Scene 7.

"Mrs Koizumi".

[Domino City, Japan. Saturday. 11/10/1990. Afternoon. Hongo Orphanage].

"...Hotaru, come on, Hotaru, wake up. It's lunchtime". Mrs. Koizumi woke me up with gentle taps on my shoulder.

Enduring the numbness in my body and ignoring the red screen that covered my field of vision, I slowly stood up and greeted her. "Uh-uh? G-Good afternoon, Mrs. Koizumi". It still felt strange to me that someone other than my girls would come to wake me up.

Then memories of what I had done before passing out flooded my mind. At first, it made me feel nauseous, then a short burst of despair washed over me, urging me to know what memory I had lost. Nonetheless, I resisted the need to delve deeper into those memories for the time being. 'Patience and restraint.' I reminded myself mentally.

Mrs. Koizumi smiled and corrected me. "Good afternoon, Kurai, good afternoon. It's already past two in the afternoon, kid. So clean up and then go to the table for lunch. Understood?".

I had woken up earlier than last time. It also didn't seem like anyone considered me to be convalescing. That was progress. I now had more freedom of movement than during the previous occasion, at least for the time being.

"I will". I cordially replied.

After my assent, Mrs. Koizumi left the room, leaving me alone to ponder on everything that needed to be scrutinized.

My face darkened as I finally closed the annoying holographic screen.

#Click#

"Memory is unreliable. I have to write down the whole plan before I forget it, now". I resolved.

I looked around, and my eyes landed on the calendar with a pen hanging on its side by a green string.

I quickly took the calendar, pulled the pen, then tore off any random page from past months, flipped it over, and wrote down all the essential things that I had memorized over the past few weeks.

Five minutes later.

"Yes. This should be enough for now". I nodded to myself.

I then tucked the paper into my right pocket, and nothing could be forgotten.

Later, I left the room and headed to the dining hall.

#Groum!#

My stomach was already starting to bother me.

I didn't even take the time to clean myself up. My head was simply wandering about more important matters. Matters of the future and the past. Priorities.

"Damn it". I cursed.

Unknowingly, I had been manicuring my nails. Nerves were making me unstable. I had too much on my mind.

The pressure was killing me, but it wouldn't be enough to stop me. I couldn't afford to do so.

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To be continued...