Date A Mysterious Being

Chapter 16 - Cross-Counter Heart

Day broke on the second day of the school trip.
Lucas had made his way to Akaru Beach on the northern part of Arubi Island, dressed in black trunks, no upper body clothing. It was too hot for that anyway. Gouged out of the territory in the spacequake thirty years ago, the beach carved out a striking arc in the ground. Tourist guidebooks dubbed it Crescent Moon Beach, which Lucas thought was a cool name.

"..."

Strangely, he couldn't see anyone resembling a tourist there.
Maybe that was to be expected. When he was on his way to the changing room with everyone else, Reine had stopped him and taken him in a rental car to a private beach on one end of Akaru Beach. She had gone out of her way to arrange the trip since there was a good chance of his classmates interfering in his mission otherwise.

"...." He remembered all the things that had happened last night. Something so unexpected. Every last detail of it. He was sure it wasn't just a dream or his wild imagination. He sighed, looking up at the bright sun. "How am I supposed to face Yuzuru and Kaguya...?" He muttered to himself. It was all quiet for a moment. Only the waves of the wide sea echoed through the area. That was until-

"Keh-keh... So this is where you were hiding?"

"Discovery. I found you, Lucas."

That distinctive way of speaking. He didn't need to look to know. He slowly turned around anyway.
As expected, Kaguya and Yuzuru were standing there. Kaguya was wearing a black bikini decorated with white lace, while Yuzuru was the opposite in a bikini of white fabric with black lace. They were almost eerily alike. If they were to walk along the beach looking like this, more than one guy would feel compelled to call out to them.

"H-hey. Those suits are great on you. You two look amazing." When Lucas complimented them Kaguya's face flushed and her eyes opened wide like she was surprised, while Yuzuru looked down at herself, stunned.

But Kaguya soon shook it off and crossed her arms. "K-keh-keh-keh... I-I suppose I do. I suppose so. But don't get the wrong idea. This garment pales before my actual appeal."

"Gratitude. Thank you very much. That makes me happy," Yuzuru agreed.
And then Kaguya and Yuzuru each arched an eyebrow abruptly and put a hand to an ear.

"...Hmm?"
"Confirmation. Yes."

Lucas looked closely and saw the same model of earpiece in their ears.

"Keh-keh... I see. Understood."
"Acknowledgment. I have understood."

Watching both of them become so preoccupied with their earpieces was funny for some reason. But, there was still something in his mind. They do know about yesterday, so why are they acting like nothing ever happened?

Soon enough, they took their hands away from their ears and turned back to him.

"Lucas. Given that I live in eternal darkness, this Sonnenschein is too much. I will permit you to implement a protective miasma to block the holy light." [A/N: "Sonnenschein" is German and translates into "Sunshine"]

"Huh...?"

"Petition. Please apply this thing called sunscreen."

"Ohhh... Sure." He finally understood, thanks to Yuzuru's explanation. It was a little weird seeing Kaguya use German words... Can she even speak German to begin with? But the hard part came after the understanding. Applying sunscreen meant...

"Fwah... Then proceed. I trust that you have my back," Kaguya said, clearly using the wrong words for the occasion, and handed him a bottle of sunscreen.

"Request," Yuzuru followed up. "Please do this."
He wondered where exactly they had gotten the sunscreen, but he quickly noticed a rest station nearby, offering beach umbrellas and blankets. Most likely, Reine had set it up in advance.
The girls traded meaningful glances and then lay facedown in the shadow of a beach umbrella. They unhooked their tops to expose their pale backs to Lucas.