Ever since Monokuma's 'special surprise' from a while back, Chiaki has lost her mood for the rest of the day. And although she's still staying with the others for safety, if she's being honest, she doesn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment.
Which is why she's somewhere a bit further from everyone; she can still see them, but they wouldn't be able to talk to her, at least not from this distance.
She supposes that it's a good thing that she's never been the talkative kind of person anyway, since that lessened the chances of anyone suddenly talking to her, especially right now.
They're all busy talking with each other, taking their minds off the latest thing Monokuma presented to them, at least for now. Alter Ego's also been busy trying to calm some of them down too, and so far, he's doing pretty alright, especially with some of the more panicky ones like Tsumiki and Souda.
"Nanami?" Komaeda's soft voice calls out to her. Judging from the sound of it, it looks like he went out of his way to move himself here.
Chiaki blinks. 'Ah, so much for wanting to be left alone, huh.' She internally grimaces, before turning to face him, which confirmed that yes, he did go out of his way to get this close to her. "What is it, Komaeda?"
"You've been having a really intense look on your face for a while now. Is it about what Monokuma showed to us?"
As soon as he said that, she ignores how tight she's clenching her fists, so much until her nails are starting to dig into her palms. "I guess I feel a bit bothered by it. I mean, now he's really trying to goad us into killing each other even more. Taking advantage of our own fears just like that, it's really horrible."
"Is that so?" Komaeda says, this time, with a more contemplative look on his face.
Chiaki realizes what she just said, and she sheepishly says, "Ah, sorry for ranting there for a moment."
Komaeda shakes his head. "No, you don't have to apologize for that at all. But if it helps, I've been thinking exactly about that, and though I don't have a lot of basis for it, there's something I'm suspecting with it."
Now it's her turn to raise a brow. "Oh, what is it?"
"This might sound hard to believe, but," Komaeda takes a deep breath. "I think he's bluffing about it."
'Monokuma's bluffing about it?' Though she isn't sure about what to think of it right now, she presses for him to explain more, "What do you mean by that?"
"Think about it, Nanami. Monokuma hijacked the school trip in order to turn it into the situation we're in right now. In that case, that means it's like a game to him. If it wouldn't be a fun game anymore to him if everyone were to die in such an anti-climactic way, don't you think so?" He stares at her, something about his look that made it lot more intense compared to how relaxed he usually is.
As much as Chiaki tries to think about it, it's all far too much for her to even comprehend it. "I don't know. I guess it could be possible, but still. I'm not sure if I can believe Monokuma doing that." She admits with a shake of her head. "What made you think about that, though?"
"You could say it's just something I've observed, especially with how Monokuma's been working right now, even if it's a bit too early to say for sure." His face goes softer, maybe even a bit regretful. "And also, I've noticed that you've been rather down for the whole day since that new announcement, so I wanted to cheer you up, even if a little. But it looks like I made it worse instead."
"No, that's not true at all." Chiaki shakes her head with a tiny smile. "Now that you mentioned it, I guess it makes me feel a bit more hopeful now, in a way. I feel at more ease now."
Komaeda grins, his usual cheery mood returning. "That's good to hear, then! I'm glad it helped you in that case."
The rest of the day is starting to feel like a blur to her. Everyone's done with their meals a while back, and now, it's somewhere late in the afternoon, the point that it looks like the sun's going to set within a few minutes or so.
Right now, Chiaki's staying in front of the wooden cabin, taking a seat on its stairs. She figured that no one else would hang around in that area, especially not at this time. She has a lot more free time now, and so, she's absentmindedly wondering if she should head back to her cottage right now.
'But why? So that you can distract yourself with your games and try to escape from reality again?'
She bites the inner part of her cheek. The thoughts she's been having ever since this messed up school trip started has never left her, and now that she had the conversation with Komaeda, they've intensified even more, despite what she told him. Especially now that she's by herself.
'What can I even do now? Defending myself in case if…anything happens is one thing, but that…bomb, or whatever that thing Monokuma put on the island? Even if Komaeda is right, and it's all just a bluff…'
As much as she doesn't want to consider the possibility, the thought of it keeps circling back to her. 'Am…Am I even going to make out of this alive?'
Her breathing is getting shakier and shakier by each passing second. She can feel the tears building up at the corner of her eyes. She breathes out, and then forcefully wipes at them before they can truly form. It wouldn't be good if anyone suddenly saw her like this.
