Chapter 22 – The Place She Still Remembers

After school ended, I was halfway through the gate when someone called out.

"Yuuji kun."

I turned around, It was Airi.

No Usagi.

She was standing under the school trees, sunlight shining through the leaves above her.
That calm smile was on her face again, the kind that suggest everything was good.

“Do you want to go somewhere with me?” she asked.

“…Huh?”

“Just for a little while.”

I blinked. “Where?”

She tilted her head slightly. “It’s a secret.”

That was already suspicious.

But when she smiled again, I found myself saying, “…Fine. Just for a little while.”

We walked down the hill behind school, heading into the neighborhood. It was quiet just the sound of wind and birds overhead.

Usagi didn’t talk much at first.
She just walked ahead, looking at old houses and faded shop signs, like she was looking for something familiar.

“You do this a lot?” I asked. “Invite clueless classmates on mystery walks?”

“Nope,” she said cheerfully. “You’re the first.”

“…Why me?”

She turned her head and smiled again. “Because I knew you’d say yes.”

I definitely hadn’t said yes that quickly.

We passed a vending machine on the corner of an empty street, That’s when she suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

“There,” she pointed.

A small gray cat was curled up near the side of the machine, Its fur was messy, and it looked like it had been out in the rain earlier.

Usagi crouched down, gently reaching out a hand.

“Hey, little guy,” she whispered. “You okay?”

The cat didn’t move, It just stared at her with yellow eyes.

“…You’re not seriously thinking of picking it up,” I said.

She did exactly that.

“It’s shaking,” she whispered. “Poor thing…”

“It’s a stray.”

“So?” She carefully lifted the cat against her chest, cradling it like a baby. “He’s still lost.”

I sighed. “We don’t have cat rescue training, you know.”

“He’s like you in cat form,” she said. “Cute, but hard to approach.”

Yuuji: “...I’m not cute.”
Usagi: “Mmhmm.”

We dropped by a tiny vet clinic nearby Usagi seemed to know it already,
The staff took the cat inside and promised to keep him warm and fed.

Before we stepped outside, I noticed her scribbling something on a little tag and gave it to the staff.

“What did you wrote?”

“I named him,” she said.

“You... what? You named the cat?”

“Mm hm.”

“…What did you name it?”

“Yuu.”

I gave her a look.

She just looked pleased with herself.

“That’s basically my name.”

“I know.”

“You can’t just go around naming cats after me.”

She put her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly. “Then don’t curl up next to vending machines next time.”

I had no comeback for that.

We kept walking until a rusted metal fence came into view.

Usagi slipped through a small gap in the fence, and I followed.

On the other side was a forgotten little playground, Old swings, a faded slide, a wooden bench covered in leaves. The trees surrounded it in a quiet circle. The air felt still.

She stepped onto the sand and sat down on the swing like it was the most natural thing in the world.

I stepped closer to the rusty swings and stopped.

Something about this place felt... familiar.

Like a faint whisper in my mind, but just out of reach.

Had I been here before?

A girl crying, A juice box, A moment I couldn’t quite remember.

“Do you remember this place?” Usagi asked softly.

I shook my head, trying not to seem too surprised.

"Not... really."
She gave a small smile but said nothing more.

Then, without warning, she handed me a folded piece of paper.

“What’s this?”

“Just something I wanted to say,” she said.

She turned and walked away like she’d already said enough.

I stood there, holding the note, wondering if I would ever truly remember.

I opened the note once I got home.

“You smiled at me, once. When I didn’t know how to smile yet.”
“So I kept coming back here, hoping I could thank you one day.”
“But I think... I like just being here with you more.”
—Usagi

I held the paper in both hands.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I could still hear the creak of those old swings.
And her voice, soft like the wind.

She remembered everything.

Even the parts I forgot.

Usagi Status : Extremely powerful today.
Mental State : Emotionally squished by old playground feelings
Cat Named After Me : 1 Confirmed, Why????
Conclusion: She remembers, She really remembers.
…And now I kind of wish I did, too.

Writers note : We're entering a big arc!!!!! (next chapter)