"Anyway, why do you say it's okay to dive even if you can't swim?"
"Because diving and swimming are two completely different things. This is a diving tank. Try to lift it."
After arriving in Izu, stepping on the beach for the second time felt like an eternity for Miyazawa Yu.
He had chosen a coastal university precisely because it was easy to meet beautiful girls in swimsuits with no makeup on. But now that he had joined the Pab club, he hadn't even been in the water. What a meaningless life!
"Whoa... it's so heavy!"
Beside him, Kohei Imamura tried to feel the weight of the oxygen tank. It felt like a big rock.
Would he really not just sink straight to the bottom carrying this thing into the ocean?
"Of course you would sink. It weighs about ten kilograms. But underwater, there's buoyancy, so it's much better!"
Nodding his head, Shinji Tokita made a freestyle swimming motion and explained, "But something this big on your back really affects your movements. You can't do freestyle at all, like this."
"You're right! The protruding shoulder blades will hit the tank, and your body balance is harder to control because of the extra weight!"
Miyazawa Yu completely agreed with this, especially for someone with his muscular build. The tank would even clash with his muscles, requiring more time to adapt.
"And most people who can't swim just don't know how to breathe. With diving, you don't have to worry about breathing at all, so don't worry, Iori."
"I see. It looks like swimming skills are almost useless."
"Not entirely. In an emergency, if you have to abandon your tank, you'll need to swim to the surface and wait for rescue!"
"But..."
Seeing the three of them talking to themselves as if they were about to start diving the next second, Iori Kitahara glanced at the blue ocean with a sense of fear and hesitation.
"In that case, why don't you guys go to the swimming pool first? It seems much safer there, doesn't it?"
"That makes sense! Then let's make today a practice swim!"
"What! Didn't you just say it was okay if we can't swim?"
"In that case, I'm not participating! I haven't bought my daily necessities yet. I might have to take the day off!"
The plan was a success. Miyazawa Yu led the conversation to swimming for this very moment!
Are you kidding me? Last night, Sister Nanaka had promised him an entire day. How could he obediently stay and practice swimming with Iori!
The perverted "O-man" Iori and the soft and sweet Sister Nanaka. An idiot would know to choose the latter!
"Ah— that makes sense. Iori's daily necessities were all mailed to him, and it seems Yu doesn't even have a towel..."
"That's right, that's right! Then there's nothing we can do. But Yu isn't afraid of water anyway, and it's important to get his life in order!"
"Yes! Oh my, that's such a shame, Iori. Make sure you practice hard, you hear me~ I'll be cheering you on in my heart!"
With Senpai Kotobuki's permission, Miyazawa Yu immediately put on a shameless expression and walked with a swagger towards the store.
"Sister Nanaka! Please come shopping with me! This is the request of a lifetime!"
"Huh, this scene feels familiar!"
Nanaka was a little embarrassed seeing Yu sliding on his knees toward her. She first pulled him up. What if her father was still in the store and heard him shouting so loudly!
"I get it! It should be fine to let my dad watch the store. Wait for me for a bit..."
After saying that, she went into the store, and a little while later, Toshio Kotegawa's voice came from inside.
"Shopping for daily necessities? No problem, I'm enough to watch the store by myself. It's a good chance to show Yu around. It would be a shame if his university life was limited to just the school and home!"
"Got it, I'll go change my clothes first..."
"Yu, let's go~"
When Nanaka Kotegawa came out again, she was wearing a casual dress. However, for some reason, the small bag she had across her body made Miyazawa Yu feel a little scared.
In a way he couldn't explain, he now had a natural repulsion towards women's handbags.
"What's wrong, Yu?"
"Nothing! Let's go, Sister Nanaka. The first stop is to order a set of bedding!"
He shook his head to throw away the fear from his mind. To leave enough time for their date that night, Miyazawa Yu had already made all the preparations.
The first step was to solve the practical needs, to buy all the bedding for both winter and summer and various household items at once and have them shipped to the store!
However, since he had come to Izu for university with light luggage, even with a plan, it would still take a few hours.
He walked around with Nanaka until the afternoon, and the tedious preliminary tasks were only halfway done.
"Sister Nanaka, here's a drink. It's not even summer yet, but the weather is so hot..."
"There's nothing we can do. It's like this every year. It's often too hot to wear long-sleeved clothes, so everyone ends up in short sleeves."
"And that's why everyone loves going to the beach, right?"
