Chapter 10 Amusement Park

Chapter 10: Amusement Park

Saturday afternoon, Tsukishima Kei arrived at the amusement park gate on time and quickly spotted Hoshino Haruna waiting nearby.

This was the first time he’d seen her in casual clothes.

A flared, lace-trimmed white-and-cream plaid dress, a vintage-style brown cape coat, and a fluffy beret on her head—it suited Hoshino’s vibe perfectly.

...

Wait, what's going on? Tsukishima thought. Why does this feel like a date?

“Hey, Tsukishima, you’re here!”

Hoshino quickly spotted him in the crowd and handed him her backpack.

“Let’s start with this, then! Thanks for helping! If I need you to carry anything else later, I’ll let you know!” she said.

Tsukishima: ...

Well, that feeling’s gone now.

Playing the part of a bag carrier, Tsukishima slung the backpack over his shoulder. As they passed through the ticket gate, he asked her, “Do you have any idea which ride you want to go on first?”

“Hmm... not yet.” Hoshino was flipping through the park map she’d just gotten from the ticket booth. “What about you, Tsukishima? Any rides you’re interested in?”

Tsukishima shook his head.

“I don’t come here often, so I’m not familiar with the rides. You pick,” he said simply.

“Okay, I’ll decide then!”

Hoshino nodded firmly and started thinking hard. “Usually, people start with the easier, more casual rides at an amusement park, right? If you use up too much energy early on, you won’t be able to enjoy the rest.”

“Makes sense.”

“Then...”

Hoshino followed the map for a while before stopping in front of a large gate.

“Let’s start here!” she announced cheerfully.

...

Tsukishima glanced at the big sign hanging by the entrance, then looked at Hoshino with a new level of respect.

“Wh-What is it?” Feeling uneasy under his unusual gaze, Hoshino said nervously, “Going through a haunted house is a classic scene in shoujo manga! And this kind of plot usually doesn’t involve serious storylines, so calling it light and casual shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“...Nothing. I just didn’t expect ‘light and casual’ to be interpreted this way,” Tsukishima remarked.

As they talked, they arrived together at the haunted house entrance.

“Miss, you can’t bring this inside,” the staff member said, pointing to the backpack Hoshino had just retrieved from Tsukishima.

“Ah, okay.”

Hoshino nodded politely, then pulled a flashlight out of the bag.

The staff member: ...

“This can’t go in either,” she said politely.

“Okay.”

Hoshino did as told, this time pulling out a glow stick.

The staff member: ...

“Ahem, this isn’t allowed either,” she added.

...

Hoshino took a deep breath, reluctantly put the glow stick away, and then pulled out—

A baseball bat!

Tsukishima: ?!

Watching the whole scene, he finally couldn’t keep a straight face—

Just how much stuff did she pack into that bag?! No wonder it felt so heavy when he was carrying it!

***

In the end, they had to store their bags as instructed by the staff before they were allowed in.

“Why am I being targeted too...” Tsukishima grumbled, confused.

“None of the things I prepared made it through...” Hoshino was still moping.

“Of course they wouldn’t let those in...” Tsukishima said teasingly. “And that baseball bat—what was that about? Why do you even have that?”

“Don’t you think a baseball bat is really handy? I made sure to borrow it from Yamazaki!” Hoshino said.

“I don’t get it... And who’s Yamazaki?”

“He’s in our class... Anyway, that’s not the point!”

Hoshino quickly steered the conversation back on track.

“The point is, we came in empty-handed! This is a terrible start!”

It was like being dropped into a video game dungeon with unknown difficulty without any equipment!

But Tsukishima remained calm.

“Hoshino,” he suddenly said, “are you afraid of ghosts?”

Hoshino: ?!

“Wh-What? No way?! Haha...” she tried to laugh it off. “I just think it’s too dark in here. Even if we can’t bring lighting tools, we could bring something to help feel our way around, right...”

Seriously, is this haunted house trying to save electricity? Not even a single light was on? She couldn’t even make out Tsukishima’s face next to her!

