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Mafuyu couldn’t remember the last time they’d been to the beach. Now that they were at one, however, they wondered if that was because beaches could be very unpleasant places to be. For example, there were too many people. Mizuki had said that this was one of the less crowded beaches in Aichi prefecture, but there were easily a hundred people within a fifty-meter radius of their little group. Mizuki must have organized some event with all her friends and acquaintances, because they seemed to know about twenty people, not including Nightcord, who just so happened to be setting up their beach gear right next to the spot Mafuyu shared with Kanade, Ena, and Mizuki.
Thankfully, Kanade owned a beach umbrella. It looked as if it hadn’t been used in six years, which sort of made sense, knowing how often Kanade decided to go outside for leisure. Mafuyu had set it up, along with an outdoor blanket, and they and Kanade were sitting in the shade, refusing to move.
Mafuyu didn’t want to interact with anyone in the crowd, especially since they recognized at least five of them as being students at Miya Girls, and Otori was among them.
Kanade’s reason for staying out of the sun was probably that she wanted to avoid putting on sunscreen.
“Asahina-san, you enjoy going to the beach, too?” Shizuku approached the umbrella.
“One of my friends invited me.” Mafuyu sighed. “I’ve decided to play along even if I’m not a fan of the crowds.”
“Ah. Well, Airi-chan will scold me if I don’t let her ensure I don’t burn, so I have to go.” Shizuku waved goodbye. Mafuyu waved back.
Kanade passed Mafuyu the bottle of sunscreen. “Her friend is right.”
“You didn’t put any on.” Mafuyu passed it back. “I put a minimal cover on when we were on the train.”
Kanade pouted. “You’re more likely to be in need of it,” she pointed out.
“You should still have it on. If you’re afraid the water is cold, I’ll stay with you,” Mafuyu offered.
“Or Yuki could take this one and you two could stop having a domestic about sunscreen ,” Ena said, throwing the secondary sunscreen towards them.
“We were not having a domestic.”
Ena rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, and next you’ll say you’re not dating.”
Mizuki threw a pool noodle at her. “Enanan, you said you’d go swimming with me~!”
“Amia, I hate you so much.”
“Love you too!” Mizuki took off for the ocean.
“Jerk,” Ena muttered, before sprinting after her.
Mafuyu turned back to Kanade. “You can put it on now. I have my own sunscreen.”
Having no other way out of preventing sunburn, Kanade reluctantly followed their recommendation.
Mafuyu glanced at their outfit again. Mizuki had asked for their clothing size and then ordered her a shirt and shorts for swimming. The swimsuit had turtles on it, which Mafuyu found they actually liked. Despite never having any fish in their aquarium at home, they had a fondness for marine life they couldn’t explain.
While Mafuyu hadn’t asked Mizuki to buy them a swimsuit, they were grateful she’d done that. At least they hadn’t had to go find one last minute when Mizuki announced they were all going on a trip to Aichi three days ago.
Mizuki had also bought Kanade a swimsuit. While Mafuyu hadn’t said anything about it yet, they thought it looked really nice on Kanade. It was more of a dress than a swimsuit as Ena put it, but if Mafuyu was comfortable wearing dresses in public, they would’ve asked to borrow it.
It had a nice pattern to it that suited Kanade perfectly. A part of Mafuyu wanted to braid back Kanade’s hair so it wouldn’t get in the way when she went swimming.
“You’re staring,” Kanade observed.
“I want to braid your hair.” Mafuyu took an elastic band off their wrist. Mizuki had recommended they bring elastics places in case they were bored and needed to fiddle with something.
“I thought you were putting sunscreen on,” Kanade teased.
Mafuyu said nothing.
“Go for it,” Kanade said, turning away from Mafuyu.
They smiled. “Do you have a preference-”
“Two braids.”
Mafuyu nodded. They divided Kanade’s hair into two sections and put one in a low ponytail. They split the ponytail into three parts.
Right over centre, left over centre, right over centre, left over centre...
The second braid seemed to go a lot faster than the first, although that was probably because Kanade started making idle conversation with Mafuyu to pass the time. They rarely did so – as a team, they worked best with very few words – but it was nice to hear Kanade’s voice, so Mafuyu eventually gave up talking and listened to Kanade ramble about the soundtrack to an anime she’d watched recently.