"Nanami," Someone calls out to her. "You look rather troubled."
She gets mildly startled, having not expected that at all. She lifts her head, and as soon as she sees that it's Sonia in front of her, she tries to think of something to say to her, and hurriedly goes with "It's, uh, nothing at all, really. You don't have to worry about me or anything."
To say that Sonia doesn't look convinced about that would be a huge understatement. "Are you sure about that?"
Chiaki turns her face away with a soft sigh. "Sorry, I don't really feel talking a lot right now."
"Oh," Sonia grimaces. "I'm truly sorry. I shouldn't have pressed you any further about it. I know that what Monokuma has presented has been shaking everyone up so much." She leans closer to the stairs. "I know this might be too much for me to ask, but would you mind if I take a seat here? "
Chiaki goes quiet for a moment. 'Should I? While yeah, I'm not in a good mood right now, but I don't want to be rude to her either. She's been really nice, and she did stand up to Kuzuryu back then.' She doesn't turn to face her, but she replies with, "It's okay. I think."
Sonia didn't seem to notice that, and if she did, she didn't make any comment about it whatsoever. "Thank you." She takes a seat right next to her. "I know that you said you don't feel like talking much right now, would small talk be okay?"
"Hmm," Chiaki hums, thinking for a moment before shrugging and saying, "I guess I don't mind that at all."
"Thanks again!" Sonia beams. "So, this spot is rather relaxing, isn't it?"
"It really is, yeah." Chiaki agrees. "Even if what's happening right now really sucks, there's no denying that. This place is supposed to be a resort, so I guess that's why."
Sonia then laughs. "That is true. Although, I'll admit that our new situation is far easier for me to deal with compared to what I have to deal with back in my home country."
Chiaki blinks, and then stares at her. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Ah, I apologize for that," Sonia shakes her head with a chuckle. "I was just thinking out loud."
"Okay, if you say so." She replies, deciding it's best to not question any more about that for now.
A few moments pass by, and now, it feels like the surrounding air has gone quiet and even rather chilly somehow.
'Did I make things even more awkward? What should I say to her now?' She starts racking her brain up for a common topic, something for them to talk about instead of just letting this awkward quietness go on for any longer. She ends remembering a few details from their first introductions, and so she asks her, "You're the Ultimate Swordswoman, right? How's it like, and is that sword you're carrying actually real?"
Sonia grins. "It's actually more of a hobby for me. It's not exactly what I aspire to be in life, if you get what I mean. And about my sword, well, it does look rather real, doesn't it?"
'That doesn't say a lot, but it looks like that's the only answer I'll ever get.' Chiaki leans back on her seat. "Ah, that sounds fair. I get that feeling too."
Sonia raises a brow. "Oh? What do you mean by that, Nanami?"
"I mean, I love games and nothing can ever change that, but I don't think I'll ever be able to actually work with them. Just because I'm having fun playing with them, it doesn't mean I can, I don't know, create a game of my own."
"Yes, that is understandable," Sonia stares at the sky. "That is exactly how it feels. You express great interest and enthusiasm for something, then you turn out to be rather great, if not completely exceptional with it, and suddenly, people around you start to expect more from you. Before you know it, what was once something that brings you joy becomes another chore for you to get through."
"Mm, yeah." Chiaki nods again. "It must really suck when people start doing that."
Before either of them knew it, time starts passing by between them as their topics move on to something a lot lighter. It's probably just her, but Chiaki feels like she's learning more about Sonia, and maybe even got a little closer with her too.
At the end of their latest topic, Chiaki looks up, seeing that the sky has already gone dark. "Ah, sorry, I think I'll have to get going for now, if you don't mind." She apologizes as she stands up.
"Oh sure, I don't mind at all!" Sonia replies, taking it in stride as she stands up as well. "I'm sure that the whole day must've been really exhausting."
"It really was, yeah." Chiaki replies with a nod. "I did have fun talking with you, though, even if it was short."
"So did I. If it's alright with you, I'd love to, how should I put it…" Sonia momentarily, like she's trying to look for the exact words, and then goes with, "Ah, hang out with you again some other time."
For a moment, Chiaki feels tempted to reply with, 'I think I'd like that too.' but that went unsaid. Instead, she shrugs and tells her, "That sounds nice, yeah."
As she begins walking away, she turns back for a moment, watching as Sonia leaves as well, most likely heading for her cottage too.
Chiaki then hears a familiar jingle. She takes her e-Handbook out, and just as she thought, the Hope Fragments have been updated once more, only this time, it's with Sonia.
