AN: Welcome back, dear readers! It's been a bit of a while, but I'm back to writing this story. As I mentioned in last chapter's Author's Note, updates for this story will be a bit slower in 2021, due to me alternating between three stories, but I will be trying my best to get updates out as often as I can (one chapter per month is what I'm aiming towards, though this story is less of a priority for now), utilizing my increased free time. I won't make any promises I can't keep, though.
Now, I left the last chapter on quite the cliffhanger, so I think it's high time we jumped back in, eh?
Chapter 4 – Revelations
"Noda, you… you remember..?"
The young man in the cell looked at the two of us with wide eyes, then shut them for a few seconds as he clutched at his head, muttering "Yurippe, Yurippe" under his breath. I turned and glanced at officer Otosaka, who was looking between Noda and Yuri with a confused expression. There's no mistaking it, that is Noda. If he doesn't remember us, we might be in trouble… But, he seemed to recognize Yuri, at least… I shifted my gaze to my girlfriend, who was gripping onto my hand harder than before, and I could tell she must have been feeling some strong Déjà-vu right now – I was as well, after all, though having already regained my memories, the feeling was significantly less profound than on the occasions before regaining them.
"Argh… This… This doesn't make sense… Why are you..." Noda opened his eyes again and looked at us in a way that made me think we were in an asylum rather than a police station. "Yurippe… and… O… Otonashi..?" As Noda shifted his gaze to me, I nodded to him. It's starting to look like he doesn't remember us… At least not completely. But, he also doesn't seem too far from it.
"Yes, it's us, Noda. Do you remember us? From… the SSS?" At the mention of the Afterlife Battlefront, Noda's eyes widened slightly again, and I could see Otosaka looking at the scene with intrigue.
"The… Battlefront… I… I… No, it's gone again..." Noda closed his eyes yet again momentarily, took a deep breath, then opened them again. His… reaction seems to be more… intense than anyone else's…
"Is… everything alright, Noda?" Otosaka questioned as he leaned past Yuri and I to look at Noda in his cell. "These two asked to see you, saying that they're your friends from a long time ago." Noda looked at Otosaka briefly, but returned his gaze to Yuri soon enough. All we can do now is hope, and if he doesn't remember us, we'll have to try and explain ourselves to Officer Otosaka.
"Yeah yeah, I get that, and I'm… okay, just… Why and… How are you two… here? Augh, this is just like back then..." Noda rubbed his temple with one hand and held onto the cell bars with the other, his grip around the cold metal tight. 'Back then'..?
"We saw an article saying you had been arrested, and recognized you from the mugshot." Yuri explained to Noda. "Do you… remember us, Noda? It's been… Well, a lifetime since we last met, and my memories of that time are scarce and fragmented, but..." Yuri trailed off, her grip on my hand still tight as she kept her gaze fixated on Noda. Clever choice of words, Yuri.
"Yes… I mean.. No! I-I don't fuckin' know..! But… I… I know who you two are, but… it doesn't make any damn sense. I know your names and faces, and I feel like you two are… important somehow, and yet..." Noda's gaze flicked between Yuri and I rapidly, and the few moments of silence felt like an eternity as we awaited his next words.
"...I can't recall ever seeing either of you."
Yuri released a breath she had been holding in anticipation, and I saw her eyes widen momentarily, before she looked to me and bit her lip. ...He doesn't remember. Well, it was a tall order, to be fair. The chances that Noda could have actually encountered something that would have allowed him to regain his memories are slim, considering this was the first time any of us heard of him in this life, and that the only person he seemed even remotely connected with in some way from the Afterlife was Yuri. We had been leaning on the hope that there had been something personal to him in the Afterlife – or his previous life – that none of us knew about, which could have acted as the catalyst for his memories returning. Still, it is possible that like Yuri, he remembers his past life, and just nothing of the Afterlife… However, we have a more pressing issue right now… I shifted my gaze from Yuri to Officer Otosaka, who was now looking at us with narrowed eyes.
"Is that so, Noda? These two said they were your friends, and they seemed to know you quite well… but you say that you... haven't ever seen them?" Otosaka leaned closer to the cell, and in the process, closer to us, as he questioned Noda. "Someone here is going to have to explain some things to me."
"I… I know who they are… Yurippe and Otonashi, I just… don't know why I know them." Noda replied and shook his head, taking a step back from us. "This is really fucking weird, you know? When I heard your voice just now… Yurippe, it made my head go all weird, and when I saw you… I-it's hard to explain… I think I might just be going crazy, since I'm seein' shit as well..." Noda stared at the two of us wide-eyed, then closed his eyes for a couple of seconds before opening them again. He's definitely experiencing the same Déjà-vu as we do. Hopefully he'll be able to remember something. "You're… not a cop, Yurippe, so… You don't… really have that gun, right?" I saw Officer Otosaka tensing up next to me, and his gaze snapped to Yuri, who was looking at Noda with surprise.
"Eh? G-gun? I don't… have a gun." Yuri turned to look at Otosaka and raised her free hand up to her chest defensively as he looked her up and down. "Y-you did that body check on us!"
"Yuri, he… must be seeing that because of… you know." I said to my girlfriend to reassure her, having clearly been scared by the look Otosaka had given her – which I didn't blame him for. "Noda, you… just calm down. Breathe. You're experiencing Déjà-vu right now, aren't you? We seem… extremely familiar to you, yet you can't remember where you've seen us before, right?" I then addressed Noda, who gave me a nod in return. "Alright, you said that this situation was similar to something you've… experienced before, right? What did you mean with..." Before I could finish my sentence, I was interrupted by Officer Otosaka placing a firm hand on my shoulder, and I turned to the police officer to see him looking back at me with a stern expression.
"Before I let you ask any more questions from the prisoner, I would like an explanation. You told me that you were friends of Noda, and based on the information you gave me, I believed you. Now, however, we find ourselves in a situation where Noda himself has said that he hasn't ever seen you before, so I am left in a predicament." Otosaka said and looked to Noda momentarily – the imprisoned young man's attention now turned to the officer as well – before he looked back Yuri and I with narrowed eyes. "Either Noda is lying, or you two are, and if the latter is the case… I would very much like to know how you know Noda so… personally. And that is not even taking into account his more-than-odd reaction to seeing you two. So… One of you is going to have to explain what exactly is going on right now." Officer Otosaka looked between the three of us with an expectant, almost demanding look, and I found myself swallowing.
"T-there is… a good reasoning for all this, I can assure you that, Officer Otosaka." Despite my best efforts, I couldn't stop the stutter, being faced with the intimidating look the police officer was giving me. Whether he believes it or not, though… Well, we have no other choice but to try, really. "I understand how you must feel right now, but… We can explain things, I promise you. We… haven't lied about anything." I glanced at Yuri briefly, and she gave a weak nod to Officer Otosaka.
"For your own good, I am hoping that will be the case. I can tell your not being deceptive right now, and from the brief time we've known, I can say you don't seem like bad people, but… I will need to take you into questioning for this." Officer Otosaka gestured back towards the hallway from which we came from, and I let out a small sigh of relief upon hearing his words.
"Would it be… possible to have Noda come with us?" Yuri asked from Otosaka as she glanced briefly at Noda in his cell, who turned to look at her as well. I'd guess that Yuri wants to see if Noda can help her recall anything from the Afterlife…
"It will be possible – once I've questioned both parties separately. I want to believe you two, but I can't get sloppy just because of my personal feelings on the matter." Otosaka said and lifted an eyebrow, expecting an answer from us. I looked to Yuri, and she met my gaze as a few moments of silence passed before she nodded to me. This may be our only chance to get to talk with Noda, so we'll just have to comply with him. It's not like Yuri and I have anything to hide, it just comes down to whether or not the Officer believes our story or not.
"As long as we get to speak with Noda, that is fine." I replied to the police officer, and he nodded to us in return, then reached into his pocket to pull out a cellphone.
