Didi Di Di –

Awakened by the alarm clock, Naruse opened his eyes instantly, and several thoughts flashed through his mind at once.

From breakfast to the bus to school and attendance, the last thought that flashed through him was that winter vacation had begun, and he had forgotten to turn off his alarm clock last night.

“……”

Didi Di Di –

The alarm clock is still ringing.

Touching the alarm clock, he looked at the time before turning it off, turned his head back and went back to sleep.

When I woke up again, it was already two hours later.

Looking at the ceiling for a moment, Naruse rolled over and looked out the window.

Dark clouds obscured and snow reflected, and the outside was dark and bright, and the time was hard to tell.

Winter break has begun, and he can continue to lie down.

Because of this, last night, Starfish, Hikaru Takikawa, and Morimi not only stayed at his house for dinner, but also stayed until late to return, during which they were discussing plans for a hot spring trip starting tomorrow.

After it was over, the group sent Morimi, who lived the farthest away, home.

And when he got home by himself, he packed up his things a little, took a shower, and when he went to bed, it was almost two o'clock in the morning.

Before going to bed, he deliberately explained to Naoko that he didn't have to get up too early to prepare breakfast so that they could both sleep well, but he forgot to turn off the alarm clock instead......

After lying down for a while, fully conscious, Naruse got up.

He went downstairs to wash, heard his movements, and Naoko, who had just woken up, also got up.

"Merry Christmas, Spring Sea."

"Merry Christmas...... I almost forgot that it was Christmas. ”

Naruse looked at her face, "Have you slept enough, you can't open your eyes." ”

"It's about the same at this point."

The two went back to their rooms to get the Christmas presents they had prepared for each other and exchange them with each other.

"This year's Christmas gift was finally given to me by Harumi himself."

"It will be the case in the future."

After exchanging gifts, Naruse went to prepare breakfast.

After breakfast, the two of them packed their luggage for the hot spring trip.

"You don't have to bring too many things, a change of clothes should be enough."

"Uh-huh. That's the case with clothes. ”

"Do you want anything else?"

"Toiletries and stuff."

Naruse didn't have any toiletries to bring, so she quickly cleaned up, while Naoko was still picking out the bottles and cans that she bought or that Matsu Chiaki had given her.

"You take your time, I'll take a trash."

"Ah, if Harumi wants to go out, help me go to the convenience store and buy a ...... by the way"

Naruse should come down and go out with a garbage bag. As soon as he arrived at the intersection, he saw a starfish pushing a bicycle over.

"Ahh

Seeing him, she also quickened her pace a little and pushed the cart to him.

"Good morning."

Naruse glanced at the snowy sky, and then at the almost full wine box in the back seat, "Are you going to deliver the wine?" ”

"Hmm."

Starfish nodded, raised his hand and pushed his black-rimmed glasses down.

When she was working or helping out in her own store, she usually didn't dress up much, and she didn't wear contact lenses, and she always went out in the image of her current pair of black-rimmed glasses and a green coarse cloth apron.

"Where are you going to send it?" Naruse asked.

"Over there in Toriino." Starfish said.

“…… So far away. ”

From Aoyagi to Toriino, it's about two or three kilometers away.

He looked down at the front wheel of the bike, and the white snow filled the ravines of the wheels, "Push all the way through?" ”

"It's snowy on the road, so I can't ride a bike."

Starfish puffed out his lips and gestured to the wine in the box in the back seat.

"It's miserable to fall...... And it's so heavy that it's impossible to move it by yourself, so you can only push the cart. ”

"Then you should be able to earn a lot of errands on this trip."

Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed.

Starfish nodded, smiling again, "Not too much." ”

"Then you go." Naruse also doesn't want to delay her making money, after all, she is now "in debt".

Starfish nodded, hesitated slightly, and looked at him.

"That...... Merry Christmas. ”

Naruse smiled.

"Well, Merry Christmas."

A word of blessing, that's all, neither of them separately prepared Christmas gifts for each other.

Saying goodbye to the starfish, Naruse threw away the garbage and walked towards the convenience store.

"Ah......h

However, he had not taken a few steps before he heard her scream low from behind.

Looking back, she was trying to hold on to the car that was tilting to the side, but the wine box in the back seat was too heavy, and she was about to be brought down.

Naruse hurried back, picked up the bicycle, and also supported her.

"There's a snowdrift ......"

The starfish kicked the ground, and the snow flew.

Naruse held his bicycle and looked at the long road ahead.

Anyway, his luggage was already packed, and he didn't have anything to do this morning......

"Give me the address, and I'll send it to you. You can go to the convenience store and buy something for me, and deliver it to my house and give it to Naoko. ”

Starfish was stunned, "Eh......"

"The errand fee is still yours."

She looked at him, "Is that okay?" ”

"You can't rub it any longer."

She immediately agreed.

"It's like a Christmas present." Naruse said again.

