Not really sure what happened to this chapter... it was alright when i saved it, then i posted it and it went crazy. sorry!

Chapter 1: Sunshine Surprises

"Ah, the sun feels so good!" Ayano stretched with her arms wide to the open sun, her loose open necked t-shirt slouched in blue over her white bikini outlined by a black rim of it's strings.

She's spent the last few days with Yukari and Nanase shopping, and they'd somehow convinced her to buy three new bikinis for the trip. Kazuma had already moved back to his place for the week and Ren had his own social life with his friends. Jugo hadn't seemed to have an issue with it either. They too had bought their own, but frankly up until now she hadn't really had much of any selection for them. Her family was often too busy to really spend time at the beach. She'd only had her school bathing suit and an older teal one from a few years back.

"Isn't it awesome! I'm sorry my brother said he got held up in the city this morning so we can't bring our stuff to his place just yet." Nanase carried her duffle bag over her shoulder, wearing a thicker strapped green bikini.

"Don't worry about it." Yukari pulled along her suitcase on wheels over the lumps and bumps of the sand, with a oversized tube awkwardly around the handles. "As long as we don't get sand in our clothing it will be fine." She wore an orange one, with ruffles along it. It fit her personality, Ayano thought.

"So shall we grab a spot?" Ayano turned to face them.

"Sure! Why don't you choose Ayano?" Nanase nodded. "Somewhere not too far from the water, incase I have to check my cell to see if my brother is back."

"Sure!" Ayano turned and ran ahead to a perfect spot on the beach. It was pretty much empty except for one other person. Most people were on the beach playing sports or in the water with their family.

"Here?" Ayano yelled to them ahead of them.

"Maybe a bit closer?" Nanase asked.

"Okay." She nodded and noticed that now she was completely adjacent to whoever else was on this side of the beach. She put her stuff down and took out her towel. She looked over again.

It was a guy, but he wasn't facing her. She shrugged. Nanase and Yukari sure were taking their sweet time getting over here. She took off her shirt and gleamed under the sun. It was a nice change from all the rain of that old town they'd been at two weeks ago. And to make matters even better this weekend, on the last day, was her birthday. Nothing could ruin it.

She squinted her eyes in the sun to look on the horizon of the beach for Nanase and Yukari when she noticed passively the other person had gotten up.

Brown hair. Taller… Fit body…dark navy swimming trunks…wait…wait…no it couldn't be…

"Kazuma?" She heard her mouth blurt out unintentionally.

"Hey what's wrong Ayano?" Yukari asked as they walked over.

"Where were you?" She asked trying to shake it off in her disbelief.

"We thought we saw someone from class so we went over but it wasn't them. Sorry about the detour!" Nanase put down her own stuff. "Did you bring sunscreen?"

"Oh yea, I have some here. Let me just use it first." Ayano turned around to put sunscreen on when she felt a shadow loom over her on her beach .

"I thought I saw you and that bright red head of yours."

"What?" Ayano looked up to see Kazuma as plain as daylight standing over her.

"Nice bathing suit. Need some help with that?"

"Help!?" She nearly squeezed the sunscreen bottle, bringing her attention back to it. She blushed. "No. Not at all. Why are you even here?" She asked still not certain of the likelihood of the situation, rubbing the sunscreen on herself vigorously as if not to need any chance of assistance.

"Me? Well frankly I was kind of bored in my apartment, so I heard there was a competition on the beach this weekend thought I'd check it out."

"A competition?" She stood up and looked around. She happened to see two younger guys pointing at a stand that held the sign "Bikini contest" on the other side of the beach. "You know…I'm not even going to ask. I'm going to go in the water. Nanase, Yukari you can meet me there if you're coming." Her voice was tinged with apathetic tone.

"What did I say?" Kazuma watched her walk off to the beach, his brow raised.

"Are you actually living with Ayano and the rest of the family now?" Nanase asked.

"That's so cute." Yukari smiled.

"Cute? I don't know if I'd go as far. She's kind of hell to deal with sometimes." His eyes lidded, still not sure what he'd said, but positive he'd hear about it sooner or later.

"So did you actually kiss Ayano?" Yukari asked, too eager to stifle her question.

"She told you about that huh? I didn't really think she was that kind of girl to get excited over that kind of stuff. Then again, it was kind of funny when it took her off guard. Especially the second time." Kazuma watched as Ayano swam farther out into the water. He noticed something, but decided it wasn't his place to do much about it.

"We were totally right!" Nanase smiled to Yukari.

"Why are you girls here this weekend anyway?"

"My brother, Kenta has a place by the water here. It's big enough we can all stay at for the weekend. Ayano's birthday is on Sunday, right, so we just thought it would be fun for her. She seemed really bummed for a while after you guys came back from that youma-trip." Nanase said. "But we better not ditch her so soon. I want to spend a bit of time in the water anyway before your brother calls." Yukari pulled on Nanase a bit.

"Hmm… Kenta huh?" Kazuma said to himself. "You mind if I tag along when you go to meet him? If you want I'll keep an eye on that phone of yours."

"You would?" Nanase asked. "Awesome. I don't know why Ayano says that you can be mean sometimes. Thanks Kazuma!" Nanase passed him her cell and they left. Kazuma went passively towards his place on the beach.

Ayano and the girls swam around. Yukari lounged in her oversized tube and Nanase of course treaded water with ease. Ayano leaned against Yukari's tube, her hand on it for support.

