Please Tell Me How to Remember Love - Chapter 1 Part 3

T/N: Sorry, I felt burned out so I took a rest for a few days. I’m fine now though, I think.

 

Chapter 1 Part 3

 

“I apologize for intruding in the middle of the night. I’m Satou Takayuki’s fiancee, Kuramori Karin.”

 

A few hours later. The moment Karin came to his doorstep, dressed in plain clothes, Takayuki realized that he had been utterly defeated. He expected that she’d start her move at school and attack his life socially from there, but that didn’t happen. Instead, she came right into his house and declared that she was his fiancee. This unexpected development gave him a massive headache.

 

That wasn’t even the worst part of it. It was Takayuki’s mother who received her. By the time Takayuki came to the front door after hearing her voice, she had already introduced herself as such.

 

“It’s been a long time, Auntie. Do you remember me?”

“…Ah! Karin-chan! Oh my, it’s been a long time! How have you been? You’ve grown up since the last time I saw you!”

“As you can see, I’m doing well. It’s all thanks to you and grandma taking care of me back then.”

 

A strange sight greeted Takayuki at the front door. Karin, looking well-behaved while letting out an affectionate smile, was having a friendly exchange with his mother. Moreover, his mother seemed to be familiar with her as she showed a welcoming attitude toward the middle schooler who claimed to be his son’s fiancee.

 

“Due to personal circumstances, I’ll have to intrude on your son for a while. That’s why I decided to come over and give my greetings to you.”

“Jeez, you don’t need to do that! Ah, Takayuki! Come over here! I didn’t know that you and Karin-chan knew each other! Since when?”

 

Takayuki, being the good son that he was, obeyed his mother’s words. He didn’t try to hide his distrust toward Karin as he made his way to the front door though.

 

“We don’t really know each other though… Anyway, good evening?”

“Sorry for the unannounced visit. I hope you’ll forgive me for barging into your parents’ house like this.”

“Uh, okay?”

“What are you dawdling around for? She’s a guest! Take her to the living room quickly! I’m going to prepare the tea and the cakes!”

 

Karin let out a smile before stopping Takayuki’s mother who was moving busily.

 

“No, you don’t need to. I’m just here to say hello. I came here by car and they’re waiting outside, so I can’t stay for too long.”

“Really? That’s too bad. By the way, Karin-chan, if you ever get into trouble, you can ask this idiot for help. He might be an idiot, but he’s still my son, you can rely on him.”

“…Yes, I understand. I’ll do that when the time comes.”

 

After bowing deeply, Karin left without erasing her smile.

 

“So, Takayuki, what kind of relationship do you have with her?”

 

A little while after Karin disappeared from their line of sight, Takayuki’s mother asked him that question. She wasn’t trying to interrogate him, it was simply a question to satisfy her curiosity, nothing less.

 

“We just met each other, so I guess we’re acquaintances? Also, she suddenly proclaimed that she’s my fiancee or something. Do you know anything about that, mom?”

“Fiancee, huh? …Well, I know something about it, but it isn’t my place to say it. If you really want to know, go and ask her yourself.”

“Hmm… Got it.”

“Also, Takayuki.”

 

With a serious expression on her face, Takayuki’s mother continued her words.

 

“If possible, I want you to face that girl… Kuramori Karin properly. It’s for your own sake too.”

 

Takayuki didn’t understand what his mother’s intentions were when she said those words. But, he understood that the connection between him and Karin was way deeper than he previously thought.

 

*   *   *

 

A few days after Karin started following Takayuki everywhere.

 

“Haah… What should I do?”

“Get away from me, that’s what you should do.”

 

Aoi visited her bad friend, Amami Yuzu’s room. Despite the latter clearly showing her displeasure, Aoi didn’t care and kept on rubbing her face on the girl’s side.

 

“But Yuzu, don’t you think the case this time is really strange?”
“I’ll listen to you, so just get away from me.”

“Yuzu is so cold!”

“Your body temperature is too hot. Don’t you realize that it’s almost summer?”

 

After Yuzu tried to forcefully peel Aoi off her body, the latter complied and went away quickly. Not because she wanted to, though, but because there was a precedent that a heavy book would find its way to her head if she didn’t obey her.

