On Friday morning, Kaito’s alarm pulled him out of his deep slumber. He rubbed his eyes and felt annoyed that he couldn’t remember the dream he had been dreaming in his sleep. And with immense effort, Kaito forced himself out of bed.

After a yawn and a stretch, he took a moment to look at the crack in his wall. A lot of things that happened recently confused Kaito, but the one thing he was assured about was his yearning to spend more time with the person on the other side of that wall.

I should just break it down!

His phone vibrated, and he knew without looking that it was Touma, checking if he actually woke up on time.

I’ll let him stress for a while…

Kaito slid open his closet door and rummaged through the piles of clothes in front of him until he found what he was looking for: a pair of barely worn swim trunks.

He put it on, as requested by Touma, and a white T-shirt, which had some black print on it. Afterward, he grabbed a towel, hurriedly brushed his teeth, and headed downstairs.

It felt strange being the first one awake in the house. The stairs creaked louder than usual, and no mouthwatering aroma was coming from the kitchen.

Kaito slipped on the pair of brand new sandals Kanna had bought for him, scanned the house to check if anyone was awake, and then set off for the station to meet up with Touma and Himari.

Unlike the atmosphere back at home, Hakone was already abuzz with life. Birds sang from tree to tree, construction workers whistled their way to work, and even the salarymen seemed to be skipping to their last working day of the week.

Kaito was the last one to arrive at the station; he was nonetheless not the only one with a sleepy face. He was glad to see that he wasn’t the only one wearing a swimsuit and carrying a towel. Touma wore a green-colored, loose-fitted T-shirt, while Himari wore jean shorts and a white shirt, which exposed her shoulders and her bikini straps.

“Oi! Do you ever check your phone?” Touma asked.

“Good morning,” Himari said.

“Hey, guys,” Kaito yawned, ignoring his red-headed friend.

“You guys ready to go?” Touma asked. “There should be a train leaving soon,” he suggested and led the way, motioning Himari and Kaito to follow.

As soon as they were seated in the train, Kaito rested his head against the cool glass window and almost instantly fell asleep.

When he woke up, he looked around with burning eyes and saw Himari had the same idea, except she slept with her head resting on the shoulder of Touma, who looked wide-awake.

When Touma saw that Kaito was awake, he carefully pointed his finger at Himari and mouthed the words, “What should I do?”

Kaito smiled and whispered, “Wrap your arm around her.”

Touma shook his head rapidly, and his face filled up with the same shade of red as his hair color.

“What are you guys whispering about?” Himari asked sleepily.

“N-n-nothing! I mean, I was just telling Kaito how hungry I am!”

Kaito laughed a little. He couldn’t take these two serious. The over-confident boy from school, now a nervous wreck, because Himari, once the tomboy from school, now making an effort concerning the way she looked. And thus far, the change was good—well, except for the sleep marks on the one side of her face and a drop of drool glimmering on the flank of her mouth.

“Ooh! I’m starving! Can we go get breakfast when we stop?” Himari asked, wiping the drool off her mouth.

“Yeah, that was the plan!” Touma replied.

Kaito had grown accustomed to the beautiful scenery that surrounded the train tracks in Hakone, so he was relatively indifferent to the rows of flowers that lined the way to Odawara.

Soon, they rounded a corner that revealed the city of Odawara. The city stretched out in front of them, all the way to the edge of the ocean and its blue waters, which gleamed in the sunlight.

Unlike Hakone station, the train station at Odawara was huge. It housed multiple train tracks, escalators—to and from platforms—and shops, which were everywhere you looked. Interestingly, a titanic ceiling, made out of glass panels and metal bars, housed all these features.

Traversing the platforms, Kaito was a lot more comfortable than his friends, especially when a bullet train, accompanied by its ear-deafening screeches and earth-shaking speed, sped through the station.

“Haha! You guys okay? Looks like you peed yourself, Touma!” he said, pointing toward his friend’s pants.

“Huh? No! What! Where?” Touma desperately inspected himself.

