[Summary: It's time for some relaxation at the beach.]

[8/15: Monday]

Nanako zipped up the duffel bag on the dining room table and then surveyed the living room, running through a mental checklist. Boxed lunches, drinks, beach towels, a roll of toilet paper, lip balm, first aid kit, emergency cash... That was pretty much everything. Right now Aunt Seta was out getting gas for the car, and Saki had gone with her to get some extra sunscreen and a few cheap pairs of sunglasses for everyone at the convenience store. When they got back, it'd be about time to go!

"Souji-kun!" she cried as a thought occurred to her. "Where's Foxie?"

The gray-haired little boy stopped playing on the floor with Yuuta to stare at Nanako with his eyes wide. "Sh-she's safe... in my room."

Nanako set her hands on her hips. "What's she doing there? You know she wants to go to the beach! Isn't that right, Yuu-chan?"

The other little boy deliberately looked away from Nanako. "D-don't call me that," Yuuta muttered.

"Isn't that right, Yuu-chan?" she repeated. The boy in question blushed, and then Souji giggled. The betrayed look on Yuuta's face in response to that giggle was almost too much. "Go get her, Sou-chan!"

Now Souji was blushing, too, but with delight rather than embarrassment. While he rushed to his room to collect Foxie, she considered how much he'd changed since she'd first met the lonely hermit boy. Not so much a hermit anymore, eh? She hadn't invited Yuuta on the beach trip. That had all been Souji's doing.

The boy soon returned with Foxie in his hands. Nanako packed the plushie nice and safe in one of the duffel bag's side pockets.

Kanji wandered in from outside the house. He wasn't wearing a shirt. In fact, he was wearing only a black speedo. Nanako stared, mostly because she was still upset with him and Saki for changing into their swim clothes while she'd been busy helping the boys change in Souji's room. She'd wanted so much to peek!

"Everything packed, Senpai?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," she murmured breathlessly. Perhaps noting the direction of her gaze, Kanji shuffled to the opposite side of the table. She frowned—now the table was totally blocking the view!

"Want me to take that outside?" he asked, picking up one of the duffel bag's straps. He noticed a stray string coming from the strap and began to inspect it.

"Go for it," she said, and she watched Kanji closely as he lifted the bag over his bare shoulder and strode outside with it. She grinned, mostly to herself.

"Kanji-san isn't a cutie pie..." Souji observed.

"He totally is, Sou-chan!" Nanako declared. "It doesn't have to be written on his speedo." She smiled fondly down at her cousin. He was wearing an oversized shirt that came down to his knees. At the moment, no one could see the amazing piece of swimwear he was wearing. Yuuta was also wearing clothes over his swimwear—shorts and a shirt.

Nanako couldn't wait for them to get to the beach.

Speaking of swimwear, the door opened and Saki came in. She was wearing a turquoise bikini that made something in Nanako's chest go doki doki. If Kanji was to stand next to her, she wouldn't know what to look at.

Nanako herself was wearing her sunshine bikini. Saki looked her up and down slowly, and Nanako ran her fingers down her body flirtatiously and then stuck her tongue out. The two girls hadn't seen each other in their swimwear until now.

"The car is gassed up and ready to go," Saki reported when the teasing was over. "Are you?"

"Damn right," said Nanako. "Sou-chan, Yuu-chan, do you need to use the bathroom before we go?"

After ensuring the boys were completely ready for what was potentially a long trip, she led them outside and locked the house. Kanji and Aunt Seta were chatting together by the car, she noticed, like there was nothing weird about that, especially considering that Kanji was only wearing a speedo.

"Tomorrow Ma wants me to help out Kujikawa-san down the road," Kanji was telling her. "The old lady's doing some spring cleanin' or something."

"It's a little late in the year for that," Aunt Seta observed. "It's supposed to be very hot tomorrow. Be sure to stay hydrated, Kanji-kun."

"Y-yeah, I will," he promised, scratching his head rather sheepishly at the woman's concern.

"Now," Aunt Seta said briskly, turning to face Nanako and the boys with her. "Are we ready to go? Kanji-kun, please close the trunk."

"Yes, Ma'am." He closed the car's hatchback, slamming it on accident, and the car rocked a little from the impact. "S-sorry," he said when Aunt Seta raised an eyebrow at him.

Without further ado, Aunt Seta opened the driver side door and made herself comfortable in the car. Nanako grinned wickedly. Now came the fun part: deciding who was going to sit where.

