Volume 4, Chapter 1: Girls' Hangout
*****
...
"...I just got here...but it seems like they still haven't arrived..."
...
...A few minutes later, I saw Fay san, alongside with Risa san and Maki san running towards me
"Sorry! Hoshizawa san! Did you wait long?"
"Its okay, I just got here too!"
"Thank goodness! Maki here took too long to prepare. When Risa and I came in her room, she's still sleeping!"
"I can confidently tell you that my alarm didn't go off this time, Fay"
"You really thought I'd believe you? You didn't even set an alarm for this morning!"
"Yep! Fay's right! I checked thru your phone!"
"Urk! How do you even know my pass to my phone, Risa?"
"Fufufu! I have my own ways!"
"That's borderline invasion of privacy you two, I'm gonna report you to the authorities"
"Now now, there's no need for that *chuckles*"
I said to Maki san
...
Maki san, Fay san, Risa san, and I met up at a nearby mall to buy swimsuits that we will wear for tomorrow at the beach. Fay told me that I shouldn't bring school swimsuit to the beach, but instead bring a swimsuit that'll suit me. Although my father had gone to the beach before due to his business trip, I myself never had gone to a beach before. Because of that, I have little to no knowledge about beaches...
...but now...I'll be able to experience how fun the beach is!
...with him too...
...
Since Fay san, Maki san, and Risa san are planning to buy their own swimsuits, they also wanted me to buy one for myself as well...
...they also said that it will help me...to get his attention...
"Hey, isn't it about time we go in and buy our swimsuits now?"
"You're really excited about this huh, Risa?"
"Of course I am! Aren't you also excited?! We're gonna see Hoshizawa san's swimsuit that's not a school swimsuit for the first time!"
"Hoho? That is exciting now that I think about it"
"Even you too, Maki?"
"Why? You aren't, Fay?"
"W-Well, t-that's..."
"I-I don't think you should get your hopes up in me..."
"What are you even saying, Hoshizawa san? You got the perfect body! A body of a heavenly angel! You can knock out any men that'll look at your swimsuit! in a glance!"
Fay san smacked Risa san's head after that statement
"Don't make it lewd!"
"Ow! No violence!"
"So lewd statements are okay?!"
"I didn't even meant it to be lewd!"
"Ah...I'm melting..."
"M-Maki san?!"
I looked at Maki san who had seem to be wearing down because of the hot weather. Before it could get any worse, I suggested that we should go inside the mall...
*****
"We forgot that Maki can't handle the heat that much when its summer, our bad"
"Sorry, Makicchi!"
"You owe me an ice cream for this"
"E-Eh?!"
I just laughed at Risa san's response
"You know what? I think we should do that first, Risa"
"Eh????? Aren't we going straight to the main dish???"
"You really see Hoshizawa san in some other light huh"
While Fay san was talking to Risa san, Maki san and I were behind them
"Guess Fay's talking Risa out of it, are you fine with it, Hoshizawa san?"
"Huh? Yes, I'm okay with it-"
"Fay! Hoshizawa san said we should eat some ice cream!"
"E-eh?!"
"Huh? Hoshizawa san said that?"
"Right?, Hoshizawa san?"
"*Chuckles*...yes, I want to"
"Well, if Hoshizawa san says so"
"Alright! Thanks for going along with it, Hoshizawa san, I'll give you my share!"
"Its alright, I want to eat one as well *chuckles*"
Maki san whispered her thanks to me after that...I already know Maki san's cravings for ice cream. The moment she instantly did that, I already knew that, that was her only intention. That's why I went along with it. Besides, Maki san's eyes always perked up and her cheeks puffs whenever she eats ice cream. Its cute whenever she does that kind of thing
...
After getting our ice cream, we sat down by the nearby table and took a break as we eat our ice cream while chatting...
*****
"By the way, Hoshizawa san, this is the first time you invited us somewhere"
"Yes...I've never really been to any other places before, so its rare for me too"
"Hold on, Hoshizawa san, you've never gone to any places before?"
"Yes"
"So this is going to be your first time going to the beach?"
"Yes"
Maki and Fay seemed to be slightly surprised as they heard it from me, but they both tried their best to hide it
"Ehhhhh? What you've been doing all this time, Hoshizawa san?!"
"Risa, that's rude!"
"But! But! Aren't you curious?!"
"Don't lump me in with you! And besides, its rude to ask those kinds of personal questions to someone!"
"Its fine, Fay san. To tell you the truth, its because of my past that made me got scared to go outside, to meet other people..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Maki san, Fay san, and Risa san stayed silent after that because they also knew about my past, about what happened...
...
...after a few moments of awkward silence, someone broke the tension
"Hoshizawa san...no...Miucchi!"
"M-Miucchi?!"
I got shocked from Risa san calling me by that nickname
"I'm sorry about asking such a sensitive topic! I won't do it again, I promise!"
