July 17, 2005
"Oi, Mitsuya." Draken crossed his arms, as he and the guys, minus Pah and Peh, all stood outside the changing rooms after getting changed themselves. "Go help, Pah and Peh set up our spot."
"Huh?" Mitsuya frowned, "Why do I gotta go?"
"You were the one closest to last place in the race." Baji teased as the silver-haired teen glared at him.
"With good reason, and if I remember right you just barely avoided losing to me."
"Yeah, but I still won." Baji arrogantly shot back, as Draken frowned at the two.
"Look, I don't care who goes, but we all know those two are bound to get into some trouble if some dumbasses piss them off. We don't need a fight breaking out and dragging the girls into a mess."
"Then send Chifuyu," Mitsuya argued, pointing to Baji's right-hand man. "The kid's got a good head on his shoulders, I'm sure he can make sure those two don't get into too much trouble."
"Oi!" Baji snapped, "Don't just offer up my guy without permission."
"I'm just saying, it's an option!" Mitsuya glared, "Why do I always have to play the second babysitter?"
"Hmm," Mikey hummed looking over at his arguing guys. "If it's that much of a problem..." He held his fist up grinning, "Why don't you rock paper scissors to see who goes with help the guys?"
"You mean leave it up to luck?" Chifuyu asked as Baji grinned.
"I'm down, you good with that Mitsuya."
Sighing the silver-haired teen smirked, "Sure... You suck at rock paper scissors anyway."
"I do not!" Baji snapped, as Draken glared at Mikey.
"Seriously, you couldn't have just ordered one of them to go."
"Aw~ Come on, it's beach day Ken-chin. There's no need to be so serious and order the guys around."
"You literally ordered a race!"
"Yeah, before we got to the beach." Mikey shrugged, "Plus it was all in fun."
"You literally dubbed Pah and Peh the group's pact mules for the day, and sent them to put our stuff down somewhere." Draken deadpanned, as Baji shouted in frustration.
"Chifuyu you traitor!"
"Sorry Baji-san but Mitsuya's right." Chifuyu laughed, "You do suck at rock paper scissors."
"And with that, you're on babysitter duty." Mitsuyu smugly smirked, "Good luck."
"Yeah, fuck you." Baji huffed, looking at Chifuyu. "You staying or you wanna come with?"
"Hmm... I think I'll come."
"Great."
"If only to keep Baji-san out of trouble too."
"... Chifuyu I swear I will–"
Inside the girl's changing room Yayoi twitched as she stared at Emma adjusting her two-piece bikini. Shifting her gaze to Meiko then who was already dressed, the girl having apparently come with her swimsuit under her clothes, placed her glasses aside in their case before she tied a sheer skirt cover around her waist.
"Hey..." Yayoi began, looking down at her own swimsuit-clad body and then Emma. "So um... no offense Emma-chan but... How old are you?"
"Hmm?" Emma blinked, confused-looking over at the red-haired girl. Giving the now short ponytail-haired girl a quick look, 'Oh! She even has a piercing on her belly button.' She noted the small star piercing, before answering. "I'm thirteen, soon to be fourteen this year. Why?"
Yayoi's head smacked into a wall depressed, "Life's not fair."
"Huh?! What's that supposed to mean?" Emma exclaimed, staring at the redhead in shock.
Meiko sighed at the redhead's depressed reaction, "Not this again."
"Again?!" Emma exclaimed as Meiko sighed.
"Yeah... Yai's a bit self-conscious of her... assets." Meiko lightly gestured to her chest area, as Emma silently mouthed. "Oh..."
"It just doesn't make sense." Yayoi muttered, "My mother's practically a model, and even Baa-san's stacked. Why am I a god damn ironing board?"
"Yai, for the last time you're not that small." Meiko deadpanned, "You're relatively developed and fifteen. You've got maybe another year or two to grow a bit more. Why does it even matter if your boobs aren't big. I say you should take the blessing." Meiko sighed, rolling her shoulders stiffly causing a few crack sounds, "At least you don't have to deal with back pain, or struggle with finding cute clothes you like that aren't snug, or have to deal with... unwanted attention."
