Chapter 140: Splashes (Part 2)
"I can't anymore... Ah, I'm exhausted."
Nijika collapsed onto the ground.
She had played so intensely that she only noticed her energy was depleted when her excitement began to wane.
Stumbling onto the beach, she had no strength left to move and walked directly to the mat where Ishikawa Hayato and the others had been sitting, then laid down on it.
Beside her, Hitori and Ryo were already lying down, their heads touching, leaning weakly against each other.
Their eyes had completely lost their luster, and one could even vaguely see their souls about to break free from their bodies and fly away.
Nijika rested for a while, regained a little strength, then laboriously turned her head to look at Kita, who was still constantly exclaiming while holding a camera, shouting, "Ishikawa-kun, one more splash, one more splash!"
After another mass of seawater was flung into the sky, Kita let out a surprised cry of "Ah!" and happily took photos.
Nijika sighed.
"Kita-chan is really full of energy..."
Next to her, only two murmurs responded.
Not long after, Kita and Ishikawa Hayato, having had enough fun, also returned to shore.
Looking at the three people sprawled on the mat, Kita called out with some difficulty.
"Everyone, today has only just begun. Please cheer up..."
On the other side, Ishikawa Hayato, who was pushing the small cart he had left behind back towards the sandy area, intervened.
"Let them rest for a bit."
On the sand, he pushed the cart as steadily as if on flat ground.
Stopping at a suitable spot, he found something for Kita to do.
"Kita, let's set up the beach chairs and parasols together."
"Okay~"
Kita quickly went to help.
Soon, five beach chairs and parasols were set up on the beach.
Kita sighed in relief looking at the finished beach chairs.
She then looked back at the three slumped figures.
Nijika and Hitori were still lying quietly, seemingly starting to doze off, while Ryo, like a traveler about to die of thirst in the desert, twisted and crawled towards the beach chairs.
"Ch-chair..."
In the past, Kita might have happily run over and said, “Ryo-senpai, let me help you over."
But at this moment, for some reason, looking at the current Ryo crawling, she felt an indescribable resistance.
However, it was only a momentary hesitatation.
She still walked over to help Ryo out.
"Ryo-senpai, you'll scratch your skin crawling like that."
She said, helping Ryo-senpai up and guiding her to the beach chair, assisting her in lying down.
As soon as she laid down, Ryo's expression relaxed, as if her last wish had been fulfilled, and she closed her eyes peacefully.
"Ryo-senpai!!"
This scared Kita, who vigorously shook Ryo.
After a long while, Ryo barely opened her eyes, looking at her with displeasure.
Kita gave an awkward smile.
She looked back, preparing to move the other two over as well.
They had applied sunscreen before coming out, but no sunscreen could withstand the direct scorching sun, and lying on the stuffy sand made it very difficult to recover energy.
Just as she turned around, she suddenly noticed that Ishikawa Hayato was gone.
Kita looked around.
Soon, she saw Ishikawa Hayato's figure on the path they had come from.
He was carrying several buckets of water and walking over.
He looked this way and spoke first.
"Ah, Ryo is already lying down."
He carried the water with swift steps, quickly placing the buckets on the beach.
"Ishikawa-kun, what is this?"
Kita asked, looking at the buckets of water in front of her with confusion.
"Ryo said the seawater would make her sticky, so I went and got a few buckets of water for you all to rinse off. I also brought shampoo."
Ishikawa Hayato said, also pulling out the shampoo tucked under his arm.
"Oh... you're quite thoughtful."
Kita hadn't noticed earlier, but now that Ishikawa Hayato mentioned it, she did feel that her hair and body were a bit sticky after drying in the sun.
"When you drag people into the sea, you naturally have to be prepared to help wash off the seawater," he said with a smile, then, after a moment's thought, proudly added,
"This is what I, Ishikawa Hayato, say!"
Kita looked at him, stunneded for a moment, then snorted and turned away.
"As long as you're not harboring any lewd thoughts."
