Alteration Part 2 (
Summary[]
Part 1: The Rumor of the Spirit World's Gate[]
The Prologue to the Chapter begins at the start of the 81st Millennium Festival, a tall schoolteacher walks forward at the school corridor, and a rumor is spoken by a trio of female students to one another, as they attempt to initiate a ritual that summon the Supernatural. The rumor goes like this:
“ |
Student 1: Hey, have you heard the Rumor? I heard this one from a friend of a friend. (...) Student 2: Do you really think we'll be able to summon them? (...) Student 1: If you agree to play their games, I heard they'll answer any question you want. Student 2: No Waaay!!!. Student 3: I'm gonna ask them for the answers to the next test! Student 1: Now form a circle by holding hands, and whatever you'll do, don't let go. The circle will serve as a gate to the Spirit World. Alright, let's go on three! One! Two! Three! Students: (...) Come out and play!
|
” |
— Nene introducing herself at the start of the Chapter
|
As the teacher passes by them, he gives off a smile
The Chapter cover shows the backside of Yugi Amane as he walks with a pair of large rolled charts and a portable orrery. (The view is reminiscent of the vision of Hanako's original future as a flashback during Tsuchigomori's conversation with Yashiro Nene during the 4PM Bookstacks Arc).
Part 2: The Key to the Big Clock[]
The Chapter proper begins with Yashiro Nene in her Dorothy costume, who is seen exhibiting a pouting face. She then monogues, as is usual of her:
“ |
Hi There! I'm the Star of the Culture Festival, Yashiro Nene! Now that I've regained my lost memories, I'm...
|
” |
— Nene introducing herself at the start of the Chapter
|
The scene comically changes to her holding Aoi Akane by his undershirt as an amused Minamoto Teru watches. She then tells the reader that she's...:
“ |
...Attempting to squeeze some answers out of Akane-Kun
|
” |
— Nene explaning what she is doing, now that she's regained all the memories of her previous iteration
|
She angrily asks Akane to tell her what's going on, what happened to the world around them, why the School Festival isn't disrupted, why Kou doesn't know her, and above all, why Hanako isn't around. She then angrily concludes that it's the Clock Keepers' doing. Akane attempts to answer her, but then Yashiro begins to shake him angrily like he's some kind of cloth. While getting dizzy, Akane tells Teru that he told him back at the Clock Keepers' Boundary to precisely bring Yashiro to the School Council Room so that he could explain to her what's going on. Teru then sarcastically answers that a good work environment is built on communication, which also points out how hypocritical Akane was being. Knowing what Teru meant, Akane apologizes profusely. But that only made Yashiro angrier, so she shouts at him. Aane responds by telling Yashiro that he knows she's upset, so if she brings him down, he'll explain everything. Yashiro then notices a Mokke nearby, and she was surprised that the Mokke was near her the entire time.
A while later, after explaining everything to her offscreen, Yashiro is surprised by what Akane had described as the "Butterfly Effect", and that the Clock Keepers changed the past, thus leading to the creation of a New Present. Akane clarifies that everything that they have gone through until now was swapped with something different, and he tells Yashiro if it now makes sense to her. But Yashiro says that it's awful, and Teru seems to agree with her, finding such a change "cruel". He then summarized that the Clock Keepers did it because they are Supernaturals, and thus, enemies of Humanity. Akane, amused by Teru's words, responds by calling him a Jerk and telling him that he can say whatever he wants.
Then Akane apologizes to the two before telling that once both Kako and Mirai decided to alter the past, then nothing can be done to stop them, and any kind of resistance against them is pointless. In addition, Akane told them that even if he tried to stop it, both Kako and Mirai would just find another human to make their next Present Guardian, and if that had happened, he wouldn't notice that a change had occurred. So instead of staying on as a normal student, he decided to back both Kako and Mirai as a supernatural, with the hope that he could give someone even the slightest chance to interfere.
