Ride the Wild Surf

by Adri Mars

AU:: In a small beachside town of Nijibe, here is a story of a girl named Lucia, a boy named Kaito, and a surfboard... and everything else in between. #16 up--- NEED REVIEWS, THANKS!

15. Surfer Moon Part 2

RIDE THE WILD SURF
a Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Fanfiction

by Adrimarie

Surfer Moon (Part 2)

FRIDAY NIGHT - 8/21
(2 Days Before Day 1 of the Regional Surf Scenes Tournament)

JAPAN PRO SURFING ASSOCIATION (JPSA)

in association with

SURFRIDER FOUNDATION JAPAN
REGION OF SHONAN OCEAN SPORTS COUNCIL

TOWN COUNCIL OF NIJIBE

Proudly Presents

THE 1st ANNUAL SHONAN REGIONAL SURF SCENES TOURNAMENT

Individual Shortboard & Longboard Surfing / Tandem Surfing
Beach Babe Beauty Contest / Surf Bands Contest
August 23rd – August 30th

Nijibe Central Beach

Kaigara Boulevard Sector Beaches

Nijibe, Shonan

OFFICIAL SCHEDULE OF THE 1st ANNUAL SURF SCENES TOURNAMENT

8/22 (Saturday)
Tournament Preview Day Press Conference (8:00 – 11:00) - Nijibe Central Beach

Nijibe Summer Festival (17:30 – 23:00) - Nijibe Central Town Square & Nijibe Central Beach

8/23 (Sunday)
Opening Ceremony & Luncheon (9:00 – 14:00) - Nijibe Central Beach

8/24 (Monday)
Regional Surf Scenes Beach Babe Beauty Pageant (14:00 – 18:00) - Kaigara Boulevard Sector 3 Beach

8/25 (Tuesday)
Women's Division Surfing Championships - Kaigara Boulevard Sector 7 Beach
Shortboard Competition (9:00)
Longboard Competition (14:00 – 16:00)

8/26 (Wednesday)
Men's Division Surfing Championships - Kaigara Boulevard Sector 7 Beach

Shortboard Competition (9:00)
Longboard Competition (14:00)

8/27 (Thursday)
Regional Surf Scenes Surf Band Contest - Nijibe Central Beach Auditorium
Surf Rock Instrumentals Segment (19:30 – 22:30)

8/28 (Friday)
Regional Surf Scenes Surf Band Contest - Nijibe Central Beach Auditorium
Pop & Vocals Segment (19:30 – 22:30)

8/29 (Saturday)
Regional Surf Scenes Surf Band Contest - Nijibe Central Beach Auditorium
Tandem Surfers' Performance (8:00 – 19:30)

Regional Surf Scenes Tandem Surfing Championships (13:00) - Kaigara Boulevard Sector 7 Beach

8/30 (Sunday)
Crowning of the Team Champions & Final Ceremony (10:00) - Nijibe Central Beach

After almost a month and a half of intense training, intense testing, intense chilling, and intense romancing, the entire town of Nijibe and all of its competitors around their region including their arch rival Seiyo Valley prepared their battle tactics and armament to take on the region's best surfers and swingers and claim the throne title of the Regional Surf City of the Year and other titles to be awarded to selected deserving individual contestants. Despite of the new changes added a few weeks ago, all teams quickly adjusted to these changes.

This Friday night at Pearl Waters was yet another night of another OC-5 performance. Showing off their new Fender Jaguar guitar series, the band had been giving previews of the songs they will be using for the surf bands contest, which became a three-day event instead of a two-day event as it was originally planned due to the final song the bands had to do that involved their representing tandem surfing couples to have a song and dance performance before the actual tandem surfing championships event begin. These past few weeks, there were some changes around Pearl Waters and the staff. Tonight in particular, Pearl Waters was a complete full house as the small coastal restaurant and beverage bar became the official gathering place of the Nijibe surf scenes team and its fans and supporters.

While the entire house were too busy partying and having fun on the floor, dancing and jamming to the very cool, oceanic OC-5 surfer rock sound, Gaito and Sara were sitting at one of the corner tables away from where the party was taking place. It was not because they wanted to be alone like most couples do, but because Gaito was showing Sara the confirmation papers he received from the tournament committee after he submitted their contest entry with all the names of the team players and the events they will be participating on.

"So, this is the final list?" Sara asked curiously just as her young boyfriend handed her the papers. "Wow, we really are prepared!"

"Look it over, Sara. I need a third opinion to be sure that I have everyone's names on."

Sara read the team list sent by the tournament committee and checked to make sure that everyone's names are there:

THE 1st ANNUAL SHONAN REGIONAL SURF SCENES TOURNAMENT
Official Team Roster: Rainbowside Surf Tribe (Nijibe, Shonan Region)

8/24 (Monday)
Regional Surf Scenes Beach Babe Beauty Pageant (14:00 – 18:00) - Kaigara Boulevard Sector 3 Beach

Contestant: Rina Touin

8/25 (Tuesday)
Women's Division Surfing Championships - Kaigara Boulevard Sector 7 Beach
+ Shortboard Competition (9:00)

Contestant(s): Coco Pacifica, Caren Lake
+ Longboard Competition (14:00 – 16:00)

Contestant(s): Noel Lake

8/26 (Wednesday)
Men's Division Surfing Championships - Kaigara Boulevard Sector 7 Beach

+ Shortboard Competition (9:00)

Contestant(s): Kaito Doumoto, Gaito Doumoto, Masahiro Hamasaki
+ Longboard Competition (14:00)

Contestant(s): Nagisa Shiroi, Daichi Tendo, Kengo Omoshiro

8/27 (Thursday)
Regional Surf Scenes Surf Band Contest - Nijibe Central Beach Auditorium
Surf Rock Instrumentals Segment (19:30 – 22:30)

Surf Band: OC-5

Rihito Amagi (bass)

Taro Mitsuki (lead guitar)
Lucia Nanami (rhythm guitar)
Rina Touin (keyboard)
Hiroki Nanami (drums)

8/28 (Friday)
Regional Surf Scenes Surf Band Contest - Nijibe Central Beach Auditorium
Pop & Vocals Segment (19:30 – 22:30)

Surf Band: Oceanic Crib Five (OC-5)

Rihito Amagi (bass/lead vocals)

Taro Mitsuki (lead guitar/vocals)
Lucia Nanami (rhythm guitar/lead vocals)
Rina Touin (keyboard/vocals)
Hiroki "Hippo" Nanami (drums/vocals)

8/29 (Saturday)
Regional Surf Scenes Surf Band Contest - Nijibe Central Beach Auditorium
Tandem Surfers' Performance (8:00 – 9:30)
Surf Band: Oceanic Crib Five (OC-5)

Rihito Amagi (bass/lead vocals)

Taro Mitsuki (lead guitar/vocals)
Lucia Nanami (rhythm guitar/lead vocals)
Rina Touin (keyboard/vocals)
Hiroki "Hippo" Nanami (drums/vocals)

Regional Surf Scenes Tandem Surfing Championships (13:00) - Kaigara Boulevard Sector 7 Beach
Tandem Surfer Teams: (referred by tandem surfboard christened name)
Coral Star (Sara Iria and Gaito Doumoto)
Aqua Mariner (Hanon Houshou and Nagisa Shiroi)
Surfer Moon (Lucia Nanami and Kaito Doumoto)

"I think all the names are here, Gaito." Sara confirmed the list with a thumb up. "You even got the names spelled correctly too!"

"Good. We're done with that part. All we gotta do now is rest, take a deep breath, relax. But you know, I think we all have put as much effort as we can to condition ourselves for the tournament. No matter what place we end up in the end, I know that we did not win or lose in vain."

"Um, Gaito, I thought Kaito wanted a sweep?"

Gaito snickered as he took a sip from his can of cola in front of him. "Oh we're still aiming for a sweep, but you gotta realize that this is a team sport. Kaito doesn't have to win first place in whatever event he participates, as long as one of us do end up in first place. That will guarantee a total sweep of the tournament. And here's the thing..."

"There's more, Gaito?"

"Yeah. I printed it out on the email. It said that whichever surf scenes team wins in this particular regional surf scenes tournament will be eligible to enter at the upcoming international surf scenes tournament, which will be held in Hawaii---"

Sara shrieked in surprise and stood up excitedly. "Hawaii? Are you serious, Gaito? Oh I always wanted to go there! It's like... one of my personal lifetime goals!"

"Yup. But it's held every two years and they just had it last year, so that means the next one will be held next year during winter."

"Well... we do need as much training as we can to get ready for that really huge event, that's for sure."

Gaito collected the papers from Sara and nodded in agreement. "Don't fret, my love. I'll make sure the dudes and the dudettes and myself would study hard and get the highest grades possible in school so the headmaster would let us enter the tournament without any worry about schooling. I promise you!"

Sara smiled and leaned to him, giving him a quick kiss. "We are a team, Gaito. That means you'll have to let me help you with your studies when you struggle--- though I don't think you won't have much of a problem. You and Kaito are one of the honor students in your school after all."

"Heh... I don't mind help at all..." The two were about to kiss again when they were interrupted by a server of Pearl Waters. "Oh!"

"Sorry to interrupt your special moment, you lovebirds!" A familiar female voice spoke. "Your dishes are here."

Gaito turned his head and smiled right when he saw Nicola serving their dishes. "Cole Seahart--- please do join us for awhile. You look really exhausted."

"Part of being the manager of a very busy restaurant now, you know." Nicola chuckled and took an empty seat on their table. "Well, how's the entry going? Everything ready?"

"Yeah!" Sara softly chuckled. "Wow... I would never have thought that you would ever come back to the surfing world again. What I mean to say is... I feel very honored to get to know you, Nicola--- or do I get to call you Cole too?"

Nicola chuckled and shook her head. "I'm fine with either one, as long as you don't call me something bad."

"So, any word from Maki about our tandem boards?" Gaito asked curiously. "The other tandem surfers have been bugging me about them."

"T-Mac still is a skilled shaper," Nicola said. "He was a lousy dude when it comes to relationships, but I'm completely over him. We're pretty much in friendly terms now. But anyway, Maki just arrived a few minutes ago with the tandem surfboards. He and some of the workers already brought them down the basement."

"They're here!" Sara exclaimed happily. "Wow--- that was fast!"

"He's got his shaper crew with him to do the job. All they need are the diagram schematics and they'll begin to shape the boards. And as everyone requested--- and I'm glad you guys did--- two types of tandem boards: one long and one gun."

"Thanks for everything, Nicola. The entire Rainbowside have been waiting for your return to the beach, you know. Regardless of what may have happened on that fateful day seven years ago, the entire tribe--- and the town for the matter--- still could not forget the most positive moment that happened on that day..."

"My historical Dainami-Oni ride...?" Nicola asked curiously with a nervous smile on her face. "I disregarded it because the loss of loved ones are a lot more important to consider than that crazy wild ride that I had."

"We're still a little scared that the Dainami-Oni may strike again once tournament starts." Gaito answered in a more serious tone. "And that's when we all thought that the only one who can help us survive that crazy wild surf is you, Cole. We want to know how you tamed that wild surf that day."

Nicola nodded, understanding what Gaito was asking of her. "The Tandem Surfing contest isn't until this Saturday, so we got a whole week to train. I don't know how exactly I'm going to show you how I rode that sucker surf, but I can show you some maneuvers and techniques that I used. I hope you all don't mind being trained on land though."

"I just want to be prepared for that once we take on the ocean on Saturday, Nicola," Sara answered with a slight nervous tone on her voice.

"I think all of you would be fine, Sara," Nicola answered with a smile on her face. "All you girls need to do is have faith and trust on your partner when you're out there. Just relax and listen to your partner carefully and do what he says. With full trust and communication, there is no way you will get wiped out no matter how huge the waves may be." She turned to Gaito and provided her own advice. "As the surfer of the pair, Kainehe, please don't be stubborn."

Gaito's eyes opened wide in shock when Nicola called him by his old surf nick. "Uh... right. I mean, I agree. I have to be a responsible surfer when I'm out there with Sara. It's not going to be Sara who will be maneuvering the board, it'll be me."

"My father would not listen to me when I told him that it was best to ride huge waves with a specialized tandem gun... I felt so bad because I didn't feel like I did enough to convince them to use a tandem gun or even stopping them from getting in to the water. If it weren't for my lazy efforts, both my parents--- and your parents too, Gaito--- would still be alive today." Nicola sighed deeply and lowered her head.

