Two weeks of rest were over and Y/N had to get back to work. Every night, she sat by the window of her bedroom and stared at the dark forest, waiting for the mysterious man but he didn't appear again. Satoru and Inumaki spent their afternoons at her place alternately. Y/N began to forget more often. Sometimes she couldn't remember what she did hours ago and sometimes she couldn't recall the stuff she did just a few minutes ago. Satoru consulted with her doctor and also told him that she was not taking that drug anymore. The doctor was surprised to hear that, he informed that it was definitely not because of the overdose, it seemed more like some type of amnesia.
Y/N called Candice to her cabin with the unfinished documents of Jack Pvt. Ltd. In two hours, they were done with all the pending documents and they focused on other important work. After around half an hour, Y/N gave a file to Candice and said, "Get it signed by Mr. William. And yeah, bring the pending documents of Jack Pvt. Ltd., we can't keep them waiting anymore."
Candice thought that Y/N was pulling her leg. "Miss L/N, I'm very tired for the jokes right now."
Y/N glared at her subordinate. "Why in the world would I joke about something so important?" she yelled. "Get the documents. I'll finish the work on my own."
"But we already finished it."
"I haven't even touched a single file."
"Give me a minute. I'll bring all the files to you."
"Good."
Candice came back with four files and showed them to Y/N and of course she was surprised. "W-when did we finish all this?"
"Half an hour ago."
Y/N's eyes widened. 'Why don't I remember?' Her thoughts were going crazy. Tears formed in her eyes and she didn't realize.
"Are you okay, Miss Y/N?" Candice asked.
"Yeah, I'm sorry for yelling."
"It's totally fine. You just need some good rest."
Y/N nodded.
There were different rumors at the office. Some said Y/N had a terrible break up while others said she is depressed because of Mr. John's death. Everyone noticed that she wasn't smiling and had been acting weird, also she was getting weaker day by day. Several days passed and her strange amnesia was not a secret anymore. Some people played pranks on her when they noticed that she had forgotten something she did minutes ago. Being her subordinate, Candice didn't like that and she began to keep Y/N away from most of the negative people.
Yujji was not concerned about her health at all, rather he was irritated when he heard about her habit of randomly forgetting her tasks. He brushed everything off by saying that she was faking everything just to get everyone's attention and sympathy. Y/N's name was enough to make him angry and his temper was out of control when Satoru told him to spend one Saturday with her. Against his will he had to agree because it was an order from Gojo-sensei. Gojo warned him not to lose his temper with Y/N and not to let Sukuna out even for a second.
At around nine in the morning, Yujji reached Y/N's apartment. She called him in and made coffee for him. While he sat and enjoyed his coffee, Y/N did cleaning. After she was done with the cleaning, she went to Yujji, who was sitting on the couch and watching a movie. She asked, "Should I make coffee for you?"
Yujji narrowed his eyes in confusion. "But you already did that. I even finished it."
"Really?" She looked at the mug and realized that she had forgotten about it already. To hide her embarrassment she said nervously, "Ah, I-I was asking if you w-want something to eat."
"No, I'm good."
"Okay, so give me some time. I'll do some cleaning and take a shower. Then we can go somewhere."
"Alright." Yujji began to watch movie again but something seemed wrong. 'Did she say she was going to clean?' He turned off the T.V. and went to her. She was standing in the kitchen with a small kitchen towel in her hand and an expression of confusion and worry on her face. "What's the matter?" he asked.
"Who cleaned the kitchen?"
"You did. You cleaned the whole house some minutes ago."
"No, I didn-"
"Stop it, Y/N. Stop this bullshit. Stop pretending like you don't remember the shit you just did. What's your motive behind this? You want attention? You want all of us to be around you all the time? I'm tired of all this drama."
"Y-Yujji?"
"What?"
Y/N ran to her bedroom and slammed the door shut. Yujji knocked and said, "Don't do anything stupid." After he got no response, he called Satoru and told him that she had locked herself in the room. Satoru scolded him as he knew that he must have misbehaved. He told him to apologize and leave her alone for some time. 'Apologize? No way.' He knocked on the door again and said, "Hey, I was just kidding. Don't be angry please."
"I'm not angry," she responded. "I'm not feeling okay. Everything is slipping through my hands. It has got so much worse that you think I'm acting. I'm sorry, Yujji but I'm not pretending to forget. Please forgive me."
Yujji felt bad but refused to submit to that feeling. "A-Alright, just don't lock yourself like that. Come out."
Y/N opened the door and looked at him. "I'm sorry for bothering you. But you can go if you don't want to stay here. I'll be fine on my own."
