Katase Higashihama beach was located near the island of Enoshima and the city of Fujisawa. Here, where tourists and locals get together to have fun playing on the soft sands and bathe in the warm sunlight was now covered in grey clouds.
Only one person was being shined by the sun.
"Riyuu… How far is Kazehaya?"
"Do you really want me to hack and get his location?"
"Emmm"
She was in her beach outfit, a very revealing outfit. An outfit that is used to wear for fun at the beach.
"Pleasee~"
"..."
She swung her head around and rolled her eyes at Riyuu, who stood nearby, watching the waves crash against the coast.
She repositioned herself on her sunbathing lounger by turning around again.
Any passers-by who happened to be passing by were bewildered. There were two high schoolers, one of them was sitting and sunbathing under an overcast sky, but a sliver of sunlight pierced through the clouds, giving the impression that an angel had just arrived.
"Is he still…"
The sound of footfall on the sand diverted her attention away from her query. Two individuals were walking in the direction of her and Riyuu when she looked to her right. One was taller than the other, and the shorter one was holding him.
"Yoo! Takanashi!"
That's him
Kazehaya was shouting her name from afar. As he did, Takanashi got up and walked to him. With that, the light followed her.
As she walked towards Kazehaya, she heard a second voice. The voice was singing a song she had heard before. The lyrics were the same and the pitch was identical to the one she heard in her past.
"...Your wishes~ All of your desires~"
"Even fate… Even destiny…" She joined in the singing. The song sent nostalgic feelings through her ears.
"How do you know that song?"
Kazehaya asked her, smiling.
"Yeah… I've heard it before… But I can't remember where"
"Ichika"
Her name was called. Her given name was called. Only those who are close to Takanashi Ichika can call her by her given name. However, she only remembers Riyuu being the only childhood friend she has.
Riyuu was also surprised but he already knew who called Ichika by her given name.
Behind Shouta Kazehaya, Sara Fujiwara was looking at Ichika with her expressionless face. Her hands held Shouta tight from the back and she walked forward, revealing her presence to the two friends.
"It's me"
Sara introduced herself, putting her hand in front of her chest and posed like a little kid. As she did, Ichika was thrown back out of surprise and was caught by Riyuu, catching her from falling onto the sand.
"Be careful"
"I'm sorry… I was just surprised"
"Well it certainly was a big surprise 'cause you jumped back so hard that you almost fell"
Sara watched both of them talking together. Confused, she tilted her head in a somewhat cute way.
As the event unfolds in front of him, Shouta could only watch and listen. If he tries to speak anything, it would hinder the moment or change the atmosphere completely. But…
"What are we doing here? I thought you were going to ask me about the history project… But it seems you only want to have fun?"
"Look… it's the weekend, why don't we just have some fun?"
Shouta then said something she didn't like hearing. "I assumed the sharpest student in the class would use their weekends as an excuse to study more." She had attempted to adjust to it, but it had failed.
She was already dubbed the smartest kid in Umibe after only one week of high school, all because her grades were excellent and she always answered all of the teacher's questions.
Sara stepped forward, just in front of Ichika. Ichika's wide eyes captured her expressionless face as she did so.
"Nice to meet you, Ichika"
"—?!"
Shouta Kazehaya was about to softly punch Sara on the head from behind.
Shouta had issues with Sara on the train before they went to the beach because they were texting.
Sara, after assisting him with a tale, sent him an email with a query, which enraged Shouta.
The following:
"Is she your favorite?"
Before he could hold the sudden burst of amber inside his chest, the train stopped at their destination.
—She felt a soft touch on her head.
"Don't call anyone by their given name when it's the first time you're meeting them!"
The face Sara made after Shouta touched her head made Ichika's heart move.
"No no, it's okay. You can call me by my given name!"
Usually, two people would need to be close enough to call each other by their given names.
"Anyways"
After a short walk on the sand, a black-haired high schooler approached Ichika and stood beside her. He was dressed in a heavy sweater and long jeans.
Shouta reasoned that if one wore a swimsuit, the other would as well. However, it appears that this will not be the case at this time.
"Hello, Kazehaya, my name is Riyuu Tanaka"
"A-ah yes! Hello, Tanaka"
"Please" Riyuu chuckled, crossing his arms and stepping backwards a few steps. "Call me Riyuu, it's more…nicer, for me"
Shouta and Sara stood still, nothing was going to happen. The clouds were grey and the waters were cold. Surprised, Shouta looked towards Ichika, who was wearing a revealing swimsuit.
"Aren't you cold?"
"No, not even a single shiver"
"Did the gods give you a blessing?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Well... because…"
Shouta rolled his eyes towards the sky, seeing a small hole in the downcast sky's clouds. Sara followed and finally noticed something was happening.
"So you weren't joking about it?"
She looked towards Riyuu, aiming her question at him.
"Sigh, did you think I was joking?"
"Yeah"
"Ichika, please"
Riyuu walked slowly to her, his hands reaching to her shoulders.
"You're the only one here who's not wearing a cold suit"
"—The [divine protection of amaterasu]"
Ichika made a silly joke. Her cheeks were flushed as she looked down with a smile on her face.
She looked around the beach with her head elevated, noting everything was gloomy and dismal.
"How about an indoor barbeque?"
Riyuu asked, giving a small smile to the three people standing in front of him.
"Wait… Barbeque?"
Shouta looked around, perplexed, at the spot where Ichika was sitting. Items were strewn across the sand, along with a big barbeque stove.
"Is your home far away from here?"
Sara asked as she walked towards the sunbathing chair.
"No, it's not that far away but…"
"But?"
Shouta asked.
Ichika's face flushed. Her thoughts were whirling about in her head, and her eyesight was becoming blurry. This is just because...
"I wanted to do it on the beach…" Ichika cutely tapped her finger tips with her other finger tips.
.
The four of them sat close together on the train, which was bound for Fujisawa station.