Two days had passed since Summer Break began. Mizuha and her family were going to visit her grandparents somewhere in the countryside.
Meanwhile, at Takumi Residences, Hikaru is still asleep even though it's already 10:30 a.m. The family maid stands at his door, trying to wake him up for breakfast, but he doesn't answer.
"Hikaru-sama, please wake up. Your breakfast is getting cold," she says. "Hikaru-sama."
"Maid-san, just another 10 minutes," he says from his bed.
His sister Shiori shows up in front of the room, having finished breakfast with their mother earlier. "Maid-san, is something wrong? Why are you in front of my brother's room?" Shiori asks. After the maid explains, Shiori nods. "I see. Geez, that's my big brother. Anyway, just let me wake him up. You can go back to your work."
"Understood, Shiori-sama," the maid says and leaves.
Shiori opens the door with a kick and sees Hikaru still in bed. "Still sleeping, huh? Now let's wake you up," she says with a smirk.
Without hesitation, she jumps onto his bed and slams her elbow into his stomach while shouting, "Hey, wake up, you lazy brother!" "Take this, Shiori-chan elbow attack!"
"Wargh!!" Hikaru's eyes shoot open from the impact.
"Geez, those two, what are they doing right now? They're so loud," their mother sighs, hearing the noise from downstairs. The maids chuckle upon hearing that.
"Hey, wake up! How long are you going to sleep? Our maid tried to wake you up earlier. Didn't you hear her?" Shiori says, annoyed while standing on Hikaru bed.
"Just 5 more minutes, my dear sister. My eyes are still so heavy," Hikaru says while rubbing them.
"5 minutes? How about this instead?" Shiori says as she puts his leg in a wrestling hold.
"Ouch, ouch! Okay, I give up, I give up! I'm getting up now, just stop, Shiori-sama!" Hikaru begs.
"Hehe, good. Now go to the dining room and finish your breakfast. Don't mess with me next time," Shiori says before leaving his room and returning to hers while laughing.
"Tch, what an annoying little sister. Can't she let me sleep more during summer break?" Hikaru grumbles. "Oh right, breakfast. I should eat it before it gets cold," he adds, scratching his head.
After breakfast, Hikaru takes a bath and lies back on his bed, thinking about what to do today. "It's still early, and I'm so bored. What should I do?" he says to himself. He gets up and starts changing his clothes, having decided what to do next.
When he was about to leave his house, his mother asked, "Are you going out?"
"Yes, just hanging out around town by myself. Don't worry, I won't be back too late," he replied.
"I see, then please be careful out there," said his mother.
"Understood. I'm going now," said Hikaru.
"See you later," his mother responded.
Hikaru began making his way to town, looking around as he walked. "It's not too bad hanging out by myself like this," he thought. "I wonder if there are some interesting things around here to see."
As Hikaru walked past the family restaurant, they had visited two days ago with Mizuha and the others, he spotted Shimizu with someone he didn't know. "Huh, is that Shimizu? And who's that woman she's with? That person looks like an adult, and they're having a serious conversation," Hikaru thought to himself.
"Maybe it's her relative? Better leave them alone without disturbing them," he decided as he left the place. In reality, Shimizu was with her usual editor, discussing her novel script. Both were too focused on their discussion, and Shimizu hadn't noticed Hikaru passing by earlier.
Hikaru continued walking, thinking, "I never expected to see Shimizu today."
"If she saw me, I bet she would tease me as usual," thought Hikaru with a small chuckle. He kept walking until he arrived in front of a bakery.
"A bakery, huh? Better try it as my stomach's beginning to feel hungry right now," he thought.
As he entered the bakery, he was welcomed by a worker who was busy arranging bread. "Welcome!"
"Oh, it's you, Hikaru-kun! Welcome!" said the worker.
"Takeru!? What are you doing here?" Hikaru asked, shocked to see that Takeru was the bakery worker who had welcomed him.
"Well, just doing a part-time job during summer break. You know, I'm living alone, so I need a bit of money to support my expenses," Takeru said with a chuckle.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," replied Hikaru.
