5

　After thinking about it for a while, Kokoro decided that we’d go to an amusement park. She probably thought it was a reasonable choice for a date.

We all got ready, left the house, and rode on the train to Fantastia Land, which was the closest amusement park—it was only twenty or so minutes away.

On our way there, Kokoro’s allegedly grumpy mother sounded excited.

“An amusement park!” she chirped. “That’s just what I think of when I think of high schoolers going on a date! And Fantastia Land in particular is such a nostalgic place! We went there a few times, you, Dad, and I, but you were probably too young to remember. You said this is one of your usual date spots—how many times have you been there?”

“Er, I think... at least three times!” Kokoro said with a certain degree of confidence. Of course, this was a lie. We’d never been there together. Not once.

As for me, I’d visited the place with my family back when I was a little kid too, but that was it.

“That many times? To such a small park?” her mother asked, surprised.

“W-Well, you know how it is; there aren’t, like, that many other date spots around these parts...” Kokoro promptly replied. Of course, this was also a lie.

Once we reached the park, Kokoro’s mother bought our tickets, and we went in through the turnstiles.

“Wow, this is nostalgic!” she commented.

“It really is!” Kokoro replied, raising her mother’s eyebrows as well as mine.

What are you saying?!

“O-Oh, I mean, it’s nostalgic because we haven’t been here since last month! It kind of feels like a long time! R-Right, Ichigaya?!”

“Y-Yeah...” Try to keep it together, please.

“Hmm?”

Hearing her mother’s suspicious reaction, Kokoro tried to distract her by changing the topic.

“D-Did you use to come here with Dad a lot?”

“Oh, yes. We did come here together, back when we were in school.”

“Really? That’s so nice!”

“Yes, he used to be so kind and loving back then, unlike now...”

“L-Let’s just forget about Dad for today! Come on, let’s choose something to ride, ’kay?”

We all sat down together on a bench and, map in hand, started thinking about which of the park attractions to go to.

“Most of these attractions look like they’re made for children... Oh, what about the haunted house?” I suggested.

Among all the tiny roller-coasters and rides themed after kiddie anime characters, the haunted house seemed like the only entertaining option for high schoolers such as Kokoro and myself.

“That sounds wonderful!” Kokoro’s mother exclaimed. “That’s what amusement parks are for! And I bet you want to see your boyfriend being all brave in the face of the spooks, right, Kokoro?”

“H-Haunted house?! Th-That’s probably super lame! Let’s choose something else.”

“Nishina, don’t tell me that you’re genuinely scared of haunted houses.”

“N-No way! I’m totally fine with them!”

Your voice is shaking! If you’re scared, just say so...

“You know, when she was just a little tyke, she would bawl her eyes out at haunted houses! Do they still terrify you that much?”

“I-I said I’m fine!”

“I mean, it’s still probably made for kids,” I said. “But if you’re that scared, we can just go someplace else.”

“Argh! I-I’m not scared or anything! Fine! Let’s go to the haunted house!”

I hadn’t been trying to make fun of her, but Kokoro saw it that way and seemed to feel as if she had to prove something.

Are you really going to be fine?

“What? You’re not coming in with us, Mom?!”

“Of course not. I want the two of you to enjoy yourselves, after all! And oh, Ichigaya... don’t you take advantage of the dark to do anything weird to my Kokoro, all right? Hehe...”

“I-I would never!”

While Mrs. Nishina grinned after us, we gave our tickets to the attendant standing in front of the attraction.

“Okay, if you could please stand side by side,” he instructed. “Now, miss, please raise your left arm. And you, sir, raise your right arm.”

I had no idea why the guy was asking us to pose so strangely, but I dutifully raised my arm.

Click!

“Huh?”

“Wh-What?!”

The man had fastened a pair of handcuffs around our wrists, literally chaining the pair of us to one other.

“You’ll have to hold hands to reach the exit. Have fun!”

“For real now?!”