After they tied off the second braid, Mafuyu placed a kiss on top of Kanade’s head. They picked up their discarded sunscreen. “You can’t reach the middle of your back.”
“No.”
“I’ll do it for you.”
“Thank you.”
Mafuyu had heard people say various things about putting sunscreen on someone else’s back. They thought none of it made any sense. Yes, Kanade was their girlfriend, but if Ena had asked them to do the same thing, Mafuyu wouldn’t’ve told her no. It was common courtesy.
Of course, a stranger asking one to do so might make one anxious, but Kanade wasn’t a stranger. Mafuyu was helping her.
Kanade waited for Mafuyu to finish applying their own sunscreen before suggesting they go out in the water.
“I told you that you’d want to put sunscreen on.” Mafuyu stood up and offered their hand to Kanade. She took it.
“I wasn’t going without you,” Kanade said. “We both know I’m not very good at exercising.”
“I can suggest we go on longer walks for groceries if you want.”
“It’s alright.”
“Kanade, when was the last time you swam?”
“I was fourteen.”
Mafuyu frowned. “Final year of junior high?”
“Yes.” Kanade glanced at the ocean. “My mom used to take me to the beach when I was little. She said the water was good for the heart.” She smiled. “Swimming was the only reason I would pass physical education.”
“You only passed because you can swim?” This seemed odd. Kanade wasn’t one to actively choose to play sports without someone talking her into it.
“It’s the only sport I like.” Kanade blushed. “My mom used to say I’d compete at regional level when I was a teenager.”
The idea of Kanade willingly getting into a pool and racing against other people made a little more sense than it should have. “I’ll ask my dad if he’ll pay for two recreation centre passes. The one in the neighbourhood has three pools.”
“You don’t have to,” Kanade protested. They were almost at the water now.
“You enjoy a form of physical activity,” Mafuyu responded. “If you’ll use it, I don’t mind.”
“It’s not too much?”
“Kanade, you let me live in your home without any rent. You brought warmth into my life when all I felt was a stabbing cold. Buying you something you’ll use and enjoy is the least I could do.”
They stepped into the ocean together.
Mizuki and Ena appeared to be play fighting over a giant inflatable avocado slice. Mafuyu glanced at Kanade.
“I prefer deeper water.” Kanade gestured at the ground. The water was knee height on her. “How far do you normally go?”
“I haven’t been to the beach in a while. When it’s for gym, I’m comfortable when it’s over my head.”
Kanade took Mafuyu’s hand. They walked further out into the ocean, passing Mizuki and Ena, who were very impressed that Kanade was in the water at all, to the point where Mizuki stopped fighting for the avocado slice and Ena took the opportunity to yank it out of her hands.
“Ena, give that back!”
“Nuh uh. You let it go.”
“I was using it!”
“Not anymore.”
Mizuki stuck her tongue out at Ena, then flipped the avocado. “Mine now!” She paddled off with it.
“Oh, you jerk .” Ena must’ve been fighting the instinct to flip Mizuki off. Mafuyu had the feeling that if there hadn’t been anyone close to her, Ena wouldn’t’ve hesitated at all. She swam after Mizuki in a display of athleticism Mafuyu didn’t know she was capable of.
Kanade let go of Mafuyu’s hand once she decided the water was deep enough to swim in. Mafuyu let the water level reach their shoulders before they joined Kanade.
Even though Kanade rarely exercised, Mafuyu got the feeling that if Kanade were to swim on a regular basis, she’d easily be better than they were. There was no contest; even though their classmates considered Mafuyu to be a good swimmer, if any of them saw Kanade at full strength, she’d be declared the best swimmer they’d seen.
For the first twenty metres or so, Mafuyu struggled to catch up to Kanade. She seemed to move effortlessly through the water as if she’d been doing so since she was born. Mafuyu’s mother had signed her up for supplementary lessons several times a week when Mafuyu was eight to improve her skills, but they couldn’t deny that Kanade was better.
Mafuyu felt incredibly proud of their girlfriend. They sped up their strokes a little to match Kanade’s pace.
They realized that Mizuki had been right about going to the beach.