Re:Live 4 - Remembrance

"All that's left is to get some milk," Hotaka murmured as he read through the shopping list Yukiho had. As he looked up from the slip of paper, he spotted Yukiho at the dairy section grabbing two cartons of milk. He hurried over to her side and let her drop them into the shopping basket. "We're done with this, right?"

Yukiho nodded and replied curtly, "Yeah." She walked in front of Hotaka, leading him to the register. As Hotaka placed the various groceries onto the checkout's conveyor belt, Yukiho glanced at his face and mumbled, "Y'know, Hotaka-san, you're a bit strange."

Hotaka turned to Yukiho with a perplexed expression on his face. He handed the cashier some money as he asked, "How so?"

"You're supposed to be a complete stranger, yet, somehow," Yukiho said, walking to the end of the checkout and grabbing one of the bags before continuing, "being around you doesn't feel awkward or anything." She pressed her index finger against her chin and looked to the ceiling, thinking as she added, "If anything, you seem more like a big brother."

As Yukiho shared her honest opinion, Hotaka took the change from the cashier and looped his fingers around the plastic shopping bag's handles. He slipped the coins and bills into his pocket as he murmured, "Big brother, huh?" Hotaka walked towards the automatic doors at the exit with Yukiho as he smiled bashfully, "I suppose that's better than being a stranger."

Hotaka and Yukiho left the supermarket, greeted by the orange skyline. The neighborhood was peacefully vibrant. Only the crinkling of the shopping bags and the pitter-patter of their footsteps filled the air. As the two started making their way back to the Homura, a familiar voice spoke up from behind them.

"Ah, Yukiho! Hotaka!" Honoka called, waving her arm almost frantically. She jogged over to them as they stopped to let her catch up. As Honoka arrived in front of the pair, Hotaka noticed the two girls accompanying her.

Based on the descriptions Honoka had given previously, Hotaka assumed that they were Kotori and Umi, Honoka's classmates and close childhood friends.

Childhood friends...? Hotaka thought to himself, rubbing his thumb against his temple. He felt a strange foreboding wistfulness lump up in his throat, but he hastily swallowed it away.

"You're Hotaka-san?" Kotori asked, an amiable smile on her face. "I'm Kotori Minami. Nice to meet you."

"Ah, yes. I'll be in your care for a while," Hotaka said, returning her bow.

"But in any case, it must be difficult for you, Kiimu-san, having lost your memories," Umi said, her eyebrows furrowed sympathetically.

Hotaka laughed weakly and replied, "Well, I'm managing with Honoka's help." He rubbed the nape of his neck as he asked, "What were you three doing at school? It's Sunday after all." He glanced quickly at the school uniforms the three girls were dressed in.

"Ah, we were having a quick meeting," Honoka explained.

"At school?"

Honoka nodded, "Eli-senpai and Nozomi-senpai had student council business, so we decided to meet there."

Eli and Nozomi were also part of μ's, but like Kotori and Umi, Hotaka knew too little about them to feel familiarity from the mentioning of their names. Hotaka reminded himself that Eli was one of the third-years and also the student council president while Nozomi was the vice president.

"It looks like you'll be talking for a bit," Yukiho said, snatching the bag from Hotaka's hand. "Onee-chan, Hotaka-san, I'll be heading back first." She gave a quick bow to Kotori and Umi before trotting off.

Hotaka watched as Yukiho disappeared around the corner when he suddenly pressed down against his temple, a prickly sting sparking. With a small wince, he peered back at the road Yukiho had just jogged away on. The three girls behind stared at Hotaka, all sharing a perplexed, but concerned expression. Hotaka gazed towards the end of the street for a few seconds, just standing there as a gentle breeze swept through his long bangs.

"Hotaka?" Honoka hesitantly spoke up, leaning forwards. She noticed the glisten on his cheeks, the footprints of his tears. Concerned as well, Kotori and Umi glanced along Honoka.

Hotaka turned to the three girls and put on a smile. "Sorry, I just remembered something for a moment." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, flipping it to its backside. Hotaka stared at the chimerical emblem, studying the turtle-bodied creature. "Kaori Kameda..."

"Ah, Hotaka-san," Kotori hopped lightly. "Would you exchange phone numbers with me?" She held a yellow cell phone by her chin as she smiled at him.

Hotaka nodded, replying, "Oh, sure. It would help to have your contact info since I'm going to be working with you all anyway."

After Hotaka and Kotori had shared their numbers, he and Umi did the same. The apricot glow from the setting sun cloaked the streets in a strange apprehensive yet nostalgic warmth. The four stood around for a while longer, making small talk before they split off towards their own homes.

Hotaka and Honoka saw them off before heading back to the Homura. As they returned, Honoka brought up a question for Hotaka.

"Hotaka, who's Kaori?"

...

The sun had taken refuge under the horizon by the time Hotaka finished dinner with the rest of the Kousaka family. He was sprawled out on his bed and spent a couple of minutes staring at the empty ceiling. Hotaka turned on his side and glanced at his phone. He suddenly realized something as he mentally went through the names of his contacts.

"Ageha Tsukikawa, Akahiro Inukai, Kaori Kameda, and Hotaka Kiimu..." he murmured as he picked his phone up.

"Ageha (butterfly), Inu (dog), Kame (turtle), and..." Hotaka recalled what Akahiro had called him in the phone call earlier. "Taka (hawk)."

