After listening to what my brother said yesterday, I thought a lot.

If Kotomi's parents are really the deceased Ichinose couple...

If Kotomi really collapsed because she remembered the events of her parents' death...

If...

There are so many "ifs" in my mind that are constantly breaking down and reorganizing into new "ifs", and if all the "ifs" come true, then what should we do to help Kotomi?

Leaning back in my chair, I turned my head to look out the window at the sky.

I've always been saying pretty things, saying that I want to help Kotomi but I can't do anything, I'm just talking big things with my mouth.

"Alas~"

For the first time, I felt my own incompetence.

"I've been sighing like this for a long time."

“… Good morning, apricots. ”

After patting me on the back, Xing sat down in her seat and took the book out of her bag, then turned in my direction.

"Yesterday you..." looked at me in embarrassment, and Xing paused before asking, "When did you go home?" ”

"Huh?"

"Didn't you leave yesterday in the wrong direction? … It should be said that when we reacted and wanted to stop you, we found that we couldn't see your figure anymore. ”

“…”

I see, so everyone knows about my loss? It's no wonder that when I met Furukawa at the intersection in the morning, she would look at me with a worried expression, and I greeted her with such a bright smile, planning to make it look like nothing had happened, wouldn't it be super inferior?!

"Ah, ahh~ When, of course there is no problem, I just met with my brother yesterday."

Although many of the ingredients in it have been cut, it is true that at least I met my brother.

"Your expression is ugly, are you alright?"

"Of course it's fine!"

Just as Xing's suspicions about me deepened, the classmates who had just walked into the classroom waved at me.

"Izumi ~ Ishikawa told you to go to him!"

"Ahh ”

———————————— Dividing Line——————————

When I got to the staff room, I realized why the teacher was looking for me.

"Is there nothing wrong with your body anymore?"

“… Yes. ”

"That's great, the so-called body is the capital," Ishikawa sighed like an old man, clasping his hands, "Although he is young, he still can't ignore health." ”

"Ah, yes."

After all, I asked Apricot to help me lie that I was sick and had to leave early, so in order to prevent saying the wrong thing, I could follow Ishikawa's words next.

"That's pretty much it, then Quanjun, you have to pay more attention to your body in the future, and you have to tell the teacher if you feel uncomfortable."

"Yes, then I took my leave."

Secretly relieved, I quickened my pace towards the door, but as I was about to reach the door, I noticed a student talking to another teacher against the wall.

Hey? He's not...

Not long after hiding not far from the dismissal room, but the only way back to the classroom—————— there was a staircase, and I saw the people waiting for him walking towards Li.

"Yo, Okazaki."

Walking around the corner, I greeted Okazaki, who had just come out of the staff room.

"Izumi?" As if surprised as to why I was here, Okazaki looked at me with wide eyes, "Why are you here?" ”

"Because yesterday afternoon I was sick and called."

Scratching my head in embarrassment, I smiled a little awkwardly.

"Really? But you're lucky, your homeroom teacher actually believed it. Saying something very similar to that of my brother, Okazaki pointed at me puzzled and asked, "Then why don't you go back to the classroom?" ”

"When I came out, I saw you inside, and I thought you were in trouble again, so I stood here waiting for you."

"Wait for me?" Okazaki pointed at himself in surprise at first, but he immediately reached out and tapped me on the shoulder, "You really have the time to worry about it." ”

"yes, I'm really embarrassed to worry about it," it was really annoying to be underestimated by this kid, in a sense, it was really annoying, "Seeing that you're fine, I'll go back to the classroom first." ”

"Hey! Spring. ”

"What?"

Stopping, I turned to look at Okazaki in dissatisfaction.

"I have something to say to you, can you skip the first class?"

"Huh? No. ”

No kidding, the first class today is history, and I don't want to be caught again for skipping class... And there is a mountain king sitting next to me, and the way to die is very miserable... Of course, I didn't refuse because I still resented being ridiculed for "worrying about it"!

"Please... It's about Kotomi. ”

———————————— dividing line————————————

"First of all, if it has nothing to do with Kotomi, I will definitely beat you up!"

Before I walked to the ministry, I told Okazaki about the consequences.

You know, how much courage I mustered up for this absence, maybe when I go back to the classroom, I will be ready to break a few ribs.

"What are you trying to say about Kotomi?"

Pulling open the door of the department, I walked over to the table and sat down, looking up at Okazaki with a serious face.

"I thought about it," Okazaki said slowly, rubbing his hands together as he walked across from me, "and decided it would be better to talk to you." ”

"Do you want to discuss how to cheer up Kotomi?"

"No, it's about me and Kotomi."

"Huh?"

"Kotomi and I have known each other since we were children, but the difference between me and Kotomi is that I completely forgot about knowing Kotomi, so when I saw her, I thought it was the first time we met," Okazaki clenched his hands and slowly began to narrate, "Kotomi is a child who doesn't like to go out, so I decided to call my friends at Kotomi's birthday party and let everyone celebrate Kotomi's birthday together." ”

"But when I went to invite my friends, they all rejected me on the grounds that I didn't want to go to a stranger's birthday party" or "Wouldn't I feel shy to go to a girl's birthday party?"

"And you went alone?"

"When I thought that I had boasted that I was going to introduce a lot of friends to Kotomi, I felt that I didn't have the face to meet him, so I never set foot in the courtyard that day... It was the middle of the night when I finally made up my mind, and I thought I had to apologize for not coming to the birthday party, but when I ran up the stairs I heard Kotomi crying from the room. ”

As if recalling the scene of that day, Okazaki lowered his head sadly.

"When I opened the door of the room, I saw that the desk next to the window was full of flames, and Kotomi kept crying in the middle of the room, and I was also in a hurry, so I hurriedly kept using the cup to catch water and ran back to put out the fire, but it was completely useless, but the fire was getting stronger and stronger, and when I couldn't help it, several adults rushed in to put out the fire, and then I was sent home to leave Kotomi and those adults."

"I haven't seen Kotomi since, and I've been there several times but haven't been able to see her." Smiling self-deprecatingly, Okazaki continued in a tone that was about to cry, "And then before I knew it, I forgot everything I experienced when I met Kotomi... I didn't remember it until now. ”

"That's right," I said, noticing that the joints of Okazaki's hand were white from being clenched too tightly, I reached out and patted him on the shoulder and comforted, "... Do you feel more comfortable saying it? ”

It's just that I was surprised that I didn't expect Kotomi and Okazaki to have such a story in the past.