"Sakura! Wrap this around your waist!!"
"Hm? Yugo-dono, why so suddenly...?"
Yugo stripped off the rash guard he was wearing and thrust it toward Sakura.
She stared back and forth between his face and the offered garment, her expression blank. Grunting at her lack of reaction, Yugo spoke with blunt honesty.
"Look, maybe it's a traditional Yamato swimsuit, but a girl walking around with her butt completely exposed is bad news! There are plenty of people here from outside the academy... so just use this to cover up for now, okay?"
"O-oh, so that was the reason. If Yugo-dono says so, it cannot be helped."
Finally convinced, Sakura accepted the jacket and tied it around her waist.
Yugo felt the stinging, resentful glares of the men who had been ogling Sakura, but he let out a sigh of relief now that the immediate crisis was managed. He turned back to his companions with a faint glimmer of hope.
"Hey. Does anyone happen to have a spare swimsuit?"
"I don't think so... and even if we did, the size wouldn't quite be right."
"Yeah, true..."
Without putting too fine a point on it, Sakura’s proportions were larger than Melt and Setsuna’s, but smaller than Anhel’s. Even in the unlikely event that the others had brought spares, it was doubtful Sakura could wear them comfortably.
"In that case, we'll just have to get a new one... Did the hotel sell them?"
"I think so? It's a resort area, so they should have a shop," Fee answered.
"Alright. Then let's go buy one, Sakura."
"Eh!?" Melt and Setsuna both cried out in shock.
After his brief exchange with Fee, Yugo’s casual suggestion that he and Sakura head back to the hotel together made the two girls groan in low, panicked voices. Confused by the sudden turn of events, they scrambled to restrain him.
"W-wait! There’s no need for you to go, Yugo! I think it would be much better if a girl accompanied her!"
"S-she’s right! It would be incredibly awkward for a guy like you to go shopping for women’s swimwear, wouldn't it?"
"If a group of girls moves around alone in a place like this, they’re just going to get harassed by pick-up artists, right? It’s safer for everyone if a 'bad bug repellent' like me tags along."
"Marcos! You follow Sakura and help her buy the swimsuit!"
"Leave me out of this! Do it yourselves!" Marcos snapped back, refusing to be roped into their drama.
"To have Yugo-dono choose a swimsuit for me... does this mean I shall be fashioned into a woman of Yugo-dono's personal preference? Even being told to hide my skin... is that not what is commonly known as 'I don't want to show you off to other men'? In other words, Yugo-dono must be smitten with me!"
"Sakura? Instead of interpreting things so conveniently, why don't you try looking at reality and common sense for once?" Setsuna sighed.
"...They’ve completely forgotten I'm even here," Anhel muttered to herself.
"Um, I'm sorry about Sakura-chan... If it's alright with you, shall I help apply your sunscreen?"
"Oh, yeah... I’m counting on you."
Anhel grumbled about being left out of the loop despite having been the center of attention just moments ago. She gratefully accepted Raiha’s sudden proposal and let the girl apply lotion to her back. While she did, Anhel struck up a conversation.
"Aren't you going to show off your swimsuit, Raiha? You’ve got a pretty impressive pair yourself, don't you?"
"No way. Compared to people like you, Anhel-san, I’m still just a child..."
"That’s not true at all! You look lovely in that swimsuit, Raiha-san! If you really showed it off, you’d have every one of those gentlemen of the sea staring at you! You think so too, right, Dear Brother!?"
"...Was there a specific reason to drag me into this?" Ryuga asked coldly.
Yui, having forced her way into Anhel and Raiha’s chat, passed the ball to her brother with equal force.
As Anhel and Yui offered Raiha silent cheers of encouragement, sensing a golden opportunity, the girl caught her breath. She looked up at Ryuga with timid, upturned eyes.
"...Would you like to see? Um, Ryuga-san... would you like to see me in my swimsuit...?"
Raiha squeezed out every ounce of her courage to ask the question. To any man with even a shred of sensitivity, it would have been a heart-pounding moment. Ryuga, however, merely narrowed his eyes with a look of pure confusion before giving his usual blunt response.
"...What are you talking about? Don't ask me such a stupid question."
"Ah...! You’re right. I’m very sorry..."
At his brusque dismissal, Raiha offered a pathetic apology and seemed to shrink into herself.
This guy is hopeless, Anhel thought, sighing at Ryuga’s disastrous lack of tact. His sister, meanwhile, puffed out her cheeks in a rage and delivered a sharp kick to his leg.
"De-ar Bro-ther! That was a horrible way to say it! Honestly!!"
"Stop it, Yui. You’re getting my clothes dirty."
Unsure if her brother was truly that dense or simply pretending to be, Yui continued to vent her frustrations. Anhel, meanwhile, turned her attention to the dejected Raiha.
"Don't let it get to you. It’s not your fault."
"No... just as Ryuga-san said, it was a stupid question... I think I was being far too familiar."
"It’s fine to be a little familiar, isn't it? Even if things are awkward or there's some history between you, you have to close the distance and talk if you ever want things to change."
"..."
Seeing Raiha’s gloomy expression, Anhel gave a wry smile, realizing this group had its own complicated problems.
She found herself wishing she could borrow some of the noisy energy from Yugo's group, but her thoughts were suddenly cut short. A piercing scream, sharp enough to tear through the carefree seaside atmosphere, echoed across the beach.