Chapter 19: Chapter 3.5
Those unforgettable three years I spent with you
were...
The person standing in front of me was Nagisa Natsunagi. There was no doubt about that.
But.
"It's been a year since I saw your face. Your eyes look a little meaner." What she said made it patently clear who she was on the inside.
"If anyone looks different here, it's you, Siesta."
She looked like Natsunagi—but inside, she was Siesta.
Ordinarily, that would have been impossible, but for some reason, I could tell this was that sort of thing.
If there was a reason behind it...
"So you were still in there. In that heart."
Memory transference is a phenomenon in which the donor's personality, interests, and preferences are reflected in the recipient after an organ transplant. While it hasn't been scientifically proved yet, cases of memory transference have been observed all over the world, and Nagisa Natsunagi had experienced it as well after a heart transplant.
Still, even if memory transference is a real thing, all the recipient usually picks up from the donor is their personality, their daily habits, and a few memories.
Right now, though, Natsunagi hadn't just inherited Siesta's memories. Siesta herself had taken over. As if the master and servant had switched places.
"You look like you're thinking something rude again, Kimi." Natsunagi— or rather, Siesta—frowned just a little crossly. "I'm only borrowing this girl's body for a little while. I'm not going to possess her."
Siesta was speaking in Natsunagi's voice, with Natsunagi's face. It felt faintly strange, but even so, I said:
"It's great to see you, Siesta."
No matter how it had happened, our first meeting in a year made my knees weak—and I just dropped down onto my butt.
"Did you always smile that way, Kimi?" Siesta's eyes widened slightly.
"I may have mellowed out a bit." I did think I had, in a vague kind of way.
While we were focused on our reunion... "—Gguh, lwah."
Farther back in the casino, Chameleon was bleeding from the mouth after Siesta's shot, and he growled in a low voice. His eyes had rolled back, and the whites were bloodshot. Blue veins squirmed all through his skin. He was bending forward, tongue and tail lashing. There wasn't a trace of his human self left.
"Siesta, that's enough chitchat. We have to do something about that guy first."
"Agreed. Well, that is why I'm here anyway."
Although there was no telling where she'd gotten it, Siesta opened a silver attaché case. Inside, there was a gun for me. Then, extending her left hand to me, where I sat on the floor:
"Kimi—be my assistant."
When I heard her say it, my mind jumped back four years.
It was the same. Just like the time we'd met, at ten thousand meters.
Right now, the girl standing there was Nagisa Natsunagi—but my eyes saw Siesta as she'd been on that day, four years ago, clearly and vividly.
...In that case, this was never an actual choice.
"As you wish—ace detective." I took Siesta's hand and gave her my very best smile.
"...That expression is straight out of a horror movie." "Leave me alone!"
We split up, fanning out to trap Chameleon between us. "Gwoooooooourgh!!!"
Chameleon glared at us by turns, as if he was trying to warn us off. His tongue and tail writhed, attempting to catch their prey.
"Be careful! He can change the length and hardness of those however he wants!" I circled around in front of the enemy, relaying information to Siesta, who was on his other side.
"Huh? You're sure you want that side, Kimi?"
"Mm? Is there a problem with it?"
Even if this was Siesta, she was borrowing Natsunagi's body. I should be the one who faced the enemy head-on.
"His tongue can't attack me anymore, so I think having me take the front would work better."
"...I forgot."
Dammit, so much for showing off.
"I see you still haven't learned to pay attention." "Shaddup."
Dodging the enemy's attacks, we switched places.
"Come to think of it, you always were like that." As Siesta battled the enemy's tail with her gun, she sounded nostalgic. "You'd say 'Today I'll put you up at this resort hotel' and stride into a casino and blow all the money we had."
"Ngh... Well, that was 'cause you'd cried so much the day before about how you were sick of taking dumps out in the open. I just had to; I was hoping to turn the tables with one decisive win..."
"Don't make up memories." The next instant, a bullet whizzed right past my face.
"Watch it, Siesta!"
