He couldn’t believe it. His heart ached with every breath, the reality sinking in like a cold weight in his chest. Everything you had, gone? All those memories, those moments between the two of you, wiped away in an instant. After that bad fight, that accident… everything had changed. You’d lost your memory, and now he didn’t know who you were anymore, not the way he used to. And it hurt more than he could put into words.

Sitting in Chopper’s office, watching you rest, he could barely hold himself together. You were here, alive, but something inside him felt empty. Had he been there to protect you? He couldn’t stop that thought from creeping in, gnawing at him. He should’ve been there. He should’ve—

No, he told himself, shaking the thought away. He shouldn’t go there. Not now. Not when you needed him to be strong.

But still, it gnawed at him, even as he sat there, trying to act normal. You had been his girlfriend. He was sure of it. You’d been together, had shared so many things, so many quiet moments. But now, sitting there in that sterile room, the question loomed over him like a shadow: Could he even call you that anymore?

You didn’t remember him. You didn’t remember the love he thought you shared.

And he didn’t know how to fix that.