ALONE IN THE CITY AT NIGHT

Kazuko felt her body lift lightly in the air, as if picked up by some
large invisible being. I need to move! she thought. Got to get away
before I’m crushed!
It was almost as if her sheer need to be somewhere else had
actually made her body become weightless. What’s more, Kazuko’s
vision suddenly darkened, her ears rang, and then finally... there was
silence.
When Kazuko regained consciousness, it was already midnight.
Stars sparkled in the night sky. But only a little while earlier, she
remembered seeing the late afternoon sun as it tinged the buildings a
blushing red.
“Mr Fukushima!” called out Kazuko. She was about to call for
Kazuo and Goro too, but instead she noticed that she was now all
alone. She was standing on the road, right where she’d wanted to be
to escape the falling beam. But when she turned back to the
pavement, the beam was nowhere to be seen.
Kazuko gasped and covered her face with both hands. She glanced
along the road that had been teeming with traffic and pedestrians just
moments earlier, but there were no cars and no people any more. So
it really was late after all, and she really was all alone – just Kazuko
on a dreary street corner at midnight. Then it all started to make
sense to her. A-ha! she thought. I must have leapt through time. That
would explain everything!
 As she stood there clutching her bag in the freezing night air, she
wondered if there had even been a falling beam at all. Perhaps Mr
Fukushima had just said that to see if it would make her time-leap. If
that was his plan, then it must have worked. But how far in time had
she leapt? What time was it now? Was it a different day? Or had she
gone back more than a day?
Kazuko thought hard for several minutes, then she had an idea.
She pulled out the notebook she always used in class and wondered
if it might answer her questions. As she flipped through the pages,
she noticed that all the notes she’d taken that day were already gone,
and so were her notes from yesterday, which meant that she had
travelled back two days to either the night of Monday the
seventeenth or the early morning on Tuesday the eighteenth. Judging
by the biting cold of the air, Kazuko felt pretty sure it was early on
Tuesday morning.
In that case, I should be fast asleep in my bed at this very
moment, thought Kazuko. But then, she thought, I’m standing here.
So if I’m here now, does that mean there’s another me asleep in my
bed?
Kazuko shook her head vigorously. So many unbelievable things
had happened to her since just the other day that it was difficult to
take everything in. And if there was another Kazuko asleep at her
house right now, then where should the time-leaping Kazuko go? It
was all so very confusing, and Kazuko hadn’t a clue what to do. If
she tried to stay out all night, then surely she’d freeze to death. Or
what if a patrolling policeman came across her? He’d think she was a
runaway, and probably insist on taking her to the station. So what on
earth should she do? Without making any clear decision, Kazuko
simply started wandering in the direction of her house.
I could at least try going home, she thought to herself. Maybe I
could peek through the window first. It would be extremely scary, of
course, to see myself asleep in my own bed. But I have to know!
Kazuko plodded along, shivering, until she arrived at her
doorstep. Unsurprisingly, the front door was locked, so she opened
the gate at the side of the house and made her way to the back
instead. Quietly and carefully, she approached her window, worrying
all the while that someone might see her and think she was a burglar.
But luckily, there were no policemen around and no dogs to bark at
her either. So, slowly, she pressed her face against the glass and
peered into her room, looking first to her night-light, that lent a
comforting glow to the room, and then slowly trailing her eyes to the
bed.
 A JOURNEY BEYOND YESTERDAY