"Its okay *chuckles* and Miu's fine-"
"Miucchi!"
"-M-Miucchi's...also fine..."
"Hehe! Miucchi it is! Call me Risacchi from now on!"
"R-Risa san would do..."
Risa looked at me slightly angry as she was trying to shove that nickname for me. Meanwhile Fay san and Maki san were still shocked while looking at Risa san, whom just called me by my first name so suddenly
"Fufu! Me and Miucchi on a first name basis! Feels like we've become even more close as friends!"
"N-not fair! Can we also call you Miu, Hoshizawa san?!"
"I'll give you my whole ice cream if you let me call you Miu, Hoshizawa san!"
"What ice cream are you talking about?! You aren't even holding any!"
Although it was so sudden, I just couldn't help, but laugh at my friends who were genuinely wanted to be closer to me. I smiled at them as to show my gratitude for being one of my true friends
"*Chuckles* what are you even saying, Fay san, Maki san? Of course you can!...also...
"...?"
"...I want to call your names without honorifics too...if you're okay with it..."
"! Miu!"
...Back then, I always noticed that friends who were really close don't use honorifics with each other...the people who I treated as friends back then always feels like aren't one of my friends because of the added politeness, I always felt like there's a boundary that separates between me and them...
...because of that, I wanted to at least remove that kind of feeling with these friends that I have right now...
While I was I waiting for their response, Maki san, Fay san, and Risa san looked at each other and laughed
"Um...why are you laughing...?"
"Miu, to be honest with you, Maki, and Risa have been waiting for you to drop the honorifics between us three"
"Yep. If you ask me, I feel like having such honorifics between friends like us seems like not a friend thing to do. It almost as if there's a wall between you and them"
"!"
"Maki's right! Miucchi! We want you to be more loose when you're with us! We're friends aren't we?"
"Fay...Maki...Risa...thank you for being my friend!"
"Augghh! Miucchi's smile!"
"Hoho, Killer smile indeed"
"Miu's so cute!"
Fay, Maki, and Risa looked at me with smiles on their faces as I smile back at them while having this warm feeling within me. They're truly the friends that I've been longing for so long...
...I'm glad that I was able to make friends with them...
*****
...After a few more minutes of laughing and chatting, Fay opened another topic
"Now that Miu calmed down, why don't you tell us more about Amagasa kun?"
"E-Eh?!"
"Yeah! Yeah! Tell us, Miucchi!"
"Yep, I'm also curious as a fellow woman, Mi"
"M-Mi?!"
Like Fay, I was also a bit surprised that Maki already had a nickname for me, but Fay's question struck me more
"About...Amagasa kun...?"
"You were invited by Amagasa kun to come with them to the beach, right? That's also why you invited us to come too"
"Yes, Amagasa kun did say that I could also invite you too"
"Well Miu, we're not asking that, but rather about something else..."
The three of them nodded their heads as Fay leaned closer to me and said the following words
"We want to ask you about how you got Amagasa kun's MILE ID"
*Nod* *nod*
"...EH?!"
I was taken aback because I didn't expect what the question would be! B-but if I think about it...there's no reason to hide it...right? There my friends after all...
"So how did you, Miucchi?"
"Tell us, Tell us!"
"Mi..."
My head was going in all directions as I was trying to summarize the whole thing to make the answer short and simple...
"I...I..."
"Yeah...?"
"I..."
...
...By the time I realized it, the words had already came out from my mouth
"I-I GOT HIS MILE ID BECAUSE I WASHED HIM!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
...
"Y-you washed him?!"
"Wah! No! W-what I meant was-"
"W-we get it, Miu...probably..."
"Miucchi's...so forceful..."
"Agree..."
"I told you that's not it!"
Fay, Maki, and Risa laughed at me again while I desperately explained the whole situation to them...
*****
...
"Ah fate, how mysterious you are"
"For Miucchi to meet Amagasa kun in such a place..."
"Yep, that can only be called a destiny!"
"I-I was surprised too when I saw him, but also felt the joy afterwards..."
"Who wouldn't be? Even I would be happy if that happened to me"
"Yet that won't ever gonna happen to you, Fay!"
"Shut up!"
"That attitude is the reason why no guy will ever fall for you, you know!"
"Like even if I wanted to!"
"Maki! Fay's acting tsun-tsun again!"
"I'm don't even act like a tsundere!"
"Says the girl who acted like one while a guy asked her to come with him to buy some school supplies"
"Urk!"
"*Chuckles*"
"Still, Amagasa kun's too lucky, don't you think?"
"He is, he's got one school's beautiful girl falling head over heels for him...I'm surprised that he still doesn't even notice it, despite of what you've done for him these past few days"
"Well...I don't want him to know about it yet...I still want to know more about him so that I can be the best girl for him..."
"Now that's our Miu!"
