Vol 2 Chapter 3 (2/2)

I can bring two other people along. One of them is definitely going to be Kazes.h.i.+ro, but as for the other one, maybe Yukiko? Though for now, I need to check the dates first. Which day are we heading out? Today was Monday so—

“You can check in on Monday at 2pm!”

…………..

“Isn’t that todaaayyyyy!?”

Idiot! Dumba.s.s! r.e.t.a.r.d! Tell me beforehand if you’re going to book a reservation! And now you’re telling me ‘here’s a three days, two nights trip right now☆’!? That’s too stupid of you!

“Dammit, guess I’ll start by getting Kazes.h.i.+ro on board…”

And then I’ll ask Yukiko too—Oh wait, I can’t. She said she is doing an interview for her light novel, and was out since yesterday. Sigh, great…I have few friends to begin with.

“Guess I have no choice.”

I reluctantly took out my cellphone and made a call.

“h.e.l.lo?”

“Ah, h.e.l.lo, is this Kasumi?”

The one I called was Kasumi. Although I felt that taking a maiden along with two guys on a trip was a little inappropriate, I really couldn’t think of anyone else to bring, so I had no choice but to call up Kasumi. Furthermore, since it was an overnight stay, even though it’s my body, I wouldn’t be comfortable with having Hikari Yumesaki sleep next to some other random guy.

“I need to ask you something, is that okay?”

“O-Ok. What is it?”

“Um, I’m real sorry about this but…”

“Mhm?”

“Can you go on a three days, two nights stay at a beach resort with me right now?”

“Eh——————————”

…Uh, h.e.l.lo? Why wasn’t she responding?

“…Together with Sakamoto…overnight stay…at a beach resort…”

“Yeah. I guess a request like this was impossible for you. I’m so—”

“I’ll go.”

“—sorry for, wait, you’ll go!?”

Her birsk response made me unconsciously raise my voice. Are you serious?

“What should I bring?”

“Oh, let me think (she’s pumped up…). Since it’s the beach, a swimsuit probably? And especially…”

“A swimsuit? Got it. I’ll prepare a sure-kill swimsuit, so don’t worry about it.”

KILL!?

“Now then, just send me an email on the time and meeting place. Oh, and also—”

“Hm?”

“Leave the night preparations to me. I’ll bring everything along. Okay, I’m going to prepare now.”

N-night preparations…?

What does she mean when she says “night preparations”? Oh, poker cards and stuff?

“Then I’ll leave that to you. Sorry, for dropping this on you so suddenly.”

I ended the call, and heaved a sigh of relief. Everything’s going well. Erm, all that’s left is Kazes.h.i.+ro. He shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, like me, he doesn’t have a lot of friends in the first place.

I sent him an email saying, “Hikari Yumesaki wants to go sightseeing, get over here right now.” Then, I hurriedly began my own preparations for the trip. Seriously though, if we leave now, then it’ll be sunset by the time we get there. She really loves to give me a trouble.

Because of all that pestering she caused, I got ready and met up with Kasumi and Kazes.h.i.+ro at the train station. We went west on the s.h.i.+nkansen, and then transferred to a local train, before we finally spotted a beautiful seaside and arrived at the resort. It was evening; there was no way we could head to the beach, so we split into genders and soaked in the outdoor hot springs. After dinner, we leisurely wandered around until now. Ah, I’m so tired. This sudden vacation really was exhausting.

On a side note, even though Kazes.h.i.+ro said, “This is so like Hikari”, and had a face of resignation as he accepted the abrupt invitation, Kasumi was looking really, really peeved.

As soon as she saw both Kazes.h.i.+ro and me at the meeting place, the smile on her face immediately fell off, and she began to continuously grumble under her breath. She could talk with Kazes.h.i.+ro naturally, but why couldn’t she even say at least a few words to me? I also thought that she had prepared some poker cards, but it turns out that she didn’t, so we just sat side by side watching TV, chatting away. I guess it doesn’t matter, since I liked lazing around anyways.

Later that night, something happened.

“Guess it’s time to go to sleep.”

