Aki Tomoya, Eriri, childhood friends.
Eriri, Sawamura Sayuri, Mother and daughter.
When the friendship between Aki Tomoya and Eriri had a rift, it was often Sawamura Sayuri who noticed first.
From Eriri's daily actions, her absentmindedness when drawing, her casualness when inking, many details made Sawamura Sayuri understand what Eriri had encountered.
Love?
A bunch of kids who haven't even grown all their hair yet should wait two more years to say those two words.
In Sawamura Sayuri's opinion, this was at most a friendship issue, and it hadn't reached the level of love at all.
At least from her adult perspective, the friendship between her daughter and Aki Tomoya was very special, much more fragile compared to other childhood friends.
As for why, when making friends was like working behind enemy lines, Sawamura Sayuri was also worried about the way they communicated in the past few years.
And now, their conflict seemed to have finally erupted.
Before May, in late April, all of Eriri's abnormal actions were in Sawamura Sayuri's eyes.
She had already learned the course of events through her own means.
Simply put, her friend was preparing for exams and didn't have time to play with Eriri, especially since their way of making friends was so troublesome, if it were just a little more normal, there would be no need for a rift.
"Why are you here, Mom?!"
Eriri shouted, holding her head, how long had her Mother been following her, she hadn't noticed at all.
"That's not the point!"
Sawamura Sayuri walked over and grabbed Eriri's hand, staring closely into her eyes, as if interrogating Eriri's soul.
"The point is hesitating at a crucial moment, that won't do, Eriri!!"
It is precious to muster courage for friendship with a friend, but the hesitant look at the door just now made Sawamura Sayuri, as her Mother, a little anxious.
Since she had already come, what was the meaning of not daring to ring the doorbell!
Since she already knew that the boy Aki Tomoya was not at home but had gone to the Academy, Sawamura Sayuri didn't hesitate to help her daughter.
"Wait, wait for me, why do you know Aki Tomoya isn't here?"
Eriri asked anxiously, her eyes filled with many questions.
About why her Mother was here, and why she knew about Aki Tomoya.
"Ahem, this kind of thing, I just heard a little, that boy Aki is still preparing for exams even during Golden Week, choosing this time to look for him is not a wise choice."
Of course, Sawamura Sayuri couldn't say that she had specifically investigated, she not only knew that Aki Tomoya wasn't at home, but she had even investigated which cram school that boy was attending, but this kind of thing was just a trivial matter for her.
But in front of her daughter, she would describe it as daily gossip.
And the most important thing now is to help her lovely daughter solve her friendship problem.
Having been used to wearing a mask at school on weekdays, Eriri didn't have many friends she could truly confide in, and her childhood friend, the otaku boy Aki Tomoya, held a very special place in Eriri's heart.
Sawamura Sayuri knew very well that their friendship could become even worse, or it could become extraordinarily close.
But as it stands now, because Aki Tomoya is no longer interested in maintaining this underground friendship and wants to focus on preparing for exams, Eriri no longer has friends at school with whom she can show her true self in private.
Even if Kasumigaoka Utaha is indeed someone who knows Eriri's true self, the opportunity for them to be honest with each other hasn't appeared yet.
And after seeing Eriri's predicament, Sawamura Sayuri, who was racking her brains over her daughter's friendship problems, knew it was time to step in, otherwise, Eriri would just announce a break from this year's Summer Comiket, she wouldn't be able to draw anything good in this state.
"Listen to me, Eriri, before you want to continue being friends with that boy Aki, you have to confirm one thing, and that is whether he still considers you a friend!"
Sawamura Sayuri pressed Eriri's shoulders and said to her daughter seriously.
In her eyes, her daughter was simply troubled by friendship matters.
But even so, Eriri must understand one thing, and that is when she wants to repair this relationship, she has to consider whether the person on the other side of this relationship still regards her as a friend.
If Aki Tomoya already regards Eriri as someone unrelated, then no matter how Eriri tries to repair it, it will be a waste of effort.
Sawamura Sayuri can personally go out to help her daughter with her friendship problems, but she absolutely doesn't want to see her daughter hurt.
"If you dare to hurt my daughter, be prepared to be filled with cement and sunk into Tokyo Bay first!"
Of course, it's just a friendship issue, it hasn't reached the point of being sunk in the river.
But if possible, Sawamura Sayuri still hopes Eriri will give her less to worry about.
"Look into my eyes, I am your Mother, I will definitely help you!"
"But..."
From Eriri's evasive eyes, Sawamura Sayuri sensed that it wasn't that the other party didn't trust her, but that Eriri herself lacked confidence.
At this point, Sawamura Sayuri couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with the Aki Tomoya she remembered, that he could make Eriri so afraid to face him.
"Aki Tomoya!"
...
"Hiss—"
At Aomine Cram School, Aki Tomoya shivered for no reason.
A feeling of resentment came from nowhere, that chilling sensation was quite strange on such a sunny day.
That sudden palpitation just now distracted Aki Tomoya.
After finishing the Chinese test in the morning, he bought a high-sugar instant bento at the supermarket outside during the lunch break to replenish his energy, and soon after, it was the afternoon diagnostic test for math.
"Can't mess up, can't mess up!"
Aki Tomoya slapped his face hard. Even if it wasn't a formal test, it was just a mock exam arranged by the Academy, and he couldn't be distracted.
And really, the feeling just now was too inexplicable. He was in the middle of the exam, so how could he suddenly feel a palpitation?
Supernatural event?
Forget it, Aki Tomoya shook his head, thinking it was better not to overthink it. Maybe he had just been sleeping too late recently and his body was a bit weak.
He didn't have time to think about other things right now. In the middle of an exam, how could there be so many things to be distracted by? He really wasn't focused enough!
Aki Tomoya attributed the previous incident to his own lack of focus, and he cheered up again, reminding himself not to slack off.
His brain, which had been slow to start, began to function again.
Aki Tomoya didn't know yet that during Golden Week, while he was writing furiously at the Academy, his childhood friend Eriri would actually be outside his house at this time.
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