"Here, Elly, take this watermelon first. I'll set up the beach parasol for all of us," Zul replied.
As they settled into their spot, Mizuha squinted at the items Hikaru and Zul had brought. "Wait a minute," she said, folding her arms. "Where did you get all these? I don't remember seeing you carry them earlier."
Hikaru smirked, adjusting his sunglasses. "The parasol and mat? Rented them from a shop nearby. The watermelon and baseball bat? Bought those at another shop. Gotta plan ahead for fun, you know."
Shimizu, still brushing sand off her towel, narrowed her eyes at the items. "Watermelon? Baseball bat? Don't tell me… are we playing watermelon smash?"
"You got it," Hikaru replied with a grin.
Shimizu raised one of her arms. "Hey, let's do it now! But Hikaru, you're going to be buried next to the watermelon."
"What? No way!" Hikaru protested, shaking his head. "We're deciding this fairly. Everyone pulls a paper. Red mark gets buried; blue mark gets to smash."
They all pulled their papers, and Shimizu froze, staring at hers.
"Why... why must it be me?! Damn it!?" Shimizu groaned, holding up the red-marked paper.
Mizuha, holding the blue-marked one, smirked. "Looks like I'm smashing it, yeah."
"Okay, Shimizu, get ready," said Mizuha, grinning at her.
Soon, Shimizu was buried in the sand beside the watermelon, glaring at Hikaru and Zul as they finished piling sand over her legs.
"Don't bury me too deep, or I'll bury you both later," she growled.
"You look great down there, Shimizu," Hikaru teased. "Just don't move too much, or you'll ruin the setup."
Shimizu growled something inaudible as Hikaru handed Mizuha the baseball bat. "Okay, Mizuha, spin three times and try not to hit anything that's not the watermelon," Hikaru instructed.
"Wait, what do you mean by that?!" Shimizu shouted from the sand.
Blindfolded and holding the bat, Mizuha spun around while the others cheered her on.
"A little left!" Elly called.
"No, to the right!" Zul countered.
"Don't swing yet—you're facing me!" Shimizu yelped.
"Shut up, Shimizu! You'll reveal your position," said Hikaru.
Mizuha finally steadied herself, raised the bat, and swung with full force. The bat missed the watermelon by inches, the whoosh of air silencing everyone before erupting into laughter.
"Woah, that was dangerous, Mizuha!" shouted Shimizu, scared.
Mizuha pulled off the blindfold with a click of her tongue.
"Tch. I missed it. It was so close," she said, her tone calm.
"So close to what—me or the watermelon?" said Shimizu.
Mizuha turned her head slowly, a sly smile forming while winking. "Hmm, who knows?"
Shimizu wiggled in the sand, glaring at her. "You were aiming for me! Damn it, Mizuha!"
"One more time, Mizuha. Want to go for another round?" asked Hikaru, adjusting his sunglasses with a wide grin.
Mizuha sighed, dusting sand off her clothes. "Nope. I'm done with this. Elly, it's your turn now," she said, handing the bat to Elly with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Go and smash that Shimizu's head—oops, I mean the watermelon."
"Hey! What do you mean by that?!" Shimizu barked from her sandy prison, glaring at Mizuha.
Elly hesitated, holding the bat awkwardly. "Is it okay for me to do this? I mean, this was supposed to be your round."
"Don't worry about it. I'm giving you my turn," Mizuha said with a slight smirk. "Knock yourself out—figuratively, not literally."
Reluctantly, Elly tied on the blindfold and gripped the bat. Like Mizuha earlier, she spun in place as the others cheered her on. Hikaru and Zul scrambled to reposition the watermelon, placing it slightly further from Shimizu this time.
"A little to the right," called Mizuha, her voice calm yet precise.
"Straight on from there," added Hikaru, pointing dramatically as though Elly could see him.
"Elly, you can do it," said Zul.
Everyone was cheering for her. I must not disappoint them, thought Elly.
Meanwhile, Shimizu, still partially buried, narrowed her eyes as she observed Elly's movements. This girl... I shouldn't underestimate her, she thought to herself. Even though she's like this, she's scarily accurate when it comes to hitting targets.
Elly stopped spinning, steadied herself, and raised the bat. With a sharp inhale, she swung down with surprising force. A loud CRACK echoed across the beach as the bat struck its mark.
"She did it," Mizuha remarked, a faint smile playing on her lips.
Elly pulled off the blindfold and blinked at the splattered remains. "I... I actually hit it?" she asked, her surprise evident.
"You were precise," Zul commented, his calm voice carrying a hint of approval. "Well done."
"Not bad at all," Hikaru chimed in.
Juice and fragments of watermelon splattered everywhere, earning applause and laughter from the group.
"You see that, Shimizu-chan? I managed to hit," she said, happily facing toward Shimizu.
