LOST TIME MEMORY Vol. 1

Chapter 2.2

As they got closer to the center of the city, the buildings grew taller, the designs more modern, and the crowds were more prominent. Though the excellent multifloored facilities provided more than adequate shade for him to hide from the sun's heat, the masses didn't help with his declining mood. He'd never thought of himself as an introvert, surprisingly, but now he kind of did. Even as he could rationally understand that they could in no way all be staring at him, he couldn't help but feel conspicuous. As if every little thing about him drew attention. From the way that he walked to his face, hair, and of course, his bright red jacket. Nobody else wore one. Maybe a few long-sleeved shirts here and there, but no jackets, as the day was just that hot. Not that it would change his mind on keeping it on, he was adamant on that part. It did look good on him. He looked at his own feet to calm his nerves when he noticed a pair of brown shoes in front of him—a thick, red cloth hanging reaching his own feet. A faint 'hey' whispered past his ears and disappeared without a trace of anyone having been there, even as he looked around. There was only a bustling crowd in its place.

"Hey, I think that's the mall right there, Master."

Her voice startled him, and he noticed he'd been too busy looking down on the ground and avoiding people's eyes to see that he'd almost walked past his destination. Wearing a dumbfounded expression, he let his thoughts move on to present matters. He was just seeing things. The heat was probably getting to him, that was all.

Among an abundance of grey buildings, the only things decorated in various colors were an endless number of signs, posters, and logos. Standing straight in the middle was the most prominent building and the most logo-filled one of them all. It was Kashiwa City's most famous mall and the only one people usually went to whenever they needed something. It was huge, and it made Shintaro wonder how he'd even managed to miss it.

"Let's head in," he said and slapped his cheeks twice in preparation.

"What? What're you doing?" Ene replied.

He brought her a bit closer to his face and noticed that his hand was sweaty. "We're going in. Also, let's not call me 'Master' in public. Or, like, at all for that matter."

"Oh yeah, sure," she said, but thinking he couldn't hear her, she spoke in a louder voice. "I said, oh yeah! Sure!" She got a little too loud, and some people were looking his way as he passed the entrance. His eyes shook. Afraid of drawing any more attention to himself, he looked on to the nearest electrical store and briskly walked over. He wondered if she'd gotten the message this time, though to his later relief- she limited herself calling him 'Master' throughout the latter half of the day. For now, he needed to find a way to make her seem less conspicuous to calm his social anxiety.

The store he entered was a small one that mainly only sold phone cases, accessories, and the like. So, no keyboards. But that wasn't on his mind right now.

"Welcome!"

His gaze startingly jolted toward the voice. The store clerk stood behind the cash register and gave him a kind smile, her dimples showing. She was a beautiful young woman with light-brown hair parted to the sides of her face from the middle. Her height was of the average Japanese, girly height. Maybe in her twenties. The name tag on her had "Kotomi" written on it. He only managed to give her a nod. Though she was friendly, he hadn't gotten used to receiving attention from strangers yet, especially beautiful ones, to be able to provide her with a proper reply. So he timidly ignored her. She didn't seem to mind.

He grabbed one of the cheaper-looking earphones from a relatively rich assortment for a store of this size. It had an inbuilt microphone, the only other function he needed. He looked around in case he needed anything else but ultimately only ended up buying that particular pair of earphones.

"That'll be 899 yen. Will that be with card or cash?"

"C-card." The first word he'd spoken to a stranger in two years. It was a giant milestone.

She accepted his credit card with two hands and returned them with both. Shintaro was somehow relieved he'd warranted that much politeness from her, even though it was only customary. After having made his purchase, and before she could say anything, he said aloud:

"T-thank you very much."

She looked at himquizzically with her head tilted slightly to the side, then deftly regained hercomposure, and said: "you're welcome." An even more perfect smile onher face this time.