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I was packing my luggage in front of the fan with my body drenched in sweat when I received a phone call.
"Naruto, which is better — blue or purple?"
Chiaki threw me that random question all of the sudden. I could hear the music from Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat in the background on the other side of the phone. Blue or purple? What's going on? Also, where are they calling from?
"You see, Weiss and I are currently buying our swimsuit. I've already decided on pink."
"Ah. You guys are at the mall?"
"Yup yup. And since it's already the summer holidays, there's a lot of people here. It's so packed."
So Chiaki really went out with Weiss to buy swimsuits together? I was quite surprised.
"And Weiss just can't decide. Naruto, you pick one."
"Why me?"
"Because Weiss says she doesn't know how to swim! And that means the swimsuit that she's buying will be for looks, so Naruto has got to be the one to choose!"
"I don't know what the hell's going on in your brain. Pick it yourself!"
"Ah, forget it. Right, I'll take the photo of her trying on the swimsuit with my phone and mail it to you."
"Y-You can't!" Came the voice of Weiss from behind. It sounded like she was close to tears.
And with that, the call was disconnected. What the hell is that? I flipped the phone in my hands repeatedly — I was actually waiting for the mail for quite a while, so much so that I had nearly forgotten to resume packing.
A picture of Weiss in a swimsuit huh… I definetely want to have it. Will she really mail it over? No no no. What the hell am I thinking? Weiss will definitely reject that.
But it's all thanks to Chiaki that I remembered something — I went over to the drawers and dug out my swimming trunks, then slipped it into a corner of my backpack. Will we have the time to swim when we are there? The beach? Everyone will be in their swimming wear, right? Suddenly, I began to roll about on my bed for no rhyme or reason. It was only till now that I could finally understand a little of the feelings of my classmates when they were creating up a stir back then. It's just the four of us there — just the four of us, and it's at the beach, and we're staying in a villa. How should I put it? It's just feels incredibly awesome.
I quickly got myself back to normal, and sat on my bed. It's less than two weeks till our next live performance. Practice is of topmost priority. In any case, tomorrow's the day. We were supposed to gather at the Hatake's Musical Instrument Store the next day, which is the store where Kagurazaka Senpai works at. It's of a considerable distance away from the shopping street where the closest train station is located at. The musical store is kind of old, and located in a narrow three-story building, which looks like it could collapse once an earthquake hits.
Recently, there has been quite a few regular patrons coming down here. Once it hits late night, the store will become a place where musicians gather and hang around. When Chiaki and I reached the place at nine, there was a large white-colored SUV parked on the road in front of the store. Kagurazaka Senpai was just about to lift the drums into the boot. As for Weiss, she was sitting in the backseat with her body sticking out of the car, and looking at Senpai carrying up the musical instruments into the car. However, Weiss squeezed herself back into the car once she caught sight of me.
"Morning! Hey you two, mind helping me carry the amplifiers?"
Senpai's forehead was filled with huge drops of sweat. That's quite a huge SUV that we have here. Even with all the musical instruments piled up in the car, there's still some space left.
"By the way… who's gonna drive? Can't be Senpai, right?" I asked that while helping out to move the amplifiers.
Ever since I heard about how we will be heading to the beach by a car, there was this uneasy feeling inside of me: is it possible that Senpai actually owns a driving license?
"Hmm? We have our very own driver! He'll be picking us up on our way back as well."
"Huh?" Could he actually be the unlucky store owner Kakashi-san?
Just then, there was some rumbling sounds coming from within the store, and a Marshall amplifier which was about as tall as me suddenly appeared before my eyes.
"Kakashi-san, I'll shift the amplifiers in. Go get the three guitars and place them beneath the seats."
"Alrighty." Kakashi gave a wry smile after hearing Senpai's instructions.
"Eh? Eh!"
Chiaki suddenly let go of the bass amplifier that she was carrying with me when she saw the face of Kakashi-san. I barely managed to move the huge amplifier into the boot. What the hell, that's really dangerous!
"Kakashi-san? Why are you here?"
"Well, I'm the driver for you guys today, Chiaki." Kakashi-san removed his black glasses and showed her a smile.
"How did you get to the state of being our driver?" Chiaki stuck her head into the space between the driver and co-driver seat and asked.
The last row of seats were let down so as to make space for our luggage. As a result, Chiaki, Weiss and I were all sitting shoulder-to-shoulder at the second row.
"Obviously because I've lost a bet against Kyouko. The original condition states that I will have to lend you guys the villa for three-days and two-nights, which I thought was too good an offer. Should I had known earlier, I would not have offered to drive you all to the villa as well."
Ah, indeed… so that's how it was huh?
"What did Senpai bet on then?" Chiaki directed her question to Senpai, who was sitting on the co-driver seat.
"I told him that I'd offer myself to him for three-days and two-nights."
"Senpai!" Chiaki and I yelled at the same time.
"Please treasure yourself more!" Chiaki grabbed Senpai by her two arms and shook her gently.
"But it is impossible for me to lose to a person like Kakashi-san. Thinking back, I should not have agreed on just three-days and two-nights — instead, I should have signed a two-years contract with him."
"Don't be silly. That villa does not belong to me alone. I co-funded it with a group of people."
"How exactly did you guys go about with the bet?" I tried asking her for the details, since I was really interested in knowing how the hell she has that sort confidence in her.
"A karaoke duel. What a stupid guy he is for thinking that he could obtain high scores easily, just because he's good at singing. In actual fact, there was no way he would win against me, since I had already rigged the scoring system."
That's just despicable… why did you do that to a professional musician?
"Damn, shut up. I won't lose next time," Kakashi-san tapped his palms against the steering wheel.
"Actually… you lost the moment you allowed Senpai to decide the rules of the duel. I think it's better for you to be more careful the next time round." I couldn't help but to give him that piece of advice, since I found him deserving of my pity.
"Really… you've been fooled by her before?"
"Ah well… umm…"
In the end, all Kakashi-san did was to show a wry smile. As the car entered the intersection, our conversation topic finally went in the direction of music.
"It's been my dream to play the guitar. However, Deidara — oh, he's the guitarist of our band, by the way — he says that I suck at playing it, and was thus banned from guitars. Then again, it seems like that person's interested in being the lead singer as well, but he's not that good at singing. Due to that, we frequently poke fun at each other's poor techniques. We'll occasionally switch our roles onstage in secret as well."
He said that the rest of the members that joined them later are their close friends. Which means, they have no relationship with the Melancholy Wolf, right? I was slightly at ease. Even though they are an underground band, it will still be quite intimidating to perform in front of professionals.
"You guys may be the opening act, but you can just relax with your performance."
"What do you mean by relax with our performance? No way. We'll intoxicate the live audience with our singing," Senpai retorted.
Speaking of which, what sort of friendship is she sharing with Kakashi-san? There is just too much mysteries in regards to Senpai's social circle. Is she really just a high-school student who's one year older than me?