Suggested Kazes.h.i.+ro—and he was right, it was pretty late—and so we began to gather our things in one of the two rooms we had reserved. Afterwards, I was going to follow Kazes.h.i.+ro into the room next door when—

“Well then, I’m going to the other room. Good night, Sakamoto, Sanada.”

“……Waitwaitwaitwait!”

What are you saying!?

“Kazes.h.i.+ro!? Hey, wait a sec! Wait a sec!”

“What is it, Sakamoto?”

“Why am I sharing a room with Kasumi! Logically speaking, I should be with you!”

Kazes.h.i.+ro had his hand on the door k.n.o.b, but I grabbed his shoulder and protested. I mean, look at Kasumi and how panicked she is…wait, she’s not? W-Why is she clenching her fist and giving a victory pose? Why is she giving Kazes.h.i.+ro a thumbs up? Huh? Why?

“Sakamoto, calm down and think for a moment.”

Once he had finished talking, Kazes.h.i.+ro beckoned me towards him with a dumbfounded look, and took me out into the corridor.

“Listen closely Sakamoto. At 4:59, you’re going to switch with Hikari. That’s fine until this point.”

“Mhm.”

“So what I’m saying is, if I’m going to be sleeping with you in the same room, when I wake up tomorrow I’ll be seeing Hikari’s sleeping face.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Sakamoto…”

Hm?

“Once I see Hikari’s sleeping face, I might be overwhelmed with the desire to attack her.”

“……”

——Huh?

“It’s probably going to happen. It may be your body, but it’s still Hikari inside. With her sleeping face next to me, I probably won’t hold back into this.”

“…Kazes.h.i.+ro, think about this carefully. N-No matter what, this body is still male.”

“I don’t mind.”

Well I do!

What is this guy saying with such a serious look on his face… Just how much do you love Hikari Yumesaki?

“But, Kazes.h.i.+ro, wouldn’t this make Kasumi feel awkward?”

“Sanada? She and Hikari are both girls, so she should be fine even if she sees Hikari’s sleeping face.”

“No she wouldn’t! She doesn’t know that Hikari Yumesaki shares this body with me! Spending the night together with me will probably cause all sorts of problems right!?”

Huh…Kazes.h.i.+ro held his chin, and pondered for a moment.

“You sure are a picky person, Sakamoto. Why don’t you just sleep by yourself then?”

“Wouldn’t that mean you and Kasumi would have to sleep together…?”

“I don’t have any sentiments for a girl other than Hikari.”

D-d.a.m.n. You’ve got some guts to be able to say that. Even after seeing Kasumi wearing her bathrobe so loosely after a bath, you can still proclaim such words in the face of her seductive appearance…

In the end, after some more discussion, we still ended up with me sleeping with Kazes.h.i.+ro.

“We clearly aren’t even engaged, and yet we caused Hikari to do such a reckless thing. I guess I’ll go for a walk at 4:30.” Kazes.h.i.+ro was blus.h.i.+ng to his ears as he softly whispered to himself——Are you really unable to help yourself? I silently let out a retort as I laid down, and just in case, I pulled my futon away from Kazes.h.i.+ro’s as far as I could…

However, for the entire night I was too scared to fall asleep, and it was only at dawn, when I realized that Kazes.h.i.+ro had gone out for a walk, that I was finally able to relax as I waited until it was 4:59.

Was that guy serious when he said that…?

“Sakamoto…it’s really comfortable here. Come on, slowly come over here…”

“H-Hold on. I need to prepare myself.”

Gulp

Kasumi stared at my naked body, and swallowed her drool.

She had let down her usual braid, and her beautiful long hair was so wet that it clung to her snow-white skin. The water droplets clung onto her skin, which showed just how soft and delicate it was.

“Yo-your body looks really good, Sakamoto.”

“Huh? Oh, uh, is that so?”

“Mhm… Usually, you’re wearing clothes, and I couldn’t see… so I didn’t know…”

“W-Well similarly, Kasumi is also…”

Even though I knew your skin looked really amazing, seeing it exposed made it appear very tantalizing…

“Hehehe, anyways, we should start now. Sakamoto…”

“Okay, I’m starting now.”

And with those words, I began to slowly work my way towards her.

