..." Shinichiro started.
-----
"The things I've told you today, keep them a secret." Shinichiro told Sanzu as they stood outside.
"I will. I won't tell anyone about this." Haruchiyo nodded. "No one's gonna believe our story anyway. See ya'."
"Bye!" Shinichiro waved as they parted ways.
"This power..." Shinichiro looked at his palm as he walked down the lonely sidewalk.
"I don't think I need it anymore." He smiled.
"RAAAHHH!" He heard someone yell.
"Hm?" He stopped and looked to his left.
"The hero has arrived!" A boy with a red cape announced as he stood in front of three older boys and a crying girl stood on the side.
"Middle schoolers ganging up on a lone girl?! Not on my watch!" Elementary year 6, Hanagaki Takemichi exclaimed.
"Oh, what's this?! This little dork's shakin' like a leaf!"
"If you're scared, then don't act like hot shit!"
"Shut up!" Takemichi yelled, running forward to punch them.
However, he was knocked to the ground and curled up into a ball as the boys taunted him and stepped on his now bruised body.
"What the hell is this hero shit?!"
"You're just a little kid!"
"Damn it! This isn't fair! Fight me one on one!" Takemichi exclaimed as tears fell from his eyes.
"STOP IT!" The girl standing aside pleaded as a bunch of tears streamed down her face.
"Hey." Someone said, catching their attention.
They turned to see a h/c-haired girl walking over to them with half-lidded eyes and a frown.
"You losers really have nothing better to do, do you? Teaming up on elementary school kids. Shame on you. Your whole existence already disappoints me." Elementary year 6, L/n Y/n said.
"Y/n...?" Shinichiro's eyes widened as he stared at the girl who was very much alive.
"There's another one?!"
"So annoying!"
"Hey, get lost or we'll hit you too!"
One of the boys grabbed Y/n by the collar of her shirt, making Shinichiro gasp.
"I wouldn't recommend you handling me in such a way or messing with my friends." Y/n said.
"Yeah?! Who are you anyway?!"
"I'm L/n Y/n, a part of the Tokyo Manji Gang!" Y/n exclaimed before kicking the boy in the face.
"L/n...? Wasn't it Rento?" Shinichiro questioned before shaking his head.
"Nevermind that. I gotta stop this." He told himself.
"Hey!" He stepped forward, making their attention shift to him.
"Will you knock it off already?" He rubbed the back of his head.
"Shinichiro...?" Y/n muttered in confusion.
"What the hell, you bastard!" One of the boys glared at Shinichiro.
"Ah?" Shinichiro punched a lamp post, which the kids gawked at as they saw the huge dent left.
"I'm sorry!" The boys panicked as they stumbled back.
"Are you okay, kid?" Shinichiro looked at Takemichi who was kneeling on the ground,
"How can I be strong?" Takemichi looked up as Shinichiro's eyes widened.
"I want to be like you! I want to be a real hero!" Takemichi sniffled.
"A hero, huh." Shinichiro crouched in front of the boy.
"It's alright. You're definitely gonna be strong." Shinichiro stared at his palm before grabbing Takemichi's hands.
"Hey, little boy. If there's somebody that you really want to protect, when all else fails, you can use this power." He smiled at the confused boy.
"Yeah. I should have just asked him to give it to me." Shinichiro muttered before standing.
"See you around kid. I'm sure you'll be able to handle it."
He then paused and turned to Y/n who looked at him confused.
"Y/n..." He started as tears formed in his eyes.
"You've grown so big. I'm happy you're well." He smiled.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Y/n furrowed her brows, surprised at his expression and confused as to what he was saying.
Shinichiro didn't say anything and walked away as Y/n stared at his leaving figure.
-----
"Huh...? Hiromi...What is this?" Izana muttered as he clutched his head.
"Where am I? And why do I look different?"
He ran out of the building and looked around for any familiar places and any familiar people.
'I should go there! Hiromi must be there, right?!'
Izana ran and soon made it to a familiar house. He approached the front door and knocked. When it opened, he was greeted by a familiar face.
"Hm? What is it?" The boy raised a brow at Izana.
"Homura!" Izana gasped.
'He looks different too! The last I saw him, he had dark circles under his eyes and a bunch of tattoos! Now he just seems like any other teenage boy, though he still has a tattoo on his arm.' Izana carefully observed the boy.
"Huh? How do you know my name?" Homura snapped him out of his thoughts as he furrowed his brows and looked at Izana suspiciously.
"What do you mean? You don't know who I am? I'm Izana!" The boy pointed to himself.
Homura's eyes widened and he said, "Izana? No way! I haven't seen you in years!"
"Years...? Uh, well...could you tell me where Hiromi is?" Izana scratched his cheek.
The moment the name left his mouth, Homura's facial expression turned blank.
"Hiromi, huh? Well, sorry to tell ya', but she's dead." Homura said, leaning against the door with his arms crossed.