"You always say that you want to play the guitar, and yet you'll take the mike away to sing during secret gigs. Since you're not that good with your guitar techniques, then shouldn't you just put in your full efforts into the guitar that's in your hands instead?"
Senpai's words were becoming increasingly sharp. In response, Kakashi-san turned up the car stereo. There was a sudden loud blast from the speakers. I could hear cheers, background noises, as well as the drum sticks that were tapping out the countdown. And next, flowed the splendid but overly coarse sounds of the Les Paul guitar. Then, came the hoarse voice that sounded like fine liquor.
It's Tamio Okuda's live album — Umi eto (Into the Beach). It felt like the instruments buried within our luggage were resonating to the sounds produced by the speakers, which caused them to produce some noise. Despite listening to the rough rock-music, I was suddenly assaulted by a wave of intense sleepiness. It's probably because I stayed up late last night to pack my luggage…?
There was the soundproof wall outside of the car's window. The roofs of the cars that passed by our SUV were glittering brightly under the rays of the sun. Above them was the sunny sky of summer that extended endlessly outwards. As for Weiss who was sitting beside me, the color of her eyes were exactly like the color of the sky which I was seeing. I closed my eyes, and allowed my body to immerse itself into the voice of Tamio Okuda.
(◕ω◕✿)
I woke up. Turning my head slightly, I could see Weiss's face right before me.
… Eh? She exchanged sights with me, and her face went red immediately. I quickly raised my head up in shock — it was only then that I realized that I had leaned my head on Weiss's shoulder while I was asleep.
" S-Sorry."
"I-It's nothing. Oh, we've reached our destination."
Weiss suddenly looked out of the windows and mumbled… we've reached?
"Hey, come help us carry out the stuff if you're already awake."
Chiaki pulled me by my ears all of a sudden, and that caused my sleepiness to disappear immediately.
"Wow…" I couldn't help but to exclaim in awe as I stepped out of the car.
Amid the sparse forestry that consisted of slender trees, stood a pure white villa that was bathing in the rays of the sun that were filtered by the trees. I could see the beach through the gaps between the trees that were behind the villa.
After making our way past the villa and through the trees, we found ourselves standing on the edge of a cliff. The uneven stacks of boulders stretched its way to the far side away from us. The rocky shores were jagged in shape due to the constant corrosion from the waves of the sea. The sea breeze that was carrying a rich smell of the waters blew against our faces, which felt really refreshing. Wait, can we actually swim here?
"It will be troublesome for us if the villa was located near a sandy beach, since there will be lots of visitors around," that's the explanation Kakashi-san gave us. "Don't worry though, the rocky shores are really fun too."
"I'll teach you guys how to head down to the shore later," And with that, Kakashi-san led us back to the place where the car was parked.
The villa looked just like a recording studio. As we stepped right through the door, we could see an upright piano, DJ mixer, microphone stands, studio monitors as well as recording devices — all located in the main hall. It's said that Kakashi-san had chipped in some money together with a few of his musician friends to buy this villa. The use of this villa is then rotated among the individuals during summer, where it will be used to make some music or to compose a few songs. I see, so that's the reason for them to choose such a remote place? This building is standing by its lonely self amid the trees next to the roads, and we can't see any other structures from here as well.
The sofa and tables in hall were placed right next to the walls, which makes the place pretty spacious. Even so, the space available was reduced by a lot when we had finished moving the amplifiers and the drum set in. As a result, we could only have our meals on the balcony. The ceilings of the main hall were made high, which could be easily seen by the shape of the huge slanting roofs of the building. Seems like the bedrooms were all located on the second floor.
"But we have a slight problem here…"
With the luggage out of the way, Kakashi suddenly said something while we were all relieving our thirst with some cold drinks.
"Well, since it is rare for us to sleep while we are at this villa, we have only constructed three bedrooms here."
We took a look at each other. It's obvious even without counting that there's four of us in the band. I took a look at the upper end of the spiraling staircase: there were indeed three doors along the protruding walkway that is extending out of the tall ceiling.
"Well… what should we do about this?" I looked at Senpai and asked.
"Which means, the question now is — who should I be sleeping with, right?"
No, that's not it.
"Well, it will be detrimental to our friendships should I sleep with either Comrade Schnee or Comrade Aihara… it can't be helped. Young man!"
"Definitely no!"
"What are you talking about, Senpai!"
"That's probably the worst decision, isn't it!"
Senpai seemed to be very surprised after she was retorted by the three of us at the same time. Kakashi-san almost fell off from the sofa due to laughter.
"Then… young man, you shall decide who you want to sleep with."
"Enough! Let's not carry on with any discussions about that."
The final decision was that I would sleep on the sofa in the hall. Kakashi-san then told us the routes to the shores as well as a place where we can buy things, and so on. It was already noon by the time we were done with everything, and that means it was time for lunch. However, Kakashi-san made his way into the car and said it was about time for him to go.
"Kakashi-san, I'll be preparing some food. If you don't mind, how about joining us for lunch?"
Though it was a bet which he lost to Senpai, he still loaned us the villa for free, and had even drove us all here. It just felt like we are chasing him away when he is no longer useful, and that doesn't feel too right.
"Nah, it's okay. I'll get really envious if I stay any longer." Kakashi rested his arm on the window of the driver's door, and said that with a laugh. He then put on his sunglasses.
"Well then, I'll be coming here at noon on the day after next to pick you guys up. Hey, Kyouko, make sure you clean up this place properly! I'm lending it to you all for free, but there's still some conditions attached to it." And with that, he started the engine.
"Mmm, I know that, you loser." Senpai's reply was pretty wicked as well.
"Thanks, Kakashi-san." Chiaki waved her hands hard at the SUV that was moving away from us. Weiss remained silent.
"Well then…" Senpai turned around to face all of us. "Comrade Schnee, please proceed with the opening speech for the training camp."
"Eh? M-Me?"
"Of course! You are the Chairman! The job of your role is to say something at times like these."
"But…"
"Anything will do."
"Mmm…"
Weiss lowered her head, and proceeded to draw a few circles on the sandy ground with the tip of her foot. Chiaki and Senpai maintained an upright standing posture while waiting for Weiss to deliver.
She suddenly lifted her head up, probably due to the pressure from the two girls, and said, "… T-The training camp shall go on all the way till it is time for us to go home."
And what about after the training camp's over? Chiaki insisted willfully that she wants to have our lunch at the beach.
"There's plenty of books that say that the breeze of the seas will increase the taste of the onigiri by multiple-folds!"
"You'll have to wait till two if we start preparing the rice right now. How about sandwiches instead?"
"Uhh… can't help it. I'll give in this time."
What's with that smug look on your face!
"How about we change out of our clothes while we wait?"
"Hold on a second. What's with the sudden desire to swim? What exactly are you here for?"
"To swim and to suntan?"
It's to practice! Just as I was about to say that out loud, I saw Kagurazaka Senpai coming out from the storeroom with a parasol and a rolled-up mat in her hands.
"So you guys are that excited about swimming!?"
