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iohourtime · 6 years

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Kiokuya (Memory Man) - Novel Spoiler (Part 3)

This is a continuation of the recap of Kiokuya (or Memory Man), the novel written by Origami Kyoya that Yamada Ryosuke’s new movie is adapted from. Since the novel has not been published in English, I’m posting a semi-detailed summary / recap of the story for anyone who wanted to know what this “horror” story is about. (Seriously, it’s not horror.) There are obviously spoilers but it sounds like the movie will definitely change some of the plot. I made a couple of comments.

Links to previous part(s): Part 1: Prologue + Episode 1 Part 2: at present 1 + Episode 2 + at present 2

Episode 3: Calling for Moratorium*

*This chapter covers the story between Kaname and Misao. Ryoichi and Maki do not pop up until the “at present segment”, but there are some parallels. One thing I can't quite capture with the recap is Ryoichi & Maki’s relationship since their interactions are sprinkled throughout the book. I tried to add some of the Maki scenes even when it's not too relevant. The gist is that Ryoichi clearly saw Maki as a little sister but Maki could be jealous because her “big brother” was “taken” by another girl or she had a crush on him.

Also, since I don't have the manga, I don't know the official pronunciation for the names. The main characters should be fine because I got them from the sample manga.

Saza Misao was the one who brought Sekiya Kaname out of loneliness but she was also the one who pushed him back into the abyss. They had known each other since childhood when Misao and her family moved next door. His first impression of her was that she looked like a boy. Her first impression of him was that he didn’t smile. There was a reason for it - Kaname’s mom just left the family for a younger man, only visiting her son once or twice a year.

Even though Kaname was aloof, Misako's sunny nature soon warmed his heart and they started doing everything together. Kaname had problems remembering Misao's name at first, so he called her Saza.

At that time, Kaname's uncle Masa was living with him and his dad. Since Kaname's dad threw himself at work and his mom only saw him once or twice a year, Masa and Misao were basically his only family. He only ever smiled when he was with them. That was something his uncle noticed too and he was grateful for his nephew's bubbly friend, whom Kaname saw as a boy.

Misao's family moved away after 3 years and Masa also found work with room and board provided. Still, he would come and help out at his beloved nephew's house. When Kaname was in grade 4, Misao moved back. To him, even though she kept her short hair, she now looked like a girl. They were still the best of friends when they were both 15. Since Kaname was very quiet, his reserved nature had been interpreted by his classmates as a “mysterious aura”, so a lot of girls were interested in him. At least that was what Misao told him. She had turned into a pretty young woman but she was still as warm as before and remained Kaname’s best (and only) friend.

One day, there was a trio of girls waiting for Kaname and gave him a letter asking him to go to the west staircase after school. He knew what was going to happen.

“I've been watching you in the library. I like you”, said the girl.

“Sorry. Can I go now?” Kaname replied coldly.

“Are you rejecting me because of Saza?”

“No, this has nothing to do with her.” Kaname was baffled that he had to explain himself. “I'm not dating Saza. I'm just not interested.” He turned around and left the girl. He just felt gross about the encounter.

………...

Kaname met his mom. Ever since she left them, she started to use more makeup and perfume. While he didn't hate her, he felt a headache whenever he had to see her. These girls / women said they liked our loved him but they didn't know him at all. Why was it so easy for them? He just felt disgusted.

………...

“Kaname”, Misao called out to him. What was she doing here? “Wait. Don't go yet!”

………..

Masa noticed Kaname acting strangely. He was trying to find out but his nephew just clamped up. Changing the topic, he asked, “Where's Misao?” “Who knows. It's not like we are in the same class.” Kaname replied coldly.

Masa bumped into Misao a couple of days later and tried to find out what happened. Misao didn't answer but kept a forced smile on her face. “I wonder if it is my fault.” Masa thought.

…………

“Masa! How are you?” Misao greeted him warmly yet another few days later. It seemed like whatever troubled her was gone.

“It's great to see you so happy. Do you want to come over to Kaname’s place for a cup of tea? I don't think he's home yet but I have a key.” Masa said.

