The sea

“Here we are! The sea!”

Manami dashes off, nearly losing her straw hat in her excitement. She’s way too full of energy.

Two hours of train rides, and I’m already wiped out from the heat. Probably doesn’t help that I’ve been lugging around all this heavy stuff.

“You okay, Kouki?”

Aisa peers at my face, concern in her eyes. She’s tried to help with the bags a few times during the trip, but I refused just to save face. I can’t exactly admit I’m exhausted now, can I?

“I’m fine. I’ll set up our spot, so why don’t you go change first?”

“I’m already changed! Look!”

Manami, who’s somehow back already, yanks up her dress with a dramatic flourish.

I catch a glimpse of something black before Aisa quickly shuts it down, blocking my view.

“Kouki…”

“Hey, I didn’t do anything, right?”

For some reason, Aisa’s glaring at me, but help arrives quickly today. Though, calling it help might be generous—it’s more like a sinking lifeboat from Manami.

“Onee-chan changed too, didn’t she? Here!”

“Kyaa?!”

Manami sneaks up behind Aisa, flips her skirt up with a cheeky grin, and strikes a pose as if showing her off to me.

“Hey, Manami, cut it out!”

“Haha! Catch ya later, Kou-nii!”

“Get back here, Manami!”

I’m not sure if I was saved or not, but the crisis is averted for now. Or maybe just delayed.

◇

“Kou-nii! The sea! The sea!”

“What’s with you…”

Manami’s already in her floatie, ready to charge into the water, while Aisa stands there, glaring at me.

“So that’s what you’re wearing down there, huh?”

Aisa’s swimsuit has a skirt-like addition that wasn’t there last time. It’s less… stimulating than before.

“Too bad for you, huh, Onii-chan!”

“It’s your fault for hiding that last time, Manami!”

Apparently, Manami’s prank last time reduced the fabric coverage significantly. That was nice in its own way, but this is good too…

“Um… if you’d prefer me to take it off, I can…”

Please don’t say that while tugging at your swimsuit. I’m already struggling with how little fabric there is on me.

“No! You’re fine as is! It looks great on you! Really!”

“Oh… okay…”

Thankfully, Aisa seems convinced and backs off.

Manami, smirking at the side, gets a light nudge from me, which sends her into a fit of giggles. “Ouch! Hahaha!” She’s acting like a kid who finds everything hilarious, chopsticks falling included.

Manami’s wearing a black frilly swimsuit. Unlike Aisa’s, it’s not a two-piece, and with her childish vibe, it’s not doing much to stir my lower half.

“Manami, you did bring proper underwear, right…?”

“I made sure she’s covered.”

“Hehe! I totally forgot, though!”

Figures. I remember her pulling that stunt a few times back in elementary school…

“Alright, alright! Let’s go already!”

“Okay, okay. But I need to inflate another floatie, so you guys go ahead.”

“No way! I wanna help Kou-nii and go together!”

Manami, already bouncing around in her floatie, snatches the one I was inflating and starts blowing into it herself.

“Hey, you…”

That’s the one I was just using with my mouth…

Aisa’s face is bright red, and she looks pissed.

“Hm? Mmm! Mmm-mmm-mmm?”

Manami’s trying to say something with the floatie still in her mouth, but it’s completely unintelligible.

“Fine, I’ll set up the parasol.”

“I’ll help.”

Aisa seems to have decided to ignore Manami for now. Constantly scolding her must be exhausting.

I hand her a drink from the cooler, and we take a break before setting up the parasol and chairs.

Soon, Manami’s voice rings out.

“Phew! I’m beat!”

“You’re faster than me…”

Manami finishes inflating the floatie in no time, tosses it to Aisa, grabs my hand, and starts dragging me toward the sea.

“Come on! Hurry up! The sea’s gonna run away!”

“It’s not going anywhere…”

Aisa says this with a soft smile, and I feel a warm calm settle over me as the three of us start enjoying the sea together.

◇

Aisa’s in a seriously bad mood right now.

I know why. I ditched her to go on a hardcore swim race with Manami.

By the way, I lost. That’s just not right…

“Hmph…”

“I said I’m sorry.”

Meanwhile, Manami’s left me to deal with Aisa while she’s off chasing fish in the shallows. Clever escape, that one. She’s way better at cheering Aisa up than I am.

“Um…”

“Shaved ice.”

“Huh?”

“I want shaved ice.”

“Got it, I’ll grab some.”

The saving grace is that Aisa’s still talking to me. Honestly, she’s acting a bit childish, and it’s kind of cute.

