Chapter 10: My First Love

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Translator: Soafp

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I might have been a little different from those around me since long ago.

The oldest memory I have, from when I was about the oldest class in kindergarten.

My classmates played tag, or burst out laughing at the teacher's casual talk…

What was so funny about that?

What was so fun about that?

Without joining their circle, I spent my time alone, reading picture books and illustrated guides.

Looking back, I was isolated, and hardly ever spoke with anyone else.

One day, my father took me to visit a certain mansion.

“Hello. You must be Yamato-kun. My name is Akane Miyano. Pleased to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Ara, you're so polite.”

The woman who spoke to me, Akane-san, was very beautiful.

“Come on, you too, greet him.”

Peeking out from behind Akane-san was a girl shorter than me, hiding shyly.

“I'm Yamato Makino. Nice to meet you.”

When I spoke first, the girl slowly stepped forward, embarrassed.

“I… I'm… Aoi…”

Clutching her mother's skirt tightly, she looked so scared.

That was my first meeting with Aoi Miyano.

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“Insects have six legs, and their bodies are hard.”

“Wow, Yamato-kun, you're so smart. What will you teach me next?”

Akane-san always praised me, and I loved her for it.

“Aoi, come here too.”

“O… okay…”

Aoi refused to go to kindergarten, and stayed shut in at home. She was very wary of me, this sudden visitor…

“What's that…?”

“It's an animal picture book.”

She showed interest in the guide I was holding, full of all kinds of creatures. Though still timid, when Akane-san beckoned, Aoi cautiously came closer.

“Here, you can look at it.”

When I opened the book and handed it over, her eyes sparkled, glued to the pages.

“There are so many puppies! Hey, is this one a puppy too!?”

“That's called a wolf.”

I sat next to her while she was excitedly holding the book, and she visibly stiffened.

“Look, Aoi. Here are cats too.”

Akane-san gently placed herself between us, stroking her daughter's head.

“Um… Ya… Yama…”

“It's Yamato-kun.”

At first, there was a gap between us, but Akane-san bridged it well.

“Yamato-kun… what's this creature?”

“Well, that's…”

Aoi was timid, but curious, and listened earnestly.

I was happy to find someone who could talk with me at my level.

That day, we looked at books, watched TV, ate together…

It didn't take long for the distance between us to vanish.

“Thank you for today. Come on, Yamato, say goodbye.”

“Thank you for having me.”

I was so happy to make friends with Aoi. She was the very first friend I ever had.

“Um… this…”

At the door, seeing me off, Aoi clutched the picture book I had brought.

“You can borrow that.”

“R-really…?”

“Yeah.”

“W-will you… come again…?”

Standing beside her, Akane-san smiled softly.

“Yeah, let's play again! …Ah, Aoi.”

Nervously, I called her name.

“Promise, Yamato-kun!”

Her big smile as she called my name was so cute.

That's how we became childhood friends.

And even then, I think… I already loved her.

---

From then on, I went to Aoi's house almost every day.

“Thank you, always, for playing with Aoi.”

Akane-san was always kind to me. She baked cookies, read us stories…

“Yamato-kun… from now on, always, please stay by Aoi's side.”

She would say that sometimes, with a lonely look on her face. I didn't understand the reason back then.

About a year later, we entered elementary school.

“I hope I can be in the same class as you, Yamato-kun…”

On the day of the entrance ceremony, Aoi walked beside me, looking uneasy.

“Yamato-kun, you seem happy. Did something good happen?”

“Eh? N-no, not really…”

I'd been told Aoi would attend a school for the wealthy, so being with her in the same public school made me secretly happy. I didn't know why she ended up here instead…

“Isn't your mom here today, Aoi?”

The gymnasium was full of parents, but hers weren't there.

“Ah… yeah. Mom wasn't feeling well. Dad's at work…”

Seeing her lonely face, I grabbed her hand firmly. Her face reddened, then she bloomed with a smile.

“With me here, you won't be lonely, right?”

“…Yeah! Thank you, Yamato-kun!”

That's how our elementary school life began.

But soon, I heard that Akane-san had been hospitalized.

Later, I learned she had been battling cancer at a young age.

Even now, I remember her kind face sometimes.

She passed away a few years later.