“Just kidding! But I made you look!” Kaito laughed.

“Can we please get out of the station? It’s so loud in here!” Himari yelled as another train passed.

After a couple of bumps and squeezes, Kaito successfully led his friends outside the busy train station, after which they made their way to the coffee shop across the road from them.

The inside smelled just as amazing as it looked. The shop had a modern feel to it—a big, wooden counter occupied the rear of the shop, with little stools littered in front of it. The shop floor was filled with small, white, square tables, surrounded by black-and-white chairs.

They sat down and immediately inspected the menus. Kaito quickly decided that he wanted a big cup of coffee and a giant waffle for breakfast.

“What are you guys having?” Kaito asked.

“Definitely some hot chocolate!” Touma answered.

“I don’t know! I want everything!” Himari said.

“Hmm, a cup of coco-choco for Touma… and… well, I’m getting a waffle—”

“Yum! I want one also!” Himari said, in a childish voice.

“Yeah, make that three then, and my cup of hot chocolate! Hold on, I’ll call a waiter.”

“Um, Touma...”

“What?”

Kaito pointed at the tablet device on their table. “You order with that.”

Touma grabbed the tablet. “Holy! What? That’s so fancy!” he said, inspecting it from all sides as if it was a piece of alien technology.

“Not really, but okay... I’ll just put in the order for us,” Kaito said, taking the tablet from Touma.

“Can you also get me a bottle of water, please?” Himari asked.

“Sure,” Kaito answered, tapping away their order. “Do you guys visit Odawara often?”

“Hmm… Last time we came here was with school, wasn’t it, Touma?”

“Yeah! But then we only went to see the castle. That was like two years ago, right? That’s when you spilled that cup of shaved ice all over your shirt! Ahahaha! I remember now!”

“Shush, you nerd!” she sneered at him.

“Ouch!” Touma yelped, bending over to comfort his freshly kicked shin.

“Wow! If I didn’t know the two of you, I’d think you’re a couple!” Kaito teased.

Himari and Touma both blushed at Kaito’s banter. Himari buried her face in her hands, while Touma darted his glance all over the shop.

“Huh? What?! No!” said Touma delayed and confused.

Kaito clasped his mouth, trying not to let out a burst of laughter begging to escape his mouth in the quiet coffee shop. His stomach hurt as he tried to keep it inside.

Himari gave Kaito a spine-chilling glare, and he quickly swallowed his laugh.

Seconds later, a cozy, “Here you go guys,” came from the waiter carrying their orders.

A minute barely passed when Kaito asked with a waffle-stuffed mouth, “Sho, what’s nexht?”

“To the castle of course!” Touma replied, sticking his hand in the air and waved about his imaginary sword.

After breakfast, they made their way to the castle. Himari was full of enthusiasm and couldn’t wait. Some minutes into the brisk ten-minute walk, she had already pulled out a tiny pink camera from her handbag and rested her finger on the capture button.

The castle was surrounded by a mote, with a couple of wooden bridges, which led into the courtyard. Although the white, concrete castle sat upon a massive stone foundation, the edifice was smaller than Kaito’s expectation. It was three stories tall and littered with small windows, all of which had steel bars, giving the impression of an ideal spot for archers back in the day.

Moreover, each of the castle’s floor had a magnificent, onyx-colored, Japanese-style roofing.

The castle was surrounded by a lengthy white wall that featured two large wooden doors, both of which stood open, welcoming visitors.

Luckily for the trio, they arrived early, so the castle wasn’t packed with tourists. In fact, the place looked empty, barring the older lady who sat at a ticket booth and the janitor who was sweeping the courtyard.

“Hold up,” Touma said, “lemme go pay our entrance fee real quick.”

“No way! You already paid for breakfast!” Kaito objected.

“Yeah! The least we can do is split the entrance fee,” Himari agreed.

“Fine! But I’d have, you know. I’m a hard-working man, and I’m earning good money these days.”

“You worked at the coffee shop for two days. Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Kaito razzed.