"Might be better if I ride shotgun," Kanji suggested. "Would give me more leg room, y'know?"

Nanako shook her head. "You're in the back. We're all in the back."

"Err... Senpai, that's five of us," he said slowly, as if pointing the fact out to a child about to throw a tantrum. "Not much room for all of us."

"We're all in the back," she repeated. "It's waaay more fun that way."

"Seta-san?" Kanji tried to appeal to a higher authority.

But Aunt Seta pretended not to hear, even though the driver side door was still open; there was no way she couldn't hear. Possibly she was holding a grudge from his treatment of her car.

"Kanji-kun, you go in the middle," Saki ordered. He stared at the two girls for a long moment before going in without complaint. At Nanako's urging, he put on the seatbelt. Nanako took the seat to his right; since she still had trouble hearing out of her right ear, it didn't seem wise to have that side facing her friends. Saki then took the seat to his left. It was a tight fit with the children settled in their laps, but they managed somehow, and soon they were on their way.

A few minutes later saw them moving down an empty tree-lined road. There were no buildings in sight; they'd effectively left Inaba in the dust. Nanako wondered idly how long it would take for the car to come across another car, and was surprised to find a truck suddenly passing them. She wasn't being fair to the sleepy town, was she? The road intersecting the north end of the central shopping district saw lots of traffic during the day, even if the shopping district itself never saw a car go down it.

"So how was first term?" Aunt Seta asked to strike up a conversation while they traveled.

Saki looked determinedly out of the window; it hadn't been good for her. Without a window of his own nearby to look out, Kanji kind of stared ahead, apparently lost in thought. Nanako didn't have an easy answer, either.

And then Souji volunteered, "I like school."

"Lucky you, kid," Kanji said, his mouth twisting. "I only just started going back because of Nanako-senpai."

"It sounds like there's a story there, Kanji-kun," Aunt Seta observed.

"Err," he muttered. "Yeah, she kind of told me we couldn't hang out if I didn't go, so... I don't like it, but I'm trying, y'know?"

"You don't... like school?" Souji sounded awestruck, as if the idea was as foreign as the TV World. "A-all my friends are there."

"Don't have any friends in my class," Kanji went on. "And no one in my class wants anything to do with me, so I won't make any new friends. Not that I want much to do with them, damn bigots." There was a pause as his words sank in. "Err, sorry for that, didn't mean to swear..."

"Aunt Seta can swear with the rest of them," Nanako said. "Don't worry. It's nothing Sou-chan hasn't heard before."

"I don't swear that much, young lady," Aunt Seta protested. "Some aspects of my husband wore off on me..."

In the rear-view mirror, Nanako saw that Aunt Seta now wore that sad smile she always had on during the rare instances in which she spoke of her late husband. Nanako was about to say something, but Saki beat her to it. "You did too have a friend in your class, Kanji-kun. My brother."

Kanji shook his head. "Nah, we weren't in the same class, but... You're right. We were friends." There was a heavy silence for a moment. "You just made me think of this one time Naoki needed help moving some shipment that arrived at the liquor store. Needed some muscle, y'know, so I volunteered to help him get it all in the back. I'm taking a breather after that, Mr. Morooka comes in the store, sees me lounging there, and, well, you know how he was." He glanced at Nanako, who wasn't offended at all. She knew. "He starts ragging on me, but then Naoki comes out from the back, and he... he tells him off, even though he got told off himself, both by Mr. Morooka and by his pa later for talking back to a customer."

"'Look at you, sitting there like you deserve booze!'" Nanako said, imitating Mr. Morooka's harsh and grating voice. "'You think you've got problems?'"

"That's totally what he said, Senpai!" Kanji exclaimed.

"'You're too damned young to have any sorrows to drown, you layabout!'" Nanako began to laugh. "Okay," she said in her normal voice. "I can't keep that up."

"If your teacher really sounded like that..." Aunt Seta was shaking her head.

"He was definitely something else," Nanako said. "Hmm? Oh." Her phone, wedged in the small compartment built into the car's door, buzzed from a text message. She pulled it out, pinching a finger in the process because she could only reach with one hand, what with Souji in her lap. "What's the beach we're going to, Aunt Seta? Shichiri Beach?"

Aunt Seta glanced at her in the rear-view mirror. "We're actually going to go a little past that. The sand at Shichiri is a bit too rocky."