Gaito patted Nicola on the shoulder and answered. "You know, Cole... My parents have an automatic instinct of helping anyone who were in trouble. It's all in the Surfing Etiquette Bills if you remember. My parents were protégées of your parents in tandem surfing and they feel that they owe so much to them. Unfortunately, no one can tame the Dainami-Oni with tandem surfers and both your parents and my parents lost the battle. Kaito and I don't blame you for the tragedy. In fact... I think it's because of their death that we found ourselves getting closer to you... to Lucia... and Hippo too."

Nicola nodded with a smile and turned her head and found Kaito at the table, relaxing himself, along with Michal next to him and the other surfer boys at the same table, watching OC-5 performing their tracks as always. "Lucia is very fond of Kaito... what's your opinion, being his twin and all...?"

"My opinion? I have none. Although I can say that Kaito is very fond of Lucia too. I wish nothing else but to see my brother happy, especially when he makes Lucia happy, you know?"

Sara nodded in agreement. "I feel the same. Those two look so cute together! I think this past month and a half I seriously do think that they're both in love with each other."

"I'm just a little weary..." Nicola murmured. "I'm still a little concerned about Kaito and his behavior with girls. I'm overhearing so many things that kids have been babbling about him these past years around here and every time they mention him and his... involvements... with this girl and that girl... I begin to think about Lucia and what type of boy she may end up falling in love with. She's not as strong as I am when it comes to things like this and I don't want anyone taking advantage of her because of it."

Gaito sipped from his soda again and faced Nicola directly. "If you're worried about Kaito doing something really bad to Lucia, I wouldn't worry at all. I know you may not believe me because I'm his twin, but he's not as bad as you think. Sure, he's a little rough on the edges and not exactly the most romantic guy you'll ever meet, but once he meets someone he likes, I can guarantee that person will be having a long-lasting friendship with him. I can't say the same about love, since he hasn't actually been with a girl he's truly in love with. But after getting to know Lucia a little, I think she's a good person at heart. Only a heartless jerk would toy around with someone with a good heart as Lucia, and if that was Kaito, I wouldn't forgive him for it."

"Uh, okay, not to interrupt or anything," Sara began her own statement at the conversation, "but Kaito, regardless of his... uh... weekly girlfriend experiences... if you ask me, I think he's a lousy boyfriend!"

"Sara, more of like--- his weekly girlfriends are lousy girlfriends!"

Sara crossed her arms and glared at her boyfriend. "Gaito, you are so biased, you know that? Just because we're talking about your other half here, doesn't mean he's as virtuous as you are or some of the very few guys left in this town. Take Taro Mitsuki and Rihito Amagi, for one thing---"

"Sara, that one-week girlfriend game he was doing in the past has got nothing to do with me. I will admit that I do agree that he's a lousy boyfriend, but at the same time, his weekly girlfriends were as lousy as he was. And because of that, Kaito hasn't exactly been in a relationship that would make him feel complete. Hell, any human can't be with the same person for the longest time. Some people are just lucky, but most people have had several relationships here and there. As they say, hands-on experience after all."

"Gaito, please..." Sara crossed her arms and shook her head. "I worry about Lucia, okay? I mean first of all, that idiot twin of yours has no serious clue that he is dating the younger sister of Nijibe's Gorgeous Gidget Cole Seahart here. Second of all, Lucia is a very nice, open, and simply, naturally a goodhearted person who just can't help herself but to be kind to every single person no matter how good or bad that person may be. Like Cole's concern here, I worry about her too. I swear, if Kaito does end up toying around with Lucia's heart all this time, he's got another thing coming!"

"Hey! Hey!" Gaito hushed his girlfriend, gently rubbing her hand with his fingers just to keep her calm. "Seriously, if you want Kaito to actually change in to the type of guy any girl would want to have as a boyfriend by character, not by his looks or his reputation in the surfing world, then there's only one thing that can be done. Sure, he's my twin brother, but by character, he and I are different, especially when it comes to girls. I know I've had some girls staring at me all around town and in school, but most of them often mistake me for him. I'm not complaining." He then turned to Nicola and asked one small question. "Cole--- do you trust Lucia?"

Nicola blinked her eyes with a puzzled look. "Of course I trust Lucia. How can I not trust my own sister? I trust her completely with all my heart! Why?"

"Then, you trust her judgment of choosing Kaito as the one she wishes to be with?"

"Well, I..." Nicola found herself trailing, finding for the right answer. "Well, that is... how can I say this... it's just that... it's hard for me to trust Lucia when it comes to boys because she's never actually gone out on a date with a boy before... nor that she's ever invited any boys anywhere within the Pearl Waters building with the exception of the restaurant and the juice bar... and the only time she ever mentioned boys was Kaito's name in her conversations with her friends." She sighed, lowering her head at the same time. "I just don't want Lucia ending up having her heart torn apart by a popular surfer boy just like the way Maki's younger brother did the same with me seven years ago..."

"So, you don't actually trust Lucia with all your heart then," Gaito began his rebuttal. "Just on the sidenote, my twin and Hi-Mack's brother aren't the same person. T-Mack was older than you, but Kaito is about the same age as Lucia. T-Mack should've known better not to screw around a younger girl's heart like that, especially if that girl happens to be a prominent name in the surfing world. What can I say? From what I remember, your name was way more popular than T-Mack's name in the surfing world. Maybe he decided to mess with you due to jealousy."

"Jealousy?" Nicola asked curiously. "We're not even competing against each other! Why the hell would he be jealous of me?"

"Well, that's up to you to find out. Talk to Maki. As far as Lucia goes, if you seriously have faith in her with all your heart, then you'd let her make her own decisions, even if it's something you're not exactly going to be approved of. As far as Kaito goes, I have one thing to say."

"Oh? What's that, Gaito?"

"If you seriously trust Lucia with all your heart, then let Lucia take command of her destiny. In other words, let Lucia lead Kaito to the right path."

"Lead Kaito to the... right path?"

"Yup, that's what I said. It's the only way for a dude like Kaito to take a girl like Lucia seriously, especially when it comes to falling in love. It'll take some time, sure, but because Lucia is a girl completely different from most of the girls he ended up dating in the past, he's definitely going to learn a lot from her. And by gut instinct, the more he follows her and the more he listens to her, it's guaranteed he'll fall in love with her."

Sara suddenly tapped Gaito on the shoulder to provide her own words with a teasing tone. "If you're such a virtuous boyfriend, Gaito, then why didn't you teach your brother to the right path to true love, hm?"

"The hell?" Gaito raised an eyebrow of suspicion to his rather mature girlfriend. "I ain't the one who has girl problems, you know. Whatever the hell he gets involved with when it comes to chicks and ends up suffering for it, it ain't my problem."

"Heh... some brother you are." Sara stuck her tongue, nudging Gaito on the side.

Right on stage, the final instrumental performance by the OC-5 concluded, with many of the dancers and swingers halting their movements on the floor to join the applause. Rihito took the microphone and spoke: "Well, surfer dudes, surfer dudettes, beach bunnies, grommets, hodads, and enthusiasts, that's all we got for tonight as it's already eleven-thirty---"

"Awwww..." The audience moaned sadly, simply because the OC-5 show was over and it was time for Pearl Waters to close for the night.

"--- But hey, don't forget the big day tomorrow--- it's the Nijibe Summer Festival! You know that's a huge important event for all of us here and you can't miss this major day! Also, just to let you know, it's also Tournament Preview Day where anyone interested may want to come over at Nijibe Central Beach for a special press conference with all the tournament committee members, sponsors, celebrities, and of course, our competitors from the surfers to the singers to the swingers, so if you all want to see who's who in the tournament, come stop by the Central Beach tomorrow. We'll be there too, so if you happen to be there, make sure you cheer as loud as you can and show us your support for the Rainbowside, right?"

"RIGHT!" The audience responded along with more cheers and applause.

"And you all gotta give all you got to help us bring victory to all of us and for the entire Nijibe because don't forget--- especially you kids out there--- tournament week is also our last week of summer, meaning next week is back-to-school week! We all hope you all have done your summer homework so you won't miss this entire week of sun and surf at supercharged competition level, alright? And if you haven't finished all your summer homework, then start cramming tomorrow morning so you won't miss the Nijibe Summer Festival, alright?"

The kids present who went to schools outside Nijibe or outside the Nijibe school system sighed sadly, knowing that Rihito was definitely referring to them. Rihito continued on with his announcement and a final song to send everyone home for the night. "Well then, to conclude this really hectic night of excitement, swinging, and romancing, the peeps of OC-5 and I would like to dedicate this one little song--- to all your surfer dudes and dudettes and all you beach bums and bunnies out there. You've got this one final week of summer break and it's off to school and work for all of you, and so, take advantage of this final week of summer and make it count as part of the story of your lives. Again, dudes and dudettes, just listen."

The audience applauded as the guitarists placed their guitars down while Rina and Hippo left their spots to join the rest of the band at the front stage. Rihito positioned the microphone in front of them. After a soft countdown from Rihito, the entire band began to sing a cappella style:

On the beach you'll find them there
In the sun and salty air

The girls on the beach are all within reach

If you know what to do

Right then, couples left and right and far behind came to the front of the stage with their chosen partners and began to slow dance. Gaito and Sara took advantage, while Nagisa gently dragged Hanon at the center. There were others, such as Daichi taking Coco by the hand and Kengo also taking Caren by the hand. Somewhere nearby, Michal attempted to drag Kaito out to the dance floor, but the competition-minded surfer boy refused and remained at his usual spot on the table.

"Kaito--- come on! Everyone's at the dance floor! You don't want to be the lamest member of the tribe by not dancing with a cute girl at the center now, don't you?" Michal pouted with her arms around his, dragging him out from his seat.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't dance?" Kaito continued to keep himself at his own seat, trying to release himself from the demanding rich girl.

"Not even a very simple slow dance like that? Give it up, Kaito Doumoto, you're out of excuses!"

"Michal, do I have to repeat myself again? I don't dance--- IN PUBLIC!"

Michal suddenly cuddled herself against him with a slight snicker on her face. "Not in public, huh? Maybe we can go to a more private place and dance?"

"Michal, even if some hot and sexy chick strips herself in front of me so I can dance with her in public or in private I still won't dance!"

"Mou--- you're so mean, Kaito!" After several attempts, Kaito became the victor. Luckily for the two, Masahiro, Noel, and Seira joined the table so Kaito and Michal would not feel alone.

"Mind if we join you two?" Noel chuckled and invited themselves to the table. Kaito offered the empty seats to them as the three hurriedly sat down.

"So, Kaito," Masahiro began the conversation. "What's your excuse for not dancing on the floor this moment?"

"Dude, should I repeat the third time or whatever time that I don't dance, especially in public?" Kaito responded quickly before Michal may start persuading him again.

"Hey, I feel you, dude," Masahiro answered with a smirk on his face. "Your beloved betty is sharing her voice to the entire floor with the rest of the band, hm?"

Kaito glared at his fellow surfer and retorted: "Man, you don't know how to shut up, do you, Hamasaki?"

"Dude, stop playing all cool like that--- it's so damn obvious ya got it real bad for the girl guitarist on stage!"

Kaito returned the smirk on his face, continuously glaring at Masahiro. "Dude, say one more word and I'm gonna kick your ass and rub that smirk off your face!"

"Dude, you're all talk and no walk. Are you sure you wanna take me on, Mr. Gasser?"

Just as the two were about to get ugly, Noel interrupted the two. "Hey, hey, this ain't the time for smack-talk, you pricks! Jeez, you two sound like a bunch of brawn-brained morons!"

"Fine!" Kaito decided to change the subject. "So what's your excuse for not dancing on the floor, Masahiro?"

"Me?" Masahiro answered and also had the slight similar reaction. "I'm too tired to dance, man!"

"You're tired to even slow dance, Masahiro?" Noel asked curiously while Seira giggled at the situation.

"That's what I was asking Kaito, Noel!" Michal answered right away and turned back to Kaito. "Why are you being so cruel tonight, Kaito?"

"'Cause I don't dance, alright?" Kaito sighed and turned his attention back to Masahiro. "Dude, don't even try the same trick on me, man. You didn't do nuthin' the entire night here but to sit around, eat, and talk smack at the other surfers. I know how it feels to miss your cutie pie next to you, especially that she's so busy with her talent portion of the beauty contest... or maybe you have plans tonight, hm? Don't worry--- if you do, I'll make sure the dudes and I abandon the shack and camp out at the beach so you can have the whole house to yourself and her... right?"

Masahiro raised an eyebrow of suspicion at Kaito with his arms crossed. "Are you trying to hint something? What kind of a dude do you think I am, man? I got personal morals when it comes to love!"

"Personal morals... heh... yeah right..." Kaito snickered while Masahiro continued to glare at him. The group fell silent as they continue to listen to OC-5's a cappella.