Emma nodded in agreement and understanding as Meiko voiced their shared struggles.
Yayoi glared pouting, "At least you weren't mistaken for a guy until you put on a skirt."
"People thought you were a guy?" Emma shrieked in shock, gapping at Yayoi, "But you're so pretty!"
At this Yayoi's green eyes sparkled with almost unshed tears as she looked to Emma, "Re-really? Do you really think so?"
"Oh come on!" Meiko almost yelled, "I've told you you're pretty all the time! How come you believe her but not me?"
Giving Meiko a deadpan face, Yayoi answered, "You're my best friend, therefore you're biased."
"I am not!" Meiko huffed, "I can totally be brutally honest, I'm not blind you know."
"Uhuh..." Yayoi sighed, shaking her head. 'Yet, you still go totally soft whenever it involves your brother.' Yayoi thought.
"Oi, what's with that look?" Meiko glared, noting the unamused look Yayoi gave her,
"Nothing." Yayoi just looked away.
"That's definitely not nothing!"
"I still can't believe people confuse you for a guy." Emma frowned, as she looked at Yayoi. "You have pretty long lashes, and Mei-chan isn't wrong when she says you have a figure, sure maybe not to my and Mei-chan's levels, but you're far from being flat," Emma observed looking the red haired teen over.
Sighing, Yayoi could feel her cheek become flush, "Yeah well... That's now, and that was then..." Turning she began to walk away towards the exit. "Look, I really don't want to talk about this. Let's just go join up with the guys, I'm sure they're getting tired of waiting for us."
Emma opened her mouth to try and speak out and apologize thinking she might have crossed a line. She was stopped when Meiko laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and shook her head. "It's okay Emma-chan, Yai's not mad right now. Just embarrassed."
"Really...?"
Smiling at the honey-eyed girl, Meiko nodded, "Yeah. Yai's a bit standoffish with people she first meets, but I swear if she were mad you'd know." Grabbing hers and Yai's things she began to walk ahead, "She's just not used to having someone other than me or her grandparents get mad on her behalf. She'll come around soon enough."
Emma smiled at this, feeling a bit proud of this, but most of all reassured that she had done right. "That's good... I'd really like to be friends with her."
At this Meiko smiled in return, "You know... I think she'd like to be your friend too."
Stepping out the changing room together the two girls found Yayoi, awkwardly standing outside and even talking to Draken, with Mikey, and Mitsuya. "Huh?" Emma blinked in surprise, "Where's Baji and Chifuyu?"
Looking away from Yayoi, Draken began to open his mouth only to pause as he stared at Emma. Meiko, and Yayoi blinked in shock, at the tall teens' sudden silence. Meiko looked at Emma, then Draken, then Yayoi, Mitsuya, and finally Mikey. Stopping on the girl's brother, Meiko's eyes became wide.
The boy was slightly smirking, eye between his sister and Draken, as if expecting or waiting for something to happen. The realization hit her when her gaze snapped back to Emma and she noted a familiar love-struck and hopeful look in her eyes, she'd seen her brother and even Hina share that look towards one another a few times as of late.
Meiko almost squealed internally, 'Oh. My. God!' She thought, 'Em-chan and Draken! No way, no way, no way!' She thought, 'I can't believe I didn't see it earlier! And look at that!' She looked directly at Mikey, catching his gaze as he blinked at her suddenly grinning expression. 'It seems I'm not the only older sibling trying to play matchmaker.' She giggled into her hand, eyeing the two love birds. Not realizing, Mikey was now looking her over a bit with a slight blush as she mischievously smiled up at the silent Draken.
