A shockwave burst from her body. Aisha's beach chair was yeeted into the ocean. Akemi screamed and phased through three dimensions. Aoi held up a sign that read 'Please Stop' while crying behind a sandcastle. Hana covered her tomato-colored butt with both hands and screamed like her soul was leaving her body.
I took a deep breath.
Then I gently laid Hana on the sand. Her glowing red butt made contact with a hiss.
"WAAAHHH~! IT'S STILL TINGLY!!"
"Sorry, babe," I whispered, patting her head. "Daddy's got a boss battle."
Cue the dramatic anime opening.
---
[Cue 'Epic Overly-Hype Shonen Anime OST #7']
"MEI, LISTEN!"
"TSUNDERE... UPPER-CUT OF REJECTION!"
She flew at me, spinning like a Beyblade of wrath. Her fist met my cheek with a BANG. I shot backward into a volleyball net. Two old ladies screamed. One fainted. The other took a selfie. A baby clapped.
Beach spectators started betting. A tourist group set up lawn chairs.
---
SYSTEM ACTIVATED!
Welcome, Pervert-King Ito! Engaging COMBAT-LOVER MODE.
Options:
1. Grope Mei's butt mid-air for distraction
2. Compliment her thighs—OVERDRIVE MODE
3. Use 'Sorry, I was only doing it for love' excuse (80% chance to fail)
4. Deploy '1,000 Compliments Cannon' (Warning: May cause emotional meltdown)
---
I selected Option 4, obviously.
"MEI! I LOVE—"
BOOM.
"—THE WAY YOUR HAIR SWISHES WHEN YOU'RE ANGRY!"
"TSUNDERE... KNEE OF JUDGEMENT!"
Her knee connected with my abs. The sand cratered. A volleyball player vomited from secondhand embarrassment. A distant lifeguard blew a whistle and gave up.
"I LOVE HOW YOU GET QUIET WHEN YOU'RE EMBARRASSED!"
"TSUNDERE... SPINNING ROUNDHOUSE OF VIRTUE!"
I ducked. Her foot chopped a tree in half. A coconut exploded.
"I LOVE THE WAY YOU ACT ALL COOL BUT SECRETLY RECORD ALL OUR MOMENTS IN A NOTEBOOK!"
She froze. "H-How did you—?!"
"TSUNDERE... STAMMER STUN!"
I lunged forward, grabbing her wrist.
"I love your cooking—even that one time you accidentally fed me raw squid with hot sauce and nearly poisoned me!"
"I TOLD YOU I WAS EXPERIMENTING!!" she screamed, blushing furiously.
"I love how you pretend you don't care, but you secretly fixed my favorite shirt when I ripped it!"
She shrieked. "WHO TOLD YOU?!"
"I LOVE YOUR GLASSES, EVEN WHEN YOU REFUSE TO WEAR THEM IN PUBLIC!"
"I—I DON'T WANT TO LOOK NERDY!!"
"I LOVE YOUR NERDY LOOK, OKAY?!"
"Your toes wiggle when you're flustered."
"Your idea of cuddling is attacking me with your whole body"
"You call me baka, but it always sounds like 'I love you'."
"Even your rage makes me hard—heartedly devoted to you (mostly)"
"TSUNDERE... DESTRUCTION DANCE!"
She teleported.
Yes. Teleported.
One moment she was in front of me. The next she was behind, launching a 128-hit combo named:
'TSUNDERE—FURIOUS FIST FANDANGO: ULTIMA VERSION ZETA'
Each punch had a title: "This is for Sensei!" "This is for Akemi!" "This is for Onee-Chan's butt!" "This is because Aoi cried!" "This is because you moaned during CPR practice!"
---
People on the beach ran for cover. A sand sculpture of Goku disintegrated in fear. A seagull combusted mid-air. A guy with a metal detector took cover under his own shovel.
Beachgoer Commentary:
"This is better than Netflix!"
"I shipped them since episode 3!"
"She's the real main character!"
"I just wanted to tan, now I'm emotionally invested."
"Kiss already, dammit!"
---
Meanwhile…
Aisha fanned herself. "He's so sexy when he's being obliterated."
Akemi floated sideways. "I'm rooting for both sides. But mostly the blood."
Aoi curled into a ball. "Stop them... please...".
Hana raised a hand from the sand. "Is anyone going to lotion my butt or…?"
Aisha replied, "Girl, he's trying not to die."
---
Back to the battlefield.
I was battered. Shirtless. Glowing. Because obviously.
Mei hovered above me, panting, blue aura flaring like she was about to nuke the moon.
"Ito… you… perverted… emotionally manipulative… bastard…"
I staggered up. Bruised. Smiling.
"Mei…"
"I'm not done!"
She charged again.
"I LOVE—" I shouted.
"—THE WAY YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR HANDS CLUTCHED LIKE A CAT!"
She faltered mid-punch.
"I LOVE THAT YOU GET JEALOUS WHEN I TALK TO THE OTHERS!"
Her cheeks reddened.
"I LOVE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT ME LIKE I'M THE ONLY GUY ON EARTH!"
Beachgoers gasped.
Somewhere, a guy whispered, "Damn. He loves her for real."
---
SYSTEM EMERGENCY: Heart Rate Detected – Tsundere Imminent Meltdown Option Unlocked: Final Move – THE TSUNDERE MELT
Conditions:
Full sincerity
Tear in corner of eye
Chest exposed
---
I stood tall. Arms wide. Eyes soft.
"I love you, Mei. I love everything about you. Your rage. Your loyalty. Your awkwardness. Your small chest that fits perfectly in my hands. Your scowls. Your pout. The way you say 'Baka' like it's a love song."
