Regular disclaimer: I do not own Aizawa Inori nor anything affiliated to her apart from this Fan-fiction.
"So we're meeting a friend of mine? And I guess I've also forgotten about him or her, right?" I asked Eulith as we passed the stalls we came through, at a brisk pace. He gave a casual smile. It was a nice change from the tight lipped scientist.
"Precisely. Your friend is a she by the way. Considering that you've known her for at least ten years now, she'll be happy to help. She'll still be in the city since it's morning, but we have to move quickly." We exited the maze of stalls and re-entered the main footpaths. I scrutinised the vista, on the lookout for a 'silver-haired girl, with an elegant dress'. Tough, considering the amount of people around.
"Eulith, how exactly are we going to find my friend in this kind of condition?"
"It's easier than you think. She's in…high demand. Look out for a rambunctious crowd clutching envelopes." I heard slightly desperate voices floating towards us.
"Look miss. I can't bring it mys –"
"But my needs are more urgent than yours, boy!"
I whirled around. We'd just passed it! On the opposing footpath, a paparazzi-sized mob of people were surrounding what looked like…a mop of silver hair.
"Please, you've got to send this mail to –"
"Forget that man! Take this to –"
Shouting over the crowd, the silver-haired girl stood up on the bench behind her, with a sack as large as a first prize plush doll in her hand. I pushed at the crowd a little, eager to see if I had any memories of her. From what I could see behind all the people, she looked a little older than me, with a serene looking face – currently masked with desperation. I felt a twinge of recognition, a sort of déjà vu sensation, but that was all.
"Everyone, please! I understand that you're all desperate to reach your families and friends, to comfort them with your kind letters. I know that you can't cross the unprotected parts of the Internet yourself at risk of death! But this is all I can do today!" It looked like she was used to giving these kinds of speeches. The crowd slowly dispersed, a few despondent, realising that she was going to stick to her words. After the last of the mob, a young boy, was firmly ushered away, the girl collapsed onto the bench, her long bangs covering her face and let her sack lie on the space beside her.
"I'm sorry…so sorry…" I heard her murmur, as we approached. I looked at Eulith. Wait right there. Then I slipped quietly onto the bench beside her. But now what? She tucked her bangs back firmly behind her ears and stared at me, her dark-blue eyes filled with tears. My friend (?) took a sharp intake of breath and made a shaky attempt to speak.
"I…Inori…" and in the next moment, I was embracing a stranger, slightly surprised that it was me who did so. The twinge of recognition became a roar, flooding my senses. 'Déjà vu.' I realised. And then my subconscious took over.
My friend never cried. Joyful, empathetic, a shouting fit maybe, but she never, ever shed a tear. Well…maybe once, when we were both very little…
"The tree, 'Nori! You've gotta climb it!" I trembled at the oak's imposing height. Why couldn't I be like her? My wonderful, dearest friend, brave enough to climb the 'monster'…
"B...But…I can't! Fia, I can't!" She smiled at me from one of the trunks, and then nimbly clambered down, her short silver bob framing her head.
"Yes you can! One…Two…" The counting worked, and I struggled to wrap my hands and feet around the thick, coarse trunk. Clenching my jaw, I closed my eyes, inching up the beast. "Look how high you are 'Nori!" It was my mistake to look down…and then the world…dropped. Then my arm! As if it was on fire! I realised I was crying.
"INORI!" I saw Fia sobbing, kneeling next to me, and mirroring my tears. "Your…your arm!" Fighting the tears, I looked at it. My elbow was sticking out at the end. I looked away. I'm sorry…so sorry…my…fault…" she repeated, through her shaky breaths. I reached out to her with my good hand, the other already darkening, and she gently wrapped herself around me.
"Fia, it's okay. It's okay. Thank-you, for teaching me to be brave… like you, Fia." More tears came from us, despite our shared comfort. Fia…Oph...ia… The memory of a girl, and her first tears…the scenes knit together and a name rose to the surface. Opera. The kind-hearted, the gentle…and my closest friend…
"Ophelia." I murmured quietly, the memory complete, "It's good to see you again." Then pulling each other tighter into our comfort, we stayed there, until Ophelia's sobs gradually subsided. We quietly straightened up, and Ophelia wiped the remaining tears with the sleeve of her dress.
"Inori…I'm sorry you had to see me like this. It's just…to do all this…but it's like I'm not doing anything! And what's a browser worth, if she can't do even that?" Her eyes began to moisten again. What could I say to that? To a person having an identity crisis, how could I comfort her? Oh…wait a second…
"Ophelia, there's something I've got to say," No going back now. This is what friends are for. "I've…lost most of my memories. Even my knowledge about you, up until we met today, was only limited to what Eulith told me. I'm not trying to compare our problems or anything stupid like that…but please…don't, don't give up. I think…we can help each other through this, just like now…" I trailed. Now what? Luckily, Eulith had magically appeared next to us and stepped in.
"You two have gone through practically everything together. I hope this is no exception, Opera…?" She stood up, clutching a necklace which looked like a…star. I followed.
"Inori, we're…meant to help people, doing the things they can't. Your memories probably require some practical work to jog them." I caught on, noticing her large bag of envelopes still on the seat.
"So, a few delivery errands?" It didn't seem too bad, until I remembered what Ophelia said about crossing the Internet on risk of death.
"It's not that bad!" she reassured me, likely having noticed my panic, "You just need the right…safety measures. Eulith, you gave Inori her brooch, right? The shield shaped one?" he replied in the affirmative. I took it out of my breast pocket as proof, the badge gently sparkling.
"I suppose that's where I take my leave. As a final note, you two, try not to be seen when you exit the firewall. I still need to explain your absence to a few…authorities, but it should be fine, especially since you're in no condition to work with actual clients." So the whole 'memory jogging' had been an escapade! It was kind of nice for Eulith to do that, admittedly. I waved to him as Ophelia and I walked away.
Review constructively, thanks!
Hopefully, we'll also get to see more of the other web browsers.