Beach Day!

As the next day comes, the group meets one by one at Chizuru's house. They are all in casual warm weather clothes. Hikigaya and Shiori are the last ones to arrive. Chizuru waves to them as they walk up.

Chizuru "Alright! Everyone ready to have an amazing day?!"

They all shout, Shiori and Sugawara, a bit more timid than the others. The day is warm with few clouds in the sky. A very light, cool breeze blowing through. A perfect day for the beach on this spring break. Naturally, once they arrive, the beach is full of people. Hikigaya and Lucy sweat a bit out of disappointment. Haru comes out from behind them, almost knocking them over, yelling excitedly.

Haru "Come on guys! We have to go find a good spot!"

Lucy "What's the rush? Not like the ocean is going anywhere."

Hikigaya laughs at her joke. They all follow him while he sporadically searches for a good spot. Eventually, he finds one not too far from the water, but not too far from the food stand and bathrooms. He takes a dive into the spot to ensure no one would take it before him. Everyone is staring at him confused as no one was even looking at the spot. Sugawara watches and sweats embarrassedly.

Lucy "You're really crushing on this guy, huh?"

Sugawara "Yeah…"

He says shyly. They make their way over to him and place their stuff down.

Haru "Alright! Since I'm in my shorts already, I'll stay here while yall go get changed!"

He says while taking his shirt off. Ryuji takes his shirt off as well as he too is in his shorts already. Shiori blushes intensely as she turns away to avoid staring. Lucy blushes a bit too. Hikigaya and Haru roll their eyes.

Hikigaya/Haru 'Of course they would.'

After the group has left to go change, Lucy is the first one out. She is in board shorts with a bikini top that straps a few times over her chest. She stretches her arms across her chest.

Lucy "Ah~ that's more like it on this warm day."

She puts her hands on her hips while Hikigaya follows out.

Hikigaya "That was fast."

He says to her as she smirks with a thumbs up. He is in shorts with a different button up shirt that is more colorful. Lucy's eyes widen a bit as she blushes which makes Hikigaya turn around as well only to blush too. Chizuru comes out in a bikini which they did not expect from her, however she too is wearing a beach shirt. She's blushing from embarrassment a bit.

Chizuru "W-what do you guys think? I look silly, don't I?"

Hikigaya "Not at all."

Lucy "Yeah, you look great! Where did you get that shirt?"

Chizuru "Oh! It's Hiki's. He let me borrow it for the day since I had none for the occasion hehe!"

She sticks her tongue out and bonks her head a bit as if to imply she's silly.

Lucy "Ah, that makes sense. Anyway, come on, let's go!"

The two of them head back to the others while Hikigaya stays.

Sugawara "Um, Hikigaya?.."

He is surprised a bit and turns back around to the changing rooms entrance. He sees Sugawara peeking his head around the corner a bit.

Hikigaya "You okay?"

Sugawara "Yeah… I'm just a little… embarrassed."

Hikigaya "Heh, you guys really aren't used to showing off skin. Here, take this."

He takes off his shirt and hands it to Sugawara. He looks surprised.

Sugawara "You sure? You don't want it?"

Hikigaya "Nah, I'm okay with my body. It was just to look cool, but don't tell anyone that."

He smiles at Sugawara and puts a finger to his lips. Sugawara smiles back and puts the shirt on. Hikigaya notices him in short swim shorts and a bando around his chest. Sugawara buttons up the shirt that is large on him to about half way up his chest. Sugawara smiles at Hikigaya again and heads to the group. Hikigaya smiles back then goes to lean against the outside wall of the changing rooms, letting out a sigh.

Hikigaya "Man, I'm gonna lose all my shirts at this rate. Tss! Ah hot!"

He exclaims hopping off the hot wall from the sun. He rubs his back in a bit of pain. As he does this, someone slowly walks out from rooms. He stops and stares with a slight blush on his cheeks. Shiori stands there obviously embarrassed and holds her arm over her stomach. She is in the swimsuit Ace had picked the day before and the shirt Hikigaya gave her buttoned up to the second to last one from the top. She notices him staring and gets even more embarrassed and blushes harder.

Shiori "Stop staring, you're being creepy…"

Hikigaya "Oh! Yeah, sorry…"

He rubs the back of his head embarrassed as well. They head back over to the rest of the group who are already getting to their activities. Haru, Sugawara and Ryuji are building a sand castle while Chizuru and Lucy sit in the warm sun on their towels.