"Good. I'll have Officer Ayumi escort you to one of our interrogating rooms, then I'll take Noda into a different one." Otosaka replied and dialled a number on his phone, the recipient picking up the call immediately. "Officer Ayumi, I'd like you to come down to the cell blocks. You need to take the two visitors we body-checked earlier into questioning. No, they haven't necessarily done anything, but the prisoner's reaction to seeing them made further investigation regarding the relationship between him and the two of them necessary." A few moments passed with the officer in silence, while a muffled feminine voice could be heard from his phone, before the officer nodded to himself. "Thank you, I'll see you in a moment." Officer Otosaka hanged up the call and looked to the two of us again. "Right, Officer Ayumi will be here shortly. I'll get you two back to the cell block entrance to meet her – then I'll be coming back for you, Noda." The officer looked to Noda in his cell, who huffed at him, then shifted his gaze to Yuri and I, where it lingered for a few moments before he turned and walked back to his bed in the cell. I really hope things go well for us, here…
We followed Officer Otosaka back down the cell block hallway, where we only had to wait for a little bit before the female police officer from before – Ayumi – came to escort us to an interrogation room. We weren't guilty of anything, but I couldn't help but feel nervous in this situation, and judging by how strong Yuri's grip on my hand was, she felt the same. Officer Ayumi kept stealing curious glances at us on the way, which didn't help with our nervousness either.
Eventually, after making our way through the numerous doors and hallways of the police station, we arrived at our destination. Officer Ayumi let the two of us inside an interrogation room and told us to wait until Otosaka returned to us, leaving Yuri and I alone. The interrogation room was not very big, one of its walls covered almost in its entirety by a mirror – which I suspected was made of one-way glass – while a table in the centre of the room with four chairs arranged in pairs on either side of it were the only pieces of furniture present. I suppose I can safely now say that what I've seen on TV isn't far off the real thing… Not sure if that's a positive thing or not, though.
"Well, this looks homey." Yuri broke the silence between us as she stepped up to the table, her gaze darting around the room before it landed on the big mirror. "Can't say I expected us to end up in the interrogation room of a police station on this trip." Yuri turned to me and flashed me a teasing smile, and I returned a sheepish one to her as I scratched my cheek.
"This doesn't ruin our date, does it?" I asked as I walked up to Yuri, who took a seat at the table, and I followed suit after her.
"Hmm… This was your first time taking a girl out in a manner like this, so I'll let it slide. If we end up somewhere like this again the next time you take me out on a date anywhere farther than La Soleil, though, then I'll start deducting points." Yuri replied as she angled her chair to look at me while she leaned against the table with her elbow, her head resting against her right hand as she grinned. Abruptly, though, her grin vanished and she directed her gaze downwards. "Do you think… that Otosaka-san will believe us? Noda obviously doesn't have his memories from the Afterlife, so he can't back us up either, so..." As Yuri voiced her concerns, my gaze briefly flicked to the large wall mirror, aware of the fact that the female officer who had escorted us here was likely watching us, perhaps even listening to us from behind it.
"We can't know that for sure. What we're about to tell him will probably be the most outlandish thing he'll have ever heard, but… It's the truth." I replied to Yuri and reached towards her face, casually moving a strand of her hair behind her ear, her eyes following my hand's every movement. "Mikado-sensei was able to believe us, so we just have to hope that Otosaka-san will be able to as well. And if not… well, we haven't done anything criminal, so we shouldn't be in any trouble." I pulled my hand back and smiled at my girlfriend reassuringly.
"I guess you're right, Yuzuru. If he's going to question us both separately, this will probably take a while, though. We might need to reconsider our trip up Mount Akagi." Yuri said, her brows furrowing slightly for a moment, before she sighed. "I just hope this whole thing with Noda won't end up being a waste of time…"
"You weren't able to remember anything new, then?" Yuri shook her head in response to my question. It seems likely that Noda might be able to remember something, though… And his words did seem to hint that he might have met another Battlefront member in the past.
"With all the things you guys said about Noda, I thought maybe at least something would arise, but no. Although…" Yuri closed her eyes for a few moments as her eyebrows scrunched up again, and I found myself awaiting her next words. "The few fragments of memories I have… They seem… clearer, now." Yuri opened her eyes and met my gaze again. "Previously, I couldn't really make out any specific details, and especially the faces of certain people were… blurry, unrecognizable. But now… I can clearly remember Noda from some of them."
"Well, that's at least something. Now we know that we can make your memories return little by little. And maybe, if we can make Noda regain his memories, he'll be able to to help you as well… Although, thinking of it a little more, I find myself doubting that..." I let out an awkward laugh as I recalled what Noda had been like in the Afterlife.
"I still don't remember much, but… Yeah, Noda was a massive moron." Yuri said with a giggle, and suddenly, the door to the interrogation room opened.
"Well, I suppose it's good to see you two are in high spirits." Officer Otosaka said as he stepped inside, closing the door behind himself and circling around to the other side of the table. "Have to say, this is probably the first time I've entered an interrogation room where the people I'm supposed to be questioning are laughing – mostly folks just sit there quietly and give me the silent treatment all the way through it. Then again, most of the time I interrogate people when they're alone." Otosaka looked towards the mirror and raised his hand, making a thumbs-up gesture before he sat down. So, Officer Ayumi is there, then. Or, it could be someone else, I suppose. "Now, let's get started, shall we? My first, quite obvious question is… How on earth do you two know Noda? You told me before that you were friends of his from years ago, but now Noda himself has said that he has never seen you two before. So, what gives?" I glanced at Yuri, who had straightened herself in her seat at Otosaka's arrival, and she met my gaze and gave me a nod, signalling that I should be the one to start.
"It is as we said before, Officer. We knew Noda many years ago, as we were… colleagues in the same organization. However, it seems Noda has lost his memories regarding that time. Nothing we told you before was a lie." I explained to the police officer, keeping things intentionally vague for now. Maybe we won't need to tell him about the Afterlife, though if it does come to that, we won't hide it.
"Yuzuru's speaking the truth. I also only have fragmented memories of our time together in the past, but I recognized Noda the moment I saw him, even if I can't fully remember him." Yuri added, catching onto what I was doing.
"Colleagues, you say? You're… barely into your twenties, so what kind of 'organization' could you have been a part of 'many' years ago? Not to even mention that Noda doesn't really have a great track record when it comes to employment – I certainly cannot remember any major organizations from his records that he could have been employed by." Otosaka narrowed his eyes as Yuri and I looked to each other again. Seems there's no way around this. I took a deep breath and turned to Otosaka again.
"You won't be able to find any records of the organization we were a part of, for a very specific reason. Yuri was its leader, but out of the three of us, based on the reaction Noda had… I'm the only one who remembers it." Otosaka's expression of suspicion slowly morphed into one of confusion, and he gestured with his chin for me to continue. "This… is going to sound crazy no matter which way I put it, but… In short, Yuri and I knew Noda… before this life. Before we were even born, we – or should I say, our previous incarnations – met and were friends. And not just the three of us, but many others as well. That is how we know Noda, and why we wanted to meet with him." I kept eye contact with Otosaka the entire time I spoke, and saw his expression turn from confusion to surprise, and finally to disbelief. Multiple seconds of silence passed, before Otosaka moved his gaze from me to Yuri and lifted an eyebrow.
"You can think of us as complete nutcases, but it's true. Yuzuru remembers that time before 'we' were born, where as I only have fragments of memories. Both of us, however… remember what came even before the time when were friends with Noda – our previous lives." Otosaka stared at Yuri for a few more seconds in silence, then shifted his gaze to the mirror briefly, before he closed his eyes and began to rub his temple.
"Usually when suspects tell me tall tales of why they're innocent, they are at least somewhat believable, but this…" Otosaka took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, meeting both of ours in turn. "Let me get this straight. Both of you claim to have… experienced what I can only describe as reincarnation, and say that you have memories of the time before this… current life you have. Memories, where you say that you knew Noda personally as a friend." We both nodded to Otosaka in unison. "I don't suppose you have any proof of these claims, other than your own supposed memories?"
"It's… pretty much impossible to find tangible proof of something like this. Though, with the help of a doctor called Mikado Ryouko we... were able to find old medical records from decades ago that confirmed that… well, that I have lived before. And it wasn't just a person with the same name, it was quite literally me. I remember everything from my past life vividly, and the circumstances of my death – which were mentioned in those records – were something I wouldn't have been able to have any knowledge of… unless I had actually been present there for those events." Otosaka continued staring at me in disbelief, but turned his attention to Yuri when she spoke.
