Disclaimer: I do not own any characters except for Yukimura Miyu.
Chapter Thirty-Six: At the Beach (Part Six)
While the girls had been talking at the café, then harassed by XXX and his cronies and then saved by the gallant Hyotei regulars, things had been happening to the Rikkai regulars as well.
After the girls had gone off by themselves, Bunta had felt bored and because of the huge amount of food he had had earlier, he had fallen asleep on the towels.
He was one of those people who moved and talked in his sleep. As he rolled first one way and then another, he was off the towels and on the sands in no time.
Because of the shade the beach umbrellas provided, he did not wake, comfortable in the breeze. He mumbled something unintelligible and smiled a contented smile in his sleep.
He curled up for a while as if he was hugging something. He straightened again with his arms flung wide, nearly hitting Yagyuu who was still reading nearby.
He caught the attention of the three, also starting to get bored, second years: Akaya, Kamio and Ibu.
888888
Though not on the best of terms, Akaya and Kamio managed to get along every now and then, as boys did.
They were sitting on the sand, complaining about having nothing to do with the girls gone.
Well, Kamio was complaining that An-chan had left him all alone.
Akaya was moaning that his Saku-no-bunny was heartless, leaving him like that.
Ibu was muttering about how he knew it would turn out like that with the girls going off alone and the he would left with a complaining Kamio and how it was actually worse than he had expected because now there was also Kirihara moaning alongside with Kamio and that if he wasn't the one left to sit this out, he would say that it served them just right, etc.
However, when Bunta was moving about in his sleep, Akaya noticed him and he grinned. He called Kamio and Ibu over and they squatted in a little circle and Akaya told them of something to do.
When they heard him out, Kamio grinned and said that it sounded like fun and Ibu nodded.
Ibu thought that anything would be better than listening to these two moan and complain about girls who were not even their girlfriends. It seemed so sad.
The three of them crept up to Bunta. The others took no notice of them.
888888
Sanada had gone off to swim more laps to work off some of his irritation at his immature team-mates.
Yagyuu was deep into his detective novel and he was trying to solve the mystery before he got to the end. He thought that he might have figured the secret of the murder in the sealed room and did not pay attention to anything else.
Jackal had seen a little girl crying nearby and found that she was lost. He had gone off with the little girl to find her parents in the crowded beach and she was sitting on his shoulders, patting his bald head in fascination.
Yanagi and Mizuki were still going on about collecting information, listening to gossip and finding evidence.
Yukimura and Tachibana were having a spirited debate about which of the world famous tennis players were best and both enjoying it thoroughly.
Sengoku had struck up a conversation with some girls nearby who were university students. He was talking to them happily about lucky charms and horoscopes.
They were listening to him, thinking that he was rather cute and very pleasant because he was talking about things that girls would be interested in, instead of bragging about what he had done or what he had bought lately with his dad's money.
Without the intervention of their elders, the second year trio went to work on Bunta.
They started to pile sand on his body, which was actually more difficult than it sounded because he kept moving in his sleep.
However, they managed it very well and soon, Bunta was buried under a pile of sand with his head sticking up.
His face lost its contented smile and he started moaning as if he was having a bad dream. Still, he did not wake up.
Kamio and Akaya grinned at each other and Ibu went off with a bucket. He came back with water in the bucket and the three went to work on Bunta again.
They were making a sand sculptor of sorts and Yanagi and Mizuki finally noticed what they were up to. They came over to inspect their work and added comments.
Mizuki said, "No, the two sides are uneven. You should make it more even."
Yanagi said, "Add some more water or the sand will slide off and the shape will be ruined."
With their verbal help, the second trio finished their proud sand sculptor and they stood up, wiping sweat off their brows with satisfied looks.
Anyone looking at them would have thought that they had been engaged in some great and gallant task that would benefit the world, from the expressions on their faces.
The trio, together with Yanagi and Mizuki looked down at the 'Bunta sculptor'.
It was a sculptor of a naked woman's body with Bunta's head sticking out of it.
It was a solid piece of work complete with big breasts, long legs and even a belly buttonhole.
