Comics, daily stories

Yukino Yukinoshita looked at the ice on the ground, exhaled a breath of white air, and looked up at him.

The other person in the room paused for a moment. She looked at the person blocking her way, smiled, and with a little effort, pulled her foot out of the ice. Then she stood quietly behind him.

They looked at each other, their gazes meeting across the cold mist.

Yukino Yukinoshita's expression gradually calmed down, as if she had controlled her emotions. She became increasingly calm, to an unusual degree.

She asked a very simple and direct question: "Nomi Yamakaze, to what extent do you want me to tolerate you?"

Nomiyama breathed in the cold air, his expression more serious than ever before: "Let's talk."

Yukino Yukinoshita didn't say anything more, and disappeared from the rooftop in the blink of an eye.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The Charm of That One Strike (Chapter 246)

Nomiyama glanced in a certain direction before turning back to look at the people behind him.

They met eyes, and faced that unyielding stubbornness. He remained silent for a moment, and finally left with a helpless remark.

"Let's talk after this is over."

With a little effort, Nomiyama leaped into the air, then built a foothold, exerted force, and his whole body soared through the sky like a cannonball.

Yukino watched him jump into the sky, and without hesitation, she took a step forward and appeared several hundred meters away, following in his direction.

My initial idea was to be fully prepared so that when the incident happened, I would have the ability to face Yukino, or be able to keep up with Yukino if she tried to escape, or even be able to forcibly subdue her.

I only realized just now that this idea was wrong.

The aura emanating from Yukino far surpassed my efforts over the past six months, which explains why she never speaks when asked how much of a gap there is between us.

Yukino's talent in training far surpasses her own.

"It was clearly the older sister who was stronger in our ancestor's generation..."

......

Eriri Sawamura smiled as she dealt with her teacher and classmates, and then at a certain moment, she looked up at the figure that had flashed across the sky in the blink of an eye.

Yukino left, Kazehaya followed, and Haruno went after her.

Are we going to start a fight?

She took two steps back, her smile widening as she waved goodbye to her teachers and classmates, then turned and jogged away.

Until one corner, light surged around her.

She was like a ray of light, streaking across the sky.

Please, you must fight until everyone is bloodied and battered.

......

Kato Megumi stood quietly on the rooftop of another teaching building, watching the cold air rise from the rooftop and condense into ice, watching people leave one by one, and even the light followed them.

Yukinoshita is about to lose control, and Eriri probably wants to watch the show and wait for an opportunity to intervene.

Unfortunately, I couldn't keep up. If either of them got hurt, it would be an opportunity.

And... just watching the two of them fight would be so entertaining...

Turning around, Kato Megumi walked downstairs.

I'll just wait at home when I get back, and I can also take a look at the booklet he threw at me last time.

We should learn from this, otherwise we'll just be bystanders again if something like this happens next time.

......

Yukino Yukinoshita took one step at a time, and the space before her was like a series of open doors. With each step, she transformed into a new space. Finally, she stepped onto a deserted meadow.

As my gaze swept across the landscape, the city was already far away. There were only a few small hills nearby, but they were still some distance away. Apart from that, there was nothing else in the wilderness.

Close your eyes and sense it; her palm moves.

She looked up at the horizon.

A figure swept across the sky in the blink of an eye and crashed to the ground more than ten meters away.

Looking at him, Yukino Yukinoshita didn't say anything, just watched quietly.

Nomiyama pulled his leg out of the pit, took two steps, met her gaze, and sighed softly, "Listen to me..."

"I'll listen to your excuses."

Yukino Yukinoshita calmly interrupted him, asking the first question: "When did it start?"

Nomiyama recalled for a moment and gave the answer: "The fourth day of the first year of high school."

Yukino Yukinoshita recalled the events of that day with a simple recollection, remaining calm: "So, on that day, you confessed to me first, then to Kato-kun, and finally, in the evening, you went to see my sister. Three people in one day."

As soon as those words were spoken, an eerie silence fell over the air.

Nomiyama's words were irrefutable, and Yukino Yukinoshita didn't want to say anything more.

Taking a deep breath, Nomiyama explained, "I wanted to tell you, but Haruno has some of her own ideas."

"So you listened to her." Yukino Yukinoshita moved her hand, her voice no longer hoarse, but returned to its usual clear and slightly hoarse tone. She seemed to be praising her, "Oh, I almost forgot, Nomi Yamazaki is a very doting boyfriend, he dotes on all five of his girlfriends."

"As for my sister's thoughts, she probably wants to become strong enough during this time, until she can control the situation, and then face me."

After saying that, Yukino Yukinoshita looked at him and said in a casual tone, "Tell me, when did the problem first arise?"

Nomiyama pursed his lips slightly: "Second year of junior high school, summer vacation."

"What's the reason?"

"She said she liked me, I rejected her, and she wanted to die."

"You didn't tell me about this."

Nomiyama's expression was complicated: "At first, I thought I'd deal with it for now and there would be room for maneuver later, so I didn't want you to know. I was going to figure out how to handle it myself. If it really didn't work out, I could tell you when you got back."

Yukino Yukinoshita said calmly, "Oh, it's still for my sake. She doesn't want to cause problems in my relationship with my sister."

