The mind can forget... but the heart never!

Chapter 7

Seiya looked at the clock, 3 o'clock in the morning. He was still restless inside, but at least he had been sober for 32 hours. The shaking of his hands was gradually subsiding, and the headaches were much less intense. However, he felt highly irritated. He wanted to give up and surrender to alcohol again. It would have been so much easier. But he kept reminding himself why he had to go through with this. The physical withdrawal would last at least three days, and half of it was almost done. After that, he would talk to her, lay his feelings bare, and if she still didn't want him, he would return to Euphe forever. He tossed and turned in bed for hours, plagued by sweating and thoughts about how to initiate the conversation with her. Eventually, he fell asleep, exhausted.

Taiki and Yaten had breakfast together. As usual, Taiki was immersed in his newspaper, while Yaten contemplated how to surprise Minako and mend things with her. After a while, Taiki folded the newspaper, glanced at the clock, and got up.

"I think you can manage without me for a while, right?" he asked Yaten.

"Where are you going at this hour?"

"To the library, there's a lecture about to start."

"Ah, I see, a lecture... And by any chance, won't there be a nice, young girl with blue hair participating?" he grinned suggestively at his brother.

"It's quite possible that she'll be there too, but I'm interested in the topic," Taiki tried to deflect.

Before Yaten could make further innuendos, Taiki grabbed his jacket and left the apartment. Of course, he knew that Amy would be attending the lecture today; she had been talking about it for months. The closer he got to the library, the more nervous he became. He was curious about Amy's reaction when she saw him because much remained unspoken and unresolved before he left.

Taiki searched the rows of seats until he finally spotted her. Amy sat in the front row, a notepad on her lap, her gaze fixed on the podium. He stood there for a moment, observing her, and then gathered his courage to take the vacant seat next to her.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked shyly. Amy briefly looked up at him, giving him a warm smile.

"Oh, no, of course not," she said politely, moving her bag aside. Taiki wanted to initiate a conversation, but he wasn't sure how to start.

"Um... thanks..." he mumbled as he took his seat.

He kept rehearsing words in his mind, only to discard them when he was about to speak. As he was about to address her again, an older gentleman stepped up to the podium, and the lecture began. Amy seemed distant and aloof, and he wondered why. She didn't seem happy to see him there. Taiki found it hard to focus on the lecture; he kept stealing glances at Amy, pondering what might have happened in the past four weeks. This time, he stared a little too long, and Amy's eyes met his. She had noticed him looking at her, and the handsome man to her right blushed slightly when their eyes met. He quickly redirected his attention to the front.

"Now, we will take a 15-minute break. After that, Dr. Torres will continue with the second part. We hope to see all of you again," said the older gentleman.

Taiki saw an opportunity. "Would you like something to drink?" he asked, feeling embarrassed. Amy blushed too. "Yes, that would be nice," she replied briefly, feeling overwhelmed by the attention of this stranger. Taiki quickly got up and returned shortly after with two cups.

"Thanks. By the way, I'm Amy," she said.

Taiki was taken aback by her introduction since they had known each other for a while. Suddenly, he remembered Yaten's encounter with Minako. "Something's not right here," he thought. He handed Amy one of the cups and said, "Nice to meet you, Amy. I'm Taiki." If he wanted to find out what was going on, he would have to play along with this game. Amy started talking to him about the lecture, and he loved how she got engrossed in her theories and took him along. He could have listened to her for hours. The second half of the lecture passed quickly for both of them, eager to continue talking. "Can I invite you for a coffee?" Taiki asked shyly when they both stood at the door. Amy fidgeted with the strap of her bag. "Um... unfortunately not today," she began, but when she saw his disappointed expression, she quickly added, "but how about tomorrow afternoon?"

Taiki agreed and bid her farewell. He kept replaying their conversations in his mind, first Minako, now Amy... he had to tell his brothers about this. Perhaps together, they could figure out what was going on.

Amy had a smile on her face the whole way home. That nice young man from the lecture wouldn't leave her thoughts. She quickly put away her notes and books when she got home. She was planning to meet Makoto, Bunny, Minako, and Rei at the Crown Café. As she went to put her favorite book back on the shelf, a note fell out. Amy picked it up curiously, recognizing her own handwriting on it.

"For emergencies," the note read.

Amy couldn't remember writing this letter to herself and unfolded it out of curiosity.

It's possible that things will happen without apparent connections. Try to accept them as best as you can. If it becomes too complicated -> Solve the riddle. Important: Solve riddles only as a last resort!

 Amy.

1,2,5 / 166,35,7 / 65,49,20 / 506,42,8/ ! blue
85,16,8 / 680,39,16 ! green
265,3,9/ 561,9,18 / 1,35,6 / 55,28,14 ! red

Confused, Amy looked at the note in her hand. When had she written this letter to herself? Was this one of those disconnected things the letter referred to? She wanted to know what it meant, but she had warned herself not to find out. Amy folded the note back up and put it back into the book. Her instinct told her that the right time to unravel this mystery had not yet come. So, she headed to the Crown Café.