Chapter 14: Aware of It, So—Breakthrough

"…Sorry, I can’t do this anymore."

Just as we were about to enter our fifth round, Haruto called it quits.

"Hahaha, I told you not to push yourself!"

He staggered over and slumped against the nearest wall. Normally, I’d be worried, but since he’d insisted on riding with me no matter how many times I refused, I figured he had it coming.

"Guess I didn’t train enough."

"Train for what?!"

The absurdity of his excuse made me reflexively retort. I mean, come on—it’s just a roller coaster.

…Still, things had been awkward between us since this morning, so I was kinda glad Haruto did something stupid like this. In a good way, he’s got this airheaded side to him. Depending on the situation, it’s actually a lifesaver.

"Anywhere else you wanna go next?"

"Huh? You good, Haruto?"

"I’d really appreciate skipping any more roller coasters, but I’ll manage the rest."

Despite his words, Haruto still looked rough.
…Yeah, something calmer. No more thrill rides after this. Might as well try conquering something that used to scare me.

Which left only one option.

"How about the haunted house? Think you can handle that?"

"Hmm…"

Haruto crossed his arms, pretending to think it over—

"Alright, let’s give it a shot."

—and agreed.

"…What even is this?"

I muttered in disbelief, and Haruto responded with a wry smile.
In a word? Not scary at all.

The haunted house was a chaotic mess—zombies lunging out one second, a female ghost waiting in the next room. A poorly executed mix of Eastern and Western horror. The lack of cohesion ruined any atmosphere, to the point where it was just… boring.

Even the staff seemed disinterested. They weren’t even trying to scare us—just glaring with this weird, hostile vibe.

No wonder the place was empty. The kind of attraction you’d never want to visit twice.

…Well, technically, this was my second time.

"I… was actually scared of this?"

A wave of embarrassment hit me. My dad and mom said I cried halfway through back then…

Total kiddie stuff.
Well, I was a kid, so it’s not that weird—but I’d already told Haruto,

"That haunted house was seriously terrifying!"

…Which made this whole thing sting a little.

"I find it somewhat intriguing," Haruto offered, though his attempt at reassurance fell flat.
…Wait, was that even meant to reassure me?

"Zombies and ghosts aren’t exactly rare, right? I mean, they’re not real, but they’re everywhere in fiction."

"I’m not too familiar with that stuff."

"You’ve never seen movies on TV? They’ve been airing since we were kids."

"…No, never watched any."

…Uh-oh.
Did I just step on a landmine?

Haruto’s home life is a mystery, but this might’ve been a bad topic to bring up. Now that I think about it, I don’t remember seeing a TV at his place.

Was he that poor growing up? Or was his family just strict, banning stuff like TV?

"S-sorry."

My imagination spiraled, and the apology slipped out.

"…? Not sure why you’re apologizing. It’s new to me, so it’s fun."

Seems like he wasn’t bothered.
—Thank god.

"New, huh… Well, if we’re talking scary, the demon beasts were way worse."

Now that I thought about it, the Legion Brigade had stuff like Cerberus and dragon-types among their tamed monsters. All tough opponents—kinda nostalgic, in a way.

…The memories of fighting as Luna were slowly becoming part of my past.

"Man, I’m hungry."

I ignored a ghost wailing "Revenge—!" and muttered as my stomach growled. All this thinking made me realize how empty I was.

"True. Let’s grab food once we’re out."

Haruto nodded in agreement.
No point sticking around, then. With that, we bolted straight for the exit.

After some discussion, we decided to eat at one of the amusement park’s restaurants.

Given the park’s diverse clientele, the menu was a mishmash of Japanese, Western, and Chinese dishes—like they’d just thrown in whatever was popular. Usually, places like this end up disappointing, but I wasn’t too worried.

Why? Because I vaguely remembered eating here with my family years ago. The taste was decent back then, so I could vouch for it—assuming the chefs and management hadn’t changed, at least.

"Should I just order the kids’ meal…?"

"Hah? How old do you think I am? We’re second-years in high school."

Was he messing with me? Sure, I’m a little on the short side, but I’m definitely not at the "mistaken for an elementary schooler" level.

"They’d probably make it if you begged. Want me to ask?"

…He was dead serious.

"Idiot. I’ll take the hamburger lunch. Quit screwing around and pick something yourself."

"Fair enough. I’ll go with yakisoba, then."

Haruto backed off without another word.

Still, this guy really loves noodles. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ate them for all three meals. At this rate, he’s gonna collapse from carb overload someday. Kinda worrying, honestly.

I pressed the call button, and a waitress arrived instantly to take our order.

"…Not that it matters now, but why an amusement park?"

Small talk while waiting for the food. Yeah, it was a late question, but I’d been curious.

Out of nowhere, Haruto had texted:

"You free Saturday?"

Given how rare it was for me to have weekend plans these days, I’d agreed immediately—then added,

"Tell me where we’re going."

No repeats of last time.

Even then, he’d been evasive, and I’d had to press him hard before he finally caved.

"Hoshiko said surprises work better."

That was his excuse.

Dude, stop taking her advice at face value.

"Actually, it was your aunt’s suggestion."

"My mom’s?"

"Yeah. She said you’d like it."

Huh…

I’d planned to brush it off, but then I remembered something my mom had told me when I was little.

This place is where she and Dad first met…

And then came the flashback—Hoshiko’s words from the other day.

She’d been teasing me nonstop since then. So I’d shot back with my usual line:

"Haruto and I aren’t like that!"

But then—

"But Haruto’s a guy, and you’re a girl, right? If you’re always together, it’s only natural you’d start liking him!"

—she’d hit me with that.

Ugh…

Was it okay to… hope?

Well, if he was fine with me, then…

Feeling that tiny spark of hope, I glanced at Haruto’s face—and immediately flushed, looking away. Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice.

In the end, I barely tasted the hamburger I’d ordered.

Not that it was flavorless—I just wasn’t in the right state of mind to savor it.