"Do you know what exit it is? Yukiko needs to know."

"You should have invited her to carpool with us," Saki remarked while Nanako was relaying the information.

"I did!" Nanako claimed. "But she told me she had a ride. Sometimes she's no fun."

No fun... Hmm, that sounded more like Chie, actually! Nanako had invited her on the trip, too, but the girl hadn't responded to her texts.

Aunt Seta began to talk a little bit about the beach they were going to. Apparently she had some fond memories of it, so nostalgia was a main factor in why she'd chosen it. While she talked, Nanako began to sneak her hand behind Kanji's back. The boy felt it, she could tell, but he was pretending not to have noticed. What a cutie. It wasn't long before she found the waistband to his speedo. But when she tried to get her fingers under there, Saki slapped her hand away and gave her an inscrutable look.

Nanako wrinkled her nose at Saki, but then she was distracted by a rumbling sensation against her belly—Souji was speaking. "You're not supposed to drink water from the ocean," he said.

"It's pretty dirty, Sou-chan," Nanako said, "when you think about it. Lots of animals live in it."

"N-no, it's not that," he said, looking up at her with his adorable gray eyes. "But it's got... lots of salt. It's bad for you. Umm... Takeyoshi-kun would know more about why..."

"Too bad Ta-kun couldn't come on the trip!" Nanako said. "He could sit in Kanji's lap."

Kanji didn't looked thrilled by that idea. His gangly legs were really cramped as it was—the middle seat had the least leg room. He was going to be sore when they finally reached the beach and got out of the car.

Which wouldn't be too long from now, apparently. Aunt Seta drove the car down the next exit, and soon they were in civilization again. It wasn't a huge city or anything—Nanako pegged it as a tourist destination due to all the sea-themed restaurants they passed.

She looked outside the window when the car was stopped at a stoplight and nearly jumped in surprise. Right on the intersection was a Velvet Room door. And Marie was standing outside of it.

The car began to move, and soon the Velvet Room door was out of sight. That had been pretty weird, but she guessed there could be more than one entrance around. There were already two entrances, what with the one at the TV World backlot. It was something to ask Igor. Funny how she always seemed to forget all these questions she wanted to ask about the Velvet Room as soon as she entered it...

A pinch against her thigh made her really jump. "Hey!" she cried out. She looked and saw that Saki, leaning behind Kanji's back, had tugged on her bikini bottom and then let it go so that the elastic had snapped against her skin. Now Saki's fingers were rubbing against the sore spot as if to apologize. Nanako wasn't mollified until Saki pushed Kanji forward until he was squatting so that she could lean over his back and give Nanako a kiss.

They missed each other at first—it was difficult to keep one's balance in a moving vehicle—and Saki fell against Kanji's back. The boy didn't complain, just bore the treatment without so much as a sigh, and then Nanako twisted as close as she could to the other girl, her head tilted sideways, and finally Saki managed to plant the kiss in the right place. Nanako murmured in appreciation. The kiss didn't last very long—it was just too difficult to stay bent that way. Sometimes Nanako really hated seatbelts.

When she returned to a more normal position, Souji giggled at her. "B-big sis, you k- kissed her!"

She glanced at Yuuta. His eyes were wide, and he began to shift in Saki's lap. "Girls aren't supposed to kiss girls...!" he said.

"Who told you that, huh?" Nanako challenged. "I know for a fact my dad kissed a boy— err..."

Aunt Seta was giving her a strange and unreadable smile through the rear-view mirror.

"Honestly, Nanako," said Saki. "I don't think there's anything I wouldn't believe about your family."

"Whaaa," Yuuta emitted.

"Senpai, be careful," Nanako said. "I think his brains are leaking out of his head."

Saki put her hands over Yuuta's ears and caressed them. "Yuu-kun," she murmured. "I had a boyfriend, but he didn't treat me all that well. Then I found Nanako, and... I don't think I need to say more."

"Once you go Nanako, you never go back." At that announcement, Nanako noticed Kanji eyeing her from his awkward squat. It was as much as proof. "You want a kiss, too, Kanji- kun?" she asked.

"Senpai..."

Souji twisted in her lap. "I-I want a kiss..."

Nanako chuckled and kissed the top of his head with a loud smack. He giggled, and Yuuta glowered in jealousy, though he looked away and pretended not to care.

"Can..." Kanji began. "Can I sit up now? Only my back's startin' to..."