When she saw that there was nobody in her bed, Ka-zuko let out a
big sigh of relief. But on the other hand, the bed did look quite
untidy – as if someone had been sleeping in it just moments earlier.
As her relief subsided, she realized that she had yet another problem
to deal with. Her window was locked from the inside, as was the
front door and the door to the kitchen, so there was no way for her to
get back inside the house. She’d always felt safe, knowing her
mother was so cautious. But now that she was standing on the other
side, the feeling was quite different.
But what should I do? she thought to herself. I can’t possibly ring
the doorbell at this hour and have my mother come to the door.
After all, I was supposed to be in bed hours ago!
By now, Kazuko’s legs were shaking, and her teeth were
chattering. Inside the house, her room looked so cosy and warm,
with a plume of steam coming from a little kettle placed on top of
the heater and the windows fogging with condensation inside. If I
don’t get inside soon, she thought, I’m going to freeze to death out
here!
At that very moment, Kazuko felt her body lift in the air. It was
the same strange feeling she’d felt earlier at the construction site,
only this time she’d made it happen herself. With her own will. Her
own power of thought. I did it! she thought. I’m about to leap!
As the strange floating sensation grew stronger, Kazuko did her
best to keep her mind focused on the inside of her room. Then
suddenly, just like before, everything went dark and her ears began
to ring.
The very next moment, Kazuko saw a bright light that somehow
made her feel dizzy. Then, as the intensity of the light faded, she
found herself standing inside her room in the bright afternoon
sunlight.
“It’s the afternoon!” Kazuko yelped in surprise. “And I can time-
leap! All by myself! Without anyone’s help!”
Having yelled all that out of sheer happiness, Kazuko came to her
senses and covered her mouth.
How stupid am I? she thought. It would be a disaster if Mother
heard me! Besides, I don’t even know what time of day it is right
now! I don’t even know if it’s morning or afternoon... or if I’m still
supposed to be at school... Mother will be so mad at me!
Kazuko stopped panicking and listened carefully. There was not a
sound in the house, so maybe Kazuko’s mother and younger sisters
were all out. Or had she leapt to yet a different day again? Quickly,
she reached once more inside her bag for her notebook. But when
she opened it, she saw there were no new notes since Friday the
fourteenth, and all the pages after that were blank.
So that means it’s now Friday afternoon, thought Kazuko to
herself. That means I jumped three days into the past this time. But
can I really assume it’s Friday? It could even be Saturday. After all,
I’m here at home now, so I might have missed my Saturday morning
class.
 “Oh my gosh,” said Kazuko to herself. “How can I figure this
out?”
She glanced around the room, but there was no clock and no
calendar to give her a clue, so instead she sneaked out into the
hallway. Please be empty! she prayed to herself as she approached
the living room.
As slowly and carefully as she could, Kazuko slid open the
wooden door with its panels made of paper. Luckily there was
nobody there. But there was a clock showing the time as 10:30.
10:30 a.m.! she thought. That’s in the middle of the third period!
And with not a moment to lose, she dashed back to her room and
grabbed her bag. It was Saturday morning after all, and she simply
had to get to school! Because it wasn’t just any Saturday morning.
This was the Saturday on which she’d stayed behind after class. The
same Saturday when she’d caught a glimpse of that mysterious figure
and all this mess had begun. So she had to make sure she was back
in the science lab at the right moment and face that person before he
or she could disappear again.
 BACK TO THE LAB

Kazuko arrived at school during the ten-minute break between the

third and fourth periods. She felt slightly relieved: if she was careful,
she wouldn’t have to explain her absence to the teacher. She might
just be able to walk back in with the other students and act as if
nothing had happened. But the moment she walked back in with her
classmates, her plan fell to pieces.
All of a sudden, her classmates ran to gather around her with
surprised faces.
“Kazuko!” said Mariko. “Where have you been?”
“What do you mean, where?” Kazuko asked.
Mariko’s voice turned into a high-pitched screech.
“This is no time for kidding around! You just disappeared, right in
the middle of the third period!”
“Disappeared?”
“That’s right,” added Goro, who was standing at her side. “You
sneaking out like that got everyone worried. I mean, no one even saw
you leave the room. Even the teacher up front didn’t see you stand
up, and no one heard the door open.”
“That’s right,” Mariko screeched again. “Even I didn’t notice you
leave, and I was sitting next to you!”
 Kazuo, with his usual dazed look, also joined the conversation.
“It’s almost as if Kazuko used magic! You disappeared, just like
smoke!”
Kazuko struggled to piece together what it could all mean. She’d
wondered earlier on if there might be a problem of there being two
Kazukos if she jumped back in time. So perhaps what they were
talking about explained how the problem gets resolved. Could it be
that every leap back in time triggers the disappearance of herself
from that particular present time? That would explain why the
Kazuko everyone was worrying about had disappeared at probably
the same moment the future Kazuko had appeared back in her
bedroom. But how on earth was she going to explain that to her
friends? It wasn’t until days later that she explained everything to
them, so there was no way she could expect them to believe her at
this moment.
“So, where were you?” Mariko shrieked hysterically yet again,
frustrated that something so strange could happen right next to her
without her even noticing.
“I didn’t feel well, so I went to the bathroom,” offered Kazuko.
“To the bathroom? With your bag?” Mariko wasn’t having any of
it, and her eyes remained fixed on Ka-zuko’s bag, which she was
clutching tightly to her chest.
Fortunately at that moment the teacher, Mr Komat-su, entered the
room and all the students immediately stopped talking and dashed
back to their seats. Kazuko also took her seat and got out her
textbook and notebook from her bag – ready to take notes from a
class that she’d already sat through once in the past.
By the time the class was over, Kazuko was very relieved to find
that her classmates had pretty much lost interest in questioning her
about her disappearance. Then, just like before, Kazuko was asked
by Mr Fukushima to clean the science lab with Goro and Kazuo.
By the time they finished cleaning, the school had emptied out,
and all was silent apart from the occasional sound of a door
slamming shut here and there and the distant sound of someone
playing Chopin’s ‘Polonaise’ on the piano in the auditorium.
“That’s good enough,” said Kazuko. “I’ll take out the trash. You
boys can go wash your hands.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Kazuo and Goro left for the lavatories together, and as soon as
they were gone, Kazuko went into the small science lab.
Goro and Kazuo were washing their hands in the sink, talking.
“Kazuko’s cute, and she’s nice, too. But she can be a little
overbearing at times, can’t she.”
“Oh yeah?” said Kazuo, who had been miles away again. “What
makes you say that?”
“Don’t you think she can be overbearing?” said Goro, puffing up
his chest to match his face, which was always rather red and puffy.
“She treats us like we’re kids. Come on. You boys can go and wash
your hands, she says.”
Meanwhile, Kazuko was hiding behind the partition in the science
lab, waiting for the mysterious person to arrive. Her heart was
pounding.
It’s nearly time! she thought. I need to hold my ground! Kazuko
puffed up her chest and flexed the muscles in her arms and legs. Just
then, the door to the science lab opened, and someone stepped in
slowly.
This is him... thought Kazuko.
 IDENTIFYING THE INTRUDER

