[Black Basket] Shooting a Lover

It was the end of spring and the beginning of summer, and the scorching sun and the noisy chirping of cicadas filled all the days during this period.The drowsy sunshine when looking up makes people with a little patience anxious, but resisting the natural factors, they can only accept the hot weather that is different from the past.

Walking under such a sky, Chiaki Sugawara, who was wearing a light purple furisode kimono, couldn't help covering her mouth and yawned quietly. Although this movement was extremely subtle, it was still noticed by Akashi who was walking beside her.

Looking straight at her with clean eyes without the slightest impurity, Sugawara Chiaki, who understood that Akashi was worried about her, explained in a low voice: "Last night, there were some things at home that were dealt with late, and I didn't go to bed until early in the morning. Let you worry about it." Yes, I'm sorry."

I haven't seen Shimizu Koji for many years, and Chiaki, who couldn't hold back his excitement, talked with him for a long time. Even if Shimizu Koji blushed throughout the conversation and watched her not answer, it didn't prevent Chiaki from narrating how he was for so many years. How I want to see his mood.

However, no matter what she said, Koji Shimizu just tilted his head in confusion and confusion.

He doesn't remember.

It's easy to notice this from the other party's reaction, Qianqiu feels regretful but at the same time feels grateful: Maybe it's best if he doesn't remember such a bad thing.And she kept her promise back then, and fate also gave her the opportunity to fulfill the promise as promised. She is already very satisfied.

Some things don't have to be too demanding.

After saying goodbye to the other party and returning home, Chiaki Sugawara, who couldn't tell whether he was happy or disappointed, did not expect that his father was worrying about work.Seeing her nearly forty-year-old father working the night shift wearing glasses under the lamp, she almost burst into tears.

Without a mother, her father worked hard to raise her, and once complained how stupid and ignorant she was when her parents only cared about work and did not play with her.Only when she grew up slowly did she realize how much her parents paid for her, and how much she was born to enjoy that was not something she worked hard for herself.

Chiaki Sugawara, who stayed up late with her father and climbed into bed in the early morning, never expected that Akashi would visit her two hours later.

"Grandpa called last night and hoped that I would go with you to visit his old man."

"..."

"Oh, that's it. Then Chiaki, you can go." Sugawara Futo, who came down the stairs, happened to hear Akashi's words. He coughed and betrayed himself unceremoniously because he was afraid of Akashi's grandfather since childhood Daughter: "The old man is old, and I can understand how I hope that future generations will come to see me. I went to work, ah, it doesn't matter if I don't come back at night."

He naturally knew that his daughter had just fallen asleep not long ago, but he was even more convinced that Akashi was not someone who couldn't see his daughter's sleepiness.Wherever you sleep, you sleep. Instead of letting your daughter stay at home alone, it is better to let her go out to get in touch with the outside world.

Just like that, Chiaki Sugawara, who had just washed up, resisted the sleepiness and went out with Akashi.

Akashi's grandfather has been in a semi-reclusive state since he handed over the family business to his son. His daily hobbies are either playing chess, drinking tea, or listening to operas and planting flowers.Of course, what the old man is most proud of is that he has a good-looking grandson who is outstanding in every aspect.

He also likes Qianqiu, but Qianqiu once heard his father whisper that the reason why the old man likes him must be because he is inferior to Akashi in the first place.

Akashi's grandpa never beat Qianqiu's grandpa in his life, so he was often irritable.But now his grandson has won against the opponent's granddaughter, and the old man's vanity has been fully balanced and satisfied.This happiness made even the granddaughter who looked at the opponent too pleasing to the eye.

It's been a long time since I saw an outstanding grandson. The old man was very happy to see Akashi at first glance, and he didn't forget to ask Qianqiu kindly when he was greeting Akashi: "How is your study recently?"

...Okay, what a childish grandpa.

It is very impolite to talk about your elders like this, but Akashi and Chiaki have the same thoughts. To put it bluntly, the purpose of the old man asking this question is nothing more than to hear Chiaki say, "Thank you for your concern, everything is fine in school, It's just that I'm far behind Akashi."

As long as Qianqiu said so, the old man would be overjoyed, and might even go to grandpa Qianqiu's grave to show off.

Men tend to become more childish as they get older.

"Thank you for your concern. Everything is fine in my studies, but I'm still far behind Akashi." Respectfully replied, Chiaki, who was kneeling under the eaves of the porch, bowed her head in a gesture of respect.

