"What's happening?"
Yuuji looked around in confusion, unable to understand anything. Just a moment ago he had been in bed, about to fall asleep, and now he had suddenly appeared somewhere else.
Everything around him was an almost open field, though that was broken up by clearly artificial obstacles scattered everywhere, including walls, warehouses, and even fake bushes.
He was wearing thick, completely white clothing that even included a helmet with goggles, while in his hands he held a weapon he recognized from before.
"Yuuji, come hide over here" he suddenly heard Clara say.
'Mom? Why are we back here? How did I suddenly get here?' he wanted to ask, but the words remained nothing more than a thought that never left his mouth as his body responded on its own.
"I'm coming, Mom."
'Huh? Did I just say that? Am I moving on my own?'
Despite Yuuji's surprise as he watched everything unfold, outwardly he acted normally.
For a moment Yuuji found this strange situation quite interesting, but the feeling vanished almost immediately.
Because although at first he thought it was as if he were watching a movie, it didn't take him long to realize that wasn't the case. He could feel every sensation his body experienced, from exhaustion, pain, fun, boredom, the wind, the heat, the weight of his clothes, everything.
It wasn't like a video. It was himself, completely powerless while his body seemed to move automatically.
And the reason he had been confused at first was...
'I don't feel anything' he thought in disbelief and fear. 'Every trace of the fun I remember from this is disappearing.'
While outwardly Yuuji smiled and enjoyed himself with his family, inwardly he was completely desperate.
'No, no, no, damn it, how do I get out of here? I want out, let me out!'
Although Clara and Eicchi were actually quite experienced with firearms, of course they wouldn't show it in public, much less in front of their son. Meanwhile, it was Yuuji's first time holding a paintball gun, so he was pretty terrible.
Because of that, the match ended in less than half an hour for them.
"Haha, that was fun" Yuuji said cheerfully as he took off the suit.
"How fun?" Clara asked with a smile.
"The most fun ever. I'll definitely remember this as the most fun thing I've ever done!" Yuuji answered confidently.
'That's how it should be' Yuuji thought, but inside he couldn't help showing an expression of helpless sadness.
One of his worst nightmares had come true. Now, whenever he thought about how much fun that moment had been in the past, all he could remember was the boredom that plagued every part of his present life.
This had been one of Yuuji's greatest fears ever since things had started becoming boring to him, that one day that boredom would affect not only the situations he experienced, but also the way he remembered the ones he had already lived through and enjoyed.
...
"Aaaaahhhhhhhh!"
While outwardly Yuuji screamed after being thrown from hundreds of meters high during one of the world's most dangerous bungee jumps, and at the same time one of the safest, since countless additional safety measures had been added just to make it legal, inwardly he felt such boredom and resignation that even he was surprised.
Although he had tried to resist during the paintball match, during the submarine trip he had confirmed it was impossible, so all he could do was give up.
'According to what they told me, they should be arguing up there right now, shouldn't they?' he thought with a faint smile. 'Knowing Dad was suffering too after pushing me made this more fun...
Although that'll change once this memory ends too' Yuuji sighed in resignation.
With all the "free time" he had, he even started wondering what exactly was happening.
'Maybe this is some kind of time loop? Everything will start over again once our trip ends?
Or maybe it's just an incredibly lucid dream?
It could even just be some sort of allegory or physical manifestation of my fears.
Who knows.'
"Huh?"
As he continued thinking, Yuuji was surprised to notice that at some point he had brought his right hand up to his chin while thinking.
It took him half a second to realize he could finally move, confirming it by making a few random movements with his hands.
"Good, I have to get out of here."
Without knowing why, he decided he had to leave this place as quickly as possible and stop ruining his memories instead of trying to figure out the reason behind it.
"Aaaaahhhhhhhh!"
"Aaaaahhhhhhhh!"
But his thoughts were interrupted by two more screams. Looking up, he confirmed they belonged to his parents, who were falling toward him on two other bungee cords.
"Huh? This had other cords? No, should a bungee jump even have more than one cord? Isn't that dangerous?" Yuuji wondered in shock.
"Son, watch out!"
"Watch out!"
Even his thoughts were too slow compared to gravity, and by the time he heard his mother's shout, his parents had already reached him and were about to collide with him.
Boing!
Boing!
"Huh?"
To the surprise of all three, each wearing remarkably similar expressions that would remind anyone they were family, and with a sound that seemed to come straight out of a cartoon, both of them bounced off Yuuji as if they were made of rubber.
"Mom?! What's happening?"
