Some people and some things will change inadvertently.

There are some people who will be a little nostalgic after the passage of time;

But there are some things, even if you are bloodied to change it, there will be no nostalgia.

- Saotome Nao

Time passes, things are not people. This small courtyard, surrounded by palm trees, used to have lively and peaceful days. But that changed during a tropical storm two years ago. The backbone of the family, a gentle and sturdy middle-aged man, lost his life in a sudden shipwreck, leaving behind his two young daughters, and now, two years later, the mother who supported the two girls has left the world of the two because she can't bear the poverty of life and marries away from the United States. Only two old men were left in their last years, and they depended on each other with two girls.

After that, two years later, what had been a normal life was changed by an event that would happen in the future, even if it doesn't happen now.

The little girl who hid under the eaves and cried two years ago, the eldest granddaughter of the Saotome family, Saotome Nao, has entered elementary school this year, and her originally lively temperament has become increasingly gloomy because of her mother's departure. The two old men thought that getting along with children of the same age would make a difference in her, but they didn't know that even in school, the pain of that different life brought her far more than happiness.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the bell rang for the end of school at Ryukyu Higashi Elementary School. Many children rushed out of the school building, either to the school gate or to the club place. The little girl with soft black hair walked out of the school gate slowly, wearing civilian clothes that did not fit in with the clothes around her. A few uniformed children pointed at her, their words full of unbridled contempt.

"Look at that Saotome who doesn't even wear a school uniform, and she's always late, and she's dragging her feet in this week's attendance evaluation!"

"That's it, I usually look well-behaved, but who knows where I'm going to play on the way to school. I think as long as there is her in our class, we won't think about winning any full-time performance in our life!"

I think it's gloomy! I heard that her father died a few years ago, and her mother didn't want her anymore. People who don't even have parents are not gloomy!"

"That's it, my family is still so poor, and the clothes are so dirty, I really hate it......"

Nao, who had his back to them, looked down at his clothes and curled the corners of his mouth mockingly. Her family was a little poorer, but there was not a single piece of dust on her clothes, except for the old ones. It's funny to be called dirty.

But it's true that she's often late.

Because she rushes to the morning market every day to buy some cheap ingredients, and then rushes home to make breakfast for the family. I often couldn't catch the bus after packing, so I had to run to the school two kilometers away. She didn't wear a uniform because she didn't want to burden her family, which was not wealthy, so she lied to her teacher that she couldn't afford to buy a uniform and her grandparents that she could do without a uniform...... But she wasn't going to explain it to the children, for she was used to hearing it. What's more, they just said something unpleasant, and she had experienced all the excesses......

Nao kicked the pebbles on the side of the road, using the small noise to keep the children's words out of her ears. She doesn't have the time to worry about the inconsequential things now, because she has to rush home to make dinner for her grandparents and sister. My grandmother's health was not good, especially after the past two years of hard work, she was getting old, and now she had to walk on crutches, and my grandfather was a typical Japanese man, who was completely unable to do housework or anything, and had to go to school and work during the day without taking care of the family. So she took care of the family's diet and daily life, and she was all responsible for it alone.

She walked around the corner of the school wall, lifted the bag on her shoulder and quickened her pace. She had to do all the chores before her grandfather got off work, because when he came home and could take care of his grandmother, she had to go to work at the ashram next door. Thinking of this, Nao couldn't help but run.

The scorching summer sun shone on the road, causing the asphalt to twist and mist. The paulownia trees planted side by side on both sides of the street are in bloom, and clusters of chili-like buds hang from the branches, and the fiery red color compares to the brilliant hibiscus flowers around them. The subtropical maritime climate makes the whole island hot and humid, and just standing still is like being in a steamer. Although Nao's body was not weak, it was also very painful to run quickly in this sultry weather, and after a while, she was out of breath and sweating profusely.

"It's too hot...... she stopped, put her hands on her knees to steady her breathing, raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, and muttered disappreciably with the wind on her hand, "Really, I'm glad I'm wearing civilian clothes, if I wear a uniform like those guys, I won't have to burn in this weather......"

"-Hey!!"

A shout came from behind her, sounding like a child about her size. Although Nao heard the shouting, she didn't care, and pulled the schoolbag on her shoulder and stepped forward again.

