……

"Kirikawa-kun... You know what?"

"Grandma, I have a granddaughter, her name is Aoko... Two years older than you..."

"She comes here every year during the Chinese New Year...... It's a pity that Kirikawa-kun goes to his grandmother's house every time, so he hasn't seen him once."

"I really want you to meet and have some fun... It's going to be a pleasure to get along with."

"Is someone as gentle as Grandma Yun Yao?"

「…… Haha, yes, yes."

……

"Grandma, aren't you bored when you're alone at home every day?"

"Isn't Kirikawa-kun also playing alone...... Do you get bored?"

"Hmm...... Nobody plays with me, and I like to read, and I can't get along with those guys... But... Sometimes I feel empty and bored......

"It's just... I'm used to it now."

"That grandma is actually just like you... Get used to... That's it."

"What about Grandma's husband?"

"He's... It was very irresponsible to leave me, but he left first."

"Huh? …… Then he is too bad, grandma is obviously so good, so gentle......

……

"Grandma, can I still come and visit you and talk to you? The muffins you made are so delicious!"

"Kirikawa-kun is always welcome... Talk to me, an old man who is dying... You're welcome..."

……

"Grandma! Grandmother! Well, I met your granddaughter in the Maple Grove today...... Call... It's called..."'Natsumiya Aoko'"

"yes... I've already met her, she'll go to school here in the future, I can play with you."

"Really... Can we get along well?"

"Yes... Kirikawa-kun will be happy if you think about it."

"Well, I'll be good friends with her!"

……

"Grandma, look, Kiyono and I found an injured bird in the maple forest."

"Ah...... Really hurt... Then you'll have to take good care of it."

"Of course!" We're all in one voice

"Hurry up and help the bird bandage his wounds."

"Good!" "Good!"

……

"Grandma, we planted a tree, come and help us see what it is."

"Slow down......

"Hmm... I'll take a look... This... It's just a little maple tree."

"Little maple?"

"yes, when it grows up, it'll be like the maple trees in that big maple forest, as tall as they are."

"As tall? This is the middle and bottom of me with Kiyono-kun......

"yes...... It's a testimony of you and Kiyono-kun's growth."

"We'll water it well."

……

"Hee-hee...... Ha ha...... Chase me, I'm going home."

"Ahh Yes...... You're fooling, you know that I'm not good at sports, so I won't be able to catch up with you at all."

"The little ones are so energetic, come in."

"I'm back"

"Excuse me"

"Wow! There's a muffin..."

"But it's only one piece ......."

"You Eat"

"If you eat, I won't eat."

「……」

"Alright, alright, grandma made a new hot muffin, the one is cold, let's eat it here."

"Yay! All right! Long live Grandma!"

"Haha......"

……

There are many, many memories of Grandma Yun Yao, which were rampaging in my mind that day, flashing one by one like a kaleidoscope.

Just like that, I felt like I had embraced Aoko for a century......

"Tick-"

A long 'beep' sound of a car broke my memory, and we hugged each other with our eyes closed, and our eyes were opened, and each other's tears did not stop, and the sobs began one after another. I think in this world — we're the ones who know each other best.

……

"Mom and Dad are going to pick me up...... Thank you for today......" Aoko said goodbye to me.

Then I stood there and watched her get in the car and leave, the birds making a low call......

My gaze casually rested on the broken and rotten maple leaf......

……

My parents and I attended the memorial service, and the memorial service for Aoko's grandmother, Yamamiya Yunyao, prayed for her......

Aoko says she's leaving here...... I don't know when it is...... But no matter what, I wanted to do something to make her leave without regrets.

Finally, I thought that it was to mediate the conflict between Aoko and the bad girl 'Yamamachi Muka', and let 'Yamamachi Muka' apologize to Aoko, so that Aoko could leave with a satisfactory relationship. This may also be one of the few things that can be done when Aoko leaves.

Some time after that, I went back to school. First of all, I found the classroom of this bad girl named Yamamachi Muka, and threw a note in her desk, which was to ask her to go to the rooftop.

She agreed, and it was the first time I had seen her in person. In my imagination, I thought she was an ugly girl with raunchy paintings and heavy makeup, but unexpectedly she was a spicy, beautiful girl with long black hair. I never thought that such a girl was a ruthless person who shot at her classmates.

"Kid, what are you looking for me? I don't have much time to waste here." Yamamachi Muka's tone was impatient.

「…… Bullying and bullying Sister Xia Gong, you did it!"

「…… Who?"