“Kaname… san? Who's he?” Misao replied.

What's going on? Masa thought. At that moment, Kaname appeared.

“Oh, are you Kaname-kun? Nice to meet you.” Misao smiled brightly.

…………

Misao completely forgot about Kaname while remembering everything else. Her parents took her to the neurologist but they couldn't find anything wrong in the CT scans.

“I know you have some idea what happened,” Masa asked his nephew.

“No clue. I need to do homework.”

Masa watched his nephew and thought. “You must know that Misao liked you. You must feel hurt at being forgotten.”

~~~~~~~~

Two months ago, Misao told Masa about her feelings for Kaname had grown beyond just friendship. “But I don’t think he sees me that way. I thought about confessing, but…” Misao was confused about what she should do.

Masa knew that his nephew was affected by his mother’s abandonment. Although they saw each other, he was always disgusted at how his mother changed. In some way, Kaname had associated love with these negative feelings towards his mother. Masa knew how well Kaname and Misao got along and was hoping Kaname would find happiness with Misao. He did not expect Misao to be rejected so heartlessly as well.

Coming out of his reverie, he saw a girl wearing a uniform visiting Misao. “She must be a classmate.”

~~~~~~~~

Masa went “home” more often to check on his nephew, whose only friend, the only person who could make him smile, had now become a stranger. He heard someone knocking on the door.

“Hi, it’s Misao! Mom asked me to bring over all this food.” Misao said cheerfully.

“Oh, do you want to join us?” Masa invited.

“Sorry, I already ate, but next time, tell me all about Kaname. I heard we were good friends since childhood and I think if we talk, I could get some memories back!” To Kaname, “I’m really sorry I forgot about you…”

“It’s not your fault.” Kaname said without feelings.

“If we are such good friends, it is a shame that I cannot remember. I will try very hard to remember, Kaname-kun.” Misao said before she left.

While Misao was still the friendly, kind girl she had always been, she no longer had that unspoken understanding with Kaname.

…………

“Are you OK with that?” Masa asked Kaname. “That she forgot about you. Don’t you want to know why that happened?” Kaname said he didn’t want to know and that there was nothing they could do.

“Is it the Memory Man?” A gentle female voice asked. “It’s the Memory Man erasing her memory at her request.”

“That’s just an urban legend.” Kaname said.

“Do you regret? Do you regret rejecting her?” This person asked.

“... Even if she said the same thing to me know, I would still reject her. I have never wanted to think of Saza as a love interest.”

“Oh…. I think she knew as well.” The person left.

“Is that true?” Masa asked Kaname.

“When Saza confessed to me, all I thought was that I never expected it from her. I don’t want a relationship with anyone, I thought she was special and that she understood. I felt betrayed because of all people, I never wanted her to confess.”

“You didn’t say that to her, right?” Masa was alarmed.

“No, but I turned her down coldly. I always thought we could stay the same way forever, but one little ‘I love you” changed all that. We could no longer go back to our original relationship. Every time I see her, I can only think about this… betrayal.” Kaname said. “But I hurt her. I hurt her so much that she erased me from her memory.”

Masa knew that of all people, Misao would understand Kaname’s dilemma. She did not ask Memory Man to erase her memory because she couldn’t handle the rejection. She wanted to give Kaname what he wanted - a way to go back, but she couldn’t forget her love for him. The only solution was to wipe Kaname off her mind, along with the love that was built over many years. This way, they had a shot of starting over as friends without all the complications and hurt that came from her confession. She did that because Kaname was her most important friend.

Kaname bowed his head. He didn’t know what to think. All he knew was that tears were flowing from his eyes.

…………

Kaname was looking out the window and saw Misao talking with friends at school. “I never wanted you to forget me.” His heart was filled with remorse.

“But it is too late.” Kaname remembered this low female voice. “If the memory is gone, it will never come back. But this was her wish.” She said. “Don’t try to make her remember you. It won’t happen. Right now you are just neighbours. Maybe if you try, you can be friends again? Think of this as a second chance. The feelings of love is gone to make way for a lasting, platonic friendship. Then again, maybe she would fall in love with you again.” She laughed and added “If that happens again, I can help you ‘eat’ those feelings again!” She left Kaname alone to his thoughts.

