Infinite Stratos, Volume 3, page 6
“Er, just your back, right?”
“If you’d like to oil my front, I’m fine with that, too.”
“Just your back. Please.”
“Very well, then.” Cecilia suddenly reached back to untie the string holding her top up, and layed down while covering her breasts with her beach towel. “Go ahead.”
“Of course.”
I was left looking at Cecilia’s bare back, as her top was held up only by the weight of her towel pressing it to her chest. Sideboobs squeezed out from below her arms. This was really, really sexy... Maybe it was just because she was lying down, but her butt, which was already firm and round like a woman’s, stuck up as well. I hadn’t realized earlier because of her sarong, but her bottoms were also a very skimpy cut. I involuntarily gulped as I looked down at her curvy legs.
“Okay, I’m starting now.”
“Eek! Ichika, let it warm up a little in your hands first.”
“Oh, okay. Sorry. I’ve just never done this before.”
“Oh, I see. This is your first time? I suppose it makes sense.”
For some reason, she sounded happy about that. I must have been imagining things. Anyway, I let the oil warm a bit in my palms before putting it on. After it was less chilly, I began to spread it on Cecilia’s back. Wow, her skin’s so smooth. It feels really nice.
“Mmm... That feels good. Can you get a little lower?”
“I thought you just wanted your back done.”
“Well, you’ve already started, so can you get everywhere I can’t reach? My legs, too. And my behind.”
“Your wha—”
Oh no. This wasn’t good. Even if it was because I was rubbing her with tanning oil, I couldn’t touch her butt.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you nice and oiled up!”
“Eek! Rin? What are you doing! That’s cold!”
“What’s wrong with that? You’ll tan just as well either way. Here goes!”
“Ugh, that’s enough! Knock it off—” Cecilia, angered, stood up. At the same time, the swimsuit she’d untied fell to the sand.
“Ah...”
“KYAAAAAA!” Cecilia barely managed to cover up, but her face and ears still burned a bright red.
“Ah, so sorry.”
“And now you apologize, Ling? I’ll make you pay for this!”
“Then I’ll run away. Smell you later.”
Gulp.
“Hey! Don’t get me involved in this! Ugh, dammit... Sorry, Cecilia! I didn’t see anything, okay?!” I pleaded.
“Wha—” Cecilia glowed an even brighter red, but unable to move her hands from where they were, she froze up. Meanwhile, Rin dragged me away toward the sea.
“Whoa! Rin, what are you doing?!”
“Race you to that buoy, Ichika. If I win, you owe me a partfait from @Cruise by the station. Ready— Go!”
“Hey, no fair! Wait up!”
“Ahahaha. Your fault for not paying attention!”
And that was how I got dragged into chasing after Rin. After all, the cheapest parfait at @Cruise was 1,500 yen. I literally couldn’t afford to lose.
◆
Sorry to be so mean, Cecilia, but it’s my turn. Rin thought to herself as she raced Ichika. The plan she came up with last month, when she woke up early to make sweet-and-sour pork, had been a complete failure. She’d never expected Houki and even Cecilia to cook for him, too. That was a really good plan, too. When she’d thought it up, it went something like:
[Don’t heat Ichika’s portion.]
↓
[Wait for him to want warm sweet-and-sour pork.]
↓
[“Guess we’ll have to share.”]
↓
[“Say ‘ahh.’”]
But it didn’t go well at all. Sure, she’d managed to feed him the pork, but it was after Houki took her turn, so it felt like just an afterthought. At the same time, she’d also only bought rice for herself, hoping for something like:
[“Can I have some rice, too?”]
↓
[“Guess we’ll have to share.”]
↓
[“Say ‘ahh.’”]
But since Houki made a lunch box, that had failed, too. Really, though, it’s skin-to-skin contact that gets through to guys, and Ichika knows that if I’m in a swimsuit, I’ll be all over him. At the same time, though, his obliviousness around girls was a worry in its own right. It’s okay! No one else has the guts to get this close to him! Though Cecilia was a close call...
