Chapter Text
The first thing Sumire felt was a nice soft… something that her head was resting on. There was a slight tugging sensation somewhere near the back of her head, making her feel blissful and absolutely relaxed.
Water seemed to brush up and recede against her legs, giving off a very comforting and cooling feel. Soft sand shifted under her legs as she stretched slowly, breathing in deeply. She caught the scent of the clean sea breeze, the stale smell of seaweed, and a hint of coffee…
Wait, coffee?
She opened her eyes, and her red orbs met steel-gray, which looked down at her with no small amount of fondness. When Ren noticed her staring back, he smiled softly.
“Good evening, Sumire,” Ren smiled. “Sleep well?”
“Senpai…?” Sumire sat up. Ren’s hand fell out of her hair, and Sumire looked around before tilting her head. Coach Hiraguchi, Kasumi, and the others were nowhere to be found. “What… happened?”
Ren glanced at her before looking out across the water.
“You, uh,” Ren said sheepishly. “Fainted on me. Then fell asleep.”
Sumire blinked, before it all came rushing back. Meeting up with Senpai, getting teased by Kasumi, and finally seeing Senpai without a shirt…
Much like he is now.
Sumire immediately averted her eyes, covered her face with her hands, and let out a soft whine.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Ren chuckled softly. “I don’t mind it, honestly. You… You’re pretty cute when you’re sleeping.”
Sumire’s eyes shot up to her Senpai, where he was looking away bashfully. Sumire felt heat creeping up her neck, and she blushed.
“C-cute!?” Sumire squeaked in embarrassment. Her stomach grumbled, and Sumire further flushed in embarrassment.
“Hungry?” Ren teased.
“Senpaiii…” Sumire whined. “I haven’t even had lunch yet…”
“Sumire, it-” Ren stammered. “It’s like, dinnertime now. You were asleep for quite a while.”
“W-what?” Sumire asked, looking up at the sky. It was tinged orange with the setting sun, and Sumire rubbed her eyes.
“How long was I…?” Sumire asked.
“A few hours, give or take,” Ren shrugged. “Your coach said you needed the rest, so I stayed with you.”
“But that means you wasted your time here!” Sumire said, sitting up. “I’m sorry you had to stay here all this time-”
“None of that,” Ren shook his head fondly. “It was… peaceful. I enjoyed it.”
Sumire was about to respond before her stomach let out another growl. Looking down in embarrassment, Ren smiled.
“Know anywhere good to eat? I’ve only been here a couple days, and all I’ve been eating at are fast food places.” Ren chuckled.
“Um…” Sumire thought. “I do know one place, Coach took us there once. But it’s a very fancy place, and you’ll need to have a more, well… formal type of clothes. It doesn’t have to be like a suit and a tie! Just… not something super casual, either.”
“That shouldn’t be an issue,” Ren said easily, shrugging. He stood up, offering a hand to Sumire, who took it with a light dusting of pink coating her cheeks. “Where is it?”
“U-um…” Sumire blushed a deep red. “I-I could meet you in the hotel lobby? A-and we could… Maybe we can go there together?”
Ren smiled softly. “Is this a date?”
Sumire’s face went redder than it ever had before, and Ren was genuinely worried that she would pass out again.
“U-um! I-if you want it to be! But! If it’s not, that's okay too!” Sumire yelped, her face practically steaming in the night air. “I-I don’t want to force this on you it’sreallyfineifyousayitisn’t-”
“Hey, Sumi, breathe,” Ren chuckled softly. “I’d love to go with you. I’ll meet you in the hotel lobby, alright?”
Sumire’s mouth was open in a small ‘o’ shape, but she quickly recovered and beamed at Ren happily. “I’d love to, Senpai!”
_____________________
“I did not hear that correctly.”
“S-Sakamoto-kun… Should we really be doing this?”
“Of course! There’s absolutely no way RenRen has a girlfriend and hasn’t already told me! I refuse to believe it! Now shut it, Mishima! He’ll hear us!”
“But… You’re louder than I am…”
_____________________
As Ren walked into the hotel, he glanced around, eyebrows furrowed. Sumire tugged at his sleeve inquisitively.
“What is it, Senpai?” Sumire asked, looking up at him. Ren shrugged, glancing around one more time.
“I just… I dunno,” Ren shrugged. “It’s probably nothing.”
Sumire nodded slowly, blushing softly. “Well… shall we get changed?”
Ren smiled at her, sending butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. “Sure. I’ll meet you back here in… ten minutes? How does that sound?”
“Alright,” Sumire smiled. “I’ll see you soon, Senpai!”
Ren nodded, then departed to go get changed. Sumire teetered on the spot, clutching her chest and letting a blush grow over her cheeks.
I… I’m actually going on a date! With Senpai!
Sumire let out a small squeal of ecstasy, completely oblivious to the lurkers, and dashed off to her room. When both Sumire and Ren had left, Ryuji and Mishima stepped out from their hiding places, and Ryuji crumpled to the ground in a heap.
“S-Sakamoto-kun, are you alright?!” Mishima cried in alarm. Ryuji let out a small groan, before looking up.
“Can it be true? Did RenRen really get a girlfriend without… telling me…?”