"Would you quit trying to pin your crimes on other people? If this is about the time I accidentally saw you taking a du— Doing your business outdoors, I apologize for wounding your pride, but—"
"We're in combat right now! Don't dredge up old memories!"
I swear, this woman.
She's evading the enemy's attacks like it's easy and chatting about old times.
...
...That's what the old times were, though.
"Hey, Siesta, I've seen you embarrass yourself, too, remember?" "What are you talking about?"
"You know—that one time? When we two lightweights drank enough liquor to fill a bathtub, and after that, we—"
"La-la-la, I can't hear you."
"I told you, don't point your gun at me!"
Whoa! Chameleon's tail smashed up a nearby gaming table, and the shards
flew our way.
It was so weird.
The situation had been incredibly tense. I'd wound myself up tight over the thought that this was the final showdown...and yet, somewhere along the way, my shoulders had relaxed.
Because Siesta was here. Just fighting alongside her made my body and heart so light, it felt like I had wings.
"Kimi, did you forget we're in combat right now? Don't dredge up bad memories."
"Didn't I just say—? Yeesh, you are so unfair." Siesta and I fired our guns in unison. "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
A direct hit. Chameleon dropped heavily to his knees.
I grabbed that opportunity to reload. "Ha-ha. That's rare. You almost never get that upset."
"My assistant is getting pretty full of himself. Since when were you the one teasing me?"
"It's like they always say: 'Give a guy three days to grow, and you might not recognize him at the end.' "
In our case, it had been a year.
We joked around with each other enough to make up for that whole year we'd been apart—or as much as we could manage anyway.
"...And? What happened after that?" "What do you mean 'what'?"
"You know. Um..." Siesta faltered, with Natsunagi's face. "We drank liquor, we both got dead drunk, and after that, did we...y'know?"
Her expression was uncharacteristically embarrassed, and I would have loved to see it on Siesta's own face.
"Didn't you tell me not to dredge up memories?"
"Well, actually, I was so worried about it, I couldn't move on to the afterlife."
"Can we go back to the tearful reunion?"
Just then, with a growl, Chameleon got back up. "Gohgyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
It was a roar unlike any noise he'd made before, and it shook the whole room.
As if in response, Chameleon's body changed.
His vivid bloodshot eyes bulged out even further, and something like hardened scales began to sprout all over his body. With a series of dull cracking sounds, he grew far larger than any human, and his clothes ripped to shreds that barely clung to him. As if his body could no longer support its own weight, he lowered himself until he was very nearly walking on all fours, like a lizard or a dinosaur. He looked like—
"A monster." I gulped loudly.
"His 'seed' has completely taken over." Siesta came up beside me, exhaling.
"Hey, ace detective, don't bring out the jargon without explaining it first." Geez. This was reminding me how rough those three years had been.
How many times had I ended up in hot water because she refused to tell me any of the important stuff? And then she'd ride in to save me at the very last minute, all proud of herself and demanding gratitude. Argh, just remembering it was pissing me off.
"Heh-heh. So many memories of that exact look on your face." "You're totally mocking me, aren't you?"
"They're very fond memories, you know."
...Look, you can't just say stuff like that. "—! Gohgyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" The monster roared again.
Yeah, I knew how he felt. He'd morphed into his ultimate form, and here we were, ignoring him. That'll make you wanna scream, all right. Just direct your complaints to the ace detective over here.
Siesta and I got back into formation, pinning the enemy between us. "And? What did you really come back to do?"
"What? Do you want me to say I came to save you or something?" "Man, you are not cute."
"Kidding."
Flying bullets, the smell of gun smoke—the scene was as surreal as a dream in the daytime.
Bleeding slightly from a cut on her cheek, Siesta, the daydream herself, leaped across the battlefield.
Jumping onto Chameleon's rampaging tongue, she leaped again, landing a ferocious kick on the enemy's head.
The ace detective did a single flip and touched down. "The truth is, she asked me to," she said as she turned around. "She said she wanted me to save you."
"Natsunagi asked you?"
"Yes. I'd planned to leave everything to her from now on, but if she was going to beg like that... You know?"
