A Distant Memory
Chapter 137: S2 Episode 36 - A Distant Memory
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Tennouji Mari thought back to a recent memory just a few days before the final round. A mysterious man had been walking outside the girls' dorms in the high school division at night in that memory.
Mari had taken a step outside to catch a breather after stressing over the final round that was coming up.
Her sweets spirit, Honey, had retired to the dorms and slept in her bed after another exhausting day of practicing. Since she didn't want to disturb the little fairy, she left her to sleep and went outside by herself.
She'd put on her winter coat and boots to allow the coolness of the wind to blow against her face.
She was undoubtedly nervous about the final round against Team Michiko in the next couple of days.
As she began her walk through the snow, she saw a dark figure standing outside by the Queen of the Sweets Spirits' statue. It appeared to be a tall man who looked up at the 2-meter tall statue.
She couldn't get a clear look at the man's face since he wore a dark hat and black suit that mended well with the darkness.
Now, Tennouji Mari was not dumb. The vibe this man gave was very suspicious to the point where she turned around to walk the other way.
She tried her best to ignore the suspicious man, but right as she was about to walk in the other direction, a voice came up from right behind her.
"Hm, you must be the Hotel King's daughter…" the man said to her, but he didn't phrase it in the form of a question, and it was as if he was viewing an interesting spectacle.
Since she'd been caught, there was nowhere to run away now. Finally, she turned her body around to face the man who walked up behind her. Even as she turned to look at him, his face couldn't be seen in her eyes when she looked up at the tall man.
"Who might you be to be here at such an hour?" Tennouji Mari seriously inquired the mysterious man. All she could see on his face was a satisfying grin.
"Oh, no one important. I just came here to see you, *Tennouji Mari*," the man creepily repeated her name.
It was eerie to hear her name come out of that man's mouth because, when she'd asked for his identity, he responded with hers.
"How do you know my name?! What is your business with me?!" Mari was now beginning to feel disturbed by this eerie man's presence.
The man clocked his head to the side as if he were facing a pitiful child. He glowered down at her to meet with her honey-gold eyes.
"What a miserable child you are… You've grown up without a childhood, instead, you were raised by the all-watchful eyes of the adults around you," the man spoke, which caused Mari to take a step back in fear.
"H-How did y-you—" she began but was immediately interrupted before she could finish.
"—Know? Fufufu… I can see the pitiful memories within you. Ah wait, I also see a handsome blonde foreigner offering the miserable child a dessert at a grand party. The coldness you felt back then melted when you met this man. Actually, in many of your memories, this man appears in your most happy ones. Could it be that you like—"
"—N-no! I could never! He's just the man who taught me everything I know about confections, nothing else," Mari tried to convince herself, but even she knew that it wouldn't work. Was it that obvious that she liked the man he was talking about?
What disturbed her more was that this strange man in front of her recalled all of her good and bad memories of the past—even the most recent ones.
"I can sense that you're nervous about going against Michiko Keiko and her team, am I right?" The man asked her, to which Mari remained quiet.
What was she doing? Staying here for idle chit-chat with a creepy, strange man?
But no matter what she did to try and remove herself from the situation, it was as if a heavyweight was forcing her to stay. She didn't know if it was the man or not, but he carried a very compelling aura whenever he spoke.
As if involuntarily responding, she nodded her head to his words. It was the truth she never told anyone, but she admitted it in front of a stranger!
What happened to the esteemed student council president known for her neutrality?
"Your dream is to stay by the side of your loved one and gather his affection that he never showed you… You're nervous to go against the opposing team because they're just as skillful as yours—maybe even better…." The man constrained her with his truthful words that were hidden deep inside her mind.
That was it. He hit the nail right on the head.
"How… How do you know so much about me?" Mari asked, giving into his words. But, the man didn't respond to her question, actively ignoring the question altogether.
"You're scared that if you lose against them, you'll never have the chance to be by his side… *she* will."
After hearing this confession out loud, she put her hand to her gaping mouth to cover her surprise.
'N-no! I never thought that!'
"Young child, you may try to fool yourself into thinking that you've never thought these things, but truly, they pass through your mind several times a day. It's so sad to think that you think about your "friend" in this kind of way, huh."
"No! Keiko and I are still friends!" Mari tried to defend herself, but the man kept going.
"Would a friend really think about another like that if they were "true" friends? From the looks of it, it seems like you feel inferior to Michiko Keiko, who's only 4 years younger than you. You even fear that you're going to lose to her in the competition in the next couple of days," the stranger said in a sweet, bitter voice which made Mari realize that his words were true. If she and Keiko were friends, why did she have such harsh thoughts against her?
'What kind of person am I?' Mari asked herself as she pondered what the man admitted to her face. All she wanted was to stand by the man she loved who showed her true joy in a life she hated living. She directed all of her negativity towards Michiko Keiko, who promised to be her friend. Still, all of that negativity was buried deep inside her in the lowest, darkest pit.
"I know what you want, and I can help you achieve it," the man enticed the girl who looked deep into his eyes.
As the moonlight shone from above in the night sky, she could finally get a look at the stranger's eyes.
He had bright blue eyes that could compel the attention of others. His hat covered his hair, yet it showed a light blonde color underneath it. It was as if she had seen those compelling blue eyes before, but she couldn't figure out where.
As her honey-gold eyes met up with his deep, compelling bright blue eyes, clouded darkness infiltrated the clear gold eyes she once had.
"Listen to everything I'm about to tell you…." The stranger said as he gazed deep into the clouded eyes of the teenage girl who stood on the snow-covered ground in a trance.
Near his neck, bright sparkles lingered but faded subtly into the darkness as if they were never there.
.
.
.
As if only seconds passed, Tennouji Mari snapped out of the deep trance she was in, only to find that the stranger she was talking to disappeared into thin air. She never recalled him leaving the area, but he was gone as if he never existed.
"Ouch, my head hurts," Mari said to herself, grabbing at her head and her stinging eyes. She honestly questioned if she saw an illusion just now, but it felt too real to be one. When she looked down at the snow-filled ground, it was obvious that there had been someone else with her there.