The Beach Episode Part 1

2 days after Yuna vs. ‘Just a cold’, the cold had officially lost.

I opened my apartment door early that morning, ready to run an errand for my parents… only to nearly collide with my sister, who was marching toward Yuna’s door like a tiny general with a mission.

“Oh Yunaaaa!” she sang.

I tried to stop Yui, but Yuna already opened her door. She blinked at us sleepily.

“Oh, morning…” she mumbled.

My sister turned toward me with fire in her eyes. “It’s time!” she said.

“...Time for what?”

“You’ll see.”

Then she turned dramatically to Yuna.

“So, Yuna~ Do you have any plans today?”

Yuna tilted her head. “...Plans? Um… I was thinking of doing laundry for once… and maybe…”

My sister interrupted her.

“Wrong answer!”

“H--Huh?”

“What’s this about? We don’t exactly have anything planned that we can invite her t–”

“That’s exactly the point!” my sister said, cutting me off and jabbing a finger at me. “We don’t have plans. So we need to MAKE some. And they must be PLOT-RELEVANT!”

I groaned.

“You need to stop watching so much anime.”

“Never.”

Then she turned back to Yuna, eyes sparkling.

“Is there something you haven’t done in a long time? Something you wanted to do but couldn’t?”

Yuna blinked. “Like… an activity?”

“Yes! Something that screams ‘character development’.”

Yuna thought for a moment. Then she looked shyly at her hands.

“...The beach. I haven’t gone in a really long time. Not since…”

She trailed off, but forced a tiny smile.

“I… kind of… want to go there… with friends.”

My sister exploded into sparkles.

“THE BEACH EPISODE IT IS THEN!”

I facepalmed.

“You’re insane.”

“Ren!” she said, grabbing my shoulders. “Go get Mom’s car keys.”

“You’re–”

“REN. CAR. KEYS.”

I sighed loudly, turned towards my apartment, and muttered:

“Why am I the errand boy for my little sister…”

I grabbed most of the things one might need for a beach trip. And the car keys of course.

When I returned, the 3 of us met in the hallway again.

Yuna had already changed outfits by then. She did it surprisingly fast… I guess she was really excited about this.

She was wearing a light, flowy sundress that moved softly around her belly. Simple, modest, and extremely… cute.

My sister was humming the OP of some romcom anime as she grabbed her bag.

And then…

The door at the far end of the hallway opened.

Out stepped my childhood friend… Sakura.

Hair tied up, a light summer dress swaying around her legs, a bag slung casually over her shoulder.

And she froze when she saw us.

“...Ren & Yui? Oh, and Yuna? What are you 3 doing in the hallway?”

My sister immediately squinted her eyes, rubbing her chin theatrically like some kind of detective.

“Hmmmm.” she hummed loudly. “HMMMMMMM… An unexpected chance encounter just as we’re about to leave for a trip… could this be… A SIGN?”

I stepped forward quickly.

“Oh, hey, you’re visiting your parents again?”

“Yeah. I had breakfast with my mom. I was just about to head back and study for a bit. What are you guys doing?”

I was planning to keep quiet about it. My sister, however, had very different plans.

“We’re going to the beach!”

“Beach?” Sakura blinked.

Yuna nodded timidly. “Um… y-yeah. They invited me.”

Sakura smiled. “Oh, that sounds nice.”

My sister snapped her fingers.

“Aha. A perfect opportunity. This is clearly one of those ‘choose your path’ moments. Looks like a new route just opened.”

I grabbed Yui’s shoulders.

“Stop it. No route. No path. No–”

“Silence, protagonist!” Yui cut me off.

This was going to be a looong day. I should’ve stayed in bed...

Then she turned to Sakura.

“Do you wanna come with us?”

Sakura blinked, surprised. “Eh? Really? Is that… okay?”

I opened my mouth. ‘No’ was on the tip of my tongue, but my sister leaned in, eyes glowing:

“It’s PERFECT for the plot.”

Yuna looked confused.

Sakura looked hopeful.

And I looked like a man being slowly lowered into a volcano, looking for escape routes.

“Fine. You can come.”

“Really?” she lit up. “Then I’ll go change quickly.”

The moment the door shut, I glared at my sister.

“WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?”

“I made the story more interesting.” she said proudly.

“This is real life!”

“And you would’ve kept it painfully uneventful without me!”

“That’s not true.”

She ignored me completely and mimicked a melodramatic anime narrator pose.

“4 youths… a sunny day… a beach filled with the scent of destiny…”

“How old ARE you?” I snapped.

“16.” she winked. “And thriving!”

—---------------------------

10 minutes later, Sakura emerged in a beach dress, wide hat and sunglasses. She looked like she was attending a commercial shoot instead of a casual outing.

We went to the car.

My sister grabbed the front passenger seat.

“Nope. That’s for Yuna.” I said.

“Why!?” she screeched.

“She’s pregnant…”

“...Dang it, plot armor.”

Yuna tried to protest. “I… I can sit in the back.”

“Nope.” I said firmly. “More space, safer seatbelt, easier exit. Front seat.”

Yuna quietly accepted and got in. My sister sighed and opened the back door.

“Seatbelts everyone.” I said.

“Yes Dad” my sister shouted.

“I am NOT–”

“Oh, right. You’re not the dad… yet.”

“YET!?” I almost drove into a mailbox while backing out of the parking space.

