Mizuki got up and went to meet Shizune. When she got close enough, she silently handed her sister's phone back.
"I told you not to go down without me! It's dangerous to walk near the ocean alone. Promise you won't go again," Shizune scolded.
"I didn't go down to the water, I went and got my phone," Mizuki protested quickly. "I won't go near the ocean alone, don't worry so much."
"Okay," her sister replied. "Did you drop it when we were checking in?"
"It was here," Mizuki replied evasively. "Anyway, let's go walk the beach, should we go north or south first?"
--
They walked south along the curve of the beach. The sand was pale and bright in the afternoon sun, and they covered quite a distance.
After a while Mizuki commented, "I don't think I quite believed that scenes like this were real. I can't get over how blue and clear the ocean really is here."
Shizune nodded, but only sighed instead of replying.
Mizuki looked at her depressed expression and then asked, "Are you thinking about that… I mean Mori-san again?"
"He was going to take me snorkeling," Shizune explained unhappily.
"I bet there's a class or something somewhere on the island," Mizuki suggested helpfully.
Shizune nodded but her steps slowed and she stared out at the ocean.
Mizuki looked along the beach when music started playing. A group of people, with a handful of small boats pulled up on the sand, appeared to be starting a beach party. She froze in utter disbelief, because she thought she recognized one of the men standing at the far edge of the group, with his arms wrapped around a girl.
She glanced at Shizune who was still staring at the ocean and looked around frantically for a distraction. A man walking toward them from higher up the beach caught her eye, and she dashed up the slope to meet him.
He looked at her quizzically and she told him, "You're pretty. Will you do me a favor for a minute?" He raised his eyebrows at her in surprise and without waiting for his answer she pointed at Shizune, and asked, "Will you flirt with that girl, and keep her from looking for me for a couple minutes?"
The man ran his eyes over her sister with an evaluating gaze, and replied, "Maybe?"
Mizuki hesitated a moment, and then insisted anxiously, "Don't do anything weird to her though, she's my sister!"
He grinned at her as she ran up the beach.
--
The man continued toward the water, and passed the girl before glancing back at her. She noticed him look and blushed.
He turned and said, "Hi, are you here on vacation?"
She blinked at him and then asked, "Aren't you?"
He shook his head in a negative answer.
"You live here?" she asked with surprise.
"Yes, at least for another year," he replied with a grin.
"Oh wow!" Shizune exclaimed. "That must be nice. It's so beautiful here."
"Yes," he agreed, "that's why I decided to get a three year lease here."
She gave him a startled look, and then asked, "You're not working at one of the resorts or something? Are you rich?"
"If I say yes will you date me?" he questioned a little bitterly.
Shizune stared at him for a moment, and then told him, "No."
"I am rich," he replied seriously.
"I don't care," she replied just as seriously.
He laughed and then asked a bit incredulously, "Really?"
She nodded as she explained unhappily, "I just broke up with someone, I don't want to date anyone right now."
"I see." He glanced along the beach, then shrugged and said, "Well, I just came down to swim a bit, so, unless you want to join me, I'm going in."
Shizune shook her head and he walked down to the water and out into the waves.
She watched him swim for a little while before she looked around and wondered where Mizuki was.
--
Mizuki ran up the beach, and when she reached that jerk Mori she came to an abrupt halt, and then said quietly but viciously, "It really is you. Is this your dead grandmother? You're such a complete jerk. I guess now we know how the room got double booked."
He stared at her incredulously and asked, "What the hell are you doing here Mizuki-chan?"
"I came with Shizune of course, since her boyfriend dumped her right before the trip because his grandmother died, and he's just under too much stress to be in a relationship right now," Mizuki replied mockingly.
He flushed and told her, "You don't understand."
Mizuki explained seriously, "I understand that you're going to leave right now. And stay within a half mile of your hotel, or I'm going to break your leg, and you can spend your vacation in the hospital."
He sneered at her, and she kicked out and hooked his ankle, dropping him on his back. He gasped and stared up at her.
"You think I'm joking?" she snarled at him.
He looked around at the other people who were just watching in surprise. "Are you all just going to let her do this?" he complained as he scooted away from her.
The woman he'd been hugging earlier exclaimed, "We've been dating for six months! You two timing bastard, I'll help her!"
He stared up at her and protested desperately, "It's a misunderstanding."
Mizuki told him sharply, "I don't care, just leave." She added quickly, "Now, before Shizune sees you like I did, because if she sees you I'll do worse than break your leg."
He crawled to his feet and retreated quickly towards the colourful boats. The other woman gazed at Mizuki for a moment, and then chased after him, cursing at him and forcing him to keep backing south along the beach.
One of the bystanders handed Mizuki a beer and said, "Cheers."
Mizuki watched the couple for a bit, and then looked at the beer. After a moment she shrugged and took a sip. "Thanks," she said, and then turned and walked back toward Shizune who was apparently still standing alone and looking at the ocean.
--
Shizune looked around and finally spotted Mizuki walking toward her with a can in her hand. When she got closer Shizune gasped and asked, "Is that a beer? What are you doing Mizuki?"
Mizuki shrugged and explained, "It was given to me. You want it? It tastes horrible, so let's head back soon and get something else instead."
"You drank some?!" Shizune almost shrieked.
Mizuki rolled her eyes as she replied, "Only a sip, you don't have to freak out."
Shizune snatched the beer from Mizuki's hand and instructed, "Don't do anything like that again! What will I tell okaasan?"
Mizuki shrugged and walked north around her sister, forcing her to turn, and then suggested, "The truth? It's not like you gave me the beer. Or like I drank a whole can. How can you even drink that stuff anyway?"
"What do we do with it? It seems like littering to pour it out here." Shizune complained.
Mizuki shrugged as she replied, "Either you can drink it, or we can carry it back and dump it out. I'm not going to drink it."
"Drink what?" asked the man that Mizuki had asked to distract her sister, as he waded back out of the ocean beside them.
"This," complained Shizune, holding out the can.
He took it and drank a sip. He looked at the shocked expression on Shizune's face and grinned before asking, "Indirect kiss?"
"With Mizuki!" she protested.
"What's your name then?" he enquired.
Shizune blushed and Mizuki spoke up, "Mitsukuni Shizune and Mizuki, and you?"
"Hattori Shinichi," he informed them cheerfully. "What are your plans during your vacation?"
Shizune shrugged.
"She wanted to learn to go snorkeling," Mizuki suggested helpfully.
"Snorkeling is fun," he agreed.
"Have any recommendations for finding a snorkeling class?" Shizune asked shyly.
"I could teach you," he offered.
"I don't want to bother you," Shizune protested.
He shrugged and said, "If it seemed like a bother I wouldn't have offered."
Mizuki rolled her eyes when Shizune protested again, and then asked, "Can you guys just exchange phone numbers?"
"Mizuki!" Shizune protested.
"Fine," Mizuki said. "Will you give me your phone number Hattori-san?"
He laughed and gave her the number.
"Thanks, then see you again maybe," she told him. "Let's go back Shizu-nee-chan, I don't want to miss supper," she complained.
"Call me if you decide to go snorkeling!" he called after them as he headed up the rise.