Childhood Part V – Strange Feelings – Start

"I'm so excited!" Komaru yells, barely being able to keep herself on her seat. "Are we there yet?"

Honoka laughs from her seat. "No Komaru-chan, we aren't there yet." The brunette woman looks outside the window and smiles. "Just wait a little bit more."

"Fine!" Komaru crosses her arms and pouts while Makoto and Chiaki laugh by her side.

"C'mon Komaru, the beach ain't going anywhere." The older Naegi says as his sister glares at him.

"I know!" She pouts once more. "But I really want Chiaki-chan to see the sea!"

Chiaki giggles as she plays on her handheld. "Just wait a bit more and you can show me the sea as much as you want Komaru-chan… I think!"

"I'm glad Higashi-san and Minako-chan let us bring Chiaki-chan together with us on this trip." Honoka comments as the wind blows past her window.

"Thank you so much for bringing me along Daisuke-san." The mauve-haired girl says, slightly bowing her head.

Daisuke waves with one hand. "Don't sweat it Chiaki-chan." He then smirks. "If we didn't bring you, Komaru and Makoto wouldn't stop crying." The man laughs as his son blushes.

"Otou-san!" The brunette boy says embarrassed.

Everybody laughs at his embarrassment.

Komaru looks outside her window and smiles.

This is going to be such a fun summer!

"Aren't you two ready yet?" Makoto asks standing outside of their hotel room door. The boy is wearing simple dark green shorts.

"Just a minute Nii-chan!" Komaru yells back from inside the room.

The brunette sighs as he sits down in front of the door. "Why do you always take so much time to change?" He asks while leaning against the door and crossing his arms.

Suddenly the door opens and Makoto falls backwards.

"Different from you, I like to look presentable!" Komaru huffs while crossing her arms.

"Wasn't it because you are having trouble tying your top?" Chiaki asks and the younger Naegi blushes.

"C-Chiaki-chan!" She says embarrassed.

Not that Makoto was paying any attention to what they are saying, his mind was somewhere else.

Komaru is wearing a simple dark blue bikini, while Chiaki is wearing a cute pink one.

The brunette gulps as the blush on his face starts getting hotter. ' They are… cute.' He thinks to himself.

Komaru jumps over him and turns around. "What are you waiting for Nii-chan? Get up!" She exclaims and Makoto finally comes out of his small trance.

"Y-Yeah, sorry." He gets up and bows apologetic.

"Are you feeling alright Makoto-kun?" Chiaki says as she notices the red on his cheeks. "You look really red on the face… I think." She cutely puts a finger on her cheek.

"I-It's n-nothing." Makoto replies, clearly lying.

The younger Naegi rolls her eyes. "You're terrible at lying Nii-chan." Her eyes then turn worried. "But is anything wrong?"

Sighing, the boy looks up. "I-it's just-" He scratches the back of his head, not sure of what to say. "-Y-You two look really cute." He looks to the side as his blush deepens.

Chiaki's face turns completely red as the girl plays with her feet. "T-Thank you Makoto-kun." A smile appears on the mauve-haired girl's face. "Y-You aren't that bad yourself… I think!" She finishes.

Meanwhile, Komaru's head comes to a stop. ' Nii-chan thinks I'm cute?' She asks herself as her cheeks redden.

For some reason, Komaru's heart starts beating faster as a smile spreads across her face.

Her big brother has called her cute many times before, but for some reason, this time it her feel like butterflies are dancing in her belly.

Maybe it was because of how embarrassed he was?

'Nii-chan looks really adorable like that.' She thinks before shaking her head. "A-Anyways!" Komaru finally gets out of her trance and turns around, cheeks still red. "Let's go to the beach!" She yells pointing to the elevator in front of them.

The other two nod, still embarrassed because of each other's compliments.

Although no one would deny how happy they are at this moment.

The day at the beach went out perfectly, at least Komaru thought so.

They played around in the sand, swam and even tried to win a sand castle tournament.

They didn't win, but at least it was fun.