Kazuko thought she would be able to remain out of the enemy’s

sight for a while. But maybe she was being a bit hasty by thinking of
him as the enemy. After all, she had no reason to believe that he
meant her any harm. Come to think of it, she had no reason to
believe it was a he! It could just as easily be a girl! But whoever it
was, that person had caused a lot of difficulty for Kazuko, and she
was determined to get to the bottom of it.
Only moments later, the shadowy figure walked over to the
chemicals cabinet, where he or she began rummaging through its
contents. Kazuko then heard the clatter of chemical bottles and test
tubes being lined up on the desk.
If I can just stay out of sight a little longer, thought Kazuko, that
person will begin making the strange chemical concoction again.
Then I’ll step out of the shadows and catch the intruder red-
handed!
But in reality, Kazuko was too scared to do anything like that.
What if that person was violent? What if that person decided to
attack her to protect his or her secret? After all, she was only a girl.
What hope did she have of protecting herself? If only she’d asked
one of her friends to accompany her... But it was too late. And what
was the point – she knew they wouldn’t have believed her anyway!
There was no choice. She’d simply have to face the intruder by
herself. But what sort of a person could it be? She knew that the
intruder was capable of giving her superhuman powers. So was that
person a genius? A lunatic? Or even a monster? She didn’t like her
new-found powers, and she really didn’t want her friends to think
she was any different to anybody else. So she needed to look this
person in the face and demand that she be made normal again. And if
that didn’t work, then maybe she’d have to trick or threaten that
person into making her normal again But what would she do if the
intruder didn’t want to or was unable to do what she wanted? What
would she do then! Kazuko began to worry.
Getting a grip on herself, Kazuko remained silent and listened to
the sound of chemicals being mixed.
This is the moment to make my move! she thought to herself. But
her legs felt like jelly, and she couldn’t get them to work. What am I
waiting for! I’ve gone through so much trouble to be here, and if I
don’t do something, then it will all have been for nothing!
You’re a coward, Kazuko!
Then suddenly there came a voice: “Okay, Kazuko. You can come
out now. I’ve known all along that you were hiding there.”
It was a voice Kazuko knew well. The voice of someone close to
her. Surely, it couldn’t be him!
Kazuko gingerly stepped away from the partition to find the
intruder standing by the chemicals cabinet, smiling at her.
“Kazuo!” screamed Kazuko in both surprise and relief as her
friend stood before her with his usual daydreaming expression.
Was he really the one she was after? Could it really be that Kazuo
– who’d been with her through this whole thing – was the intruder?
Kazuko found it hard to believe. But she knew she had to, and that it
would be better if she could hear it directly from him.
“So it was you? You made that odd chemical and gave me these
strange powers?” said Kazuko, doing
her best to suppress her anger. He was supposed to be her friend,
but he’d been watching her suffer all along without ever saying a
word!
“Yes, that’s right. But I didn’t do it to cause you trouble. It was
just a coincidence that you came to have those powers. I didn’t mean
for it to happen. There’s a reason why I didn’t tell you before. I was
trying to protect you. I just hope you can believe me!”
“But, but...” Kazuko was suddenly lost for words.
There were so many questions, so many things she wanted to say.
“I just can’t believe it. Why would you...”
Kazuo wore a smile of pity on his face, and Kazuko was surprised
to see there was something a little more mature about him. Not like
when some of the students pretend to be grown-ups, but a genuine
maturity. The person standing in front of her was no longer a boy –
at least not like the rest of the kids at school.