The azure sea, but a lonely, fulfilled life.

He touched his neck: "Hmm—there are many things I want to do, like becoming a celebrity, a company president, a tycoon, and so on."

"It's all about money!" Iida Maya was shocked. How old was he? Normally, at his age, shouldn't his ideals be something like an athlete, a scientist, or a policeman?

"Not entirely. I also have a dream that has nothing to do with money."

"What is it?" His words relieved her. That's right, how could a child care so much about money?

"Househusband."

"Cough cough—cough—"

Maya Iida spat out all the milk in her mouth. Househusband? What the heck? Is there such a profession in Japan? She'd never heard of it before.

"Are you serious?"

"Ah."

He answered very seriously.

“…I think you’d be better off becoming a corporate slave, climbing the ladder step by step, and eventually you’ll reach the position of president.” After a moment of silence, she agreed with his money-loving philosophy.

"Well, I thought my last dream was pretty good."

"Absolutely terrible!"

After her reasoned argument, the conversation about dreams finally ended with both parties aiming to become rich and singers, respectively. It must be said that these goals were so ambitious that neither of them knows how to achieve them now.

After discussing their dreams, they didn't know what else to talk about. After all, they talked about these things almost every few days, and there was only so much to say.

As the atmosphere grew increasingly silent, Maya Iida suddenly remembered the camera she had used to look through her parents' photos at home these past few days, and so she made a suggestion.

"Hachiman, want to take a picture?"

"Taking photos? Why?"

"To commemorate this." After saying that, she turned and went into the room to take out her camera. "We might be separated by distance in the future. If you ever forget me, you can look at the photos and remember me."

He looked at the camera: "If I really forgot, then it's impossible to remember just from a photo."

"You're so long-winded! Kids who keep talking like this will age faster."

She opened the lens cap, pointed the lens at him, and with a click of the camera, his image was captured. There was still some tape left in the camera.

"How is it?" she asked, showing it to him.

"It's really ugly; it doesn't show me any handsomeness at all," he commented.

Maya Iida rolled her eyes. What a narcissistic guy.

She handed him the camera: "Do you know how to use it? You're going to take pictures of me next."

"It's so simple, of course I'll use it."

He took the camera and casually snapped a picture of her.

She looked at herself in the photo and wrinkled her nose.

"Can't you put in a little more effort?"

This is what you look like.

Thump! A big bump appeared on his head.

"Alright, let's take a group photo instead."

She turned around and took out a tripod from the room, placed the camera on it, set the countdown, took his hand, and leaned against him with a helpless look in his eyes.

This might be one of the few photos of them together. Thinking this, Maya Iida's eyes softened like the clouds on the horizon.

A click sounded, and their group photo was saved.

The two men rested their heads together, gazing at the photos in the camera, and nodded in satisfaction.

Just as Iida Maya was about to take a few more pictures, she ran out of tape, so it seemed she couldn't take any more.

Seeing her put the camera back, he asked, "Where are the photos? Aren't you going to give them to me?"

"I can give it to you after it's been developed; right now it's just a digital photo."

"What a troublesome machine."

"There's no way around it, most things in this world are troublesome."

The two looked at each other and suddenly smiled, seemingly agreeing with the statement.

-

Time passed slowly, like a waterwheel in a ditch. When Iida Maya was in the second year of junior high school, a major event happened in her family. Her grandmother, due to her advanced age, fell and fainted while tidying up the room. After being sent to the hospital for treatment, she was unexpectedly diagnosed with the possibility of having diabetes.

After a series of instrumental analyses, it was confirmed that Grandma did indeed have diabetes. Upon learning this news, her parents decided to bring her to the city where they worked for conservative treatment.

Worried that the sisters would be unable to take care of themselves without adult supervision, the family decided to bring them along to fulfill their long-held wish for a family reunion.

Kanako was very happy, and she was also very happy, but at this moment she thought of that lonely boy who was like a little puppy.

She began to hesitate, but the final decision was naturally not up to her. After the end of the second year of junior high school, they were to prepare to board the high-speed train to Izu to live with their parents.

After finishing all her exams for the second year of junior high, Maya Iida sat in the living room of her grandmother's house, looking at the grandfather clock that kept swinging its pendulum, feeling a sense of emptiness in her heart.

After they leave, what will happen to that guy who has no friends and can only come here to play? Who will pick him up again and take good care of him?

Just as she was lost in thought, a voice called out to her.

"Maya."

It was his voice. Maya Iida walked to the sliding door and pulled back the curtain. He was standing at the gate in the backyard; she had forgotten to open the door today.

She put on her shoes, walked to the door, and opened it.

He looked at her, his direct gaze causing her to instinctively look away.

