[It's not finished yet, it must be completed before three o'clock, please wait]

[Sorry.] ]

The waves of the sea beat the girl's ankles.

A handsome teenager stood next to her and took a picture of her.

Summer, night sky, coast.

The tide rises and falls, and the girl steps on a series of footprints on the soft sand, walks to Narumi Yu's side, and runs to look at her photo.

Then he couldn't help but praise and covered his mouth and chuckled.

He found a stone and threw it at it, expecting it to float over the water until it ran out of strength or was overwhelmed by the waves.

But reality brutally shattered his expectations.

The smooth pebbles, which only symbolically jumped on the surface of the water, sank into the sea.

“……”

"Yusan, this is ...... What are you doing? ”

The pebbles are too smooth and the shape is not suitable, forget it.

He excused himself and gave up the idea of playing afield.

"Nothing."

The girl dragged him to make handprints and footprints on the beach, drew a heart to circle them, wrote their names, and drew cartoon portraits of them.

Stunned to look at the masterpiece he had drawn and smiled.

As a result, within a few seconds, the tide drowned the girl's drawing.

When the tide receded, whether it was the love or the mudra and the names of the two people, they were all gone.

"It's too much...... the sad girl opened her mouth and asked him for the photo she had just taken.

A series of reactions looked in Narumi Yu's eyes, touching the bottom of his heart.

If it was the previous Shiina Miao, when he saw the beach painting being swallowed by the waves, he would probably be lost for a moment, become silent, and would not speak for a while, looking at the original location of the beach painting in a daze.

Then, when you receive comfort, whisper "It's okay......."

Now he just stomps his feet angrily, says what is in his heart, and gently turns the page of things.

◇

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Be sure to write the changes before three o'clock.

I probably stayed up too long last night and fell asleep on the table, but this time there was coffee, so don't worry.

Wait until the state is adjusted, and strive for Asahi to return to daytime writing updates.

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◇

Under the setting sun, the glow of Akane shone obliquely on Yayoi Akiza's body.

Short-sleeved shorts and sneakers, no matter how ordinary they are, they don't look like tourists at all. And between this old shrine, there is no sense of disobedience.

"Narumi San, what are you doing staring at me all the time?" The girl folds her arms in front of her, as if the shrine staff is reprimanding visitors.

"Can Yayoi-san still turn into a cat now?"

“…… No. The girl took out a tissue from her shoulder bag and wiped the dust on the wooden table, "This kind of question you know to answer, don't ask it at this time." ”

"No, I don't know ...... answer"

Ming morning said that he owed it a month's worth of grilled fish.

"You know, at least now."

Yayoi took out a few more tissues and stuffed them into Narumi Yu's hand.

"I think...... Just leave it as it is......" Narumi Yu took the tissue, folded it in his hand, and handed it back to her.

"That's ......," the girl paused for wiping the wooden table's hand, and slowly retracted it, "That's right...... After all, it's been a long time ago. ”

The area that has been rubbed to reveal a dark red plank.

It is a good wood, and there are not many signs of decay until now.

Perhaps this shrine was once lively, before the story of Neko and the boy took place.

I don't know if it's a coincidence, the area that wipes off the dust is just enough to be able to lay a bed.

Shaking his head not to think about it, he turned around and looked at the other areas of the shrine's courtyard.

There are no ema, no sacred trees, and there is not even a wooden platform specially used to draw lots.

It's just an ordinary little shrine.

Spider webs were knotted in the ropes, and the thatched roof rotted out holes, bringing sunlight into the shrine's worship hall.

I don't know how long it has been in this state.

In a few years, it will be discovered and renovated into a tourist attraction in Naie Town, along with the Niwa Mountain Waterfall?

Someone will probably be in charge of the shrine again......

Maybe that's what happened in the decades he lived.

Maybe......

"They're back."

Yayoi Aki stood at the foot of the torii gate early in the morning, looking high and far away, his eyes swept over the mountain village, and looked at the group of people who were cautiously descending the mountain on the opposite side.

"Hmm."

Narumi walked up to the girl, nodded, and walked out of the shrine.

Stepping on the bluestone steps, I turned around, but found that the girl was still standing in place, "We should go back too." ”

“…… Let me wait a little longer. Yayoi Akizao was still looking into the distance from afar, saying inexplicable words.

