This year's National Youth Karate Championship came to an end on the second day of the event agreed between Nao and Mukaidake.

The young man who was scheduled to run away from home and was so excited by the agreed event that he finally volunteered to go home, his tennis level has improved rapidly in less than a month. Although he hasn't reached the standard of "defeating Shishido to the ground", at least among teenagers of his age, his level can be called upper-middle. Although his previous level was not very weak, he never left a deep impression on everyone, and it is puzzling that since he dyed his bright red hair, his image has frequently appeared in everyone's eyes.

Uninformed people attribute this qiē to his eye-catching red hair, believing that it was the dazzling red that raised his sense of existence and gave him the courage and energy to face failure and be optimistic. But Shishido, who has always been in the same class as him and is both a comrade-in-arms and an opponent, knows that he has always had all the above characteristics to the Higaku people, but since he dyed his hair red, it seems that he has an extra fierce competitiveness out of thin air. But what he doesn't know is the reason for such a change in Xiangri. Although he once asked casually, he didn't get any answer other than to arouse Xiangri's fighting spirit, and Shishito, who was immersed in his tennis training, didn't get too entangled, and the truth of the matter was gone.

But the actual facts are just like Shishido's concern for this matter, and there are not many reasons that can be explored in depth-

Originally, Xiang Ri, who liked to show off to others with some specialties, buried the agreement with Nao deep in his heart this time. Although he is becoming more and more active in the ministry, he has resisted the excitement in his heart and has not called Nao. Because after he told the neighbor's predecessor about the agreed incident, the man said this.

"Okinawa's Saotome Nao, oh, the girl who won the martial arts competition yesterday!" The young man with an OK bandage on his forehead stood at the door of the house, holding his chin in one hand and thinking about it, "That kid looks soft and weak, but in fact he should be an opponent worth fighting." ”

Just such an ordinary sentence made him completely abandon the urge to call Nao. Because the predecessor who said this, his neighbor, is the opponent he is going to find for Nao, the national champion of the men's under-16 category of this year's Youth Karate Championships - Kyogoku Shin. There are not many players who can impress this talented young karate player, and even fewer female players can see it, and Saotome Nao's strength can be seen just by looking at the table Xiàn in the match and thinking that she is a worthy opponent.

Although Mukaidake didn't know the difference between martial arts competitions and karate competitions, he didn't know that Nao was actually participating in the junior group under the age of 14. But the words "national champion" are still firmly engraved in his mind, and Xiang Ri, who hates failure and wants to be better than anyone else, can't accept the fact that he is still an ordinary player. Competitive and competitive, he decided that he must achieve his goal before meeting Nao again - to dominate the Ice Emperor's naïve house and target the Ice Emperor's middle division. It wasn't until he had achieved that he dialed the number stored at the bottom of the phone book.

And Nao, who is far away in Okinawa, doesn't know what Xiang Ri thinks, and he is not as entangled as him at all, and even appears in front of people every day with a leisurely appearance, as if he has forgotten all about the agreement with the Tokyo boy. The dull days didn't change anything after she returned to Okinawa, and even the dull ones weren't quite real. Because no matter how ordinary the previous life was, it would be interspersed with some shocking events for ordinary people. For example, being intercepted by a bad teenager who has been taught, or when you are working, you will meet people who come to the dojo to challenge and kick the gym......

An unchanging peaceful life is something that anyone would be happy to see, including Nao, Saotome, who wants to live in peace and security as a family. But even so, she didn't feel the slightest relaxation in these days, but was inexplicably worried. Because she can be called a sixth sense thing to tell her, this kind of day is like the calm before the storm, so oppressive that it is breathless.

The seasons changed, time passed, and the days passed like this, but none of the accidents she feared happened. Although she still has a strong uneasiness in her heart, the fact that she can't help but throw away the laughing thoughts in her heart. However, when the third copy of the new calendar in Nao's room was revealed, her growing sense of foreboding finally came true.

March is also known as the season of parting.

The reason for this is not some beautiful myth that has been handed down since ancient times, nor does it have any religious significance, but the meaning of the name simply corresponds to some of the events that occur during this month of the year. Every year in March, all schools in the country, from kindergarten to university, hang colored strips at the entrance of the school and put up a sign with the words "graduation style" written on it. That's right, it's the time of year when graduates leave school. Nao and others, who were already in the sixth grade of Higashi Ryukyu Elementary School last year, also put on their school uniforms for the last time, just like their seniors who graduated last year. Carrying a paper bag containing graduation certificates and photo albums, he walked out of the school gate, and officially bid farewell to elementary school life in the reluctant eyes of the juniors.

But that's not the end, this parting March has just begun for Nao.

Nao, who was not wearing a uniform but was still wearing a kimono that was more formal than usual, took her sister Natsu's hand and walked home after the graduation ceremony. Saotome Natsu, who will be promoted to the fourth grade of elementary school in a month, joined the orchestra club because of her interest in the violin when she entered the school in the first grade, and I don't know if she didn't want to live up to her hard-working sister, or if she did have a different talent in music, and in just a few years, she became the only junior violinist in the history of the East Ryukyu Elementary School Symphony Orchestra.