"You look a bit off today. Are you feeling sad because you can't meet Mizuha right now? Don't worry, she'll be back soon," Takeru teased.
"Hey, stop it! Why did you suddenly bring that up?" replied Hikaru, blushing.
"Also, you're just like Shimizu, teasing me like this," Hikaru added, feeling annoyed while punching Takeru shoulder.
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry about that. I was just joking," said Takeru. "Now Hikaru, choose what you want. I have work to do in the back after this."
"Understood. Sorry for disturbing your work," said Hikaru.
There were many varieties of bread inside the bakery: sausage rolls, cinnamon buns, chocolate cornets, melon buns, sausage pizzas, various donuts, and more. Hikaru couldn't decide which bread to choose as they all looked delicious to him.
"They all look good to me. I can't make up my mind," he said. His eyes were then drawn to the sausage roll buns. "Better try these," he said, taking two pieces and putting them on his tray. As he looked around to choose another item, something shining in the donut section caught his eye.
"What's that? Why is it so shiny?" thought Hikaru. When he approached, he saw a chocolate-filled donut with small pieces of nuts on top called "Golden Chocolate." "Wow, this looks delicious too. It really looks shiny, just like its name," he thought, adding one to his tray before heading to pay for his order.
"Oh, done already?" said Takeru, standing at the cashier counter to wrap Hikaru's bread in a paper bag.
"Yes, I think this is enough for me," replied Hikaru.
Suddenly, the owner of the bakery approached them. "Takeru-kun, is he your friend?" he asked.
"Yes, he's my classmate from school," said Takeru.
"Oh, I see. Then why don't we give him a discount? It's a special discount because he's your friend," said the owner.
"Really!? Did you hear that, Hikaru-kun? The owner is giving you a discount! Good for you" said Takeru excitedly.
"Thank you very much," Hikaru said to the owner. "And thanks to you too, Takeru," he added as he took the wrapped bread and paid for it.
As Hikaru was leaving, Takeru and the owner called out, "Thank you very much, please come again!"
Hikaru replied, "Understood, I'll come again," and nodded his head before leaving the bakery.
"So far today, I've already met two people - first Shimizu and now Takeru. I wonder who I'll meet next," thought Hikaru. "For now, I think I need to find a place to eat this bread." After walking a few steps, he finally found the perfect spot - a bench located in front of the baseball batting center. "I think this is a good place to eat," said Hikaru.
As Hikaru sat on the bench, he decided to try the Golden Chocolate donut first. Opening the paper bag, he carefully took out the shiny donut.
"Let's see how this tastes," he said to himself, taking a bite.
His eyes widened as the chocolate filling melted in his mouth. The combination of the rich chocolate and crunchy nuts created a perfect harmony of textures and flavors.
"Wow! This is amazing!" Hikaru exclaimed between bites. "The chocolate is so smooth, and these nuts give it such a nice crunch. It's completely different from any donut I've had before."
Before he knew it, the donut was gone. Hikaru looked at the empty wrapper with satisfaction. "I definitely need to come back to that bakery and buy this donut again. It's too good to have just once," he said to himself, making a mental note.
Looking at the paper bag containing the two remaining sausage rolls, he thought, "I think I'll save these for later. That donut was quite filling."
Standing up from the bench, Hikaru stretched his arms and looked around. "Now what should I do?" As he turned, his eyes landed on the baseball batting center building right in front of him.
"A batting center, huh?" he said thoughtfully, watching a few people going in and out of the building. "Come to think of it, I've never tried batting before."
After a moment's consideration, a smile spread across his face. "Well, not I give it a shot," he decided, gripping his paper bag and walking toward the baseball batting center's entrance.
Approaching the counter, Hikaru pulled out 300 yen from his pocket. "One round, please," he said, handing over the money.
The staff member took his payment and handed him a baseball bat. "Here's your bat. You're in Room 7."
Hikaru walked down the corridor, looking at the room numbers. "Room 7, room 7... here, this is it," he said as he found his assigned space.
Standing in position, Hikaru gripped the bat nervously as he waited for the first ball. The machine whirred to life, and suddenly the ball came shooting out. Hikaru swung—but missed completely.