"Don't worry about it, Kanji-kun," Aunt Seta said. "We're almost there."

Nanako looked out the window and found that they were turning into a parking lot. Aunt Seta rolled down her window and paid the attendant, and a short time later they pulled into a parking spot.

The beach was crowded—it was summer, after all—but Nanako and the crew were able to claim a space of their own. They set up a big beach umbrella (sadly neither Loveline themed nor pink) and laid beach towels down on the sand under it. They unpacked the cooler, the duffel bag, and a couple of lawn chairs. Aunt Seta claimed one of the chairs and sat down on it with a book in her hands. Wearing that navy one-piece, she looked like a typical mom. It wasn't likely that she was going to get up anytime soon.

When everything was set out, Nanako ordered Kanji to sit down so that she could apply sunscreen to his back. He obeyed with only a small sigh of resignation. While she was teasingly kneading the skin about the nape of his neck, Saki came up behind her and began to apply sunscreen to the small of her back. It felt cool and refreshing and also tickled. After giggling, Nanako grabbed the bottle and handed it to Kanji, ordering him to apply some to Saki so that all three of them would be rubbing sunscreen on each other at once.

"Now that is one inefficient way to put on sunscreen," a critical voice interrupted. "But leave it to Nanako..."

Startled, Nanako stood up too fast, tripped over her own feet, and fell right into the sand. "Ch-Chie!?" she managed.

"Haha," said Chie. "Are you all right?"

"What are you doing here?" Nanako asked before she could think about it.

Chie scratched her head. "W-well, you did invite me, right...?"

"Well, yeah! But I wasn't sure if you..." she trailed off, because Yukiko had appeared at Chie's side. Nanako glanced from her to Chie, and then back again. The girls were wearing the same swimsuits she'd bought them for the camping trip, which was flattering, but more importantly, had they made up? They weren't holding hands, but they were standing kind of close, though not that close.

"Yeah," said Chie. "Yukiko made me come."

"She made you come?" Nanako raised an eyebrow.

Chie nodded. "Yep, she made me come."

"Say it again," Nanako requested.

"She made me—Nanako!" Chie protested, blushing spectacularly. "That's not funny!"

"Heh heh."

Nanako felt some measure of relief. If Chie was okay with a little teasing like that, maybe things were okay between them!

"S-so," Chie rushed on to change the subject. "Souji-kun, you still need sunscreen, right? Don't let the grown ups hog it all!"

"I... I do, Chie-san," Souji admitted. "And Yuuta-kun, too." He began to struggle with taking off his oversized shirt until Yuuta helped him out.

When it was off, Chie stared at his shiny black speedo, and then she covered her mouth with a hand, hardly suppressing the loud snort she emitted. Yukiko, too, began to giggle, and Kanji covered his face with a hand. "C-cutie pie?"

"It's only the truth," Nanako declared. "Right, Auntie?"

Although Aunt Seta didn't look up from her book, she was wearing an indulgent smile.

"But you haven't seen the best thing," Nanako went on. "Yuu-chan! Take those shorts off."

Yuuta obeyed, and soon his matching speedo was revealed. Souji's was the one with purple text, because of course Yuuta's had to be the pink one.

"Cutie pie twins!"

"They're adorable!" Yukiko exclaimed, holding her hands together in delight.

"I don't even want to know how you found those in their size," Chie remarked.

Nanako only giggled.

After ensuring the boys were liberally sunscreened up, it was time for some fun in the sun. Nanako looked out at the vast and somewhat overpopulated beach, wondering what they should do first. There were people playing volleyball nearby—they could probably join in their game if they wanted. Maybe later.

Without warning the boy, Nanako picked Souji up—ugh, it was a good thing her bruises were healed up, because he was heavier than he looked! She carried him down to where the ocean met the shore. After she shifted him a little bit in her arms, he was looking at the sea with her.

It was quiet for a moment, and then she asked, "Have you seen the ocean before?"

"I don't remember..." he murmured.

She set him on his feet. He wiggled his toes in the wet sand.

"It squishes," he observed.

"Come on," she said. She took his hand and walked him into the surf. He was startled when the water crashed against his ankles, but she steadied him, and soon he was smiling and kicking at the water.

Yuuta joined them, followed by Saki and the rest of the gang. It didn't take long for Souji to get so comfortable with the ocean that he was chasing the surf as it rolled in and out.

"He reminds me of Muku," Yukiko told Nanako. "Chie's dog," she explained further.

