Itsuki looked at the late-night snack in Hakuto's hand, and for a moment, she fell into deep thought.
She even pinched her thigh again, the pain reminding her that this wasn't a dream.
"Ugh..." Itsuki felt as if her worldview had been shaken. "Shiratori-sensei, are you saying you can stop time?"
"Well, strictly speaking, it's not exactly stopping time. In my view, time still flows, it just flows really slowly..." Hakuto explained with a smile.
"You can think of it as not time slowing down, but me speeding up..."
"That's incredible..." Itsuki clapped her hands, although she only half understood, she had a rough idea of how powerful Hakuto's ability was.
After all, speed equals mass, and with a speed that could make someone disappear in the blink of an eye, Itsuki figured it was probably on par with something like a bullet.
Itsuki took the skewer from Hakuto and shoved it into her mouth, one skewer at a time.
"Shiratori-sensei, do you use this ability when you're fighting?"
"No, if I used it in a fight, I could end up killing someone..."
"Yeah..." Itsuki nodded. "Is there anyone else like you, Shiratori-sensei?"
"This is the story I wanted to tell you, Itsuki. There are probably tens of thousands of teenagers out there who have the same ability as me..."
And so, Hakuto began to tell Itsuki the story of Charlotte.
Itsuki's expression changed dramatically: (＠￣ー￣＠)—(;一_一)—(ﾉ ○ Д ○)ﾉ—Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)!
"This cycle is probably about 75 years long. But when I say 75 years, it doesn't mean that every 75 years a group of people will appear..."
"For example, there are still people in their twenties or thirties now who were once ability users, and even our next generation may also be ability users..."
"Do you think I might have an ability, Shiratori-sensei?!" Listening to Hakuto's story, Itsuki's curiosity about superpowers grew.
Hakuto, in his super-calculated state, actually has a certain ability to sense other ability users.
After all, ability users are essentially a type of radiation-based mineral derivative, from extraterrestrial meteorites.
So Hakuto can sense them, but unfortunately, he didn't detect anything unusual about Itsuki.
"Actually, even if you do have an ability, it's probably been taken by someone else already..."
"Eh? Can something like that be stolen?"
"Of course... superpowers are a type of illness..." Hakuto didn't want to hide the fact about Otosaka Yuu any longer.
Since it would come out sooner or later, he preferred to be upfront about it.
Itsuki, who had been listening casually while eating skewers, almost choked when she heard that Hakuto was going to bring back the out-of-control Otosaka Yuu!
"Cough! Cough cough!" Itsuki was choking and almost in tears. "Shiratori-sensei, you're not trying to scare me, right?"
"I wish I was just scaring you..."
"Are you really going to face such a dangerous person?"
Hakuto shook his head without answering.
To be honest, he really hoped that Otosaka Yuu wouldn't lose control, and he could seize the ability to conquer the world and return unscathed.
But is that even possible? After all, in the original story, Otosaka Yuu had clearly declared after losing control:
"I will rule the world! I will become a god! The king of the world!!"
Although it sounds like a typical "chuunibyou" phase, at the time, Otosaka Yuu really could do such things!
Unless they used heavy artillery to clean up, it was not certain anyone could deal with the then-uncontrolled Otosaka Yuu.
Honestly, the original didn't specify which abilities Otosaka Yuu had seized. The world is vast, after all!
Even in a small country like Japan, there were powers like ability stealing, memory jumping, and super-calculations.
What about larger countries? Cloning? Death regression? Time stopping?! Even concept-based powers might not be impossible!
Not to mention, Otosaka Yuu still had his eyes intact.
So Hakuto truly hoped Otosaka Yuu would come back on his own. But since things had reached this point, he had to accept it...
Since Hakuto had obtained certain things, he had to shoulder certain responsibilities as well.
So Hakuto never considered running away from this. He only hoped everything would go smoothly.
"Do you have to go?"
"I have to go..." Hakuto nodded. "But you don't need to worry, I'm really strong..."
"And that's a long time from now. For now, at least I don't have to worry about those things..."
Hakuto had recently spoken to Otosaka Yuu over the phone, and the latter's condition was as good as ever.
In fact, thanks to various abilities that had enhanced himself, Otosaka Yuu could now be described as a superhuman.
"Alright, alright, Itsuki, hurry up and finish eating and go to bed, it's getting late."
"Okay~"
When Itsuki heard Hakuto's words, she instinctively sped up her chewing.
Although she was still concerned about that matter, since Hakuto said everything was fine, Itsuki felt that asking any further wouldn't change anything.
Besides, Hakuto was right. Those were matters for the future, and what was most important for a person was to enjoy the present.
Meanwhile, Nino, deep in sleep, had no idea that her boyfriend had already made moves on her other two sisters.
If she knew, the scene might look something like this:
"I'll ram a train into you!"
She would definitely go after Hakuto in a fit of rage! Absolutely!
But it was at this moment, after finishing her late-night snack, lying in bed, that Itsuki suddenly realized.
Just now... did Hakuto mention our next generation?
Thinking of this, Itsuki's face instantly turned red.
She turned to look at Hakuto, who was lying with his eyes closed, gazing at his refined face. Itsuki couldn't help but let her thoughts wander.
They say that a child's appearance is half inherited from the father. Hakuto looks so handsome, so the child's genes should be pretty good too...
"What should we name them..." Itsuki muttered softly, lying in bed.
"They should probably have the surname Shiratori... will I take the Shiratori surname too in the future..."
Although in Japan, it's customary for a woman to take her husband's surname after marriage, Itsuki knew she would never get a marriage certificate with Hakuto...
So, is it still necessary to change her surname?
Itsuki furrowed her brows, considering this to be a thought-provoking question.
"Forget it, I shouldn't care about this. What should we name them..."
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