Replay

4-1 Current

"Well then, shall we continue?"

A/N: Merry Christmas Eve! This chapter's my gift to you. Hope you enjoy it!

The Black Dragons arc will be at least nine chapters long, with (hopefully) monthly updates.

This arc of the fanfic will tackle a potentially more sensitive topic than previously: domestic abuse. Honestly, I'd prefer not to write about it because it's a volatile subject that countless people face, but it's kinda integral to the manga. As always, please tell me if I write anything insensitive.

"Takemichi-kun, you look kinda tired today.... Should we still go bowling after school? We can go some other time."

"Huh?" Takemichi rubbed his eyes to see Hina standing over his desk, her copper-brown hair trailing over her cheeks as she watched him try to nap. He dragged his head up from his nestled arms and tried to give his girlfriend a reassuring smile, but his lips felt as heavy as his eyelids. "I had a bad dream last night and didn't sleep too well. But I still want to go bowling with you today...maybe it'll help put my mind off it."

"A nightmare?" Hina pulled a nearby chair over to his desk to sit beside him, and the faint, saccharine aroma of tangerines tickled his nose. "Do you want to share? Sometimes it helps to talk about it."

"No, it's fine. I don't really remember the exact details of it, anyway." He made a few chuckles and flicked his hand.

Her slight frown persisted, but she stood back up. "If you say so, Takemichi-kun. But look forward to our date!" Hina's face brightened. "I think I've gotten better since the last time we went bowling—I might be catching up to you."

"Yeah, I can't wait." Takemichi waved as she returned the chair and ambled back to her desk, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Hina was the same as ever. Everyone was, in the past. Of course they were. The only person that had changed since his last time leap was him. Nothing was new, only his perception of the people around him...

Blake Myers looked up from her lunchbox as Hina plopped down on the seat beside her, quiet among the gathered girls laughing around Hina's desk. Her face, concealed by blond, wavy hair and thick-framed glasses, bore little resemblance to that of the boy who'd helped him save Draken.

They were apparently the same person.

Her gaze meandered across the classroom, settled on Takemichi for a second, then flickered away. He looked away, too, before it became too obvious that he was staring, and instead rested his cheek against his palm and closed his eyes.

Naoto had said that according to the police, Myers would commit arson with homicide, but he hadn't specified who the victim was. However, in his most recent leap, Kazutora said Myers didn't kill the 2nd Division Vice-Captain. If both contradictory statements were true, did that mean that she'd been framed to kill Hakkai in an arson? Heck, maybe Kisaki had manipulated her into starting the fire. Kazutora was trustworthy—he'd saved Takemichi's life multiple times and was fighting Kisaki and Toman. So Takemichi would trust him here. Besides, he'd seen Myers hanging out with Hakkai, and they seemed to be friends.

He groaned as his head pounded. This was too much mental gymnastics for his sleep-deprived brain.

'Frank did nothing.' Draken's cryptic response two leaps back had sparked his suspicions of Frank's allegiances, but maybe he'd meant that Fra—Myers was innocent. Myers might just be oblivious of Kisaki's harmful intentions. She'd defended Kisaki twice, as Chifuyu pointed out, but Kisaki was outwardly an ally as a fellow Toman member. It wasn't necessarily proof she worked for him. She wasn't an enemy.