 

“So, what is it this time? Well, knowing you, this must be related to him again.”

“Yeah, it’s related to Takayuki-kun.”

 

Yuzu called out to Aoi without even taking her eyes off the book in her hands. In turn, Aoi began to speak. Yuzu might seem listless and her curt words might give one the wrong idea, but she listened to Aoi’s random whining properly.

 

“So it’s another stalker problem? How the hell did you guys keep running into stalkers?”

“Is it stalking when the stalker announces to you that she’ll follow you around whether you like it or not?”

 

Aoi then started to explain the problem to Yuzu while changing the narration so it would be more believable to hear. That meant, hiding the part where they had to deal with the so-called urban legend.

 

To summarize, she told her about Kuramori Karin, a middle schooler who kept following Takayuki around while claiming to be his fiancee. In spite of that, she didn’t seem to like him at all. Instead, she showed clear hostility toward him.

 

There was also the matter that she somehow was always able to find him whenever he tried to sneak out.

 

“Honestly, rather than Kuramori Karin herself, I think the problem lies in the source of her information. I don’t know how she managed to do it, but she somehow managed to find out not only about his personal information, but also his plans for after school and his recent activities. Where did she get her information, I wonder? Could it be that she was using magic?”

 

Aoi muttered that lightly. She was serious when she said that. After all, she knew that the supernaturals and magic users existed in this world. It wasn’t far-fetched for her to think that some kind of magic was involved here.

 

“Silly Aoi. Did the heat turn your brain into a mush?”

 

However, Yuzu rebuked Aoi’s words harshly.

 

“Stop putting in your delusion into your train of thoughts. At that point, you’d better just stop thinking about it altogether.”

“Ugh… Look, I don’t believe that they’re using magic or anything… It’s just, if I were to listen to Satou-kun’s words… That thought isn’t really far-fetched…”

 

Aoi accepted Yuzu’s venomous words, but she couldn’t help but feel perplexed. The problem she was facing wasn’t simple by any means, but Yuzu made it seem like she didn’t need to think about it too much to find the solution to the problem.

 

“I can find the answer if I know more about Satou-kun’s past, but I don’t know. That girl always managed to be one step ahead of him. It feels as if Satou-kun is the one who’s actively giving information to Kuramori Karin’s collaborators… Huh?”

 

As she tried to sort out her thoughts, she remembered something. There was something that Takayuki told her when they talked just the other day.

 

“Um, Yuzu. I somehow came to a dumb conclusion, what do you think I should do?”

“Who knows. Just do whatever, I guess.”

“…Okay. I’ll double check first.”

 

After receiving the indirect encouragement from Yuzu, Aoi immediately took action. To confirm whether her thoughts led her to the correct answer or not, she sent a message to Takayuki.

 

[Satou-kun, can I ask you something? Do you make reports about your daily activities to someone?]

[Yeah. I’ve been doing that since middle school. Why do you ask though?]

 

Aoi took a deep breath. Then, with a forced smile, she screamed.

 

“That idiot!”

 

To her dismay, her previous assumption was correct.

 

*   *   *

 

Next day on lunch break. Aoi managed to lure out the person that was the most likely to be the culprit after hearing the information that Takayuki gave her. She invited that person into the end of the hallway, far from the bustling atmosphere of the classrooms and cafeteria. It was near the staircase leading toward the locked rooftop, a practically deserted spot whenever lunch came around.

 

“Calling me out to a place like this, I wonder what kind of business you have with me, Miyama-san?”

 

The person she called out was Takayama Yui.

 

A first year student from a different class than Aoi and Takayuki. She had light-colored hair and was wearing plain looking silver rimmed glasses. The girl had a fair face, but thanks to the way she dressed and the expression she was wearing, she gave out an overall plain impression. That made her able to easily blend into the crowds without anyone noticing.

 

But, Aoi knew Takayama Yui was someone that wasn’t as unremarkable as her looks suggested.

 

“There’s something I want to ask you about Satou-kun, Takayama-san.”

