Chapter 23 She is Amamiya Iori
Her name is Amamiya Iori.

She has had a childhood sweetheart since she was a child, named Kondo Yuichi, a little boy who always follows her around everywhere.

Because their mothers had a good relationship, she and Kondo Yuichi soon became good friends.

"Iori! Let's play together!"

"Um, okay."

In the eyes of Amamiya Iori at that time, Kondo Yuichi, who was running behind her, was very cute, and she was like an older sister taking care of her younger brother.

Amemiya Iori didn't hate taking care of Kondo Yuichi, or rather, she was used to taking care of him and didn't care.

However, the premise is that nothing happens next.

"Where are you going? No, I've already told Yuichi's mom that I'll let you go today."

"Huh? But I've already promised to go out and play with my friends..."

"That'll wait until next time. My childhood friend Yuichi is more important, right?"

"But……"

"do you understand?"

"it is good……"

Because there were no special arrangements, Amamiya Iori made an appointment with her friends to go out and play together.

But her mother asked her to cancel the plan and go find Kondo Yuichi.

In the end, Amamiya Iori couldn't disobey her instructions.

Luckily, her friends understood that she had important matters to attend to, but she was still very sorry.

"What exactly is a childhood sweetheart?"

From then on, Amamiya Iori had this question.

No matter what I do every day, I spend time at Kondo Yu's house, spend time with him and his family, and then go back to my own home, and the day ends like that.

On school days, Amemiya Iori would go to Kondo Yu's house to wake him up, and then go to school together.

But thinking about it carefully, she realized that this was not her will, but her mother's request.

"It's great to have Iori here, will you marry me as my bride?"

"Yes, yes, marry my brother!"

"Yes, be my Yuichi's bride! I really want to have a daughter-in-law like this!"

In front of her was a happy family, and then Amamiya Iori's mother joined them. She watched all this with an indifferent attitude.

Amamiya Iori gradually felt annoyed by her mother's constant calling of Kondo Yuichi.

She used to think Kondo Yuichi was cute, but now she finds him a nuisance.

Kondo Yuichi's mother and sister also praised her for taking care of Kondo Yuichi in a way that Amamiya Iori could not understand, and all this made her feel very uncomfortable.

Gradually, she began to feel disgusted by everyone around her.

Just because they are childhood sweethearts, they are considered to be supposed to be together forever.

"What am I...what am I?"

Who am I?
Amamiya Iori really wanted to shout this out loud to someone.

Since childhood, I have been driven to Kondo Yuichi's side. If I say I hate him, I will be scolded. If I say no, I will be slapped...

Does it exist to decorate Kondo Yuichi?
Is it enough to just put a label on him?
Amamiya Iori wants someone to tell her - what exactly is the existence of me, Amamiya Iori?
But the young girl could only keep these things in her heart, and unknowingly, she put on the mask called "smile".

When interacting with others, Iori Amamiya began to think of herself as someone else, and this way of thinking made her feel at ease.

There is no need to think about anything extra, just play the role of "Amamiya Iori" that they expect.

As long as you obey their requests and don't disobey them, there will be no complaints.

No matter what you do, as long as you nod your agreement you won't be questioned.

So as long as she puts on this mask and builds a wall between her inner self and her outer self, she can protect her own little world.

Although still very young, as a girl, Amamiya Iori also yearns for the plots in girls' comics.

The love between childhood sweethearts was always sweet and sultry, and her friends would tell her these stories at school while making a fuss about it, but she didn't feel anything about it.

Perhaps this is just her personal feeling. Amamiya Iori feels that a person who devotes everything to his childhood sweetheart of the opposite sex is like a puppet being controlled. He only obeys orders but has no will of his own.

If she reads this type of story, she might even have twisted thoughts - maybe the characters in the play were brainwashed into liking their childhood sweethearts.

"What exactly is a childhood sweetheart?"

Amemiya Iori has always had this question.

But there was only one thing she could be sure of... To her, the word "childhood sweetheart" was - a curse.

From childhood to adulthood, Amamiya Iori has always been labeled as a "childhood sweetheart".

However, there were days like this when her patience reached its limit.

"Iori, you're going to Yuichi's house today too..."

"No! I don't want to listen to my mother anymore!"

"Iori?"

Iori Amamiya tried to remain aloof, thinking that she could build an inner wall and just live like that.

However, her heart was not as strong as she thought. That was the first time she rebelled against her mother. She didn't care whether her mother would be angry or not. She didn't go to Kondo Yu's house, but fled to a place far away from there.

Although he was running away, he actually didn't go very far.

The place we were heading to was a nearby park, probably because it would be scary to go far away by ourselves.

"Wow...I...I hate being like this...me!"

Amamiya Iori sat alone on the swing, crying.

But even if she kept crying like this, she would have to return to them in the end. Her little resistance only existed at this moment, and in the end she could only continue to accept life day after day.

Thinking of this, Amamiya Iori's mood became depressed again.

"What are you doing alone? Your eyes are so red... are you crying?"