Kokoro’s mother, who we could hear giggling behind us, seemed just as amused by the turn of events as we were confused by it.

Did this staff guy just go and assume we were a couple?! Do you know how awkward it is to be literally chained to a girl who isn’t even your girlfriend?! Do you?! Don’t tell me you do this to everyone who enters the haunted house in pairs! I mean, we’re supposed to act like a couple today, but... hold hands?!

I glanced at Kokoro, expecting her to be absolutely furious at the situation, or at the very least incredibly frustrated. After all, she was being forced to do this whole thing with me while she was in love with someone else.

However... she was silently staring a hole in the ground, blushing. Maybe she was restraining herself because her mother was watching.

Mrs. Nishina, however, was already wondering why we were taking so long.

“You have to hold hands if you want to enter, right?” she pressed.

Indeed, the man in front of us seemed to be waiting for exactly that before letting us in. He wasn’t saying anything, but I could feel him silently pressuring us into hurrying up.

If we don’t do it, we can’t get in! And more importantly, we’ll make Mrs. Nishina suspicious! I know Nishina’s going to hate it, but we have no choice... I thought, and I took Kokoro’s hand in my own. I felt a bit guilty when I thought of Elena, since I was now holding hands with another girl before ever having done it with her, but that wasn’t important now.

“...Huh?” Kokoro jolted in surprise and began staring a hole through me instead.

I’m sorry, but we have to do this if we want to fool your mother. It’s just until we get in, so grin and bear it.

Despite being the one who’d gone ahead with it, I could feel my face getting hotter and my heartbeat getting faster. I mean, it’s my first time holding hands with a girl, so I guess that’s to be expected. I hope Nishina won’t notice...

“Very well! You can go in now!”

“See you later, you two!”

Hand in hand, we walked inside, seen off by Mrs. Nishina and the haunted house attendant.

As soon as we were in, I was about to let go of Kokoro’s hand and apologize to her, but...

Huh? What? She’s... gripping my hand back? I hadn’t even noticed.

I wasn’t sure why she would go that far just because her mother was watching, but now I couldn’t let go of her hand even if I wanted to.

My heart was beating even faster than before.

“I-I’m sorry I took your hand without asking. I thought we had to, you know?” I said.

“Huh? O-Oh, it’s okay...”

“Well... Let’s go then.”

This was all so awkward that I wanted to reach the exit as soon as humanly possible. However, the instant we took our first step, a red light flickered on in front of us, illuminating a creepy doll with hair so long it reached its feet. But that wasn’t the scariest part.

“AAAAHHH!” Kokoro, scared witless, screeched so hard that she almost burst my eardrums.

But that wasn’t the scariest part either.

Out of fear, she had gripped my hand even harder and was now clutching my arm to her chest, essentially hugging it. I could feel the warmth of her body enveloping it. Now that was what sent my heart racing.

“S-S-S-Sorry!” she then said, quickly letting go of me.

“It’s fine, don’t worry, haha... Y-You’re scared easily, huh?” I replied, trying my best to smile so that she wouldn’t realize how much she’d stirred me.

It was obvious from the start that she wasn’t fond of spooky stuff, but I didn’t think it’d be this bad...

“I-I was just surprised because it was so sudden!”

“I see... Okay then, let’s continue,” I said, starting to move forward.

“What?! Wait!” She immediately stopped me, grabbing my arm once more.

If she grabs me like that every time, I’m going to die before we reach the exit.

“S-See, you are scared... but if we don’t get a move on, we’ll never get out of here.”

“I-I know, but...” she murmured.

Hearing Kokoro as scared as this made her seem... kind of cute. It was too dark to see her face, but I couldn’t help but wonder what her expression looked like. I wish I could see that... B-But that’s just because she always acts so tough! I just find it a bit surprising that someone like her would have a cute side like this! Cute in a sisterly way, obviously.

...I don’t think I’ve ever thought of my own little sister as cute though.