Rin thought back to moments before. Tanning oil, huh... Ichika did kind of look like he realized something was up. Maybe I should ask him to do my back after this. It may have been Cecilia’s idea first, but there was no reason it couldn’t work for her. He’d have to touch me, though. I don’t mind touching people, but being touched... It’s kind of embarrassing... She ducked her face under the waves to cool off her rapidly-reddening blush. However, this didn’t stop her heart from beating even faster.
Ugh... I bet all the other girls are going to be after him too... Her sigh bubbled to the surface and was washed away. Get a hold of yourself, Huang Lingyin! You made it into IS Academy, you can’t give up now! She took a deep breath to match her newfound determination. However, she was still underwater. What rushed into her mouth wasn’t fresh air, but rather seawater.
“Graaak!”
Surprised, she panicked and slipped under the water. I’m under water! I need to go up! But she couldn’t tell which way was up. Rin was drowning, but then, a strong arm wrapped around her and pulled her to safety. Ichika... This must be Ichika’s arm... Suddenly, she was filled with a sense of relief. Holding on to that muscular arm, she floated to the surface.
◇
“Rin! Are you okay?!”
Rin coughed up water, “I’m fine...”
“Jeez, I told you. You needed to do your warmups.”
“That isn’t the problem! It’s your fault!”
“Huh? Anyway, let’s head back to shore. C’mon.”
I couldn’t really make out what she was saying, but it’d be better for her to be back on dry land. I turned my back to Rin.
“What?!”
“Get on. I’ll carry you.”
“It’s fine. I can make it back.”
It didn’t matter what she said, I couldn’t just leave someone who was half-drowned behind. This time I insisted a bit more firmly.
“Rin.”
“Hmph. Fine...”
This time, she listened. Picking her delicate form up out of the water, I began to swim back toward land.
A long time ago, Chifuyu had taught me how to swim while carrying someone. It was tough. You had to hold your back higher than you’d think to keep them from dipping under.
“Hit me on the shoulder if any water gets in your mouth. If you open it to talk, you’ll drown.”
“Mm.” As she gave a closed-mouth response, I swam toward the shore. Going too fast would be dangerous, so I took it slow. “Er, Ichika...”
“You’ll swallow more water if you talk.”
“It’s fine. Anyway, um...” She spoke quietly, softly, but I heard her last word as clear as a bell. “Thanks...”
She must have been embarrassed, talking to someone who’d just saved her from drowning. I responded with a nod, and began to carry her up onto the beach.
“I’m fine. I can walk the rest of the way.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. C’mon, let me down.”
As I walked out of the waves, a group of girls approached me. Rin squirmed, perhaps out of embarrassment at being seen while she was carried.
“Okay, I’ll let you down. Take it slow, though. A fall wouldn’t be good for you, even if you were a cat in a past life.”
“I was a mermaid, not a cat...”
Sure, whatever. I squatted to let Rin down.
“I think I’m just going to sit down for a bit.” Rin stumbled off toward the beach house. Her face was a bit red following the events that just transpired. Ah well, I couldn’t blame her for feeling awkward after what she said earlier.
“Oh, Ichika. That’s where you went.”
Hearing my name called, I turned around to see Charl and—
“Huh? Who’s the towel ghost?” That was certainly a strange sight. Whoever it was was wrapped in bath towels from the top of her head all the way to below her knees. Who on earth could it be?
“C’mon out. It’s fine.”
“I’ll be the one who decides when it’s fine...”
Hm? That voice... Was it Laura? She was normally so confident, I could hardly believe that timid voice was hers. Charl, being her usual self, was trying to convince Laura of something. I hadn’t the foggiest what.
“Come on, you went through all the effort to change into that swimsuit, and you’re not even going to let him see it?”
“W-Wait! I’m not ready yet...”
“Jeez. You keep saying that, and you’ve wrapped yourself up like a mummy all day. I helped you out, I don’t know why you think you should hide it from me.”