 

After all, Takayama Yui was Takayuki’s partner in the past. In other words, she was her predecessor. Even though Aoi practically dragged her to a deserted spot like this, she didn’t seem nervous at all.

 

“Huh, what do you want to ask me? I’ll do my best to answer all the questions you have for me, Miyama-san.”

“Don’t worry, I only have one question for you.”

“Really? I can tell you all about Satou’s weaknesses though. From his fetishes, his dark history… Oh, right, there was this time when he got banned from a zoo because of the thing he did…”

“Wait, what was that? Tell me more about it.”

 

Aoi realized she said the wrong thing as she quickly shook her head and corrected herself.

 

“A-Ahem! Ignore that please. Anyway, Takayama-san. I heard that Satou-kun reported all of his daily activities to you, is that true?”

“Yeah, it’s true, but why do you ask?”

 

Seeing Yui answering her question without batting an eye, Aoi’s expression hardened.

 

“I-I don’t think that’s an appropriate thing to do! Y-You two aren’t even lovers! N-No, I mean, even if you’re lovers, that is still inappropriate!”

“I see. You got a point there, Miyama-san.”

 

Yui replied to Aoi’s words with an awkward smile while nodding her head mysteriously.

 

“But, do you think anything less will be enough to restrain that idiot?”

“Ugh!”

“The thing is, if I didn’t go this far, I’m sure that he’ll do something really stupid. Actually, let me tell you what happened before I told him to report his daily activities to me.”

“…What happened?”

“That idiot almost went all the way to Tokyo to chase after another idiotic classmate of ours who ran away from home because they didn’t want to live in the countryside. I managed to convince him to not do it and told him that it was better to leave this matter to the police. Barely managed to, by the way. He had already prepared enough money to go to Tokyo by himself.”

“Oh, jeez…”

“Now do you understand? Nothing good will come out of it if I were to let him run wild by himself, Miyama-san.”

 

Hearing Yui’s words, Aoi involuntarily covered her face with her hand.

 

That really was something that Takayuki would do if he were to be given the chance.

 

“Ever since then, I’ve been monitoring all of his daily activities even though I really don’t want to do it. I don’t enjoy doing it, it’s embarrassing. But, what can I do? If I don’t do it, he’ll keep on doing stupid things.”

“I have to agree with that…”

 

From the tone of her voice, it was clear that Yui was being sincere. As Takayuki’s current partner, Aoi knew better than anyone that Yui’s concern wasn’t baseless and she could completely relate with her.

 

And so, Aoi decided to change her approach. Besides, she didn’t call her here to make her stop monitoring Takayuki’s life, but to talk about the matter regarding Kuramori Karin.

 

“I understand your pain well, Takayama-san. Anyway, can I take it that you know about everything that Satou-kun did?”
“You can. Why do you ask?”

 

Yui dropped her answer matter-of-factly.

 

“Then, Takayama-san, I’m not trying to be rude, but do you know a middle schooler by the name of Kuramori Karin?”

 

Aoi knew that the girl in front of her wasn’t a normal girl by any means. She was sly enough to be able to dodge a straightforward question, so beating around the bush wouldn’t work on her. That was why Aoi didn’t get to the main point immediately and asked her another question as a groundwork so she wouldn’t be able to escape.

 

“Of course. I’m the one who provides her with information about Satou.”

 

Without any pretense, Yui revealed her deeds.

 

Facing Aoi’s momentum, she didn’t get swept by it, instead used it as if it was her own.

 

There were no traces of guilt in her voice. She said her words straightforwardly as if she was just having a normal chat.

 

“Can I ask you why you did that?”
“Yeah, of course. We are working together. I guess you could call us accomplices. We have different reasons, but we share the same goal. We complement each other well, so to say.”

“The same goal?”

“I can’t elaborate on that for now.”

 

She managed to overturn all of Aoi’s expectations. Even when Aoi tried to pressure her with both her smile and question, Yui’s composure didn’t shake. Her words flowed smoothly without any trace of hesitation.

 

Aoi tried her hardest, but Yui was like an unshakable wall. With frustration, she decided to change her approach.

 

“So, Takayama-san, can I assume that everything is within your expectations since you freely gave me the information about your cooperation with Kuramori Karin?”

