Before My Memories With You Melt Away in Tears - Episode 61

Kyoya stood next to Ayaka, who had been pulled up to the poolside. The teachers were bustling around, as the ambulance they had called was about to arrive. The swimming competition was canceled, and all the other students, except for Ayaka and her friends, had returned to the classroom.

“Are you okay…?”

“That should be my question. Ayaka, are you okay? You were drowning just now.”

“Well, um…”

Ayaka buried her face in her knees, unsure whether it was okay to talk about Hanami. As she walked back to class, Hanami had looked down with a pale face, as though regretting what she had done.

“…You’re so kind, Ayaka.”

Ayaka lifted her head at Kyoya’s words. Kyoya’s face was filled with anger as he stared intently at the pool.

“It was Okazaki, right?”

“Ah…”

“He did something to you in the water, didn’t he?”

Ayaka bit her lip, remaining silent. It would be easy to confirm it, but thinking about what Hanami had done, Ayaka should have told the teachers immediately.

But she didn’t.

“It was… for my sake, right?”

“No…”

“If I’d found out that Okazaki had done something to you, I would have definitely been questioned about it. You were worried that my name might come up, weren’t you?”

“I…”

Ayaka couldn’t deny it, and Kyoya smiled wryly at her, saying again, “You’re kind.”

“…What Okazaki did to you is absolutely unforgivable. If things had gone wrong, you might not even be here right now. Just thinking about that scares me so much.”

Ayaka could see Kyoya’s hand trembling slightly. She felt guilty for worrying him, but at the same time, a small part of her was happy that he cared so much.

“…Kyoya-kun.”

“Thank you.”

She reached out from the towel, gently placing her hand in Kyoya’s. Despite the heat of the sun, Kyoya’s hand felt cold, almost unnervingly so.

“But, thanks to Okazaki, I was able to remember you. The you of now… and also the you from that day—the Ayaka who was crying and I couldn’t help.”

“Eh… No way…”

That’s right. Kyoya had said something back then.

“Next time, I’ll be able to help you, Ayaka, with my own hands.”

That was what he had said—could it be that those words meant this?

Ayaka was afraid to look at Kyoya’s face, which was right next to her. She tried to pull her hand away, but Kyoya grabbed it, not letting her go.

“I remember everything now. What happened between me and you that day. The reason I lost my memory… everything.”

“Ah… S-sorry!”

Ayaka immediately bowed her head, lowering it until her forehead almost touched the poolside. She kept apologizing, over and over.

She felt responsible. Because of her, Kyoya had lost his parents. If that incident hadn’t happened, Kyoya would still be living happily with his parents. Ayaka had destroyed that future.

Kyoya grabbed her shoulders and lifted her head up, stopping her from bowing.

“Look at me. You don’t have to do that.”

“But… But…”

“Besides, I’m the one who should be apologizing.”

“Why… Why should you… Kyoya-kun?”

“Because, when you were hurting, you started to smile because I told you to. My words ended up binding your heart. I’m really sorry.”

Ayaka shook her head, denying it repeatedly. It wasn’t Kyoya’s fault. Kyoya had only tried to protect her.

“And… If you’re saying that my words bound you, then I… I told you that you should forget the painful things. Maybe it was that, which led to Kyoya-kun losing his memory… I’ve been thinking about that… for so long.”

“No, Ayaka. It’s not your fault. It’s because of you that my heart didn’t die.”

“Your heart didn’t die…?”

“Yeah. For the little me, the fact that my parents died protecting me was so heavy and painful. It was unbearable. But your words saved me. You told me it was okay to forget. That I didn’t have to carry it.”

Kyoya’s heart had been protected by forgetting his guilt. Even if Ayaka hadn’t said those words, he might have lost his memory to protect his heart.

But if that wasn’t the case, and if he hadn’t been able to bear the weight of his guilt, he might have taken his own life…

“That’s why, Ayaka, you saved me. It’s not your fault. Thanks to you, I’m here now.”

Tears fell down Kyoya’s face. They weren’t tears of sadness for someone else, but simply the tears of his own feelings.

“Kyoya… you…”

Ayaka’s vision blurred from the tears, but she could still hear Kyoya’s voice, so gentle, and the warmth from their joined hands. He was surely smiling softly.

“Ayaka, you told me that you wanted to break up that day, and I accepted it. But, I still love you.”

His words reached her, clear and straight.

“I never want to be apart from you again. I never want to forget you again. So…”

Kyoya’s face drew closer.

The pressure in the hand they were holding increased, and then—

There was a loud thud.

“Kyoya…kun?”

Before her was Kyoya, lying motionless on the poolside.