Lucy "Took you guys long enough."

Shiori "Yeah, sorry.."

Lucy "Eh come on. We're at the beach! Relax! Let's have a good day."

Shiori shakes her head slightly and smiles back.

Shiori "Yeah."

Throughout the day, they do many activities. From sand castle building to flag racing to burying Hikigaya against his will. Shiori watches Ryuji as he smiles and buries the struggling Hikigaya.

Shiori 'Now's my chance. I have to try!'

She crouches down next to him shyly. She starts putting sand on Hikigaya's feet that are sticking out while Ryuji works on his shoulders.

Shiori "Y-you like building things in the sand, Ryuji?"

He looks at her a bit surprised by her question but looks back to Hikigaya after a moment.

Ryuji "Yeah, I don't mind the sand too much. And it's fun to build things with."

Shiori "Haha, me too! Maybe we could build a huge castle together?"

Ryuji "Sure, that'd be- Oh-"

He looks past her to see Lucy getting up and heading to the concession stand after laughing with Sugawara for a moment. He gets up and immediately follows her. Shiori watches and sees him approach her and her smiling back at him and nodding. She gets a pouty look on her face.

Hikigaya "Well, that certainly could have gone smoother."

She gets angry and slaps some sand in his helpless face.

Shiori "Shut it!"

Ryuji and Lucy come back with some drinks in a bag for everyone. They all come in on the towels and a few of them under the umbrella they have. Ryuji hands Shiori a can of juice.

Shiori "Thank you."

She says blushing a bit. He nods and sits next to her while taking a sip of his juice. She looks down at it and then gets an idea.

Shiori "Uh, Ryuji?"

Ryuji "Hm?"

He looks at her with the can still pressed to his lips.

Shiori "Could you help me open the can? I'm kinda having trouble.."

She smiles shakily and blushes from embarrassment.

Shiori 'This is so embarrassing! Who has trouble opening a can of juice?! But, anything to get closer to him.'

He nods and reaches for her can before Haru interrupts.

Haru "What's that? You're having trouble! Not to worry! I am here!"

He says proudly while taking the can from her hand and opening it for her. Shiori gets a shocked look and the color drains from her while Hikigaya tries to hold back a laugh, almost spilling his drink.

Haru "Here you are, Shiori. One open can of juice!"

He holds the can to her and she takes it.

Shiori "Th-thanks.."

She says slightly irritated. After they've had their drinks and layed around a bit, they decide it's time for the main course. To have fun in the clear water of the beach. Haru jumps up with excitement as Lucy follows suit. Hikigaya stands up while Ryuji begins to step forward. He stops only a few steps out cause he notices Sugawara hesitating.

Ryuji "You're embarrassed."

Sugawara "Yeah, thanks for noticing!"

He says, irritated before sighing and pulling his knees to his chest.

Sugawara "I'm just… I'm not like you guys. You, Haru, Hikigaya. You're all so big and masculine.. I'm not… What if… Haru doesn't like my body?"

Ryuji stares for a moment before turning to see Haru jumping around in the water splashing Lucy a bit. Sugawara is staring at the ground before a hand reaches out in front of him offering him to take it. He looks up at Ryuji who is smiling softly at him.

Ryuji "Come on. Haru isn't the type to care about stuff like that."

Sugawara blushes and his eyes shine. He nods a bit before getting to his feet. He shakily grabs the buttons on the shirt. He slowly takes it off and throws it down. Ryuji, still holding his hand, leads him to the water where the others are currently. Haru looks over and blushes seeing Sugawara all embarrassed.

Haru "Sugawara… You're… So cute!"

He splashes over to him and hugs him tightly. Sugawara is blushing and steaming from the hug while Ryuji smiles and stands next to Lucy.

Lucy "Good job. Never seen you do that before."

He shrugs and smiles at her. They turn to the beach with the others still are.

Lucy "Come on guys! Waiting on you!"

Haru "Yeah, the water is great!"

Shiori "Yeah, coming!"

She says happily and looks at Hikigaya who is also excited for the water. She takes a couple steps forward happily before stopping and realizing something. She looks down and sees the shirt she's wearing. She holds her head low. Her eye begins to get watery as she wants to cry. Hikigaya stops and notices. He looks for a moment and steps back to her. He doesn't say anything immediately but right before he can, his thoughts are interrupted by Chizuru speaking out loud.

Chizuru "Well, if we're going in the water, I guess I gotta take mine off too."

