Their time at the aquarium came and went. It seemed to be an enjoyable experience to most. Though Ishi had his doubts on whether that was due to the sea life, or the idol standing next to him.
It was getting late into the day, but the sun would still be up for a long while thanks to the Summer season. Ishi had reunited with the other boys he'd be spending the night with. Everyone was so excited to be heading to the beach that the moment they returned to their hotel rooms, clothes were already being stripped off. It was a mess, and he was going to be frustrated with sleeping here.
Meanwhile, he was in no rush to get to the beach. Even though the boy did want to be there like everyone else. Despite having no plans on entering the waters, Ishi put on his swimming trunks. Then he went to the labor of putting on sunscreen to prepare for what he was actually planning on doing, sitting back and taking in the sun's rays.
By this point, the rest of the boys had already left him behind. Not that he cared, since walking to the destination alone was preferable for him. However, in typical fashion, his luck ran out.
"You waited for me." He said to Otoya as he got down to the lobby.
"Of course." He got up from his seat to put an arm around his close friend. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Because you're just here to wait for Hattori to arrive in her bikini." The boy hit the bullseye on that target.
"Hehe, I guess you know me too well." The gingerly laughs didn't reduce how cold the stare from Ishi was to him. "But, she and Hanada haven't come down yet." Otoya would know. He was the first person to come down to the lobby before anyone else and he had the honor of seeing literally everyone else leave before him.
"I'm sure one of the other girls would've mentioned something if there was a problem." Especially if it involved Rinse. "Anyway, I'm off to the beach."
"Eh?" His friend stopped him with a hand to the shoulder. "What if something really did happen? We'd be remiss if we didn't at least check it out."
"What do you think happened to them?"
"Maybe someone got hurt." He suggested with something serious, only to reveal how little he was concerned. "Or maybe Hattori and Hanada actually are in a secret forbidden relationship and we can catch them in the act."
"And maybe you need to wake up from your dream world." Ishi responded in a monotone voice. But there was a point made here. It wasn't like Youna to be late without an announcement. Since the two of them were a team during this field trip, she most likely would've told him about it. "But I guess I can go check on them."
"Great, let's head-"
"I said…" He stopped his friend from following him. "That I'll check on them." If Otoya came with him, they'd only be delayed on what should be a trip to the beach. At this rate, he imagined that his best friend was going to make some stupid suggestion like to try and double date these girls. Ishi with Youna, and him with Rinse.
So he went his way back up the hotel to where the girls were staying at. If he recalled correctly, this room should be the one that Youna was staying in. Unfortunately, he didn't pay any mind to where Rinse was supposed to be staying at, so hopefully those two were in this one.
"Hello?" He knocked on the door. "Is anyone in here?" The sounds of ruffling and shushes were heard through the door. It appeared that he was lucky for once, and the two of them were inside. "Otoya's wondering what's taking you girls so long. If you don't want to go, then let me know so I can leave you alone."
"We're going." Rinse opened the door to his surprise. She seemed to be prepared to leave, given that she was wearing a light blue bikini. Her smooth fair skin was on full display to him. "I'm just trying to convince Youna everything's going to be fine."
"I should hope so." He replied. They were just heading to the beach, so it should be smooth sailing for the rest of the day. "Come on Hanada, put on your swimsuit and let's get going."
"I-I can't do that. It's too embarrassing." He was confused. She knew that they were going to a beach, so she should've had plenty of time to either mentally prepared, or to choose not to go ahead of time. That was until she explained the problem. "I was just going to take my school swimming suit… But my mom must've switched it out when I wasn't looking and…" Meekly, she lifted up the two-piece bikini she had instead. "It's just too much."
"Then don't wear it." He told her. If it made her uncomfortable, then it wasn't like she was forced to do it.
"But if I don't, then I'll stand out from everyone else." And to her, it would be in a bad way. "And they'll ask me why I'm not wearing one."
Ishi sighed. He didn't care about this dilemma, and normally he would just leave and let them sort this out themselves. However, he knew that being the one working with the class rep on this trip. Literally everyone would come up to him and ask what was wrong with her, since they would rightly assume that he would know. And that would be bothersome.
"How about this." He came up with an offer. "Just come with us, and I'll buy you a proper swimming suit, does that sound good?" Ishi would pay for it with the money his parents gave him.
"A-are you sure?" She couldn't believe he would give such a kind gesture. Of course to him, it was more beneficial for him than anything else. "You shouldn't be spending your money just because I'm a little shy."
"I wasn't planning on using it anyway." Plus, he'd still have about half left over given what the prices of swimsuits should be. "Now come on, let's go." This was enough to convince her to leave the room. Youna felt bad that he was going out of his way to help her out. The girl didn't feel like she deserved his aid.
And so they were finally able to leave the hotel and head to the beach. He rejoined with Otoya who was more than overjoyed that he got to be walking with what he considered to be some fine ladies. Ironically, despite believing it would be his friend to come up with the dumb suggestion. Ishi ended up splitting them into pairs as he went with Youna to the nearby store that sold these goods, which was located by the beach. Apparently he was a better wing man than he ever could dream of. Which in his case, was never.
"So, you like going to the beach?" It didn't take long for Otoya to take advantage of the small amount of time he had with Rinse. As soon as they touched the sand, the others would surely attempt to talk with her.
"I love going to one." She answered with a smile. "Actually, I've usually been here because of concerts, so it's nice to be able to go for leisure for once." While chatting with him, Rinse still had too many questions on her mind not to ask him any of them. After all, there was one person related to the both of them that she couldn't get a grasp of. "What's the deal with Hirose?"
"I see his charm has infected even you." He kidded. Otoya expected something like this. Especially after all the years he's known the boy. "What's there to understand? It's just Ishi."
"But he always seems to indifferent to everything." That is, unless it was something he disliked. then his tongue turned rather sharp. These days, his wraith had been going her way. "Yet, his actions seem weird especially with how he talks."
"It's just how he's always been." Or rather how things were for him. Otoya recounted to her that he used to be nicer when he started high school. The two of them were buddies since childhood, and that had kept up even despite the changes. But it was probably because to him, he always thought that this was a part of Ishi anyway.
It's difficult for him to explain what caused it, but it was most likely a mix of how his relationships in high school were like. Ishi learned of a lot of things surrounding his classmates. Every time, he never tried to seek it out. Yet his life seemed to be a magnet for the drama of teens going through this small world of theirs.
The boy wasn't even friends with most of them, but he became entangled for periods of time in their lives. A lot of these problems were frustrating for him, and outsider. His advice seemed so obvious and people still had to get over themselves before they even listened.
"But if that's the case, then why do so many people treat him so poorly." That bit seemed a bit obvious. His attitude was enough to turn off even the kindest of souls.
"Trust me, if anyone else acted like him, he'd be more than just treated poorly." It should be noted that never once in his life did Ishi have to worry about being physically harmed. "I know that no one will admit it, but he's actually very important for all of us." His methods were certainly atypical, and no one could say where his motives were placed. However that boy was put in a very unique position that proved to be very useful when needed. He was reliable, even if it was tough.
Finally, they were able to finish the rest of their journey to the beach. As they felt the sand hit their feet, the words of the other students filled their ears. "I'm glad to have the opportunity to talk with you." Otoya said, even though it was more about his friend than anything else. "Looks like your fan club's here, so I'll just let you go." After all, he got more than most people could dream of.