Comics, daily stories

Kato Megumi's expression was calm; she simply looked at this and that, lost in thought.

Nomiyama poked a hole in the radish that was soaked in juice, looked down at the radish and said honestly, "If we look back with our current thinking, I like it."

Yukino Yukinoshita was not surprised by his answer, because such things could be discovered by simply looking back at one's memories.

She simply shook her head slightly, looking at Eriri: "Things that happened so many years ago are no longer important."

“No, it’s just that this matter isn’t important to you because you’re all moving forward.” Eriri Sawamura denied Yukino’s statement, her eyelids drooping slightly. “It’s not like that for me. For me, this matter is very important. I’ve been thinking about it, but I can’t figure it out, and I don’t dare to ask Kazehaya for an answer, so I can only stay in the past.”

“You are always smarter than me. You can always find solutions to many things. You can also easily deduce what your classmates are thinking. You understand many principles.”

“I used to think that I didn’t need to think too much. You guys are smart and will take care of everything for me. I just need to follow you. Anyway, we won’t be separated.”

Nomiyama stirred the radish, watching it break apart piece by piece, until finally he held the food cup and looked at Eriri, who had quieted down.

What exactly are you trying to say?

Yukino looked down at the grass on the ground. Because it had been trampled by many people, it was inevitably bent and drooping. But by tomorrow, it would most likely stand up straight, as if it had a self-repair program.

She looked up and saw Eriri.

What do you want to say?

"I want to know what you were thinking when we broke up."

Eriri Sawamura looked at the two of them and said in a low voice, "As for me, I kept thinking about why I didn't go with you, why I stopped, and I kept thinking about it and I just couldn't face you."

Yukino Yukinoshita looked at her, thought for a while, and replied, "I wanted to go find you, but you would run away as soon as you saw me. As time went by, and with the change of classes, I gradually stopped going to find you."

Nomiyama stuck the last piece of radish in the tree without looking at her: "The me back then is different from the me now. Back then, I felt that everything was your choice. You were going to meet new friends. I was a little sad, but it was okay, because I felt that we would meet again sooner or later. We just had to wait for that time to come."

All three of them had their own ideas.

Eriri Sawamura then looked at Yukino seriously and asked, "Did you eventually find me a bit of a nuisance, and subconsciously want me to leave for a while?"

Upon hearing this, Yukino Yukinoshita also became serious: "No."

"why?"

"Because after you left for a while, I made up my mind that even if you come back, I don't think I will be a loser."

Eriri Sawamura was silent for a while, then finally breathed a sigh of relief: "I see, that's good. At least those years were just my own fault."

Nomiyama held the oden in his hands, looking at Eriri with a complicated expression.

Sawamura Sayuri looked at her daughter, who had almost completely changed, with a similarly complicated expression.

Eriri is willing to share most things with her, but that doesn't mean everything. Just like now, Eriri frankly admits that she has doubts about her best friend's side. These are things that she basically has no way of knowing, because they are the unspeakable baseness and sensitivity deep in a person's heart.

"You really know how to do something big; Yukinoshita Haruno raised her palm-leaf fan to hide her expression."

Kato Megumi looked at the composed blond man and frowned, thinking about how he had looked over the past few years.

Eriri...

“There’s one more thing I want to know.” This time, Eriri Sawamura looked directly at him.

"If I hadn't left back then, wouldn't we have had a good chance?"

“These kinds of questions from the past are meaningless,” Yukino Yukinoshita answered first.

“No, Yukino, it means a lot to me.” Eriri Sawamura showed no sign of backing down.

"Yes." Nomiyama did not deny it. He picked up the piece of radish and put it in his mouth.

"In fact, I should have done better than Yukino." Eriri Sawamura looked at her good friend across from her, whose expression was cool and aloof, and said after thinking for a moment, "At least I didn't leave. If we stay together until sixth grade, when Yukino leaves, I'll be by his side, and no one will be able to bother us."

Yukino Yukinoshita's expression remained unchanged, but she denied the claim: "Eriri, you can't control this womanizer, even when you're right next to him."

“No, I can definitely keep him in check, because I will stay by his side the whole time, and no one else will have a chance to get close,” Eriri Sawamura replied earnestly.

“These are all just fantasies.” Yukino Yukinoshita looked at her quietly. “Eriri, no matter what you think, the past is a given fact.”

“That makes sense.” Eriri Sawamura’s face showed a hint of bitterness.

The air fell silent again, everyone waiting for the next words, everyone looking at Eriri.

Eriri must have something else to say; she couldn't have just said these things.

Nomiyama skewered and ate the last piece of radish, then bent down and placed the food cup on the carpet.

"There are still some things I want to know."

Eriri Sawamura began to speak, her gaze meeting Yukino's for a moment before she stared at him.

Nomiyama straightened up and said seriously, "Go on."

"The wind blows early."

Eriri Sawamura took a deep breath.

"At the very beginning, wasn't I the first person you liked?"

"Hiss... Eriri, if you had done this sooner, there wouldn't have been so many problems." Sawamura Sayuri looked at her daughter, her eyes shimmering.

"Great question, let's get this interesting!" Yukinoshita's interest grew even stronger.

The first person I liked? Kato Megumi pondered the meaning behind those words, then turned to look at him.

Yukino Yukinoshita squinted her eyes, turned her head, and looked at him.

"Yes," Nomiyama replied as before.

"My first love was Eriri."

Yukino Yukinoshita frowned, then relaxed. She looked at Eriri, still calm: "And then? Eriri, we're not eight or nine years old anymore. You chose to leave after that."