"Yes! That's right!"
On a bench in the center of Izu, Miyazawa Yu handed the drinks he had bought to Nanaka Kotegawa.
Being in a low-latitude region, summer seemed to come especially fast in Izu. It had only been a short time since spring break, and just a little bit of moving around outside would make you sweat.
However, Nanaka didn't show any annoyance. On the contrary, she was happy that Yu was truly planning his life like a man.
If he had come to her and just asked her to go out and have fun, she would have criticized him. This was the consideration of a mature older sister!
"Yu, is there anything else you need?"
"Hmm... there are still small things like a toothbrush and toothpaste. Those can wait. I can just buy them when we get beer tonight!"
"Huh! Are we going to play until night?"
"Of course. This entire day belongs to me, Sister Nanaka. I have to squeeze every single drop out of our time!"
Looking at Miyazawa Yu's excited face and clenched fists, Nanaka Kotegawa scratched her cheek and smiled wryly.
She took back her childish thoughts from before. Yu was still just a child after all, working so hard for a promise.
But compared to Iori...
Hmm! At most, he was a middle schooler with self-care abilities. She couldn't rate him any higher than that!
"Wait a minute, I think Chisa is calling. I'll take it..."
Just as Miyazawa Yu was about to officially start their date, Nanaka Kotegawa felt her back pocket vibrating. She took out her phone and saw that it was a call from Chisa.
"Moshi moshi? Hmm! I'm outside... huh? Go back now? That doesn't feel right..."
"!!!"
Miyazawa Yu's expression immediately became wary. His eyes turned dangerous, and he moved behind Nanaka Kotegawa to secretly listen in.
She was calling to get Sister Nanaka to go back at this precise moment! This was unforgivable! Even if it was Chisa!
"Iori is still a little afraid of the water, and for some reason, he seems to have lost hope of ever getting into the water again..."
"Mm-hmm! That's a very serious situation indeed!"
"So I wanted to ask you to take him to the aquarium we often go to. If he can personally experience the charm of being underwater, he might learn to love diving again."
"I see. Then I'll talk to Yu and..."
"Sister Nanaka, can you let me talk to Chisa for a bit?"
She turned her head to look at him and was completely shocked.
Miyazawa Yu's expression was gentle, but his entire body was radiating a dark aura. His eyes were as cold as the Siberian permafrost, and he looked like a demonic god that had descended upon the earth.
"Ah... okay..."
After getting Nanaka's phone, Miyazawa Yu immediately spoke in a terrifyingly eerie tone.
"Yo! Chisa, we're both still alive. That's good..."
"Huh?"
"Nothing... I heard you want Iori to regain his confidence? I have a way to do that~"
"..."
On the other end of the line, Chisa Kotegawa shivered all over.
Even without seeing him in person, she could imagine Miyazawa Yu's terrifying and furious expression from the tone of his voice.
Using her selfish desire to give Iori confidence to ruin someone else's date... that seemed a little too much!
"You... you may proceed!"
"It's nothing, really. Chisa, you have feelings for Iori, right?"
"—I don't! Don't just say things like that!"
"Is that so? It doesn't matter. I just think that instead of having Sister Nanaka do it, what Iori really wants is to mend your relationship and go with you, don't you think?"
He had already seen that the relationship between these two cousins was complicated. Miyazawa Yu came clean, "When Iori was drunk and fell asleep last night, he seemed to be apologizing to you. It looks like he really cherishes you, Chisa~"
"Ugh, I get it. I'll take him myself... Thank you for telling me all this!"
Her face instantly turned red. Iori apologizing to her in his sleep in the middle of the night sounded terrifying, like a pervert was after her!
But at the same time, Chisa Kotegawa also started to face her relationship with Iori. She did seem to have been very distant from him these past few days.
If she was being honest with herself, if she didn't care about him, she wouldn't have asked Sister Nanaka for help.
Maybe, just as Yu said, this would be a great opportunity to mend their relationship!
"Beep, beep, beep—"
"Sister Nanaka, Chisa said she doesn't need our help anymore. Even if you love her, you can't show too much favoritism~ There are some things that children have to face on their own!"
"Yes! I want to do everything for Chisa. I've been spoiling her too much!"
Although she didn't know what she had done wrong, Nanaka Kotegawa immediately bowed and apologized!
She had heard Azusa say that boys get very angry when their "casting" is interrupted. It seemed it was the same for dates!