“I… W-well, maybe not. It could be possible that they’re not-” Mishima tried, before being interrupted.
“Wait, you’re right! They might not be dating!” Ryuji exclaimed, immediately leaping to his feet. “They might be siblings!”
A second of silence ensued, leaving Mishima in a bewildered state.
“W-What…?” Mishima asked. “How did you get to that conclusion?”
“Well… If they’re not dating, why are they going to a fancy restaurant?” Ryuji asked, as if the answer were glaringly obvious. “If they weren’t, it’d be really awkward! They’ve got to have known each other for a while to be comfortable like that! So, they’re just siblings! Yeah, that’s it!”
Mishima could only stare with an open mouth like a fish out of water. Was… was this what the people on discord meant by “inhaling too much copium”?
“I-I’m not really sure that they’re siblings…” Mishima muttered, looking off to the side. “They don’t really look alike, do they?”
“W-Well… Siblings don’t have to look like each other!” Ryuji refuted, shaking his head. “I’m sure there are plenty of siblings that don’t look like each other out there!”
“Okay, but…” Mishima protested weakly, before a voice interrupted him.
“Ryuji! Mishima! What are you guys doing here?” Ren called, striding forward. The pair’s heads snapped towards him, and Ryuji let out a low whistle.
“Damn! Look at you, man!” Ryuji called, walking forward. “You look great!”
Mishima couldn’t help but agree. Although it wasn’t exactly formal, it wasn’t informal either. Ren wore a white t-shirt with a black blazer over it, along with a pair of jeans.
“So, what’s the occasion?” Ryuji asked, a wide grin on his face. Ren regarded Ryuji warily, before shrugging.
“Going out to dinner with a friend.” Ren said. “I’m supposed to wait for her in the lobby.”
“Ooooh, her? Who is it, RenRen? Your girlfriend?” Ryuji pressed, grinning.
Ren let out a choked start, and a light blush covered his features.
“N-No, nothing like that,” Ren coughed, looking away.
“Well? Who is it?” Ryuji asked again. Before Ren could respond, a soft “Senpai?” tore his attention away from his friends.
Ren was greeted with the sight of Sumire in a stunning blue dress. She had her hair down and her glasses on, sporting a cute blush on her face. The blue dress had a few buttons on the front and poofed out at the bottom, letting it flutter in the soft breeze blowing in from the hotel exterior. Her legs were exposed to the open air, and she wore a pair of black socks and shoes to match.
“Woah… Who’s that?” Ryuji asked in awe. Mishima seemed taken in, too, but Ren paid them no mind.
“...What do you think, Senpai?” Sumire asked shyly. “Do I look alright?”
“I think I’m in love…” Ren uttered, absolutely transfixed. Sumire immediately blushed bright red, and began to stammer out a response.
“S-Senpai…! Y-You’re- I-I mean, it- it’s just the clothes, right? You’re in love with- with the clothes, right? I think they look nice, too!”
Ren simply let a bright smile cross his face as he took Sumire’s hand and pressed his lips to the back of it.
“It would be my honor to accompany you on this fine night,” Ren whispered, looking up and locking eyes with Sumire. “Shall we be off, my lady?”
Sumire let out a soft squeak of embarrassment, but soon after, a brilliant smile crossed her face, and she nodded.
“Let’s go, Senpai!”
Ren and Sumire swept out of the hotel lobby, hand in hand, leaving a gobsmacked Ryuji and Mishima behind.
Mishima shot a glare towards Ryuji, who simply hung his head low in defeat.
“Siblings, huh?”
_____________________
“This place is certainly different from Tokyo,” Ren mused. The hustle and bustle wasn’t all too different from Tokyo, but the tropical air and all different sorts of clothing definitely were.
“I know, right?” Sumire offered a shy smile. “There’s a lot of stuff here that we can’t see back home, Senpai.”
“That’s true,” Ren smiled. “I’m glad that… I get to see these sights with you.”
Sumire blushed softly at his words, and became acutely aware that their hands were still interlocked. Ren continued on, unaware of the internal meltdown that Sumire was threatening to face.
“Where’s the place?” Ren asked, tearing Sumire out of her thoughts, and putting a stop to the meltdown that was about to happen.
“O-Oh! It’s just up ahead,” Sumire said, pointing forward. “Are… you sure you want to go here with me? It’s… okay if you don’t…” she continued, averting her eyes downward.
“Of course I do,” Ren said emphatically. He took one of her hands in both of his own, and stared Sumire in the eye. “I’d give up anything to share this night with you. Anything. But if you don’t want to do this, please let me know. I don’t want to do anything to upset you or make you uncomfortable, either.”
“No, I want to do this with you, Senpai,” Sumire affirmed. “I just want to make sure you’re okay with it. Okay with… spending time with me.”
“I am. I couldn’t be any happier, spending tonight with you,” Ren smiled, leaving Sumire’s blush to return with fiery retribution.
“S-Senpai… Yes. Let’s enjoy tonight… together.” Sumire smiled.
Ren chuckled good-naturedly, pulling Sumire into a tight hug, which she eagerly reciprocated after a small squeak.
“Yes… Let’s.”