The azure sea, but a lonely, fulfilled life.

"Eh?"

She, nobody wants her? Iida Maya didn't understand what he meant. How could nobody want her? The uncles and aunts in the neighborhood all praised her as a beauty in the making, saying she would definitely grow up to be a great beauty. How could someone like her be unwanted?

She frowned in displeasure, but then the other person added, "Could you please take this unwanted girl back with you? She's really annoying."

"What's bothering me!" Kanako said angrily. It turned out that "nobody wants me" referred to her.

"I'm sorry, my umbrella broke on the way here. It seems that not only you two, but I will also have to take shelter from the rain here for a while." Iida Maya shrugged helplessly.

"You're such a useless adult."

"You little brat, you really deserve a beating. Besides, I'm only six years older than you guys."

Looking at the smug boy, Maya Iida forced a smile and suppressed her anger. Sure enough, elementary school boys are an unlikable group.

"Six years older than us, yet trapped here like us, how useless."

The boy sighed, and the helplessness in his voice stung Maya Iida's nerves. Was this brat testing the limits of her patience?

Suppressing the urge to pinch his face, Iida Maya turned her gaze to Kanako beside her, her tone stern: "Kanako, do you know how dangerous it is to run out alone in the rain!"

After hearing this, Kanako turned her head away and hid behind the boy.

"Hey, don't drag me into your family matters."

Ignoring the boy's complaints, Kanako poked her head out and made a face at Iida Maya: "Hehehe, anyway, you all only know how to do your own things and don't care about me at all."

"If I didn't care about you, would I have braved the heavy rain to come looking for you?"

A vein popped out on Maya Iida's forehead as she said she didn't like her younger sister at all.

"Anyway, it must be Grandma who wanted to come to me, and you disagreed, so she came to me herself!"

"Since you know you'll cause trouble for your family, you shouldn't be fooling around!" Iida Maya, who was exposed, felt no embarrassment. On the contrary, she was particularly angry at the other party's deliberate violation of the rules.

Kanako was startled by her angry voice, grabbed the boy's shoulders, and cowered behind him.

The boy looked dejected. "Please, it hurts so much! Can you please stop pulling it?" He was utterly helpless. It was something that had nothing to do with him, but he was the center of attention, making him feel like a taunting monster in a card game.

He couldn't leave yet; the rain hadn't stopped outside, and the girl's hand was still on his shoulder, making it difficult for him to get up.

"Elementary school girls are such a troublesome species," the boy thought to himself.

A clap of thunder came from outside the shrine, and the rain intensified. With no other option, Iida Maya had to take shelter inside the shrine. However, the space inside was not large; it could barely fit two children, and with her, a girl who was still going through puberty, it felt rather cramped.

With no other option, she could only curl up her arms and legs and sit down next to the boy with a reluctant expression. When Kanako saw her coming, she immediately hid on the other side of the boy.

Yes, they joined forces to form a pincer movement, trapping the boy in the middle once again.

Sensing the anger of the two girls beside him, the boy looked up at the sky, praying that the rain would stop soon.

He only came to catch a grasshopper as a class assignment; there's no need to torture him like this.

Speaking of which, haven't those two idiots noticed he's not home yet? Even the unwanted older sister has come, but neither of them has come. Even if they're taking care of Komachi, they could at least spare one person to look after him!

The boy's eyes gradually took on the appearance of a dead fish, but only for a moment, and then he returned to his previous appearance.

Inside the shrine, a suffocating atmosphere enveloped everyone. The boy, unable to bear it any longer, stood up, then slowly sat back down under the gazes of the two.

“I said, ‘The sister nobody wants.’”

"My name is Iida Maya! Don't call me that anymore!" Iida Maya glared at the boy. What if no one wanted her in the future if he called her that too often?

"Okay, okay, it doesn't matter." The naive boy didn't care about that. "Maya."

"Where's my sister? And why are you calling me by my first name?" Iida Maya's eyes held a hint of dissatisfaction. Didn't anyone teach this brat proper manners and etiquette?