"We can practice after the sun's set, so we should swim while the sun's still up. Isn't that so?"
Well, you're not wrong, no wait, can't fall into her trap.
"Alright, change out of your clothes, Comrade Schnee. I'll help rub the suntan lotion over every inch of your body."
With her intentions fully exposed for all to see, Kagurazaka Senpai grabbed Weiss by her hand. However, Weiss shook her head.
"I hate the sea."
"Why?"
"And I've never swam before. I'm scared."
"No problems. The shores here are not shallow, so you won't be stepping on anything before long — there's no chance of you stepping on sea urchins."
Chiaki, why are you scaring her like that? Weiss remained seated on the sofa, and shook her head. I actually thought a little bit about it though — heading to swim right now instead of starting off with practice does seem to be a pretty good idea as well, since that may allow Weiss to settle down slightly. However, that doesn't seem to be the case.
"To think that we specially purchased the swimsuit together," Chiaki complained while puffing her cheeks.
Senpai heaved a loud sigh, then said, "Mmm, I get it. It will be pointless for us to go to the beach when Comrade Schnee does not want to go. Let's start practicing after lunch. We can leave the swimming for later — when we're all sweating from our practice."
Chiaki began to tune the drum set at the main hall, while Senpai's tinkering around with the effects unit. As for me, I made my way into the kitchen. The kitchen is a small area right next to the main hall. Sadly, there's no gas there, and instead there's an electric stove. Thankfully, there's a large frying pan, which will be convenient should I want to make omelettes.
Just as I was about to drain the lettuce dry from its water, the sound of the waves of the sea came in via the ventilators. I see, the kitchen's facing the sea. It's a real shame that I'm not able to see Weiss in her swimsuit… I recalled the phone call from Chiaki. In the end, she didn't mail me the photo — what sort of swimsuit did they buy?
"… Need my help?"
Weiss's voice came from my back all of the sudden, and that cause me to nearly drop the cooking chopsticks onto the floor.
"Eh? Ah, n-nah. It's fine."
"Why are you that surprised?"
I can't possibly say that I was imagining you in a swimsuit, can I?
Since Weiss doesn't use any effects unit, she was already done with her tuning, and had nothing to do. Then again, there's nothing much she can help me with the sandwiches anyway.
"So… I don't really know what I should do."
Weiss said that while squatting down at the door that connects the kitchen to the main hall. It felt like there's a deeper meaning to the line which she said — it was not just referring to the work in the kitchen.
I guess… she must have been alone all this while. A pianist will be at his loneliest not when he is practicing alone, nor is it when he is doing the recordings. It's when he is sitting in front of the orchestra, and listening to the solo of the cello in the third movement of Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 — that's something that I read in Mom's article. However, Weiss is not by herself now. I hope she can realize that. Still… is it really possible? Can I make her understand that before the training camp's over in three days?
(◕ω◕✿)
If you ask who in the band moves the most — without a doubt, that will have to be the drummer.
"But even so, you don't have to drum while wearing your swimsuit! Go change!"
"But it's so hot!"
Once we have taken a short break after lunch, we began our practice immediately. The ventilation of the villa's main hall is pretty good, so it feels pretty comfortable without the need of any air-conditioning. Even so, Chiaki, who's sitting between the drums and exercising her whole body, is already drenched with sweat all over. She changed into a bikini for the top half of her body, while still wearing a pair of shorts at the bottom.
I could catch glimpses of her sakura-pink bikini and her glistering skin due to the sweat through the drum set, and that caused me to be unable to concentrate a single bit, which resulted in me playing a few notes wrong. Senpai stopped the playing repeatedly, which is something that rarely happens. She then actually said this:
"Everyone, just change into your swimming wear!"
"Is there any point in doing this?"
"We can feel the warmth of each other through our skins."
That's the logic? That will make me play worse, so no thanks. However, I knew that the reason for the pause in the practice was not due to my mistakes.
Senpai turned down the volume of her guitar and placed it back onto the stand. She then walked towards the other side of the hall — towards Weiss, who was leaning against the back of her chair. Weiss took a glance at Senpai, before shifting her gaze back towards the Stratocaster guitar that's in her hands.
"Comrade Schnee, you have two options right now…"
Senpai raised two of her fingers and showed it to Weiss. Weiss's body flinched.
"One: change into your swimsuit so as to allow us to feel the warmth of each other through our skin…"
"… No."
"Or two: you are not to rush ahead by yourself. You are not the only one who's playing."
Weiss sat down on the sofa. Despite her nodding her head grumpily, she did not once look straight into Senpai's eyes. Senpai stared at Weiss's forehead for a long while. She then suddenly turned her body away.
"Let's have a fifteen-minute break to calm down."
And with that, she opened the glass door and stepped into the balcony. I had no idea what I should be saying, and I couldn't get close to Weiss either. All I did was turn down the volume of my bass and place it on the stand, then squat down on top of the small carpet.
"Hey, Weiss…"
I lifted my head in surprise when I heard Chiaki speak. At the same time, I saw Weiss looking towards the direction of the drums with an expression on her face that was exactly similar to mine.
"You performed much better on the day when you first played together with us, you know?"
Isn't that a little too harsh and direct? But I felt the same way as well, and I believed Weiss knew it too. It was on eight month ago when the four of us played together for the very first time. We had yet to achieve the same standards of the song Kashmir which I had shown to Jacques. How exactly did we manage to hit those standards back then? There was a sudden silence amid the stale hot air in the hall, which caused me unconsciously remember the heat which I had experienced back then.
Weiss and I exchanged sight for a brief moment. Even though she lowered her head instantly, I knew she too was reminiscing about the memories of then as well. It's because her eyes were affixed on my bass — a unique bass which I had customized all over again, so as to match the timbre of Weiss's guitar. No. I should say… that it was not just my strength. Because there's the four of us.
"I know," Weiss murmured.
"Then… why now we can't replicate the performance we had back then?"
Chiaki walked to Weiss's side and stuck her face close to Weiss's so as to stare at her. Weiss turned her head away to look out of the window.
"Back then, I wasn't…" Weiss stopped abruptly. Back then, you weren't?
"You weren't thinking about all these things that are troubling you?" Chiaki knelt down before Weiss, and finished Weiss's sentence for her. Upon seeing Weiss giving a nod, Chiaki then took a step further.
"You know… you can just forget about those troublesome things while you're playing with the band!"
Weiss did not offer a reply to Chiaki. Instead, she once again shifted her gaze back to her guitar. She swung her hand that was holding on to the pick, and a series semi-quavers flowed out from the high positions, which sounded just like the screeches that are produced when one scratches the surface of a glass — it's the opening of the song He Man Woman Hater by Extreme.
Back when I tried lending this CD to Weiss, she seemed to be particularly fond of the opening sequence of the song, which had elements of the baroque organ. It was before long that she had practiced it to perfection. The scary thing is, in the original version, the opening of the song is played by utilizing the delays of the dotted notes, as well as the dependence on the effects unit. However, she managed to play out each and every single note by using only her hand. I hugged my knees silently, and immersed myself into the sounds of her guitar that were raining down on me.
