The Beach

A wide and dozy smile takes form on his face as Taki contently laid on his bed with his eyes closed and idly listened to the melodious chirping of the birds and the gentle rustling of the leaves outside. He couldn't think of anything more beautiful than the veritable natural symphony that was an early morn-

"GOOD MORNING TAKI-KUN!"

Taki screamed in extreme shock and discomfort as Mitsuha squealed right into his left ear, nearly forcing his eyes to pop out from their sockets. He jolted up from his bed and breathed heavily when he got into a sitting position. Mitsuha giggled uncontrollably as she places her hands on his shoulders.

Taki growls grumpily as he turns to his girlfriend. "Mitsuha, I told you wake me up early in the morning. Not give me a heart attack early in the morning!" He whined crankily as he gave her an irritated glare. Mitsuha however continues smiling sweetly at him as she removes her hands from his shoulders and places them behind her back.

"Come on Taki-kun! Wipe off that frown on your face because we got an exciting day ahead of us!" Mitsuha said in high spirits.

"I know." Taki said flatly as he rubs his eyes. "You're looking forward to visiting the beach today."

"And it's going to be a great experience! I know we had a giant lake back in Itomori but this is an entire ocean we're talking about! And I can't wait to see it in all of its natural beauty!" Mitsuha said enthusiastically. "Surely you should feel excited to see it too!"

"I lived in Tokyo all my life, Mitsuha. The city is built next to the sea. So seeing the ocean every day is nothing special to me." He said.

Mitsuha pouts at him as she folds her arms. "It may be built next to the ocean but it's not beautiful to look at when there are buildings and ships around it, isn't it?"

Taki simply nods his head. He can't argue with what Mitsuha just said. A cheeky grin appears on Mitsuha's face and she proceeds to rub Taki's head affectionately.

"Now come on! Let's brush our teeth and get changing already!" Mitsuha turned around and heads her way to the bathroom. Taki turns his head to the left and stares out the windows. He smiles blissfully as he admires the view of the trees and sea outside.

They are now currently in Shima, a small city that is a 40-minute drive away from Ise. It is located along the coastline and surrounded by many large hills and trees. All the buildings and houses are small and only a few stories high. It certainly looks and feels completely different than Tokyo. Shima's architecture and remoteness from other cities brought a strong nostalgic feeling to Mitsuha, Tessie, Sayaka and Yotsuha and they love it. It greatly reminded them of Itomori which was also located in a remote area in a rural prefecture.

As much as they love Tokyo, they do miss Itomori. They miss the remoteness and the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere of their former town. So they feel incredibly grateful that such places like this still exist in Japan.

Taki turns his head away from the windows and gets off of his bed. He walks over to his luggage and unzips it. He takes out a backpack and puts it aside. He then takes out a pair of red trunks. Taki felt uneasy as he stares at them. He hasn't went swimming for a long time and the last time he ever visited Odaiba Beach back in Tokyo was several years ago before he went to high school. So he has absolutely no idea how the others will think of him when he put them on later at the beach. He hastily puts his trunks into his backpack. He then takes out a towel and a pair of flip-flops and also inserts them into his backpack.

After taking everything he needs to bring to the beach later, he places his backpack aside. He then takes out a toothbrush and a set of clothes that he is going to wear today from his luggage.

He then closes his luggage and walks over to the bathroom. He politely knocks on the door. "Mitsuha?" He called.

"I'll be coming out soon in a minute!" Mitsuha replied from the inside.

Taki silently stood outside and waited. After a minute passed, the door opened, revealing Mitsuha dressed in a plain pink t-shirt and blue jeans. Her long black hair hung freely across her shoulders. Taki blushed as he stares at her. He could not deny how pretty she looks.

Mitsuha narrows her eyes at him. "You're having dirty thoughts, aren't you?" She asked suspiciously.

"What?! No!" Taki quickly protested as he snaps out of his thoughts.

Mitsuha laughed as she moves aside. "Just go get yourself ready…hentai."

"Shut up!" Taki yelled as he hastily walks into the bathroom and closes the door behind him.


"Whoo! We're going to the beach today! Isn't that exciting?!" Tessie yelled excitedly at Banyat as he pumps his fists into the air. The man is carrying a backpack and currently dressed in a long-sleeved black jacket with a white tank top underneath, blue khaki shorts and black shoes.

"Hell yeah!" Banyat yelled back at him before he and Tessie high-fived. The boy is also carrying a backpack and dressed in his favorite long-sleeved orange zipper shirt with a blue horizontal stripe on it, gray gloves, blue jeans and grey shoes.