"Yeah. No. I mean, I'll stay." He turned around and cursed himself, 'Shit! Why did I say that?'
"Do you want to go out to eat?"
"Uh... Yeah."
"Okay. Wait for me. I'll be back in a flash."
Yujji nodded and sat on the couch.
They went to a restaurant not far away from Y/N's place. As they were sitting and waiting for their order, Y/N's gaze was fixed on Yujji's face. He began to feel uncomfortable and asked about why she was staring at him.
"Several days ago, I saw someone who looks like you," she answered. Sukuna was caught off guard by her words. 'She remembers me even though I stayed away for more than a week.'
"Where?" Yujji asked.
"In the woods."
'Stop, don't tell him.' Sukuna began to feel anxious.
"Were there black markings on his face?"
"Yes, how do you know?"
"H-He is a friend o-of... Sensei."
"Really?"
"Yes." Yujji wondered how she was able to see Sukuna when he was not around. 'Either she is really pretending or she is imagining things.'
After lunch, they went back to her apartment and Yujji reminded her to take her medicines. He stayed for an hour more and left. On his way back, he kept thinking about what Y/N said. "Tell me Sukuna, were you really there in the woods?" he asked the beast inside him.
"No."
"Then why did she say that?"
"How am I supposed to know?"
"Yeah, right. She's definitely losing her mind."
"Don't say such things about her."
"Truth is truth."
"Whatever. Listen brat, I understand that you don't like her but stop being rude when you're with her."
Yujji was annoyed once again. "What a protective boyfriend! Listen, I tried my best and even went out to eat with her. What else do you expect?" Sukuna left his question unanswered.
In the evening, Satoru went to meet Y/N. "I'm free today, so I'm intending to stay with you," he told her.
"Overnight?"
"You got that right."
"You can't stay."
"What? Why so cold towards me, Y/N? Why? Why?"
"You're...irritating."
"No, I'll be quiet today," he pouted. "Let me stay."
Y/N frowned and looked outside. The sky was getting dark. "Let's go on the terrace."
"Huh?"
"I want to see the stars."
"We don't need to go anywhere for that. You can see the stars here too."
"How?"
"Let me kiss you."
"Cringe," Y/N made a disgusted face. "See, you are annoying. Leave me alone. Go away."
"Sorry. Let's go upstairs."
The stars began to appear in the sky which had not turned completely dark yet. There was an old abandoned folding wooden cot in a corner. Y/N lifted it and placed it in the middle of the terrace. She sat down and patted the space before her indicating Satoru to sit. He sat down taking off his blindfold.
"You don't really need to see the stars. My eyes are more beautiful." Satoru couldn't stop being cocky.
"Why are you like this?"
"I don't know. Okay, let's play a game."
"Alright."
"I'll ask you some questions. If you answer correctly you can ask me anything you want and I'll be honest with you, and if you give a wrong answer, I'll kiss you."
"That's not fair."
"Come on. It will be fun."
"Fine," she sighed.
"First question. Name four countries starting with the letter P."
"Huh? Really? You are testing my Geography?"
"Ten seconds."
"Oh, Poland, Peru.....Philippines and...and yeah, Pakistan."
"Wow, you really don't want me to kiss you."
"Name Four countries with the letter O."
"There's only one...Oman."
"Cool."
"Let's make it harder."
"What is mitochondria?"
Y/N made a confused face. "Mitochondria... is the powerhouse of the cell."
"So clever, little girl."
"Stop teasing. These were very easy. A kid of Sixth grade can answer these."
"Okay, next one will be harder."
"Go on."
"Who wrote 'The Art of War'?"
"Ah... I know I know."
"5 seconds."
"Sun... zu....Sun Tzu."
"Waaa... No... I was very close. I was going to kiss you."
"Better luck next time."
"Biggest archipelago in the world?"
"Indonesia. Looks like you love geography."
"Yeah. Kind of. Driest desert?"
"Atacama. I'm enjoying it."
"Longest mountain range?"
"Mid ocean ridge."
"Ah, no. I thought you would say the Andes."
"Next."
"What do I like to eat the most?"
"What? That's cheating."
"Three seconds."
"Sweets."
"Nice."
"Three words that describe me the best."
"Annoying, narcissist, clingy."
Satoru had a mixed expression of shock and confusion. "That's what you think about me?" In less than a second, he came so close to her that their faces were just a few centimeters apart. Y/N looked at him with wide eyes. "I'll give you another chance, Y/N. If I don't like the answer, get ready for a kiss."
Y/N swallowed and spoke, "C-Caring, charming and of course clingy." As he moved closer with a smirk, she closed her eyes.
