It was now mid-September of 2023, while I had awakened my superpowers in early April of 2019.
That was roughly four and a half years ago. At the time, I was in the second semester of my third year of middle school, still at an age when my heart was filled with fantasies.
Although people around me still said I was something of a dreamer, my past self had been even more naive than I was now. Thus, after awakening my superpowers, I had no further doubts about the existence of supernatural forces and was able to devote myself to searching for the mysterious things everyone around me believed could not exist.
Fairies, demons, and gods from legends might all exist. And people with superpowers like me undoubtedly existed somewhere in this world as well.
I had never believed I was the only person with superpowers in this world. If there was one, there could be two. It was simple logic. Although I had no idea what absurd stroke of luck—or what incredible pile of dog shit—I had stepped in to awaken my powers by chance, even if the odds were one in a hundred million, there were eight billion people in the world. There ought to be at least a few dozen superpowered individuals, no matter how few. And if I broadened my search terms from "superpowered individuals" to "supernatural forces," who knew how many more there might be? My reasoning should have been sound.
Yet more than four years had passed, and my search progress was still zero.
Only my powers had been advancing by leaps and bounds along the track of evolution.
-
This time, Maza did not sleep for the entire night as she had before.
Only a few minutes passed before she blearily opened her eyes and looked at me as if she were still dreaming.
I proactively showed her goodwill.
"You should still be very tired. It's all right. You can rest a while longer."
Instead of answering, she silently observed me, her eyes gradually becoming clearer. A moment later, she threw off the covers, got out of bed, and staggered toward the door.
"Where are you going?" I stepped in front of her first.
"Move." She glared at me like an injured wolf cub.
"You're planning to leave already?"
"I told you, I have nothing more to do with you."
"But I have something to do with you. I took the risk of being arrested by the police to shelter and hide you. I can't just sit back and watch you act recklessly afterward." I gave her a perfectly reasonable explanation.
She ignored me completely and tried to hurry around me.
However, after taking only one step, her body swayed uncontrollably. Her knees immediately gave way, and she was about to fall to the floor.
I hurried over to support her, but she stubbornly shook me off. Then she quickly backed away two steps, keeping a relatively safe distance between us.
"What can you even do in your current condition?" I pressed my advantage. "You can barely walk properly, and you could pass out at any moment. Besides, you're covered in blood and wearing this revealing hospital gown. If you go outside, the police will catch you very quickly."
"I won't tell anyone about you. Will that do?" she replied with a frown.
"What I mean is...aren't you going to take a shower first?" I racked my brains for a way to buy time so I could figure out how to convince her to stay. "Just throw those clothes away for now. You can wear mine, and I'll get you a new pair of underwear."
"A shower?" She was puzzled at first, then seemed to associate it with something. She backed away two more steps and looked at me even more warily. "Don't tell me..."
"Don't misunderstand." I immediately dispelled her suspicion. "If I had that kind of intention toward you, I would have done everything already."
"That's true..." Even so, she checked her body again before reluctantly admitting, "A shower... What you said does make sense. I really can't just walk outside like this..."
After I talked her around, she finally listened to me and entered the bathroom, looking back every three steps.
I brought her a spare pair of slippers, then took my clothes, a new pair of underwear, and a towel from the bedside table and handed them over. I followed her all the way to the bathroom door and watched her close the frosted-glass door.
From behind the door came the rustling sound of the towel's plastic wrapping being opened, followed by the sounds of her undressing. A blurry, petite shadow appeared on the frosted glass. She seemed to be sorting through the toiletries, and I could hear the faint sounds of bottles being picked up and set down.
The shower started, and the sound of water splashing onto the floor came through the door. The first water had to be cold. Like a startled little animal, she let out a brief, adorable cry.
Soon, the water must have warmed up. She finally quieted down and began making comfortable sounds.
A living, naked girl stood just one door away. Realizing belatedly that I shouldn't be standing so close, I went to sit on the sofa in the living room instead. While considering what to do next, I took out my phone and prepared to ask the university for leave.
That was when I noticed several accumulated text notifications on my phone. They had been sent by my only friend at university. The messages were from last night, asking whether I was free. At the time, I had been busy dealing with Maza and had completely missed them.
Was there some urgent matter that made him suddenly want to see me?
I replied to ask what was going on, added that I would not be going to school today, and then requested leave from the university.
Only a short while later, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped.
Perhaps survivors of the Doomsday era had developed an ingrained habit of saving water that was difficult to break. I had assumed that, being a girl, she would spend a long time showering. That would have given me plenty of time to formulate a speech to make her stay. But Maza showered no more slowly than even a rough man like me. Before long, she had put on my clothes and staggered out of the bathroom while supporting herself against the wall.
The clothes I had prepared for her were a gray long-sleeved T-shirt and long pants. Her underwear was a pair of black boxer briefs. Unfortunately, I had no upper-body undergarments specifically meant for girls. I had no idea whether that would have any adverse effect on a girl her age.
