Act 2: Revisiting Memories
With that resolve in my heart, I visited Yuzuhana’s apartment. Rushing into the clean, well-kept entrance, I entered her room number and pressed the call button.
"……"
No response, no matter how long I waited. It seemed she wasn’t home yet. Standing around in the entrance too long might make me look suspicious, so I decided to step outside for now.
The damp air clung to my skin as I stood there, keeping an eye on my surroundings. Then, across the street, I spotted Yuzuhana.
Maybe she had stopped by the supermarket after school—she was carrying a shopping bag, and her steps were heavy.
But that wasn’t the only reason. She was probably struggling to adjust at school due to her memory loss, unable to keep up with classes, overwhelmed by anxiety.
With her head down, eyes on the ground, she walked toward me. Then, as she suddenly looked up—
"W-What are you doing here?"
Yuzuhana froze, looking bewildered.
Normally, she’d smile and say, "Did you come to hang out?" … But this reaction was different. It hurt, but at least she wasn’t screaming like she did this morning. That was progress.
"I was waiting for you, Yuzuhana. I want us to be close again."
"T-That’s… kind of a problem… I don’t even know you, Kurose-kun…"
"I know. That’s why I want you to get to know me. Just talk with me for a bit."
"I can’t…"
"…Is it because I creep you out?"
"It’s not that… I’m just bad at dealing with people. I don’t know what to talk about… And especially with guys, I get nervous and can’t stay calm…"
It was the same when we first met. We were both awkward and tense, but since we were the only ones who knew each other, we tried our best to get along…
Then, when Yuzuhana got hooked on Akatsuru World, we started bonding over manga, and our friendship quickly deepened.
Akatsuru-sensei hasn’t debuted yet, so I can’t recommend the manga I did back then, but Yuzuhana definitely has an otaku side.
And luckily, her favorite show, Anipara, is currently airing.
"For example, how about we talk about Anipara?"
"Anipara…?"
Why does she look so confused?
"Animal Paradise. That short anime that airs on weekday mornings. …You don’t watch it?"
"This is the first time I’ve heard of it."
But you used to go on and on about how you’d been watching Anipara since it first aired! Were you just pretending to be an old fan to impress me…?
Well, her hometown was way out in the countryside, and she used to complain about how few channels they had. Maybe the station that aired Anipara didn’t even reach her back then.
"I’ve never watched anime before… So I don’t think I can get along with you, Kurose-kun. I don’t remember her name, but there was a girl in our class reading a novel with anime-style illustrations. I think you’d have more fun talking to her."
Was she trying to avoid talking to me, or was she just nervous…? Yuzuhana said that quickly, as if to end the conversation, and turned to enter the apartment building.
"W-Wait a second!"
"Is there… still something else?"
"Of course! We can get along! I know we can! S-So, even if it’s a long shot, just talk to me!"
Yuzuhana narrowed her eyes in irritation.
"The me you knew and the me now are different… And I really don’t like people who keep pushing themselves on me."
"T-Then I’ll stop being pushy!"
"Does that mean… you’ll stop talking to me altogether?"
"No, that’s not it. I won’t push, but… I still want to talk with you…"
Yuzuhana let out an exasperated sigh.
"I don’t want to talk, though."
"I know. I know, so… I’ll just wait. Until you feel like talking to me."
"Wait… You’re not planning to just stay here, are you?"
"That’s exactly what I’m planning. I won’t budge from this spot until you feel like talking to me."
"You’re not a child, stop being so stubborn…"
"Then I don’t mind being a child. I really won’t move from here."
"Even if you do that, I still won’t talk to you, you know?"
"Even so, I’ll wait."
"…Fine. Do whatever you want."
Giving up on convincing me, Yuzuhana threw those words at me and disappeared into the building.
I remained where I was, waiting for her to come back.
6 PM passed. Then 7 PM. The street darkened, and my phone chimed with an electronic ring.
Yuzuhana!? …No, it was Sana.
"Hello? What’s up?"
"Hey, Nii-chan, where are you? It’s dinnertime."
Her words reminded me that I hadn’t eaten anything since morning. The smell of grilled fish drifted from a house across the street, making my stomach clench with hunger.
"Eat without me today."
"Are you sure? It’s a yakiniku party, you know?"
"I’m not in the mood."
"Ehh~? But it smells sooo good! The meat’s sizzling on the grill, all juicy and tender. Imagine dipping it into that thick, sweet sauce and eating it with rice… It’d be so delicious! And we even have melon for dessert!"
"S-Stop it! Don’t tempt your brother like that!"
"I was trying to get you in the mood for yakiniku! And guess what? It’s not the usual bargain meat—it’s domestic beef!"
"Why go all out today of all days…?"
"Because you seemed kinda down, so I asked Mom if we could have yakiniku. The melon was just something I wanted for myself, though."
Ah… So that’s how it is.
She might seem carefree, but in her own way, she’s always looking out for me.
It’s that thoughtfulness that got Sana appointed as the basketball team captain this summer. If Yuzuhana regains her memories by then, we should throw her a celebration party together.
"Thanks. I appreciate it. But I’ve got something I need to do."
"You promised to eat with Koikawa-san?"
If only that were the case.
I want to eat with Yuzuhana again. If possible, I want her to cook for me. If she did, I’d tell her as many times as it takes—
That her cooking is the best in the world.
That I’m lucky to have such delicious food.
"It’s… complicated. I’m not eating with Yuzuhana. But don’t worry about me."
"Got it. I’ll save some melon for you."
"Yeah. See you later."
I ended the call and, stomach growling, continued waiting for Yuzuhana.
Her apartment complex was popular among young women. Every time someone passed by, they gave me a wary look, but since I looked like a high schooler, no one called the cops on me.
Night fell.
Even after sunset, the humid heat remained unchanged. My clothes clung to my skin with sweat, and my throat was parched. Come to think of it, I hadn’t even had a sip of water since morning…
There was a vending machine nearby, but I had no wallet. I must have forgotten it when I left home. Hunger and thirst made my head feel hazy. It was a familiar sensation.
This feeling… That’s right. It’s just like that day—
The day Yuzuhana and I had our biggest fight.
It was the summer of our second year of marriage.
That day, I had gone golfing with my boss.
I had promised to go out with Yuzuhana, but I couldn’t refuse my power-harassing boss’s invitation… Yuzuhana had looked disappointed but still saw me off with a "Take care and watch out for heatstroke."
If I had been with Yuzuhana, it would have been fun. But golfing with my boss was anything but. My colleagues and I had to flatter him in unison, my throat went dry from all the forced compliments, and I regretted not turning him down.
By evening, I was finally free. Feeling guilty, I bought a cake as an apology and headed home. Yuzuhana happily accepted it, saying I didn’t have to go through the trouble—
—"Hey, where’s your wedding ring?"
Her words made me realize.
The hand I had just handed her the cake with… was missing its ring.
I remembered taking it off because it got in the way while golfing and putting it in my pocket…
She fished through her pocket in a panic, but the ring was nowhere to be found.
—"I can’t believe you lost it!"
—"A normal person would notice on the way home!"
—"Is a wedding ring so insignificant to you that you don’t even realize when it’s gone!?"
She shouted with incredible fury. Already stressed from dealing with my boss all day, I snapped.
I should’ve just apologized, but instead, I yelled back. The argument escalated until she kicked me out of the house.
—"Don’t come back until you find it!"
—"Who the hell wants to come back to this house!?"
I stormed out, wandering the streets at night. As my anger cooled, regret crept in—I’d said some terrible things to Yuzuhana.
I wanted to make up with her, but I couldn’t do that without the ring. With no money on me, I had no choice but to walk five hours to the golf course. But by the time I arrived, it was already closed…
So I sat there, waiting for it to open.
My throat was parched, my head spun, and eventually, I slumped onto the ground.
Then, a taxi pulled up in front of me. Yuzuhana hurried out, ran to me, grabbed my arm, and pulled me into the car.
And then—she apologized.
She said she’d said awful things, even though she knew I didn’t lose it on purpose.
I told her I was the one at fault.
The next day, we went to the golf course together… and found the ring at the second hole. I was so happy. And golfing with Yuzuhana was genuinely fun.
"…I never thought I’d look back on that day with envy."
I never want to have a fight like that again. It’s better to get along. And yet… I envy even the fact that we could fight like that.