'I don't think I'll ever get used to that.' She notes, squinting at her e-Handbook one more time, and puts it back in her bag.
Just as she heads back to her own cottage, the speakers start buzzing again, along with what sounds like a bell ringing. It catches her off-guard, making her yelp for a bit before she hurries herself inside. Although she's in her room right now, she can still hear whatever the new announcement is.
"Alright, that's the end of the day for you kiddos. Now it's time for your curfew, mandated by yours truly! Don't forget to lock your doors, your windows, and any other stuff that can get broken into. Most importantly, good night, hope you all sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite!"
After that, the feedback gets cut off.
Chiaki lets out a deep breath, her fingers already twitching from the urge to do something violent. 'I swear, the more I have to listen to his stupid voice, the more I want to…' She momentarily pauses that train of thought, thinking of a way to properly articulate her severely intense dislike for that dumb bear. 'I don't know, bash his head against the wall or something. Yeah, I think that sums it up well.'
As soon as she's done with locking her door and windows (as well as checking them over a few more times just to be sure), she gets herself comfortably seated on her bed. At least, as comfortable as she can be in this situation she's still stuck in.
She stares at her beloved GGA with a small smile. A couple of hours playing her favorite game again wouldn't hurt; even if it's the only game with her now, she can never get bored with it. Besides, it helps in…keeping her calm, in a way.
And so, that's exactly what she's doing now; blasting away at the digital aliens without so much as a single care in the world. Just like yesterday, she pictures a Monokuma in the place of those digital aliens, which ended up motivating her even more.
By the time she's beaten her high score again, she decides to finish it for now. After that, she looks at the time. 'Wow, it's already past midnight.' She yawns.
Putting her console back on the desk, she lazily lays herself down on the bed, and then puts the covers on top of her. Or rather, she wraps them around her like a makeshift cocoon of some sort. She sighs from satisfaction; without her hoodie, both hot and cold temperatures have been a lot more intense for her. The blanket isn't exactly the same, but it'll do for now.
Chiaki yawns once more, closing her eyes and letting herself drift off into sleep once again.
At the very least, her more peaceful dreams would let her escape from this nightmarish reality, even if only for a while.
"Good morning, everyone! Looks like today is going to be another perfectly tropical day! Now then, let's give it all we've got for today!"
That stupid bear's stupid morning announcement came in, signaling that yes, this is another day on this cursed island and another day on this stupid Killing School Trip.
With that little acknowledgment done with, Chiaki yawns. She sits herself up, tiredly rubbing her eyes, yawning once more as she goes on to stretch her stiff body over her bed. Even though her body didn't feel like it at all, she still forces herself to get off the bed and get herself cleaned up and ready, somehow.
Compared to yesterday, she feels a lot more exhausted, even after the bath she had just now. In fact, she even feels tempted to slide back into bed and spend the whole day in her cottage. Which she ends up doing, even though again, she's just fresh out from a bath. She really doesn't feel like going out and talking to other people right now.
In a way, it's a lot safer to stay that way too. At least, hopefully so.
Then again, even without all of those factors in mind, just the fact that she heard Monokuma's annoying voice first thing in the morning only made her feel the desire to stay in a hundred times more.
'He even said the same thing as yesterday. If he's going to do this everyday, the least he can do is to change it up a bit.' She grumbles, turning over to her side as she shuts her eyes tight. 'Oh well, at least I can get back to that really good dream I was having.'
She hears some knocking at her door, making her open her eyes just as she's about to drift off to another round of peaceful sleep. That only makes feel a lot crankier than she already is, grumbling even more as she buries her face deeper into her pillow and covering herself up with the blanket.
In case if that isn't enough, she goes on to curl herself up a bit too, figuring out that it'll help her fall asleep faster. It's been one trick she's relied on for so many years now.
"Nanami? Are you up already?" Someone calls out to her.
Somehow, even in her current state, she recognizes that voice as Koizumi's. 'Huh, what is Koizumi doing here?' For a moment, she wonders if she should get up and answer her, but in the end, she decides to stay on her bed, at least for now. She'll get up later, and if possible, apologize to Koizumi for not answering her.
"No offense, but I think we should leave her. She's obviously a lost cause." This time, that voice is clearly from Saionji.
'That's harsh.' Chiaki quietly huffs. 'But also, for once, I think I can agree with that.'
