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I had set my alarm clock to 6:00 AM last night, but this morning I woke up at 5:53 AM. It wasn't the first time I got up early whenever we had a trip planned. The other was one time in third grade when we had a field trip to a candy factory, me waking up an hour earlier because I was so excited to go. Though today's trip was just to a nearby beach, it made no difference from that one. So after putting away my futon, I saw Grandma in the kitchen preparing breakfast while I heard noise coming from the shed, most likely because of Grandpa. After washing my face per her orders, all three of us sat together for breakfast. Done, I grabbed my things, bade them goodbye, and headed straight to the bus station.

By the time I got to the station, only Juuichi-san was there. Understandable, as it was still too early from our agreed meeting time. Hey, at least no one would have to wait for me. Though I couldn't say much for a certain tanuki.

"Well, you're here early," I said.

"I get up early most days since I have training," Juuichi-san said. "Nice to see you're just as early."

I noticed the fully-loaded backpack he had. It was almost as wide as him. "Looks like you brought a lot for this trip."

"Oh, this?" He pointed to the bag. "I just brought along something that suited the occasion. Besides, isn't this how much one should bring on trips like these?"

"Well, I don't have any goggles though."

"Then if you need to, you can borrow a spare."

At least I can rest safely knowing that Juuichi-san prepared many things for the trip, though that didn't stop me from feeling slightly ashamed for underpreparing. Why he had enough goggles for everybody though, I'd rather not question. What I would question though is the absence of the other Mikazuki.

"Kenji's not coming?" I asked.

"He is." The bear sighed. "Though he was still sleeping when I left home."

"Did you try waking him up?"

Juuichi-san shook his head. "As I am his twin, I should know Kenji better. And I know how heavy of a sleeper he is. Even a jab to the arm wouldn't wake him."

"Have you tried the fabled 'Wake-up Kiss'?" I said, smirking before feeling a light chop land on my head.

"Don't even joke about that," he said.

Just then Kouya arrived, followed by Shin-kun.

"Surprised to see you here early," Shin-kun said. "You think it'll rain?"

"I like being early for trips, thank you," I said. "And Japan's forecasting system never failed us once now, did it?"

The cat sported a slight grin. "Guess who's not getting some cookies today? A shame. I lost hours of sleep last night making these for everyone."

"You..."

Shin-kun chuckled. "Just kidding. It's natural you'd be here early. Of course, we know of one person that usually arrives last."

Well that one fact couldn't be helped, but seeing as Kenji wasn't here also, it would probably be a competition as to which of them would arrive first, with practically no one betting on Kounosuke.

A moment later, Tatsu-nii's big and boisterous self arrived. Then again, I couldn't imagine this trip, or any for that matter, being lively without him around.

"A carpenter's work always begins before the sun rises!" Tatsu-nii said. "Getting up early wasn't a big deal. Getting away from the old man though, is another story."

"Oh yeah! I start working at your place tomorrow, right?" I asked.

The dragon gave a thumbs-up. "Yep! Don't worry, we won't be too hard on you."

Next to arrive were Shun-kun, Soutarou-kun, and Kyouji-san, all three walking side by side. Though if you looked at it from another angle, Kyouji-san looked like a dad walking his two kids. With how the two acted, it might not be so far off. Shun-kun was his usual peppy self, while Soutarou-kun hid behind Kyouji-san, the Labrador encouraging him to mingle with us.

"If it weren't for Soutarou-kun, I wouldn't have woken up," Shun-kun said.

"At least your things were ready," Soutarou-kun said. "We had to get back to my house for mine, remember?"

Kyouji-san looked at the two."The important this is that we got here just in time, right?"

"Right!" they said in unison.

"Speaking of getting somebody, aren't they coming?" Kouya asked. "It's almost time to leave."

Kyouji-san crossed his arms. "Ooshima should be fine, but I don't know about Kounosuke."

"If I recall, Tora was going to go get him to make sure he wasn't going to be late," Juuichi-san added.

Then, Torahiko and Kounosuke finally arrived, the two panting after running towards where we were. Apparently, Tora arrived at their house to find Kounosuke still eating. And when they were about to leave, Kounosuke double-checked his things only to find out that he forgot to pack his camera. He and Tora had to look for it which took minutes from their travel time, hence the running.

"You do remember that I was gonna get you right?" Tora asked.

"I did!" Kounosuke said. "The only reason I forgot my camera was because I needed to take out the roll of film I used up last night."

"You think it would've occurred to you to pack it up before sleeping?"

The tanuki fell silent.

I coughed. "Anyway, since we're all here I think it's time we le-"

"Wait!" we heard someone shout from a distance. It was Kenji dashing towards us with a backpack on him. Surprisingly, it seemed lighter compared to what Juuichi-san brought.

"You're almost late, Kenji," Juuichi-san said. "Told you to put down the manga last night but you never listened."

"Couldn't you have at least tried waking me up?" the other bear asked.

Juuichi-san scowled. "I did. Three times."

