It's March, and it's the beautiful season when the bright red tung blossoms bloom all over the island of Okinawa. Most of the inhabitants of Okinawa, whose island flower is the island flower of the Thorn tree, which symbolizes longing and enthusiasm, have the same enthusiasm, strength, and unyielding integrity. Since ancient times, the people of the Okinawa archipelago have survived with this integrity, both during the Ryukyu Kingdom and when they were occupied by the U.S. military after being owned by Japan. Ethnic buildings, old US military bases, beautiful ocean scenery...... This qiē attracts tourists from all over the world. While enjoying the scenery of Okinawa, they also deeply felt the simple warmth of the Okinawan people. All of these qualities are what make tourists flock to Okinawa, and after enjoying the sights of Okinawa, they still can't get enough of it, and they can't wait to settle in this land surrounded by a glass-colored continental shelf.

But no matter how dreamlike and beautiful Okinawa is, the local residents have the same troubles and helplessness as most human beings. For example, in this civilian airliner that had just put away its landing gear and flew away from Naha Airport in Okinawa Prefecture, there were some Okinawans who were traveling alone or moving with their families for various reasons. For example, a girl with long red hair like a thorn in the window seat, she is one of them.

The day after Harumi Saotome's visit, Nao, her grandmother, and sister boarded a flight to Tokyo to start a new life on the island. Although Sakurako's grandmother told them that they were only "temporarily staying" in Tokyo, Nao, who had spoken directly to her grandmother in Toro, knew that the trip to Tokyo would make it impossible for her to land in the Okinawa archipelago, especially when she was a student. Because my grandmother said that if nothing else, she would retire in Tokyo.

Nao curled up in her seat with her chin propped up, looking at Natsu beside her, who was excited to leave the island for the first time. It has been more than half a year since she last left the island. The two who used to sit here with her to participate in the tournament in Tokyo now don't know when they will see each other again. Zhinian wide, flat ancient field Rin. The two who have been inseparable from her since the first grade of elementary school, the two who trained with her in the small courtyard of Saotome House, the two who were scolded with her when they got into trouble, and the two who taught her a lesson when they were bullied...... It was also her Saotome Nao's first friend and partner, and it was an indelible mark on her childhood life.

Thinking of the two of them, Nao raised her hand and unconsciously touched her cheek and laughed lowly. On the right side of the mandible, there is a small white tape. It was the "parting gift" that Rin Hirakuba gave her when she said goodbye to them this morning.

She will never forget what they were like.

After she hesitated for a long time and finally mustered up the courage to say goodbye to them, Rin Hirakuba, who usually greeted people with a smile and seemed to never be troubled, suddenly restrained her smile and raised her right arm and waved it at her vigorously. In the half-second before the fist hit her cheek, she could have dodged with her eyes and ears that heard the wind, but she didn't move. She knew that Rin was angry. She just stood still, letting the hot straight punch slam into her face, staggering her. She wiped the torn skin, and the corners of her mouth slowly drooped red liquid, and for the first time she didn't have the courage to look into the young man's eyes. But after that, Pingguchang's words forced her eyes to widen and look at him in disbelief.

"If you don't have a good time in Tokyo, I won't spare you!"

The evil boy with his lips plucked said, and then ran away without hesitation. But the moment he turned around, that fleeting reluctance still ingested Nao's eyes that he was good at catching, including the huge crystals that gathered in his sockets. Looking at this scene, Zhiniankuan, who had been silent, finally opened his mouth.

"We'll see you in Tokyo. He stretched out his big bony hand and patted Nao's shoulder, bent down and looked her in the eyes: "Whether it's a year or two years from now, definitely." ”

Nao knew that getting from Okinawa to Tokyo was a lot of money, and as students, they couldn't afford it, but she believed it and was convinced. But she can't just let them work hard, she has to work hard herself. Whether it's a part-time job or a competition to get a prize money, she has to do her best to save enough money to return to Okinawa to visit them. Not only that, but she must also achieve it before them! The long-standing habit has made her see this kind of thing as a competition, and as long as it is a competition, she Saotome Nao will not lose!

"This aircraft will soon arrive over Tokyo's Haneda Airport, so please fasten your seat belts......"

Nao's thoughts were interrupted by a sweet voice over the radio, and she suddenly realized that she had been stunned for two and a half hours before she knew it. She hurriedly helped Nao and her grandmother next to her fasten their seat belts, and then buckled their seat belts and waited for the plane to land......

Haneda Airport, located on the left bank of the Tama River estuary, was once an old civilian airport, but has been expanded to become a more modern and busier international airport than Tokyo's Narita Airport. Natsu, who arrived in Tokyo for the first time, was very excited, looking around curiously with big round eyes, pulling her sister's sleeve from time to time, pointing out all kinds of modern facilities to her, but Sakurako's grandmother seemed to be in a steady state, slowly moving under Nao's support, her eyes slightly closed, not knowing what she was thinking. Nao slowly walked out of the hall holding her grandmother's arm and her sister's hand, looking left and right for Sakurako's grandmother's sister, Aiko Matsuda.

