"Who are they?"
When Akihisa and the others finally arrived at the beach, Haruto was lounging under a parasol with his two younger sisters, sipping on fruit juice. Though there were plenty of shaved ice stalls nearby, he decided against buying any—Yotsuha had a stomach ache just day ago, and he wasn't going to risk it.
"You just got here?" Haruto asked.
"Wait a minute, aren't we the ones who should be asking that?" Yoshii shot back. "More importantly, who are these two adorable girls next to you?"
His gaze passed over Yotsuha and settled on Mitsuha, making the latter instinctively draw back her shoulders under the scrutiny.
"They're my sisters," Haruto said calmly.
"Which one?"
"Same parents. Real siblings."
"Wait, are these the sisters you mentioned before?" Yuuji recalled something and gave Mitsuha and Yotsuha another once-over, before glancing sideways at Akihisa, whose expression had noticeably softened. With a sigh, Yuuji said nothing more.
"Did... did brother ever talk about us back in school?" Mitsuha asked hesitantly, clearly surprised.
Standing nearby, Hideyoshi gave an enthusiastic nod.
"He did. Haruto used to talk about home all the time—especially about his two adorable little sisters. We were all curious to see what they were like. And now that I've met you... yep, you're both adorable."
"Girl?" Mitsuha tilted her head, catching her first real look at Hideyoshi.
Having been standing mostly behind Yuuji earlier, she hadn't noticed until now. And with Hideyoshi's delicate features and soft voice, she had assumed...
"Mitsuha, that's rude," Haruto cut in dryly. "Hideyoshi is a boy."
"A boy?!"
"Well, I am used to this sort of misunderstanding..." Hideyoshi said with an awkward chuckle. It certainly wasn't the first time he'd been mistaken for a girl—he was practically famous for it.
"So, it's just the six of us today?"
"We invited others," Akihisa replied with a shrug, "but everyone had their own stuff going on. So it's just us six."
Honestly, six people was a pretty good number—not too many, not too few.
"Any plans for what to do?" Haruto asked.
Yuuji and Yoshii shared a look, then grinned and pointed toward the beach. With a shared flourish, they gave Haruto a thumbs-up.
Message received.
Haruto didn't call them out on it.
"Well then, I'll be here with my sisters for a bit. If anything comes up, just come find us. Hideyoshi?"
"I'll stay here too," he said, stretching. "That train ride wore me out."
As Yuuji and Akihisa made their way toward the beach with mischievous glints in their eyes, Mitsuha watched them curiously—until she realized they were striking up conversations with random girls. Her expression slowly shifted from intrigue to awkward disbelief. She turned her gaze toward Haruto.
Her eyes said it all: These are your friends? Really?
Haruto simply smiled and looked toward Hideyoshi.
"What do you think? You think they'll get anywhere?"
"Yuuji might have a chance," Hideyoshi replied diplomatically. "Just him though."
"A brutally honest answer."
Haruto nodded. If it were just Yuuji, he'd probably score some success. Akihisa... well, he was cute, but once he opened his mouth...
They exchanged a knowing glance. Then, with drinks in hand, the two of them casually watched the antics unfold on the sand.
Mitsuha and Yotsuha stared too—first at the boys on the beach, then at the pair watching them.
"Yotsuha," Mitsuha said seriously.
"I know," Yotsuha replied.
"Know what?" Haruto asked.
"That we must never date guys like them," she said firmly.
Mitsuha nodded in solemn agreement.
At first glance, those two had seemed like decent guys. But now...
"By the way," Hideyoshi said, changing the topic, "have you heard from Nakano-san at all this summer?"
"Hm? Which one?" Haruto blinked.
"Come on—Ichika Nakano."
"Oh... Not really. Not since I told her I was..." He trailed off, glancing in the direction of Yuuji and Akihisa before looking back at Hideyoshi.
Hideyoshi nodded knowingly.
So that's what happened, he thought. He had noticed Ichika pulling back from Haruto but never had a clear reason why—until now. The rumors at school had always been vague, with nothing concrete.
"She's from our school?" Hideyoshi asked.
"No... a different one. Not exactly a neighboring school either."
"I see." Hideyoshi glanced toward the sisters. They didn't seem particularly surprised—clearly, they already knew. Awkwardly, he scratched his cheek.
Actually, Hideyoshi's older sister, Yuuko, had a bit of a thing for Haruto too. She'd acted oddly every time they ran into him by chance. She'd even asked about tagging along today.
Thankfully, she'd already made plans with her friends. But if she ever found out Haruto already had someone...
Yeah, Hideyoshi thought, I'd better not mention this to her.
His gaze returned to the beach, which had grown more crowded. He scanned the sand.
"Looks like they're talking to someone," he said.
"Hm?"
Haruto turned to look. Sure enough, Yuuji and Akihisa were now surrounded—by a group of glamorous women who looked to be around thirty.
And judging by their awkward expressions, things weren't going quite as expected.
