Note: I'll make a point to write to longer chapters. Also, I tried but I couldn't find a soundtrack for this chapter at the moment. Admittedly, it probably didn't need one, after all, not every chapter does but still.

As we looked for Memory, Ryuuko mostly just wanted to sleep for half of it. Them other ones were confused but I told them that Ryuuko remembered Memory more in her dreams. "She'd remember little things here and there but not so much." I told them, and the bigger dude said told me that Ryuuko might not remember things too well but she does remember them in her "subconscious." I didn't know what any of that was and I told 'im.

"Subconscious memories are memories that're more instinctive and aren't on the surface. Ryuuko can remember some things about her sister but she can't draw on the specifics of her memories."

"She can remember Memory in her dreams."

"Yes, because her dreams and things she'd do are tied to her subconscious memories."

I looked at him weird for a little bit before something clicked. I remember how Ryuuko didn't look like she minded sleeping on the streets but I didn't like it so much. I asked the four, "Is that why Ryuuko's used to sleeping on the streets?" They looked at me just as weird before Computer Dude told me, "Possibly." The other two, especially the short one looked at me weirder, before the short one went, "Used to sleeping on the streets?"

"Yes."

"Explain a little more about that."

"When we started looking for Memory, we had to save our money and, so, we'd sleep on the streets. Ryuuko would sleep on them like it's nothing, but I couldn't really sleep that much."

"Mm."

"When we met you guys, Ryuuko was sleeping on that park bench like it's nothing."

It was quiet for a bit before Ryuuko woke up. Ryuuko didn't say anything besides the word "cold" and then she went on about how it was cold and windy. It was quiet again before Ryuuko said, "It seemed like the wind would blow us away." She'd tell us that it was so cold that her fingers hurt, and that Memory would warm of up her hands. "I remember that hands, Memory's, were bigger than mine and she hold mine in hers to make them warm again." she said, demonstrating what she meant.

"Eventually, Memory told me to keep them in my sleeves to keep 'em warm." she told us, "I don't know what she meant or how that would work but I did what I was told." Tears came again and then she went to sleep. Monkey Dude asked me how old Ryuuko was when she got dropped off at our place, to which I told him, "I don't know. We were both little and all I can tell is that she's about my age." I told them that Ryuuko didn't even know how old she was, just that she's my age. The Shortie looked at me weirder and asked, "How does she not know how old she is?" I told her that Ryuuko only came with that blue sweater and a note, nothing else. "She didn't come with papers or anything, just those two things. I think the only who'd know how old Ryuuko is would be Memory and we're looking for her."

Computer Dude thought about what I said, before he posited, "Going by what's said, Ryuuko was likely around three years old when she was dropped at Mako's." Three? I knew we were little when we met Ryuuko but she was three? Bigger Dude agreed, pointing out how Ryuuko remembers not a whole lot about her sister but enough for some clues. We talked more about Memory and Ryuuko, while Ryuuko just slept. She didn't even wake up to really eat but she did get some water. "I think she's depressed." I told them.

"Where we go, Shis?"

"Somewhere. We're going somewhere."

When she did wake up, she said, "Somewhere. Sis told me we were going somewhere but she never said where." She sat up and told us that it nighttime when they first left. "A little bit after that, she pointed to the sky and said somethin' about stars. I don't remember what exactly she said and I didn't know what 'stars' even were." Ryuuko told us, looking even more sad. She then started to tell us that she could remember what Memory said about "somewhere" but couldn't really remember her voice.

I hope we find Memory soon.

Notes:

Hey y'all, so a few notes.

One, a lesser-known fact about me is that I did study psychology and, thus, I applied that knowledge here, in which case, there's some subject on memories.

You see, when people say "permanent", I think they actually mean "conscious". See, conscious (otherwise, known as "explicit") memories are where you can actively draw on those, while subconscious memories aren't really a focal point of your conscious mind and, thus, if memory serves, you can't really draw on the specifics of those memories (i.e, why Ryuuko has better recollections during her dreams).

Now, what Mako briefly asks about are "unconscious memories" , which are more performative (i.e Ryuuko being unbothered by sleeping in the streets) and there's some slight overlap/in-story confusion betwixt the two.

Two, ages are vague, of course, and some of the subject of Ryuuko's memories is related to her age at the time she was plopped on the Makanshokus' porch. The only thing concrete is that Satsuki, in this fic, is significantly older than her.

—Amoridere