The next morning, Mizuha slowly woke up, her eyes adjusting to the soft light coming through the window.
She glanced at Eri, still curled up beside her. As Mizuha turned to the other side of the bed, she noticed Shimizu's bed was empty.
Huh, she's already awake? That's so early, Mizuha thought, slipping out of bed.
Mizuha left the bedroom while yawning and noticed the balcony door wide open, allowing the cool morning air to flow through the room. She walked toward the door and stepped outside, seeing Shimizu sitting on a chair, facing the ocean, a book resting on her lap.
Mizuha approached Shimizu. "There you are. You're up so early, huh?"
Shimizu turned her head to look at Mizuha. "Oh, it's you, Mizuha. Already awake, huh? Good morning."
"Good morning," Mizuha replied, standing beside her. "You're up really early."
"Well, it's my habit to wake up early when I'm not at home."
"Is that so? I didn't realize you were like that. Guess it's a good way to start the day, though!"
"By the way, what are you doing here with that book, looking for some inspiration for your novel?"
"Yeah, you got me there. I was so bored waking up so early. Luckily, I brought my usual notebook for novel ideas and started writing down some ideas."
Mizuha chuckled. "You really can't stop thinking about your novel, huh? Even first thing in the morning."
"Well, it's the same with you—you can't stop thinking about your drawing."
"So we're in the same boat, huh?"
"It looks like that." The two of them chuckled together.
"Mizuha, look—the sun is rising. Look at the view," Shimizu said suddenly as she noticed the sun rising from the opposite side of the sea.
"Yeah, you're right. It's such a beautiful sight."
"It's really beautiful, like when we saw the sunset yesterday," Eri said while stretching her eyes, standing beside Mizuha.
"Yes, that's right, Eri-chan, it's similar to what we saw yesterday."
"Wait, Eri-chan, when did you get here?" Mizuha was shocked by Eri's sudden presence.
"Yeah, even I didn't notice when you came out."
"It was just now. I heard you two chuckling with each other earlier, so I came to join you."
"Sorry about that. Were we so loud that we woke you up?"
"No, don't worry about that. Thanks to you both, I could wake up early."
"Yeah, the bed here feels very comfortable and makes you not want to wake up."
"Oh, you guys are already awake, huh? That’s good—you look lively this morning," Hikaru called to them from the next room’s balcony. Zul stood beside him.
Mizuha turned to them. "Hikaru, Zul, good morning."
"Good morning."
"Looking at the sunrise, huh? It's really beautiful."
"Yeah, it's really a nice view here."
Shimizu smirked at the boys. "Oh, you guys are already awake too? I thought you were still in bed."
Hikaru protested. "That's so mean, Shimizu. You thought we were too lazy or what?"
All of them laughed at Shimizu and Hikaru's funny conversation.
Zul then spoke to Eri. "Eri, how was your sleep last night? Did you get a good, full rest?"
"Yes, I had a good sleep last night. The bed here felt very comfortable."
"Really? I'm glad to hear that."
There it is, another romance talk between these two again, thought Shimizu.
Eri, confused, asked, "But why did you ask me that suddenly, Zul?"
Zul chuckled. "No, I just thought Shimizu was disturbing your sleep last night."
"Hey, I wouldn't do that to her, you know."
"Sorry, I was just joking."
Hikaru laughed. "Haha, nice one, Zul. Shimizu, you got burned first thing today."
Damn these two, thought Shimizu, upset.
Suddenly Mizuha's stomach growled, and Shimizu laughed at her. "Haha, looks like someone here is hungry already."
Zul leaned in. "Yeah, it looks like that."
"Ah, this is so embarrassing," Mizuha said, blushing.
"Then why don't we go to breakfast at the cafeteria?"
Shimizu got excited. "Oh, that's a nice idea, Hikaru. I can't wait to taste the food they serve us today because the food from yesterday was so delicious."