888888
At that moment, Bunta woke up from his nightmare into another nightmare.
He looked up and saw Yanagi's expressionless but somewhat rather wicked face.
He saw Mizuki's annoying smirk with his finger twirling a curl in his hair.
He saw Ibu with a hint of a rare smile on his face which should have been pleasant except it looked sinister in Bunta's eyes.
He saw Kamio with a pleased and happy grin.
He saw Akaya holding his stomach in an attempt to keep from laughing.
They were standing in a circle looking down at him. No, they were not looking at him. They were looking at somewhere below his head.
He tried to get up but found, much to his outrage, that he was trapped! He raised his head as far as he could and found that he was buried beneath sand. It seemed to be a funny shape though and he could not figure what it was.
Yanagi very kindly took a picture of him and showed it to Bunta. Then he stepped back very quickly, in case Bunta snapped his fingers off.
Bunta saw the picture, took a few moments to register what it was and screamed in mortification.
When he screamed, Akaya and Kamio lost it. They started laughing uncontrollably on the sand.
Yukimura and Tachibana heard their crazy laughter and came over to see what the matter was. They saw Bunta and both stopped in their tracks.
Tachibana quickly clapped his hand over his mouth to try and smother his laughter. It would be too rude.
Yukimura had no compunction and started chuckling.
Bunta was yelling, "Get me out of here! Was it you, Akaya? I'm going to kill you! Get me out!"
He kept up a string of threats and curses and 'get me outs'. It only made the others laugh even more.
By now, Kamio and Akaya both had tears in their eyes and they were clutching their stomachs.
Ibu had disappeared and when he appeared, he had a lot of shells with him. He started to decorate the sand sculptor which infuriated Bunta even more.
His actions caused Kamio and Akaya to lose it all over again and they were laughing so hard that they had to take in deep breaths very now and then to keep laughing.
Yanagi just took pictures of Ibu's actions and Mizuki gave suggestions which Ibu listened to now and then.
Bunta had stopped to take a breather from all the yelling and he started again when he had gotten his breath back.
Yukimura's chuckle had escalated into a laugh. It was not as crazy a laugh as Kamio's and Akaya's but it was still very annoying in Bunta's ears.
Tachibana had also started laughing and in between his laughter, he had tried to say to Yukimura that maybe they should save Bunta. Yukimura was laughing so hard by now that he could only shake his head at Tachibana.
Just then Jackal turned up. He had found the little girl's parents for her and the little girl had given a lollipop to him.
He saw that everyone was laughing like crazy and he quickened his steps to see what he had missed.
He saw Bunta in his 'female splendor' now complete with shells that Ibu had put on.
He stopped in his tracks, took some steps forward slowly, doubting his eyes at this ludicrous sight. Then it registered and he joined the racks of the maniacal laughing people.
Bunta noticed his doubles' partner and yelled, "Jackal, where've you been? Stop them! Stop laughing and get me out! Get me out I say! Hey, Jackal!"
Jackal could not even answer him, he was laughing too hard.
All around them, people were staring at this lot of good-looking young men. All of them were acting as if they just escaped from the lunatic asylum.
They were all around Bunta so other people did not notice him but still their laughter attracted a lot of attention.
Sengoku and his new-found friends had also noticed their lunacy and he pretended that he did not know this childish lot.
He wanted to go and see what they were laughing at but he liked spending time with these lovely ladies more, so sorry friends!
888888
In the meantime, Sanada had stepped out of the sea, feeling calmer than he had been.
He did not want to return to the noisy bunch yet. Dealing with them on an almost daily basis had been exhausting enough, he did not want to deal with them at the beach also.
He strolled along the beach, looking to see if he could find Sakuno. Suddenly he halted. He had just seen someone extremely unexpected and he wondered if he should ignore him.
However, the other person was in a very good mood and had decided to bestow his greetings to this other rival of his.
Atobe Keigo, surrounded by girls and Kabaji and his butler, raised his glass and called out to Sanada Genichirou, "Sanada! How nice to see you! Come join us!"