About this beloved grandmother, Nao has only seen it in her grandmother's photo album. Unlike her grandmother, who was heroic when she was young, Aiko is a more gentle and graceful person. According to her grandmother, she and Aiko were as close as Nao and Natsu when she was a child, and she often visited Okinawa after her grandmother married her grandfather. However, in the more than 20 years since Aiko's grandmother married into the Matsuda family, although there have been occasional correspondence, they have never seen each other again. It was only from the letters that she learned that she later had a son and a daughter. His daughter, Yu Matsuda, is a top graduate of the University of Tokyo and is currently being recommended to study abroad, while his son, Jinhei Matsuda, joined the Tokyo Garrison Mobile Unit after graduation and became a police officer like his father. Although they have been separated for more than 20 years, they still maintain such a close correspondence, and I guess what happened at Saotome's house, Aiko also knows about it. But after all, they haven't seen each other for more than 20 years, and the two who were still glorious back then have become old women, which can't help but make Nao very worried about the meeting in the future.

――Do they still recognize each other?

But what happened after that completely dispelled Nao's concerns. Just as Nao was looking around, a voice that sounded good but always felt a little disapproving sounded beside him.

"Excuse me, it's Mrs. Saotome from Okinawa, right?"

"Are you?" Nao looked at when he heard the voice, and the first thing that caught his eye was a wide pair of sunglasses. The proximity couldn't help but make Nao's guard hidden deep in his heart hang up the red light, and he took a step back forcefully.

"Don't be so nervous! The visitor took off the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, and a pair of ink-colored eyes full of "guessed right" were displayed without disguise. He straightened up again, put the inappropriate big sunglasses back in place, reached out and took the luggage in Natsu's hand, and raised the corners of his mouth at the three of them: "Mom is waiting for the cooking at home, let's go." ”

"Wait a minute!" Nao grabbed the strap of the luggage first, and narrowed her golden green eyes and looked at the man warily, "It's unreasonable to leave before you introduce yourself, right?"

"According to the procedure, you have to introduce yourself first, yes. The man loosened his bag, looked up at the hall, and said to Nao with a smile on his lips, "But I really don't have the habit of introducing myself in front of so many people...... You're right, Aunt Sakurako?"

"Heh, you're Aiko's son, aren't you?" Sakurako, who had been silent, opened her eyes and chuckled at him, "It's called 'Jinhei', isn't it? ”

"Thank you for the compliment. Jinping laughed instead of being angry when he heard this, and put his hands in his pants pockets to look at Nao, who was full of question marks, and Natsu, who had starry eyes. Fuer bent down again and said to Natsu, whose eyes were full of "I want to know", "I wonder how I recognized you?"

Seeing that Natsu nodded vigorously, Nao's head was full of black lines.

"It's simple. Aunt Sakurako had suffered a severe injury to her leg more than thirty years ago, and the old wounds were bound to flap over the years, especially if she was close to sixty years old. So, she must be immobile...... Even with the help of crutches to walk. Jinpei moved his gaze to Nao again: "There are two other people who came to Tokyo with Aunt Sakurako this time, two girls who are still in elementary school. An older person who has learned the ancient martial arts of the Okinawan stream in the past few years may not be able to see that people who have practiced martial arts have eyes and temperament that are completely different from ordinary people. Searching the entire airport hall, this little girl is the only one who fits this characteristic...... And from my mother's words, I learned that this little girl also dyed her eye-catching red hair. So......" Matsuda Jinpei shrugged, "you are the only one who meets the conditions of three people traveling together, an old man with limited mobility, a red-haired girl with sharp eyes, and another little girl." ”

"Good, so good!!" Natsu's eyes sparkled even more, and she seemed to be able to see the small flowers surrounding her.

"Hmph, carving insect skills. Nao looked at Natsu's adoring appearance, and a wave of anger couldn't help but ignite in his chest, and he snorted coldly with the wing of his nose.

"That's not all. Matsuda Jinhei heard Nao's disdainful snort, took out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket and shook it in front of her eyes, and seemed to laugh happily in Nao's suddenly dull gaze: "...... And you don't know there's such a thing as a photo? hahaha!"

"Damn!"

Although Natsu didn't react, Nao, who had been through a lot of things and was precocious, understood. Because of her vigilant appearance when she first met, she was tricked by the man in front of her who could be called her cousin. But what she didn't know was that because of this incident, Natsu, who was still a little afraid of the new family, completely relaxed.

The three of them got into the car and slowly drove out of the airport. Nao had been here before, but this time she was in a completely different state of mind. Instead of being a tourist, she is seriously re-observing every plant and tree in Tokyo. Because this is the place where she has been living since the beginning of this parting March, and the place where she needs to formally integrate from the middle school a month later.

Her grandmother's hometown is Tokyo.