Oh, by the way, Charl and Laura had ended up in the same room. Even though they’d fought fiercely in the incident last month, they got along fine as roommates. No matter how standoffish Laura was, I guess being with a girl as positive and friendly as Charl opened her up a bit.
“Anyway, if you’re going to stay wrapped up, maybe I’ll just go hang out with Ichika by myself.”
“What?!”
“Hm, yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Let’s go, Ichika.” As she spoke, Charl took my hand. With our arms linked, she began to pull me back toward the water.
“W-Wait. I’ll go too.”
“Dressed like that?”
“Fine, fine, I’ll take them off!”
A pile of towels fell to the sand, and Laura’s swimsuit-clad body stepped into the light. Her swimsuit was—
“Go ahead, laugh!”
—Black, but decorated with lace frills. At first glance, it looked like a grown-up’s sexy lingerie. Her hair, normally left unstyled, was pulled up into tails on either side of her head. She almost looked like Rin that way—but more importantly, she looked adorable. Seeing her nervous and uptight for once just reinforced it.
“There’s nothing weird about it, right, Ichika?”
“Oh, of course. I was a little surprised, but I think it looks good on her.”
“Wh—?!” Laura didn’t seem to be expecting that response, and she wavered for a moment before turning beet-red. “I don’t need to be lied to.”
“No, it’s not just flattery. Right, Charl?”
“Yeah. I told her so too, but she doesn’t want to believe it. Oh, by the way, I helped Laura put her hair up. She doesn’t dress up often, so I thought it’d be nice to go all the way.”
“Oh, really? By the way, your swimsuit looks great, too.”
“Oh, thanks.” Charl twisted a lock of hair around her finger as she shied away from the praise. The bracelet I’d bought her yesterday glimmered on her wrist.
“You’re sure that won’t degrade?”
“It’s fine. I put a protective coating on it, and I’ll wash it off right after. It’s a gift from you, after all.” Charl giggled as she smiled. She really did seem to like it a lot.
“Ichika.”
“Hm?”
Laura’s voice was clearer than before, as if she’d gotten over her worries.
“That’s no fair. I... I want a present too...”
I’d expected Cecilia to be jealous, but not Laura, too.
“Sure, the next time you have something to celebrate. Your birthday, maybe?”
“I see. I’ll be expecting something then. You’d better not forget.”
“Okay. But it won’t be anything too expensive. I mean, I am just a schoolkid.”
“Very well. Three months’ wages, perhaps? My squadmates tell me that’s standard for a present of that sort in Japan.”
The girl with all the wrong ideas about Japan must have given Laura some bad advice again. Well, ‘wrong’ wasn’t the proper word so much as ‘inappropriate.’
“Is there something you want? I don’t really see you wearing much jewelry.”
“I suppose. I’m not particularly accustomed to it. But... if it’s something you choose, I think I’d love it.”
“Oh? Hmm, I wonder what would work best? A choker, maybe? Or your hairstyle now is off your ears, earrings would look good. I think they’d make you look cute.”
“C-Cute?!” Her new hairstyle must have had her on edge. She flusteredly intertwined her fingers.
“Orimura!”
“You promised you’d play volleyball!”
“Yay, I get to play with Orimu!”
A nearby girl was making a ball-spiking gesture. It was the one I made a promise to before, her friend, and Miss Casual again. I realized I really needed to start remembering peoples’ names.
“There! Passing to Orimura!”
She gave the ball a slap and sent it flying my way. I caught it, and quickly set up teams.
“All right, if Charl and Laura are on my team, it’s a fair three-on-three. Let’s get started!”
As soon as I called it out, the two girls spread the net while Miss Casual drew the lines in the sand. Wow, she was slow.
“All right, ground rules. Shoot by your third hit, no spiking twice in a row, ten points decides the set.”
“Okay. You serve first.”
I tossed the beach ball over. The girl who was setting up to serve had a gleam in her eye. I think her name was... Kushinada?