This woman is so annoying! She's even more annoying than my mom! Yeah, she's number one on my list of the most annoying people.

The boy suppressed his frustration; having a younger sister as well, he was much more mature than his peers.

"Anyway, why don't you two resolve any conflicts now? You can't leave now anyway."

"Heh." Iida Maya chuckled dismissively, trying to defuse the situation. What good words could she possibly say to this stubborn brat?

Kanako heard his words, tugged at his sleeve, and whispered, "My sister is an idiot, she wouldn't understand."

"Who are you calling an idiot?" Maya Iida's voice suddenly rose; she was one of the top students in the entire school.

“You’re both idiots,” the boy said bluntly, before his face was seized by a pair of wicked hands.

"I've put up with you for a long time, brat."

"My name is—Hachiman Hikigaya."

"Who cares what your name is!"

Pulling the boy's face to the sides, I must say, it felt pretty good.

Having vented her anger appropriately, Iida Maya looked at the boy who was covering his cheek and felt a strange emptiness. So she reached out her hand again.

"You're never going to stop."

The boy jumped off his seat and cautiously looked at the wicked woman. His sudden departure meant that the girl didn't hold his shoulder, and the two women were now facing each other directly.

Despite her anger, it subsided somewhat in that moment, and the sound of the pattering rain calmed her down a little. Iida Maya spoke up: "Kanako, how could we not care about you?"

She doesn't think she did anything wrong. Her parents gave almost all their love to each other, and her grandmother also adored her as her granddaughter. Among the whole family, she was probably the only one who was a little indifferent. However, in the past, she also cherished this version of herself from when she was a child.

Therefore, she really didn't feel that they didn't care about her at all.

Faced with her gentle attitude, Kanako pursed her plump lips, and tears as big as raindrops began to well up in the corners of her eyes.

"You—hate—Mom and Dad—not coming home—classmates—sisters..."

The girl spoke her reasons indistinctly, and Maya Iida tried her best to analyze her words, eventually arriving at the following conclusion.

[Because her parents worked in another city and rarely came home, Kanako's classmates thought she was a child abandoned by her parents. In addition, at that time, Kanako was in junior high school, busy with schoolwork and feeling down, so her classmates neglected her, leading Kanako to the misconception that she was unloved.]

The argument that Grandma mentioned was probably when Kanako wanted her parents to come home on the phone, but they postponed it because they were too busy with work, which made her angry.

Seeing Kanako sobbing, Iida Maya lowered her eyes. She also wanted her parents to come back, but she had grown up and understood that if her parents didn't work, they would have no school to attend and no food to eat.

Kanako is still young, so it's normal that she doesn't understand these things.

Could this be considered a dereliction of duty on her part? As the eldest sister, she was jealous of her parents' affection for her younger sister and failed to pay attention to her feelings.

"What an irresponsible older sister."

Maya raised her hand and gave the boy who was complaining a flick on the forehead. She pulled Kanako's hand closer to her body. Because she had just fallen, her clothes were a little dusty, so she could only hold Kanako loosely in her arms. But to her surprise, Kanako didn't care at all and hugged her waist, burying her head in her clothes.

"I'm sorry, Kanako."

She gently rubbed the girl's head. Seeing this, the boy silently looked away. Hmm, what a heartwarming scene. It's all thanks to him!

He was so proud of himself for doing such a good deed (hands on hips). When Komachi grows up and tells her about it, she'll definitely be impressed!

"Sister." Kanako, who was crying like a little kitten, raised her head shyly and looked at Iida Maya.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

"I want to hear my sister sing." My sister's singing voice is very beautiful, and I always feel very relaxed when I hear it.

Maya Iida glanced at the little brat beside her, thought for a moment, and said, "Okay."

-

The rainy season came quickly and went quickly. In about ten minutes, the sound of raindrops had stopped. Iida Maya stood up. Her ankle was still throbbing, but it was nothing serious. She patted her two children who were sleeping together, and took Kanako's hand. She looked at the boy who was yawning.

