'Focus... Focus... Focuuuus... I CAN'T FOCUS!'

Standing on the center of the beach with his arms crossed and eyes closed in complete concentration, Tate spun his head around to catch a glimspe of all the summer beauties around him.

First were Yumi and Rio, who sat by the wet sand talking with one another and giggling.

Then there were Kasumi and Yukiko, who were splashing water at each other. Kasumi's breasts swaying as she stepped back to dodge Yukiko's almost gorilla-like splashes.

Further away from Kasumi and Yukiko were Ako and Tamaki, sharing a giant floatie and arguing with each for extra space, ramming their chests against each other in the midst of their arguments.

Near them was Minami, who sprout out of her water after taking a swim, her moist hair swinging from side to side as she shook her head.

Back on the beach were Aimi, who sat by herself on a towel, and Chika, who was laying down on a recliner chair and stretching her arms and legs, giving off a muture allure without even noticing.

'So many cute chicks with bombastic bodies around me!! I don't know if I can control myself any longer!' Tate yelled internally, his eyes going wide as he tried to held back his desires.

"Yo, you okay?" 

Tate looked back and his mountains of libido died on the spot at the sight of Ban's elephant speedo. He was instantly back to being the usual Tate.

"Yeah, I'm feeling peachy. How about you?"

"Breezy."

"I wish I could say the same." Izuru deadpanned. Forced to change out of his loincloth, Izuru just began wearing some black trunks and a grey shirt he found on his bag, which he kept open. He also had a white cowboy hat and water guns strapped to his trunks. He crossed his arms and sighed. "This time of rest was really what we needed."

"So... What's up with the big plastic in your hips, Texas Red?" Tate asked.

"Oh? Did you ever hear the legendary tale of the Vanguard Cowboy? Figures, it's not a tale an uncultured swine like you would know. The Vanguard Cowboy is an amazing person, a simple temple priest who dons on a cowboy hat and travels the land, equipped with his legendary revolver, and once he finds his target-"

Izuru drew his water guns, and after spinning them on his fingers to show off, he blasted Tate and Ban's faces with cold water.

"Bang! Bang! He shots his amazing holy water at the filthy Discord mods who unironically bought the special Pacifica playmat!"

"Eh? Someone like that actually exists? He sounds like a chad." Tate said.

"I doubt it. It's just one of those Vanguard folktales from the 2010s and 2020s." Ban shrugged. "Althought... Someone like that going out of his way to punish those actually filthy degenerates would be nice."

"Wait, I thought we were filthy degens too?"

"We are, but we're funny filthy degens. There's actual filthy degenerates who are just disgusting. Mostly Discord mods and redditors." Izuru explained.

"The world of the internet is truly something else." Tate nodded wisely.

"Yoho! Miyuki-kun, Tate-kun, Ban-kun!" Chika called out to the three. She held a white and blue volleyball above her head, smiling. "Are you three up to a game against us?"

"Hell yeah, senpai! Volleyball is just football with my hands, of course I'm great at it!" Tate replied with a cheeky smirk.

"No, you mean handball." Izuru deadpanned.

"I watched Haikyuu, that should be enough to not suck at this." Ban shrugged and nodded.

On one side was the male team, composed by Izuru, Tate and Ban. On the other, the female team, made by Chika, Aimi and Kasumi, who was part of the volleyball club. The referee was Yukiko, who caught the attention of both teams by blowing a whistle she had.

"I want a clean and fair game, you dirty rascals! And no looking at Kasumi-chan's or anyone else's tits in the meanwhile or else! Focus on this ball and no other balls, you got that?!" She asked, holding up the volleyball.

"Y-yukiko-chan!!" Kasumi yelped, blushing.

"Don't worry, Kasumi-san! We've got this one in the bag, I swear it as the vice president of the student council!" Chika exclaimed, looking back at her teammate with a confidant smile.

"What she said." Aimi said.

"R-right!"

"Good luck, Tate-kun!" Ako and Tamaki cheered from the sidelines.

Boosted beyond his normal limites by the lovely cheers of the girls he loved, Tate looked at his teammates, the desire for victory bursting in his eyes.

"LISTEN UP, WE'RE WINNING THIS ONE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED! I DON'T WANT NO IF, ANDS OR BUTTS, I WANT TO TAKE THIS DUB HOME! WE DON'T DWELL WITH L'S, YOU GOT THAT, YOU FILTHY DOGS?!"

"I told you he'd simp." Ban cackled.

"Oh dammit, this is why I hate making bets about him." Izuru sweatdropped.

"The ball starts on the Dumbass Team!" Yukiko declared, passing Izuru the ball.

"Don't go and names us just like that!" Izuru complained.

"Shut up, dumbass!" Yukiko yelled back.

"Alright, alright, sheesh! I'll start us off!" Izuru announced, shifting into position.

He tossed the ball into the air and reached up to strike it by slamming it with his right hand, but a voice made him lose all control.

"Good luck, Izuru!" Rio cheered, giggled.