“Here you go!” Himari said, holding out a thousand-yen note for Touma.

The first floor of the castle looked more like the inside of a museum than anything else. A traditional wooden floor covered the entire floor, and the walls were filled with picture frames, as well as exciting stories describing the history of the castle.

“Look!” Touma called the attention of his friends to a caption, as the three had inadvertently split up. “In 1569, this castle repelled the attacks of two famous warlords! How cool is that?!”

“You said the exact same thing last time we were here!” Himari said.

“What! No, I didn’t!”

“Yes, you did! But I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t remember; it must be difficult to fit so many things in that tiny brain of yours!”

“What did you say?!” Touma yelled as he chased after Himari.

“No!” she shrieked, playfully running away from him.

“No running inside the castle!” the lady at the ticket booth bellowed.

The two of them snickered and made their way up to the next floor.

So, this is what a third wheel feels like…

Kaito wasn’t sure if he should be happy that they were getting along so well, or a tad annoyed that he was quickly becoming the third wheel, but those thoughts left his mind instantly when he saw a miniature sculpture of Odawara and its surrounding landscapes and towns, among which were Hakone and Lake Ashi.

Again, Kaito felt the burning desire to turn around, go home, and spend time with Miyu.

But she’s never there when I call to her!

I should just knock on her front door…

But if her dad answers…

She got so mad last time!

The seed of a plan was planted in Kaito’s mind.

Ugh, I need to go find those two before they break something!

Kaito, too, made his way to the next floor, which had a similar theme to the first: pictures, sculptures, and history lessons. On this floor, however, an enormous set of Samurai armors constituted the centerpiece of the room. Also, a glimmering black-plated armor with blood-red colored accent sat upon a wooden chair. The armor’s face region was unerringly concealed by a creepy-looking mask, and therefore impossible to ascertain if the armor was empty, which made the façade frightening.

Kaito crept toward his friends, both of whom stood frozen, enthralled by the spectacle in front of them.

“BAH!”

“AH!” they both shrieked.

“Ahaha! Your faces!” Kaito laughed.

But his amusement was soon interrupted by a voice: “No yelling inside the castle! Shush!”

The three friends exchanged looks and then, as though they were thinking the same thing, scampered amid snickers to the third and last floor of the castle.

They came to a standstill as the third floor was more of a roof than an actual floor. Exhausted, Kaito stooped resting both hands on his knees to catch his breath before he joined Touma and Himari, who both already stood at the edge of the balcony, taking in the scenery in front of them.

Odawara was a beautiful example of how cities, even those bigger than Hakone, could coexist with nature. Tall, vibrant green trees spread all over the city in a fashion that inferred they might have been planted there to fill the gaps between buildings, or perhaps, people merely erected their buildings around already standing trees.

The shutter of Himari’s camera snapped non-stop.

In the distance, the mighty ocean wallowed in the cloudless sky, and its foamy waves crashed upon the beach and washed up to its visitors.

It’s… Beautiful.

Touma pointed his finger toward the horizon. “There!” he announced. “That’s where we’re going next!”

Kaito and his friends bade the castle goodbye, and after a short bus ride, they arrived at the beach.

It was a perfect day to be at the beach; there were lots of sun and very few clouds in the sky. A few seagulls flew overhead as the three of them slipped off their sandals and made their way across the beach, in search of the perfect spot to sit.

Kaito became slightly annoyed by the warm, coarse sand that had stuck in between his toes, some had even crept underneath his toenails. He nevertheless was able to appreciate the value of having real friends with whom to hang out and have fun before he could complain. An added frosting on the cake for Kaito was the very few people at the beach.

When they found the ideal spot, they laid out their beach towels, sat down, and relished the sense of accomplishment that swept over them like the waves in front of them.

Without saying a word, Himari got up, slipped off her shorts, and was about to take off her shirt when Touma erupted:

“HA! HE— WHA— Hello? Himari, what are you doing?!”

“What do you mean? I’m taking my clothes off… It’s a beach, Touma, and I’m wearing a bikini,” she glared at him. She also pulled off her shirt, which revealed her matching red bikini top.