Sakura giggled behind me. Yuna covered her face with her hands.

I’m probably going to lose my sanity today.

—-------------------------

The car ride was… loud. Mostly because of my sister.

“Okay, everyone! Let’s set the vibe.” she declared dramatically, unlocking her phone with the energy of a DJ.

“NO ANIME OPENINGS.” I said.

She froze.

“…How did you know what I was gonna put on?”

“Because it’s literally your entire playlist.”

“Tsss.” She smirked. “Well, jokes on you. I wasn’t going to put on an anime OP anyway.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t?”

“Nope! Today’s theme needs something more… legendary.”

She tapped her screen theatrically.

“Ladies and gentlemen…”

“Oh no.” I whispered.

“...prepare your hearts!”

“Oh no.”

“BECAUSE WE ARE STARTING THIS TRIP WITH…”

Nothing good ever followed that level of enthusiasm…

“Sis, don’t…”

“...LUNA ZERO’S FIRST AND ONLY SONG!”

A beat.

Then music filled the car.

Beautiful vocals.
Emotional lyrics.
A style that was NOTHING like LunaZero’s chaotic stream energy.

And in the front seat… Yuna started making weird faces.

Her shoulders stiffened. Her hands curled into tight fists over her dress.

“...Yuna?”

She squeaked.

“Do you, uh.. know this song? You don’t like it?”

“W-Well, I mean… yes… who doesn’t. It’s popular… kinda… maybe. I like her content… I watch sometimes… I mean, not sometimes, more like… sometimes, but not… you know…”

She was definitely lying.

Sakura leaned forward a bit, curious.

Yui grinned like a goblin.

“Yuna… you don’t have to lie just so Yui can listen to her songs. If you hate it, say so… Yui switch to another song.”

“Ren! You won a tournament with her. The LEAST you can do is listen to her one and only song.”

“I HAVE heard it already. It’s just… doesn’t this count as anime music?”

My sister gasped like I’d insulted the concept of music itself.

“EXCUSE YOU. This is NOT anime music. This is ART. This is a SOUL-HEALING EXPERIENCE.”

“That’s a bit dramatic.” I muttered.

She ignored me entirely.

“LunaZero is a VOCAL LEGEND, Ren. A QUEEN. A GODDESS. Besides… I think Yuna wasn’t lying… you like her too, right?” Yui smirked.

Yuna practically sank into the seat.

“I- I think she’s… um… talented, yeah. Don’t worry, Ren. I wasn’t… lying.” she whispered.

Huh. Strange reaction for a casual fan. Maybe she thinks it’s weird for her to like VTubers at her age, just like she did with her gaming addiction. I don’t really mind though.

“Well.” I said. “She’s definitely popular. Yui screams whenever she posts something.”

“I do NOT scream!” she snapped.

“You literally screamed in my ear last week when she posted a JodyTube video.”

Yui pouted.

Yuna giggled nervously behind her hand.

The song continued playing.

And while everyone else enjoyed the music… Yuna stared out of the window, pink-cheeked, and mumbling the lyrics under her breath that she definitely knew way too well for her earlier claim to have been a lie.

Guess it really does make her uncomfortable to be a fan.

Sakura leaned forward and tapped my seat.

“So, Ren.” she asked sweetly. “Are you sure you’re up for driving all day?”

“I’m fine…”

“It’s just… you look kinda tired.”

I glanced at her through the mirror.

“Yeah, well… caring for a pregnant neighbor is exhausting.” I joked.

“I– I didn’t ASK you to..!” Yuna stuttered.

My sister cut in.

“It’s okay Yuna, big bro LIKES being useful.”

My face heated. “I swear I’m leaving you at a bus stop.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Watch me.”

Yuna looked out of the window, her face clearly red, but she was smiling, laughing softly to herself.

Yui leaned between the seats. “Yuna?” she whispered loudly.

“Y-Yes?”

“What kind of swimsuit are you wearing?”

Yuna flinched, clearly caught off guard.

“S- Swimsuit? I don’t… I didn’t bring… I didn’t know…. I haven’t worn one in years…!”

“Don’t worry… I didn’t bring one either.” Sakura said.

Yui gasped dramatically.

“A beach episode… WITHOUT swimsuits????”

“This isn’t an anime…” I groaned.

“It SHOULD be!” she said, staring straight into an imaginary camera.

Yuna shyly tapped her fingers together.

“Um… I wouldn’t have worn one anyway… because of… the belly.”

She looked embarrassed.

My sister softened. “Oh, right. Then it’s fine. We’ll just go for a walk, collect shells, do cute girl stuff.”

Yuna relaxed with a small smile. “...Okay. Sounds nice.”

About 1 hour later, the ocean appeared on the horizon through the windshield.

Blue, bright… beautiful.

Yuna gasped quietly. Her face lit up in awe.

“I… forgot how beautiful it is.” she said.

Sakura smiled softly. “It really has been a while, huh?”

Yui raised both arms in triumph. “BEACH EPISODE, ACTIVATE!!”

“STOP CALLING IT THAT.” I yelled.

But honestly? I couldn’t stop smiling. The weather was perfect, Yuna looked genuinely excited, Sakura looked happy to be with us, and my sister was living her romcom dreams…

And for a moment, I forgot about all the drama waiting for us back home. Especially for Yuna… All I saw was the sparkling ocean on the horizon, and these 3 girls laughing in my car.