Chapter Text
Two months ago...
"So, do we wanna go to Big Bang Burger while we figure out what we're doing?" Ryuji asked as he, Ren, Ann, Makoto, and Haru walked past an outdoor shopping mall that had a Big Bang Burger in it.
Haru shook her head in disapproval. "You guys had Big Bang Burger back in Japan. Besides, do you know how many additives and preservatives are in their food? Too many. I don't why their food is allowed on the market-"
"You are very vocal about Big Bang Burger, huh?" Ren interrupted.
"It... It's just not healthy." Haru stammered, almost like she was caught off guard by Ren's question. "You shouldn't have too much of it in one week, you know?"
"Haru's right though, guys." Makoto said quickly. "Eating Big Bang Burger... Playing on our phones... That's not different than what we do in Japan. We should do something different. Something we can only do in Waikiki and not in Tokyo."
"Like what, hula dancing?" Ryuji asked sarcastically.
"... I'm down." Ren said honestly.
"Seriously?"
"There should be a hula dancing class we can go to after dinner at the hotel." Haru said supportively.
"I think there's gonna be a surfboarding lesson on the beach in a few hours." Ann added.
"Yes. Surfboarding. Thank you, Ann." Makoto said hopefully. "Look, we're at a little shopping mall, right? Why don't we get some snacks and head to the beach? While we're there, we can look up other things we can do in Waikiki."
"Sounds like a plan to me." Ren agreed. "Let's divide and conquer. Haru, you, Ann, and Ryuji head to the beach to secure a spot. Makoto and I will gather food and whatever else we could need."
Haru nodded once. "Got it."
"Leave it to us!" Ann said happily as Ryuji saluted Ren and Makoto.
Ann and Ryuji started walking towards the beach as Haru dug into her bag. She grabbed her purple wallet and handed it to Makoto. "Use my card to pay for everything."
"Haru-"
"I insist. I have more than enough. I made my pin my birthday." Haru interrupted. "Whatever you two think we might need, just buy it using my card."
"Are you sure?" Ren asked.
"Positive. Whatever you think we'll need." Haru said, quickly turning around to catch up to Ann and Ryuji.
"... I'm not comfortable using her money." Ren said once Haru was far enough away.
"Me either." Makoto agreed. "Split the costs?"
"I don't want you to use your money either."
"What is it with you not wanting me to spend money?" Makoto asked. "I have a job. The cost shouldn't just be on you."
"I'm sorry that I was raised to be a gentleman." Ren said sarcastically.
"I get that, but you gotta let me pay every now and then, Ren." Makoto said gently. "I don't need you to pay for me all the time. I can't spend my entire life being dependent on you or anyone else."
"I know."
"Then let me pay for some of it."
"... No."
"Ren-"
"I'm joking... If you want to pay for some of it, you can pay for some of it." Ren said quickly. "I've just never known someone so insistent on paying for something before."
"I guess I'm just built different."
"I guess so." Ren agreed.
Ren and Makoto wandered into a bigger store there called ABC Store, realizing that it was a convenience type of store. Makoto grabbed a basket and started filling it up with water bottles and precut fruits, Ren grabbing some bags of chips that they had inside. As Ren looked around, he paused when he saw a silver necklace on a display. Silver chain with a silver flower dangling in the center. As Ren studied the necklace, one of the workers came up behind him and said in English, "It's a plumeria."
"Huh?" Ren asked, turning around.
"The flower on that necklace. It's a plumeria. It embodies the spirit of Aloha." The worker said, glancing over at Makoto. "Might be a perfect gift for your girlfriend over there."
"... It's complicated." Ren decided to say as he quickly walked back over to Makoto.
Makoto looked over and asked, "You okay? Did you somehow get sunburnt already?"
"No, I'm good. You got everything?" Ren asked.
"Almost... I got some lunch meat and cheese so we can have a nice beach picnic, but I can't reach those rolls so we can make some sandwiches." Makoto said, pointing to a package of rolls on the top shelf.
"I got it. My height has to be good for something." Ren said, walking up to the shelf and grabbing the pack with ease.
"Awesome." Makoto said happily. "I'll pay for the fruit and the lunch meat, you pay for the chips, the cheese, and the bread rolls."
"Sounds like a plan." Ren agreed as they walked over to the line.
The line had gotten long enough to push them back to the display with the necklace that had caught Ren's eyes earlier. Makoto looked at the display, spinning it around as she looked at the jewelry. Ren cautiously asked, "You find something you like?"
"A souvenir for Sae." Makoto said, showing Ren a silver chain that had some black pearls on it. "My sister's always had a love of the color black."
"It's pretty." Ren commented. "I think she'd like it."
"I think she would too... Might have to come back here later for it." Makoto agreed.
Ren nodded, trying to make it look casual as he looked at the jewelry display. "We might have to show the others this place... Pretty easy to get some souvenirs from here."
"Definitely."
"What do you think about this necklace?" Ren asked, pointing out the necklace he was looking at earlier.
"A plumeria... You thinking of getting that for your real girlfriend?"
"What do you mean? One of the workers said that it represented Aloha earlier."
"Plumerias symbolize love, beauty, and romance. Love, kindness, and respect are the embodiments of Hawaiian spirit, which is technically Aloha, and the plumeria is one of the symbols of Hawaiian culture." Makoto elaborated.
"Oh... Was not aware of that." Ren commented. No wonder the worker assumed that he should get it for Makoto... Though, he had to admit, the necklace itself was simple and dainty. It honestly suited her pretty well.
"It is pretty... But I think Ann suits it more."
