Authors Note:

Hello, everyone! This will be my second time trying to write a story here on FanFiction. I'm here to develop writing skills in a nurturing and caring environ-

Pft, yeah right this is the fucking internet. I'm here because I thought this would be a good idea and I'm sick of having to wade through an ocean of yaoi to get to something I want to read in the shikiverse.

This idea is inspired by Groundhog Day, The Edge of Tomorrow, Steins; Gate and Couer Al'Aran's Not This Time Fate in the RWBY fanfic archive. What if Tohru went back in time he met the true death... Watch as he struggles to save his home and the people he loves.

I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. I'm shit and I know it that's why I want to improve. If I make a mistake, call me out on that shit. If you think to yourself, "Man that's stupid, he should do this!" Go for it, the miracle of a time loop is that I can slot ideas into a future loop if I like it.


6th of November, 1994

"Thank you, Tohru." She whispered, as Ritsuko rested her head on his shoulder. The violent shouting and sounds of their walls being torn down around them by the vengeful horde of Sotoba grew ever closer as Tohru wrapped his arms gently around the woman he loved.

"You're welcome, Ritsuko." He whispered into her ear, brushing a hand through her perfect turquoise hair, idly twirling it in his index finger and thumb. It would be a lie to say it was his one true regret, for there were many for him. However, he truly wished he could have mustered the courage to swallow his fear and declare his love for this woman.

A dark room with rusting bars, walls dank and overgrown with mould… It seemed like just a good a place as any at this point, honestly… Shifting slightly so that he could look into her alluring crimson orbs in a sea of black, he began to speak.

"Ritsuk-"

With a thunderous crash the rotten sliding door down the corridor met the ground and men bearing red oni masks flooded their cell, dragging he and his beloved apart and into the cold night air outside.

"TOHRU!"

His last memory was of an angel screaming his name, amber spreading across the sky as a fir stake was rammed into his ribcage. The pain lasted only a second before amber faded into black.

Before he opened his eyes once more.


11th of August, 1994

It was bright. It was so impossibly bright… His head felt like it was trying to split itself open, and his lungs were on fire before with a mighty gasp Tohru swallowed a precious mouthful of fresh air. The burning in his lungs promptly disappeared along with his headache, his vision clearing.

But wait… He didn't need air, didn't he?

"It was a pleasure meeting you, young man." Rasped an unfamiliar voice, something shaking his hand. Looking down and meeting the ever-staring eyes of Shinmei Muroi, Tohru blushed lightly.

"Oh, uh… Yes, a pleasure Head Monk, Sir." He responded, confusion ripping through his mind.

His father was beside him, so were his siblings and mother. When had he come here, though? The last he remembered he was staring into the burning sky of Sotoba with Rits-

"Dad, where is Ritsuko!" Was she alive, where was she, why is he here?

With a startled jump his father turned to face him, "Ritsuko? She should be at the clinic at the moment, what's wrong Tohru?" He questioned with his brows furrowed, "You've been acting strangely for the last minute or so, is everything okay?"

She was at the clinic? Had Doctor Ozaki captured her? But why would he keep her alive and let him escape?

With a deep sigh, Tohru ran his hands through his hair viciously. Nothing made sense! Why was he at the temple? Why was his family here? Why-

The grandfather clock in the corridor tolled lightly.

Birds chirped happily in the summer air outside.

His family shuffled out of the head monk's room.

...Why was he alive?

No, he had a stake rammed through his heart. He remembered it so clearly…

Sotoba burned, flames consuming everything in their path. The village had become a warzone and his kind had definitely lost. The dead were stacked high and the piles kept rising. Ozaki had lead the people into a frenzy and unleashed them on his sleeping kin; burning, stabbing, staking, decapitating and slaughtering them all…

Including Ritsuko and himself.

And yet, here he was. Holding two fingers wrist, Tohru counted his pulse.

Inhale.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

Exhale.

He was alive. Ritsko was alive and well, working for a mad man at the clinic.

How?

Why?

Following his family through the corridors of the temple, Tohru contemplated these questions before pausing at the doorway outside.

Would he burn if he stepped into the sunlight?

With a deep inhale and a steeled resolve, Tohru stepped into the sun. How long had it been since he had felt the warmth of the golden rays trickle across his face? With a rapturous sigh, Tohru basked in God's light once more.

"Are you sure you're fine, Tohru? I've never seen a man look so happy to be outside before." His father said, worry clear in his eyes.

"Heh," Tohru looked over to the man with a wide grin, "I've never been better, Dad."


He had to know she was safe with his own eyes. As they left the temple, Tohru parted with his family and sprinted towards the Ozaki clinic. His messy blonde hair blew about as he crossed a bridge and passed a few elderly Sotobans perched upon a bench, basking in the summer sunlight.

"I wonder what he is in such a mad hurry about?"

"To be a young man, again."

"I bet he's off to see Ritsuko, that boy doesn't have a subtle bone in his body."

"Ah, young love. Sweet to taste, but it never lasts for long."

With a wide grin, he kept running past the local rumour mill. The hills were still green, the sky was blue and the people were content spreading stories about nothing. Sotoba wasn't a hell on Earth. It was a simple village. It was his village and he wouldn't want it any other way.

On the final street to the clinic he noticed Natsuno in the middle of his morning ritual of ignoring Megumi. The same sour look he always wore firmly upon his face, his posture set in his standard anti-Megumi defence stance, facing the complete opposite direction of her. The familiar scene stung his eyes, tears threatening to burst forth.