"You know I can't do that," Koizumi says back. "What if something happens to her while she's alone in there?"
"She's a shut-in," Even from the way Saionji's talking, it's easy to visualize her shrugging after saying that. "She can obviously take care of herself in there. It's not like it's the first time she'd be left unsupervised or something."
"Yeah, but…" Koizumi sighs. "I still can't help but worry about her, you know? Especially with how everything's going on. People like her are one of the most vulnerable when it comes to these kinds of things."
Chiaki slightly frowns. 'I appreciate the sentiment, but you don't have to worry about me at all.'
"You do realize Nanami isn't some lost kid you picked up and took home, right?"
"Yeah, but still. Just let me knock on her door one more time."
Saionji groans, and rather audibly too, at that. "Fine, just one more time."
With that, Koizumi knocks on the door one more time. "Nanami?" She tries to call out to her once again, her voice a bit louder compared to last time.
Chiaki keeps still and quiet, pretending that she hasn't heard any of that. 'If I don't say anything, then she'll have no choice but to leave right now.' She thinks it through again and then frowns. 'Though, I think I can't help but feel bad for ignoring her like that. She's really worried about me, and here I am, being so rude and ungrateful about it.'
"It looks like we have no choice." Koizumi sighs, probably palming her face too judging by the sound of her tone. "We really might have to call Ibuki for this."
Chiaki blinks, thinking that she misheard that for a second. 'Wait, what does Ibuki have to do with this?'
Saionji sounds surprised by that too, as she goes on to say, "Wait, I thought that you said you're going to try one more time, and that's it?"
"Yeah, sorry about that, Hiyoko. I did say that I'm going to try knocking on Nanami's door one more time. But I never said anything about leaving after that." From the way her tone sounded, it's like she's starting to smirk at that moment.
"You're a lot more devious than I thought." Saionji mutters, before letting out a tiny chuckle. "You really got me there, big sis Mahiru."
Once Chiaki doesn't hear any of them say anything else anymore, she gets a sinking feeling that there's nothing else she can do, other than to anticipate what's going to happen next.
Few more moments pass by. So far, there's nothing but complete silence; it should've been reassuring, but knowing about what she heard a while back, it only makes everything about it a bit more tense.
The silence goes on for a bit longer, and just as she thought that's the end of it, something that can only be felt as a great force of some sort comes crashing in. The sheer force from whatever it was ends up startling her so much, she nearly jumps up from her bed, all while her blanket's still wrapped around her like a makeshift hoodie of some sort.
She turns to look at what just happened. Thankfully, the poor door didn't get ripped off from its hinges, though from the look of it, it was still brutally opened in.
In the next moment she blinked, she's seeing face to face with the hyperactive Ibuki herself. "Um…" is all what she's able to say before the other girl beams at her.
"Good nom-nom-nomming to you, Chi!" Ibuki greets, sticking a peace sign next to her forehead while playfully sticking her tongue out.
Chiaki blinks, raising a finger up. After a couple of seconds of letting her brain comprehend everything that's happened in her already weird morning, she forces a smile as she flatly says, "Okay, I think I'm up now. And, uh, good morning to you too?"
With that out, she goes on to clumsily kicking the blanket off her, while also trying to get up from her bed, even with her currently wobbly legs and all.
Ibuki seems to notice that, her eyes widening. "Do you need me to pick you up?"
Chiaki puts her hands up in protest. "Wait! It's okay, really—"
"Nope, too late!" She cuts her off with an even wider grin. "Ibuki's gonna scoop you up right now!" And without any further warning, she quickly and (smoothly) picks Chiaki up in a piggyback ride, not even giving her the chance to blink.
'Woah, that was a lot faster than I expected.' Chiaki thinks to herself, now fully aware of the heat rising up to her cheeks. The abruptness of this whole thing aside, this actually feels very comfortable, and she doesn't feel like she might slip out of Ibuki's grasp any time soon.
"And now, she's your very own transport vehicle too! The Ultimate Nanami Transport Vehicle!" Ibuki cheerfully proclaims, holding her even closer, and even doing a little spin to demonstrate it. She pauses, and then whispers to her, "Though, you know if you ever feel even a bit uncomfy about this, you can tell me right away."
Chiaki shakes her head, managing to reply with, "Ah, I'm fine with this, I think," She realizes that she's already wrapped her arms around the other girl just now.
