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

Chapter 3 – Melted Ice Cream Before Summer

 

Kuramori Karin was a child born of elopement.

 

Her mother was a young lady from a rich family, but her father was merely an ordinary businessman. Originally, her mother’s family had already arranged a fiance for her to marry, but she rejected that and eloped with her father. At least, that was what Karin was told growing up.

 

Despite that, her mother would go back to her hometown whenever the year was about to end, so it was possible that the part about her elopement was an exaggeration. Either way, both her parents were gone before she could ask them about the truth, so it remained buried in the dark.

 

“Don’t worry, Mama will take good care of Karin.”

 

As far as Karin remembered, her mother was someone with a great sense of responsibility. 

 

After her husband, Karin’s father, died of illness, she pushed herself to work without a rest. Not only did she have to work on her shifts as a nurse, she also handled all the houseworks herself. She always had a tired smile plastered on her face, but she always attended all of Karin’s school events without fail. That was how great her sense of responsibility was.

 

For this reason, Karin tried her best to not act like a spoiled child toward her mother despite her being in the right age to do so. She didn’t want to be a burden to her mother. However, she never felt discontent with this situation. For Karin during that time, being with her mother was her happiness.

 

Moreover, there was an elderly couple who lived in the neighborhood who always tried to look after her.

 

“Hmph. You’re here again, Brat? No matter how many times you come here, this old hag can only give you pickles to eat.”

“Don’t mind her, Karin-chan. The old woman just can’t be honest with herself.”

 

Despite her foul mouth, the old woman never rejected Karin.

 

Sitting by the old woman’s side was a gentle old man, who’d always engage in a comical conversation with her.

 

Karin loved spending her time with the elderly couple. The atmosphere around them was lively and there was always someone who’d come to visit them with a smile on their face. It made her long for such a future, where she could pass her time with her loved ones.

 

Back then, she was happy enough to be able to dream of such a future.

 

*   *   *

 

One disaster destroyed Karin’s happiness.

 

A landslide, a small one as it had only managed to damage a single house out of many.

 

Number of casualties, one death. It was the kind of disaster that you’d forget immediately as it came out in the morning news. But this disaster crushed Karin’s whole world.

 

“I’m sorry, Karin, I’ll be coming back late from work today… Buy some dinner with this, okay? Sorry…I’m really sorry…”

 

Before she went to school that day, her mother repeatedly apologized to her as she handed her a few ten thousand yen bills.

 

That was the last exchange between the two of them. Her mother never returned from work. After finishing her shift, she disappeared and no one ever saw her again. At first, Karin waited for her to come back for a few days, but eventually, she contacted the police and was taken into custody.

 

Strangely enough, she didn’t feel too sad about the situation. Probably because she noticed that her mother’s condition had become worse each day and she was clearly approaching her limit. That was also why she didn’t cry at all when her mother’s family took her in after a short while of her being taken into custody.

 

“This will be your room. If you need anything or if there’s something troubling you, just let me know.”

 

The man who took her in, the head of the family, said so to her in a business-like tone. He neither pitied her nor disrespected her. At that time, she thought that she was hated because she wasn’t exactly a part of their family, but that assumption couldn’t be more wrong.

 

They didn’t treat her in a special way, the whole family was distant like that. It wasn’t like they didn’t get along, though, they just didn’t want to involve themselves with each other too deeply. Karin would only find out about this fact later, along with the revelation that they actually treated her relatively well.

 

She was treated kindly despite her being a stranger to them and they even accommodated her even if it was only out of obligation. They went to her school events, went on family trips with her. They’d even give her Christmas presents if she were to ask them for it.

 

But, there was no love involved in those actions. They might have the same blood running in their veins, but in the end, they were only strangers and nothing more.

 

Still, Karin never complained. There was no way that she’d complain in the first place.

 

“…This kind of thing is a luxury.”

 

Karin, who was given a spacious room for a child her age, muttered that to herself.

 

She thought that she was among the blessed ones. She was lucky to be alive even though she was supposed to be dead. There were people who willingly took care of her and they weren’t abusive toward her. As a child who lost both her parents, this was more than she could ask for.

 

Yet, the amount of times she shed her tears alone wasn’t small.

 

“Don’t be spoiled, don’t be spoiled, don’t be spoiled, me…”

 

She always muttered those words to herself whenever she cried.

 

Alone in her room, where there was no one watching. She vowed to herself that one day, she wouldn’t lose to her loneliness like this ever again. To become strong enough that she wouldn’t need to succumb to her weak self.