'S-S-SUMMER NERO?!' Izuru's mind jumped into overdrive, and he tripped on his own feet before striking the ball. He fell with his face on the sand, and then, the ball crashed on his head.

"...for real?" Aimi asked.

"For real." Chika and Kasumi nodded.

"You little... Give the ball to the girls, let them start the game!" Yukiko commanded, letting out a large sigh afterwords. 

And so, the heated volleyball match between the male and female teams kicked off, for real this time!

With each time the ball passed over the net, things grew mroe dangerous for the male team. Despite being the sportiest, Tate was good on his feet, not on his hands. Despite having the bigger build, Ban's only good sport required him to wield a sword. Despite being able to throw hands with most people, Izuru just sucked at sports in general. Against the combined efforts of Chika and Aimi, who did their best to support the one person who actually played volleyball on her free time, and the superior techniques of Kasumi, they were on a terrible losing streak of five to one. Guard after guard, everything failed when put against Kasumi's "Six Petal Phantasmal Strike".

"I got it!" Ban yelled, slamming the ball towards the opposing side.

"Aimi-san! Mitsuki-senpai! Now!" Kasumi exclaimed.

"Got it!" Aimi nodded and intercepted the ball, passing it over to Chika.

"Understood, Kasumi-san!" With a powerful strike, Chika blasted the ball into the air.

"Now it's my turn!" Kasumi declared.

Aimi and Chika grabbed each other's hands and formed a small platform to support Kasumi. With a quick dash, the library assistant hopped onto their hands, and as they launched her into the air, she jumped aswell.

"Here it comes! Change into defensie positions!" Izuru commanded.

"Roger!" Tate and Ban replied.

"Six Petal Phantasmal Strike!"

Tate and Ban ran towards the net, because they knew that the goal of Kasumi's move was to strike the area right in front of the net, giving her opponents almost no chance of defending against it. But this time, they had a plan.

Kasumi slammed her hands down on the ball, blasting it like a cannon down at the field of the male team.

But the ball didn't hit the sand. No, what it hit was the net that drew the line between the two field.

The net was pushed down by the strength of the ball, but the ball didn't move. It hit the net at such a perfect angle that each of the ball's halves were in each side.

But then, the ball tilted one single degree towards the male field, and the ball was unleashed with all the momentum it had build up.

Everyone pictured the same image in their heads after what happened next: the image of a volleyball shooting down an elephant.

Izuru and Tate fell to their knees, grabbing onto their respective privates, and Ball fell back like a dead man.

'So this... This is how I go... I can see the light from here... Grandpa, I'm joining your sooner than expected...'

"Katsu-chan!" 

'That voice...!'

Reinvigorated by Yumi's words of worry, Ban focused all his strength on his legs, and with his feet burried into the sand, he lifted the rest of his body up without even using his arms, like a machine. A glare of focus was spread across his eyes as he looked back at his fellow brothers.

"We have a game to win!"

"You're right... We can't afford to let them score any longer!" Tate exclaimed, clenching his fists.

"We're done being the losers... We must win this game! Dedicate your hearts! Give up on your dreams and die for the ball!" Izuru yelled, slamming his fists on his chest. "MY SOLDIERS, RAGE! MY SOLDIERS, SCREAM! MY SOLDIERS, FIGHT!"

"Ball starts on the female side, Ban only got hit because he was staring at Kasumi-chan's tits!" Yukiko declared.

"YOU BIAS-!"

"SHUT UP OR YOU'LL GET IT!"

"Aimi-san!" Kasumi began the new round by passing the ball to the student council president.

"Mhm, Senpai!" Aimi then passed it to Chika.

"Try defending this, Miyuki-kun!" Chika unleashed a long distance pass that flew over Ban and Tate, and straight towards Izuru.

"Tch, it was smart to aim at me as the worst at sports from among us, senpai..." Izuru hummed, looking down. "But!" He raised his head, a confident smirk spreading on his lips, and clapped his hands. "BROTHER!"

"I GOT YOU, MY BEST FRIEND!"

Tate ran towards his best friend and striked the ball for him, making it fly over to Ban.

"Katsu-chan!!"

"GORILLA PUNCH!" Ban yelled out, sending the ball into the air with a mighty punch. "LET'S GIVE 'EM A TASTE OF THEIR OWN MEDECINE!"

All that time wasted on training for the football team would be repaid now. With his quick legs, Tate sprinted back to Ban, followed by Izuru. The two formed a platform with her hands and hurled Izuru into the skies.

'Six Petal Phantasmal Strike Shameless Rip-off!'

Izuru unleashed a triple roundhouse kick in the air, but never hit the ball. It was only meant to rapidly build up the momentum for this. He finally striked the ball, blasting it towards the female side like a comet.

"TRIPLE SUMMER DRAGON KICK!"

"Watch out, Aime-nee!" Minami called out.

"Senpai!"

"Let's do it, Aimi-san!" Chika nodded.

The student council president duo ran forward and jumped to try and stop the ball, but even after they gave their all to reach it, the ball still flew past them and headed straight for Kasumi.

