Fire Ground

"Rise and shine, Nishi."
Sakai Akinari propped himself onto his elbow, his muscles flexing beneath the soft, cotton bathrobe he had been sleeping in. Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, he gently shook his best friend's shoulder in an attempt to wake him from his slumber.

"Aki, how the hell can you wake up at dawn every morning?"
Kuromoto Nishi let out an exaggerated yawn, his own eyes blinking to life. Somehow, despite getting the exact same amount of sleep as each other, only Nishi had dark circles beneath his eyes.

"That's not our biggest concern right now, man. Just look what's in front of us."
Akinari handed a pair of thick framed black glasses to the grumbling Nishi.

Donning his spectacles, a faint grunt could be heard escaping Nishi's throat. There, before them, were none other than the two female members of the Shishigami High School manga club in all their sleepy glory, Yamaguchi Minami and Tanaka Shina.

"Um, Aki?"

"Before you ask, no, we didn't do anything risqué."
Akinari pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Right, so then how are we going to explain this to Tetsunori-sensei?"
Nishi mimicked Akinari's posture, propping his own body up on his elbow. Staring at the two, beautiful girls beneath them, the pair of boys could do nothing but wait for one of them to explain. Having to stay perfectly still as to not stir one of the sleeping beauties from their rest, the boys watched their bodies rise and fall with each soft breath.

The first of the two to rise from the futon was Tan-Tan. She let out a high pitched groan as her minuscule limbs quivered between stretches. Blinking her eyes slowly, she watched the room morph from dream to reality. Sitting before her were none other than Sakai Akinari and Kuromoto Nishi in all their masculine glory. Suddenly becoming painfully aware of the events of the previous night, she frantically tucked her robe beneath her legs, hiding the exposed hem of her underwear.

"N-N-Nishi-senpai! Sakai-senpai! Good morning!"
With a face the color of the rising sun, Tan-Tan shifted her body away from the deadpan duo.

"Care to explain yourself, Tanaka-san?"
Akinari respectfully averted his gaze from her now covered legs. Nishi, on the other hand, snuck a few glances.

"W-well, none of this would have happened if you hadn't told such a horrifying ghost story last night! Minami-chan and I couldn't even sleep until after midnight!"
Tan-Tan rubbed her neck sheepishly, still somehow avoiding the answer they were looking for.

"I can see that, you look tired as hell. But why on earth are you in our room?!"
Akinari's eyebrow twitched as he blurted out the question on everyone's mind.

Tan-Tan clenched her eyes in frustration, her lungs filled with air as she finally exposed the elusive truth.
"We got scared, okay?! We snuck in here because we couldn't sleep alone!"

Raising her head of beautiful red hair, Minami blinked twice. Her eyes focused on the legs of the boys in front of her, her head nodding forward in an attempt to stay awake.
"Aki? How did I..."

"Alright you lot, let's hit the books. Go wake up the girls so we can-..."
Tetsunori Shinpachi appeared before the group, his hand shamelessly scratching the hairs of his exposed belly. Met with the gaze of four unforgiving teenagers, he raised an eyebrow and gave a mischievous smirk.

"Oh? Did you guys get down and dirty last night under my nose? You naughty devils. I suppose I'll let it slide, just this once."

"Sensei! Please perish the thought! Minami-chan and I were too scared to sleep because of Sakai-senpai's stupid ghost story!"
Tan-Tan clenched her eyes once again in frustration, knowing full well how indecent this display must look. Her eyes flickered over to Nishi for guidance.

"She's right. Aki and I didn't even know they were here until we woke up. Quite frankly, I'm a little more worried about that love bite on your neck, Sensei."

Covering his neck with his palm, Tetsunori Shinpachi whistled and walked away, leaving the awkward group to diffuse the situation without aid. Stiffly, the girls shifted their way to the door, the boys equally as robotic in their movements toward their luggage. The door shut, leaving the guys to their own devices.

"Minami-chan, do you think the boys are mad at us?"
Tan-Tan gazed up at her friend with a sorrowful stare.

"Nah, they're probably just flustered to see a couple of cute girls in their bathrobes first thing in the morning. Don't worry so much, Tan-Tan-chan."

Stripping themselves of their robes, the girls tried on various outfits in front of their room's mirror. Posing and applying makeup, the two shared a moment of carefree giggling. Their hair styled in various shapes, their faces painted with glorious amounts of foundation and eyeshadow, this was indeed what summer was all about.

"You look cute with contour, Minami-chan!"

"Says the prettiest girl I know!"
Minami gave Tan-Tan's hip a playful nudge with her foot.

"So, if I understood correctly, human anatomy lessons are in the recreation room and shading techniques are being taught in the courtyard at noon, right?"
Tan-Tan's eyes twinkled at the pamphlet gripped between her slender fingers.