"Chie has a dog?"

Yukiko nodded. "It's how we met several years ago. I found the puppy, but my family wouldn't let me keep him, and Chie found me crying about it. She ended up convincing her parents to keep him."

"That's... adorable!" Nanako cried. "You totally need to tell me more about what you and Chie were like when you were little!"

Now Yukiko was smiling rather sadly at her. "Maybe," she said, and Nanako realized that maybe the two girls hadn't completely made up.

"Bosssss," Yuuta whined, interrupting the conversation.

"What, Yuu-chan?" she asked, changing gears.

"I gotta use the potty!"

"Just use the sea," she told him. "You know how many fish pee in it every day? It's not a big deal."

"Bossss," he whined again. "That's gross."

You're a boy, you're supposed to be gross, she thought, but as a boy, he was also not supposed to like the color pink. She frowned at herself for thinking that way. "All right. Sou-chan, do you have to..." She trailed off because Souji was totally having a good time with Kanji—the little boy was on the older boy's shoulders as they walked into the sea. She didn't want to interrupt that. "All right, Yuu-chan, let's go," she revised. "Saki- senpai, come with me?"

The two girls walked together, Yuuta strung between them. He'd resisted holding Nanako's hand—"I'm a big boy!"—but Nanako just grabbed his hand and wouldn't let go until he relented. She didn't let go when they arrived at the bathrooms, instead forcing him into the girls' bathroom with her so that she and Saki could keep an eye on him. There were too many strangers around to let him into the boys' bathroom alone, truth be told, and Saki agreed.

Yuuta was allowed to use the toilet on his own, at least. While waiting for him to do his business in one of the stalls, Saki hopped up on the bathroom counter, right next to the sink. The height difference put her a little too high for Nanako to kiss, which was a bummer. It didn't stop her from putting her arm around the girl's back, though.

When Yuuta came out of the stall, he stared at the two of them, and then glanced determinedly away. She could tell his discomfort wasn't just because he was in a girls' bathroom.

Saki could tell, too. "You want to talk about this," she told him.

"I don't..." he began. He scowled down at his feet. "You're both girls..."

"That's right," Nanako replied. "Does it bother you?"

"It's... it's weird..." he said slowly. "I've never seen it before. Aren't girls supposed to like boys?"

"Some girls like boys," Nanako explained. "But some girls like both boys and girls. And others just like girls and that's it."

He stared at the bathroom's dirty tile floor for a long time, apparently processing that. Finally, he looked up at Nanako. "Wh-which one are you?"

"Honey," said Nanako. "It depends on the time of day and who I'm around. Uh, but what really matters, Yuu-kun, is that you are allowed to like whoever you want to, even," – she leaned against Saki on the sink's counter, and Saki pulled her close – "even if other people think it's weird."

Yuuta was blushing now, and the blush didn't fade as he began to fidget by poking his forefingers together. "Boss, you said... you said that your dad kissed a boy?"

Nanako nodded. "I don't know the whole story, but my mom told me that, so it must be true."

"I don't think I could ask my dad about that," Yuuta murmured. "I don't really know much about him."

"His dad's overseas," Saki explained to Nanako.

"What, so his stepmom is also a single mom? Sheesh... Hey, Yuu-kun, I didn't know that much about my dad either until I moved here. He was just my dad, y'know? Not really a person of his own, just someone who was there. But I'm learning more things about him now. Like, I just learned he used to skinny dip when he lived in Inaba!"

"Oh! We did that, at the river!" Yuuta said.

"Yeah, though you did it by accident! Please don't lose your speedo in the ocean, okay?"

"I-I don't think I will," he said, looking down at it and tugging its waistband.

"C-come on," she said. "Let's go back." A group of loud college-age girls had just entered the girls' bathroom, so it was time for them to clear out.

They returned to their little spot of beach to find Souji and Kanji playing with a green frisbee. The little boy wasn't a very good thrower, nor catcher, as it turned out. Not a sports-minded kid! When the next throw sailed right over his head, he eagerly chased after it.

The sight of Souji having so much fun filled Nanako with such joy that she began to kiss Saki. Her senpai matched her enthusiasm and soon it was hard for either of them to breathe.

"Wh-wh-whoa," Chie stuttered. "I didn't know you two were..."

Yukiko tittered. "Oh, Chie, you're so blind!"

"H-hey," Chie protested, putting her hands on her hips.

"But it was the most obvious thing...!"