 

Half a year after she was taken in by her mother’s family.

 

“Oh my, what a crybaby~ You won’t be happy if you keep on crying like this, you know?”

 

A savior suddenly descended from God knows where.

 

In that solitary room, the savior gently wiped away Karin’s tears from her cheeks.

 

*   *   *

 

“Hello, Kuramori Karin-chan. My name is Himuro Reina. I’m an old monster who came to make fun of you, crybaby~”

 

When a beautiful girl who proclaimed to be a monster, Reina, appeared in front of her, naturally, Karin put her guards up. She was obviously a suspicious person, so suspicious that she almost called out her foster father for help.

 

However, that feeling would soon be overshadowed by doubts. Because, except for Karin, no one else managed to recognize Reina’s figure correctly. Yes, almost no one inside the house noticed Reina’s presence. Even when Karin tried to explain everything to them, all she received was ‘Is there something wrong with that?’ as a reply. It was as if their sense of perception was being manipulated. They thought that it was a given that she was there.

 

“So, do you get it now?~ As you can see, I’m a monster. You can think of me as a distant relative of the Nurarihyon. Due to some personal circumstances, I have to live together with you, so, please take care of me from now on, okay? Hehehe~”

 

Facing Reina with her otherworldly power made Karin feel terrified. She was still in grade school back then. To her, Reina was an incomprehensible monster out of a horror movie, despite how pretty she looked on the outside.

 

*   *   *

 

“Welcome back, Karin-chan! Today’s dinner is sweet curry rice! I added some secret ingredients to the curry, so it tastes both spicy and sweet at the same time!”

 

One month after her first meeting with Reina. Karin felt like a fool for keeping her guard up against her.

 

Because, despite Reina calling herself a monster, she acted like a normal human being. Yes, it was hard for her to be recognized by others, she was easily forgotten and any injuries she received would disappear quickly, but her life cycle was the same as a normal human’s. She cooked Karin’s meals, took baths and went to bed together with her. Also, no matter how much Karin resisted her, she’d brush it off easily. Because any kind of bruises she could inflict on her would disappear soon, Karin eventually felt that it was useless to resist her.

 

And so, Reina became a part of her daily life.

 

“Karin-chan, since you don’t have any friend to hang out with, why don’t we study together instead. Not the kind of studying you usually do at school, but studying to make some money.”

 

After hearing those words, Karin couldn’t even try to ignore Reina anymore. The other party might not have been a human, but as long as they could communicate, they could work together. Moreover, the other party seemed to have plenty of life experiences and she was good at talking. That was how Karin got easily coaxed to learn about various things under the guise of ‘killing time.’

 

For example, how to make money at her age or some self-defense technique to protect herself.

 

And the most important lesson of them all, Reina taught her how to make friends. However, due to her shy and sulky personality, Karin couldn’t utilize what she had learned properly. Even so, slowly but surely, she began to have someone who she could call as a friend.

 

Before she knew it, Karin was no longer alone.

 

*   *   *

 

“The pocket watch? Well, it’s a cursed item. I can’t get rid of it.”

 

Half a year since she met Reina. After spending that long time with her, Karin stopped treating her as a monster, instead he treated her like a family. That was why she started to worry about her. Because she went out of her way to lie to her, calling herself a distant relative of the Nurarihyon. 

 

And so, Karin started to be more upfront to her and asked her about the things that she wanted to know.

 

‘How long have you been alive? Why did your injuries disappear quickly? Why do you have a sad expression on your face whenever you stare at that broken pocket watch?’ Karin began to act like a spoiled child, constantly pestering Reina with those questions. Normally, Reina would answer all her questions clearly, but for those sets of questions specifically, she only gave Karin vague answers.

 

“Sorry, Rin-chan. I’m going on a trip for about a week.”

 

Not long after that, she declared that she’d be leaving on a trip. Obviously, she was trying to escape those questions.

 

During the week when she was gone, Karin started to ponder about her actions. Maybe her approach was wrong, she was too persistent about it. So, she thought about various things that she could do to make Reina forgive her actions. And the answer that she came up with was to cook for herself. Normally, Reina would be the one who cooks her meals, but this time, Karin wanted to cook for herself and she wanted to treat Reina to her cooking too.

 

“I-I’m home… Um, Karin-chan… Do you remember me?”

 

So, when Reina returned a week later, Karin greeted her with a smile and a plate of food.

 

But that smile of hers soon crumbled to nothing.

 

“H-Huh? Y-You remember me? H-How?”

