The long-distance bus glided smoothly along the highway.
"Your 'Komachi Score' is really low right now, Brother!" Komachi remarked, casting an exasperated look at her dead-eyed older brother.
"Huh?" Hachiman asked listlessly.
"I'm talking about yesterday—the fireworks festival!" the girl said, puffing out her cheeks in annoyance. "Why wouldn't you agree to go have fun with me, even after I spent so long begging you?"
"Komachi, did you know? Once an apple is sliced open, it oxidizes in the air and gradually turns brown."
"Komachi didn't know that."
"...That's common sense."
"Well, I know that you have a real talent for sophistry, Brother, so I'm certainly not going to play along with your line of reasoning."
"Your 'Komachi Score' is really low right now, Komachi!"
Hachiman mimicked his sister's tone as he spoke.
In response, he watched his sister give a sudden shudder.
"Don't talk like that! Or—wait—have you been getting all mushy with Saika-nii for so long that your personality is actually starting to rub off on him?"
Komachi asked, looking at him with an expression that held a strange hint of disdain.
"At this point, my unlikable personality isn't going to change," Hachiman declared with mock seriousness. "It's a matter of staying true to myself!"
"No—at a moment like this, shouldn't you be denying the 'getting mushy' part first?"
"..."
"Komachi is actually starting to get a little worried about your sexual orientation, Brother..."
As she reached this point, Komachi suddenly furrowed her brows. "Wait—that's not right. In the past, even if you didn't really want to go, you usually would have come along to the fireworks festival or a place like that if I begged you enough... Your attitude yesterday was definitely a little off..."
"Because even if I didn't go, you had friends you could go have fun with anyway, didn't you?" Hachiman hurriedly explained. "In fact, didn't you end up going with your classmates in the end?"
"Speaking of which—and this is a bit of a tangent—but if the person who went to the fireworks festival with you had been a boy..."
"Then I'd just have to ensure his life ended in a spectacular, explosive display right there in Tokyo Bay..." Hachiman muttered in a low voice, his response practically a reflex. His tone was heavy—much like that of a high-IQ criminal contemplating how to execute the perfect crime.
"That's hardly a place for the blossoming of life! Though, while it is a bit gross, that kind of jealousy actually scores pretty high on Komachi's scale~"
"Oh? So, have I finally reached the passing grade?"
"Not yet. You and Saika-nii were getting way too clingy and mushy with each other a while back, so I had to dock a lot of points for that."
The girl gazed at her older brother with an expression of undisguised disgust.
"Well, my apologies then," Hachiman shrugged.
"Anyway, let's get back to the fireworks festival," Komachi said, pressing her pale, slender fingertips against her lips as she pursed her mouth playfully.
"Are we really still going on about this topic?"
His face practically screamed, I really don't want to talk about this.
"You deliberately avoided going to the fireworks festival with me—Komachi—and even actively encouraged me to go have fun with my classmates instead... Hmm. Looking back on it now, it really does feel like you were intentionally trying to get me out of the way..."
Komachi pointed a finger at her brother, brimming with energy as she declared in a dramatic, "The truth is always singular!" tone: "The truth is, you actually went to the fireworks festival with Saika-nii yesterday, didn't you?!"
"...N-No, nothing of the sort happened." Hachiman averted his gaze.
"Huh? It didn't?"
Komachi blinked in surprise. Then, her expression shifted to one of utter disbelief, and the cowlick on top of her head shot straight up like a flagpole: "D-Don't tell me... you and Saika-nii didn't just go to the fireworks festival together—you went straight home and hyperlinked instead?! Was it in the entryway? On the sofa? In the bathroom?! Ugh! I actually used all those places today! That's just too filthy!"
"Of course not—!" Hachiman nearly slammed his head into the backrest of the seat in front of him. "And besides, a young lady shouldn't be spouting words like 'hyperlink' in public like this!"
"Suspicious." The girl stared intently at her brother, her eyes practically overflowing with skepticism. "Alright... I admit, I did go to the fireworks festival with Saika. But come on—we're both guys! We were just hanging out like normal friends. I mean, what guy doesn't have a few buddies he can go out and have fun with?"
"Gag."
"Komachi?"
"Sorry, but hearing the word 'friend'—and such a youth-centric sentiment—come out of your mouth, I suddenly felt nauseous for some reason."
"I was such an idiot to worry, just a moment ago, that you might be getting carsick."
Hachiman, looking utterly livid, slumped back into his seat.
"If he could just stick to the role of being a 'friend,' then Saika really would be a pretty decent guy," Komachi added.
"..."
"Onii-chan, why are you suddenly avoiding my gaze?"
"Ahem. Aside from being a friend, Saika is also my club president, you know," Hachiman explained with heavy emphasis.
"Ah, the Tennis Club—right. I remember Mom and Dad were actually pretty shocked back when you came home saying you wanted to buy tennis gear."
Komachi slapped her palm with her fist. "Come to think of it, your distorted fate with Saika-nii probably started right around then."
