February 14, Sunday
February 14, it was Sunday and Valentine's Day. On top of that, an event celebrating Valentine's Day was being held. Despite it being cold, there were many people in the amusement park. So there were many families and couples surrounding Koutarou and Kiriha. They were all smiling and enjoying the holiday.
“Kiriha-san, where are we going today? You said you had found a clue.”
“Calm down, Satomi Koutarou. There is a proper procedure to these things.”
Koutarou had been taken to the amusement park by Kiriha when she had asked him to help her to find someone. Since he had already helped her look many times, he readily agreed. Koutarou considered Kiriha to be a precious friend, so he had no reason to refuse. On top of that, Kiriha was looking for her first love. He couldn't keep himself from helping her. And since she had said that she had found a clue, Koutarou was very enthusiastic about going looking.
When they entered the amusement park, Kiriha began walking to lead the way. They were definitely heading towards the attractions inside, but Kiriha wasn't telling Koutarou her plans for some reason. Confused, Koutarou had asked her, but she had dodged it with a smile. And that's where they are at now.
Still... I'm getting a strange feeling about this...
Koutarou chased after Kiriha's back while being caught up in a strange sensation. Since they had left Corona House in the afternoon, the sun was already setting. The orange sun created long shadows. That sight stimulated Koutarou's memories, and he felt that he had seen this before.
Well, I've come here several times before, so...
This wasn't the first time that Koutarou had come here with Kiriha. In fact, he had been here with her several times. One time under the pretense of a date, and a couple more times to look for someone. The date had left quite an impression, so it was only obvious for him to have memories of it. However, as the two walked, he remembered some other memories, apart from the ones with her. It was a memory of a far off day and it had been a serious event that had greatly developed Koutarou's mind. While he scanned his memories, he chased after Kiriha.
“Here it is.”
Kiriha stopped in front of a certain attraction. She then turned around towards Koutarou and showed a cheerful smile. It was a pure and bright smile. It was completely different from what she normally showed, and it was like the smile of the children standing in line for the attraction.
“This is...”
The attraction they were standing in front of was the roller coaster. When Koutarou looked up he could see people shoot by and spin and twist on coaster. This was the most popular attraction in the amusement park.
“I was thinking that we should ride this today.”
“Wait, didn't you decide to ride this with your first love? Or did you give up?”
Kiriha was planning on riding the roller coaster. However, Koutarou objected. In the past, they had decided that Kiriha would ride this with her first love. If she gave up on looking, or if her first love had rejected her, she would then ride it with Koutarou. Because of that, Koutarou couldn't agree.
“You're wrong. I may have found him. My Onii-chan, who I had always been thinking of...”
My Onii-chan.
When Kiriha said those words, a different person's appearance overlapped with hers.
“I've decided! Onii-chan, let's ride on that next!”
“That thing spinning round and round and zooming by!”
It was the appearance of a young girl that had just turned six years old. A girl he had met about half a month ago and had spent a few days with. She soon vanished and Kiriha returned, but Koutarou had definitely caught a glimpse of that girl.
Could it be... no, that's impossible... do such coincidences even exist...?
Koutarou was speechless. An idea was forming in his head, but he quickly denied it.
It wasn't like he hadn't thought of it before. He had considered the possibility. But it was something with such a low chance of being true that he considered it a delusion. Even Koutarou could understand that the cause appearing after the result was impossible.