Just then, Kenji went and grabbed me from behind, him still facing his brother. "Meanie! You just wanted to Hiro-chan all to yourself now, did you?"

Tora shouted at him. "H-Hey Kenji! No fair! Let him go!"

And while I was enjoying two grown beastmen fight over me, Juuichi-san seemed to be getting annoyed with the two of them. Which proved true when the bear shouted "You idiots!" followed by Tora and Kenji receiving blows to the head.

"Kenji, let go of Nishimura. Tora, get your stuff," Juuichi-san said. "You two ought to know when to behave."

"Yes mom," Kenji said under his breath.

Juuichi-san raised a brow.

"I mean, Bro."

"Ow..." Tora rubbed the lump on his head. "You could've held back a bit you know, Juuichi-san?"

The bus arrived just as their little bit of slapstick was done. We got in and discovered that we were the only passengers for the route the bus was taking, which meant a somewhat peaceful trip for all of us. I did feel a little sad about it, it being a reminder that the number of people in Minasato was dwindling, but now wasn't the time for deep musings like that. After putting our things on the shelves above the seats, we got settled and the bus took off.

Everybody had their own way of passing the time as we headed to the beach. And since I was seated near the bus windows, I was able to see whatever scenery we passed by, taking pictures of some that caught my eye with my phone's camera. One particular scenery was when we passed through a plain, green with grass stretching far beyond, with a mountain range at the horizon, it acting as a border between the clear blue sky above and the greenery below. Of course I took the best shot me and my phone could manage, but Kounosuke saw it as a competition and took his own set of pictures, him saying, "Phone cameras can only do so much, Hiroyuki."

"Says the guy wanting a digital camera," I retorted.

The tanuki let out a puff of air. "Digital cameras and phone cameras are different things. One is specialized for that purpose, the other is just a feature. Can you even zoom in properly there with better details?"

"Well, no..."

Kounosuke smiled triumphantly. "I rest my case."

"But, newer phones have cameras that can take pictures the same as, what was it, DSLR?" Shun-kun said before getting back to his TS game. "I read that in a magazine at the game store in Kazenari."

"Anyway, is there really a beach where we're headed?" I asked.

"If you go the other direction away from Kazenari, there is," Juuichi-san said.

"I discovered it by chance some days ago and checked it out," Kounosuke said.

Kyouji joined the conversation. "I'm pretty sure there's also a river around here. It must be the source of the big river that flows around Minasato."

"Oh, I've heard of that." Shin-kun took a drink from his thermos.

"The one that runs through the inner part of the village seems to come from the largest mountain in the area," the Labrador added. "At least, that was what I heard."

We all quieted down when the bus went inside a tunnel. Thoughts of our trip suddenly becoming a disappearance story aside, the tunnel's lighting was too dim and my eyes had to adjust to it. Even I had to agree with Kouya on not liking tunnels, since the air pressure feels strange on the ears. But our suffering didn't take long as we exited some minutes after.

What greeted all of us at the other end was the image of a vast blue sea and a white-sanded shore. The entirety of it seemed like something one could send as a postcard. We all went to the side of the bus facing the sea and needless to say, the scene took our breaths away.

"It's the ocean!" Shun-kun said.

"Sure is!" Kounosuke took a photo. "It's really beautiful."

"It's just the sea," Kouya said.

Shin-kun sighed. "Quit acting like kids."

"It's quite the view," Juuichi-san said.

Kenji groaned. "Ah! I wanna jump in already!"

Kyouji-san stroked his chin. "It looks like the ocean continues on from here."

"It's pretty!" Soutarou-kun said.

"Is that a yacht on the other side?" Torahiko asked.

"I think that's for windsurfing." The Labrador looked towards Soutarou-kun. "Would you like to try that, Tarou?"

The lion got flustered. "T-The two of us?"

"Did I say anything about trying it together?"

And judging by his reaction, Soutarou-kun was at a loss for words. If they were like this during their club activities, I wouldn't mind bringing over some rice crackers just to watch them be like this for hours.

Looking at everyone there, I noticed that there was one who wasn't looking outside: Tatsu-nii. Despite the fact that he said he didn't have a hard time getting up, he was there on his seat, still asleep and snoring, mumbling something to a certain "Sachiko-san" who was in his dream.

When the driver called for the stop, we pressed the button and tried to wake up Tatsu-nii who, in his half-awake state, asked for food. Shin-kun just ignored the scenario and got the change from the driver. Torahiko and Kouya were teasing about "Sachiko-san" which resulted in an embarrassed Tatsu-nii chasing the two outside. We gathered the rest of the things and Kyouji-san offered to pay the rest of the fare.

Once we were on the beach, we took our time in surveying the place. Torahiko remarked on how the place was less crowded. Kyouji-san added that the route here was inconvenient, but was a popular place for drivers because of the obscurity. Soutarou-kun saw the line of stores on the other edge of the shore, and Juuichi-san spotted a harbor. After getting an overall view of the place, we officially started our beach day.