How we love to lie around

Girls with tans of golden brown

The girls on the beach

Are all within reach

And one waits there for you

Girls on the beach...

Rihito took the lead vocals for a few lines:

The sun in her hair

The warmth of the air

On a summer day

Once again, the rest of the band conclude the song:

As the sun dips out of sight

Couples on the beach at night

The girls on the beach

Are all within reach

And with the boys tonight

Girls on the beach...

After the song ended, the band thanked everyone who stayed this late for the entire show and greeted a good night. Rihito even reminded that there was a full moon tonight, which was a perfect night for romancing by the shore (or whatever activity may happen on a full moon). Right when the entire Pearl Waters population cleared the restaurant, the staff began to tear down and clean up the entire place again. Knowing that Pearl Waters will be closed the entire day due to the Summer Festival, they knew they needed to clean up tonight so no one would have to do anything Pearl Waters-related tomorrow.

Nicola was at the second floor balcony, gazing at the mesmerizing night sky, with stars twinkling as bright as ever and the full moon dominated the natural light. The tides of the beach were as slow and steady as everyone hoped, but at the same time she expected that the ocean will be as wild as it ever had been. Was she worried about what may happen at that tournament? She admitted that she was still worried about history repeating by itself but at this point, it was important for her to stay positive as she can.

"Beautiful night, isn't it?" A familiar voice spoke from behind as Nicola turned her head to see Maki and her Aunt Taki standing there.

"Hey, you two. What a night, huh?" Nicola softly chuckled, referring to the OC-5 Friday night show that just occurred.

"Yup. What a night indeed," Maki answered with a nod. "Man, that full moon is really mesmerizing tonight, and if you look across the beach area, there's people there."

Nicola found Hippo's telescope and looked through the eyepiece to witness the population at Sector 7 Beach to see what Maki meant. "Hey... you're right. I've never seen Sector 7 Beach like this before. Usually no one would hang out at the beach at night here, but I guess the full moon is pulling everyone out from their homes."

"They're not just people, Nicola--- they're couples." Taki noted one more point to her niece. Nicola gazed through the telescope again and found a few couples hiding behind the rocks, underneath the rocks, and even between two longboards and a beach blanket on top, minding their own intimate businesses. The scene immediately shook her from the inside and right then she remembered a particular moment in the past.

"Maki!" Nicola exclaimed with her eyes opened wide. "I'm familiar with that scene! Isn't that the time where you Rainbowside couples clique would hide yourselves between two longboards and a long beach blanket to form some kind of a low tent so you and your lover would--- ahem!"

Taki gasped in shock and quickly covered her mouth while Maki's eyes opened wide in surprise as well. "Wh--- where'd you get that idea, Cole? I got morals! So what if I hung out with the rest of the couples because of Saori, that doesn't mean we actually did crazy stuff like that!"

"Dude, do I look like a moron to you? I see my parents do that all the time with the rest of y'all surf cuties clique or whatever the hell you call yourselves back then! Oh jeez, I can't believe that stupid two surfboards and a beach blanket tent thing is still a trend today! Do you have an idea what this means?" Nicola bursted her worries out towards Maki as her aunt attempted to calm her down by placing her hands on her shoulders. "What the heck was that called? The bonfire dance?"

"Have you been watching those cheesy old '60s beach movies or something, Cole? I don't know how the hell you let your imagination run wild---"

"I am not imagining things, Hi-Mack! Don't forget that I was the gidget of the Rainbowside, dude! This gidgetknows everything inside and out of the Rainbowside, man! You can't fool me!"

"Ahem!" Taki cleared her throat to get the attention of the two squabbling adults. "Shall we head downstairs at the dining area and check on the staff to be sure they're finished with the cleanup?"

"Uh, right. Sorry, Auntie!" Nicola cleared her throat and walked passed Maki, who still had a suspicion that Maki did get himself and his former girlfriend Saori involved in rather strange trends such as what she witnessed out at the beach.

Moments later, the staff were almost finished with cleaning up the dining area when Nicola arrived on the scene to check up on things. She smiled in content with the effort and gave a nod. "Alright, dudes and betties. You're off for the night!"

"Eh?" The staff gave perplexed expressions when their manager gave them permission to go home when the dining area was not quite clean yet.

"There's a full moon out tonight, you know," Nicola reminded her staff with a wink of her eye. "This is going to be the last summer full moon you'll be having. The next full moon is during school days now."

Hanon shrieked happily and threw her arms around Nicola. "Really, Nicola? You are so cool! Thank you so much!"

"Uh.... you're welcome, Hanon..." Nicola gave a soft chuckle as Hanon released her.

"Oh thank you so much! See, Nagisa wanted to show me something at the beach tonight and I'm really curious to know what that is---" Just as Hanon was about to finish her statement she noticed the entire staff staring at her. "... What?"

"Well, what do you know," Rina answered with a smirk on her face. "And so the mystery has been unraveled."

"What are you talking about, Rina?"

Lucia giggled and embraced Hanon tightly to her. "Congratulations, Hanon! So you and Nagisa are going out already?"

"What are you talking about, Lucia? I didn't say anything about that---- come on, let go of me, Lucia!"

"Oh really?" From behind the juice bar counter, Coco responded with a smirk on her face. "You and Nagisa are developing such strong chemistry as of late! I've seen all your tandem surfing practice these past weeks and I gotta say--- as the kookiest of the tribe, your tender connection with each other is seriously going to bring you to victory in tandem surfing this week!"

Hanon quickly released herself from Lucia and crossed her arms. "There is nothing going on between me and Nagisa, okay?"

"Riiight..." The girls answered with smiles and snickers on their faces. Right when they burst in to laughter, they heard a door knock on the entrance.

"Oh! It's Nagisa and Masahiro!" Lucia exclaimed when she saw the two boys knocking on the glass door outside. She ran to the door and opened it for them. "Hey, you two! We're done! Come on in!"

The two boys came inside, with the rest of the Rainbowside surfer boys waiting outside. Masahiro and Nagisa approached Rina and Hanon as they were fixing up their cleaning tools. Afterwards, Kengo, Daichi, and Gaito also arrived inside to meet up with the rest of the girls. Lucia, on the other hand, finished her portion of the dining area until the entire area was swept clean.

"Welp, guess we're all done here." Lucia said as she handed the broom and the dustpan to Nicola. "I think everyone deserves a night break at the beach tonight. I mean the boys were waiting for their girls, you know? I think our last song got to the guys tonight!"

Nicola took the broom and dustpan from Lucia. "I bet. Alright little sis, the night is yours!"

"Thanks!" Lucia climbed up the stage to help the three male band members place their instruments back in to the cases. Nicola, Maki, and Taki finished the rest of the cleanup.

"Lucia, Kaito's waiting outside... somewhere..." Taro reminded her that she did not have to be there and proceed outside.

"Somewhere?" Lucia chuckled softly. "I think he'll understand why I'm a little late tonight."

"Kaito's actually out at the beach with Michal." Rihito joined in the conversation.

"Eh?" Lucia gasped in surprise while Hippo raised an eyebrow of suspicion.

"Why's he with Michal?" Hippo asked curiously, rubbing his chin at the same time. "No offense, Rihito, but your sister seriously needs to see a shrink. No matter how much she whines at him for his attention he'll never look at her the way she wants him to look at her."

"Maybe you're right, Hippo." Rihito sighed deeply and lowered his head. "She was a lot more approachable when we're out of town and at our own designated schools at the South, but whenever she sees Kaito she's like a whole completely different person. She acts the same with our parents when we're at home with them. I've tried..."

Lucia sighed deeply and lowered her head. "I guess Michal doesn't know what it means to be in love. It's very hard for me to see her as a bad person, but... to be demanding at Kaito and get him to fall in love with her... it's just wrong... and every time I see her with him... it just... makes me nervous..."

Rihito sat next to Lucia at the edge of the stage. "You trust Kaito, right?"

"With all my heart, Rihito."

"Then there's nothing for you to worry about."

Lucia gazed right at Rihito with curious eyes. "How do you know that? I mean... we're talking about your sister here."

"Kaito has the right to be in love with whoever he wants to be in love with. Watching him growing up these past seven years at the Rainbowside, the more he gets better at surfing, the more he gets a lot more mature as a person. I don't know how to describe it, but... it's something to do with Kaito's personal connection with surfing that shapes him to the type of person he wants to be... or who he ends up being. It's kind of like you and singing, Lucia. Being with the good ol' Friday night band I've watched you grow too."

"I don't know, Rihito... I... I don't mean to be conceited but... I was really hoping that tomorrow night would be... well... Okay, I'll just come out and say it, you guys! I'm going to tell Kaito about everything..."

"Everything?" Hippo asked curiously.

"I'm going to tell him how I feel about him tomorrow night!"

The three boys on stage gazed at each other with surprise. "Guess it's that time..." Taro said with arms shrugged.

"Yup." Rihito nodded in agreement. "It's been almost two months after all. I think it's time."

Hippo shrugged his arms at the same way and gave a one-word response. "Whatever."

Lucia shrieked happily like an innocent girl in love. "Then that's what I'm going to do on our date tomorrow night!"

"Heh, you can even tell him tonight and get it over with." Taro made a slight suggestion with a wink on his eye.

"Dude, Taro, don't encourage her!" Hippo voiced his worry immediately. "Not in front of Michal if they're out there hanging out at the beach together. Kinda awkward if you ask me."

"Yeah, Taro," Rihito nodded in agreement with a soft chuckle. "You forget Michal is my sister and knowing Lucia, if she is going to confess to him, she'll do it when they're both alone."

Lucia nodded in agreement. "Not tonight. I don't want to be in the way of Michal's chances with Kaito... that is... I think any girl has the right to confess to the one they love the most. But in the end, it would be the boy who gets to decide."

"You're one strong, brave girl, Sis," Hippo provided his praise for his older sister. "I don't know how you do it, but you seem to be really calm about all this. I wish I was that strong."

"Well, Lucia, you better get out there to the beach," Taro reminded her. "The full moon's out--- take advantage of it. Better get there fast or Michal's gonna end up stealing your dude from you!"

"Taro!" Lucia shrieked in shock while Hippo chuckled. "Right! I'm heading out!"

Just as the teenage girl was about to exit the restaurant, Rihito ran behind her and caught up. "Wait, before you head out."

"What's up, Rihito?"

Rihito carried a guitar-shaped backpack case and handed it to her. "Here. Don't forget this."

Lucia immediately recognized the item. "But... this is your acoustic guitar?"

"It's yours," Rihito said with a smile on his face. "Call it a present for being the most awesome girl of the band, Lucia."

"Are you sure?"

"Better give it to you than pawning it. Besides, Michal's got no interest in the guitar anyway. It's a classic Yamaha, so it's domestic-made this time."

"Thanks, Rihito. You're like the big brother I never had!" Lucia chuckled.

"Uh... what do you call me then, Lucia?" Taro snickered in a joking manner.

"You know I'd never forget you, Taro!"

"Jeez, just go already!"

Lucia waved at the three band members on stage and made her way to the door. Right when she reached the door, Hanon, Nagisa, and Seira went inside and called out for the younger Nanami. "Hippo! Come on!" Seira called out.

Hippo lifted his head and turned to the crowd. "Huh?"

"Dude, you ain't gonna lock yourself up in your room at this awesome night, man!" Nagisa expressed his cheerful response while Hanon hooked her arm around his.

"Besides, this is probably going to be the only full moon summer night you'll ever spend, Hippo," Hanon said, sticking her tongue at the same time. "And it's the perfect night for ocean photography too!"

Hippo raised an eyebrow of suspicion. "Man... do I have to?"

Seira quickly ran to Hippo and hooked her arm around him. "Come on, Hippo--- hang out with us! I don't want to be by myself out there!"

"Fine... fine..."

The group exited Pearl Waters and made their own ways to the beach.

Meanwhile somewhere at the beach, while majority of the couples were doing their own thing, Kaito and Michal were sitting together not too close to the ocean, just overlooking the waves. Though the scene looked like it was going to be an innocent, young love scene, that was not exactly the case for the two. Michal found herself a lot more heartbroken than she was before, knowing that no matter how much she tried to get Kaito's attention that she would definitely never going to win his heart.

"I appreciate you being honest with your feelings, Michal," Kaito answered in a more mild and friendly manner. "But I want to be honest with you too. It's just not in my nature that I have to lie with serious issues like this. I'm sorry, but... I can't return those feelings."