Ibuki beams at her reply. "Okay, in that case, let's GOOOOOOO! All aboard the Special Ibuki Mioda Express!" And just like that, she zooms out of the cottage, even running past a very surprised Koizumi and Saionji.
'I guess I really can't complain about it that much. It feels nice in its own way.' Chiaki muses, now resigning herself to her fate.
That said, she still can't help but blush, and maybe even squeak a little, about the sudden piggyback ride the whole time. Especially when Ibuki wouldn't let the whole 'transport vehicle' thing go. If the position is something different, she'd be able to cover her face somehow.
Even when she tries hard to look at the ground, she can already picture the others' reactions about it.
It isn't fair of Ibuki to keep teasing her like this.
Even once their small group made it to the dining area for breakfast, Chiaki's sure that her face still looks as red as ever.
Though she's hesitant to do so, she turns her head to check their surroundings, and sure enough, everyone else is already there, including Alter Ego. Also, most notably, Hinata's sporting a very confused and baffled look on his face.
"And we're here!" Ibuki cheerfully announces as she starts to gently set Chiaki down.
In fact, Ibuki's so gentle about it, Chiaki didn't even realize she's already standing on the floor until she starts to look around and notices it.
"Uh, thanks." Chiaki shyly mumbles, her face facing the ground again.
Ibuki smiles at her. "It's nothing at all, Chi! But oh," A smirk makes its way on her lips. "I think you've forgotten about something."
"Oh, what is it?"
"Your transport fare, of course!"
"Transport fare?" Chiaki tilts her head. 'What does she mean by that?'
"This, of course!" And just like that, Ibuki's hand reaches out, and she gently pats her head. She then starts to rustle her hair too for good measure, before finally retracting her hand.
As she stares back at Ibuki, the only thing she can do at that moment it try and comprehend the new feeling she's having right now. So far, she can sum it up in a really short sentence. 'That…felt really nice.'
Now that she's here, and there's no way anyone would let her run back to her cottage, she goes on in taking a seat with the others after she takes her share of the breakfast. Which is of course, prepared by Nidai. Though she isn't sure if she'll ever get used to this. It's not that she doesn't like her classmates; it's just that, well, dining with other people is still a new thing for her.
Around when everyone's almost done eating, Pekoyama stands from her seat and clears her throat. "There is something I'd like to point out."
Almost everyone turns their attention towards her. No one expected someone to speak up like this, especially not someone like Pekoyama, of all people.
Kuzuryu glances at her bodyguard, and she shrugs. "Sure, go on ahead, Peko."
"Thank you." Pekoyama bows her head for a moment before continuing with, "I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but I've come to notice a gap in our memories."
'A gap in our memories?' Chiaki repeats to herself.
"Are you implying that our very minds have been tampered with?" Tanaka snorts, crossing his arms as he laughs. "How incredulous of you to suggest that any mortal can penetrate the impenetrable mental fortress that is the mind of the Supreme Overlord of Ice!"
Pekoyama didn't react much to that. "I thought it was odd that when we arrived to this island, I can't recall the ship that was used to ferry our class. The last thing I remember before that is arriving in the classroom along with the young mistress. Everything after that is a complete blank."
Chiaki's breath hitches. 'I thought I just fell asleep, but now that Pekoyama pointed it out, was it really just like that? I didn't wake up until I came to this island.'
"Hey, I remember the same thing too. I didn't think too much about it, but now, it does sound really strange." Hanamura worriedly says.
Several of the others affirm eerily similar experiences too. Most, if not all of them remember coming to the classroom, but nothing about how they came to the island.
"I thought that I was only misremembering the exact details," Pekoyama continues. "But when I checked over a few things, like how even though there are clocks, there are no calendars around the island. And when I saw that there is no cruise ship ticket in my belongings or with the young mistress', it all confirmed my suspicions."
It didn't take long for the others to start realizing what that might mean. All sorts of worried mutters begin to fill up the room. Many concerns like how long the gap between their memories might've been, and what the real date would be right now.
In the middle of those white noises, Souda interjects, "Hey, do you think Monokuma had something to do with this? What would he gain from erasing our memories anyway?"
"Excuse me, how dare you accuse me of something I didn't do this time! I'm an innocent bear here!" Monokuma screams, popping out from somewhere once again.
Hinata nearly jumps back from his seat. He puts a hand over his chest, muttering out loud, "Holy fucking shit, how in the actual fuck do you keep doing that?"
"And why should we believe you, of all people?" Koizumi adds, putting her hands over her hips.
