Head Over Heels From The Scarf I Lent Her Chapter 19

The school a.s.sembly marked the end of the first term, plunging the students into summer vacation. Students got two months off, but also two months’ worth of homework.

Right after the a.s.sembly finished, Amane summoned Tooru again, though this time without any violence. It seems like the faculty admonished her for not stopping the fight. Serves her right.

“Tell me what your summer plans are.”
“Hmm, I don’t think I will. There’s no reason for me to.”

Not only did Tooru not have a single reason to tell her anything, it would be a headache if she laid an ambush. Amane clicked her tongue at him before leaving in frustration. There was no reason to go easy on her and so she simply turned her back on him.

Since it was summer break, Satsuki had housework and homework to care of and so she apologized for not being able to visit until the evening. That’s no surprise. Plus, Tooru has work during the day and so it’d be more convenient to meet up afterwards for him too.
It was a little funny how it was a given that Satsuki will visit. But they don’t do anything that would make them feel guilty, so there was no need to say anything about it.

Tooru was taking a break when he went through his notifications. He had two from Jun.
It was a very simple message comprised of a sticker and a line of text.

‘Let’s go to the beach!’

It took a two-hour train ride to get to their destination. The sea was so close, they could see it from the station. The salty breeze was refres.h.i.+ng too. It was a little humid, but they were right by the water after all.
Akane was in high spirits and Satsuki had a cheery smile on her face as well. She wore the dress they all bought together. The boys couldn’t take their eyes off of her.

“Uhh, boys? What are you trying to say about me?”
“Yeah, you’re cute too, Akane.”
“Ugh, you’re such a bad liar.”

Jun clasps his hands together and b.u.t.tered her up since she was now totally sulking. Those two seemed even closer than before.
Putting that aside, it’s been nearly a decade since Tooru has been to the beach. The last time was probably when he was still in elementary school. He has faint recollections of frolicking and having packed lunches with his parents at some other beach.
Satsuki called to him while he was lost in nostalgia.

“Are you alright? We’re about to get left behind.”
“Oh, uhh, right. Let’s get a move on.”

No time to be s.p.a.cing out. It was Tooru’s first time here, but he still had a duty to watch over Akane and Satsuki. The two of them chased up to Jun and Akane.

After ten minutes of navigating with a map, they finally arrived at the designated swimming spot. There were plenty of parents with their kids, but also a few people their own age as well.
It seems like it was Satsuki’s first time to any beach. The soft, white sand leading to an emerald sea would be prime location for a resort. By the looks of it, all of this made Satsuki very happy.
She rushed from the sidewalk down to the sand, ran for a moment, then turned back to the other three.

“It’s the sea!”

Tooru was relieved to see Satsuki floating on cloud nine. It was worth carrying all of these incredibly heavy bags and being shaken by the two-hour train ride. Satsuki was innocent than she looked, and it warmed his heart.
Jun followed suit and Akane ran over to Satsuki’s side as well. Tooru was more than satisfied with seeing this scene but he still followed behind.

After spending another few minutes to set up the parasol and the tarp, Tooru finally heaved a big sigh. The beach umbrella and the mat were gladly lent out by Jun’s family which Tooru gratefully accepted.
The summer sun shone brightly, casting a shadow under the parasol. The sand underneath was still hot, but the cool shade was definitely welcomed.

“It’s so hot! Satsuki, let’s go get changed!”
“Okay!”

Those words between Akane and Satsuki could not be overlooked.
Bikinis. The boys were drooling already. Both girls had great figures that the boys couldn’t help but antic.i.p.ate.

“I didn’t know you brought your swimsuit, Akane!”

Jun immediately blurted out without second thought. Akane sent a cold glare at him before quipping back at the brainless chimpanzee. Her eyes even gave Tooru the s.h.i.+vers.

“What are you thinking, Jun? You creep.”
“Naw, Akane, any guy would instinctually react like this. Wouldn’t it be worse if I didn’t react to your swimsuit at all?”
“… you have a point.”

Hearing her agreeing made Tooru realize he still doesn’t understand women.
Wondering if Satsuki felt the same, he looked over to her to find her slightly red and looking a little uncomfortable.

“Satsuki?”
“N-No, I…”

Satsuki was finding her words when Akane put her hand on Satsuki’s shoulder.

“Hehe. We secretly bought our swimsuits last time we went shopping, right, Satsuki?”
“Umm…”
“For real, Satsuki?”
“… yes.”

Her heart raced in embarra.s.sment as she responded. Akane must have got her to buy her swimsuit antic.i.p.ating something like this might happen. The boys were tired by the end of the trip, so that’s probably how the slipped under the radar.

More important, how did Satsuki take that idea? She was just planning to buy everyday clothes and not a swimsuit, surely. Tooru wasn’t vigilant enough that day. This might backfire on them. Hoping to get him to keep quiet, Tooru lightly shoved Jun’s head and then carefully picked his words.

“Gotcha. While you two get changed, we’ll keep an eye out, so don’t worry.”
“See, Tooru gets it. Now, let’s go, Satsuki!”
“O-Okay…!”