Eri chuckled. "You really get excited when hearing about food, Shimizu-chan."
"Haha, that's very typical of the Shimizu attitude."
"Then go tidy up yourselves first. We'll all go together after this."
After that, the girl trio got ready and moved to the cafeteria along with the boys.
Just like the previous night, they took their food and sat together.
Shimizu was amazed. "Umm, delicious!"
Mizuha leaned in. "Right, even for breakfast, their food is delicious."
"As expected from this hotel—not only does it look fancy, but the food is delicious too."
As they continued eating, Mizuha spoke up. "Umm, Hikaru, when do we check out of this hotel?"
"As I remember, it's supposed to be at 2 PM."
"Oh, I see, then we still have more time, right?"
Eri leaned in. "What are we supposed to do after this?"
"How about we go to the beach for swimming?" Shimizu suggested.
Zul leaned in. "Nah, I'll pass. I don't feel like swimming at the beach today."
"Me too, we spent too much time playing at the beach yesterday."
"Then why don't we just walk around the beach? Let's look—maybe there are some good places we can visit," Hikaru suggested.
Shimizu nodded. "Oh, that's nice, Hikaru, as expected of our leader."
Hikaru turned to Shimizu. "Shut up, since when did I become our leader?"
"Since last week, when you brought up this vacation topic."
Hikaru chuckled. "Really? I didn't notice it."
After finishing their food, the group went to the beach and walked around to explore.
Mizuha looked around the beach. "Woah, there are a lot more visitors today compared to yesterday."
"Well, it's summer break, so many people are here with their families."
The group walked along the shoreline, chatting about the crowd and pointing out interesting things along the way. Suddenly, a volleyball flew toward Eri, cutting through their conversation.
"Eri-chan, look out!" Mizuha warned immediately.
"Huh!?"
Zul quickly protected her by slapping the ball down.
"Zul!"
"Eri, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Thank goodness it didn't hit you,"
A young man approached them to collect the ball. "Sorry, my friend hit the ball too far. Can you give it back to me?"
Zul picked up the ball and handed it back, giving the man a threatening glare.
"Here, but please be careful next time. If it had hit her, I would never have forgiven you."
"I'm really sorry, please excuse me," the man said, fleeing.
Wow, Zul really gets angry if something bad might happen to Eri, thought Mizuha.
After the situation ended, the group continued their walk. Suddenly, they stopped when they noticed a jet ski with a banana boat attached to it.
"Hey everyone, how about we go for a ride?" Shimizu suggested.
Hikaru leaned in. "That looks fun. Let's try it."
Hikaru paid the person in charge, and they prepared to board the banana boat after wearing their life jackets.
"Everyone hold on tight. We're about to begin," announced Hikaru before starting the jet ski.
While Hikaru operated the jet ski, the others took their positions on the banana boat. Shimizu sat at the front, followed by Mizuha and Eri, with Zul at the back.
Hikaru accelerated the jet ski, causing the banana boat to surge forward.
"Yahoo, go faster, Hikaru!" called out Shimizu excitedly.
"You want more speed? Here it comes!"
Mizuha, feeling nervous, held onto Shimizu, while Eri gripped Mizuha's waist. They circled the sea for about ten minutes before their rental time expired.
They returned to the beach, and Shimizu immediately expressed her disappointment. "That was too little time. I want to ride it more."
"Hey, Hikaru, let’s go for another round," Shimizu suggested.
"Too bad, Shimizu. We don’t have much time left—maybe next time."
Shimizu sighed. "Ah... why does the fun time always pass so quickly?"
Hikaru then noticed Mizuha walking unsteadily and approached her. "Hey, Mizuha, are you okay? What's wrong?"
"I'm fine, thanks. I just feel a bit nauseous, maybe I got seasick earlier."
"Ah, why didn't you tell me earlier that you couldn't handle the sea?"
"Sorry about that, but I didn't want to disappoint you all just because of me."