Lost in nostalgia, I suddenly heard a noise. Footsteps. The entrance door slowly opened.
"…You’re still here?"
Yuzuhana stood there, looking exasperated.
"Do you even know what time it is?"
"What time is it?"
"Past eleven."
Yuzuhana isn’t the type to stay up late.
She must’ve been worried about me and couldn’t sleep, so she came to check.
Even without her memories, she’s still as kind as ever…
"Sorry for the trouble…"
"It’s fine, but… Kurose-kun, your voice is completely hoarse. Have you had any water?"
"Forgot my wallet…"
"You could’ve gone home to get it."
"I promised to wait here…"
"You didn’t have to take it so literally… Wait here a sec."
Yuzuhana pulled her wallet out of her jersey pocket and bought me a sports drink.
"Here, take this."
"Thanks..."
I downed about half of it in one go and started coughing. Yuzuhana watched me with concern.
"You okay...?"
"I'm fine. Thanks to you, I feel alive again. Really, thanks."
"You don’t have to thank me, but... honestly, I’m amazed. You don’t even have any money? What were you planning to do if I hadn’t come out?"
"I didn’t think about it. I just decided to wait until you did. Besides, I believed you would come out, Yuzuhana."
"Why?"
"Because... back when we had that huge fight, you still came."
Feeling nostalgic, I started telling her about the time I lost our wedding ring. Yuzuhana listened all the way through, but her expression was filled with confusion.
"I still can’t believe we were married. This whole time-travel thing—are you sure it’s not just your delusion, Kurose-kun?"
"It’s not a delusion. It really happened. We got married, got divorced, I traveled through time, we fell for each other again... and we promised to be happy together..."
"Even if you say that, I don’t know what to do... To me, you’re a stranger, Kurose-kun. I can’t even imagine dating you, let alone marrying you. Besides, would it even be fun, dating someone like me? I’m shy and awkward with people."
"It was fun. There were bad memories too, but the good ones far outweighed them. I can say with confidence that I was happy to be with you, Yuzuhana."
"I see..."
She murmured softly, then spoke wistfully.
"I think... I must have had fun too, being with you, Kurose-kun."
"Wh-why do you think that? You don’t even remember..."
"I looked at the album. To be honest, I still can’t believe it. That I could smile like that... even while being with a man. Meeting someone like you, Kurose-kun... It’s strange to say this about myself, but I envy the me from back then."
But then, with a pained expression, she continued.
"The me who fell for you and the me now... we’re not the same. It would be better if we both just forgot about each other."
There was no coldness in her words, even though they signified our farewell.
Yuzuhana was trying to be considerate of me. She was trying to help me sever my lingering attachments so I wouldn’t be trapped in the past.
...But I love Yuzuhana.
No matter how much time passes, that feeling won’t change—this longing will never fade. From the depths of my heart, I want to walk through life with her.
That’s why I was trying so hard to get closer to her.
I can’t cut ties with Yuzuhana... but forcing myself into her life won’t bring us closer either. If I keep pushing selfishly, I’ll only end up stressing her out.
And I don’t want to see Yuzuhana in pain.
When you're by my side, I want you to always be smiling.
That's why—
"…Give me just one day."
"One day?"
"Yeah. Just one day. Go on a date with me. I swear I'll make it fun... I'll make you smile, Yuzuhana."
I put all my heart into my plea. Yuzuhana lowered her gaze, hesitating.
A brief silence followed—
"...If it's just for one day."
She nodded at last.
*
The next day, I collapsed.
Exhausted both mentally and physically, and suffering from malnutrition and dehydration, I ended up bedridden for three whole days.
Then came the fourth day—Friday, just past noon. My condition had finally improved, and my brain was working again, so I started planning our date.
For the past three days, I had nothing but dreams about the date. My anxieties must have seeped into them because Yuzuhana never smiled in any of them. Instead, she mocked me with lines like, "Counting the tatami mat seams would be more meaningful." or "Even a baby could take me somewhere more fun."
I couldn’t let those nightmares become reality, so I got to work on a plan...
"What should I do?"
Back when we were together, no matter where we went, she always looked happy. Since we had the same hobbies and were a perfect match, the places I wanted to go were the same places she wanted to go.
More than anything, just spending time with the person you love was what mattered. The location never really did.
But things were different now.
Even though she agreed to the date, it wasn’t because she had feelings for me. Yuzuhana was shy and not good with men, so spending time with me would probably make her nervous. Getting her to relax and smile would be a challenge.
Where could I take her to make that happen?
"Should I recreate our first date?"
...No, rejected.
It would be a waste not to make full use of the whole day, but a 14-hour-long date would be nothing short of torture.
"Then, how about the aquarium?"
...No, rejected.
It’s too far for a day trip. If I suggested going that far, she might start feeling uneasy, wondering if I was taking her somewhere weird.
"What about a comedy theater?"
...No, rejected.
I made such a big declaration about making her smile, so dumping the responsibility onto comedians would be lame. Plus, if their jokes didn’t match Yuzuhana’s sense of humor, the whole thing would backfire.
I kept coming up with ideas, but I just couldn’t picture Yuzuhana smiling at any of them, so I scrapped them all. I wanted the date to be on either Saturday or Sunday, but no destination was decided.
"You can’t think on an empty stomach."
I took a break for dinner, hoping food would fuel my brain. But even after that, no brilliant ideas came to me...
"Big Bro, the bath is ready!"
While I was agonizing over it, Sana barged in without knocking.
"I'm thinking right now, so I’ll take a bath later."
"Thinking about what?"
I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should tell her. But at this rate, I wasn’t escaping this maze on my own. Yuzuhana and Sana had different personalities and tastes, but a girl’s opinion could still be helpful.
"Actually... I’m going on a date with Yuzuhana."
"Really?! Then why are you so stressed?"
"Well... we had a fight. It’s not gonna be easy to make her smile now."
"I see. So it's a make-up date, huh?"
"Yeah. I want to make Yuzuhana smile, but... I can't decide where to take her. Where would you want to go, Sana?"
"A trip abroad sounds nice."
"That's way too far... I'm looking for somewhere we can go in a day."
"Then how about coming to cheer me on at my match?"
"Cheering, huh? Watching sports isn't a bad idea, but... do you think that would make her smile?"
"If I score a goal, she'll smile and clap for sure!"
Sana said it with complete confidence.
If Yuzuhana hadn't lost her memories, she probably would have lit up, saying, 'Sana-chan, you're amazing!' Seeing her like that would have made me smile too, and it could have been a great date.
But Yuzuhana had lost her memories.
And Sana didn't know that.
If I brought them together and Sana found out about her amnesia, it would only make her sad. I didn’t want to see my usually cheerful little sister with that kind of expression.
"It's a good idea, but no watching your match."
"What? Why not?"
"Just because. I'll go see one with Yuzuhana another time."
"In that case, I'll make sure to put on an ace-level performance!"
"I'll be looking forward to it… So, anywhere else you want to go?"
"I have tons of places I'd like to visit, but you're not going with me, right? You're going with Koikawa-san. In that case, shouldn't you just pick somewhere you want to go?"
"I can't do that. The whole point is to make Yuzuhana have fun."
"But if you keep stressing out about it, you’re just going to end up all tense. And if you look tense, Koikawa-san will get nervous too, wondering if you're still upset with her."
I wasn’t actually mad at Yuzuhana—we hadn’t had a real fight. But Sana had a point. If I sat there all stiff-faced next to her, she'd definitely feel uneasy. She's already shy and not good with guys.
The first thing I needed to do was make her feel at ease.
Instead of overthinking, I just had to focus on enjoying myself. If I could show her I was having fun, it would help ease her nerves. And once that happened, I could take her to the right place.
And for me, there was only one place that fit that description.
"Thanks. You're a genius."
"Right? My grades have been climbing koi-nobori lately too!"
...You mean unagi-nobori. (T/N: It means something that rises rapidly.)
Her grades might not be skyrocketing, but her insight was definitely spot-on. Thanks to her, I finally had a plan. Now, all that was left was to ask her out.
"I'll let Dad go in first, then~"
"Yeah, do that."
I watched Sana hum a tune as she walked off, then immediately called Yuzuhana. After a few rings—
『…Hello?』
A stiff voice answered. I couldn't see her face, but I could hear the tension in her tone.
"Do you have a moment?"
