Chapter 34: Come Back, Memories of That Day

"Geez! Senpai, what’s gotten into you today?"

After dinner, I was sitting on the sofa, hugging Kana-chan from behind.

"Nothing really. Just felt like it."

"Umm… shouldn’t we take a bath?"

"Yeah, maybe."

Even so, I didn’t want to let go of her.
What happened earlier kept bothering me.

Kana-chan had seen the condom and clearly noticed some kind of contradiction—something that didn’t make sense to her. And what that was… should be obvious.

I’m a woman.
There’s no reason I’d need a condom.

Of course, if I had a boyfriend or something, that might be different. But I don’t.

She might have thought it was left over from some ex-boyfriend.
But her reaction wasn’t like that at all.

No—it was like she’d remembered something.

It must’ve been that day—the day Kana-chan and I started going out.
That condom’s seal had been broken, and one was missing.
There’s no mistaking it—it was from that night.

Back when I had just turned into a girl, I was too confused to check the trash can.
But maybe… there really had been a used one in there.

I don’t remember what happened that day.
And Kana-chan doesn’t remember being with the male me—her memories changed so that it was the female me instead.

It must be what Shachou and Nyako call “common sense alteration.”
To erase contradictions caused by my transformation, the world’s logic—and people’s memories—were rewritten.
But that rewrite wasn’t perfect.
There are tiny cracks.

And those cracks might leave a deep scar between Kana-chan and me.

What if, back then, I hadn’t hidden the condom and had just told her the truth?
What if I hadn’t gone along with her advances, pretending everything was fine?

It’s scary.
Terrifying, even.
It feels like our relationship could end any moment.

But I can’t just ignore it.
It’s like holding onto a ticking time bomb that could explode anytime.

"Senpaaai, seriously, what’s wrong? Don’t tell me you didn’t get enough earlier?"

Kana-chan looked up at me curiously.

"That’s not it."

"Really?"

"Really, really."

"And yet your hand’s wandering up to my chest again~ You sure love these, huh?"

Of course I do.
Kana-chan’s chest… and Kana-chan herself.

"Kana-chan, how about we just stay like this tonight?"

"That’s fine, but first you gotta let me go. I want to take a bath."

"Then let’s go."

I stood up, lifting Kana-chan in my arms.

"Ahh… so you do want to bathe together. Such a spoiled senpai~"

She’s one to talk.

That night, I spent almost the whole time clinging to Kana-chan.

"…And that’s what happened."

The next day, Sunday.
Chihirochi wasn’t around—she had tests to study for—so it was just Nyako, Shachou, and me at a family restaurant.

Honestly, I didn’t want to leave Kana-chan, but I needed their opinions… and advice.
So, reluctantly, I parted from her and came here.

"Hmm… yeah, that sounds pretty bad, nya."

"I agree. I always thought things might get risky between you and Kana-san, since you two were lovers before. But it looks like the memory triggers are weaker than I expected."

Both of them seemed to think the same.

"Apparently, Kana-chan saw me that day—when I bought the condom at the convenience store."

I took the condom out of my pouch and placed it on the table.

"If I remember right, you two started dating that night after drinking, and then decided to go back to your place for more drinks, yeah?" asked Shachou.

"Yeah. We bought more alcohol and snacks on the way."

"That’s when she must’ve seen you secretly toss the condom into your basket."

That makes sense.
I’d said I’d handle the checkout, and Kana-chan waited near the entrance.
But thinking back, she must’ve seen me put it in the basket—and pretended not to notice when I went to the register.

"Well, honestly, if a guy invites you over right after you start dating, you can guess what’s coming, nya. Kana-chan’s twenty-four—an adult, after all."

That sounds about right.
When I kissed her and pushed her down on the sofa, she didn’t resist at all.
If anything, she immediately wrapped her arms around my back and kissed me deeper.

"I probably went all the way that night."

After all, one condom was missing.

"Most likely, nya. Then while you were asleep, you turned into a girl—and Kana-chan’s memories changed along with it."

"And my missing memories?"

"No idea, nya. That part’s still a mystery."

Hmm…

"So, what now, nya? Chihirochi’s got exams, but should we head to Kisarazu soon?"

"I thought about it last night. For now… let’s not tell Chihirochi anything. I want her to focus on her tests."

"It’d just distract her."

"True, nya."

"I agree with that."

Nyako and Shachou both nodded in agreement.

"And besides, I think it’s best if all four of us go to Kisarazu together. We don’t know what might happen, and since the rest of us are around the same age, we share a lot of similar experiences. Having Chihirochi—the only one from a different generation—might actually help us find more connections between the four of us."

"That’s true, nya. Even if we were in different grades, Nyako and the others still went to the same elementary school around the same time, nya."

Well, technically, Nyako’s twenty-three or twenty-four, and Chihirochi’s seventeen, so their time might’ve overlapped just barely…

"Alright, so we’re set on going at the end of the year. But Kisarazu’s a big place—what exactly do we do once we’re there?"

"I think it’d be best to start around the school area. Since we all went to the same elementary school, everyone’s houses should be within walking distance, right?"

"Yeah, I used to walk there, nya."

"Same here."

Then exploring that neighborhood seems like the best plan.

"We can’t exactly go inside the school though, right?"

"Even as graduates, that’d be tough… maybe we should at least ask for permission?" suggested Shachou.

"Can you actually do that?"

"Probably impossible, nya?"

Things are pretty strict these days.

"During the New Year break, there won’t be any students anyway. We won’t get into the building, but if we say we buried a time capsule on the school grounds and want to dig it up, they might let us onto the field."

"I see."

"Did we actually bury one?"

"Nope. We’ll just pretend we did. Say it wasn’t a school event—something personal."

"Well, that’s definitely better than sneaking in at night."

"Exactly, nya. Fortunately, Nyako and the others are girls, so people won’t look at us too suspiciously, nya."

That’s true.
And Shachou’s a respected company president.
We might actually pull this off.

"Then, Shachou—can I leave that to you?"

"I’ll make the call."

"Thanks."

"Leave it to me, nya."

Once we’d settled on our plan, we chatted a bit like usual before calling it an early day.