"I love the way you act like you don't care but blush when I hold your hand. I love how you talk about the future like we're already married. I love that you try to protect your sister, even when she's already lost to me."
"I love you in every outfit. Every glare. Every smile. Every pout."
She trembled.
"Even if you punch me a million times… I'd still want to kiss you a million more."
She gasped.
The ocean stilled. The seagulls paused mid-flight. Even the clouds formed a heart shape.
Then—
She exploded.
Blue aura. Tsundere particles. Flaming tears.
"YOU STUPID, IDIOT, STUPID, BAKA, SEXY, EMOTIONAL DUMBASS!!" she screamed.
And kissed me.
Mid-air.
Explosions. Fireworks. A mariachi band appeared from the dunes. Someone released doves.
Our lips crashed like the ocean tide. Her small, trembling hands clutched the sides of my face. Her legs curled up slightly, bare thighs brushing mine. Her heart beat like a war drum against my chest.
And in that kiss… everything melted.
The rage. The pain. The butt spanking.
Gone.
She pulled back just an inch. Our foreheads touched, our breaths ragged.
"You… stupid…" she whispered, cheeks redder than a lava lamp at max heat. "Idiot…"
"I know," I murmured.
"Baka…"
I smiled.
"Pervert…"
"I'll wear that title proudly if it means you'll keep kissing me."
She punched my shoulder lightly, though her other hand never left my cheek.
"Don't say embarrassing stuff like that in public!"
"Everyone's already watching."
We looked down.
CHEERS.
Literal standing ovation.
People had formed a ring around the beach battlefield. Kids were throwing flower petals made out of shredded ice cream wrappers. The two old ladies from before had matching t-shirts that said 'MEITO 4EVER.' A bodybuilder held up a boom box playing a romantic remix of the anime OP.
Aisha was weeping into a towel. "They're so cute… I want another turn next."
Akemi floated in circles. "I approve. Now do it again, but upside down."
Aoi was hiding behind her sandcastle, poking her fingers together and smiling shyly. "I… I was really worried. But now I'm happy."
Hana lifted a hand. "Still… nobody… lotioning… my butt…"
Mei slowly descended with me, landing softly on the sand. Her aura dimmed but the blush on her face only grew.
I tucked a strand of her blue hair behind her ear.
"You're beautiful."
She gasped, then squirmed.
"I'm sweaty! And I punched you! And my bikini's twisted! How am I beautiful?!"
"Because you're Mei. My Mei. My girlfriend. My queen of tsundere chaos. The girl I want to wake up next to even if she punches me in the morning."
Her lips wobbled.
"Y-You're not supposed to say that stuff so… so sincerely…"
"And yet here I am."
She sniffed. Then thumped her forehead into my chest.
"Stupid…"
I wrapped my arms around her.
"I love you, Mei."
She squirmed harder.
"Baka…"
"I love you when you call me that."
"P-Pervert…"
"I love you more than the sunburn on Hana's ass."
From the ground, Hana groaned, "Stop making it worse! My cheeks feel like grilled mochi!"
Mei giggled into my chest. It was soft. Real. Vulnerable.
"You know I really do love you, right?" she whispered.
I nodded, voice low. "I know."
"Even though you're a perverted, idiotic harem protagonist."
"Even though you're a short-tempered, fiery little package of jealousy and punches."
She puffed her cheeks. "I'M NOT SHORT-TEMPERED—!"
Then she stopped.
"Okay maybe a little."
"I love every part of you. Even the parts that threaten my life."
She looked up at me, face inches away.
"…I love every part of you too. Even your stupid muscles and dumb smile and unfairly handsome jawline."
"I'll take that."
We kissed again.
Softer. Gentler.
Her lips tasted like bubblegum lip balm and stubborn affection.
Around us, the beach crowd began chanting. "MEI-TO! MEI-TO! MEI-TO!"
A couple cosplayers who somehow appeared out of nowhere did a fan dance. Someone launched fireworks that spelled "TRUE LOVE" across the sky. A seagull stole someone's phone and live-streamed us.
Hana moaned dramatically from the ground.
"If someone doesn't rub lotion on me in the next thirty seconds I'm going to join the dark side."
Akemi floated toward her. "Do you want ghost hands or human hands?"
"ANY HANDS!!"
Meanwhile, Aisha sat next to Aoi and whispered, "When it's my turn again, I'm going full reverse cowgirl on the beach towel. No shame."
Aoi turned bright red and buried herself deeper in the sand.
Mei, now resting with her head on my shoulder, murmured, "Are we… okay now?"
"Better than okay."
"I don't want to fight you again."
"Not unless it ends with a kiss every time."
She giggled, then leaned up and kissed me once more.
"But I'm still mad you forgot about me."
"I'll make it up to you. One thousand kisses. One thousand cuddles. One thousand butt massages."
"Don't joke."
"I'm not."
"I have a planner. I'll keep track."
I laughed.
"You better."
"Also…" she whispered, "I want you tonight."
My heart hiccupped.
She looked up at me. "Not like Sensei-style wild orgy. I mean… just me. Just us. One futon. No system. No fighting. Just love."
I kissed her forehead.
"You got it."
Then I picked her up bridal-style again.
She shrieked. "W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"Round two. But with more cuddles."
"IDIOT!!"
And yet, she buried her face in my chest again, hugging me tightly, whispering:
"…Baka… I love you so much it hurts."
"I'll kiss away all the pain."
---
END OF CHAPTER : 48 : BEACH! : PART : 10 : TSUNDERE SUPERNOVA!
---