“Hehehe. I’ll show you why they call me the July Summer Devil!”
Whew! A jumping serve straight off! It was fast, and she had a good angle on it, too. I couldn’t do anything.
“Got it!,” Charl called out. She really was the class ace, in more ways than one. I’ll have to tell her that later.
“Whoa!”
I heard a thud, and then Charl cry out. Turning around, I saw that Laura, who’d been staring off into space until then, had suddenly shoved Charl out of the way to return the serve.
“Are you okay?!”
“Oww... What was that, Laura?”
“He... He said I was cute... Wow...”
As our eyes made contact, her expression emptied and she blushed. Then, she darted away like a startled rabbit.
“Uh... Hey, Laura! What are you doing?!” I called out to her, but by the time the words left my mouth she was already inside the beach house. Me, Charl, and a speechless trio remained.
“Well, well. Looks like it’s Orimura the Heartbreaker in action.” Miss Casual broke the ice. By the way, she was wearing something that was less of a swimsuit and more of mascot costume; it covered her whole body up to her ears. Tabane and her would probably have a lot to talk about, fashion-wise.
“Well. Anyway, let’s keep playing. We can check on Laura later.”
“Agreed!”
Thus continued a game of two-on-three—though Miss Casual may as well have not counted—beach volleyball.
“There!”
Charl nimbly moved in for a spike. As I watched out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her breasts bouncing as she jumped. Dammit! Why didn’t I ever notice how curvy she really—Ugh, no! Once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it. The breasts of the other team were bouncing whenever they jumped, too.
“.........”
“What’s wrong, Ichika?”
“No! Uh, it’s nothing! Nothing at all!”
As I wondered whether they’d noticed me staring, my heart leapt into my throat. Trying to deflect attention, I began waving my hands around. Watching me, Charl gave a bemused grin.
“Hehe. You’re so silly, Ichika.”
“Well, it’s summer! Gotta get warmed up!”
“That was pretty weak, even for you.”
She really wasn’t putting up with my jokes lately. That ‘I know what you’re thinking, Ichika’ felt like getting scolded by a neighbor as a kid. Pretty embarrassing.
“It’s getting close to lunchtime. What are you doing this afternoon, Ichika?”
“I want to swim a bit more, but it’s a bad idea right after eating. I think I’ll just relax for a bit.”
“Oh? Let’s go get lunch, then. Oh, hey, by the way, which room did you end up in?”
“I want to know too!”
“Me three!”
“I’d like to know where to find a cool pillow.” The rest of the team was confused by that one from Miss Casual.
“Uh, Ms. Orimura’s room.”
At once, their excitement turned to ice, as if the sudden reveal jolted their train of thought off the tracks.
“Ah, so it’s dangerous to come hang out.”
“That’s right... But we can still see you at meals!”
“Yeah! No need to go raiding the demon’s lair.”
“And who are you calling a demon?” Her entrance rang like a gong. I’m not even sure it was my imagination. All three of the girls craned their necks around in terror.
“M-Miss... Orimura...”
“Yep.”
Ah. She was wearing the swimsuit from before. It was black like Laura’s, but gave a completely different impression, proudly highlighting each and every curve on her body in the bright sunlight. Honestly, if she wasn’t my sister, my heart would have jumped out of my mouth right then. Even the hand on her hip, usually so strict, came off as sexy. Between that and her model-like good looks, the rest of the girls were completely outclassed. It was hard to imagine when they were held in by a suit, but now, even an unfavorable observer would have to admit that her breasts were bigger than average. And that swimsuit was designed to draw eyes directly to her cleavage and keep them trapped there.
“Stop leering, Ichika...”
“Charl?! What are you talking about?” I tried to laugh it off.
“You were just practically drooling.”
Ugh. I couldn’t really argue with that.
“Hurry up and go have lunch.”
“What about you, Ms. Orimura?”
“I’m going to enjoy the little bit of free time that I have.”
She was right. The teachers had almost no unscheduled time, so I didn’t want to waste any more of it than I had to.