Just then, Tsukishima’s voice rang out.

“Hoshino,” he said, “that person next to you isn’t me. I’m behind you.”

...

...

………………

“Aaaaaaaah—!”

Hoshino screamed and ran deep into the haunted house.

Tsukishima: ?

Wait, he just wanted to remind her to stop talking to the wall, that was all. Her reaction was way over the top!

***

Tsukishima Kei never imagined a haunted house could be such a minefield.

Note: The “minefield” here is from the perspective of the NPCs.

Hoshino: “Oh no, oh no, oh no! Something just grabbed me—am I gonna turn into—!”

Tsukishima: “…First of all, I don’t think brushing against you through your clothing counts as a grab. And second, judging by the force of that punch you just threw, I think the NPC on the receiving end is in worse shape.”

…

Hoshino: “Aaaaah—something round rolled up to my feet! I kicked it away, I really did kick it away, right? It’s not gonna be right there when I open my eyes, is it?!”

Tsukishima: “Relax. You kicked it into outer space, and on its way out of the solar system, it hit an NPC in the head. Right now I’m more worried about whether that NPC is still conscious.”

…

Hoshino: “Whoa—I think something’s covering me! I can’t see, I really can’t see anything! What do I do, what do I do?! Is this that curse they were talking about?!”

Tsukishima looked at the scene in front of him and fell silent.

Hoshino was draped entirely in a white bedsheet, with only her hands sticking out. Since she couldn’t see anything and was frantically trying to find her way, she was waving her arms and stumbling around. The sheer hilarious effect of this look and movement in a haunted house was easy to imagine.

The NPC who had been about to pop out of the closet to scare them immediately retreated back in.

Tsukishima: …

Talk about a role reversal!

By the time the attraction ended, Hoshino had to bow several times to the haunted house staff before she could leave.

***

“Good thing I didn’t bring the baseball bat or anything in—otherwise I’d be doing more than just bowing right now…”

Hoshino pulled out the notebook she always carried, scribbling and doodling to record her recent experience while sighing.

“You’re surprisingly self-aware,” Tsukishima said. “But I didn’t expect you to be this scared. Don’t you usually read horror manga and stuff?”

“…How can you compare 2D to 3D?!” Hoshino shot back with full confidence.

Tsukishima: …

Alright, that was actually pretty logical.

“So where are you heading next?” Tsukishima asked.

After going through such a thrilling experience (thrilling only for Hoshino and the NPCs, that is), she would probably pick something truly light and casual this time, right?

But Hoshino decisively pointed at a spot on the map—

“Here!” she declared.

Tsukishima glanced at the marker on the map.

Then he looked at Hoshino with a skeptical expression.

Hoshino: ?

“What now?!” she said.

“Are you sure?” He pointed at her disheveled hair and crooked hat—things she hadn’t even fixed yet. “Are you sure you’re in the right state for a roller coaster right now?”

Hoshino immediately smoothed her hair a couple of times and readjusted her hat.

“It’s fine, Tsukishima-san!” she assured him. “After that haunted house experience, my throat’s a little hoarse, so I won’t scream as loudly as before. You can relax!”

Tsukishima: …

That wasn’t what he was trying to say at all!

---

***

Hoshino arrived at the roller coaster entrance.

She stared at the scene before her, lost in thought.

“Tsukishima-san,” she suddenly said, “please make sure you stay safe.”

Tsukishima: ?

Were roller coasters really that dangerous these days?

“But if your soul does get flung out or something, don’t worry—I’ll put it back for you!” Hoshino promised earnestly.

Tsukishima: …

“Thanks, but I don’t think that will be necessary,” he said coolly.

---

Once all passengers were safely seated, the roller coaster slowly started moving.

Partway through the ride, Tsukishima glanced over at Hoshino beside him.

—And saw her face was paler than a plaster statue in art class.

“…You okay?” Tsukishima asked uncertainly. “Honestly, you can just scream if you want. Everyone else is screaming anyway.”