With Manami around and no other acquaintances nearby, it feels like we’ve slipped back to how things used to be. I’d never say it out loud—she’d either get mad or double down—but I’m kind of enjoying this side of Aisa.

“Might as well grab some yakisoba too.”

I’m hungry, and Manami’s been running around, so she’ll need something to eat too.

Time to step up as the designated errand boy.

◇

“Nice one, Kouki!”

“You’re the best, Kou-nii!”

Aisa’s got blue Hawaiian, Manami’s got strawberry. Same as always, which is nice.

“Good to know your tastes haven’t changed. If you want, I can swap with mine—”

“I’ll eat that too.”

Aisa cuts in eagerly. Is she that hungry? Mine’s melon-flavored.

“Well, then—”

“Ahh~”

Aisa opens her mouth and closes her eyes.

This is…

“Come on, Kou-nii, hurry up or it’ll melt!”

“R-right!”

I hurriedly scoop some shaved ice into Aisa’s mouth.

This is embarrassing. Is feeding someone supposed to be this embarrassing?

“Haha! My turn next!”

Of course, Manami jumps in with the same demand.

“Ahh~”

“Oh, man…”

I thought I’d be used to this with Manami since it’s happened before, but doing it now still feels awkward.

“Kouki, you eat mine too.”

“Yeah, have some of mine!”

Being fed is just as embarrassing…

In the end, we spend so long feeding each other shaved ice that the yakisoba and frankfurters go cold.

The shaved ice was supposed to cool us down, but somehow I feel even hotter now…

“Wanna swim?”

I head back to the sea to cool off.

When I dive in with gusto, to my surprise, Aisa chases after me.

“I thought you hated the water or something.”

“We went to the pool together, so you should know that’s not true…”

She gives me an exasperated look. Yeah, fair enough.

But, like, saltwater’s different, right? …Whatever. If she’s fine with it, I won’t argue.

“Earlier… um… the sunscreen and all…”

“Gotcha…”

I swear I hear her mumble, “I actually wanted you to put it on me,” but I decide not to poke at that. Digging into it would only get me in trouble.

That kind of thing needs, like, a bit more time or something, you know?

“I came prepared for moments like this! Behold, the beach ball!”

Manami, bursting with energy, holds up a beach ball she’s inflated at lightning speed.

“Whoever drops it the most gets a penalty game! Here we go, Kouki-nii!”

“Hold up, go easy on me!”

“Take that!”

Manami, who’s somehow stronger than the actual volleyball team members despite being a stand-in, unleashes a merciless attack that lands perfectly at my feet.

I barely manage to kick it back up.

“Whoa!”

“Huh? My turn? Um… here!”

Aisa, nearly tripping over the water, somehow gets it back up.

It’s coming my way. If I don’t catch this, it’s gonna count as my fumble.

We keep going, dealing with Manami’s relentless attacks and Aisa’s wobbly passes that veer off in random directions. In the end, I’m the one stuck with the penalty game.

◇

After exhausting ourselves with our makeshift beach volleyball, it’s finally time for my penalty game.

“Woohoo! Bury him, bury him!”

I’m getting piled with sand on the beach. Where does Manami’s tiny body even get all this strength? She’s burying me at a terrifying pace.

Once I’m completely immobilized, she seems satisfied and starts playing with a crab. She’s way too free-spirited…

“So, uh, how long am I staying buried?”

“Hehe.”

Just when I think I’m about to be freed, Aisa takes Manami’s place and starts patting more sand onto me.

“Uh…”

“Right now, Kouki can’t move, huh?”

“Well, yeah.”

“I see… hehe…”

Aisa’s getting a little scary.

I shoot a pleading glance at Manami, but for some reason, she blows me a kiss and dashes off. What the heck is going on…?

“Need some help?”

“Yeah, I’d like to get out soon.”

“Hmm, maybe I’ll make you do me a favor first.”

That’s so unfair…

“Kidding, kidding. Thanks for today.”

“What’s with the sudden gratitude…?”

Aisa’s soft smile reminds me of the old Aisa.

“Remember? Back when I was whining about wanting to go to the sea?”

“Oh… yeah…”

That was probably when we were still in elementary school. Back then, Aisa was, well, obviously a kid—super selfish in a way that’s hard to imagine now, always giving her parents a hard time.

Nostalgic, huh?

“I ran out of the house, not even knowing the way, and cried in the park until you found me…”

“You were such a tomboy back then, Aisa…”

Compared to Manami, who used to be this shy little bundle, clinging to her mom at home, to Aisa outside, or to me when no one else was around, Aisa was always bold, picking fights with boys and causing a ruckus.