“If you’d like to oil my front, I’m fine with that, too.”
“Just your back. Please.”
“Very well, then.” Cecilia suddenly reached back to untie the string holding her top up, and layed down while covering her breasts with her beach towel. “Go ahead.”
“Of course.”
I was left looking at Cecilia’s bare back, as her top was held up only by the weight of her towel pressing it to her chest. Sideboobs squeezed out from below her arms. This was really, really sexy... Maybe it was just because she was lying down, but her butt, which was already firm and round like a woman’s, stuck up as well. I hadn’t realized earlier because of her sarong, but her bottoms were also a very skimpy cut. I involuntarily gulped as I looked down at her curvy legs.
“Okay, I’m starting now.”
“Eek! Ichika, let it warm up a little in your hands first.”
“Oh, okay. Sorry. I’ve just never done this before.”
“Oh, I see. This is your first time? I suppose it makes sense.”
For some reason, she sounded happy about that. I must have been imagining things. Anyway, I let the oil warm a bit in my palms before putting it on. After it was less chilly, I began to spread it on Cecilia’s back. Wow, her skin’s so smooth. It feels really nice.
“Mmm... That feels good. Can you get a little lower?”
“I thought you just wanted your back done.”
“Well, you’ve already started, so can you get everywhere I can’t reach? My legs, too. And my behind.”
“Your wha—”
Oh no. This wasn’t good. Even if it was because I was rubbing her with tanning oil, I couldn’t touch her butt.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you nice and oiled up!”
“Eek! Rin? What are you doing! That’s cold!”
“What’s wrong with that? You’ll tan just as well either way. Here goes!”
“Ugh, that’s enough! Knock it off—” Cecilia, angered, stood up. At the same time, the swimsuit she’d untied fell to the sand.
“Ah...”
“KYAAAAAA!” Cecilia barely managed to cover up, but her face and ears still burned a bright red.
“Ah, so sorry.”
“And now you apologize, Ling? I’ll make you pay for this!”
“Then I’ll run away. Smell you later.”
Gulp.
“Hey! Don’t get me involved in this! Ugh, dammit... Sorry, Cecilia! I didn’t see anything, okay?!” I pleaded.
“Wha—” Cecilia glowed an even brighter red, but unable to move her hands from where they were, she froze up. Meanwhile, Rin dragged me away toward the sea.
“Whoa! Rin, what are you doing?!”
“Race you to that buoy, Ichika. If I win, you owe me a partfait from @Cruise by the station. Ready— Go!”
“Hey, no fair! Wait up!”
“Ahahaha. Your fault for not paying attention!”
And that was how I got dragged into chasing after Rin. After all, the cheapest parfait at @Cruise was 1,500 yen. I literally couldn’t afford to lose.
◆
Sorry to be so mean, Cecilia, but it’s my turn. Rin thought to herself as she raced Ichika. The plan she came up with last month, when she woke up early to make sweet-and-sour pork, had been a complete failure. She’d never expected Houki and even Cecilia to cook for him, too. That was a really good plan, too. When she’d thought it up, it went something like:
[Don’t heat Ichika’s portion.]
↓
[Wait for him to want warm sweet-and-sour pork.]
↓
[“Guess we’ll have to share.”]
↓
[“Say ‘ahh.’”]
But it didn’t go well at all. Sure, she’d managed to feed him the pork, but it was after Houki took her turn, so it felt like just an afterthought. At the same time, she’d also only bought rice for herself, hoping for something like:
[“Can I have some rice, too?”]
↓
[“Guess we’ll have to share.”]
↓
[“Say ‘ahh.’”]
But since Houki made a lunch box, that had failed, too. Really, though, it’s skin-to-skin contact that gets through to guys, and Ichika knows that if I’m in a swimsuit, I’ll be all over him. At the same time, though, his obliviousness around girls was a worry in its own right. It’s okay! No one else has the guts to get this close to him! Though Cecilia was a close call...