"You don't need to go that far. We would have understood."
He then turned to the group and said, "Everyone, let's take a rest for a while. Mizuha got seasick."
The group stopped and found a spot to rest under a tree. Hikaru purchased some water and offered it to Mizuha.
"Here, Mizuha, drink this."
"Oh, thanks, Hikaru."
As they rested under the tree, a gentle sea breeze blew toward them.
Mizuha spoke. "Ah, this feels so comfortable."
Shimizu leaned in. "Yes, it makes me want to sleep here."
Hikaru grinned at her. "If you sleep here, we're going to leave you behind."
"I know, I was just saying that. Don't take it so seriously, geez."
Suddenly, Eri exclaimed, "Kyaa!" in shock, startling everyone.
Mizuha quickly turned to her. "Eri-chan, what's wrong?"
Eri pointed to her feet. "Something is moving and it hit my foot!"
Zul immediately leaned forward to inspect. "Let's see what it is."
After a moment, he chuckled. "Don't worry, it's just a crab."
Eri let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness."
Just then, Shimizu shrieked, "Oh! There's another one here!" She pointed to her own feet, where another crab was making its way across.
"Look, there's another one over there," Hikaru said, pointing a little further away.
The group turned to see a small procession of crabs walking in front of them, some disappearing into the sand.
Mizuha was amazed. "Wow, I've never seen so many crabs up close before."
Zul leaned in. "I think this area is their habitat."
"It's like they're having a little parade."
As they watched the last of the crabs disappear into the sand, Hikaru checked his watch and sighed reluctantly. The peaceful moment had reminded him of how quickly their vacation was passing.
He stood up, brushing off his pants. "Okay, you guys, it's time for us to head back to the hotel. We're getting close to check-out time."
Mizuha stood up. "That's right, we need to pack up our belongings first."
The group began to rise, but Shimizu remained seated with a dramatic sigh. "Mizuha, please pull me up. My body feels heavy and doesn't want to move."
"Geez, you're so hopeless," Mizuha said, shaking her head. "Here, take my hand."
Shimizu took it with a giggle. "Thanks, Mizuha."
"What's wrong, Shimizu? Don't want to go back home yet?"
"Of course, I don't want to go back yet! There's still so much fun to be had here."
"Maybe next year, we can come here again. How about that, everyone?" Hikaru suggested as they began walking back to the hotel.
"Agreed," said Zul and Eri in unison.
"Next time, we should stay a bit longer than this time."
"Well, this time we only got two days and one night because we used a ticket from a lottery prize that we won before. Next time, we'll pay with our own money," Hikaru suggested.
"Yes, let's look forward to that."
The group arrived at their hotel rooms and began packing up their belongings before the checkout time. In the boys' room, Hikaru took out his phone and called his family maid, Kirisaki, to arrange for their pick-up.
"Hello, Kirisaki-san. We're almost ready to check out. Can you come pick us up?"
"Of course, Hikaru-sama. I'll be there shortly," Kirisaki replied.
"Thanks, see you soon," Hikaru said, ending the call.
Once they finished packing, the group met in the hotel lobby. After checking out and returning the room key, they waited for Kirisaki to arrive. During their wait, they visited the nearest souvenir shop to buy gifts for their families.
Eri looked around inside the shop. "Wow, so many things they're selling here."
Mizuha nodded. "Yes, there are shell necklaces, bracelets, t-shirts, and more for sale."
"Okay, it's time for me to buy something—or else that old hag might yell at me if I don’t bring anything home."
Oh yeah, I should buy something too for Mom and Dad, thought Mizuha.
Meanwhile, Hikaru was choosing some snacks that he wanted to buy.
I'd better buy something, or my little sister will give me a hard time, he thought.
As Hikaru reached to take the snack, his hands hit Mizuha's hands beside him, and both of them blushed.
"Oh Mizuha, you want to take it too? Go ahead."
