The azure sea, but a lonely, fulfilled life.

Chisa tilted her head in confusion. She didn't have a hobby of listening to music; her only passion was diving, and her dream for the future was simply to stay in her hometown and become a diving instructor.

Even though nothing in her life plan was related to music, why did she feel a strange ripple in her heart when she received this music ticket?

Chisa touched her chest, and the ripples there were like the threads of a spider's web, which would continue to entangle her heart, causing her to feel arrhythmia even now.

Is she sick?

She touched her forehead; it wasn't hot.

Could it be an internal injury?

The thought that something might be wrong with her body made Chisa instinctively want to go find her older sister, Nanaka. Since she was very young, her mother had left them, and her father was busy with work, so her sister had always taken care of her. In her mind, her sister was the epitome of her mother.

She opened the door, put on her shoes, and went downstairs. At this time, her sister should be in the kitchen.

"kill."

A calm voice startled Chisa, who was already tense, causing her to stop in her tracks and let out a rapid hissing sound like a frightened kitten.

After calming down, she patted her chest. She had scared herself; it wasn't Iori's voice.

The sound was coming from the conference room of 'Pab'. Chisa walked over cautiously and looked inside through the open door.

"flash."

Hachiman threw out the "Flash" card in his hand, and silently drew two more cards. There was one downside to playing a three-player game: these two bastards kept targeting him.

So what if you draw a general card and get Lu Bu, while the other two are Dong Zhuo and Hua Xiong? Is it really that big of a deal?

"Hey Kohei, can't you be of any use? Where's the output? Keep up!"

Seeing that his "Kill" card was blocked again, Iori deducted another point of health in frustration. He looked at Kohei, who was only giving cards to the opponent, and after three rounds, this guy hadn't even played a "Kill" card.

"I'd like to follow, but what can I do if I can't even touch him to kill him?"

Kohei showed him his hand, and wow, it was all equipment cards, not a single basic card.

"I even suspect that the cards were being controlled."

Hachiman: "Kill."

Iori & Kohei: "How can we play against Lu Bu who keeps killing?"

Oh, they were playing cards.

Chisa breathed a sigh of relief. She slowly tiptoed back, preparing to leave.

"Chisa? What are you doing standing there?"

Nana's questioning voice came from behind her. Chisa quickly turned around and saw her older sister holding a spatula.

[Whoosh—]

"Qian Sha?"

The door, which was not closed, was pushed open. The moment Hachiman heard the sound, he looked towards the doorway and saw the girl's figure through the gap.

He mistakenly thought the other party had come to see them about something, so he put down the cards in his hand and went to the door.

"Do you need something from us?"

"No!" The girl looked flustered, waving her hands rapidly. "Go back to playing cards!"

"The fight is over."

Hachiman gave a thumbs-up and pointed behind him. Iori and Kohei both slumped onto the table in frustration. These two were complete weaklings and no match for him at all.

"Anyway, it's nothing! You can go about your own business!"

Chisa quickly finished speaking and ran to Nanaka's side. From the girl's profile, which was not covered by her long hair, Hachiman could clearly see a bright blush.

Is she sick? It's not hot today, so why is her face so red?

Hachiman, who was sent back to the meeting room, touched his neck, a gesture he often made when he didn't know what to do.

Do you know what happened to Chisa?

The two men froze as they secretly placed the worst general card on top of each other. They looked at each other and said in unison, "I don't know."

Iori pushed the weapon deck towards Hachiman. He had won the previous round, so he drew first. As he pushed, he said a lot, "Girls always have their own little secrets, that's normal."

"Knowing and helping makes it easier to gain favorability," Kohei said with experience.

"That's something that only happens in games."

Hachiman shrugged. He had helped so many girls with their little secrets when he was in the Service Club, but not one of them had developed feelings for him.

Oh, and there was one, that mischievous junior who always pushed things forward based on the number of times she received a "good senior" card. Even on the last day of graduation, she still got a "good senior" card.

That was close! My heart was pounding when she kissed me, but reason told me I should deal with my own things first.

"I have to ask."