She was quite the wild child.

“It took years, but I finally made it!”

Aisa spreads her arms wide toward the sea.

She looks like she belongs in a painting.

“Didn’t you come here before, though?”

“Nope. This is the first time with you, Kouki.”

“Oh… yeah, I guess so.”

Now that I think about it, we never did come to the sea together, even on family outings.

“So, I finally kept my promise, huh?”

“You remembered?”

“Well, more like I just recalled it…”

I’d told her, while comforting a crying Aisa in the park, “I’ll take you to the sea!”

“Hehe. I see, I see.”

“Sorry it took so long.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Little by little.”

Maybe it’s because we’re talking about childhood, but…

Aisa’s childish side, which I’ve been noticing all day, feels even stronger now. But then, in the next moment, she’s this undeniably charming grown-up, and that gap makes my heart race.

“Alright, guess I’ll let you out now.”

“Please do.”

“Hmm, what to do~” she teases with a playful grin, lightly tapping my face while slowly brushing the sand off.

Up until now, I’d been feeling a mix of nostalgia and butterflies watching Aisa, but the moment her angle shifts, the situation changes.

Aisa’s swimsuit has a skirt-like design, and I’m lying down.

It’s not like I haven’t seen it before, and it’s not like I’m not allowed to look, but the fleeting glimpses of what’s hidden underneath are, well, not exactly ideal.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Kouki?”

I try my best to hide my flustered state while staring at my childhood friend, who’s cheerfully brushing off the sand, all while plotting my escape.

◇

“I’m pooped!”

“Yeah, you were going nonstop, Manami…”

After playing our hearts out, the sun’s starting to set, so we get ready to head back.

“Go change first.”

They’ve got showers here, and the girls probably have more to deal with than I do.

There’s a brief moment of chaos when Manami tries to change in front of me, saying she’s got a towel so it’s fine, but I hurriedly stop her. Thankfully, no one else was around.

“Hm?”

After the two head off, I spot some familiar faces.

“Wait, that was the Takanishi sisters!”

“Should we talk to them? If it’s just the two of them?”

“It’s the beach! Maybe they’re feeling extra open?”

Same grade as us. Can’t quite place their names. Looks like a group of three or four guys.

“If they’re heading back, we’re probably going the same way, right?”

“Let’s go say hi!”

Hmm. They don’t seem like the pushy poolside pickup types, but this could make things awkward for the return trip.

While I’m wondering what to do, another familiar face shows up.

What are the odds of running into so many people? Well, I guess the beaches near our school are limited, so it makes sense.

“Yoohoo! What’s this? A bunch of guys hitting the beach alone? Lame!”

“Wait, Akitsu…?”

The one crashing the guys’ plan to approach Aisa and Manami is none other than Rikako. Aiko’s trailing behind her.

They’re probably in swimsuits, but both are wearing long, hoodie-like rash guards, so their outfits aren’t that different from usual. Not that I’m disappointed or anything, but, well, you know.

“Perfect timing! We’re grabbing food after this—wanna join?”

“Enomoto?”

The popular kids in our class—well, they’re pretty well-known across the grade. They’re the type who can get along with anyone, but this invite feels a bit forced.

Hayato, standing behind Makoto, gives me a thumbs-up, so I clasp my hands in thanks.

They’re good guys, seriously. Though I might need to have a word with Aisa later about why they’re even here.

◇

“Hehe, she’s out cold.”

“Yup.”

Manami falls asleep two seconds after sitting on the train. Being able to burn through that much energy and still have fun is a talent in itself.

It’s fine that she’s sleeping, but leaning on me… eh, whatever.

“I’m pretty wiped out too.”

“Huh…?”

Aisa, sitting on the other side of me, rests her head on my shoulder.

“Mind if I nap a bit?”

“Sure, but…”

My heart’s pounding like crazy.

I didn’t feel this nervous when Manami leaned on me.

“Thanks…”

Soon, all I hear from my left is the steady sound of her breathing.

“You must be exhausted…”

Well, yeah, she was keeping up with me and the Goddess of Victory, who’s basically more intense than any sports club member.

“Night-night.”

As Manami shifts away from me, I instinctively run my fingers through Aisa’s hair, gently patting her head.

But then sleepy Manami grabs my arm and pulls me back.

I’m so exhausted I could pass out, but with these two sandwiching me, there’s no way I’m getting any sleep.