Yashiro expresses a look of concern as she says his name, while Teru asks Akane if they even have a chance. Akane then drops the Key that contains the Clock Keepers' Yorishiro, and tells them that this is the Key to the Big Clock in The Sealed Auditorium. The Key, Akane says, allows one to leap through time. He then begins to describe how the Key works:
“ |
Let's say a huge problem occurred in this world... ...like the Big Clock getting destroyed again... ...Or a large number of victims falling victim to Supernaturals. In that case, I could use this key to return to the past and fix it, like a safety net.
|
” |
— Akane explaining how the Key works
|
This explanation piques Teru's interest, who remarks if they can make it that the change to the past never happened. Akane answers that it wouldn't be easy, but in response, Teru remarks that he's not hearing a "No" from Akane either, so he quickly swipes the Key from Akane. Akane angrily responds that only a Clock Keeper like himself can safely use it, and additionally, if Teru causes some trouble, he'll be the one who's removed from the timeline instead. Yashiro then excitedly asks Akane if he can return them to their Original Timeline, to which Akane answers only if it's necessary, however he has zero intention of doing so. He clarified that toying with the Past is dangerous, and as of now, there are no major issues with the New Present. Yashiro pouts because Akane isn't keen on changing the Past for her, but before they can continue, Akane Aoi comes in.
Part 3: The One Change in the New Present that Akane hates the most[]
Aoi sees Yashiro in there, and comes to her side, remarking that she was worried sick after Yashiro ran off at the conclusion of the play. Yashiro then apologizes to her for doing such a thing. While the two of them are having conversation, Teru looks at the both of them, and remarks that Aoi hasn't retained the memories of the Original Timeline either, to which Akane says that it is mostly likely, however something could possibly jog her mind within the next 3 days. Teru, knowing how big of a crush Akane has on Aoi, asks Akane if he's gonna tell her anything, to which Akane just gives off a sad look.
During their conversation, Yashiro asks Aoi why she came to the Student Council Room, to which she suddenly remembers what she had to do. She looks at both Teru and Akane, and she seems to approach Akane, leading him to call out her name. However, she says Teru's name instead, and she angrily tells him that she had reminded him that her mom was coming to the School today, yet he stood the both of them up. Akane, shocked by what's going on, asked Aoi why he called him "Teru-Kun". She simply replies "yep", and as it turned out in the New Present, instead of Aoi and Akane being childhood friends, it's Aoi and Teru who knew each other since they were kids. Yashiro ponders on why Aoi had called Teru "Teru Kun", and came to the same conclusion that as a result of the Clock Keepers changing the past, the relationship between her and Akane was swapped to Teru instead.
Teru, surprised at this turn of events, asked Aoi what kind of relationship she and him have, to which she's surprised at his question. (This only hurts Akane all the more) She then reminds Teru by whispering to him that they are both engaged. Of course, this hurts Akane the most and it hits his breaking point, as he heard the whisper somehow. He vomits the word "Engaged" like a rocket blast and comically flies off to the heavens. It is also revealed that Teru and Aoi's engagement was a result of their respective families arranging it.
Upon landing from his rocket blast of shock, Teru comes up to him, and asks if he's still alive. Akane angrily remarks that Aoi's engaged to the "Devil", and decides that he couldn't stand the New Present a second longer, revealing that Aoi was Akane's only necessary reason to consider changing the past with the Key. Akane then stands up all of a sudden, and quickly runs off to the door, with Yashiro calling out his name.
After a while, Akane returns, revealing to both Yashiro and Teru that there is no way to change the past now. He had gone to The Sealed Auditorium's Big Clock to try and change the past, however, it was to no avail. Yashiro angrily asks him if he could just simply return them to the Old Timeline, to which he says that it isn't as easy as it sounds. He tells her that their chance to truly return to their Original Timeline is slim, as if they would return to the past at random, the odds in truly making everything as is is very small. In order to truly return to their Original Timeline, they must jump to whatever point in time that both Kako and Mirai altered, and then stop them before they change anything. Unfortunately for him, both Kako and Mirai never told him what time period they travelled to or what they changed.
Teru, listening to the conversation, remarks that while Akane could simply go back to the exact point and restore it back to what it is, if he would mess with the timeline so much, they would all just end up in an entirely new timeline altogether. And if the timeline they change is a very apocalyptic one (Like a timeline where Society has collapsed), they may lose the means to travel through time altogether. With those considerations in mind, Teru rises up, and tells both Yashiro, Aoi and Akane that he has figured out their next course of action. And that is to discover what the Clock Keepers had changed. Yashiro, excited at his suggestion, remarks that if they can figure out just what the change is, they can go back to the Old Present. Teru agrees, but he tells her that they can start by knowing things about the New Present.