"I also remember my past life, though we haven't yet been able to find any records 'linking' my knowledge of that life to something tangible in this one – not that we necessarily need to. But all the memories… they're very real." Yuri's form shrank a little, and I reached out to place a hand on her shoulder, guessing that she must have recalled the most traumatic experience in her previous life – the loss of her siblings. I gave my girlfriend's shoulder a light squeeze, and she looked to me with a small smile.
"...I can tell that you're not lying, but I have a hard time coming up with a reason as to why you would fabricate something so elaborate as this." Otosaka said quietly as he observed us, then shook his head a little. "How exactly does Noda tie into all this, then? You said you were friends with him… before this life, but the young lady's words made it seem like you meant something else with that, and not these… previous lives of yours."
"That is… correct. We didn't know Noda in our past life – Yuri and I didn't even know each other." We have surmised with the other Battlefront members we've met that we all lived at different points in time during our past lives, though not too far off from each other – our past incarnations all lived in the modern era, after all. It was one of the things Mikado-sensei was very interested in."But, the reason we are here today as us is because… our previous lives were cut short. Yuri, Noda, myself and all the others we know who are like us, we all died young. And after that, we all met in the Afterlife. Or, we called it the Afterlife, though the true nature of that place is unknown even to us." I saw Otosaka's eyes widening, and he quickly glanced at the mirror again, but didn't speak, so I continued. "It was… an odd place. It seemed that the souls of those who lived short, unfulfilling lives, and died without giving their life meaning were sent there after death to find peace and eventually reincarnate – thus, we called it the Afterlife. It was there that we met Noda, though it seems he has not regained his memories of that time like I – and Yuri, to some extent – have. I regained all of my memories not long ago, and Yuri remembers her previous life, so when we found Noda… we wanted to see if he had regained his memories or not – and whether or not he could help Yuri regain her still-missing ones. And that's… about it." A long silence followed my words, as Otosaka stared at us, unmoving as he processed everything I had said. There isn't much else we can say. We've answered his question with the truth. I shifted my gaze to Yuri, who met my eyes briefly, then breathed in deeply before speaking again.
"Like I said, it sounds crazy, but all of it is true. But, we don't need or necessarily want you to believe us. Just… know that we don't have any ill intentions. We only wanted to see Noda and talk to him about all this stuff, and maybe… Well, maybe help him in some way." Otosaka moved for the first time in a while as he looked at Yuri, beckoning her to elaborate with his expression. "I mean… People don't just turn to a life of crime on a whim, right? I don't remember much about things back in the Afterlife, but… Yuzuru and the others have said that despite his faults, Noda was a member and comrade to us back then. He might be a moron, but even morons deserve better than whatever has driven him to becoming a criminal." Yuri finished by crossing her arms, and despite the situation, I felt a small smile of amusement growing on my face, hearing some of Yuri's usual demeanour – which had so far been absent in our 'interrogation' in favour of a more serious outlook – returning to her.
"...Well, I won't disagree with you on that – this all does sound like something a crazy person would utter. Were your words not so sincere, I'd assume this all to be some very elaborate practical joke." Otosaka said and scratched his chin after a few moments of silence had passed. "I don't know what exactly to do with everything you've told me, but I will go along with my original plan for now and interrogate Noda on this matter. This shouldn't take too long, but it all depends on how cooperative Noda wants to be. Usually he tends to just sit quietly in the room and glare at the table, but perhaps this will be something he's willing to part his lips about." We nodded in response to Otosaka, and he stood up from his seat, looking towards the mirror again and gesturing at it, before he walked past us to the door. "I will ask you two to wait here, but I'll have Ayumi bring in some water for you." We nodded to Otosaka again, and he left the interrogation room, leaving Yuri and I alone again.
"Haah… That went better than expected." Yuri said and leaned her body forward on the table as soon as Otosaka had left, stretching herself out. Without realizing it, my eyes wandered down to her chest as it was pressed against the table, and I quickly looked away as I felt my cheeks heat up. "He didn't throw us out as crazies, so I'll count that as a win." In the corner of my eye, I saw Yuri looking in my direction and raising an eyebrow in question at me, but before she could say anything else, I cleared my throat and spoke, hoping that my blush wasn't too obvious.
"Hopefully Noda will be cooperative with the officer on this matter. Wouldn't want to spend the rest of the day here, when we've got a date on Mount Akagi to go on, right?" I smiled at Yuri, who smiled back at me, though there was something sly about her smile.
"I think we can find ways to make the most of our time here, don't you? I saw where you were looking just now." I felt the blush returning to my face and had to avert my gaze from Yuri, who giggled at my reaction. She's as perceptive as ever… And she's cornered me with her teasing yet again. "You weren't thinking of doing something… naughty, were you, Yuzuru? It is just the two of us here in this room right now..." Yuri reached towards me with a hand, clearly not done teasing me quite yet.
"Y-you can't seriously…" Yuri's hand brushed against my face, and while I was already somewhat used to physical contact with my girlfriend, her tone of voice and the situation we were in caused a shiver to go through my body. Yuri is plenty cute when embarrassed or flustered, but ever since we got together, her side of our 'usual banter' has morphed into some quite sadistic teasing… Well, I don't exactly dislike it when she's like this, but I'm not going to admit that to her. "We may be alone in this room, but that doesn't mean this is some… private space for us." I said and gestured towards the mirror on the wall. "Officer Ayumi, or someone else, is probably still watching us behind that one-way mirror." I placed a hand on Yuri's, which was still cupping my cheek, and looked her straight in the eye. Our staring match went on for a few seconds, before Yuri broke out into giggles.
"I know I know, I'm just messing with you, Yuzuru. Your reaction was so cute, I couldn't help it." I let out a sigh at Yuri's words, but smiled nonetheless – I couldn't stay mad at her. "I really love you, Yuzuru. There's no-one else I could do this kind of stuff with, ever." Yuri then continued with a smile, and I took her hand off my cheek to kiss it.
"And I love you too, Yuri. In this life, and in the next." Yuri's smile widened slightly, and she lifted herself off the table, then used me holding onto her hand to her advantage to pull me closer, capturing my lips in a kiss. The suddenness of the kiss caught me off-guard, but I nonetheless reciprocated it.
"You better keep your word on that." Yuri said when she pulled away from the kiss after a few seconds.
"I will search for you endlessly, even if I can't remember you." I replied to her and pressed my forehead against hers.
"Good. Otherwise, I'll find you and drag you to my side, Yuzuru." We stayed like that, our foreheads pressed together for a little while, until a sudden knock on the door of the interrogation room brought us back to reality, and we quickly separated from each other as we turned to see Officer Ayumi enter the interrogation room carrying paper cups and a jug of water with her. Ah, right…
"Hello. Officer Otosaka asked me to bring you some water while you wait." The female police officer said and set down a cup in front of each of us, then placed the water jug between us. "We would have had you wait outside, where it perhaps would have been more comfortable, but due to regulations, we must ask that you remain here." I nodded in response to the officer as Yuri poured herself a cup of water, then handed the jug to me. She's being rather polite… Or, rather, I wouldn't have expected that a police officer would bring water for someone being interrogated without a specific request for something like that.
"We… aren't being suspected of anything, right? We already explained everything to Otosaka-san, but…" I asked as I poured water into my own cup.
"At the moment, you two are mostly in the clear. Officer Otosaka must first confirm things with the arrestee you had come to visit, to make sure your stories match – or that they don't." I lifted an eyebrow in question as I drank from my cup. Was she… not the one observing us? Or did she not hear what we spoke about..? I thought interrogation rooms were supposed to have microphones or something… Seeing the confusion on my face, Officer Ayumi cleared her throat and continued. "Or, well, that would be the appropriate thing to say normally, but your reason for being here to meet with the arrestee seems to be… abnormal. If it is to be believed, that is. I will trust Officer Otosaka's judgement on the matter." I see… Officer Ayumi seems very professional – not that Otosaka wasn't that, but she feel more relaxed. "If you have no more questions for me, I'll have to leave you two here until Officer Otosaka returns."