Looking at Misao, Kaname made a decision. He walked to the school yard and said hello to Misao, albeit somewhat stiffly. Misao gave him a bright smile.

at present 3

When Kaname let Ryoichi in, he listened to Ryoichi’s story. Ryoichi was worried Kaname would find his story incredulous, but turn out he did not have to worry...

“She did it for me. Even though I didn’t want her to do that, but do I have the right to be angry? I was the one who desperately wanted our relationship to go back to normal at first.”

Although Kaname was filled with regret when he told his side of the story, Ryoichi did not sense any anger at Memory Man. They went over to Misao’s house to talk. Ryoichi kept to his cover as a university student doing a research paper on Memory Man.

“Memory Man? That is a popular urban legend at school, but it sounds kind of ridiculous. Oh, you don’t want to ask me what I know about this story? You want to hear about how I lost my memory? It’s not too exciting.” Misao said apologetically. “Well, when I first lost my memory of Kaname, my friends were all like ‘Memory Man erased your memory!’ But I don’t believe he exists.” Ryoichi was surprised at how nonchalantly she was talking about this.

“It is such a shame I forgot all about our friendship from before, but we are pretty good friends now, so I don’t feel like I’ve really lost anything.” She added. “Besides, I would never want to do that. Even if I am sad, I want to learn from this pain. I will never ask anyone to take away my memory.”

Ryoichi couldn’t really respond to her. After they finished talking, he went back to Kaname’s apartment to ask about the person who bothered her before. The description definitely sounded like ICO and Ryoichi promised to try and get her to stop coming around to harass Misao. Before he left, he asked Kaname. “Most people who spoke with Memory Man cannot remember what he looked like. Do you remember anything?”

“I can’t remember much but I got this feeling it’s a woman. It’s weird. I don’t remember anything else, but I have this strong feeling I spoke to a woman.”

Ryoichi had always imagined Memory Man to be a guy. Perhaps it was that recurring dream about Maki and the tall man in a coat. “Could he or she have controlled your memory? Rewritten it in the way he or she wanted to be remembered?” Kaname wasn’t sure.

“But if he or she can erase your encounter as well, why would there be these bits and pieces in your head? Maybe Memory Man’s powers are not very stable? Or maybe he or she wanted people to remember a just enough so that the urban legend can spread? Then, why was all my memory of the encounter wiped?” Ryoichi asked rhetorically. “Maybe somehow, Memory Man was worried about my investigation and decided to use more force?”

………...

When Ryoichi got home, his mom had a mysterious smile on her face. “Maki said your older girlfriend was looking for you. Oh, she said you were out meeting another younger woman. Son, you need to pace yourself.”

That uninvited visitor must be ICO. If she was not sending information by email, she must have found something important that must be discussed face-to-face. He walked upstairs and found Maki in his room. “Why are you still here?”

“I am spying on you to make sure you are not bringing strange woman back to your room!” Maki said, glaring at him. “Your girlfriend from last time came to see you. I wish I told her you were out with another girl!”

“Not my girlfriend. Neither one.” Ryoichi decided to tell her part of the truth. “Remember I was researching Memory Man for the school project? I was just interviewing people who have unexplained memory losses. She basically forgot all about her childhood best friend.”

“Childhood friend? Kinda like us.” Maki said, looking into Ryoichi’s eyes. “...I think I understand her feelings.”

“Don’t you think it is wrong? After your memory is erased, it is not something you can get back even if you have second thoughts later on.” Ryoichi said.

“I guess… But if it were me… if I can erase that memory, I will. Not because I find the rejection tough to swallow… it is because I want to be with the person I love, even if this is the only way that will give me a chance.”

Did Maki have these ideas because she was speculating after hearing Misao and Kaname’s story? Or was she already thinking about this sort of thing? Ryoichi was not sure.

…………

After Maki left, Ryoichi emailed ICO and DD to report back. He didn’t go back to the chat room.

ICO and DD never responded.

