Chapter 104: Clarification and Dream
"Huh? Is that really true? But how come I never heard Brother or Sister Eriri mention it?"
Aragaki Moeha cared deeply about this question, after all, it related to the past story of her father and mother, which held immense appeal for her.
"Because, because there are many things involved in this..."
Eriri answered stutteringly. As for why this result occurred, Eriri already had the answer in her heart.
The story has to start from elementary school.
The original Eriri was very cheerful during elementary school and hadn't yet put on the mask of an Ojou-sama like she did now at school. But at that time, she met a person.
This person was Aki Tomoya.
Aki Tomoya was a person who loved otaku culture. He collected games, figures, light novels, manga, and everything else. There was nothing wrong with that, as everyone has things they like.
But the turning point appeared after Aki Tomoya met Eriri.
In a sense, Aki Tomoya should be considered Eriri's guide into the otaku world.
From their initial acquaintance to later introducing games and playing together, this was the process by which Eriri and Aki Tomoya became friends at that time.
If the plot had developed this way, they should have become good friends, but a turning point occurred during that period.
Due to the influence of some fanatics in society who loved otaku culture, the general impression of "otaku" among most people in society at that time often became negative.
Because parents sometimes discussed these matters, coupled with the fact that Children's information channels were quite extensive, the vast majority of students in the class began to show malice toward "otaku."
Eriri was not a person who liked to show off; even if she liked otaku culture, she didn't share it with others. But Aki Tomoya was different.
He was a nonconformist, or rather, a very stubborn person.
When he encountered something he liked, he couldn't help but recommend it to others, and he did this regularly at school.
In that era, where everyone had a "filter" regarding otaku culture, the consequences of doing so were obvious.
Aki Tomoya was isolated by his classmates.
Honestly, this kind of thing wasn't much for Aki Tomoya, because due to his personality, he could find his own small circle even when isolated.
But Eriri was different; she was a girl, and her personality was also different from Aki Tomoya's.
Therefore, Eriri chose to distance herself from Aki Tomoya.
It's hard to judge whether this action was right or wrong. After all, from Eriri's perspective, doing this could maintain the friendship while ensuring she wouldn't be implicated.
But for Aki Tomoya, this was a betrayal. From his nonconformist viewpoint, it was a situation of many enemies against few allies: "I've already charged, why aren't you following?"
Thus, their relationship developed a rift.
And Aragaki Takiya unfortunately became collateral damage.
To be honest, his relationship with Eriri was quite good at the time; they chatted almost every day. However, due to this incident, Eriri triggered her own defense mechanism.
Gradually, Aragaki Takiya also drifted away from Eriri.
Furthermore, a series of other events occurred later, Aragaki Takiya transferred schools, and this relationship faded away. This is precisely why Aragaki Takiya's name wasn't on Eriri's graduation photo.
Back at the Aragaki Residence, facing Eriri's stuttering response, Aragaki Takiya gave a different answer.
"Because Brother transferred schools later, we never mentioned this afterward. After all, almost ten years have passed, and it would be really awkward to just bring up that we knew each other in elementary school."
Aragaki Takiya explained to Aragaki Moeha.
"I see."
Listening to Aragaki Takiya's explanation, Aragaki Moeha nodded, half-understanding. Although she felt things weren't that simple, she trusted the explanation out of faith in him.
But Eriri, who was beside them, was different; she knew the whole process.
First of all, she knew that Aragaki Takiya was different from Aki Tomoya. Aragaki Takiya wasn't an otaku, and his interest in otaku culture was only average.
So the question arose: Why did she have absolutely no recollection of Aragaki Takiya?
Eriri was completely baffled, but she felt that she might be largely responsible for this matter.
But to others, this was simply nonsense, because the word "friend" is very complex. You can treat it lightly, as anyone familiar can be categorized as a friend.
However, Eriri was affected by the series of events involving Aki Tomoya, which led to a serious deviation in her judgment of friends.
Now, she highly valued friends.
This could be seen from her action of helping Aki Tomoya with his drafts without expecting compensation. One must know that Eriri was, after all, a famous Doujinshi Artist, and her drafts could sell for a lot of money... Meanwhile, on the other side, in Aragaki Takiya's Bedroom, Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was resting on the bed, had a very real yet strange dream.
In the dream, she dreamed of a very cute black-haired Little Girl. That Little Girl had the same wine-red eyes as her, and unlike Aragaki Moeha, that Children was very close to her.
Kasumigaoka Utaha really liked this feeling. Although there was no sound, and she didn't know the other party's identity, when the Children appeared in Kasumigaoka Utaha's dream, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt genuine happiness.
This happiness was neither the sense of honor brought by accomplishing something extraordinary nor the satisfaction gained from eating delicious food.
But the feeling it brought to Kasumigaoka Utaha was very warm, as if she suddenly had companionship after often living alone. Kasumigaoka Utaha was obsessed with this feeling.
Then, due to excessive emotional fluctuation, she woke up.
...
Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had opened her eyes, did not speak. She was still savoring the dream she just had.
But once the dream ended, she couldn't go back, leaving her only with a sense of emptiness.
It was as if she had lost something important.
"What is this..."
The girl mumbled, then closed her eyes again. She hoped to fall asleep once more and repeat the dream she just had.
However, what she hoped for did not happen. In fact, she was wide awake and couldn't sleep.
...
A few minutes later, Kasumigaoka Utaha opened her eyes. Her mind was completely filled with the image of that Children, which she couldn't forget.
"Sawamura is outside right now. Maybe I should ask her to draw it for me..."
Suddenly, this idea popped into Kasumigaoka Utaha's mind.
It seems worth a try.
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