ACT III - Traces of Us

After my emotional state left itself to a wave of emptiness, I sat alone in a room, waiting for my parents to finish their own interrogation sessions. I was told that I most likely wouldn't receive a big penalty, being underage and all, but I hoped that my parents wouldn't have to pay for the consequences of my own decisions…

I shut my eyes down, and tried to remember… Anything, anyone! But nothing came to mind, other than some random bursts of emotions. It was as if my brain was trying to show me some scenes, but all I could see was a dark screen—only the feelings associated with the moment remaining in my system. If only I could have a special object like those glasses to see into my past… A lonely, hollow feeling took over my chest. Maybe I did have one, only to lose it along the way…?

Either way, I was all alone now. It was completely up to me to remember things and possibly, just maybe, connect some dots together.

I unlocked my phone, and read the text message exchanges I had with people. Who were these girls I had talked with the most? I saw our happy photos together, but I didn't remember a thing about them, about us. I felt awful.

I read the text of me giving directions to Yuujin's friend group as well, and it felt surreal to me that I simply couldn't remember anything about even yesterday's events… I read, read and read, hoping that my brain would hold on to even one bit of an info, opening the doors to other ones—

Suddenly, I felt someone sit next to me. It was Yuujin.

"K-Kogarashi-san…? Sorry to interrupt you, but may I have a talk with you real quick…?" I gasped, I was so immersed in my phone that I hadn't noticed him entering the room at all…! I put away my phone in a flash. "Of course, uhh, Seira-kun, was it…?" He softly chuckled. "Yes, that'd be me… Um… I just wanted to talk with you because…"

He scratched his neck. Somehow, I got the feeling that he did it often.

Not that I would remember…

"Well, have to admit that I got a bit worried seeing you crying as you left the room, and all that… I hope they were tears of relief…?"

He looked at my eyes with his warm, chestnut eyes. It felt like they held stars within; they contrasted so much with my cold, blue eyes… Feeling undeserving of that warmth, I looked down. "Ah, I… I guess, there's that, too. But I mostly felt… Lonely and guilty, I suppose. I've done very bad things, ruining the lives of many." He didn't respond for a while, and then gently held my hand. I got startled at the warmth radiating from it as well.

"Kogarashi-san. You were also someone who had things ruined at the hands of that man. I was a puppet, too. I really understand why you'd choose me to be one, I mean… I'm quite naive, aren't I? But I always trusted you for one big reason." I raised my head, puzzled. "Why? Why would you?" His smile reached the deepest parts of my heart.

"It's because Kogarashi-san is a very kind person. I thought that as soon as we first met… When something went wrong, you were always the first one to notice, and lend a hand…" I shook my head. "No, no… How do you know, maybe I was only alert at all times to find my next target…" He grabbed on my other hand as well. "Kogarashi-san. I never doubted your heart, not even for a moment. Maybe you were searching for targets, I can't know about that. It's a very complex situation. But there's one thing I do know, one I'm sure about. Your sincere eyes." He looked at my eyes, and this time, I couldn't look away. I felt bewitched.

"No matter how much you tried to hide behind mean words, your eyes always reflected your sincere thoughtfulness. Sincere, yet scared. I didn't know what got you so scared back then, but now I know. And there's no way I can blame you for it. So I don't, and I won't." He gave my hands a last squeeze, letting go. "So don't go blaming yourself for things. You're a hero, a strong one. Strong enough to put an end to this madness, despite it meaning losing your own memories… Which, speaking of that…" He reached out to his bag, searching for something. I watched, silent tears falling down my cheeks. Before I knew it, I had started to cry again.

"You see, they'll take away my glasses to conduct research on them, and so that I don't grow an unhealthy dependance on them in the long run—like all those other people. On top of that… During a quick search of the shop, a secret room where Tsukumo lives was found, along with his notebooks recording his process about all the memory-related things. I asked if I could use my glasses for one final thing before they took them away." At last, he found his desired item out of his bag, it was a small snow globe. My heart did a flip seeing it. Was I connected to it, somehow?

"Do you remember this fella? Well, it's one of the many copies but… I tried inserting one of our memories together inside it, using a method Tsukumo had noted down in his notebooks. It was very difficult to get special permission for it, as they wanted to make sure of the safety of the procedures before attempting anything, but…" He shook the globe, making the small snowflakes fall gracefully on the little house inside. I stared at the small scene, completely trapped inside it.

"In a way, I'm thankful to Tsukumo, because it was thanks to the glasses that I got to know my friends better. So I thought… If I could use his power and knowledge and use it for the good—a way for you to find a trace of me in this object… Come on, hold it inside your hand."

His words made me remember something I've just read in my texts to his friends.