"Um…" The officer turned to look at Yuri, who was awkwardly tapping the sides of her paper cup. "You, uhh… didn't actually hear and see what we… were doing, right? I-it wasn't anything indecent, just…" Yuri was facing away from the police officer, and I could see a light dusting of red on her cheeks. Yuri doesn't shy away from being intimate with me when we're alone, but showing her affection towards me to others is still very embarrassing for her… Well, it's not like I don't see where she's coming from with that. But, this is the cute side of Yuri I love so much. Officer Ayumi looked at Yuri curiously for a few moments, then smiled at her.
"Whatever I may have seen or heard will be something I will keep to myself and myself alone." Officer Ayumi's words were accompanied by a wink, and even I found myself feeling a little embarrassed in the situation. "If that was all, I will now take my leave."
Hearing no more questions from either of us, Officer Ayumi left the interrogation room. With nothing else to do as we awaited Officer Otosaka's return, Yuri and I chatted about Noda and the things we would ask him when we got the chance. I brought up my earlier observation about Noda having likened meeting us to something he had already seemingly experienced at some point in the past, and we both agreed that it could be a very possible lead towards an as of yet unknown member of the SSS who Noda had met before. We also very much wanted to find out what had happened to Noda to cause him to fall to a life of crime, as while I could remember him being hot-headed in the Afterlife, he had never struck me as an actual criminal. And, like Yuri had said to Otosaka, we also wanted to help him in any way we could – even if all we could do was to offer to a shoulder to lean on.
There was no clock in the interrogation room, so we were unsure how much time had actually passed, but Yuri and I spent what felt like at least ten minutes discussing Noda, how we would explain things to him, as well as Officer Otosaka, who we figured was going to be overseeing us – this was still supposed to be an interrogation, after all. We knew we hadn't done anything wrong, and our intentions for seeking out Noda were not bad, so the worst that could happen was that we would have to leave empty-handed, but given that Otosaka was willing to give us a chance to speak with Noda, that didn't seem to be likely. Even without his memories, speaking to Noda would be worth it.
Eventually, the door to the interrogation room opened yet again, and this time, three figures walked in. The first one was – as we had expected – Officer Otosaka, who circled around us to sit on the same seat he had occupied previously. The second figure to enter was a scowling Noda, his hands restrained by a pair of handcuffs as he was led into the room by Officer Ayumi, who closed the door behind her as the pair entered. The female police officer moved the remaining free chair from next to Otosaka on the free side of the table, then sat Noda down on it, diagonally to the left from us and facing the large one-way mirror, before she herself moved to stand on the corner between us and him. All of us stayed quiet for a few moments until everyone had settled down, then Otosaka gestured towards the mirror again and cleared his throat.
"So, Nakamura-san, Otonashi-san. I have spoken with Noda about our current predicament, and heard his side of the story." Otosaka began, glancing at Noda, who was staring down at the table, occasionally stealing glances at Yuri. "This was the first time he's been so talkative with me, and he confirmed what he said earlier when the two of you visited him – that he has never seen either one of you in his entire life, contradicting your claims to be friends of his. However… He did admit that he somehow knew who you two were, that your names and faces were familiar, and that he felt some sort of… connection to you two. And specifically you, Nakamura-san."
Yuri's eyes widened slightly at Otosaka's words, and she looked towards Noda, who averted his own gaze in turn. Speficially Yuri? What could that mean? I know she was the only one Noda really listened to in the Afterlife, but… They weren't really that close at all, at least to my knowledge.
"When I asked him to elaborate, Noda said that he didn't know how to, and that he felt an odd, overwhelming feeling of familiarity and Déjà-vu when he saw you two. I also mentioned to him some of the things you said to me – memories from a past life, reincarnation, and this 'Afterlife' – but his response was that he didn't know what I was talking about." Otosaka paused for a few moments, his gaze moving between Yuri, myself and Noda, before he leaned back in his seat and spoke again. "As of this moment, I am still unsure what to think about everything you said to me earlier, and I cannot say that I believe you. But, your intentions so far seem pure, so I am giving you this possibility to speak with Noda – he seemed quite eager to speak to you two as well when I was questioning him, though he tried to hide it." Noda's head snapped towards Otosaka, and he glared at the police officer, who simply ignored the younger man. "So, please discuss whatever you wish with him, but be aware that this conversation will be recorded."
"Thank you, Otosaka-san." I bowed slightly to the police officer, then looked to Yuri briefly, before addressing Noda. "So, Noda, you… don't remember anything, despite recognizing us?" I started off by reconfirming what we already knew, and Noda let out a sigh.
"Like I said, I don't know what you're talking about when you say that. I know you, yes, I just dunno why." Noda replied, his gaze directed upwards and his eyes only briefly flicking to me or Yuri every now and then. "I don't know who you guys are… Well, I do, but I also don't… Argh, anyway, looking at you two makes me feel weird, and I don't know what kinda game you two are playin' here, so get to it."
"Well… We could explain everything to you in detail, but that might take a while, so we'll just tell you what we told Otosaka-san." I glanced at the police officer sitting across from us briefly, then cleared my throat and spoke to Noda again. "To put it shortly… We have met you before, Noda, but not in this life. You might not remember it like Yuri and I do, but you have lived before, not as someone else, but as yourself, as Noda. We don't know how long ago, or where, but because you are like us, we know that the person known as Noda has existed before. However, due to an accident, or some other reason, you died young and ended up in a place called the Afterlife. That is where we met you, that is how we know who you are, and that is why you feel like we are so familiar to you, because your soul remembers us, even if your mind doesn't." I paused for a moment and looked Noda in the eyes, and he slowly leaned forwards, bringing his handcuffed arms up above the table and resting them on top of it.
"...You know how fucking crazy you sound right now?" Noda said, his tone unimpressed as he looked me square in the eye.
"But you can't deny that it makes sense, right? How else would you feel this 'connection' to us, like you described it to Otosaka-san?" Noda grit his teeth and glanced at Otosaka, but didn't refute my statement. Perhaps he thought that the conversation between him and Otosaka was to be kept private?
"You're feeling Déjà-vu right now, when you're with us, aren't you?" Yuri asked from Noda, and he shifted his gaze to her. "Because I'm feeling it too, when I look at you. And you must have felt like this before, perhaps when you're… faced with some specific things?" Noda narrowed his eyes at Yuri, before he slowly nodded to her. "Whatever those things that make you feel like this are, they were significant to you in some way in your previous life, or during your time in the Afterlife. We are just like you are, Noda." I saw Noda's eyes widening slightly, before he averted his gaze from Yuri and grit his teeth again.
"So… you're saying all that stuff… was because I've been… reincarnated or something?" Noda asked quietly, and both Yuri and I nodded to him in return.
"I know it sounds unbelievable, but… it's the truth. If you can regain your memories, you'd understand. Do you… know what things make you feel the same way you felt when you saw us?" I queried from Noda. I know that he was very attached to his weapon of choice – the halberd – in the Afterlife, but even if it was something significant enough to be able to make his memories return, where are we going to find a halberd in this day and age?
"I… Let me think…" Noda closed his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows as he thought for a few seconds, something about the scene reminding me of the Afterlife and bringing a smile of amusement to my face. "...There's some… weird shit that I've avoided because it makes me feel all weird, like when I'm with you here right now. Like… you know angels and stuff, right? Like the ones that appear in religious crap, that kinda stuff always made me uneasy." Noda explained as he opened his eyes and looked to us again. Makes sense, as we did fight an 'angel' in the Afterlife… "Then there's like… certain medieval weapons that I've seen in history textbooks, the big… axe-things, I dunno what you call em'. Oh, and like… underground spaces really fucking creep me out, same with any other tight spaces for that matter. Whenever I'm in the metro or something, I just get this weird feeling, and I can't stay there for long." Underground spaces..? Why would that… oh, the Guild! I think Noda had a hand in creating the trap systems down there – though the more sophisticated ones were designed by others. That, and he did die numerous times down there… "And then there was… that one time when…" I looked to Noda curiously as he trailed off, then clutched his head, his handcuffs jingling as he brought his hands up.