"Aw man. I sure can't wait to set my feet beneath the sand and take a swim in the ocean." Tessie said as he places his hands on both sides of his hip.

"Just admit it, Tessie. You're excited to go to the beach only because you want to see women in swimsuits." Sayaka deadpanned. She is dressed in an orange t-shirt, brown khaki shorts and brown shoes.

Tessie turns to Sayaka, trying to look innocent. "Why would I think of that?" He asked.

"Because I'm your wife and I know everything about you." Sayaka frowned at him as she folds her arms. They are currently at the basement of the hotel where they are waiting for the others who are still in their rooms to come down and join them. Tessie, Sayaka and Banyat are standing around while Nadia and Yotsuha are sitting on some armchairs nearby.

Nadia is dressed in her usual long-sleeved light blue dress, light gray pants and brown boots while Yotsuha is wearing a black tank top, blue jeans and black shoes.

"Good morning everyone!" Okudera greeted as she walks over to Tessie, Sayaka and Banyat. The three gaze upon her and see that she is carrying a black sports bag that has a strap slung over her shoulder and dressed in a black blouse, white skirt, black slippers and a white hat on her head.

"Oh Okudera-san, you look beautiful!" Sayaka complimented.

"Arigatou, Natori-san." Okudera smiled at her.

Banyat sighed before saying to Okudera, "Okudera-san, I'm really sorry that your husband couldn't join us to the beach today."

Okudera chuckled as she turns to Banyat and places a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Banyat. There's always next time." She said.

"Since you're here, I guess that just leaves Mitsuha and Taki." Nadia said as she and Yotsuha walk over to them.

Yotsuha turns her head to the staircase in the distance and gasped as she sees two familiar figures walking down. "There they are!" She said.

The others turn to the stairs as well and see Mitsuha and Taki reaching the bottom of the stairs. Taki is dressed in his long-sleeved black jacket, blue jeans and black shoes. Both of them are carrying their own backpacks which contain the stuff they need when visiting the beach today.

"Hello everyone!" Taki and Mitsuha both greeted them in unison.

"Hello!" They all replied before the two walk over to them.

"Did everybody make sure to bring their swimming attire?" Mitsuha asked.

"Yup!" Banyat said as he, Nadia, Tessie, Sayaka and Okudera nod their heads.

"My swimsuit is with you, right?" Yotsuha asked Mitsuha.

"Yes." Mitsuha nodded to her sister.

Taki sighed. "Alright then, I guess it's time to get going."

Okudera arches an eyebrow as she leans forward and takes a closer look at Taki's face. She smirks as she notices the blushing of his cheeks. "You're embarrassed to put on your swimming attire, aren't you?" She asked mischievously.

"What?! No!" Taki said curtly as he turns to his former co-worker and for the second time in the morning, defending himself in a scuffle with someone. He then turns to Yotsuha, Tessie, Sayaka, Banyat and Nadia who all stare awkwardly at him. Taki grits his teeth furiously as his body shook. "Come on, guys! Let's go already!"


Later, they arrived at Goza Shirahama beach. They widen their eyes and gasp in awe as they take a good look at it.

The beach was a very long stretch of coast with lots of sand. Some trees and small hills surround the beach, giving it some more natural beauty to it. There are lots of people present and there are some shops and buildings behind the beach.

"It's so…beautiful." Sayaka said as she admires the magnificent view of the ocean.

"Indeed." Tessie said to his wife in agreement. He and Sayaka haven't seen such natural beauty ever since they left Itomori. The view of the ocean certainly reminded them of Lake Itomori.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's change into our swimming attire and get down there!" Nadia said as she points at the nearby buildings.

Everyone made their way to the restrooms. When he is in the men's restroom, Taki reluctantly removes his clothes and changes into his red swimming trunks. He sighs in relief as the trunks fit well on him. But he still feels embarrassed knowing that he will be wearing these around Mitsuha and the other women, especially when they would be wearing swimming suits of their own.

"Hey Taki, something bothering you?" Tessie asked as he walks over to him. Taki turns around and sees that he's now wearing a pair of black trunks.

"Nothing." Taki said, turning his head away from him as he tries to hide his embarrassment.

"Really?" Tessie arches an eyebrow as he leans his head towards him.

Taki groaned before he turns back to him. "Fine. I just…haven't dressed up like this in a while."

Tessie laughed and he wraps an arm around his friend. "Come on man, don't be afraid." He said to him with an encouraging smile. "This is my first time dressing up like this but I totally feel excited about going into the beach! And you should too because we'll never know if we would ever do something like this again in the near future."

"I'm off to the beach now, guys."

