Comet Dragon, breaking into the gravity field

"snowman?"

After jumping off the bench, Ritsu Narose put the notebook into the inside pocket of his clothes for safekeeping, then shook his body quickly to shake off the snowflakes that were in the way.

At this moment, the girl with her hands on the ground realized that she had made a mistake.

"Sorry……"

The girl lowered her head, making a sound as thin as a mosquito. Compared to her voice, her crimson cheeks were particularly conspicuous in this world of ice and snow.

"what are you doing?"

Without hearing what she was saying, Naruse Ritsu only noticed the snowball at her feet. He walked over to the girl and squatted down, poking the irregular sphere with his fingers while asking curiously.

"Snowballing..."

"That sounds like fun."

Quickly rolling a snowball, Ritsu Narose placed it in front of himself and rolled it back and forth.

Sitting in a cold chair and thinking hard won’t produce any words. It’s better to play for a while first. Maybe you’ll get some inspiration while playing.

Without stopping to work, he looked at the girl who was still sitting in the snow beside him, and asked, "How about we make snowballs? One big and one small, and then build a snowman."

Without waiting for the girl to react, he threw the snowball onto the ground and rolled it around. They ran back and forth in the park with the snowball in their hands, leaving a trail of footprints.

She looked at the snowball that had been pushed to her side, then at the park exit that was just a few steps away. She silently pushed the snowball a little further away, then slowly ran over...

In just over ten minutes, Naruse Ritsu had rolled a snowball as tall as a man, using his hands as if he were making a Rasengan. He plowed the snow in the park over and over again before gradually stopping.

On the other side, the girl looked at the snowball she was holding, not knowing whether she should go over or not.

"Hmm? Is the head ready?"

Seeing the girl standing to the side, Naruse Ritsu walked over and took her snowball. Then, using a fadeaway jump shot he'd learned from a legendary basketball player, he landed the snowball, which was only the size of his face, firmly on top of the spherical base.

"Perfect!"

With his hands raised high, Naruse Ritsu cheered, and the corners of the girl standing next to him also unconsciously raised slightly.

Then the two of them used local materials, branches, leaves, and pebbles to decorate the snowman, giving it facial features and hands.

"what your name?"

After picking up a branch from under the tree and waving it a few times to make sure it wouldn't break suddenly, Ritsu Naruse turned and looked at the girl.

“Ichinose…”

"OK! Ichinose—"

The girl stretched out her hand as if she wanted to say something, but Narose Ritsu had already written a large "I" on the snowman's belly, and then wrote "&" and "N" from left to right.

"And Naruse!"

[I&N]——Leaving a mark on the snowman's belly, Ritsu Naruse nodded with satisfaction.

With his arms folded in front of his chest, he stared at the snowman in front of him that he had created with his own hands, and an indescribable feeling arose in Ritsu Narose's heart.

"I see, this is how parents feel..."

Suddenly feeling a little sad, Ritsu Narose took out his notebook and wrote down his feelings at the moment.

And Ichinose who was beside him was also staring at the snowman standing in the snow.

"……parents?"

To her, a word that had gradually become unfamiliar reappeared before her eyes.

Slightly approaching the snowman, Ichinose reached out her small hand and gently stroked the markings on its belly. She didn't dare to use too much force, fearing she might accidentally damage the letters that represented her.

Suddenly, I heard the squeaking sound of shoes on the snow. I turned around and saw that the person who had built the snowman with me was about to leave.

"Lin (eight) (five) IV Pied Dam Wife that - please wait..."

Before she could figure out what she was thinking, her body started moving involuntarily. And when he stopped and turned back, she didn't even know where to put her hands.

"Narose...will you come tomorrow?"

She clearly longed for his reply, yet she couldn't bear to look at him—she even felt the urge to cover her ears. These two diametrically opposed thoughts intertwined, binding her tightly like a spider web.

Fortunately, what she heard was a response to her true inner desire.

"Sure." said the boy.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow, Ichinose."

"See you tomorrow, Naru, Naruse..."

After timidly making a promise with the other party, Ichinose finally felt that a certain void in his heart was filled.

16. Arrive as promised

“Guhehe…”

As the story gradually unfolded in a way that everyone liked, Chihaya Aine couldn't help but smile.

However, she was so immersed in the story that she forgot one crucial thing.

——Story time.

This story takes place at the end of winter, and time is running out...

……

From the day they met, Ichinose came to the park every day.

Building snowmen, having snowball fights, fishing in the frozen river, renting a tandem bicycle to ride on the street... Seeing the list of activities listed by Ritsu Naruse, Ichinose finally understood why other children of his age liked to stay at home during the holidays.

Unfortunately, school will start again soon, and the third semester and final exams are beckoning her in the not-too-distant future.

As a visitor passing through Tokyo, Ritsu Narushe has plenty of time at his disposal. He can change his travel plans at any time, a freedom that a fourth-grade student could never imagine.

As the snow in the city began to melt and school started, Ichinose's visits to the park gradually became less frequent. Even when they did meet, they only chatted briefly before saying goodbye.