She was a little bit shy and had her head down, her face completely red.

What kind of expectations did she have for what we were about to do, to show that kind of expression——

“Sakamoto, don’t be scared. Don’t worry, you can do it.”

“Ok, then—”

I went towards her——and felt something slimy.

Wait, slimy?

“AAAAAaaahhhhhhhhhhh!? WHAT IS THIS!?”

“What’s wrong!? Oh, Sakamoto, that’s a jellyfish—”

Splash.

Having felt something so unexpected, I reflexively moved my feet away, and fell into the deep waters where Kasumi was. Ugh, so salty. I accidentally drank some seawater.

“S-Sakamoto, are you okay? Here, grab my hand!”

“Oh, thanks.”

Two days later, on the third day of our stay, the three of us went to the beach.

Under the dazzling summer sun, I held onto Kasumi’s small hand, the heat from her palm causing my heart to race.

“Is everything okay Sakamoto? Since you can’t swim, make sure you don’t play around like yesterday. If you feel like you’re drowning, then just grab onto me. I-It’s okay for you to touch any part of my body that you want…”

“Got it…”

I couldn’t help but blush uncontrollably after hearing those alluring words. On a side note, I already know how to swim, but the reason Kasumi believed otherwise was because yesterday, Hikari Yumesaki acted like a fish out of water in the sea. As a result, Kasumi was easily convinced that I didn’t know how to swim, which is why she would let me hold onto her hand. Call it cheap tactics if you want, since I was clearly taking advantage of it.

“What’s wrong Sakamoto?”

“N-Nothing…”

Kasumi used her hands to fix her messy, but still beautiful hair, and I stood facing her, not knowing where to focus my gaze upon.

I-I mean, even if I disregarded the lush tone of her skin, the pure silky whiteness of it was enough to raise my heartbeat. Just the sight of her thin waist and her slender shoulders was bewitching, and her exposed armpit and her jiggling orange bikini that looked ready to burst open is alluring enough, a truly gorgeous view. It’s no use, I can’t hold myself back for much longer!

Kasumi must have noticed my excited-adolescent stare, but even though she was a little bit shy, she didn’t try to cover herself, and even tugged at the strap on her bikini, showing off her charm.

“S-Sakamoto, what do you think about my swimsuit? …Although I already showed it to you yesterday, I did buy this for you. Don’t you think this strap looks good, Sakamoto?”

What kind of situation is this?

“Lo-look, don’t you think the pattern on the bikini top looks cute?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Kasumi purposely drew my attention to her body. Even though what you’re doing is pleasing me, don’t you feel embarra.s.sed at all…?

“Compared with this, Sakamoto’s swimsuit is also quite daring…”

“Oh, sorry. There’s actually a lot of reasons for this.”

Allow me to describe my attire for today: on the lower half of my body I was wearing a pair of The☆boomerang trunks that was bordering on s.e.xual hara.s.sment. No matter how you looked at it, it clearly looked American. When put together with my savage look, even if the beach was crowded with people, I could still freely swim at my leisure. As for why I would wear this in the first place, it’s because when I was searching through my bag this morning, I discovered that the swimsuit I had originally brought had been switched with this one. It’s probably a prank pulled by yesterday’s me. d.a.m.n it.

“I do like… that bold kind of swimsuit…”

“Huh, what?”

“N-Nothing!”

Although I had faintly heard what she said, I decided to carry on pretending like I didn’t hear anything. My youth was slowly falling apart.

“L-Let’s get started with our swimming lesson. Here, hold onto my hand. We’ll begin with learning how to kick your feet in the water, okay?”

“Alright, please do.”

I grabbed both of Kasumi’s hands, and used my feet to kick in the water. Ugh, this was embarra.s.sing. Why would any dignified high school student do this kind of exercise? Moreover, just now, my hands almost touched Kasumi’s bikini, making me fl.u.s.tered. However, Kasumi? Why are you bringing my hands closer to your b.r.e.a.s.t.s while occasionally mumbling things like, “What’s done can’t be undone…”? There’s a reason for this right?