"...Noda?" Yuri's voice seemed to snap Noda back into reality, and he shook his head before speaking again.
"Sorry, it's just… I-I met someone once, and it was really weird. Like… Like when I met you earlier, but… I don't know how to explain it." Yuri and I looked at each other, both of us likely thinking the same thing – that Noda had met another SSS member, like we had speculated.
"Who… did you meet, Noda? And when was this?" I leaned a little closer to Noda, and saw Officer Ayumi tensing up slightly. "If you felt the same way meeting that person as you did when you met us… It's very likely that they are like us, another member of the Afterlife Battlefront." I saw Officer Otosaka's expression changing slightly as I mentioned the SSS, and his eyes briefly flicked to the mirror. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't interrupted us yet… We must seem really crazy to whoever is observing all this on the other side of the mirror.
"I… don't know who he was. I only met him briefly… about two years ago in Tokyo. I was… on the run from some cops, and I suddenly bumped into this dude when I was trying to get through a crowd of people. He looked real shady, shadier than I did, with his sunglasses and hood pulled up high enough to cover his forehead. But, being smaller and shorter than I was, he falls over right there in the middle of the walkway, and his sunglasses go flying, probably to end up being crushed under some passerby's boot. I was about to tell him to watch the fuck out and continue running, but when I saw his face…" Noda paused for a moment, his gaze looking into his own reflection in the mirror, before he looked to me again, his eyes wide. "...It was so fucking weird. All of a sudden I'm just frozen in place, staring down at this guy on the ground, currently rubbing his back, while my mind is going all over the place. I nearly stumbled and fell myself as I began to see shit, like the people around us turning into shadows, or something, and I just felt pain all over my body, and my ears were ringing, and…" Noda clutched his head again and groaned, then shook his head violently and continued. "...And the weirdest fucking thing is that this dude, who I've never seen before in my life… feels like someone I know. Someone I should fear, even. Just looking at his face gave me this feeling of… dread like I had never had before. It was like when I saw you guys earlier – Not the fear bit, but the familiarity. Then, after a little while, the guy stands up and looks at me, and he freezes in place as his eyes lock onto mine. I don't know how long we stood there for, whether it was just a few seconds or minutes, but I was finally snapped out when I heard a siren and turned to see that these bastards had gotten a car for their chase-" Noda sent a glare towards Otosaka, who ignored the gesture and kept his eyes fixated on the purple-haired young man. "-so I got my shit together as quickly as I could and continued running through the crowd. Didn't get away though, tch."
Yuri looked to me with a raised eyebrow as Noda finished, but I shook my head at her. There was not enough information there… At the very least, we can rule out that it wasn't Matsushita, unless his physique has diminished in this life. Everyone else so far has retained their physical characteristics, but I know Matsushita trained – and ate – a lot in the Afterlife to keep up his physique. I tried to rack my brain for memories of the Afterlife, but based on so little information, it was difficult to pinpoint who this person could have been.
"...You can't remember what he looked like at all, Noda?" Yuri asked to break the silence, and Noda shook his head in return.
"I can remember that scene so vividly that it's almost creepy, and every time I do remember it, the feelings I had back then come back, but… I never got a good look at him. His hair was dark, that was for sure, at least based on the long fringe I saw from under his hood. I'm not sure what hue it could have been, or if it was just black." Dark hair… The members that immediately come to mind would be Fujimaki, Takeyama or Naoi… "You… mentioned regaining memories, right? And you two… remember all this stuff that I… don't..?" Noda's voice was now somewhat meeker, and he didn't meet either of our gazes, instead looking down at the table.
"Yes, Yuri and I remember our past lives, and I remember my time in the Afterlife. Yuri hasn't been able to recover all of her memories yet, though. But, there are others like us we know who do have all of their memories." Yuri nodded along with me, and I saw Noda looking towards her briefly, before quickly averting his gaze again. "We… still aren't certain if there is any sure-fire way of making our memories return, but so far we know that being exposed to things that were significant to our past selves can cause that to happen. We call them 'triggers', because they trigger a reaction in us – the feeling of immense Déjà-vu you felt when you first saw us. I… always used to find the feeling unpleasant, especially because my own heartbeat was one of these triggers, and since no-one understood me when I was growing up, I avoided the things that caused it – until I met Yuri." I looked to my girlfriend with a smile, and she smiled back at me as she took a hold of my hand below the table. Before I could speak again, Noda suddenly leaned closer to me, his eyes wide as his hands had formed into trembling fists.
"You… you too..?" Officer Ayumi had moved a little closer as Noda stared me right in the eyes, but all I could do was raise an eyebrow in confusion at Noda's words. "I-I mean… You said nobody understood you, right? So you were like, ridiculed and shit?" I slowly nodded to Noda, and things started to connect in my head. So… Noda had to go through something similar as I did? Granted, things weren't that bad for me, but it did cause me to isolate myself from others… "As long as I can remember, I've had this… Déjà-vu as you called it. When I saw certain things or something, it'd make me feel super weird, like I explained. Everybody thought I was crazy. My parents even thought of putting me in some kind of institute when I was younger. At some point, I just accepted that I was crazy, and meeting that guy two years ago didn't fucking help either…" Noda pulled back away from me and shifted his gaze to the mirror, sitting quietly for a few seconds as he stared at his own reflection, before turning back to us. "You're not bullshitting me, right? All this stuff about the Afterlife and reincarnation or whatever… It's all true? I'm not just some nutcase who's got a few screws loose, but there's actual reasoning behind all this crap?" Noda's voice held a hint of desperation in it, and after sharing a look with Yuri, we both smiled at him.
"Yes, it is. You aren't alone with these feelings, and we can help you find a way to regain your memories through them." I replied to Noda, and for the first time since we had been reunited with him, Noda smiled.
"Then I believe you, no matter how crazy the stuff you say may sound. If regaining my memories will help me understand myself and this stuff better, I'm all for it." Noda said with a confident smile, which disappeared soon enough as he furrowed his brows. "Though, I dunno how much you can help me, considering these bastards are about to lock me up…" Noda sent another glare to Otosaka, who sighed at his words.
"I would like to remind you that your own actions have lead to this, Noda." Otosaka spoke for the first time in a while, and Noda rolled his eyes in return. "I know that you are also fully aware that you do not have to make this so difficult for yourself, isn't that right?" Otosaka gave Noda a stern look, but then turned to us. "I can see that you have come to somewhat of a conclusion in your discussion. Is there anything else you wanted to speak to Noda about?" Otosaka didn't seem to bring attention to what we had discussed about, and his unreadable expression made it hard to gauge what he thought of it all.
"Well… Under almost any other circumstances, we would speak with Noda for probably hours, but… Right now, I don't think we have such luxury." I glanced at the mirror, then looked at Otosaka with a raised eyebrow.
"Also, we were only planning on staying here in Maebashi for the day, and we'd still like to go and see Mount Akagi before we take the train home." Yuri added after me. "Is there… any way we can meet with Noda again like this, or some other way to contact him?" Otosaka crossed his arms and thought for a few moments before he replied to us.
"Hmm… Otonashi-san is quite right, your time here is limited. Even if things had gone as they normally do during visitations, there are rules limiting the duration of visitations, just like in actual prisons – even if this is a mere police station." I wouldn't go so far as to calling the prefectural headquarters of the police forces a 'mere' police station, but I suppose when compared to a prison in the context of housing criminals, the comparison is logical… "As for ways of contacting Noda… Well, it will all depend on what we ultimately do with him. If he gets incarcerated, you will be able to visit him there, of course." Yuri nodded in response to Otosaka, who glanced towards the mirror briefly and then spoke again in a more clearer tone. "Now, I do believe that we have obtained all we wished from this interrogation – the confirmation that Otonashi-san and Nakamura-san did not come for visitation with ill intentions. This interrogation is now over, but due to the things that we found out from it, there are some discussions I must have with my colleagues regarding the recordings of its contents." Officer Otosaka stood up from his seat, then looked towards Officer Ayumi. "Please escort Nod back to his cell, I and the visitors will come there shortly." Ayumi gave him a bow, then moved to Noda, who stood up from his own seat and let himself be escorted out by the police officer.
