"Thud, thud…"
The heavy footsteps drew closer.
The girl's slender arms pressed against the ground as she struggled to stand. She lifted her head, ready to flee.
But what met her eyes was despair—a smaller bear blocked the road ahead. And behind her…
The sunlight cast the massive shadow of the adult bear onto her body. It was as if darkness had descended.
While she had been sleeping, she suddenly felt her blanket disappear. The air was filled with thick dust and the smell of mold. Confused, she woke up to find herself in an unfamiliar place.
She considered the possibility of kidnapping but quickly dismissed it. Other possibilities were too fantastical, too sci-fi.
She needed to explore.
Wearing only pajamas, she had changed into an ill-fitting set of old men's clothes and shoes she found. But less than a minute into her exploration, she encountered an aggressive bear.
Once discovered, she ran faster, but the bear pursued relentlessly, clearly intending to make her its prey.
And now, she had no way to escape.
The cold, suffocating shadow of death enveloped her heart. Her body trembled instinctively. But her rational mind screamed that she must not lose composure. Even if she died, she must not lose composure—
Even if it would hurt terribly.
"Goodbye, Father, Mother… and Sister…"
The angle was bad. He couldn't hit the vital spot.
Haizaki aimed his gun at the bear's right side and pulled the trigger.
"Bang…"
The loud gunshot rang out, followed by Haizaki's shout.
"Get lost!"
At this moment, only a warning could buy time.
If the cub didn't understand what the sound meant, the adult bear's old memory of this sound resurfaced.
Humans—once rulers of this land, now vanished—had weapons that could easily kill them. The deafening sound was proof.
Seeing the bear hesitate, Haizaki steadily approached, gun aimed. If possible, he didn't want to kill this mother and cub.
"Leave or else…"
Haizaki shifted his aim toward the cub. The adult bear roared, warning him, but more out of fear. It didn't want its child to die.
The adult bear, less than three meters from the girl, roared, its eyes locked on Haizaki—or rather, on the gun in his hand.
Its face and body bore scars of healed wounds, evidence of brutal battles fought for survival over the years.
Meanwhile, the cub turned curiously, even taking a step toward Haizaki.
"Roar…"
The adult bear growled again.
The cub, looking aggrieved, finally pulled back its paws.
"Whimper…"
Reluctantly, the cub obeyed its mother and turned back toward her.
"Leave…"
Haizaki lowered his gun slightly. The adult bear, seeing this, began to retreat.
It couldn't fully trust Haizaki, but recalling its days in the zoo, it decided leaving was best.
It looked back every few steps, wary that Haizaki might attack. But noticing he had lowered his weapon, it finally relaxed, leading the cub away until they disappeared around the corner of the street.
There was no need to kill them. But if the bear had tried to harm the assistant, Haizaki would have pulled the trigger. Whether he could kill it in one shot, though, he wasn't certain.
For now, the bear leaving with its cub was the best outcome.
"Are you alright?"
Only then did Haizaki turn his attention to the assistant.
Her long black hair was disheveled, covering her face. Haizaki still couldn't see her clearly. But judging from her slender figure and fair skin, she was likely another rare beauty.
"Thank you… Yusuke… -kun. We finally meet today."
Her cold voice carried a hint of nervousness.
"…Eh."
The familiar voice, the familiar way of addressing him—Haizaki froze, then realized who she was.
"Yukinoshita Yukino…"
Why was it her?
Haizaki was shocked. Last time it had been Utaha. This time it was Yukino.
He absolutely didn't believe the system's claim of random selection.
And then he remembered what he had said to Yukino yesterday: "See you tomorrow."
Haizaki felt depressed. He had only meant that he hoped to survive and return to the original world to see her again. Why was it that in the "Crystallization Mutation" world he was now fulfilling the promise of "see you tomorrow"?
It had to be the system's doing.
Haizaki wanted to question the system, but at this moment both the system and the sprite remained silent, playing dead. When he needed them, they were useless. They only liked to play dead, pretending not to exist.
"Can you tell me what's happening here, Yusuke-kun…"
The girl, calming down after the fear of the bear attack, brushed the dust from her clothes, tidied her disheveled outfit, and finally looked at Haizaki.
But what greeted her was the dark muzzle of his gun.
Her expression froze instantly. No matter how composed she was, facing a threat to her life, she couldn't remain truly calm.
Most of all, Yukino felt a sense of betrayal—being threatened by someone familiar. She had trusted him, yet Haizaki showed her hostility.
"Who exactly are you?"
Haizaki's face was expressionless, his gun pointed at her, his voice cold.
Realizing the assistant was Yukino, Haizaki made a quick decision to minimize explanations and maintain secrecy.
He would play the role of "Crystallization Mutation Haizaki."
This world had Sobu High. Based on his experience in the "Solitary Apocalypse," this world likely had versions of himself and Yukino. By acting as "Crystallization Mutation Haizaki," he could interact with the Yukino from the original world.
This would greatly reduce her doubts about his gear, equipment, and skills.
"Yukino, second-year Class J at Sobu High, my classmate. Any problem with that?"
Facing the unknown world, Yukino was lost and confused.
Facing the bear attack, she had fought desperately to survive. Hearing the gunshot, she thought she was saved. Seeing Haizaki, she felt relief at meeting someone she knew.
But who could have imagined that the joy of survival would be followed by the suffocating threat of death?
It seemed Haizaki doubted her.
The reason—what exactly was the reason?