Weiss's already so incredible by herself. The reason to be in the band, and the things to worry about — perhaps it is actually me who should be thinking about all these things instead? Is the unstable sound from Weiss's guitar because of me being unable to catch up to her? Suddenly, a series of metallic clashes overlapped the sounds of the guitar. It's Chiaki. Unknown to me, she had already made her way back to the seat at the drums, and was stepping on the pedals of the cymbals in sixteen-beat tempo to match up to Weiss. Weiss's guitar picked up speed, as though it was trying to break itself free of the tempo.
I picked up my bass once again, and raised its volume as I prepare myself to intervene the duel between the two. However, I couldn't do it. Where exactly should I step in, and using which note? I was clueless. It was because I could not follow their pace…
I gave a sigh, and placed my bass on the sofa. The words which Senpai had said sometime ago were reverberating in my ears yet again: You are not following us! Instead, you are our heart. You made it sound real easy, but…
"Alright, halt!"
Senpai's words came between Weiss's guitar and Chiaki's drums forcefully. Even though she wasn't using a mike, her voice managed to cause the two girls to stop their performance due to their shock, and turned their heads over. Senpai was already back in the main hall without us noticing. Next, she removed the T-shirt from her body, and her upper body was wearing only a blue piece of bikini. I reflexively shielded my face with my hands. Is she for real!?
"Ah well, let us just start from this song then. Comrade Aihara, please continue on with the sixteen-beat tempo. Young man, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and —"
"— I-I am to change into my swimming wear as well?"
"Hmm? I'm referring to your bass."
Whoa! Dammit, that's a really embarrassing misunderstanding. It's your fault for bringing that up earlier!
"I won't be stopping you if you want to change into your swimming wear here."
"I never said that!" I quickly slipped my arm through the strap of the bass.
Chiaki once again began stepping on the pedals. The irritating tempo sounded as though someone had increased the speed of the ticking of the clock, and that caused the atmosphere of the main hall to become tense instantly.
"Comrade Schnee, come here for a moment."
Weiss was slightly surprised by Senpai's instruction. Senpai was asking Weiss to head right to the front of the bass' amplifiers, as she urged Weiss with her hands. She then suddenly hugged Weiss tightly from behind, who was still carrying her guitar on her back.
"Eh? A-ah!" Weiss twisted her body about as she shrieked.
What the hell is Senpai doing? Just as I was about to run towards Weiss, Senpai shot a fierce gaze at me with those beast-like eyes of hers, and that caused my legs to ignore my instructions. Senpai continued to hug Weiss by her slender waist tightly with her left arm, with no intention of letting her go.
"Young man, the beats."
Even if she says that, what should I play?
"Anything is fine. We'll go along with you."
I moved my gaze away from Senpai's face, and exchanged sight with Chiaki. Her eyes were telling me, 'Idiot! Hurry up and play!' I resigned myself and muted my bass. I paced myself to Chiaki's beats, and began playing the nearly scaleless opening with the dotted rhythms, which sounded just like one punching his fist against the stomach.
"L-Let me go!"
Weiss's right hand was still tightly grabbed onto by Senpai. She was struggling really hard. Is there really a meaning behind all these things? I continued playing with an uneasy feeling. It was obvious that Chiaki's really fired up though, since her tempo was slowly picking up speed.
"Nope. Listen carefully."
I could hear the calm voice of Senpai amid the beats.
"Music existed way before you were born, and it will continue to exist even after you die. Therefore, you do not have to worry. Just relax and listen. Even if you are no longer playing, you should be able to hear the sounds that you've played earlier on."
Weiss stopped struggling. Just then, I heard it as well — like a surge of electricity, the reverberations of Weiss's guitar were wandering between the melody of Chiaki and me.
"Can you hear it?"
For some unknown reason, I could even hear the soft murmurs of Senpai as she whispered from behind Weiss's ears. Weiss nodded her head with a blushing face.
"Do you want to play?"
I did not catch Weiss's reply to Senpai's soft questioning this time round — or at the very least, I did not know that she had nodded her head in response. The rhythm would not be stable should I not focus my attention onto my hands.
"Mmm, but this is still not enough…" Senpai said teasingly, and with that she took away the pick from Weiss's right fingers.
"I still can't let you play yet." Senpai grabbed onto Weiss even tighter when she turned her head around.
At the same time, the hallucinatory sounds of Weiss's guitar were becoming clearer and clearer instead. I released the mute, and allowed the bass to release its clear sounds… right there! Weiss's guitar should be joining in right there. Each and every descending note which I played thereafter were calling out to Weiss — it was like they were slowly pumping the blood into her limbs.
"Not yet… hold on, we're reaching there soon…"
In response to Senpai's low voice, Weiss's sweaty left hand was twiddling the six strings of her guitar. The interweaving noise were sandwiched between Chiaki and I, and the throbbing deepens. It is not time yet? The pair of hands are still not moving yet?
"Right, hold on… Mmm, let's go… 2, 3, 4"
Chiaki and I held on to our breaths as an electrifying sound blared out from the amplifiers of the guitar. The remnants of the opening of He Man Woman Hater that was in my ears became all clear again, as though the missing pieces were filled up completely.
I raised my head as a chill ran through my body. There's a certain someone in front of the amplifiers — the silhouette of the person with a guitar on her was slowly becoming clearer. The fair fingers were dancing between the six strings. The slightly darker fingers were holding onto a pick and strumming it around the pickup to create an intense and incredible melody.
I knew that Weiss's the one who's pressing onto the chords with her left hand, while Senpai who was hugging her from behind was strumming the strings with her right hand. But… how the hell did they do that? Is that really Weiss and Senpai, and not some unknown person whose name I don't even know? No, I know her. At the same time while I was strumming my bass with my fingertips and constantly sending blood to her body, I realized that I had already knew what her name is feketerigó. She's right here.
The pleasant and numbing series of running notes had finally turned into the tapping arpeggios. Senpai's fingers struck the strings hard at the opening rhythm, and Weiss's fingers replied with three different notes, which sounded perfectly in place with the elaborate rhythms created by Chiaki and I. While the harmony was gradually changing, a set of triplets leapt past the difference in the pitch of the scales in a single shot, as though it was streaking through the torrential rain. What followed immediately after was another set of incredibly strong triplets that stopped the rhythm. And then, a moment of silence descended upon the main hall…
"No, mmmm~." Weiss gave a sweet moan, which surprised me.
I gathered my senses and took a quick look — Senpai, who was still hugging Weiss tightly from behind, had suddenly pulled away Weiss's snow colored long hair, and was softly nibbling on her earlobe.
"W-What the hell are you doing!?" I immediately rushed towards them to pry them apart.
Weiss had finally regained her freedom, and the first thing she did was to hide herself behind my back, and stare at Senpai with a teary expression just like that of a cat that had almost drowned.
"I really can't afford to be negligent to you!"