Rin thought back to moments before. Tanning oil, huh... Ichika did kind of look like he realized something was up. Maybe I should ask him to do my back after this. It may have been Cecilia’s idea first, but there was no reason it couldn’t work for her. He’d have to touch me, though. I don’t mind touching people, but being touched... It’s kind of embarrassing... She ducked her face under the waves to cool off her rapidly-reddening blush. However, this didn’t stop her heart from beating even faster.
Ugh... I bet all the other girls are going to be after him too... Her sigh bubbled to the surface and was washed away. Get a hold of yourself, Huang Lingyin! You made it into IS Academy, you can’t give up now! She took a deep breath to match her newfound determination. However, she was still underwater. What rushed into her mouth wasn’t fresh air, but rather seawater.
“Graaak!”
Surprised, she panicked and slipped under the water. I’m under water! I need to go up! But she couldn’t tell which way was up. Rin was drowning, but then, a strong arm wrapped around her and pulled her to safety. Ichika... This must be Ichika’s arm... Suddenly, she was filled with a sense of relief. Holding on to that muscular arm, she floated to the surface.
◇
“Rin! Are you okay?!”
Rin coughed up water, “I’m fine...”
“Jeez, I told you. You needed to do your warmups.”
“That isn’t the problem! It’s your fault!”
“Huh? Anyway, let’s head back to shore. C’mon.”
I couldn’t really make out what she was saying, but it’d be better for her to be back on dry land. I turned my back to Rin.
“What?!”
“Get on. I’ll carry you.”
“It’s fine. I can make it back.”
It didn’t matter what she said, I couldn’t just leave someone who was half-drowned behind. This time I insisted a bit more firmly.
“Rin.”
“Hmph. Fine...”
This time, she listened. Picking her delicate form up out of the water, I began to swim back toward land.
A long time ago, Chifuyu had taught me how to swim while carrying someone. It was tough. You had to hold your back higher than you’d think to keep them from dipping under.
“Hit me on the shoulder if any water gets in your mouth. If you open it to talk, you’ll drown.”
“Mm.” As she gave a closed-mouth response, I swam toward the shore. Going too fast would be dangerous, so I took it slow. “Er, Ichika...”
“You’ll swallow more water if you talk.”
“It’s fine. Anyway, um...” She spoke quietly, softly, but I heard her last word as clear as a bell. “Thanks...”
She must have been embarrassed, talking to someone who’d just saved her from drowning. I responded with a nod, and began to carry her up onto the beach.
“I’m fine. I can walk the rest of the way.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. C’mon, let me down.”
As I walked out of the waves, a group of girls approached me. Rin squirmed, perhaps out of embarrassment at being seen while she was carried.
“Okay, I’ll let you down. Take it slow, though. A fall wouldn’t be good for you, even if you were a cat in a past life.”
“I was a mermaid, not a cat...”
Sure, whatever. I squatted to let Rin down.
“I think I’m just going to sit down for a bit.” Rin stumbled off toward the beach house. Her face was a bit red following the events that just transpired. Ah well, I couldn’t blame her for feeling awkward after what she said earlier.
“Oh, Ichika. That’s where you went.”
Hearing my name called, I turned around to see Charl and—
“Huh? Who’s the towel ghost?” That was certainly a strange sight. Whoever it was was wrapped in bath towels from the top of her head all the way to below her knees. Who on earth could it be?
“C’mon out. It’s fine.”
“I’ll be the one who decides when it’s fine...”
Hm? That voice... Was it Laura? She was normally so confident, I could hardly believe that timid voice was hers. Charl, being her usual self, was trying to convince Laura of something. I hadn’t the foggiest what.
“Come on, you went through all the effort to change into that swimsuit, and you’re not even going to let him see it?”
“W-Wait! I’m not ready yet...”
“Jeez. You keep saying that, and you’ve wrapped yourself up like a mummy all day. I helped you out, I don’t know why you think you should hide it from me.”