Sanada had no choice but to walk over. He never was a rude person but he really did not need this right now.
As he made his way to Atobe, the girls made way for him because he was a 'guest' of Atobe-sama's.
He stopped in front of Atobe and saw that next to Atobe was Akutagawa Jiroh, sleeping on the sand.
Atobe had ordered Kabaji to move Jiroh over to where he was sitting. Atobe had said, "Otherwise, he might be trampled to death in his sleep by my numerous admirers."
Sanada said, "Atobe, I never thought to see you here."
Atobe answered with a flick of his head, "Of course! How can anyone guess what I am about to do, en, Kabaji?" Kabaji answered him in his usual monosyllable way.
Sanada looked around him, "I see that you have not changed one bit, Atobe." Atobe smiled, "What? Are you jealous that I have more admirers than you, Sanada?"
If Sanada had been someone else, he would have rolled his eyes. He was not though and he refrained from making any reply.
Atobe took a sip of his drink and he asked, "Say, Sanada, I cannot believe that you are alone at the beach. Where are your companions? You can all join me, if you wish, en?"
Sanada answered immediately, "Thank you for your offer but there would be no need. I am here with my team-mates and some other friends. I should be going now. Goodbye, Atobe."
He turned to go but was stopped by Atobe.
Atobe said, "I have decided to come with you and say hi to everyone. After all, it is not everyday that I come to a public beach, en, Kabaji?" Kabaji, of course, agreed with him.
Atobe ordered, "Bring Jiroh along, Kabaji. We wouldn't want him to be left alone, would we, en?"
To the girls, he blew a kiss and said, "My kittens, I'll be back soon!" The girls sighed and oohed and ahhed but much to Sanada's relief, they did not follow them.
He wondered if this day was a nationally proclaimed 'Beach Day'. How come he kept coming across people he knew?
He did not sigh but he did quicken his steps, wanting to get this over and done with.
He had no idea that there would be more chaos waiting for him back where everyone was and soon, they would be joined by yet more people.
If he had known, he would have not walked as quick as he was doing now.
Instead, he would probably be dragging his steps… or maybe not because he was the Emperor after all.
888888
Sakuno, An and Miyu led Oshitari, Gakuto, Ohtori and Shishido back to where everyone was.
When they had left, everyone was still pretty normal, chatting and being laid-back.
Now, they wondered who these people were with their familiar faces and extremely maniacal laughter.
Miyu and An hurried to see what the matter with Sakuno after them. When they saw Bunta, Miyu and An immediately fell under Bunta's spell and started laughing.
Miyu gasped out, "Oh my goodness! Bun-chan? Bun-chan? Hahaha!" An heard her and could not stop laughing.
Sakuno was dumbfounded. She could not help giggling but she also thought maybe she should help Bunta but oh, it was so funny!
Oshitari, Gakuto, Ohtori and Shishido also arrived after the girls. Gakuto and Shishido took one look at Bunta, who was still yelling and screaming and screeching to no avail by the way, and started pointing and laughing at him.
Especially Shishido who had played with Ohtori against Bunta and Jackal before and had lost. He had not felt so good in a long time and he was really enjoying this.
Oshitari grinned nastily and said, "Ya-re, ya-re, what do we have here?" He chuckled, not laughed, but his one chuckle was so full of meaning that Bunta was set off once again!
He had had a large lunch and now had a lot of energy to burn. Unfortunately, until someone came and set him free, he was stuck to yelling threats and curses.
Ohtori was more polite than his elders but even he could not help smiling at the sight.
He had to turn away and smother his chuckles beneath his hand and as he looked away from poor Bunta, he saw his buchou walking towards them with the Emperor who looked… scary.
Sanada had seen his loony team-mates and their companions from a distance off and was now, not in a good mood al all.
He arrived and Atobe was close after him, with Kabaji and Jiroh over his shoulder.
Atobe saw Bunta and widened his eyes. He gave a bark of laughter, "Marui? Ha! I never knew that you have such interests!" His sarcastic words almost made Bunta burst a vein.