"I honestly didn't expect Mom and Dad to actually fork over the cash for it. I figured that, in their eyes, my standing within the family hierarchy wasn't nearly high enough to justify that kind of expense."
After all, in his view, the Hikigaya family's status pyramid went something like this: Kamakura (the cat) > Komachi > Mom > Dad > Me. He figured the importance of his own non-essential expenses probably ranked even lower than Kamakura's canned food.
So, the fact that his parents had so readily shelled out the money for his tennis equipment had actually left him feeling a bit overwhelmed—in a good way.
"I don't know the full details, but I've heard that your time in the Tennis Club was apparently quite... eventful. Some of the rumors even made their way down to us in the Junior High division..."
Komachi continued.
"You know what? Let's just go back to talking about the fireworks festival."
Hachiman hurriedly tried to change the subject.
"...Hmph."
Komachi gave a soft snort.
"You look pretty cute when you're jealous, Komachi." Hachiman grinned—mimicking the kind of expression he'd seen male leads make in movies.
"If I weren't your little sister, I would have called the police by now."
"Why?!"
Hachiman was utterly aghast. Komachi scrutinized him for a moment, let out a soft sigh, and then spoke: "Speaking of the fireworks festival..."
"I know that sidestepping my questions is just Komachi's way of being gentle, but right now—the gentler you are, the more it just makes my heart ache..."
Hachiman slumped back against his seat, muttering with an air of utter resignation.
"I actually ran into one of your classmates at the fireworks festival, Brother."
"Well, the festival grounds are pretty close to our house. Geographically speaking, the people attending are bound to be locals—so it's hardly surprising that the majority of them would be students from Sobu High, is it?"
Hachiman offered this general observation, then added: "But how did you know that person was my classmate, Komachi? Just how deep does your intel on my social circle actually run? Come to think of it, even I can't name every single person in my own class yet..."
"Is that really something to be bragging about with such a proud tone?"
Komachi sighed again, looking at her older brother with a look of exasperation. "Besides, even I couldn't possibly know every single one of your classmates, Brother. The only reason I recognized that particular person was because he happens to be that famous 'Chuunibyou' case."
"Oh, Saika... He kept going on about how busy he was writing his light novel lately, yet he still found the time to go hang out at the fireworks festival?"
Hachiman immediately called to mind that chubby guy—the one who was always sidling up to him during P.E. to be his partner, who claimed to be his "friend," and who was constantly spouting nonsense about being the reincarnation of a legendary Sword-General.
Lately, the guy had become obsessed with light novels. He started out just reading them; then he moved on to posting bombastic rants on online review sites—even getting into arguments with the authors themselves—and eventually, he reached the point where he started writing his own light novels.
Of course, given his eccentric behavior, he didn't really have any friends to speak of, so the only person he could show his "masterpiece" to was Hachiman.
The thing was, that first draft was absolutely painful to read. Even Hachiman—who wasn't exactly a light novel connoisseur—could spot the unmistakable traces of several famous titles woven throughout it. Rather than an original light novel, it felt more like some kind of Frankenstein's monster.
The worst part was, even though a "Frankenstein's monster" of a story should theoretically be a mashup of the best elements from various sources, this one was so bogged down in incoherent rambling that the end result felt like nothing but the dregs—sheer waste material.
Aside from "a complete waste of paper," Hachiman couldn't think of a single other comment to offer. After Hachiman voiced his opinion, Zaimokuza collapsed to the ground, twitching like a fish out of water; he appeared utterly devastated. However, the experience did spur him to redouble his efforts, vowing to write a flawless second draft to show Hachiman.
That said, to this day, that so-called "second draft" hasn't even made an appearance—not even a shadow of it.
"Not that chuunibyou guy—I mean the other famous chuunibyou: the one who always has bandages wrapped around his hands and wears an eyepatch over his eye."
Komachi added, "Some kids in the middle school division even claim to have seen him wearing one of those pointy wizard hats. Apparently, he keeps a pet snake, too—he seems like a really eccentric character."
Hachiman pondered for a moment before realizing who Komachi was talking about.
"...I'm sorry to disappoint you, Komachi, but it turns out that guy isn't actually a chuunibyou in the true sense of the word."
He explained, "Hiratsuka-sensei mentioned that the bandages on his arm aren't for some melodramatic 'Ahhh, my King's Power!' or 'My Black Flame Dragon!' shtick; he actually suffers from a genuine skin condition. As for the eyepatch, it's not because of some 'Evil Eye'—it seems to be a complication of his illness. He appears to have been recovering well lately, too; I think he'd actually taken the eyepatch off before summer break even started."
Besides—though he hadn't intentionally tried to notice—he had actually caught a glimpse of the guy's eyes once. They were a subtle shade of heterochromia; even if he didn't have the medical condition, it wouldn't be all that surprising if he wore an eyepatch simply to conceal that feature.
"Huh? Is that so? But when I ran into him at the fireworks festival yesterday, he was definitely still wearing the eyepatch..."
Komachi sounded a bit surprised.
"There's nothing strange about that. Maybe his eye condition just flared up again."