"So… we're clear, then? And you're giving us more time to speak with Noda?" I asked after Noda and Ayumi left the interrogation room, and Otosaka gestured for us to stand up.
"Yes, you are." Otosaka walked past us as Yuri and I stood up, before stopping and placing a hand on my shoulder and continuing in a lower tone of voice. "Wait outside this room for a few moments, I need to speak to you two before we return." Without waiting for a reply, Otosaka stepped outside the room and waited for us to leave. After sharing a look with Yuri, we followed him outside. I can make an educated guess and say that this will be about all the crazy things we spoke of during the interrogation… I just hope we're really not in any trouble.
Doing as the police officer had asked, we waited outside the interrogation room as Otosaka entered another room, which I had previously assumed to just be another interrogation room, but I now figured that based on the location of the one-way mirror in the room we were just in, it must have instead been the observation room. Whoever Otosaka was speaking to in there was the person who had seen and heard everything from within the interrogation room and had recorded that information down – or overseen it being recorded automatically, I assumed. Which means that whoever is in there… would have also seen Yuri and I flirting… I looked to my girlfriend and saw her gazing intensely at the doorway Otosaka had entered, and with her cheeks being slightly flushed, I guessed that she had come to the same conclusion as I had – and I couldn't help but want to tease her.
"So, how do you feel about you kissing me likely being left in official police records?" In response to my question, Yuri sent a sideways glare at me accompanied by a jab of her elbow.
"Shut up. And they won't leave any records like that – we weren't even being interrogated at that point!" Yuri kept glaring at me for a few moments, then relaxed again as she looked forwards again. "What I'm mainly wondering about is what they're going to do with everything we've said. I don't know if Otosaka believes us, but the person in there probably doesn't. What if they end up keeping a record of the things we said about the Afterlife, and our memories?" Yuri turned to me with a raised eyebrow, though something in the look on her face told me that she was feeling a little worried as well.
"Judging by what Officer Otosaka said, that's exactly what he's taking about with the observer in there. We'll just have to wait here and see what Otosaka-san says to us when he comes back." I reached down and took a hold of Yuri's hand, which seemed to calm her worries as she nodded to me, and a comfortable silence fell on us as we waited.
A minute or so of silence passed before the door Otosaka had entered opened once again, and two figures exited out – Otosaka himself and an older man carrying some folders. As the second man saw us, he nodded in our direction, then began to walk away, exiting out of the area with the interrogation rooms, while Otosaka walked over to us. His expression was neutral and unreadable, but I did feel Yuri's hold on my hand tightening ever so slightly as he stopped in front of us.
"You two didn't have to wait long, did you?" Otosaka asked from us, and we shook our heads at him. "That's good. So, before we go meet Noda again and continue with your visitation – ah, sorry about this delay, by the way. I know you two wanted to speak with Noda greatly, and I even understand your reasoning for it now somewhat. But, you two must understand my suspicions and that I had to address them immediately. Still, my apologies." Otosaka bowed his head slightly to us, and I raised my free hand up to gesture for him to raise it.
"Don't worry about it, you were just doing your job. It was pretty suspicious of us, and our explanation did sound very crazy, so we understand." Otosaka nodded to me in response as he lifted his head again.
"Heh, I'm glad you agree with me there. Now, as I was saying, I do wish to speak to you about something before we go back to Noda." Otosaka paused for a moment and glanced around warily, then leaned slightly closer to us as he spoke in a lower tone. "I had a discussion with the guy who had observed the interrogations, and due to the nature of the things you said… we decided to get rid of the recordings and leave certain things out of the official records. Nobody would have believed us or you anyway, and in the end, their inclusion wouldn't have changed the fact that you two had no ill intentions, or that you technically weren't lying at any point." Yuri and I looked at each as the officer stopped, waiting for our reaction.
"I… suppose that's good. Do you… believe us, then?" Otosaka closed his eyes for a few moments, then sighed.
"That's a difficult question to answer. I want to say that I do believe you, because I can't imagine you would lie about something this elaborate, and you seemed so sincere about everything. Not to even mention Noda's reaction to it all. But… then I think about everything you two said a bit more deeply and realize just how unbelievable it all sounds. You do realize what these… experiences of yours would mean on the larger scale, if they're true? The existence of an afterlife, the soul and reincarnation… If proven, they would drastically change our perspective of the world and science, and would potentially turn everything we know about ourselves and the concepts of death and consciousness upside down." Otosaka looked between the two of us with a serious expression and crossed his arms as he waited for our response. He is right, but… I feel like this isn't something that can be considered on a larger scale. It's unique to us, the members of the SSS, and those had arrived in the Afterlife before us.
"...It's not something I've thought about that much, but you are right." Yuri was the first to reply, and Otosaka's gaze fixated on her as she spoke. "But, it wouldn't be easy for us to find good enough proof about this for the masses – and we don't even really want to. From what we know, what we've experienced, the memories we have… They're a rare and unique occurrence, and not everyone has experienced the same things we have, regardless if they remember it or not. All that matters to us, all that matters to me, is regaining my memories, but I can live my life perfectly fine even without all of them, and I certainly don't care if other people believe me or not." I nodded alongside Yuri, then continued after her.
"It's as Yuri said. And, for what it's worth… We don't really know much about what we call the 'Afterlife' at all. We knew barely anything back then, and we still don't know a lot at all, but it felt very… artificial, in a way. It wasn't anything like the depictions you'd find in religious texts. It felt more like it had been specifically created by someone, or something, for a specific purpose – helping those who had died young accept their past life and the circumstances of their death by allowing them to experience a normal teenager's life, then move on to be reincarnated. Who or what the creator of the 'Afterlife' was, or even if what we perceived as its intended purpose was its actual one, we don't know, as is the case with a great many things about the Afterlife. The one thing that is for certain is our experiences, and that they allowed us to have this… 'second chance' at life. And as a part of that, we want to reunite with those we met in the Afterlife because of all our fond memories together." I looked to Yuri as I finished, and my girlfriend smiled back at me, while Otosaka scratched his head as he looked at the two of us.
"...I suppose that's fair, then. I'm still not quite sure what to think of this all, but I can't deny being curious. Would you two mind if I… listened in when you're speaking with Noda? Well, I would have been doing so anyway as part of my duties, but… Would you be okay with that?" Otosaka asked from us, and I smiled to him in response.
"You are more than welcome to, Otosaka-san. You aren't the first person who isn't… well, like us to gain an interest in our unique experiences. The doctor I mentioned earlier, Mikado Ryouko, has been very keen to find out more about them whenever we've spoken with her. It feels almost… relieving to be able to talk to other people about our experiences without them automatically assuming we're crazy." Otosaka smiled back at me and nodded.
"Well, if you do indeed turn out to be crazy, at least I can take solace in the fact that I was not the only person to fall for your insanity, heh." Otosaka said with a chuckle, then pointed a thumb behind him. "Should we head back to Noda, now? I don't want to keep you two any longer, and I'm sure that any questions I might have can be answered then."
"You'll likely end up with more questions by the end of it… But, yes, we would like to go see Noda again, thank you."
Following Otosaka's lead, we made our way back to the cells, where Noda was confined. Otosaka didn't ask us any more question on the way, instead choosing to keep quiet, which I could only assume was due to him feeling some need for secrecy regarding the subject we had talked about, or because he simply didn't want anyone we might have walked past to think us crazy – which I couldn't blame him for. Eventually, we arrived back at Noda's cell, finding him laying down in his bed with his eyes closed, not too different from how we had first met him earlier. This time, though, Noda opened his eyes as he heard our approach, and upon seeing us, he rose out of his bed and smiled at us.
"There you are. I thought the coppers had kicked you two out for being crazy. Since I'm the same as you, apparently, I was starting to wish they'd be doing the same to me, heh." Noda said as he leaned against the bars, looking at us over his shoulder.
"You won't be getting out of here that easily, Noda. And if you did, you'd be going straight to a different kind of cell – one with soft padding covering the walls and floors." Otosaka replied with a grin, while Noda scowled. "Ahem. So, from now on, this is a normal visitation. You can talk about whatever you want, and I'll just be here, observing. I won't allow any funny business, so know that I'll have my eyes and ears open wide." Yuri and I looked at each other, then turned to Noda.