"Thanks, Hikaru. Umm, buying something for your family?"
Hikaru chuckled. "Yes, this is for my little sister. I bet she's going to lecture me if I don't buy her something."
"Haha, your situation looks like Shimizu's too."
"Yeah, it looks like that," he said, smiling.
After finishing their shopping, the group left the shop.
About ten minutes later, Hikaru's maid, Kirisaki, finally arrived to pick them up with the same van from yesterday. Kirisaki stepped out of the van.
"Good afternoon, Hikaru-sama and everyone. I hope you enjoyed your vacation."
"Thanks, Kirisaki-san. We really enjoyed the vacation, and we appreciate you coming to pick us up."
"Everyone, please get into the van first. Let me carry all these bags into the van."
As Kirisaki started moving the bags into the back of the van, Zul approached her and said, "Here, let me help you."
"Oh, thanks, Zul-sama, but this is part of my job. You don't need to help me."
"Don't worry, I'm glad to help you."
After they finished loading all the bags and belongings, Kirisaki started the drive back home.
As they settled into the van and began the drive home, the group started talking about their vacation. This time, inside the van, both Zul and Eri sat in the back seats, while Mizuha and Shimizu sat in the middle seats. Hikaru sat in the front passenger seat.
Mizuha leaned back in her seat. "That was such a fun trip."
"Yeah, that was a blast," Shimizu agreed. "I wish I could have stayed longer."
Hikaru leaned in. "Then why don't you stay behind, Shimizu? We'll pick you up later."
"Oh, come on, don't be ridiculous. I actually have plans for the day after tomorrow. Otherwise, I would’ve stayed."
Mizuha chuckled. "Haha, that's very like you, Shimizu. How about you guys, Zul, Eri-chan? You've both been quiet for a while."
Hearing no reply, Mizuha turned around to check on them. "I see, both of them are sleeping."
Hikaru looked surprised. "Wait!? Both of them are sleeping?"
"Yeah, maybe they're too tired from today."
Shimizu yawned. "Ah... seeing them sleeping makes me want to sleep too."
"Mizuha, lend me your shoulder. I want to sleep too," Shimizu said, then rested her head on Mizuha's shoulder.
Mizuha frowned as she watched Shimizu sleep. "Geez, you're so hopeless, Shimizu."
Hikaru spoke to her. "Mizuha, don't you want to sleep? If you do, go ahead. The journey is still long. I'll wake you up when we arrive."
"No, I'm fine. I'm not feeling sleepy at all. Besides, I want to look at the sea while I can before we lose sight of it."
"I see, then enjoy yourself with the scenery."
So many things happened between yesterday and today during our vacation. I can't wait to share this moment with Mom when I get back later, thought Mizuha while looking at the scenery.
As the van continued its journey along the coastal road, the sound of the waves accompanied their thoughts. The scenery outside was a blend of the ocean's expanse and the picturesque coastline, providing a serene view for the final leg of their trip.
Kirisaki glanced at Hikaru, who was seated beside her in the front passenger seat. "It sounds like you all made some wonderful memories, Hikaru-sama. I'm happy to hear you and your friends enjoyed yourselves."
Hikaru smiled, leaning back in his seat. "That's right, Kirisaki-san. It was a perfect getaway. We did so many things over the past two days."
Kirisaki nodded, her eyes softening with affection for Hikaru and his friends. "I'm glad to hear that. I'm sure your mother will be happy to hear about this too."
As the van moved steadily toward home, the conversations dwindled, and a peaceful quietness enveloped the group. Mizuha continued to gaze out at the sea, cherishing the last views of the ocean.
Hikaru turned to Kirisaki with a grateful smile. "Thank you for coming to pick us up both yesterday and today, Kirisaki-san. We're lucky to have you."
Kirisaki smiled back. "Well, it's my job to assist you, Hikaru-sama."
And with that, the van continued its journey, carrying them home.
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and then Add to home screen.