Although he often snarked internally, Hachiman actually disliked openly gossiping about others behind their backs—especially when it involved negative commentary.
"If that's all there is to it, then there's really nothing left to discuss."
"Oh, right! I almost got sidetracked. It turns out that chuunibyou guy has actually managed to get himself a girlfriend, too!" Komachi announced. "And she's a veeeery cute, busty high school girl!"
"..."
Acutely sensing that his sister was about to start nagging him about getting married again, Hachiman shifted his gaze toward the ceiling of the bus, wondering if he should just pretend to be carsick.
"What a shame. There's still one last day of the fireworks festival left. If we didn't have to go visit Grandpa before summer break ends, I could have gone along with you, onii-chan, to scout out some potential candidates for your girlfriend hunt..." Komachi lamented.
"Don't make it sound like some bizarre criminal manifesto..."
Hachiman sighed wearily.
Just then, the light streaming in through the window suddenly dimmed.
Hachiman instinctively glanced outside and realized the bus had just entered a tunnel.
"Huh? Does the route to Grandpa's house usually go through a tunnel?" his sister, Komachi, murmured to herself in confusion. "Maybe it's a newly opened tunnel? I double-checked before we left; we shouldn't have taken the wrong train," Hachiman said.
"Speaking of tunnels, onii-chan—did you know? There's a ghost story about tunnels."
Komachi asked with a mischievous grin.
"What tunnel ghost story? Inunaki? Gandatani? Or the one about the Highway Granny?"
Hachiman asked offhandedly.
"Onii-chan, why are you so well-versed in this stuff? Komachi remembers you not being the type who's into urban legends,"
Komachi asked, sounding a bit surprised.
"Because it's popular at Sobu High? Lately, I seem to hear people talking about it all the time... Or rather, there are just way too many people interested in urban legends. Even if you don't actively pay attention, you're bound to hear some weird rumors sooner or later..."
Hachiman yawned. "So, what exactly is this rumor about a tunnel ghost story?"
"The Kisaragi Tunnel."
"Isn't that a train station?" Hachiman asked, looking completely dumbfounded.
"Ghost stories get brand-new versions, too!" Komachi declared with a straight face.
Immediately, she seemed amused by her own phrasing and laughed as she continued: "Actually, the tunnel in this ghost story doesn't have a specific name. People only call it the 'Kisaragi Tunnel' simply because the story itself bears a resemblance to the original Kisaragi Station legend."
The Kisaragi Station legend tells the story of someone who posted online about taking a train, only to get off at a platform—'Kisaragi Station'—that didn't actually exist anywhere on the train line. The person wandered around the area for a long time, and after experiencing a series of bizarre events, their posts suddenly stopped updating. It left people with the unsettling feeling that the person had either gotten lost in another world or had simply met a tragic end; it was once a hugely popular urban legend.
Hachiman wasn't the least bit surprised that this had spawned a whole series of spin-off legends. After all, no matter what country they come from, people seem to possess an innate, self-taught talent for latching onto whatever happens to be trending.
Forget the Kisaragi Tunnel; if rumors started popping up online in the future about a 'Kisaragi Mansion Hidden in the Mirror,' a 'Kisaragi Inn Housing Invisible Monsters,' or even a 'Kisaragi Port Tower in Another World,' he wouldn't find it strange in the slightest.
If there was anything that gave him a faint sense of unease, it was probably just the pitch-black darkness that still lingered outside the train window. Komachi was still rambling on about the story of the Kisaragi Tunnel, while Hachiman stared out the window, observing.
Come to think of it, hasn't it been dark for a bit too long?
We entered the tunnel quite a while ago, so why haven't we driven out yet? Is this tunnel really that long? Judging by the bus's speed and the time that has elapsed, the tunnel's length must be approaching—or perhaps even exceeding—five kilometers by now. Or rather, was it really necessary to build a tunnel this long in the first place?
Hachiman took a deep breath, pulling his attention away from the window.
Komachi was still chattering away, but he instinctively sensed that something was slightly off.
Since his grandfather lived out in the countryside, this long-distance bus didn't carry many passengers to begin with; coupled with the fact that people had been steadily disembarking along the route, the number of passengers currently left in the cabin had dropped to single digits.
Yet everyone was remarkably quiet—there wasn't even much in the way of hushed whispers. This made the brother-and-sister duo—who had been chatting incessantly until just moments ago, and were still loudly discussing the Kisaragi Tunnel—stand out in stark relief.
Why hadn't he noticed this sooner?
Hachiman felt a flicker of bewilderment, though he didn't dwell on it; he simply chalked it up to the bus engine's noise being too loud, which was why he hadn't taken notice earlier.
He glanced back out the window; it remained pitch black, save for the occasional flash of an orange warning light signaling that they were still deep within the tunnel.
Even though he didn't put much stock in ghost stories or urban legends, in that moment, Hikigaya subconsciously found his thoughts drifting back to the tunnel legend Komachi had been talking about. Still, he firmly suppressed the unease rising within him.
How could something so utterly ridiculous possibly exist in the real world?
I must just be overthinking things.
Hachiman told himself.