'This is just last year's regionals... I can defend it without any problem!' Kasumi thought, getting into position. 'Wait... That speed, that momentum... I can't-!'

"Oh no you don't!"

Yukiko moved in front of Kasumi, ready to give her life for her best friend, and took the hit in her behalf. She defend against that killing shot with her forehead. Even after taking the strike, the ball was still spinning rapidly, but growing slower.

"Ah. I'm die." Izuru said bluntly.

"You really went and did it this time, you little rat..." 

The silver pinked girl grinned and jerked her head up, thus launching the ball into the air without touching it with her hands. The giant red bruise on her forehead did nothing to slow her down.

"Holy Maiden's..."

The ball began to fall back, the moment it crossed Yukiko during its descent, Yukiko unleash a strike with the side of her hand that blasted the ball straight towards Izuru.

"BEATDOWN! GET SHOT DOWN, YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAARDS!"

"TA-HA!" Izuru yelled, right as he came face to face with his cruel fate.

The ball shot him off the sky, and soon, he crashed on the sand like a plane.

"I could have dodged it on my own, Yukiko-chan..." Kasumi sweatdropped.

"Hush child, come to momma." Yukiko said, pulling Kasumi into her arms. "I won't let that foolish bastard ever come close to hurting you again. I should have been in your team to protect you, being referee wasn't enough!" She cried, running her hand through Kasumi's hair.

"No. It's fine. Really." Kasumi deadpanned.

"You..." Izuru growled, drawing his water guns after getting up.

"I-izuru, what are you doing...?" Ban asked. "T-the game's-"

"The game's over when I say it's over..." He replied, blasting a certain spot in the sand with water.

"M-miyuki, brother, my best friend, you can't really be thinking to do that... T-that's suicide!" Tate exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I'm accepted by fate the day I rolled my first gacha..."

Izuru tossed his water guns away and grabbed the bits of wet sand he made. He carefully rolled them into a ball and extended his right arm back.

"I swear I'll never let anything bad ever happen to you, Kasumi-chan!" Yukiko promised. "I'll always protect you no matter-"

And then, something hit the back of Yukiko's head.

"H-he did it!" Tate and Ban squealed.

"Not even Sumireko is gonna be able to fix the ass whooping he's about to receive..." Minami sweatdropped.

"Rest in peace, Izuru." Aimi nodded.

"Ahahah, take that! You bias, interfering jerkface douchebag!" Izuru laughed, pointing at the bits of ugly wet sand that rolled down Yukiko's silky hair.

"That's why we stopped playing first person shooters online together." Ban sweatdropped.

"The toxic gremlin child has returned." Tate nodded.

Yukiko muttered not even one word.

She let go of Kasumi and slowly walked up to the sea.

She crouched above the wet sand and began gathering a bunch.

"No, no, don't you-"

But it was too late.

Izuru was gunned down by an oversized ball of wet sand that striked his face.

"You got a death wish or somethin', you lousy bastard?!" Yukiko asked, looking down on his him.

"S-she went gang boss mode...!" Yumi gasped.

"Ryougi-san is mad, Ryougi-san is mad! It's a free for all, protect your loved ones!" Chika yelled.

"You're one to talk, you idiot that just knows how to butt in in the middle of a perfectly fair volleyball game!" Izuru replied, slowly getting back up. He wiped off the small bits of sand around his mouth and grinned. 

Izuru and Yukiko's childish banter just lead into a childish fight. The two pounced at each other like wild animals, but Izuru was easily knoced down first, and in the midst of their stupid fight, the two rolled all over the beach like kids.

"So, what should we do next?" Chika asked.

"I think that's how some animals procreate." Ban commented.

"By aggressively rolling in sand together...?" Tate asked.

"Hey baby seals need to come from somewhere."

"Oh, I know!" Rio exclaimed. "If we follow a small trail near the beach's edge, we'll end up at this cool carvern! We could go all explore it and-" Her words were interupted by the loud grumbling of her stomach. "Ahah, it seems like it's almost lunch time already..."

"Then we can go explore that cave after lunch." Minami suggested. "Aimi-nee, let's go make lunch together for everyone!"

"Actually... I was wondering if me and Izuru could handle it." Aimi answered.

And then a reaction of doubt appeared in everyone's faces.

"Yeah, I hear it too the more I think about it..."

"I've gotten better!" Izuru yelled. He was still rolling in the sand with Yukiko.

"I... I can vouch for that." Tate weakly raised his hand. "Working at Holmes with Risei-san really boosted his cooking skills beyond what I thought he could do. He made some good curry for us at the cafe and the rice didn't taste bad."

"He actually had a flavour that wasn't dog shit, literally." Ban agreed.

"W-well, in that case..." Rio sweatdropped. "Izuru, can you go help Aimi?"

"I'm kind of busy right- AH!"

With one single, but stupidly potent kick, Yukiko launched Izuru all the way to Aimi's feet.

"I'm not busy now..."

"Then let's go." Aimi sweatdropped.

Holding him by the back of his shirt's collar, Aimi began dragging Izuru back to the beach house.