いとしいこと

Previous   TOC   Thank you very much for reading Yellow Diamond . This is a re-release of a book that originally came out a long time ago. If you own the original and decided to pick up this new edition as well, I am truly, truly grateful. In preparing this re-release, I did feel a bit of the inevitable awkwardness that comes with time passing, so I’ve made some small adjustments here and there to ensure that readers can enjoy it without feeling too much discomfort. I hope that with these revisions, the story will be able to live a little longer as a piece of literature. Since this was one of my earlier works, you’ll find a lot of mountains, rivers, and oceans throughout. Revisiting these settings—places that align with my own memories—felt both nostalgic and overwhelming as I made corrections. I imagine that what readers picture might differ from my own memories, but I found it surprisingly fun to try and capture them in writing. The title story, Yellow Diamond , is about Kun...

The content warning is in the footnotes 0 . Previous   TOC   Next Autumn, Senior Year of University Just as Yuusei was about to fall asleep, it hit him—he hadn’t reviewed the report that was due tomorrow. The thought crossed his mind that he could check it in the morning, but then he remembered how he'd forgotten when he tried that before. The hesitation lasted only a moment. He carefully climbed over his boyfriend, who was sleeping beside him, and grabbed the tablet from the desk. While at it, he figured he might as well grab a drink, so he headed to the kitchen. To his surprise, the dishes they had used earlier that night were already washed. When did that happen? he wondered. He’s pretty diligent, isn’t he? As that thought crossed his mind, a chill ran down his spine. Sure, it was October, but walking around completely naked was still a bit cold. He hurried back to bed, laying on his stomach as he powered on the tablet. The rustling seemed to have woken his boyfriend, as ...

Previous   TOC   Next Summer, Second Year of University Where are you right now? It was just past 7 PM when a message from Ichihashi popped up on social media. It wasn’t unusual to receive sudden texts like this from him. Things like, “I missed the train, can I stay over?” or “A guy I was supposed to go with canceled, and I have an extra ticket for the event, want to come with me?” Ichihashi was always so free-spirited. Yuusei Akimori would reply with "Sure" most of the time, as long as it wasn’t inconvenient. He was happy to be invited, and it was always fun hanging out. Compared to the friends he’d made in university, he found it easier to relax around his hometown friend. I’m at my parents' house. He had rented an apartment near his university to focus on studying, but during the summer break, the hassle of cooking made him return to his parents' house. Come over to my place. He was typing out "Sure, but that’s pretty sudden…" when another message followe...

Previous   TOC   Next Spring, Senior Year of High School The breeze was soft and warm. The cherry blossom tree outside the classroom window had swollen buds, but it wasn’t in bloom yet. In dramas and movies, scenes of cherry blossoms fluttering in the air during graduation are common. But that’s a big lie—cherry blossoms don’t bloom at the beginning of March. As Yuusei gazed outside, he noticed something. Near the decorated front gate stood Shun’ichi. Even from a distance, he spotted him right away. Facing Shun’ichi were two men in suits—one of them was Shun’ichi’s father, and the other... could that be Kunihiko-san? It had been about twenty minutes since the graduation ceremony ended, and most of the parents had already left. What could they be talking about? Kunihiko-san was a friend of Shun’ichi's father. He’d heard the name “Kunihiko” so many times from Shun’ichi that it had naturally stuck in his memory. Shun’ichi’s father wasn’t very capable when it came to daily life, s...