What would someone want to do if they had the chance to go back in time?

Become rich? Seek a different life? Or maybe just continue as usual as if nothing happened?

In Misaki's case, as she lives inside her younger sister's body, she just wants to change the direction of her current self, Kazuto, towards a better life and make him happy because of the things that happened between him and her sister in the past. Because she returned as Misaki, she was able to make this happen.

And for Shirogane himself...

"I will soon find out."

Misaki murmured to herself, wearing layered clothing. Today is the day Shirogane promised to meet her. So Misaki couldn't miss this opportunity, especially since Shirogane finally agreed to open up and tell her something he had been keeping secret vaguely.

"Onii-chan, I'm going out to the store to buy something."

Misaki said to Kazuto, who was watching TV and sitting on the sofa.

"I'll co—"

"No need! The store is close by and it's not like there's some criminal walking around with a knife! Stay home!"

Misaki snapped before slamming the door behind her.

"... Geez, she's been rejecting me a lot lately. Is this what they call a rebellious phase?"

Kazuto muttered with a sigh as he refocused on the TV.

He didn't seem suspicious that his sister was going out on a date—meeting Shirogane somewhere.

"Hey, Natsu. Can you at least follow your owner? Aren't you worried about her?"

He asked Natsu, who was lounging on the sofa. Like a typical cat, he was being lazy. Or should it be said, that's the only normal thing he does.

"Nyaa..."

Natsu just meowed, as if saying no, before continuing to sleep as if he didn't hear the command.

"You're the most useless creature I've ever encountered."

Kazuto's complaints did not reach the ears of the lazy Natsu, who could only exhale tiredly.

----

At the same time, Misaki continued to walk leisurely on the sidewalk, enjoying every step she took in the autumn season that accompanied her.

"Almost there."

Misaki muttered, seeing the park gate in front of her. Inside was the place where Shirogane promised to meet.

Entering, she could see children playing on swings, slides, sandboxes, and more. It reminded her a little of the past and made her feel nostalgic... as she had never played like them and watched them as she did now because she had no friends at that time.

Passing them, Misaki went further in and saw the park bench she was actually looking for. And sitting there, a child with white hair and a jacket was feeding a group of pigeons with bread crumbs. He looked very friendly with a smile that never faded from his lips.

"You're here 5 minutes early."

He said without looking in Misaki's direction as she continued walking towards him.

"What about yourself? You actually came much earlier."

Misaki replied.

The pigeons flew away as they sensed human footsteps approaching them, while Misaki sat down next to Shirogane.

"I don't like making a girl wait. Plus, Misaki would be angry if I were even a minute late. And my house is quite far from here."

He said after finally looking straight at her.

"Ha... Haha, that's why you should be grateful for not being late."

Misaki's laughter was somewhat awkward as she tried her best to mimic Misaki's attitude and behavior that she knew. After all, she was not the Misaki that Shirogane knew, so she wouldn't know about that.

"I am actually Kazuto, not Misaki!," she sighed, though her mouth still let out a reluctant laugh.

Shirogane then asked him lightly, "Should we continue this small talk? I don't really like a heavy atmosphere."

Was that a signal for him to start telling a story? Misaki didn't know. So she replied in the same tone, "Hoho, that's not possible. If you avoid it today, I will continue to haunt you until you can satisfy my curiosity."

Misaki couldn't act nonchalant because she didn't want to miss the opportunity she had been waiting for. So her tone of voice changed slightly serious.

"Are you really reincarnated from the future?"

"Yes. I am indeed from the future and reborn into the past, which is the present now."

Shirogane responded without much thought.

"Then, what is your intention to live now? Are you the one who has..."

Misaki hesitated a bit to ask this because it was a bit problematic. But if it was the Shirogane he knew from the past, then maybe that was possible... So, without asking, she already knew the possible answer. But she had to ask to make sure.

But as if he knew the future, Shirogane answered without holding back.

"Yes, I am the one who killed him. The person who was supposed to kill my family back then, and the person who hurt you at that time, it was indeed me who killed him."

"..."

The answer, without any hesitation, accompanied by a somewhat sour expression and eyes that continued to stare at the ground beneath him, Misaki couldn't read much from his expression other than a sense of relief. But she still didn't know what that relief meant.

"Are you scared?"

"What?"

Misaki was suddenly surprised to be asked like that.

