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Episode 23 – Sea Bathing with FiancĂ©e
AN:
Last time:
During the usual lovey-dovey time, they received a phone call from Ayaka.
It was an invitation to go to the beach for summer vacation together.
Wide sky, blue sea, white sandy beach.
Yuzuru was standing under the shining sun.
“They have a really nice place here.”
Wearing a bathing suit – only beach pants – Yuzuru said this with a look of admiration on his face.
This was a private beach privately owned by Yuzuru’s childhood friend, Tachibana Ayaka.
There was also a villa nearby.
Yuzuru and Arisa were invited to visit the beach.
“To be honest, I don’t really like it. The ocean.”
It was Satake Soichiro who mumbled to himself.
Naturally, he too was invited by Ayaka.
“Why don’t you like it?”
Ryozenji Hijiri, another friend of Yuzuru’s, asked Soichiro.
Soichiro cowered his shoulders.
“It gets dirty with sand, it hurts hair, the water is salty, and it’s dangerous if we drown
 Wouldn’t a swimming pool be better?”
“Then why did you come?”
“
how can I not come when Ayaka and Chiharu are coming?”
Soichiro answered Hijiri’s question with a slightly complicated expression.
Perhaps he was persuaded to come by force by his childhood friends.
“And well, just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean I absolutely hate it
 If it’s with friends, well, I think it’s okay.”
Soichiro said, a little embarrassed.
Perhaps he doesn’t like the ocean, but he likes to hang out with his friends.
But Soichiro’s dereliction was of no importance to Yuzuru and Hijiri.
So their reactions were a little subtle.
“Speaking of which, Yuzuru. You are
 pretty well polished, aren’t you?”
Perhaps sensing that the atmosphere had somehow become more delicate, Soichiro asked Yuzuru, as if to switch the subject.
For a moment, Yuzuru wondered what he meant by “polished,” but then he quickly realized that he was talking about his “body”.
“Speaking of which
 didn’t you say you got fat?”
“Yes. That’s why I lost weight
 It’s been hard.”
Yuzuru answered Hijiri’s question, and then lightly put some pressure on his abdominal muscles.
He used to have extra fat, but now it has been completely trimmed off.
“Heh
 did you do some kind of diet?”
“Instead of white rice, it was shredded cabbage and broccoli
”
“
I don’t know how you endured.”
“You could say I was able to endure, or rather, I was managed by Arisa
”
” “Ah
” “
So this guy is being henpecked, huh?
Soichiro and Hijiri looked at him with a bit of dismay.
“
Girls are late.”
Yuzuru muttered to himself deceptively.
Soichiro and Hijiri nodded in agreement.
“Absolutely.”
“They’re probably just talking to each other anyway.”
And just as they were talking about that

“Sorry
 we got late.”
A cheerful voice was heard.
Looking in the direction of the voice, they saw Ayaka waving her hand.
Behind her were Arisa, Chiharu, and Tenka.
“It’s because of Tenka-san’s selfishness that we’re late.”
“
Don’t go blaming others.”
Chiharu wore a disconcerted expression, and Tenka looked a little angry.
Apparently, there was a bit of a struggle.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Yuzuru-san.”
Arisa smiled at Yuzuru.
She was already wearing a swimsuit
 it seemed.
The reason for not being able to determine this was that she was wearing a rash guard.
Since it was closed tightly in the front, the swimsuit was not visible.
“Nah
 We weren’t waiting for that long, right?”
Yuzuru asked Soichiro and Hijiri.
They nodded vigorously.
“Yeah, totally.”
“It’s normal for girls to take longer than boys to get ready after all.”
If they said they had to wait too long or that girls were too late, they would be making enemies with all four girls.
Yuzuru, Soichiro, and Hijiri were all well aware of this.
“No, we got changed right away though. It’s just that Tenka-chan said she didn’t want to be in a swimsuit
”
Naturally, Yuzuru’s and the others’ gazes were drawn to Tenka.
She was wearing a T-shirt on top and surf pants underneath.
Perhaps she was wearing a swimsuit underneath, but

She was more guarded than Arisa.
“I didn’t say I didn’t want to. I just need
 some preparations. Yeah, preparations.”
Apparently, Ayaka and Chiharu’s attempt to get Tenka’s guard down was the reason for their tardiness.
“Heh
 so when you feel freer enough, you’ll take it off?”
“
hey, stop talking like that.”
Ayaka and Tenka began to tussle again.
Meanwhile, Yuzuru observed the girls’ outfits and noticed something a little interesting

(Naturally, it shows their personality and taste.)
Tenka was wearing a rash guard and surf pants that hid her skin.
Arisa was wearing only a rash guard, which does not cover the lower half of her body
 but her upper-body guard was tough.
Chiharu, on the other hand, had only a light rash guard.
She was wearing a blue ruffled bikini, which was clearly visible.
It showed that she likes the frilly, cute type of swimsuits.
She probably feels less shame about exposing her skin than Arisa and Tenka.
And Ayaka was wearing only a purple bikini.
She was not wearing anything that hid her skin, such as a rash guard.
Rather than being unashamed
 she was probably confident of her own proportions.
If not, she would not have chosen a purple bikini

“Now, now. Leaving stripping Tenka-san for later
 what are you going to do now?”
“I think it would be good for us to be free to move around for a while.　I think each of us has our own pace to get used to the water.”
Arisa glanced at Yuzuru.
Apparently, she had some business to attend to with him.
“Ah, yeah, I guess so. Then
 let’s meet in an hour, for now
 Tenka-chan will probably be feeling freer by then.”
“As I said, stop saying it like that..!”
Before Tenka could protest, Ayaka left with Chiharu and Soichiro.
“We should go too, Arisa.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Holding Arisa’s hand, Yuzuru walked away from the scene.
And

“
what do we do?”
“What do we do indeed
”
Only two people, Hijiri and Tenka, were left standing there.
“So, Arisa
 what shall we do?”
“Let’s see.  From here
 ah, no, let’s go behind that rock over there.”
With that, Arisa pointed to a large rock.
And at the same time, she gently intertwined her own arm with Yuzuru’s.
A soft sensation touched Yuzuru’s arm.
“
what are we going to do?”
“I have a favor to ask
”
Arisa’s reply made Yuzuru’s heart flutter a little.
Summer, swimsuits, and things that can only be done when the two of them were alone
Yuzuru had a little idea of what to expect.
“I don’t think anyone will see us here
”
What are we doing?
Yuzuru asked Arisa, suppressing his deviant feelings.
Arisa nodded with a faint blush on her face.
“
I really wish I could do it alone, but it seems so difficult to do it alone.”
While saying this

Arisa rustled around and put her hand into the bag she had brought with her.
And what she took out was a small bottle.
Inside it was some kind of liquid.
“Sunscreen, huh?”
“Y-yes
 For lovers, it’s, you know, normal, right?”
Arisa said and handed Yuzuru the bottle containing the sunscreen cream as if to push it to him.
“Normal huh
 what is it that’s normal to do?”
When Yuzuru asked with a smile, Arisa looked away shyly.
“J-jeez
 Please don’t be mean.”
“No, I won’t understand
 if you don’t tell me.”
“
Jeez.”
Arisa raised her eyebrows and gave him a joking, angry look

Her skin turned rosy and she said.
“I can’t reach 
my back. So please apply it.”
TN: next time, swimsuit reveal