『I do, but… Kurose-kun, are you feeling better now?』
"You worried about me?"
『Of course I did. You missed four days of school… It’s because of me, isn’t it?』
"It’s not your fault. I stayed there on my own accord. If anything, if you hadn’t bought me that drink, it would've been a lot worse. Seriously, thanks for that."
『Uh… You're welcome? Is that the right response?』
"Yeah, that's right. So… you remember our promise?"
『The date… right?』
The moment she said the word, her voice tensed up even more.
Just like Sana said, if she was this stiff already, there was no way she’d enjoy the date. I definitely needed a plan to ease her nerves.
Most of the date would be spent helping her relax. Then, at the very end, I’d take her to the perfect spot—the one place that would definitely make her smile.
"I’d like to do it on either Saturday or Sunday. Which works better for you?"
『Saturday, I guess. It's supposed to be cloudy on Sunday… This is just a day trip, right?』
"Of course. But since we’re keeping it close by, we’ll be walking a lot, so try not to wear heels."
『On a date…?』
She sounded genuinely puzzled.
Yuzuhana had moved here from deep in the countryside. Her image of the city came mostly from TV dramas, and she once told me she dyed her hair and ditched her glasses so she wouldn’t be looked down on as a country girl.
Along with that, she had also bought high heels before the entrance ceremony, thinking all city women wore them.
She had the figure to pull them off. When she wore heels, it was like adding a sword to a demon—her legs looked even longer, and she was absolutely stunning.
But she wasn’t used to them at all. The one time she wore them on a date, she walked like a newborn fawn. It was painful to watch.
If she showed up in heels again, I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else.
"Just because it's a date doesn’t mean you have to go all out. I mean, yeah, I’d be happy if you dressed up all cute, but the point is to spend time together. I’d rather you wear something you’re comfortable in so we can both relax."
『Got it. I’ll do that. So, what time and where should we meet?』
"How about 10 AM in front of the station?"
『Tomorrow at 10 AM, in front of the station. Got it.』
"Yeah. Looking forward to it."
With that, our date was set, and I ended the call.
*
The next day, Saturday.
Feeling restless in my room, I left the house early. On the way, I bought a drink at a convenience store, but I still arrived at the station a full thirty minutes before our meeting time.
Under the clear blue sky, I sat on a bench and waited for Yuzuhana to arrive.
"……"
Doing nothing and just sitting still, a slow-growing sense of anxiety crept up on me.
On our usual dates, I could simply enjoy myself, but this time, I had a mission: "Make Yuzuhana smile." Honestly, the pressure was real.
Yuzuhana was shy and not good with men. If I was stiff and nervous, that tension would rub off on her. If I wanted to make this a fun date, I had to calm down first.
Relax!
Relax!
Don't overthink it—just enjoy it!
As I lowered my head, shielding myself from the sun’s relentless rays and repeating those words to myself, a shadow fell over me from the side.
When I looked up, I saw a girl standing beside the bench, glancing at her wristwatch. She was dressed in a sleeveless one-piece dress.
It was Yuzuhana.
"You were already here."
I spoke to her softly, and she flinched slightly. Looking startled, she turned toward me.
"Oh… Kurose-kun. Sorry, I didn't notice you since you were looking down."
"It's fine. More importantly, you're early."
"I felt restless at home. Kurose-kun, you're early too. Have you been waiting long?"
"Nah, I just got here."
"I see. That's good. You weren’t feeling well the other day, after all… Oh, but today, you actually have a drink with you."
Yuzuhana was speaking a little faster than usual, and her voice was slightly unsteady. It seemed she couldn’t completely shake off her nervousness when talking to me.
"I took the lessons from last time to heart. Oh, right. Let me pay you back for the drink from the other day."
"You don’t have to. It’s really fine. More importantly, are these shoes okay?"
Looking slightly uneasy, Yuzuhana lowered her gaze to her feet. They were brand-new, pristine white sneakers.
"They’re perfect. The sneakers look great, but so does the dress—it suits you."
"Thanks. Well, I didn’t pick it myself, though. It was just in my closet, so I put it on. Guess the me before I lost my memory had good taste."
"There's no doubt you have good taste, but actually, I was the one who picked that dress."
"Kurose-kun did? You have good fashion sense."
"Right? Even you were surprised. You said, 'I didn’t think you could actually pick out decent clothes.'"
"T-That’s kind of a harsh thing to say…"
Yuzuhana looked a bit taken aback by her own words. If I told her all the insults she threw at me when we were fighting, she might just pass out. Well, I don’t really care about that anymore.
Back then, I was seriously irritated, thinking, What a cruel girl. But now, I even find it endearing.
"I don’t think it was harsh at all. The fact that you said what you were thinking so honestly means that, at least around me, you didn’t put on a front. You were just being yourself. Of course, I was the same. A relationship where we can throw casual jabs at each other—that’s the best kind, don’t you think?"
"Casual jabs, huh… A relationship where you really know each other well—I kind of admire that."
I could never have friends like that since I’m so shy. — That’s what her tone seemed to suggest, as if she had already given up on the idea.
But right now, even though she was still a little tense, she was able to have a normal conversation.
Yuzuhana had always struggled with talking to people she just met, but it wasn’t because she disliked them—she was just shy.
Once she opened up, her attitude completely changed. When the switch flipped, she became surprisingly talkative.
Right now, that switch was still off, but the fact that we could talk like this meant that she was starting to open up, even if just a little.
If I could keep up this pace, deepen our bond, and make her feel comfortable spending time with me, then surely—just like before—she would naturally start smiling again.
Alright. I lifted myself off the bench.
"It’s a little early, but shall we start our date?"
"S-Sure…"
Suddenly, Yuzuhana’s expression stiffened.
Just when I thought she was beginning to relax, she reacted strongly to the word "date."
Hoping that by the time it was over, her expression would have softened, we headed toward the station platform.
We boarded the train, got off three stops later, and walked along the sidewalk by the road.
Normally, we would be holding hands like a couple, but I couldn’t bring myself to suggest it.
We were calling it a date, but in reality, our relationship was something between acquaintances and friends—nothing more, nothing less.
"……"
Yuzuhana was as quiet as a borrowed cat.
She had been able to talk back at the station, but the moment we got on the train, she fell silent. Now, she walked beside me hesitantly.
Once a conversation was broken, it seemed to take a lot of courage for her to start it up again. If I didn’t keep bringing up topics, this date was going to get awkward fast.
In situations like this, bringing up a common topic was the best approach. That’s what one of the books I read back in my unpopular days had said.
But with Yuzuhana now practically a non-otaku, the only shared topic we had left was… the weather.
"Man, I’m glad it’s sunny today!"
"Yeah. I brought a folding umbrella just in case, but it looks like I won’t need it."
"There’s no way you’d need it today… The chance of rain is literally zero percent."
"Things like this don’t hurt to have. It doesn’t take up much space, and Kurose-kun, you should carry one with you regularly too."
This kind of exchange felt oddly nostalgic. Even without her memories, Yuzuhana was still Yuzuhana…
"If you were going to bring something, wouldn’t a parasol have been the better choice?"
"I don’t own a parasol. I like sunbathing."
"Still, make sure you don’t overdo it and end up with heatstroke."
"I’ll be fine. My hometown was even hotter than this. I used to go for walks every day in that heat. Kurose-kun, you’ve been there before, right?"
"Nope."
"You haven’t? But… we were married, weren’t we…?"
Normally, if you’re married, you’d visit your spouse’s hometown at least once. But I never got the chance. Because I had fallen out with her uncle.
I had no idea how the current Yuzuhana would react to hearing about me and her uncle. Whether she cared about our strained relationship or not, I didn’t want to bring it up.
That topic was the reason Yuzuhana lost her memories in the first place. If I talked about her uncle, I was afraid the memories she had of me would be buried even deeper in her mind.
"I just never got the chance to go." I dodged the question. "More importantly, do you actually believe we were married?"
"It’s not that I believe it… it’s just… Kurose-kun, you looked really pained when you talked about it before. I didn’t want to deny it anymore."
"……"
"By the way, how old were you before you time-slipped?"
"Twenty-seven."
"Then… that means you knew the twenty-seven-year-old me, right? What was I like?"
"You were just like you are now—your skin was smooth, your hair was silky… Honestly, I could never figure out why someone as beautiful as you would marry me."
