All Is Fair in Love and Time

Ageha and I met when I started first grade. It hadn’t been long since my parents had passed away at that point and I wasn’t very social. I would either be quiet or get upset at the class for making messes. I couldn’t get along with the class and I didn’t have any friends.

Every day before class I would bring a towel and wipe my desk because I thought it was gross from sitting there all night. One day while I was wiping, a spray of water appeared on my desk. It was Ageha I saw standing over me with a small spray bottle. She thought it would help get my desk clean better. I was pretty upset. I thought she was making fun of me at first but she gave a loud laugh.

“I’m a star that shines and you’re someone that makes things shine. I want to help you make the world shine as bright as me! Wouldn’t that be cool?” She said while spraying my desk some more.

I thought she was cool. She was probably born confident. Looking back on it now, I’m not sure what she really meant by that but we quickly became best friends. We used to run down the hallways with her spraying the walls and I would follow with my towel. We never really cleaned anything, just left a wet streak. We did it again and again despite getting into trouble.

My grandparents always had old songs or movies playing. They had quite the collection that I loved enjoying with them. I got Ageha into some of them as well. I showed her my favorite manga at the time, Candy Squared, and she really got into it with me. That’s when I learned how deep her obsession with romance stories are. I had picked a good starting point for vintage stories. We would exchange books and rate how romantic we thought the men were in them.

Yona transferred into our class around fifth grade. She didn’t really stand out and seemed like a normal girl. She had her own group of friends not after too long. It soon became clear, however, that she didn’t know how to stand up for herself. Her friends would ask her for small things and never return them. Once I saw her friend using the same pencil in class that she had told Yona she lost earlier. Small things like that build up to worse if you let it.

“Yona, lend me some money to buy that new video game. I’m only a few dollars short so I’ll pay you back.”

“I gave you some money last week that you haven’t paid back yet.”

“Oh, did I forget? I promise to pay you back for both this week and last. Please? Gyah!!”

Ageha stands with the spray bottle in the girl’s face. She’s so cool and brave. “You can’t even remember last week? Your brain clearly needs some time in the wash.” She sprays some more water on the girl. She did not appreciate it.

I ignore the girl’s rage and turn to Yona. “You don’t have to do things you don’t want to. Don’t you know that?”

Yona started hanging out with us after that. I don’t know if she really knows better now or if she was just going along with us because we are nice to her. I still worry about her. Seeing her with that boy now, I can’t help but be worried. Maybe he’s fooling her somehow. I don’t know anything about him, not even his name. I just get a strange feeling when looking at him and I don’t like it.

I can’t believe it. Yona had made a contract with the same Dust Bunny. How long ago did this happen? For how long has she known that boy? I’m frozen in place. The boy has noticed Yona looking at us and gives the same unemotional smile I saw yesterday. I feel the same uncomfortable feeling as yesterday. I just can’t bring myself to like him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way.

They approach us from across the hall. Ageha seems steadier on her feet now but Hota remains unusually quiet. I’m really worried about him; I hope he’s ok after all that. He did say something about stronger energy bunnies like him can take a few hits in those memory worlds. Maybe as a stronger energy bunny, Hota used up a lot of his energy from missing the target like that. How many more misses can Hota take?

They boy waves at us but Yona seems embarrassed. He looks to Yona but it seems like she’s not going to say anything. She looks away and her long black dress fidgets along with her movements.

“Hello. You guys must be Yona’s friends, right? It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ichirou Nagayo.” He introduces himself. His posture is casual and his head is tilted to the side. His hair falls slightly in front of his eyes.

Ageha speaks up first. “I’m Ageha Kidou. Nice to meet you. Are you dating Yona?” She goes straight to asking what I’m dying to know as well.

“I wanted Yona to answer that for herself.” He puts his hand on her shoulder.

“…yes. We’ve been dating for a little bit.” Yona manages a quiet response.

“She’s cute and shy, isn’t she? But really, we should talk outside.” He gestures behind him.

I guess he’s a bit cool. Is that Yona’s type? As we walk outside, I ask Ichirou an important question. “I’m Runa Imatoki. Were you the one I saw yesterday? So both of you have a contract with that Dust Bunny?”

“Yep. I was waiting for you to bring that up. I know I didn’t show it, but I was really surprised to see that you are one of Yona’s friends.” He really doesn’t show much emotion besides generally agreeable. He doesn’t seem to offer much information without being asked as well.

