●Prologue Yuuta Asamura

The clock on the wall read 7:30 a.m. Ayase-san and I had just rushed to see my old man off, while Akiko-kaasan still hadn’t returned from her night shift. Finally, we settled down to eat our breakfast. As I picked up a slice of ham with my chopsticks and laid it on my toast, our morning chatter turned to the joyful news that our friends had passed their entrance exams. Both had secured spots at a prestigious national university on their first attempt—a cause for celebration.

“Pretty impressive, huh?” Ayase-san said, her voice carrying a spark of enthusiasm.

“Definitely.” As top students at Suisei High, a prep school where they consistently ranked in the single digits, I’d figured they had a strong chance. Still, seeing it come to fruition was both thrilling and surprising. With this, all four of us were set to become university students come April.

Passing the first round of exams also meant we could skip the second, freeing us to resume our part-time jobs. Ayase-san and I had told our manager we’d restart in April to play it safe, but if we asked, they’d likely let us start sooner—maybe even this afternoon.

Until now, our conversation had been light and casual. But then I shifted gears. “So, about the main topic.”

Ayase-san nodded, nibbling on a pickled radish. She finished with a crisp crunch and said, “The graduation trip?”

“Yeah. Since everyone passed, we need to get moving.”

“Figured as much. I looked up ‘graduation trip’ last night.”

“Sorry, I haven’t checked anything yet.”

She shook her head dismissively, then shared what she’d found online. Apparently, for elaborate graduation trips, people start planning in February and book hotels or flights a month in advance. That’s quick—but as students of Suisei High, where exam results arrive at the last minute, planning that far ahead was nearly impossible.

“Flights are out, then,” I said. “No way we’re getting reservations now.”

“So, long-distance trips are off the table?”

That ruled out places like Okinawa or Hokkaido. Hawaii was obviously a no-go too. Not that I was too attached to those ideas—we didn’t want to overspend anyway.

As we talked, it hit me: we couldn’t decide this alone. This was a trip for four, and it wouldn’t feel right to pick a destination without everyone’s input. Narasaka-san and Maru surely had places they wanted to visit too. So, I’d check with Maru, and Ayase-san would talk to Narasaka-san, then we’d regroup with their suggestions.

“Any place you’d like to go?” I asked Ayase-san.

“Oarai, hands down.”

After lunch, I called Maru and explained we couldn’t go too far due to budget and time constraints. After a long “hmmm,” he suggested Oarai, a coastal town in Ibaraki Prefecture known for its beach. I knew of it, but a chilly March seaside didn’t exactly scream “must-visit.” Why Oarai?

When I asked, Maru mentioned a certain anime.

“Ah, I get it.” A “holy site pilgrimage,” then.

These days, anime often depict real-world settings with striking realism—school commutes, local landmarks, all drawn true to life. Fans visit these places to soak in the same atmosphere as their favorite characters. That’s what they call a holy site pilgrimage.

“I’m fine with it,” I said, “but I’m not sure Ayase-san or Narasaka-san would be into it.”

“Narasaka seemed to enjoy that anime, though.”

“Really? That’s surprising.”

“Well, maybe I heard that… or maybe not. The bigger issue is Ayase, right?”

“Hmm, yeah, I suppose.” Even if Narasaka-san was on board, Ayase-san definitely hadn’t seen the anime. A chilly Oarai in early spring might not be fun for everyone.

As I mulled it over, a knock came at the door. I told Maru to hold on and called, “Come in.” Ayase-san peeked through the opening door, holding her smartphone. I could hear Narasaka-san’s voice spilling from it.

“You’re already at it,” Ayase-san said. “We just started too. Wanna make this a group of four?”

Narasaka-san’s voice chimed in from the phone. “Might as well do a video call! It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other’s faces!”

Ayase-san seemed eager, and Maru agreed, so we hung up briefly to set up a group call. But when Ayase-san and I tried using the app in the same room, it was a mess. Our voices echoed—mine picked up by both my phone and hers, and hers by both as well, since we were barely a meter apart.

“Your voice is echoing!”

“I can’t make out what you’re saying!”

Total disaster.

We could’ve retreated to separate rooms, but how sad would it be for two people under the same roof to hide away just to talk through phones? After some trial and error, we decided to use my phone alone. We sat side by side on the bed, ensuring both of us were in the camera’s frame. The screen split into three: Ayase-san and me, Maru, and Narasaka-san.

After quick hellos, we dove into the main topic.

“I think we should pick a place everyone can enjoy,” I said. Somewhere like a zoo, art gallery, museum, aquarium, or amusement park—recreational spots in the Kanto area. Right after I spoke, Narasaka-san’s eyes lit up, and she named a massive amusement park in Chiba, the one with “Tokyo” in its name for some reason. Her lively expression shone through the video call, her eyes sparkling as if she were already wearing a mouse-ear headband and ready to dance.

Maru, on the other hand, looked drained, his eyes dull. “That place just wears you out.”

“It wasn’t like that!” Narasaka-san shot back. “If anything, you wanna play till you’re exhausted, right?”

“What are you even saying…”

“What’s the captain of the baseball team saying now?”

