Chapter 140

Kita took a half-step back in fear.

Nijika looked at him warily.

Liang held his hands protectively in front of him, ready to defend against an attack.

Bocchi, terrified, squeezed his eyes shut and crouched on the water.

Ishikawa Hayato took a deep breath, grabbed the water with both palms facing upwards, and used a clever trick to lift it up sharply.

Unlike the splashes of water that barely reached the palm of Liang's hand during their previous fight, the four of them now witnessed a real mass of seawater being lifted into the sky.

Yes, it was a mass of seawater, not a handful or a piece, but a mass that looked several times the size of a washbasin.

For a moment, they all wondered if a volcanic eruption had occurred below.

They stared blankly at Ishikawa Hayato, who stood there calmly with his eyes closed, like a master of some martial arts school.

Soon, clumps of water scattered from the sky, falling like rain onto the sea surface, and also hitting their bodies and hearts.

"Then... let's begin the second phase."

Ishikawa Hayato immediately broke into a bright smile.

"Then... then..."

While Nijika was still stammering in fright, she suddenly heard the sound of splashing water beside her. She turned her head and saw Liang already swimming quickly towards the shore.

"Ryo-senpai!?" Kita exclaimed in surprise at Ryo, who had betrayed them once again.

Liang didn't look back and kept swimming desperately. However, as she was swimming at high speed, she suddenly felt someone pressing down on her shoulder. She could no longer swim forward and had to stand up and look up in confusion.

Before me stood Ishikawa Hayato's smiling face.

She looked back and saw a terrifying trail of movement on the water's surface.

As she continued to prepare to escape in the opposite direction, a spray of water came crashing down on her.

Finally, all four of them were splashed around the pool by Ishikawa Hayato, but they didn't just stand there and take the hits. While Ishikawa Hayato was chasing another person, the three of them tried their best to attack him.

Even Bocchi gradually became involved.

"I can't take it anymore... Ah, I'm exhausted."

Nijika collapsed to the ground, realizing she was completely exhausted after playing so intensely that her enthusiasm waned.

Staggering onto the beach, she was too exhausted to move. She went straight to the mat where Ishikawa Hayato and the others had been sitting and lay down on it.

Beside her, Bocchi and Liang were already lying down, their heads pressed together, limp and lifeless. Their eyes had completely lost their color, and one could even vaguely see their souls about to break free of their bodies and fly away.

After resting for a while and regaining some strength, Nijika struggled to turn her head to look at Kita, who was still screaming incessantly.

She was holding a camera and shouting, "Ishikawa-kun, flip it up again! Flip it up again!"

After another glob of seawater was flung into the air, she exclaimed with delight, "Wow!" and happily took photos.

She sighed.

"Kita- chan is really energetic..."

From the side, only two murmurs responded.

Not long after, Kita and Ishikawa Hayato, having had their fill of playing, returned from the water.

Looking at the three people lying haphazardly on the mat, Kita called out with difficulty.

"Everyone, today is just the beginning, so please cheer up..."

On the other side, they used the small cart they had just thrown down to block Ishikawa Hayato, who was pushing it across the sand.

"Let them rest for a bit."

On the sand, he pushed the cart as steadily as if it were flat ground.

Once they found a suitable spot, he started giving Kita something to do.

"Let's set up the beach chairs and parasols together, Kita!"

Okay~

Kita quickly went to help.

Soon, five beach chairs and parasols were laid out on the beach.

Kita breathed a sigh of relief as she looked at the completed beach chairs, then glanced back at the three people lounging there.

Nijika and Bocchi were still lying quietly, seemingly starting to doze off, while Liang, like a traveler about to die of thirst in the desert, twisted and crawled toward the beach chair.

"Chair... chair..."

In the past, Kita might have happily run over and called out, "Ryo-senpai, please let me help you across."

But at this moment, for some reason, she felt an inexplicable resistance as she watched Liang crawling around.

However, after hesitating for a moment, she still went over.

"Ryo-senpai, you'll scratch your skin like that."

She helped Liang up, led her to a beach chair, and helped her lie down.

As soon as she lay down, Liang relaxed, as if her last wish had been fulfilled, and closed her eyes peacefully.

"Ryo-senpai!!"

This Kita, who shook the cool air vigorously.

After a long while, Liang finally opened his eyes slightly, looking at her with displeasure.

Kita an awkward laugh, then looked back, preparing to move the other two over as well.

They had applied sunscreen before coming out, but no amount of sunscreen could protect them from the scorching sun, and lying on the hot, sandy ground made it difficult to recover their strength.

Just as she turned around, she suddenly noticed that Ishikawa Hayato was nowhere to be seen.

Kita looked around.