Michal bit her bottom lip, preventing herself from crying. "Kaito... don't you understand how perfect you are? Well, that is--- you're always perfect for me. You're almost good at everything and you have everything that everyone dreams of having! I know what you have gone through all these years with all those crazy fan girls and that popular girl clique in your school--- Rainbow Pop Girls or something?--- and even those ex-girlfriends you dated for a week. I feel the same pain too. I feel so much connected to you all these years..."

Kaito shook his head and turned away. "Michal, I'm glad to have met you, honestly. I really think you're sweet, smart, and beautiful, but you don't know me."

"What do you mean? We've known each other for so long! How could you say that I don't know you?"

"That's the thing... You never really gave me a chance to be myself. You always demanded attention and I know I've given you plenty, but you never really gave me a chance to get to know who I really am. You don't like it when I talk about surfing, you don't like it when I talk about my school days, you don't like talking about my friends--- hell, you get irritated when I talk about your brother! And on top of that, you get irritated too when I even surf out there regardless of how small or how big the surf was! Michal, I know you and I are both in the same class--- you know, the prominent families of Nijibe and all that--- but you can't see me as the type of guy you want me to be. You don't like a lot of things that I like!"

"I won't have it, Kaito!" Michal shrieked with a more demanding tone, now completely losing control of her tears. "Don't you know how much I love you, Kaito? I'll do anything--- anything! I'll give you everything you want..."

Kaito felt a slight jolt within him, knowing something unexpected may happen between the two of them and knew he could not let his guard down. "I love you too, Michal, but not like that. I've already reserved my heart to someone else... seven years ago."

Michal's eyes opened wide in shock. "Wh--- what? Seven years ago? Well... where is she then? I'm always here with you, Kaito... And if that's the truth then why were you dating those girls in the past? You even dated one of Lucia's closest friends before you even started talking to Lucia! Please don't tell me you were dating those girls just so you can get over her and move on... right? Or maybe you don't remember how she looks like so you had to search every single girl to see if she was the one you gave your heart to those seven years ago? Kaito--- that girl from the past—- the one who rescued you from drowning... she seems to be a lost cause. You can't wait for her forever, Kaito... She's never coming back! I mean, you pretty much gave up that one-week girlfriend project you've been and you haven't been dating a girl for so many months now!"

"That's where you're wrong, Michal." Kaito smiled and turned to her. "I stopped searching... because she's already here."

"What...? Here?" Michal gasped as she slowly stood up, facing him continuously. "When did she come back? Why didn't you tell me--- or anyone else for that matter? How did you find her?"

Kaito stood up from his seat and then gazed his eyes towards the sea. "I found her... when I heard her sing for the first time... in seven years..."

"Kaito..." Michal stared at him curiously when a familiar ringtone played from her pocket. She reached for her cellphone and saw Rihito's name at her external screen. "Well... there's nothing much to say, Kaito. I give up."

"Hey..." Kaito patted Michal on the shoulder, still giving her that smile on his face. "We'll always be friends no matter what, Michal. And I'm pretty sure you'll find someone who would love you and appreciate you more for who you are than with dudes like me."

Michal sighed sadly, but few moments later, she nodded with a slight smile on her face. "Thanks, Kaito. Thank you for being my friend."

The two embraced like good friends should, as Michal waved goodnight to him. She ran back across the street, where Rihito was waiting for her at the entrance. Once she met her older brother, she threw her arms around him and began to weep as she explained the situation.

"So... I see that Kaito responded to your confession." Rihito confirmed Michal's troubles at this moment. Michal nodded as she wiped off her tears. The older Amagi handed her his handkerchief to wipe her tears off. "Well, people are different. You can't force them to change their true feelings just so the other can be happy. Relationships don't last long that way."

Michal slowly released herself from her brother and sighed deeply. "I... I guess..."

"You're still young, you know. You got plenty of chances when it comes to love, but you know, Kaito isn't the only guy in this world."

"But he is to me, Rihito! Do you understand that?"

"Michal, there's always a person better than the other. There's always going to be a better person than you, a better person than me, a better person than Kaito himself. It's just how life goes. You'll just have to accept that fact."

The young teen girl shook her head, refusing to hear what her older brother was feeding her. "I won't have it, Rihito! I don't care if there's a better person than Kaito! I've loved him for the longest time and I still love him... even if he won't return my feelings. Besides... boyfriend and girlfriend? That doesn't mean they're official..."

Rihito raised an eyebrow of suspicion. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

Michal no longer found herself weeping her sadness away, but instead showed a confident smirk on her face. "Boyfriend and girlfriend is temporary. It's not like they're engaged to marry, you know... and you did say I've got plenty of chances!"

"I didn't mean by that, Michal. You're being ridiculous with this whole situation."

"I'm going to find that girl--- the one who stole my Kaito away from me--- I'd like to meet her and get to know her and find out her strengths and weaknesses. Once that happens I'll find a way to convince Kaito that girl isn't who she really is to him and for sure he'll break up with her!"

Rihito shook his head and sighed. "You know, not only you're going to hurt that girl, but you'll be hurting Kaito more than actually helping him. He already made up his mind, Michal. Just let it go. Sure you're seeing this mystery girl as your enemy, but you're also seeing Kaito as your enemy too. He is your target, right?"

"I'm your sister, Rihito! Blood should always be thicker than everything else!"

"Michal, we as Amagis were not raised to be greedy, demanding, and conniving. Fine, go ahead with your little schemes, but don't get me involved in them. You're my sister, but Kaito is also my friend. I still care for you, Michal, but obviously you're not listening to me. What's the point of caring if you can't care in return?" Rihito crossed his arms and turned his head away from her, feeling some shame.

Michal fell silent, glaring at her older brother, clutching a fist on her right hand, obviously not very satisfied with her brother's reaction.

At that time, Lucia found that same particular rock that she and Kaito would always hang out whenever they hang out at the beach. She felt somewhat awkward seeing so many longboards and beach blankets being built

all along the beach with rather awkward moaning sounds on the air. Nevertheless, she found their official rock spot, where she brought her beach blanket this time and placed her guitar backpack on the side so she can find her comfortable spot while facing the full moon up the night sky.

Wow... this full moon looks a lot fuller than the last one! Lucia's inner voice spoke with vigor, giving her a huge smile on her face. I hope Kaito would come by tonight. If he doesn't make it, that's okay. Maybe his meeting with Michal must be very important...

"The full moon's out--- take advantage of it. Better get there fast or Michal's gonna end up stealing your dude from you!" With a sudden distraction, Lucia recalled Taro's small warning earlier regarding Kaito and Michal alone at the beach.

She immediately closed her eyes in refusal and shook her head hurriedly. No! No! No! No! That's not gonna happen! I never saw Kaito getting all romantic with Michal like that--- I mean if he does like her a lot he'd be spending more time with her instead of hanging out with dweeb kooks like me, right? Unless if he's shy--- but he can't be shy because he's dated so many girls a week long time ago! Right then, she began to breathe heavily, trying to calm herself from her inner anxiety.

Calm down, Lucia, calm down... Don't panic yet. If Kaito really considers me as a really good friend then he shouldn't be afraid of being honest with his feelings, right? But then, what if he really is shy? Or... what if he just asked me out as a plot to get Michal jealous? No, he wouldn't do that... Sure, he dated a lot back then, but he never cheated on any one of them, even if it's for one week.

She swallowed her nervousness and turned to her side where the acoustic guitar Rihito gave her sat. She opened the backpack and brought out the guitar and positioned it to the left where her right hand would strum the strings. Now I see why Rihito wanted me to bring this guitar along with me. He knew I would panic over Kaito... or nothing at all! Okay... maybe one song... just one song. This should calm me down.

She looked around to make sure no one was staring at her. Afterwards she cleared her throat and began to play a moderately upbeat tune, whatever tune that came to her mind, along with words that came along with her mind:

Just ask your heart who dreams about you

Just ask your heart who's faithful and true

Someone who cares and won't make you blue

Just ask your heart who loves only you

Then you will find your true love will be

Someone who cares for you and wants to make you happy

Then when your heart says he loves only you

And when it says he won't make you blue

Then ask your heart if your love is true

Just as his heart loves only you

When she began to play a short instrumental afterwards along with her humming, her small performance earned the attention of the lovers and the beach bums not too far from where she was sitting that those who were in between the two longboards and beach blanket tents crawled out slowly to see where the infectious catchy song came from. Once they found the song, they all looked to the mysterious girl singer at the rock, singing and playing her guitar along with the song.

"Hey! Is that...?" From a short distance, Nagisa recognized the voice and turned to Hanon to confirm. She had her arm around his but her attention was right at the rock.

"It's Lucia!" Hanon chuckled softly. "I wonder if that's her song to Kaito..."

"There's just one problem, Hanon. Kaito's not there."

"What?" Hanon shrieked and released his arm to take a closer look. Once she found her vision, she sighed in disappointment that Lucia was alone. "Where the hell did that heartless jerk go?"

"He's with Michal, remember?" Nagisa answered, tailing her from behind.

"What? What the hell! Of all the nights he'd rather go with her than with his beloved tandem surfing partner? Why didn't you or any your dudes talk him out of that?" Hanon frowned with her arms crossed.

"Because Kaito volunteered to go with her, that's why." Another familiar voice spoke as the two tandem surfers turned to see Masahiro and Rina standing behind them.

"Oh, Masahiro! Rina!" Nagisa greeted the couple with a grin on his face. "What are you two doing here?"

"We'd ask the same with the two of you," Rina answered with a suspicious expression.

"Well, we're here to--- accompany Lucia!" Hanon made a quick yet somewhat credible excuse. "Anyway, poor Lucia... we're all out here with a boy for every girl---"

"Or a girl for every boy..." Nagisa added along.

"Uh yeah... that too... but Lucia is there by herself? I mean, she's way too cool and way too nice to be alone..." Hanon sighed with a frown on her face. "What the hell is wrong with Kaito anyway? He voluntarily decided to hang out with Michal at the beach at this night? What if he like--- confesses his feelings to her? What if all this time he's been using Lucia just to get close to Michal?"

"Hanon, will you calm yourself." Masahiro answered with his arms crossed. "Why is it that when it comes to Lucia's problems you always see Kaito as the culprit of all her problems? What if Lucia did some things wrong herself that caused those problems?"

"Masahiro, Lucia may be a klutz sometimes but she's no troublemaker." Rina spoke out, defending her close friend to her boyfriend. "Besides, Kaito seems to be the probable cause to Lucia's heartbreaking problems."

"Although, by the way she's singing, she doesn't look sad at all." Nagisa pointed out Lucia's smiling expression while she sang and played the guitar.

"Oh, you don't know Lucia as much as Rina and I do, Nagisa. She uses her song to hide her real emotions. I bet deep inside that enthusiastic smile is pure loneliness. A beautiful night at the beach with no Kaito... that's just so... so... sad..." Hanon almost found herself crying, clutching her chest to her hand as if she was mourning for a lost loved one.

Rina shook her head at Hanon. "I don't think I agree with you on the latter, Hanon. When she's lonely she'd... lock herself up in her room and cry herself to sleep on bed. Not even a song could cover her real feelings."

Masahiro reached for his cellphone and rang Kaito's cellphone number. After about a minute or so, hung up. "I think his cell's off..."

At this point, more and more couples found their way to Lucia's rocky spot, with many of them sitting down on the sand, romancing with their partners while listening to Lucia's attractive song:

Then you will find your true love will be

Someone who cares for you and wants to make you happy

Then when your heart says he loves only you

And when it says he won't make you blue

Then ask your heart if your love is true

Just as his heart loves only you

Right when she played the last chords of her instrumental, she ended the song and received a standing ovation and a loud applause from those who came by to listen to her. Lucia felt overwhelmed with the cheers and claps that she stood up from her spot and gave everyone a bow.

"Hey, sing some more!" Many of the couples voiced out their enthusiasm while Lucia shook her head with a nervous smile on her face.

"Oh, I just sang that so I can calm down---"

"Aw come on... some more, please?"

"Oh alright... alright then. You lovers out there, settle down... give me some time!" Lucia quickly responded, still feeling nervous, and received more cheers and applause in return. "Thanks!"

Rina turned to Masahiro with her hand on his. "Masahiro... do you mind if we stay here with everyone?"

"While listening to Lucia's songs? Sure, why not?" Masahiro answered with a smile and found their spot at the sand to sit.

Nagisa turned to Hanon and asked: "Uh... wanna do the same?"

"Same what?" Hanon asked curiously.

"Stay here for awhile and uh... accompany Lucia while she sings?"

Hanon gave a blank stare at first, but seconds later, that blank stare transformed in to a smile. "Sure, Nagisa! Right underneath the rock thing where Lucia is!"

"Awesome! Let's go!" The two tandem surfers ran to the said spot when they were startled to see Seira and Hippo already there. "Dude, what the hell?"

