On Monday morning, they took the train to the airport. They checked in their bags and walked to the gate to wait for their flight.
"It's my first time flying. I'm so excited!" Sakura said. She was dressed in short sleeved blouse and shorts and was wearing a pair of sneakers. She had packed her sandals in the suitcase. Her bag was slung over her shoulder. It held her phone, wallet and cards.
"Me too. I've never been outside of Kyoto and when I came to Tokyo, I took the train." Ayumi said as they walked to the gate.
They sat at the gate and waited for their flight, while chatting excitedly about the beach and what they were going to do.
When their flight got called, they joined the line.
"Have a nice trip." The crew said when Sakura showed her the boarding pass. She walked past the gate and along the boarding bridge.
Sakura stepped into the plane and walked along the aisle to her seat at 25C.
"These are our seats." Eriol stopped at row 25. "You can take the window seat."
Sakura sat down and looked out the window as Eriol put his backpack in the overhead compartment. He sat down beside her and got settled.
"How long is the flight?" Sakura asked him.
"I think it would be about three hours." Eriol replied. "Here, put on your seatbelt." He helped her with the seatbelt after buckling up his own.
Ten minutes later, the plane started moving. Sakura was looking out of the window in fascination. "Wow!"
Tomoyo and Chiba were sitting a few rows in front of them while Rika and Ayumi sat a couple of rows behind them.
When the plane took off, Sakura was very amazed. She couldn't take her eyes off the window. Once the plane reached a cruising altitude, she looked out and watched the fluffy clouds. "They look like cotton candy."
"Do you want to buy some snacks?" Eriol asked Sakura half an hour later.
"No, I'm fine. Do you want to?" Sakura asked. She was still looking at the window.
"No." Eriol said. "I'm just going to take a nap."
"Okay." Sakura nodded. After a few minutes, she decided to take a nap too.
Two hours later, they woke up when there was an announcement that they'd be landing soon.
"Look out the window. We should be able to see the beaches soon." Eriol suggested.
Sakura looked out and true enough, she could see some tiny islands. "Wow!"
The plane started to descend and finally they landed. They disembarked and went to retrieve their luggage. Tomoyo had arranged for someone to pick them up from the airport. They got into the car and were soon on their way to the beach house.
Half an hour later, they arrived.
"This is… I don't think a 'house' is the right term to describe it." Sakura said as they stood in front of what looked like a mansion.
"Welcome everyone." Tomoyo welcomed them and introduced them to the servants. "These are Mr. and Mrs. Itou and their daughter, Ms. Itou. They'll be taking care of us during our stay."
The three of them bowed to their guests and they returned the gesture.
First, Tomoyo gave them the tour. It was a two storeys house with six bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, sitting room, a library and a garden. Each of the bedroom had their own ensuite bath.
"You can choose your own rooms." Tomoyo told them. She had her own room too. "After you choose your rooms, let's meet back in the main entrance so that we can go to the beach. Also, you might want to get changed into your bathing suits."
"This place is massive!" Sakura said. There were paintings hung on the wall along the corridors. They looked at a couple of rooms before deciding on one. The room that they chose had a balcony overlooking the garden and they could also see the beach. Like the other rooms, it had two double beds and an ensuite bathroom. They checked with Tomoyo if it was okay to take this room and she assured them that all of the rooms were open as there wouldn't be any other guest.
Eriol changed into T-shirt and swim trunks and Sakura wore her swimsuit under her T-shirt and shorts. They put their stuff in the backpack. They both left their rings in their room because they didn't want them to get damaged by sand or seawater.
"Let's go!" Tomoyo said and they walked to the beach. They also brought some food so that they could have a picnic at the beach. After lunch, they gathered the garbage and put them in a bin bag to throw out later.
"Let's go swimming!" Chiba said and took off his T-shirt.
"Better put on some sunblock, Chiba." Rika suggested. It was a hot and sunny day.
"Ah, but that stuff is so sticky." Chiba refused. "We're supposed to brave the heat and some tanning will look good too. It's summer vacation after all. Right, Hiiragizawa?"
"Speak for yourself." Eriol said. He had taken off his T-shirt and was sitting on one of the beach lounge chairs as Sakura applied the sunblock on his back.
"Really?!" Chiba looked at him incredulously.