"Okay Banya-" Tessie cuts himself off when he and Taki turn their heads to Banyat. They both widen their eyes and drop their jaws upon seeing him. Banyat is dressed in a pair of dark blue trunks. But what really catches the eyes of Taki and Tessie is his visibly muscular chest and abdomen.

"Ba-Ba-Ba-Banyat…y-y-y-you got abs?!" Tessie sputtered.

"Yup!" Banyat smirks as he places his hands on both sides of his hip. "That's the advantage of having some weights in your bedroom and taking Muay Thai lessons."

Taki and Tessie wordlessly watch Banyat turned and walks out of the restroom. Tessie howled in despair as he falls to his knees.

"Now I think I'm too embarrassed to go out there." Tessie said as he hung his head.

Taki groaned again. "Some emotional support you are!"

When Banyat walks out of the restroom, he stops for a moment to look up at the sky and feel the warm air.

"Banyat?"

He turns his head to see Yotsuha standing nearby. She is now dressed in a white frilly swimsuit and skirt.

"I look good in this, don't I?" Yotsuha asked as she places her hands behind her back and smiles sheepishly at him.

Banyat silently stares at her for a few moments before he finally commented on her current outfit. "Kawaii."

Yotsuha gasps and widens her eyes in shock. Without warning, she proceeds to repeatedly bash her fists onto Banyat's back. Banyat helplessly kneels down and places his hands on the back of his head as he gets beaten by his classmate.

"WHY DO YOU SAY THAT?!" Yotsuha screamed.

"ISN'T THAT WHAT JAPANESE PEOPLE SAY WHEN THEY WANT TO PRAISE SOMEONE?!" Banyat shouted back at her. "TAKI, TESSIE, HELP ME!"


After dressing into their swimming attire, everyone enters the beach and they all stood in a horizontal row. They take another admirable view of the beach.

Mitsuha is dressed in a simple black swimsuit with her long black hair hanging freely down her shoulders.

Okudera is dressed in a two-piece black swimsuit with her long brown hair hanging down and holds a beach ball at the left side of her hip.

Sayaka is dressed in a two piece pink swimsuit with white frills and a pink skirt.

And finally, Nadia is dressed in a dark blue swimsuit that covers her entire body.

"Okudera, let's play ball together." Nadia said as she turns to Okudera.

"Okay. I should warn you though that I have played for my school's volleyball team during my youth." Okudera said, smirking at her.

"Bring it on!" Nadia laughed as she walks off.

"Yotsuha, I'll race you to the ocean!" Banyat said to the younger Miyamizu.

"You're on!" Yotsuha replied to him sharply. The two then run straight at the water.

"Be careful, you two!" Mitsuha shouted at them.

"Don't worry Mitsuha. We'll keep an eye on them." Sayaka said to her.

"Yeah, we're heading to the water too." Tessie added. "Come on honey, let's go!"

"Right." Sayaka said to her husband before they run their way to the sea.

Okudera set up the beach towel onto the sand. "Alright guys, you can take a seat on it if you want!" She said to Taki and Mitsuha.

"Arigatou, Okudera-san!" Mitsuha said to her. As Okudera walks away with her beach ball and joins Nadia, Mitsuha grabs his arm and turns to him. "Come on Taki-kun! Sit down with me!"

Taki blushed as Mitsuha pulls his arm and leads him to the towel.

Banyat and Yotsuha wade through the water and they stop when their bodies partially submerged. The water was nice, clear and very gentle.

"It's cold!" Banyat said as he wraps his arms around himself and shivered.

"Well, this is what happens when you don't put yourself into a pool of water often." Yotsuha said to him as she shivered as well.

"Hey Yotsuha, I have something to show you."

"What's that-AH!" Yotsuha yelled as Banyat swings his hands and splashes some water onto her face.

"Haha! Take that!" Banyat laughed at her.

"Oh, that is so immature!" Yotsuha snapped. She extended her hands under the water with a swiping motion, creating two big surges of water that hit Banyat right in the face.

"Hey!" Banyat said indignantly. Yotsuha laughed for a moment until suddenly, Sayaka launched herself out of the water and quickly wraps her arms around the younger Miyamizu from behind.

"Gotcha!" Sayaka yelled triumphantly as she kept Yotsuha in place.

"Hey! Get your hands off of me!" Yotsuha cried as she struggles to break free from Sayaka's arms. Banyat laughed at Yotsuha's misery but while he is distracted, he is completely unaware that Tessie is wading over to him from behind. With a devious grin, he wraps an arm around Banyat's neck and hoists him up. Banyat gasps as he finds himself being lifted and he frantically kicks the water with his legs.