“What did you say—?!”

Her voice, mixed with the rushing air, reached his ears.

“I said maybe you should just scream it out—!” Tsukishima unconsciously raised his voice.

“What—I can’t hear you—!” Hoshino called back.

…

Tsukishima was thinking about how to make himself heard when the car suddenly took a sharp turn, and the surrounding screams intensified, making it impossible for them to hear each other.

But Tsukishima was focused on something more. Just as Hoshino’s hat was about to fly off, Tsukishima snatched it out of the air with quick reflexes.

Then, the very next second—

"AAAAH—I told you my soul would leave my body!" Hoshino, feeling a sudden chill on the top of her head, let out a scream.

Tsukishima: ...

Though the focus might have been off, she did scream.

***

After getting off the roller coaster, Hoshino kept checking her vital signs.

"Great, I'm still alive!" Hoshino said cheerfully.

Tsukishima: ?

It's not like these rides usually kill people, right?

"My hat is still here, thanks!" Hoshino said, taking the hat from Tsukishima's hand and putting it back on.

"...No problem." Tsukishima replied. "But didn't it occur to you to take off your hat before riding the roller coaster?"

"It just didn't occur to me at the time. I rarely do stuff like haunted houses or roller coasters anyway," Hoshino said.

"So you went specifically to gather research material?" Tsukishima asked again.

"Yep!" Hoshino nodded. "And to experience that *dokidoki* feeling!"

...

"What feeling?" Tsukishima was slow to catch on.

"...That heart-pounding feeling!" Hoshino explained. "It's the ultimate secret of shoujo manga! Any manga that fails to capture that feeling is, completely, unqualified! But finding someone to have a crush on in such a short time is way too hard, so I had to use some external conditions!"

Tsukishima stood nearby thinking for a moment.

Wait, external conditions... does she mean haunted houses and roller coasters??

"How did you think of using those conditions to create a heart-pounding feeling..." Tsukishima couldn't understand. "Wouldn't something like sports be a healthier option?"

Hoshino's expression instantly turned complicated.

"Tsukishima-san," she said in a serious tone, "for someone from the sports club like you, that might be heart-pounding, but for me, it's a heart-stopper."

Tsukishima: ...

That makes sense.

"Alright!" Hoshino revived after taking a sip of a cold drink. "While we still have time left, let's go to the next attraction!"

***

The afternoon passed quickly.

After experiencing the haunted house and roller coaster, Hoshino stopped focusing on thrill-seeking activities and turned to some truly light and everyday activities.

Like shooting balloons for prizes.

Though after five rounds, they didn't hit a single balloon.

Or the two-player version of the claw machine.

Though after switching three machines, they still couldn't grab a single prize.

"What's going on?"

Hoshino flipped through the photos a passerby had taken of them.

"It feels totally lacking that shoujo manga atmosphere. Is it because the person next to me is Tsukishima-san?"

"...You just blurt that out without holding back, huh." Tsukishima glanced at her sideways.

"Because no matter what I say, you'll just call me out about it, right?" Hoshino had fully figured out the pattern.

"If calling it like it is counts as calling out." Tsukishima responded smoothly.

"...You're really not cute at all." Hoshino shook her head.

"...That word has nothing to do with me anyway." Tsukishima said again.

But this time, Hoshino didn't reply, because she noticed the sky was gradually getting dark. Not only that, many attractions around had put up "Closed" signs.

"Ah, is it almost closing time!" Hoshino finally realized.

"Yeah, since a lot of rides don't open at night... What are you doing?!"

Tsukishima was startled as Hoshino grabbed his hand, but instinctively followed her as she started running.

"No time, Tsukishima-san, let's go!" Hoshino pulled him along as they ran.

"...Where to?" Tsukishima asked, confused.

Hoshino half-turned as she ran, her smile bright through her flying hair—

"To play our last attraction of the day!"

-TBC-

*

Author's note:

An amusement park trip lacking romantic atmosphere, but an unexpected hand-holding achievement (?)