"Finders keepers!" Seira snickered and stuck her tongue out.

"Losers weepers!" Hippo grinned with his arms crossed.

"What the hell--- scoot over, man! This is the public beach, dude!" Nagisa forced himself right next to Hippo with Hanon taking her spot next to Nagisa.

"Hey, back off, man! I don't wanna sit next to you!" Hippo glared at Nagisa as he and Seira switched places so Hippo would sit at the edge. "Ah, much better!"

As the four settled themselves, Hanon turned to Hippo with a concerned look. "So, how's Lucia? Isn't she like... you know... sad?"

Hippo stared at the rock above them and shrugged his arms. "Why the hell would she be sad? The only time we'd know she's sad is when she locks herself in her room and cry herself to sleep on bed."

"Oh dang!" Hanon shrieked, then sighed. "Rina was right..." She then shook her head and continued to ask more question. "Then how the heck is she happy then?"

"I think it's because Lucia has complete trust in Kaito." Seira made her opinion. "When you have complete trust with someone you love the most, it's easy for you to not worry about anything about that person."

Hippo nodded in agreement. "Besides, Lucia's confident. I'm getting used to seeing Kaito hanging around with her for the past a month and a half... and Nicola's kinda getting used to him too."

"Well, anyway, I think it's just right that she should be happy." Seira continued. "I mean, the tournament is just in two days, you know? If she doesn't stay happy and positive then she'll screw up big time at the tournament, both with the surf bands contest and tandem surfing."

"Plus she's got that date with Kaito at the summer festival tomorrow too." Nagisa brought up another fact. "Kaito is still going to pursue that date with Lucia, according to Gaito. He's not backing out from Lucia anytime soon..."

Right when they were about to continue, everyone around the scene silenced once they heard Lucia hushing everyone to keep their voices down. All eyes were now at the girl with the guitar.

"Thanks for... giving me a chance to sing for you again, even if the entire OC-5 band isn't here with me..." Lucia humbly spoke as she got everyone's attention. "As you know, the first annual regional surf scenes tournament is coming up in two days, with tomorrow being the press conference with the most important people involved. I do hope that you all can come in all events because, as the host location of the first tournament of its kind, we need to seriously represent the entire tournament and show the competitors that we're the real deal in this regional surf culture, right? We want to show everyone where the real champion surfers live and thrive--- both surfer boys and surfer girls! We want to show the entire region that Nijibe is the capital of the entire Shonan Region, and if any haters and doubters who think otherwise... well... BRING IT ON!"

"YEAH!" The entire crowd suddenly felt themselves pumped up and raised their fists with full excitement.

"That's right!" Lucia somehow found herself a lot more spirited than usual, but not on her quest to win Kaito's heart, but on her quest to gain absolute victory at the tournament. "But you know--- tonight is not the night to rally together and show your spirit against the competition. We're here to enjoy this full moon night because dudes and dudettes, this is going to be the last full moon night of the summer. The next full moon, we'll all be inside our houses studying or even working. So, everyone relax--- all you girls out there, if you don't have a surfer dude with you, go grab one! Dudes, if you're a lonely surfer, grab a girl--- any girl. The rest of you... uh... do the same! Here's a song that us girls would like to dedicate to our very own surfer boys of this town--- may you'll be blessed with the speed and skill to tame the wild surf and bring us victory in the name of... um... uh..." Right at that moment, Lucia found herself lost at her words, in which she ended up giggling afterwards.

"Oh jeez..." Hippo lowered and shook his head, with his hand on his forehead. I can't believe you got yourself lost in your own words, Lucia...

"Well... anyway! Um... if you've got someone you love already, make sure you snuggle and cuddle while you slow dance... and for those who don't... um... just listen anyway. So this song is for all of our beloved surfer dudes out there from the girls who will back you up all the way--- especially if you're tandem surfing... heh!" Lucia sat back down on her spot and began playing her introduction chords to the song.

"See?" Nagisa cheered with a grin on his face. "Lucia isn't really sad after all, Hanon!"

"Oh yeah? Well, we'll see what type of song she sings--- if it's a sad song, then we'll know for sure what she's really feeling, Nagisa! Damn you, Kaito--- where the hell are you?"

Nagisa sighed and turned towards Hippo and Seira, in which the two just shrugged their arms. He turned back to Hanon and continued to insist. "I'm telling you, Hanon, Lucia is perfectly fine! She's just stoked with the tournament and everything that she's got no time to be sad about anything!"

"Well, without her beloved tandem surfing partner around, she's bound to mess up in the tournament, which means, she's pining for him, Nagisa! I'll even throw a bet that I'm right at this!"

"A bet? Are you serious, Hanon?"

"If I'm right about Lucia, then you have to get up to Lucia's spot and ask her to play a song and you sing in front of everyone!" Hanon stuck her tongue right at Nagisa.

"What? No way!" Nagisa exclaimed in shock. "I can't sing squat!"

Seira looked perplexed at the situation. "Why is Hanon so insistent that Lucia's lonely?"

"That has gotta be the weakest bet I've ever heard..." Hippo rolled his eyes, still feeling sarcasm within.

"Fine then!" Nagisa frowned. "And what if I'm right about Lucia then?"

"Well, if you win, then... um..." Hanon began to think, then from out of the blue, blurted out. "Well, if you're right, Nagisa, then I'll... I'll kiss you!"

Nagisa snickered, approving the second bet. "Well... if you say so, Hanon, you're on!"

Seira sighed deeply and turned to Hippo. "Why are these two making a big deal over Lucia's feelings right now?"

"Eh, I dunno... that's Hanon and Shiroi for you..." Hippo shrugged his arms. "Then again, this is getting to be a lot more interesting." Seira continued to shake her head in disapproval.

Lucia finished her introduction instrumental and began her song:

Little surfer, little one

Make my heart come all undone

Do you love me

Do you, surfer boy?

Any couple present stood up from their spots and began to slow dance with their chosen partner. Some of the Rainbowside surfers did the same. Masahiro invited Rina to dance as she gladly accepted. Daichi and Kengo got lucky this night when the twin sisters Noel and Caren dragged them to dance. Coco, on the other hand, stayed behind, simply listening to the song. Gaito and Sara just arrived on the scene and joined the rest of the group.

I have watched you from the shore

Standing by the ocean's roar

Do you love me

Do you, surfer boy?

As Lucia sang with all her heart due to seeing Kaito's image in her mind, she was completely unaware that her beloved surfer boy was close by. Due to the hype that the beachsters were bringing to her full moon night entertainment, Kaito had been on his cellphone, waiting for the other line to be picked up. To no avail, he gave up and hung up his phone. He followed Lucia's mesmerizing singing voice and led him to their usual rocky spot at the beach. He decided to stay behind and listened until she was finished.

We could ride the surf together

While our love would grow

With all our friends, you could take me

Everywhere you go

So I say from me to you

I will make your dreams come true

Do you love me

Do you, surfer boy?

After the song, Lucia received more applause from the beachsters, and once again, stood up and bowed to them. "Thank you for giving me a chance to sing one song for you guys. Now I'm poofed and ready to go home---"

"Aw, come on... more?" Once again, her audience continued to demand one more song. Though Lucia was more than happy to sing one more song, she felt her energy being drained after an intense performance with the OC-5 earlier at Pearl Waters.

"I'm out of energy and voice power, dudes... I need to take a breather--- a very long breather..." Lucia found herself somewhat sleepy when Hanon and Rina intervened.

"Yo!" Rina called out to the crowd. "You all heard hear--- the poor girl's tired! She already sang two songs--- don't wear her out!"

"Yeah, you heard her--- go back to your own business or else!" Hanon added with her fist tightened.

"Or else what?" A few of the couples answered with smirks on their face.

"Or else... uhh..." Hanon found herself at a loss of words and gave a quick glance at Rina. Then she turned to the crowd and finished her answer. "Well if you don't leave Lucia alone... uhh... Rina's gonna kick your asses!"

Rina glared at Hanon with a shocked expression. "I'm gonna--- what? What the hell, Hanon?"

"Hey!" One of the male bystanders answered. "What makes you two authority anyway? The audience demands for another awesome song!"

"Yo, why don't you bring your own boom boxes and rock yourselves out at your own little longboard tent? This ain't a concert, dudes!" Right from behind, Kaito appeared on the same spot where Lucia was standing.

"Whoa--- it's Kaito Doumoto!" The entire crowd reacted in shock and finally gave in.

"You wanna hear her sing? Wait till this Thursday at the Surf Bands Contest, alright? Now back off and go back to your somethin' somethin' with your board tents!" Quickly, the audience broke and made their way back to where they came from.

Lucia gave a thumbs up towards Kaito with a faint voice: "Thanks, Kaito. I needed that..."

"No problem." Kaito sat down on his spot within Lucia's beach blanket as the guitarist girl did the same. "Sorry I kept you waiting. Were you lonely?"

"Me? Lonely?" Lucia giggled softly. "How can I be lonely when everyone's here?"

Right then below them, Nagisa grinned towards Hanon and winked. "Well, what do you know... the guitar girl isn't lonely after all." Quickly he moved towards Hanon and whispered: "Pucker up, baby!"

"Eek!" Hanon shrieked and quickly backed away from Nagisa. "Are you insane? Why would I kiss you like that?"

"Because you're the one who threw that bet, Houshou." From behind, Hippo answered with a snicker on his face while Seira covered her mouth, preventing herself from laughter. "You're not just gonna back out from the bet now, are you? Besides, Shiroi was voted Nijibe Junior High's 7th Grade Class Hottest Kisser after all."

Seira nodded quickly. "Oh that's right, Hippo! Nagisa was voted 7th Grade's Hottest Kisser--- I used to love his kisses when we used to date!"

"Ugh, do I need to know that, Seira?" Hippo raised an eyebrow of disgust and turned his head away. Seira reacted with a soft giggle.

"Aaah!" Hanon shouted and dropped her head low. "I forgot... I did say that..."

"Come on, Hanon... I ain't got all night!" Nagisa hurriedly called out to Hanon with one eye closed.

"H-hang on, Nagisa--- just shut up!" Hanon began to panic and once she was about to, she noticed that almost everyone she knew were watching. "What the heck--- this isn't a free peep show, dangit!"

"Aw come on, Hanon... this is true love in the making!" Rina made her statement with a grin on her face. "Hurry it up--- we ain't got all night, you know?"

"YEAH!" The others present responded, also looking directly towards them.

"DON'T LOOK! I CAN'T KISS HIM BECAUSE YOU'RE ALL LOOKING!" Hanon shouted with chagrin as Masahiro hushed everyone in the scene.

"Alright, alright... leave the two alone. Besides, we got better things to do than to make fun of people. Shall we, Rina?"

"Darn... alright." Rina chuckled and turned to Hanon. "Now, behave, you two!"

"Shut up, Rina!" Hanon frowned as everyone remaining cleared the area. Afterwards she faced Nagisa, who had been waiting and ready to receive his first kiss from her. "Okay, Nagisa... promise me you won't go around and brag at people about this... okay?"

Nagisa opened his eyes and gazed at Hanon. "Don't worry... I'm not the type of dude who'd brag around just because I got a kiss from you--- it's not like you're my first kiss in my entire life, you know---"

Hanon gasped in shock to hear his response. "Hey, wait a minute! I already lost the stupid bet and you had to say that to me? Forget it!" From out of the blue, Hanon ran off away from Nagisa, feeling rather hurt and overwhelmed at once.

"Hey! What the--- Hanon, wait up! You ain't done with me yet! Hanon!" Nagisa chased after her as they both disappeared from the scene, leaving Lucia and Kaito alone on their usual rocky spot. All this time, the two were also watching everyone below them, but instead of teasing Hanon along with everyone else, they remained silent.

The two sat back on top after witnessing what should have happened right then if it were not for the constant teasing. Lucia sighed and placed the guitar back in the open backpack case. "Sorry... I wanted to sing the song that I owed you all the way from last month, Kaito, but..."

"No, it's my fault." Kaito answered, sighing at the same time. "It was hard confronting Michal earlier... or was it the other way around... And I made you wait long... were you worried that I won't show up tonight?"

Lucia gazed at Kaito with a humble smile, shaking her head. "No. Because there's always tomorrow... and the day after... and so on and so forth... and even in school too... next week."

Kaito reached for his backpack again and took out one slick-looking dark blue aluminum water bottle with a very cold and icy beverage inside. "Here. Your voice sounds really scratchy right now. This should help ease your throat a little."