Teru decides to begin his quest of knowing the New Present by doing one last insult towards Akane, by telling him that he's gonna go on a date with his fiancée, so Akane has to give his all while he returns (During the entire time, Akane imagines Teru as a devil when he said all those lines). Akane, saddened by this one change in the New Present, looks at Aoi and weakly calls out her name. Aoi looks at him with a rather sad stare or a stare of pity before she and Teru leave the Student Council Room. Akane then falls down on the floor, truly defeated. Yashiro looks at him and asks if he's alright, to which he doesn't answer. Getting fed up with how dramatic he was, she leaves him alone in the room as she and the Mokke with her walk out together.
Part 4: The Supernatural Way of Doing Things[]
Sometime later, it is now evening in the School, and Akane stares at the ceiling of the Student Council Room. He reflects on the negative reactions of both Teru and Yashiro towards the New Present, now that he has his own negative reaction towards it. He holds the key in his hand, and remark that the Changing of the Past is a very supernatural way of doing things. He begins to think over his situation in the form of a monologue, while reminiscing the times he had with Aoi:
“ |
Everything that's ever happened getting replaced with something else? Anyone would have trouble accepting that. Don't they realize, that I'm not happy with this either? But if this is the only way to curb the cause of all this, then. Yugi Tsukasa...I better check and make sure he's gone for good!
|
” |
— Akane reflecting on the changes in the New Present, and how he's not happy with it, now that Aoi is engaged to someone else, and not him
|
The scene than changes to a study room in the School, a group of students gathered together. One of them asks if anyone else is not around, to which the other says "yep", and so they begin:
“ |
First, place a vase filled with White Flowers in the middle of a desk Next, have everyone draw a Torii gate on a piece of paper, and write their names underneath with a red pen Then flip the paper over. Lastly, turn your backs to one another, join hands, and say the magic words
|
” |
— The leading student giving instructions to begin a ritual to summon the Spirit Gate
|
Another student asks if the ritual is true, and if the spirits will answer their questions if they go along with their games. A third student remarks that she wishes to ask who her Senpai has a crush on. Either the first or the second student remarked that a classmate of hers used the ritual to learn the answers to her next test. However, the other student answers that eversince she did that, she's been taking time off from school eversince. Regardless, their minds are made up, justifying that even if the rumor is not true, nothing bad would happen as long as they play along with it and so they begin the ritual.
The three of them held each other's hands, closed their eyes, and kept them closed until they received a reply. Then they began to chant something ominous:
“ |
TSUKASA-KUN TSUKASA-KUN Come Out and Play!
|
” |
— The students chanting Tsukasa's name as part of the Ritual
|
One of the flipped-down pieces of paper begins to bleed, and the Chapter ends.
Characters in order of appearance[]
- Yugi Amane (Cover)
- Trio of female students doing the Spirit Gate Ritual in 1983
- Yashiro Nene
- Aoi Akane
- Minamoto Teru
- Minamoto Kou (Mentioned)
- Hanako (Mentioned, Appears in Release Notice only)
- Mokke
- Kako (Flashback)
- Mirai (Flashback)
- Akane Aoi
- Yugi Tsukasa (Original Timeline) (Mentioned)
- Trio of female students doing the Spirit Gate Ritual in the present day
- Yugi Tsukasa (New Present) (First Mention, replaced the Original, Rumor)
Trivia[]
- As per the School Festival's chronology, assuming that the Millennium Festival started in 1902, and the 113th Festival was on 2015, the 81st Millennium takes place in 1983 . The Yugi Twins would have been 28 years old by that time, as evident by Yugi Amane's adult appearance.
- You will also get the same year if you consider that the poster says "Showa 58", which corresponds to 1983.
- This chapter indirectly confirms that the position of the Guardian of the Present can be transferred to anyone both Kako and Mirai chooses. While the previous chapters regarding the Clock Keepers gives a possible total time of 6 years (3 years Middle School, 3 years High School) for a chosen Present Guardian, this chapter reveals that they can just replace the current one and replace him with a new one at any time they would have chosen if said Present Guardian decides to rebel or stop their actions.
- The New Present iteration of Yugi Tsukasa is first mentioned in this chapter as one of the Supernaturals with rumors at Kamome Gakuen.