"Damn, I missed it," he said, readjusting his grip on the bat. "Well, that's okay. I still have 25 more balls to go after this."
The session continued, with ball after ball launching from the machine. Despite his best efforts, Hikaru only managed to hit four balls out of the entire round. By the end, he was covered in sweat, but there was a grin on his face.
"This is way more difficult than I thought," he said, wiping his forehead with his sleeve, "but I'm actually having fun with it! I think I want to continue for another round."
As he reached for his wallet to pay for another round, a rhythmic 'ping' sound from the next room caught his attention. Looking over, he noticed that the person in the neighboring room was hitting ball after ball without missing a single one.
"Wow, this person's amazing! They haven't missed a single ball since I got here," Hikaru thought, impressed by the consecutive hits. Curious about who could be such a skilled batter, he leaned slightly to get a better look at the neighboring room.
His eyes widened in shock when he recognized the person. "What!? It's Zul?" he thought, surprised to find his friend there.
"This is so refreshing, it clears my mind," said Zul as he swiped the sweat from his forehead after finishing his final batting. Then he heard someone clapping behind him.
"Wow, Zul, that was amazing! As expected from my close friend," said Hikaru, tossing a bottle of mineral water to him.
"Ah, thanks, Hikaru," Zul replied. As he opened the bottle cap, he suddenly stopped. "Wait, Hikaru, what are you doing here?" he asked, just realizing Hikaru was there.
"What am I doing here? Just like you can see, wasting my summer break," Hikaru replied. "So, what are you doing here?"
"Same as you, wasting my summer break," Zul answered.
"So, we're in the same boat, huh?" Hikaru said. "Are you alone? Where's Elly? Isn't she with you today?"
"Well, Elly and her family are on vacation in Osaka. They'll be back in three days," replied Zul.
"I see, she's on vacation too," Hikaru said. "By the way, Zul, what's with all the batting? I saw you never missed the ball from the beginning."
"Do I need to explain that?" Zul asked.
"Of course! I've never seen anything like it!" Hikaru exclaimed. "You really look like a Koshien baseball player. Do you do any special training or something?"
Zul sighed. "Well, I never do any special training. I'm just used to playing batting here sometimes when I have free time. So, I guess I got used to it," he replied.
"Really? I don't know that you always go here?" said Hikaru.
"Always? No, you're wrong, I think it's just sometimes," replied Zul.
"Anyway, why not try for another round? Maybe you'll do well this time," said Zul.
"Well, that was my intention from before. You'll continue with it too?" replied Hikaru.
"Of course I will. I'm not even satisfied with my batting before," replied Zul.
"Not satisfied even though you managed to get a hitting streak? " thought Hikaru while chuckling.
Both of them paid at the counter to continue their batting. While Zul continued batting with his impressive streak, Hikaru also improved, managing to hit 15 balls out of 26 on this round. Both of them enjoyed the batting and felt re-energized.
After finishing his last batting, Hikaru stopped, breathing heavily. "This is so fun, even if I'm a bit tired. It's really refreshing my mind," said Hikaru.
After that, both of them left the batting center while talking with each other. "This was really fun, right?" said Hikaru.
"Yes, it not only fun also calm our mind too" replied Zul
"By the way, Zul, if you are this good at batting, why don't you join our school baseball club?" said Hikaru.
"Hmm, I used to think about it, but I think I passed. Also, I don't feel interested in it," replied Zul.
"But why? I think it will good for you," said Hikaru.
"This is too embarrassing to say, but it will disturb my day sleep time schedule," said Zul.
"What!? That is what you are worried about? Your sleeping time? What are you, an old man?" replied Hikaru, chuckling.
"Well, if that is your decision, I will respect that, and I can't force you to join them." he added
"Also, Zul, if you want to come here again, please invite me too," said Hikaru. "Understood, I will invite you then," said Zul. "
No, I think we should invite Elly, Mizuha, and Shimizu too next time," said Zul. "That's a great idea. Let them have fun here too," replied Hikaru.
As they were walking, Zul's stomach suddenly growled.
