Please Tell Me How to Remember Love - Chapter 3 Part 2

Chapter 3 Part 2

 

If Aoi invited him in to talk about something important, there was no way that Takayuki would refuse her.

 

He didn’t even need to think twice to give her his affirmation to the text she sent the other day. The fact that she hadn’t left his side ever since class ended also didn’t bother him.

 

Takayuki was the kind of person who’d never doubt someone whom he had trusted. Most of the time, that trait was a virtue, but at times, it was a curse that could strangle him in the neck and Takayuki was about to find out.

 

“But, why are we doing this in your room, Miyama? Can’t we just go to our usual place instead? The restaurant?”

“I don’t want our conversation to be heard by anyone. What, do you hate going to my room that much?”

“Of course not. It’s an honor for someone like me to be invited to a beautiful girl’s room.”

“Jeez, stop acting like a weirdo!”

 

Perhaps because it wasn’t the first time he visited her place, Takayuki didn’t feel nervous. He followed Aoi to the second floor of her house.

 

“Why don’t you sit down somewhere?”

“Mm, sure.”

 

However, the moment he entered her room, he started to get nervous. He realized that entering someone’s house and someone’s room were two different things. And so, to hide his nervousness, Takayuki sat down on the dustless wooden floor.

 

“…”

 

Silently, he looked around the room. A closet, a neatly arranged bed, a simple four legged desk with a laptop on it, a cute calendar with animal pictures hanging on the wall and lastly several bookshelves filled with books. The bookshelves had a few reference books there, but it was mostly filled with American hero comics and various kinds of books related to heroes.

 

“Don’t look around too much, okay?”

“A-Ahh… Sorry…”

 

Takayuki involuntarily looked away when he saw Aoi sitting on her bed, with a timid expression on her face.

 

He didn’t mean to look around so intensely, he was just trying to distract himself from his nervousness. Feeling guilty because he was unable to control his actions Takayuki shifted his gaze and position away from Aoi.

 

“…Hm?”

 

As he moved, he noticed something strange. It was something that looked like a sandbag… No, it was actually a sandbag. Two of them actually, filled to the brim, placed neatly on both sides of the door.

 

“Hehehe, even you got curious about a girl’s room, huh? Satou-kun?”

“I-I mean, I’m a high school boy, that’s a matter of course… But, that isn’t the point… Uh, Miyama?”

 

Aoi’s movement looked natural. With a mischievous smile on her face, she piled the sandbags right in front of the door before locking it. Her smile didn’t drop as she did it.

 

It was at this point that Takayuki finally understood that those sandbags weren’t some kind of decorations that were popular among the high school girls. They were tools to lock him inside.

 

“Satou-kun, this is the second floor. If you jump from here, only the cold asphalt road will greet you down there. I don’t recommend you to escape through the window.”

 

Just as Takayuki turned his gaze toward the window, Aoi said those words. Her smile didn’t change, but her tone was cold. Like a well-planned crime, Aoi’s plan to confine him was perfect.

 

“Come over here. I told you that we’re going to talk about something important, right?”

“…Yes.”

 

Seeing Aoi beckoning him to come closer to the bed, Takayuki realized that any kind of resistance was futile. Actually, if he really wanted to get out of this situation, he could just scream for help, but he couldn’t bring himself to do that. Aoi went this far, that meant she had a really good reason to do so.

 

And so, Takayuki started to rack his head, thinking about what could possibly be the reason for her to go this far.

 

“Satou-kun.”

 

But, his thoughts stopped the moment he sat down next to Aoi.

 

Before he knew it, she wasn’t smiling anymore and the distance between them was so close that their shoulders were practically touching each other. Aoi’s beautiful, serious gaze was locked into Takayuki’s eyes.

 

“…What was it that you sacrificed in exchange for your power?”

 

The moment Takayuki was asked with that cold voice, he realized…

 

That the worst of his guess had come true. He wouldn’t be able to get out of this situation unless he answered this question.

 

“…”

“Keeping your mouth shut, huh? Usually when you do this, you’re doing it for someone else’s sake. So, for whose sake is it this time? Me?”