"Being told that to my face is kind of embarrassing…"
Lowering her gaze shyly, she blushed slightly as sweat glistened on her cheek.
Then, after a moment, she looked up again and, in a voice that sounded almost envious…
"I'm sure the reason I married you, Kurose-kun, was because I had fun being with you. The me in those photos looked really happy. And if I looked beautiful, it was probably because I wanted to look cute for you and took care of my appearance... By the time I turn twenty-seven, I’ll probably look different from the me you knew."
"Yuzuhana, no matter how you age, you'll always be cute."
"Even if I get all wrinkly?"
"Even then. Though I'd be even happier if they were smile lines."
"…Kurose-kun, you say embarrassing things with a straight face, don’t you?"
"S-Sorry. Was that creepy?"
"No. I don’t mind being complimented."
She didn’t seem to be saying it just to spare my feelings—there was warmth in her voice.
Her tension had eased, and her tone had brightened. If things kept going like this, I might even be able to make her smile.
"That’s good to hear. Also, if you get tired, don’t hesitate to let me know."
"I'm fine for now, but… can you at least tell me where we're going?"
"A shrine."
"Huh, there’s a shrine in a city full of buildings like this?"
"It’s on the smaller side, though."
"Do you visit often?"
"I've only been there once, but it left a strong impression on me. It was during New Year's in my third year of university when I went back home. You and I went out to buy lucky bags, and we happened to find the shrine. Since we were there, we decided to pray for good things to be inside the lucky bags."
"Oh, I get it! And then you found something really expensive inside one, right?"
"Nope. We never bought the lucky bags. We ran out of money at the shrine."
"Eh? Were we mugged or something…?"
"Nothing like that."
"Then… this might sound bad, but did we throw too much money into the offering box?"
"In a way, that’s not too far off. The shrine had a rare kind of capsule toy machine, so we decided to try it."
"A capsule toy machine…? You mean those things with little toys inside plastic capsules?"
"Yeah, that. It was called 'Kami Collection.' Since it was supposed to bring good luck, we decided to complete the whole set."
Yuzuhana let out an exasperated sigh.
"So that’s how we ended up broke. What were we even doing, acting like little kids…"
"You were the one who spent it all."
"I was!?"
She blinked in shock, her exasperation turning into wide-eyed disbelief—clearly unable to imagine herself blowing all her money on toys.
"Wh-Why didn’t you stop me before it got that bad?"
"I was too busy with the capsule machine next to yours."
"What a hopeless couple we were... So, did we actually complete the set?"
"Well, we ran out of money, but yeah. The very last one was a secret rare, and we finally completed it."
"A secret rare?"
"It’s a prize where you don’t know what’s inside until you get it. Ours was a golden offering box."
"So in the end, we literally threw our entire fortune into an offering box…"
"Pretty much. Memorable, right?"
"Yeah… I doubt I could ever forget that. But… let’s not do any capsule machines today, okay? Watching you waste money right in front of me would be terrible for my heart."
"Don’t worry, today’s just about visiting the shrine. And besides, capsule machines probably aren’t even a thing at shrines in this time period. —Oh, look, there it is."
As we reminisced, we arrived at the shrine.
A red torii gate suddenly emerged between the city’s crowded buildings, leading to a small courtyard and worship hall beyond. No capsule machines in sight—Yuzuhana let out a relieved sigh.
We each tossed a coin into the offering box and made our wishes.
—I hope I can spend carefree, happy days with Yuzuhana again.
"…Alright, shall we head to the next spot?"
"You're done with the shrine already?"
"I came for a reason, and I got what I needed. Want to stay a bit longer?"
"No, I’ll go along with your pace."
"Then let’s go."
Leaving the shrine behind, we arrived at a tree-lined path.
In spring, the cherry blossoms would be in full bloom, but right now, the trees were covered in lush green leaves.
"…Kurose-kun, you look like you're having fun."
Yuzuhana was the one to speak up this time. That alone made my face soften even more.
"I’m having a blast."
"Is taking walks a hobby of yours?"
"Not really. It’s just… nostalgic. I used to walk this path with you back when we were together."
"You remember every road we walked together?"
"Not every single one. But this place holds a special memory."
"…Wait, don't tell me there was another capsule machine here? Like, a 'Tree-Lined Path Collection' or something?"
"If there was, I definitely would’ve tried it. But no, there wasn’t one."
"Then… did we have a picnic or something?"
"No, that was somewhere else. This place is memorable because… a caterpillar fell on you while we were walking. You screamed and clung onto me."
Yuzuhana blinked in disbelief.
"I… clung onto you? Because of a caterpillar?"
"Yeah. Oh, but don’t get the wrong idea! I mean, if it happened again, of course I’d protect you, but I swear I didn’t bring you here with any ulterior motives!"
She finally opened up enough to talk to me on her own, but if she thought I was aiming for a hug, she'd put her guard up again.
As I hurried to explain myself, Yuzuhana shook her head and said, "That's not it."
"I'm not bad with caterpillars, you know?"
…Huh? You're not?
"Are you serious?"
"Caterpillars aren’t exactly rare where I'm from. There's no way I'd be scared of them now."
Now that she mentioned it, that made sense…
"B-but Yuzuhana, back then, you totally clung to me. You were all ‘Kyaa, help me!’ and grabbed onto my arm… And even after we got home, you said you were still scared and wanted me to hold you…"
"I probably just wanted Kurose-kun to think I was cute. Picking it up with my fingers and tossing it aside isn’t exactly adorable, is it?"
"...Seriously?"
Between her old-school Anipara fan act and now this caterpillar scare act, Yuzuhana’s secrets were slowly coming to light.
Well, they were completely adorable secrets, but still.
But man… Knowing the truth now, I couldn’t help but cringe at my own actions.
Feeling like a knight protecting his princess, I even flashed my teeth with a dramatic "I won't let a single finger of that caterpillar touch you!" pose… Not that caterpillars have fingers in the first place.
"Your face is red."
"It's embarrassing…"
"Nothing to be embarrassed about. I bet I was really happy to have Kurose-kun protect me. …You did protect me, right?"
"Of course. To save you from the caterpillar, I took off my shirt and put it over your head."
"That's pretty cool. The me back then must’ve been really happy."
"Yeah, but since I had nothing underneath, I ended up walking down the tree-lined path half-naked."
"…That’s a bit awkward."
"So it's awkward, huh… So the reason Yuzuhana blushed back then wasn't because she was drawn to me, but because she was embarrassed to walk with a half-naked guy…"
I didn’t need to know that.
If that was the case, she could’ve just told me. But I guess after putting on an act about being scared of caterpillars, there was no turning back for her…
"S-sorry? I turned what should've been a good memory into an embarrassing one."
"It's fine. I won't deny it's embarrassing, but it's not exactly a dark past either. More importantly, how's your appetite?"
Not even two hours had passed since our date started. Since we started about thirty minutes earlier than planned, it was still too soon for lunch.
We were supposed to head to a restaurant after walking down the tree-lined path, but… maybe a little detour would be a good idea.
Just as I was thinking that, Yuzuhana rubbed her stomach and said,
"I'm actually pretty hungry. I could barely get any breakfast down."
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, it's just nerves."
"…You're still nervous?"
"It's surprising even to me, but not at all."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. At first, I was worried about what to talk about, but as long as I throw in a few quips, conversations with Kurose-kun just seem to flow. And… this might sound rude, but it doesn’t really feel like a date."
"…Did I disappoint you?"
Yuzuhana shook her head. "Not at all. It’s just different from what I imagined. I thought for sure you’d take me to an amusement park or bowling. I always pictured city high schoolers going out and having fun like that. Or… are we going there later?"
"It's not in the plans. The place we're heading to now is a quiet café. Not really a spot high schoolers usually go to."
"Wait… Did you pick calm places just to accommodate me?"
"That's not it. I'm just revisiting places with memories. Going there brings back the past and makes me feel happy."
The shrine.
The tree-lined path.
The café.
Every place I’ve taken her holds precious memories of our time together. Of course, that includes the amusement park and the bowling alley too.
Ideally, I’d take her to even more of those places, but if I push too hard, I’ll just wear Yuzuhana out.
The goal is to make her smile. Maybe taking her to a lively place, where we can play around, would be a better way to lift her spirits…
But if possible, I want to make her laugh just by talking.
