I have holes in my memory.
And that's not a metaphor, but a fact.
People used to call me a freak in high school because of that fact, and I got distant from my friends too.
There are certain events, of certain dates or a period of days I can't really remember, of my childhood, or of my high school days itself...I don't really know.
And the fact that I experienced something, and I can't recall it, is scarier than you might think.
Everyday, I used to live in fear and oblivion, until I was diagnosed with this memory loss thing.
Evidently, I got detached with what few people I used to know, and lived alone, until that reunion in that bar with my high school friends, and teacher.
When I saw their faces, and remembered who exactly they were and how much time I had spent with them, relief filled my heart.
I was really glad that I didn't forget them.
Well, although, the memories are a bit hazy, certain parts of them kept coming back to me like a hit of nostalgia.
A very faint but certainly recognizable feeling of familiarity with certain places, or persons.
That's the kind of feeling I got, when I first looked at this girl sitting beside me.
"Oy...why the fuck are you staring, huh!?", the voice came from that same girl, as soon as I looked away.
She is now cursing me, huh?
I guess I was staring at her a bit hard.
"Sorry, its nothing.", I feigned ignorance, and focussed on the drink.
She also had bandages around her leg, and a few visible bruises on her arms.
Those looked like recent injuries, but apart from the fight previous evening, involving the class B and D students, I don't think I have heard of any others, that to where a girl got injured.
That confirms the fact that she is a senior.
A second year, or maybe a third year, because she didn't even hesitate to curse at me.
Anyway, she seems like a rowdy one, despite her appearance.
After finishing the drink, she got up, and with her bandaged leg, she walked away, limping a bit to the right.
I had this urge to continue a conversation with her, but I had no idea what to say.
She already seemed irritated by me, so it may be better to leave her be.
Oh well, maybe next time.
As I welled in my own incompitence in talking to females, about anything apart from business, time passed by, and I kept myself there seated.
The thing with my reputation right now, has no fix, that comes to my mind.
But, if I want to avoid imminent expulsion in the next special exam, then I would better work my way out with other classes, and reconsider that deal with Sakayanagi.
***
As you grow older, the small things that you ignored, start to seem more precious than you could ever imagine.
I walked down the pathway towards the mall, from our dormitory, and there was a little park like open space a few meters away.
The air was a bit warmer than yesterday, and the sun was setting, spreading a red hue on the trees.
I could see one or two stars in the opposite direction, which would fill up the sky soon enough.
The bench in that park was a bit cold though, as I sat there, wearing a jacket, to keep myself warm.
"Hey.", the girl who had called me, was already here, sitting on that same bench.
"Seems like you are in trouble.", Chihiro spoke, in a normal tone.
She did seem concerned though.
"Yeah, because of you.", I gave a reply as if mocking her.
She didn't snap back at me, which gave me the answer I was looking for.
"So? What did you call me here for, Shiranami san? Thanks to you, I am now an enemy to my classmates."
".....I am really sorry for that. Thought I owe you an explanation as to what really happened."
".....What really happened?"
"I think during that fight yesterday, somoene slipped in their mobile phone into my pocket, while being on a call with Sakayanagi."
Then she showed me a phone which was not hers.
It showed the name of a girl, of class 1D.
Nishino Akane.
Incidentally, there were a few girls of that class just watching the fight, without getting involved.
All her information was there for us to see.
And, indeed there was a call history, with Sakayanagi's name on it at the first.
The details showed that the call took place during that time, when we were bringing the injured students to the clinic.
And our conversation got recorded by her in the process.
Yet, it was pretty dumb of this Nishino girl, cause she just exposed her identity, and her phone is in our hands.
Seems like Sakayanagi planned that fight yesterday too, with Ishizaki and others.
I have no idea how she got them convinced, but the fact is, almost class 1D is in the hands of Sakayanagi.
Class B is a mess right now, due to Ichinose remaining slightly unstable, despite the point of focus being shifted from her to me.
Surviving the In-Class voting special exam would be the real challenge for me from now on.
But, right now, I got something more important to do.
"Hey, um, can I ask you a question?", Chihiro spoke up, as I was thinking about what to do, with this phone.
"Sure."
"Why exactly did you help me in that matter, putting yourself in a difficult situation? I am sure its not just to return the kindness of Ichinose, but something else. So why did you do it?"
"....Cause I like you? Didn't I make it clear in those letters?"
She seemed a bit perplexed by my answer.
"There's nothing more to it. You clearly seemed distressed by the situation of your class, and I wanted to help you. Isn't that a good enough reason?", I followed up on that answer.
"...Umm.....I have no idea what to say, if you put it like that. I am not really looking for a relationship right now, I mean, you seem like a decent guy, but I don't think it would work out between us, you know.", she seemed frantically trying to prove her point.
Doesn't really matter to me.
As long as I keep a positive connection with her, its all good, as she is quite usable.
"You don't have to overthink about it, nor am I expecting a positive answer from you. Still, I like you. That fact won't change."
"Oh.....okay....."
I guess, she has nothing more to say.
"Now, there is something I have thought of, about this phone. Please hear it out."
I swiftly started explaining my plan to her.
The fact that we have this phone, and we are gonna do something with it, is already known to Sakayanagi, which gives me the leverage to play it safe and take measures such that she would have no idea what we did to this phone.
Nevertheles, you made a mistake in underestimating me.
Oh well, she doesn't know that the man inside the body of Yamauchi isn't really Yamauchi at all.
He is completely a different man.
She had her fun, now its my time to strike back.
***********
A/N :
A new volume of the year 3 is gonna come out next month I think.
And the season 4 of the anime is going well too, not to the point I expected, but well...
I have also forgotten a large chunk of the story, so I have to re-read the novel.
Anyway, if you have any thoughts about the story so far, comment it below.
Next Chapter - Something Real
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