Starfish smiled and nodded.

"Hmm...... Thank you. ”

With the money, Starfish ran to the convenience store, and Naruse pushed her bicycle and walked towards the delivery address she had given.

Along the way, he also paid attention to the condition of the road to avoid accidents.

He also tried to ride, but the snow on the ground was so deep that he was terrified to move forward, and after almost falling, he obediently got down and pushed the cart.

"It's been a long time since I've been here."

Leaving the prefectural road, the buildings on both sides of the path are visibly reduced to the naked eye.

He was the lone dot on all sides surrounded by vast fields covered in snow.

Further on, there is the Kitagi River, another river that flows down from Mt. Iwaki and passes through the Aoyagi area.

Toino was on the other side of the Kitakigawa River, a little far away, and he used to go there to do a lot of bad things, and in the six months since he came back from Tokyo, he had barely been there.

The snow was vast and there were no people on the road, so after about ten minutes of doing this, Naruse suddenly heard a heavy footstep behind him.

When I looked back, it was actually a starfish running towards me.

Starfish ......

He stopped, and she finally caught up with him, panting on her stomach, speechless for a long time, and then crouched down again.

"Hmm...... It's so uncomfortable......"

Naruse was a little helpless, holding the car with one hand and gently patting her on the back.

"What are you doing here?"

She clutched her stomach and said after a while, "Come with you......"

Naruse shook his head, didn't say anything, and stood by and waited.

And the starfish squatted for a while, and finally recovered from the discomfort of running all the time.

"How's it going?"

"It's all right......"

She took his hand and stood up, quickly letting go, "Go ahead." ”

It was still Naruse pushing the cart, and the starfish followed, symbolically holding the wine box in the back seat.

"Did you buy something?"

"Well, it's already been sent to Naoko."

He looked back at the snow on her knees, "Fell on the road?" ”

"A little bit of a fall...... But it doesn't feel anything, it doesn't matter. ”

No one could be seen on the road, and on the endless snowfield, two lines of footprints and a rut gradually lengthened.

"Have you packed your bags for going out tomorrow?"

"I cleaned it up in the morning."

Naruse tilted his head slightly, "What did Mr. Seiichiro say?" ”

Starfish looked at him, "'Go ahead'...... That's what Dad said. ”

Naruse smiled.

After a few more moments, a crack appeared in the middle of the vast snowfield that the snow could not completely cover.

It was to Kitakigawa.

Continuing along the path, there is a bridge over the river, the snow covering the deck and the guardrails being painted to a fragmented shape.

When he got to the bridge, Naruse tried to stop and found that he couldn't stand at all, so he could only push the car to the guardrail and look out along the river.

Watching him stand wordless for a moment, Starfish also looked down at the riverbed.

Both sides are covered with snow, and black stones are exposed in between.

"Is there anything in the river?"

"Nothing...... It's just a river. ”

Naruse shook his head, his gaze still not taking his eyes off the river.

Starfish remembered the past: "You really like the riverside. ”

Naruse smiled, "I used to think that when I stayed by the river, my mood would become calmer. Now it's more of a habit to get used to...... Let's go. ”

He pushed the cart on, and the starfish looked at him and quickly followed.

"When I was in Tokyo, I lived by the river, on the edge of the Sumida River, for a while." Naruse said.

"Yes."

"It's the kind of river where you can open the window and you can see the boat on the river, and you can jump down to the river. Perfect riverside. ”

Starfish looked at him, imagining his life when he lived by the river, "Then you must be happy." ”

Naruse was silent for a few seconds and smiled.

"Probably."

After crossing the bridge, it is the area of Toriino.

The sake was about to be delivered to a restaurant on the Toriino side, and Naruse was sharp-eyed and quickly noticed the signboard of the restaurant.

"The 'taste of Torii no' that the starfish said, that's it, right?"

"Ah...... Well. ”

In front of the store, Starfish stepped forward to help the car, and Naruse moved the whole box of wine down and then into the store.

When Starfish parked in, he was already collecting the money.

"Is that it?"

She took the money and counted, "Yes." ”

The owner is a regular customer of the real wood hotel, and he also knows the starfish, so he pulled her to chat.

Naruse took the empty wine box from another clerk and went outside first.

"Starfish's boyfriend?"

“…… Not really. ”

"Hmm~ come on."

Starfish looked outside at Naruse, who was fixing a wine crate in the back seat of his bicycle.

"Come on, what......"

When Starfish came out and went back, Naruse noticed that she seemed to be a little sullen.

He pushed the cart in front and looked back at her, "What's wrong?" ”

"Nothing." Starfish quickened slightly, "I'll push it myself." ”

The wine box has been emptied, and the body is not so heavy, so Naruse did not refuse.

There was still no one to be seen on the road, and the two walked back along the road they had come from, and on the other side of the road were the footprints and ruts they had left when they came.