And I want her to feel at ease spending time with me, like she used to.
My ultimate goal is to help her regain her memories, but before I can erase her worries about the future, I need her to want to be with me.
That’s why I’ve been choosing quiet places where we can enjoy a relaxed conversation, but…
"Would you have preferred somewhere more lively?"
"No. I mean, I am interested in amusement parks and bowling, but I'm really enjoying today's date too."
She said that brightly, then, as if a little embarrassed, added,
"You know… we must have been really close."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because we can enjoy even the most ordinary places, like a small shrine or a tree-lined path. It means that as long as we’re together, nothing else really matters… And I think that's a really wonderful kind of relationship."
"Thanks. I’ll make sure the current you has fun too. So look forward to it."
"I'm looking forward to it."
With that, we continued walking, leaving the tree-lined path behind. Before long, we arrived at the café.
It was a small, privately owned eatery tucked away in a narrow alley just off the shopping district. Since it was still too early for lunchtime, there were no other customers inside.
We acknowledged the greeting of "Welcome" with a small bow, then walked past the counter and took a seat in a small tatami area in the back. The elderly lady running the place brought us cold water, which I used to quench my thirst.
Looking around the shop with curiosity, Yuzuhana remarked,
"This place has a real Showa retro feel to it."
"Pretty nice, right?"
"Yeah. It’s my first time here, but for some reason, it feels nostalgic. Do you come here often, Kurose-kun?"
"I used to, for a while. With you."
"Oh? So it’s good enough that you kept coming back. What’s your recommendation?"
"Recommendation, huh…? I wonder. To be honest, I don’t really remember how the food tastes."
"Huh? So you didn’t come here because it was delicious?"
"It wasn’t the taste that got me hooked… This place has an amazing manga collection."
"You came here to read manga? You could’ve just gone to a manga café."
"Yeah, but look—see that bookshelf by the entrance?"
"I noticed it on the way in. Looked like a bunch of pretty old books."
"Exactly. This place has manga that were never made into digital editions. They were the works that influenced one of our favorite manga artists. We always wanted to read them but couldn’t get our hands on them… So when we randomly stumbled upon them here, we got super excited."
"I was that into manga?"
"You always looked like you were having a great time reading next to me. Then we’d talk about them until the sun went down… We even spent an entire day here, eating all three meals."
The nostalgia made me smile.
If only I could talk about manga with Yuzuhana like that again… How happy that would make me.
"I don’t know much about manga… but if it’s food, I can share my thoughts with you. It might not be as fun, though…"
"That’s not true. If it’s with you, Yuzuhana, I know I’ll enjoy it."
I want her to enjoy our conversations.
I want her to feel comfortable spending time with me.
And at the end of our date, I want her to smile and say, "Today was fun."
"Alright, let’s order."
I handed her the menu, and she studied it with a serious expression.
After some thought, she chose the omurice. I decided to get the same—it’d be easier to talk about our impressions that way.
After placing our order, Yuzuhana took a sip of cold water, let out a small sigh, and kept glancing toward the kitchen.
Was she starving, or just eager to share her impressions of the food? Either way, she looked excited for the meal.
If she was looking forward to it this much, then bringing her here had been worth it.
"By the way, do you have any other plans for today?" I asked.
"If I had to say, studying. I’m two months behind, so I have to work hard to catch up. But I won’t be doing that today. Our date isn’t over yet, right?"
"Yeah. After this, I was thinking we’d go to the observation tower."
"Sounds nice. I’ve been wanting to go there at least once. Looking out from a high place helps you get a feel for the city."
Since Yuzuhana had only recently moved here, she must have wanted to get a better grasp of the town’s layout.
The observation tower was a popular spot for couples.
That would definitely make the date feel more like… well, a date. But so far, the mood was relaxed.
She seemed comfortable spending time with me, and at this rate, she’d be able to enjoy the observation tower without feeling nervous.
"By the way, do you have any special memories tied to the observation tower too?" she asked.
"I do. It’s where I had the most important moment of my life."
"The most important?"
"It’s where I proposed to you, Yuzuhana."
She blinked, momentarily at a loss for words.
"The place where you proposed… Yeah, I can see how that would be the most important memory of your life."
"Yeah. I can still remember that day like it was yesterday."
It was only natural since we had been dating, but Yuzuhana and I had loved each other deeply.
Including the time we spent as friends, we had known each other for about five years. I had started feeling like it was time to take the next step.
I had hesitated for a while, letting our relationship continue as it was. But one day…
As if sensing my feelings, Yuzuhana had casually left a wedding magazine out in plain sight on the table. That was the final push I needed to make up my mind.
She had been waiting for me to propose.
I knew she would say yes.
So I wasn’t planning my proposal just to make sure it succeeded—I wanted it to be memorable, something that would make her truly happy.
"What kind of proposal was it?" she asked.
"At the time, there was a collaboration between our favorite anime and a jewelry brand. A huge ad featuring a ring was displayed on top of a building, so I decided to make use of that."
I took her to the observation tower, found the ad through a telescope, and told her, "Hey, check this out, it’s something interesting…"
"When Yuzuhana looked away from the telescope, I held out the same ring from the ad and said, 'I’ll make you happy. Please marry me.' She must have realized it the moment she saw the ad… because by the time she looked at me, she was already in tears."
To me, it was an irreplaceable memory—one I could still recall vividly, as if it had happened just yesterday.
But for Yuzuhana, it was a memory she didn’t have. A story based on the premise that I had traveled through time.
She had said she wouldn’t deny it anymore, but that didn’t necessarily mean she believed it.
To her, I might have looked like some delusional guy, spouting fantasies as if they were real.
I had worked so hard to get her to lower her guard—what if I had just made her wary of me all over again?
"…You really can’t believe in time travel, can you?"
Yuzuhana neither nodded nor shook her head.
But in her eyes, there was kindness.
She was choosing her words carefully, trying not to hurt me.
"Honestly, I can’t imagine time travel being real… but at the same time, I don’t think you’re lying either, Kurose-kun. I don’t have the memories to say what’s true or not… but there is one thing I do understand now. That you and I… must have been close enough that marriage wouldn’t have been surprising."
Then, as if weighed down by guilt, her expression darkened.
"But… even if we were supposed to get married, I don’t think we would’ve been happy. Because… my father would never have accepted it."
"Th-That’s not true!"
"Hyah—! W-Why are you suddenly shouting…?"
"S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you… I just… I didn’t want to hear about your father."
Yuzuhana gazed at me, eyes filled with concern.
"Have you… met my father before?"
"Yeah… I wanted to introduce myself properly and ask for his blessing. But he wouldn’t accept me…"
Back then, I had believed that even without his approval, we could still find happiness together.
But that was just my own selfish way of thinking.
In the end, Yuzuhana had to abandon her parents for the sake of our marriage.
When I proposed to her, I swore I’d make her happy. But to truly make her happy from the bottom of her heart, I couldn’t let her be separated from her family.
If I really wanted to make Yuzuhana happy, I needed to be accepted—I needed to have our marriage blessed.
I failed the first time.
Even though I was given a second chance to make things right, I had given up from the very start. Because of that, I made Yuzuhana anxious, burdened her with so much stress that she ended up sealing away her own memories.
I won’t make the same mistake again.
I won’t ever make her feel that way again.
And if that’s the case, then what I need to do is clear.
“I’ll become a man your father can accept.”
“…It’s impossible.”
“It’s not impossible!”
“It is. Kurose-kun, you’re a good person, but you’re the complete opposite of my father’s ideal.”
I had never heard from Yuzuhana herself what kind of man her father wanted her to marry.
If she was saying we were opposites, it was probably her way of being considerate—of sparing me from feeling insecure.
Well, I could more or less guess.
I still clearly remembered the insults he threw at me the first time we met.
“A man who isn’t weak—someone who looks strong?”
“Yeah. My father’s been saying it for as long as I can remember. ‘Never marry a weak man. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life.’ Even when I decided to move here for school, he told me that if I ever got a boyfriend, I had to report it to him right away—so he could judge whether he was strong or not.”
Her father’s preference was for a strong-looking man.
But I wasn’t built like a wrestler or a bodybuilder.
I wasn’t even tall enough to reach the average height.
I was just a weak-looking guy.
Everything was already against me. I looked weak to begin with, and on top of that, we had told her father after the fact—no wonder he stormed into the ryotei, seething with rage.
