Rito woke to the sound of the air conditioner. He sat up in his bed, the sheet pooling at his waist, and was immediately met with the all-too-familiar, stubborn morning tent pressing against the thin fabric.
'A brand-new day, and thankfully, no sudden intrusions in my bed today.' he thought, though this time his thoughts were with a different kind of anticipation. He was, after all, going to the beach with Lala.
He pulled on his swim trunks and a loose t-shirt. The material clung slightly to his sharpened abs as he stretched, and faint veins traced lines along his forearms as he flexed. 'Stronger,' he thought, 'I have to be even stronger just to survive... and to keep up with Lala.'
Before he could even think about getting up, his door burst open. Lala bounced in, her tail swishing. She was already in her signature, ridiculously complex pink swimsuit.
…
Downstairs, the kitchen was a warzone of beach bags and sunscreen bottles.
Run stood at the counter, her light green hair bouncing as she packed a cooler. She was already wearing a frilly pink bikini top under her unzipped cover-up, the fabric hugging her curves in a way that Rito openly appreciated. Her pink eyes sparkled when she saw him.
"R-Rito-kun!" she chimed, her voice soft. "I made your favorite! Tuna melt!"
Ren's subconscious roared:
"TUNA MELT?! FOR HIM?! I'M THE ONE WHO LOVES FISH! THAT TRAITOROUS TWIN OF MINE!"
Run squeaked, nearly dropping the cooler as the internal conflict raged.
"Rito~♡"
Lala bounded in, already in her complex swimsuit, and immediately wrapped her arms around Rito's arms, giving him a long, possessive kiss right in front of Run.
She was craving it for days now, but the last few days were too hectic and she was engrossed in her inventions and all the mess following Run and Ren's arrival.
"Mmm~"
Run froze. Her hands, holding the sandwich, stopped mid-air. She'd known Rito and Lala were engaged, but she had never seen... this. This was not a shy, accidental peck. This was a real, adult kiss. She watched the way Rito's hands automatically settled on Lala's hips, the way he tilted his head.
Her face flushed a deep crimson. A sharp, unfamiliar pang shot through her. It wasn't just jealousy; it was a deep, burning envy.
"H-how... how bold! She's just... taking him! Right in front of me! Rito-kun's lips... they look so... I... I want to do that, too! I want to kiss him like that!"
Ren was having his own thoughts simultaneously.
"PUBLIC INDECENCY! AT BREAKFAST! IN THE KITCHEN! HE'S A FIEND! A PERVERT! HE'S DEVOURING HER FACE! AND SHE'S... SHE'S LETTING HIM! THIS IS UNFORGIVABLE! HOW CAN YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS TO HER! STOP STARING, YOU HORNY SISTER!"
Run squeaked, a tiny, conflicted sound, and almost dropped the cooler.
Lala finally pulled back, a small, bright smile on her face. "Beach day~!" she cheered against his lips. "Let's make fishing fun!"
She held up a glowing, fish-shaped device. "This is my new Fish-Fish-Hook-kun! It turns any pole into a super-catcher!"
It was at this moment Mikan stormed in, her arms full of neatly folded towels. She stopped, her eyes taking in the entire, scene: Run, trembling and blushing over the sandwiches; Lala, still draped over Rito; and Rito's hands, which were still resting far too comfortably on his fiancée's hips.
"Rito." Mikan said, her voice dangerously calm. "Are you planning to eat breakfast, or just... the girls?"
Her eyes flicked to Lala's glowing, fish-shaped device. Her expression hardened.
"Lala-san," she said, her voice tight, "we are going to a public beach. Not one of your personal, experimental test sites. That means no explosions, no attracting... whatever that thing is supposed to attract, and absolutely no altering the local tide. Am I clear?"
Rito just sighed, giving Lala a final peck on the cheek. "Mikan, I'll handle the inventions. Let's just try to have one normal day."
Mikan just huffed, her cheeks slightly pink. "'Normal' left this house a long time ago, onii-chan."
…
The beach was packed, a sea of colourful umbrellas and shouting voices. The sand was hot underfoot, and the waves crashed like applause.
As Rito, Lala, Mikan, and Run found a spot to lay their towels, Rito could feel the attention of the entire beach lock onto them. He wasn't imagining it. Lala, in her physics-defying swimsuit, and Run, in her frilly, curve-hugging bikini, were drawing every male eye on the shore.
'Well, they're not wrong in staring.' Rito thought, his own eyes lingering on Run as she bent over to place the cooler. 'That bikini is... wow. I'm a lucky guy just to be standing here.'
As Rito was thinking, the humid, salty air that was already sticking to Rito's t-shirt started to annoy him. "Okay, it's way too hot for this." he mumbled, mostly to himself.
He grabbed the hem of his loose shirt and pulled it up over his head.
And the entire dynamic of the group shifted.
This wasn't the same, lanky, clumsy Rito from the canon. The Rito standing there now, bare-chested in the bright sun, was different. His training, with a mix of endless running from Lala's high-gravity "helpers", had paid off.
His shoulders and chest had new definition, and his stomach was no longer soft but clearly defined with the sharp, lean lines of a four-pack.
The reactions were immediate and varied:
Lala beamed with possessive pride. She bounded over, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her cheek against his bare shoulder, pointedly claiming her territory. "See, Rito~? All that training with my inventions is working! You look so cool!"
Run, who had been nervously applying sunscreen, froze. Her hands stopped moving, her eyes wide. She was staring, a deep blush creeping up from her neck.
'W-whoa… Rito-kun is... he's... strong! Look at his arms… and his stomach… He's not just brave and cute, he's... he's hot too~♡'
Meanwhile Ren was almost bleeding in anger.