"Good, that was good... haha," Shimizu said, force-chuckling with watermelon splattered on her face.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Shimizu-chan. Let me clean it for you," Elly said after noticing the watermelon splattered on Shimizu's face. She then helped to release Shimizu from her sandy burial.
Both Mizuha and Hikaru laughed at Shimizu's predicament. "These two will pay for this later," Shimizu said, upset at Mizuha and Hikaru.
"Geez, don't just laugh at her. Come help me release her from this sand," Elly said firmly.
"Elly-chan, you don't need to help her. Just leave her alone; she can free herself," Mizuha responded.
"Yes, isn't she the strong girl at our school? Just leave her alone," Hikaru added.
Elly turned back, facing Mizuha and Hikaru with a scary glare. "Did you hear what I said? I said come and help me release her," she said, her usually calm and reserved demeanor suddenly replaced by determination.
Eek, what is that glare? It's so scary... thought Mizuha and Hikaru in unison.
"Yes, ma'am. We're sorry about that. We will help you," Mizuha and Hikaru said together, quickly moving to assist Shimizu.
After being freed, Shimizu immediately hugged Elly around the waist, resting her head on Elly's chest. "Elly, it looks like both of them are bullying me," Shimizu whined.
"It's okay, Shimizu-chan. Don't be sad anymore," Elly reassured her while cleaning Shimizu's face with the small towel.
"Mizuha-chan, that was too far today. Poor her," Elly scolded Mizuha.
"Really!? Sorry, Shimizu," Mizuha apologized.
"Hmmph!" Shimizu pouted, then put her head back on Elly's chest.
Wait, are you kids or what? Mizuha thought, feeling irritated with Shimizu.
Wow, what is this? Is it always this soft? Shimizu thought, feeling content with her head resting on Elly's chest.
"Umm, Shimizu-chan, how long do you want to cling to my body like this?" Elly asked.
"Ah, sorry, I was too happy enjoying the feeling of your body, especially your chest. Please let me rest my head here for a while," Shimizu replied.
"You sound like a perverted old man," Mizuha said.
After everything calmed down, they cleaned up the scattered watermelon and continued with their other activities. The three girls played beach ball with each other while Hikaru and Zul swam in the sea.
"Mizuha, catch this!!" said Shimizu, starting to surf the ball to her.
"Got it," said Mizuha, receiving and passing it to Elly. "Elly-chan!!"
"Nice pass, Mizuha-chan," said Elly. "Here, Shimizu-chan, catch this," she added.
"Okay, give it to me!!" said Shimizu, ready to push the ball. The three girls played in a triangle formation, passing the ball to each other.
As Hikaru and Zul returned from their swim, droplets of seawater sparkled on their skin under the sunlight.
"Ah, it feels so good after the swim," said Hikaru.
They shook their hair like carefree models on a runway, earning another round of admiring glances from the group of girls gathered nearby.
Hikaru noticed the attention then flashed a dazzling smile and waved to the girls, who excitedly responded to his wave.
"Seriously, are those two celebrities or something?" Shimizu muttered as she paused the play and squinted at the scene.
"Look at that crowd—still swooning over them," she added.
Mizuha replied, "Maybe they have that natural cool vibe, I guess."
Zul and Hikaru rejoined the trio for beach ball play, their presence adding a steady dynamic to the energetic game.
"Oh, it looks nice, a beach ball, huh? Can we join you guys?" asked Hikaru.
"Of course, but we won't compete with each other, just passing the ball to each other," said Mizuha.
"It's okay, I think this is better this way than competing with each other, because I'm sure these two would compete with each other if we did that," said Zul, pointing his thumb at Hikaru and Shimizu.
"How did you know?" asked Hikaru and Shimizu in unison. "Eh!!"
"Hey, don't copy me," said both of them, glaring at each other.
"Yes, you got it right, Zul, they're really in the same boat," said Mizuha, chuckling together with Elly.
After that, the group started enjoyed playing the ball together in the pentagon formation and passed the ball with each other.
After about twenty minutes of energetic play, hunger began to creep in.
"Ah, I'm so tired," said Shimizu, lying on the sand.
"Yeah, we played too much earlier, I think we should rest for now" said Mizuha.
Suddenly, Elly's stomach growled. "Ah, not now, this is so embarrassing," said Elly, her face turning bright red.
"Elly, are you hungry?" asked Zul. "Yes, it looks like that," chuckled Elly.
Suddenly, Shimizu's stomach also growled. "Ah, sorry, that was me," she said.
"Looks like everyone is hungry. Let's find the nearest beach restaurant to fill our stomachs," said Hikaru.
The group unanimously decided it was time to refuel and headed to the nearest beach restaurant.