Hotaka turned the phone around and gazed at the chimerical creature that had been scribbled. It made a lot more sense to him all of a sudden. The turtle represented Kaori, the dog ears Akahiro, the butterfly wings Ageha, and the sharp bird beak himself.

Hotaka felt a strange mixed feeling of accomplishment, but soon plopped back down on the bed. "Even if my deduction is right, I don't know what my relationship to them is." Heaving a long sigh, Hotaka tossed the phone onto his pillow and moved to sit by the table. He blankly flipped through the notebook he had left on top of the desk, leaning his cheek and chin against his open palm.

"Hm?"

As he turned the next page over, he found several sheets of paper wedged in a neat and orderly fashion. Hotaka pulled them out and glanced over what appeared to be music scores. Unlike almost everything else in his notebook, this song seemed to be complete.

"Aishiteru Banzai..." Hotaka read aloud to himself. "... Happy 10th Birthday, Taka! From Kaori." He took note of the little annotation which was written hastily, judging by the rugged handwriting, beside the title. There were a bunch of cute childish doodles of cakes and party poppers in the corner ornamenting the short message.

Evidently, Kaori seemed to be a close friend from his childhood. Hotaka felt slight remorse when he realized he forgot not just one friend, but all of them.

"That's right, I'll just call her!" Hotaka said as a light-bulb lit up over his head. He retrieved his phone which was resting upon the pillow and flipped it open before calling Kaori.

He was immediately greeted with the monotonous tone of, "The number you have reached is not in service, or temporarily disconnected."

Hotaka ended the call, a bit disappointed, but as it was rather late, Kaori was probably sleeping. He stretched lightly before murmuring, "I suppose I should get to bed too."

"Ah, wait," he mumbled.

Hotaka was supposed to visit Honoka at her school tomorrow, but was he supposed to come after school? Suddenly clouded with uncertainty, Hotaka left the room to ask.

Honoka's room was at the other end of the corridor, right after Yukiho's. Hotaka stopped by the door and peered down at the crown of yellow light that cracked under the door. After confirming that she wasn't already asleep, he knocked, asking, "Honoka, can I come in?"

There was no response, but Honoka was still awake, evidence being the sound of a creaking chair. Hotaka knocked again before saying, "Erm, I-I'm coming in."

Hotaka cautiously slid the door open, peeking into the room. The first thing he noticed was that her room was almost identical to his in furniture organization. The biggest difference would have to be the overwhelming amount of books racked on her bookshelf. Upon closer inspection, most of them were manga, magazines, and whatnot. Honoka was rocking on the wooden seat, her eyes glued to the screen of her magenta laptop.

Hotaka walked up to Honoka and patted her on the shoulder, "Hey, Honoka~"

Honoka jumped as she pulled one of her earphones out, "Hwawawa! Oh, it's just you, Hotaka. Don't scare me like that!"

Glancing at the screen of her laptop, Hotaka noticed a video playing. There were three girls, who Hotaka managed to recognize as Honoka, Kotori, and Umi. The three girls were in similar costumes that were colored differently and danced on top of a simple stage.

The school's auditorium, Hotaka assumed.

"A previous live?"

Honoka nodded as her gaze returned to the screen, "It was our first ever." Her smile bore a nostalgic pride as she rummaged through her recollection of that day.

He watched for a moment before noticing, "Huh? Wait a sec. There's no audience. Is this a PV?"

At his comment, Honoka slapped her forehead onto the desk and laughed hollowly, "Haha, yeah. If you don't count the rest of the girls, we had zero viewers." It seemed as if he had brought up some depressing memories.

"Ah, my bad," he said, smiling somewhat hesitantly. "By the way, Honoka, when should I come to your school?"

Honoka sat back up as she blinked, pressing her index finger against her chin as she thought for a moment. She grinned and said, "Um, I guess you could come after classes end? Or I'll text you?" With a tone that partially questioned her own options, Honoka tilted her head side to side as she cycled through her choices.

"Well," Hotaka said, noticing Honoka's brief indecisiveness, "I'll wait for your text, and if you don't, I'll just come, how's that?"

Honoka nodded, agreeing to his idea. She gave off a bubbly grin as she said, "I can't wait for you to meet everyone else!"

"I'm looking forward to it," Hotaka smiled, furrowing his eyebrows in a slightly bashful manner. He turned on his heel and stepped out of Honoka room before glancing over his shoulder. "Good night, Honoka."

"Nighty night!"

As Hotaka strolled back to his room, he lightly hummed a tune. After closing his door, Hotaka took his glasses off and placed them on the table before hopping under the covers. Hotaka closed his eyes as he stopped humming.

That night, Hotaka had a peaceful sleep, which was accompanied with a nostalgic dream he would have no recollection of when he rose.

Yo, Empyreum here.

I wonder what happened to my goal of writing one chapter every month?

I'm sorry.

Anyway, I had some inspiration to get this story rolling after Aqours' first single preview was released. I even have a general idea for a Sunshine fanfiction, but I'll make some edits to that after I see the Love Live! Movie (I got tickets to see them, hell ya!).

After all my lies, I'm just going to say that there's no guarantee that I'll finish this anytime soon or at all. But I hope that I'll be able to get this done.

(Also, I'm not too satisfied with the quality of writing I've been producing for this story, but instead of restarting again, I'll probably just try to do better from now on.)

Well, until next time~

EDIT: had some first person perspective lol