 

Karin’s smile turned into anger as she began to interrogate Reina due to her remarks. Using her privilege as a kid and the fact that any injuries she inflicted to Reina would disappear immediately, Karin threw a huge tantrum and managed to get all the information she wanted out of her mouth.

 

Reina’s true identity was someone who wields a certain power. Due to that power, she was easily forgotten by everyone around her. She took a trip this time to make Karin forget everything about her.

 

“I mean, you don’t need a monster like me hanging around you anymore, do you?”

 

When Reina said those words with a lonely expression, Karin’s anger exploded.

 

“I don’t care if Rei-Onee-chan is a monster! You’re my family! Don’t you dare run off on your own!”

 

It was at that time that Karin had truly become Reina’s partner.

 

“I see…so, that’s how it is… I’m sorry, Rin-chan…”

 

Reina gently pulled Karin toward her bosom.

 

“I’ll make you a special dessert as an apology, so stop crying, okay?”

 

This was the incident that led them to live together. Although she felt guilty for leaving her adoptive family, Karin decided that it would be better to live together with her ‘family’ rather than a group of strangers.

 

From that time on, Karin began to ask Reina many things. From her past to the details about her ability. But this time, she didn’t ask those questions out of curiosity, but out of cautiousness. She wanted to make sure that Reina wouldn’t disappear from her life without her noticing. Everything she did from that time onwards was so that she could spend her time together with Reina as much as possible.

 

And so, Karin got to know everything about Reina. Everything except for one thing. The truth that Reina deliberately kept hidden from her.

 

*   *   *

 

“Kuramori, look, I don’t care what you’re doing, but you need to show up at club activities. Your self-proclaimed rivals have been nagging me, ‘When will Kuramori come to practice?’ and so on!”

“I’m sorry, Sensei. I’ll be finished with this matter soon.”

 

Back to the present. After school.

 

Karin bowed to a female teacher, the advisor of her club, the karate club, before dashing away.

 

Her destination was a certain high school a short distance away.

 

“…Hm? Huh? Yui-san?”

 

On the way, she noticed her phone vibrating. Someone was calling her.

 

{Hello, Karin-chan. Are you busy right now?}

“No. What happened, Yui-san? Is this regarding Satou-san? A change of plan?”

{Mhm. Miyama-san is taking him to her house, so you don’t need to go to our school for today. You should go back home and take a good rest.}

“I…see… I guess it would be impolite if I were to barge into her house, huh?”

{Yes, what a good girl you are. If only that blockhead had a good manner like you— Wait, if he had a good manner like you, I wouldn’t have a hard time dealing with him in the first place!}

“Please calm down, Yui-san.”

 

Hearing the frustration in Yui’s voice, Karin let out a wry smile.

 

A relative from Karin’s mother’s side, the eldest daughter of the Takayama family, Takayama Yui.

 

Rumors said that she was the most outstanding girl in the family even when you counted all the branch families. Many believed that she was the chosen successor of the family. Despite this kind of amazing background that you’d only seen in stories, her relationship with Karin didn’t involve any kind politics at all.

 

Both of them were close in age, so, after meeting each other a few times at family gatherings, they decided to exchange contact information. Ever since then, they remained good friends. That was why Karin knew what was up with her. There was only one person who could make her act like this and it was Takayuki. Normally, Yui was always calm and collected, but when it came to Takayuki, her tolerance toward his bullsh*t was low.

 

{It would be nice if she’d just be more aggressive and push him down or something.}

“That would be nice, isn’t it? Maybe Satou-san’s priority will change when that happens and he’ll mellow down a little, but that’s like a dream coming true. That won’t happen.”

{Yes, unfortunately, you’re right. That’s why everything is up to us now.}

“Yes, but Yui-san… Your words made it sound like we’re the ones who’ll be pushing him down instead…”

{My arms aren’t strong enough to do that.}

“Are you saying that Miyama-san is strong enough to do that?”

 

Talking with Yui always felt pleasant to Karin. She knew they were using each other for their own goals and she knew that Yui couldn’t perceive the supernaturals like she did. Nevertheless, she was a dear friend to Karin.

 

That was why she uttered her words without holding anything back.

 

“Yui-san, it’s about time for me to end this. If I mess up, please take care of the rest.”

{Yes. You don’t need to tell me twice.}

 

She spoke out her resolve.

 

The resolve to face her own sin, so that she could live proudly with her beloved family.

 

TL: Iyo

ED: Iyo

 

 

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