Music Playing: Grief by Takahito Eguchi

As we discussed amongst ourselves as to how to look for Memory, Underachiever—Mako—returned with company. Her company looked familiar, like someone we were looking for. She was wearing a sweater, blue with embroidered purple flowers, a long skirt (not too long, as it went just below her knees) and her long ebony hair was messy. Going by how she carried herself, she would have much preferred to run but, yet, she didn't. On another note, she seemed almost terrified. She had to be someone we knew.

Mako told us that she was talking to her but never caught her name, while Uzu and Houka were comparing her to her our sketches. It was tense and quiet before Nui asked, "So, like, are you here for Ryuuko?" It was quiet again before she let out a muffled cry. If she wanted to run, she would have, though, she couldn't really bring herself to do it. After a few moments, she said, "Please take care of my baby sister." Mako got goggle-eyed before she mentioned that the note on the back of the photo Ryuuko carried around had those exact words.

Yes, this had to be the elusive "S. 'Memory' Kiryuuin". Our old classmate who stole our lunches, Ryuuko's benefactor, and the subject of Ryuuko's memories—The one we were searching for. For a world was a void before she got out, "I'm sorry for stealing your lunches." Yes, this is the Kiryuuin girl we were looking for. As the world rematerialized, I noticed that she was looking down at her feet, still timid like she was those years ago. Her hair may have covered her face, even more as she stared at her feet, but I could tell, other than her being scared, she was trying her best not to break down more.

Unsure of what to do, as gentle as I could, I asked her as to what her name was. We already knew her last name but we never got her first name. It was more silence before she stated, barely above a whisper, "Satsuki." Her arms were wrapped around herself and she seemed to have shrunk a bit. Nui opted to ask her what happened those years ago, to which she, in as much she could muster, "I didn't leave her on that doorstep willingly."

"Then... w...why did you leave her on our doorstep?" Mako asked her, finally finding the words.

"I didn't have a choice." Satsuki answered, trying to stifle her sobs, but otherwise wouldn't elaborate outside of, "It's not like I didn't love her at all. I loved her more than anything and she's all that I have, but I had to leave her." At that moment, I remembered something that Nui said, specifically, her speculations on why Satsuki left Ryuuko on Mako's doorstep: "…m'be she was trying to save Ryuuko from, er, something worse." Clearly, by what she didn't say, Satsuki didn't leave Ryuuko out of malice but, whatever her reasons were, they had to be painful.

At that point, as quiet as she could be, Satsuki was crying a bit harder, only pausing briefly to wipe away her tears, where we did see her face. She went back to looking at her feet before she continued, "Ryuuko would have starved otherwise." The only elaborations she gave on that she wasn't eating out lunches, no, she took them to feed Ryuuko. We knew something was off about her but I don't think we'd have liked to know how bad her home life was.

Before we could ask any more questions, she promptly asked, "She's dying, isn't she?" We weren't sure how to answer that but Uzu did encourage that she go see Ryuuko, while Mako asked as to why she hadn't come to see Ryuuko at all. She whispered, "I couldn't muster the courage." before she muttered something about, quote, "not taking Ryuuko back to that house."

She wouldn't elaborate, no, instead she just cried. She was crying more audibly, before reiterating her question. Gamagoori promptly told her, "Well, she's critical but they don't really know what the prognosis is." Nui did pipe up that Ryuuko's been looking for her and that visiting her might help her get well. I think for a moment she wondered if visiting would even help, considering how long she's likely been away. However, it didn't take her long to agree on visiting Ryuuko, especially the latter would take a turn for the worse.

"I wasn't there so much since she was little but, at least, I can be there for her now, even if it's the very end." she uttered, her voice a whisper against the wind.

Authoress Notes: I cycled through quite few tracks and I'm still uncertain but I opted for the closest matching one. Part of the reason this track was so late was because I couldn't really find a track at first.