Natsuno was alive! He hadn't murdered his best friend to save his family, he hadn't sold his soul to the devil. Hell, he was even glad to see Megumi, although by the look on her face upon seeing him he knew the feeling wasn't mutual.

"Natsuno! You have no idea how good it is to see you!" He hollered as he tackle hugged his dearest friend, ruffling his violet hair vigorously with a laugh.

With a scowl and a hand firmly placed on Tohru's face, Natsuno wrenched his friend off of him. "How many times do I need to tell you to stop calling me by my first name!"

"But Natsuno, I missed you so much!"

"What did I just say!" Natsuno snapped along with one of his standard karate chops to the top of Tohru's head. God, how he missed those. Maybe he was developing masochistic tendencies.

Turning to Megumi, who looked like she wanted nothing more than to throw him in front of the approaching bus, Tohru raised a hand and waved. "Heya, Megumi. How are you doing?"

Clicking her tongue, flicking her hair and pivoting on one foot she proceeded to embark on the school bus just as it opened it's doors. Huh, she was still as bitchy as ever. At least his dream got that right…

Right, Ritsuko! He got so distracted by such a familiar scene that he had forgotten all about her. He had to guarantee her safety, even if everything looks normal he just had to make sure.

"Right, see you later Natsuno. I'll see you at school." With a wave he began running for the clinic once more, ignoring his friend's calls for him to wait. Once more gravel crunched under his feet as he ran down the driveway to the clinics glass front door. Skipping the three wooden steps in his way he skidded to a stop in front of the transparent barrier between him and his goal.

Eyes set on Ritsuko who was staring at him wide-eyed behind the clinics reception desk, he gave the door handle a powerful pull. It was roughly around the same time that flesh met glass with enough force to rattle his brain that he remembered, the clinic door was a sliding door… The last thing Tohru saw before the world faded to black was Ritsuko running towards him, his angel calling for the one man he still felt residual fear from his dream.

Doctor Toshio Ozaki.


The room was too bright, the walls were the purest white and it smelled of disinfectant. Whilst Tohru understood the necessity of a sterile medical environment, he would freely admit made him uncomfortable. Granted, not as uncomfortable and a potential mass murderer pointing a really bright flashlight into his eyes whilst he simultaneously looked like he was sucking on a lemon trying not to laugh his ass off.

He knew he hated this man, but did he really need to add reasons to his list of reasons why?

"So you're saying you saw him knock himself out trying to pull open a sliding door, and you got a doors eye view of it?" He questioned the woman beside him.

"Yes, Doctor. It was quite the unfortunate accident." Ritsuko responded, face completely unreadable as she fiddled with a clipboard.

"Yeah, very unfortunate is that right Mr Mutou?" Ozaki asked, looking Tohru in eye with eyes full of mirth. Oh how he wished he could slap that stupid look off his face.

"Yeah, haha, how silly of me." Scratching the back of his head Tohr petulantly thought that he could be forgiven for forgetting how doors work in his situation, his daydreams were going to give him a heart attack.

"Okay, Tohru. Can you tell me your full name?"

"Yes, Sire. My name is Tohru Mutou, I am eighteen years old."

"Good, good. Now, where do you live?"

"56, Onigafugi Road, Sir."

"Well Done, now one more question. What is the date today?" The Doctor asked as he started to pack away his inspection flashlight.

Uh, what was the date again?

"I'm sorry, Doc. I can't remember." He answered honestly with a nervous smile, scratching the back of his head.

Holding back another bout of laughter but failing to hold back a small snort, "snrk, it looks l-like you are suffering a mild, snrk, concussion Mr Mutou." He paused to wipe a tear of mirth from his eye, "You'll be fine in an hour. The date today is the 11th of August, 1994."


With a suffering sigh, Natsuno let a hand fall to his forehead, "Yeah, I can see you doing something like that."

Oh yeah, he could see it too. Repeating over and over in his head. His face making sweet love to a glass pane in front of the beautiful rose of Sotoba… How could he look her in the eye now!

"Oi, what are you doing!" His best friend asked as the blonde began to beat his head against his desk repeatedly. "I'm sure it will be fine, Tohru." He attempted to comfort, before noticing how uncertain he sounded with a wince.

The door slammed open as an underclassman stormed in with a newspaper in hand.

"Well, I tried to make you feel better. Just don't give yourself a concussion, man." The purple haired teen said with a huff before turning his attention to the front of the room where a starfish haired kid was ranting excitedly Megumi and her friend Kaori Tanaka, much to the former's chagrin.

"Akira, go back to your classroom, school is about to start" The Tanaka girl pleaded to what Tohru assumed was her brother, if the starfish theme was to believed.

"But Sis! Look here, it says three people died in Yamairi! Isn't that cool!" The boy shouted as everyone went silent.

Cool… Yeah, about as cool as the chill that reverberated down Tohru's spine. His teeth ground so hard he could hear it in the back of his head, sweat plastering his shirt to his back.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

His heart felt like it would beat out of his chest, his breathing coming out in desperate gasps.

It was happening again!

THEY WERE HERE AGAIN!

No…

No…

No…

No… No… No… No… No, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!

No, he wouldn't let it happen again. He was given a chance to make things right!

He wasn't going to waste it...


Author's Note:

Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading my trash, and I hope to see you again in the future.

Peace