Normally, most guys would be grinning ear to ear in such a situation. But given Akihisa and Yuuji's usual antics... it wasn't exactly a surprise.
"Should we go check it out?"
Sensing something was off, Hideyoshi looked toward Haruto and asked.
"I don't mind," Haruto replied. "But Mitsuha, Yotsuha—you two stay here for a bit, alright? Hideyoshi, could you keep an eye on them while I go see what's going on?"
"Well... alright. I'll stay here."
Though he had been curious at first, Hideyoshi agreed without protest and sat down beside the girls to watch over them. Haruto, meanwhile, made his way across the beach toward where Yuuji and Akihisa had gone.
The moment he stepped out from under the shelter, the sun hit him full force. Despite being by the sea, the beach wasn't much cooler than his neighborhood. With people everywhere and the heat radiating up from the sand, it felt stifling.
He waved off a few women trying to approach him and continued walking until he reached the vicinity of Yuuji and Akihisa—just in time to hear Akihisa stammering in resistance:
"U-um, I don't think that's a good idea..."
"It's fine, sweetie," one of the older women cooed, her tone sickly sweet. "Big sisters are gentle and know all sorts of fun things."
"We, uh... we're here with our friends," Akihisa mumbled.
"Oh? More friends? Even better! Bring them too—we've got a big place. A luxury condo, right by the sea. You can all come back with us if you're tired—don't worry about sleeping arrangements. It's summer break after all, right?"
"I... I have to go home tonight," he tried again.
"You're not a little kid anymore. It's totally normal to stay out overnight. Or don't you want to have some grown-up fun with big sisters~?"
The woman leaned in so close that Akihisa could barely breathe. Her perfume was overwhelming. He bit his lip in panic, unsure what to do. Beside him, Yuuji looked equally conflicted.
They both clearly wanted to refuse—but the women were so assertive that they didn't know how.
"Akihisa, Yuuji. What's going on?"
Haruto's voice cut through the tension as he arrived.
Hearing their names, the women turned to look—and the moment their eyes landed on Haruto, their expressions lit up.
Like predators spotting fresh meat, their gazes sharpened, predatory and eager. Haruto instinctively raised his arm slightly to shield himself, just as the women began approaching.
"So you're their friend, huh?" one purred. "Wanna come hang out with the big sisters? We'll show you a good time~."
"If I had more time, I wouldn't mind," Haruto said, smiling politely. "But today, I'm looking after my little sisters. So I'll have to pass."
His tone was smooth, respectful, but firm.
Hearing that, the women looked a bit disappointed. Still, one of them slipped her contact info into his hand before they turned and left.
Just like that, the suffocating pressure was gone.
"Phew... you saved us big time," Yuuji muttered, though he immediately followed it up with a bitter laugh. "That said, I gotta admit—I'm a little jealous. You really are popular, Haruto."
Haruto raised an eyebrow.
"You looked like you were suffering, so I came over to help. Was I wrong?"
"No, no, not at all! You did good. It's just... maybe next time let us suffer a little longer, just so we can feel what it's like to be popular," Yuuji joked.
"You're welcome to go call them back."
"Hard pass," Yuuji replied quickly, then turned to Akihisa. "You alright?"
"I-I'm fine..." Akihisa finally snapped out of his daze, blinking a few times. He looked at Yuuji, then Haruto, face still a bit pale.
"Alright, let's head back."
"Yeah."
The three of them returned to the shelter—just in time to hear Hideyoshi shout:
"I am a proud manly man!"
A group of boys trying to hit on him quickly backed off in awkward silence. The trio rejoined the table, glancing at the slightly flustered Hideyoshi. Apparently, being seen by friends while getting hit on had embarrassed him.
"Ugh... not a single age-appropriate girl here," Akihisa groaned, slumping over the table. "And I've got zero interest in those older women... maybe we should've just stayed home and played video games."
Yuuji wasn't quite as shaken. He sipped his drink and admired the scenery.
"Well, the beach isn't a total loss. Some of those older women had very nice legs."
So for the rest of the afternoon, they didn't do much—just sunbathed a little, splashed around in the water, and then headed back early. Still, even with just a bit of sun, Mitsuha was feeling it.
"Do you think my skin got darker?"
"It's not that obvious," Haruto replied.
Yotsuha, on the other hand, didn't seem too bothered. She stared at Mitsuha for a moment, then nodded slightly. It had changed a little—not darker exactly, just a bit redder.
"It's probably because you didn't put on sunscreen," she said. "You're not that tanned, really."
Hearing that, Haruto glanced over at Mitsuha's arm. He reached out and lifted her short sleeve slightly, comparing the color of her upper and lower arm. There wasn't much of a difference—maybe just a hint of redness. With some time, it would fade. A week or two at most.
"You're overthinking it. It's not even that bad."
"You don't understand anything about girls!"
Mitsuha immediately puffed up with indignation at Haruto's casual response, leaving him completely puzzled about what, exactly, she was upset about.
~~~~~~~~~~
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