"So… where shall we begin?"
The next several minutes went by as we told Noda about the various things he was curious about, mainly the Afterlife and what he was like back then. I told him about the Afterlife Battlefront, its purpose, members and eventual disbandment after we settled our differences with Kanade. Otosaka listened in with intrigue as I recounted how we believed Kanade to be an angel due to her seemingly supernatural powers and fought against her with weapons created out of dirt, and Noda seemed especially interested when I told him he preferred fighting with a halberd instead of a firearm. Unfortunately I wasn't able to tell Noda much about how he was in the Afterlife, as I wasn't that close to him – all I was able to say was how hard-headed and stubborn he could be, but still immensely loyal to Yuri. All of our talking made Noda really want to get his memories back – something which I had noticed seemed to really bug him – but the two of us weren't able to be of much help, at least not right now. Yuri and I had regained our memories after being faced with something that reminded us of a significant event in our previous lives, and we could only consider ourselves lucky to have witnessed something like that. Noda was somewhat discouraged initially, but we reassured him by saying that now that he was in contact with us, the likelihood of him regaining his memories was increased, given that all of the SSS members we knew of so far in this life had all regained their memories after meeting another member either directly or indirectly – no-one had to struggle with this alone, though many of us had done so for years.
After the conversation reached a point where Noda couldn't come up with any more questions he had, Yuri turned the tables on him by asking what had lead to him into becoming a criminal in the first place. Noda stayed silent for a long while after the question, but finally spoke to us again after saying he felt compelled to grant Yuri's requests no matter what. Judging by the scowl on Noda's face, he wasn't a big fan of the idea of telling us everything, but didn't seem to want to back down either once he had begun.
Noda told us that his family situation had never been easy. Like Yuri and I, he had felt the same Déjà-vu from a very young age, but whenever he spoke of his experiences, he was simply called mad. It caused him to shut himself away from others, and he grew bitter towards other people, who didn't understand him. Eventually, that resentment started to get directed at his parents as well, and he became rebellious in his early teens. When he was in middle school, his father died in a car accident, and his mother fell into depression. Noda managed to get through middle school and graduate, but things only got worse when he moved onto high school, as his mother lost her job and gradually shut herself away from the world, just like Noda had done when younger. The two of them had to move away to a cheaper residence in an area where a local yakuza syndicate was known to operate, and their presence made Noda's life as a teenager difficult. At school, he was both feared and bullied due to his height and fearsome looks, with many of his peers thinking him a member of the yakuza, and at home he had to deal with his depressed mother who he held nothing but resentment towards. One day, he got involved in a scuffle between the police and some local gangsters, and in a fit of anger, ended up beating both a police officer and one of the gangsters into a condition bad enough to require a trip to the hospital. After that, his life took a turn for the worse, and his bitterness drove him to drop out of school and participate in criminal activity instead.
Noda finished his story by saying that over the years of being labelled as a criminal, he has grown as a person somewhat, and realizes the mistakes he's done in the past, but that he hasn't thrown away the resentment he still holds against the world. Noda believed that he was far too deep to change his way of life now, but recognised the prospect of regaining his memories as something that would at least let him have some form of peace of mind regarding himself and his past.
Yuri and I felt immense compassion towards Noda, whose story had been nothing like either of us had expected, and when he shrugged our compassion off as unnecessary, we simply assured him that we truly wanted to help him – not just in recovering his memories, but with his other troubles as well. Noda seemed to be taken back by our sincerity, and quietly accepted our offer of help after seeing that we weren't planning on backing down. He avoided eye contact with us after that, but I thought I could see the faintest hint of a smile on his face as he looked away from us.
Shortly afterwards Otosaka informed us that our visitation time had reached its end, and while he personally would have let us talk more, regulations once again came before his personal preferences. Noda didn't own a phone, but Otosaka gave me his own number and promised to keep us updated on Noda's situation – as well as to keep in touch with us, as he admitted that he still held some curiosity towards us and our experiences. We left Noda with some parting words to advise him to seek out the things he knew caused him to feel Déjà-vu in the hopes that doing so might make his memories reappear, though we acknowledged that depending on the verdict given to him, his chances for doing so might be slim. Regardless, Noda said that he'd try his best, and would find a way to inform us if he managed to remember anything.
After parting with Noda and leaving the police station behind, Yuri and I continued with our plans and boarded a ride that would take us up Mount Akagi. While meeting with Noda had been our primary objective in Maebashi, Yuri was still very much insistent on treating today as a date, and I wasn't complaining. The trip up the mountain took over an hour, and during it I called Hinata to let him know how our meeting with Noda went, as well as to tell him about Noda's encounter with another SSS member two years ago and about Officer Otosaka. With Yuri cuddled up next to me, occasionally offering comments as I talked with Hinata over the phone, the long ride was far from unpleasant, and soon enough we found ourselves at the top of Mount Akagi. We got off near the shrine located at the top, and we had to take a moment of pause to take in the beauty of the scene before us.
Both Yuri and I had thought Maebashi Park to be one of the prettiest places either of us had ever visited, but it paled in comparison to the splendour of Mount Akagi. The slopes of the long-dormant stratovolcano were covered in seemingly endless forests, stretching out as far as the eye could see, with the city of Maebashi seeming so tiny as it rested at the foot of the mountain, nearly two kilometres below the summit. The caldera of Mount Akagi was dominated by Lake Onuma, and the sight of it took our breath away – what we had seen at Maebashi Park earlier in the day seemed like a tiny pond in comparison. After eventually getting over our initial feeling of awe, we began to eagerly tour the area, though our steps were light to make sure we could take in everything.
Though things with Noda hadn't taken too long, it was already getting later in the afternoon, so the time we could spend at Mount Akagi was limited – the Visitor Centre, among other things, would close at about 4 in the evening. While we agreed that a proper, thorough visit to everything that the location had to offer would have to be postponed for the future and relied on more planning, Yuri and I made the most of our available time. Yuri especially took a lot of pictures as we toured the mountaintop, crossing the beautiful Kitsutsuki Bridge, sailing on Lake Onuma aboard a small paddle boat, and taking a short hike up one of the trails leading towards the summit, giving us a stunning view of the lake. After heading down from the trail, we visited the shrine for some more sightseeing and paying our respects. I hadn't been to a great many Shinto shrines in my life, but the Akagi Shrine was definitely one of the most beautiful ones I had seen, and both of us wanted to spend more time there, but we were already running out of time. After doing some souvenir shopping – mainly good luck talismans and postcards featuring the shrine – we ate at a restaurant nearby, before having to leave Mount Akagi behind, though we both swore that we'd return one day with a more thought-out plan of activity.
It was already starting to get a bit dark by the time we were back in Maebashi, but we didn't quite feel like returning home yet, so we toured the city a little more and visited more of the parks around the city – the ones that were still open, at least. Yuri teased me about us visiting an onsen together after we saw an advertisement for one when searching online what else there was to do here, but we didn't end up going, figuring that something like that would have also required some more planning and not just a spontaneous idea – also, I was pretty embarrassed about the prospect, and even though Yuri was the one to bring it up, I'm certain she was as well.
After about another hour or so of more sightseeing, we boarded a train and settled down for the long ride home, the sights and events of our day in Maebashi still fresh on our minds.
"...We definitely need to return here at some point in the future." Yuri said to me once the train left Maebashi station, leaning her head on my shoulder as she scrolled through all the photos she had taken on her phone.
"I agree. It was a shame we weren't able to spend more time atop Mount Akagi. I… should have probably planned a bit more in advance, but since we didn't know much about how things with Noda would turn out…" I trailed off in my response as Yuri looked up at me, then smiled.
"Don't sweat it too much, Yuzuru. You get a passing grade for your first time taking your girlfriend on a day trip to another city. I'll be expecting next time to be much better, however." Yuri said in a teasing manner, then planted a quick kiss on my cheek as she pocketed her phone and leaned back on my shoulder, closing her eyes. "I had a lot of fun, Yuzuru. Really. This was a great trip, because I got to be with you." Yuri's arm snaked around mine and her hand took a hold of my own, the relacing warmth of her body spreading to me.
