ᴍᴇɴʜᴇʀᴀ // ᴍᴀᴛꜱᴜɴᴏ ᴄʜɪꜰᴜʏᴜ

ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ ꜱɪx

THE FRONT DOOR SWUNG OPEN, creating a soft chime throughout the shop as a working staff greeted the customer.

“Welcome― Ah, it’s Takemitchy.” Chifuyu spoke, setting the cloth in his hand aside. “Why are you here? Don’t you have work?” He raised an eyebrow in question.

“Chifuyu, I...” Takemichi turned away, as if unable to speak nor face him. The other saw the clear look of unease on his face, so he invited him over to the counter, where they continue.

“What’s got you so on edge?” Chifuyu asked, worried.

“...I know about it.”

“Huh?”

“[Last Name]-san’s death.”

Chifuyu’s face turned grim. Now, it was his turn to look away. “...So, you heard.” He quietly muttered.

“...Yeah. The twins told me.” Takemichi nodded. “I got the gist of it thanks to Draken-kun and Mikey-kun. I even got Naoto to help me find some things about her.” His head was low as he stared at the floor.

“...I see.”

“...I tried to go back to the past. To find out what happened.” Takemichi gripped on his wrist. “But it doesn’t work anymore.”

“What?” Chifuyu looked up, surprised. “What do you mean, ‘it doesn’t work anymore?’”

“Naoto speculated we need a strong drive to change the past. He explained. “We’ve already saved Hina, so there was no point of going back.”

Chifuyu slouched on the counter in thought. “That... makes sense.”

“I...” Takemichi interjected. “I want to go back to the past to talk to [Last Name]-san again. “ He gathered what little courage to say. “I know why she did it, and that we couldn’t have changed what happened, but I just can’t accept it.” His grip hardened on his wrist, his clutched hand balled into a fist. “I want to save her too.”

“...Takemitchy.” Chifuyu’s firm voice prompted the aforementioned man to look up. “Even if you could go back now, I doubt you could’ve changed things.” He then cracked a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I mean, how do you save someone who wants to die?”

Takemichi’s eyes went wide, his mouth dropping a little.

Chifuyu seemed to notice this and even looked surprised himself. “Sorry, that didn’t sound like me, did it?” He laughed uncomfortably. He slowly stood up, walking around the shop, passing by the shelves behind the counter. “She... died in my arms. She looked so weak and helpless, I...” He stopped at a certain point, staring at a very familiar plush toy.

Mr. Froppé...? Takemichi thought.

Chifuyu’s hand caressed the top of Mr. Froppé's head, gently feeling his fur as the toy sat on the shelf.

“I couldn’t do anything about it. Even though she was right in front of me.”

“Chifuyu...” Takemichi whispered, watching the somber expression on his friend’s face.

Ring!

The door opened as someone else stepped inside.