The synthwave playlist hummed from Shinji's car speakers, casting a chill vibe as the neon dashboard lights lit up their faces. The city skyline slowly faded behind them, replaced by open roads and scattered buildings. Akira had his face glued to the window like an overexcited puppy.
"Look! The beach! Guys, look at the water!" Akira bounced in his seat.
"Wooooah!" Rika's voice turned shrill with excitement. "It's so pretty!"
Shinji smiled from the driver's seat. "We've arrived."
They rolled up to a sleek beach house with curved glass panels and solar neon lining the edges. The house was practically glowing in the afternoon sun, set right by the shore with palm trees swaying in the breeze.
Kaito stared, slack-jawed. "Wait. We're living here? For real? I thought you said beach house, not… beach palace."
Before Shinji could respond, the front door creaked open. A tall, cheerful man stepped out, wiping grease off his cyber-arm with a rag.
"Ohhh! Come, come! How are you all?" Shinji's uncle beamed.
"Great, Uncle!" they all chimed.
Uncle chuckled. "How was the trip?"
Rika, let out a tired groan, dragging her feet behind her "It was very long and exhausting… my whole body got stiff sitting in the same spot for 24 hours."
"True..." Akira added, dramatically cracking his back like a grandma.
Uncle laughed, "Haha, you all must be really tired. Go rest in your rooms—Shinji, show them where everything is."
Shinji nodded, "Okay, Uncle."
Uncle smiled, "Well then, I won't be holding you up too long. Enjoy your stay! I'm heading to the car shop. If you need anything, just call me or ask Shinji."
Akira's eyes sparkled. "Wait, you mean the shop? Your car shop?!"
"Where's your shop, Uncle?"
Uncle replied, "Not far—just a 50-minute walk from here."
Seeing Akira sparkling eye Uncle chuckled, "Ooh, it seems you are also a car enthusiast guy. Feel free to drop by the shop anytime."
Akira shouted, "I'm ready to go right now!"
But Rika and Kaito grabbed him. "Where do you think you're going?" Rika said. "Rest up! We're going to the beach, remember?"
Akira, now with a dull expression, muttered, "Yeah…"
Uncle laughed, "Ahaha, just rest for today. I'll give you the tour tomorrow."
Akira brightened up again. "Okayyyy, Uncle!"
And with that, Uncle waved and headed off to work.
Shinji showed them each to their rooms.
Kaito immediately flopped onto his bed and sighed, "Aaaah… finally, I can sleep like a king."
He was just about to close his eyes when—knock knock knock!
Rika's voice came shouting through the door, "Kaito! Let's go to the beach!"
Outside, Rika was already in her swimsuit, hands on her hips, and Akira stood beside her in bright beach shorts with inflatable tubes around both his arms and waist, looking like a total noob.
Kaito groaned, burying his face in the pillow. "Noooo… I wanna sleep…"
Rika burst in and tried to yank him out of bed, but Kaito clung to the mattress like a stubborn cat. "Nooo, I don't wanna gooo! Shinji, help me!!"
Rika turned to glare at Shinji.
Shinji stood frozen by the door, laughing nervously. "Haha… I—I don't wanna die yet…"
"Nooooo!" Kaito cried dramatically as Rika grabbed him by the leg and dragged him out of bed like a sack of rice.
....
They all stepped out of the beach house into the sunlight.
Kaito, still annoyed, shot a glare at Shinji. "You traitor."
Shinji raised his hands and laughed. "Haha, i value my life"
The beach stretched out like something from a retro postcard. Golden sand shimmered under the sun, and the ocean glowed an eerie teal under the refracted light from distant satellites. Holographic jellyfish swam lazily near the shore, projected from environmental generators.
Akira and Shinji were crouched in the sand like little kids, seriously focused on building a sandcastle.Akira wiped sweat from his forehead dramatically. "This shall be the grand fortress of House Akira! No tide shall destroy us!"
Shinji added a seashell to the top. "All hail the mighty king"
Meanwhile, Kaito was already out in the water, riding high waves like a man possessed.He let out a wild yell. "WOOOOO! I am the wave god!"He crashed into a wave and tumbled like laundry, then popped back up grinning like a lunatic.
Rika, watching from the shore with arms crossed, smirked. "Look at that maniac. He was the one whining about wanting to sleep ten minutes ago."
They played watermelon-splitting next. Rika, blindfolded and armed with a stick, stood ready as the others shouted directions."LEFT! NO RIGHT!""FORWARD A LITTLE! WAIT, NOT THAT MUCH!"WHACK!She missed by a mile and hit the sandcastel."Noooo! My masterpiece !!" Akira Screamed.
Rika lifted her blindfold. "...Oops? Sorry"
Everyone burst out laughing.
Then it was swim time. The four of them raced into the ocean, splashing and laughing—until Akira came up out of the water and froze.
"...Guys?"He looked down."My trunks… THEY'RE GONE!"
"WHAT?!" Rika screamed, already turning away.