 

Before he knew it, Aoi placed her hand over his own, ensuring that he wouldn’t be able to run away and at the same time, ensuring that she herself also wouldn’t be able to run away. With a trembling hand, she tightened her grip on his hand.

 

“Fine, I’ll guess it on my own then. You can laugh at me for being wrong, I don’t care. Anyway, what I know about the witch is that she’s a being who grants different powers in response to different wishes. In exchange to that, it’s necessary to pay a price as a sacrifice to even things out. Lastly, to summon the witch, you’d need a medium, the thing that they called ‘artifact.’”

 

Aoi spoke while maintaining eye contact with Takayuki. She suppressed the emotion that welled up from the depths of her heart as she tried to keep the calmness of her tone.

 

“Now, let’s deduce from all those one at a time. Firstly, the artifact. After confirming it with Kuramori-san, I found out that artifacts are usually cursed objects that you have to bring with you everywhere. That made me remember something. Seven years ago, you bragged to me about your hairpin, the one you’re wearing all the time, saying that it’s something special, it’s something that could turn you into a hero.”

“You remembered it wrong—”

“I didn’t. There’s no way I’d forget about that. My memories about you, I’ll never forget  about them.”

 

Feeling her grip on his hand tightened, Takayuki couldn’t say anything back to her.

 

Because he also remembered. Seven years ago, when he found her and rescued her. That night was the turning point of his life.

 

“I remember everything. Everything that you said, your answers to my words and everything that I asked of you. ‘I want you to do something about this pain in my chest,’ an unreasonable thing to ask, I know. I also remember your answer to those silly words, you proudly showed your hairpin as you answered me.”

 

Aoi’s eyes were downcast for a moment, then she looked at Takayuki with a determined expression in her eyes.

 

“Your artifact, my selfishness, the ability to eat love. There’s enough circumstantial evidence, Satou-kun. Do you have any more excuses?”
“That’s…”

“By the way, if you lie to me, I’ll kiss you.”

“Kiss?!—”

“With a silly lie, you’ll get your partner’s first kiss, not a bad deal, isn’t it?”

 

Takayuki felt a chill running down his spine as he witnessed Aoi tilting her head while letting out a beautiful smile.

 

Aoi understood that she was someone important to him. Takayuki wouldn’t hesitate in hurting himself, but he would never risk trying to hurt someone important to him.

 

“Ugh…”

“Huh, I thought you’d actually try to kiss me to show me your resolve, I guess I was wrong. Satou-kun, I know you’re a responsible person despite your appearances, that’s why I won’t say any more careless things from now on. And I’m going to ask you a question.”

 

His artifact was his hairpin and his wish was to fulfill Aoi’s selfishness. The power that the witch gave her was the power to eat love. Then, what was the price that he had to pay?

 

Aoi managed to take a guess when she was talking to Karin about it. However, she refused to accept the answer she managed to reach, so she racked her brain over and over, trying to come up with another answer. But in the end, she always kept coming back to the same conclusion.

 

“The price you had to pay to get your love-eating power, it’s the very emotion you needed to fall in love, right?”

 

Takayuki offered his ability to love someone as his price.

 

“When I think about it, your obsession with love was abnormal, not to mention that you’ve been having it since middle school. You filled several notebooks for it. I originally thought that you’re just someone who doesn’t feel strongly toward love, but that isn’t the case at all. You’re just trying to regain what you had lost, that was what started your obsession…”

“…”

“I’ll consider your silence as an affirmation, Satou-kun.”

 

Takayuki’s distorted expression basically confirmed that Aoi’s words weren’t wrong.

 

At the same time, she was convinced. His aloof attitude compared to other boys his age was appropriate due to his lack of emotional attachment to love itself.

 

That explained his strange expression when he received Haruka’s confession, his awkwardness after Haruka kissed him.

 

“Everything was my fault…”

 

Convinced by that thought, Aoi’s smile turned sad as she spoke those words to Takayuki.

 

“You gained your power by sacrificing your love just to fulfill my selfish wish. I never realized this. I’ve been admiring you like a fool despite what I’ve done to you… Everything was my fault, wasn’t it?”