He followed the girl's gaze and looked back to see that Natsume-sensei and the others had already walked down the hillside, on the dirt road between the fields.

Yayoi Aki's eyes didn't follow them down to the fields, still looking at the mountains in the distance.

Narumi didn't wait for her anymore and went down the hill alone, back to the village.

The girl wasn't waiting for Natsume-sensei.

What are you waiting for?

……

"Where's Yayoi-san?" Seeing that he was the only one who came back, Natsume-sensei pulled him aside and asked.

As the teacher in charge of the Classics Department, Natsume Hanai, knows some of Yayoi Akiza's family situation, and knows that some things are inconvenient to say in front of other students.

"I should be back in a while." That's all he could answer.

He didn't know all of Yayoi Akihaya's thoughts like Imadegawa Chisaka did to him, and he couldn't guess what the girl was thinking.

"Yes and ...... Is it related to the things at Yayoi-san's house? Natsume's face was full of worry.

"It's just a simple one-man walk, it's okay."

"Oh......"

"Moreover, the matter of Yayoi-san's family has been resolved before this."

Natsume Hanae nodded hesitantly, deciding to trust her student.

The two returned to the villager's yard.

Shiina Mio cast an inquiring glance at him, and he thought he also wanted to ask about Yayoi Akiha, so he nodded.

The blue eyes gradually became shining.

The girl held the picture book and slowly approached him and held it up to him.

The view of the waterfall of Mt. Niwa cascading down is below the waterfall, and the whitening waves of the waterfall seem to be about to fall on top of your head in the next second.

The picture is full of oppressive force, but because of the blue sky and sunlight halo behind the white waves, the oppressive force is gradually transformed into the majestic and powerful vitality of the waterfall.

"I feel like a fish that has swam under a waterfall by mistake."

He opened his mouth to comment.

Then comes the next painting.

He and Mio Shiina were wrapped in bath towels and playing under the waterfall......

It's hard to imagine that these two works were painted by the same person on the same day and facing the same scenery.

Yu Narumi thought to herself as she watched.

Then Shiina Miyo reacted, his little face turned red, and he pulled out the drawing book from Narumi Yu's hand.

“…… Didn't you let me see it? ”

"First, first just look at the first ......"

"Is there a third one?" He asked with ulterior motives.

"No more!"

Succeeded in making the girl run away on her own.

The original plan was to go back to the town and think about eating, but in the evening there were only trucks coming back from the town in the village.

Although the village is in the communication service area, it takes an hour or two to call the driver in the town to pick them up.

He borrowed someone's kitchen to make dinner.

As the sun sets and the sky darkens, the village is electrified and every house is lit up with warm yellow lights.

Yayoi still hasn't come back yet.

A hint of uneasiness rose in his heart for no apparent reason.

In the afternoon, you can see a large blue sky, but at night, you can rarely see the moon and stars.

It's pitch black.

When the meal was ready, the owner of the yard brought the wooden table to the yard, and the girl of seven or eight helped him bring the meal to the wooden table in the yard.

It is a family who likes the lively atmosphere.

The man took out the sake that he had been reluctant to open for a long time, and chatted with the teachers and students from Tokyo while eating and drinking.

Talking about the soccer club of Muraichi Konda, the eyes of the seven or eight-year-old girl flashed with adoration.

This is despite the fact that Murakazu Konda's soccer club was eliminated in the first round of the high school league.

The empty bench was still empty, and the absentees still did not return.

At this time, not only Natsume-sensei, but also other people began to worry about Yayoi Aki's early arrival.

"Hey, that ......" Kuriyama ran over and patted him on the shoulder, forgetting his name, "Forget it...... Do you know where Akiza-chan is now? ”

"Perhaps." Narumi Yu looked at Yayoi Akihaya's vacant seat, thinking to himself what only he and Yayoi Akihaya knew in the world now.

"What is your answer! Tell me where the autumn morning sauce is! Kuriyama was anxious, grabbing his shoulders with both hands and shaking.

The man in the yard was already drunk and was dragged back into the house by the hostess.

The girl remained in the courtyard, watching their atmosphere gradually sink down, and she was still asking Konda Muraichi about football, but she didn't dare to speak.

Narumi suddenly got up from the stool and walked out of the courtyard.