"I'm glad, Yuri." I kissed Yuri on the top of her head and then leaned back on her, closing my own eyes as well. I had fun as well, and I wish…
...That this is only the first of many trips we'll take together.
"Wow, that view is amazing… And the lake is so pretty… Makes me want to go as well."
"Isn't it? Ah, it's only been two days, but I'm really missing it already… I took some pictures of the shrine as well, hold on a minute…"
I lifted my cup up to my lips and took a sip as I scrolled through my phone's picture album, looking through all of the photos I took when I was in Maebashi with Yuzuru on Saturday. Sitting on a stool to my left was Reimi, who had invited me to this particular cafe when my shift today had ended, and I had happily accepted her invitation – though out of the two of us, she seemed to be the more elated one. I spent the entire weekend together with Yuzuru and had the time of my life, but I now know that I do need some "girl time" from time to time as well. I glanced over at my dark-haired companion as she cautiously took a few sips of her own drink. Reimi's younger than me, but she's pleasant to be around. I really need to introduce her to Yuzuru and Kanade at some point…
"Ah, here it is." I showed my phone's screen to Reimi once I had located the photo I had taken of the Akagi Shrine, and the younger girl turned her attention to it. "I can't imagine that place looking any more beautiful than it already does, but the scenery there at winter is supposed to be amazing."
"I can… imagine that somewhat. I remember going to a shrine for my Shichi-Go-San when it was winter, and it looked very pretty then. But this shrine… it really is beautiful. I went to one of the shrines here on a school trip last year, and it was nothing compared to this one you went to." Reimi kept gazing at the photo in silence, and I guessed she must have been reminiscing about the school trip. Come to think of it… My shift ended at pretty early in the afternoon today as well, and yet she was still able to invite me…
"Say, your school seems very lenient on its students." I said as I pulled my phone back, and Reimi looked at me with a confused expression. "I mean, I certainly can't remember having days this short in my High School days." Reimi's eyes widened abruptly, and she averted her gaze from me – which was an odd and suspicious reaction.
"Ah, um… Yeah, I suppose it is. There's lots of after-school clubs, but I'm not a part of any of them, so I can… leave earlier…" Reimi's blue eyes flicked rapidly, almost nervously,between me and the cup in front of her, and I narrowed my eyes at her, not satisfied with her answer. I've had a bit of a suspicion ever since we met again last week…
"Reimi, you're… not skipping class, are you?" As the words left my mouth, Reimi froze in place. "I've thought it a possibility, since it seemed odd to me how you were always able to spend time with me after my shifts end, well before I believed the average school day would end. But, I want to hear it from you. Be honest with me, Reimi." Reimi seemed to shrink away with every words, practically confirming my suspicions. The younger girl's grip on her cup tightened momentarily, before she turned to me, but didn't meet my eyes.
"...I'm sorry, Yuri-san." Reimi's bangs covered her face as she lowered her head and apologized to me, and when she lifted her head again, I saw that her eyes were slightly watery. "I-I just… I wanted to spend time with you…" I let out a sigh as Reimi averted her eyes again. Unbelievable. I thought she seemed sensible enough to at least keep up with her studies, even if she did go along with the crazy things her friend Yoshikage came up with…
"Reimi… Okay, look, I'm not mad at you, just… Why would you do that? I know I'm not the best person to be saying this, considering I failed my own University entrance exams, but… Studying is important. You shouldn't be skipping class just to hang out with me. Friends are important, but I'm not more important than your education." I smiled at Reimi to convey I didn't mean anything bad with my words, and she bit her lip as she looked back at me.
"You… You are that important to me, Yuri-san. I-I know It's wrong to skip class, but… I want to be with you, Yuri-san. That's… more important to me..." Reimi began to fidget in her seat, but her words only confused me, and I lifted an eyebrow at her.
"What… do you mean by that, Reimi?" The girl lowered her gaze for a few moments, and I saw her face reddening slightly, before she took a deep breath, then stood up from her seat. What is she..?
"...What I mean is…" Reimi seemed to hesitate for a moment, before her eyes gained a spark of determination and she moved closer to me. What happened next, I could never have predicted.
Reimi's hands moved up to my face, and as I was about to question what she was doing, something in my head clicked, and I realized what she was attempting – but it was too late for me to protest, as at that moment, Reimi's lips came into contact with my own.
The kiss was so sudden, I momentarily froze, not knowing how to react. Reimi's kiss was chaste and awkward, telling of her inexperience, but I could feel her eagerness through it. Her hands that cupped my cheeks felt hot, and her eyes were shut tight, while mine were open wide in surprise. Once that surprise passed, though, I quickly moved to regain control of the situation and gently pushed Reimi away from, the younger girl opening her eyes once she felt my hands on her shoulders.
"Wait, wait, time out Reimi." I said to the blushing – but smiling – girl in front of me, feeling my own cheeks heating up somewhat as well as the embarrassment from the sudden gesture caught up to me. "What… What was that about?" Kissing me like that all of a sudden like that… Don't tell me she…
"Well… I like you, Yuri-san. Really… really like you." Reimi replied bashfully and pulled her hands back, using one to move a strand of hair behind her ear. "I-it was my first time… kissing somebody, so I'm sorry if it was a bit awkward, but… You're so cool, and p-pretty, Yuri-san, so…" Reimi averted her gaze from me, but kept the smile on her face, while I let go of her shoulders. Getting kissed and confessed to by a girl… This is… something I would never have expected to happen to me...
"Reimi, I…" The girl looked back at me, but once her eyes met mine, I saw her smile wavering, likely due to seeing the expression on my face and hearing the tone of my voice changing. "I'm… in a relationship already. With a guy." A few moments of silence passed, and Reimi's eyes widened, before she took a step backwards.
"...Eh?" Reimi's surprise and shock was evident on her face, and it suddenly occurred to me that I had in fact never told her about Yuzuru – he had simply never come up in conversation. He would have likely come up if we had continued looking through the photos I took on Saturday, but we didn't get that far. Even when I spoke of my friends in Uni, I never specifically mentioned him, and I had never felt there to be a need to tell Reimi that I had a boyfriend.
Now I somewhat regretted not telling her sooner.
"I… I-I'm so sorry!" Reimi bowed to me quickly, but before I could say anything, she dashed off towards the exit.
"Ah, wait, Reimi!" I shouted after her, but it was too late, as she had already dashed out of the door, leaving some of the other customers of the cafe glancing with perplexed expressions between it and where she had been sitting not too long ago. "...I didn't think she could have… liked me that way… Ugh, if only I had told her about Yuzuru and I earlier..." As I looked back at where she had been sat, I saw that not only had she left a half-filled cup on the counter, but also her bag. "Oh, that girl… What a mess this has become."
I took out my phone and dialled Reimi's number with one hand, while I picked up my cup with the other and quickly drank the rest of the contents within it. After a few moments, I could heard sounds coming from Reimi's bag, telling me that she had left her phone inside of it. Damn it, I need to go after her. Picking up my own things, I stood up from my seat and grabbed Reimi's bag, then paused as I looked at the cup she had left on the table. Well, I suppose I don't need to bother with worrying about an indirect kiss any more.
I lifted the cup and drank whatever was left in it, then hastily began to make my way outside, ready to chase after the girl who had just confessed to me.
AN: And we're done! A longer chapter to hopefully make up for my long absence – I'll be trying my best to make sure you all won't have to wait for 4 months for the next chapter. The first part is quite lengthy, but I couldn't find a good way to chop it up without losing the feel of progression, so I left it as is. I kind of wanted to write more about Yuzuru's and Yuri's trip up Mount Akagi (which, by the way, is a really beautiful place, as I found out when doing my research for this chapter. I really want to visit there some time), but the chapter was already getting on in length at that point, so I had to omit the details. I also wanted to get the bit with Reimi in at the end – I've been planning on it ever since I started writing this sequel.
For now, Reimi's confession has thrown a bit of a spanner into the works, but more fluff between Yuzuru and Yuri is in the works. I don't know if I'll be able to make the next chapter just that, but I'll be throwing more of it in here and there, like I did with this chapter. Now, until next time, I bid you all farewell, and cheerio!