14 - The shadows of the two dyed in the sunset (Patreon)

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At three o'clock, there is the promised event at the promised time.

“Right! Right!”
“Straight ahead!”

That is the watermelon splitting.

This is an event without winners or losers, just pure enjoyment of watermelon splitting. The good point is that both the people doing the splitting and the people giving instructions can lightheartedly participate.
One person will split the watermelon, and the rest give instructions. Due to such an unbalanced cast, there are various wildly different instructions. When contradictory instructions are given, the one moving can't help but be anxious of what to do.

I think some people are probably giving wrong instructions for fun. Also, If the watermelon doesn't break, the next person has to take over, so it's possible that they are lying in order to get the next person to take over.

Ah, he hit the watermelon on the right side. The watermelon is still alive and well without any scratch.
The next person will take over.

“Alright, Next is Kazuki!”
“Eh? Me?”
“Damn right!”

For some reason, Tadashi hands me a wooden bat and blindfolds me.
I feel like there should be people waiting for their turn, but it seems everyone's turn ended while I was randomly passing time. Therefore, it was passed on to the only person left, me.

Being blindfolded makes me feel anxious... If I drop this bat, I probably won't be able to even pick it up.

“Well then, spin around ten times.”

I spin around ten times, using the bat as a support.
But, since I was blindfolded, I couldn't tell if I was actually spinning ten times. Well, what’s important is dulling my sense of direction, so it doesn't really matter how many times I spin around.

“Straight ahead! Straight ahead!”
“Go right!”
“Left—!”

As I take my stance, instructions and jeering start flying in from my surroundings. I don't know what to trust because there are already conflicting instructions.
For now, I take one step. The distance from where I was spinning to the watermelon was about ten steps, so at least I won't trust the one who's telling me to “hit it now!” after this.

That said, there are more people who give serious instructions than people who lie, so if I just follow the instructions of the majority, I should be fine to some extent.
Little by little, step by step, I make my way forward. Because I'm blindfolded, I feel like I'm going to trip over the sand and fall. I don't want to fall down while being blindfolded...

“There!”
“A bit to the right!”
“Right!”

Hmm, maybe a little to the right. I don't know if I should move to the right or spin to the right, but there is no doubt it’s the right side.

“Hit it!”
“Right!”
“You passed it!”

Guh, I'm starting to get a little confused.

The instructions are generally the same until I get close to the watermelon.
However, once I get close enough to hit the watermelon, the instructions easily become jumbled because the way things are seen differs slightly depending on the person watching. Moreover, with nearly 30 people giving instructions, I couldn't tell who was shouting from where.

What to do... It's not like I have to split it, but I think I should try...

“Nakano-kun! Left!”

At that time, I heard a voice. It's Hiuri's voice.
Perhaps because I listen to it all the time, I could hear it very well.

Hiuri doesn't lie in these situations, so I trust her and move a little.
Then, Hiuri instructed me to hit there, so I hit it with all my might. If I hesitate, the recoil will hurt my arm, so I hit it with all my strength...!

“Oryaa!!”

A dull sound. At the same time, the surroundings are buzzing.

I take off my blindfold. There, I see a watermelon that has been split into large pieces.

...

I ended up getting the big piece of the split watermelon. A prize for splitting it... probably something like that.

“Man, as expected from Kazuki!”
“Thank you.”

Hiuri saved me in the end, but somehow, I managed to split the watermelon.
Up until now, I haven't had many friends other than Tadashi, but I feel like I've gotten to know more people just today. I hope that in the future, they won’t kill me with their gaze just for talking to Hiuri in the classroom.

“Well then, let's go home after we eat the watermelon.”
“Right—”
“I’m tired—”
“Sleepy—”

It looks like we’ll disband after eating the watermelon.

We properly put the remains of the watermelon we’ve eaten in a garbage bag, other than that, we check to make sure we haven’t dirtied anything. We also don’t forget to check if we have forgotten anything.
The trash problem on the beach is quite serious, so we need to set the standard in things like this.

Once that's done, all that's left to do is change clothes.
The shower at this beach is the type where you can use the shower for 2 minutes if you put 10 yen in it. Depending on the location, it could be free or it could be more expensive, so you can say it's a standard price.

We change clothes.
Even though I took a shower, I still feel sticky from the seawater. When I get home, I need to thoroughly wash my whole body. If I don’t, I'll have a hard time sleeping.

“Thank you for your hard work. Everyone should go home.”

Tadashi called out while we’re at the same meeting place as this morning.

I go home by train from here, but some have their parents pick them up, and some live within walking distance from here, so we disband at the beach.

“Kazuki, see you later. I'll contact you again during summer vacation.”

...

In a different place, in the dream.

“How was it, Kazuki-kun? My swimsuit.”
“It was really cute.”

Hiuri and I are sitting on the shore at the beach we went to today. Both of us are still in our casual clothes.

Looking at her again, it looks like Hiuri was slightly sunburnt. Her skin is usually white, but it seems like it's turned a little red. Or rather, so it is reflected in the dream...

“Aren’t you also sunburnt, Kazuki-kun? Didn't it hurt when you washed your body?”
“Eh? I didn't notice it myself.”

Maybe I'm just the type who doesn't feel too much pain even when I get sunburnt. They say there are differences in the way people get sunburnt, so it wouldn’t be weird even if I was different in that regard.

“Anyway, I'm satisfied that I was able to properly show Kazuki-kun my swimsuit.”
“Yeah, I'm happy too. But I was surprised because you showed it more directly than I expected.”
“Me too. How I show it is up to the real life me after all... I didn't specify how to show it to Kazuki-kun.”

Even for Hiuri, it seemed that she hadn't expected herself to make such a bold move.
I thought it was the accumulated result of the dream... maybe that's really the case. Or maybe there was a change in Hiuri's thoughts in real life?

“I guess you won’t show me your swimsuits here.”
“Because I'm worried about whether I'll be able to properly wear the swimsuit that Kazuki-kun made. You've never even touched a girl's swimsuit before, so would you really be able to make it properly?”

That’s... I don't really know.

There is more or less a correction in the dream, if I imagine it, the clothes I created will change to fit Hiuri's size on their own, but when it comes to swimsuits, any mistake would be a big problem, so we certainly shouldn't test it too carelessly...

“Well, that... no, it's nothing.” (Hiuri)
“Nn? Well, whatever. Come to think of it...”

Hiuri and I talked on the beach at sunset. About today's happenings at the beach and about what happened after.

――――

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