Chapter 324: Going to the Beach |
"Hey? Look at that handsome man with the warm smile. Isn't he the one who showed up in a helicopter during our school trip to Kyoto, claiming Hoshino sent him to pick up Yu-chan?" she whispered.
"You're right! By the way, didn't Sawami have a crush on him back then?" another chimed in.
"Hehe, now is your chance. Hurry up and ask for his contact info!"
"Oh, stop it! Can't you see he brought his girlfriend? Keep your voices down. What if they hear us?"
Their rustling whispers went largely unnoticed by the others, but the conversation happening over by Hoshino Gen made their group fall silent for a moment.
"Speaking of which, what have they been talking about this whole time?"
"I didn't quite catch it either. Something about seals and families, and needing to guard something? What on earth does that mean... A game? Or are they discussing the plot of an anime or TV show?"
Observing the curious and peculiar expressions on the others' faces, Shimizu Yu subconsciously glanced at Hoshino Rin beside her. Coincidentally, Hoshino Rin looked at her at the exact same moment.
The instant their eyes met, they immediately looked away.
"So, what do you say, Hoshino? Are we heading to the beach or not?"
Asaba Shinichi steered the topic back to the beginning, which was the entire reason he had brought people over to find Hoshino Gen in the first place.
"We got everything ready before coming to invite you. The car is parked right outside. As long as you give the nod, we can catch the setting sun by the sea today~" Asaba Shinichi sat back down on the bay window, reached out to rub the small head of Tamamo-no-Mae, who was still binge-watching her shows, and then tried to sling an arm around Hoshino Gen's shoulders.
Hoshino Gen dodged the gesture and asked evenly, "A new incident?"
Asaba Shinichi rolled his eyes. "Don't just assume everything is an incident. This time, it's really just about going out and having fun. Can a summer vacation even be called a summer vacation without a beach and sand?"
Saying that, he smiled and called out toward the low table, "Right, beautiful ladies? Are any of you interested in going to the beach together?"
A wave of giggles drifted over from that direction, but no one gave a clear answer.
Truth be told, Hoshino Gen actually quite liked traveling. Just like a few months ago, when his mother suggested he get out and offered to send him and Hoshino Rin to Switzerland for a vacation, he had readily accepted.
However—
A faint smile touched the corners of Hoshino Gen's lips. "Just going out to have fun?"
"Heh~" Asaba Shinichi chuckled softly. "It's mainly for relaxation. Of course, there are some incidental things we can do along the way!"
As he spoke, he pulled out his mobile phone and pulled up a video that had been going viral on the dark web—the footage of Hoshino Gen's battle in London.
Asaba Shinichi laughed in a low voice. "You didn't use this move the last time we fought in the suburbs, but you had no reason to hold back against me. I didn't use some of my ultimate moves either. So, I figured you were probably just like me—worried about the location and afraid of causing too much of a commotion."
"So this time, let's just go out at sea to fight. That way, we can both go all out, right? Plus, Yusuke is here this time, so we can finally see just how strong that kid has become~"
"How about it? Are you interested now?" Asaba Shinichi asked, winking exaggeratedly.
Hoshino Gen shifted his gaze away from him and lowered his head, lightly pinching the cheek of Tamamo-no-Mae in his arms. "Do you want to go to the beach?"
Tamamo-no-Mae lifted her small face and beamed brightly at Hoshino Gen. "I want to be together with A-Gen~"
Her words meant that if Hoshino Gen went, she would go, and if he didn't, she wouldn't either.
Hoshino Gen thought about it for a moment before looking at Asaba Shinichi. "Alright. When do we leave?"
"Anytime is fine." Asaba Shinichi beamed. However, he suddenly changed the subject, leaning closer to Hoshino Gen while sneaking a secretive glance toward the low table. "But out of all those beautiful women over there, apart from your sister and your employee, what's your relationship with the rest of them?"
"The youngest one is my cousin. I have no relationship with the others," Hoshino Gen replied casually.
Asaba Shinichi flashed an OK sign. "Perfect."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a frivolous smile surfaced on his face. He turned and strolled over to the low table. Leaning down, he managed to make the entire group of young girls burst into continuous fits of giggles with just a few choice words.
A moment later, he returned with a wide grin. "It's a trip! The more people, the merrier. Plus, they're all beautiful women, so it's pleasant to look at. How about it? A solid arrangement, right? Even though they're all your people, I'm not just boasting when I say that if it were you, you might not have been able to convince them to come along and play~"
"..."
And just like that, the trip to the beach was settled. The young girls, who had been effortlessly coaxed by Asaba Shinichi into joining their vacation, went home to pack their things, agreeing to meet back here in an hour.
Since they were all students of Segawa Private Academy, their families generally did not lack money. It wasn't their first time going on a spontaneous trip like this; in fact, they were quite used to it. As such, they knew there wasn't much to prepare. They just needed to grab a few changes of clothes, toss in some personal belongings, and pack beach essentials like swimsuits and sunscreen.
Naturally energetic and exceptionally quick to make friends, Oguri Aino didn't mind the sudden change of plans at all:
"What's the big deal? Weren't we already saying we should have a beach training camp before the summer vacation ends? Now the timing aligns perfectly, so isn't it great to go together? Besides, we have several super handsome men coming along, and most importantly, we get to travel with Rin-chan! Do you know how many people would kill to be in our shoes?"
Their group was currently on very good terms with Hoshino Rin. Naturally, a large part of this was due to Hoshino Rin being exceptionally skilled at interpersonal relationships. She had even given them tickets to the TKY02 concert a few days ago and invited them backstage.
Setting aside the fact that they already had a great impression of such a super beautiful, cute, and popular idol—and some of them were even hardcore fans of Hoshino Rin—even if they hadn't been, that backstage experience alone would have completely charmed them.
"I think Aino is absolutely right!" Suzuki Sawami said with a laugh. "And even if the two groups can't really hang out together, we can just do our own thing while they do theirs. We can just treat it as a free ride, right?"
...
—"So, which car should we take?"
Over an hour later, everyone had pretty much finished packing and gathered in the alley outside the Antique Shop with their respective suitcases. Parked right there were three cars.
The drivers were naturally Asaba Shinichi, Takasugi Yusuke, and Hoshino Gen.
Hoshino Gen was no longer driving without a license. His International Driving Permit had been air-freighted from America a few days ago. Takasugi Yusuke, having heard about Hoshino Gen's method of obtaining an international permit half a month prior, pulled some strings and got one for himself as well.
Because of this, they weren't worried about traffic police pulling them over on the road.
And of course, the reason Suzuki Sawami and the others were torn about which car to take wasn't because of driver's licenses... After all, based on their relationships, they were all Hoshino Gen's classmates. If possible, they naturally preferred to ride in Hoshino Gen's car.
But the problem was, unlike Asaba Shinichi who drove a commercial van, or even Takasugi Yusuke who was driving an SUV which could at least seat a few more people, Hoshino Gen had driven out in a Mercedes-Benz S600 sedan. Even if they squeezed into the back seat, the car could only fit a maximum of five people, including the driver...