“Ex-captain. I’m retired.”

“You sound so old.”

“Besides,” Maru continued, “living in Tokyo and only going to Chiba next door lacks adventure. For a graduation trip, I want to feel like I’m traveling. Not overseas, but still.”

“Huh? Then Oarai’s in Ibaraki, isn’t it? That’s close too. If Chiba’s too close, so’s Ibaraki.”

“Tch…” Maru clamped his mouth shut, lips pursed—a rare moment of defeat. We’d started this call to hear everyone’s opinions, but had we clarified anything?

“Narasaka-san,” I ventured, “does it have to be that theme park in Chiba?”

She gave me a curious look. “Why?”

“Well, there are other theme parks, right, Ayase-san?”

“Uh, yeah, maybe.” She rattled off names she’d clearly looked up. “Universal Studios, Huis Ten Bosch, Puroland, Shima Spain Village… yeah, there’s a bunch.”

“Exactly. Would those work too?”

“Of course!” Narasaka-san said, her expression screaming “obviously.” For someone like me, who didn’t know her “obvious,” it was a bit much. “It’s not about where you go, but who you go with, right? If it’s the four of us, even Ueno Zoo would be fine by me!”

Maru, sulking at the edge of the screen, muttered that Oarai should be fine then. Fair point.

“What’s that, Tomo-kun?” Narasaka-san teased. “We’re talking about a graduation trip here!”

“That’s my line! What’s so special about an amusement park 34 minutes from Shibuya Station for a graduation trip? Oarai takes two hours—three and a half times longer!”

“Either way, it’s still a day trip distance, isn’t it?”

Also fair. Maru even knew the exact travel times. As I watched their banter, I noticed Ayase-san had gone quiet, lost in thought. I turned to her. “Ayase-san, where would you like to go?”

“…Hmm, well,” she said softly, “I’d like to visit places with castles, ruins, shrines, or historical buildings. And if possible, somewhere with tasty food or a different culture—somewhere that feels fresh and exciting.”

That was so Ayase-san, with her love for history. I agreed—it’d be great to visit a place with a different lifestyle and culture. Living with Ayase-san had already shown me how surprisingly varied habits could be, even within Shibuya’s cultural sphere. A place where you could feel a shift in values, even for a short two- or three-night trip, sounded perfect.

With everyone’s opinions on the table, I summed them up. Maru wanted an anime pilgrimage, Narasaka-san valued amusement parks where we could all have fun, and Ayase-san was drawn to historical sites and places with unique cultural vibes. Was there a destination that could hit all these points while feeling like a proper trip?

“Maybe… Kansai?” I suggested. “Maru, is there an anime holy site in Kansai you’d be satisfied with?”

Maru closed his eyes briefly, as if recalling something. “Hmm… There’s one place. Around Kandai-mae to Senriyama.”

Where was that?

“That’s Osaka, right?” Ayase-san said. “Probably around Kansai University.”

“Yeah,” Maru confirmed. “For me, it’s the setting of a work I’d call a masterpiece of the soul.”

A masterpiece of the soul? That’s intense. Narasaka-san was apparently sharp on geography too.

“Osaka’s got Universal Studios, right?” Ayase-san added, and Narasaka-san’s eyes lit up again.

“Nice!”

“Hold on,” Maru interjected. “That might work for us, but what about you, Asamura? Speak up now, or you’ll get dragged around a theme park the whole trip.”

“I don’t have a specific place I’m set on. Osaka’s got a different cultural vibe, so it’d be a fresh experience.”

“That’s no good, Asamura-kun,” Ayase-san said, her tone slightly worried. “Maaya and Maru-kun both stated their wishes, and I’d be satisfied in Osaka with all the historical sites. But that leaves out where you want to go.”

“Even so…” I trailed off. Honestly, nothing came to mind.

“Nothing at all?” Ayase-san pressed. “Like an art gallery, zoo, museum, or aquarium? There’s gotta be tons of those in Osaka. You were really into the exhibits at that local history museum, right? I think you enjoy those kinds of places.”

“Was I…?” I hadn’t noticed, but Ayase-san insisted I was more absorbed in the exhibits than she was… Was I?

“Hmm. If I had to pick… maybe an aquarium.”

“Oh?” Narasaka-san chimed in. “So Asamura’s into aquariums?”

“My old man used to keep tropical fish when I was a kid.”

“Taichi-otousan had a hobby like that?”

I nodded. It was when I was very young, barely old enough to remember. I loved watching the tropical fish my old man kept. They only lived about two years, and I must’ve cried a lot when they died, because we never got new ones. That fish tank was probably still stashed somewhere in the storage room. The fish swimming lazily, the aquatic plants swaying gently, the bubbles rising with a soft bloop bloop. The plastic car in the tank spinning with the bubbles. The sunlight filtering through the glass, scattering rainbow colors across the table. I could watch those things forever.

“It doesn’t have to be an aquarium,” I added. “I just have fond memories of my old man taking me to places like that when I was younger. Museums or zoos would be fine too.”

