The summer vacation stretched on.
"The sea!"
"Look at the sea!"
Ten minutes by bus from the station, Kotaro and Misaki frolicked excitedly on the beach. Misaki, in a straw hat and white dress, looked every inch the young lady out for a day of leisure—a look that suited her perfectly.
"Is it really okay for us... to be having so much fun?"
"Well, things just keep getting busier every year. We should enjoy ourselves while we can."
Kotaro, who had been even more boisterous than usual during the Social Welfare Research Society's Summer Training Camp, suddenly calmed down. Misaki, standing on tiptoe, gently stroked his hair.
For university students in their first and second years, the long summer break often meant an abundance of free time, leaving many at a loss for how to fill it. While some threw themselves into part-time work, academics, or club activities, Kotaro and Misaki cherished nothing more than the time they spent together alone.
"Mmmfufu... I'm so excited, so excited... Kotaro and the sea... mmmfufufu..."
What's with this person...? She's just too cute.
As we strolled leisurely to the beach hut to change, Misaki twirled around, holding the brim of her straw hat. Naturally, we drew attention from the beachgoers, but both men and women melted at Misaki's adorable charm. Kotaro's cheeks had already dissolved. They were practically liquid.
Ever since our relationship was discovered during the Summer Training Camp, Misaki seemed to have cleanly shed her inhibitions. Whether we were in public or private, she no longer held back when she was with him.
Misaki-senpai's cuteness has become downright violent lately...
Remembering Misaki from this period makes my face burn. Ever since our relationship was exposed, she freely talks to me in public, smiling happily. When we're alone, she acts even more sweetly and childishly than before the Summer Training Camp. It's like the charm of this little senpai, who was already at max capacity, has skyrocketed without bounds. Every day is a battle against my facial muscles, and of course, I lose every day.
"Alright, we're here! Change into your swimsuits and meet us! The last one to arrive gets a penalty game!"
"Uh, isn't that actually giving me, the guy, a huge advantage?"
"...Forget I said that!"
"Then I'll just think of something embarrassingly... playful."
"Don't say 'playful'!"
Hamster-senpai, bright red from embarrassment, stormed into the changing room with a scowl. Is he actually going to accept the penalty? The thought alone made me aroused, and I leaned forward slightly as I rushed into the men's changing room.
I won.
Within minutes, I finished getting ready and left the changing room. As expected, Misaki was nowhere to be seen.
Now then, what kind of humiliating game should I make her play? I was pondering this when...
"Ah?! Ugh, I lost...! I rushed, but...!"
"Of course you did. And about the penalty..."
I turned toward Hamster-senpai's adorably frustrated voice with a wry smile, but the words already on the tip of my tongue froze.
"...Kotaro? What's wrong?"
Misaki was wearing a pink fringed halterneck bikini. Her soft, delicate breasts were squeezed uncomfortably upward, and her hair, usually tied in twin ponytails, was now styled in a small single ponytail.
Her overwhelming cuteness and sexiness left me breathless.
"Kotaro? ...Hey, Kotaro! What's wrong?!"
"...Huh?! Gagh, gagh, what...? I...? Misaki-senpai is too cute... gagh... what...? Misaki-senpai is too cute... gagh, gagh!"
"Calm down! You're acting like a drunkard!"
We were having this ridiculous conversation under the scorching summer sun.
"Huff, huff... I'm sorry, Misaki-senpai's swimsuit and ponytail are just too cute... I'm about to die..."
"It seems you haven't fully recovered yet..."
Misaki smiled wryly at the battered Kotaro.
"...I'm just glad you seemed to enjoy it."
She patted his hip bone and whispered, her cheeks flushed faintly, making him feel like he might float away.
"Yes. If possible, I'd like to take some really good photos and set them as my wallpaper. Is that okay?"
"Why are you being so serious about this?! Ugh... You won't show them to anyone else, right?"
"Of course not. I'll just set them as my lock screen."
"Then people will still see them!"
I was scolded by Hamster-senpai, her ponytail dyed bright red today. She's still as cute as ever.
*****
"Ugh! So cold!"
Misaki hopped up and down excitedly as the seawater reached her waist.
How cute...
I love Misaki as a woman, but seeing her like this made me feel like a dad taking his daughter to the beach.
"Hey. You were thinking something rude just now, weren't you?"
"Ugh?!"
I let out a squeak when asked the rhetorical question. Embarrassed, I averted my gaze, only to meet Misaki's smirking face.
"Rude junior... this is what you get!"
"Ugh?! So cold...! Huh?! Hey, Misaki-senpai, you went too far, suddenly...!"
First, she scooped up water with both hands and splashed me, then started gleefully splashing me again and again.
"Ahaahahaha! See what you made me do? Always making me go 'Eep, eep'... Pah!"
Taking advantage of the commotion, she slipped some lewd remarks into the conversation. I retaliated by drenching her with water.
"It's payback! Don't take it personally!"
"You little...! Kotaro, stop! Hey! Pah! Eep! Stop it! I told you not to... Yaaah...!"
"..."
The atmosphere shifted as I continued the one-sided assault. It was an odd feeling, somewhere between pink and pale purple.
"What's with Misaki-senpai? Is she naturally erotic or something?"
"What do you mean 'naturally erotic'?!?"
"Ugh!"
I received a cute, forceful retort and a splash of water.
After that, we exchanged another round of banter, and the atmosphere became similarly playful again. By the second time, Misaki seemed to have noticed the change in her voice. "I guess they'd call this 'naturally erotic'..." she said, earnestly reflecting. She looked utterly adorable, and I couldn't resist stroking her damp, bright brown hair.