"-Hey!Wait a minute!!" The person who spoke up saw that Nao was about to run again, so he couldn't help but speed up his pace, and chased after him at the speed of a 100-meter sprint, and continued to shout as he ran: "The guy in the white shirt and blue shorts from the Ryukyu East Elementary School in front, wait a minute!!"

"Ryukyu East Elementary School, ...... in a white shirt and blue shorts" Nao stopped when she heard the name of her school, looked down at what she was wearing, looked back at herself in confusion and asked, "Are you calling me?"

"Who else but you!" the kid ran up to Nao, tugging at the tie around his neck and letting out a sigh...... Whew, I'm exhausted...... It's okay to run so fast, it's been calling you for a long time!"

Nao looked the people in front of her up and down, filtering the number of people she knew in her mind. Slightly raised brown eyes, bright blond hair like the sun, tie hanging loosely on the chest of the two unbuttons, wearing the uniform of Ryukyu East Elementary School. His outfit was everywhere in Nao's elementary school, but there was only one person in the school with his striking blonde hair, and Nao had heard the girls whispering about the handsome blonde boy in the next class.

And the legendary boy is the one in front of him, who is in the same first grade as Nao......

“…… Do I know you?" Having said that, it was clear that Nao didn't take this person who had attracted attention with his blonde hair as much as the other girls did.

"It doesn't matter if you know it or not, don't care about the details!" The boy in front of him carried the schoolbag on his shoulder, and waved his hand casually to Nao, "Compared to this, I have other things to ask you!"

"Ask me, what's the matter?" Nao couldn't help but wonder. I, the "annoying" student in the mouth of others, only received white eyes and ridicule in and out of school, and why did the child in front of him take the initiative to talk to him?

"You're a student at Ryukyu East Elementary School, right?" The boy didn't notice Nao's doubts at all, and when he saw Nao nodded, he said excitedly with a bright smile: "Sure enough!!!

"Huh?"

"What is 'ha?' What is 'ha?'! There must be some secret, right?" The boy put himself on Nao's shoulder, and his authentic Okinawan dialect made him full of happy aura, "This school uniform is just dirty, I really want to wear civilian clothes to school! Hey, don't be so stingy, sue me!"

"The secret of not wearing a school uniform?" Nao looked at the boy in front of him with a "I'm curious" expression, and frowned slightly, "I'm very happy to have a uniform to wear, and I actually want to take it off...... I really don't know what you're thinking. ”

"Happiness, why are you talking about the same tone as my mother!" the boy pouted dissatisfiedly, "It's rare for me to ask you so seriously, I don't want to say it......"

"Nothing else? Then I'll go first. Nao didn't want to dwell on him about it, so she shook off the boy's hand around her neck and turned away.

"Hey, I didn't say anything bad, did I? Even if I said you and my mom were in the same tone, you don't have to be so angry!-Hey!!"

Nao ignored the cries of the boy she had met for the first time, and pulled up her feet and ran quickly in the direction of home. She has to hurry home and make dinner, otherwise she won't be able to catch up with the part-time job at the dojo...... If you are late and can't see how the teacher of the dojo demonstrates, that's a big bad thing. In any case, in addition to her part-time job, it is only a serious thing for her to learn ancient martial arts! Now that she can use her turn and kick, she will definitely be able to become a master of karate with more effort! When she can sweep away the invincible opponents in Okinawa, those things that have happened to her will definitely not appear to her sister!

Thinking of this, Nao swept away the gloom caused by that little episode, shook her fists and ran towards her home, bringing up a cloud of dust on the clean street.

"I'm back, Grandmother, Natsu!!"

"Welcome back, sister!"

"The pork I bought this morning is very fresh, and let's eat bitter gourd and stir-fry meat in the evening!"

"Wow, that's great!!Stir-fried meat with bitter gourd!!"

Nao looked at her five-year-old sister and smiled, and a steady stream of energy welled up in her body. She's fine, but she can't hide and cry like she used to. She now has a more important bond, that is, a family that can never be separated from in front of her.

Just as the Nao family was enjoying themselves, such a conversation was heard in a vacant lot near Ryukyu Higashi Elementary School......

“…… After I said this, she suddenly became very angry and ran away...... Now, Zhinian, I didn't say anything excessive, did I?"

“…… I've heard my mother say that she's in the same situation as I am. ”

"Thoughts?"

"Idiot...... I said she was the same as me...... Think about the rest for yourself. ”

"The same?...... Maybe, I did something wrong...... I must apologize to her!!"

"Humph......"