Chapter 64: Gal Cooking

“You’re really good at this.” Ishi couldn’t help but compliment Ryugi as she fired up their food. “Kind of wish you didn’t need me to ‘encourage’ you to do this.”

“My parents already make me do a lot of stuff when I’m home.” That was the reason for why she seemed to be talented in so many things. “You’re not my dad, so I don’t need you telling me what to do.”

“I also don’t need you pulling me around, so I guess that makes neither of us happy.” Still, standing by the grill wasn’t all bad. After all, the food smelled amazing. Ishi’s stomach growled from the excitement of being able to chow down on some scrumptious ribs along with the grilled peppers sitting next to them. “Did you really just want to torture me here because I suggested you man the grill?”

“Well, maybe you should pay attention and learn how to do it too.” She playfully tapped him on the head. “You always brag about how smart you are. How about you try it and we can take turns.” That was… A lot more logical of a thought than he ever expected her to form. Ryugi had a good idea and that ended up being a good motivating factor for him to stick around.

“Then maybe the students here would love if I was the one to deliver their food.” Chiana made her arrival known as they finished off the first servings of grilled meat. “That way you two can put your full focus on staying safe.”

“I’d like to help too.” Youna meagerly came up to them. Since Ishi had been busy cooking, she was kind of on her own since Rinse was also getting swamped by the fans. As much as she’d rather just stick next to him, the smoke from the grill was very aggravating to her eyes. Plus that fire looked very hot and she didn’t want to get burned, no matter how unlikely.

“That’s wonderful.” Chiana responded. “Some help is always welcomed around here.” The way she spoke made it seem like she was giving out lessons for young children. While that certainly worked out pretty well in terms of her own career, since certainly she had her elementary aged fans. Ishi found it hard to believe that Chinae actually believed in what she was saying in this persona. Actually, it was strange to think how easily she fit into this personality of ‘Chiana’, who was supposed to be her sister.

Who was this girl really? Perhaps people at school had her all wrong all along. Sure, that was due to the way she acted in order to hide her identity. Except, just how much of the version she was at school an act of its own?

“...And that’s how you work the propane.” Ryugi finished her explanation for Ishi to be able to properly grill without supervision. “See, once you get a handle of it. Things aren’t that hard at all.”

“You’re certainly not wrong about that.” He said, flipping over a couple of the pork chops. “Though it feels like you’re a lot better with handling how long to keep the meat cooking.”

“Hehe.” She giggled. “Just keep complimenting me.” Despite not initially wanting to do this, Ryugi was beaming with pride about her clear ability over everyone else.

“Don’t push it.” He glared at her. “Just because you’re one of the most popular girls doesn’t mean you need to be so full of yourself.”

“I like to think of that as part of my charm.” She paid no mind to his poor reaction. “Besides, you’re the one who’s always saying to be more honest.”

“There’s a difference between me saying you should be yourself, and me actually liking what that means.” He responded, then looked at her funny. “Ah wait, just hold still.”

“Hmm? Don’t tell me there’s a bee.” She was worried from his statement. So much so that she froze on command. Slowly, Ishi licked a bit of his thumb and rubbed it onto her cheek. “Ehh!?” She shivered from his touch on her that came out of nowhere. “Wh-what’s this all a-about.”

“There was a bit of sauce on your face.” He replied on the matter with little care. “I swear you girls lose all composure when someone gets a little close.”

“That’s because you did it without warning me.” She countered back. Meanwhile, as they argued with each other for the umpteenth time, Rinse was a little busy trying to look over at them while also playing volleyball with everyone else.

She witnessed him pulling that move on Ryugi. Without any context, it looked very suspicious to her and aroused some more feelings that she preferred to try and keep bottled up. Just who was this boy and why was he comfortable being so close to someone he always argued with? Granted it wasn’t all that different between him and her, but still why did he always do this?

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Not to mention that Ryugi wasn’t the only one that got to hang out with him without any problems. Youna was another lucky one, and for some reason Chiana was able to do the same thing as well. Rinse had no clue when her idol friend got so close to him, but apparently that was another thing she somehow missed.

“You know my life doesn’t revolve around you, right?” His words to her when he got close with Youna echoed in her mind. He had also repeated those words when discussing his taste in women. Of course she knew that, but somehow her actions spoke much more louder than words to him. Truthfully, she had become a bit arrogant when it came to people’s opinions of her, as if that should matter in personal relationships.

Yet his honest words only served for her to desire that he was wrong. That for some unknown reason, he should care more about what she thinks.

“Hattori, have you ever tried surfing before?” Once the game of volleyball had been complete, she was already hit with another thing to do. As fun as it was to play with all her classmates, she desperately wanted to be able to actually spend some amount of time with Ishi. Not for any specific reasons… Just because he was her next door neighbor and seatmate, that’s all.

“Of course I have.” She answered them in her usual tone. “I did it once for a music video.” Though that one didn’t require going deep out on any major waves. It was just for some simple shots riding on the board itself over some shallow waters. Still, this fact didn’t prevent her from wanting to show off. “Here, let me give it a try.” They gave her one of their boards and she made her way to the ocean. However, there was one place she wanted to stop by first before beginning. “Ishi, you should come watch me.”

“Hmm? I’m kind of busy here.” Having people show off to him wasn’t never high on his list of things to do. So he used the excuse of cooking to try and get out of it. Unfortunately Ryugi was also fine with him getting out of his hair.

“I can handle the rest.” She told him. “My grilling is so much better than yours. For the sake of, like, everyone here. I’ll finish things off.” The girl gently pushed him towards the idol and said that she’d keep an eye on her surfing from a distance.

“I really can’t get a win, can I?” He murmured to himself as the boy joined the others to watch Rinse swim out with a surfboard to show off her skills. “Those waves are kind of getting a bit big, don’t you think?”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure that Rinse can take care of herself.”

“If that’s how you feel.” Still, Ishi couldn’t shake off the feeling in his own body that was concerned for her safety. What was up with this, he wondered. Usually things weren’t dangerous and he was the one to not be concerned about it at all. Was it because of the person in question, or had his body sensed something that was coming up?

Once Rinse found herself a fair distance away from the beach, she stood up on her board. The feeling of the cold salty water in her eyes was magnificent. At this point, she was far further than where she went during the music video. Her heart raced from the anxiety of this new experience as the first major wave hit her.

Thanks to her training, she rode along it with little trouble. Upon successfully performing a smooth ride, the audience cheered her own. The girl took one look over at the shoreline to scan if Ishi was paying attention to her now. Even if this wasn’t hanging out, at least he wouldn’t forget about her on this day.

Unfortunately, this moment would be unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. Suddenly, the onlookers screamed out in worry. Confused, she turned her head to look at the ocean waves when she finally saw what had everyone else so scared. A massive wave well above her head had come up. Since she was distracted, Rinse didn’t notice until it was too late and already coming down on her. The girl attempted to brace herself, but it wasn’t enough as it slammed down onto her with heavy force.

The hit was so hard that it ended up knocking her out as she fell out into the ocean water. What was this feeling she had in the darkness? Her breath… She couldn’t breathe at all. Her body wasn’t responding, why couldn’t she get up? She was drowning and her body wasn’t moving to save herself.

...Why was it like she was watching her body at this moment? Did her spirit leave her body from that hit?

“Is this how I’m going to die?” She questioned to herself as her body plunged deeper and deeper into the depths of the ocean. The darkness slowly engulfing her vision more and more. For whatever reason, only one certain person was all she could see. This… This was Ishi? Was this her hallucination of of a hidden desire within?

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