Toilet-bound Hanako-san

Ch. 7 - A Memory Unlocked

"Well, I'm gonna' take a shower," Suguru sighed and suddenly stood up. You remained where you were, seated on the floor in front of the coffee table, and gave him a brief smile before he walked away.

You continued pondering the photo that you had of Suguru's grandfather in his school uniform. It was the class photo, the last one with you in it. You looked at the smiles of yourself and your classmates. You longed for those memories to return so much it was as if you were attempting to manifest them. 

You picked up a different picture, this one a solo shot of Suguru's grandfather. It was the yearbook photo, so his face was flat and giving a serious expression in front of a plainly staged background. 
That was when it hit you, memories shocking your frontal lobe with so many different feelings, all attached to images that hit you as fast and vividly as a freight train. 

You were then suddenly overcome by a certain sadness. Your chest felt like it was about to collapse as it became harder to breathe. The lump in your throat was nearly too painful to bear. 

He was gone. He's gone... The images your brain sent you were all of Suguru's grandfather, Sengoku. Sengoku. His name! You remembered his name!

You immediately stood up and fled to the kitchen sink. Your body had nearly begun to panic but settled the minute you splashed cold water on your face. 

Sengoku...you remembered so many amazing memories with him, in particular how sweet he was to you. You loved him. You remembered that you loved him. You remembered how your sisters would tease you and how your parents just called it a teen-aged fling that would pass. But you remembered how much deeper it was than that, as if you had been deeply rooted together throughout different lifetimes. It sounded so silly, but to you, it was true.

While you were hyperventilating over the kitchen sink, Suguru finished up his shower. He exited in a pair of black, basketball shorts, shirtless and still drying his hair with the towel. 

That quickly came to a stop as soon as he saw you sobbing, hands gripping the countertop for dear life.

"Y/N?!" He had dropped his towel and ran to your side. "Y/N, what's going on?!" You continued to sob but turned your body to where you could easily collapse into his chest. 

"I remember," you muffled into your hands as he held you against his body. He was still a bit damp but the warmth alone was comforting. "I remember him."

"My...grandfather?" Suguru inquired softly, pulling you back enough for him to get a look at your face. 

You slowly pulled away and looked up at him despite wet, puffy cheeks. In an instant, you were nearly taken back to that place. 
Having already felt the emotion, you were able to remain still, simply bringing your hands up to Suguru's face to gently cradle it while his hands lingered on your waist. His face matched, it was as if you were looking at the same person. 

"Y/N?" He asked again softly, looking at you with a concerned expression. You had a look of wonder in your eyes as you stared. His own flickered between yours. It was as if Sengoku was standing right in front of you.

After a few prolonged seconds, you sadly pulled away to walk back over to the sofa. "Sorry," you mumbled, "I just remembered some things and it made me upset," your voice began to crack, "and you...look just like him." You looked back at him and smiled before sitting down.

"My family says that, too," Suguru gave a sympathetic chuckle as he came to sit beside you, "but I think he had a more defined jaw than I did."

"No," you shook your head, still smiling, "you're identical." You took a deep breath as you paused. "I love him so much."