The group had barely cleared the airport exit when the heat properly hit.
Warm air, ocean breeze in the distance, palm trees lining the roads—everything felt unreal compared to Tokyo.
Yuji was already loosening his collar.
"…It's actually hot here."
Hakari grinned.
"…This is peak vacation weather."
Maki looked unimpressed.
"…This is peak sweat."
Panda adjusted his stance.
"…I prefer colder climates."
Gojo, sunglasses on now, looked entirely too comfortable.
"…This is perfect."
Kirara checked their phone.
"…Resort shuttle should be here soon."
Takeru stood still for a moment.
Just taking it in.
The humidity. The brightness. The noise of a place completely different from home.
Then—
something in him snapped into pure excitement.
"…I GET TO TAKE MY SHIRT OFF FOR A REASON!"
Silence.
Yuji blinked.
"…What?"
Hakari immediately burst out laughing.
"…THAT'S HIS TAKEAWAY?!"
Maki slowly turned her head.
"…That's not how you phrase that."
Gojo chuckled.
"…Fair reasoning, actually."
Panda sighed.
"…I see where this is going."
Takeru didn't wait for approval.
He just—
grabbed his bag—
and bolted.
Yuji shouted after him:
"…WAIT, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"
Takeru, already running:
"…RESORT CHANGE ROOM!"
Hakari laughed harder.
"…HE RAN OFF LIKE IT WAS A CUTSCENE EVENT!"
Maki clicked her tongue.
"…He's going to get lost."
Gojo waved slightly.
"…He'll be fine."
Yuji pointed.
"…HE DOESN'T KNOW WHERE ANYTHING IS!"
Kirara calmly:
"…He has tracking instincts. Probably."
Panda watched Takeru disappear into the crowd.
"…He's adapting to vacation physics."
Hakari wiped a tear from laughing.
"…He broke out of 'stats mode' and immediately entered 'shirt freedom mode.'"
Gojo stretched again.
"…Honestly, good for him."
Maki muttered:
"…We're in a foreign country with him unsupervised."
Yuji sighed.
"…That sentence is terrifying."
And somewhere ahead—
Takeru was already sprinting toward the resort area like the world itself had finally given him permission to just be a teenager on vacation.