Chapter 3: Hints of the Past
The sound of controllers clicking echoed through Taki's room. His eyes were fixed on the screen as his character sliced through enemies, but his heart wasn't in it. He was usually unbeatable in this game, but tonight… he was losing.
"Damn it…" he muttered as the words "Game Over" flashed on the screen.
Haru Tatsunagi, who was sitting next to him, raised an eyebrow. "Oi, Taki. You're off your game today."
Taki let out a sigh and threw the controller on the floor. "Just tired, I guess."
"Tired?" Haru sneered. "You? The guy who spends all night watching anime and still gets an A on his exams? Yeah, right."
Tatsuki Tatsunagi, Haru's little brother, looked at Taki with a worried face. "Is something wrong with you?"
Taki didn't reply immediately. His thoughts continued to return to the words of Yuki at the park.
"Why am I back here…"
The melancholy in her tone stuck in his head like an earworm song.
"It's nothing," Taki replied after a while, attempting a smile.
"I'm just overthinking."
Haru sat back, resting his arms behind his head. "Talk about overthinking… have you seen Yuki being kinda weird lately?"
Taki's muscles tensed.
"Yeah…" Tatsuki said quietly. "She's been off. Not herself."
"Perhaps something is on her mind," Tatsuki said. "Did you ask her what it is?"
Taki glanced away. "No… I didn't want to intrude."
"Pfft. You? Intruding?" Haru playfully pushed him. "Come on, dude. You and Yuki are close. If anyone can ask, it's you."
Taki didn't say anything. He wanted to ask Yuki, but… something was stopping him.
That night, unable to get rid of the impression, Taki found himself back in the same park.
"Why on earth did I come here…?" he grumbled, but his legs went on their own.
When he turned the corner, he came to a standstill.
Yuki was there again—sitting quietly on the swing with a book in her hand.
Taki's heart skipped a beat. "Why does she keep appearing here?"
He stepped towards her, making an attempt to be normal. "Yo, Yuki."
Yuki glanced up, her face relaxing. "Taki… hey."
"What are you reading?"
She held up the book—a romance novel.
"Just… passing the time."
Taki sat on the swing next to her, the silence between them strangely comforting. But his mind couldn't shake the question gnawing inside.
"Why do you always come here, Yuki?" he finally asked.
Yuki's hold on the book grew tighter. "I used to come here a lot… when I was younger."
Taki's forehead creased. "When you were younger…?"
Yuki's gaze wandered to the sun setting. "With someone I used to know."
A shiver ran down Taki's spine.
"Someone… you used to know?"
The following day, Taki couldn't concentrate. The encounter with Yuki was on repeat in his mind.
"Someone I used to know…"
At lunch, he shared with Haru and Tatsuki that he ran into Yuki at the park once again.
"Wait…" Haru scrunched up his eyes. "Doesn't that sound kinda familiar?"
"Familiar how?" Taki asked, bewildered.
"Like… someone from your past." Haru inched closer, his eyes stern for once.
Tatsuki nodded consideringly. "If she's describing someone from her past… perhaps…"
Taki scowled. "What are you guys suggesting?"
"Think about it, Taki." Haru drummed his finger on the table. "Didn't you used to—"
"Stop." Taki halted him, his heart racing.
He did not want to entertain the possibility. but that maddening feeling inside his chest kept getting bigger and bigger.
Tonight, Taki was lying awake in bed, gazing up at the ceiling.
"Someone from her history…"
He lay there, shut his eyes tight, trying to recall.
Pockets of sound came bursting in his mind.
A whispered vow between two juvenile friends.
"Come back to me. I promise."
Suddenly, Taki's eyes burst open.
"Who. was it?"
His heart pounded in his chest as a faint image of a young girl flashed through his mind.
Her face was blurry, but her voice…
"Taki… I'll be back."
Taki sat up, his breathing heavy.
"Could it… be?"
The memory was just out of reach, but the feeling…
It was too familiar to ignore.
"Yuki…"
His mind screamed that something wasn't right.
"Is it really… her?"