“No! It wasn’t your fault! Everything happened because I was a fool! An idiot who randomly agreed to have a contract with the witch without thinking about the consequences! As a result of that, I destroyed my own life! I did it to myself, everything happened because of my stupid choice! You don’t need to feel responsible… A-Also, I’ve never regretted this outcome in the first place! Since that was the case, you should stop worrying about it!”

“Hehehe, you’re digging yourself deeper, Satou-kun.”

“Ugh… T-That’s… U-Um…”

 

It was unusual for Takayuki to panic like this.

 

That was why Aoi involuntarily blurted those words out. The cold sadness she felt just a moment ago was brushed away by a warm feeling. And that warmth was enough for her to make up her mind.

 

“R-Right! Miyama! Listen to me carefully! Even if I didn’t do it back then, I’d eventually do something similar later! You know that I’m the kind of fool who’d borrow some money just to feed a luxurious meal to a starving child, right? You’re more of a victim in this situation, Miyama!”

“You know that your argument is flawed, don’t you? Also, you know that I’m the kind of person who’d never let this kind of thing slide if I were to find out, that’s why you’ve been trying to hide the truth for me, haven’t you?”

“Yeah because I knew you’d be beating yourself over it like what you’re doing right now!”

 

Takayuki was desperate. Deep down, he knew that his words didn’t really make any sense, but he said those words anyway. His desperation came from his concern toward Aoi, his wish to prevent her from being hurt by the revelation.

 

“…Pfft… Hahahaha!”

 

And Aoi found this situation amusing.

 

“Why are you laughing?! Seriously, what’s wrong with you?!”

 

He was confused and Aoi could feel his bewilderment. Nevertheless, she liked seeing him like this.

 

Takayuki was the kind of person who’d ignore any kind of pain he received, yet he’d overreact to everyone else’s pain. At one moment, one would find him smiling at them with his irreverent smile but at the very next moment, he would be bowing at them with a pitiful expression on his face.

 

When she realized that she fell for this kind of person, Aoi laughed.

 

She laughed at how funny the realization was. Her feelings toward him wasn’t an affection toward a comrade, but the feeling of love toward the opposite s*x.

 

“Satou-kun.”

“A-At least you’ve finally calmed down now…”

 

That was why, Aoi decided to tell him her feelings without any hesitation.

 

“Let’s get married.”

 

Well, at least her heart was in the right place when she made that decision.

 

“Marry?… Huh? What? Miyama-san? Miyama Aoi-san?”

 

Obviously, to Takayuki her words made no sense whatsoever. He looked bewildered as he wondered if Aoi got a screw loose somewhere.

 

“I understand your confusion, but let me explain.”

“O-Okay…”

 

To the confused Takayuki, Aoi took out a sheet of paper from her desk’s drawer and handed it over to him.

 

It was a marriage certificate. The real thing.

 

“See, I’m serious about this whole thing. I even went to the government office to get this certificate.”

“No, wait, that didn’t explain jack! Explain from the beginning! Why do you want to marry me in the first place?!”

“We’re a member of the opposite s*x. Taking responsibilities for our actions to each other means we have to marry each other, right? I was the reason why you lost your love, even though it was your own choice in the end, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t stop feeling guilty about it. That’s why, to make up for it, I’ll be your wife. I want to replace your lost love with happiness from being together with me.”

“What are you even on about?! Also, if you want to marry me out of guilt, then I’d rather refuse your proposal!”

 

To Takayuki’s desperate attempt of rejecting her, Aoi let out a smile.

 

“What are you talking about, Satou-kun? There’s no way that I’d marry you just because I’m feeling guilty towards you.”

“Eh?”

“I’m doing this because it’s you.”

 

Aoi’s hands grabbed Takayuki’s shoulders as he stared at her in confusion.

 

“Satou-kun, listen to me. I’m happy right now.”

“Y-Yes…”

“Like you, I don’t understand anything about love, but I know that this happiness that I’m feeling is because you’re here by my side. You don’t need to force yourself to change, I’ll still stay by your side no matter what. You don’t need to force yourself to love me when we get married. After all, I…like you enough the way you are right now…”

 

With a shy smile and reddened cheeks, Aoi confessed her feelings to him.