Still, Chiaki still didn't understand why Komaru liked the sea so much, sure, it was pretty cool, but not nearly as interesting as the younger Naegi sold it out to the older girl.

Still, Komaru insisted that she would understand why soon enough.

Now as the sun is setting, the parents let their children wander around the beach, of course, telling them no not go too far from them.

"C'mon Nii-chan! If we don't hurry we'll miss it!" Komaru yells as she is holding onto her big brother's hand.

"I got it, I got it, you don't need to pull me up like!" The brunette boy replies sighing, although with a smile on his face.

"Where exactly are we going?" Chiaki asks following the siblings.

"The place that is going to make you love the sea!" The younger Naegi says with starts in her eyes. "Trust me, it's going to be amazing!"

The three children walk for a little while, until they come across a beach bench.

"We're here!" Makoto says, turning to face Chiaki.

The mauve-haired girl looks around, not seeing anything special. "Are you sure?" She asks uncertain. "There's nothing here… I think?"

Komaru turns to the confused girl and smiles widely. "Just wait a little bit!" She points to the bench. "Let's sit down!"

The three do just that, Makoto sits by the middle with Komaru on his left and Chiaki on his right.

The mauve-haired girl still didn't get what they are talking about, but soon enough, the younger Naegi says. "Look! It's starting!"

Chiaki's breath is taken away as she looks towards the sea.

The sea turns a beautiful orange as the sun sets behind it, the light reflecting of it creates a surreal, almost dream like, atmosphere to it.

Not just that, but soon enough, the reflection of the stars on the dark orange sky also start getting reflected and with the movement of the waves, it's almost like they are dancing.

Chiaki's mouth hangs agape as she watches this beautiful sunset. "I-it's-"

Makoto smiles softly. "Beautiful?"

The mauve-haired girl nods in awe and Komaeu giggles. "Told so!"

Makoto giggles, then looks back towards the horizon.

It indeed was a beautiful sight.

A comfortable silence falls around the three friends.

Nothing needed to be said.

The tree just closed their eyes and felt the moment.

Because of that, Chiaki unconsciously rests her head on the boy's shoulder.

"C-Chiaki-chan?" Makoto's cheeks turn red as he turns to face the girl.

Also embarrassed, Chiaki replies without looking at him. "I-If you d-don't m-mind?"

Gulping, the boy looks once again towards the horizon. "I-I don't." Makoto closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

Not too long after, he feels a hand wrapping around his as Komaru also rests her head on his other shoulder.

"K-Komaru?" He turns surprised towards his sister.

"I-it's comfortable o-okay?" She yells while her face burns red with embarrassed.

With this, the three watch the sunset, as close as they could possibly be at the moment.

It felt strange to Makoto, it should be uncomfortable the way they are sitting, but however he felt the warmth of Komaru's hand and the soft breathing of Chiaki, everything just felt so right.

The boy could feel his heart beating faster.

At this moment, he was the happiest he could possibly be.

Back at the hotel, the Naegi family and their guest are now eating dinner.

There's a comfortable silence around the table, and while the parents always liked to have a little bit of peace from time to time, it was kind of strange to not see the kids talking to each other.

"You're all quiet today." Daisuke comments, making everybody look at him. "Did something happen?"

They all blush at the same time. "N-No." The brunette boy replies. "We just watched the sea."

"It was quite stunning… I think!" Chiaki adds right after.

Komaru just kept silent, although her cheeks are bright red.

"Oh." Honoka says putting a hand on her cheek. "Did you two brought Chiaki-chan to that place we showed you last time?" She asks and Makoto nods. "I see! It is quite beautiful isn't it?" The brunette woman sighs happily. "Me and Daisuke found out that spot on your very first date after we married!" Smiling, she holds onto her husband's hand. "It was quite the sight, wasn't it dear?"

The black-haired man smiles widely. "Yes it was. Quite spectacular."

As the two adults reminisce, the younger Naegi just plays with her food, a lot of different thoughts running through her head.