Yuzuhana must have known that if she reported it upfront, he’d oppose the marriage outright. That’s why she kept quiet until a moment when he wouldn’t have a choice but to accept it.
But her father’s resolve was stronger than she imagined, and things ended the way they did.
"Then… if your dad likes strong-looking men, I’ll become as buff as he wants."
"You’re gonna get ripped…? Do you really want to marry me that badly?"
"Of course I do."
"There are plenty of other great people out there. If you look, I’m sure you’ll find someone even better."
"There’s no one better than you, Yuzuhana. Visiting all these places today just made me even more sure of that."
"…My dad’s really scary, you know?"
"I don’t care anymore. Losing you is scarier than anything your dad could ever do!"
I shouted and took Yuzuhana’s hand in mine.
She widened her eyes in surprise, but she didn’t pull away.
"I’ll get stronger. Strong enough to protect you no matter what. So… please, stay by my side!"
"I-It kinda feels like you’re proposing to me…"
"S-Sorry. That was weird, right…?"
"No. Not at all."
She gently shook her head—
Then, looking straight into my eyes, she smiled.
"You’re not weird, Kurose-kun. I could feel it… how much you love me."
"I do. I love you. I love you so much. I want to see you smile for the rest of my life, until the day I die. I’ll become strong enough to earn your dad’s approval, and this time, I’ll make sure our marriage is blessed! I’ll make you happy!"
"Thank you. If it’s you, Kurose-kun, I know you really—ah…!"
Suddenly, Yuzuhana’s face twisted in pain.
She clutched her head, let out a pained groan—then collapsed.
"Y-Yuzuhana!? Hey, Yuzuhana!?"
I called her name over and over, but there was no response.
She had completely lost consciousness.
Act 2 END
"I took the lessons from last time to heart. Oh, right. Let me pay you back for the drink from the other day."
"You don’t have to. It’s really fine. More importantly, are these shoes okay?"
Looking slightly uneasy, Yuzuhana lowered her gaze to her feet. They were brand-new, pristine white sneakers.
"They’re perfect. The sneakers look great, but so does the dress—it suits you."
"Thanks. Well, I didn’t pick it myself, though. It was just in my closet, so I put it on. Guess the me before I lost my memory had good taste."
"There's no doubt you have good taste, but actually, I was the one who picked that dress."
"Kurose-kun did? You have good fashion sense."
"Right? Even you were surprised. You said, 'I didn’t think you could actually pick out decent clothes.'"
"T-That’s kind of a harsh thing to say…"
Yuzuhana looked a bit taken aback by her own words. If I told her all the insults she threw at me when we were fighting, she might just pass out. Well, I don’t really care about that anymore.
Back then, I was seriously irritated, thinking, What a cruel girl. But now, I even find it endearing.
"I don’t think it was harsh at all. The fact that you said what you were thinking so honestly means that, at least around me, you didn’t put on a front. You were just being yourself. Of course, I was the same. A relationship where we can throw casual jabs at each other—that’s the best kind, don’t you think?"
"Casual jabs, huh… A relationship where you really know each other well—I kind of admire that."
I could never have friends like that since I’m so shy. — That’s what her tone seemed to suggest, as if she had already given up on the idea.
But right now, even though she was still a little tense, she was able to have a normal conversation.
Yuzuhana had always struggled with talking to people she just met, but it wasn’t because she disliked them—she was just shy.
Once she opened up, her attitude completely changed. When the switch flipped, she became surprisingly talkative.
Right now, that switch was still off, but the fact that we could talk like this meant that she was starting to open up, even if just a little.
If I could keep up this pace, deepen our bond, and make her feel comfortable spending time with me, then surely—just like before—she would naturally start smiling again.
Alright. I lifted myself off the bench.
"It’s a little early, but shall we start our date?"
"S-Sure…"
Suddenly, Yuzuhana’s expression stiffened.
Just when I thought she was beginning to relax, she reacted strongly to the word "date."
Hoping that by the time it was over, her expression would have softened, we headed toward the station platform.
We boarded the train, got off three stops later, and walked along the sidewalk by the road.
Normally, we would be holding hands like a couple, but I couldn’t bring myself to suggest it.
We were calling it a date, but in reality, our relationship was something between acquaintances and friends—nothing more, nothing less.
"……"
Yuzuhana was as quiet as a borrowed cat.
She had been able to talk back at the station, but the moment we got on the train, she fell silent. Now, she walked beside me hesitantly.
Once a conversation was broken, it seemed to take a lot of courage for her to start it up again. If I didn’t keep bringing up topics, this date was going to get awkward fast.
In situations like this, bringing up a common topic was the best approach. That’s what one of the books I read back in my unpopular days had said.
But with Yuzuhana now practically a non-otaku, the only shared topic we had left was… the weather.
"Man, I’m glad it’s sunny today!"
"Yeah. I brought a folding umbrella just in case, but it looks like I won’t need it."
"There’s no way you’d need it today… The chance of rain is literally zero percent."
"Things like this don’t hurt to have. It doesn’t take up much space, and Kurose-kun, you should carry one with you regularly too."
This kind of exchange felt oddly nostalgic. Even without her memories, Yuzuhana was still Yuzuhana…
"If you were going to bring something, wouldn’t a parasol have been the better choice?"
"I don’t own a parasol. I like sunbathing."
"Still, make sure you don’t overdo it and end up with heatstroke."
"I’ll be fine. My hometown was even hotter than this. I used to go for walks every day in that heat. Kurose-kun, you’ve been there before, right?"
"Nope."
"You haven’t? But… we were married, weren’t we…?"
Normally, if you’re married, you’d visit your spouse’s hometown at least once. But I never got the chance. Because I had fallen out with her uncle.
I had no idea how the current Yuzuhana would react to hearing about me and her uncle. Whether she cared about our strained relationship or not, I didn’t want to bring it up.
That topic was the reason Yuzuhana lost her memories in the first place. If I talked about her uncle, I was afraid the memories she had of me would be buried even deeper in her mind.
"I just never got the chance to go." I dodged the question. "More importantly, do you actually believe we were married?"
"It’s not that I believe it… it’s just… Kurose-kun, you looked really pained when you talked about it before. I didn’t want to deny it anymore."
"……"
"By the way, how old were you before you time-slipped?"
"Twenty-seven."
"Then… that means you knew the twenty-seven-year-old me, right? What was I like?"
"You were just like you are now—your skin was smooth, your hair was silky… Honestly, I could never figure out why someone as beautiful as you would marry me."
"Being told that to my face is kind of embarrassing…"
Lowering her gaze shyly, she blushed slightly as sweat glistened on her cheek.
Then, after a moment, she looked up again and, in a voice that sounded almost envious…
"I'm sure the reason I married you, Kurose-kun, was because I had fun being with you. The me in those photos looked really happy. And if I looked beautiful, it was probably because I wanted to look cute for you and took care of my appearance... By the time I turn twenty-seven, I’ll probably look different from the me you knew."
"Yuzuhana, no matter how you age, you'll always be cute."
"Even if I get all wrinkly?"
"Even then. Though I'd be even happier if they were smile lines."
"…Kurose-kun, you say embarrassing things with a straight face, don’t you?"
"S-Sorry. Was that creepy?"
"No. I don’t mind being complimented."
She didn’t seem to be saying it just to spare my feelings—there was warmth in her voice.
Her tension had eased, and her tone had brightened. If things kept going like this, I might even be able to make her smile.
"That’s good to hear. Also, if you get tired, don’t hesitate to let me know."
"I'm fine for now, but… can you at least tell me where we're going?"
"A shrine."
"Huh, there’s a shrine in a city full of buildings like this?"
"It’s on the smaller side, though."
"Do you visit often?"
"I've only been there once, but it left a strong impression on me. It was during New Year's in my third year of university when I went back home. You and I went out to buy lucky bags, and we happened to find the shrine. Since we were there, we decided to pray for good things to be inside the lucky bags."
"Oh, I get it! And then you found something really expensive inside one, right?"
"Nope. We never bought the lucky bags. We ran out of money at the shrine."
"Eh? Were we mugged or something…?"
"Nothing like that."
"Then… this might sound bad, but did we throw too much money into the offering box?"
"In a way, that’s not too far off. The shrine had a rare kind of capsule toy machine, so we decided to try it."