Oh, by the way, Charl and Laura had ended up in the same room. Even though they’d fought fiercely in the incident last month, they got along fine as roommates. No matter how standoffish Laura was, I guess being with a girl as positive and friendly as Charl opened her up a bit.
“Anyway, if you’re going to stay wrapped up, maybe I’ll just go hang out with Ichika by myself.”
“What?!”
“Hm, yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Let’s go, Ichika.” As she spoke, Charl took my hand. With our arms linked, she began to pull me back toward the water.
“W-Wait. I’ll go too.”
“Dressed like that?”
“Fine, fine, I’ll take them off!”
A pile of towels fell to the sand, and Laura’s swimsuit-clad body stepped into the light. Her swimsuit was—
“Go ahead, laugh!”
—Black, but decorated with lace frills. At first glance, it looked like a grown-up’s sexy lingerie. Her hair, normally left unstyled, was pulled up into tails on either side of her head. She almost looked like Rin that way—but more importantly, she looked adorable. Seeing her nervous and uptight for once just reinforced it.
“There’s nothing weird about it, right, Ichika?”
“Oh, of course. I was a little surprised, but I think it looks good on her.”
“Wh—?!” Laura didn’t seem to be expecting that response, and she wavered for a moment before turning beet-red. “I don’t need to be lied to.”
“No, it’s not just flattery. Right, Charl?”
“Yeah. I told her so too, but she doesn’t want to believe it. Oh, by the way, I helped Laura put her hair up. She doesn’t dress up often, so I thought it’d be nice to go all the way.”
“Oh, really? By the way, your swimsuit looks great, too.”
“Oh, thanks.” Charl twisted a lock of hair around her finger as she shied away from the praise. The bracelet I’d bought her yesterday glimmered on her wrist.
“You’re sure that won’t degrade?”
“It’s fine. I put a protective coating on it, and I’ll wash it off right after. It’s a gift from you, after all.” Charl giggled as she smiled. She really did seem to like it a lot.
“Ichika.”
“Hm?”
Laura’s voice was clearer than before, as if she’d gotten over her worries.
“That’s no fair. I... I want a present too...”
I’d expected Cecilia to be jealous, but not Laura, too.
“Sure, the next time you have something to celebrate. Your birthday, maybe?”
“I see. I’ll be expecting something then. You’d better not forget.”
“Okay. But it won’t be anything too expensive. I mean, I am just a schoolkid.”
“Very well. Three months’ wages, perhaps? My squadmates tell me that’s standard for a present of that sort in Japan.”
The girl with all the wrong ideas about Japan must have given Laura some bad advice again. Well, ‘wrong’ wasn’t the proper word so much as ‘inappropriate.’
“Is there something you want? I don’t really see you wearing much jewelry.”
“I suppose. I’m not particularly accustomed to it. But... if it’s something you choose, I think I’d love it.”
“Oh? Hmm, I wonder what would work best? A choker, maybe? Or your hairstyle now is off your ears, earrings would look good. I think they’d make you look cute.”
“C-Cute?!” Her new hairstyle must have had her on edge. She flusteredly intertwined her fingers.
“Orimura!”
“You promised you’d play volleyball!”
“Yay, I get to play with Orimu!”
A nearby girl was making a ball-spiking gesture. It was the one I made a promise to before, her friend, and Miss Casual again. I realized I really needed to start remembering peoples’ names.
“There! Passing to Orimura!”
She gave the ball a slap and sent it flying my way. I caught it, and quickly set up teams.
“All right, if Charl and Laura are on my team, it’s a fair three-on-three. Let’s get started!”
As soon as I called it out, the two girls spread the net while Miss Casual drew the lines in the sand. Wow, she was slow.
“All right, ground rules. Shoot by your third hit, no spiking twice in a row, ten points decides the set.”
“Okay. You serve first.”
I tossed the beach ball over. The girl who was setting up to serve had a gleam in her eye. I think her name was... Kushinada?
“Hehehe. I’ll show you why they call me the July Summer Devil!”