Akane grabs Satsuki’s hand, dragging her to the changing booths. Tooru sees them off and slaps Jun square on his back, pumping up each other.

Akane showed up in a bikini while Satsuki did so with a tankini-length one-piece swimsuit.
It fitted them both perfectly. Akane’s emphasized her curves whereas Satsuki’s matched her pet.i.te frame perfectly. Tooru stepped on Jun’s foot to keep him in check and then gave the girls a thumbs-up.

“I didn’t expect you two to look this perfect.”
“Hehe. I went on a diet just for this moment, y’know?”
“I didn’t do anything in particular, but… I’m very happy to hear you think it suits me well.”

What an extravagance it was to have two beauties at his side. Tooru couldn’t help but think so.

Satsuki stepped closer to Tooru and then looked up at him with puppy eyes. Combined with her slightly flushed cheeks, it’s almost as if she were casting a magic spell on him.

“So, what do you think?”

Her innocent question added to her allure. There’s definitely no mistaking that it looked great on her, but her magnetism was also compounded by her immaturity. His eyes fell down to his feet as he subconsciously gulped.
While Tooru was scrambling for words, Akane, too, stepped closer with her chest held high. Oh, no, don’t do this to me. You two are evil.

“Satsuki is asking you for your opinion. You should really respond to her.”
“Tooru’s a bit naïve, so it’s hard for him to find the right words. Y’know last year, I invited him out to the beach too, but he found his job and homework to be more important.”
“What, for real?! You only get three chances at summer as a high school student! What a waste!”

Tooru was real thankful to Jun for changing the subject. If not, the combined appeal of both girls would have forced him to run away.

“Ahem… umm, Satsuki, it looks really good on you. You look very cute.”

Satsuki’s anxiety was wiped clean after hearing his response. Was he glad he said the right thing. He quickly apologized to Jun and let go of his foot but went kept slapping him on the back.
But there’s more to the beach than just swimsuits. The real deal is coming right up. That’s right—there’s nothing like having fun on the beach.

Akane and Satsuki were by the sh.o.r.e splas.h.i.+ng each other with water. Jun went over to join in but was met with a kick into the sea. Tooru s.h.i.+elded his eyes as he looked up into the sky.
They got here at about 11:00, just as the sun began to really blast down with heat. Lunch was in the cooler in case they get hungry.

He looked back down but saw only familiar long hair, which he a.s.sumed to be Satsuki’s.
Akane and Jun suddenly got into a good mood, but it seems like Satsuki didn’t really feel it, so she walked over here.

“What’s wrong, Satsuki? Can’t keep up with them?”
“Well, a little bit of that… but I was wondering why you weren’t joining in as well.”

Ah, he thought.
She’s right. Tooru hasn’t been running around with them ever since they arrived. He had only been watching over the three of them from under the shade of the parasol.

“But someone’s gotta watch our belongings.”
“I can do that. You should go and have fun too.”

Well, you’ve got a point, but— was all he could get out before she tugged him by his hand.
It was the first time Satsuki grabbed his hand, making his chest thump. Her hands were so soft and so small.

But it wouldn’t make sense to tell her to watch the stuff when after all, they organized this so that Satsuki could hang out and play. Wasn’t there a better way to approach this?
Then suddenly, a stroke of genius came to Tooru. He walked over to the two of them flirting by the sh.o.r.e and pointed his thumb back to the parasol.

“If y’all are gonna flirt, do it there.”
“W-We weren’t flirting…!”
“Th-That’s right. We were just arguing is all…!”
“Oh, sure. Aren’t you two in sync? Well, right now, Satsuki can’t enjoy the beach, so switch up with her.”

The two of them immediately understood and gladly went over to the parasol. Tooru watched them go over there, but he also went over to lead Satsuki by the hand.

“Wanna hang out with me?”

Tooru asked so kindly and Satsuki agreed with a hint of embarra.s.sment. Then, Tooru and Satsuki went over by the sh.o.r.e, dipping their toes in the cool seawater.
From out of nowhere, Tooru was showered by that very cool seawater. Looking behind him revealed Satsuki ready to splash him once again.

“It’s nice and cool, isn’t it?”

Then comes another splash.
Her long, flowing hair was pushed around by a breeze, clinging to her body and emphasizing the contour of her pet.i.te body. As if to hide the pounding in his chest, he gets her back with a splash.

Her giggling made her seem more innocent than ever and after hearing it, Tooru got absorbed in it. Surely, Satsuki is losing herself in play too.
The rays of the summer sun lit up the two of them.

“Are they sure they’re not going out already?”
“Totally. But more importantly, Akane…”
“Hmm?”

Akane sat up from the tarp and affectionately looked at Jun, a look that she’s never shown him in front of Tooru and Satsuki.
Jun fixed his gaze to the two by the sh.o.r.e but spoke to Akane.

“We should too.”
“… heh.”
“That’s it? But I summoned up all my courage to say that to you.”
“Couldn’t you tell by the way I laughed, dummy?”

She stood up and with one hand holding on to him, Akane leaned her face into Jun’s.

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