The tantalizing aroma of grilled seafood and fried snacks wafted through the air as they arrived at their table overlooking the beach. Plates of fresh sushi, yakisoba, and juicy karaage were soon spread out before them.
"Okay, you guys, please enjoy all of this, it's on me," said Hikaru.
"Treating us, like usual, huh!?" said Zul. "You got me there, haha," said Hikaru, chuckling.
"Wow, so much food, and it smells so good," said Elly.
"You're right, I can't wait to taste all of this," replied Mizuha.
"Alright, what are we waiting for? Let's dig in!" Shimizu declared, raising her chopsticks like a battle cry. Shimizu wasted no time piling karaage onto his plate.
"Slow down, Shimizu! You're going to eat the entire food or what," Mizuha chuckled.
As they ate, Hikaru turned to Mizuha. "So, Mizuha, what do you think of today so far?"
Mizuha paused, swallowing a piece of sushi before answering. "Honestly, it's been amazing. I haven't had this much fun in a while."
Shimizu nodded in agreement, her mouth full of food. "Yeah, I needed this. Today's been great."
"You looked like you were having the time of your life when you were buried in sand," Hikaru teased, earning a glare from Shimizu.
"Keep talking, and you'll be the one buried next time," Shimizu shot back, her cheeks puffing with mock anger.
"Elly, here, try this shrimp tempura. It tastes good when eaten with mayonnaise," said Zul, placing two tempura shrimp on Elly's plate with his chopsticks.
"Ah, thanks, Zul. Let me taste it," replied Elly. She took the tempura with her chopsticks, dipped it into mayonnaise, and ate it.
"How does it taste?" asked Zul."You're right. This is so delicious," said Elly.
"Glad to see you like it," replied Zul with a smile.
The table erupted into laughter as they eating together, the camaraderie between them growing stronger as the day went on.
Mizuha leaned back in her chair, watching her friends. She smiled to herself, the warmth of their laughter and the sight of the ocean filling her with quiet contentment.
After they finished their meal, all of them returned to the beach to continue their day.
"Ah, my stomach is full now, then let's continue our day," said Shimizu with her determination.
Elly and Shimizu were splashing around in the sea, laughing and playing. Zul was swimming and diving in the sea while Mizuha sat under a parasol with Hikaru, the two watching their friends from the shore.
The gentle breeze rustled the fabric of the parasol as Mizuha turned to Hikaru with a smile. "Today has been amazing. I'm so happy we could all come here together," she said, her voice soft with contentment.
Hikaru nodded, leaning back slightly. "Yeah, it's all thanks to Zul for winning those tickets earlier. If it weren't for him, this wouldn't have been possible."
Mizuha chuckled lightly. "Zul really came through this time. But honestly, this whole scene—the beach, the sun, the way everyone's having fun—it's so inspiring. I wish I had my sketchbook right now. I'd love to capture this moment."
Hikaru said with a fond smile, "You really do like sketching everything you see, huh?"
"Well, you know me," Mizuha nodded enthusiastically and chuckled. "Haha."
"Anyway, that's your hobby. I can't argue about it," Hikaru smiled.
From the sea, Shimizu's voice interrupted their conversation. "Hey, you two! What are you doing over there? Come join us!" she called out, waving her arms with energy.
Mizuha waved back. "Yes, we're coming now!" she replied, standing up. She turned to Hikaru. "Looks like they're calling us."
Hikaru stood and extended a hand toward her with a small, encouraging smile. "Let's go, Mizuha."
Mizuha hesitated for a brief moment, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush. She took his hand, her fingers curling around his as she smiled shyly. "Alright, let's go," she said softly.
Hikaru, his own cheeks dusted with pink, held her hand firmly as he led her toward the water. Together, they joined their friends, laughter and the sparkling waves welcoming them into the fun.
As the sun began to set, casting a warm golden glow across the beach, the group gradually stopped their activities and gathered together at the shoreline.
The sky transformed into a canvas of orange and pink, with streaks of deep purple bleeding into the horizon. The ocean reflected the sunset's vibrant colors, creating a breathtaking scene.
"It's so beautiful," Mizuha whispered, her eyes wide with wonder. The setting sun painted her face in soft, warm hues.
Hikaru nodded, "Yes, so beautiful. Look at how the sky and sea merge together."
"Wow," Elly agreed softly, her voice filled with awe. "I've never seen a sunset quite like this before."
Shimizu stood quietly, her usual energetic demeanor replaced by a sense of peaceful contemplation.
As day gradually turned dark, the vibrant colors slowly faded, and the first stars began to twinkle in the darkening sky. The gentle sound of waves provided a soothing backdrop to their collective silence.
"We should probably head back to the hotel," Hikaru suggested, breaking the spell of the moment. "It's getting dark, and we've had a long day."
To be continue, Part 3…..