It's been a few days since we returned from the Underworld, and now we're counting down the days until summer vacation ends. For the past few days, Diodora has been sending daily gifts to Asia. So far, people still just see him as a love-struck young master, but if this keeps up, couldn't we punish him under the pretense of "dealing with a dangerous stalker"? ...Yeah, probably not.
Anyway, since all of us spent most of the break immersed in training, we decided to make some summer memories by visiting the Gremory family's private beach. Well, it's an uninhabited island, so maybe "private island" is more accurate?
The Underworld has large lakes, but apparently no seas, so this is a beach in the human world. Summer's all about beaches, mountains, and festivals, but we already spent enough time up in the mountains, and Obon is over, so most of the good festivals have ended. That left the beach as the natural choice.
Right now, the girls are taking off their cover-ups and showing off swimsuits different from the ones they wore during the pool day.
Asia is the first to reveal her swimsuit, a sky-blue bikini. It covers a decent amount, but the pure, refreshing color matches her innocent aura perfectly.
Xenovia, also from the church, is wearing a competitive-style swimsuit. She narrowly lost to Yuuto in a swimming race last time, so I'm guessing she's planning a rematch.
Next up is Akeno-senpai, who's wearing a green bikini that has very little fabric. It barely covers the essentials... Let's move on, quickly.
Now Rias-senpai, our Occult Research Club President, takes off her cover-up. I'll just say it, what she's wearing is lewd. It's that slingshot-style string bikini Kuroka once jokingly suggested while shopping. Technically, it might cover more than Akeno's, but the amount of skin it exposes in all the wrong places is seriously questionable.
Then again, both Akeno and Rias have their sights set on Issei, so maybe it is the right choice. Case in point: Issei's already got a nosebleed and a dumb grin.
Me? Well... it's not really my thing. If Kuroka had worn something like that, maybe I'd feel differently. But no point in talking about "what ifs."
Speaking of Kuroka, her swimsuit is different from the tropical green one she bought earlier. This time, it's a red hibiscus-print bikini with a sheer, light red sarong lined in pale blue, also hibiscus-themed. It seems she likes tropical designs.
That "is-it-covered-or-not" aesthetic really speaks to my inner peekaboo connoisseur. Kuroka really gets it.
Koneko-chan's also wearing a new swimsuit: a blue bikini with a white-and-blue striped skirt. It gives her an incredibly adorable look.
And finally... we have Kunou. She's wearing a white school swimsuit. Her tail is hidden, probably getting in the way of swimming. Why is Kunou here at the beach with us? For that, we need to rewind to this morning.
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This Morning,
Ding-dong!
When I opened the front door, Kunou and her fox-eared attendant were standing there.
"I've come, Ikki!"
"Oh, welcome. Make yourself at home."
After a brief greeting, I let Kunou in (her attendants bowed and left). I brought her into the living room. Even though it's summer break for us students, it's still a weekday for working adults, so my parents were already out.
In their place were Kuroka, Koneko, and the other members of the Occult Research Club.
We'd only just parted with Kunou a few days ago, but there was no reason to delay her visit any longer, so I decided to follow through on my invitation for her to come over.
Of course, Kunou is the daughter of a powerful figure from Western Japan, and this town is technically a peace zone for the Three Factions. When I informed Rias-senpai, she not only gave her approval but also decided the entire club should gather to greet her.
"You must be Ikki's friends! I am Kunou, daughter of Yasaka and leader of Kyoto's Youkai, both the public and shadow sides! Thank you for gathering on my behalf!"
Her cheerful greeting drew fond smiles from everyone.
"I'm Rias Gremory, the one in charge of this town. We welcome you, Kunou."
Technically, it's my house, but Rias handled the formalities since Kunou and I are past greetings at this point.
"No need for formality! Today I've come to play!"
"Then let's enjoy ourselves," Rias replied with a smile.
Everyone greeted her in turn.
"Koneko-dono! It's our first time meeting properly! I've heard about the pardon for Kuroka-dono. I'm happy for you both!"
"Mm, thank you. I'm happy to meet you too."
Koneko smiled at Kunou's innocent congratulations.
But then Koneko twitched, she sensed something.
"With greetings done, let's get changed and teleport to the Gremory-owned island," said Rias.
"Hmm? That's fine, but aren't you forgetting to introduce someone?"
"Huh?"
Everyone looked puzzled, hadn't we finished introductions? Then a teasing voice came from behind.
"Only Koneko noticed me? Guess you've all still got a long way to go, even after training in the Underworld."
It was Azazel-sensei. Kuroka and I had sensed him too, but apparently we didn't count.
"How did you get in?!"
"Through the front door, duh. If this were a real battle, your negligence could've been fatal."
No one could argue with his mocking but accurate criticism.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Azazel, head of the Fallen Angels."
"Oh! So you're the one! Ikki spoke of you."
"Really? What'd he say?"
"He called you an eccentric who can be trusted but not relied upon!"
Kunou!! Being honest is one thing, but don't say it to his face!!
