LOST TIME MEMORY Vol. 1

Chapter 5.1

After getting everyone their tickets sorted out and receiving the money for each member, as Shintaro still didn't even have enough money to go splurging on tickets for strangers, they went on inside. He did buy a ticket for one person, though: Momo. Even as she protested and said she could buy one for herself, she eventually resigned to letting Shintaro treat her. He felt good about that. Like he was one step further to being a proper, contributing member of the family. He was still trying to pay for the monthly expenses they had, as well. To him, this was akin to treating your family out to dinner or the like.

As they passed through the entrance, Kido told Momo to breathe one more time. There was quite a fair number of people inside, though not as crowded as it usually would be. It was hot outside, so most people likely chose to be near a body of water.

Whenever someone entered a place with a group of people, others tended to at least glance over. But no one did this time. Not until Momo said aloud:

"Okay, I'm ready." Then suddenly, a few people started noticing them and even gave them a second, baffled look. As if some of them had appeared out of thin air. Kido hadn't given any indication that she had undone her powers. At least not to Shintaro. It just happened. He hadn't really seen what kind of effects Momo's powers had; he only knew she was incredibly popular. But if she could actually make people "really pay attention to her," then all of the people inside would very likely start crowding them. The thought of it made Shintaro really nervous. Suddenly, the whole place went from seeming like it housed 'a fair bit of people' to turning into a nest overflowing with the entire population of the city. Like ants crawling swarming crumbs. But that was only his anxiety at play. He hadn't hated crowds before; he just disliked them. However, years spent inside with only himself and Ene made groups of people seem like a nightmarish concept. But not a single person went over to them.

"It's working," said Kido with a smile. "You did it."

"I really did it! Thank God... I was really nervous about messing up this whole trip." Momo held her hands to her chest. "Thank you, Kido." She gave her a bow.

"D-don't worry about it," Kido said, somewhat bashfully. Shintaro had started to think of Kido as quite endearing. She'd seemed like she was kind of scary initially, but she seemed rather kind and almost cute when he got to know her. As for Momo, he hadn't known that her eye ability had bothered her to this extent. He thought he really ought to bring himself to talk with her more when they got home. As awkward as that may be.

Kano teased Kido with an 'aw,' and she karate-chopped him in the head before grabbing him. She whispered something in his ear. His eyes widened for a second, but a smile soon appeared on his face.

"I was just taking a stroll, grabbin' some juice, and then heading back home. It was a breather, Kido."

"Hm. Coulda asked us to join," Kido said. Mary was still hiding behind them. Noticing that Mary seemed a tad more uncomfortable now than before, Kido spoke to her.

"You okay? Want me to keep you incognito?"

"Um... No, it's okay."

"You sure?"

Mary nodded a yes and gave a grateful smile. Seto told her she was being brave. Shintaro thought she must have either been really shy, or she was dealing with her own demons. Again, the thought that this was a group full of people with secrets concerned him. He had no intention of sharing any of his. It was good that his sister made some new friends. Now that he really thought about it, her ability must have been incredibly inconvenient to her. To the point where even making friends at school would have been a complicated task. Still, he really didn't like the direction in which things were turning. There was only a certain number of steps he was willing to take in a single day. But eventually, he'd have to go there. They didn't seem like bad people, either. So, for the moment, he decided to go with the flow instead of breaking out of the current.

"Let me see the sights!" Ene yelled. He pulled her out and let her take in the park. "Oh my God, it's way better in person..."

"So which one are we gonna go for first-

"The rollercoaster," Ene replied without any hesitation.

"The Ferris Wheel looks fun," Shintaro said.

"Rollercoaster it is!" Momo led the charge, the rest of the gang followed suit, and Shintaro walked over all depressed-like.