"Eh? You have an assistant now?" Hanako raised a brow at the man infront of him. Tsuchigumori nodded as he flipped another page of the book he was reading.

"Yes."

"But isn't it really difficult to find an assistant for you?" Hanako pouted as he placed a card infront of him and the Mokkes. "How did you suddenly find one?"

"By chance, Honorable number seven." Tsuchigumori then closed the book and placed it into one of his drawers to avoid any other teacher spotting it. "Classes will be starting soon, so I'll be heading out now."

"Ah, that's right!" Hanako stood up. "Who's this assistant of yours?"

Tsuchigumori heaved a sigh before turning to Hanako.

"L/n Y/n. Middle school division, second year." He then walked out of the lounge, leaving Hanako with a smile on his face.

"Hm... I'm curious of this L/n Y/n girl." He looked at the Mokkes. "Aren't you?"

They all shook their heads, causing Hanako's smile to fade away.

"Show some interest, won't you?"

"N-No more time left—?!" Nene covered her mouth as she stared at the lifeless body of her best friend in shock and fear. "W-What...?"

"Hanako!" Kou exclaimed as he clutched his fists, trying to hold back all the questions flooding his mind. "What does she mean by no more time left?!"

"It just means what it sounds like, young man." A hand reached out to the top of Kou's head. The boy then shrunk down back to his present height. "I'm back?!"

"Well, well. Look who decided to grace us with his presence." Akane crossed his arms and sighed. "We wouldn't have had to deal with any of this if you were here from the start..."

"You really are twisted. Kako."

The old man chuckled as he held his own stop watch. "Please. I'm never late," he stated. "Because all I have to do is turn back time, and everything reverts to its former state."

"Turn back time?" Kou looked at Akane with his hands still on top of his head. "You mean.. he's the third...?!"

"Yes." Akane gave way for the old man, who carried Mirai in his arm. "The clock keeper who governs the past. He has the power to turn back time. He's kind of our leader."

"He governs the past..." Kou looked up in thought before looking back at Akane upon realizing something. "So you call him Kako because it means past?"

"Who cares what the supernaturals' names are. Anyway." Akane looked down at the girl in Hanako's arms. "Isn't there something you should be more concerned about, underclassman?"

Kou flinched as he turned around to Y/n. "Oh yeah!"

"But... What happened to Y/n-chan?" Nene asked as she crouched down beside Hanako as she held Y/n's hand. The ombré-haired girl nearly shivered as she made contact with Y/n's hand.

Cold... Nene looked at Y/n in fear. What happened to her? She had no clue at all.

"Come on, Hanako!" Kou yelled as he gave the boy a glare. "Explain what's going on!"

"This..." Kou crouched down to hear what the boy was mumbling about. ".. This is why I told you... I told you not to let the future clock keepers touch Y/n-chan or Yashiro.."

Hanako looked up at Kou. A pained expression on his face as he brought Y/n closer to him in fear.

"I told you to be careful..."

Nene looked at Kou, who looked at Hanako in shock. The boy recalled Hanako's words a few minutes before this all happened.

"Kid, about this Mirai clock keeper..."

"Make sure she doesn't touch Y/n-chan or Yashiro. No matter what."

"W-What...?" Nene stood up, backing away from the apparition. "Hanako-kun... What are you...?"

"... But it's not like I managed to stop her either. So I can't really blame you."

The boy placed Y/n beside the small bookshelf on the corner, making sure she wouldn't fall down. He gave her head a gentle pat before standing up.

"It's simple!" Hanako faced them with an unbothered smile on his face. Kou and Nene looked at him with their brows furrowed in confusion and shock. Akane looked at the boy in disgust. As for Kako and Mirai, they didn't seem too bothered by the boy's sudden behavior.

"She tried to move Y/n-chan's time forward." Hanako pointed at Mirai, who looked up as soon as she felt Hanako's gaze on her. "But Y/n-chan didn't have enough time to move forward."

"Y/n-chan is going to die within the next year." Hanako smiled. "But it can change, she definitely knows how to mess with her future after all."

"Y-Y/n-chan—" Nene looked down. Her hands were shaking. Her legs were shaking. It was only a matter of seconds that she'd fall on the floor in shock. "T-That can't be..."

"How do you know that?!" Kou yelled, thinking the words Hanako had just told them were false. "And how long have you known?!"

"How long..?" A dark look casted down on Hanako's face. "... From the beginning?"

"The beginning... You mean..."

"It was always her destiny. First of all, only people who are close to the far shore can see me to begin with. Someone born with a powerful sixth sense like you or..."

"L/n Y/n. Middle school division, second year."

"... someone whose death isn't far off." Hanako recalled the first time he had met the girl by chance. She wore the standard middle school uniform.