Oh, on a separate note, I don’t know if it’s because he either hates salt water or because he doesn’t even know how to swim, but Kazes.h.i.+ro didn’t get in the water. He was currently reading a book under the shade of the umbrella, probably feeling like someone decent here…

And so, I continued practicing with Kasumi for about an hour.

It would be much too embarra.s.sing if I still didn’t learn after practicing so much, so I slowly pretended to get the hang of it. Eventually, Kasumi allowed me to swim by myself, and in my joy, I freestyled across the water in one breath.

“Gasp”

I abruptly brought my head above the surface. The sky was painted in an alluring blue, the brilliant color scorching my sight.

“Amazing! Just amazing! You can already swim so well!”

“Mhm, and it’s all thanks to your lessons.”

I waved towards Kasumi as she noisily swam over. Of course I could swim well, since I already knew how to swim in the first place.

“You’re so fast at learning new things, Sakamoto. During P.E. cla.s.s, everyone keeps on telling me how amazing you are.”

“Ever since I was little, I’ve always been good at physical activities.”

I remember once Hikari Yumesaki told me, “Sakamoto’s body is so easy to move in.” However, I really don’t like to exercise. Especially since I hate competing with other people.

“How enviable, Sakamoto is just too amazing. Really amazing…”

“Not really, I also have some things that I can’t do.”

If it weren’t for Hikari Yumesaki, I would have never made a friend, experienced love, or be recognized as an upright person. The things that everyone else can easily do, are impossible for me. Like right now, that idiot was stuck in a hopeless situation, and yet I don’t even know what to do to help her.

“………..”

I lifted my body, and floated on the surface, my head cus.h.i.+oned against the water. The sound and the ice cold temperature of the water helped free me from my worries. =

“Hey, Sakamoto.”

“Hm?”

Kasumi suddenly asked me,

“Are you… worried about something?”

“Huh——?”

“I-I think it’s… strange. Suddenly wanting to going on a trip, and all those other suspicious things…”

The anxiousness in her voice penetrated into my dense head.

“Perhaps you are… struggling with something. Probably something to do with the girl you like… right?”

“……That’s”

Unable of coming up with a lie at this moment, I was extremely unhappy with myself.

I knew that this kind of response would only hurt Kasumi.

“…Kasumi, I’m sorry. I’m always causing you to worry about me.”

I couldn’t even tell her that she was right, and just awkwardly told her those pathetic words. However, she is a sharp girl, and it seems like she had managed to guess what was going on in my mind.

“I-It’s fine. Because…I’m really happy. Just to be together with Sakamoto…”

She looked a bit lonely as she continued to talk.

“I hope that you will be able to tell me about it later. No problem…I’m fine with that…”

Her act of courage deeply moved me. Man, I’m so glad that I met her.

“Yeah, it does have something to do with the girl I like.”

And so, I also gathered up my courage to say what was on my mind. I didn’t look at Kasumi’s expression, closed my eyes and slowly continued.

“I am really, really worried. Although I can’t explain it properly, it’s still really worrying. Even though she’s acting as if it’s nothing, and ignoring it, I know that she’s actually a fragile person. She must really want to cry right now, but I can’t do anything about it. She’s probably really depressed, and when I think about that, I feel really worried, and scared…”

I softly let out the vague feelings in my heart. Kasumi probably feels concerned about me after hearing those words. But the truth is, this was how I really felt, so there’s nothing I can do about it. As expected, Kasumi remained silent.

Unable to stand the silence, I floated on my back as I rested on the surface of the open ocean water, with my head raised up towards the blue sky.

The harsh sunlight scorching my skin, the intense heat, and the ice-cold water surrounding me felt really comfortable. I closed my eyes, shut out the noise around me, and my consciousness slowly drifted off into s.p.a.ce——

“Oh——”

I suddenly felt something that was far hotter than the heat from the scorching sun. A comfortable warmth embraced my head from behind.

“Sakamoto, you just mentioned something weird,situation.”

“Huh?”

“You always make my heart skip, treating me like a girl. Although there are times when you cause me pain… but even so, Sakamoto still holds a special place in my heart.”

………..

“That’s why, Sakamoto, please don’t lose hope. I don’t want to see you have that kind of expression.”

