The next few days passed quietly.
Michael spent most of them with Rika. No deaths. No screaming. No sudden madness. Just time moving forward, slow and almost normal.
They sat beneath a large tree near the shrine, its shade cool against the summer heat. Cicadas buzzed in the distance. Neither of them spoke for a while.
Rika glanced at him. "So, you're really not going to school?"
Michael leaned back against the trunk. "Nothing's forcing me."
Rika sighed. "I guess… not in this loop."
Michael turned to her, eyebrow raised. "You're saying I change my mind later?"
Rika shrugged. "I'm saying you might. Not that you will."
Michael hummed quietly. "Comforting."
She tilted her head, studying him. "Most people rush into things. You don't."
"Yeah," he replied. "That's what happens when you already died once."
Rika didn't argue.
A moment passed.
"…You know," Michael said, breaking the silence, "it's weird."
Rika looked at him. "What is?"
"I've been here days. Same place, same people. And yet it feels like I'm visiting someone else's life."
Rika's eyes softened slightly. "Hinamizawa does that. It pulls you in slowly."
Michael glanced up at the branches above them. 'Or chews you up.'
Rika followed his gaze. "You're thinking too far ahead."
"Someone has to," he said. "You already carry enough."
She smiled faintly. "You're not wrong."
They sat in silence again—until footsteps approached.
Rika's posture changed instantly.
"…That'll be him," she said.
Michael frowned. "Him?"
Before she could answer, a loud voice cut through the air.
"Yo! Rikaaa—!"
Michael looked up as a boy stepped into view, walking like he owned the place. Brown hair, confident grin, casual clothes. He stopped when he noticed Michael.
"…Huh?"
Rika sighed. "Michael, meet Keiichi Maebara."
Keiichi blinked. "Wait. Who's this?"
Michael stood slowly. "Michael. New guy."
Keiichi's grin widened. "Another transfer student? Man, Hinamizawa's getting popular."
Rika muttered under her breath, "Unfortunately."
Michael glanced at her. "This the important person?"
Rika didn't answer.
Keiichi pointed at Michael. "So, you coming to school or what?"
Michael paused. Then shrugged. "Maybe."
Keiichi laughed. "That's what everyone says at first."
Rika closed her eyes. 'Here we go.'
Keiichi tilted his head, curiosity written all over his face. "So, what's your full name?"
Michael didn't hesitate. "Michael Adam Afton."
Keiichi blinked.
"…Afton?" he repeated. "As in William Afton? The guy behind Freddy Fazbear?"
Michael raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. That's my dad."
Keiichi straightened up immediately. "Wait, seriously? That Freddy's? The American one?"
Michael shrugged. "That one."
Keiichi stared at him for a second, then laughed. "No way. I didn't think that place was real. I thought it was just one of those weird foreign chains you hear about."
Michael stood, brushing dirt from his clothes. "I'm surprised someone in a village this small even knows about it. It's all the way in America."
Keiichi grinned. "You kidding? They aired the cartoon here for a while. Late-night stuff. Creepy as hell, but kinda catchy."
Michael winced. "Great. Even across the ocean."
Keiichi clapped him on the shoulder like they were already friends. "Guess that makes you rich, huh?"
Michael stiffened slightly.
"…No," he said flatly. "It really doesn't."
Keiichi blinked, sensing the shift. "Oh. Uh—"
Rika stepped in smoothly. "Keiichi, you're being rude."
Keiichi scratched his head. "Yeah. Sorry. Foot-in-mouth disease."
Michael exhaled slowly. "Happens."
Keiichi studied him again, more carefully this time. "So… are you gonna come to school tomorrow?"
Michael looked past him, toward the road leading out of the village.
"…Maybe," he said again.
Rika watched him closely.
Keiichi hesitated, then leaned in a little, lowering his voice like he was about to ask something important. "So… like, are you the heir?"
Michael paused.
Keiichi clearly didn't know. About his father being missing. About the news. About anything past the surface.
'Good.'
Michael met his gaze. "You could say that."
Keiichi's eyes lit up. "So you are rich."
Michael sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Again—not like that."
Keiichi frowned. "Huh?"
Michael spoke evenly. "Having a famous last name doesn't mean you get the money. Or the freedom. Or anything good, really."
Keiichi scratched his head. "That sounds… complicated."
"It is."
Rika glanced between them, expression unreadable. She could hear what Michael wasn't saying.
Keiichi tried to laugh it off. "Well, still kinda cool. Beats being just 'some guy,' right?"
Michael didn't answer right away.
'If only you knew.'
He looked away instead. "Trust me. I'd trade it."
The cicadas grew louder.
