Chapter 63 - In the Torrent of Memories
The passing breeze caressed his cheeks.
It gave him coolness and tranquility in the shitty summer heat.
…Kun1.
Hmm?
He heard a voice.
The voice grew louder along with the sound of kicking the ground, the grass.
…I.
Someone was calling him.
…Sei!
He opened his eyes, grimaced at the overly dazzling sunlight, and held up a hand.
He couldn’t recognize the face because of the backlight, but he knew it because of the voice.
“So it’s Tsubasa…”
“What do you mean by ‘So it’s Tsubasa’! It’s finally done!”
“What is?”
“Our secret base!”
When was this memory from?
“That’s right, Seiji! Our secret base!”
This voice was somehow nostalgic.
It was from a long time ago, right, he hadn’t heard the voice for about ten years.
“Hmm? Why are you crying, are you that happy?”
“Huh?”
He touched his eyes.
As he did that, his fingertips got slightly damp.
For some reason, he seemed to be crying.
He hadn’t noticed.
“Y-you’re wrong! I’m not crying!”
“Ahaha, Seiji is crying!”
“Ugh, don’t laugh!”
“First off, with this it’s complete!”
In front of his eyes was something that was definitely made by children, something like an uncool grass snow hut2.
It was a secret base that was way too shabby to even seem to be man-made.
But, back then, it had looked like a hopelessly cool castle to him.
Inside, there were a lot of things that seemed like trash but held an importance comparable to gold and silver treasures to them at the time.
“...”
He attempted to say something but stopped.
Immediately following, the world turned pure white.
“Hmm…”
When he opened his eyes again, he was inside the secret base.
The two were sleeping.
Maybe they became tired after playing.
However, to sleep in this unsanitary place, children were in various ways amazing.
He breathed a small sigh and went out of the secret base.
“Ugh, I’m dizzy…”
It appeared to be fall, and every kind of trees on the mountain started changing colors.
A slightly chilly wind blew, and he breathed it in deeply.
The smell of grass enveloped his nasal cavity.
It was a nostalgic smell.
“Huh, Seiji. Were you awake?”
“...That’s my line though.”
“Hmm, it’s been three months since we built this secret base.”
“...That’s right.”
“...Are you okay?”
“Huh, why?”
“Because you’re crying? You were crying three months ago too.”
He rubbed his eyes roughly with his sleeves.
“I’m not crying…”
“Yeah, right. Did something happen?”
“I’m not crying! You’re annoying… Huh?”
“What is it?”
“Huh? Why… Why?”
“What ‘why’? Seiji, you’re being weird.”
“Why…”
Then, the world was wrapped up in white.
“!! ...Ugh…”
He scowled at the pain.
He can’t open his eyes.
His ears were ringing, and he could barely hear a voice.
…Op it!
“Someone is…”
…Stop, that’s ours!
The world gradually turned clear.
When it came in focus, he understood that they were close to the secret base.
However, the secret base had been mercilessly destroyed, and Tsubasa who was as battered as him collapsed on the ground.
And then, guys seemingly senior high school students were crowding them.
“To have the nerve to make something laughable as this! We’ll destroy it!”
“Hahaha!”
The base was mercilessly destroyed.
Their castle.
“Stop it… That is… My, Tsubasa’s…!”
He put all of his strength into standing up.
“My, Tsubasa’s…!”
But he couldn’t say the word out loud.
“Why! …Won’t the name come out!”
He howled.
And then, he sprung on the senior high school students.
There, the world turned white again.
He woke up.
A pure white ceiling.
“...”
He looked sideways.
There, a timid boy was sitting.
“Who… are you.”
“...”
The boy gritted his teeth and silently turned on the TV.
For some reason, it was a video recording of the news.
“Around five pm the day before yesterday, a boy’s corpse was found near the mouth of the Chijo River. The body had been assaulted, and the police are investigating it on the premise that the boy had been killed and thrown in the river…”
“...What is that.”
“...Seiji, you have an illness called dissociative amnesia.”
“Huh? What are you saying. You… Who are you.”
“Everything isn’t in your memories. They say you lost them because of extreme stress… Probably, this conversation will be forgotten too.”
“I-I don’t get what you mean! Get out!”
“You’re escaping like this. …But, I won’t run away. From this matter, or from Seiji. I will accept everything. See you.”
The boy took his leave.
“Wait!”
“I won’t wait.”
And then, he was left behind alone.
Alone.
What alone.
“Who was that… Who was that just now… Who am I. The one who died was…! Who was it!!! Tell me! Anyone is fine! Someone… Someone, please tell me…”
And then, a dazzling light wrapped up the world.
- Kun as in the horofic. I don’t usually translate it, but here, that’s all he hears. It’s supposed to be from Seiji-kun. ↑
- Kamakura. Snow huts or snow domes made by children to play house in in northern Japan during the mid-January festival. During some festivals, they build Shinto shrines in the huts and perform Shinto rituals. It’s a practice of worshipping Suijin, a water god. It’s an old tradition in different parts of Japan that dates back to the Sengoku period.
Source: Wikipedia ↑