"Haha! Feel the combined wrath of Teshigawara and Natori, kids!" Tessie laughed.

"ACK! Release me! You'll never take me aliiiiiive!" Banyat squealed in agony as he places his hands on Tessie's arm and tries to break free.

Eventually, Yotsuha managed to slip out of Sayaka's arms. She quickly turns around, extends her hands under the water and splashes a huge amount of water at Sayaka. Sayaka cried as she quickly holds up her arms to protect her face from the water. While she is distracted, Yotsuha turns around and wades over to Banyat and Tessie.

"Oh, you better stay away!" Tessie glared menacingly at Yotsuha as she approaches him and his hostage. "Or I will-HEY! HAHAHAHA!" He gets cut off when Banyat uses a hand to tickle the side of his body. Tessie eventually releases his arm around his neck, allowing Banyat to escape and wade over to Yotsuha.

Banyat and Yotsuha turn around and place against each other back to the back.

"Come on Banyat! Let's teach them a lesson!" Yotsuha said to him in a heroic manner.

"Right!" Banyat said with a determined frown. They proceed to splash tons of water at Tessie and Sayaka.

"You splash well, but we can do better!" Tessie yelled at them as he and Sayaka fight back by swinging their arms under the water and splash huge amounts of water back at their enemies.

"Take this! And that! And this! And that! Hahahaha!" Sayaka laughed at Banyat and Yotsuha as she continuously splashes water back at them while taking a fair amount of hits from her enemies.

Mitsuha laughed as she watched her sister and friends playfully splash water at each other. She turns her head to Taki who is looking out at the other direction.

"Are you alright, Taki-kun?" Mitsuha asked.

"Huh?" Taki briefly turns to Mitsuha for a moment before turning his head away in embarrassment. "Yeah, I'm alright."

Mitsuha inches closer to Taki and asked, "Sooooo…what do you think of my swimsuit?"

"Hot…Oh! No! I mean this place is hot, isn't it?" Taki quickly corrected himself while nervously rubbing the back of his neck and not making eye contact with Mitsuha. "Perhaps it feels even warmer than Tokyo right now, isn't it?"

Both Nadia and Okudera stop playing with each other for a moment to take a look at Taki and Mitsuha sitting together. Both of them notice the crimson blush on Taki's face. Nadia made a devious grin before turning to Okudera and whispers something into her ear.

A playful smile sweeps across Okudera's face as she decides to play along.

"Hey Mitsuha! Think fast!" Okudera yelled as she throws her ball into the air and vertically swings her hand down. She hits the ball hard, sending it flying towards Mitsuha like a rocket.

Mitsuha turns her head just in time to see Okudera's ball flying over to her. She quickly catches the ball with her hands, but the impact sends her falling backwards and she lets out a yell.

Taki gasped as he turns around in time to see Mitsuha falling. "Mitsuha!" He yelled as he immediately catches Mitsuha. But catching her also made him fall backwards and the couple find themselves lying on the ground with Mitsuha laying her head on top of Taki's chest.

Taki lifts his head up and blushes as he sees Mitsuha literally lying on his half-naked body. Mitsuha looks up at him while still holding onto Okudera's ball. The two stare into each other's eyes for a moment until Mitsuha breaks the silence between them.

"Did anyone tell you that you have such soft skin?" She said.

"WHAT?!" Taki yelled back at her incredulously.

Nadia and Okudera both burst out laughing and they gave each other a high-five, knowing that their plan was a success.


Everyone decided to call it a day after spending an hour enjoying themselves at the beach. Well, almost everyone. They all head to the restrooms to clean themselves and change back into their casual clothing.

Banyat and Yotsuha are the first to leave the restrooms. The two turn to each other and smile.

"That was a really fun experience, wasn't it?" Banyat asked.

"Yeah." Yotsuha nods her head as she stuffs her hands into her pockets.

"Hey Yotsuha, turn around."

"Huh?"

"Just do it."

Yotsuha frowns suspiciously at him for a few seconds before she obliged. "Okay." She said with her back facing Banyat.

A devious grin appears on Banyat's face as he immediately pulls the back of Yotsuha's tank top and pours some cold water down into her back. Yotsuha gasped as she immediately felt numb down her back and she lets out an agonizing scream.

Afterwards, she turns around and repeatedly bashes her fists onto Banyat's back. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" She yelled furiously at him.

"That's my payback for you beating me when I complimented you earlier! HAHAHAHAHA!" Banyat laughed as he stood triumphantly with his fists placed on both sides of his hip and took Yotsuha's beating with pride.


Sovereign: I would like to thank AquaBluey for reviewing, favoriting and following this story. Thanks!