"I'm back."
After attending the diving club welcome event, Chisa returned to Grand Blue.
Hearing her voice, both the Shop owner, who was reading a newspaper, and Nanaka, who was busy on her laptop, immediately turned their attention to her.
"Welcome back, Chisa. You're back early. Didn't you stay longer to hang out with everyone?"
"Well, Kazuma cousin came to pick him up, so she gave me a ride back," Chisa explained.
"Kazuma-kun cousin? Come to think of it, he did mention yesterday that his distant relative is living around here."
The diving shop owner tilted his head slightly, as if recalling something.
"Yeah, and Kazuma said his cousin is Kaya Mizuki."
"Kaya Mizuki?"
Both the diving shop owner and Nanaka were momentarily stunned, unsure whether to marvel at how fate could be so amazing.
After all, Kaya Mizuki was all too familiar with Grand Blue.
"That's right. Oh, and here's your jacket, sis."
Chisa walked over to Nanaka and handed her a jacket.
Nanaka took the jacket—it was the one she had lent to Iori at the university.
"Did Iori stop wearing it?"
"Well, it's not that he stopped wearing it…" Chisa couldn't help but recall the scene of Kitahara Iori and Tokita Shinji drinking heavily, and she instinctively wanted to facepalm.
Seeing her sister hesitate, Nanaka could probably guess the situation and smiled wryly.
"Looks like Iori has really blended in with everyone."
"No, this isn't about blending in anymore," Chisa quipped, then quickly changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on Kitahara Iori.
"Anyway, Kazuma helped tidy up the jacket and asked me to bring it back."
"Eh? Kazuma did?" Nanaka was surprised.
"Yeah, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to go in and get it with the atmosphere they had," Chisa explained.
Nanaka thought for a moment and then nodded. "That makes sense."
"By the way, why didn't Kazuma and the others come in? Did they go park the car?" the diving shop owner chimed in.
"They've already left. Kazuma drank quite a bit too," Koto Chisa explained.
And as she mentioned this, another scene involuntarily surfaced in Chisa mind.
It was right after Kazuma had utterly defeated Imamura Kohei, only to be immediately challenged by Kitahara Iori.
At that moment, faced with a prepared Kitahara Iori, Kazuma grabbed the collar of iori jacket, brought it to his nose, and took a deep, almost intoxicated sniff. Then, with a grin, he said to Kitahara Iori,
"So fragrant—it smells like Kotegawa-senpai."
Although it was clear that Kazuma was aiming to win the competition at the time, one couldn't help but think that birds of a feather really do flock together.
...........
Meanwhile, on another road.
The AE86, whose modification costs alone were astronomical, was cruising steadily at 30 kilometers per hour.
Even though both rear windows were wide open, the lingering smell of alcohol still filled the car.
"Ugh, what a bunch of animals."
Feeling waves of dizziness hitting his brain, Kazuma massaged his temples and sighed, his breath still reeking of alcohol.
Not to mention the seasoned drinkers like Tokita Shinji, even Kitahara Iori and Imamura Kohei turned out to be monsters.
Those two had already consumed a considerable amount of alcohol during the funny face competition, yet they managed to keep up with Tokita Shinji and the others in a drinking spree. They were practically inhuman.
Although Kazuma felt like he could still drink, the problem was that by the time Kanako arrived to pick him up, the group had already started preparing to play strip rock-paper-scissors.
It was probably why Kitahara Iori and the others ended up sleeping at school in such a state this morning.
"Kanako, you arriving in time was a huge help," Kazuma said sincerely to Kanako, who was driving, relieved that he had managed to preserve his dignity. "Also, Kanako, you don't need to grip the steering wheel so tightly. Don't be nervous, just relax."
"How can I not be nervous! I've barely touched a car since I got my driver license."
Kanako sat upright, eyes fixed on the road, still tightly gripping the steering wheel as she complained.
Heaven knows how nerve-wracking it was for her when she received Kazuma call and had to drive to pick him up.
"I'm really sorry. There was no other choice today, so I had to call you for help."
"It's fine. By the way, I didn't expect you to join the diving club. I thought you'd join something like the art club."
"Well, that was the plan before coming to Izu."
"So why did you end up in the diving club? Was it because of that girl earlier?"
Kanako glanced at Kazuma, who still looked uncomfortable, then quickly refocused her attention, casually probing.
"No, I was kidnapped!" Kazuma replied without hesitation.
He wasn't lying. Initially, like Kitahara Iori, he had been essentially kidnapped into the diving club. Later, he found diving somewhat interesting, and with Nanaka around, he went along with it.
"Is that so? I thought Kazuma joined because of that girl," Kanako joked, though her tone hinted at a loss of interest.
Be confident, there was indeed that aspect, but it was added later.
Kazuma didn't respond, only silently acknowledging it in his heart.
"Still, I didn't expect the diving club to be like that. It was a bit of a shock," Kanako changed the subject.
"Kanako, do you know about Grand Blue?"
"Of course. My sister was once the cover model for a diving magazine, and she also has acquaintances in the diving club. That's why she's been to that shop before."
"That's quite surprising," Kazuma remarked, slightly astonished.
Due to Maya Iida primary occupation, Kazuma was able to find information online about her experience as a magazine cover model. However, the fact that Maya was acquainted with someone in the diving club was something Kazuma hadn't anticipated.
But now, it seemed like he had one more reason to stay in the diving club.
"By the way, Kanako."
"What?"
"Is Maya home?" Kazuma asked.
"No, if she were, I wouldn't be the one picking you up alone," Kanako replied.
"Will she be back today?"
"Probably not. She's been really busy lately. Do you need something from her?"
"Well, earlier, to avoid a conflict, I promised one of Maya die-hard fans that I'd get them an autograph from her," Kazuma explained.
"But since Maya been so busy lately, it's not urgent. I only said I'd help get the signature, not when, and I didn't guarantee it either."