What kind of exchange had those two had, sharing the same body? The only thing I knew was that Natsunagi's words had moved Siesta.
At the same time, that meant this was an exception. Meaning... "So this is the last time. It won't happen again. All right?"
I could almost see the shadow of Siesta in Natsunagi's face. Her straightforward gaze was fixed on me.
"Yeah, I know."
This was our real good-bye. "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
The fallen, monstrous Chameleon got back up and roared.
In the next instant, he vanished. This had to be the last phase. "Siesta, be careful," I said to her, now that she was beside me again. "It's fine. Hang on, assistant."
"Huh? ...Whoa!"
And I was flying through the air for the first time in four years. Siesta had saved me like this back then, too.
Pulling me with her, Siesta used her sense of smell to evade the enemy's invisible attacks.
"Apparently, letting you yank me around is just about perfect for me." "...Where is this coming from, assistant?"
......
"Were you lonely?"
You think I'm that pathetic? No way.
"I'm sorry."
Don't apologize.
"I'm sorry for dying first."
I told you, quit apologizing.
"To tell you the truth, I hadn't actually planned to spend three whole years traveling with you."
Hey, we can't beat this guy and reminisce at the same time.
"Coming to care for somebody would have been a foolish thing to do—it would bind me to this world. I was sure it would be a fetter in the way of my work."
Like I said, focus on the fight.
There's no telling when the flames are going to make it over here.
"The next thing I knew, three years had passed. I must have taken more of a liking to you than I'd realized."
What's wrong with you?
You and I weren't lovers, and we weren't even friends.
We were detective and assistant—just business partners, in an odd way.
"I know. You didn't think of me in any special way, and I didn't treat you like anyone special. However—"
Stop. It's too late to say all that.
I can say it; that's fine. But you're not allowed. Say I'm selfish if you want. But if you—
"Those unforgettable three years I spent with you are the best memories I have."
If you say that to me, I'll—
"Are you stupid, Kimi?" Siesta patted my head gently. "What's the point of digging in your heels with a dead girl? You did really well on your own this past year."
My throat stung, and my eyelids grew hot.
What's wrong with me? This isn't... This isn't like me at all.
Seriously, gimme a break. If Saikawa and Charlie see me like this—if Natsunagi sees me, once she's back to normal—they're gonna laugh.
I stepped away from Siesta to stand beside her.
"You're asking if I'm lonely? Sorry, but the friends I've got now are so
noisy that I don't have time to think about all that." Several faces came to mind, and I gave a wry smile. "I'm not alone anymore."
"I see. Make sure you play nice with them, then."
We shifted to stand back-to-back, although it wasn't clear which of us had moved first.
It was Natsunagi's body, but I felt Siesta's warmth. When this fight was over, she would disappear.
After she did, she'd probably never show up in Natsunagi's body again.
In that case... "Hey, Siesta."
"What?"
"Uh, the rest of that story from earlier. We both drank liquor for the first time and got drunk, and then you asked me what happened...?"
I was pretty sure we shouldn't be having a conversation like this in what was probably the final phase of the final showdown. In a way, though, that was us in a nutshell.
We stood side by side, my outstretched right arm lined up with Siesta's left arm, so close that they touched.
"Unfortunately—or maybe not, I dunno—nothing happened." Then we both pointed our guns straight ahead.
Our invisible enemy was bearing down on us. If we missed this shot, we were dead.
But Siesta spoke. "It's okay," she said. Meaning there was no reason to hesitate. Siesta had never been wrong. Not once.
And in the next instant, a loud electronic noise rang out from the perfectly empty space right in front of us.
"Assistant!" "Right!"
Siesta and I both aimed at that spot, fired at the exact same time—
And then...
...a dull sound, and a brief wail, told us it was all over.
"I see. To tell you the truth, I might have slept with you once. I considered it, at least."
"Well, why didn't you say so sooner? Next time, just tell me!" At the end, we burst out laughing like a pair of idiots.
Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m fr𝒆ewebnove(l).com