"...if you show these items to Yuujin, he might remember everything, as they're traces of you, evidence his brain might use to remember…"

It turned out that the objects wouldn't make him remember things, but that was because they didn't have that kind of special Memory-Power installed. Could this snow globe work? What was our memory together, that could potentially be a trace of us…?

I closed my eyes, holding the snow globe.

And then I saw it.

The day he gifted me a copy of this snow globe, as a token of friendship. I felt all the happiness of that day inside me once again, along with his warm embrace.

Suddenly, I remembered what happened to my own copy back at home, too—and I reopened my eyes. "I… I remembered that day, I saw it! And… What happened to my copy, as well… Could I keep this one?" He laughed in excitement, amazed that he could make a special object on his own. "Woah…! This is amazing, I did it! I'm so glad you remembered that day, Kogarashi-san. It's one of my sweetest memories myself. What happened to your copy, though…?"

I explained what I got to remember, triggered by the snowglobe inside my hands; and how my copy got broken by me in an anger fit. "I… I didn't mean to break it, though…! It was really important for me! I also remembered about my fan, so if I trace back on that, I think I'll be able to remember many more things. It feels like different paths opened inside my mind, thank you… Though, I'm not sure if I'll be remembering pleasant things. Oh well, I'll take my time digesting things. I'm just glad Tsukumo can't do things as he pleases anymore."

With every memory triggering each other like domino pieces, a lot of different emotions awakened inside me. I must have shown it on my face, as that made him gently raise his hand to give my hair light pets. "There, there… Things will be difficult for a while, but I'm just so glad you're free now. Let me tell you something to distract you a little, yeah?" He took out his phone, wanting to show me a picture.

"You know, I always felt like you could understand my feelings more than anyone," he began, as a picture of him surrounded by snow appeared on the screen. "I'm also half-Japanese, and have another home—in a Northern country, too! I had a mostly neutral stance on snow, but when you told me about snowflakes and your hometown… I don't know, it became something special for me, as well. Here's me in front of my home in Canada, clearing away snow. I thought it was a hassle, but now I'm sure I would have enjoyed it at least a bit more, thanks to your beautiful perspective."

Northern Country, snowflakes and another home—his words were uncovering more and more memories, things that made me… Me.

The scenery of my hometown, along with my mom's words flashed in front of me in an instant. I laughed like a kid. "Having friends is really powerful… Look what we managed to do together, take down an entire villain! I mean, ah… Umm…" I shyly looked away. Who was I to say we were friends? He got greatly confused with me saying that. "Ah, come on Kogarashi-san! Did I say all these for nothing? I'll take back the souvenir if you don't think we're friends~?"

"No! I… I want to keep it!" My voice was shaking with panic. This made me feel like a fool, so I started giggling. He joined me in laughter, and then opened his arms wide. "Friends?" I also opened them to both sides in response. "Friends."

We met in an embrace, making me surprised at how natural it felt. It was like… Home.

"Oh, good to see you two getting along so well~" With the voice of a man, we hastily ended the hug, embarrassed. It was the main detective that was working on the "Mystery Amnesia" cases for years, and he was also in charge of our interrogations. Seeing our red-faced selves, he chuckled.

"Haha, nothing wrong with sharing a hug after a difficult day. Did the snow globe thing work?" We confirmed that it had helped me see the Scene again, even making me remember some additional moments. He seemed very amazed. "Hmm, fascinating… It's almost like magic. Well, whether it's white or dark magic depends on the user, I suppose. It's incredible that it helped with this purpose, and it's obvious that you're a most kind and thoughtful youth, Seira-kun. But…" He held out a case for seemingly regular glasses.

"I'll be taking those glasses now. We need to thoroughly research its effects, and hopefully ensure they're safe to use in the future. Imagine: objects like these can cause an entire revolution in solving many crime cases…! As for the criminal man himself, I don't even know what kind of laws will be used during his trial, but… Ah. Leave such details to us adults. You two did more than enough as your part. Incredibly so."

He gave our heads gentle pats, as he took away The Glasses, locking them inside the safebox once again. As Yuujin wore his new glasses, he asked who to pay about them. The detective laughed in response. "My, what an honest boy. No need for such a thing, consider it as a thank you gift from our part. Well then, today's interrogations are over, so you can go back home. You'll be notified when further assistance will be needed. Goodbye, for now."

Yuujin and I stood up to leave the room as well. Yuujin blinked a few times, adjusting to his new pair. "The frames are a bit heavier than what I'm used to, but I'll be fine! Vision wise, they are perfect. How do I look?" I inspected his new image with the sophisticated brown-framed glasses.

"Not half bad, Yuujin. I'd even say it's an improvement after those grandpa glasses." He laughed at my playful remark, and then realized I had called him with his first name. "T-thank you, Kogarashi—" I stopped him before he could continue.

"That's 'Rena' for you. Aren't we friends?"

"Rena… Yes, you're right! Thank you, Rena…!"

All smiles, we left the place.