"How come even you're asleep?"

Kanako cried because she was exhausted, but why is this guy crying?

"Your singing is so soothing, it's like a lullaby."

Honestly, this guy never says a nice thing. Iida Maya looked at him speechlessly.

"The rain has stopped, you should go home soon, Hachiman."

"You remembered my name."

The boy rubbed his eyes and stretched.

"Okay, got it, you arrogant brat."

"Seriously, I've helped a lot, can't you even say I'm handsome?"

Iida Maya smiled as she listened to his complaints.

"The more a boy cares about his appearance, the more arrogant he is."

"My farts don't stink!"

The boy stood up, walked out of the shrine, looked at the still gloomy sky, thought for a moment, took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket, turned around and placed it in front of the statue.

"What are you doing?"

"We've been borrowing this house for so long, we should at least pay some rent," the boy said, wiping the dust off the idol with his hand.

"I wonder if the gods like chocolate," he murmured.

"I'll love it."

"how do you know?"

"I just know."

"Don't adults need any basis for their statements?"

"Well, that's it."

"That's pretty good."

No wonder my parents always find ways to trick me into handing over my New Year's money. When I grow up, I'll trick my own kids into giving me their New Year's money too.

However, one child probably won't receive much lucky money; it's likely only enough to buy six Bandai Ultraman toys.

Well, he's made up his mind. He's going to marry several wives in the future so he can have several children and then buy lots and lots of Ultraman dolls!

As expected of him, he's really smart.

After feeling smug, the boy left the shrine and walked to Iida Maya and Kanako's side. The three said goodbye at the end of the road with barley awns, and when they parted, he remembered the direction of their houses.

-

In the years that followed, the Iida family returned to the right path. Although her parents were still too busy with work to come home, Iida Maya once again took the initiative to assume the role of Kanako's guardian, often caring about her mental state. As a result, Kanako no longer felt insecure as before, and the sisterly bond between the two was strengthened.

Oh, and one more thing, that brat named Hachiman Hikigaya, one day when she came home from school, she saw him at her house, sitting in the shade eating watermelon with Kanako. When he saw her, he still called her by her name without any manners. Seriously, what an impolite brat. He'll definitely make a big mistake when he gets to the workplace.

With the company of peers, Kanako was often happy. Seeing her younger sister happy, Iida Maya allowed this little brat of unknown origin to enter her home. Occasionally, when she was in a good mood, she would join in their childish games and successfully teach this arrogant guy a lesson a few times.

Whenever she saw the speechless look on his face, she couldn't help but laugh out loud. It was so funny, just like a frog.

Speaking of frogs, she still couldn't find the one that had splattered mud on her, but it didn't matter. She found another frog she could tease, an ugly-cute frog that always hoped she would compliment him on his looks.

But even now, she has never praised him for being handsome. Hehe, it's enough for a kid to be cute, what's the point of being handsome? You can't eat him.

After spending a lot of time with him, she gradually discovered a secret: this kid was really precocious.

I remember it was one day during the summer vacation. Kanako had gone to summer camp, so only she and her grandmother were at home.

He arrived as scheduled that day, and she took out some frozen milk from the refrigerator to treat him. The two of them sat on the wooden walkway in the backyard and chatted as usual about what had happened that day.

Just after she finished talking about how one of her classmates had decided to work at her family's shop after finishing junior high school, he turned and stared at her without moving.

She asked, "What's wrong?"

He asked, "What kind of person does Maya want to become in the future?"

What kind of person is he?

She shook her head: "I haven't thought about it yet."

She was only thinking about finishing high school; she hadn't even considered university yet.

He looked away, sipping his milk: "I think you'd be good at being a singer."

"Singer? Why?"

"Because you sing very well, or you could become a voice actor. My mom says that profession is starting to develop."

Hearing his praise and his concerns about his future plans, Iida Maya chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"I'm not at the point where you need to worry about me."

He's clearly a child younger than me, so why does he act like an old man?

"Speaking of which, what are your plans for the future?"