Amare Memoriae

Part 7 Pestered

It was once again the following day, only this time, Nishikata was feeling much better, possibly from having a full night's sleep. 'I can't wait for Takagi to finally get out of the hospital.' Nishikata thought to himself as he walked through the halls of the school. 'But what should I challenge her to?'

As he reached his classroom, he noticed that there was a sense of unease in the class, like everyone was on edge again. "Well, this is strange." Nishikata said as he made his way to his seat.

As he waited for class to start, a girl approached him and looked at him with her arms behind her back. "Hey, Nishikata?" She asked. "You're close with Takagi, right?"

"Um ... yeah?"

"I mean real close, and you've probably been allowed to see her, right?"

"Um ... yeah?"

"So ... in theory ... you could take me with you to visit Takagi, right?"

Nishikata thought to himself for a moment. "Um ... yeah?"

"So ... would you allow me to come with you when you go to visit Takagi?"

"Um ... no?"

"What?"

"Her mother said that it's me and Takagawa, that's it, if I bring anyone else, then she won't allow me to come anymore."

"Takagi's over thirteen, she can make that choice herself."

"Yes, but Takagi agreed to it, so I can't take you with me."

"Oh come on, I'm sure that you of all people could convince her to let me see her."

"What does that mean?"

"It means ... well ... you know ... she would listen to you."

"More than you?"

"Yes! Because you're her ... you know."

"Um ... no, I don't know, and no, I won't take you with me."

"Okay, just ... think about it?"

"I ... have thought about it."

"Thank you."

She walked away, leaving Nishikata feeling more than a little out of place. "What the heck was that about?"

He sat in his seat and began contemplating, until another girl walked up to him. "Hey, Nishikata, could I ask a favor of you?"

"It ... really depends on the favor."

"I want you to take me with you when you visit Takagi, so they allow me in."

Nishikata let out a sigh. "No, I'm not allowed to."

"Please?"

"It's ... not my call."

"Could you think about it?"

"I ... no, I gave you my answer."

"Okay ... I'll ... talk to you later then." She walked away, leaving Nishikata a little annoyed.

"Why ... never mind."

He continued to wait until class started, but his mind was easily somewhere else. 'Takagi said she wants me to challenge her ... but to what? I can't do any physical contests, even if she was out of the hospital, it just wouldn't be right. But then what do I bring?'

Once more, the day proceeded without incident, but now, it felt like the roles from a few days ago were now reversed, he was the one who was calm and everyone else was on edge. 'Well, they don't know that Takagi is okay and recovering ... though I suppose they could just call her.'

He continued focusing on school, end eventually, the day was finally over. As he was about to leave, however, another girl approached him, looking concerned. "Hey, Nishikata?"

"If you're about to ask me to take you to Takagi, I can already tell you-"

"I've heard, but ... could you just tell her to call me?"

"Um ..."

"Sorry, tell her to call Manaha, I've tried calling her myself, but she won't pick up."

'Well, that's odd, but I guess that's why they want me to take them to her ... though ... ' "You know, it just occurred to me ... if you're asking, then you probably don't know what's happened, do you?"

"Huh?"

"Takagi ... doesn't remember anything, she lost most of her memory of junior high."

She stared at him in disbelief, then shook her head. "Is that some kind of joke that you and Sumire are in on?"

"Huh?"

"She said the exact same thing yesterday, and it's really getting old fast."

"It's not a joke, it's the truth, though I have no idea why she isn't picking up her phone."

"That can't be true."

"Well, it is."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am!" He began walking away as the girl just watched. "I feel bad, but I want to see her as well."

He began making his way out of the class until Takagawa caught up with him. "So, we're going to visit Takagi again?"

"Yeah, but she asked me to bring something today."

"Huh? What did she ask for?"

Nishikata thought to himself for a moment. "I don't know, she just ... you know, something."

She smiled. "Hm ... you two have gotten rather close, haven't you?"

"I guess."

"Do you like her?"

He was quiet for a moment as he looked at her a little worried. "I ... what do you mean?"

"I think that would be obvious, do you have a crush on her?"

"I ... I mean ... she's my friend."

She continued to give him a sly smile. "Well ... if you want to spend alone time with her, you can just ask."

"I-I'll take that into consideration." He said as he turned away. 'I can't admit that I like her to Takagawa of all people, I need to tell Takagi myself.'

They continued walking until they made their way out of the school, but as soon as they were off the school premises, Nishikata felt something off. 'Why do I feel like I'm being watched?' He glanced back, and sure enough, he saw a few of the girls from school following them. "Takagawa?"

"I know." She replied. "They won't be allowed in, even if they do follow us."

"I know, but still, the fact that we're being followed is annoying."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." She began thinking. "How about this, I'll distract them, you pick up whatever it was you needed to get."

Nishikata contemplated it for a moment before nodding. "Okay."

"Good." As soon as they reached a fork, they split up, and sure enough, the girl following them stopped, alternating her gaze between the two.

He quickly took a turn, and waited a few minutes in case they followed, and thankfully, there was no one behind him. "Looks like they decided to follow Takagawa."

He resumed walking, making sure to stop and check if he was being followed, as he began thinking of what to challenge Takagi to. "Hm ... it'll have to be something she can do with one good arm ... hm." He continued thinking until an idea came to him. "That's it!"