Erina was unhappy. Very unhappy. So she slapped the water hard, sending a huge splash right into Hayashi's face, then let out a loud "Hmph!" to express her feelings—Aren't you going to comfort me?
And what about Hayashi?
After getting splashed in the face, he froze for a moment, then adopted a thoughtful expression. A few seconds later, inspiration struck, and his face lit up with realization.
'He gets it?' Erina glanced at him from the corner of her eye, feeling slightly relieved at his expression—Maybe he's not completely hopeless…
"HASAKI!"
The next moment, Hayashi let out a weird shout, yelled "Gale Sword Style!", and slapped the water with his palm. The resulting wave flew straight into Erina's face.
With a smug grin, Hayashi wiggled his eyebrows at her and said, "Heh heh, so you wanna have a water fight, huh? Didn't you know I'm known as the Yasuo of the Water?"
Erina stared at him blankly from less than two meters away. She silently wiped the water from her face, took a deep breath, and repeated to herself, 'Don't get mad, don't get mad—'
Just as she was desperately trying to calm herself down, Hayashi shouted again—"HASAKI—!"—and sliced his hand across the water, sending another wave splashing directly into her face.
"HAHAHA! How's that, huh?" Hayashi laughed loudly while alternating his hands, splashing her two more times. Proud of his handiwork, he boasted, "My two-sword style—pretty impressive, right?"
'N-no, I can't—' Sabrina lay on the shore like a dead fish, completely exhausted from laughter. 'This guy… his galaxy-brain logic… my stomach hurts from laughing…'
Meanwhile, after being hit by Hayashi's "HASAKI" three times in a row, Erina clenched her fists tightly. She tried her best to suppress her anger—Don't get mad, don't get mad, anger gives the devil a foothold—but her expression gradually twisted into something terrifying after the fourth "HASAKI" and Hayashi's taunting "Hahaha, you can't hit me!"
"JUST DIE ALREADY—!!"
With a roar of fury, Erina swung both arms upward, hurling a massive wave of water at Hayashi. But how could such an obvious attack possibly land on Hayashi, who was already in full battle mode?
"I dodge—"
Hayashi nimbly evaded the attack, then flicked his bangs with exaggerated flair. "The more I swing this blade, the sharper it—"
However, before he could finish speaking, Erina had already lunged at him, gnashing her teeth as she shouted, "I'll teach you to 'HASAKI'! I'll teach you 'the way of this sword'! I'll teach you 'dual-wielding'!"
"W-wait—"
Hayashi stumbled back in a panic, stammering, "N-no! You'll—you'll hit... glug glug glug—"
Erina tackled him squarely, her "ballistic charge" sending Hayashi sprawling backward. The two of them splashed into the pool with a loud gurgle.
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"
Sabrina couldn't hold back any longer. Clutching her stomach, she burst into laughter again, thinking to herself, 'This trip was worth it! How are they this hilarious!?'
A few seconds later, Hayashi and Erina struggled to their feet one after the other, both wiping water from their faces before panting heavily as they glared at each other.
Just then, with a splash, a small, soggy brown Eevee surfaced from the water, flailing its paws as it scrambled onto Hayashi's shoulder.
"Eevee eevee!"
After spitting out a mouthful of water, Eevee huffed angrily, scolding them: 'What were you two doing?! Ugh, I thought I was gonna drown!'
"Ahh, sorry, sorry," Hayashi reached up to pat Eevee's drenched fur, chuckling awkwardly. "That was, uh, really an accident! I didn't expect Erina to just charge at me like that—no honor among fighters, huh?"
"?"
Erina's eyebrows shot up as she glared at Hayashi—You have the nerve to say that? If you hadn't been acting like such a child, I wouldn't have gotten this mad! What are you, five? "Water-flash," "HASAKI," "dual-wielding"—seriously?!
"Eevee eevee!!"
Eevee leaped from Hayashi's head toward the poolside, but the weight of its waterlogged fur clearly caught it off guard. Its limbs splayed wide as it belly-flopped onto the water's surface.
"..."
After a beat of silence, Hayashi was the first to crack, bursting into laughter. "PFFT—HAHAHA! Eevee, what was that?! A 'superhero landing'?! HAHAHA!"
All that dramatic buildup, even kicking off my head—and this is the result? Just a full-on faceplant into the water?!