"I-I don't know!" Clara stammered as she continued bouncing. "A strange girl appeared out of nowhere, shot us with an even stranger weapon, and then pushed us."
"...Have you gone crazy?" Yuuji replied before he could stop himself.
"Hey, don't talk to your mother like that" Clara complained.
"Son, she's telling the truth" Eicchi interrupted from the other side. "Just wait until we stop bouncing and we'll..." Boing! "...explain everything."
'But it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon' Yuuji thought as he watched how even the slightest touch sent them bouncing away again with full force.
"Completely unscientific" he muttered in disbelief.
...
"What's happening? This keeps getting weirder."
Yuuji looked around in confusion once again. Just a moment ago they had finally stopped bouncing around like cartoon characters, and before his parents could explain what had happened, they were already aboard an airplane several kilometers above the ground.
"Yuuji, what's wrong?" Clara asked after seeing his confused expression.
"Weren't we just at the bungee jump a second ago?" Yuuji asked.
"What are you talking about, son? That was yesterday."
"Huh... but..." Yuuji was left speechless. "Then what about the girl who pushed you into me?"
"What girl?" Clara asked, now the confused one. "Only one person can jump at a time during a bungee jump. Anything else would be far too dangerous.
Are you sure you're alright? Should we cancel the trip?"
"I... well..."
"Impossible."
Suddenly, a pleasant female voice interrupted the confusion of the three of them.
"Who are you?!" Clara and Eicchi reacted immediately, stepping in front of their son and both drawing firearms, shocking Yuuji and making him stare at them in surprise.
'Guns? Since when do my parents have guns?'
"I'm Lala!" Lala said as cheerfully as ever, treating everything like it was fun, though none of them there knew that.
"And would you mind explaining what you're doing on a private plane that should only have my family aboard?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm not actually on this plane. I'm inside Yuuji's mind."
"That doesn't explain much" Clara said without lowering her guard.
"In short, this is actually a memory projected inside a dream of Yuuji's in the future.
That's also why your parents don't remember what happened before. Changing your memories won't affect them, only you" Lala explained while looking at Yuuji.
"I'm sorry to say this, miss, but your lie is terrible" Clara said, not believing a word. "Earth's technology hasn't advanced anywhere near that point, and I don't believe it will within the next hundred years that Yuuji will still be alive. Which also isn't enough time for life extension technology to exist, by the way.
So why don't you tell us the truth? Don't think we won't shoot just because you're a little girl."
"Huh? Yuuji, they don't believe me, tell them something" Lala said with a pout as she tried to approach Yuuji.
That earned Yuuji a curious look from his parents as he took a step away from her.
"I don't know her!" Yuuji denied immediately.
"Huh?! You don't remember anything either?" Lala exclaimed in surprise. "Hmm, that's bad. That shouldn't have happened. Did something go wrong with my invention again?
Ah, if I'd known you didn't remember anything, I would've come earlier..."
Bang!
As she spoke, her muttering was interrupted by a warning shot from Clara that struck the ground right beside her right foot.
"You shot at me?!"
"It was a warning shot. Are you going to start talking or..."
"Peke, they're not nearly as easy to convince as I thought. What's going on?" Lala asked, once again ignoring them as if she wasn't taking them seriously.
[It's strange. They appear to completely reject both you and your words, suggesting they are entirely unaware of any supernatural or alien activity or existence on this planet.
This does not match any analysis or records. At this point in the timeline they should already be aware of the hidden side of the world and even control a large part of it.
I am completely unable to determine the cause of this irregularity.]
"So, what do we do?" Lala asked.
[I suggest ignoring them and completing the original mission.]
Lala thought about it for half a second before agreeing with Peke's idea.
"Little girl, you'd better..."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Before Clara could finish threatening her again, Lala started running toward them. Without hesitating for even a second, Clara and her husband immediately opened fire.
"Rito, stay behind us."
Seeing the completely unscientific sight of the bullets bouncing harmlessly off the girl, despite the shock and disbelief such a phenomenon should have caused, neither of them showed it on the surface. They didn't have time to question reality. Their only priority was protecting their son.
Unfortunately, Lala seemed to be specifically targeting him, so she ran straight toward them and, after pushing both parents aside with strength that was clearly beyond human, she grabbed Yuuji and jumped out of the plane with him.
"Yuuji!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Clara and Eicchi immediately jumped after them in panic.
Lala looked up and smiled mischievously before pulling a surfboard out of who knew where and shifting about a meter and a half away from their falling path, effortlessly avoiding both of them.
______________________________________
+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)