"What was that growling sound? Zul, are you hungry?" said Hikaru.
"Well, it's too embarrassing to say, but yes, haha," said Zul, chuckling.
"Then, have this," said Hikaru, giving the sausage roll he had bought earlier to Zul.
"Are you fine with this? I mean, you want to eat this, right?" said Zul hesitantly.
"Don't worry, I got another one inside. Just eat it, okay?" replied Hikaru as he unwrapped and started eating his own sausage roll.
"Again? This is the second time you've treated me this week, you know," said Zul, referring to the family restaurant visit a few days ago.
"Hmm? Did you say something?" said Hikaru, his mouth full of sausage roll.
"No, it's nothing. Anyway, thanks for this. Bon appétit," said Zul, beginning to eat the sausage roll.
After eating, Zul and Hikaru walked toward the shopping area near the local market, where they encountered a lottery event taking place.
"Lottery event, huh? What's the first grand prize?" Hikaru asked.
"I think it's a ticket to a beach resort for five people," Zul replied, looking at the lottery banner.
"Wow, that's a great prize. Let me try it," Hikaru said eagerly, moving toward the event area.
Zul contemplated for a moment before deciding, "Well, I think I'll give it a try too," and followed Hikaru.
Hikaru handed the event handler the participation fee, rolled the lottery machine, and pushed the lever. Zul and the crowd watched anxiously as the machine spun. When it stopped, a white ball emerged.
"Oh, too bad, you're not the chosen one," said the event handler, handing Hikaru a white tissue as a participation gift.
"Ah, too bad, my luck's not on my side today. Zul, your turn now," Hikaru said, stepping aside.
With the same anticipation, Zul stepped forward, handed over his participation fee, and rolled the lottery machine. Hikaru watched intently as the machine spun. When it stopped, a bright red ball emerged. Suddenly, the bell rang loudly as the event handler announced, "We have a winner! First prize!"
The audience burst into applause. "Congratulations, you win a ticket for five people at the beach resort," the event handler said, presenting Zul with the ticket.
"Wow, that's great, Zul! You won it! Go on vacation with your family," Hikaru exclaimed.
Without hesitation, Zul handed the ticket envelope to Hikaru. "Here, take it all," he said.
Hikaru stared at him, puzzled. "Huh? Zul, why are you giving it to me? You're the one who won the lottery."
"It's only valid during the summer break, and both my parents are busy, so they can't go," Zul explained.
"If you knew that, then why enter the lottery in the first place?" Hikaru asked, bewildered.
"Well, I just wanted to test my luck and fate," Zul said with a smile.
"You're so weird, Zul," Hikaru replied, chuckling. "Anyway, giving it to me doesn't really help either. My family can afford this resort on our own," he explained, referencing his family's wealth.
"Then why did you join?" Zul questioned.
"Well, I was planning to give it to you if I won. But I'm just unlucky," Hikaru said, laughing.
"You're weird too, Hikaru," Zul remarked.
"So what should we do with the ticket? It'd be a waste to throw it away," Hikaru mused.
After a moment of contemplation, Zul brightened with an idea. "Here's what I suggest—let's go with our usual group. We can invite Mizuha, Elly, and Shimizu. With us two, that makes five people, right?"
"That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?" Hikaru exclaimed. "We can go with the five of us, like we did when we went on a picnic before."
"By the way, we'll have to wait for Mizuha and Elly to return from their trip before we can go," Zul added.
"Right, we'll wait for them. Once they're back, we can plan the date to go," Hikaru agreed.
After discussing it, both of them decided to return to their respective houses, feeling a bit tired from their day. "Okay, Zul, see you later," said Hikaru. "See you," replied Zul. Hikaru walked alone toward his house, thinking about the upcoming vacation.
"Going to this vacation with Mizuha, huh? I can't wait for it. I wonder what Mizuha is doing right now at her grandparents' place. I bet she's having fun over there," Hikaru thought to himself.
When Hikaru arrived at his house, the maid opened the door and greeted him. "Welcome home, Hikaru-sama."
"I'm home," replied Hikaru before heading back to his room.