"I ask, are you scared? Of me, who has killed someone."

He asked again while staring at her with clear eyes.

"I..."

"Before answering that, look at those children playing over there."

Shirogane pointed to where the children were playing joyfully. They didn't care about the time, or how dirty they were with sweat and dust. All they cared about was how to have fun. In the corner, there were also adults watching them happily. It was a common sight in this small park.

"Usually... If my father had a day off, we would have fun in a small park like this. Whether it was a summer evening or even a cold snowy season. Hikari and I would play together, and our parents would either watch or join us. Those were beautiful times."

Said him with a nostalgic tone. The memories formed, made him smile unconsciously. Actually he had almost forgotten how he used to live his normal life in the past. But as time passed living here, his memories slowly recovered.

"All my happiness was taken away at that time. And can you imagine how many people would lose their families if I didn't kill that man?"

"...."

Misaki didn't answer his question at that moment. So, Shirogane continued his words.

"It doesn't matter if what I'm doing is outside the law. But if it can at least save many lives, I won't regret my actions."

"Someone once told me, if others can't uphold the justice you want, then do it yourself. So I finally follow those words now."

Misaki almost choked on a bug entering her mouth when she heard those words. The reason was clear, because she recognized who said those words.

D-Did Shirogane turn into a psychopath because of my words back then!? She exclaimed with surprise in her heart.

"Of course I won't act recklessly. Every crime must have a reason, right? Whether it was their intention from the beginning, or because the circumstances forced them. So, if I investigate further, I might be able to find out why and how they committed that criminal act and prevent it before someone else becomes a victim again. It sounds unrealistic, but at least I try my best without having to resolve it in a bad way. In yesterday's case, it really wasn't possible. So..."

"Yes, I know. There's no need to explain it anymore."

Misaki interrupt, who saw Shirogane hesitate to continue his words. In her heart, she sighed in relief, grateful that it was the Shirogane she knew.

He was still a good person with a Noh mask on his face.

She smiled and then bravely looked at Shirogane.

"Earlier, you asked if I was afraid of you, right? As someone who gave you inspiration in the past, I should at least take responsibility for my words. So, I am not afraid at all."

Shirogane was slightly taken aback by this, but a smile quickly formed on his face.

"Yes. Thank you for still trusting me, Senior."

"Hmph! Of course you can trust Senio— aree......."

Misaki's sentence was interrupted as she felt something was wrong here. Her trembling head slowly looked straight at Shirogane who was still smiling.

"Senior has changed a lot, haven't you."

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

A deafening scream echoed from the center of the park and it still remained a mystery where it came from or what creature made such a sound.

---

Trembling, Misaki curled up while covering her head with her hands, still in shock. She accidentally revealed that she was Shirogane's Senior from the past. What was even more surprising was that Shirogane explained that he already knew who she was even before this, which now made her feel embarrassed.

Come to think of it, he only called me hei or you since our first meeting... I should have been suspicious since then!

"S-So you already knew I'm not Misaki."

Misaki asked, looking at Shirogane who returned with two cans of drinks in his hands. She seemed as if her future had been lost forever.

"It's also my fault for letting slip a few words. But is it possible to know just from that!?"

"Actually, I've been suspicious since our first meeting. Your nature is the opposite of Kazuto's. So, I thought that one of you might have come back to the past like me."

Shirogane replied as he handed her one of the cans of drink.

Misaki, who took it, continued to look at Shirogane, prompting him to continue talking.

"My guess was further strengthened when I felt that you had returned to the past after going to the hospital and feeling your presence there. And well, sorry for observing you a little at that time. I never thought I would meet you there."

The incident he was referring to was when Shirogane and his family went to the hospital to take Hikari to the dentist because her tooth was hurting from eating too many sweets.

Misaki guessed that it was the day she overused her memory-reading ability to the point of fainting in the middle of the road and being taken to the hospital afterward. When she woke up, Natsu kept babbling about a boy her age with angel wings or something.

"If you think about it, my friend (Natsu) said he saw someone with physical characteristics like yours entering my room. But his eyes were red like a pomegranate. On the other hand, my friend who asked the receptionist said that the person who came to visit me had the same color as you. So, can you explain to me?"

He was really curious about this, and finally he could ask what happened at that time.

"Oh, you mean... like this?"