However, that day was different from usual.

For Amamiya Iori, that day became a turning point that completely changed her life and a day she would never forget.

"Uh...what should I do in this situation?" In a world where Amamiya Iori thought nothing would change, a beam of dazzling light shone into her life.

The boy was carrying a bamboo sword for practice on his shoulder, his forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, he must have just finished training at school.

"…You are…wooooo!"

"Don't cry! Um... ah, girls are really troublesome!"

This is the first time Amamiya Iori and Shimizu Mi meet.

In this park where there was no one else, Shimizu saw a girl crying alone, so he talked to her to show his concern, but she cried even harder.

I must have troubled him.

Amemiya Iori still thinks so.

"I really can't do anything with you..."

"what……"

Shimizu Ken clumsily touched the head of Amamiya Iori who was crying. He didn't know what to do, so he tried to comfort her using the method he had finally come up with.

His feelings were indeed conveyed to Amamiya Iori, and she naturally stopped crying while being surprised.

"What happened?"

"actually……"

Amemiya Iori told Shimizu everything frankly.

After hearing this, Qingshui crossed his arms with an embarrassed look on his face and responded with "hmm, hmm".

"This is really difficult..."

This was also a very difficult thing for Shimizu Miki. He was just an elementary school student at the time. It was cruel to discuss such things with people of the same age as him. This is what Amamiya Iori thought.

Thinking back to that moment now makes one smile bitterly, but she was just a child at that time, so she couldn't help crying again.

Seeing Amamiya Iori's eyes welling up with tears again, Shimizu looked around in panic, wondering if there was anything he could do.

“It may not help, but if you feel upset or unhappy, you can try to do some exercise.”

"sports?"

"Yes, for example, kendo, uh... but this may be a little difficult for you, so why not try starting with the simplest running."

Looking back now, that was the first time that Amamiya Iori talked so much to a boy, except for Kondo Yuichi.

Certain emotions that could not be expressed in words filled her heart, as if a whole new world had opened up.

"By the way, I have somewhere to go in a while, do you want to come with me?"

"Ok!"

Amamiya Iori immediately nodded and agreed. At that time, she no longer thought about Kondo Yuichi or her mother.

She was taken to many places by Shimizumi, and the one that impressed her the most was the amusement park.

“There are all kinds of different things!”

For Amamiya Iori at that time, the amusement park was an unknown place.

Although there were many things she didn't understand, Shimizu taught her various things, and they had fun for about an hour.

However, this happy time is coming to an end.

Amemiya Iori looked at the clock on the wall and felt that it was about time to go back, so he told Shimizu Ken.

The sky gradually darkened, and as compensation for taking Amamiya Iori to so many places, Shimizu Mi wanted to take her home.

“…So warm.”

Shimizu-kun held Amamiya Iori's hand again. The warmth from his hand made her unwilling to let go.

"Well……"

At this time, Amamiya Iori realized that her heartbeat quickened because of the warm touch from Shimizu Ken's hand, and she was too willful to let go.

When they returned home, both mothers looked panicked and stood at the door of Amemiya Iori's house.

She thought they were looking for her, but if she went there now she would certainly be scolded more harshly than before.

For Amamiya Iori who was unable to take a step, Shimizu gently held her hand again.

"Don't worry, let's go."

"……Um."

Shimizumi smiled and told Amamiya Iori not to worry. She nodded at him and walked towards her mother and the others.

As soon as Kondo Yuichi and Kondo Aoi saw Amamiya Iori, they rushed over, and their mother and others hurriedly followed behind them.

"I'm sorry I accidentally took Iori around with me. Because she was so much fun to play with."

Shimizumi slowly explained the situation.

The two mothers seemed to think that he was the one who caused Amamiya Iori to disappear, so they glared at him.

Shimizumi's statement put all the blame on him, so the two mothers looked at him more harshly.

Actually, it's all my fault, Amamiya Iori tried to deny it loudly, but was stopped by Shimizu Mi.

"No, it's not like that...it's me..."

Shimizu Miki once again whispered to Amemiya Iori not to worry, and then faced his mother who was much older than him calmly.

Perhaps the two mothers did not intend to loudly scold Shimizu-kun, who was an elementary school student, so they did not say anything at the time.

But after returning home, her mother kept nagging Amemiya Iori, asking her not to meet Shimizu again or play with him anymore.

"Shimizu-kun, you are so handsome..."

When Shimizu-kun was covering for me in front of the mothers, I really thought he was so handsome.

Amamiya Iori thought back to today's encounter, and Kondo Yuichi and Kondo Aoi beside her seemed to be talking about something, but it did not make her heart freeze as usual. Instead, her heart was full of anticipation, wondering when she could see Shimizu next time.

"Qiyomizu-kun, when can we meet next time?"

Without agreeing on how or where to meet, she and Shimizu Mita parted ways.

Since then, Amemiya Iori would often wander around that park, but she never saw Shimizu again.

(End of this chapter)