"Huh? Hiromi's dead...?" Izana's eyes widened.
"Yup. She had gone for a walk with Y/n about a year ago and they never returned. Kurai and I went searching for them and we sent out others to help us. When we found Hiromi, she was dead. Her corpse was in a forest-looking area and just by looking at her, you could tell that she was beaten or tortured to death." Homura said with a serious expression as Izana listened in disbelief.
~Flashback~
"Hey, do you know where Hiromi and Y/n are?" Kurai asked, entering Homura's room.
The other twin looked away from his console and made eye contact with Kurai before shrugging.
"Not sure. I'm pretty sure they left to go on a walk." Homura said.
Kurai narrowed his eyes and asked, "What time was that?"
"At 10 in the morning. Why?" Homura replied.
"It's already 1. They should've been back. If they were going to go somewhere else, Hiromi would've called." Kurai spoke.
Homura slowly set down his console and looked at Kurai. They then nodded and went downstairs, the older twin making a few phone calls as the younger one grabbed a guitar case and started placing a few items in it such as a few waters, flashlights, rope, a first aid kit, granola bars, money, and a bat.
Once they both finished, they put on their jackets, gloves, and shoes before leaving the house, the same unreadable expression plastered on both their faces.
When they arrived at a nearby park, they saw a group waiting, all of them standing straight as the twins stood before then.
"This is a search party. I'm sure you all know that we have two sisters, an older one and a younger one. They left in the morning for a walk and haven't returned yet, and we can't get in contact with them either." Kurai spoke.
"Split up into groups and search the different routes they could've gone. Last we saw them, our older sister was wearing a blue jacket, a long-sleeved white shirt under it, black pants, and white converse. Our younger sister was wearing a f/c jacket, a white scarf, black pants, and (color) converse. Our older sister is Rento Hiromi and our younger sister is Rento Y/n. Make sure to question anyone who fits their description." Homura instructed.
"Yes, sirs!" The group saluted before forming their groups and running down different roads while looking left and right.
The few that had stayed followed behind the twins and were carefully looking around while also making sure to match their pace so they wouldn't fall behind.
~A Few Hours Later~
Kurai and Homura let out heavy breaths as they looked around, uncaring about the sky that had now become gray and the clouds that released a heavy fall of rain.
"Damn it. Where are they?" Homura muttered as he leaned against the railing of a bridge, pressing the edge of his palms to his forehead.
"They've got to be somewhere nearby. They wouldn't have left the city, so they must be somewhere. I also haven't received any reports from the others." Kurai sighed as he stared forward at the review.
"That damn rainbow is pissing me off. Rainbows mean peace and love and all that shit, but there is no way, shape, or form am I feeling any of that." Homura's eyes twitched.
"Boss! We found something!" A guy said as he and a few others stood near a red car that was parked on the side of the road.
As Homura and Kurai made their way to the group, the rainbow slowly disappeared.
"What is it?" Kurai questioned.
"Well, there's a white scarf here. There's also a stray water bottle. It might not mean anything, but it may also be your younger sister's." One of the guys said, holding it forward for one of the twins to grab.
"There are also muddy footprints that are facing away from the forest area right there. This car here also seems to have been here for quite a while since the ground under it is mostly dry. It might have been here before this rainfall started."
Homura furrowed his brows as he stared at the white scarf, noting some dark red stains and the mud smeared on it. His eyes then shifted over to the forest area before he looked at Kurai who was already looking at him. They nodded.
"Alright. We're gonna search the forest. If you see anyone, even if they don't match the description of Y/n and Hiromi, we want you to stop them for us to question. And look around carefully because it's darker and there are some things you might miss." Kurai ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
And with that, they made their way into the forest, splitting up into pairs as they parted ways.
Homura held the flashlight as he took the initiative to lead the way. He, just like Kurai, shivered from the cold feeling of their drenched clothes hugging their skin, but they ignored it as their desire to find their sisters was much stronger and it grew more suffocating with every second of not knowing their whereabouts.
Homura glanced at Kurai and noticed his unnerved expression the way he harshly bit his lip without realizing until blood was drawn.
"It's gonna be fine." Homura broke the silence as he looked forward.
Kurai blinked in surprise as he looked at Homura, awaiting his next words.
"I bet Y/n managed to drag Hiromi to go visit some cafe or something. That's why Hiromi couldn't call us because taking your eyes off of Y/n can end up with her disappearing. Heck, they might be waiting at home for us and we're gonna get the scolding of our life for being drenched with rain. We're gonna be scolded by Hiromi while Y/n teases us about being so worried. But it's gonna be okay. We'll all laugh it off and eat snacks while watching a movie, then we'll fall asleep together. But the next thing you and Hiromi know, you'll awaken to me and Y/n's laughter after we've drawn on your faces with markers." Homura spoke, slight hope yet sadness laced in every word he vocalized.