“I— Um… But—”

WHISTLE.

“Uh, huh! Loo. King. Gooood, Himari!” a voice came from the side.

It was Ace and his lackeys.

“Why don’t you come over here and we can have some fun!” he said, thrusting his hips in the air.

Ace’s friends bent over forward and backward, laughing unreasonably loud. One of them even fell down and smacked the sand as he laughed, which made it seem like a who-can-laugh-the-loudest contest was underway—that is whenever Ace says or does something funny.

Kaito stared at the circus show in front of him and didn’t notice furious Touma leaping from where he sat to attack Ace.

Himari quickly followed and grabbed Touma by his arm to stop him. “Touma! Don’t do this, please!”

“Let go of my arm!” he said, with anger bubbling in his face.

“Ahahahaha! Look! Her little boyfriend is upset! Ahahaha!” Ace taunted, and his gang of monkeys broke out in another unnatural display of laughter, mixed with a dash of stupidity and childishness.

Kaito jumped up and joined his friend.

“Please, let it go Touma!” she begged him.

“No! I’ll teach this jackass a lesson!”

“Touma, please!”

“LET GO, HIMARI!”

She grabbed hold of Touma’s arm with both hands and pulled him close. She then went on tiptoe and planted her lips on his. And for a moment, everything all went silent, even the ocean seemed to hold its breath.

Yes! Finally!

But of course, that beautiful moment had to be spoiled by the howling laughter coming from the bleached-haired bully and his laughing choir.

Touma’s face twitched with a thousand emotions, but then, Himari took his face in her hands. “Come with me,” she whispered to him, “let’s go swim.”

“Yeah, let’s go swim!” Kaito urged them on.

I can’t believe that just happened!

And judging by the expression on Touma’s face, neither can he! Haha.

Touma removed his shirt, and Kaito, too, did. However, Kaito heard Himari gasp when he took his shirt off.

“Kaito...” Himari said, pointing at Kaito’s chest, “what is that?”

“Oh! That! I meant to tell you too,” he said, looking down at the long scar running down his chest. “It’s the scar from my lung transplant surgery.”

“A what?! Wait… Touma!” Himari looked at Touma in disbelief, “You punched a guy that had a lung transplant?!”

“I didn’t know!” said Touma.

“He didn’t know. Plus… I’m fine now! I’ve been fully recovered for a couple of months now. Really!”

Himari appeared to gauge Kaito’s countenance with a transient gaze, seeming to verify his honesty. “Okay! Let’s go swim already!” she said afterward.

Kaito trailed his friends, and like little kids—at least that was how Kaito felt—they sprinted toward the ocean friskily. Reaching the edge of the sea, the freezing cold water slowed them down, but laughingly and with a lot of splashing, they pressed on and made their way into the ocean.

While they swam around the ocean, Kaito was clearly the third wheel, but he didn’t mind it one tiny bit. He had known for a while that Touma and Himari had feelings for each other; they were merely scared of taking the next step because they’d been friends for so long.

Luckily for Touma, Himari took the first step…

After moments of splashing around in the ocean, a scene took place on the beach.

“Isn’t that the principal?” Touma asked. “What’s he doing?”

Ace’s father, the school principal, dashed furiously toward his son. He then pulled him by the ear and dragged Ace, who was kicking and screaming, all the way to the parking lot, into a car, and then drove off.

The three of them looked on in disbelief, then they broke out in crying laughter.

“I can’t believe that just happened!” Himari said.

“That’s karma at its best!” Kaito added.

“Hmm, I still think that guy deserves a punch in the face!” Touma said.

For the rest of the afternoon, they swam, laughed, relaxed, and of course, ate as much shaved ice as they could fit in their bellies. And as the sun sloped to the horizon, the three friends packed up and made their way to the train station and back to Hakone.

The memories of that day were ingrained in their minds by the smells and tastes of the sun, sweat, salt, and for two of them, a first kiss.