 

As far as Aoi knew, Yui would only show her true feelings in front of Takayuki. That was why she decided to throw this obvious bait at her.

 

She knew more than anyone that Yui would never take this bait. The sole purpose of it was to stall for time.

 

“Well, I guess the fact that you know about this is a little troubling… Both for me and for you, Miyama-san.”

“Huh? Me too?”

“Yeah. You’ll have to deal with the headache that will accompany you afterwards. I genuinely suggest that you drop this matter, it’s for your sake after all.”

 

However, Yui managed to give a straightforward reply from an angle that Aoi didn’t expect.

 

“Well, despite me trying to come clean like this, I’ll still have to provide an explanation to Satou-kun, but I believe that he won’t blame me for doing it. Honestly, I’d rather he blame me, but it’s him we’re talking about. Instead of blaming me, he’d rack his brain trying to find out the reason behind my actions and end up doing something stupid because of it. From my experience, that never led to anything good and he’ll end up troubling everyone. Do you understand what I’m trying to say here, Miyama-san?”

 

Unlike earlier, Yui laid her emotions bare for Aoi to see.

 

There was a bitter smile on her face. She didn’t even bother trying to hide her manipulative tendencies to make sure that he wouldn’t go haywire.

 

“I suggest that you don’t tell Satou about this, Miyama-san. Well, of course you can just dismiss my words as an incomprehensible ramblings, it’s fine, I won’t blame you for that. I have my ways to rein him in when it comes to it, though it might be a little troublesome.”

“…You became quite talkative when it comes to him, huh, Takayama-san?”

“…”
“Oh, you aren’t even trying to hide your disgusted face, huh?”

 

Aoi could sense a whirlpool of emotion on Yui’s face. The latter was keeping her silence, but her expression made it look like she was swallowing a bitter pill.

 

It seemed like the relationship between the two of them was too complicated to be defined by love and hate.

 

“Anyway, Takayama-san, am I correct to assume that the reason why you told me everything is because you’re confident that I won’t tell Satou-kun anything, especially if it causes him to run wild?”

“Yeah. Also, trying to hide it from you is useless. You’ll find out about it anyway, it’s just a matter of time.”

“If that’s the case, then I’ll keep my mouth shut. In exchange, can I ask you another question? Your cooperation with Kuramori Karin, is it for Satou-kun’s sake or not?”

“…As if.”

 

She denied Aoi’s statement.

 

“Obviously not. If I were to do this for his sake, then that would make me a good person, no? I might be an idiot, but I’m not a selfless idiot like Satou. There’s no way I’m going to do something for someone else’s sake.”

 

She said with a sneer.

 

Through the lenses of her silver-rimmed glasses, she gazed at Aoi. There was a slight hatred in that gaze.

 

“Miyama-san, I’m a villain. I’m doing this to satisfy my own desires. How my actions will affect Satou, I couldn’t care less, nor do I care about what he thinks of me. I won’t change my ways.”

 

With pride, she declared as such.

 

But there was something that Yui failed to realize. It was because she had only been talking about Takayuki that she failed to realize it.

 

“…I knew it. You were Satou-kun’s partner after all, huh, Takayama-san?”

 

The way she proudly declared herself as a villain was similar to the way Takayuki proudly declared himself as a hero.

 

“…Who did you call his partner?!”

“Ah, you just blushed.”

 

As Yui began to sulk, Aoi began to feel a sense of familiarity with her.

 

*   *   *

 

While Aoi was occupied with her personal investigation, Takayuki was being followed by Karin.

 

From the day she made her declaration, Karin never missed a single day to follow him around. She boasted that she did it to make sure that Takayuki would be unable to hide anything from her, but her actions unilaterally caused a certain rumor to spread.

 

“Oh, ‘The Faithful Dog’ is here again!”

 

“She’s so brave, isn’t she? Satou-kun taught her the ABCs of being a delinquent well!”

 

“I heard that middle schooler is a black belt in karate.”

 

“She’s been following him around like a baby bird! That middle schooler got guts, I tell you!”