My arm felt so hot. My face too. Actually, my whole body felt so hot that anyone would assume I had a fever. I was glad the place was too dark for Kokoro to see my crimson cheeks.

“A-Anyway, we can’t just stand here. Let’s go,” I said again.

“U-Uh... I-Is it okay if I walk with my eyes closed a-and keep hold of your arm?” she asked desperately.

“That’s...”

“I-I’m sorry! I know that Minami wouldn’t like it, but...”

“N-No, I was going to say that it’s okay. You don’t have to apologize.”

“Ichigaya...”

“Y-You can hold my arm or stand behind me if you like. But now, let’s go.”

Just as she’d said, Elena wouldn’t like it. We had to leave this place as quickly as possible, but moving forward was the only way to do that.

“O-Okay.”

“Aaahhh!”

“Gahhh?!”

“Eeeeeeeeeeek!”

All the way through the haunted house, Kokoro held on to my arm for dear life, screaming so hard I started wondering whether bursting my eardrums really was her intention.

As if all of her yelling wasn’t bad enough, the nervousness of having her cling to me was really taking its toll on my poor heart.

“F-Finally, we’re out...” she said once we’d reached the exit, struggling for breath. I could finally see her face, and she looked as terrified as I had imagined, her eyes full of tears.

“How much of a scaredy-cat are you? You were so over-the-top I thought you were faking it,” I said, unable to hold back a grin.

“Why would I fake it?! You’re the weird one for not being scared at all!”

“Welcome back!” the attendant said, relieving us of our handcuffs.

In the end, we held hands all the way through...

“I could hear your screams from out here!” said Mrs. Nishina, who was waiting for us with a smile. “Did your boyfriend protect you from all the terrors?”

“N-Not really! H-He just plowed onward without a care,” Kokoro replied.

“Huh?!”

It’s all fake! What is there to protect you from?! What else was I supposed to do?! Hug you and tell you that it’ll all be all right? I could never do something like that! We’re not dating for real, and you’d hate it if I really did that!

After buying crepes from a stall, we sat down on a bench once more to decide where we’d go next.

“As for roller coasters, there are... let’s see... ‘Dragon Coaster’ and ‘Thunder Splash,’ I think...” Kokoro said, pointing at the pictures on the park map.

“Looks like it. I remember riding those as a kid. It was terrifying,” I replied, shortly before realizing my mistake.

“Huh? Didn’t you say you two come here all the time?” Mrs. Nishina asked, eyeing us suspiciously.

Ugh! I slipped up! I phrased it like it’s my first time here in a long time!

“O-Of course!” Kokoro replied. “But when we come here on dates, we just, like, eat crepes and go on the smaller rides and that kinda thing, you know? You have to buy tickets for each ride, but entering the park is free, so we haven’t been on the roller coasters yet. Right, Ichigaya?”

“Y-Yes!”

“Oh...” Kokoro’s mother seemed unconvinced by her explanation.

“Anyway, let’s go to the Dragon Coaster! It’s the closest one,” she said.

“All right!” I replied enthusiastically, since I actually liked roller coasters quite a bit.

“Have fun then! I’ll be cheering you on from here!” said Mrs. Nishina.

“Huh?! You aren’t coming?!”

“Those kinds of rides are a bit too intense for me... And I’m also a bit tired from riding on the plane for so long, even though I was sleeping for the most part.”

“Then why did you say you wanted to come on a date with us?!” Kokoro exclaimed, her voice so high-pitched that it broke at the top.

“I just wanted to see you two being all lovey-dovey, that’s all! Hehe!”

“You...!”

Was she testing us for real?!

“So, I’ll be here! See you later!”

“Fine! Whatever!”

“I wonder if she’s onto us,” Kokoro said as we lined up for the ride. Her mother could see us from where she was sitting, but she was too far away to hear us.

“That’s what I thought.”

Kokoro thought for a minute, probably weighing up the pros and cons of dropping the farce. Then, she gave me an apologetic look.

“I’m so sorry I have to put you through this.”