*****
After enjoying some water play for a while, we decided to swim.
"Kotaro, you can't swim, right?"
"Why are you asking a rhetorical question?! Of course I can swim—average, but I can!"
"You call using a float and a paddleboard 'swimming'?"
"I don't need them!"
"Alright, alright. Good luck, Doggy Paddle."
"Why are you limiting the way I can swim?!"
Misaki burst into a delightful, tinkling laughter. She stood knee-deep in the sea, clutching her stomach as she giggled, the water sparkling under the summer sun. If I had a camera, I would have snapped a photo right then and there.
"Hey, Misaki-senpai...!"
Just as I was about to ask what she was doing, Misaki dove with a splash. She glided through the water with effortless grace, demonstrating a beautiful freestyle stroke.
How beautiful...
When she surfaced to breathe, Misaki's expression was serene and composed. I found myself falling even deeper for this charming, older-sister-like Misaki.
"...Phew! It's been ages since I swam like this! How am I doing? I used to go to swimming lessons in elementary school, you know."
"Misaki-senpai, you're really amazing at swimming... It's kind of unexpected."
"Who says Hamster-senpai is deathly afraid of water?!"
"I never meant to imply that! In fact, I just learned that myself!"
It had been a while since our last exchange.
As Hamster-senpai roared in anger, "Mugaaah!" and I grinned sheepishly, Misaki suddenly threw her arms around me.
"Huh? M-Misaki-senpai? What's wrong?"
"Heh heh, nothing at all! We're just... openly... being all... cuddly... you know...?"
"You sound like a battery-depleted robot."
Her shame must have reached its limit. The forehead pressed against Kotaro's chest was burning hot. She's really so cute..., he thought wistfully as he hugged her tightly. A soft, melted voice drifted up: "Mmm...?"
"Mommy! Look at those two, they're all cuddled up!"
"Hey, you! Don't mess with their youth!"
'...'
Both of them froze, their faces flushed red, and remained locked in an embrace for a long moment.
*****
"I'm thinking of burying Kotaro."
We were resting on the beach when Misaki suddenly said something disturbing.
"Huh... I want to spend a lot more fun time with Misaki-senpai before I die."
"Huh? Wh-what? Oh, uh... right... heh heh... right, right..."
When I tried responding seriously, Misaki, who couldn't handle the overload, turned beet red and started flustered. She's cute.
"You're teasing me!"
"You're quite good at taking teasing, Misaki-senpai."
"That nickname is way too cheesy... You're such a good sport, Kotaro."
"It's not bad, actually... But it still makes me uncomfortable when Misaki-senpai calls me by name."
"True..."
As they chatted casually, the two of them dug a human-shaped hole in the sand, Kotaro sprawled out as if nothing was amiss.
"...You know, I don't hate how you always go along with my crazy ideas."
"That's a pretty vague way to put it."
"Ugh... Kotaro, I like you."
"Ugh!"
Hamster-senpai's face turned beet red, and Kotaro matched the color.
"Heh heh heh..."
Misaki gathered some damp sand in her small hands and began pelting Kotaro with it. The slightly moist sand stuck to his skin in sticky clumps, creating an indescribable sensation.
"Shouldn't you be using tools, Misaki-senpai?"
"Hmm? If we use a scoop, it'll really feel like we're burying him, right?"
"True..."
"And... we'd have to touch Kotaro's body."
"...I did react a little."
"I know... Just now, a small part of the sand collapsed."
Both of them blushed slightly.
Sleeping in the scorching summer sun for hours was unbearable. Misaki, concerned about Kotaro's condition, quickly covered him completely with sand.
"Wow... I really can't move at all."
Even wriggling inside the thick layer of sand, escape seemed impossible without extreme effort.
"Exactly," Misaki said, laughing as she washed the sand off her arms with seawater. She crossed her arms and grinned mischievously. "Heh-heh-heh, now Kotaro can't move a muscle."
"Right. If Misaki-senpai sat on me, I'd suffocate."
"What kind of idea is that?!"
Misaki flinched, her shoulders jerking and her ears turning bright red. Her little ponytail swayed. She looked adorable.
Just as I was thinking, Maybe I should get out of here soon, Misaki fidgeted, gazing at me with a strangely seductive expression. The sand around her hips shifted slightly.
"Um... so, you really want me to do that?"
"If I actually did it, Misaki-senpai, you'd become a real slut, so please don't ask."
"You...! Seriously...!"
As I replied casually, Pony-senpai's entire head flushed crimson, and she playfully patted my stomach through the sand. The dull impact sent a jolt through me, and I let out a strange sound: "Guhfuu?!"
"Ah, but I really do want you to straddle me."
"..."
Whack! She smacked my head, then gently stroked it afterward.
After Misaki dug him up, Kotaro took a quick shower and ate at the beach house.
"What should we do this afternoon?" he murmured, lounging on the tatami mats and gazing lazily at the sea.
Misaki rubbed her eyes sleepily, the childish gesture endearing.
"Umm... I'm a little drowsy. I might want a nap."
"Ah, lucky you... Hm?"
Kotaro's gaze wandered and he spotted the sign: "Beach Tent Rentals Available."
"Since we're here, why don't we rest in one of those?"
"Hmm?"
Nonchalantly linking arms with Kotaro, Misaki tilted her head coquettishly. Just a moment ago, I was thinking about tackling her to the ground in public.
"Ooh, why not? Shall we rent one?"
Misaki grinned mischievously. "This is my first time setting up a tent on the beach," she said cheerfully, her small ponytail bobbing adorably.