ACT III - Reunion

Despite my deep desire to go back "home", it wasn't the time for that, yet.

The old man got taken away by the police, while I was given a bit more time to recover before being interrogated. All that time, the policeman sat next to me, and patiently explained what was going on.

Yuujin Seira, my classmate, had his memories erased by "Tsukumo", and apparently I was the assistant of such a man. He explained the deal about memories, items, hundreds of people with seemingly random amnesia records and the twisted scheme of it all…

And honestly, all of that sounded like things I'd dismiss as fictional crap… If only I wasn't infected by it, too.

I didn't remember anything about this Yuujin person, but he sure had friends who deeply cared about him. I was shown the text messages I had sent to a group chat I requested to be made; I didn't remember a thing, but I was fascinated with how much of a risk they were willing to take for their friend… I guess I was also willing to give it all, for him. Why, I had even lost my memories for the sake of the guy.

Thankfully, the group members had reported Tsukumo to the police, and despite receiving a negative response at first ("Kids, please do not keep the lines busy with prank calls. Goodbye."), some people in the department had been carrying research about people losing their memories—especially after developing an obsessive attachment to a certain item—so they recognized the events to be true and arranged for police to come to the antique shop.

They had arrived right on the time, as… Urgh, I shuddered as I remembered that old creep's hands over me. Now that was a memory I'd prefer to forget all about, rather than everything else…

My interrogation had gone mostly brief, and rather than me answering questions, it was more like me getting explained things about the events.

Then, they let me meet my agitated parents, crying because "We never knew this man was such a monster… Oh, to think we were fooling ourselves all this time, thinking we were doing our daughter good by letting her work there…!" and I gently hugged them, patting their backs to give them support. Yeah, I didn't remember anything about them, but it didn't matter—I loved them. I felt it, just like meeting them for the first time as a newborn in my mother's arms.

I felt at home, despite being at the police station.

After our deep embrace, I was given the safebox containing the glasses, and the keys to open it. I was instructed to take these to Yuujin. "Why me…? Isn't it better if someone working here gives them to him? Or his friends…? I don't think I'd prefer to see someone like myself, after doing such a thing…"

They patted my shoulder and reassured me. "You are his friend. Come on, follow us to the room. Have a talk with him."

I felt my heartbeat accelerate, anxiety making me sweat heavily. They dropped me in front of the door he was in, and left. It was all up to me now. I pushed the door.

Yuujin was sitting on a couch, friends surrounding him from both sides. They all stared at me with difficult expressions, with the exception of Yuujin himself—he smiled brightly at my entrance!

"Kogarashi-san! How nice to see you again!"

I did an awkward bow and grabbed a chair to sit in front of the friend group. The heavy gazes of the friends made me want to disappear… Just because I had "saved the day" at the end, it didn't erase the fact that I've been a part of the evil scheme all this time, using their precious memories for that man's sake—and I couldn't blame them for hating me. So, I started with an apology.

"Saying sorry won't change a thing, but… Still, I'd like to apologize. For every harm I've caused…" I looked down, holding the box tightly in my hands, as if it would give me any support. To my surprise, Yuujin responded with something very unexpected. "N-no! It's me who should apologize… After all, you lost all your memories because of me, while I only lost a portion… If not for me, none of this would have happened…"

His words made me look up into his eyes, I just simply had to correct him. "No, it's fine. It is all my fault, I had it coming. But, I'm satisfied with how things turned out, especially since that sicko was caught. It seems, he even had affected some people in the police, but no one was able to break free… Until me. So at least there's that…"

I paused a bit, examining the safe box inside my hands. As I carefully opened it with the golden keys, I added, "Plus… You must have meant a great deal to me, if I was even willing to put away my memories for your sake."

I took out the glasses and held them in front of him. "Come on, wear them. You'll remember everything, they told me…"

He took them and placed the frames on his ears with utmost care, under the expecting eyes of his friends. Me too, I was holding my breath, hoping with every fiber of my being that this innocent person could have his precious memories back… Even if it meant he'd remember all the bad things I've done to him, too…

He kept his eyes closed for a bit, and then opened them back with a loud gasp. He moved his head left and right, eyes sparkling as he looked at his friends, remembering everything one by one. "Reo-kun! Micchan! Azuma-senpai, Seiten-senpai…!" They all hugged him, thrilled to hear that he regained his memories.

"Oh, this was so terrifying…!"

"Glad to have you back, man."

"Yuujin-chan! Yuujin-chan…!"

"Seira, welcome back."

Overwhelmed by the entire situation, poor Yuujin started sobbing. "Oh, guys… I'm so happy… I was ready to sacrifice my own memories, as long as you guys wouldn't get affected, but… I guess something would always be missing if I didn't remember all our time together. Right when I got to learn many things about everyone, too…" The elegant, long haired girl of the group lifted up an apron and asked, "What about now? Do you… Remember the deal about this?" Yuujin took it in his hands and responded with, "Why, of course! This was my first Reveal, how could I forget…?" He realized the irony of what he just said, and laughed, smiles mixed with tears.

"Oh well, I guess I did forget for a while there, so…"

I watched them laugh and cry together, with my hands resting on my lap, holding them in fists tightly. Watching the emotional scenes made me feel very lonely… I wasn't a part of this story, I never was one. I was a mere… Spectator.

The blonde one kicked her legs up in the air and asked if he remembered the deal about her dirty, worn out shoes. His expression went a bit solemn, but he confirmed that he remembered, nonetheless. I wondered just what exactly the shoes meant… I had no idea, and I'd probably never know.

After giving confirmation that he indeed knew about the succulent held by the pink-haired classmate as well, the tall senpai inquired about his own object. Huh, but he wasn't holding anything…? The others seemed confused too.

The small blonde spoke up. "Right! We have no idea what his object is, and well… We couldn't ask anyone about it, so…" Yuujin nodded, snapping his fingers towards the glasses. "Ah, no wonder. It was actually the last Reveal I got, right before all of this happened. The truth is, I got it the day we went to the karaoke—"

As he explained the deal about senpai's memory object, I slowly rose from my seat to take my leave. As curious as I was about everyone, this kind of friendship and support wasn't meant for me, and I had nothing to do with them anymore. I'd just focus on living an honest life, hoping that the doctors could help me remember things about myself, even the smallest bit of information. I held the doorknob to take my exit, only to be stopped by a girl's voice behind me. It was the dark haired one.

"Kogarashi. I really appreciate your bravery by breaking free from the hands of that 'man'. I wish you a speedy recovery." The blonde one chimed in. "Yeah! It must have been real scary, but things are fine now! We did it!" She raised her hands, cheering. The pink-haired one continued, "It must have been difficult for ya… Endurin' all this for years. But all's fine now. And don't even think for a min' that we are blamin' ya for things!" The tall senpai nodded, approving of everyone's words. "Indeed. You were being manipulated, but you still broke through it. That takes guts. You're a hero."

I felt my eyes burn with their sudden wave of kind words. I prayed that I wouldn't cry, but with Yuujin's simple words of gratitude, all my tears went falling down.

"Kogarashi-san, thank you. You're incredible."

I left the room in a rush, sobbing hard. To receive such kindness, despite all the things I had done…!