 

Naturally, as she followed Takayuki practically everywhere, the attention she received was immense. Recently, the students had been calling her ‘The Faithful Dog’ because of the way she waited for Takayuki at the school gate every day. Some of the female students even talked with her almost every day.

 

“…Ugh…”

 

And because of that, waiting for Takayuki became torture for her.

 

As Takayuki had pointed out, Karin was a shy person. If she could prepare herself, she could handle everything that came to her, but those girls never gave her enough time to prepare herself mentally.

 

It was to the point that she lost almost 1 kg of weight because of the stress she received from dealing with those girls. Nevertheless, Karin didn’t stop.

 

“Oi, Dummy, are you okay? You’re looking more haggard each day.”

“Stop calling me Dummy.”

 

Takayuki was aware of Karin’s deteriorating health, that was why he obediently came to the school gate every day instead of trying to run away from her.

 

“Gee, I don’t know. After seeing you pushing yourself to do something stupid like this, it’s hard to not call you Dummy.”

“I’m not pushing myself.”

“Don’t lie. I know you’ve been forcing yourself to smile ever since you came to my house the other day. How many layers of sheep’s clothing are you even on?”

 

Takayuki knew her well. It might not have been long since the first time they talked to each other face to face, but they had been talking to each other on the internet for months. Karin, or rather, ‘Bell,’ was always like this. Once she decided to do something, she’d stubbornly stick to her words.

 

“This much is nothing. What, do you want me to visit your house in the middle of the night again?”

Even after Takayuki pointed out her poor condition, Karin was still acting stubborn.

 

“Stop saying dumb things like that.”

 

Seeing her acting like that, Takayuki sent her an exasperated look.

 

He could find nothing from his mom regarding the matter of Karin calling herself his fiancee. However, it was clear that something was going on between the two of them. For the time being, he decided to not pursue the matter and just endure the current treatment he received.

 

“By the way, I thought every middle school in this city made it so that joining a club is mandatory? Why aren’t you with your club? How do you have the free time to follow me around every single day? Look, I don’t know what your circumstances are, but it’s clear that you’re pushing it.”

 

Though he decided to endure, that didn’t mean he’d hold back on his words.

 

“Why are you pushing yourself so hard to fulfill this ‘loving fiancee’ role or whatnot?”

“I told you I’m not pushing it. I’m only doing what’s necessary.”

 

But, Karin wasn’t an easy opponent for him. She always had the right words to reply to Takayuki’s sharp questions. Her face might be pale, but her eyes were unwavering as they met Takayuki’s gaze head on.

 

“I promised that person, I’m going to do this to the best of my ability. No matter how reckless or impossible this seems like, I will never give up.”

“I don’t understand. Are you implying that person wants you to try this hard just so they can fulfill their wish?”

“…No, I don’t think so.”

 

At Takayuki’s words, Karin’s composure faltered. Her emotionless face was replaced by a melancholic look. However, before Takayuki could understand her change in expression, Karin already spoke out her next words.

 

“I’m doing this on my own. It’s just me being selfish.”

“…I see.”

 

Receiving a strong-willed gaze that swept away Karin’s melancholic look, Takayuki almost averted his gaze. Actually, if at that moment he didn’t remember his mother’s words, he might have already done that. That was how much of an impact her gaze had on him

 

It was as if the promise she made to her savior was worth more than her own life.

 

“If that’s the case then, at least take care of your health more. If your condition gets any worse, you won’t be able to follow me everywhere again.”

“You don’t need to worry. I ate enough supplements for my nutritional needs.”

“And your guardian didn’t say anything about that?”

“She scolded me and told me to ‘eat properly’ everyday. Though, I don’t see the point.”

“…Seriously?”

‘What a stubborn brat,’ Takayuki thought as he let out a deep sigh.

 

Regarding the issue of her calling herself his fiancee, Takayuki reached a dead end. He didn’t have any clue on where to start and it wasn’t like he could just force her to answer him. Therefore, he decided to put the matter on hold and work on another matter.

 

“Fine. Follow me, Kuramori. We’re going to eat.”

“Yes… Huh?”

 

First thing first. Fixing the pale-looking middle schooler’s bad eating habit.

 

TL: Iyo

ED: Iyo

 

 

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