"So you guys just happily decided to go to Palau next month? I'm so jealous—beginners getting to go diving abroad and all~"
Azusa Hamaoka sat on the sofa with her legs crossed. She hadn't participated in the battle in the activity room just now; after all, watching Nanaka was far more pleasing to the eye than witnessing her boyfriend victimizing innocent club members!
"Yeah, but to be honest, I'd still rather stay home and watch Lalako. It's all Aina's fault!"
"What?! Spending the whole summer vacation shut inside would be a total waste! By comparison, going abroad to work together is actually pretty great!"
"Hmph~"
Staring at Aina and Kohei, who had instinctively started bickering, Azusa leaned into her boyfriend's ear and whispered, "What did you do? They seem way closer than they were yesterday!"
"This is probably what they call 'adversity reveals true feelings'!"
Miyazawa Yuu, who had voluntarily accepted a punishment and was currently wrapped up like an "Old Beijing Chicken Wrap," wasn't an unreasonable person. Since he had technically defrauded Kohei with a fake contract, letting him vent some steam was only fair.
But looking at the big picture, he had provided the guy with plenty of "benefits" yesterday. Logically, the two should have canceled each other out!
Unfortunately, that shameless Kohei insisted it was all his own sweat and hard work. How old is he, still getting petty revenge like a child? I despise him!
"I'm not sure exactly what happened, but you did a stellar job! Your Onee-san loves to see this!"
"I'm honored you're satisfied~"
His head was pulled into a hug, and Yuu's cheek was pressed against Azusa's chest. His expression instantly turned solemn—this way, the "un-solemn" motorboating effect was neutralized. Perfect balance!
"By the way! Just a quick check, Aina has a passport too, right?"
"Hmm... I got one for a high school trip, but it's been sitting at home for who knows how long..."
"In that case..."
Resting his chin on his hand as he reminisced, Yuu realized his own passport wasn't on him either. After all, when he came to university, he was aiming for a "Crystal Palace"—he hadn't expected to actually go abroad.
Though the Crystal Palace currently only had two members, and while he "scored" frequently, the doors were effectively closed to others. It seemed he was a bit of a disgrace to his transmigrator predecessors...
"Mine seems to be at home too. Iori, Kohei, how about you?"
"At home!"
"Can you guys be any more careless?"
Using two fingers to slide a Japanese passport out of his wallet, Kohei Imamura looked at them as if they were a group of disorganized insects. "Limited-edition foreign-release figures won't wait for you!"
"Shut up, you 2D freak! Don't go bragging about something so embarrassing!"
"Exactly. Saying you're going abroad for anime, when in reality, the money in your pocket couldn't even support you chasing Lalako across the world. How pathetic!"
"..."
The fingers holding the passport began to tremble. Having been pierced through the heart by two of Lalako's "squid spears" in a row, Kohei Imamura shed two streams of tears, looking like he had completely burned out.
"Ah, so toxic! Looks like Kohei's going to have a hard time recovering from that one..."
Chisa Kotegawa walked over cautiously and waved a hand in front of Kohei's face, finding that the light had vanished from his eyes. He looked exactly like he did after that mixer with the "Make-up Corpse Beasts."
Turning a disdainful gaze toward Yuu and Iori, she criticized them with a hint of condemnation: "I'm serious, even if it's your fault, was it necessary to go that far?"
"Eh? Isn't this a scumbag's daily game? Competing to see who can put the other under a tombstone first?"
"Even though it's Yuu saying it, I can't find a reason to argue!"
"As expected of scumbags!"
Teaming up to move the petrified Kohei out of the way, Tokita Shinji and Kotobuki Ryujiro stood with their arms crossed, offering stern guidance while Aina watched with a look that said 'You guys are just as bad!'
"Since we're juniors and can't go with you, be careful! Also, you'd better start preparing immediately. Get those passports in your hands to prevent any accidents from making you fall behind!"
"Yes! You seniors sure are busy. But how could anything happen to a passport just sitting there~"
Stretching a hand out from the "chicken wrap," Yuu shook his head, thinking the seniors were being overprotective. It's just a passport—just have the family mail it over!
"Moshi moshi! Rin-chan, you at home?"
"Onii-chan?"
Meanwhile, in a basement building in Tokyo, Rin Miyazawa hopped off a speaker the moment she heard the voice on the phone.
She spread her hands, and the sound of instruments playing around her ceased. She quickly put on a super-cute smile and asked the person on the other end, "Are club activities over and you're coming home? It's getting a bit late!"
