The Case of My Unknown Childhood Friend Who Became My Girlfriend Without Me Even Knowing It - Chapter 24 - Graduation Album
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- Chapter 24 - Graduation Album
Chapter 24 – Graduation Album
Safe is not a word that fits Aya Sakatoki, an extremely dangerous person.
Since she came along, my everyday life has been fraught with danger.
There is no rest, no security, no peace of mind.
And she just said…
Safe day.
“T-That’s…”
“Ahaha, you know what I mean. Besides, you never had a girlfriend, Kanata-kun, and you don’t keep things like that in your room, do you?”
“……”
I’m in high school now.
I, at least, know what Sakatoki is trying to say.
Just why did she bring it up all of a sudden?
Did she want to change the subject?
Is she trying to seduce me because she’s wary that I’m suspecting something?
…This is too suspicious.
“Hey Aya, a woman I don’t know came here today.”
I decided to tell her about the mysterious visitor while she was away.
If this makes her jealous and I’m about to get stabbed, right now my mother is right here, so she won’t harm me.
So it’s now or never.
I need to find out if it’s really someone I know who I don’t remember, or if it’s a fabrication.
“Heh~, what is that person like?”
“We seem to be about the same age. And she knew me. I don’t even remember her.”
“Hmm. What kind of girl was she?”
“…She said she was Saki.”
“Saki-chan, huh? That’s a pretty name.”
I was nervous that Sakatoki might erupt at any moment, but she remained calm throughout the conversation.
The mandarin orange flew through the air and into her hands again.
Then, after a short silence, she said,
“But maybe Kanata-kun is the only one who doesn’t remember.”
“…Well, we can’t rule out that possibility.”
“But maybe, just maybe, you’ll remember when you see your graduation album.”
“Album…”
I’m flabbergasted by those words.
If my memories are so uncertain that I have to doubt them, I still have to rely on past memories, such as photos and albums.
That way I’ll know if she’s been with me in the past.
Pictures don’t lie.
“Album, I’ll bring the album.”
I was feeling a little bit uplifted.
Unusually, she dug a grave.
I was so upset that I had completely forgotten about the album, and she came to my rescue.
I probably only checked my middle school graduation album when I got it to see if I looked good in it.
Maybe there are photos from school trips or group photos of the class.
It would be obvious when I look at it, right?
“Um, I’m pretty sure it was around…Here!”
My family moved around a lot, so we were lucky that the things we didn’t use much or that were important to us were basically left in our room at my grandparents’ house.
And in the toolbox where I kept my important things, I kept, well, some naughty books.
I even lock the box with a number lock key because I don’t want my parents to see them..
In other words, it is impossible for Sakatoki to make any changes and switch them.
With a slightly dusty album, I went to Sakatoki again.
“Here it is.”
“Wow, I’m feeling nostalgic. Let’s take a look.”
“……”
When she said nostalgic, I have to say that she’s quite the actor.
But I thought, “If I turn this around, that’s the end of the lie.”
I turned the page at random and there was a picture of me on the camera with a peace.
Beside me…is Sakatoki?
“W-What’s this?”
“Ahaha, this is the one we took together before the field trip, isn’t it?”
“W-Wait… I don’t remember any pictures like this.”
I think there’s been a mistake.
I wanted to believe that, so I turned to the next page, and there was a picture of me there, too.
Sakatoki and I are having lunch together.
“…No, there must be a mistake.”
“So nostalgic. Kanata-kun, you’re young and cute here.”
“,,,This isn’t right!”
I banged on the desk and shouted.
From the kitchen, my mother warned me to be quiet.
I just can’t be in my right mind.
I have photos in my album that I don’t know about.
“What’s wrong, Kanata-kun?”
“Y-You… What did you do?”
“Eh? I didn’t do anything, though?”
“Y-You switched my album. Otherwise there’s no explanation for all this.”
“Ahaha, that’s a funny thing to say, Kanata-kun. But I didn’t do that, okay?”
“I-If that’s the case…”
“By the way, I have one too. And if you’re going to say that, why don’t you ask all your middle school classmates to show you their albums?”
Sakatoki said so, looking a bit displeased.
I suddenly wondered why she had my middle school graduation album, and when I went back to the class page, there was a familiar face.
Sakatoki Aya.
The girl’s slightly stiff smile was there, written below the photo.
Same class.
First among the girls.
Sakatoki is there.
But of course, I don’t remember.
“……”
“Kanada-kun had a lot of friends, didn’t he?”
“W-What about it?”
“You were very popular. You got love letters every day, it must’ve been hard.”
“S-So what?”
“But Kanata-kun didn’t get deeply involved with anyone, did he?”
“T-That’s…”
When I think about it again, Sakatoki is right.
While I was popular, I didn’t have a best friend or a girlfriend.
Equally, I just enjoyed being somewhat flattered, and didn’t try to get involved with anyone further.
I thought that if I moved again, my relationships would go back to zero.
I’ve never really been in touch with people in that way.
…What is she trying to say?
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I think it’s no wonder that Kanata-kun doesn’t remember the past. I’m a bit sad about it.”
“How could I forget someone I took a picture with…right?”
“Heh~. So tell me about all the people you took pictures with at the sports day?”
“T-That’s…”
“See, you forgot. That’s what I mean, Kanata-kun. I don’t want you to blame me for everything because you don’t remember. I remember everything. Why do you blame others? Why? Will you apologize to me? You hurt me.”
She put the oranges she was holding back in the basket with a plop.
She stabbed it with a small fork, which she had left behind to eat the fruit with.
“Ah…”
“Hey, apologize. If this keeps going, Kanata-kun and I…”
“W-Wait… I-I’m sorry. It’s true I don’t remember, and I’m sorry if I hurt you because of it.”
“So you understand that we are childhood friends?”
“Y-Yeah, I got it. I got it already, so let go of that fork.”
“…Yes. Good, Kanata-kun is very kind.”
Sakatoki pulled the fork out forcefully and then threw it with a clang on the table.
As I watched it roll towards me, a little tangerine juice dripping from it, Sakatoki gently picked up the album and closed it with a snap.
“Kanata-kun, enough with the album, can we go to your room?”
“…There’s no TV in the room.”
“I know. But I know there are cards and reversi.”
“…You want to play with that?”
“I wonder. But for now, I hope we can make up and hug each other~”
After licking her lips, Sakatoki left her seat.
Afterwards, she pulled me and made me go to my room.
My mother saw her like this and told her to ‘take her time’.
We returned to my room.
Of course, this was the first time I had ever had a stranger in this room.
Beside her, she whispered, “It’s nostalgic.”
With the album thing earlier, and with everything that’s been going on, it’s hard to get my head around what the hell is happening.
Then Sakatoki, sitting on the bed and wobbling her legs, patted the bed next to her and said, “Come over here.”
I did as I was told and sat down next to her, and without warning, she hugged and kissed me.
I was a little startled, but she hugged me so tightly that I eventually relaxed.
Then her hands crawled all over me, as if she was licking my whole body.
Before long, her lips parted slightly and she said, as she breathed on me,
“Let’s do it.”