I wonder if you still remember.
Sakurai Saki had experienced two consecutive days of randomly acquiring Superpowers without any side effects. Those days, it seemed, had been a buffer period granted by his body — a brief calm before the inevitable storm.
The Superpower and side effect he received on Wednesday hadn't been particularly dangerous. Which meant there was only one possibility left: the truly dangerous one hadn't arrived yet.
That realization made Sakurai Saki uneasy.
Thursday Morning, 6:00 A.M.
Sakurai Saki woke up on time, as usual. Normally, he would go for a morning run after washing up, but today he wasn't in the mood.
Instead, he sat quietly at his desk. On the bookshelf beside him, a notebook had appeared out of nowhere — one he didn't remember owning. He reached for it with a solemn expression.
"Today's Superpower: Future Diary (Sakurai Saki's Diary)"
Effect: You will receive a random Future Diary.
Side effect: Unknown.
What is most terrifying? The unknown.
Since this Superpower had activated for the first time, Sakurai Saki couldn't tell whether its side effects were the ones his body had been warning him about. He even considered taking the day off from school. If he lost control, he could hurt someone.
There were many people he cared about at school. The last time his existence had been erased, it had terrified him. If the target back then hadn't been Nakano Nino but Fujiwara Chika or Shirogane Miyuki, he wasn't sure he could have forgiven himself.
"Future Diary," he murmured. "As the name suggests, it must predict the future. And it seems like a composite ability — one that can summon more than a single diary."
He glanced at the cover.
"Sakurai Saki's Diary."
So this was a record of his own future.
If that was true, could there also be other diaries? A "Prison Escape Diary," a "Romance Strategy Diary," a "Pet Breeding Diary"? The possibilities were endless.
Of course, he was only guessing. When facing an unknown ability, guesses were all he had.
Taking a deep breath, Sakurai Saki opened the first page.
"Hello, I am you from eight days later."
The words sent a chill down his spine.
A Message from the Future
"I am communicating with you through this diary. Please remember — next Wednesday, the day before Golden Week — do not go to school! Remember!"
"The extremely dangerous ability is called Time Controller, and it will be triggered next Wednesday! If you must go to school, strengthen your Superpower restrictions beforehand!"
"But you must use it! At least thirty times!"
"Do not use it! Do not use it! Not even once!"
"Next Tuesday after school, go home with Chika. Because of some mistakes you'll make, she'll need your protection."
"On the first day of Golden Week, don't take the train home at night."
"Beware of monsters! If you don't want the world to become even more chaotic, don't do anything unnecessary!"
Sakurai Saki finished reading the first page. His thoughts were in complete disarray.
Then he turned to the next page.
"Yesterday, I died once."
The words were written in blood-red ink.
Before he could process it, the handwriting began to fade — slowly disappearing from the page.
After a few seconds, new text appeared.
"Hello Hello, Sakurai Saki"
The tone was much more cheerful than before.
"Feeling strange? Wondering why the text disappeared? Hehe, I did that!"
Who was this?
"You must be curious who I am, right? I'm you — from five years in the future!"
Sakurai Saki stared, stunned.
If that was true, then this future version of himself should have already mastered every Superpower and returned to being a normal person.
"Yes, that's right," the diary continued. "I've already mastered all Superpowers. You'll continue awakening new ones for the next three years. Even now, my powers are still evolving every day. That's normal for a Superpower user, isn't it?"
"No one can be perfect — except me!"
Sakurai Saki couldn't help but smirk. That narcissism sounded exactly like him.
"Future Diary is a useful ability, but it has flaws. It gives two false messages, so you'll need to figure out which ones are wrong."
"I can't tell you which, but you'll understand when the time comes."
"I hate Fujiwara Chika. I will never marry her in this life."
"I hate Hayasaka Ai. I will never fall in love with her in this life."
"Be nicer to Nino. Her mental state is a bit dangerous right now."
The message ended there.
Sakurai Saki closed the diary and reopened it — the writing had reverted to the original version.
Next Thursday would mark the first day of Golden Week.
Would something happen at the subway station if he went there?
"Time Controller…" he whispered.
Any ability related to time, he knew, came with terrifying side effects — far beyond imagination.
The first two sentences were fine.