Minami nodded her head, her bright red hair bobbing in its ponytail. "Yup, Nishi will probably be at the shading class. He's pretty much got anatomy down to a T. Aki and I are going to hop between the two if you want to join us."

"I think I'll accompany Nishi-senpai to shading class. You have fun with Sakai-senpai, Minami-chan."

"Cool beans! Let's get our faces stuffed with breakfast downstairs! This resort is famous for its American style buffet!"
Minami practically dragged the small girl by her thin arm toward the cafeteria.

Waiting among the crowd of tourists and families already donned in their swimsuits, Akinari and Nishi stood there clad in button up shirts and handsome capris. Breakfast was in full swing, the students loaded up their plates with popular American themed foods, each morsel looking more enticing than the other.

"Do Americans actually eat potatoes for breakfast?"
Tan-Tan took her seat next to the handsomely dressed Kuromoto Nishi, gripping the cold metal handle of a fork in her dominant hand.

"There's no way they could consume this many carbs every day. I doubt pancakes are as popular as this hotel thinks they are."
Sakai Akinari poked at the sweet mess of syrup and berries on his plate.

"For the time being, I'm definitely not complaining. I could get used to eating cereal with milk every day instead of rice and miso soup." Nishi shoveled spoonfuls of delicious cinnamon sugar mini toasts into his mouth, the cold milk adding a flair of refreshing ecstasy on his tongue.

"Not to mention, I don't think their hotels would be playing Nogizaka46 on the radio!"
Minami shared a laugh with the other club members.

After breakfast, the four found themselves splitting into groups of two for the upcoming aspiring illustrators classes just minutes away. Sakai Akinari and Yamaguchi Minami bid their farewells and headed to the recreation room at the end of the resort lobby, while Kuromoto Nishi and Tan-Tan made their way to the courtyard to study proper shading techniques being taught by a timid Korean artist; best known for his work on a popular anime series airing on NHK every night at 11 PM.

Tan-Tan couldn't tear her eyes off her partner beside her. As she sketched the handsome face of Kuromoto Nishi, her eyes fluttered with angelic admiration. She wasn't the most skilled artist in the world, but wanting to impress her crush unlocked a latent potential deep within her soul. Her hand flew across the paper in front of her, applying the methods taught moments prior to pairing up with the handsome boy.

"Are you done, Tan-Tan?"
Nishi's smile blinded her with prettiness.

"A-almost. I can't seem to capture the shadows under your chin."
She wiped the sweat off the back of her neck. Why they decided to hold this class outside in the middle of a summer heatwave was all she could think about. It frightened her, imagining what her crush would think if he saw her dripping with sweat while sitting cutely in front of him.

"Nishi-senpai, it's awfully hot, isn't it?"
She glared over her canvas at the boy sitting still in front of her. The closer she inspected, the more she could see his pores drenched in a thin layer of sweat, his collar damp with perspiration. Relief struck her like a semi-truck.

"Yeah, it's pretty killer today. I can't wait to splash around on the beach later."
His sweet smile caused a quiet whimper of affection to escape Tan-Tan's throat.

"Shading under the neck is really hard. I'm not sure if I'm doing it correctly."
She stuck out her tongue in concentration, like a child in front of a coloring book.

"Mind if I see?"
Nishi skillfully slid his body behind hers, admiring the attempted sketch of himself on her canvas. His body heat warmed the already overheated Tan-Tan's back, causing her to blush like a tomato. The scent of his pheromones invaded her nostrils and dove straight into her lungs, creating a strong desire for more. The way his torso shaped around her back as he animatedly explained his lesson made her shiver with excitement. Suddenly, working on her illustrations outdoors seemed like a blessing in disguise

"I think I understand it now, Nishi-senpai. Mind watching me from back there?"
Tan-Tan casually suggested a bold idea, not wanting to sound too eager at the fact that he was almost hugging her from behind in some delusional way; in reality, his body was at least 9 inches away from hers.

"Sure, I'll stay right here."

This was it, the sweet and innocent romantic gestures her little heart yearned for. She felt like a real shoujo manga protagonist, her crush involuntarily making her adrenaline skyrocket. She lived for moments like this, it was all she ever craved and more. Her hand gracefully followed Nishi's teachings and printed a perfectly shaded neck on his portrait, her shoujo manga brain fueling a sort of untapped excellence deep within her subconscious.

"Impressive work, Tan-Tan. I think the professor will be pleased with your results. I'm proud of you."
Nishi patted her slim shoulder, his hand confidently soothing her desire for physical touch.

"Hey you two, over here!"
A voice from the distance broke their moment of camaraderie. The pretty redhead herself, Yamaguchi Minami waved from the sandy beach below the balcony, her body sporting a deep purple bikini that accentuated her curves. Beside her stood the handsome loser, Sakai Akinari, his hands slumped in the pockets of his swim trunks.

"Looks like the lovebirds are ready for a swim. Let's get changed, Tan-Tan."
Nishi grinned with excitement.