Sanada was silent as he stood there, trying to hold in his temper. What had they been up to in his absence?
Sakuno went next to him, "A-ano, Sanada-senpai…" She had not seen such an angry Sanada before and she did not know if she should speak to him but she half felt sorry for Bunta.
Sanada reined in his expression when he heard Sakuno's voice. He turned and looked at her. H
er gentle presence always calmed him and he said, in a gentler voice than he himself expected, "Sakuno?" Sakuno smiled timidly, "Ano ne, Sanada-senpai…"
She did not get to finish her sentence because Sanada had noticed the bruise on her wrist and his face darkened.
He interrupted her, "What happened to your wrist, Sakuno?" Sakuno blushed, "Huh? I-it was nothing…"
Sanada ignored everything else and took hold of Sakuno hand and inspected her wrist. It was a pretty nasty bruise and he said firmly but still gently, "Come, let me put something on it."
He took Sakuno off to one side, away from all the lunacy, as he thought of it, and along with Sakuno, took away Bunta's chance to be freed immediately.
Everyone's attention was on Bunta and no one noticed them. Sanada applied something on Sakuno's bruise that was cool and nice-smelling.
As he was doing it, he made Sakuno tell him what had happened and she did, leaving out the conversation beforehand. Sanada's eyes darkened when he heard of XXX hitting on Sakuno.
888888
Just then, Niou came back with two people tagging after him.
Niou had taken the boy off to the showers to wash off the ice-cream on their bodies.
He had learnt that the boy's name was Auel Neider and that he was visiting with his companions. He said that the girl was called Mayu Asuka and learned that she was a nuisance sometimes and that she liked Sting and she was Shinn's sister.
He babbled on and Niou had listened with some amusement. He was not really interested but felt that it did not really matter.
When they came out, Mayu was waiting for them. She had asked immediately, "Can we go and get Mayu's ice-cream now?" Auel had followed suit and they had looked up to Niou with twinkling eyes that said in volumes, "You promised"
He quirked a smile and led them to get ice-cream and then he was prepared to part with them and go back to where everyone was.
He had said, "Well, enjoy your ice-cream! Ja!" He turned to go and after a few steps, turned back and asked, "Why are you following me?"
Auel and Mayu, both licking their ice-creams, looked at each other and had said, "Don't know."
Niou said with a rare patience, "You should go back to your friends now."
Auel said, "Neo and Kaasan are off swimming. Stellar is off somewhere playing in the sea and Shinn's with her. Sting told us to get lost because he wanted a break. We're bored."
Mayu nodded, "En, Mayu's bored. Mayu's stuck with Auel because Sting wanted to rest and onii-chan is off being lovey-dovey with Stellar-neechan."
Auel looked at her, annoyed, "What do you mean, you're stuck with me? I'm the one stuck with you!"
Mayu stuck her tongue out at Auel rudely, "No, Mayu's stuck with stupid Auel!"
Auel was about to argue back when Niou put a stop to their bickering again.
No wonder this Sting person wanted a break if he had listen to them all the time. He was starting to have a bit of sympathy for Jackal who had to deal with Bunta and Akaya in similar situations.
He said, "Whatever, if you're bored, then find something to do! I have to go back to my friends."
The two looked at him and Mayu said, "We found something to do, ne, Auel?" Auel agreed, "Yeah, we want to come with you!"
Niou felt it was probably quicker to let them tag along. They would leave when they wanted to.
Besides, there were more people back there and he could always leave them with someone, probably Jackal.
He said, "Well, since you're coming along, I'm Niou Masaharu."
Auel answered him, "Okay, got it, Niou!"
Mayu said, "Auel, you should call him Masaharu-niichan, no, that's too long. Can Mayu call you Haru-niichan? Lacus-neechan has a toy called Haro. It sounds similar!"
Niou blanched at the thought of being called 'Haru-niichan'.
He said firmly, "Just call me Niou. You can't come along if you call me Haru-niichan."
Mayu pouted, "Oh alright, Niou-niichan."
Therefore, together with these two tagalongs, Niou made his way back to the chaos that he did not know was waiting for him.