The Case of My Unknown Childhood Friend Who Became My Girlfriend Without Me Even Knowing It - Chapter 21 - Strange Visitor

Chapter 21 – Strange Visitor

The car soon stopped in front of my grandparents’ house.

Sakatoki quickly got out of the car before reaching out to me.

“Yes, watch your step.”

“……”

I’m silent, thinking about what she had said earlier.

By “let’s do lots”, did she mean kissing?

That would be understandable, or at least it would make sense, but if it wasn’t…

…Do lots of things? With her?

“Hey, Saka–”

“It’s Aya.”

“–To… Aya. Have you ever been here before?”

“Hahaha, what are you talking about, Kanata-kun? Of course I have.”

“…When? I only come here a few times a year.”

“It’s that few times a year, you know? There were fireworks during summer vacation, right?”

“You… Even that you know…”

“I know, okay? I know everything about Kanata-kun. The only one who doesn’t know is Kanata-kun. Hahaha.”

With a dry laugh, Sakatoki followed mom with a good mood and entered the house first.

Just as I looked in the garden, I saw that the rusty drum I used to use for fireworks was still there.

…Aya Sakatoki.

Who is she really?

◇

“Ah, welcome back, Kanata. Everyone’s already in the living room.”

As I was taking off my shoes at the door, my grandmother came out to meet me.

“Long time no see, Grandma. Um…”

“You’ve grown up, Aya-chan. You’ve really become a beautiful woman.”

“…Grandma, can I have a word?”

Apparently, grandma also spoke of knowing Sakatoki, so I asked to talk with her outside.

Why does everyone know her?

It’s a great opportunity to find out.

“What’s wrong, Kanata?”

“Grandma… How long have you known about Aya Sakatoki?”

“Eh? About Aya-chan? You brought her here when you were in middle school, Kanata.”

“Brought her here?”

“Yes, sometimes when you came here, you would come here together. Didn’t you two do the fireworks together?”

“……”

I was told that, and I remembered something.

I did feel uncomfortable when my mother suddenly bought me fireworks and told me to do it.

I also remember that there was a lot of it, oddly enough.

…Was she there at that time, too?

“Kanata-kun, what’s wrong?”

Sakatoki came to check on us.

I guess I can only get this far.

“Thanks, Grandma. Yeah, it’s nothing.”

“Yes, she’s a good girl, take good care of her.”

“…Yeah.”

I acted like nothing happened, kept my distance from Grandma and pretended to look at the plants in the garden, when Sakatoki came out of the front door.

“Haha, what’s with you, seeing the plants all of the sudden?”

“No, just because.”

“I see. I was just thinking about going shopping with Mother, do you want to come too, Kanata-kun?”

“…You two are going together?”

“Hmm, I think Grandma is going to meet her friends now, and Grandpa is away, so yes.”

“I see. I’ll…skip this one.”

“Alright. Well, I’m off then.”

As soon as I entered the house afterwards, my mom and Sakatoki, who had finished getting ready, got into the car and left for shopping, as if they were mother and daughter.

My grandma went off on her own shortly afterwards, leaving me alone in the rather large house.

With nothing to do, I just sat in a daze, watching daytime TV and getting hungry, and eventually my mobile phone rang.

It’s from my mom.

“…Hello, what’s up?”

“Haha, it’s Aya. Kanata-kun, are you home?”

“…Yes, why?”

“Hey, hey, since we’re here, why don’t we go on a nostalgic tour of the countryside? The park at the back of the house, or the nearby candy shop.”

“……”

I’m no longer startled by the fact that she knows those things, but why is she asking me to go out?

A woman as restricting as this one would rather tell me to stay at home.

…Well, this girl is out of the norm.

“No, thanks. I don’t know anyone over here.”

“Is that so? So you’re at home then?”

“Ah, yeah. That’s right.”

“Then you must stay at home, okay? If you lie…”

“I got it.”

What the hell?

Even if she said something cute, the penalty isn’t cute at all.

She would point knives at me, or choke me. It’s seriously attempted murder itself.

Only, this time she might kill me.

To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable at the mercy of that girl, but I don’t have anything to do, so I’ll just stay at home.

I wonder if she’s still wary of my behavior.

Irritated with how careful she was, I was watching TV when the doorbell rang.

“Yes.”

When I opened the front door, there was a girl standing there.

I don’t know her. Is she perhaps an acquaintance of grandma?

“U-Um.”

“Kanata-kun, right?”

“…Yes?”

She called my name.

But like Sakatoki, I’ve never seen a girl like her before.

…Did she hear my name from grandma?

“Well, um, I’m Kanata.”

“Don’t you remember me?”

“…Huh? No, uh…”

“It’s Saki, remember?”

“Sa…ki…”

The girl who calls herself Saki is a beautiful girl of about the same age.

But I don’t recognize her at all, and I’m at a loss for words.

Why?

Why do people I don’t know keep coming up to me like this?

Could she be a stalker, too?

“N-No, I don’t know you! I-If you’re a stalker, please leave!”

With a bang, I closed the sliding door and locked it.

Then I heard the girl’s voice from behind the door.

“…No way, you really don’t remember me. What’s wrong with you, Kanata-kun? How could you forget about me…?”

Leaving those words behind, her footprints gradually grew further and further away.

On the spot, I think about it for a while…

About whether I had a classmate named Saki, or whether such an acquaintance once existed.

But again, she was nowhere to be found in my memory.

What the hell is happening to me?

I thought about what it meant, and of course, with no sign of solving the mystery at all, I eventually heard a car stopping.

Mom and Sakatoki have returned.