Kaito nearly drowned from laughing. "Bro! You got snatched by Poseidon himself!"Shinji dove under like a rescue diver and came back up triumphantly holding Akira's swim trunks in one hand like it was buried treasure."Got 'em!"
Everyone burst out laughing as Akira snatched them back with a tomato-red face and muttered something about never swimming again.
After hours of fun, the squad finally collapsed under a big beach parasol.Everyone was half-dead from laughter and sun.
Rika, lying flat on the towel, pointed at a bunch of little kids eating ice cream.She practically drooled. "I want ice cream…"
Shinji sat up. "Say no more, I'll grab it!"
Akira, who'd been dozing, suddenly bolted upright like a zombie."Me too! Mint flavor!!"Rika raised a hand. "Chocolate for me."Kaito, arms behind his head, added, "Pistachio."
Shinji laughed. "Alright, alright. I got this. Be back in a sec."
Kaito stretched and stood up too. "Wait, I'll go with you"
And with that, the two guys wandered off toward the nearby boardwalk, still soaked and sandy but smiling.
Meanwhile, as Rika and Akira relaxed, three guys approached—clearly punks. Spiked jackets, cyber tattoos, and the classic "we're trash" attitude.
"Hey there, beauty," one of them grinned at Rika. "Wanna hang out with us?"
She ignored them.
"Aww, don't be like that," the second one said. "We just wanna have some fun."
"Yeah, come on, don't be boring," said the third, stepping closer.
"Go play with yourselves, weirdos," Rika snapped.
That hit a nerve.
The first guy's grin disappeared, and he grabbed Rika's arm. "Tch. You actin' like you're some princess or somethin'? You're coming with us!"
"Hey! Hands off!" Akira snapped, suddenly sitting up and launching himself forward. He tackled the guy holding Rika, knocking him back into the sand
The second thug grabbed Akira by the collar. "Who's this four-eyed punk tryin' to be a hero?"
SMACK.
He decked Akira right in the face. Akira hit the sand with a groan, clutching his nose.
"You jerks!" Rika yelled and then delivered a solid roundhouse kick right into that guy's face, sending his shades flying and his balance wobbling.
"Grahh! She got me off-guard!" he yelled, stumbling back. "Whatever, we still outnumber you!"
Rika narrowed her eyes. She could handle herself, but two-on-one wasn't great odds—especially with Akira down.
As one of the thugs charged in with a wild punch—WHAM!
A flying kick came outta nowhere and sent him flying like a glitching ragdoll in a VR sim.
He hit the sand with a thud, groaning.
The other two blinked in confusion.
Standing there in the sunlight, foot still out from the kick, was Kaito—shirtless, beach towel still around his shoulders like a cape, and ice cream cone in one hand.
Kaito tilted his head. "Yo. Did I miss something?"
Shinji, holding two more cones and now jogging up to them.
Rika pointed at the delinquents. "These clowns were harassing us. One of them punched Akira."
Kaito's chill demeanor snapped. The veins in his neck twitched.
Shinji's eyes darkened too.
The two remaining delinquents looked at each other, a little less confident now.
"Back-up, huh?" one of them muttered. "Fine, let's show 'em who they're messing with!"
The one who just spoke lunged at Kaito, fist swinging wide.
Kaito casually ducked, stepped in, and WHUMP—landed a brutal liver punch. The guy screaming in pain.
Kaito didn't stop. He grabbed the guy by the collar and gave him a few more solid blows to the body until the guy slumped to the ground.
"STOP! You don't know who you're messing with!" the guy wheezed.
"Nope," Kaito said, punching him again.
"We're from the The Rust Vultures gang!" guy shouted.
"So What?" Kaito smashed his head into the guy's nose, knocking him out cold.
Shinji, meanwhile, had already decked the last one. The beach was quiet again.
"Nice," Kaito grinned. "You're reliable, man."
Shocked Kaito clutched his head in anguish. "NOOOOO!"
"What now?" Rika asked.
"I've been waiting forever to try out MY SECRET MOVE! and this was the perfect chance! I totally forgot!!"
Everyone stared.
Rika rolled her eyes. "This guy… Fighting is the only thing on his mind."
"Are you okay?" she asked Akira.
"Do I look okay? That guy punched my precious face now no one gonna marry me…" he grinned through a bloody nose.
They all started laughing—well, except Akira, who was trying not to sneeze out a nosebleed.
They headed back to the house. Rika helped Akira clean up while Kaito asked Shinji, "Who are The Rust Vultures?"
Shinji's face darkened. "A gang from this city. Real scum. Extortion, beatings, vandalism… even murder. You don't wanna mess with them."
Kaito sighed. "Haaaah. Of course. Can't even enjoy a beach day without running into psychos."
Later that evening, in a grimy, shadow-filled warehouse on the edge of the city, those three delinquents—bruised, battered, and limping—stumbled inside.
Their leader, a tall man with glowing red implants and a sharp grin, looked down at them....