"No way. Ann likes bigger jewelry." Ren said as he and Makoto got closer to the cash register, making a mental note about the necklace for later. "Plus, she suits gold jewelry better than silver."
Makoto gave Ren a suspicious look as he defensively said, "What? I've managed to pick up on a few things by going to her modeling gigs with her."
Makoto laughed as she handed Ren the objects he was paying for, then headed to the first empty cash register.
Once Ren managed to pay for his half, both he and Makoto made their way back over to the beach. Ann, Ryuji, and Haru had managed to make base fifty feet away from the edge of the ocean, Haru readjusting her floppy sun hat as Ann set up the umbrella. As they walked over, Ren asked, "Where'd you guys get the umbrella and the beach blanket?"
"Haru managed to convince the hotel staff to let us rent this stuff at a lower rate than they usually charge." Ryuji stated as he smoothed out the bright pink beach blanket.
Makoto looked over at Haru as she set down her bags. "How did you manage that?"
Haru shrugged, handing Makoto the bottle of sunscreen Makoto had brought to Hawaii with her. "I can be very persuasive when I want to be."
Ren looked over at Ann, hoping for a clearer answer, as Ann said, "I don't know man... She sent me and Ryuji like... Twenty feet away while she talked to the front desk."
"Here is your wallet back, by the way." Makoto said, handing Haru back her wallet.
"You guys got everything?"
"Yup. We got some fruit, some stuff to make sandwiches, and some snacks." Ren said, taking off his flip flops so he could sit down on the beach blanket.
As Ren unpacked everything, Makoto squeezed some of the sunscreen into her hands and started rubbing it against her skin. Ann noticed and asked, "Do you want me to get your back, Makoto?"
"I'd appreciate it, thanks." Makoto said as Ann grabbed the sunscreen and squeezed some of it into her own hands to help Makoto out.
"So I was looking on my weather app on my phone," Haru said as Ren spread out all of the food he and Makoto had bought. "And it said that we're due to get some rain tonight. After that hula dancing class, do we want to have a game night in our room, Makoto?"
"I'm down." Makoto said as Ann finished rubbing in the sunscreen. "Thanks Ann."
"No problem."
"Obviously, you all can invite whoever you're rooming with to come too. The more the merrier." Haru said quickly.
"Pretty sure Mishima will take me up on that. He can have more people to talk about the Phansite with." Ren said exhaustedly.
"See, that's why I wanted to room with you, but no, we had to room within our own class." Ryuji said exhaustedly.
"Is that seriously all he talks about?" Makoto asked.
Ren sadly nodded. "I can handle it in small doses... Not for more than six hours a day, though."
"Oh no..." Ann said sympathetically.
"We found some nature trails we can hike." Haru added, trying to change the subject. "And the hotel is going to be hosting some Hawaiian culture classes that seem fun."
Ann nodded. "I even found some parasailing and snorkeling things we can book through the hotel."
"Seems like we have a game plan... Sort of. We can look over it at game night." Makoto said approvingly.
"So we're definitely doing the surfing lesson, right?" Ann asked.
"You guys can. I want to get some reading done." Makoto said, pulling a few books out of her bag.
"Makoto... Is this going to be a repeat of Key West?" Ann asked gently.
"No... These are for fun. This isn't homework." Makoto said defensively, showing Ann the cover of one of her books, a green book that had a boy wearing an orange shirt and blue jeans standing in water as he looked at a tall skyscraper. "I've always wanted to read Percy Jackson, I've just never had the time."
"Love Percy Jackson." Ren said with approval. "You're probably gonna like Annabeth."
"I brought the whole series with me." Makoto said, showing everyone the five books she pulled out of her bag. "I bought them at this used bookstore I found in Kichijoji."
"Are you going to be able to read all of that?" Ryuji asked nervously.
"You underestimate my reading skills. I can read close to eighty pages an hour depending on how big the text is." Makoto countered. "Depending on how long I read, I should be able to get through at least two books while we're gone."
"Woah..." Ann said nervously. "That's a little freaky...
"What's so freaky about it?" Makoto asked. "I can just read very quickly... I can actually read faster than my sister, oddly enough."
"Nice..." Ren said approvingly as he got one of the rolls out of the bag and started making a small sandwich.
"So Ren, what do you think of American women?" Ryuji asked. "I mean... I've always thought that Ann was impressive looking but now... Eh."
"HEY!" Ann protested, pushing Ryuji so hard that he fell face first into the sand.
"I haven't been paying any attention to them." Ren admitted. "Not really my type."
"Are you ever going to tell us a more concrete version of your type?" Ann asked.
"Why? Can't I just keep you guys in suspense?" Ren asked, noticing that Makoto tensed up slightly as she grabbed one of her books and opened it up.
"You know, at this point, we're going to have to do an anonymous thing where everyone in the friend group writes down who they'd date within the group or something just to figure it out." Ryuji said as he grabbed one of the water bottles of take a drink and get the sand taste out of his mouth.
"Then I'll write it with my non-dominant hand so you can't look at my handwriting to figure it out." Ren countered. "It just seems like a private thing, you know?"
Ann sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to get anywhere with Ren. Instead, she looked over at Makoto and started to ask, "So Makoto-"
"Not getting it out of me either." Makoto said, not looking up from her book. "Leave me and my fake boyfriend alone."
"Yeah guys, leave me alone." Ren agreed.
"Is this a common argument amongst your friend group?" Haru asked.
"More common than you realize." Makoto agreed.
Haru laughed, grabbing one of the rolls to make her sandwich. "It's nice to know that this trip isn't going to be boring."