𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲 | 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐲𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬

Prologue

"She doesn't exist in this timeline."

Naoto's words repeatedly echoed through Takemichi's ears. He was dumbfounded by what he heard. There was no way that was true!

"You're lying right Naoto? She was there when I went back to the past!" He ruffled his hair in frustration.

"What do you mean she doesn't exist here?!"

Naoto's serious expression never faltered. "You heard me right Takemichi, a girl named Hirai Yuki never existed in the first place."

The boy let out an exasperated sigh, devastated by the news he heard. He grabbed a fistful of his hair, succumbing to the call of anxiety.

"This is useless Naoto. She was my only chance to save Hina and the others, but she doesn't even exist," he rumbled.

"Listen to me Takemi-"

"No! You don't understand Naoto! This mission wouldn't be possible without Yuki!" Takemichi cut him off and continued to wallow in despair, rumbling incoherent words.

Naoto sighed and sat on the sofa, waiting for his partner to calm down. Minutes passed in utter silence, both of them caged inside their own thoughts.

Suddenly Takemichi stood up, breaking Naoto from his trance and focusing on his partner. "Are you calm now, Takemichi?"

He just nodded without saying a word but still looked like he was stuck in a haze. "Listen carefully Takemichi, she might still be alive."

This snapped the boy back to reality, his face brightening from the sudden news that there was a chance that his friend was still alive.

"What do you mean by that Naoto?!" He shook his partner's shoulder, demanding an explanation.

"I noticed something weird while I was investigating her, " He stared and Takemichi and continued "However this is just a theory that I crafted."

The bright smile in Takemichi's face never faded. "That's fine Naoto! At least there's a chance that she might be alive somewhere!"

The younger lad walked back to his computer, opening a few files. He gestured for Takemichi to come closer as he was about to show something.

"Although there was no permanent record of her even existing, there's something really off about this."

He followed his partner, his face still laced with confusion of what Naoto was talking about. "Hello? Please speak English."

Naoto looked at him and sighed, continuing to type away in his computer for a few minutes until he finally stopped. A portrait of a girl can be seen in the screen.

"Is this what she looked like Takemichi?"

The boy's eyes widened in shock. "I thought you said she didnt exist here!" He couldn't believe that he was seeing the portrait of his friend who was deemed to not exist in this future.

It was odd, seeing the face of his friend again who was supposedly not existing on this timeline. The sketch of her face was kind of rough, but he would never forget that face.

"This is the only piece of evidence that we have of her existence," Naoto sighed.

The younger lad explained that the photo was taken from Ryuuguji Ken's pockets right before he was put in a jail cell. It was a good thing that the police kept it after all this years. They finally have a lead of where the girl was!

"Listen carefully Takemichi." His face was stone-cold, void of showing any emotions. "Hirai Yuki may exist," he uttered slowly, unsure of what he was about to say next.

"But her existence was erased forcefully by someone."

Takemichi looked at him with disbelief. "Her existence was erased? What does that mean?" He shook his partner's shoulder, demanding an explanation for what he just heard. There's no way that would be possible!

He couldn't believe that someone would go through such lengths for a person. Was his friend dead? Did they kill her before erasing her existence? Or is she somehow alive and hiding away somewhere far?

Takemichi's thoughts ran wild. He couldn't understand it. Why Yuki? She never did anyone wrong! He grabbed a fistful of his hair and let out grunts of frustrations. Just what was the reason?

"Takemichi you said that she became a large part of Toman in the past right?" He nodded in response. "You know who's powerful enough to do this right?"

At the back of his head, he already thought about the possibility of 'him' being responsible about this event but he shook it off because he wanted to believe that 'he' couldn't do that, and to Yuki of all people.

Takemichi avoided Naoto's gaze, scared that his thoughts would show. "Hey Naoto, maybe it wasn't him at all, he can't do that! He's a really nice person you know! One time he-"

"Takemichi," Naoto spoke softly. He knew that this piece of information was hard to take for him but he couldn't give up on saving his sister. Takemichi just sat there quietly, trying to process all the information he just learned.

For him, it was such an unbelievable lie that fate was pulling on him. It was like the Gods were using him as a plaything or a pastime just for their entertainment. He started questioning all of the efforts he did in saving people and if those were all in vain.

It didn't make sense to Takemichi. Everything didn't make sense. He would change the past, only to come back on a more fucked up future. Just where did he go wrong? He thought that he was doing good right now. Everyone was supposed to be happy! But why was one girl deprived of that happiness?

Did a future exist where they were happy? Where, everyone was alive and well, doing the things that make them happy. Where, smiling wouldn't be hard at all and they would all just hang out and laugh with each other.

"Sano Manjiro is the only one powerful enough to erase someone's existence."

Five years ago, in the year 2013, Hirai Yuki ceased from existing in this timeline. The light of the once bright girl who shined like a star, slowly became dim until what was left is just one portrait to prove that she did exist in this world.

And all the fault lies with...Sano Manjiro.