The future Sakurai Saki had advised him not to go to school next Wednesday — but then, contradictorily, said that if he really had to go, he should strengthen the Superpower restrictions beforehand.
Thinking of this, Sakurai Saki slowly spread out his right hand.
In the center of his palm was a faint, lock-shaped mark.
This was the key to his current control — the reason he was able to split and regulate his powers so precisely. The mark itself was a Superpower, capable of stacking up to seven layers of restrictions on any target. At present, Sakurai Saki had applied four layers to himself. That level of restriction allowed him to control his abilities freely without suppressing them too much.
Since it was a power he completely understood, he wasn't afraid of losing control.
"The information from my future self should be true," he muttered.
Even so, Sakurai Saki couldn't be certain that this person was truly him. He couldn't imagine his five-years-later self being so cheerful — it didn't seem fake, but it was definitely strange.
And what was with that line about being nicer to Nino?
What was that supposed to mean?
From Sakurai Saki's understanding of himself, unless Nino sacrificed herself to save his life, there was no way he'd soften toward her.
And then there was the other part — going home with Fujiwara Chika after school next Tuesday? Why would that happen? They didn't even take the same route! And what mistake was he supposed to have made?
Could that part be one of the false messages?
Sakurai Saki shook his head. Among the third and fourth sentences, there had to be one lie. They directly contradicted each other — one told him to use the ability thirty times, and the other told him not to use it even once. That must account for one of the two errors the diary mentioned.
He decided to put the Chika part aside for now.
As for the warnings about the subway and monsters… which one was wrong? The "monster" warning itself was split into two halves — maybe the first part was false while the second was true.
The more Sakurai Saki thought about it, the more his head ached.
Can't my eight-days-later self stop talking in riddles?
Why couldn't he be more like the five-years-later version — concise, direct, and clear about the two false messages?
Just what had he done on the first day of Golden Week? Why would he even take the subway? Was he going out with the Student Council members… or something else?
Originally, Sakurai Saki had planned to tutor the Nakano sisters during Golden Week. The monthly exam was right after the break, and their father, Nakano Maruo, had called him last time — very concerned, and demanding results.
The tutoring job served multiple purposes. It was partly connected to Shirogane Miyuki, and partly an important step in Sakurai Saki's goal to defeat Kaguya Shinomiya. Tutoring let him earn money and study at the same time — something being a "rental boyfriend" couldn't achieve.
By secretly studying two extra hours every day, he was confident he could surpass Kaguya Shinomiya and leave her far behind.
As for Shirogane Miyuki, Sakurai Saki had already decided — he wouldn't backstab a friend. There was no meaning in it.
Besides, he wasn't even sure he could win against him.
After thinking for a while — time that he normally spent on his morning run — Sakurai Saki stood up, prepared his bento and breakfast, ate, and then left home.
Instead of worrying about an uncertain future, it was better to live in the present.
There would always be a way through every difficulty.
People should ask themselves the Rakin question more often: "What should I be doing right now?"
Sakurai Saki's answer was simple — go to school.
Today's Superpower side effect was minimal, with little to no impact on him. It wasn't a continuous effect either; more like a narration-type ability. Under such conditions, his desires wouldn't grow uncontrollably — which was a relief.
But he also knew: the weaker today's side effect, the stronger the ability waiting for him next Wednesday.
When he finally arrived at the school gate, he greeted the familiar figure standing there.
"Good morning, Miko-chan," Sakurai Saki said to the ever-diligent member of the Disciplinary Committee.
He said this, and before Miko-chan could react, he slipped a small candy into her hand.
"Good luck with the test."
This time, Miko-chan didn't refuse.
"Thank you."
Today's Sakurai-senpai seemed much more normal. Yesterday, he had been strangely distant and cold — though later, she heard it was because his throat had been uncomfortable. That was why he hadn't talked much.
A luxurious sedan rolled out from the Shinomiya residence.
Inside, Kaguya Shinomiya sat in the back seat, glancing at the girl beside her — Hayasaka Ai.
"Hayasaka, I still haven't found a suitable opportunity to bring up the karaoke I mentioned last time," Kaguya said softly.
Her lingering obsession with karaoke stemmed from one simple reason — she had never gone out with friends before. Even though she had known Fujiwara Chika for a long time, they had never once gone to karaoke together.