Continue to part 4.

#kiokuya #記憶屋 #novel summary #episode 3 #not horror!#yamada ryosu #yoshine kyoko #renbutsu misako #sasaki kuranosuke #origami kyoka

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hsj-scenarios · 7 years

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Drabble Collection: HS7

Edition: Fairytale AU

Mod L -- So, this is my Christmas gift to all of you! I’ve decided to expand on past headcanons that I’ve written and make some of them drabbles. Mind you, short drabbles, but drabbles nevertheless. I’ll be doing this by units, Seven and Best, but don’t worry Best fans; their edition is coming up soon after this one. I’ve also realized that HSJ-scenarios is more than a year old. So, happy anniversary/merry chirstmas (lol)!

Song Inspo: Last Fantasy by IU

Ryosuke -- Ugly Princeling

“Just...Promise you won’t look at me.”

A frustrated sigh left your mouth at his troubled words, hands resting idly on your hips as the wall seemed to be your new entertainment of choice. “My prince, how can I serve as your retainer and protect you if I can’t even see you?” You quipped. “In fact, this has become my problem as well!”

The blanket Ryosuke held over his body moved hastily as you suddenly turned to face him, the prince huddled under his bed covers. The anxiety radiating off of him was palpable and you couldn’t help but feel bad about going against his wishes. This was truly a problem.

“Your problem?!” His muffled voice questioned. “I’m the ugly duckling here!”

At your impending footsteps, he tried to crawl further away yet jumped upon feeling your gloved hand at his back. A hastily said ‘wait’ caused another forlorn breath to come from you. “Your highness, in order to see the witch’s damage, I have to take a look at you. We need to know what we’re dealing with...”

The short distance allowed you to take a better look at his body. From years of knowing Prince Ryosuke, since the two of you were children, the now larger outline of his body under the covers didn’t go unnoticed by your sharp eyes. The outline of his hand that gripped the covers was different as well, and you could see some sort deformity on his back. A hunchback, they called it.

Ryosuke...A frown began to mar your face, worried for him.

He’d made a deal with a witch, the prince said earlier, and got more than he bargained for. Despite being his sword and shield for years, you had never guessed that he was so desperately tired of the attention he’d gotten for his looks. The unwarranted and sometimes unwanted attention. The suitors upon suitors, princesses practically begging for his hand in marriage. It was all tiring for him.

Especially so, the undeserved attention he would get over his sometimes more deserving brothers.

Now, that, you knew had always bothered him.

A faint murmur was all you’d heard in return.

“Hm?” You turned an ear towards him.

“I don’t want you to see me.” Was his quiet answer.

“Prince--”

“Please,” He interrupted, voice just a bit louder now. “Just leave me be. Can you ask Yuri to come in here? He knows what’s going on.” It was as if he sensed the dejection in your body movement, the hand on his back slowly leaving. “I’m sorry...I need to get used to things before...”

You see me like this, were his silent words.

Yuto -- A Deceptive Deal

Face buried in your hands, you allowed the gentle noise of the rushing fountain to cloud your senses. Tears hadn’t left your eyes, but confusion and irritation were ripe in your heart. The ball tonight was going exactly had you’d thought it would -- much to your own annoyance. The King and Queen, your parents, held it under the guise of your younger siblling finishing their studies abroad. However, you had known better. It was an event among the more elite nobles and royals, giving those single a chance to compete for your hand. The Crown Royal’s hand. There wasn’t a moment that went by that someone wasn’t trying to impress you. And, no matter how well or how badly they tried, it only served to press on your nerves.

You weren’t a prize to be won.

Footsteps broke the peace of your isolation, and you fixed your mouth to ask anyone who’d dared to intrude to leave immediately. Your head turned, yet your lips went slack upon realizing just who it was that came to see you. It was Prince Yuto of the neighboring kingdom, an uneasy smile on his face as if he were asking permission to be there.

He stopped a short distance away, face still questioning if he was allowed to be there or not. “I noticed your face during the party.” A corner of his mouth tinged upwards, a grin threatening to show through. “You looked like you wanted to escape the whole time. So, when you disappeared, I figured that you were out here.”

