Amare Memoriae

Part 17 Friction

The day seemed to pass by uneventfully, and before they knew it, it was now Thursday, and school had just let out. "I am so happy that the week's almost over." Nishikata said as he packed up the last of his stuff.

"This week did feel longer than most." Takagi replied as she had already finished gathering her things and was now waiting on Nishikata. "So, are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." They began walking out of the classroom and into the hall, as the awkward silence began to get to Nishikata. "So, how are you recovering?"

"It's been ... going." Takagi began. "I'm still getting a few pieces every now and then, and putting them together is ... a challenge, but I feel like my life is starting to reach a sense of normalcy."

"Just missing the memories?"

She nodded. "There's not even a way to tell if I recovered everything, if that were even possible."

"I ... see ... so um ... how have you been sleeping?"

"Better, I managed to get a full night's sleep, though I had to go to bed early."

"Well, that's progress, right?"

"I guess."

They continued to walk in silence, which was easily bothering both of them. "Hey Nishikata? I need to use the bathroom, can you wait here?"

"Uh, sure." Nishikata replied.

Nishikata walked over to a nearby wall as Takagi made her way into the nearby restroom. 'Damn it, why does it feel like things are getting worse?' Nishikata thought to himself. 'If it weren't for that accident, Takagi and I would be-' He blushed as an image popped into his head of him and Takagi, sitting at a small table that was lit by only a candle at the center. 'Y-yeah, we'd be ...' He shook his head and tried to ease his blush. 'But I can't ...  not right now ...'

He stood there, lost in his own thoughts, as Takagi stood in a stall in the bathroom, facing a similar crisis. "It's just not fair."

"Huh? Takagi?" Came Takagawa's voice. "What's not fair?"

"Oh, Sumire, I was just thinking about ... what you told me about the other day."

"You mean the whole thing between you and Nishikata?"

"Yeah, I'm just thinking how unfair it is for both of us. On the one hand, there's Nishikata, who managed to finally ... do something, and I just ... forget our entire history that led up to that point."

"Um, I think you're leaving out the part where you got hit by a truck."

"I got hit by a support beam, I wasn't directly hit by the truck."

"Still."

"And then there's me, who can't remember him doing something I've wanted him to do in every memory I have of him."

"Oh, that's what you mean, yeah, that sucks."

"Tell me about it, I just wish there was a way for us to resolve this."

"Well, you could always just ... talk to him about it."

"That wouldn't solve anything." Takagi said as she opened the stall door. "I need to go, he's waiting for me outside."

"Okay, catch you later."

She washed her hands and left the bathroom to meet back up with Nishikata, and resume making their way outside.

Their walk continued for quite some time, until they were about half-way home, when the silence really began getting to them. "So ... is there a reason we're not talking to each other?" Nishikata asked.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, just ... a lot on my mind."

"Yeah, I guess there are a few things that are on my mind as well."

They continued walking for a bit before continuing the conversation. "I want things to go back to normal between us." Takagi stated.

Nishikata looked at her surprised. "I ... yeah, so do I."

"No, I mean ... I want things to go back to normal ... and I want ... I don't know how to do that."

"Well ... things will return to normal eventually, right?"."

"I don't know, it feels like there's just something missing, and the longer it's missing, the more distance there is between us."

"I ..." He looked away embarrassed. "I don't really know why that's happening."

"Me neither ... but I want it to stop."

"So do I."

The awkward silence returned as they both continued walking. "Do you think ... that things will get worse?"

"Don't say that!" Nishikata exclaimed. "You were my best friend before, and you're still my best friend now! At the very least, we're not going to drift apart."

"I hope you're right."

They continued walking until they reached Takagi's house, where they would part ways for the day.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Takagi said as she turned to face Nishikata.

"Yeah." She turned around as Nishikata grabbed his chest. 'Come on, you can't let her leave like this.' He watched as she opened the gate to her house. 'COME ON MAN!' "Hey ... Takagi?"

She turned around and looked at him.

"Well ..." He took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around her as he pulled her into a hug.

"Nishikata?" She mumbled. As she stood there, she slowly placed her hands on his chest and closed her eyes. 'Are you ... about to say it?'

"I ..."

'Nishikata ... I ... I don't know if I'm ready for this.'

"I ... really hope you regain what you're looking for."

Takagi let out a sigh before being released from Nishikata's arms. "Thanks ... so do I."

She watched as Nishikata walked away, feeling a sense of emptiness. "Nishikata." She turned around and marched back into her house. "I'm going to fix this, I'm going to find the missing memory that's putting distance between us and fix this!"