"Yeah, it's okay, girl, it's already good." Hearing the satisfactory answer, the old man first comforted Chiaki, and then suggested to Akashi to play a few games of shogi with him.

This is a good chance, a chance for her to get a good night's sleep.

It's a pity that Sugawara Chiaki, who left and walked away under the signal of Akashi's eyes, did not catch up on sleep as Akashi hoped, but felt the fresh air in the courtyard.

In all honesty, the elderly are very hard at making their old age comfortable, which can be seen from the well-trimmed greenery in the courtyard.

If one day, I am tired of life in the city, I will probably live like this too.

Sugawara Chiaki, who was thinking so in his heart, suddenly heard a burst of sobbing. Hearing the sound, a little girl in a beautiful floral dress was wiping her eyes with her hands and crying.

The girl was crying seriously, but she was also wiping her tears seriously, trying to stop crying.

This familiar scene moved her heart, she walked forward uncontrollably, bent over to hand the handkerchief, Sugawara Chiaki gently touched the top of the girl's head: "How long have you been crying?"

Startled by her movement, the girl stopped crying, raised her head in a daze and replied, "I have been crying for a long time."

"Then can you tell me why you are crying?"

This question seemed to expose the girl's scars, and the six or seven-year-old girl twitched again: "Mom, my mother is gone. Today is my birthday, and my mother promised to buy me a gift, but my mother never showed up. They It is said that my mother has gone far, far away, and when I grow up, my mother will come back."

—Mom, where did mom go?

——Mom went to a very far away place.

——When will mother come back?

——When you grow up, Qianqiu, your mother will come back.So before that, you have to be obedient, or your mother won't like you.

... Mom will never come back.

That was the result of her own willfulness, and she had no right to resent her mother for abandoning her.

"That's it, my mother has gone far away." Wiping the girl's face with a handkerchief, Chiaki Sugawara knelt down so that his eyes were parallel to the girl's: "Then there must be a reason for my mother, so you Be obedient too. When mom comes back one day, mom will be very happy that you have become a good child."

With gentle words and a gentle smile, the little girl who was so comforted smiled and nodded vigorously: "I will be very good, but the balloon—"

As the little girl looked up, Chiaki Sugawara saw the balloon stuck between the branches at a glance.

It was an ordinary balloon.

"This is a gift from my mother last year. I wanted other gifts. All the girls in the class had them, but I didn't have one. I felt ashamed, so I begged my mother to buy it for me. But my mother Said that our family is very poor, as long as we live happily alone, it doesn’t matter if we don’t want some things. So my mother bought this balloon for me, and I like it very much.” The tree was too tall, and the balloon flew to The little girl here lowered her head and was sad: "I dare not tell my father, but my father said this is not a place for me to come. But this balloon is really important, so I still ran in."

A balloon is a very fragile thing, and it is still so intact after a year, which shows how much this girl likes it.

Without a moment of hesitation, Chiaki Sugawara rolled up his sleeves decisively and began to climb the tree. The girl standing under the tree looked at her worriedly: "Sister, it's dangerous to climb a tree dressed like this."

"It's a very important thing to you, isn't it? It's a very important thing, so it's worth paying a very high price." Turning to comfort the little girl, Chiaki Sugawara, who had never climbed a tree before, bit her lip and went all out. .

This is a hundred-year-old tree. Although it grows extremely strong, it also grows extremely tall. It was hard to climb up the tree. Before I came, I remembered to grab the balloon swaying in the wind. When I slipped, Sugawara Chiaki straightened It fell down.

……

At that moment, she hooked the rope of the balloon with her hands and pulled it down, and at the same time closed her eyes and resigned herself to fate.

Whether it was a broken leg or a concussion, she felt it was worth it, and she accepted it all.

At least that little girl still has this balloon as a memory, unlike her, who can only recall her mother's appearance through photos.

The howling wind shuttled around his body, and Chiaki Sugawara, who estimated that he was about to fall to the ground, closed his eyes again, ready to accept the painful result of climbing the tree at any time.

But he didn't want to, at that moment, there were two hands supporting her, and the back of the person who was holding her body barely stopped another hundred-year-old tree before stopping the continuous backward impact.

The familiar feeling made her subconsciously open her eyes, and the handsome profile of the red-haired boy bumped into her eyes.

"...Chi... Si..."