Her dark blue eyes reflected Haizaki's figure, but the gun in his hand remained firmly pointed at her, showing he completely disbelieved what she said.
"Are you sure?"
Haizaki's voice was cold. His gaze sharp, his expression severe, as if Yukino didn't give a truthful answer, he would shoot her.
"You don't even recognize your own classmate sitting in front of you, Yusuke-kun?"
Yukino spoke firmly, her tone slightly rhetorical. But more than that, she was confused—why was Haizaki reacting so coldly?
Even if her recent actions toward him had been somewhat like "pestering," making him annoyed, in this dangerous situation Haizaki shouldn't be treating her this way. They were, after all, acquaintances who had interacted before.
"The Yukinoshita I knew… died three years ago."
Yukino's eyes widened in shock, her face filled with disbelief.
She… died? No, she hadn't died. It must have been the "her" of this world who had died.
Yukino quickly regained her usual cold expression, but now with added seriousness.
"Can you tell me the current time?"
"April 16, 2024. The fourth year since the crystallization virus outbreak."
At that moment, Yukino formed a rough idea. She had either arrived in a parallel world or on the timeline of her own world five years later. But whichever it was, she didn't belong to this world.
"I'm saying—I am the Yukinoshita Yukino from 2019. Do you believe me?"
Her eyes, tinged with confirmation, stared at Haizaki.
Haizaki frowned, scrutinizing her.
"You think that's possible? Time travel?"
Haizaki was increasingly impressed with his own acting. His expression and words perfectly matched how a normal person would react to "time travel." If he accepted it too quickly, it would only make her suspicious.
"I don't know."
Yukino shook her head. She had no memory of how she came here. She only vaguely recalled a chill, then woke up to find herself no longer in her room.
Since Haizaki had already noticed her abnormality, she no longer felt the need to hide anything.
"You don't even know how you came to this world? How do you expect me to believe you?"
Haizaki pressed further.
"I really don't know."
Yukino's expression remained calm, her tone serious.
"I have no evidence to prove what I'm saying is true. I was just sleeping normally in my apartment, then woke up here."
Other than her underwear, she had nothing else. She had been forced to wear old, dusty, oversized men's clothes as her outfit to go outside.
"I have no reason to lie to you, Yusuke-kun. If I wanted to deceive you, do you think I'd use something as obviously suspicious as claiming to be the 2019 version of myself?"
Her dark blue eyes locked onto Haizaki's, filled with stubbornness and defiance.
Haizaki lowered his gun, his expression easing slightly.
The shift of the muzzle allowed Yukino to relax a little.
"If you really are Yukino, then I can try to believe you."
Using his knowledge of Yukino's personality and habits from his previous life, Haizaki reinforced her belief that he was the "Haizaki" of this world. As long as he didn't reveal major flaws, Yukino would never suspect he was the same Haizaki from her memories.
The fabricated "Crystallization Mutation Haizaki" knew Yukino well, even intimately, which increased her acceptance of his identity in this world. Meanwhile, the Haizaki in her memory had only interacted with her for half a month.
But as someone who had returned from apocalyptic worlds, Haizaki's understanding of Yukino was more than enough to play the role of a "Crystallization Mutation Haizaki" who knew her well.
Perfect. No one could imagine the complexity behind it.
"You… know me very well."
Only someone familiar with her could say such words. And from Haizaki's cold, wary eyes, she seemed to catch a flicker of genuine surprise. He truly was puzzled by her appearance.
"After being classmates for two years, how could I not know you well?"
No, not just that. Yukino thought of the Haizaki from her world who admired her. Perhaps this world's Haizaki also harbored feelings for her.
But Yukino didn't want to use that to make Haizaki do anything for her.
"Yusuke-kun, I don't know if this is a parallel world or the same world but five years later."
Yukino began to explain her situation simply. And seeing her reaction, Haizaki knew his goal had been achieved.
"My memory is still April 15, 2019 at night, or the morning of the 16th. Exactly five years before what you said…"
Yukino began pondering the issue of time. Anyone realizing they had arrived five years later would feel a sense of unreality. Especially in a desolate, empty world.
The only person here was her back-row classmate—
The Eastern Union transfer student she had invited again and again, only to be refused.
"I transferred to Sobu High about half a month ago."
"Yes."
On the first day, they had even collided.
"I have a few more questions to confirm with you."
Direct acceptance would make her suspicious, so he needed to use examples to strengthen her impression.
"Alright."
Yukino understood Haizaki wanted to further verify her identity. Everything she said was true, without issue.
"Who is the guidance counselor?"
"Hiratsuka Shizuka-sensei."
"The first member of the volunteer association you founded—who was it?"
"I founded the Service Club. As for the first member… there wasn't one yet. But I think it was most likely you."
Yes, even though Haizaki hadn't officially joined, in Yukino's heart he was already a member of the Service Club.
"No one? You're mistaken. Your first member was Hikigaya Hachiman from Class F. Wait, hold on…"
Haizaki deliberately acted puzzled.
"I don't quite remember. Maybe at that time you really didn't have members…"
If he remembered every detail from five years ago too clearly, it would make her suspicious. So he blurred some unimportant details.
Yukino, after a moment of daze, understood Haizaki was speaking about this world's version of events.
But the first member wasn't Haizaki? It was that Hikigaya student? That… shouldn't be possible.
She hadn't made Haizaki a member of the Service Club?
Yukino suddenly felt that the "her" of this world seemed… somewhat… useless.
…