"Hanako-san of the toilet?" She sat by the window of the infirmary, looking out at the students who were outside, already on their way to go home. "I thought I'd never meet the leader of the school mysteries..."

"Y-You—" Kou's eyes widened as he looked at Hanako. "How can you say that...? You're acting like it's nothing!"

"What? Okay then."

Hanako leaned towards Kou. Nene looked at the boy in fear as she backed away. This was the first time she had ever seen that kind of look from Hanako.

"How am I supposed to act?" Hanako started. "You're gonna die soon, but live your life to the fullest until then, okay? Like that...?"

Kou's breath hitched.

"Is that what I should've said...?"

Hanako walked towards Kou. "I don't know what you think about me, kid, Yashiro... But I'm already dead. So if someone is going to live or die."

He crouched down infront of Nene and Kou with a smile on his face. ".. It makes no difference to me."

Why is he...? Nene clutched her fists before going towards Hanako.

The girl raised her hand, ready to slap the apparition. Hanako never moved and waited for the impact to land on him.

Though, it never came.

"I.. I-I can't believe..." Nene lowered her head. "H-Hanako-kun... H-How can you say that so easily?!" The girl looked at the apparition with her eyes filled with tears. "Does Y/n-chan mean nothing to you?!"

"Yashiro-san."

Akane's voice stopped Nene from screaming at Hanako.

"That's just how supernaturals are. By definition, they're different from us. He doesn't actually care about both of you or Y/n-chan."

"But I was being considerate in my own way, wasn't I?" Hanako chuckled. "I've done what I could... Yashiro." The girl flinched. "I've done what I could to make sure you and Y/n-chan enjoy the time you both have left."

Kou then looked at Nene in shock. "Senpai—!"

"I've already told you about Y/n-chan right? About how she can mess with the future." Everyone looked at Hanako, waiting for whatever he was about to say.

"I've heard from Tsuchigumori." Hanako gave Nene a grin. "Apparently, Y/n was meant to die once she graduates from this school. But..."

"Somehow. Her future managed to change." He pointed at Nene. "Yashiro's future got mixed up with Y/n-chan's."

"What do you mean?" Kou raised a brow as he looked at Nene. "Senpai, do you understand what he's talking about?!"

"I..." Nene clasped her hands together. "Hanako-kun.. what do you mean..?"

"Yashiro-san, underclassmen." The two looked at Akane. The boy sighed and crossed his arms. "Do you know what butterfly effect is?"

"Butterfly effect...?"

"That's right." Hanako nodded. "The flap of a butterfly's wings can cause a huge storm. In other words..."

"Y/n-chan did a certain act which managed to rewrite her future."

"That's—" Nene gasped as she remembered what Tsuchigumori had told her back at the infirmary. "When Tsuchigumori-sensei talked about someone changing the future, he also meant Y/n-chan?"

"That's right." Nene looked at the girl with a shocked look plastered on her face.

"But—"

Before Kou could speak up, Hanako quickly cut him off.

"Clock keepers!"

"Yes?"

Hanako looked away from all of them. "Turn the school's time back."

"To.. yes. To before she ran away. To this morning." Kako took out his stopwatch. "Well, it was one of our own that caused all of this ruckus."

He held out his hand. "And it has been a while since I moved so much time."

"So you managed to solve the whole thing while I was unconscious, huh?" Y/n leaned her head on the window sill as Kou and Nene nodded.

"That's right!"

"Well, I'm glad that everyone was back to normal." Y/n gave them a smile. "But I would like to see the older Kou-kun. He looked so hot. He really looked a lot like Minamoto-san—" Y/n cut herself off.

"Minamoto..!"

Y/n and Akane looked at each other in fear as they walked out of the classroom in a rush. Y/n ignored the yells from Nene and Kou as she followed Akane to hide from the horrifying Minamoto Teru.

"By the way..." Y/n spoke up, making Akane look down at her. ".. did they find out everything?"

You're dying but you're still worrying about that secret? Akane sighed as he shook his head. "No, we didn't tell them. But number seven spilled a lot of the things you were trying to hide from them."

Y/n flinched as she sweat dropped. "Yeah.. where is he anyway?"

"Who knows?" Akane shrugged before looking back forward, hiding a smile from Y/n. "Today, I learnt that some supernaturals can be different."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a first." Akane chuckled.

"It's the first time I've seen fear in a supernaturals eyes."

+ Bonus scene.

"Yes, it was all Akane-kun's fault." Y/n nodded as she pointed at the red head. "I'm not even part of the clock keepers yet I tried to help them solve their problems! And look where it got me!"

"Eh... You really are a life saver, L/n-san.." Teru patted the girl's head proudly. "But even so, you mysteries..."

"Throwing me under the bus didn't help."

"Thanks for stating the obvious."

That afternoon, Akane was wrapped in beads while Y/n had to do more work sheets.