"Oh! Thank you!" Lucia accepted the blue metal water bottle. She opened the cap and began to sip. She tasted naturally sweet orange juice with a slight smooth and nutty taste blended in to the juice. From the second sip, she assumed that this was not a type of orange juice blend. I Instead, it was an orange-flavored tea blend. "Mmm! This is really good... and very refreshing!"

"I knew you'd like it." Kaito smiled along with his response. "It's sorta like a family remedy that my mom used to make Gaito and me when we were little."

"Well, I guess that's the reason why you two are so energetic whenever you hit the beach, ready to take on the wild surf that awaits for you avid surfers!"

"Heh, it's also because of that drink that Gaito and I grew up all deadly hot and sexy right now... brimming with the energy of... this and that..." With that teasing response, Kaito gave his signature wink.

"You idiot!" Lucia giggled while Kaito stuck his tongue at her. She then gazed at the drink again and asked. "So, what is this drink anyway?" She continued to drink the iced tea from the bottle.

"Mandarin Orange Rooibos Iced Tea."

Lucia's eyes opened wide in surprise to hear the rather fancy-sounding name. "Wow! I've never heard of this tea before! Must be one of those rare, imported ones that only rich folks can afford..."

"Yeah... it's a rare tea. You can only get it at those imports stores since you can only get that type of tea in Africa. Best if you just order it online."

"This is really delicious... My throat feels a little better all of a sudden. It's so thirst-quenching! Thanks so much!"

"Welcome." Kaito simply gazed at Lucia enjoying the orange rooibos iced tea when the girl found his eyes right at her.

"Oh! Sorry to hog it all--- here!" She attempted to pass the water bottle back to him, but Kaito shook his head with his hand waving. "Hm?"

"No, that bottle's yours, ha ha!" Kaito chuckled. "I was hoping you'd finish it all. I actually got my own bottle of the tea too..." He reached for his backpack again and retrieved another metallic blue bottle, except the blue was darker than the one Lucia had in her hand.

"Oh! This is for me then!"

"Drink up!" Lucia giggled softly as Kaito unscrewed the cap and began to drink his bottle of tea. She turned to her bottle and began to drink some more. As she drank more, she felt her throat rejuvenating and her raspy voice beginning to heal back to a much cleaner tone. After a few moments, she finished the entire bottle.

"Ah--- that was soooo good!" Lucia sighed in bliss as she replaced the cap of the empty water bottle. "We should add this in the Pearl Waters juice and coffee bar menu... but then that rooibos loose leaf tea would probably be too expensive for our restaurant budget..."

"Don't, Lucia..." Kaito quickly responded. "Well... not yet anyway."

"Hm? Why not?"

"Well... this will be our Rainbowside team secret. This drink beats up Gatorade!"

"Yeah! It's natural too for all the conscious green people out there!"

"You guys can start selling this drink at Pearl Waters--- after we win."

"Oooh... victorious secret unrevealed--- available only at Pearl Waters..." Lucia gave a huge grin, imagining how Pearl Waters would be like with the new orange rooibos iced tea added in to their juice and coffee bar menu. After they had their moment of laughter, things became silent.

After a few moments of silence, Lucia broke the silence. "So... um... I know... you and Michal left Pearl Waters really early today and all... I'm just wondering... where you guys went... what you guys did... well, if you don't mind me asking about it..."

Kaito slowly scooted next to her and whispered: "What's wrong? Were you worried?"

"Eh?" Lucia slowly backed away from him. "I'm not worried. But I am concerned. I hope that nothing bad happened between the two of you that would cost your friendship and all... I mean, Michal is a nice girl after all..."

"You don't know Michal that way, Lucia. Yeah, she's a sweet girl... but... obsessive."

"Obsessive? What do you mean?"

Kaito lied back on the beach blanket again as if he was visiting a psychiatrist's office at the moment. "I was twelve when I first met Michal. I mean, me and Rihito had been hanging out along with the Rainbowside like all our lives, but it was that day when Michal started hanging out at the beach with us for the first time. She wasn't much of an outdoors person and she's a little... I don't know how to say this... choosy... about the people she associates with. I was a little surprised she agreed to let me be her tutor at some of the classes she was taking at her homeschooling whenever Rihito wasn't available because he had that music conservatory classes thing when he was in high school. Ever since then I'd been helping her with her math and science."

Lucia nodded with understanding. "Well, as far as I know you've got the best grades when it comes to math and science... Math has always been my worst subject."

Kaito quickly got up suddenly placed his arms around her with a rather flirtatious wink at her. "Well, why don't you let me tutor you in math... I've got... uh... several ways to... show you... especially when they're... hands-on..."

"Hey, let go of me!" Lucia quickly backed off, breathing heavily in nervousness while covering herself with her arms. Kaito snickered as he slowly let go. "You're such a moron!"

"Aww... you're no fun..." He laid back down on his spot again while Lucia gave a slight frown at him.

"Anyway... about Michal... so, all this time you've just been... tutoring buddies or something, right?"

Kaito returned to his serious mode again. "Yeah. I've always seen the two of us as study buddies... well, tutoring buddies. I never expected her to have crushes on me."

"Well, it's not your fault she's got a crush on you, Kaito. After all, you've got yourself a local fan club here!" Lucia chuckled softly in response.

"Now you're just making fun of me, Lucia."

"I'm sorry! Go ahead..."

"The reason why I never saw the signs because... well... uh... I don't have to tell you the reason why..."

"You were dating girls here and there, each for a week, right?" Kaito did not respond to that, but instead continued on.

"Rihito and I made an agreement that I'd do his favors in taking care of his sister when he's not around. He was really pursuing a career in classical music, composing, studying, researching, conducting... you know, that kinda thing. His parents are some of the most elite individuals in this region if not the entire country and due to their individual businesses, they weren't always at home. Michal can't always be stuck at home with the servants and everything and she needed to get outdoors as much as she can. It's always been a concern for the Amagis to have Michal be more sociable with people--- all people. She's gotten used with me, which was why she was beginning to enjoy the outdoors more, most especially the beach. But still... who would have thought she'd develop some deep feelings for me? Have I been blind all this time?"

Lucia ended up lying down on her spot without realizing it and found herself facing Kaito with just very few inches apart from each other. "You have other things in mind, Kaito... things that are a lot more important than taking care of a friend's younger sister... such as surfing, those major surf meets and championship tourneys, plus you also gotta worry about school too. You wanna keep your grades up so the school would sponsor you to go to those surf meets... and you know, you've got ambition--- something that most girls who have crushes on you still have yet to understand."

"She confessed her love for me earlier today, Lucia. I mean I've had other girls confess to me before but like those other girls, my feelings for Michal are still indifferent. I just never saw her as something more than just a friend or a tutoring buddy. But at the same time I couldn't lie to her. I had to tell her how I feel about her. I never really lied to her about anything, even when she questions about the girls I was seeing in the past and the present. I told her I was in love with someone else..."

Lucia felt a jolt within her right when she heard of the latter statement. Did this mean that Kaito still had not recognized her as his missing Leolani? It... it can't be... Kaito... you still don't remember me? I'm right here in front of you, Kaikane... why can't you recognize me...? "The truth, Kaito? That's the entire truth?"

Kaito turned his head from Lucia and gazed at the flashing bright sky. "The entire truth."

"I guess Michal... didn't take it so well... did she?"

"I don't know... she had to head back out since Rihito was waiting outside at Pearl Waters... but I have this very huge gut feeling that Michal still isn't going to give up on me..."

Lucia sighed, lowering her head. I always knew I wasn't the only one who had been trying hard to win Kaito's heart, but I feel rather uncomfortable seeing my bandmate's younger sister as a rival for his heart. Then again, Kaito told her he's in love with someone else, which is true... but what if he was talking about someone else and not me, Leolani or not? Then I'll be the one who would be running home, lock myself in my room, and cry myself to sleep...

Kaito realized that Lucia fell silent and turned his head. "Hey... you okay, Lucia?"

"Huh?" Lucia gasped and found Kaito gazing at her with worry. "Oh... don't worry about me, Kaito. I'm just... contemplating about... stuff!"

"Such as?"

"Uh... well..." Lucia knew she had to find a good excuse to give him. She still was way too shy and nervous to admit her feelings or even reveal herself as his Leolani. "I'm thinking about the tourney..."

Kaito moved himself next to her. "The tournament? Nervous?"

"Well... um... a... a little... both the surf bands contest and... well, most especially... tandem surfing... Man, I don't know what I've gotten myself in to... I mean, I'm competing in two events--- and not just that, the surf bands contest is a three-day event, not just one. What if I lose energy for tandem surfing? I mean with the lifts and the balancing and everything. These past few days at night I've been working out like crazy, making sure that I don't get weak by the time the tandem surfing contest starts."

"Hey, don't overdo yourself, Lucia. If you're worried about conditioning, just ring me up and we'll do it together. You just need to relax and not think about the tournament right now. The big days don't start until Thursday, so we got plenty of time to practice some more during tournament week."

Lucia sighed and lowered her head. "I'm sorry I'm shaking nervously like this..."

Kaito slowly reached his hand to Lucia's bangs covering her chin. Lucia blushed immediately when she felt his fingers touching her forehead. As he continued to trail his fingers, he found a small bandage right at the left corner of her forehead. "How's your forehead?"

Lucia slowly lifted her bangs, revealing the bandage that covered a rather severe cut on her forehead. "It's healing quickly... you shouldn't worry about it..."

Kaito sighed deeply and "I can't afford to make that same mistake again when competition day arrives, Lucia. I was really shaken up when we got wiped out during our Back Angel lift. I lost control of the board and I dropped you... and you hit your head on one of the rails... and you were bleeding..."

"But I held on, Kaito. I held on..." Lucia did not seem bothered with what just happened that day when they wiped out of their board during their tandem surfing practice, attempting to do a very difficult lift: a lift in which the surfer holds on to the girl up high with one arm while the girl arches her back, facing the wave that was carrying their board on full speed to land. The lift, as Kaito mentioned, was called the Back Angel lift. It was definitely one of the most difficult lifts ever done in tandem surfing. The tandem surfers had meetings and planned the types of lifts they needed to practice and use for the contest this coming Saturday, and among the most difficult to do was the Back Angel.

"I know you did... but if we're going to win, we can't do the same mistake ever again, Lucia... or else, we're done for."

Lucia placed her hand on Kaito's shoulder, trying to calm himself. "I'll be sure I'll be careful next time. I know we wiped out several times during practice, and that's normal. And I know that athletes get injured during practice. I get injured sometimes during swim practice in school too. And I know you get injured in surfing sometimes too. I have true faith in you, Kaito, even if this happened. You are, by major note, the greatest surfer ever lived in this generation. No matter who replaces you in the future as the champion, you'll always be the champion to me."

Kaito gave a light smile as his reaction. "Thanks, Lucia." Lucia remained smiling humbly, then without realizing it, Kaito slowly bent closer to her. Once that was happening, Lucia closed her eyes, thinking this may finally be her first kiss. It was not just a first kiss, but a kiss from the one she loved for the longest time.

Instead, Kaito aimed for Lucia's bandage and planted a long yet gentle kiss. Lucia shut her eyes to calm her rapidly beating heart as she felt his lips on the bandage. "Ah, Kaito..."

The handsome surfer boy withdrew and gazed directly at her. "Hopefully it'll heal before Friday, hm?"

"Kaito, you mean Saturday, right?"

"Well, you band dudes would be singing on the second day of the surf bands contest and... assuming you'd dress up in a really hot and wild bikini when you perform, you shouldn't have anything else that's on the way on your head--- unless you leave your bangs like this to cover it."

Lucia chuckled, placing her bangs back down, covering the bandage of her head. "I wouldn't worry about that, Kaito. No one's going to look at me when we perform anyway. With OC-5, everyone's eyes are towards Rihito the lead singer and Taro the king of surf guitar, you know?"

Kaito raised an eyebrow of suspicion and said "Oh, I wouldn't go that far. The OC-5 has two fine girls in the band too. Guys would be staring at you and Rina, you know."

"Silly--- I'm sure guys would be staring at Rina since she's our beach babe candidate for the beauty pageant, right? Who would want to look at some average-looking kook girl like me?"

I would... Kaito's voice spoke in his mind, but shut his eyes to ignore that thought. "Who wouldn't want to look at a sweet girl like you?"

"Well, I've never had a boy try to hit on me before..." Lucia gulped nervously, making sure she did not accidentally slip any words she did not mean to reveal. At that time she found herself blushing again. This isn't fair... I can't help myself... everything Kaito says to me... just makes me blush so much. I just wish he would really... I really wish he would say something about me... like... how beautiful I am... or how cute I am even... I guess I have no effect on him at all...