As soon as she says that she takes her shirt off and tosses on her towel. Shiori looks over and her eye grows wide. She sees a large scar across Chizuru's chest going from below her left shoulder to right below the middle of her chest, above where her heart is. She runs out into the water and is met with joy and cheers while getting splashed with water by her friends. She turns back to them.

Chizuru "Well?"

She calls. Shiori still stares with awe before Hikigaya reaches out his hand.

Hikigaya "It's just us now, you ready?"

She looks at his hand and nods slightly. She begins to take off the shirt he lent her. As she does, Hikigaya's eyes widen. He sees scars across her body. A couple on her hip, a short one over her shoulder, one across her arm and one down the lower side of her tummy, but the ones that catch his eye the most are the three across her side. He thinks back and remembers the fight with the Beast at Holden Manor and the moment it got her. He looks at her with a bit of sadness in his face.

Hikigaya 'I could have prevented that…'

She takes his hand gently and he smiles. He leads her out to the water and of course, the others pause for a moment noticing her scars. This makes Shiori self conscious before Lucy speaks up.

Lucy "Wow, I knew you were thin but I didn't know you were fit."

Haru "Yeah! Get it Shiori! Looking good~!"

Haru hypes her up which makes her blush and a bit more confident in herself. Hikigaya continues to lead her into the water until about hip depth. She was looking down into the water and didn't realize Hikigaya was leading her next to Ryuji. Once there, he lets her go and she blushes intensely. He looks at her and smiles.

Ryuji "You look great."

He says softly.

Shiori "Thanks.."

Hikigaya smiles while watching them but gets a bit sad. Before he can sink too low though, Haru splashes him with water.

Haru "C'mon guys! Let's have fun!"

He says while throwing water into the air. They splash around and dive under the water a bit. At some point, Haru put Sugawara on his shoulders while Lucy did the same to Chizuru. They struggle to push the other off until eventually Chizuru does. Haru and Sugawara laugh victoriously while Chizuru and Lucy giggle to themselves and the others laugh.

After some time in the water, the sun begins to lower so they decide to call it and head out to dry. They decide to hangout for a bit more and snack before heading back home. Hikigaya buys two snowcones and begins to head back but is met by Shiori coming up to him at the stand.

Shiori "I wanted to thank you. For everything today. I don't think I would've been able to do anything on my own today if it wasn't for you."

Hikigaya "I'm glad I could help."

Shiori "Yeah, you definitely did. As a matter of fact, I was gonna get icecream for Ryuji and I to share right now. Things have gone pretty well so far, maybe if I-"

She says as she turns to look back at them only to see Lucy sitting down next to him with some icecream in hand already. Ryuji thanks her and smiles as she takes a bite then he does too. Shiori's smile slightly fades a bit and she looks down.

Shiori "Heh… Who am I kidding? He's never gonna notice me over her.."

She says with a sad smile on her face. Hikigaya looks at them for a moment before looking back at her.

Hikigaya "He seemed to have noticed you plenty today, right? Besides, it's only been one day. It'll work out eventually if you keep trying. For now."

He lifts one of the snowcones he has towards her.

Hikigaya "Just enjoy the things you can. You had a good day. Don't let this ruin it."

She looks at it for a moment before taking it.

Shiori "It's my favorite flavor… How did you know?"

Hikigaya "Eh. You seem like a Tiger's Blood type of girl."

He smiles at her and she smiles back at him. They all sit together eating their snacks. Chizuru takes a big bite out of some icecream which gives her a brain freeze. Haru laughs at her while he and Sugawara enjoy some churros. Sugawara has three in hand while Haru only has one. Shiori looks around and smiles to herself, happy at the great day she had with her friends. After they had their fill, they take the train back home. Shiori falls asleep on Hikigaya's shoulder as Hikigaya too dozes off. Chizuru sleeps on Lucy's shoulder while the others stay awake. Lucy nudges Ryuji a bit and giggles looking at Hikigaya and Shiori.

Sugawara "Today was a good day."

He says happily while blushing with joy.

Haru "I'm glad."

He smiles widely at him.

Lucy looks at them then back at Shiori. She stares for a moment before whispering to Ryuji.

Lucy "So you really think it's her?"

Ryuji "I'm pretty confident. Hikigaya has never gotten along with anyone so quickly before. That has to mean something."

Lucy "True. Well if she is, I hope things keep going as well as they are."