"Yeah..." Kurai breathed out. "I shouldn't worry. Hiromi and Y/n are alright. We're gonna see them and everything will go back to the way it was. It'll be a memory we can remember and laugh about one day-"
"Boss!" Someone yelled from their right.
The twins quickly made their way in the direction of the voice and came face-to-face with a pair in their group.
"What is it? Did you find someone?" Kurai asked.
"Yeah. But it's more than one person. And they're all unconscious!" One of the guys replied with an uneasy tone.
"They're right here." His partner told the twins, leading them in the area behind the trees and bushes that seemed to make a wall.
Kurai and Homura's eyes grew wide at the scene, the sight of blood and mud covering each body that lay on the ground making them stiff.
"Sirs. There's one of them that matches the description of your older sister..."
"Which one? Where?!" Homura grit his teeth, frantic eyes observing the bodies before him, but none of them were familiar.
"She's right here..." The other said as he and his partner stepped side, motioning to the now revealed body that laid beside a bush.
"Huh...?" The twins uttered, their eyes growing wide as they slowly approached.
The h/c hair, the s/c skin, and the clothes were undoubtedly familiar, but the sight of blood and mud staining the body brought a suffocating feeling in their chests as they kneeled.
"This is Hiromi...It can't be anyone else..." Kurai muttered as he moved some of her hair out of her face.
"No way...What the hell happened here...?" Homura grit his teeth.
Kurai moved his hand, ignoring the way his body trembled, and he placed two fingers on Hiromi's neck, desperate to feel a pulse. But there was none. No matter how much he prayed for it to be there and that he may be pressing on the wrong spot, he knew he was only kidding himself. There was no pulse and Hiromi's body was cold, not from the weather, but from the fact that she was now dead.
"She's dead..." Kurai said.
"Yeah...I'm sure it was these bastards..." Homura spat as he was kneeled beside another unconscious body, noting the bruises on their knuckles that were undoubtedly from punching something, in this situation, it being someone.
"Hey. Is there a young girl around? Is Y/n here?" Kurai questioned.
The pair of subordinates looked around and found no one.
"No. Your younger sister doesn't appear to be here. Maybe..." One of the guys spoke.
"...Maybe she's the one who beat up this group, not including your older sister of course."
"That's a possibility." Kurai said as he stood.
"The footprints leading out of the forest were small and Y/n's scarf was left on the ground. She must've left after beating these imbeciles." He muttered.
"Isn't she younger than you though? How was she able to beat up all these guys? Plus, they look older than us, so they must've towered over her." One of the other guys said.
"That doesn't mean anything. Y/n is strong. She wouldn't lose to garbage like this." Homura said.
"Let's go. We'll call the police and paramedics so they can handle this." Kurai said.
As they made their way out of the forest, Kurai and Homura kept their eyes on the ground with their lips formed in a straight line.
"Homura. Kurai. You two and Y/n are my pride and joy." Hiromi smiled.
Hot and heavy tears fell from the twins' eyes, but it was concealed by the rain, and they held hands as they stood outside the forest, not budging even when the authorities arrived and Hiromi was carried out in a stretcher, her body concealed with a white sheet.
~End of Flashback~
"What's weird is that the other guys weren't dead. They were beaten and knocked into some deep sleep or whatever. Like a coma, I guess. I don't really care that they got beaten up, I'm glad. I know those bastards are the ones who beat Hiromi to death. Also, even after Hiromi was pronounced dead, Y/n wasn't found. There were no traces of her and no matter where we looked, she wasn't there." Homura sighed.
"Y/n...so...she's alive? She didn't die...?" Izana muttered, his eyes slowly widening.
"Hm? Y/n dead? You're weird, aren't you? As far as I know, Y/n was alive and well. The last time I saw her, she was 10, so she should be 11/12 years old right now." Homura tilted his head to the side in a confused manner to the other's statement.
(Age depends on your birth month, 12 if it's before August 20 and 11 if it's after)
"She's not dead then..." Izana uttered as tears formed in his eyes.
"Huh? What're you crying for? What a weirdo. Well, is there anything else you need? I gotta get back to cleaning my room or Kurai's gonna hide my games again." Homura said.
"I'm fine. I don't need anything else. Bye!" Izana waved as he ran off.
"Again. What a weirdo." Homura said before closing the door.
-----
"Y/n's gotta be alive! I just need to find her!" Izana told himself as he ran.
"But...what are these memories...? Shinichiro's...not my brother...? He lied to me..." Izana frowned as he slowed down and stopped.
"I'll focus on that later. I just gotta find Y/n first and make sure she's alive!" He said, his hands forming into tight fists.
–––––
Fun Fact: Homura, at the age of 5, "ran away" from home after Kurai wouldn't play with him. He ended up getting lost and cried until he was finally found.