"Sorry sorry. I couldn't hold on any longer, so I accidentally…"
"Accidentally my ass!" What exactly is going through your mind during practice!?
"I mean, there's a delicious-looking pair of ears that is swaying in front of my eyes, yeah? Young man, you should know what I mean!"
"Who knows what you mean!?"
"Stupid Senpai! I've told you that you're not allowed to do such things as you please!" Chiaki join me to retort her as well.
In response to our rage, Senpai replied to us like how a child would when he is throwing a tantrum,
"But, it felt really comfortable just now, you know? Of course, I'm not talking about it in a sexual manner…"
"There's no need to for that strange annotation of yours!"
Weiss moaned with a "Uhh". Seems like she had no intention of leaving my back just yet. I was surprised by her flushed face as well as her teary eyes.
"I'm sorry. Next time, I'll remember to bite Young man's ears too. So please return back to your bass."
That sexual harasser!
After that Weiss and I returned back to our position unwillingly. As for Senpai, she just laughed it off and walked back to her guitar.
Senpai carried her Les Paul guitar on her shoulders. The instant she lifted the pick in her hand — there was no exchange of words, and there was no need for a countdown. We exchanged sights through the air briefly, and it felt like a jolt of electricity had run through us.
The perfectly synchronized playing then began. The heavy beats; the riffs with the sextuplets slipped into it; and also even though I did not play this song much, the melody of the bass were flowing out of my fingertips naturally. Weiss's guitar solo wove out a rainbow bridge from the peak of the our integrated music. Senpai did not use a mike, but the singing voice of He Man Woman Hater had definitely made its way vividly into our ears.
I could feel the body warmth on my back. It's Weiss. She's right there. Before we knew it, we were no longer separated by a thick door between us. I can finally come into direct contact with her, and somehow it feels like I can even hear the sound of her heartbeat. It was a real pity that we did not record the ensemble of that day.
::::::
"No Women Allowed!"
Let me tell you about this love and hate relation
Between a man and a woman
And so none of you all get the wrong interpretation
I can't live with them
I'm gonna die without them
Sooner or later
You'll be a he man woman hater
It's inevitable
And to become one
You've gotta really hate to love them
He man woman hater
He, he man woman hater
You know I love to hate cause I hate to love them
He man's behavior
Doesn't need no explanation
We all got a one track mind
He men have always had a sexual preoccupation
It's gonna be your place or it's gonna be mine
Sooner or later
You'll be a he man woman hater
It's inevitable
And to become one
You've gotta really hate to love them
He man woman hater
He, he man woman hater
You know I love to hate cause I hate to love them
He, he man woman hater
Can't live with em gonna die without 'em
::::::
(◕ω◕✿)
Night came rather quickly. In the end, we didn't go to the beach that day — there was no time to do so, because nearly all of the time was spent on practicing. Even if one of us calls for a rest, Weiss would hold on to her guitar without letting it go. She would then wander around the drum set as though she had something to say, and after a while she would begin strumming a rhythmic jam session. Once she starts playing her guitar, Chiaki would join in with her drums, and then practice would start again… the process repeated all the way till night time.
The night descended, and there was only a single candle placed on the table at the balcony. The candlelight was shining on Weiss's face, which was pressing against the neck of the guitar and facing downwards. She's just out from the shower, right? A towel was still hanging on her shoulders, while her wet hair was draped on the towel. A refreshing gust of wind breezed through the comfortable shades of the night. Is she thinking of something? Weiss finally raised her head up when I placed the cup of Oolong tea onto the table.
"There's sugar added in this."
"… Thank you."
After thanking me with a soft voice, Weiss grabbed the cup with a complicated expression on her face and took a sip on it.
"Is it nice to drink it sweet? Wouldn't it taste disgusting with sugar added into the Oolong tea?"
She suddenly raised her head and looked at me with her eyebrows raised.
"Have you drank it before?"
"Nope, never."
"Then don't belittle Oolong tea that has sugar added in it. Try it before coming to a conclusion."
Weiss stared at the cup of Oolong tea in my hand. Mine obviously had no sugar in it — I guess this is probably what you mean by a cultural difference? I sat down quietly, and took a gulp of my tea. After putting the cup down, I allowed the night winds to caress my hot arms and legs as they please. It somehow feels like the asphyxiating sounds were still reverberating in my body. Can Weiss understand my feelings as well? I sneaked a glance sideways. Her face seemed furious, and she suddenly covered my head with the towel from her shoulders.
"… What's this!?"
"Because you have a really pervert expression on your face!"
She was angry.
"I'm Not!"
And with that, Weiss went back to staring at her own palms again. What a confusing person she is… the glass door was pushed open, and Chiaki walked out of the hall while drying her hair with a towel.
"Right, you guys know where Senpai is?"
Chiaki asked after sitting down on the chair next to me.
"She asked me to tell her when everyone's done with their baths, but she's not in her room."
She probably went somewhere. Then again, there are only the forest, the beach and the road nearby, so there's not much places that she can go.
"Where exactly did she go?"
We looked towards the direction of the fence of the balcony, and into the vast and dark forest. A brushing sound suddenly came from the back of the villa. Chiaki ran to the edge of the balcony and stuck her body out.
"Senpai!"
A silhouette appeared from the darkness — it's Kagurazaka Senpai. She had let down her hair instead of tying it up as usual, and that caused the contours of her silhouette to be blurred. She was grabbing her guitar only by its neck, and allowed the body of the guitar to hang freely below her.
"Where did you go?"
"The beach." Senpai said softly, and showed a weak smile.
The beach? But it's already dark out there? When I returned to the balcony with Senpai and Chiaki's cup of Oolong tea in my hands, Senpai was already sitting on the chair opposite to where I was sitting in earlier.
"Something happened?"
"Mmm…" Senpai looked into the sky as she pondered on how she continue on with her sentence.
"One song's not enough. But at a time like this…"
I sat opposite to Senpai, and saw an empty score placed next to the candle. She's still composing? But we are less than two weeks away from the our next performance.
"Fifty minutes should be a breeze if it's just a jam session, right?" Chiaki said. "Not only is Senpai here, but Weiss's around as well. It should be a piece of cake for us to play a song for fifty minutes if we are on a high."
It is definitely possible for Chiaki and Weiss to play on and on if there's no one interrupting them.
"All I've done is bringing the score here." Senpai stretched herself hesitantly.
"I feel like inserting a slow song in the middle. I was thinking that I should be able to come up with something if I soak myself in the sea at night… but I came up with nothing even after making my way down to the shores."
"That's dangerous! Please don't do that again!"
She's someone who will really jump into the sea with her guitar on her, so that's quite scary.
"The current me is spoilt for choice."
She said that while staring at the water droplets that were running down the surface of the glass cup. Spoilt for choice?
"The things that we can do now, and the things that we can't… I want to try all of them. I mean, it's rare for us to get fifty minutes of performance time."
I thought about it for a while. This will be our second live performance. There's no need for you to go all out for it, right?