Back when I was obsessed with studying to meet my mom’s expectations, I failed an exam and went through a phase where I hated studying. My worried old man took me to all sorts of places to spark my curiosity.

“There’s one called Kaiyukan near Universal Studios,” Narasaka-san said, looking up from her phone. “It’s got a huge tank recreating the Pacific Rim! Says there are big fish too.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said. “Don’t they have whale sharks there?”

“Asamura-kun, you’re so knowledgeable!” Narasaka-san praised, but I’d just seen it on the news once. I wasn’t that knowledgeable, but everyone now seemed to think I was a fish enthusiast.

“Alright, it’s settled,” Maru said. “How about a Kansai trip including Kaiyukan?”

Ayase-san and the others agreed. I stepped out of the camera’s view for about ten minutes, grabbed a notebook from my desk, and scribbled a rough schedule with a marker.

“Sorry for the wait,” I said, returning to show everyone the notebook. “How’s this for a schedule?”

We’d book a hotel near Shin-Osaka Station and sightsee in Osaka. Day one for history and cultural experiences, day two for the theme park, and day three for the holy site pilgrimage and aquarium. This way, everyone’s wishes were covered.

Everyone studied my notes, tossing out opinions while checking locations on their phone maps. Ayase-san nodded but then spoke with a hint of concern. “Isn’t the schedule a bit too packed for just Maaya and Maru-kun’s wishes?”

Narasaka-san nodded too. “You don’t have to prioritize us so much, you know?”

“No, it’s not like that,” I said. I hadn’t favored anyone—I’d just calculated the optimal schedule based on the time needed for each place.

“Fair point,” Maru said. “A pilgrimage doesn’t need much time. I’m not planning to go wild and cause trouble at a holy site—that’s something I, as an anime fan, think should be avoided. I just want to walk quietly, soak in the nostalgia, and savor the memories.”

“Memories that don’t actually exist in real life, though,” Narasaka-san teased.

“What are you saying? Simulated experiences are still experiences. Diverse experiences add color to life.”

“Sounds profound, but Tomo-kun, sometimes you sound just like my little brothers.”

“Anyway,” Maru continued, “we’re not forcing ourselves. If we set the return shinkansen to the last possible one, we’ll have plenty of time.”

The whole point was picking a place where no one would be bored. “For Ayase-san,” I said, “Kandai-mae Station might not be a holy site, but just walking around a regular Kansai town would be a cultural experience.”

“Yeah,” Ayase-san agreed softly, “just strolling through a normal town sounds nice. It doesn’t have to be historically significant.”

“And Maru, you’re not totally uninterested in Universal Studios, right?”

“Well, yeah. They’ve been doing a lot of collabs with manga and anime lately, not just movies. I’ve been wanting to check it out.”

“I wanna see the whale sharks too!” Narasaka-san added.

Exactly. Nobody was suggesting a place the others would dislike. We were all picking spots with the assumption everyone could enjoy them.

“So, I think this breakdown works,” I said.

Ayase-san, Narasaka-san, and Maru seemed convinced.

“Asamura-kun,” Ayase-san said, glancing at my marker-written schedule, “you’re great at organizing. This is really well put together. You whipped it up in ten minutes—that’s impressive.”

“Getting praised for something like this feels a bit embarrassing.”

“No way, it’s awesome. Nice work!”

“Uh… thanks.” I thanked her sincerely, though it still felt a bit awkward.

“Let’s use this as the base and work out the details together,” Narasaka-san said.

“Yeah,” Maru agreed.

“Totally,” Ayase-san added. “This makes things so much easier. Thanks, Asamura-kun.”

“No big deal. It’s not much.”

“Honestly, if it was just me, it wouldn’t have come together this fast… huh?” Ayase-san glanced at Narasaka-san on the screen. My eyes followed.

Narasaka-san grinned like a cat; her smile reminiscent of a certain Yomiuri-senpai. “Seeing you two like this through the screen is such a treat.”

“Huh?”

“You guys are so cute together, that’s all!”

“Mhm,” Maru chimed in. “I’m saving this exchange and making a clip to post. Might go viral.”

“Let’s title it ‘Married Couple Comedy’!” Narasaka-san teased.

“Wha—!?” Ayase-san, unusually flustered, snapped. “What are you talking about!?”

“Graduation trip meeting over!” she declared, abruptly ending the call, her breaths heavy. “Huff, huff. Geez, Maaya!”

“Calm down,” I said. “They’re just teasing, you know.”

“I know, but…” She trailed off, still fuming.

“More importantly, you shouted so loud—look.” I put a hand to my ear, gesturing for her to listen. A voice came from the living room—Akiko-kaasan, calling, “Are you both there?” I glanced at the clock: past 2 p.m.

“Looks like she’s up.”

We’d already told our parents about the four-person graduation trip, so there was no need to panic. Still, Ayase-san hurriedly left for the living room, her steps quick and flustered.

Left alone in the room, I looked at the schedule again. With everyone’s schedules in mind, we probably had about ten days until the trip.

First, we needed to set the dates and book a hotel to secure the basics, then fill in the details. I was the type who’d rather stay home with a book than travel, but as I started moving forward, I found myself getting excited about the trip.