Chapter 3: Minato Asuka
Several days had passed since the encounter with the three girlfriends. After thorough examinations and various consultations, it was Asuka, my childhood friend and girlfriend, who had stayed with me until the end.
Childhood friend and girlfriend were not words that were originally paired together, but it couldn't be helped as it felt the most appropriate.
Asuka seemed to have received a spare key from the old me and had been with me since shortly before my release.
The other two didn't show up at all, so I thought it was only natural that my girlfriend, with whom I had the longest history, would be there.
What a strange thought.
I shook my head vigorously to dispel these strange thoughts.
When I lifted my face energetically, my head felt a little clearer.
Now, after a long time, I was standing in front of my home. It was a newly built twelve-story apartment building.
The brown front door had a gold trim. It left a slightly more luxurious impression than the other apartments I saw along the way, and I unintentionally exclaimed,
"Wow, so this is my house. It looks familiar."
"That's a strange thing to say," Asuka, my childhood friend, who was waiting a step behind me, murmured in a slightly annoyed tone.
"I can't help it, can I? These are my true feelings," I replied.
With Asuka, who had come closer, in my peripheral vision, I inserted the key into the front door.
As I turned the key, I felt a solid sensation and a satisfying sound echoed.
A click. "I'm home!"
"Hey, that's disturbing for the neighbors!" Asuka warned, but I ignored her and entered the house.
My long-awaited home had a nostalgic smell to it. The living room was spacious enough to run around in, and there was a long table in the middle.
There were two doors leading to other rooms, providing more than enough space even with me and Asuka present. My house was quite spacious.
"Oh, right, I'm relatively wealthy, right? It's too big for a single person's living space."
"It's spacious, you luxurious person. A luxurious person with three girlfriends."
"That's true, but it's kind of embarrassing for you to react like that!"
"It's just a joke, I don't mind."
"Well, I still think it's really weird..."
Ignoring my murmur, Asuka gathered her things in the corner of the living room. After finishing her task, she called to me.
"Well, I'm going to make dinner, so you can watch TV and wait. The remote should be in the drawer of the coffee table."
"Huh, the coffee table drawer?"
I opened the drawer as instructed, and indeed, the remote was inside.
"Oh, seriously. Asuka, you come to this house quite often."
"Well, yeah. I remember the general layout of the furniture."
"Wow, you came here a lot, huh?"
"Well, we were together for two years, so..."
"That's a long time."
"Why do you sound unhappy about it?"
"I'm not dissatisfied at all!"
I shook my head hastily.
Unintentionally, I let my thoughts wander back to the three girlfriends.
It's rare to have contemporaries who are both beautiful and understanding. And to think there were three of them.
Given my history of rampant infidelity, it would only be natural to receive divine punishment and lose my memories.
I'm not sure it could be called cheating in this absurd situation where all three are aware of each other.
"Hmm. I'm glad you're not unhappy."
Asuka looked at me intently, then shifted her gaze to what was in her hands. It seems she's going to cook for me now, because I could hear the clatter of metal coming from the kitchen.
She smoothly removed the dishes, indicating that she had visited this house often.
"By the way, do you remember where things are in this house?"
"Ah... mostly. Although I have forgotten where the remote is."
"I see. That might have nothing to do with your amnesia."
"Maybe... When I was examined, they also mentioned that there were still some vague areas," I replied, putting the remote back in its place.
Instead of watching TV, exploring my own home took priority. Following my still fuzzy memories, I walked step by step from the living room to the bedroom, then to the toilet and bathroom.
With each sight, memories of my home came back vividly. According to the doctor, even with systematic amnesia, the symptoms vary from person to person.
In my case, I only forget relationships with people, but there are times when I can't remember the specific details of places or things that strongly reflect those relationships.
It could be a classroom at school or even my own home. In other words, the reason that memories of my home came up so quickly was because the time that others spent there was limited.
And that was probably true of my family as well. It was a two-bedroom apartment. It was a little too big for a high school student living alone.
...Living alone in a house like this is really a privilege.
"Even though I'm just a high school student," I murmured in a tone that sounded detached from myself.
Feeling a bit annoyed with myself, I opened the last room.
"What the...?"
It was a Buddhist altar.
As I walked around it, a woman smiled at me.
...It was my mother. I learned at the hospital that my mother had already died. I found it strange that neither of my parents came to visit me, so I asked Asuka about it.
I wondered how my mother would have reacted to my current situation if she were alive.
She would have been worried about me.
"What are you doing?"
"Whoa!?" Startled, I turned around and Asuka jumped as well.
"D-Don't surprise me like that! Did you think I was a ghost or something?"
"Hey, why a ghost? Couldn't it at least be a ghost instead of a monster?"
Asuka showed a shocked reaction to my words and shook her head, trying to regain her composure.
"That was a slip of the tongue in front of your mother..."
"Nah, it's okay. I think my mother would find it amusing," I said, letting a smile creep across my face.
Asuka blinked at my words.
"Well, that's what I think. My mother was a good-natured person."
"Huh, I guess so," she replied.
"I've been through a hard time before, and my mother was there for me and listened to me." Asuka sat down next to me and folded her hands in front of the Buddhist altar.
