Good Vibrations

Walking down the pathways of a decently sized college campus, a young man took in the sites of the various buildings surrounding him. It was only the second or third week of classes, but being here felt so surreal. It was his first foray into the real world. Somewhere outside the confines of his hometown, his father and more importantly, outside the influence of his terrible reputation. Nobody knew him here, nobody really cared. Compared to high school, there was still a decent amount of drama, if you could call drama decent anyway. But overall, everyone seemed to be more focused on their studies than trivial popularity contests.

Walking through the doors of one of the buildings, he took a look at the room directory. A slow walk up a flight of steps and a cursory peek inside the room where a bunch of chairs were arranged in a circle. People were already sitting down but thankfully, it didn't look like they started yet. Quietly padding his way into the room, "Um, is this the s-support group?"

An older man with a rough but oddly friendly looking face stood up, "Why yes, welcome the Men of Valor group. My name is Mr. Higurashi. Looking to sit down for one of our sessions?" After nodding, the man gestured at one of the empty seats, "Just sit yourself right there and introduce yourself."

Everyone's gazes made him shift uncomfortably, but he could see that nobody there looked at him with anything more than standard curiosity, "W-Well, my name is Benjiro Nojiri."

Everyone took a second to say hello to him in unison as he thought, 'I didn't accidently stumble into an AA meeting, did I?'

"And I'm mostly here because my girlfriend told me that it'd be good for me to try and find a group of guys to help me sort through some of the s**t that's happened over the last few years."

Offering him a look of understanding, Mr. Higurashi replied, "I know that it may be difficult to open up, but that is precisely what the Men of Valor is for. Everyone here has something they wrestle with and are trying to stand on their own two feet."

He hadn't looked any of them in the eye since he entered the room, but Benjiro took a sweeping glance at each of the Men. There were a few that looked a little bored, a couple more that had that kind of look that said 'Your story can't be any more messed up than anyone else's here', but overall the group ready to simply accept the fact that he was there.

"Why don't you introduce yourself officially? Simply state your name, why you came to this college, and a fun fact about yourself."

Fighting the urge to look at the floor, he stood up and cleared his throat, "Ahem, well as I said before, my name is Benjiro. I'm here because I heard this school had a decent filmmaking course and I'm already pretty handy with makeup, so I want to learn how to work on horror films and stuff. And, a fun fact, let's see..."

Looking at the ceiling, he couldn't help but snort at how morbidly ridiculous this would sound, "And I'm pretty sure I had a harem when I was in high school."

The other boys let out a few snorts and chides of their own when they heard that. Bemused, Mr. Higurashi said, "Sounds like more trouble than it's worth. Why don't you tell us your story then?"

Benjiro kept chuckling but took on a sad sheen, "It's actually because of my supposed harem that I almost died."

The mood in the room instantly plummeted even though Benjiro kept laughing, "It all started a few summers ago on a vacation to the beach. It was the last bit of happiness before everything slowly went to hell."

[During said summer]

Cool water rushed over Benjiro's ankles as he took in the familiar sound of the waves' lullaby. The way he gradually sank in the sand, the shrieking seagulls. The only difference to his usual hiding place was that the sun was high in the sky and the heat and humidity were damn near unbearable.

"Hey, Nojiri, are you going to stand there all day or are you going to actually get wet", a voice called. That voice belonging to his neighbor Akiko. It took a sharp breath, a bitten tongue and a monk's willpower not to give her body a onceover in that blue striped bikini she was wearing. He'd been cracked on the head for less and wasn't looking to repeat. But for what it was worth, he'd probably be willing to put up with any kind of nonsense right now. The school year had a series of ups and downs that for the life of him, he'd never be able to explain why they were happening to him. But after many months of excitement, summer came not a moment too soon.

"Yeah, don't just stand there admiring the view", came the teasing voice of Saori, "Then again, I'm sure most girls would find that flattering", she tucked a strand of hair behind one ear, proudly showing off her 'dress swimsuit'

"Alright, alright", he answered, wading into the water without even bothering to completely undress himself. The late June ocean water stole his breath upon diving in. But trying to ignore his shock from the cold, he slowly tried to get the water past his hips and chest. Goosebumps immediately broke out on his arms. A splash of water from the side made him yelp.

"Come on you big baby, a little water isn't going to kill you", Saori playfully teased.

Rolling his eyes, "Well, sorry for not having the greatest cold tolerance."

Saori came up and hugged him from behind and gently purred, "Well I'm sure that there has to be some way of distracting you from the cold."

The contact instantly made Benjiro freeze up. Saori had never been one to be shy, and was one of the few people that regularly touched him. But this level of contact was not only a new one for Saori, it was one he only experienced once before and that memory was holding him in place.

"Hey!"

While Benjiro's attention had been drawn behind him, he somehow missed Akiko approaching and grabbing him from the front, "Who said you could get handsy, all of a sudden?"

"I wasn't aware that I needed permission from you to be friendly", Saori calmly replied

A sudden yell and separating yank on both ends, courtesy of one Daitan Haruoka who was wearing a bikini top and a pair of cutoff shorts, "I'm fairly certain that Scarecrow here doesn't usually like being hugged so suddenly."

Saori looked affronted by the sudden interjection but rather than become mad, she just kept smiling, "Why, Ms. Haruoka, are you sure that you're so offended by some reason other than just preserving Benjiro's modesty."

Daitan narrowed her eyes at the none to subtle jab, "Keep that up, Yamanaka and you'll see just how offended I can get."

"Oh honestly", a voice from the shore interrupted, "You three can all be so embarrassing."

Standing at the water's edge stood Hiromi wearing a long white sundress and wide brimmed hat, "There's plenty of time to become better acquainted with each other, so I don't see why you're all so keen on making fools of yourselves."

The faces of the three accused girls all took on various hews of red while Benjiro had absolutely no idea what was going on. Suddenly a beach ball landed in front of him in the water, "Come on, if you're going to spend time at the beach, then why aren't you trying to live it up."

Benjiro just turned and smiled at the fact that his good friend, Mine Chihaya had been able to come with them. The beach was at a good halfway point between their two prefectures and her parents as well as Benjiro's dad had offered to provide transport and act as a set of light duty chaperones. The adults were nearby, but perfectly content to let the teenagers enjoy themselves with minimal oversight. After all, there was only one chance to be young, so they decided to let the kids just be kids. The sight of his best friend's well toned, but still slender body was one that truly cemented how much Mine had changed over the years. But underneath it all there was the same girl who just wanted to enjoy her time with her friends.

Picking the beach ball back up, the small group of teenagers began hitting it to each other to see how long they could keep it in the air while the waves were trying to knock them down. What each of them were unaware of, was that things weren't necessarily about to change for the better. And it all started with one of the girls, unknowingly asking, "Hey, Nojiri, why are you wearing your shirt while you're in the water?"