"How about we perform the songs from The Eagles? I want to try playing Desperado. It should be fine for us to do a cover or two in our performance, right?"
We've always warmed ourselves up with the various songs of The Eagles, but why haven't we played that song before? It's a song that I really liked… but Senpai shook her head gloomily.
"We won't perform that song."
I was surprised at how straightforward Senpai was in her objection towards my suggestion.
"Why?"
"I can't exactly say why. And it's not like I really liked The Eagles either."
Then… why are we always practicing on their songs? But I could somehow understand a little after Senpai had said that. Senpai's preference is skewed towards the hard rock of the early days, where the guitar and the bass play together in unison. In contrast, The Eagles is a band that composes melodies that are easy to the ears, and their songs have a mature air around them. The rock band that had released award-winning singles one after another is kind of an extreme counter-example of what she likes.
"What sort of song is that?" Weiss, who was sitting next to me, asked.
"Well…"
I am certain that the song is in the iPod that I brought here… but I swallowed back the words that were about to come out of my mouth. The opening of the song is played by a piano. Somehow, it doesn't feel like it is a good idea to let Weiss listen to that song. I borrowed the guitar from Weiss, and began playing Desperado. The cheers followed right after the end of the melody of the opening. Desperado. Why didn't I notice it sooner?
"You been out ridin' fences for so long now…"
A hand suddenly stretched out in the direction and grabbed hold of the neck of the guitar together with my left hand. That shocked me. I shut my mouth, lifted my head up, and saw Senpai right before me. She had stretched herself out over the table from the opposite side to stop me from playing on any further.
"… Senpai?"
I could not even speak from my shock — instead, Chiaki was the one who gave a tiny whimper in my stead. I could not pry my gaze away from Senpai's eyes. It was as though the darkness in her pair of eyes were swallowing me up. What's… going on?
"Ah, nothing. Sorry."
Senpai forced a smile, and released her hand. I am certain that her smile was a facade.
"I really… don't wanna hear that."
Senpai stood up. Her long hair spread out behind her back.
"I'll be back after a shower. Young man, it's about time you decide on who you'll be sleeping together with."
"I already said that I'll be sleeping on the sofa below!"
Senpai laughed and waved her hand gently, before disappearing into the other side of the glass door.
Geez… what was going on with Senpai just now? For a moment, her eyes there seemed to be a hint of loneliness in them.
After I was done bath, I returned to the hall. Aside from the guitar stands as well as the amplifiers and stuff, there was no one to be seen in the hall. The air felt slightly cold. Even though it's summer, the temperature at night has dropped down considerably.
Speaking of which, I am to sleep on the sofa, but there's neither pillows nor blankets here. I'll probably catch a cold if I fall asleep like that. There should be spare blankets in the bedrooms, right?
I was a little troubled when I made my way up to the second floor — I had no idea who's staying in which room. Ah, whatever. I'm just here to borrow some blankets anyway. I knocked on the door closest to the stairs.
"… It's not locked."
Came a weak-sounding voice. It's Weiss huh? I was strangely nervous when I opened the door.
"W-Why are you here?"
Looks like she was nervous as well. Weiss's sitting on her bed in her blue pajamas. The room's all dark. She had curled herself up while hugging onto the pillow, and was staring towards my direction.
"Umm… is there any spare blankets around? I want to borrow one from you."
Weiss nodded her head and pointed towards the door to the storage space. She then shifted her eyes back to the screen of the handphone which she was holding in her hands… hmm?
"You brought your handphone here?" I remembered her saying that she didn't when I asked her earlier on.
"Papa wants me to bring it along. But I don't really know how to use it."
"Ah, I see." That's something to be expected from Jacques, who dotes on his daughter a little too much.
"And I don't really know how to store phone numbers…"
"Wait for me for a while."
I walked down the stairs to get my handphone. I then keyed in the number that Weiss told me, and made a call to it. The predefined ringtone rang from the handphone in Weiss's hand.
"Y-Ya!"
Weiss almost dropped her phone down in panic, though I managed to catch it before it hit the ground. My phone number was appearing on the LCD screen of the phone.
"Shall I help you store this number?"
"Mmm."
Just as I was exchanging our numbers and teaching her how to store it in her phone, a heavy-sounding orchestra ringtone rang again on Weiss's phone.
"… It's from Papa," Weiss pouted.
What piece is that… Gluck's opera? It's the aria sung by the character Agamemnon in Iphigénie en Aulide — Ah, my lovely daughter. Looks like Jacques had already stored his number in her handphone and set the customized ringtone for it. I have never seen a father who dotes on his own daughter as much as he does.
"… Hello?"
"Weiss? Is that you? You're still awake? There's a time difference of fourteen hours… isn't it twelve midnight over there already!?"
Weiss took the phone call by placing her handphone next to her ears, and Jacques's voice came out through the speakers right after that. He was so loud that even I could hear him.
Damn, you're noisy. Since you know it's midnight here, cut down your volume already.
Weiss knitted her brows, and tossed the handphone onto the other side of her bed.
"I'm about to go to sleep." She said softly towards the phone, which had rolled its way to the end of the bed.
"Are your hand alright? Did you apply ice-compress on them? You didn't go down to the beach and play in the water, right? The sea breeze is bad for your skin and your hair, so you'll have to…"
How can they converse with the phone so far away from her?
"I'm fine."
"Don't even think of not covering yourself with a blanket when you sleep, just because it's summer. How's the place you're staying at? Do they have beds there? You guys aren't sleeping together with mattresses laid on the floor, right? I-It can't be that you're sharing a room with Kushina's son, right?"
Weiss answered him with an irritated expression on her face, "He's currently right next to me."
W-What the hell Idiot! Don't tell your father I'm here!
Jacques's voice from the other side of the phone had become strange, turning into something like the sounds of a lion gritting its teeth. Therefore, Weiss tossed her pillow to knock off the phone to the bed below. She then swiftly proceeded to cut off its power, though it looked more like she was about to stomp on it with her foot. The bedroom then fell into silence yet again.
"… It'll be really troublesome later on, right?"
"Who cares. I don't really care what that person thinks."
Seems like there's still quite some distance to go before the Schnee father and daughter can reconcile together.
"But how can he hear you, despite you being that far away from the phone?"
"Papa specially ordered this custom-made phone for me. He says it will be dangerous for my two hands to be tied down when I'm using the phone. Therefore, he wants the phone to be usable even when I am hanging it on my neck or by placing it on the table."
Ah, I see. Weiss can only use her left hand to carry the phone, since her right fingers are immobile. With that, both of her hands will not be free when she's using the phone. But to include microphones with that sort of performance just for that reason alone… isn't that a little too exaggerating?
"I think there's also all sorts of secondary functions as well. Like the ability to retaliate against molesters."
Rather than pitying Jacques, I think it's Weiss who deserves them more — it is a real pain to have that sort of parents.