She also looked puzzled for a moment

「……」

「… Oh... She deserves it!" She actually looked like she couldn't remember it easily, and then put on a disdainful expression at will, and there was a strong hostility, like an enemy, what happened between her and Qingzi......

The reaction was so excited, this must not be some ordinary classmate contradiction, I guess so.

It's just that when I heard her reply, I instinctively felt that I couldn't talk about it at all. I gritted my teeth, my hands clenched unconsciously, and my face was a little unhappy, and I said angrily.

"In short, it's not right to hurt someone while fighting, and I hope you can apologize!"

.....

"What? ... Wouldn't it—" She looked at me with a smirk, her tone extremely cold, "...... Huh... Kid, who's that bitch yours? Who do you think you are? You want me to apologize?"

"Dream!"

She looked at me with idiot eyes, and her tone was domineering and unquestionable.

"If you call me just to talk about these frivolous things, I think I'll have to go."

She turned around and prepared to leave, not giving me any room to continue, what did she just say? Whore......? Who is she talking about...... She's talking about Aoko......

I stood still, breathing heavily, caught in a fierce inner struggle......

She's a girl, and guys can't do it to girls......

But she is not an unreasonable girl......

A girl who hurts others but doesn't have a sense of self-guilt......

I......

It's like the moment a live fish jumps into a hot oil pot, and his mind has lost his mind. I took a step forward and slammed into the direction of Yamamachi Wuxiang, and the little anger in my heart made me can't help but move.

I'm usually weak and not good at sports.,I'm going to take the initiative to attack girls.,And it's with all my strength to bump.,Why have I become so irritable recently... I was at a loss myself, but I did just that.

But as a result... It was something I didn't expect.

This undesirable girl of 'Yamamachi no fragrance' turned her head in astonishment when she heard my hurried steps towards her, but at the same time reacted very quickly, raised her foot, spun in a half circle in the opposite direction, and did not care about the bare underskirt of her skirt, and kicked me in the shoulder with great force, which gave me the illusion that she was not a girl.

"Ahh

I looked up at her through gritted teeth, and she looked at me condescendingly and darkly with a look of disgust.

"Taking the initiative to do it to girls at such a young age... ......Shh That's bad!"

My face immediately flushed, and I couldn't say a word, I could only watch her slam the door on the rooftop and leave.

I got up and sat on the ground for a long time......

As time passed, there were many troubles in my world, and they came one after another, but I couldn't cope with it, and I didn't even have a way at all, I was very passive in doing anything, and when that sense ......of powerlessness hit, I could only sigh 'I'm really useless'

The idea of 'I want to grow up quickly' is really not simple...... Am I really capable of facing it......

In the days following this incident, I was in low spirits......

Aoko couldn't help but ask me when she came home from school one day.

"Has anything happened lately? Kiyono-kun?"

「……」

「……」

"I don't look like you these days...... If you have anything, please let me know."

My gaze turned to Aoko a little cloudy and spoke.

"Sister Summer Palace...... You said... Why doesn't the party who made the mistake apologize to others?"

"Huh? Kiyono-kun? …… Did you have a conflict with your classmates? …… That's not going to work... Students should get along with each other."

「……」

"If only those people thought the same way as you......

Qingzi seemed to see that I was still very disappointed, turned around, and looked at me with her eyes

"Actually...... Kiyono-kun may think that the other party is the one who made the mistake, but the other party may also think that Kiyono-kun is the one who made the mistake, and the result is that everyone has their own insistence, and neither party will bow their heads easily...... However, I think this is sometimes a good thing, but Kiyono-kun's words will definitely help you deal with your own problems and get along with your classmates."

I looked at Aoko like this, uneasy.

Yes, if it's my own business, I can bear it if I suffer a loss or be bullied, and I may even take the initiative to reconcile with the other party and return the relationship to normal.

But...... This matter is about Aoko, you have been bullied and hurt, can I not care...... If it had happened to me this time, I'm sure you'd have thought the same way I did...... We regard each other as the most important people, and it is the same to protect and cherish each other's hearts.

Grandma Yun Yao's death has made Qingzi more mature and more willing to get closer to reality, but I am still locked in the dream kingdom of the two of us......

Maybe I should change my mentality, since I can't make the other party apologize, let's leave her more good memories before Aoko leaves

"Sister Natsumiya, I understand, let's start changing little by little from today."

"Hmm! Come on, Kiyono-kun!"

……

Little did I know, however, that Aoko would be transferring back to Kyoto with her parents on Sunday, six days later, and I thought it would be a month or a few months, or even longer.

So during those six days, I don't know if I left a good memory for Aoko......