"Are you telling me that those dudes from Seiyo Valley were the first dudes who actually hit on you? Remember that day and that stupid bet we ended up making regarding the tandem surfing contest?"

Lucia lowered her head, sighing at the same time. "Of course... how can I forget? I... it just drives me insane thinking that for me, it'd be a lose-lose situation regarding the bet. I don't want any of those dudes to kiss me... not only that it'd make me look bad... and that it'd make me feel like a total loser, but... well..."

Kaito lifted Lucia's head by the chin so he could have a good look at her. "I'm telling you--- they won't get to kiss you. I'll make sure none of them would ever lay a finger on you. Besides, if they want to get to you, they'll have to pass through me first."

"Well, what happens if we win and then you get to kiss whoever girl you want to kiss... in front of everyone?"

"Hm?" Kaito gave a slight snicker on his face. "You worry about me kissing some girl if we win?"

"I... uh..." Just as Lucia was afraid of, she did end up blurt something she did not mean to say. She had to find another good reason fast before Kaito began to assume things with her. "Well... it's just that... I know it's bad whenever you think about your fan club, but... wouldn't your fan club and all the girls who have major crushes on you be... crushed? That is... if you... if you end up kissing some girl who's not from Nijibe...? It's also going to be a lose-lose situation too..."

Right then, Kaito gave a light bonk on Lucia's head with a grin on his face. "Hey! That hurt!" Lucia shrieked with a glare on her face.

"Girl, I've kissed several girls in the past and the so-called fan club and those girls who got major crushes on me would always feel crushed. It's nothing different... unless if you're the one who's going to be crushed..."

"Wait a minute! I'm just concerned!" Lucia continued to deny the real truth behind her worrying as much as she can. "I mean... well, uh... I'll be crushed because you'll be crushing the pride and honor of all the girls in Nijibe... tht's all! I mean... I have pride and honor too as a Nijibejin!"

"Pride and honor, huh?" Kaito winked right at her, which made her blush even more, even when she tried to ignore it. "Damn... for the minute there, I thought you do have a crush on me!"

Lucia found herself stunned with the latter and found her heartbeat beating rapidly. Oh God... if only he would just realize-- and recognize--- that I'm Leolani... maybe he would have revealed himself to me... or make moves on me... or...

"This isn't fair, Kaito... we've spent so much together in the summer..." At that point, the teen girl found herself filled with so much emotion that it was too difficult for her to keep everything to herself. As a result she felt tears forming right on her eyes. "And I truly treasure every moment we spent together, even tonight... and tomorrow night on our date at the festival... and the tournament... I love every moment when we're together, even if we're just sitting and talk about so many things in life... I've gotten so used to being with you that I... I just couldn't stand seeing you flirting or spending time with other girls... I don't know what I'm going to do if we lose... or if we win and then you kiss another girl as the reward for winning the bet... God, I hate those jerks for throwing such a stupid bet that would even ruin my special ties with you... it's like... it's like..."

"--- Like we'll never see each other again?" Kaito finished her statement. Instead he gave her a small smile and gently wiped off her tears with his thumb. "Yo, don't be like that, Lucia. The competition day isn't until Saturday. Don't think about what's going to happen in the future. And even if I did choose to kiss some girl who's not a Nijibejin, it wouldn't mean anything." He sighed deeply right after he finished wiping off her tears. "Besides, I don't plan on leaving Nijibe for some outsider girl anyway... and regardless of whether I'm all over the place with the media, I don't know that very many girls outside Nijibe unless if they're surfer chicks or girlfriends of other surfers."

Lucia remained silent and immediately embraced Kaito to her, with her head resting on his broad shoulder. Somehow she surrendered to her filling emotions that those same tears returned. This time, she decided not to hold back and wept on his shoulder.

"Lucia... are you...?" Kaito trailed off, realizing that obviously, Lucia was not in her usual cheerful mood. Whatever it was, he did not want to question her and held her tight to him in return. But one thing was sure for him. He was very sure that after seven years and several one-week girlfriends, he surely did find her. Though he was still in contemplative mode, he continued to hush softly on her ear. Just when they both find themselves comfortable in each other's arms, Kaito began to softly sing a song he had not heard--- or sang--- for the longest time.

Hush-a-bye, hush-a-bye

Oh my darling, don't you cry

Guardian angels up above

Take care of the one I love...

Right before he continued he quickly realized what just happened. He stopped immediately, wondering how on earth he remembered a particular childhood lullaby. True, he was not thinking about the memory of his mother who sang this song to put him and Gaito to sleep during childhood, but at this point, he was thinking about Lucia and whatever sadness that caused her to shed tears at this point.

"Kaito... please don't stop..." Lucia whispered softly in his ear. "I love listening to you sing..."

"Really? You like it...?" Kaito's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Thanks... I think..."

"Please keep going..."

Kaito smiled to himself with a blissful feeling within him. Sure, he admitted to himself that he had no time to fall in love this summer due to his focus and devotion to tournament preparedness. But now, here he was with his tandem surfing partner, his new close friend, spending their third night at the beach at this very same spot and the second night underneath the full moon.

The surfer moon...

"Okay." He nodded while Lucia closed her eyes as if she was about to fall asleep on his shoulder.

Lullaby and goodnight

In your dreams, I'll hold you tight

Lullaby and goodnight

Till the dawn's early light

But this was not a dream, he thought to himself. I should have known from the beginning... He continued to smile to himself and continued on.

Pillows lying on your bed

Oh my darling, rest your head

Sandman will be coming soon

Singing you a slumber tune

Just as he finished his short lullaby, his ears immediately detected a very soft sound that sounded like a series of Z's. That was when Kaito realized that Lucia just fell asleep on his shoulder. "Lucia?"

He tapped the sleeping girl in his arms, but Lucia did not respond. Slowly he released her and Lucia was completely still with no movement reaction. He gazed at her face and sure enough, her eyes were closed and spotted a slight drool on the side of her mouth. He did not want to burst in to laughter, but instead just shook his head, trying to prevent himself from laughing.

"Oh hell no--- you crazy girl! Falling asleep on my shoulder like that... Jeez!" Slowly he laid her down on her side of her beach blanket, then reached for his backpack and brought out an extra beach blanket. "Dang, girl... what am I gonna do with you?" He unfolded the beach blanket and placed it on the sleeping Lucia. Afterwards he laid down on his side of the beach blanket and placed his arms behind his head, staring right up the moon. Once he gazed at the moon, he began to contemplate with his inner voice speaking of something he just found out recently.

He found himself chuckling to himself, thinking about this fact. You were right, G. She would make a good girlfriend for me. But... I need to slow down... He turned his head towards Lucia, who was still in her deep, blissful sleep.

I can't wait for our date tomorrow night at the festival. I feel so lucky this summer... because I found you...

He turned his head back to the moon and continued to have the inner voice continue to speak. Is this your doing, Surfer Moon? Jeez... I can't believe we even named our surfboard after you and that song too... Then again, it sounds a lot cooler than "Surfee Surf and the Surfites"...

Kaito yawned right then as his eyes began to grow heavy. Oh man... I'm getting sleepy too. Then again, it's not that cold anyway. Since Lucia's sleeping already, I might as well sleep too. He stretched out his arms and reached for his backpack again. He closed his backpack and using the soft padding on the back side, he used it as his pillow and closed his eyes.

Two hours after the tandem surfing couple fell asleep, a familiar figure appeared right at their spot, looking over them. The night was already past midnight and the full moon was still shining brighter than earlier. Once this figure spotted Kaito and Lucia asleep, the figure slowly stepped away from them with thoughts in mind.

Oh Leolani... you really do love your Kaikane... don't you?

The figure jumped off from Kaito and Lucia's spot and walked right at the sand. At the spot where the figure halted was a surfboard standing through the sand. The surfer removed the board and then dashed right towards the sea. Right at the water, the surfer jumped on to the board and began to paddle to where the breakers were coming. When the surfer paddled far enough from the shore, the surfer brought out two perfectly-sewn lei--- one with white Jasmine blossoms and the other with purple plumeria flowers--- and let the waves carry them to the bottom of the sea--- or wherever those flower wreathes may end up.

Please look after Leolani and Kaikane when they face the Dainami-Oni during this coming week's Regional Surf Scenes Tournament. Don't let that horrible wave take them down like how it took you down.

I want to make peace with you today... and I'm sorry for blaming you for your deaths. I haven't been a dutiful daughter when you were alive. I hope you would forgive me.

After a few moments of contemplation on her own, Nicola heard the the sea beginning to break. Quickly she opened her eyes, faced the breaking waves, and maneuvered her board forward as she stood. She took control of the wave that was pushing her back to the land and rode the wave back to land.

An hour later after Nicola headed back home, Kaito woke up from his sleep. Next to him was the still sleeping Lucia, who just curled herself to her side facing him. He felt slight heat surrounding him that he felt himself sweating at such a bright night. What the hell... it sure is hot at this time of the night.

He felt sweat on his forehead and reached for a towel in his backpack to wipe his hand off. He turned to Lucia and noticed that she did not have any form of cushion to support her head. Right then, he removed his shirt, leaving him shirtless, and folded his shirt in a way that would feel like a pillow. Slowly he lifted Lucia's sleepy head and placed his rolled up shirt under her head to give her support.

At least I'm a lot cooler now. Leaving himself shirtless, he laid back on his usual spot and headed back to sleep.

Morning came and the sun rays were taking a slight peek from the horizon. The early morning heat was already present, which woke Lucia up from her sleep. As she opened her eyes, she discovered the slightly bright sky above her, which made her realize that she never went home last night. I'm... outside... and I slept... outside... here at the beach?

She began to panic, wondering what on earth just happened last night that put her to sleep. Slowly she turned her head to her right to see the shirtless Kaito sleeping, which made her blush and shake in nervousness. What... why is Kaito shirtless...? What even made her become nervous as ever was that her arms were all over Kaito's bare chest. Oh my god! Why... what... oh no... what did we do...? Why am I all over him...?

Quickly she pulled her arms away from his bare chest, which to her unfortunate case, made Kaito wake up. Oh darnit--- he's waking up! Oh man... what am I gonna do...?

Kaito yawned as he opened his eyes. Right then he spotted Lucia with a rather panicked expression on her face. He then flashed a smile at her. "Well, well. Good morning, sexy!"

"Sexy?!" Lucia shrieked in horror and gazed at herself. She still had her normal clothes on. "What--- why are you shirtless like that?"

Kaito placed his hand on his forehead as if he was indicating that he too did not remember what happened. "Oh I don't know... you were crying on my shoulder... and I tried to keep you calm... stuff happened and we went to sleep."

"Stuff... happened?" Lucia swallowed in panic as she completely covered herself with her arms. "What... stuff...?"

Kaito stretched his arms and placed his arms underneath his head, gazing at the dawn sky. "Oh... you know... stuff."

"What stuff, Kaito?" Lucia lost her cool right then and began to get desperate. "What happened to us, Kaito? Aren't you worried about... you know?"

"Me?" Kaito began to chuckle softly, even if he tried to hold his temptation to laugh within him. "Why would I worry? It's just natural when a hot guy and a darn cute girl at the beach underneath a beautiful night sky with the full moon... Stuff happens!"

"Nooo..." Lucia was about to burst in to tears of worry when Kaito hushed her. "I'm too young for all this... I can't even remember what exactly happened..."

"Calm down, Lucia..." Kaito chuckled. "It's not what you think. I did sing something to you and you just fell asleep. I didn't want to wake you so I let you sleep at your spot. Me, on the other hand, the night got warm so I took my shirt off and had you use my shirt as a pillow---"

"Eep!" Lucia scooted away from Kaito and spotted his shirt right on her spot. "Kaito--- you didn't... you didn't... I mean... you didn't..."

Kaito sighed, still in a rather joking mode, and answered. "Oh Lucia... do you have an idea how much you turn me on every time we see each other like this? I was so tempted... but I had to control myself."

The blonde girl began to blush even more as if she had just reached a record-breaking fire-red face because of it. "Kaito... you're teasing me..."

"Look, nothing happened, Lucia. fYou just fell asleep. I fell asleep too and that was it. Though I gotta admit, your body all over me while we were sleeping felt so good that I was seriously tempted..."

"Oh God.. help me..." Lucia lowered her head, sighing deeply and began to curl herself in protective mode. "I just hope that nothing really happened last night... I mean... what if someone sees...?"

"I swear, I can't help but laugh about it. You're fully-clothed, right? You got nothing to worry about. Besides, I have personal morals too, you know." He stood up from his spot and reached for his rolled up shirt. He looked at the time at his cellphone. "Anyway, it's only five-thirty in the morning. I got some time to get ready for today's press conference."