Whew! A jumping serve straight off! It was fast, and she had a good angle on it, too. I couldn’t do anything.
“Got it!,” Charl called out. She really was the class ace, in more ways than one. I’ll have to tell her that later.
“Whoa!”
I heard a thud, and then Charl cry out. Turning around, I saw that Laura, who’d been staring off into space until then, had suddenly shoved Charl out of the way to return the serve.
“Are you okay?!”
“Oww... What was that, Laura?”
“He... He said I was cute... Wow...”
As our eyes made contact, her expression emptied and she blushed. Then, she darted away like a startled rabbit.
“Uh... Hey, Laura! What are you doing?!” I called out to her, but by the time the words left my mouth she was already inside the beach house. Me, Charl, and a speechless trio remained.
“Well, well. Looks like it’s Orimura the Heartbreaker in action.” Miss Casual broke the ice. By the way, she was wearing something that was less of a swimsuit and more of mascot costume; it covered her whole body up to her ears. Tabane and her would probably have a lot to talk about, fashion-wise.
“Well. Anyway, let’s keep playing. We can check on Laura later.”
“Agreed!”
Thus continued a game of two-on-three—though Miss Casual may as well have not counted—beach volleyball.
“There!”
Charl nimbly moved in for a spike. As I watched out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her breasts bouncing as she jumped. Dammit! Why didn’t I ever notice how curvy she really—Ugh, no! Once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it. The breasts of the other team were bouncing whenever they jumped, too.
“.........”
“What’s wrong, Ichika?”
“No! Uh, it’s nothing! Nothing at all!”
As I wondered whether they’d noticed me staring, my heart leapt into my throat. Trying to deflect attention, I began waving my hands around. Watching me, Charl gave a bemused grin.
“Hehe. You’re so silly, Ichika.”
“Well, it’s summer! Gotta get warmed up!”
“That was pretty weak, even for you.”
She really wasn’t putting up with my jokes lately. That ‘I know what you’re thinking, Ichika’ felt like getting scolded by a neighbor as a kid. Pretty embarrassing.
“It’s getting close to lunchtime. What are you doing this afternoon, Ichika?”
“I want to swim a bit more, but it’s a bad idea right after eating. I think I’ll just relax for a bit.”
“Oh? Let’s go get lunch, then. Oh, hey, by the way, which room did you end up in?”
“I want to know too!”
“Me three!”
“I’d like to know where to find a cool pillow.” The rest of the team was confused by that one from Miss Casual.
“Uh, Ms. Orimura’s room.”
At once, their excitement turned to ice, as if the sudden reveal jolted their train of thought off the tracks.
“Ah, so it’s dangerous to come hang out.”
“That’s right... But we can still see you at meals!”
“Yeah! No need to go raiding the demon’s lair.”
“And who are you calling a demon?” Her entrance rang like a gong. I’m not even sure it was my imagination. All three of the girls craned their necks around in terror.
“M-Miss... Orimura...”
“Yep.”
Ah. She was wearing the swimsuit from before. It was black like Laura’s, but gave a completely different impression, proudly highlighting each and every curve on her body in the bright sunlight. Honestly, if she wasn’t my sister, my heart would have jumped out of my mouth right then. Even the hand on her hip, usually so strict, came off as sexy. Between that and her model-like good looks, the rest of the girls were completely outclassed. It was hard to imagine when they were held in by a suit, but now, even an unfavorable observer would have to admit that her breasts were bigger than average. And that swimsuit was designed to draw eyes directly to her cleavage and keep them trapped there.
“Stop leering, Ichika...”
“Charl?! What are you talking about?” I tried to laugh it off.
“You were just practically drooling.”
Ugh. I couldn’t really argue with that.
“Hurry up and go have lunch.”
“What about you, Ms. Orimura?”
“I’m going to enjoy the little bit of free time that I have.”
She was right. The teachers had almost no unscheduled time, so I didn’t want to waste any more of it than I had to.