"Eevee eevee!"
Eevee floundered to the edge of the pool, pulling itself up with its front paws before shaking off the water with an irritated huff. It then turned and yelled at Hayashi, "Eevee eevee!"
Stupid trainer, I hope you drown! Hmph!
"Ha ha—"
Hayashi swam over, laughing, and flicked a handful of water at Eevee—who had just finished shaking itself dry.
"Ee—eevee?!"
Eevee froze in shock, now drenched all over again. It looked up at its trainer, who was cackling like a maniac, and puffed out its cheeks in outrage.
Grrr!
With an indignant cry, Eevee pounced at Hayashi, its soft paw pads smushing against his face before giving a forceful push—sending the still-unsteady Hayashi toppling backward...
Right onto Erina, who had just rushed over.
"Whoa—"
Hayashi let out a strange noise as he felt something soft press against the back of his head. He quickly straightened up and turned around—only to find Erina frozen in place, her eyes wide with shock, as if she hadn't processed what just happened.
"Did I just..." Hayashi couldn't help but touch the back of his head. "Did I bump into something?"
"Grrrr—"
Erina's face visibly reddened. Trembling, she raised her head, her voice cracking as she shrieked, "Y-you... you... DON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD!!"
Oh dear...
Hayashi scratched the back of his head again, then glanced at the Eevee on the shore, who wore an expression of "hiding its merits and fame." With a strange look, he said, "You little troublemaker, did you do that on purpose?"
"Eevee?"
The Eevee tilted its head and let out a playful "Ehehe~" sound.
"Ehehe~ indeed!"
Hayashi couldn't resist reaching out to squish Eevee's cheeks. "You little rascal, you're getting naughtier by the day!"
"Eevee! Eevee!"
Eevee struggled in protest: What? I totally learned it from you!
"Hey!" Hayashi's eyebrows shot up as he retorted, "What do you mean you learned it from me? Ugh, as if I'm some kind of dashing, suave, peerlessly handsome, graceful, and all-knowing, cold yet intellectual, restrained and mysterious heartthrob!"
"?"
Not only Eevee, but even Erina beside them widened her eyes in disbelief. She couldn't help raising her voice, "How can you say that without blushing or feeling embarrassed?!"
"Why should I blush?" Hayashi pointed at Eevee confidently. "Eevee's the one who said it! It's not like I'm praising myself!"
"Eevee! Eevee!"
Eevee protested vehemently: I never said that!
"See? Eevee's nodding in agreement!"
"?"
Eevee covered its face in despair—oh no, is my master's shamelessness going to rub off on me?
Please, no! Anything but that!
"Pfft—"
Just then, a clear laugh came from nearby. Hayashi and Erina turned in unison to see a figure reclining on a poolside lounge chair, a magazine covering their face. Slowly, the person sat up.
"Sorry, sorry, I wasn't laughing at you, but..." The person removed the magazine, revealing a head of golden hair, then wiped a tear from the corner of their eye. "Your conversation was just too funny. I couldn't help eavesdropping a little."
"Funny? Just say his ego is thicker than a brick wall!" Erina shot Hayashi a sidelong glance and muttered under her breath, "Idiot, shameless, blockhead, clueless straight guy, moron, pig-headed fool!"
"Hey, hey, hey! That's getting out of hand!" Hayashi turned to her with a dark expression. "Don't you know all my teachers in school praised me for being smart? I just didn't apply it to studying!"
"..."
Erina's eyes filled with undisguised disdain as she said contemptuously, "As far as I know, such compliments are just the usual deceptive tactics teachers employ. They say this to every mischievous student just to make them study harder."
"!"
Hayashi's eyes widened in shock. Pointing at his own face incredulously, he exclaimed, "Are you saying... I'm actually not smart!?"
"I'm touched to see you finally facing reality. You've grown up."
"Hey!"
"Pfft—" x2
Clearly, the comedic duo of Hayashi and Erina had once again sent Sabrina on the shore and the golden-haired beauty who had sat up clutching their stomachs in laughter.
Sabrina groaned while holding her already aching abs, "Have mercy! Stop clowning around! If we laugh any more, we might die!"
The golden-haired beauty struggled to sit up properly while panting and rubbing her stomach. "I-I agree! If this continues, I might actually develop abs from laughing!"
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