Just then, a series of footsteps came from outside the door. The doorknob was twisted opened. I stood up in surprise, and the door was suddenly flung open. In the next instant, a patch of whiteness suddenly obscured my sight — an impact landed on my face right after, which caused me to fall backwards.
"Sneak attack successful — eh? What's Naruto doing in Weiss's room?" Chiaki's question landed on us.
I sat myself up, and took a look at the thing that fell onto my stomach. I finally realized that the thing that was flying at me was a pillow.
"… W-What's going on?" Weiss's uneasy voice came from behind me.
"What else? A pillow fight, of course! It's the night of the training camp right now.
"Are you really going to sleep now?"
"Night's the time for us to sleep."
"Too naive! Hey Naruto, move away!"
Chiaki was wearing a set of loose-fitting pajamas. She stepped past my body in order to pick up the pillow. She then used the daijodan techniques of the Judo, and began her assault on Weiss by swinging the pillow downwards from over her head.
Please, I beg you, quieten down a little! Just then, Chiaki suddenly turned her body to face the back, and knocked down an incoming pillow with her arm.
"As expected from a Judo expert. It's like there's eyes on the back of your head." Senpai, who was standing next to the door, was putting on a fearless smile on her face.
I was strangely tired all of a sudden, and the only thing that's going through my head were things like, 'So Senpai's pajamas are purple huh'.
"Senpai, you're really despicable to sneak an attack on me like that!" Look who's talking. Didn't you do the same to me?
"Right, so that means that young man has already decided to sleep together with Comrade Schnee?"
"T-That's not…"
"Not at all!"
Weiss and I objected at the same time, but we didn't continue on after that. That's because Chiaki had picked up the pillow once again and slammed it onto my face at full force.
"Geez! Stupid Naruto!"
And with that, Senpai came into the bedroom as well, which marks the official start of the pillow fight. All Weiss did was hide herself on the other side of her bed — the only things she did was defend herself and retaliate by throwing the pillows back in the direction it came from. She's quite accurate with her throws — though most her throws were directed at me.
(◕ω◕✿)
I woke up from the sounds of the piano. I could clearly see the grains of the tall wooden ceiling. For a brief moment, I wasn't sure where I was. I tried to sit up, but I nearly fell off the sofa instead. The blanket's were on the floor — perhaps I kicked them off me because of the heat? Hmm? The pillow fight… till what time did we stop playing? My memory was a blur as I was exhausted back then. I didn't even remember making my way back to the hall to sleep.
I sat up on the sofa. With my views going all the way to the other side of the hall, I could see the back of someone together with her long black hair, sitting in front of the piano. It's Kagurazaka Senpai. She was using her slender fingers to tap on the keys of the piano as lightly as she could, as though she was trying to write on the surface of the water. Her singing voice that was overlapping the sounds of the piano sounded much more tender than usual. I fixed my sight on her long hair that was swaying to the rhythm of the song, and that went on till the song was over.
"… Morning! You were sleeping really soundly. Are you that exhausted?"
Once she was done with the song, Senpai stood up from her chair and turned around to look at me.
"The look of your sleeping face is just too cute. I was deliberating between punching or kissing you awake. In the end, I chose to wake you up with my singing instead."
Why weren't there options that were much more normal?
"Senpai, you know how to play the piano too?"
"Me? Yeah, though I'm not as good as Weiss."
Senpai closed the lid of the keyboard quietly, before proceeding to walk in my direction and sat down on the sofa next to me.
"How's it?"
"How's what?"
"You've been listening this whole time, right?"
"A new song? The one you mentioned yesterday."
Senpai nodded. I raised my leg up on the sofa, and swallowed the words that I was about to say. How should I go about saying this?
"Somehow, it feels like… it's overly done?"
"Hmm?"
"The tune is beautiful, but it sounds just like the school-anthem of some junior high school. We'll just bore our audience if we perform that on stage."
Senpai laughed heartily.
"Those are some interesting words you're using there, young man… but I get what you mean. This song won't do."
Senpai leaned herself against the sofa and looked upwards.
"How stupid of me to be thinking about such things right now. I was thinking… that the piece would be better if Comrade Schnee was the one who is playing the piano."
"Well…" It's… probably me thinking too much into things? But I don't think that the piano should be used in that song.
"Hey, young man. I think I've managed to gather the best members in the band. But that makes me spoilt for choice, and I'm slowly unable to find my own music. What irony. It feels so painful — just because I am no longer alone; just because there are people around me who can do the things that I cannot do."
What's happening? Why is she saying all of this all of the sudden?
"Senpai, you've been acting strange since yesterday."
"Hmm, really?" Senpai gave her usual laugh, though it seems a little forced.
"Don't you worry! I'm really happy to be able to have a training camp with you guys!"
Senpai then stood up and said with an exceptionally cheerful voice, "Young man, I'm hungry. Comrade Aihara should be back from her jog soon, so hurry up and start preparing our breakfast! I'll go wake Comrade Schnee with a morning kiss."
Just as I was about to block Senpai from making her way towards the stairs, the door of the room on the second floor opened. Weiss walked out in her pajamas while rubbing her sleepy-looking eyes. That was close.
(◕ω◕✿)
"We must have onigiri at the beach today!" Chiaki said that immediately once we were done with the practice in the morning. Yes yes yes, I get it.
"I knew you'd say that, so I'm already done cooking the rice. I've filled the flasks with tea as well."
"Wow, that's impressive of you, Naruto. Do you have telepathy or something? How did you know that I wanted to go to the beach for our lunch?"
"Can't be more obvious from looking at you. You've already inflated the swimming tubes, right."
"Young man, prepare more omelettes. The dishes that you make with eggs are really something!"
As she said that, she began to take out the beach equipment from the storeroom, which includes a foldable deck chair. These girls are really hyped about playing huh… didn't you say that a single song is not enough?
"We have to play when it is time for us to play! It's not like the inspiration will come to me if I lock myself up in a room and cry!"
While I was preparing the rice in the kitchen, I heard the footsteps of two people walking up the stairs. Before long, I could hear them making their way back down.
"Naruto, look here!"
A voice called out to me from my back. I stuck my head out to look into the hall, and what appeared before me was the scene of Chiaki and Senpai in their swimsuits.
Uwaah! Though I had seen them in half of that attire yesterday, the impact of seeing them in their full set is just way different than before.
Chiaki's swimsuit had a skirt by her waist, which looked a little childish. She was holding onto a gigantic swimming tube as well as an inflatable killer-whale doll in her hands. And since she was standing next to Senpai, whose figure rivals that of a model, the result was an incredibly clear… umm, contrast between the two of them (in many different aspects). Moreover, I could see the drum set, the huge Marshall amplifiers and etc behind them — the whole scene just seems surreal.
"Hey, snap out of your daze! Don't you have any feelings about this?"
"Well… how about you girls wear this on stage during our actual performances?"
"Senpai, that's what he said?"
"Mmm, we can consider it."
Don't take that seriously!
Chiaki turned her head around to look at Weiss, who was sitting on the sofa and tuning her guitar.
