After our shenanigans, splashing each other with water, Kagami nearly drowning me (we won't talk about that), and Kumiko scaring the crap out of me (she stayed underwater and grabbed me by my feet), I've decided to take a break and sit on the beach towel we laid out earlier.
Who knew having fun with others could be so fun?
Well… tons of others, probably.
I crack open a Dr. Pepper I've brought as a refreshment, but hear a popping noise twice.
I checked my ears to see if they had water, but then a pair of hands covered my eyes.
"Guess who—"
"Have I lost my vision!? Is this a side effect of going to the beach?!" I scream out.
A fist hits my head.
"It's just me, you idiot," says Olympia.
I knew I hadn't lost my vision, but I didn't tell Olympia that.
"Can I man enjoy a soda in peace?"
"A man can. But, by no means, are you a man."
"Hm? How so?"
"There are four things a person must do to become a man. One, plant a tree. Two, fight a bull. Three, have a son. Four, write a book."
"Wow, I guess I'm not a man. The only thing I've done is plant a tree."
"What a shame. I'm close to becoming a man myself. All I need to do is write a book, but that'll happen in a future volume."
"Wait, you've fought a bull!?"
I don't dare to question whether or not she's had a son.
"Anyways, Kiyo, tell me about that tree you've planted. C'mon, don't leaf me hanging.
Yes, I left some space just so she can reflect on her horrendous tree jokes.
"I'm sorry… Maybe that was a bit too corny for you," Olympia says.
"The only reason I won't give you more time to reflect is that the readers are probably already annoyed!"
Also, that one was somewhat funny, but I won't tell her that.
"When I was younger, I planted a seed. I don't remember what type of seed it was. I don't remember where I planted it. And, honestly, after planting it, I never took care of it. I just left it there. I don't even know if the younger me had a reason to do so. Maybe I had eaten a fruit and had planted a seed in some patch of grass."
She doesn't say anything about what I've shared. She just stares into my eyes. Silence. I don't hear any waves crashing. I don't hear Kumiko and Kagami chatting with each other. I don't even hear noise coming from the other people who chose to come to the beach today.
"Sometimes I feel bad that I did that. Often, people would consider this an act of goodness. But I don't think so. I didn't plant a seed out of the goodness of my heart. The seed was probably just trash for me. I most likely didn't even properly plant it. I might've just tossed the seed into some grass. Perhaps it wasn't even grass where it landed."
"…"
"After having 'planted' the seed, I left it to fend for itself. I hadn't thought about having planted it until today. I tossed it away because I could've. I didn't take responsibility and care for it because I didn't want to. Does this make me a bad person?"
"Sometimes in life, we do bad things, but that doesn't make us a bad person. If we can recognize our wrongs from the past now, that means back then, we didn't know any better. But now we do. That's why we can critique ourselves for the wrongs of our past. But, Kiyomi Otonashi, you aren't a bad person. At least, I don't think you are. Is that enough to make you happy?"
I don't give her an answer. Well, I don't give her a verbal answer. But I smile. Without forcing it, I smile.
She places her hand above mine.
She grabs my hand.
She looks deeply into my eyes.
She says:
"You don't have to put up with misfortune because of mistakes made in the past. Putting up with misfortune is not the same as putting forth a good effort. You don't have to distance yourself from others because you think you deserve some sort of punishment. You don't have to hate yourself because you've hurt others. You know you're allowed to love yourself, right?
"Kiyomi Otonashi, you are allowed to love yourself. You are allowed to feel loved."
Her face gets closer to mine.
She slowly closes her eyes.
I slowly close my eyes.
Our lips pressed together.
Olympia Ventura loves Kiyomi Otonashi.
Kiyomi Otonashi loves Olympia Ventura.
After a short while, she pulls her lips away from mine.
"That was my first kiss, you know," Olympia shares with me.
"Mine's too."
"Liar. Don't lie to me, Kiyo."
She's right.
"Since you lied to me, I won't share with you my tragic backstory."
"Okay."
A fist hits my head out of nowhere.
"I mean, please, oh please, let me hear your tragic backstory. It will serve to further strengthen our relationship. We must become closer. We must become one."
"Jeez, you are a disgusting pervert! All you've been after is my body! I'm out!"
She gets up and begins to head to the bathroom.
"I have to powder my nose."
"What?"
"I have to use the restroom…"
"More detail"
She gives me a look of disgust.
"Kimochi warui… I'll talk to you more once I'm done. Or perhaps on another day. Maybe in another volume."
"Please don't insinuate that we've reached the end of this volume. The readers might believe you and stop reading…"
"As if any people are reading this junk."
She throws a peace sign my way and blows a kiss.
"Ciao ciao. For now."
She then continues to head to the restroom.
I then realized I never got the chance to finish my soda.
As I'm about to take a sip, I hear a voice.
"Yo, yo! Kiyomi!"