"Acceptable, you are saved," he whispered in her ear.
Y/N stood up and stepped back. "Let's not play anymore."
"Why?"
"You are scary sometimes."
"I try to make you smile, I try to cheer you up but to my surprise, I always end up scaring you. I really miss your smile."
"Satoru?"
"Yes."
"You said if I give correct answers, I can ask you a question and you will be honest."
"I did. Yes."
"Why was I so happy some days ago?"
"What?"
"I remember I was smiling, laughing, playing. I was so happy. Why?"
'Because you were murdering people.' He looked at her with eyes full of pity when he saw the emotional suffering in her eyes. "I don't know, Y/N. You never told me."
"Why don't I feel like smiling now?"
"Maybe because you are sick."
Y/N nodded and moved to the edge of the roof to look at the spot in the woods where she saw HIM for the first time. He was not there once again.
"Y/N!" Satoru called out. She turned around and looked at him. He was lying on his back on the cot with some empty space beside him and an open arm. "Come here, let's watch the stars." She looked around to find if there was any other such cot and there was none. "Come on, I promise I won't do anything stupid or weird," he shouted. She frowned and filled the space beside him, resting her head on his arm. "Comfortable?"
"Yeah."
"So, why do you like to watch the stars?"
"There's not an actual reason. I was three or four when I used to live in a village at my grandmother's house. I never really liked the people but I really liked to see the stars every night before going to sleep. I used to feel so calm. Then when I was six, we shifted to a city. The lights in the city stole the stars. Years after years, I began to forget what a starry night looked like. And now, this place, this environment, it feels so good. I love this sight. I would love to lie down like this every night but I have a job so I hardly get time for this."
"You don't like cities?"
"It's not like that. I like cities if people around me are good. Like I said, I never liked the village, I only liked watching stars."
"Why didn't you like the village?"
"Because of the people."
"What was wrong with the people?"
"You really wanna know?"
"Yeah. Let's talk about this. We have the whole night."
"Alright. So, my grandpa never seemed to really like me. I don't know why. Maybe because I'm a girl. Or there could be other reasons too. Who knows? Anyway, I was very young and people used to give me looks like they were going to eat me alive. Some neighbors used to say that I was cute and they used to take me to their house, feed me sweets and all. But they were scary too. I used to be mostly ill, so there was a doctor in the village, the one that my grandparents called our family doctor. He was in his fifties. I didn't even like his face and the way he laughed. I used to have fever very often. In winters, he used to come and check me regularly. Everyone in my family trusted him so much that he was even allowed to sit in my bed under my sheets. He told everyone that... I was his favorite kid and they trusted him blindly. So... in winters...he used to sit beside me in my bed, in my blanket. He had a way of checking my body temperature. When somebody was around, he used to put his hand on my forehead, then my neck and then he used thermometer. And... when no one was around...he used a different way. First he put his hand on my forehead, then, it slipped down to my cheek, to my neck... my chest... d-down inside my p-pants."
Satoru gulped and clinched his fist.
"Sometimes, he used to p-put his one hand inside m-my pants and another one inside his o-own p...pants. His face had strange expressions like one moment he was in pain and another moment like he was relieved."
"Didn't you tell anyone?"
"I told my grandma, she said that it was his way of checking my health."
"What a pathetic grandma!"
Y/N silently gazed at the stars.
"If you were given a chance to take revenge," Satoru said. "What would you do?"
"I'll kill him without a second thought."
"You would?"
"Yes. Not just him but every single person who tried to do such things to me and every single person who do this to others."
Satoru closed his eyes. 'You didn't answer it when I asked and today you told me the reason without even asking.'
"Satoru."
"Yes?"
"Why can't I forget about all these painful things? Why do I forget about basic stuff? Why not all this?"
He sat up and closed his eyes. 'Why can't I free you from this pain?' He felt very helpless at the moment. He regretted letting that old sorcerer make her forget everything but he also knew that it was important. Y/N sat up too. He opened his arm and pulled her into a hug. "I'd wish I could do something for you."
"I'm fine."
"Call me clingy but I don't want to let go." He lied down again with her face buried in his neck, stroking her hair. "You can cry if you want, little girl."
"No, I'm fine."
"Okay, then sleep."
"I want to ask you something."
"Sure."
"Can I see your friend?"
"Kento Nanami?"
"I don't know his name. He has red eyes and black markings on his face."
Satoru's hand stopped stroking her hair and he looked at the sky with wide eyes. "How do you know about him?"
"I saw him in the jungle. I told Yujji about him and he told about him being your friend."
"O-okay, but you have to sleep now."
"Hmm."