The diving manual clearly states that you must always pay attention to your dive buddy's condition and be mindful of every detail in order to make the diving process go smoothly.

He had just stood up and was about to open the door when it was suddenly flung open in front of him, and a strong gust of wind blew against Hachiman's cheek.

Staring at Nanaka, who stood at the door with a spatula in her hand and a gloomy expression, Hachiman's throat tightened. What happened now? Had he gotten into trouble again?

But he spent the whole morning playing cards with Iori and the others. He glanced at the two of them with a wicked look, and made a diving gesture with his hands behind his back.

"Gengping, please, this is the finest oolong tea."

"No need to be so polite, please go ahead."

The two people sitting at the Japanese-style table had set up a tea set at some point and were pouring bottled oolong tea into it, making toasting motions, clearly looking like they were watching a good show.

You two heartless and ungrateful beasts!

"Hachi-banner-"

Nanaka slowly muttered each word, and Hachiman swallowed hard, his voice becoming shrill with fright.

Yes, I'm here.

She placed her right hand on his shoulder, gazing at his slender hand, which, despite years of labor, remained fair and smooth, still carrying a faint scent of orchid bath gel. At that moment, Hachiman felt as if he had returned to that afternoon.

Is Nanaka-senpai going to electrocute him again?

Last time, she said she couldn't find the right power and asked him to test it himself. This time, she won't even bother to come up with a reason, will she?

Fear filled Hachiman's heart. To be honest, the most violent woman he had ever encountered in his life was Hiratsuka-sensei, but he was not afraid of her because he knew that she was actually very gentle.

However, when facing Nanaka, a woman who appears to be very gentle, Hachiman felt a sense of déjà vu, like a mouse seeing a cat or a son-in-law seeing his father-in-law.

It was a physiological fear, as if even the ribs themselves betrayed this unease.

"Can you... get another music ticket?"

A music ticket? The one he gave to Chisa?

Hachiman's vision suddenly brightened, and his thoughts became clear. A sister-complex person would definitely worry if he knew that his younger sister would go to listen to music alone late at night, especially rock music. So, Nanaka-senpai wanting a music ticket must mean that she is planning to go with Chisa!

"I understand! Don't worry, Nanaka-senpai, I'll buy another ticket so you can go with Chisa."

With his life at stake, Hachiman decided to go find Goto right now. Although he didn't know her phone number, he figured he could find her somewhere by searching through cardboard boxes or garbage dumps at school.

Just as he was about to leave through the doorway, Nanaka grabbed his sleeve.

"It's not me who goes, it's you who goes."

Hearing her words, Hachiman was stunned.

He went?

Chapter Fourteen: Four Music Tickets

Inside the meeting room, the four sat around a Japanese-style table. Hachiman Hikigaya looked at Nanaka Kotegawa, whose gentle eyes concealed a faint sorrow. At that moment, he spoke with a mixture of understanding and confusion.

"Chisa, did you mistakenly think I would come along?"

Nanaka Kotegawa nodded. Of course, who would expect a boy to give a girl a music ticket if he planned for her to go alone?

"She seems to be looking forward to it."

Anticipation? Anticipation of what? Hachiman Hikigaya instinctively didn't consider that presumptuous possibility. In his mind, apart from Komachi, no girl would feel anticipation about going out with him.

So, Chisa is looking forward to rock music, but if that's the case, then Nanaka-senpai wouldn't need to ask her to buy another ticket.

In other words, this is the kind of training that Chisa believes can enhance the tacit understanding between potential partners? However, he had arranged to work part-time at the bar where Senior Shou works tonight, so there's a time conflict.

After thinking for a moment, he asked a question that stunned everyone present: "Does this person have to be me?"

Although he also wanted to improve his understanding with the other person to ensure a smooth diving trip, they couldn't even go underwater without money.

He believed that if he told Chisa about it, she would support him. However, there was also a possibility that she would be unhappy when her expectations were not met.

If she's unhappy, it means Nanaka-senpai will definitely be unhappy too. So, in the future, he might see fried noodles for lunch and dinner every day. Breakfast is too greasy; there's no need to die together.