"Ah... no. I'm planning not to come home to stay this summer vacation. But could you help me mail my passport? I want to go abroad!"
"Eh? When are you leaving?"
Her heart felt empty, but Rin knew that a woman shouldn't be too clingy or she'd become annoying. She didn't pester him; instead, she figured if it was urgent, she could deliver it in person.
"Next month!"
Completely unaware that he was about to make the same mistake as Kohei, Yuu said casually, "Probably around the second week of next month. I'll be free until then!"
"Oh~ is Big Brother very free these days?"
"Very free. Since the seniors are all busy, we freshmen don't have much to do. We just hang out at home, drink a little, stuff like that~"
"I see..."
The light vanished from her eyes, which almost seemed to invert. The girls gathered around Rin to eavesdrop backed away, sweating from the sheer pressure she radiated.
"In other words, Onii-chan has not only forgotten where his home is, but he's also unwilling to come back and keep Rin company even when he's free, right?"
"???"
"Onii-chan... how cute. Beep!"
Full of confusion, Yuu didn't even get a chance to explain before the call was cut. With only a dial tone as a conclusion, the phone screen jumped back to the home screen.
Accidents happening to a passport just sitting there... huh?
"Iori?"
"Shiori said something about how she'd rather burn it than mail it, and then she hung up!"
"..."
The "Little Sister Alliance" fell into a dual silence. A few seconds later, Yuu exploded out of the blanket Iori was using as a wrap, standing on the table. Iori, full of indignation, wailed at the ceiling.
"DAMN LITTLE SISTERS! WHAT THE HELL!!!" X2
"Achoo! No, no, no! I think the problem is purely with you two..."
Tickled by the flying cotton stuffing, Chisa Kotegawa raised a broom and slammed it against the back of Yuu's head, shouting in annoyance: "And! Stop transforming randomly! Clean up these scraps right now!"
"Dear me... it can't be helped. Failing to go home for your first summer vacation is indeed a bit much."
Tapping her cheek, Nanaka Kotegawa criticized them with a troubled smile, completely oblivious to who it was that had tied Yuu down in Izu.
"It looks like you guys will have to go home and fetch them yourselves!"
"Tch! True. Can't be helped."
"Since that's the case..."
With perfect synchronization, Yuu and Iori found rope and large stones, working together with smiles to combine them into "Deep Sea Anchors"—the kind guaranteed to keep a leg submerged for three to five years without floating up!
However, when they turned to find the petrified Kohei, they discovered the guy was already clinging to the corner of the wall like a cockroach.
"You two! You definitely want to kill me! It's no use, I'm going to see—"
He stopped mid-sentence. After the struggling expression swirled on his face for a long time, he finally shouted the second half: "I'm going to see Shiori-chan!!!"
"Eh? Rin seems to have lost this round. How lucky."
Tilting her head, Aina Yoshiwara didn't quite understand. In her mind, Shiori and Rin were both equally cute. How did Kohei manage to pick a winner?
"Probably because Rin is the 'silent' type, and Kohei prefers the 'moe' type."
He had intended to use the broom to poke Kohei down, but seeing how "on the right track" Kohei was, Yuu decided to spare his life—provided he could escape Iori's pursuit.
"Chisa, Aina, what about you guys? You coming along?"
"I—I'll go with Kohei!"
"Then I'll go with Iori..."
Exchanging a glance, Chisa and Aina both saw the awkwardness in each other's eyes. After all, Iori's side already had Kohei, which was plenty. Adding the two of them...
By contrast, for Yuu, wouldn't this be a form of isolation?
"Then maybe I should go with Yuu..."
"Chotto matte!"
In a flash, Iori appeared in front of Chisa. To Yuu's surprise, the guy wasn't obsessed with killing Kohei anymore; instead, his eyes were burning as he locked onto Yuu!
"Yuu! You're going back to Tokyo, right?"
"Yeah..."
I get the feeling this guy is planning something bad, but Iori, looking like he's found a lifeline with watery eyes, is hard to turn down...
"Great! Then I can introduce you to an excellent travel companion!"
"Ha?"
The next day at the Grand Blue entrance, looking at the beautiful woman before him—fully equipped with sunglasses and a sun hat—Miyazawa Yuu smiled as he grabbed Iori by the throat and lifted him up.
"You bastard! THIS is your 'excellent travel companion'?! No matter how many layers of skin she sheds, she's still Busujima!!!"