The slightest of smiles graced your own face, happy to see an old friend in the mass of strangers trying to ease their way onto your future throne. You and Yuto dated back to adolescent years, meeting him for the first time when you were only thirteen years old. Admittedly, you couldn’t stand each other at first. He was too cocky and a total know-it-all. To him, you were too quiet and it unnerved him. Slowly but surely, fate had it in mind for the two of you to eventually put differences aside and become friends. He became kinder, while you felt comfortable enough to speak with him more.

It made you happy to see him.

“Why didn’t you speak to me before now?” You gave a little pout, tapping the empty spot next to you on the fountain edge. Your body instinctively leaned closer when the prince sat down. “I could’ve used you to deter suitors who wanted to speak with me. If they saw you at my side, at least some of them wouldn’t have the guts to say anything.”

I needed you. You didn’t dare tell him those words.

And yet, it seemed as if he sensed them on the tip of your tongue and the grin that dared to show indeed fully slipped on his face. It wasn’t long before his shoulder touched yours casually as he gazed up at the night sky, stars abound. “You were scowling the whole time. It was a little intimidating, to be honest!” He laughed, giving you a glance. “I thought that I should wait, especially since any man that came up to you probably just had one thing in mind...I didn’t want you to think the same for me as well.”

“I would never.” Your answer was immediate.

A comfortable silence followed. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see Yuto glance down at his clasped hands. The grin on his face was long gone and you could tell that the prince was in deep thought. You counted down the time until the words would leave his mouth.

It took only a few seconds.

“If you don’t mind me asking, however,” He finally spoke, an anxious expression directed at you. “Why don’t you want to get married?”

“Why don’t you?” You deflected the question. “You’re an attractive man. I’m sure there have been many ladies lining up to be with you.”

“Not as many as my older brother, the crown prince.” Yuto shrugged, before suddenly straightening up. “But, I asked you!” He made a face when you began to laugh. The man shook his head and sighed. “I mean, it’s not that I’ve never given it thought...I actually do want to marry, but the thought of marrying a noble that I’ve never met before--”

“Exactly.” You gave him a nod. “That’s my reason. I don’t know any of these people. I’ve been cloistered all of my life and, now, they expect me to branch out and marry someone? Why should I marry a stranger?”

A second silence followed and the countdown to Prince Yuto’s next question began.

“...What about marrying a friend?”

Chinen -- Yuri and the Seven Dwarves

“He’s waking up!”

You hurried to the master bedroom upon hearing the dwarves start to rile up, the seven of them gathered around the newcomer’s sleeping form. It was just last night that you found a young man collapsed in the snow, all on his own. You had just gone out to forage firewood and came upon him by chance. Luckily, he had just recently lost consciousness and there was still warmth in his body. Double lucky that he was just lithe enough for you to lift on your own, carrying him back to the home you’d shared with the seven dwarves. He had been resting peacefully in your bed since then, several blankets on his body provided by the kind dwarves.

The young man’s eyes opened slowly, his previously sleeping face only what you could call adorable. “...Mm?” A soft noise of confusion came from him, taking in his surroundings slowly. They only widened further upon seeing just how many faces were staring back at him. “H-Hello...” He finally greeted in a groggy voice.

“He’s alright!” One of the dwarves, Happy, laughed.

“You almost caught yer death out there!” Another dwarf, Grumpy, admonished him.

“Now, now...” You calmed them down before turning your gaze to the man, deciding that now was the best time to explain the situation. “I found you in the woods...You were passed out in the snow, so I brought you back here. The dwarves and I tried to nurse you back to health. I suppose it worked!”

“Of course it did.” Sneezy added. “Nothing like a warm bed to...to...Ah-choo!” A sneeze was given before he could continue.

By that time, the man had sat up in the bed and a kind smile was his non-verbal answer. “Ah, I need to thank you then.” He said, eyes starting to glimmer with slight amusement at the situation. His gaze kept trailing back to the dwarves in amazement, as if he’d never seen any before. “If you hadn’t found me, I can only imagine that I wouldn’t be breathing now.”