"Ne, ne, Draken-kun!" The braided teen's head snapped to Meiko when he noted a familiar teasing tone in her voice, "What's wrong?" Meiko hummed, noting him twitch a bit annoyed when he noted her mischievous smile. "Cat got your tongue?" She'd thrown her arm around Emma, making the blonde-haired girl blush as she realized what Meiko was trying to ask Draken.
"Ei..." Draken began to growl as Mikey, noting what Meiko was doing, began to smile smugly as he looked up at his much taller friend.
"Yeah, Ken-chin, what's up? Something wrong with the way the girls–" the entire group could hear that he really meant Emma, "look."
"Here we go again..." Mitsuya quietly sighed, shaking his head.
"Mikey..." Draken warned glaring, as Yayoi looked between everyone.
'Okay I'm so confused,' Yayoi thought, 'I think... I know what's going on.' She looked between the glaring Draken and hopeful Emma, 'But...' She gave the smiling Meiko, and Mikey a deadpan expression. 'I don't think those two are really helping the situation right now.' Sighing, Yayoi mentally cried to herself. 'Welp... Here I go.' Turning to Mitsuya, Yayoi smiled, "So, you were saying Baji-san, and Chifuyu-kun went ahead to help Hayashida-san and Ryohei-kun."
'Seriously!' Mikey and Meiko both mentally screamed, glaring at the smiling red-haired girl.
'Damn it Yai!'
'We almost had him!'
Draken almost sighed in relief, as he side-eyed Yayoi. 'Oh thank God! Yai I owe you... like ten.'
Emma pouted a bit upset, 'Dang it...'
Blinking at the redhead's obvious redirection, Mitsuya nodded with a relieved smile. "Yeah, we wanted to make sure those two found a good spot."
"I see." She turned to Meiko and the pouting Emma, trying her best to ignore Mikey's glare. "So... I know putting Draken-kun on the spot must be fun--"
"Hey!" The taller teen snapped as Mikey, Meiko, and Mitsuya all seemed to snicker at this. 'Okay, I take back what I said.'
"But come on! We came to the beach to have fun right!" Yayoi tried to say with pep, looking to Meiko for help. Her eyes screaming for her friend's help as she said, "So why are we all just standing around messing with the poor guy when we could be having some fun out on the beach!"
Sighing at her friend's obvious discomfort at trying to hype up the group, Meiko decided to take charge. "You know! She's right!"
"She is?" The group asked.
"I am?" Yayoi felt her stomach knot up once she realized the look on Meiko's face. 'Oh no...'
"Yeah! So what if Draken got a little tongue-tied thinking Emma looked cute in her swimsuit!"
"I thought no such thing!" Draken shouted as Meiko smirked at the braided teen making him freeze up, as he was met with a predatory look in the smaller girl's eyes.
Yayoi facepalmed at this, 'He walked right into her trap.'
"Really..." Meiko hummed, "So you don't think Emma looks good in her bikini, and after she worried so much over whether or not it looked good on her." Meiko lied, as Emma stood up straight at this. "That's so cold, Draken, and here I thought you were a pretty cool guy who could give a girl a nice compliment in her time of need."
"I..." Draken flushed as he noticed Mikey snickering from beside him, alongside Mitsuya. "Oi!"
"What about you guys?" Meiko confidently exclaimed, pointing to Mitsuya, "You! What do you think of our swimsuits?"
Put on the spot Mitsuya stood up straight, looking the three girls over quickly, before nodding with a gentlemanly smile. "I'd say you all look great, cute but still stylish in a tropical sense." He looked at Yayoi then, "I say I like yours most though with the flower patterns you got going on."
"Oh!" Yayoi smiled at this, "Thanks, I was honestly worried the flowers would clash too much with my red hair but... I really like them."
"Nah, they're fine, you got the right colors going to make them work."
Nodding at Mitsuya's and Yayoi's conversation, Meiko pointed to Mikey, "And you?"
