This would explain why it felt like my mind simply jumped from one location to another after both of the previous two instances. Though to be honest, even I still wasn’t fully convinced by this theory. It was entirely possible that I was completely off the mark here. But if I had it right, and I did always lose my memories from the period in which time was frozen, then that meant I’d forget all about Akira and our journey together.
When I told her this, her eyes went wide in astonishment. “Wait, you’re just gonna forget everything?!”
“Assuming the pattern holds true, yeah.”
“Man, seriously…? But that’s so—” Akira started, but then held back. She swallowed whatever word had been poised on the tip of her tongue, then let out a pensive sigh. “Guess that means I’m probably gonna forget all about you too, then, huh…?”
“I mean, we don’t know that for sure. Like, if it’s a phenomenon that’s specifically centered around me and you just got sucked into it somehow, then it could be different for you, hypothetically. Hard to say, since this is your first timefreeze and all.”
“Well, as far as I remember, yeah.”
“Right—I guess it’s possible you just forgot them, same as I did. Do you remember having any strange experiences like what I described when you were younger, Iguma-san?”
“I did think about that, yeah. But I’m pretty sure the answer’s no. Like, I can think of a couple of weird or spooky experiences, maybe, but definitely nothing that would make you think there were any time shenanigans involved.”
“Gotcha…”
I gently bit my lip as we ignored a stop signal and strode over the crosswalk. When we weaved behind a large semitruck, the pungent smell of exhaust fumes filled my nostrils. I’d begun exercising a bit more caution when crossing the street now that I was concerned the timefreeze could end at any moment.
“I think maybe I really did drag you into this somehow, then,” I said.
“Huh? What makes you say that?” said Akira.
“I mean, it just makes sense. I’ve been through at least three of these things already, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you just happened to have your first on the exact same day that I was visiting your hometown. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is all my fault.” My nails dug into my palms as I lowered my head in guilt. “I’m really sorry, Iguma-san. If only I hadn’t agreed to go on that stupid class trip, none of this ever would have happened…”
“H-hey, knock it off. I already told you I can’t deal with all the mopey crap…” Akira fidgeted uncomfortably with her bangs. “Look, I don’t care whose fault it is, okay? What’s done is done. We’ve just gotta keep moving forward.”
“…You’re very sweet, thanks.”
“Nah. That ain’t got nothin’ to do with it.”
Akira turned her head away, trying to play it cool.
“…I’ll tell you one thing, though,” she said in a quiet voice as she lowered her gaze. “You’re not the only one to blame here. Pretty sure I’m partly responsible too.”
I couldn’t tell if she was just saying this to make me feel better or there was something more to it than that. But I didn’t have the nerve to ask her in the moment, so we both just let the conversation die there.
After walking a bit farther, we found a little karaoke parlor standing all by itself on the side of the road. This was right after we’d begun keeping an eye out for somewhere to sleep, so we talked it over and agreed to just call it there for the night. We probably could have found a traditional inn or business hotel if we’d kept going, but neither Akira nor I felt like hoofing it any longer today.
We walked into the building and quickly set about searching for an unoccupied room. Despite being quite a ways from any built-up urban areas, the place was filled to the brim with customers—though all of them were pretty elderly. I wondered if they were having some sort of event for the local senior society. Unfortunately, this meant we were only able to find a single empty room—even if there was, technically, still enough space for the two of us to lie down separately.
“Ah, well. Guess it’ll have to do,” said Akira. She stepped right into the room, not even hesitating at the thought of sleeping in such a tiny, enclosed space with me. I had to admit her boldness in this regard still felt a bit jarring to me at times. Not that she had anything to worry about with me, obviously, but I didn’t think most girls my age would be so willing. Perhaps it was just a testament to how much she trusted me in particular.
I set my bag on the floor and took a seat on one of the worn leather couches.
“Gonna go use the bathroom real quick,” Akira said, then walked out the door.
I looked around the room. This was actually my first time ever being inside a karaoke parlor. I felt pretty self-conscious about singing in front of other people, and I wasn’t very big on music to begin with. When it came to the few opportunities for me to attend in the past (like for an end-of-the-year class party, for instance), I’d always refused.
A little while later, Akira came back into the room carrying a whole cornucopia of sweets in her arms, which she proceeded to lay out excitedly on the table.
“Went ahead and nabbed a few things from each of the other rooms,” she said. “Feel free to help yourself.”