"No, I just thought of something." Eriri Sawamura said with a hint of regret.

"Looking back now, if I had never left, I would definitely have ended up with Kazehaya."

She looked at Yukino with gentle eyes: "Because you won't argue with me, Yukino. Given our situation, you'll definitely give in to me."

"Because Yukino is a very gentle person."

Yukino Yukinoshita did not deny this statement, but looked at her and said, "Eriri, I told you, there is no point in dwelling on the past."

"That's true. After all, the past is the past, and we need to look to the future."

Eriri Sawamura accepted this statement, looked at her, and met her gaze: "Yukino, I liked Kazehaya even earlier than you did."

Yukino Yukinoshita simply asked in return, "And then?"

Eriri Sawamura took a step forward: "Kazehaya likes me. He liked me much earlier than he liked you. I was his first love."

Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at him, then looked at Eriri: "What's this?"

"What's the point of talking about this now? The only fact is that Nomiyama-kun is my boyfriend."

“No, I’m talking about now.” Eriri Sawamura’s expression became even more serious.

"I like Kazehaya, and Kazehaya likes me. That's just how it is."

Yukino Yukinoshita frowned slightly: "Are you... asking for my permission?"

"No, it's not a consultation."

Eriri Sawamura uttered her final words.

"It's a notification."

232 I divide myself among you

After the fireworks, the pungent smell of sulfur compounds is inevitable, the freshness of the soil and grass is covered up, and the aroma of food from the night market stalls in the distance is also masked.

The only thing that could be smelled was that pungent odor.

Their ears automatically filtered out the hustle and bustle of the crowd, leaving only the two girls' seemingly uncompromising dialogue.

Sawamura Sayuri looked at the two opposing people, her gaze lingering on Eriri.

Eriri's changes were too great and too fast, and the development of this matter was too rapid for her to see clearly.

It's hard to tell what Eriri really wants, and it's also hard to see the turbulent thoughts swirling within the three people in the room.

Looking at Eriri, who seemed to have undergone a transformation, she felt a mix of emotions.

Now that things have come to this, it's too late to argue with Yukino...

......

Yukino Yukinoshita heard the word "notification" and looked into Eriri's unwavering eyes.

She raised an eyebrow, a hint of sarcasm naturally appearing: "Notify me? Notify me, Nomiyama Kazehaya's girlfriend, that you're coming to steal my man?"

Eriri Sawamura was silent for a moment, then admitted, "Yes."

With a scoff, Yukino Yukinoshita's words carried an even stronger sarcasm: "Eriri, when did you lose all sense of shame in this regard?"

"Sixth grade, the day you came to see me." Eriri Sawamura looked at her, a hint of mockery in her eyes. "Yukino, didn't you know? When you came to see me, you should have known I wouldn't be able to resist."

Yukino Yukinoshita frowned slightly; Eriri was being too frank and straightforward.

"The reason you didn't take it to heart is simply because you thought I wouldn't affect you. You believed you had everything under control, and even knowing I might have ulterior motives, you completely let your guard down around me."

Eriri Sawamura lowered her voice: "You're right. If I hadn't encountered some unexpected events and figured some things out, I would indeed lack the courage and drive to act."

"Courage and initiative?"

Yukino Yukinoshita gently shook her head: "Eriri, do you really think..."

......

Nomiyama looked at the two people who had become completely at odds and knew that he should stop them, but he didn't move.

As he looked at the two people, his thoughts unexpectedly drifted to some other things.

Nomiyama Kazehaya, Yukino Yukinoshita, and Sawamura Eriri.

These three names together undoubtedly indicate childhood sweethearts.

The term "childhood sweethearts," according to classmates and online descriptions, refers to a relationship where two people have known each other since childhood, spent a long time together, and remain close even as adults.

As the years flow by, this relationship represents mutual understanding and being understood.

Most people actually gain a sense of security from understanding others or being understood by others.

Nomiyama is no exception.

He enjoyed his relationship with these two people, the understanding they shared, and the weight that time had placed on his heart.

Sometimes, he would sit on the sofa in a daze, watching the lights on the TV screen, and occasionally his mind would wander to this matter.

For example, I have two friends, one is my childhood sweetheart, and the other is also my childhood sweetheart.

Then Gong Yu would come over and whisper to him with some emotion, "You're thinking about girls again."

There's nothing we can do about it, because we know each other so well that when someone changes, we can't help but overthink.

And more importantly, everyone has indeed changed quite a bit in the past few years.

For example, he and Yukinoshita are no longer as confrontational and sarcastic as when they first met; Yukinoshita is becoming more gentle in his presence and her heart is becoming stronger.

For example, when he first came into this world, he liked to respect other people's subjective choices; but now, if Yukinoshita shows a tendency to leave him, he will definitely disregard respecting other people's subjective choices and choose to forcibly keep her.

He used to think that love was just between him and Yukino, including marriage and having children. Now, that idea has been completely shattered.

Desire had taken root in his heart and was growing vigorously.

Take Eriri for example. She went from being the one who would pull Yuki to his side to someone who hesitated and no longer wanted to share the spotlight with them. Now she has returned to being the courageous person she used to be, and even more so, more open and straightforward.

Change is always happening because change is inevitable for humans; every story that unfolds signifies some kind of change.

But some things remain unchanged.

For example, all three of them are actually conflicted and stubborn.

Twisted, stubborn.

Nomiyama looked at the two who were still locked in a fierce confrontation.

Yukino Yukinoshita was already a little angry, and those words just slipped out: "Eriri, don't forget, it wasn't us who abandoned you, it was you who abandoned us, it was you who made the choice."