Chapter 21
Far from celebrating Obon in the traditional fashion, the beach is packed with people.
After all, to modern people, a holiday like this is just a long vacation.
The same goes for Miyuki's family.
“Matsuda-kun.”
“What?”
I turned at Miyuki's voice from behind me and was startled.
It was Kana standing there instead of Miyuki.
“W-what the...?”
Her voice had definitely been different in the car, but now it was exactly the same as Miyuki's.
When she saw how flustered I was, Kana burst out laughing and walked away.
Miyuki looked at Kana as if she were beyond stopping, then approached me.
“My sister's pranks get a little out of hand... I'm sorry. Tetsuya-kun has been on the receiving end plenty of times, too.”
“Is that woman a voice actress?”
“No, but... she's been like that since we were little.”
Unlike Miyuki, she seemed to be the mischievous type.
Would a threesome with two Miyukis be possible if things were like that?
Not bad...
“Isn't the ocean beautiful? I feel great...”
Miyuki spread her arms, closed her eyes, and let the sea breeze wash over her.
The headwind pushed her T-shirt and skirt sharply backward, fully revealing her figure.
Her breasts were insane no matter how many times I saw them. A slim waist and wide hips, too...
Especially that mons pubis protruding slightly below her Y-zone... It was incredibly arousing.
“Matsuda-kun! Come eat some watermelon!”
I snapped out of it at Midori's call and lightly tapped Miyuki on the shoulder.
“Let's go eat watermelon.”
“Okay.”
I sat on a mat in the sand with Miyuki's family and ate various foods.
Tetsuya must be somewhere not far from here.
He was probably contacting Miyuki nonstop by now, but unfortunately for him, she hadn't even thought about checking her phone.
“Matsuda-kun, why are you being so timid? Is it because you're with my family? Act like you usually do.”
She was simply enjoying teasing me.
I glanced sideways at Miyuki as she whispered right by my ear, then slipped my hand behind my back so the others wouldn't see.
Then I pressed down on her back with a little force.
It was a gesture telling her to stop.
Miyuki noticed what I meant, grinned smugly, and stood up.
“Matsuda-kun, aren't you going swimming?”
“Now? I'll let my food digest first...”
“You can let it digest while you play. You always do that.”
“When have I ever...”
“If you're not going now, could you watch our things here? My sister and I are going to change clothes.”
“Go ahead.”
Miyuki took her swimsuit and headed for the changing room with Kana.
Wataru clicked his tongue as he watched her walk away.
“That girl... How rude...”
“Miyuki seems more excited than usual. I'm sorry. Matsuda-kun, you should go swimming too.”
At Midori's apology, I shook my head with somewhat exaggerated gestures.
“Not at all. I wasn't planning to swim. I only came to enjoy the sea breeze. I'll just watch all our things here. You two go have fun, too.”
“We didn't really come to go into the ocean, either. I guess Matsuda-kun enjoys taking in the scenery like we do?”
“Rather than enjoying it... I was bored at home by myself during the holiday...”
I chatted with Wataru and Midori until Kana and Miyuki finished changing and approached us, then I turned my head.
The two of them were wearing ordinary beachwear.
Shorts that looked like skirts, along with long-sleeved zip-up cover-ups.
I wanted to see Miyuki wearing a bikini, but she had no particular interest in showing off her figure.
Kana seemed to be the same... I suppose blood really does tell.
Still, it was nice to be able to see Miyuki's snow-white thighs.
“You're really not coming?”
Miyuki asked while lightly bouncing the beach ball she'd borrowed against my back.
I was glad she felt comfortable around me.
Play around as much as you like. You'll be sobbing and thanking me later.
“I'm not going. If you're going to play with the ball, stretch first.”
“We'll get warmed up naturally while playing. We aren't going into deep water, so it'll be fine. We'll be going, then, so come find us if you get bored. Okay?”
I figured she'd ignore my warning.
Your disregard for safety is really on a roll today.
Miyuki waved brightly and soon headed toward the ocean with Kana.
**
I excused myself to Midori and Wataru and walked along the beach.
I didn't just wander around aimlessly; I kept close enough to check on Miyuki and Kana with my own eyes while they played by tossing the ball back and forth excitedly.
There was a spot at this beach where the water suddenly became deep.
Lifeguards usually patrolled the area and stopped people from heading there, but there was no way a limited number of them could control such a large beach and so many people.
The event would trigger when the lifeguard was somewhere else and Kana threw the ball a long distance away.
Miyuki would go after it, get a cramp in her leg, and fall into the deep water.
It was a dangerous event. She could drown if things went wrong.
But that would never happen.
Even if I did nothing, a lifeguard would spot Miyuki and save her before her condition became serious.
Her affection rating wouldn't drop just because I stayed still, either.
Of course, I wasn't going to just stand by.
I'd joined this event to tug Miyuki's feelings firmly toward me.
After checking the event items scattered around nearby, I pretended to stroll along the beach while circling near Miyuki and Kana.
Tetsuya... I could see him over there in the distance.
He seemed to be taking a walk like me, but he'd spot Miyuki a little while after the event began.
The time was almost here...
As I watched the clock and went through the mental rehearsals I'd done dozens, even hundreds, of times,
Thump!
“Sis...! What are you doing...!”
I tensed at the faint sound of a whining voice from far away.
It had started.
Miyuki approached to retrieve the ball as it was swept away by a shallow wave.
The people around her were too busy playing, while Kana had taken her eyes off Miyuki to watch seagulls floating on the water.
