White sand

When they walked out of the hotel, Shishio poked Yumiko's forehead.

"Don't think something perverted, Senpai."

"I-I am not!"

Yumiko covered her forehead shyly while looking at him with a strong expression. This was her outward expression, so no one would look down on her and think of her as the above. Many thought that she was arrogant, but this was how she protected herself from the cruelty of the high school girl world.

"So, what are you doing? You know that we're in the middle of the night, right? It is forbidden for us to go out."

While it might seem strict, the teachers wouldn't allow the students to walk out in the middle of the night except to go to the nearby convenience store. Many might think this might be a bit overdone, but the teachers were responsible for all of them. If something happened to the students, the one who took responsibility was the teachers.

The chance of the students getting into an accident might be small, but even so, the chance still exists.

It was better to be hated or talked behind by the students instead of being fired, right?

Before she left, Yumiko also had asked permission from the teacher to go to the convenience store, so she was alright. However, Shishio definitely wasn't, especially with how sneaky he was when he walked out of the dorm. She looked up and down, observing his clothes since he seemed ready to go out somewhere far away, especially with a helmet in his hand.

"Senpai, do you want to go with me?"

"Where?"

She was surprised, but she asked.

"Watching the hatch of the sea turtle eggs."

"A hatch of sea turtle eggs?"

She was dumbfounded and asked, "In the middle of the night?"

"It's because it is in the middle of the night; they will hatch. So? What do you think? Do you want to go with me?"

"..."

She hesitated for a moment since she wanted to show her best. Her dress was quite casual, and she even wore light makeup. Everyone who saw her would think that she was a beautiful girl without a doubt.

However, the woman was a strange creature.

Even though they were beautiful, they still lacked confidence, and they kept asking whether they were beautiful or not, even if they had looked into the mirror thousands of times.

"...is it okay to dress like this?"

"It's better for you to dress like this. If you wear a dress or fashionable things, many people will laugh at you. There is always a place and occasion, okay?"

"...."

There is something known about the place and occasion. Certain clothes, even though they were beautiful, weren't appropriate to be worn on a certain place and occasion.

"Just like this is enough. You're beautiful just the way you are, Senpai."

"...."

'Geez, how can you say something like that so easily?'

Her face was so red and hot. She didn't dare to meet his eyes before she nodded. "O-Okay, let's go." He had told her that everything was okay. Her clothes, everything, especially her appearance, were beautiful, so why not?

More importantly, she was also quite curious about the hatching of the sea turtle.

"How are we going there?"

"Follow me."

She looked at his hand, which held her hand again. She wanted to say something before she puffed her cheeks, thinking that this guy was too unfair. While her heart was beating so fast it almost burst, he was so calm. They walked for a while until they stopped near the convenience store.

He smiled as he patted their vehicle. "We're going to ride this."

"... motorcycle?" Her lips twitched.

"You're wrong. This is a Super Cub."

"That's still a motorcycle, right?" She let out a sigh before she looked at the old antic motorcycle in front of her. The Super Cub had a light blue color. It was old, without a doubt, but it was clean. She looked at it with an odd gaze, wondering why he would choose this motorcycle; his voice woke him up.

"Wear this."

He gave her his helmet before he sat on the motorcycle.

She looked at the helmet in her hand and asked, "What about you? Don't you wear one?"

"It's okay. No one will catch me, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"...I don't want you to get hurt too."

"What?"

"No-Nothing!"

She shook her head and tried to believe in him. She put on the helmet before she looked at the back seat hesitantly before she sat down.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

The motorcycle made a sudden movement causing Yumiko to be startled and slam her head against his.

"What?!"

She hugged him tightly subconsciously before she panicked. "Wh-what's wrong?!"

"Sorry, sorry. It's an old motorcycle. You should hold me like this. It's safer this way."

"..."

She kept staring at him and realized that he did all of this deliberately, so she would hug him. However, she let out a long sigh before she hugged him tightly, even pressing her well-developed breast against his back.

"Senpai?"

"We-Well... it's dangerous, right?"

Her voice was so low she put her face on his shoulder without daring to look up.

"Well, it's dangerous."

Hearing his chuckle, her face reddened as she hugged him even tighter, but this time, he didn't tease her and rode the motorcycle smoothly. It was so comfortable that she could enjoy the scenery of the night in Okinawa quietly.

Neither of them talked, but this quietness made them able to think thoroughly about what was inside their heart.

It might be her first time being so close to a man.

Even though she was a queen in her class, she didn't have any experience with men. However, it was normal since she had only fallen in love with Hayama. She had never fallen in love with anyone else, and she was still living in her dream where she would date the person she loved before they continued to date until they married each other and had a happy family.

She might look fierce, but her dream was unexpectedly pure.