"Nanako-chan," Aunt Seta said mildly. "Show some restraint in front of the children, please."

Nanako immediately let Saki go and then panted to catch her breath, her face growing red. Her aunt had been lenient with her behavior thus far; she'd kinda expected a rebuke much sooner, Dojima heritage notwithstanding.

"Thank you," Aunt Seta said, inclining her head in a short nod.

"Y-yeah," Nanako stuttered. In the heat of the moment, she'd been halfway to undoing Saki's bikini top!

Saki nudged her playfully and then strode towards the frisbee disc half-buried in the sand. She picked it up and told Souji to 'go long!'

The boy loped along the wet sand, but tripped. Where he fell left an impression in the sand. He blinked at it, and then poked his fingers into the molded sand. "L-look," he marveled. "You can write in it..."

Nanako laughed. "Write your name, Sou-chan!"

"Me too, me too!" Yuuta cried, running forward.

"Write 'cutie pie,'" Chie suggested in a teasing tone of voice.

"I-I don't know how to spell that," Souji murmured.

"Just look down, kid," said Kanji, and everyone laughed when he did.

Because Souji was already sitting down in the sand, it was time to build a sandcastle. Nanako quickly got down to business scooping sand together, but Yukiko and Chie bowed out of this activity to make their own trip to the bathroom. Saki volunteered to show them the way, leaving Nanako with only the boys.

The castle they built wasn't particularly intricate—it was mostly a single tower with chunk cut out of the top as a makeshift roof—but it was the perfect size for Foxie. Nanako had Souji take the plushie out of its compartment in the duffel bag and place it right on top of the tower. Now Foxie could pretend she was queen. Wouldn't Princess Chan-chan be upset when she found out...? When Souji voiced this concern, Nanako assured him that there was room for more than one royal family, although Foxie would have to prove the validity of her claim. Maybe she could ask Naoto for help forging some documents.

The waves crashing against the shore drew closer and closer. Nanako and Kanji together tried to form a wall of sand to protect Foxie's new home. "Lieutenant Briefs!" Nanako cried. "We can't stop it! You'll have to take the princess and retreat!"

"I-it's okay... if I get wet," Souji murmured. "I'm already in my swimsuit. A-and I can protect Foxie... from getting wet."

Nanako shook her head. "That's defeatist talk! C'mon, Colonel Crochet, we gotta protect the base if it's the last thing we do!"

"Colonel Crochet...?" Kanji gave Nanako a strange look, but shook his head and continued to help reinforce the wall before the next wave hit.

"Lieutenant Briefs? What's that?" Yuuta asked.

"It's... me," said Souji, blushing and not looking up while he shaped some sand around the base of the sandcastle.

"Yuu-chan, you can be..." Nanako paused to think about it. "Major Carnation."

"I... I don't know if I like that," Yuuta admitted.

Souji snorted and then broke out into giggles.

"Lieutenant! Major! Prepare yourselves!"

The two boys looked towards the sea. In the blink of an eye, a large wave crashed over the barrier and splashed right over them. Part of the castle's base was washed away, leaving behind a quickly dissolving mess of sand.

"Ooookay," Nanako said. She swiftly scooped Foxie from her perch before it completely disintegrated. The last thing she wanted was to lose the plushie to the depths of the sea! She handed it to Yuuta, who held it so gingerly that it was rather endearing. He was careful to dust off all the sand from her.

With the sandcastle gone, it was a good time for lunch. Nanako led the boys back to where Aunt Seta was relaxing and opened up the cooler, doling out the boxed lunches to everyone. Everyone? She realized that half her party was missing. Surely they weren't still at the bathroom—that had been almost a half hour ago!

"Where are they?" she muttered aloud to herself.

Without looking up from the book she was reading, Aunt Seta pointed behind her. Looking out, Nanako saw that Saki and Yukiko had joined the volleyball game. Chie was watching from the sidelines.

While the boys ate, Nanako strolled over to Chie's side and observed the game for a moment. The ball came to Yukiko, but she hit it with a little too much enthusiasm and it went out of bounds.

"They're having fun," Nanako commented.

"Y-yeah..." Chie wasn't looking at her. She was distracted by the game. Nanako didn't blame her. There were a lot of pretty girls in it! One girl in particular was almost falling out of her bikini.

"Say, Chie," Nanako said casually. "Thanks for coming today."

Chie didn't respond to that. Nanako realized that she was focused only on one girl in the game.