"A capsule toy machine…? You mean those things with little toys inside plastic capsules?"
"Yeah, that. It was called 'Kami Collection.' Since it was supposed to bring good luck, we decided to complete the whole set."
Yuzuhana let out an exasperated sigh.
"So that’s how we ended up broke. What were we even doing, acting like little kids…"
"You were the one who spent it all."
"I was!?"
She blinked in shock, her exasperation turning into wide-eyed disbelief—clearly unable to imagine herself blowing all her money on toys.
"Wh-Why didn’t you stop me before it got that bad?"
"I was too busy with the capsule machine next to yours."
"What a hopeless couple we were... So, did we actually complete the set?"
"Well, we ran out of money, but yeah. The very last one was a secret rare, and we finally completed it."
"A secret rare?"
"It’s a prize where you don’t know what’s inside until you get it. Ours was a golden offering box."
"So in the end, we literally threw our entire fortune into an offering box…"
"Pretty much. Memorable, right?"
"Yeah… I doubt I could ever forget that. But… let’s not do any capsule machines today, okay? Watching you waste money right in front of me would be terrible for my heart."
"Don’t worry, today’s just about visiting the shrine. And besides, capsule machines probably aren’t even a thing at shrines in this time period. —Oh, look, there it is."
As we reminisced, we arrived at the shrine.
A red torii gate suddenly emerged between the city’s crowded buildings, leading to a small courtyard and worship hall beyond. No capsule machines in sight—Yuzuhana let out a relieved sigh.
We each tossed a coin into the offering box and made our wishes.
—I hope I can spend carefree, happy days with Yuzuhana again.
"…Alright, shall we head to the next spot?"
"You're done with the shrine already?"
"I came for a reason, and I got what I needed. Want to stay a bit longer?"
"No, I’ll go along with your pace."
"Then let’s go."
Leaving the shrine behind, we arrived at a tree-lined path.
In spring, the cherry blossoms would be in full bloom, but right now, the trees were covered in lush green leaves.
"…Kurose-kun, you look like you're having fun."
Yuzuhana was the one to speak up this time. That alone made my face soften even more.
"I’m having a blast."
"Is taking walks a hobby of yours?"
"Not really. It’s just… nostalgic. I used to walk this path with you back when we were together."
"You remember every road we walked together?"
"Not every single one. But this place holds a special memory."
"…Wait, don't tell me there was another capsule machine here? Like, a 'Tree-Lined Path Collection' or something?"
"If there was, I definitely would’ve tried it. But no, there wasn’t one."
"Then… did we have a picnic or something?"
"No, that was somewhere else. This place is memorable because… a caterpillar fell on you while we were walking. You screamed and clung onto me."
Yuzuhana blinked in disbelief.
"I… clung onto you? Because of a caterpillar?"
"Yeah. Oh, but don’t get the wrong idea! I mean, if it happened again, of course I’d protect you, but I swear I didn’t bring you here with any ulterior motives!"
She finally opened up enough to talk to me on her own, but if she thought I was aiming for a hug, she'd put her guard up again.
As I hurried to explain myself, Yuzuhana shook her head and said, "That's not it."
"I'm not bad with caterpillars, you know?"
…Huh? You're not?
"Are you serious?"
"Caterpillars aren’t exactly rare where I'm from. There's no way I'd be scared of them now."
Now that she mentioned it, that made sense…
"B-but Yuzuhana, back then, you totally clung to me. You were all ‘Kyaa, help me!’ and grabbed onto my arm… And even after we got home, you said you were still scared and wanted me to hold you…"
"I probably just wanted Kurose-kun to think I was cute. Picking it up with my fingers and tossing it aside isn’t exactly adorable, is it?"
"...Seriously?"
Between her old-school Anipara fan act and now this caterpillar scare act, Yuzuhana’s secrets were slowly coming to light.
Well, they were completely adorable secrets, but still.
But man… Knowing the truth now, I couldn’t help but cringe at my own actions.
Feeling like a knight protecting his princess, I even flashed my teeth with a dramatic "I won't let a single finger of that caterpillar touch you!" pose… Not that caterpillars have fingers in the first place.
"Your face is red."
"It's embarrassing…"
"Nothing to be embarrassed about. I bet I was really happy to have Kurose-kun protect me. …You did protect me, right?"
"Of course. To save you from the caterpillar, I took off my shirt and put it over your head."
"That's pretty cool. The me back then must’ve been really happy."
"Yeah, but since I had nothing underneath, I ended up walking down the tree-lined path half-naked."
"…That’s a bit awkward."
"So it's awkward, huh… So the reason Yuzuhana blushed back then wasn't because she was drawn to me, but because she was embarrassed to walk with a half-naked guy…"
I didn’t need to know that.
If that was the case, she could’ve just told me. But I guess after putting on an act about being scared of caterpillars, there was no turning back for her…
"S-sorry? I turned what should've been a good memory into an embarrassing one."
"It's fine. I won't deny it's embarrassing, but it's not exactly a dark past either. More importantly, how's your appetite?"
Not even two hours had passed since our date started. Since we started about thirty minutes earlier than planned, it was still too soon for lunch.
We were supposed to head to a restaurant after walking down the tree-lined path, but… maybe a little detour would be a good idea.
Just as I was thinking that, Yuzuhana rubbed her stomach and said,
"I'm actually pretty hungry. I could barely get any breakfast down."
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, it's just nerves."
"…You're still nervous?"
"It's surprising even to me, but not at all."
"R-really?"
"Yeah. At first, I was worried about what to talk about, but as long as I throw in a few quips, conversations with Kurose-kun just seem to flow. And… this might sound rude, but it doesn’t really feel like a date."
"…Did I disappoint you?"
Yuzuhana shook her head. "Not at all. It’s just different from what I imagined. I thought for sure you’d take me to an amusement park or bowling. I always pictured city high schoolers going out and having fun like that. Or… are we going there later?"
"It's not in the plans. The place we're heading to now is a quiet café. Not really a spot high schoolers usually go to."
"Wait… Did you pick calm places just to accommodate me?"
"That's not it. I'm just revisiting places with memories. Going there brings back the past and makes me feel happy."
The shrine.
The tree-lined path.
The café.
Every place I’ve taken her holds precious memories of our time together. Of course, that includes the amusement park and the bowling alley too.
Ideally, I’d take her to even more of those places, but if I push too hard, I’ll just wear Yuzuhana out.
The goal is to make her smile. Maybe taking her to a lively place, where we can play around, would be a better way to lift her spirits…
But if possible, I want to make her laugh just by talking.
And I want her to feel at ease spending time with me, like she used to.
My ultimate goal is to help her regain her memories, but before I can erase her worries about the future, I need her to want to be with me.
That’s why I’ve been choosing quiet places where we can enjoy a relaxed conversation, but…
"Would you have preferred somewhere more lively?"
"No. I mean, I am interested in amusement parks and bowling, but I'm really enjoying today's date too."
She said that brightly, then, as if a little embarrassed, added,
"You know… we must have been really close."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because we can enjoy even the most ordinary places, like a small shrine or a tree-lined path. It means that as long as we’re together, nothing else really matters… And I think that's a really wonderful kind of relationship."
"Thanks. I’ll make sure the current you has fun too. So look forward to it."
"I'm looking forward to it."
With that, we continued walking, leaving the tree-lined path behind. Before long, we arrived at the café.
It was a small, privately owned eatery tucked away in a narrow alley just off the shopping district. Since it was still too early for lunchtime, there were no other customers inside.
We acknowledged the greeting of "Welcome" with a small bow, then walked past the counter and took a seat in a small tatami area in the back. The elderly lady running the place brought us cold water, which I used to quench my thirst.
Looking around the shop with curiosity, Yuzuhana remarked,
"This place has a real Showa retro feel to it."
"Pretty nice, right?"
"Yeah. It’s my first time here, but for some reason, it feels nostalgic. Do you come here often, Kurose-kun?"
"I used to, for a while. With you."
"Oh? So it’s good enough that you kept coming back. What’s your recommendation?"
"Recommendation, huh…? I wonder. To be honest, I don’t really remember how the food tastes."
"Huh? So you didn’t come here because it was delicious?"
"It wasn’t the taste that got me hooked… This place has an amazing manga collection."
"You came here to read manga? You could’ve just gone to a manga café."