This was also why she was so hurt and tried to deceive herself when she knew how Hayama only used her to block many girls who attempted to approach him.

She was only used, and in his mind, she was nothing but a convenient girl.

"Are you alright, Senpai?"

"Ah, um, what's wrong?"

"I wonder whether you feel cold."

"Cold...?"

She looked at his side profile. His hair was blown by the wind, yet it didn't bother him. He was as cool as ever. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed for some reason, and she hugged him so tight that it almost made her unable to breathe.

"No, it is warm."

"Is that so?"

Still, it was hard for him to calm down, especially when her breasts were pressed against his back. However, when he thought about her mood, he decided to act gentlemanly, pretending that he didn't notice anything, or he thought that it might be better to stay silent since the feeling of her breast on his back was nice.

However, the happy time didn't last night since, before long, they arrived at their destination.

"Is this the place?"

Yumiko looked around suspiciously since she could see nothing but a few people mixed with men, women, and young children. There were also many pickup trucks that were parked nearby, which made her quite confused.

Where were the sea turtle's eggs?

Where was the hatching?

Still, she felt a bit nervous since those people were staring at them.

"Yes."

He nodded, holding Yumiko's hand before he moved closer. "Mesore." He used the greeting of Okinawa and asked, "Is this the place where we can see the hatch of the sea turtle?"

Hearing his words, they were surprised before they answered him with a smile as they talked in the Okinawa dialect.

"Yes, this is the place."

"You're coming at the right time; the hatching will start soon."

"Wait, from that tone. You're not from Okinawa, right? Where did you come from?"

The Okinawan people were extremely friendly, and they talked about many things about him, telling him more about the hatching of the sea turtle in more detailed and friendly ways.

Yumiko also listened curiously, and she didn't expect that those people would be someone from the nearby university. No, it wasn't only the people from the university, but there were also many people that came from the neighborhood that came to watch the hatching process, which made her more curious.

As they talked, they walked toward the hatching side, but they lowered the volume of their voices since it wouldn't be weird for the sea turtle's eggs to hatch anytime.

The temperature of Okinawa at night was rather decent. It wasn't cold, nor was it warm.

If he said, it was like the temperature in a tropical area.

Yet, as expected, as the night became darker, the temperature became higher. They were also standing near the beach, so the wind from the sea also blew in their direction.

Shishio took off his jacket and put it on Yumiko's shoulders.

"Tha-Thanks..." Yumiko was a bit embarrassed, but she accepted it since she felt cold.

"It's okay."

The moon was bright, and the sky was clear.

The sea was quiet, and the waves were gentle.

Everything was good, and they also talked with the associate professor that supervised the hatching process.

The professor was kind, and she told them many things, including about the trash, the hatching process, and the low probability that from many sea turtles that hatched, only a few survived.

As they stood behind the spot where the sea turtle's eggs were buried, she said, "If they can't survive because of nature, we can't do anything, but if it's because of a human error such as trash, and many others, we hope to lower it as soon as possible."

Her wish was simple and also noble, but at the same time, it was tough since only a limited number of people cared about the life of the marine lives.

"It's a perfect night for hatching."

"Really?"

Yumiko even became more curious. She came because she wanted to follow Shishio, but she realized that she had become cornered about the hatching process of the sea turtle's eggs.

"Yes."

"Sensei, it's about to begin."

Hearing those words, everyone also became quiet.

"Please don't shine a light on them with your phones or flashlights!"

Naturally, the professor quickly reminded everyone that hatching was a delicate process. "The hatching will be drawn to them and get lost. Also, please be careful not to stand in their way!"

No one said anything, and everyone was focused, wanting to see the process of the birth of the new life.

Yumiko was the same.

However, the white sand only moved slightly before it stopped, making everyone wonder whether the eggs would hatch.

"Huh? They aren't moving."

Yumiko somehow wanted to move closer, showing concern, wondering whether everything would fail, but her shoulder was held by Shishio.

"Huh?"

She was surprised and looked in his direction.

"Don't worry. These kids know what they need to do and where they need to go. They're just saving up their strength in the sand."

"Saving up strength?"

"Yeah, for when they start running."

She stared at him for a moment before she looked at the spot of the sea turtle's eggs once again.

"You can do it!"

She encouraged them quietly.

Everyone waited for a while as the clouds were covered by the moon, but when the clouds disappeared and everything became bright, the sea turtle babies started to move.

One sea turtle baby came out from the sand. Then, one by one, they kept coming out one after another, running toward the sea with all of their might. The moment they were born, they knew what to do, and they worked hard for it. They kept running and running to start their new life.

Yumiko suddenly moved forward as she was amazed by this sight.

"It's amazing, right?"

She looked at the tall figure by his side, and somehow, she also made a determination to do what she should do.