"I'm pale by nature. I don't get suntan. I get red and blistery." Eriol said. "I have to use the sticky stuff."
"You really are very pale." Chiba commented.
Chiba wasn't as tall as Eriol, but he was more muscular. His muscles were big and well-defined and his arms were bulging with muscles as he usually lifted weight in the gym. Eriol didn't do any weight-lifting. Instead, he ran and his physique was much leaner. People couldn't really tell by just looking at him, but underneath his pale skin, he was actually quite well-toned himself. He was very athletic and very agile. He was also much stronger than he looked, although part of it was because of his magic.
"Please put on some sun block." Tomoyo told her boyfriend, who reluctantly agreed.
"Okay, you're done." Sakura said. She wiped her hand on herself to use the leftover of the sunblock.
"Want me to return the favor?" Eriol asked, smirking.
Sakura shook her head. "Unlike you, I'd like to get a little tan while we're here."
He pouted and she smiled sweetly at him.
"Aren't you going to swim?" He asked as he took off his glasses and put it on the small table. The beach was equipped with lounge chairs, big umbrellas and small tables.
"Probably not." Sakura took a gulp of water. "I'll splash around though."
"Oh, you two are wearing matching necklaces!" Ayumi said when she saw their keys.
While they had taken their rings off, their keys were still hanging around their necks. Now that they were in university, they could wear their keys in public as accessories.
"Uhm, yeah. It's, uh a charm." Sakura said awkwardly.
"Looks like keys…" Chiba observed. "What, is that like one of those key to your heart and whatnot?" He asked teasingly.
"Something like that, yes." Sakura let them assume.
"That's so sweet!" Rika commented.
A few minutes later, the guys were in the water, swimming away from the shore. The girls chatted and then decided to splash in the shallower part of the water. They had brought along a beach ball, so they played some volleyball.
"This is what a summer vacation is all about!" Rika said. "Relaxing at the beach, having fun with your friends."
"It's a well-deserved vacation." Sakura said. "This semester was quite tough."
"We're in our third year now. It's going to get tougher from here on, I think." Tomoyo said. "How about you, Kojima? How has your first semester been?"
"It's okay. Not as great as I thought in high school. Back then, I thought university was going to be so great." Ayumi told them.
"Not as glorified, right? Yeah, we know the feeling." Sakura nodded and her two friends agreed too.
"We can check out the nearby town tomorrow." Tomoyo suggested. "There are many people at this time of the year of course. I heard it's quite crowded."
A while later, the guys came back. They dried themselves off and they all hung out.
"Here you go." Sakura gave Eriol an energy bar. She knew he would be hungry and had brought along some snacks.
"Thanks." He opened the wrapper and started eating.
An hour later, they decided to go back to the house.
After they cleaned up and showered, Eriol and Sakura decided to take a walk at the garden. They walked around hand in hand and enjoyed the nice evening weather.
"Sun's about to set. Let's go watch it at the beach." Eriol suggested and she agreed. The beach was just five minutes away. They walked along the path and got there just in time.
"It's so pretty!" Sakura commented as they stood there watching the sunset.
Eriol stood behind her, with his arms wrapped around her securely. "I'm glad we get to come here."
"Me too." Sakura nodded and leaned back to him. She then turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist loosely. "I love you, Hii."
"I love you too, Saku." Eriol said, grinning. Then, he leaned in and kissed her.
At dinner, they were treated with a scrumptious meal of fresh seafood. After that, they were served delicious strawberry cheesecake for dessert.
"Mm… This is so yummy!" Sakura put a whole strawberry into her mouth. "Very sweet and juicy too."
"Everything was sourced locally." Tomoyo informed them. "If you want, we can check out the local market too tomorrow. They have fruits, treats and everything."
After dinner, they hung out at the sitting room. They sat around on the couch, with the window open to let the breeze in. There was a big TV mounted on the wall, but none of them was interested in that. There was also a piano.
"Do you still play, Hiiragizawa?" Tomoyo asked, gesturing to the piano. She knew he used to play when he was younger, but not sure if he still did.
"Of course. I'll play something." Eriol stood up and went to the piano. He still played at home, usually for Sakura. It was one of their favorite things to do together.
After he decided on a song, his fingers started moving across the keys. Soon, the room was filled with a beautiful melody and everyone relaxed as they listened to him.
"That's very beautiful, Hiiragizawa." Rika complimented after the song ended.