In order to reassure her mother, she spends more time studying.

On a quiet afternoon, Ritsu Naruse was sitting on a bench in a daze as usual, and Ichinose was walking down the sidewalk with the red schoolbag typical of elementary school students on his back as usual.

After doing this so many times, Ritsu Narose could guess what Ichinose wanted to say just by looking at her expression.

"Feel sorry……"

"Are you going home early today too?"

"Ah."

Seeing the somewhat depressed girl, Naruse Ritsu took the initiative to change the subject: "By the way, how was Ichinose's exam today?"

"The exam... should be pretty good."

Without looking at his familiar companions, Ichinose pulled the straps of his school bag with both hands, lowered his head and used his toes to move the pebbles on the ground.

His expression remained unchanged, but Naruse Ritsu was secretly troubled. He felt that Ichinose was acting strangely today, and he couldn't put it into words.

Her smile looked the same as always, but gave people a lonely feeling.

It was not the loneliness of walking alone in the snow that he saw when they first met, but another deeper emotion that he could not understand.

"Can we play together next time?"

"Of course."

At that time, Ritsu Naruse was not aware of Ichinose's deeper meaning. It was not until a month later that he understood the true meaning of her words.

During the thirty-day spring break, Ritsu Narose did not see Ichinose even once.

The snowman they built together turned into snow and flowed into the sewer, and the brown grass began to sprout green... When spring came, he was ready to leave.

Carrying his luggage on his back, when Ritsu Narose sat on the bench in the park for the last time and watched the sunset and night cover the sky, he finally realized that the person he was waiting for might never appear.

Human beings are fragile creatures.

A car accident, a disease...any one of the countless natural and man-made disasters can cause the loss of a life.

Ichinose was probably indeed dead.

……

"Just because we haven't met again, why do you conclude that she is dead?"

Chihaya Aine rushed in front of Naruse Ritsu, with the words "furious" almost written on her face.

"There's really no difference between 'missing' and 'confirmed dead'."

"Too cruel!"

Shocked by Naruse Ritsu's leaps of thought, Chihaya Aine quickly revealed her full conjecture:

"Maybe Ichinose just transferred to another school, or went abroad to study... In any case, it was due to some force majeure that forced her to leave."

"Maybe," Naruse Ritsu shrugged and said, expressing reservations about Chihaya Aine's idea, "After all, separation is a normal part of life, Chihaya-san."

Do you know that your expression now makes you ask for a beating, Naruse-kun?

The corners of her mouth twitched, and Chihaya Aine suddenly felt a little regretful about agreeing to let Naruse Ritsu become the heroine of his novel.

No matter how you look at it, it's a BAD END!

"Chihaya-san, are you interested in revisiting my old place with me?"

"Eh? Where?"

"Chihaya-san, do you want to go see the places that appear in the story?"

“It actually exists!?”

"Of course." Naruse Ritsu opened the map on his phone and searched for the place in his memory while saying, "If Chihaya-san doesn't want to go, we can always go somewhere else."

"I want to see!"

Half an hour later, Ritsu Naruse and Aine Chihaya appeared in front of a slightly old-fashioned store.

"Isn't it a park?"

"The park was converted into this sweets shop a long time ago."

Turning to look at Naruse Ritsu, Chihaya Aine demonstrated in just a few seconds the potential for human facial nerve changes. After several pauses, she could only sigh helplessly.

In fact, Naruse Ritsu had already visited this place before today. When he stood there at that time, the expression on his face was not much better than Chihaya Aine's.

"Would you like to go in and take a look? This store is quite popular among elementary school students."

“We are not elementary school students…”

Having said that, Chihaya Aine still obediently followed Naruse Ritsu into the store.

Yummy bars, fruit candies, bubble soda... looking around, they are all snacks that are very modern.

"Will Naruse-kun feel regretful that he can't see the park in his memory again?" After standing in front of the snack cabinet and looking around silently for a while, Chihaya Aine suddenly covered her mouth with her hand and whispered to Naruse Ritsu.

"Pity?"

His gaze, drawn to the "poop chocolate," was forcibly drawn back to Chihaya Aine. After a moment's thought, Naruse Ritsu gave his answer:

"More or less."

"But seeing a once remote and desolate place become bustling, the place where I left my memories in the past will also become an unforgettable memory in the hearts of others in the future..."

I recall the first time I came to this sweets shop. A group of children left the place in a crowd after the owner's grandmother said goodbye, and ran to their secret base in a noisy manner.

"Don't you think this is even more romantic, Chihaya-san?"

"That's it..."

Chihaya Aine tilted her head and looked up and down at the boy who was choosing snacks next to her.

"Naruse-kun,"

"what happened?"

"You really are a weirdo."

"sodayo~"

He bought some casual snacks, and when Ritsu Naruse and Aine Chihaya walked out of the store, his cell phone rang.

"It's Aunt Chihaya calling." After looking at the screen, Ritsu Naruse handed the phone to Chihaya Aine.