The arms that were strongly embracing me were tightened.

“It’ll be okay, I know that for sure. You can do anything that you put your mind to, Sakamoto. Even if you can’t do anything right now, when that girl is really stuck in serious trouble, you will definitely stand up for her. And so… watching her from the sidelines is enough for now. When she actually starts to cry, you can just be there to help wipe her tears. Sakamoto should be able to do that.”

There was sound coming from the waves and the ocean breeze, as life bustled in the surroundings and the ocean swayed.

But all the noise was swept aside, and I could only hear her soft whisper beside my ear.

Her arms, warmer than the scorching sun, were wrapped around my neck, causing my body to feel a burning sensation.

Wipe her tears huh.

“Will I be able to do that?”

“Of course.”

Kasumi’s warm and comforting words went straight to my heart.

Just this warmth was enough to heal my heartache.

After eating some yakisoba at the restaurant in the resort, we immediately headed to the hotel counter to check out. I dragged my tired body onto the rocking train. On the way home, Kasumi rested her head on my shoulder, probably because of heat exhaustion since her face was so red.

Upon arrival at the train station in the evening, I parted with Kazes.h.i.+ro, and took Kasumi to her house on my bicycle. The clanking sound of the bicycle created a solitary atmosphere. What was the problem with me? My heart was throbbing. The red, evening sky barely allowed us to see each other’s face. I don’t know why but, as the sun slowly set, I felt as if it would never rise again.

Sitting in the back, Kasumi didn’t let out any noise, and tightly held onto my back. Ah, so this was youth.

I had originally planned on dropping her off in front of her house, but she hesitantly refused.

“My older sister will see us…”

Her older sister must be a really scary person. Now I feel like meeting her.

“Sakamoto, do you have any plans later?”

“Hm?”

“If not then… I can…”

It’ll be night time soon you know?

She didn’t finish her words, but instead tenderly lifted her head towards me. Although she had a weak character, her feelings were strong.

“Sorry, I have to go home now.”

“Is there something you have to do?”

“……..No.”

“…Oh, I see.”

She let out a cheerful smile, and we waved goodbye to each other.

As the night grew darker, it took on a purple color. I thought that she was no longer looking this way, so I took a look back.

She was still watching me.

Two days later.

“Sigh…”

I opened the journal, and, after reading the entry, I let out a sigh.

After the trip, Hikari Yumesaki, who had thrown some huge tantrums, was finally satisfied.

“Sorry about causing you all sorts of trouble lately, Sakamoto. I tried calming down and thinking about it for a day, and realized that freaking out about it wasn’t going to fix anything. And so, I’m perfectly fine now! Although I’m a little bit worried, since it’s only five minutes, there’s plenty of time to act! Thanks for worrying about me! I’m very happy about it, partner☆”

Although she might have been showing off, at least now she’s finally calmed down. In fact, the time was longer reducing, and Kazes.h.i.+ro and I will continue to look for a clue to fix this situation. I should be able to relax for now.

“Moving on, since it’s my hard-earned summer, I can play all I want! Today, I went to one of my favorite places and ate parfait. I haven’t had moonleaf parfait in so long, it’s absolutely the best!”

“Looks like she’s having fun.”

I was racking my brains out trying to figure out what “moonleaf ice cream” was, but in the end I came up with nothing. Whatever, I can just be relieved that she seems fine now.

However, there was one thing that I took note of.

“More important, I need to come up with something.”

Hikari Yumesaki concluded her entry in the notebook with this sentence.

“What does this mean?”

Although I was curious about it, Hikari Yumesaki didn’t write anything else, probably because she didn’t want me to interfere. Whatever, I can only silently watch her from the sidelines anyway. I’ll watch, and watch, and when she starts to cry——

“Then I guess I’ll be there to help you wipe off your tears.”

I don’t know if I would be able to do that. No, if I think about, it’s definitely impossible.

However, Kasumi told me that I can do it. I’ll trust her for now. I said to myself in my heart. I closed the notebook, and decided to forget about those puzzling words.

…But,

Maybe I should think more on the meaning behind those words.

It was around this time that Hikari Yumesaki entered a relations.h.i.+p with another girl.

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