"HE'S POSING! HE'S DOING IT ON PURPOSE! HE THINKS HE'S SO COOL! IT'S NOT EVEN A SIX-PACK! ALSO, WHY ARE YOU BLUSHING, YOU IDIOT SISTER?!"
Mikan, setting down the towels, saw it all. She saw her brother's new physique, saw Run staring, and saw Lala clinging to him. Her hand tightened on a towel. She huffed, looking away.
"Rito, put some sunscreen on. You're going to burn." she snapped, her voice tight. "And stop... flexing. You'll pull something."
Rito, who had just been standing normally, flushed. "I'm not flexing! I'm just... standing here!"
"YUUKI RITO! YOU FIEND!"
A familiar, shrill voice cut through the beach noise. Yui was marching toward them, her face crimson under her sunhat, her whistle already in hand.
"NO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF... OF... MUSCULATURE! IT'S SHAMELESS!"
"Your group has been here for less than one minute and you are already the center of a shameless spectacle! Pull that cover-up back on!" she snapped at Run.
Before Run could even answer, Risa and Mio, who had been "sunbathing" nearby, popped up and took out their phones.
"Don't listen to her, Run-chan!" Risa called out, aiming her phone. "You look amazing! Rito-kun, you're blushing! Is this a Harem-only beach trip?"
"It's the Harem and the little sister," Mio corrected, zooming in on Mikan. "How scandalous."
Mikan just shot them a look that could freeze fire.
Not paying Mikan's glare much attention, they shifted their focus.
"By the way, Mio, are you seeing this?" Risa shrieked, snapping a picture. "Rito-kun has been holding out on us! He's got... definition!"
Mio zoomed in. "This changes the school rankings. He's officially 'Clumsy, but Secretly Built'. This is top-tier content."
Overwhelmed by everyone staring at his chest, Rito's face was bright red. He grabbed a towel and lay down, face-down on the sand.
"I'm just... going to rest my eyes for a minute." he mumbled. The sound of the waves and Risa's camera clicking lulled him to sleep.
…
Rito wasn't woken by a gentle call. He was woken by a foot kicking his ribs and a furious shout.
"WAKE UP, PERVERT!"
Rito's eyes snapped open. The sun was still high, but the person standing over him wasn't Run. The light-green hair was gone, replaced by two-toned spiky hair. The figure, now in male swim trunks, was glaring down at him. Run must have sneezed while he was asleep.
Ren stood over him, his pink eyes blazing, his gaze filled with a new, intense jealousy.
"I challenge you! FISHING CONTEST OF TRUE MANHOOD!"
Rito sat up, sand sticking to his bare back. "Ren? What... what are you talking about?"
Ren pointed to the water's edge, where two fishing rods were already staked in the sand. "I will prove my superiority once and for all! Loser confesses their true feelings to Lala!"
Rito glanced at Lala, who was happily building an elaborate, pulsing sandcastle with a very annoyed-looking Mikan. He just sighed and stood up, his abs tensing slightly as he rose.
"Ren, I'm already with Lala." Rito said, his voice flat. "We're... together. What's the point of all this?"
"The point," Ren growled, his face twisting as his eyes darted to Rito's physique, "is that I will prove I am the better man for her! That you are unworthy!"
Run cheered from inside Ren's head.
"Rito-kun~♡ You can do it! Show him how strong you are!"
Hearing her words, Ren roared internally.
'SHUT UP!'
Yui marched over, her whistle at her lips. "NO SHAMELESS FISHING! Keep your competition appropriate!"
The lines were cast. Ren's bait sank. Rito's bobber floated peacefully.
Then, Lala's Fish-Fish-Hook-kun, which she had secretly attached to Rito's line "to help", activated.
FWOOM!
The water in front of them churned violently. Fish began surging, leaping into the air. Then, larger, gray shapes.
Sharks.
The sudden, chaotic sight of the sharks, combined with the salty spray, was too much. Ren, horrified, let out another high-pitched, explosive sound.
"AAAA—ACHOO!"
With a puff of smoke, he transformed back into Run.
Run gasped, now standing in the surf, completely disoriented. "E-eh?! Those aren't fish!"
A massive shark fin sliced through the water, heading straight for her. Rito didn't think.
He dove.
He grabbed her waist in a tackle, pulling her back just as the shark's jaws snapped shut on empty air. Rito's arms were wrapped tightly around her, holding her close in the shallow water. His bare chest was pressed flat against her back, and his hands were splayed protectively across her stomach, his thumbs brushing the soft underside of her bikini top. He could feel her heart hammering against his arm.
"Got you." Rito panted, the adrenaline singing in his ears.
Run's eyes widened. She tilted her head back, looking at him over her shoulder.
"R-Rito-kun… your arms… they're so strong…~♡"
She leaned in, and her lips brushed softly against his cheek. It was a quick, shy "thank you" kiss.
'WHY MUST I ALWAYS SWITCH BACK DURING THESE MOMENTS! STOP! THAT'S MY BODY TOO! HE'S GETTING AFFECTION POINTS FOR A DISASTER HE CAUSED! HE'S HOLDING MY BODY!'
Yui's whistle blew, shrill and panicked, barely audible over the sound of Risa and Mio cheering.
"SHAMELESS RESCUE! YUUKI RITO, UNHAND HER AT ONCE! THAT IS AN IMPROPER HOLD!"
The crowd on the beach erupted in cheers and camera flashes.
*****
Soon Coming - Bath with Run
The first light r-18 chapter of Rito and Run. You guys can go to my ko fi page now to place commissions about what kind of "bath" you want.
*****
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