"Feel sorry."

He shook his head, not angry, but simply said...

"Got to go?"

"Ah."

"still coming back?"

"……do not know."

This sentence already encapsulates the meaning that he won't be coming back.

He nodded, took a grasshopper made of straw from his pocket, and handed it to her.

"My parents withheld my allowance as a farewell gift."

She pursed her lips, then watched as he pulled out another item—an Ultraman doll.

"For Kanako."

"...Who gives an Ultraman to a girl?"

"It can protect her."

He placed it in her hand and turned to leave.

Although he didn't show much sadness at parting, Iida Maya felt that he was feeling lonely at that moment.

"Wait!" she shouted, turned around and went back into the room to rummage through something, then ran out.

Iida Maya, panting, handed him the item in her hand. Looking at the group photo in his hand, he gently curled the corners of his mouth.

“Remember me,” she said, looking into his eyes.

“I’ll forget if it’s been too long,” he said, looking back into her eyes.

"At times like this, you should say something like 'I'll definitely remember this,' you silly little brat."

I don't promise things I'm not sure about.

Maya Iida laughed upon hearing this.

"If you forget, I'll smash a big, red bump on your head."

"That must hurt a lot."

He smiled too.

"I've made a decision: from now on, I'll be using the name Mizuki Natsuyo to pursue my singing career."

"Mizuki Natsuyo? What a strange name."

"It's a very meaningful name."

Water represents the rain at their first meeting, and trees represent his taciturn nature. Their connection began in this summer, and as for the night...

...The sky that day was as dark as night.

"I wish you success."

"Yes, I will definitely succeed. Then you can be glad that you met a very important person."

Maya Iida pointed her index finger at him, confident that she would succeed in ensuring he could hear her name no matter where he was.

"That's narcissistic of you," he said, shaking his head slightly. "Be careful, your farts might stink."

"That's still not as good as you."

The two looked at each other and smiled again.

After the laughter, it was time to say goodbye.

"Goodbye."

"……goodbye."

After they finished speaking, they each walked in opposite directions.

Having experienced separation once before, experiencing it again doesn't really evoke many thoughts in my heart. It's just that the first time I knew that there might be a chance to meet again in the future, but this time, I know that it will be very difficult for them to meet again.

They had no idea what changes would occur in the future.

Chapter Forty-Nine: Out with the Old, In with the New

"Fool."

"Eh?"

Gazing at the woman gently tapping his head affectionately, Hachiman Hikigaya's brain went blank for a moment. His body instinctively pulled away, and he looked at her in confusion, his mouth moving but stopping as an embrace approached.

Kanako Iida, who had been watching from the sidelines, put her arm around his waist. Their hot body heat warmed each other through the seam of their clothes. Looking at the girl so close to him, Hachiman froze, at a loss.

What the hell is this?

Before he could think further, the girl's soft sobs, like the mournful cry of a nightingale, made his heart tremble.

"Is it you? Is it really you?"

Kanako Iida tugged at his clothes, saying lines she only used when playing police stories as a child or when shirking responsibility. However, the contexts of the three were completely different. It was as if she had found something she had long ago lost somewhere and treasured. Both her actions and tone were so careful.

Hachiman Hikigaya doesn't consider himself anything special, but he does have a desire to cherish certain things.

"Um, I don't know what it means to suddenly say all this."

He turned his gaze to the woman who was smiling gently to the side. Compared to the deliberately perfect smile on stage, she was showing her true self at this moment.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Hachiman Hikigaya's cheek. What was going on? Did he know them? Could it be that some forgotten memories contained a timeline of their acquaintance?

No wonder he always felt a strange sense of familiarity with the name Mizuki Natsuyo. Not only that, when he saw Iida-kun, he also felt like he had seen her somewhere before.

However, he really couldn't remember. It was strange, as Hachiman Hikigaya considered his memory to be quite good, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to become a student at a university in an unfamiliar field after only one month of hard work.

Could he have a split personality? Or perhaps he suffered an accident and lost his memory? This doesn't sound like a plot from a Japanese anime; it's more like something out of a Korean drama!

"Alright, Kanako, let go for now, there are other people here."

Just as Hachiman Hikigaya was caught in a dilemma, Maya Iida chuckled and told her younger sister to be more mindful of the surroundings. Although she was also excited, as a public figure, she was used to restraining her emotions in front of others.

She tilted her head slightly and glanced at her agent. As a woman who had been with her for many years, the agent naturally understood her meaning, gave her a look that said not to go too far, asked the people backstage to leave, and considerately closed the door.

"Feel sorry."

Kanako Iida loosened her grip on Hachiman's clothes, and blushing as she noticed the dampness on his chest, she ran up behind Maya Iida.