"Thank you." Eriol smiled as he walked back to the couch.
"This is so relaxing. Hey, I know! Let's have a campfire tomorrow!" Chiba suggested.
"A campfire? It's been a long while since we had that." Tomoyo said. "Was it summer during our third year of high school?"
"It was. It was during that class trip." Sakura nodded. "It was our last class trip. We had a campfire and Naoko told us one of her scary stories." She recalled.
"Scary stories? Sounds exciting!" Ayumi said. "I love scary stories!"
"Sakura hates it though." Tomoyo laughed lightly.
"Do you have a story to tell, Kojima?" Sakura asked. She didn't want to deprive her friends of fun just because she was scared.
"Hm, not now. But if we're going to have a campfire tomorrow, I'll think of something." Ayumi said. "But I don't want to make you uncomfortable, Kinomoto."
"That's okay. Kind of used to it. Naoko has been telling these stories for, well, for as long as I can remember, really." Sakura assured her.
"That settles it then. We'll be having a campfire with scary stories tomorrow." Rika said.
"I think so. But for now, I think I'm going to bed. It's been a long day, with the flight and everything." Tomoyo yawned.
They bid each other good night and headed to their rooms.
Sakura woke up feeling thirsty. She looked around in the darkened room. There was a light coming from the bathroom, being purposely left on so that the room didn't plunge into total darkness. Sakura got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. She turned on the faucet and got some water.
After she was done, Sakura started walking back to the bed. Her eyes were drawn to the direction of the balcony. The curtain swayed slightly. She quickly got into bed, closed her eyes and covered her face with the blanket, not wanting to see or think about anything scary.
But then she heard it. Some sound, coming from the door. 'No…' Sakura refused to think about it. 'There's nothing. It's just your imagination.' She kept saying in her head. But she could hear it and it was driving her nuts!
'Just go to sleep, Sakura. Just go to sleep.' She told herself and willed herself to fall asleep, but the sound kept coming and she couldn't ignore it. She thought of waking up her fiancé, but he was sleeping so soundly, she didn't want to wake him up for nothing. She lay there, thinking about what she should do. 'What if there's a burglar? Then everyone is in danger!' Sakura suddenly thought. With that thought in mind, Sakura slipped out of bed and crept towards the door. She reached the door and hesitated.
Steeling herself, Sakura quietly opened the door and took a peek. The corridor was dark, but not too dark. The moonlight streamed through the open windows and shed some light into the corridor. Sakura noted the sound came from her right, so she took a deep breath and stepped out of the room. She was no longer a kid. She was twenty, for god's sake! There was no need to be scared. She crept along the wall carefully towards the sound. She thought briefly about grabbing a weapon of a sort, but it was too late for that now. Worst case scenario, she had to summon her staff and used it as a makeshift weapon.
When Sakura found to the source of the sound, she breathed in a sigh of relief. It was no thief, or ghost. It was the sound of wooden windchime, being hit by the breeze that came in through the open window. Seeing that it was nothing, Sakura turned around, and saw someone standing behind her. She screamed.
"Uwaaaa!" She fell down and instinctively covered her eyes with her hands in fright.
"Miss… Miss, it's okay." A voice tried to calm her down. "It's me, Itou."
Sakura peeked through the gaps between her fingers and saw the young woman standing there, holding a candle. "Ms. Itou?" She asked, her voice shaking.
"Sakura!" Eriol appeared from around the corner. He saw her on the floor and went to her immediately. From around them, they heard doors being opened and everyone came out to check what was going on.
"What's going on?" Chiba asked as they started to gather around. They were all still half-asleep and very confused.
By then, Eriol had helped her up. "Are you alright?" He asked and she nodded silently, embarrassed that she had caused such a commotion. Eriol wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her close.
"I apologize. I was walking around to close the windows. I didn't mean to startle you, Miss." itou apologized.
"It's… It's okay, Ms. Itou." Sakura said, her face red. "Everything is okay. I'm sorry, everyone." She apologized to her friends.
"Are you okay, Sakura? What are you doing out here in the first place?" Rika asked.
"I… um, I just wanted to get some water." Sakura lied, getting more embarrassed by the minute.
Tomoyo sighed in relief. "That's okay, Sakura. I'm glad that everyone is okay. Let's just go back to our rooms."