"This one……"

Nanaka hesitated. To be honest, she didn't really want Chisa and Hachiman to go out together at night. After seeing so many of his romantic escapades, he was no longer someone she could trust.

Although she believed that he had a heart that could be honest and loyal to his friends, she couldn't be sure whether that heart was white or black when it came to pretty girls.

"What strange things are you saying? Chisa was looking forward to going with you."

Iori was amazed by his low emotional intelligence. How did this guy get along so well with so many girls? If a girl would be happy to go out with him, he would never think of having someone else take her place.

"...I have something to do tonight."

Hachiman Hikigaya told everyone about his part-time job appointment, and Nanaka Kotegawa's face lit up when she heard that the person she had arranged to meet was Ryujiro Kotobuki.

"I will explain it to Ah Shou."

Upon hearing this, Hachiman Hikigaya shrugged, indicating that he was fine. He stood up and walked towards the door.

"Then I'll go buy the tickets."

"Thank you for your help. I'll pay for the tickets."

-

[Excessive self-consciousness is a very annoying attitude. The moment someone shows even the slightest kindness, you start to wonder if they have feelings for you, when in reality they're just a kind person.]

On his way to school, he wasn't one to seek the limelight, so he naturally wouldn't make a big fuss about going to Qinghai Women's University to find Ryo. That would be too much trouble, and the gossipy female college students might seize on it and write a long essay about it. Therefore, Hachiman Hikigaya decided that he would go to find Ichiri Goto instead, since she, being a fellow band member, should also have tickets.

As he strolled along the stone path, he reflected on the conversation he had just had. Although their words had essentially made it clear that Chisa harbored unusual feelings for him, he still didn't believe their theory was correct.

Chisa Kotegawa was the first girl he met after arriving in Izu. Because she initially thought he was a suicidal person, she treated him specially.

She would stay up with him when he was depressed and hungover, she would follow him when he went up to the rooftop to enjoy the breeze, she would encourage him when he was afraid of the sea, and she would worry and blame herself after he nearly drowned. Just as the shop manager said, she is actually a very gentle girl.

Gentle people are tolerant of everything. This perfect mindset extends beyond just things they like; even things they dislike, they don't easily show any disgust.

But Chisa is not that kind of person. While maintaining a gentle heart, she actively expresses her unhappiness through facial expressions or behavior.

It was this point that made Hachiman clearly realize that she was someone he was completely incompatible with.

Enter the school and head towards the corner of the stairs on the first floor of the teaching building. There is a certain probability that Goto will appear there.

If Yuihama likes him because he did something really stupid to save her dog, and Isshiki likes him because he helped her a lot in both pursuing Hayama and in the student council's requests, then what about the girl named Kotegawa Chisa?

What is it about him that she would like? What has he done that makes her like him?

I glanced at the cardboard boxes briefly; if they weren't here, they must be in the sports storage area or next to the trash cans.

The answer is no.

If two friends of the opposite sex get a little too close, others might mistake them for a couple with a very good relationship, but that's not necessarily the case.

Most people in the world don't believe that there can be pure friendship between men and women, unless one of them is a homosexual, which is morbid, yet sometimes it's hard to refute.

The differences between genders mean that friendships between men and women are not as pure as those between two people of the same sex, and they are not as pure as those between same-sex lovers.

But Hachiman Hikigaya can boldly state that he and Chisa Kotegawa have not reached that critical point.

When he arrived at the sports storage room and saw that the door was not closed, he knew he had come to the right place. The school's physical education teacher had made a spare key and hidden it under the flower bed next to it in case he forgot to bring it. Not many people knew about this, but Goto had overheard it while squatting by the trash can and had inadvertently told him about it during a conversation.

As he stepped inside, he heard a rapid rustling sound. Hachiman looked up and saw Goto Ichiri hiding behind a pile of boxes containing sports equipment, his head in his hands.

Her eyes were tightly closed, and her pink lips parted slightly as if she were saying something. He leaned closer to listen, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.

"Don't find me, don't find me, I didn't mean to, but it feels really safe here."

"Goto-kun, it's me."