Mikey hummed boredly at this and threw his arms behind his head, "Hmm, I guess you all look cute. Though I don't really know what that would mean for a girl wearing swimsuits." He looked the girl over, lingering on Meiko's Cheshire grin before smiling at Emma. "Though I'm sure I'm just biased since I'm such a great older brother, I think Emma's definitely looking good for the day."
Emma blushed at this, smiling at her brother's help, "Mikey..."
"Of course, of course." Meiko nodded to herself then looked up at Draken. "So you see Draken, there's no need to get so shy." Mikey and Mitsuya quietly snorted at this. "It's okay to give us girls, and Emma." She emphasized, "An honest opinion on how we look."
Clicking his tongue, Draken turned his gaze away, only turning his eyes back to the three girls for a bit from the corner of his eyes as he muttered. "Fine... You look great... Especially you Emma... Don't see why you were even so worried about the damn two-piece."
Emma smiled boldly at this, cheeks flushed as she slightly wiggled in place excitedly. "Oh, you know~ New swimsuit and whatnot, I wasn't sure I got the right one for myself."
"Oi!" Baji's loud yell cut into the group's moment, "Hurry up guys, we got the spot set up!"
"Coming!" Mikey shouted before turning to the others, specifically Draken, smiling smugly. "So, we all ready to go?"
The taller teen glared but nodded, "Yeah."
Laughing to herself Meiko grabbed Emma's hand, "Then let's go! I wanna crack the watermelon open now!" She began to drag Emma away, as the blonde gaped at Meiko in shock.
"Huh? Watermelon!"
"Wait, where did she get a watermelon from?" Mitsuya asked as the three guy's turned to Yayoi as she stared at the three deadpan.
"You mean, you didn't notice how big her bag was." The guys shook their heads rapidly, she sighed at this. "Seriously, what did you think she had in that thing? A bunch of towels and a beach ball."
"Uh..."
"Don't answer that." She began to jog past them, "Come on, or she'll somehow convince the others to crack it open with her and leave us nothing!" The guy's quickly followed at this.
July 17, 2005 Emma
Bam
Crack
Splat
The teens gaped and broke into cheers.
"Woah!"
"Go Emma!"
"Yeah!"
"Hahaha!"
Slowly standing up with a slight twitch, Emma pushed up the white blindfold she wore. "Ah, it splattered everywhere." She moaned, trying to whip away the watermelon juices that splatter her face as she looked down at the open fruit.
"Here." Draken said as he came up beside her, and began to whip her face like a concerned mother making her pout in frustration. "Hold still."
"I know." She huffed, as the other quickly came in to grab at the watermelon. 'And here I thought he was starting to see me grown up.' She annoyedly thought, watching as Draken snapped at the others, specifically her brother and Pah who'd tried taking more than their fair share, even as he managed to tenderly help wipe the watermelon off her face.
"I knew she could do it." Meiko giggled, as she ate a piece of her share.
Licking her lips as she pulled back from her watermelon slice, Yayoi hummed. "It was taking forever, I'm honestly shocked you missed Mei. Usually, you're really good at getting the watermelon."
Huffing at her friend's words, Meiko glared at Mikey as he sent her a smug look. "Yeah, well if someone didn't purposely screw with my directions."
"Hey, what comes around goes around~"
"For the last time. It was an accident!" Meiko shouted, "I got my lefts and rights mixed up. It happens!" Baji and a few of the guys snorted at this, Mitsuya and Chifuyu both sending them looks as they said.
"You've done the same thing while driving."
"Well, what do you know, it was an accident for me too." Mikey shrugged, as Emma and Draken finally took a seat on either side of him.
"Now listen here you smug little–" Yayoi stood up smacking Meiko's back, "Eak!" Making the guys and Emma blink and stare at the girls' high pitch squeal.
'So cute.'
"Ma! I'm still hungry after that, anyone wanna go with me to grab some food from the stands to share." She pointed to the stalls the lined the outer parts of the beachfront, "I think I saw a stand selling some Taiyaki and Yakisoba not that far–"
"Count me in!" Baji shouted standing up, "Chifuyu, you wanna go get some?" Baji excitedly asked as he stared down at his second grinning.
