Chapter 2: Shopping

It was a new day again. I looked out from the window and the snow was falling. I could sense a soft breeze of wind blowing even though I was inside. I could tell it by the way trees were shaking. I got out from the bed and stretched up. I then went downstairs to brush my teeth. Emi and my mother were watching a TV show together as I made my way to the living room.

"Good morning, Aichi!" Both Emi and Shizuka greeted.

"Good morning." I replied. I didn't feel like asking what they were watching since I don't watch TV that often myself. I guess I was sometimes pretty distant about news.

"The breakfast is put to the table. When you're done brushing your teeth, have a bite, mm?" Shizuka said to me with a smile. She often smiles to me and Emi and seems to never show a saddened side of her. Not that I ever would've recalled when she was sad about something.

"Sure." I replied.

"Ah, you know, I think you should go out for shopping. You haven't bought a christmas present yet, haven't you?" Shizuka asked.

"Eh? Ah...yeah." I replied. I made a wry smile while being slightly nervous about that thought. Certainly, I haven't yet bought a present. I knew my family wanted a present from me as well. Then there was her. I did promise that I would search for her. I think she'd love a present even though she may have no memories whatsoever. I thought about the present i'd get for my family.

"You can surprise us."

"Eh?" I looked towards my mother.

"Both me and Emi agreed that you can surprise us this Christmas." Shizuka answered while Emi nodded with a smile on her.

That's that, huh. A surprise. Even though they make it sound easy I feel like I have no idea what to get for them. It was too sudden even for me.

"A-Ah...I'll think about it." I replied. My nerves racked up a bit as my thoughts blew like a girl who would be called an airhead. However, she wasn't like that. She had a captivating aura around her, as if she had soft, blossoming flower feeling to it. Whenever I thought about it made my heart beat slightly faster. I often questioned that feeling but often disregarded it. I think it's always been a genuine feeling. I could tell that she would feel the same when we spent time together. Truth be told, I think both me and her were like lovers in a sense. No, we were lovers. Thinking about it made me remember the memories we shared together. They were irreplaceable and I didn't want to let go of those precious memories.

As I finished brushing my teeth I decided to head out to a shopping district. It wasn't far away and I told my mother that I wouldn't take long. I told i'd go look for some ideas what to get for Christmas. Normally I liked spending my time at the Card Capital but it was closed for this month as both Misaki and Shin had gone to a resort. I envied them but It was good for them. After all, they've worked hard these last few months to make the sales go smoothly. I think it did good for them to finally take a rest.

As I put on the clothes I finally headed out. I wore a blue jacket with a light green beanie. I wore these gloves that were made by her. They felt warm as I tried them. It was also very soft inside, certainly made with utmost care and love. I also wore a scarf which I got from last Christmas by her.

Kourin. She was always caretaking me whenever went out during winter. Always told me to wear enough clothing not to catch cold. This winter was different though as she was not here to remind me. Still, It became a routine for me to do as she wanted. I couldn't let go of that. As I walked outside the wind breezed gently like it was whispering to me. Snow fell along with the breeze, decorating the trees with its sparkling flakes as I walked towards the town.

As I came to the town I noticed how many beautiful decorations citizens have placed around the places. I went past a huge christmas tree that had probably the best decorations I've ever seen this year. It almost exceeded my imaginations! Everywhere I looked there were dozens of these wires decorated with christmas colors and lights that changed every few seconds, making it a beautiful color-show. It was stunning. Not to mention every shopping block were trimmed accordingly. Ah...I definitely want this to last forever.

Anyways, I finally reached the shopping plaza I often go to when I wanted to buy something. It was probably the best place I knew. The shops here had quality items that often had that vibe of different charms. That's what made them attractive for me and I loved that mystique about them. Usually me and Kourin often would buy something from here together. The presents which we bought together were found with our brainstorming and gentle ideas. I never understood though why she sometimes felt embarrased when I thought about some of the items that were sold here that would be a good present for her whenever we bought presents for each other. Still, seeing her blush made me smile awkwardly at times, to which she often laughed at with her reaction.

"Ah, those were good times..." I thought as I walked around the shopping mall. I was looking for a shop that often sold everything that I usually was looking for during the period of December. It had probably the best products out of any shops I've visited which probably made it an unique shopping place. I looked around at other shops that were near the shop I was heading towards. All of them had pretty collections and variation of products. From jewelleries to necklaces to bracelets, always leading towards various amounts of products. I smiled gently towards all the shop owners as I walked by and they did the same, even waving their hands back to me. I did the same and continued forward.

It took me a while but I finally reached the shop.

"Le grand émeraude." I thought. As in "The grand emerald". It was a beautiful name whenever I saw it here. Kourin introduced me to this place. It was one of her, if not her favourite shops she often bought her presents from. No one else knew of this shop. It was like a secret between us. It was fitting of her though, considering she had those green, emerald looking eyes. Not that they had a significant connection but it was a fun thought when I compared them together.

As I was about to enter inside the shop I suddenly crashed into another person. It was indeed very sudden. The moment was odd though. Both entering the same time? Both of us fell down.

"Ouch..." I said and looked around my surroundings. Good, I didn't receive any scratch or anything. I took my bag from the ground and slowly stood up and cleaned myself a bit. I looked towards another person who accidentally stumbled upon me. It was a her. She wore a white coat and had a bag. Her eyes were green as emerald. Her figure seemed similar to hers. She had a long, blonde hair which was concealed behind her back. I could tell. Everything about her seemed actually similar to what I had imagined of Kourin. She gave that vibe around her but I could sense something was missing. Something like 'important thing' or so. At first I didn't pay that much attention to her as I just looked her characteristics but after a while I noticed something. She slowly was about to stand up as I offered my hand to her.

"Are you, um...okay?" I asked her as she took my hand. She stood up slowly. She was about the same age as me, height was about the same as well, probably slightly taller or shorter, I couldn't really tell since she had those boots that gave a small increase in height.

"Ah...Mm..." She answered, slowly showing her face to me.

For some reason my heart skipped beats. Something felt weird. It was a nostalgic feeling now that I thought about it. It felt like I've seen her somewhere before, that's for sure. But what was it? Her face, second by second lifted up, showing her face. Before seeing her face I recognized her eyes but that's about all. Now that I saw even more she had those lips...Lips that were just like hers. Captivating lips that seemed to shout something like 'kiss me' or so. Her face actually was pretty cute. Something I could fall into. She didn't need any make-up to look that beautiful at all. It seemed like she had a natural skin of a beautiful blonde.

As she finally regained her balance she stood up and looked at me. That's when I noticed it. The vibe she sent off was definitely similar to hers. Looking at her characterics over again I noticed the exact parts about her. I was actually...shocked as I looked at her. I didn't know what to say. I soon felt like I got hit by a thought. A thought that felt very familiar. Something that I thought I could never find again but still, after all these times, it had finally come. I breathed slowly and exhaled out. My heart was beating faster as I looked towards her. I couldn't be mistaken.

It was that moment when I thought about it while looking at her.

...

"Is that you, Kourin?"