"Really going all out just for Amagasa kun huh? I envy him"
"Wish you were born a boy instead huh, Fay?"
"I sure am, *sigh*..."
"*Chuckles*"
We've been chatting here for too long now that we didn't even noticed the time. We only realized it then after we heard the announcement-
"ATTENTION SHOPPERS! ITS TIME FOR THE SUMMER SALE HOUR EVENT! GET ALL OF YOUR CLOTHES AND SWIMSUITS AT A FIFTY PERCENT DISCOUNT! REMEMBER, THIS IS ONLY EFFECTIVE FOR AN HOUR, STARTING RIIIIIIIGHT...NOW!"
"Oh crap! We almost forgot why we're here in the first place!"
"Oh yeah, you chose this mall because they have this event going on, right, Fay?"
"Did you already forgot? You're the one who talked about the discount event that's going to happen today here!"
"Oh yeah...OH NO! THEY MAY RUN OUT OF STOCK-"
"Too late, those people already swarmed the place"
"NOOOOOO! MY MAIN DISH!"
Risa looked at me, seemingly lost hoped at something as she tried to punch the ground hard
"Nothing we could do at this point, looks like we'll be settling on that shop over there again"
"That shop...?"
Risa looked at her right to where Fay was pointing at
"N-N-N-NOOOOO! NOT THAT SHOP!"
"Its too late already, Risa. Lets just deal with it"
"I'M ALREADY THROUGH WITH THAT! I HAD ENOUGH!"
"C'mon, let's get a move on, you too, Maki, Miu"
"NO! I WANNA LIVE! I WANNA LIVE!!!"
Fay dragged Risa to the other store while Risa trying to weasel out of Fay's grip
"Um...Maki? Why does Risa and Fay don't like that store? Its also on discount and has fewer people on it..."
The store that we were looking at was also a clothing and swimsuit store but more of a elegant and seemingly prestigious looking
"Although it's at a discount right now, to other people, its still expensive"
"Really? I don't think these prices are expensive though"
"Well, its your own perspective, so I don't blame you for thinking that way"
"But why does Risa and Fay looked like they hated this place? Its not about the price is it?"
"Of course its not about the price, but rather, they just got bored of them"
"Eh?"
"They got bored of this store. I always tagged along with them when they come to this place. They always wear every clothing and swimsuit that this store has to offer"
"I see..."
"At one point, they got fed up with this place and decided to try other stores, and that's how they got attached to the other stores"
"Was there a difference between this store and the other stores?"
"The designs and simplicity. Although this store has some simple designs, it always feels like its trying to be elegant and more rich looking than most of the other stores' designs. Fay and mostly Risa, rather want the cute ones than those types of designs"
"So that's why Risa wants to go already in there earlier"
"Oh, about that, I don't think that's the case"
"Why's that?"
"Knowing Risa, she just wanted you to try out all of the swimsuits that she'll give to you"
"Eh?"
"What?"
"..."
"..."
We both looked at each other in silence when Fay called out to us
"Miu! Maki! Aren't you coming in?"
"We should go now, Mi"
"S-Sure..."
If there's one thing that I'm grateful for today, its that Maki saved me from Risa...even though I didn't mind about it...I also felt like it would be tiring to try out every swimsuit in there...
...
Maki and I went in while we can hear Risa crying from the changing room and Fay picking out her swimsuit. They then picked out a swimsuit for me after they were done picking a swimsuit for themselves...
*****
(Bonus)
"Hoho?"
"Whoa!"
"I knew I picked the right one this time!"
"I-is this the last swimsuit that you'll make me wear? I...I'm already tired..."
This was the 30th swimsuit that they tried out for me...at first, I didn't mind...
...but as we try more and more swimsuits, it just gets tiring for me to go, take off, and put on another type of swimsuit...
...but I couldn't say no to them since they were having so much fun picking a perfect swimsuit for me and going through the effort to pick one for me...
...and also...I wanted to impress Amagasa kun on the swimsuit that I'll be wearing on that day...
"Yep! That's the perfect one, Mi!"
"Ten outta ten!"
"No objections from the picker herself!"
"! I'm glad!"
After trying out dozens and dozens of swimsuit, Fay, Maki, and Risa had finally picked out the perfect swimsuit for me
"Amagasa kun will surely be surprised about this!"
"Guys are too easy to read after all!"
"R-really...?"
"Yep, no doubt he'll like it"
Even though I'm feeling relieved and tired, I was glad that we were still able to do on what we're supposed to do today
"! Thank you for picking it out for me, Fay, Maki, Risa!"
The three of them smiled at me as they were satisfied at the outcome of our long, swimsuit picking...
...
...This is my first time wearing one but...If they say so...
...then I'm sure Amagasa kun will like it!
The four of us bought out the swimsuits that we picked and headed out of the store as we talked about the plans for tomorrow at the beach...
(End of Bonus)
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End of Chapter 1