But contrary to what she said, what she thought was, 'If Hayato-kun had this kind of responsibility when it came to not being a playboy, that would be great.'
Hearing the commotion, especially hearing that Ishikawa Hayato had brought water to help them wash off the sticky seawater, Nijika and Ryo struggled to look up, and then, the two who could still muster some strength climbed up from the ground/chair.
"Hayato-kun, thank you~"
Nijika staggered over, expressing her gratitude.
Ryo-senpai also let out a soft "Mm" of satisfaction, then sat by the water bucket, resting briefly.
Subsequently, the three who were preparing to rinse off the seawater noticed something.
"Hayato-kun, could you please turn around?"
Although Nijika didn't have much strength left, she tried her best to smile, pleading with Ishikawa Hayato, who had been staring at them.
Ishikawa Hayato tilted his head in thought, then suddenly revealed a lewd smile.
Just as Nijika was about to get angry, and Kita's face showed an expression of 'I can't stand this person,' he stopped his teasing.
"I'll take this bucket over to Bocchi. She might not be able to crawl over."
He smiled and turned his back.
At Hitori's side, Ishikawa Hayato didn't look back despite hearing occasional splashing sounds from behind.
He asked Hitori, who was lying on the ground,
"Hitori, can you still wash yourself?"
Hitori heard Ishikawa Hayato's voice, and an awkward smile appeared on her perpetually self-pitying face.
"My arms won't lift..."
"Then do you want me to help?"
"Eh eh eh eh!?" Hitori looked at Ishikawa Hayato, her pupils shaking incessantly, but after only a slight hesitation, she said,
"Pl-please."
Of course, while it was called 'helping to wash the body,' it certainly didn't mean taking off their swimsuits to wash. Ishikawa Hayato believed that the three dumbfounded people behind him would certainly not take them off either.
They would probably just wash their hair, then wet a towel, lightly rinse their bodies, wipe themselves again, and finally pour all the water over themselves and dry off.
He certainly couldn't, in front of the three people behind him, actually wipe Hitori's body with a towel.
Ishikawa Hayato first helped Hitori undo her tied-up hair, then poured water over it, squeezed on shower gel, and patiently washed her long hair.
"Is it too heavy?"
He suddenly asked as he massaged Hitori's hair.
"Ah, no, it's just right..." Hitori answered in a panic.
"Is that the truth?"
"Mm..."
Hitori lowered her head slightly.
Since elementary school, she hadn't needed her mother to help her wash her hair.
Although her hair was short back then, even after it grew long, she always washed it herself.
And she didn't dare to go to a beauty salon.
For so long, Ishikawa Hayato was the first person not related by blood who touched her hair like this.
As soon as she thought of this, she felt the tingling sensation from her hair being massaged even more clearly, that electric current coursing through her body.
She tried hard not to cry out.
Washing long hair was very troublesome and required a lot of time.
During this time, Hitori went from sitting with bent legs to sitting with her legs hugged, and finally, her calves and thighs were completely pressed together, her heels even touching her upper thighs.
...
"I feel like Bocchi is going to break."
Nijika said softly, washing her hair while looking at the two in the distance.
Kita casually said, wiping her body with a towel,
"Hmm... well, it's best not to get involved in the matters between Hayato-kun and Gotou-san."
Hearing her words, Nijika and Ryo didn't initially feel anything amiss.
They paused for two beats before looking at her simultaneously.
They were surprised in their hearts, repeating Kita's address for Ishikawa Hayato.
"Hayato-kun?"
Although they didn't say it aloud, their astonished gazes had already been conveyed to Kita.
Kita froze for a moment, then immediately reacted, hurriedly calling out in a panic,
"Ah ah ah, um, that... I-I accidentally said it wrong."
"Why are you so nervous?" Ryo asked calmly.
"Ah ah ah ah ah..."
Realizing she was only making things worse, Kita instantly froze in place, her features contorted like like how Hitori would.
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