“...... Then the instructor said, 'Saotome, you will be the number one violinist this time!', and it scared me to death at the time, and now I think about it like a dream!" She looked up at her sister, her golden-green eyes, which were exactly the same as Nao's, narrowed into crescent moons, "It's a great satisfaction to be able to perform as the No. 1 violinist at my sister's graduation ceremony!"

Nao, who was holding his graduation certificate, looked down at his sister, who seemed to be full of bright brilliance, and his heart was filled with indescribable pride. Although she had just stepped out of the elementary school gate, she looked at Natsu's eyes with the relief of her age, and her sharp eyebrows seemed to soften a lot with her gaze.

Since she learned the ancient martial art of karate, the communication with her sister has been decreasing, and at most she can only talk a few words over dinner. But this younger sister, who often hid behind her back and peeked at the world when she was a child, has now begun to shine brightly. Natsu's change from cowardice to cheerfulness is all due to the thick nerves of Hirakoba. Rin Hirakuba, who was born with the ability to infect others with happiness, became Nao's friend and also took her only sister to heart. A candy and a small story can bring Natsu, who originally had a tendency to develop towards facial paralysis, back on track.

(An idiot, but still a nice guy.) ）

Nao shook her hair and snorted out of her nose. Just thinking about it like this can make the corners of her mouth curl, unabashedly exposing her good mood to the spring sun, gently surrounding her. In Natsu's excited words and Nao's smile, the two of them got closer and closer to the small courtyard surrounded by palm trees.

"Huh?" Natsu beside him suddenly paused and tugged Nao's hand, "Sister, there is a car we don't know at the door of our house." ”

"Don't know the car?" Nao, who was originally looking at his sister's radiant appearance, raised his head when he heard the words and looked at the door.

It was a light, black jeep splattered with mud. Although it has not yet reached the tattered Cheng dù, it is not a new car at all. The rear bumper is crumbling, and the spare tire outside the trunk is gone, not only that, but the black tires are even worn out of shape, and it seems that the owner is a rather sloppy guy.

Nao looked at the car and frowned slightly. Her grandfather also had an old car that had been through the vicissitudes of life, but it was not the one in front of her at all. So she didn't dislike the dilapidated car parked in front of her house, but the uneasiness that had been haunting her was strengthened the moment she saw the car. Because she vaguely remembered when she was a child, the car was still shiny and fresh, and the owner of this car, she never wanted to see it a second time in her life.

- Harumi Saotome, the half-brother of Kohei Saotome, can be considered her uncle's person.

Although he is not a serious job as a teacher at Higachu and a karate teacher at a dojo, his personality is notoriously bad. Often because the juniors did not get a ranking in the competition and even fight, the usual training method is also known for its cruelty, which can be called a devil's teacher. This is completely contrary to the original rules of the dojo that emphasized the cultivation of the mind, and a person who will do whatever it takes to achieve his goal. Although this point is not impossible for ordinary people, it is very inappropriate to be a teacher as a teacher. But Nao doesn't dislike him because of this, but he slanders his late father, Kohei Saotome.

After the death of Haoping that year, he once came to his house once during the vigil. When everyone was dressed in black and hanged himself, he appeared in the ancestral hall drunk. First he spun around as if no one was around, and then when he saw the portrait of Kohei, his potato-like face was filled with a disgusting hideous smile.

"Oh, it's really dead, like this, it's for the benefit of society when —— dies!!" He saw his mother Junko kneeling next to the statue and Xiao Nao trembling beside her, his mung bean-like eyes squeezed together, "Yo, little girl, let my uncle come and sue you!" He stared at Nao, who kept coming to his mother's side, and grinned......

"Your proud father......"

“...... Pain!

A loud cry pulled Nao's thoughts back to her senses, and she snapped back to her senses. She looked at Natsu beside her in a daze, unaware that the cold sweat had soaked her single clothes.

"Hands, hands hurt so much!" Natsu looked at Nao aggrievedly, and the little hand she held kept twisting, "Let go a little!"

"Ah, I'm sorry!" Nao hurriedly squatted down and lifted Natsu's hand, which he had squeezed hard, up and down, "Does it still hurt?"

"Really, what is my sister doing?" Natsu was so pained that tears were about to fall, dripping in his eyes. It seems that if she speaks out later, her hand may be pinched off. She held back the pain in her palm, wiped her eyes, raised her face as if nothing happened, and said, "Well, it doesn't hurt to let go of your hand." ...... But sister, do you hate that car?"

"No, I was just wandering. Nao was stunned for a moment, and returned her smile, "I suddenly thought of Rin's evil deeds, and I couldn't help but want to beat him up......!"

"That's why you treat my hand as Big Brother Pingguba, right?" Natsu sighed like a little adult with a 'I know' expression, "I know, I know, who called him not as strong as his sister and often provoked!Ah, it's really hard to miss Big Brother......"

Nao couldn't help but smile as she listened to her sister's teasing voice. She straightened up and tugged at the belt of her kimono without any image, took a deep breath, and took Natsu's hand again. No matter what the person who visited her home again wanted to do, she would not be as weak as she was when she was a child. No matter what the truth is, this time she must not escape!

The figures of the two children, one tall and one short, bypassed the car and walked straight into the small courtyard covered with palm trees. And Nao's brain is still surrounded by the sound that he heard when he was a child, which makes people shudder.

(O thy father...... It's a murderer!)