Monokuma huffs. "Oh, I've got a better question for you. Why don't you ask your oh-so trusty TA over there, then?"
Despite how she feels about him, Chiaki's eyes followed through where Monokuma's point his paw at. Her eyes widen, realizing what that implies. "Alter Ego?"
"Did you really take our memories away?" Mitarai says in disbelief.
Pure shame fills up on Alter Ego's face. He winces. "Please believe me, it's nothing like what you think it is."
"So you're admitting it?" Chiaki finds herself blurting out. She suddenly goes quiet, now realizing just how harsh she sounded.
Alter Ego wilts from those accusations, but otherwise, didn't do anything to deflect them or even try to defend himself. Everything about that confirms what Monokuma accused him of just now.
Kuzuryu grits her teeth. Her clenched fists begin to shake as she storms towards him. "I knew there was something fishy with you this whole time, but this? You little bastard, you fucking knew everything all along, didn't you? You set us all up with this bullshit school trip of yours, and now you've got the gall to erase our memories too! Did you seriously think you can get away with fucking with me, the next in line of the Kuzuryu Clan!?"
Alter Ego doesn't move away from his spot. He doesn't try to beg or plead for her, or even close his eyes. He simply stands there, staring her down with a sad yet resigned look on his face, like he's going to accept whatever Kuzuryu will do to him.
But, before she can even close a meter of distance away from, Hinata comes forward, blocking the smaller boy away from Kuzuryu's view.
Kuzuryu blinks, and though she doesn't move forward, she doesn't budge away from her position either. "What the hell are you trying to pull?" She glares at him. "Don't tell me you're going to side with him."
He shakes his head. "Kuzuryu, don't be unreasonable. While I'm not ruling Alter Ego out, we can't act so rashly just because Monokuma told us something, especially not if it's something we can't exactly verify right now."
Kuzuryu clenches her fist, dangerously close to getting set off right then and there. A few more tense seconds pass by, and she growls. "Fine, have it your way then. You go ahead and have fun trusting this traitor. I'm not the one wasting my time here anyway."
She storms out of there again, with Pekoyama following close behind her. This time, the bodyguard didn't say a single word, nor did she look back at anyone.
Monokuma suddenly speaks up again. "Alright, I've said what I needed to say and enlightened you kiddos at the same time too, so toodles!" He waves a paw at them before disappearing off to somewhere once again.
No one's able to stop him from leaving, even after all the new questions that came. With that new revelation suddenly dropped onto them, that caused everyone to become restless once again.
Chiaki slumps back into her seat. 'So our memories really were erased? That's why it all feels so weird. I'm not even seventeen anymore, am I?' Her fingers run through her hair as she considers the other possibility. 'Is that why I can't remember anything about my talent in that letter?'
"Ah, Nanami, you're thinking about what Alter Ego just did to us, right?" Komaeda asks, taking a seat right next to her. "It must be really hard to take it all in…"
"Yeah, it really is," She agrees, trying not to let her voice crack. "Getting trapped in this messed up game is one thing, but now some of our memories are gone too? Why would they do it, and what would they gain from it anyway?"
"I don't know for sure. All I know for sure is that it does its job in giving us despair." Komaeda admits. "Though, at the same time, that explains a lot of things. That might be why the letter you received from Hope's Peak Academy didn't say anything about your talent, and maybe even why you didn't recognize any of the Ultimates."
Her nails dig into her palm. "If Alter Ego, assuming he really is the one responsible, could target specific memories, then I guess that'd make sense. But why would he do that, though? Why would he put in the extra effort to make me forget about those kinds of things too?"
"I think that means you're more special than you realize, and if he's truly responsible for this, he might've felt threatened by you too. Why else would he, and other people he might be working with, put the extra effort of making sure you forget your talent? Whatever it was, it must've been something that could dampen their plans for us."
Chiaki thinks about that possibility, and frowns. "I guess that sounds likely, but I don't think I've done anything to warrant that, though."
Komaeda only shakes his head at that, a light chuckle coming out of him. "That's exactly what they'd want you to think. Either way, I think you don't have to worry much about it. I'm sure you'll remember what it was sooner or later."
"Yeah, I hope so." She replies.
A/N: Apologies for the slight delay. I ended up doing a bunch of stuff, and then got exhausted by them, so yeah. Side note, holy damn, this chapter ended up getting a lot longer than I expected. It's not really close to the longest chapter I've written so far, but I think it's getting there.