Shirogane didn't explain it with words, but with a change in his eyes, which were originally like the sea but had now turned into a bright red color that made Misaki spray her drink out of shock.

"H-How is this possible?"

"I won't explain it, but that should be enough, right."

He said as the color of his eyes returned to normal.

Shirogane then took the turn to ask.

"Now, let me ask. What happened to Senior that had to be hospitalized at that time."

"After meeting you and seeing the stark contrast between your current self and the one who lost your family, I thought, 'I might need to help him somehow. I mean, look at the bright smile emanating from my little Junior, he looks very cute like this,' so..."

Shirogane quietly choked on his drink because of being called 'cute', which made him feel slightly weird. Even someone as calm as him could still be surprised by small things like this.

Even after growing older than Senior, I'm still a child, yeah. He thought to himself with a faint smile.

Not knowing the feelings of the person next to him, Misaki continued her words.

"...so, I thought about changing his future. You know, I have a good memory."

Misaki asked him.

"Yes, Senior has a very good memory ability, like a video recording."

"Don't look at me like an electronic device! Forget it. So, with my ability, I investigated every information I knew about the serial killer."

"And then?"

"Well... It seems I went a little overboard and made my brain work too hard. And that's what caused me to end up in the hospital."

Shirogane, hearing that conclusion, sighed and scratched his head. He did not expect that his Senior would be so careless just for him. Although he was quite happy to be noticed. But what she did at that time was dangerous.

"Thank you for Senior's attention at that time. But please, don't do it again. When I saw you in the hospital, your soul was dying. Senior might die if you repeat the same thing."

"D-Die!?"

Misaki was startled to hear that her trivial ability had such fatal consequences.

Shirogane then warned her seriously.

"Yes. That's why, don't ever use it again."

"Um... That..."

Misaki looked very awkward when she heard that she was prohibited from diving into her memories again, which made Shirogane suspicious.

"Don't say... that Senior has done it again."

And his suspicion turned out to be true.

"Hehe... actually, I've done it several times to record some criminal activities that have happened during my life."

She said as she showed a small notebook in her hand.

"Senior."

But instead of being happy, Shirogane was just staring at her, so Misaki explained more with trembling legs.

"I-I didn't do it like before, so it didn't burden my head! S-So, there's nothing wrong, right!? Besides, this is also for you who want to eradicate crime!"

"It doesn't mean that you have to make others worry."

"Oh!"

Misaki received a little physical lesson from Shirogane, who lectured her.

"You! Why are you now so disrespectful to your Senior!?"

She exclaimed while rubbing her reddened forehead from the spank.

"Hehe! Why are you so funny right now!?"

As he stroked her, Misaki's expression relaxed.

Shirogane, who was the culprit, just laughed faintly and felt no guilt over it.

"I just wanted to help a little..."

She muttered sadly as she looked at the notebook in his hands.

"Senior, you really know how to make others feel guilty."

Shirogane commented, now looking embarrassed. He did not expect that his interaction with the person who made him have a path in life again could make his feelings as complicated as this.

In response to his comment, Misaki replied, "I just wanted to help you... At least, take this notebook."

Then ahe handed him the small book.

Shirogane looked very reluctant to accept it. But, if he refused it, all the effort his Senior put into that book would be in vain.

So, he finally took that.

"This is the last help I will accept from Senior. If we interact in this way more often, Senior will be in danger."

"You seem hypocritical. Even though you seem to refuse it, in the end, you still accept it. Typical Shirogane."

Misaki pretended not to hear his words as she grinned at Shirogane.

"Let's continue the topic."

"Hey! Don't ignore my words!"

"Another reason I know you are Senior is because I didn't detail to Misaki how I lost my family. So, seeing you at the scene is unlikely a coincidence."

Shirogane's explanation somehow pierced her because her disguise and alibi were perfect in his opinion.

"Ohh, I was curious about this before. But, can you explain how Misaki's life was after I died?"

Looking at him with curiosity, Misaki had sparkling eyes that showed she was eager to know about her sister's life after her departure.

"..."

But Shirogane only replied with a dark and bitter face that made her puzzled.

"Hey, explain something. Don't just stay silent."

Misaki got a bad feeling from this.

"I apologize, Senior, for not being able to keep the promise I made. 5 years after your death.... Misaki...."

"....... She died."