My new Neighbor's an Idol!?

Hot Summer Nights (Vol. 3 End)

"Hello everyone." Rinse made her return known to the others. "I hope that I didn't ruin the mood today." From the reactions of her classmates, it was obvious that they were only concerned with her health and emotional well being.

There were also the boys who confronted Ishi that went up to him and apologized once more about their poor judgment. He simply told them the same thing he had told plenty of others. That there was no grudge held between him and any one of them. So he accepted it just to calm their nerves about the situation.

"Looks like things are wrapping up here." Ishi commented as he and Rinse handed their plates to some of the students cleaning up. After all the hard work that he and Ryugi did to cook the meal, it was only fair that others handle the cleanup. "Should probably go look for Koto so I can go home."

"What? You're really looking that forward to leaving all of us?" Rygui complained to him. Since she was afforded some free time not having to work, she felt it would be nice to see him off as the night began. "Come on Ishi, after all the time we've been together, you should be begging to hang out with me."

"Yes, she's right." Chiana backed up the gyaru. "You shouldn't be so excited about getting rid of us."

"It's getting late." He replied. "So unless I invite you girls to my house, which is never happening by the way, then our day's pretty much over." Though for the first time in a while, he felt a little disappointed that their beach trip really was over. Something like this was going to be their last now that the weather was getting to be colder. The fact only became more apparent being that they'd be graduating from high school, so it was unlikely that something like this would ever happen again.

"Are you afraid to ask?" Ryugi mocked him. "If you try your luck, who know? Maybe one of us might say yes."

"Forget it." He eyed past them to look over at Rinse. It seemed that things had returned to normal as she chatted up with the rest of their classmates. She might have preferred to hang with him, but at least they'd get the walk back to their homes together to enjoy.

"Ishi." Meekly, Youna grabbed his attention. "I just wanted to thank you for today. It was a lot of fun."

"You should be thanking Ryugi for coming up with the entire thing." Even he was grateful that she orchestrated the event. While he may not admit it out loud to everyone, he had a blast going out in public. Normally his day would've be spent hanging out inside reading some books or playing video games.

That was a strange thought to have though. The boy never considered doing that to be a waste of a day. After all, he did enjoy himself doing those activities as well. But perhaps, was his viewpoint incorrect about what he should be focusing on with the rest of his youth? "Besides, I should be thanking you." He brought his attention back to Youna. "If it wasn't for you inviting me, then today wouldn't have happened."

"He's right about that." Chiana agreed. "Plus he's also the one who paid for the food, and he also saved Rinse's life." That was something that the girl was going to be eternally indebted to him for.

"I'm glad he came too." Ryugi spoke up, not wanting to be outshined by the other girls. "Things are a little funner when he's around. No wonder why Rinse is so interested in him."

"Are you sure the real reason you're happy isn't because you got to show off your body in a bikini?" Ishi quipped to her. This girl was too dumb for him to believe that she had anything of substance to take out of this day.

"Heh, is that your way of hitting on me?" Playfully, she turned it around and teased him.

"Aye..." He shook his head in disappointment. This girl really was full of herself. "Look, it was nice to chat with all of you, but I really need to find Koto so I can go home." Ishi left the group and headed around to scan the beach. His cousin shouldn't have gotten too far. Though things had dimmed from the lack of sunlight, he could make out the silhouettes of a couple of people with an obvious height difference.