Chapter 22: Overwritten Memories, Desperately Trying to Remember

It was a day off.

I headed to the station, our designated meeting spot.

Today’s objective: securing a present for Youta.

But I didn’t even know where to buy one.

Fortunately, Akashi seemed to have some ideas.

I had initially planned to spare no expense, but Kongō—after my routine report—

"If you go too hard, you’ll weird them out. Stop."

—gave me that warning, so I decided to set a budget.

Around ¥5,000 (35$) to just over ¥10,000 (70$) seemed like a safe range.

Well, if I found something good, I’d buy it without hesitation.

Anyway.

Only Akashi was coming with me.

As for Hagino, after that whole mess—

"Seriously, I can’t deal with someone dumb enough to charge straight into a minefield like this."

—he muttered in exasperation.

Basically, he was telling us to go alone.

I even got a warning:

"You’re gonna get stabbed one day."

He was Youta’s close friend, so I’d have preferred if he joined us…

But well, no use complaining.

---

The moment we met, I explained my goal to Akashi.

I wanted to give a gift to someone who’d helped me a lot.

Following Hagino’s advice, I’d settled on jewelry.

But with my lack of knowledge, I had no idea what would work.

Those were the three main points.

"Got it. I’ll take you to a store I know."

Following Akashi’s lead, we arrived at a small general-goods shop tucked away in a shopping district.

It occupied the first floor of a three-story building—far from spacious.

Inside, bare concrete walls greeted me. The lack of decoration made it seem oddly unsuited for a gift shop, but the furnishings gave it a chic atmosphere instead.

Probably the owner’s good taste.

If even I could tell, it must’ve been impressive.

"Um… Kurosaki, who’s this for? Your mom or something?"

After exchanging brief greetings with the owner, Akashi asked.

On the way here, I’d learned this shop was run by a friend of Akashi’s mother.

"Nah. I don’t have a mom."

"S-sorry…!"

Akashi flusteredly bowed her head.

It wasn’t a big deal to me, so her apology just left me awkward.

—For some reason, I had to keep the fact that this was for Youta hidden from Akashi too.

Hagino had insisted.

He’d scolded me—"You don’t understand women at all," grumbling on and on—but well, I was in no position to argue, so I obediently followed his advice.

"Is it… someone I know?"

"Yeah."

"…A girl?"

"…Not sure."

"Huh?! You don’t know?!"

Akashi looked genuinely shocked.

Right now, Youta was a girl. But by the time they wore this, they should be back to normal.

…I hoped.

"It’s not… for a baby, right?"

"Nah, no plans for that… Besides, then it wouldn’t be someone you know."

"O-oh, right."

Her face twisted in confusion.

…Of course. My vagueness made it impossible for her to advise me.

What to do?

As I pondered whether to drop a vague hint—

"…Here’s an idea. Try picturing the person you want to give this to in your heart."

Akashi spoke while clutching the necklace around her neck—a blue glass pendant.

"In my heart?"

When I echoed her words, she nodded firmly.

"When picking a gift, it’s not about what suits them—just keep thinking about them. Then, when you look at the jewelry, the perfect one will stand out."

"Huh… Thanks. That helps."

I was genuinely impressed.

As expected, I was sorely lacking in this kind of knowledge.

This must be what people call sincerity.

I even reflexively bowed in gratitude.

"Though I’m just quoting the owner here."

Akashi smiled sheepishly.

---

"I'll take a look around for a bit."

After letting Akashi know, I wandered through the store.

Hmm.

Think about Youta, huh?

I tried to recall his form—his appearance—but...

...That's strange.

For some reason, the image that surfaced in my mind was a silver-haired girl.

A sun-kissed one, at that.

In my memories, she was smiling at me.

—I was stunned.

It wasn’t that I had completely forgotten the old Youta.

If I traced back my memories, I could still recall him.

—No, the problem was that I had to trace back my memories for him to appear at all.

It seemed that, for me, Youta—now Luna—had become the default in my mind.

...And yet, it had only been half a year.

Looking back, when I first met Youta, I had only seen him as an observation target.

It was under Savaros' orders—to investigate the source of his power.

—And yet, over time, I found myself drawn to his unwavering spirit.

Even in the face of overwhelming power, Youta never gave up.

No, more than that—he burned with the desire to protect his family, his friends, and the girl he loved.

...A noble heart.

Something I, who had only ever moved according to orders, didn’t possess. Maybe that was why it seemed so dazzling to me.

Even so, to me, Youta—no, Luna—was a rival I would eventually have to overcome to reclaim my homeland.

I had even tried subtly steering her away from battle, wondering if I could make her withdraw.

But ever since Youta became her... I’ve been staying by her side of my own will.

Of course, my stated purpose was to return her to her original form.

But there was no denying that this was a choice I had made myself.

Youta—who had shielded me, a traitor, only to end up transformed—

I believed that this was my way of atoning.

That said... the truth was, the time I spent with her had become deeply comforting.

The way she smiled, on the verge of tears, when given flowers...

Maybe that had been the turning point.

Stretching like a cat, scowling one moment, then blushing shyly the next.

The silver-haired girl whose expressions shifted so easily—

She had become part of my everyday life.

Calling it "bonding" might sound nice, but this was a dangerous sign.

I needed to remember my place.

It was already presumptuous of me to even be called her friend.

Burying these regrets, I tried once more to recall the old Youta—

But no matter how hard I focused, the image of that dark-skinned girl kept blocking the way.

The current Youta simply wouldn’t leave my mind.

"...No helping it. I'll go with this."

In the end, no matter how long I waited, clarity never came.

So I picked up a silver pendant—shaped like an angel's wing.