' Kaa-san and Tou-san first date huh?' Her cheeks redden even more. ' Wait…' looking at her older brother, she gulps, a realization hitting her. ' A date?' Suddenly her chest feels tight. Shaking her head, the girl pushes her still full plate and gets up. "I-I'm tired, can I go to bed early?" She asks, looking at her mother.

Honoka arches a eyebrow while looking to Komaru's untouched plate. "Are you sure?" She asks and her younger daughter nods. "Okay you can go." Komaru starts heading out, but stop once the older woman says. "But if there's something bothering you, just tell us okay?" Honoka smiles kindly.

The brunette girl nods again. "Y-Yeah, got it." She then walks away from the restaurant.

"Did something happen while you three are out there?" Daisuke asks again, looking at Makoto.

The brunette boy nods negatively. "Nothing bad." He then looks down at his own food. After some minutes of silence, the boy gets up. "I'm going to talk to her."

Daisuke smiles, he always loved how supportive his family was of each other. "You can go." Makoto nods, but before he can run off, his stomach growls, making the boy blush and his father laugh. "But finish your dinner first."

Makoto knocks at Komaru's hotel room door, one that she has been sharing with their mother and Chiaki.

There is no response. With a sigh, the boy pushes the door open and enters the dark room.

"Komaru?" He asks, as he can hear the faint sound of music coming from under her bedsheets.

Approaching the bed, he gently pulls the bedsheets off, revealing a almost asleep Komaru using their family's notebook to listen to her favorite song.

A Maizono Sayaka song.

Crazy how his ex-classmate turned into a really popular idol so quick.

If he knew, he would have asked for a autograph back then.

"Nii-chan?" The brunette girl yawns while rubbing her eyes.

"You're really tired aren't you?" Makoto asks with a smile. His sister nods and he sighs in relief. "Good, I really thought something was wrong with you."

Now, sitting up, the girl asks. "Wrong?"

The brunette boy nods. "Yes. You looked sad and-" He smirks. "-When does Naegi Komaru ever rejects food?"

Komaru pouts. "Hey! I don't eat that much!" She crosses her arms.

"Really?" He rolls his eyes. "So those boxes of cereal empty themselves alone?"

The girl blushes before getting a smirk of her own. "Well, at least Kaa-san doesn't have to lecture me about drinking too much water before bed!" Her smirk grows as the boy blushes.

"Hey! That's a low blow!" Blushing up a storm, the older brother yells.

"I'm just using my weapons right!" She closes one of her eyes and shows him her tongue.

A comfortable silence falls as the siblings banter stops.

Makoto smiles before patting his sister in the head and turning around. "If everything is okay, then I'm going to my room." He starts walking away. "Good night Komaru."

As she watches her older brother walking away, a idea pops into her head and without giving it any more thought, Komaru asks. "Nii-chan?"

The brunette boy stops and turns around. "Yes?"

Blushing a bit, the girl shuffles in place. "Can we go out for a walk tomorrow?" For some reason, her heart beats faster as she asks this very simple question.

"Sure!" He replies with a smile. "We'll grab Chiaki-chan and-"

"No!" She yells, a little more loudly than she wanted. "I-I mean just you and me."

Makoto arches a eyebrow, but soon sighs and nods. "Okay, but are you sure you don't want to bring Chiaki-chan?" The girl nods. "Okay, see you tomorrow!" With that, he walks away back to his room.

After Makoto closes the door, Komaru throws herself at her bed and happily squeals as she kicks her legs.

She didn't know why, but the moment her brother said yes, her heart exploded with happiness and all of the butterflies on her stomach flew away.

Looking at the ceiling of the room, Komaru smiles.

Tomorrow is just going to be me and Nii-chan!

Childhood Part V – Strange Feelings – End

A beach episode so soon? hopefully this will be the first of many.

Anyways, now we started a little bit of a Komaru arc, it's just going to be this and the next chapter, so don't worry.

At first, I was going to skip Komaru for now and go straight for the V3 mysterious girl, but I decided to give our favorite little sister a bit of a spotlight, of course, her importance is going to be even bigger later on.

Now, now, place your bets to who this mysterious V3 girl is going to be.

Well, see you all around!