"Weiss, hurry up and change too."
Weiss shook her head, "Let's practice instead."
Since the ensemble we had yesterday, Weiss had turned into a practicing fanatic. It's the same for today as well — she refused to let go of her guitar ever since we had finished our breakfast. She seemed to be in a bad mood as usual, but I think that's because she could not practice despite her really wanting to. There's nothing bad with that though.
"Moreover, I can't swim."
"But you bought a swimsuit!"
Chiaki stepped up her attack against the cowering Weiss.
"Geez, Weiss is never united with the band!"
Weiss seemed like she was shocked. She looked at Chiaki, Senpai and me. There's no need for you to put it so harshly, Weiss suddenly stood up as I was thinking that.
"… I understand. I'll be back after changing."
She then made her way up the stairs and into her room.
"Naruto, you go change too."
Chiaki kicked me in my back.
"… Fine. I get it, you guys just make your way there first. I'll send the onigiri over later."
It's really easy for the guys to change into their swimming wear, and we don't have to apply those troublesome stuff on our skin either. Due to that, Weiss was not out of her room even after I was done with kneading the onigiri and wrapping up the omelettes with the aluminium foil. She probably requires more time to change due to her right hand? There's a girl changing on the second floor while I'm preparing the food — somehow, the whole situation feels a little strange.
It seems awkward to wait for Weiss to be done with changing, so I yelled towards the second floor, "I'll make a move first!" I then put on a sweatshirt and made my way to the beach. Weiss arrived a while later. After seeing her violet colored swimsuit that's beneath her hoodie, I finally understood the reason behind Chiaki's persistence. Both swimsuits are the same style. The only difference is the colors.
"Naruto, take a photo for us!" Chiaki ran to Weiss excitedly.
"Young man, what should I do? I'm facing a problem here." Senpai was lying next to me beneath the parasol. She said that to me with a sweet voice after taking a look at Weiss, and then at Chiaki.
"What's wrong?"
"The two of them are just too beautiful. What a headache."
How do you expect me to answer that!? Just sleep quietly!
We laid our mat on a small sandy area between the boulders, and sat down to have our lunch. Due to the small space, I could easily see Weiss's fair skin at a very close distance. And then there's Chiaki's tanned skin, as well as Senpai's… umm… in any case, I was the only one who ate lunch while facing the cliffs. However, they had no intention of letting me off easily.
"Naruto, I want to eat the dried plums, so help me peel them."
"Peel them yourself!"
"Young man, I've spilled tea on my swimsuit. Can you help me wipe it off?"
"Wipe it yourself!"
"Ruto, help me to wrap the seaweed."
"Wrap — wait a second."
I did it like how the convenience stores do when I was preparing the onigiri — by packing the seaweed separately from the rice. I should have just wrapped the seaweed onto them if I had thought of this earlier.
"Geez Naruto, you spoil Weiss too much! You have to let her do things like these by herself."
Didn't you ask me to do everything as well!?
"And so I'll be eating this —"
" — You can't!"
Chiaki and Weiss pounced towards the wrapped onigiri in my hand at the same time, which resulted in them crashing into me and crushing me at the very bottom.
Hey! We're touching each other at a lot of places, and it hurts! Just as I was struggling hard beneath Chiaki's tummy, Senpai took the onigiri off me and ate it.
"A peaceful resolution. Can I sit on the very top?"
"Please stop. I'll be squashed to death."
I crawled my way out from beneath Weiss and Chiaki's bodies and immediately distanced myself from all of them to take a breather. I don't remember Chiaki's breast being that well-developed, so when did they — no wait, what the hell am I thinking here!? Calm down. Deep breaths. I took a look at them while squatting down, and found Chiaki and Weiss staring at each other.
Once again, the view of both of them in their swimsuits came into my eyes, and for a long while I couldn't make my way back to the mat. We were all sweaty from our lunch, so Chiaki pulled Weiss to the beach right after they were done with it.
While putting on an unwilling expression on her face, Weiss said, "But I said I couldn't swim!"
"I told you it's okay! Just hold onto Torajirou!" Chiaki said as she patted the giant inflatable killer-whale doll hard. So you even gave it a name huh…
"B-But… what if I fall off from it?"
"Naruto and I will be there beside you. Isn't that right?"
"Yeah…"
Weiss shut her eyes while grabbing the killer-whale doll tightly. She even trembled for quite a while, before finally giving up with the struggling and placed her legs down. The sea is not shallow, and the waters were already at my shoulders despite being only a slight distance away from the beach. Due to me wearing a pair of beach slippers, I could occasionally feel the sharp edges of the rocks beneath me.
"It's so cold…" Weiss mumbled.
"But it feels comfortable, right?" Chiaki, who was on the other side of the killer-whale doll, said.
Weiss opened her eyes timidly. As Chiaki had been swimming forward non-stop, we were already of a considerable distance away from the beach. At that position, we could see the contours of the wave breakers that were created by stacking the wave — dissipating blocks together. A bunch of cumulonimbus clouds were gradually gathering right above it. The waves were constantly pushing us back to the shores, but we went against the currents and swam further outwards.
What appeared before our eyes were a stretch of deep blue color, a stretch of sky — blue color, as well as white that was overflowing from the intersection of the two at the horizon. It felt like my limbs had dissolved into the cool waters of the sea — the only thing that proved my existence was my heartbeat.
"… It's beautiful."
Those words leaked out from between Weiss's lips. Ever since we hit the waters, Weiss had been grabbing onto my right arm tightly. I could feel that the trembling of her hand was gradually dying down.
I lifted myself up to sit on the left fin of the killer-whale doll, and scanned the surface of the sea. The sea that stretches endlessly outwards are of the same color as those of Weiss's eyes. How I wish that time would just stop like this. Should the skies continue to be as clear as then forever, Weiss and I will probably be able to swim to anywhere we want. However, my slowly drifting thoughts were pulled back to reality by Chiaki's voice.
"And next, we'll have to get Weiss used to coming into contact with the waters."
"Eh? Kya!"
There was a violent shake to the inflated doll, and a splash of cold water flew into my ears. I quickly grabbed hold of Weiss's arms to support her.
"S-Stop!"
"It's fine, it's just the sea water!"
Chiaki began splashing the waters onto Weiss's body. From the sound of her voice, she seemed to be really happy. Weiss kept moving about in an attempt to avoid the attacks from Chiaki, and that caused me to waste a lot of effort in maintaining the balance of the killer-whale doll. Though this time round, Weiss did retaliate against Chiaki as well.
After having her fun in bullying Weiss, Chiaki said from the other side of the killer-whale doll, "It's about time for us to head back?"
"I want to go back as soon as possible." Weiss's voice sounded like she was close to tears.
"Naruto and I will be swimming back first. Do your best with Torajirou!"
"Y-You can't!"
With her face going pale, Weiss grabbed me tightly by my arm, so much that her fingernails were digging into the back of my hand. Even after we had our fun at the beach, the summer sun was still shinning high above the skies.
.
.
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