“Where are you from?” You asked, curious about his situation. It wasn’t everyday that a man was found in the snow. In the middle of nowhere, to boot. The dwarves home was quite secluded.

It was only then that the man’s face become troubled. There was an anxious look in his eyes. “From the capitol...” Was his hesitant reply. There seemed to be more that he wanted to say, but only silence followed.

You almost hated to press him for answers, but the need to know why he was alone and nearly dead in the cold drove you. “Where in the capitol? Perhaps we can take you back to your family.”

“No!” His hands lifted up quickly, head shaking in denial. “No, you don’t have to do that. I can...find my own way back. My family...knows that I’m gone. I was on a journey by myself.” He tried to explain. “I’m just not very good at being by myself, it seems.” The man laughed weakly.

“Not good at being by yourself?” The dwarf, Sleepy, questioned before giving a long yawn. “That’s not good. How will you ever get by?”

The man glanced down at the bed covers, fingers balling in a loose fist. “I don’t know yet, but I’ll try. You never know until you try, right?” He shrugged with a small smile, trying to keep the situation light.

Another dwarf, Doc, seemed to notice the uneasy change in the man’s demeanor and tried to switch the subject. “Either way, you’re not going anywhere at the moment until you fully recover. Don’t worry. We’ll look after you for now.” He gave the stranger a kind smile. “What’s your name, lad?”

The young man smiled back, brown eyes trailing upwards and meeting your own for a split second. His grateful smile was directed at you before trailing on to the rest of them, answering Doc’s question with a polite bow of his upper body.

“My name is Yuri...Nice to meet you all.”

Keito -- The Noble Farm Hand

Your ears were deceiving you. They had to be. You could’ve sworn that the man that you’d grown to love had just told you something foul. Something heartbreaking. Even with the most sincere, sorrowful, look on his face. He told you something that you didn’t want to hear.

“I have to leave here.”

You couldn’t speak, mouth glued shut as tears threatened to spill from your eyes. His arms were held around your shoulders tight, face buried in your shoulder. The quiet sniffs were indication enough that he was already crying, as Keito was usually the first to do.

You’d met him in the market one day, a few years ago. He was about to be conned into paying much more coin for pheasant meat than it was worth, so you had decided to interfere. He thanked you profusely after an explanation was given, laughing his own ignorance off before going on to ask many more questions about bartering and about the marketplace in general. It became clear to you that this was a clueless man. A clueless farm hand, to be exact, working at the farm run by an elderly couple who needed help.

Yet, it was this clueless man that you had grown to fall in love with.

It was this clueless man who had just told you his father, the land’s King, had come to collect him. That, apparently, he was only to work at the farm to learn useful life skills and lessons. To learn about his kingdom. And that, now, it was Keito’s time to go back home and continue his duties as the crown prince. The only prince.

To you, the whole idea was stupid and even a tad funny. But, most of all, it hurt.

“Can...” He began, head leaving your shoulder. “Can I ask you to come with me? My father is very understanding. If I can ask him to allow...” There was a sudden pause, Keito realizing that he was about to say perhaps more than he should have. More than he’d ever asked of you.

You humored him. “To what? I’m just an apprentice baker.” All you had ever known was this village and your family’s bakery that one day you would take over with your siblings. Before just now, thoughts of nobles and actually knowing one had never crossed your mind.

You couldn’t believe it. The sweet farm hand who would help you carry deliveries and groceries nearly everyday was a prince all along. The notion was almost angering, as if Keito had played with your emotions this whole time while knowing that the two of you could never be.

Still, looking at his pink and puffy eyes, it was obvious that he was just as wounded by this as you were. He had never meant to string you along. Love had taken him off guard, just as it had you. And, a look of apology was unhidden in his eyes. However, one more emotion was also apparent in his gaze. Defiance. A will to never let go. Keito was more than willing to fight for this love.

This farm hand wasn’t going to let love go so easily.

#drabble #hey say jump #hey! say! jump #Hey say 7 #yamada ryosu #nakajima yuto #chinen yuri #okamoto keito #mod L #drabble collection

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