"Huh? Where are you going? ”

"Bring back your autumn morning sauce." The movement of the feet, walking becomes running, and then gradually accelerates.

"Huh?! I'm going too! ”

By the time Kuriyama reacted, he could no longer see his shadow running out of the courtyard.

"Forget it!"

Only a slightly mocking voice could be heard from a location obscured by the house.

"What!" Kuriyama stomped his feet, but he didn't chase them.

The village is not big, and as long as she walks out of the yard, she will definitely be able to see Narumi Yu's location and catch up with it.

"Forget it...... Compared to me, Qiu Zao-chan should want to see you more now......" Kuriyama was all muttering under the eaves of the courtyard, with a little sourness.

This sudden incident made everyone else in the yard stunned.

"Does Sister Kuriyama like Sister Yayoi?"

The girl ran and pulled Kuriyama by the sleeve and asked boldly.

“……”

Murakazu Konda quietly gave the little girl a thumbs up and nodded affirmatively, as if he regarded her as his next football successor.

"Of course...... Yes?? I?! It's not ......"

……

……

Narumi ran through the fields at night and heard the chirping of crickets and crickets in the deserted fields.

Run up the hill along the winding dirt road and finally climb the bluestone steps in front of the shrine.

After a pause, he took a breath and looked up at the shrine at the end of the bluestone steps.

There was no moon in the sky, and the light was dim, so I couldn't see it clearly.

Yayoi Autumn must be in the shrine.

It's just that he wants to know more......

Is the cat named Neko still there?

"Yayoi-san~?"

Today, I have been in a hurry and walking all day, and my body is already very tired, and most of my remaining physical strength has been consumed under the rush all the way.

At this point, you can only climb the steps step by step.

He shouted at the shrine.

No response was received.

It wasn't until he climbed to the front of the shrine and sat on the bluestone steps looking at the girl that he reacted and patted the place next to her.

"Are you waiting for the moon to come out......" Narumi sat down beside her, gasping for air.

"I don't know."

"So what are you waiting for?"

"It just feels like I'm going to have to wait a little longer."

“……”

There is no moon in the sky, but there is wind on the earth.

The clouds will be blown away by the wind, and it may be a moment before the moon comes out.

Narumi Yu knew that he couldn't shout Yayoi Autumn Morning, and comforted himself in his heart.

"What if......"

The girl murmured softly.

I don't know if it was said to him.

"Not all waiting is fruitful...... he subconsciously responded to the girl.

“……”

Narumi Yu seemed to wake up suddenly, and her eyes gradually widened.

The oppressive dark night sky was like a dark curtain that was about to cover them.

Cover everything except the play in front of the stage.

What are the girls waiting for?

Suppose that the person who knows that he has left will not come back......

Will he wait? Probably not......

But what if......

In case the clouds clear, the moon and stars shine again in the night sky.

In case Neko hasn't left, the girl will suddenly turn into a black cat and jump on the torii gate to look at him condescendingly.

In case of...... Yayoi's mother has not passed away.

In case, Father Yayoi will definitely come back.

What are the girls waiting for?

The wind grew stronger, rustling the leaves and blowing the girl's hair.

The dark clouds did not disperse, but were blown by the wind and raindrops, which fell on the mountains and forests, on the bluestone steps, and on the girl.

What are the girls waiting for?

Neko was just a cat a few decades ago, and maybe there was never anything "possessed" from beginning to end, everything was just a dream.

How can the deceased creatures still exist in this world?

What are the girls waiting for......

In the era of network information, even in rural areas, the communication signals of the service area are covered.

Those who were able to come back should have already returned......

The rain is getting heavier, and it won't be long before they get drenched and drenched, and they must go.

He didn't think too much about it when he ran out, so naturally he didn't bring an umbrella, so he sat here and accompanied Yayoi to get drenched in the early rain.

“……”

The girl turned to look at him.

It was dark and I couldn't see it at all.

But Narumi knew that it must be a look like a fool.

"...... like a fool"

Really......

"That's smarter than you, too." He retorted.

He obviously came to call her home, and now he not only has to accompany her in the rain, but also has to be scolded.

How can this be true?

Then, Yayoi Akizao took out a folding umbrella from his shoulder bag, stood up from the bluestone slab, and looked down at him condescendingly,

"Let's go, it's time to go back."

“……”