"Sure." The boy nodded before looking to the others, "Any of you guys wanting some?"
"Sure."
"Yeah."
"I'll help you bring it back."
"Ah! Yai, if you see any Yaki Dango get me some please!" Meiko quickly shouted out, as Yayoi, Chifuyu, Baji, Pah, and Peh all headed towards the stand Yayoi had mentioned.
"Hai~" Yayoi boredly replied, waving back at the girl without looking back.
"Ah, bring me some too Yaichi!" Mikey shouted out, as Yayoi quietly grumbled to herself.
"I'm not your pack-mule."
Baji laughed at this, slapping the redhead lightly on the back, "Don't worry, I'll get it."
"Thanks." Yayoi sighed, "I'm already gonna have to murder my wallet to feed her."
"Huh, so you have that problem too." Baji jokes and the group laughs as they walk further away.
"So how did you carry a whole watermelon on your back this whole time?" Mitsuya curiously asked, looking at Meiko curiously.
"Oh please... Like it's that hard?" She scoffed, leaning back.
"No offense but..." Draken hummed, "You're kinda tiny." He pointed out, making Meiko and Emma both twitch.
"Draken!" Emma lightly scolded, feeling offended on behalf of the girl she's seen pin a grown man to the floor with his arm behind his back.
"What!" Draken blinked in shock, "It's just an observation!" He remembered then how he and Mikey first saw Meiko, 'Then again...'
Mitsuya, ever the peacekeeper of his friend group, decided then to try and step in. "To be fair Emma, Ei does kinda... come off like you appearance-wise."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma glared, making the silver-haired teen jump a bit in fear.
"Uh–"
"Yeah, look at your boss!" Meiko retorted, waving her hand towards Mikey who seemed to just wave nonchalantly at the situation, "Granted he has visible muscles, but my point still stands, he looks small too! He just has a mean kick!"
"Aw~ You noticed." Mikey teased before Emma hummed looking Meiko over.
"Though speaking of muscle." She leaned over and poked Meiko's stomach, noting the flat stomach, though lacking any signs of say abs, was toned enough to know there was muscle built up. "Even though you're barely any taller than me... Your muscles are actually a bit notable."
At this, the boys all turned to stare at Meiko as she blinked at them, "Huh? What do you mean?" Flexing her arm a bit she watched the muscle tighten a bit but found nothing to warrant Emma's remark. "I mean of course they're notable, I work out. That's normal."
"Oh~" Mikey leaned into Meiko's personal space to look at her arm, "Can I feel?"
"Hmm, oh yeah sure." Meiko nodded as both he and Emma began to poke and squeeze at her arm.
"Huh, I know you felt strong but I didn't realize you were this fit." Mikey absently noted, remembering the grip she had on his wrist back when he first visited her school.
"What does he mean by 'she felt strong'?" Mitsuya asked Draken as the taller teen could only shake his head.
"You technically already know."
'That doesn't answer my question."
"Mei-chan is so deceiving," Emma absently hummed, "She looks so small and delicate most of the time, but then you see her like this or kicking someone's ass..."
Mikey hummed, nodding at his sister's words, "I know, and then it's like she's still small and cute, but she's secretly deadly too."
"Okay, I'm starting to feel really uncomfortable here..." Meiko muttered, having both Sano siblings continue to basically grope at her arms, "Please stop."
"... What did we come back to?" Yayoi deadpanned disturbed, the five teen's turning to look at her and the others as they stared at the group with food in their hands.
Meiko seemed to dramatically start to cry as she called out to her friend. "Yai help, they won't stop groping me!"
Baji spit takes his romune drink on Chifuyu, as Pah and Peh began choking on the food in their mouths.
Yayoi, almost stunned, gaped at the trio. "Who's doing what to who now?"
"Seriously, context!" Draken shouted, glaring at the teens as Mitsuya snickered next to him.