You. . .Remember Me?

15

I got to her room and I noticed that she locked the door. "(Y/n), I'm coming in." I unlocked her door with a key. Everyone was given a key to her room when she first got here in case she tried to escape. But now, Ran and Sanzu lost their privileges on having a key to her room. I walk in to see her missing from her bed. I close the door behind me and began to search for her. "(Y/n)?" I call for her.

I then heard a few sniffles coming from the closet. I push the curtain aside and saw her curled up in the corner. I slowly walk up to her and sat down a few inches away from her. I sat in silence as I didn't know what to say to her. Comforting someone is harder than I thought it would be. I look at her and moved a bit closer. Slowly putting her against my body. She began to calm down a bit. I held her hand and gently rubbed it.

"Hey," I spoke. She hums a bit in response. "Let's go out. I can take you anywhere you like and buy anything you want. Just to give you some fresh air." I offered her. "Isn't it dangerous for us to go outside?" She asks. "We'll be fine." I stood up and helped her up. I look deep into her eyes and felt comfortable. I rub my thumb against her cheek and wiped away the remaining tear. "Let's go, shall we?" I gave her a small smile. She nods and doesn't let go of my hand.

----

"It's so pretty today." She says in an almost hushed voice. I look at her and I can sense her smile through her mouth mask. "Yes. Yes, it is." I reply. She looks up at me, and I noticed she was blushing a bit. She turns her head and gasps. "Look! A book shop!" She says as she drags me away.

We got inside and I saw many bookshelves all around. Is this even a bookshop? She looks around and searches for any books that she wanted. "How many can I get?" She asks me. I raise a brow at her. "Get as many as you want. If you want I can buy the whole store." She looks at me wide eye. She waves her hand around. "D-Don't do that! That's too much to ask!" She says. I stifle a laugh at her actions. It's been a while since I have genuinely laughed. "I'll just grab a few that I like." She says before searching for the books she wanted again.

I sat down somewhere as she was still looking. I rest my chin on my hand and sigh. Most women would want to buy clothes, jewelry, shoes, handbags, or makeup if I offered them to spend my money however they wanted, though. . . I look at (Y/n) as she sat down more books next to me. "Be right back." She laughs nervously. I nod at her words. Though I shouldn't compare her to other women. She's nothing like the ones I've met before. Bonten in general. I thought about her smile, her warmth, the love and comfort she gave off. "Would this be a good time to move on?" I mumble to myself.

We finished at the bookstore and we dropped off the books in the car. "I apologize if I got carried away." She says. "Don't worry about it. I told you to get as many as you wanted." I told her. We continued to walk around to see any more stores that she wanted to go to. "Do you want to get some more dresses or clothes?" I ask. She nods and I took her to one of the finest clothing stores.

She looks around, but I noticed that she was struggling to find something she likes. "What's wrong?" I ask. "Nothing, it's just. . .these all so seem so expensive that it wouldn't feel right if I wore it." She says. I sense that she has low confidence in herself. And for what? "How about I shop for you? I pick out a few things for you to try on. Does that sound okay?" I ask her. "You're willing to do that for me?" She asks. I sat her down and nod. "Yes. Someone who is as rare as you deserves to feel like a rare item." I said. I then realized my words and slightly blush. "That's very sweet of you to say that, Kokonoi." She thanks me. Why do I get the feeling that she doesn't believe me? I began my search to find her clothes. I begin to think of what she would like. What suited her the best?

I began to feel frustrated as none of these clothes fitted her personality. Of who she is as a person. Of what I view her as. I then stop as I saw the perfect thing for her. I pick it off the rack and went back to her. "Try this one on." I gave her the dress. She nods and went to go change. I waited on the seat she was previously sitting on. I began to wonder why I was trying so hard to make her feel special. This isn't like me. I usually don't care how others think about themselves. So why does she make me feel this way? Making me go the extra mile to make her feel better? "Kokonoi?" I look up and then I suddenly remembered why.

"What do you think?" She asks. "You look outstanding." I slipped out. I can tell she was smiling brightly underneath her mask. "But. . ." I walk closer to her and push a strand of her hair behind her ear. "What generally matters is what you think about yourself," I told her. She gives me a close-eyed smile. "I feel very pretty thanks to you." She hums. My lips curled up into a smile as her words brought warmth into my heart.

I bought her the dress and we went back home. On the way home, she leans her head on my shoulder. "Thank you for cheering me up. You're a good person." She says as she grabs my hand. She then fell asleep. A good person? Is that what you see in me? I gently push her hair to the side and took off her mask. Would it be right to move on from Akane? I failed to protect her back then. Can I make another promise to protect you, (Y/n)?