...So Asuka went through a rough patch once. As childhood friends, my mother probably couldn't just leave her alone.
It wasn't confirmed, but I had a feeling. With that in mind, I asked her something that had been on my mind.
"Hey, do you think my dad might be a cold person?"
"Huh? Why?" Asuka released her hands and turned her eyes to me.
"Well, my dad is alive, right? But he doesn't even bother to visit me in the hospital. What's the deal with that?"
Apparently, my father has transferred the ownership of the apartment to me, and he has immersed himself in his work.
He's always away on business, and it's been about three years since we last saw each other. Even Asuka, my childhood friend, seemed to have no idea what kind of work my father did, or even his contact information.
"Ah, well, I think so too," she said.
"Not even a single contact from your only blood relative, your father, for a visit. Man, I really have a tough background on hard mode."
"Your casual tone doesn't convey anything..."
"I'm crying inside!" I mimicked crying, but Asuka completely ignored me.
It seemed like she got cold a little too fast.
Unable to stand it any longer, I cleared my throat and turned my eyes back to the Buddhist altar. My mother was watching over me with a gentle smile, even after my clumsy attempt at humor.
...I'm sure my mother would be sad if she knew I lost my memories.
And if my father isn't sad, maybe that's a good thing.
"It is better to have less people who are sad. So maybe it's a plus-minus-zero situation. Although I have a feeling of longing for siblings, I think I feel more relief being an only child." My words made Asuka loosen her lips.
"Cheesy lines."
"Stop it, it's embarrassing!"
"But it's a bit like you." I blinked my eyes.
Asuka's tone was unusually calm. A fragrant aroma wafted from the kitchen. The sound of sizzling oil.
The atmosphere of cooking reached our room. It felt warm.
This scene, which melted the frozen water, added a gentle color even to my blank mind.
Immersed in a sleepy feeling, Asuka continued her words softly.
"I've mentioned it before, but I'll come and help you with the cleaning sometimes. I'm mostly responsible for the household chores."
"You mean under them?"
"Yes. Saki and I have divided the responsibilities for the most part." Asuka said and looked at me.
Light golden hair and big azure eyes. Through Asuka, I see the shadow of my former self.
Sixteen years of life. The fact that many of my memories are missing still doesn't feel real.
While the thickness of sixteen years of accumulation flattened in an instant, everyone else around me accumulated sixteen years.
I am an existence without much substance, an unclear existence. That's why I can accept these abnormal circumstances.
No, I have no choice but to accept it.
Like a pure white sponge that absorbs any color, everything that happens in front of me becomes mine.
Whether this is due to memory loss or my previous way of being is unclear.
"Hey." Asuka, who had come closer to me, touched my nose lightly with her index finger.
"Even if you feel scared, I'm here, so don't worry."
"Uh, no..."
"If Yuuki has any problems, I'll help. Anything, really."
"Anything?"
Without thinking, the words slipped out of my mouth and Asuka blinked her eyes.
"Did you just imagine something weird?"
Not knowing how to answer, I decided to be honest.
"I imagined something weird."
In an instant, my nose was firmly grasped.
The pain was enough to make my face fall off and I screamed.
"Ow ow ow ow! What are you doing to a newly discharged patient?"
"Shut up! Why did you have to bring her back to this point? Give back my good intentions!"
"It can't be helped, can it? It's common sense for a healthy person, my common sense tells me so!"
"You are far from healthy right now!"
"Stop it, because it's normal to get hurt!"
In response to Asuka's answer, I couldn't help but protest.
We already knew that we had a relationship where we could talk openly, and I wasn't really hurt.
Although I might have some reservations about it. Hina had the same impression.
"Hey, Asuka, are you naive? We've been together for two years."
"Ahaha, naive? That's the last word you should say."
"You're too sharp with your comebacks. You cut me off just as I was about to say something important!"
Despite how considerate she had been on the first day, she had changed so much.
ButI didn't feel bad about it. Without much thought, words kept coming out in a reflexive exchange.
It's just that we had spent a long time together. Even though my memories were gone, our former relationship didn't disappear.
When I talk to Asuka, I can feel that.
It must have been such a long exchange.
When I try to indulge in non-existent nostalgia, a feeling of discomfort arises beforehand.
It's not an internal feeling, but a discomfort that comes from outside.
"There's a strange smell."
"Huh?" Asuka blinked her eyes and calmly walked out into the hallway.
I followed Asuka and saw the source of the smell.
It was in the kitchen.
Gray smoke was coming out of the frying pan.
"Wow, what is that, the source of a fire!?"
" "Kyaa!? Oh no, this color is bad!"
Asuka let out a scream-like voice and rushed towards the frying pan.
The smell wafting from the kitchen barely contained the essence of food.
"This is the worst!"
"I forgot to set the timer!"
"Aahh, no! This was supposed to be delicious omelet rice!"
As Asuka continued to yell, I stood next to her and thought about one thing.
--School starts tomorrow.
It's not that I'm not scared. But still, I feel like it will be okay as long as Asuka is by my side.
I thought that while looking at the scattered kitchen utensils. And I also decided to make tomorrow's bento by myself.
thanks for reading
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