On the surface, Fujiwara seemed bright, cheerful, and easygoing. She even knew far too much about certain "topics," yet she was unexpectedly pure at heart. Still, when it came to karaoke invitations — whether from boys or girls — people tended to avoid asking her.
After all, karaoke often carried romantic undertones, especially in mixer settings. And as a master mood-killer, it was almost natural that Fujiwara Chika wasn't invited often.
"Speaking of which," Hayasaka Ai mused, "I don't think I've ever heard President Shirogane sing."
She had been in the same class as him for an entire year. Even during music class, she had never heard him actually sing — he always lip-synced. As someone with sharp observational instincts, Hayasaka had noticed this immediately.
"...Now that you mention it," Kaguya murmured, "I haven't heard him either."
"Well~ regardless of President's singing voice," Hayasaka continued with a teasing tone, "I'm actually more curious about how Sakurai General Affairs sings."
Kaguya's eyes flickered with interest.
Hayasaka froze, speechless for a second.
Young Lady, is it really okay for you to be curious about that man's singing voice?
Despite all her warnings, Kaguya Shinomiya still hadn't realized how bold her behavior looked from the perspective of a girl in love.
To be interested in something so trivial as his singing voice — her fascination with Sakurai Saki was clearly deepening.
Sensing danger, Hayasaka Ai internally adjusted Kaguya Shinomiya's threat level from C to B, the same ranking as Shirogane Kei.
"By the way, Hayasaka," Kaguya asked, "does Sakurai General Affairs sing well?"
Hayasaka thought for a few seconds before replying, "Not bad."
Privately, he never sang as seriously as he did when working as a rental boyfriend. If he ever went singing with Young Lady Kaguya, he definitely wouldn't try very hard.
Still, Hayasaka remembered those times when they played two-player games together — Sakurai Saki would sometimes hum softly.
He always hummed songs from romance anime, with repetitive lyrics like 'I love you, I love you'.
Just recalling it made Hayasaka's cheeks flush faintly.
Naturally, she had no intention of mentioning that to Kaguya, who had zero interest in anime.
"Hmm. Then there's nothing to look forward to," Kaguya said with a small sigh, turning to look out the car window. "Everyone's been busy lately and can't seem to spare the time."
Her social circle wasn't large.
There were very few people she could truly call friends. Members of the Archery Club respected her deeply, but their relationship was closer to superior and subordinate than to equals. Even after half a year in the Student Council, Kaguya Shinomiya — though still cold on the surface — had already come to acknowledge Sakurai Saki and Shirogane Miyuki in her heart.
"How about during Golden Week?" Hayasaka suggested.
"Next Thursday marks the start of the holiday. If we plan properly, we could gather the Student Council members for an outing."
Seeing the faint melancholy in Kaguya's eyes, Hayasaka decided to help.
Even lending Sakurai Saki to her for a few hours would be fine — it was just karaoke, after all. As long as others were present, there shouldn't be any accidents.
"Golden Week?" Kaguya repeated, her tone rising slightly.
She had almost forgotten about it.
That's right — next week was Golden Week, a full seven days off. Even if everyone was busy on the first day, there would surely be time later!
"Thank you, Hayasaka!" Kaguya suddenly threw her arms around her maid in excitement.
"Come to karaoke too!"
Hayasaka Ai blinked, feeling as if the sun had risen in the west.
Did she… actually invite me?
Her spoiled and willful Young Lady — thinking of her for once?
"Really? Isn't this supposed to be your Student Council gathering?" Hayasaka asked cautiously.
"Kaguya-sama, why do you think I want to go to karaoke?" Kaguya shot back.
"..." Hayasaka was speechless.
Wasn't it because she had never been?
"It's for you, Hayasaka!" Kaguya declared passionately. "I want you to charm Sakurai General Affairs with your singing and make him confess to you! Don't you sing really well?"
Hayasaka Ai was momentarily stunned.
Though it was touching that Kaguya was thinking of her — there was just one small problem.
Sakurai Saki… had already confessed to her.
"Thank you, Young Lady Kaguya," she said finally, with a weary smile.
"You're welcome!" Kaguya replied, utterly radiant.