Lucia suddenly forgot about this stuff issue and turned to the issue of the tournament. "Oh that's right. The press conference... but only the big names get to be interviewed."

"Yup. That's why the dudes and I have to get ready. I'm one of the people they're going to interview there. Meanwhile, you just need to get ready yourself for our festival date tonight. Right?"

Lucia smiled happily just as Kaito gave her another wink. "Sure! No problem!"

The two stopped by Pearl Waters first. It seemed that everyone was asleep and it was safe for Lucia to sneak in to her room and pretended that she did come home and was in bed. However, once they entered the dining area, the two became startled to see the Pearl Waters manager on the table, apron and baking utensils and ingredients and everything.

"Ni... Nicola..." Lucia gasped in shock, fearing that the older sister may give her some sort of punishment for not coming home that night. She already feared her just by her rather blunt-looking expression on her face. "I can explain---"

Kaito intervened and spoke directly at Nicola. "It's my fault. I didn't take your sister back home."

Nicola then shook her head and gave a light smile. "Kaito. You need to go home and get ready for the press conference. Thank you for taking Lucia home."

"Nicola...?" Lucia became more worried than ever as Kaito stood still with a fearless expression on his face.

"But... I beg you, Nicola..." Kaito began, still looking fearless but worried all at once. "The festival... I want to take her there tonight and it'd be really unfair if you forbid her from going just because of last night---"

"Kaito, just go home. We'll talk some other time. You've only got about two hours to get ready for the press conference."

"Nicola..." Lucia sighed deeply as Kaito gave the same sigh.

"I'll see you later, Lucia. I'll call you when the press conference is over."

"I'm so sorry, Kaito..." Lucia felt tears of guilt forming from her eyes as Kaito headed to the door. Before he exited, he turned to Lucia and smiled.

"It'll be alright, Lucia. We'll make up for the mistakes we made. Okay?"

Lucia gave a faint smile and nodded. "Okay. I'll see you later." Kaito gave a wave to the two sisters as he exited the door. The younger Nanami girl faced Nicola at that point and began to speak. "You can't ground me today, Nicola--- please don't forbid me from going to the festival with Kaito tonight... please..."

"Lucia, sit down." Nicola invited her younger sister to take a seat at another empty table as the two sisters sat.

"Nicola, please... don't you understand how this festival is so important to me? I know you have doubts about Kaito because of his reputation... even Hippo still has doubts about Kaito but he's not what everyone thinks he is. He wasn't what everyone says he is or is supposed to be. He's very caring, sincere, friendly, open, and sympathetic. I mean, I'm not saying he's the perfect guy, but with the way he reacts to all my troubles... he really does care for me. We get in to small fights and stuff but we always make up afterwards. Nicola, if only you'd spend some time with him---"

"Shh..." The older Nanami girl hushed her sister and instead gave her a smile. "I have to admit something to you. I saw you and Kaito sleeping together at the beach last night---"

"Eek!" Lucia exclaimed in complete shock, still confused with what really happened last night. Stuff happened, he said... "I can't even remember how... how Kaito and I ended up falling asleep the entire night and... I don't even remember if..."

"Calm down, Lucia. I believe you."

"Believe me...? What do you mean?"

Nicola gave a confident smile at her sister. "When I found the two of you, he never laid a finger on you. He gave you your own space when you fell asleep. I guess the reason why he didn't take you home last night because he did not want to wake you up. He was indeed a kindhearted boy."

"Wait... I don't get it... I mean if you saw me and Kaito last night at the beach sleeping... why did you just leave me sleeping with Kaito next to me then? Wouldn't you be really angry if you've seen me sleeping with some guy you don't trust?"

"I would be angry if I have seen you sleeping with some dude you don't trust, but Lucia... I know who Kaito Doumoto is. He's not just some dude, he's a dude that you and I are both familiar with--- well, you moreso than me."

"I'm confused, Nicola... I thought you would be..."

Nicola shook her head and continued. "I've been hating on surfer boys in general because of what happened to me with Tasuki Maki when I was your age..."

"Wait.. Tasuki... Maki's younger brother? The same dude who shaped our tandem boards?" Nicola nodded in response. "Well, I learned something from Maki one time about what happened to you and T-Mack. He was still young then and so were you. You had no idea what it means to be truly in love. He, unfortunately, led you on to thinking that he really liked you, only in the end that he'd humiliate you by dumping you and rejecting you... and pretended he didn't know you..."

"I was cautious with Kaito because I did not want you to end up having a broken heart like I did, Lucia. I wanted to make sure that he would not do the same as what T-Mack did to me... although Mom and Dad really like him a lot. They both loved the twins, but it seemed that they found Kaito a lot more delightful because he was more of the hardcore surfer type than Gaito was. And... wow..." Nicola began to chuckle just as she began to recall a few memories.

"Oh girl, when you were still little, it was love at first sight for you! The first time the Rainbowside had their first family gathering when you were like five or six, the two tandem couples--- Mom and Dad and the Does--- the Doumotos, that is--- introduced their kids to each other. I remembered how much you blushed when you first saw Kaito. You were even too shy to even say hell to him too. You always clung on to me or to Taro in hiding every time you would see the twins. He was such a nice, gentle kid, Lucia... he sure was a delight!"

Lucia blushed and smiled in agreement. "Isn't he the sweetest, Nicola? Every time he would make such nice gestures, even if it's a small compliment about my singing or the food I serve or even my hair, he just makes me blush all over!"

"Kaikane was his surf nick... but it was also his second name since he and Gaito were born in Hawaii and lived there for their first few childhood years. I thought it was seriously an awesome surf nick because it really fit his personality. He loved to surf, always followed his parents wherever they go, and at the same time he also loved music. He was definitely a very versatile musician. He would've been a successful musician like Taro and Rihito... but you know, ever since his parents perished against the Dainami-Oni like our parents, the poor boy just changed. He wasn't a huge girl-crazy boy when he was little--- then again he was still little and didn't understand what it meant to have a crush and all that--- but he changed after the Dainami-Oni incident. He just gave up on music and concentrated more on surfing. He felt that he and Gaito had a name to carry if they do continue to surf and thought that surfing and music can't mix together."

"Poor Kaikane..." Lucia sighed and lowered her head. "He must have felt so empty when he shut out his love of music and concentrate more on surfing..."

"Well... it looks like his heart is becoming full again when you and he began to talk this summer. From what Hanon and Rina told me about that one fateful day, it was your singing that drew Kaito to you. It wasn't because you're pretty or that he felt sorry for you or anything. Somehow, your singing began to refill the empty part of his heart, and because of that, you and he are often together for almost the entire summer, even if you were just hanging out at the juice bar and talk."

That's right... she's right... Lucia's inner voice began to speak as she began to think. Kaito sang a lullaby to me when I was feeling so down... it was a very sweet lullaby too... and what's ironic about it was that he also sang that song seven years ago when I fell asleep... and he woke up... after that crazy accident...

"Oh Nicola... I... I really do think he likes me too... a lot! I mean, if he didn't then he wouldn't ask me out on a date tonight. Right?"

"Kinda obvious, don't you think?"

"Nicola... Kaito has nothing but praise and admiration for you."

Nicola's eyes blinked right when Lucia mentioned the latter. "He did...? What's to praise about me besides that I'm the manager of this restaurant and that you and I are sisters?"

"You're the reason why Kaito really wanted to pursue surfing as a competitive sport, not just recreational. What Kaito's parents taught him and Gaito, it was recreational. There was this one move that mentioned that he wanted to master in order to break your record."

"Oh? I don't know what I've done... I've forgotten what I've done in the past... I haven't been surfing as often, you know?"

"Um.. he said... let me remember... ah!" Lucia snapped her fingers right when she remembered the certain move Kaito mentioned. "It's the Triple Spinner Aerial! That's it!"

"Triple Spinner Aerial...?" Nicola began to ponder if she really did that particular move. "Sounds impossible... I have never heard of any surfer who can do a Triple Spinner Aerial. That move's just going to lead you to getting wiped out."

"What's a Triple Spinner Aerial anyway?" Lucia asked curiously.

"Three rotations with your surfboard while you're on air. Not an easy thing to do. In fact, I don't think it's even possible for any surfer to do something like that."

"But you did that, Nicola! Or should I say... Cole Seahart! Kaito wasn't the only one who saw you with that move. The entire tribe saw you did that move, not just once, but seven times--- in competitions and during practice! If they said that you've done it, then I think it's possible!"

"Well, whatever Kaito is planning, he'd better not fool around during the tournament. I'd suggest for him not to do that move during competition."

"I guess... I'll let him know that." Lucia said with a smile, then changed the subject. "Say, Nicola... what are you doing?"

"Oh, making dark chocolate bonbons. Want to help out?" Nicola asked with a smile on her face.

"I'll do the powdering!"

"Go grab an apron."

Lucia skipped happily to the kitchen to get her apron as Nicola continued to blend her batter for their dark chocolate bonbons.

---

Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch is © 2003 Pink Hanamori and Michiko Yokote. All songs used are © respected songwriters/owners. No copyright infringement intended.

RATED T for the VERY mild language and slight adult situations.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Discussion for my fic is now open in the brand-new MMPPP fan board, Pearl Waters. The URL is pearlwaters(dot)cambribus-magister(dot)net. Make sure you replace the (dot) with the actual ".".

#1 – Japan Pro Surfing Association (JPSA) and Surfrider Foundation Japan – Two of the national surfing organizations in Japan (yes, they do exist!) who sponsor major surfing competitions (local, national, and international) that set in Japan.

#2 – Shonan – (see Author's Notes in Chapter 1: A Local Summer Story)

#3 – 24-hour Time Format – In the U.S., we call it Military Time. In Japan, they write their times using the 24-hour Time Format rather than the standard 12-hour Time Format (a.m. & p.m. time). For example, instead of writing 1:00 p.m., it's written as 13:00. Same goes with the preceding hours until midnight (0:00), in which 24:00 is not used. (in this case, 1:00 p.m. = 13:00, 2:00 p.m. = 14:00, 3:00 p.m. = 15:00, 4:00 p.m. = 16:00, 5:00 p.m. = 17:00, 6:00 p.m. = 18:00, 7:00 p.m. = 19:00, 8:00 p.m. = 20:00, 9:00 p.m. = 21:00, 10:00 p.m. = 22:00, 11:00 p.m. = 23:00)

#4 – Japanese School Year – A typical school year begins in April and ends in March. There is a one-week spring break between March and April (after graduation days in March and first day of the new school year in April), a month or two-month summer break (late July to early September, depending on the school), and a 1 or 2-week winter/Christmas break in December and January (depending on the school). Also, depending on the school, school days are from Monday to Friday or Monday to Saturday (usually Saturdays are half-days). Because of the school year structure, some schools provide summer homework to their students. In the case of my fanfic, the schools in Nijibe do not provide summer homework (only because they have a very strong surf and beach culture that it's just a waste of the beautiful sun and summer heat to be spent inside the house cramming on summer homework), unless if you attended some other school outside Nijibe (in the case of Michal, Coco, Caren, and Noel).

#5 - "The Bonfire Dance" - I don't know if this was common with surf tribes back in the days (or even today), but this was an example of what the tribe's "rituals". Derived from a few '60s beach movies, it's when a boy and a girl are paired up (usually it's for official couples, but there's also the cases of having some random dude taking a random chick) and... well... "do their business" between those two longboards and a huge beach blanket on top.

#6 – Mandarin Orange Rooibos Iced Tea – Rooibos means "red bush" in the Afrikaans (South African language) and/or Dutch. It's a very popular, common tea beverage served hot or cold in Africa, based on the African Red Bush plant. It has a sweet, smooth, and nutty flavor and can be drunk by anyone of all ages by itself or by adding milk and honey. It can be mixed with fruit juice for a fresh, refreshing, and heavily healthy iced drink to quench the thirst when it is very needed. It also has various health benefits, moreso than green tea or white tea, that can prevent different cancers, diabetes, and all other possibly terminal diseases. Though sweet and nutty, no sugar is needed. If you live in the U.S., you can find Mandarin Orange Rooibos Iced Tea in your local supermarket. Crystal Light sells a box of 10 packets of powdered mandarin orange rooibos iced tea under the name of Natural Mandarin Red Tea. Simply put, if you see "red tea" on the label of a box of teas, that would be the Rooibos tea. I've been addicted to this drink that I decided to add it in the fic. :P

#7 – Nijibejin (虹辺人) – a person/native/resident of Nijibe. In Japanese, anytime you see "-jin" at the end of a Japanese name of some sort, they are referring to the race, ethnicity, and/or origin of that person. In this case, Lucia is referring herself as a native resident of Nijibe.