"So why didn't you tell us Kazuma was coming?" Nanase asked, swimming around like a mermaid, easily with little effort.

"I didn't know." She said. She didn't have a problem exactly. It was more the fact that she knew her girls weekend would turn into her as the focus.

"Oh and uhm…Kazuma told us you guys kissed..Twice…straight from the source!" Yukari proclaimed wide-eyed.

"He did?" Ayano asked. "Well…I don't think it means much, considering that he's here for-"

"Hey you girls!"

The three turned around to see a group of three slightly older boys, near an oversized rock not to far from where they were swimming where the water was still shallow.

"Us?" Nanase asked.

"Yea!"

Nanase looked to Yukari, in which it seemed decided that they were going to talk to the boys. Ayano followed, mind still preoccupied with Kazuma's spontaneous appearance.

"Who are you guys?" Ayano clued in as they arrived.

"First Year University. Just looking for some summer fun." There were three of them. A taller one with glasses, a blonde who looked rather athletic and an auburn haired one who seemed a bit more bold.

"But why us?" Nanase asked.

"Well honestly your the only people on this half of the beach. Hey, wouldn't happen to be Professor Kudo's daughter? He said you went to our high school and I remember you beating out most of the girls your first year at the swim meet." The tall blonde asked.

"Yea a lot of people think my brother and I look like my dad." Nanase smiled.

"And who are you?" The one with the glasses asked.

"Yukari. You?"

"Nori. First first year to ever be on the student council at my University."

Ayano noticed that they all got along well, talking in their own conversations diligently, although she couldn't help but notice their stares - did older guys eyes always travel so much? She wondered how old they actually were…they didn't look that much older than Kazuma was. She happened to glance over at Kazuma. He wasn't at his spot on the sand. She walked over a bit away from the group to see a bit further. Probably gone to go watch that bathing suit contest. What a perv - to think that-

"Hey, and you are?"

She looked up to see the boy with auburn hair looming towards her.

"Ayano Kannagi. You?"

"Yuuta- wait, wait, Kannagi? Is the the family that owns that big temple…"

"Yea, why does it matter?" Ayano asked possibly being too pushy unknowingly.

"Oh nothing. So you or your friends have boyfriends or anything?" He asked.

"No, we don't but Ayano kind of does." Yukari gleamed, departing from her conversation for a moment.

"What? No, no I don't." Ayano's face dropped.

"So how about a date then Ayano?" He ignored her comment just as well.

"Look I'm sorry…but I'm not really interested." She said.

"Why's that?" He asked. "It's just a bit of fun that's all your kind of hot and all and-"

"Hot?" She asked. She suddenly felt the sun on her and looked to her wrist for an elastic for her hair. Taking it off of her wrist it fell into the water. "Look I'm sorry but I just don't like you okay?" She started to get aggravated.

He took her tone a little to seriously. She turned away from him to fetch her elastic. He was peeved himself. A girl from highschool wasn't going to deny him just like that? He smirked as he noticed the tie of her bikini around her neck. How about a pay back prank?

Ayano unknowingly pulled her hair up with her elastic and turned upwards towards the group again, suddenly realizing her top was coming off.

"Hey look guys-UHMPH!"

Suddenly the group of guys were all blown sideways by a gust of air, all falling into the water.

Ayano was wide eyed and scrambling to find that Kazuma was standing infront of her. His arm still outstretched from the blast of air he sent, convienently covering over Ayano's lack of cover of her breasts, his gaze focused solely on the boys. Ayano scrambled to put her top back on.

The three boys got up looking wildly at Kazuma.

"So which one of you decided that untying a girls bikini top was the mature way to go when a girl denies you?" Kazuma looked lamely at them raising a brow.

"Woah, woah dude I didn't- wait, wait are you her boyfriend?" The auburn headed boy stumbled.

"Are you the one who did this?!" Ayano yelled.

"Shit, we're out of here!" Yuuta lead the rest of the guys straight from the beach in a flash.

Ayano sighed.

"Oh and Nanase, your brother texted you." Kazuma turned to Nanase and Yukari who were wide eyed.

"Oh okay, I'll go see what he said." Nanase and Yukari ran off.

"Kazuma?"

"What?"

"Uhm, thanks." Ayano looked down, her hair up, top back on and secure.

"No problem. Just beware that, as you should know, most guys are selfish and might get a little peeved if you turn them down like that. Especially when you put it right in their faces…"

"Put what?" She asked.

"Well I mean you are dressed like that and you did turn your back on him."

"So it was my fault?"

"Partially maybe for underestimating a hormonal guy. But you should know by now how we can be. Either way you were lucky I was around to give Nanase the message."

"Lucky for you to save me again I get it." Ayano said half-heartedly and walked past.

"Wait, Ayano." He said and grabbed her arm.

"What?" She turned around and looked at him, his face looked kind of serious.

"You told them that I kissed you huh?" He smirked.

"You know I thought for once you would say something serious or meaningful but instead this." She tried to pull her arm away.

"Well, if you want something meaningful you just have to ask. Plus I mean I was a little honored to think that you actually bragged about my kissing skills to your friends."

"Almost said something nice, but there it goes again…right back to the teasing." She sighed.

"You weren't too bad yourself." He dropped her arm and walked past her this time, flashing her a sideways glance. His eyes getting right under her skin.

"Was that your version of a compliment?!" Ayano asked irritated but blushing.

"Hey guys come on! My brother wants us to come up to his place now!" Nanase yelled from the beach as Ayano tried to catch up.