"I see... Ikki, when school starts, I'm going to aim all the hard questions in class directly at you. Prepare yourself."
"Ugh! That's the worst kind of punishment, slow, methodical harassment!"
He's totally going to write special problems just for me!
"Azazel-sensei, what brings you here today?"
"I wanted to see Ikki's future bride, and also, with a VIP like Kunou around, I thought it best to be on hand, just in case."
Aren't you the one who usually needs protection!?
"Azazel, between my peerage, Ikki, and Kuroka, you think we need even more protection? Sounds like you're just skipping work."
"Busted! By now, Shemhazai's probably drowning in my paperwork."
That was fast. No attempt to hide it. RIP Shemhazai.
After showing Kunou around, the guys changed in my room, and the girls in Koneko's, then Akeno-senpai teleported us all to the island.
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And now, here we are, complimenting the girls on their swimsuits, well, Issei and I are. But... why is Gasper on their side!? He's wearing a one-piece swimsuit with a big ribbon on his head that looks like bunny ears. He's an adorable little bunny-girl!! (Half-angry)
As for us: Issei and I are wearing the same basic swim trunks as before. Yuuto has a speedo. Azazel-sensei is in an aloha shirt and swim shorts.
Before swimming, we set up beach umbrellas, towels, and air-filled floaties and banana boats. Using a foot pump takes forever, but we banned using magic or ki, it kills the vibe.
"Alright Kunou, your floatie's ready!"
While inflating the banana boat with my foot, I blew up her floatie by mouth.
"Thanks, Ikki!"
"Wha, You're done already?! I've only half-inflated this beach ball!"
"I train. My lung capacity's pretty high."
That's thanks to the deep breathing meditations of Ittou Shura.
"Impressive. So even that's part of your training?" Yuuto joined in while tying up a hammock.
"Yeah. Oxygen powers muscle output, so boosting lung capacity is subtle but effective. And in battle, sometimes you have to hold your breath, like when Kuroka floods the arena with paralyzing or sleep-inducing gas."
"Interesting. I might add it to my regimen."
"Go for it. You won't regret it."
After stretching out, we all headed into the ocean. There's beach volleyball, fishing, surfing, all kinds of fun, but first, a swim.
"Yuuto! Race you to those rocks! I'm not losing this time!"
"I accept Xenovia. Though I intend to win again."
Xenovia issued a rematch, and Yuuto accepted with quiet fire.
Meanwhile, Rias, Akeno, Issei, Asia, and Gasper played with a beach ball in the shallows. Koneko and Kunou floated nearby, chatting. Azazel was surfing, but wait, what the heck!? He's blasting around with water jets on the back of his board and doing all kinds of tricks. …Okay, that does look fun.
Kuroka and I went snorkeling. The water's clear, and just a bit deeper, we could see fish everywhere. Rias said this was an uninhabited island, but… is it even in Japan? Eh, whatever.
We also gathered seafood for the BBQ, turban shells, shrimp, and such. Meat was prepped separately, but for seafood, we wanted it fresh. We stunned lobsters with senjutsu and stored them in baskets, quickly filling them up.
"Puhah! Got a ton~! Are we fishing for the rest?"
"Yeah, the guys are doing a fishing contest. The BBQ's got plenty of grilled stuff, so we're aiming for sashimi now."
"Fufu I'm looking forward to it, nya~"
Before the fishing began, we rode banana boats with Kunou and Koneko, and even tied a magic rope to Azazel-sensei's board so he could drag us around like cowboys. Good times.
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Now we're back on the rocks, wearing cover-ups and listening to Azazel-sensei's briefing.
"Alright, listen up! We'll be fishing for 60 minutes. Whoever catches the most wins! In the case of a tie, the biggest fish by weight decides. Questions?"
"Sensei! Do we get a prize?"
"Excellent question. The winner gets this 10,000-yen gift card!"
A gift card? For a casual guys-only contest, that's pretty generous. Considering Rias's dad once tried giving Issei a castle as a souvenir, this is probably the most reasonable prize we could hope for.
"Do your best, Issei!"
"Go for the win, Ikki!"
The girls, sipping tropical juice and recovering, were cheering us on. But then I noticed Azazel-sensei's fishing rod.
"Um, Sensei... Yours looks a lot more expensive than ours..."
"Fufun! Good eye. This baby is the 'In**ssa G-V', top-tier for rock fishing. Rod, reel, lure, line, everything's elite. Even the grip feels different from your budget rods!"
This guy is shameless! He's not planning to let us win at all!
"…Kunou, that is what a bad adult looks like. Don't grow up like that, nya."
Kuroka was doing her best "big sister" thing. Nice role model, Azazel-sensei...
"Bah, you don't get it. The best way to enjoy play is to go all out."
Is that so? Then let's go all out.
"Rias-senpai, please signal the start! Fishing is about more than just equipment, it's skill and technique. Let's show them what we've got! Issei, Yuuto, Gasper, gear up!"
"Heheh, right! We've got the Club President watching, we can't afford to lose!"
That's the spirit, Issei. Let's knock the smug off our advisor's face!
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