"I didn't think Yukiko would even want to play sports..." Chie muttered to herself.

Nanako decided not to bother her further, and waved Saki over during the next serve to inform her that lunch was ready.

"Sure, I could use a bite," Saki said.

Sweat was trickling down Saki's brow, and when she wiped it away, Nanako found her mouth watering. It wasn't from hunger. Heh heh.

"By the way," Saki said while they walked back to Aunt Seta, "you're right. Amagi does have nice legs. I noticed during the game."

"Nicer than mine!?" Nanako stopped in her tracks to strike an offended pose.

Saki answered by raising an eyebrow. In a fit of pique, Nanako pushed her until she fell onto the sand and then pounced on her after that.

"Big sis, w-what are you doing?" Souji's voice asked.

Nanako glanced up to see that he and Yuuta were watching. "It's tickle time!" she declared.

"Noooo," Souji wailed, and he took Yuuta by the hand and ran away from the scene, giggling all the way.

Saki snorted under her. "What a smart kid."

"He's really ticklish," Nanako said. "But I wasn't even gonna tickle him. You're my victim!" She set her hand on Saki's belly, intending to tickle her, but suddenly it grumbled under her hand.

Maybe it was time for them to actually eat lunch.

After a long day that included making sand angels, burying Kanji alive in the sand, and a babe hunt that didn't involve any actual babes (it had just been Nanako's nickname for sea shells), the sun was going down, and it was time to go home.

Chie and Yukiko had left a little while earlier to catch the bus; apparently that had been their ride to the beach. When Nanako had suggested they could ride home with everyone, Aunt Seta kindly reminded her that her car already didn't have enough seat belts for everyone.

And speaking of the car, Aunt Seta didn't want any sand in it, so everyone had to get changed into clothes they'd packed earlier. Since the bathrooms were kind of far, Nanako suggested they get changed right there. "We'll hold a towel up for privacy!"

It was, of course, a ploy to peek at her friends—not that she hadn't already seen all of them before, to be perfectly honest.

Nanako grabbed a towel and aired it out, asking Saki to take the other side. They held it by the car to provide a sort of barricade.

Aunt Seta changed first. Nanako averted her eyes, because that wasn't who she wanted to peek at! To her disappointment, while she was looking away, Kanji had changed without even bothering to use her towel-curtain, thoroughly defeating the purpose. Now he was helping Yuuta and Souji change.

She sighed, and then noticed Saki giving her a playful look from the other end of the towel.

"Alright, which of you girls is next?" Aunt Seta asked. "I'll take your spot."

Nanako handed the corner of the towel to her and went behind the makeshift barrier. Since Saki was watching, she ran her fingers down her body first and then slowly undid her bikini top.

"Get on with it, please," Aunt Seta said, her fingers splayed over her face in apparent exasperation, but she was simultaneously rolling her shoulders in suppressed laughter.

Nanako bit her lip and then quickly finished putting on her shirt. With Aunt Seta watching, Saki didn't mess around, either, and soon everyone was changed. The beach umbrella, lawn chairs, towels, and cooler had already been packed, so it was time to go.

Kanji quietly asked if he could take the passenger seat this time. Nanako almost denied him, but since he was looking pretty exhausted by now—those two little boys had worn him out!—she relented. It would give the rest of them much-needed room to stretch out in the back seat. Souji yawned widely when she put the seatbelt over him in her lap, and Yuuta kept rubbing his tired eyes. They'd certainly be going right to bed when they got home.

The only noise in the car as it pulled out of the parking lot was each of its passengers stifling their yawns. Nanako rested her head against Saki's shoulder, cuddled her dozing cousin in her lap, and blinked her heavy eyes. She dully noticed the blue- tinted glow of the Velvet Room door outside the car's window as it stopped at a stop light. Why was it there...? She sighed heavily to herself, too tired to think about it.

Kanji began to snore in the front seat. Nanako smiled to herself. "It was a good day," she whispered, and she barely registered Saki's arm wrapping around her as she, too, succumbed to sleep's siren call.

Author's notes: Hey guys! We love writing this fic, but could we please get some reviews? There were absolutely none last chapter, and it's kind of sad-we work hard on this, so please give us some feedback!

Next Chapter: Ringo Ame

Nanako meets Yuuta's mom, Marie finally goes outside, and Naoto faces the memories of her kidnapping. It's also time for the summer festival!