Keiichi shifted awkwardly. "Uh… anyway. You should come to school. Rena'll freak out when she hears there's another new kid."
Rika muttered, "That's not reassuring."
Keiichi laughed. "You'll survive."
Michael glanced at Rika. She didn't smile.
"…We'll see," Michael said.
The loop kept moving forward.
Later, Michael and Rika walked back toward Rika's house.
The sun was starting to dip, painting the sky in dull oranges and fading purple. Cicadas screamed louder as evening crept in. Michael glanced up, then back down the empty road.
"I can see why you call him important," he said.
Rika kept walking. "Yes. His energy is infectious."
Michael gave a small huff. "That obvious?"
She nodded. "People like him pull others in. Good days feel better around him."
She slowed slightly, then added, quieter, "But don't let that fool you."
Michael looked at her. "Yeah?"
Rika's eyes sharpened. "Just like everyone in this town… when things hit the fan, so does he."
Michael absorbed that. "So he's a variable."
Rika glanced at him. "You learn fast."
"Dying helps with perspective," he replied.
She didn't smile this time.
They reached the steps to the shrine, the wooden boards creaking underfoot. The warmth of the day was gone now, replaced by something heavier.
Michael hesitated. "So… in the loops where he breaks—"
Rika cut him off. "We don't talk about those yet."
He nodded. "Fair."
They stood there for a moment, neither moving.
"…You're still alive," Michael said.
Rika looked up at him. "So are you."
For now.
The shrine bell stirred slightly in the evening breeze.
The loop continued.
They stepped inside Rika's house just as the last of the sunlight faded.
The familiar quiet settled in—the kind that only existed here. Safe on the surface. Heavy underneath.
Rika slid the door shut behind them. "You can leave your shoes there."
Michael nodded and did as told, his movements slow, tired in a way sleep didn't fix.
Then—
"Rikaaa~!"
A voice echoed from deeper in the house. High-pitched. Energetic. Too loud for the calm space.
Michael stiffened.
Footsteps came fast, uneven, like someone running without worrying about crashing into things. A moment later, a girl burst into the room.
Short blonde hair. Bright eyes. Small frame, almost fragile—but moving with reckless confidence.
She stopped when she saw Michael.
"…Huh?"
Rika spoke calmly. "Satoko, this is Michael."
Satoko stared at him. "Who?"
Michael swallowed.
Something twisted in his chest.
Too familiar.
Her height. Her voice. The way she leaned forward, curious and unafraid.
'No.'
For a split second, the room wasn't the shrine house anymore.
Laughter. A high-pitched giggle. A little girl running ahead of him, calling his name. A bow in her hair. A room that smelled like metal and oil.
Elizabeth.
Michael's breath hitched.
Satoko tilted her head. "Hey, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
'If only you knew.'
Rika noticed immediately. "Michael?"
He forced himself to breathe. In. Out.
"…Yeah," he said, voice tight. "Sorry. Just—jet lag."
Satoko narrowed her eyes. "That's a lie."
Michael blinked. "Excuse me?"
She crossed her arms. "Adults lie like that. You're bad at it."
Rika sighed. "Satoko."
"What?" Satoko shot back. "I'm just saying."
Michael let out a short, humorless laugh. "She's… direct."
"That's putting it nicely," Rika said.
Satoko walked closer, peering up at him like she was inspecting a new toy. "You're tall. And weird."
Michael looked down at her. 'Yeah. Definitely her.'
"…What's your name again?" Satoko asked.
"Michael."
She grinned. "I'm Satoko Houjou! Rika's best friend."
Rika muttered, "You mean headache."
Satoko ignored her. "So are you staying here now?"
Michael hesitated. "For now."
Satoko's grin widened. "Good! You can help me with traps."
Michael froze.
"…Traps?"
Rika looked away. "She's enthusiastic."
Satoko beamed. "I'm excellent."
Michael felt it again—that tight, aching pull in his chest.
Elizabeth had smiled like that too.
'This is bad,' he thought. 'Really bad.'
He looked at Rika, voice low. "She reminds me of someone."
Rika met his eyes. She understood immediately.
"…I know."
Satoko glanced between them. "What?"
"Nothing," Michael said quickly. "Just… déjà vu."
Satoko shrugged. "Happens."
She grabbed his sleeve without warning. "Come on! Dinner's soon!"
Michael flinched—just barely—but didn't pull away.
As Satoko dragged him inside, Rika watched closely.
This loop had just gained another fragile thread.
And Michael?
Michael had just met the one person who hurt him without ever meaning to.
To be continued
Hope people like this ch and give me power stones and enjoy sorry for the short Ch again