 

If it was any other boys or any other person, really, they would definitely nod their heads in a heartbeat after seeing her expression. But this was Satou Takayuki we were talking about.

 

Despite receiving that sweet proposal from her, Takayuki couldn’t shake off the feeling that something wasn’t right. It was as if there was some kind of discrepancy between the information that they knew.

 

“M-Miyama? Um…”

“It’s okay. It’ll be hard at first, but I’m that we’ll be able to do the n-naughty act properly…”

“*Cough*”

 

Takayuki did a spit take out of surprise. He had a feeling that if he was unable to find out what the discrepancy was, things would turn into an even stranger direction.

 

“…Mhm, I’ve been thinking this through. Even if you’re unable to feel love, you’re still able to feel emotions. We can still make a loving family without love! Oh, but we shouldn’t have children before we’ve settled in our jobs. They said that timing, environment and our cooperation are all something we have to take note of when we’re raising our kids. Also, let’s not get married before we graduate. We have reputations to maintain, after all!”

“Wait, Miyama, calm down! I can’t keep up with all this— Huh?”

 

Takayuki desperately tried to calm Aoi down as the conversation actually turned into a stranger direction. Suddenly, he realized what the discrepancy was.

 

He realized it when the words ‘loving family’ came out of her mouth. Those words made him remember about the condition that the witch gave him. The condition he had to fulfill if he ever wanted to get his price back. Takayuki knew about this, but Aoi did not. 

 

“Miyama, stop! There’s a way for me to get my price back!”

“For the distribution of chores… Huh?”

 

The expression on Aoi’s face proved that he hit the nail on the head.

 

“You can just…do that?”

“Yeah, of course! If there isn’t, why do you think I’m trying so hard to get it back?!”

“…Escapism?”

“Hell no! It’s the total opposite! I’m doing this because I’m facing reality properly!”

 

In response to Takayuki’s words, Aoi blinked her eyes a few times. Then, with a robot-like motion, she slowly covered her face.

 

“….AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

 

She crouched on the bed, moaning in a strange voice that would only come out from someone who felt deeply ashamed by their actions.

 

Seeing this, Takayuki nodded at her. He could relate to her feelings deeply.

 

“I see. You don’t know. That’s why you were so desperate.”
“U-Uuu… Why didn’t you tell me about it sooner?”

“Sorry, I got caught up in your momentum. Also, it was a special service by the witch since I made a contract with her back when I was still young and foolish. Don’t worry about it, though. I’ll figure something out.”

“…No. You’re supposed to say, ‘we’ll figure something out’ there.”

 

Aoi repeatedly bumped her body to Takayuki as she curled her body up. She was close to her limit mentally, but she still wouldn’t compromise on that one point.

 

“Yeah, I got— Ow! It hurts! Stop, I get your feelings, but don’t take it out on me!”

“Let me have my moment, just scold me later if you hate it.”

“This is how you always act when you get cornered, huh?”

 

Thinking back, she trapped herself in this room the moment she dumped those sandbags in front of her door. That fact made Takayuki smile involuntarily. It was a little messed up that he smiled over that, but there was no one around to point it out to him.

 

“…By the way, Satou-kun.”

“Hm?”

 

Aoi, who had stopped bumping her body into Takayuki, had also stopped curling her body into a ball. There was a gentle expression on her face.

 

“I’ll do my best… I’ll do my best to make you fall in love, Satou-kun…”

 

Her face was bright red like a boiled lobster and her hair was a mess because of her earlier antics. But, to Takayuki, her current expression was the prettiest expression he had ever seen.

 

“I-I see… I-I’ll be in your care then, Miyama. I don’t think I can handle it without you.”

“Hehe… Well, I’m just cleaning up the mess I made, but I’ll do my best!”

 

After Takayuki spoke those words, Aoi seemed to regain her self-esteem as she stood up, puffing her chest with pride. 

 

“Anyway, what did the witch say to you?”

“Ahh… ‘Find your love’ or something like that. She also told me no matter how strong the power of the supernatural is, it will never be able to defeat love. That’s why if I were able to find my love, I’ll be able to break this curse and regain the price that I had to pay. I don’t think she was lying when she said that.”

