"La la, la la, la la la!"
Underfoot lay a winding rural path, flanked by tender green rice paddies stretching out to the distant horizon.
Misaki Saki strutted along with her short strides, humming an unknown tune, her delicate and adorable face filled with childlike joy. Those long-missed landscapes, with their earthy fragrance, were truly yearn-worthy.
The lively melody seemed to lighten the mood of the group following behind the little one.
"Sister Misaki, what were you just singing?"
Rika Onodera came over with a look of happy delight in her big watery eyes.
"This is our Otaku's anthem! Want to learn it?"
Misaki Saki said with feigned mystery.
"Yes, yes! I want to learn!"
Rika Onodera nodded vigorously, and the two little ones huddled together, whispering amongst themselves.
Haruka Yuzan followed behind the pair, also touched by this harmonious and amicable scene. Hmm, perhaps he'd invite little Rika to Tokyo to play for a couple of days.
"Childhood is truly the best!"
After a moment of reflection, he attempted to nonchalantly encircle a nearby girl's slender waist with his arm, only to abruptly realize he was holding a plastic bucket in one hand. It wasn't heavy, but it effectively restrained Haruka Yuzan's ever-ready, wandering hands.
The comical scene made Arisugawa Hoshina on the other side chuckle quietly.
Haruka Yuzan glared at the tomboy who cheekily stuck out her tongue in response.
It's worth mentioning that the group who had been playing by the stream were all more or less wet from the splashes.
Though the sun was blazing hot that day, it wasn't fast in drying them, especially Arisugawa Hoshina, whose tender and graceful frame had soaked in the water for more than an hour. Her originally light and cool tank-top clung tightly to her full bosom.
The pale pink hue of the undergarment was faintly discernible, looking very alluring. Orıginal content can be found at novel•fire.net
Of course, such a sight was already concealed by a large T-shirt she wore over it. Even though there were no other people around, Haruka Yuzan naturally wouldn't let the tomboy walk down the road in sheer clothing, and quite generously offered his own T-shirt to her.
Covering that perfect scenic curve.
"Stop laughing and take a bucket!"
Haruka Yuzan pouted and handed the plastic bucket in his right hand to the tomboy.
But who knew, Arisugawa Hoshina playfully stuck out her tongue again, "I don't want it! You carry it by yourself! Otherwise, if your hands are free, who knows what bad things you'll do!!"
Then, the ill-mannered girl ran up to Chiba Shimizu's side, intimately slipping her arm around the young lady's, just like close girlfriends out on a stress-relief trip, "Shimizu, let's not bother with him; let's race home and start cooking!!"
Haruka Yuzan, upon hearing this, let out a scornful chuckle:
"You're joking; do you think Chiba-san would do the same as you? Leave me here to fend for myself? You really don't understand...."
Before Haruka Yuzan could finish, Chiba Shimizu nodded coolly, her beautiful face untroubled, showing no sign of agitation:
"You make sense, Hoshina. Let's go prepare the rest of the ingredients at home, indeed we can't let Haruka Yuzan's hands be idle."
The young lady not only wholeheartedly agreed with the tomboy's words but also added to them! "We should also take Rika and Misaki back with us; let Haruka Yuzan walk by himself."
It wasn't because of physical strength; Haruka Yuzan could probably run faster than them even if he was carrying two bags of rice!
But this bulging plastic bucket became the obstacle to the boy's progress; if he moved a bit too quickly, the results of their morning's hard work would joyfully jump out.
"Are we really going to leave Haruka Yuzan behind?!"
Misaki Saki, who had been walking ahead, came over at some point, raising her pretty little face and speaking with innocent sincerity.
"Yes, let's go home to take a shower and prepare the other ingredients, letting Haruka walk slowly by himself," Hoshina said with a smile. "Misaki, will you join us?"
Misaki Saki stood still, tilting her little head, glancing at the two beautiful girls in front of her, and then at Haruka Yuzan not far away, holding the two plastic buckets.
"You'll stay with me, right, Misaki?"
Haruka Yuzan tried to produce a kindly smile.
"Hmm... maybe, perhaps, possibly..."
Misaki Saki pouted, seemingly struggling hard, but she had already made up her mind!
"Haruka, of course, I'm going to abandon you!!"
The afternoon sun was hot.
Having taken turns showering, the group pulled up little stools and sat in the corridor, starting to process the river shrimps they had just caught that day.
"Hey, do you know when Sister Reiko and the others are coming back?"
Arisugawa Hoshina asked curiously.
Chiba Shimizu wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, the young lady engaged in labor emitting a hint of a mulberry-picker's rustic charm.
Compared to her usual self, she felt more in touch with life.
"Not quite sure, but let's get the ingredients ready anyway, and then we can call Sister Reiko to find out when they'll be back," she said.
As she spoke, the girl took another shrimp with her slender fingers and began washing it.