Tetsuya would spot Miyuki after a little more time had passed, and when he saw that her head was turned away, he'd realize how serious the situation was...
For now, I was the only one watching her.
The ball was moving away fairly quickly, so Miyuki soon began swimming.
As she swam toward the ball with an awkward freestyle stroke, her head slipped beneath the water just as she nearly reached it.
After that, it kept popping back out and submerging.
‘Now.’
The instant I saw that, I grabbed a pink children's float someone had used and a life jacket and sprinted with all my might.
“Huh!? Mom!”
I heard the startled cry of a little kid resting behind me.
The child seemed to think I was stealing the float and running away.
Don't be such a scaredy-cat... I'll pay its full price later, punk.
When the water reached my waist, the resistance gradually slowed my running speed.
The closer I got to Miyuki, the more clearly I could see her pained expression as she intermittently rose above and sank beneath the surface.
Even if this was all for the sake of the event, I hated seeing Miyuki in pain...
I should've stayed nearby and rescued her the instant she fell in while we were playing together. Why had I stayed so far away?
I shouted for Kana, who was looking around, with all my strength.
“Sis! Sis!!”
Kana turned her head toward me.
“Huh...? What? Matsuda-kun?”
“Call the lifeguard!”
I pointed toward Miyuki, tossed the life jacket and float down near her, and dove into the seawater.
Splash!
Then I swam toward Miyuki, squeezing every last bit of strength from my body.
“Cough! Hrk...!”
Miyuki had swallowed seawater and was choking as she looked at me approaching.
A tiny glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes, which had been filled with suffering.
I barely managed to grab the edge of the drifting float and threw it with all the concentration I could muster.
The float landed right beside Miyuki with a plop.
Miyuki instinctively reached out, and her hand touched the float.
It was a perfect slider. With that kind of velocity, I could even place at nationals.
After securing the life jacket, I came right up to Miyuki, righted the float that was on the verge of flipping over, and was about to ask whether she was all right.
But instead of grabbing the float, she grabbed my head when it came right in front of her, and I sank beneath the water.
Miyuki's survival instinct had awakened, giving her incredible strength.
She was so strong that I couldn't break free and surface.
To make matters worse, I even lost hold of the life jacket.
‘Ah... fuck...’
I finally understood why they said it was dangerous to approach drowning victims directly in order to rescue them.
I had approached far too hastily.
I didn't even have time to enjoy the feel of Miyuki's voluptuous breasts.
At this rate, I was going to die first.
I should have put on the life jacket before approaching her, but seeing Miyuki's expression had made me panic, and I'd done something idiotic.
Using every last bit of strength I had, I pushed Miyuki's pelvis away and, fortunately, managed to get free of her.
Then I grabbed Miyuki from behind as she thrashed one leg about, wrapped my arms around her butt and back, and lifted her with all my strength.
Miyuki floated horizontally on the surface.
Beneath the water, I could faintly see the life jacket floating near her.
But opening my eyes underwater made them sting like hell.
I guided Miyuki toward the jacket, and her flailing arm grabbed it.
After confirming that Miyuki's struggles had eased somewhat, I held her up and stayed still.
I was trying to let her put on the life jacket herself.
Before long, I felt Miyuki's body become buoyant as she calmed down considerably.
She'd put on the life jacket.
Relieved, I slowly moved out from behind Miyuki.
“Pwaaah!”
After exhaling the breath I'd been holding, I watched Miyuki continue coughing and spitting water as she reached behind her and tried to grab my head.
She's doing it again. I understood that she was scared, but trying to take me down with her was too much.
I smacked Miyuki hard on the forehead with my palm.
Smack!
“Cough... Huaaak! Cough!”
There was a scream mixed into her coughing, which was somehow funny.
Thwack!
I gave her forehead a sharp flick, half worried and half angry, then said,
“Stay still... Haa... you idiot... Are you trying to kill me too? I'm going to... drag you back now... so please just stay like that... Got it?”
“Huuhek... Cough...”
Miyuki, who was still coughing up seawater, gave a small nod.
She listens once she's been hit. A little discipline really is necessary.
I held Miyuki by the armpits and moved toward shore as slowly as possible.
Wasn't this one of the techniques lifeguards used?
I'd watched plenty of videos about it online just in case, but I never expected it to come naturally in an emergency...
The protagonist's power is pretty sweet.
We were soon rescued by lifeguards who came over after Kana called for them.
Compared to all the commotion, Miyuki's condition was so mild that she didn't even qualify as a Grade 1 drowning victim.
Knowing that very well, I left Miyuki coughing on the boat and looked around.
Perhaps because Kana had been squawking so loudly, people were gathering around in small groups.
Among them was Tetsuya, staring at the boat with concern in his eyes.
What a pathetic bastard... He realized Miyuki was drowning, but he couldn't do anything because of me, huh?
After laughing at him inwardly to my heart's content, I lay down with my back against the boat.
Miyuki, tears brimming in her eyes as she clutched her throat, crawled toward me.
Was she trying to hug me?
Just as I was thinking that,
“Cough!”
When a loud cough sent water spraying from Miyuki's mouth straight toward my face, I quickly moved my head.
The warm water brushed past my ear.
My reflexes are insane... Maybe I should aim for a sports university.
Wait, wasn't that supposed to be my reward?
I dodged it for no reason.
I smacked my lips regretfully, then flopped down on the boat as the lifeguards calmed Miyuki down.
That brought the summer vacation event to an end.
Now let's enjoy the aftermath and wait until school starts again.