“I see. Pretty words are usually lies, but it isn’t like we have any other choice but to believe it. By the way, does familial love or friendship count as ‘love’?”

“Seeing that I’m still stuck in this situation, no, they don’t count.”

 

After hearing Takayuki’s words, Aoi racked her brain a little before saying her next words with an embarrassed expression.

 

“…I knew it, we should get married.”

“If you can’t even say those words without getting all red, just don’t say it at all, jeez…”

 

It seemed like it wasn’t the time yet for those two to talk about love.

 

*   *   *

 

“By the way, Satou-kun, do you have something else that you’re hiding from me?”

“Lots of them.”

“…No, that was the wrong question, I knew that you have secrets that you want to keep at all costs. Let me rephrase. Do you have any other secrets that you’re hiding from me for my sake?”

“Do you really want me to tell you?”

“Yes.”

“…Your skirt is rolled up for a while now…”

“Kyaa!”

 

After they were done with their talks, they removed the sandbags from Aoi’s room. On the table, there were tea cakes and two glasses of well-chilled green tea that Aoi brought. Both of them exchanged a few words before sipping the tea.

 

“You can just not tell me about that kind of thing! We’re the only ones here!”

“But you told me to tell you.”

“That wasn’t the thing I was talking about, you know that!”

“I’ll tell you when the time is right, so can you spare me until then? Also, forgive me for peeking at your skirt.”

“I’ll forgive the former, but the latter… Well, I know you don’t have any ill will, but still! My maiden heart can’t forgive you that easily! Ei!”

“Oof!”

“Hehehe, I’ll forgive you with that head flick.”

“That was a head flick?! My head was about to be cracked open!”

 

Aoi teasing Takayuki and Takayuki smiling wryly at her antics. They were back to their usual interactions and the atmosphere between them was bright and cheerful.

 

“Well, it doesn’t seem like you’re hiding anything regarding your power, Takayuki-kun. Then, the problem here is Kuramori being around you all the time and her guardian… Rei…Reina? Right, Himuro Reina. Well, there’s no need to be overly cautious of them unless we have to deal with Himuro Reina directly.”

“…I don’t know about that. I think Kuramori is the one we should pay attention to.”

“Huh? Satou-kun?”

 

He didn’t mean to say that. Takayuki then drank up all the content in his glass and said, ‘I said something unnecessary.’

 

“Speaking of her, she told me she wants to have a talk with me.”

 

Then, he brushed it over and brought up the topic he wanted to talk about with her.

 

“She probably wants to talk about the whole deal with her calling herself as my fiancee. I know that she’s stalking me as a way to get to know me better, but I have the feeling that after we have our talk, she will stop doing it.”

“Do you know why she called yourself as your fiancee to begin with, Satou-kun?”

“I don’t know, but she seems to be serious about it. Not about the fiancee thing, but about getting to know me better. That’s why I agreed to have a heartfelt talk with her.”

“Heartfelt talk, huh?”

 

Aoi placed her hand on her mouth, making a gesture that showed that she was thinking about something.

 

Takayuki glanced at her before continuing his words with a serious expression on his face.

 

“In any case, this talk will definitely cause a change in our relationship. That’s why, Miyama, if you don’t mind—”

“I’ll be there.”

“…I haven’t finished talking yet.”

“But, that’s what you were about to ask me, right? If it isn’t, I’m gonna be mad…”

 

Seeing Aoi staring at him, Takayuki let out a sigh.

 

“Yeah, I was about to ask you that.”

“Hehe, I knew it!”

 

Aoi patted her own chest while saying, “Leave it to me!” She was clearly in a good mood. 

 

In fact, Takayuki was relieved after seeing Aoi’s consent. Because, it was true that he had planned to ask for her consent from the very beginning.

 

“I’m grateful that I can count on you, Miyama.”

 

Long before the talk with the two of them began, Takayuki knew.

 

He wouldn’t be able to face Kuramori Karin without Aoi by his side.

 

TL: Iyo

ED: Iyo

 

 

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