We stop by a small rest area with a drink vending machine. Ageha slaps Yona’s back. “Yona! Why didn’t you tell us about your cool boyfriend?”

“Well, it’s only been a few days since I’ve met Ichirou and when we started going out. It felt like maybe he would leave me just as quick. I was going to tell you guys soon.”

“Hm, it all felt like a romantic dream you would wake up from soon, huh.” Ageha nods.

“You should have just told us, Yona!” I feel a little hurt that she didn’t tell us, her best friends.

“That’s why I wanted Yona to tell you guys herself, to help her out of that idea. I’m real and here. Unlike a certain Hayahiko.” Ichirou looks to me.

I jump up in surprise. My face must be blushing. I look to Ageha and Yona. They are staring holes in me, burning with questions. Why did he bring that up?

“H-How did you know about Hayahiko?” I stammer.

“It was my Dust Bunny that was there during the blind group date, remember? He saw everything and told me about it. I just thought it wasn’t fair for you to judge Yona like that when you were hiding a secret love yourself.” He talks without changing his neutral expression or tone.

“Runa, who’s Hayahiko?” Ageha runs up to me. “Someone you met in a memory world? A secret love??”

“I-I met a nice boy in two of the memory worlds in the 1970s. I might have liked him…” This is really embarrassing. I wasn’t planning on telling anyone about this. Why is dragging me out like this?

“She fell in love with someone in a memory world. Poor girl. It was an impossible love. Now all you have are memories within a memory. Was he even real? Can that even be considered love?” He shrugs.

“W-what are you talking about?? At least I care about love. You just go around destroying people’s love memories for no reason.” My emotions are flaring. I lash out at him.

“Are you saying I don’t care about love? Isn’t that rude to my relationship to Yona? Also, you assume I’m evil or something. Didn’t your Time Hopper explain it to you?”

“…yes. So what is your reason, then?”

“Hm.” He thinks for a second. I’m really upset. Is he looking down on me? Is he wondering how to put it on my level? “Do you think the love you’re saving will last forever?”

“Huh?” What is he trying to say?

“I’m asking what you think happens to the person whose memory world you ‘save’.”

“Well…they get to live with their loved one with their memories intact.”

“That’s it.” He points to me. “Their memories are left ‘intact’. What kind of memories did that person have after you left? You don’t know that person’s life. No one has a perfect relationship. That person has many good and bad memories. Maybe they are not even together with their love anymore. Maybe they even died early. They could be filled with painful memories.”

“But you don’t know either. It’s just disrupting and causing chaos for no good reason.” I mention annoyed.

He’s really talking a lot now. Why is he so passionate about this? It doesn’t make sense. Why am I so upset at Yona’s new boyfriend? I’m just embarrassing myself. I wish I could calm down but he made fun of my love for Hayahiko. Wait. Did he actually make fun of me or was I just being sensitive?

“It’s a fact that the memory that the Dust Bunnies tamper with have not been thought of in a while. I think your Time Hopper must have told you that. Why has such a powerful memory not been thought about in so long that rest energy is growing on it?”

“So what, you think you’re saving them?” I practically spit my words at him.

“Yes, Runa.” Yona interrupts us. “We believe we are saving them, just like you think you are saving them your way. Don’t you understand that?”

I look at her and open my mouth but my words fail me. I turn away. I shouldn’t be fighting with her boyfriend like this. What’s wrong with me?

“Sorry, Yona and Ichirou. We just came out of a memory world so we’re pretty tired” Ageha gets in between us, hoping to ease the tension.

“I might have gone too far as well.” Ichirou smiles at me. He’s definitely not apologetic at all. “Let me buy you a drink to make up for it.”

“No, that’s ok. I’m going to go home now.” I don’t want to accept his apology no matter how childish it seems. “I don’t want to interrupt your date anymore.”

I start to leave. Ageha says her goodbyes and follows after me. I turn back to see Yona and Ichirou get closer. My heart aches. I have a lot to think about and there was so much more I wanted to say to both of them. I walk down the sidewalk as Ageha calls out to me. I’m worried about what she’ll ask me. I don’t want to answer more questions about Hayahiko. No, why would I be worried about my crush on Hayahiko if I felt it was my first real crush? Why can’t life be easier?