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Being stuck in a car with two of the loudest people on earth was not the way Shiho saw her summer vacation turning out.
...It helped the tiniest bit that one of those people was her girlfriend.. At least she knew when to shut up, unlike the person driving the car. At least the rest of the passengers were.. okay. Shizuku wasn't bothering her, as she was too busy admiring her boyfriend. Kanade had fallen asleep on Toya, so he was trying his best to be quiet, (although he already is one of the quietest humans on earth).
Tsukasa was chattering loudly in the driver's seat about how fun this will be and how excited he was and Shizuku was eating it up. Honestly, how does she even stand that guy....? Shiho shakes her head and sighs. Next to her, Saki is scrolling on her phone, watching the random puppy videos that appear on her feed and cooing loudly when they do something cute.
At long last, the car stopped in a windy parking lot a few meters away from the sandy beach. Surprisingly, there wasn't too many people there that day. Maybe Tsukasa did know how to plan a vacation. Toya gently woke Kanade up, and the group exited the car to gather their stuff and find a nice spot on the beach.
When they get on the sand, Tsukasa does his signature (annoying) laugh and declares, "Do not worry, my dear kouhai! And.. my lovely girlfriend.." He kisses Shizuku's hand. "I will find us a nice spot! Focus on getting some ice cream, on me!" Tsukasa pulls out a bit of money, enough for everyone to get ice cream, and hands it to Toya, The most responsible one of the bunch. (Debatable.)
Although Shiho thinks it's not a four person job to get ice cream, she decides she'd rather go with them than stay with Shizuku and Tsukasa. That would be nightmare fuel. Saki grabs her hand, and the four of them walk to the little ice cream stand farther down the beach.
"Kanade-san, are you going to be alright?" Toya asks. Kanade looks a bit out of place, here at the beach.
Kanade nods. Shiho notes that she looks a bit sweaty already... It's obvious she doesn't get outside much. None of her business, though, Shiho decides as they arrive at the humble ice cream stand.
"What flavor should I get, Shiho?" Saki bounces on the balls of her feet excitedly, looking at the flavors posted on a small board in front of the stand.
Shiho sighs inwardly. "Well, what flavor do you want?"
"Hmmm..... Bubblegum!"
"Then get that one, then. I'm getting Rocky Road. Don't complain to me if yours tastes bad." Shiho knows she's lying. She would give Saki hers if she decided the bubble gum flavor wasn't to her liking.
Kanade nudges Toya and nods her head at the list of flavors. "Aoyagi-kun, they have a coffee flavor." Toya studies the board.
"It appears they do. I'll suppose I'll get that one. Which one do you want, Kanade-san?" Toya nudges Kanade, peering down at her with curiosity. It seems he really is interested in what flavor Kanade will get.
"Ah, nothing special... just vanilla." Kanade shrugs.
"There's nothing wrong with getting a flavor you enjoy, even if it is 'basic'." Toya responds. He pulls the money Tsukasa gave him out of his pocket and walks up to the person running the stand. On the walk to the stand, they had decided that Shizuku would like to try the lemon flavor, as she always tried a new flavor each time she had ice cream, and they would get Tsukasa bubblegum, because Saki insisted he would like it. Toya politely orders each flavor from the person running the shop.
As Shiho predicted, Saki tried to steal a bit of hers.
"C'mon, just one bite-!" Saki whined, reaching over the arm Shiho was using to deflect her attacks. "I promise I wont take a huge one…"
"You said that about my cup ramen a few days ago, and you ended up slurping half of it down before I could stop you." Shiho dodges her hand and holds the ice cream away from her. "What's so wrong with the one you got, anyway?"
Saki pouts at the defense, withdrawing her hand. "I just wanted to try yours.. You really won't let me?" She then puts on her best puppy eyes- no one can resist those. Not even Shiho.
Shiho groans. "Fiiiine." She reluctantly holds out her cone to Saki.
After the group finishes their ice cream, Tsukasa ushers them to the water, splashing most of them in the face in the process.
Toya holds a hand out to Kanade. Kanade takes his hand, and steps in the water, immediately shivering.
"It's.. quite cold."
Toya smiles at her. "It feels warmer once you're in for a minute." He gently tugs her towards him, miscalculating how much force to put in, which sends her tumbling into him, promptly making the both of them fall into the shallow water.
A shout and what sounds like a laugh comes from further in the water as Toya gets up and helps his girlfriend up.
"I'm so sorry, Kanade-san," Toya cringes. "Your hair…" He reaches out and brushes her hair behind her ear. "It's wet."
Kanade feels a strand of her hair. "It'll be fine, Aoyagi-kun," She smiles softly, "We should join the others."
They quickly learned that wasn't the best idea as the other four were in the middle of a very intense water fight, and joining them meant that they got splashed as well.
Shiho was hiding behind Saki for cover as Tsukasa and Shizuku teamed up to 'defeat' the duo. All four were soaked already, even though they had only been in the water for about five minutes. Finally, Shizuku distracts Shiho and Saki as Tsukasa splashes them from the side, making Tsukasa and Shizuku the 'winners'.
"Ha ha ha! Never underestimate the future world star, Tsukasa Tenma!" He strikes a victory pose. Shiho and Saki look like angry, wet dogs. Well, Shiho does. Saki is just giggling at Tsukasa. Shizuku fawns at him, leaning on his arm. "My hero.."
Looking at Toya and Kanade, Shiho makes a fake gag sound behind Tsukasa and Shizuku's backs.
"Seems like they're having fun." Toya looks down at Kanade. "Although, I'm kind of glad we missed that 'fight'."
Kanade nods. "The water is cold.. and salty. I suppose it does make a perfect weapon against your enemies."
In that moment, a big splash of water hits the pair. Saki stands in front of them, laughing at them. "I knew it! You two were too busy being love birds to notice I was going to attack you! Therefore, I win!"
That single sentence started another water fight.
In the end, they all dried off and packed up, satisfied with how the day went. (Even if all of them got soaked in the process.)
"Kanade-san, are you sure you're not cold?" Toya asked, for the fifth time.
"I am a little cold, but I'll be fin-" Kanade did not get to finish her sentence before the jacket Toya packed landed gently on her shoulders. Toya fixes the jacket on her, and gives her forehead a kiss.
"My girlfriend will not get a cold. You barely take care of yourself as it is…"
In the end, even though Tsukasa was still loud on the car ride home, Shiho was happy. She could never ask for a better group to hang out with, (besides Leo/Need, of course). And if she shifted Saki's head to rest on her shoulder when she fell asleep in the car, that is her business. Not Tsukasa's. Maybe, with some luck, (and Toya and Kanade fighting with them), they could win against Tsukasa and Shizuku next summer.