"Then why did it turn out like this?"

Nomiyama was silent for a moment. He recalled the story that happened that summer, and when he thought of the girl who had silently moved into his house, his voice softened: "Megumi started coming to my house often from then on. By the time I realized it, I found that I had already gotten used to living with her."

“It snowed heavily during the Chinese New Year. She secretly ran away from home at night and stayed with me until the New Year. I realized that I had fallen in love with her.”

Yukino Yukinoshita nodded: "It's very romantic."

She opened her palms and looked at him: "Kato-san is taking advantage of your affection to go against me, because she doesn't think you'll completely side with me."

"Mai is the second female friend I've made. She noticed your feelings for her and, before I could even react, she finalized everything over the radio."

“Eri is my best friend. She disregarded our friendship over the years and exposed everything that night, even hurting each other.”

"Now, the older sister I admired when I was young says that she has been jealous of me all these years, and that she is the root cause of all this."

Yukino Yukinoshita spoke these words without any change in expression; she remained calm and composed.

She said one last thing.

"Nomi Yamakaze, tell me, what should I do?"

Nomiyama looked at her, speechless.

A gust of wind swirled between the two, the wind so quiet and still that it seemed to howl.

Or perhaps it really is howling.

The whistling sound came from afar, and in the wind was a long, straight knife.

The knife hummed softly, stirring up a gust of wind, slicing through everything in front of it, and finally falling into the palm of the girl who had been waiting.

Nomiyama looked at the person running towards him with a knife and thought of someone who had done the same thing many years ago, as if he had to put that knife into his body.

......

The first to react was actually Kitahara Yuko. She is now three years old, and her daily routine still revolves around feeding her younger sister and occasionally teaching her to read.

When the knife moved, she was stirring the soup and rice in the bowl, mixing the pretty mung beans, corn kernels, and minced meat evenly so that she could feed her younger sister a more balanced diet later.

As the long sword flew out of the snow-covered courtyard, she stopped stirring, walked to a place where her parents couldn't see her, and appeared in the sky above.

Looking down at the two people who seemed to be facing each other in the field below, she felt somewhat puzzled.

Why does it feel like a fight is about to break out if we don't watch for even a short while?

......

It wasn't until the knife had flown some distance that a girl fishing by the lake realized what was happening.

She stopped looking at the fishing line, which was completely unresponsive, and turned her head away.

"what?"

She tossed aside her fishing rod, a smile playing on her lips, and took a step forward, appearing beside the even smaller girl.

Looking down at the two people facing off, and then at the person holding a rice bowl and wearing a small apron, she made no attempt to hide her schadenfreude: "Yukino Yukinoshita finally couldn't take it anymore?"

Kitahara Yuko didn't bother to respond, and simply listened quietly to the conversation between the two below.

Huang Quan didn't mind her silence; his smile simply deepened.

She reached out, and a skewer of roasted chicken appeared in her hand, still steaming hot, because she had roasted it to pass the time while fishing.

Before she could even eat, she turned her head and looked at Yuko's other side.

Bai Yujing, dressed in a plain white dress, appeared there.

Her voice was calm: "A fight is about to break out."

Huang Quan looked at the face that was exactly like his own but extremely indifferent and rolled his eyes: "None of your business."

Bai Yujing ignored her sister's provocation and simply moved her fingers slightly, and a plate of fruit appeared in front of her.

Reaching out, she looked down and took a peach from the fruit plate: "I just want to know, how far can this person who inherited Yukinoshita Yukinoya's treasure go?"

Hearing a name he hadn't heard in a long time, Huang Quan looked at the girl below with a complicated expression.

Kitahara Yuko ignored the two people next to her. She just looked at the two people below her, scooped up a spoonful of soup and rice and put it in her mouth.

......

Eriri Sawamura climbed a hillside, looked at the two people facing off, and felt the extremely oppressive atmosphere. She smiled.

Yukino could no longer bear it; all the pent-up emotions of the past were about to erupt at this moment, and she was destined to deliver one blow after another to him.

Kazehaya is probably out of options against Yukino right now and can only wait for that variable to appear while adapting to the situation.

But is there really a way to find a solution?

Reaching out, Eriri Sawamura began to grope her body.

A little while later, she inexplicably pulled a handful of sunflower seeds out of her pocket.

With his white teeth, he cracked open the sunflower seed shells, licked the kernels, casually tossed away the shells, and chewed gently.

Let's argue, let's fight, let's hurt each other, otherwise, I'll never be able to get around you and take things further.

......

Yukino reached another hillside, and when she stood on it, the distance between the two people in the distance had rapidly closed.

She watched the commotion caused by Yukino's slash and fell silent for a moment.

That power was far beyond her reach, to the point that she suddenly didn't know what she was there for. To get involved? It was pointless. Helping him was unnecessary, since he wouldn't lose anyway. And helping Yukino? Helping Yukino, damn it.

Thinking about these things, she suddenly understood why she had come here.

Oh right, it's about waiting for them to get angry and then going their separate ways.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the candy he had given her.

Unwrapping the candy, Yukinoshita Haruno, with the candy in her mouth, quietly awaited the moment when the unexpected would occur.