The top, originally meant for me, was obviously far too loose on her. Its sleeves were long enough to cover her hands, and the hem hung like a short dress. She simply rolled up the sleeves and pant legs, revealing her fair, slender forearms and calves.
I led her back to the bedroom first. I had already removed the dirty sheets and blankets. She sat down on the bed, warm steam and the fragrance of lemon-scented shampoo still lingering on her.
It was incredible. The lemon scent on her was clearly the same fragrance as my usual shampoo, merely drifting from her body now, yet it created an entirely different atmosphere around her.
The clothes were the same. They were clothes I had seen countless times, but simply being worn by her made them inexplicably alluring.
That was probably what people online called the "boyfriend shirt" effect, though she and I were not in that kind of relationship. Even entertaining such a thought in my head felt like wishful thinking.
"Thank you. I can't even remember the last time I had such a comfortable shower."
Perhaps the hot water had temporarily softened the quills of this "hedgehog." Maza's attitude had become gentler.
Then she asked me to return her handgun.
I refused without hesitation.
"Speaking of which, why do you have a handgun? Did you bring it with you when you traveled through time?"
"...That has nothing to do with you." She was still as uncooperative as ever, but her tone had softened. "Since you won't return the handgun, keep it yourself. I'm leaving."
"You want to investigate the reason the apocalypse arrived, don't you? But do you have any leads?"
"No. But the apocalypse didn't arrive suddenly. It had signs and prelude events; people in this era simply haven't given them enough attention yet. Bizarre phenomena, or strangely shaped monsters... Things like that must already have appeared openly in this era." She became slightly more patient, then warned me, "You must be careful too. If you encounter anything suspicious, don't hesitate. Stay as far away as you can. And..."
"And what?"
"...Don't get any closer to me." She seemed to deliberately keep her tone flat. "I...am different from you people. I'm a jinx.
"People who stay with me, people who become involved with me...are always far more likely than others to be caught up in bizarre incidents that cannot be explained by common sense, until they die horribly.
"If you value your life, stop pestering me."
What? There was such a good thing?
I perked up.
"How could I do that?" I immediately spoke with righteous solemnity. "I told you from the beginning that I saved you because I couldn't stand by and ignore you—ignore a girl in tattered clothes collapsed in the night. And now you want me to cast you out of my mind. Isn't that the same as killing me mentally? If I did that, would I still be myself?"
"Anyone can say lofty things. When death is staring you in the face, you'll definitely regret your decision." Her tone grew heavier.
"Don't underestimate me. When I say I won't regret it, I mean I won't regret it. Besides, you're the one who needs to reevaluate yourself," I said. "You can't use your superpowers right now, you can't move freely, and you're still supposed to be resting. Yet you want to go outside and run around. Isn't that just making your injuries worse?
"Rather than that, you should recover your strength here first. That way, you'll be better able to fulfill your mission of stopping the apocalypse, won't you? Or is satisfying your pride more important to you?
"Besides, even if you really are an incredible jinx who brings unpredictable disasters to everyone around you, it's not as though the moment you say it, disaster will arrive. Can't you even wait a few short days?"
"That..." She seemed tempted by my argument. "If it's only a few days..."
"Well?" I tested the waters.
"..." She fell silent.
I waited for her answer with my heart in my throat.
If...
If I could not persuade her no matter what, then, putting it bluntly, I would break her legs and chain her up if necessary, imprisoning her in my home.
Although illegally imprisoning an underage girl was both criminal and perverse, it was necessary—even if only to prevent the authorities from discovering my misdeeds. I was already illegally possessing firearms and ammunition while hiding a "Serial Killer." What difference would one more offense make?
I did not want to resort to such extreme measures until the very last moment. For me, it was something I could only do after overcoming an enormous psychological hurdle.
After a long while, she finally exhaled and nodded reluctantly.
"...I understand." She looked as though she had been defeated. "But to be safe, I won't stay here for many days. Regardless of how well I recover, I'll leave after five days at most... No, three days at most.
"And...thank you."
By the end, her voice had become very, very soft.
My anxious heart finally settled, at least for the moment.
Knock, knock, knock.
Suddenly, knocking sounded at the entrance again.
We fell silent at the same time and stared at each other.
Was it the police again? Had the police officer from earlier returned?
Why had he come back? Had he finally realized that something was wrong here? How many police officers were outside now?
"Coming, coming." I called toward the entrance while gesturing for Maza to be quiet.
She nodded and curled up on the bed.
I went to the entrance. Instead of leaning close to the peephole to look outside, I heightened my vigilance and slowly turned the doorknob.
No one suddenly tried to force the door open.
I pushed it open and saw who was standing outside.
"It's you?" I exclaimed in surprise.
Standing outside was none other than my only friend at university.
However, his complexion was terrible. Traces of panic still lingered faintly on his face, as though he had just experienced some inexplicable and bizarre incident.
Before you continue