They dispersed and Eriol guided Sakura back to their room.
"Are you alright? What happened?" He asked after they were back to their room.
Sakura blushed furiously. "I woke up to get some water from the bathroom and then I heard some noises. I decided to check it out. It's just some wooden windchime, then I ran into Ms. Itou. Sorry I woke you up… And everyone too."
"That's alright." Eriol led her back to bed. "As long as you're okay. You gave me quite a scare though." They climbed into bed and he wrapped his arms around her. "Go back to sleep, love."
Sakura nodded and closed her eyes. She buried her face in his shirt and inhaled his scent. A minute later, she was fast asleep.
"I'm sorry everyone!" Sakura apologized again the next morning.
Her friends assured her that it was okay. They ate breakfast and got ready to leave to go to the nearby town.
Once they got to the town, they walked around and took in the local atmosphere. First thing first, they decided to visit the local market.
When they arrived there, they saw that the place was swarmed with tourists.
"This place is really popular." Ayumi commented as they looked around. They kept on walking, stopping at some stores to look around.
"Oh, that's the local snack stand. I heard that's one of the local specialities. Let's try it!" Tomoyo said and they joined the line.
"One bag, please!" Sakura told the person behind the counter when it was their turn. Eriol paid for it and then they walked away. It was some sort of fried dough. Sakura popped one into her mouth. "Oh, this is so good!"
"It is, isn't it? It's not too sweet, but light and fluffy." Tomoyo agreed as she held her own bag that she was sharing with Chiba. Rika and Ayumi shared a bag too.
"I heard the Blue Seal ice cream is very famous. We should get it too!" Rika said.
At noon, they sat down at a local restaurant to eat their lunch.
After lunch, they went to the beach. It was very crowded.
"I'm going to check if they have water sports." Eriol told them.
"I'll go with you. Water sports sounds fun." Chiba said.
The two guys left and the girls went to get some drinks.
"Nothing beats some refreshing coconut water on a hot summer day." Rika said.
They were sitting at one of the cafes, drinking coconut water and eating some snacks.
The guys found them twenty minutes later.
"They have all sorts of water sports. We're planning to come back tomorrow to surf." Chiba said. "That's okay, right?"
"Of course. We can definitely come back tomorrow and hang out while you two surf." Tomoyo nodded.
They stayed at the beach until sunset and went back to the house. They had dinner and then prepared for the campfire. They went to the beach and started the fire before sitting down around it.
"Are you going to tell us the scary story now, Ayumi?" Rika asked her cousin.
"No, let's start with lighter stuff. Like, funny stories…" Ayumi said.
"Oh, I've got one!" Chiba said and then told them his story, which was pretty funny. They started sharing all sorts of stories and generally had fun.
As it turned out, Ayumi was a good horror storyteller. Sakura was practically hiding behind Eriol by the time she was done telling her story. Even Rika and Tomoyo were at the edge of their seats.
"Man, that's quite something, Kojima. You tell a good story, that's for sure." Chiba said.
Tomoyo agreed. "You're a really good storyteller."
"Thank you. Kinomoto, are you alright?" Ayumi asked. They all turned to Sakura, who was peering at Ayumi from behind Eriol's shoulder.
Sakura nodded. "That's one very scary story, Kojima. You really are good at this."
"Oh, thanks. I used to tell stories to children." Ayumi told them. They looked surprised.
"You tell these stories to kids?!" Sakura asked in horror.
"No! I mean, I used to tell children's stories to children. So I'm used to telling stories." Ayumi quickly explained.
They laughed. "That's a relief. Those poor kids…"
They hung out and chatted for a while more before dousing the fire and went back to the house.
Unsurprisingly, Sakura couldn't sleep that night. She covered her head with the blanket and refused to look, think, or listen to anything.
"Are you still awake?" Eriol asked sleepily.
"Sorry. Did I wake you up?" Sakura asked.
"No. I'm going to the bathroom." He got up from bed and padded over to the bathroom. He used the toilet, washed his hands, and came back to bed. "Want some help?"
Sakura usually didn't like using magic to fall asleep, but she made some exceptions. She didn't want to be sleepy during the day and miss out on the fun. So she nodded and got settled in bed.
"Relax. Don't resist me." Eriol said soothingly. He waved his hand in front of her face and Sakura's eyes closed as she fell asleep.