The sea in Uchiura is always so beautiful. So clear and blue. It's like a crystal. I'm so jealous of the people that live here.

Someday, I would love to move here.

So it's that Island, that's Awashima. I haven't been there yet, but there's a first time for everything.

People live there, so there has to be a boat that goes out every day.

Okay, I'll go check it out!

Time to distract myself with some new sights.

...

So, this is Awashima... Whoa, the whole island is covered in forest. Nature abounds!

Oh, another aquarium! I should visit this one, too, sometime.

I can see a big building over there, too. Is it a hotel?

Wait... HOTEL?!

There's only one person that mentioned a hotel in Uchiura... Am I being watched?

Nothing over here, nothing over there. Phew.

I should go take a walk and see what's around.

...

AKI: *Huff* *Pant* "I'm down...I'm finally...down. All the way down!"

I thought I'd visit the shrine when I saw that stone staircase and torii gate, but man. That was a tough climb and descent.

Wait, doesn't Aqours train on these steps? I can't believe it...

*SIGH* I can't even move anymore, I'm beat. I wonder if there's a place I can rest.

???: "Are you okay? You don't look well."

I knew she would find me sooner or later, time to just play along.

AKI: "Oh, I'm just a little exhausted... Huh?"

KANAN: "Hm? Oh, it's you!"

AKI: "Kanan?!"

...

KANAN: "Here, have some tea."

AKI: "Thanks, Kanan. So your house is here, huh?"

KANAN: "Yup, right on Awashima. I saw you slumped down on the side of the road when I came back from the beach and thought you were sick."

AKI: "I had a pretty rough time. If I were there any longer I might have needed an ambulance."

KANAN: "Was that your first time? It's amazing you even had the guts to come all the way down. Good work."

AKI: "It was craggy, and the steps were high. I felt like I couldn't get to the top no matter how long I took."

KANAN: "Ahaha! That's why it's such a great spot to train! You'll get tough going up and down those stairs every day."

AKI: "Every...day? I'm exhausted just from climbing them once."

KANAN: "You don't seem like you have much stamina. Now, let me see your body."

AKI: "Huh?!"

KANAN: "Don't worry, here let me check."

AKI: "H-Hey, that tickles!"

KANAN: "Hey, stay still!"

And I thought Mari and Nozomi were bad...

AKI: "Hm?"

KANAN: "What's up?"

AKI: "You smell like the ocean."

KANAN: "Oh, do I still smell like the beach? I thought I washed it off good enough."

AKI: "You said you came from the beach. What were you doing?"

KANAN: "I was diving!"

AKI: "Diving? Do you go diving often?"

KANAN: "Yeah, whenever I have time. Not usually in the winter though. It's too cold."

AKI: "Not usually? So you still go in the winter sometimes?"

KANAN: "It's actually pretty warm in the water. It's usually one or two months slower to change than land. Like in December, the water is still in October or November."

AKI: "That's still really cold! That's when we take out our winter clothes!"

KANAN: "Hahaha! The best season for diving from summer to fall, but the water is super clear in the winter. It's a blue world, so different from land."

AKI: "A water blue, new world? I'd love to see it."

KANAN: "Do you really want to?"

AKI: "What, you mean actually go diving? Right now?!"

KANAN: "Yup! We have a diving course at the shop, so all the equipment is ready."

AKI: "Isn't this all a little sudden?"

KANAN: "You came to Awashima looling for distractions, right?"

AKI: "How did you know that?"

KANAN: "Hanamaru told us she called you. It's true, you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened with Setsuna."

AKI: "I don't...know who that is."

KANAN: "I see, once Nana quit being a school idol, Setsuna vanished, right?"

AKI: "..."

KANAN: "I'm sure that you can make amends."

AKI: "I doubt it. I can't stop thinking about how we yelled at each other."

KANAN: "Heat of the moment?"

AKI: "Yeah, I guess she had just finished a long day of council work and I had just left our meeting."

KANAN: "Listen, take it from my experience. Blaming yourself for mistakes won't get you anywhere."

AKI: "Experience?"

KANAN: "If I hadn't stopped blaming myself for what happened two years ago, I would never have become a school idol again."

AKI: "Again?"

KANAN: "It's a long story. Things happened, things were said. But dwelling on those mistakes doesn't help me."

AKI: "I see. Thanks, Kanan."

KANAN: "Don't mention it, so you need a distraction, right?"

AKI: "Right."

KANAN: "Then you'll find no greater distraction than the wonders of the ocean."

AKI: "I don't need a license or anything? I'm a complete beginner."

KANAN: "No, you don't need a license for this since you'll have an instructor with you.
You won't be able to roam free or go too deep, though."

AKI: "Oh... Will you be diving with me?"

KANAN: "Of course! I was planning on it!"

AKI: "Alrighty then, let's do this!"

KANAN: *Chuckle* "Someone's eager."