The wilderness was silent, except for the sound of the chains as the bikes moved forward, and the creaking footsteps of each other on the snow.

The two suddenly had nothing to talk about.

Starfish pushed the cart for a moment and glanced back.

Naruse looked around at the unfamiliar, his mind completely out of sight and under his feet.

She spun back again.

After taking some time to return to the familiar county road, Naruse followed the starfish until he came to the Morimi Kohonten.

"Do you want to continue delivering wine when you get home?"

"Hmm...... There is also a single one that is a little closer, which is on the side of Soya Hospital. ”

Soya Hospital, an internal medicine and orthopedic hospital next to the county road, is nearby, as is the kindergarten where the two used to attend.

"Be careful on the road." Naruse looked at her and said, obviously not planning to follow her anymore.

“…… Oh. ”

Watching Starfish push his bicycle back to the Maki Hotel, Naruse turned around and walked into the bookstore.

Morimi sat at the counter and had already seen him.

"Naruse went with the starfish to deliver the wine?"

"Can you see this?"

She pushed her glasses, "Intuition." ”

"It's horrible." Naruse muttered, turned and walked into the bookshelf.

"I'm going on a trip tomorrow, do you still have time to read?" Morimi also got up and walked out of the counter and stopped beside him.

"Of course there is time."

Naruse glanced at the spine of the bookshelves, "I can read it for a while in the afternoon...... There is a lot of time in the evening, and tomorrow to go to Yamagata, there is also a lot of time on the way. ”

"You're still going out with a book?"

"No."

Morimi snorted lightly, "I'm really idle." ”

"It's winter vacation."

"Whatever you want."

She didn't say anything more, didn't go back to the counter, and just stood in front of the bookshelf.

Naruse took the book down, opened it and looked at it, "Have you packed your luggage?" ”

"Aside from a few changes of clothes, there's not much to pack." Morimi said.

"This new book seems to be okay."

"I haven't seen it. If you want to take it out, lend me a look when you're done. ”

Naruse turned his head to look at her, "Give money." ”

"What do you think?"

"This is a new book."

"So thank you from the bottom of my heart for your patronage."

Naruse shook his head, finally picked out two new books, and when he went to the counter to check out, Morimi glanced at his new wallet.

"Then again, it's Christmas."

"Well, Merry Christmas."

"No gifts."

"I've got you."

Naruse handed her back one of the new books, and solemnly confessed:

"Don't forget to bring it tomorrow."

“……”

She looked at him for a moment, then took it.

"Thank you, I'll take it."

"Didn't you return the favor?"

"On the bookshelf on the right-hand side behind you, counting from top to bottom, in the fourth row, there is a very wonderful adventure book, enough for you to pass the time for a day or two."

Naruse looked back and found the book that didn't look good, opened it and looked at the content of the opening chapter, which was indeed much more attractive than the cover and title.

Drops –

Morimi took the book and scanned it, then handed it to him.

"How much?" Naruse took out his wallet again, ready to count the change.

"Four hundred yen." She said, then took out her purse and took out a 500 yen coin, "I said it was a gift." ”

"I thought Morimi's gift would only include the recommendation part."

"I'm not so stingy."

Naruse smiled, put away her gift, and went back after a few more chats.

Seeing him leave, Morimi picked up the new book that had not yet been opened, and stared at the cover for a moment.

"One leaf."

Morimi came out from behind, "Leave it to me here." Go out on a trip tomorrow and remember to pack your things early when you get back. ”

"It's all packed." Having said that, Kazuha still gave way to the counter and didn't forget to pick up the book.

Morimi glanced at it casually.

"This book has already been paid for." Kazuha said.

Morimi was a little surprised, "If you want to see it, just write it down in the account book." ”

She smiled.

"It's the money that Chunhai paid."

It was cloudy during the day, with occasional snowfall.

Around three o'clock in the afternoon, Hikaru Takikawa came out of his house and prepared to go to the convenience store across the road.

Before she could get past it, she saw two familiar figures standing on the bus stop from a distance.

"Naoko and Harumi...... Going out? ”

She was about to go over to say hello when she turned around to see the bus speeding from the other end of the county road.

"Ah, the car is coming......"

She hurriedly crossed the road, stood outside the convenience store, watched the bus stop, and the two got on.

Are you going to buy something in the city?

The bus starts, and Hikaru Takikawa walks into the convenience store.

"What's wrong?"

Noticing Naruse's gaze, Naoko also glanced back.

"It's like seeing the light."

"Where ......"

"I'm going to a convenience store." Naruse quickly turned back.

Naoko looked at her twice more and turned around as well.

At this time in the afternoon, except for the driver, there were only the two of them in the car.

"It's so lonely."

"Hmm."

"That restaurant won't be closed."

"No, it's Christmas...... And I also called in advance to make a reservation for Christmas dinner. ”

"Uh-huh."

The big chapter, which shrunk slightly, was gone at noon

(End of chapter)