"Yeah, but look—see that bookshelf by the entrance?"
"I noticed it on the way in. Looked like a bunch of pretty old books."
"Exactly. This place has manga that were never made into digital editions. They were the works that influenced one of our favorite manga artists. We always wanted to read them but couldn’t get our hands on them… So when we randomly stumbled upon them here, we got super excited."
"I was that into manga?"
"You always looked like you were having a great time reading next to me. Then we’d talk about them until the sun went down… We even spent an entire day here, eating all three meals."
The nostalgia made me smile.
If only I could talk about manga with Yuzuhana like that again… How happy that would make me.
"I don’t know much about manga… but if it’s food, I can share my thoughts with you. It might not be as fun, though…"
"That’s not true. If it’s with you, Yuzuhana, I know I’ll enjoy it."
I want her to enjoy our conversations.
I want her to feel comfortable spending time with me.
And at the end of our date, I want her to smile and say, "Today was fun."
"Alright, let’s order."
I handed her the menu, and she studied it with a serious expression.
After some thought, she chose the omurice. I decided to get the same—it’d be easier to talk about our impressions that way.
After placing our order, Yuzuhana took a sip of cold water, let out a small sigh, and kept glancing toward the kitchen.
Was she starving, or just eager to share her impressions of the food? Either way, she looked excited for the meal.
If she was looking forward to it this much, then bringing her here had been worth it.
"By the way, do you have any other plans for today?" I asked.
"If I had to say, studying. I’m two months behind, so I have to work hard to catch up. But I won’t be doing that today. Our date isn’t over yet, right?"
"Yeah. After this, I was thinking we’d go to the observation tower."
"Sounds nice. I’ve been wanting to go there at least once. Looking out from a high place helps you get a feel for the city."
Since Yuzuhana had only recently moved here, she must have wanted to get a better grasp of the town’s layout.
The observation tower was a popular spot for couples.
That would definitely make the date feel more like… well, a date. But so far, the mood was relaxed.
She seemed comfortable spending time with me, and at this rate, she’d be able to enjoy the observation tower without feeling nervous.
"By the way, do you have any special memories tied to the observation tower too?" she asked.
"I do. It’s where I had the most important moment of my life."
"The most important?"
"It’s where I proposed to you, Yuzuhana."
She blinked, momentarily at a loss for words.
"The place where you proposed… Yeah, I can see how that would be the most important memory of your life."
"Yeah. I can still remember that day like it was yesterday."
It was only natural since we had been dating, but Yuzuhana and I had loved each other deeply.
Including the time we spent as friends, we had known each other for about five years. I had started feeling like it was time to take the next step.
I had hesitated for a while, letting our relationship continue as it was. But one day…
As if sensing my feelings, Yuzuhana had casually left a wedding magazine out in plain sight on the table. That was the final push I needed to make up my mind.
She had been waiting for me to propose.
I knew she would say yes.
So I wasn’t planning my proposal just to make sure it succeeded—I wanted it to be memorable, something that would make her truly happy.
"What kind of proposal was it?" she asked.
"At the time, there was a collaboration between our favorite anime and a jewelry brand. A huge ad featuring a ring was displayed on top of a building, so I decided to make use of that."
I took her to the observation tower, found the ad through a telescope, and told her, "Hey, check this out, it’s something interesting…"
"When Yuzuhana looked away from the telescope, I held out the same ring from the ad and said, 'I’ll make you happy. Please marry me.' She must have realized it the moment she saw the ad… because by the time she looked at me, she was already in tears."
To me, it was an irreplaceable memory—one I could still recall vividly, as if it had happened just yesterday.
But for Yuzuhana, it was a memory she didn’t have. A story based on the premise that I had traveled through time.
She had said she wouldn’t deny it anymore, but that didn’t necessarily mean she believed it.
To her, I might have looked like some delusional guy, spouting fantasies as if they were real.
I had worked so hard to get her to lower her guard—what if I had just made her wary of me all over again?
"…You really can’t believe in time travel, can you?"
Yuzuhana neither nodded nor shook her head.
But in her eyes, there was kindness.
She was choosing her words carefully, trying not to hurt me.
"Honestly, I can’t imagine time travel being real… but at the same time, I don’t think you’re lying either, Kurose-kun. I don’t have the memories to say what’s true or not… but there is one thing I do understand now. That you and I… must have been close enough that marriage wouldn’t have been surprising."
Then, as if weighed down by guilt, her expression darkened.
"But… even if we were supposed to get married, I don’t think we would’ve been happy. Because… my father would never have accepted it."
"Th-That’s not true!"
"Hyah—! W-Why are you suddenly shouting…?"
"S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you… I just… I didn’t want to hear about your father."
Yuzuhana gazed at me, eyes filled with concern.
"Have you… met my father before?"
"Yeah… I wanted to introduce myself properly and ask for his blessing. But he wouldn’t accept me…"
Back then, I had believed that even without his approval, we could still find happiness together.
But that was just my own selfish way of thinking.
In the end, Yuzuhana had to abandon her parents for the sake of our marriage.
When I proposed to her, I swore I’d make her happy. But to truly make her happy from the bottom of her heart, I couldn’t let her be separated from her family.
If I really wanted to make Yuzuhana happy, I needed to be accepted—I needed to have our marriage blessed.
I failed the first time.
Even though I was given a second chance to make things right, I had given up from the very start. Because of that, I made Yuzuhana anxious, burdened her with so much stress that she ended up sealing away her own memories.
I won’t make the same mistake again.
I won’t ever make her feel that way again.
And if that’s the case, then what I need to do is clear.
“I’ll become a man your father can accept.”
“…It’s impossible.”
“It’s not impossible!”
“It is. Kurose-kun, you’re a good person, but you’re the complete opposite of my father’s ideal.”
I had never heard from Yuzuhana herself what kind of man her father wanted her to marry.
If she was saying we were opposites, it was probably her way of being considerate—of sparing me from feeling insecure.
Well, I could more or less guess.
I still clearly remembered the insults he threw at me the first time we met.
“A man who isn’t weak—someone who looks strong?”
“Yeah. My father’s been saying it for as long as I can remember. ‘Never marry a weak man. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life.’ Even when I decided to move here for school, he told me that if I ever got a boyfriend, I had to report it to him right away—so he could judge whether he was strong or not.”
Her father’s preference was for a strong-looking man.
But I wasn’t built like a wrestler or a bodybuilder.
I wasn’t even tall enough to reach the average height.
I was just a weak-looking guy.
Everything was already against me. I looked weak to begin with, and on top of that, we had told her father after the fact—no wonder he stormed into the ryotei, seething with rage.
Yuzuhana must have known that if she reported it upfront, he’d oppose the marriage outright. That’s why she kept quiet until a moment when he wouldn’t have a choice but to accept it.
But her father’s resolve was stronger than she imagined, and things ended the way they did.
"Then… if your dad likes strong-looking men, I’ll become as buff as he wants."
"You’re gonna get ripped…? Do you really want to marry me that badly?"
"Of course I do."
"There are plenty of other great people out there. If you look, I’m sure you’ll find someone even better."
"There’s no one better than you, Yuzuhana. Visiting all these places today just made me even more sure of that."
"…My dad’s really scary, you know?"
"I don’t care anymore. Losing you is scarier than anything your dad could ever do!"
I shouted and took Yuzuhana’s hand in mine.
She widened her eyes in surprise, but she didn’t pull away.
"I’ll get stronger. Strong enough to protect you no matter what. So… please, stay by my side!"
"I-It kinda feels like you’re proposing to me…"
"S-Sorry. That was weird, right…?"
"No. Not at all."
She gently shook her head—
Then, looking straight into my eyes, she smiled.
"You’re not weird, Kurose-kun. I could feel it… how much you love me."
"I do. I love you. I love you so much. I want to see you smile for the rest of my life, until the day I die. I’ll become strong enough to earn your dad’s approval, and this time, I’ll make sure our marriage is blessed! I’ll make you happy!"
"Thank you. If it’s you, Kurose-kun, I know you really—ah…!"
Suddenly, Yuzuhana’s face twisted in pain.
She clutched her head, let out a pained groan—then collapsed.
"Y-Yuzuhana!? Hey, Yuzuhana!?"
I called her name over and over, but there was no response.
She had completely lost consciousness.
Act 2 END
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