Soon they spotted Ishikawa Hayato on the road they had come from, carrying several buckets of water.

He looked over here and spoke first.

"Ah, Ryo is already lying down."

He carried the water with swift steps and quickly placed it on the beach.

"Ishikawa-kun, what's this?"

Kita looked at the buckets of water in front of him with a puzzled expression and asked...

"The coolness doesn't mean the seawater is sticky, so I went and fetched a few buckets of water so you can rinse yourselves off. I also brought shampoo."

As Ishikawa Hayato spoke, he took out the shampoo that was tucked under his arm.

"Hey... you're quite dedicated."

Kita hadn't noticed it before, but after Ishikawa Hayato pointed it out, he realized that his hair and body were indeed a little sticky from being dried in the sun.

"When you're dragging someone into the sea, you naturally have to be prepared to help wash them clean of the seawater," he said with a smile, then added proudly after a moment's thought.

"This is what Ishikawa Hayato said!"

Kita stared at him for a moment, then chuckled and turned away.

"As long as you don't have lewd thoughts."

But contrary to what she said, what she really thought was, "If only Hayato-kun had such a sense of responsibility instead of being a womanizer."

Hearing the commotion, especially hearing that Ishikawa Hayato was bringing water to wash off the sticky seawater from their bodies, Nijika and Ryo struggled to look up. Then, the two who still had the strength managed to get up from the ground/chairs.

"Hayato-kun, thank you~"

Nijika staggered over and thanked her.

Liang, after giving a satisfied "hmm," sat down by the bucket for a short rest.

Then, as the three were about to rinse off the seawater, they noticed something.

"Hayato-kun, could you please turn around?"

Although Nijika didn't have much strength left, she still tried her best to smile and ask Ishikawa Hayato, who had been staring at them, for help.

Ishikawa Hayato tilted his head back and pondered for a moment, then suddenly revealed a lewd smile. Just as Nijika was about to get angry and Kita showed an expression of utter disapproval of this person, he stopped teasing her.

"I'll take this bucket to Bocchi; she probably can't climb over."

He left with a smile, completely at ease.

When they reached Bocchi, Ishikawa Hayato heard the occasional rushing sound of water behind him but didn't turn around.

He asked Bocchi, who was lying on the ground.

"Bocchi, can you wash yourself?"

Upon hearing Ishikawa Hayato's voice, Bocchi's perpetually self-pitying face broke into an awkward smile.

"I can't raise my hand..."

"Do you need my help?"

"Eh?!?" Bocchi looked at Ishikawa Hayato, her pupils trembling, but after only a slight hesitation, she spoke.

"Please... please."

Of course, while they said they were helping to wash the body, they certainly weren't going to take off the swimsuit to wash it. Ishikawa Hayato was sure that the three dumbfounded people behind him wouldn't take it off either.

They probably just washed their hair, soaked a towel, rinsed their bodies briefly, dried themselves off, and then poured all the water over themselves to dry.

Of course, he couldn't actually wipe Bocchi's body with a towel in front of the three people behind him.

Ishikawa Hayato first helped Bocchi untangle her hair, then poured water on it, squeezed on some shower gel, and patiently washed her long hair.

"Isn't it too heavy?"

He was rubbing Bocchi's hair when he suddenly asked.

"Oh, no, it's perfect..." Bocchi replied hastily.

Is that the truth?

"Um..."

Bocchi lowered his head slightly.

From elementary school onwards, she no longer needed her mother to wash her hair. Although she had short hair at that time, she washed it herself even after it grew long.

Moreover, she didn't dare go to beauty salons. In all this time, Ishikawa Hayato was the first person who wasn't related to her by blood to touch her hair like that.

Thinking about this, she felt the tingling sensation in her hair as it was being rubbed more clearly, as if an electric current was coursing through her body.

She tried her best to hold back from crying out.

Washing long hair is a hassle and takes a lot of time.

During this time, Bocchi went from sitting with his legs bent to sitting with his legs hugged, and finally his calves and thighs were completely pressed together, with his heels touching his groin.

"I have a feeling that Bocchi-chan is going to spoil," Nijika whispered as she washed her hair, glancing at the two people in the distance.

Kita casually said as he dried himself with a towel.

"Hmm... well, it's best not to get involved in Hayato-kun and Gotou-san's affairs."

Upon hearing her words, Nijika and Liang initially didn't think anything was wrong, but after a couple of moments of surprise, they both looked at her.

They silently repeated in surprise the Kita had addressed Ishikawa Hayato.

"Hayato-kun?"

Although they didn't say it aloud, their astonished gazes were conveyed to Kita.

Kita moment, then immediately realized what was happening and hurriedly called out in a panic.

"Ah, um, well... no... I accidentally called you the wrong name."