Memory of That Day (2) EP.53

Cut out the scar.

To make it seem as if the wounds were never there in the first place.

It's literally about removing small wounds with a big one.

But...

"Can I do it?"

It's not a question of mental strength. It's a question of whether it's physically possible or not.

My body is already tough, so these wounds were made over a long period of time.

To make such wounds invisible would require more time than it took to create them.

'It'll probably take at least a month...'

And the chances of getting caught would increase as well.

She always appeared at crucial moments as if she had some special ability.

"...But I still have to do it..."

It's a task with extreme difficulty, as it takes a long time and requires me to be careful not to get caught.

I don't want Shiroko and Nonomi to know about these things.

I want them to only see good things.

Life in Abydos is already difficult for them, so it would be hard for them to accept that their classmate is a self-harm addict.

If it were me, I would have transferred schools long ago.

So,

"It can't be helped, let's just do it...!"

Hoshino knowing about my wounds is enough.

And so, my grand plan, unknown to anyone else in Abydos, began that day.

*

"This should be enough preparation."

And the next day, after everyone had gone home,

unlike the others, I didn't go home and stayed alone in the sports equipment room.

"Whew..."

Along with a large container to hold something and numerous box cutters scattered nearby.

"Three hours a day should be enough, right?"

The plan I came up with was simple.

Carve my arm for three hours a day here.

Since my usual self-harm time is about an hour, if I work hard, I should be able to finish it within a month.

Of course, I'm not a doctor, and I'm doing this crudely, so I don't know if it will work, but

"This is self-harm in a way."

I decided to think of it as just doing what I always do.

"Then... Oof!"

Lastly, I pulled the container in front of me.

This is for collecting blood, prepared to easily handle the blood that flows when I carve my arm.

If I made this place a sea of ​​blood, the smell might remain even after cleaning.

"...Then."

Shall we begin?

*

"Sora."

"....."

"Sora?"

"...."

"Sora!"

"...Eh, uh... W-why...?"

"Are you okay?"

"...Ah, yeah..."

'I'm not okay at all.'

I wanted to say that, but I quietly turned my head.

'Sigh... I should finish this quickly and go home...'

A week has passed since I started carving out the wounds,

and today, we were all gathered to earn money.

The task was to clear out a Helmet Gang's hideout.

For some reason, the client didn't show up, and it felt a bit fishy...

But they said they'd pay a lot, so we decided to take the job.

...But,

'I'm tired...'

It's been a while since we all went out to earn money, but I couldn't concentrate due to fatigue.

The cause, of course, was that thing.

'Ha... When will this end...'

I sighed inwardly as I looked down at my wrist.

The plan I confidently started that day had half-crumbled not long after it began.

-----

"This really fucking tough...!!!"

-----

It was because my body was too tough.

It was even harder than self-harming because I was carving out the toughest part of my body, the skin.

Naturally, I couldn't make as much progress,

and in the end, I had to spend twice the time I originally planned to make any progress.

But self-harming for six hours caused tremendous fatigue,

Bang!

"Ah!"

"S-Sora-chan!?"

"...."

and I collapsed from just one shot from an enemy.

"Ah...."

I want to give up.

.

..

...

"Haa... I'm home..."

It was an important request that paid a lot of money, but at the suggestion of the others who realized I wasn't feeling well, I came home first.

"...Sleepy..."

Originally, I should have used the extra time to carve diligently, but I decided to rest for today.

I was too tired, and I didn't think it would be meaningful to push myself in this state.

I thought it would be better to rest well today and work hard from tomorrow.

"...Ah, but I need to clean up the container..."

It's something that would be a big problem if someone saw it.

"....Whatever. I'll just go early tomorrow and clean it up..."

But unable to resist my drowsiness, I decided to put it off until tomorrow, figuring no one would go to the equipment room anyway.

"Good night..."

I said good night to no one in particular and jumped into bed,

"...Snore..."

and immediately fell into a dream.

But at this time, I didn't know.

That I shouldn't have fallen asleep on this day.

*

"Hey."

On the way home after finishing the job, Shiroko spoke to the two who were walking home with her.

"Don't you think Sora's been acting strange lately?"

"Ah, you think so too? She seems tired... I wonder if she's sick or something...?"

Their topic was Sora's recent condition.

Lately, Sora seemed dazed and looked like she could collapse at any moment.

"Does Hoshino-senpai know anything?"

Shiroko asked Hoshino, who had a more serious expression than usual.

Since she's her family, she might know more than they do.

"...."

"Senpai?"

"...Eh? Uhehe? Ah, I don't know either~"

She replied that she didn't know,

"...."

but she had a hunch.

...No, she was almost certain.

But she couldn't tell them that, so

"This old lady has to go this way. Let's meet tomorrow~"

she had to escape from the situation.

"...Something's off today, both Sora and Hoshino-senpai."

"You're right... I wish I could help... Ah, come to think of it, Sora-chan has been going to the equipment room a lot lately, right?"

"Yeah. She said she was getting something that could make money."

"....Maybe she's having trouble that she can't solve on her own?"

"Maybe. Sora is surprisingly stubborn. She might want to solve it herself."

"...Then, "

"Should we go take a look?"