However, Kaguya had lost all her memories from more than a few months ago. When she tried to recall who that person might be, the only person she could think of to whom she could have possibly made such a promise was Mari. But she hadn’t made any promise of the sort to Mari—had she?
In which case, could this be a memory from the time she had forgotten?
Or maybe she had just gotten her wires crossed again. Maybe she was just in the mood for ice cream and had cooked up the idea of a promise in her head.
“No. I…definitely made a promise with someone. Somebody—”
But she couldn’t remember who. They must have been fairly close if they were going out to eat together. Was it a man? A woman? She couldn’t even remember that much.
But she had the strong feeling that she needed to remember this if nothing else.
“Who was it…?”
But no memories came to mind. The oldest incident she could recall was waking up in her hospital bed with Mari peering down at her.
“Who could it have been?”
Kaguya clutched the paper in her hand, feeling at a loss. She stood there, frozen and no longer looking at the crumpled piece of paper in her hand, as she desperately tried to drudge up anything at all from her memory. However, as soon as she dug back several months, she collided with a brick wall and could not dig any farther.
Who are you? What was your name? What did your face look like?
She took a step forward. As she did so, she felt a vague presence behind her. Turning around…
“Kaguya!”
“Ah…! Oh, Mari…it’s you. Did you finish everything you needed to? I thought we might—”
“What is that in your hand?”
With a forcefulness that Kaguya would have never expected from her, Mari stepped closer and deftly extracted the page from Kaguya’s hand.
Mari spread the paper open. After getting a better look, she held her breath and then exhaled heavily.
“I always wondered where that missing page went after they handed over the report. I knew I was right to worry.”
“The report…? There’s more? More pages like this…?”
“They’re not necessary anymore. Forget about it.”
“B-but that name written there, Captain Yuuri Azuma, I need to—”
“I said forget it!” Kaguya took a reflexive step backward. She had never heard Mari shout like that before. “I’m sorry. But I can’t do it. I can’t stand to see you wind up like that again.”
“Wind up like what…? Mari, what are you saying? Wasn’t I asleep all this time?”
Mari didn’t answer.
“You’re curious, aren’t you? About Captain Azuma.”
Not really, Kaguya tried to say, but she found herself nodding her head slowly. She took the spread-out report back from Mari gently and stroked the date in the upper left-hand corner with her finger.
“This is my handwriting…but the date doesn’t make any sense. I just felt like there might be more to this.”
Kaguya was realizing something about herself for the first time. Once she sank her teeth into something, she couldn’t let go of it so easily.
“That’s not all, either.” There were other things that were bothering her. Things that had come back to her, one after the other. “Like that thing with the soup. I just feel like there are so many things that I need to remember. Also, I’m pretty sure that I made a promise to somebody.”
“A promise…?”
“A promise to go eat ice cream parfaits.”
Kaguya felt herself getting worked up. It was like the words were delivering a shock to her brain.
“But who? Who in the world could it have been?”
Mari was standing right in front of Kaguya, but Kaguya couldn’t see her now. She was digging through her memory once more. But once she hit that brick wall, she couldn’t dig any farther.
But if a wall was in her way, then all she had to do was destroy it. There were memories sleeping beneath the surface that were too important for Kaguya to give up. And one of them was this name.
“Who is he? Captain Yuuri Azuma…?”
At that moment, Kaguya’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone chuckling. Kaguya looked up in surprise. It was Mari, her laugh uncomfortable. Almost like someone would laugh at a precocious child who was being naughty.
“It’s just like the Director said …”
“M-Mari…?”
“Once you decide how things are going to be, there’s nothing we can do to stop you.”
Judging from the expression on her face, Mari’s words seemed to be directed elsewhere.
“Kaguya, I’m sorry for lying to you. The one who found a way to turn heroes back into humans was actually you, not me.”
“What…?”
“I was also lying when I said that you had been asleep… You really were in a coma for a while, but that was over half a year ago.”
These were shocking words, but for some reason, hearing what Mari said put Kaguya at ease. The report, at least, was starting to make more sense now.
“Th-then what in the world was I doing before…?”
There was a clear hint of desolation in Mari’s eyes.
“You should go find that out for yourself,” Mari said simply before moving back. That was when Kaguya thought she saw—yes—a look of resignation on Mari’s face. “Technical No. 3 probably won’t be around for much longer, either. There aren’t that many Goddesses left, after all.”
Meaning this place was no longer really needed. Goddesses were only showing up at a rate of about once per month. There was always the option of just giving up on them.
“You won’t give up, will you, Kaguya? I probably couldn’t make you if I tried. Only…” Mari hesitated. “Only…whatever else happens, you’ll always be my mentor, Kaguya. And mine alone.”
“Mari…”
“Now go. Before it’s too late.”
“What do you mean, too late…?”
“Don’t you already know? Charon is being disbanded today. Who knows what will happen to Charon’s members once the squad is gone? We don’t have any contact details for them, either. If you want to see them, today is your last chance.”
Kaguya wasn’t entirely sure what Mari meant by “too late,” but the heartbreak on Mari’s face made Kaguya feel a pang in her chest. Though she still wasn’t able to process half of what Mari was saying, Kaguya found herself hugging the girl tight.
“I’m sorry, Mari. And thank you.”
Kaguya gave Mari’s face one last look. Although still resigned, Mari appeared brighter now. It was an expression Kaguya had never seen on her face before. As if Mari had discovered some sort of peace.
Kaguya needed to find this Captain Yuuri Azuma and speak to him face-to-face. She was certain of it, even if she wasn’t sure why.
But how was she going to find him?
“Call this number.”
Mari had apparently anticipated Kaguya’s question before she could ask it. She wrote down a number on a scrap of paper torn off from the report.
“Major Mirai will understand…but I think you probably know that.”
Kaguya had a memory of being whipped around in a vehicle that raced like the wind. Of a woman, asking her if she was truly ready. Something she must have once experienced long ago.
She finally knew for sure—that none of it had been a dream. These were memories. Forgotten, but important.