I was surprised by the genuine apology. “N-No, there’s no need to apologize. This whole fake-boyfriend thing started because of me, if you think about it.”

I’d been the one to suggest that Kokoro stay at my house, so much of the responsibility fell on me.

“It’s more about having you come on a date with me even though you have a girlfriend. I mean, Mom’s here, so it doesn’t entirely count, but still. I’m so, so sorry...”

“N-Nishina...” I still felt guilty for doing this when I already had a girlfriend, but I didn’t really blame Kokoro for it. “Like I said, this all came about because of my idea. You have nothing to apologize for.”

“Ichigaya...”

“And, well, you’re here with me despite liking that Yuya guy, right? So we’re in the same boat.”

“I—”

“B-By the way, how are things going with him?” I asked, half-expecting her to dodge the question like before.

“We... We’re going on a date on the first Sunday after summer vacation.”

“O-Oh...”

Things really are going well between them then. I should be happy for her. “Should,” yeah... Knowing for a fact that they’re getting closer with each other makes me feel so... weird. Maybe I’ve spent so much time with her that I don’t want her taken from me? But we’re just rivals working together toward the same goal. That’s all. We aren’t even friends or anything. She said we’ll go back to being strangers once she’s moved out. But then, why do I feel like this?

Had I been missing something this whole time?

“What about you and Minami?”

“W-We...”

“Are things going well?”

“We went to watch Jenny’s Sunday together a few days ago.”

“Really?! I was actually thinking of going myself! How was it?!”

“Oh, it was very good—so good it moved Minami to tears.”

We continued talking about the movie and other unimportant topics until it was our turn to get on the ride. We sat side by side and lowered the safety harness, and before long we were moving. I remembered it to be thrilling and scary to go on as a kid, but now that I was older, it was very underwhelming. The same didn’t seem to apply to Kokoro, who screeched at the top of her lungs from start to end.

If she really were my girlfriend, I guess this is the kind of stuff I’d be doing with her. Going to the amusement park. Seeing her adorably scared by the haunted house. Hearing her scream on the roller coaster... From now on, she’ll be doing this kind of thing with Yuya, not me.

I shook my head, realizing that just thinking that was extremely rude to Elena. There must be something wrong with me today. Actually, not just today... Something’s been wrong with me for a while now.

“It was super fun to ride this again after so long!” Kokoro announced happily once we’d stopped.

“Really? It was a bit disappointing for me, to be honest...”

“I mean, yeah, it’s made for kids. I can see where you’re coming from.”

As we headed to the bench where her mother was waiting, the worst possible thing happened.

“Hey, isn’t that... Kokoro?!” someone called out to her from behind.

We turned around and saw two girls I’d seen before—Kokoro’s friends from school. Beside them were two boys, presumably their boyfriends, who looked slightly older than us.

“Y-Yui? And Manami?! And...”

“Wait, isn’t he the guy you were talking to at school that one time?” one of the two girls, clearly shocked, said while staring at me. “Don’t tell me he’s your boyfriend!”

They’ve jumped to the worst possible conclusion!

“H-He...” Kokoro was stumbling for words. She probably wanted to tell them the truth, but she couldn’t because her mother was within earshot. Her two friends continued taking turns in expressing their shock and horror.

“Oh snap! I knew you were hiding something when you told me you didn’t have a boyfriend!”

“But, like... why him?! He’s way below your level!”

“Do you have a thing for, er... plain dudes? But, like, all the hottest guys in school are after you!”

Not hurting my feelings wasn’t very high on these girls’ priority list. It’s not like I didn’t already know that Kokoro was out of my league, and we weren’t really dating anyway, but having someone shout it at me, in public no less, hurt.

Maybe I should have at least tried to dress up a little bit. At least that would have made it less embarrassing for her. I’m so sorry I caused this misunderstanding with you friends, Nishina. We all know I’m not the kind of person who’s fit to be your boyfriend. That’d be someone better, like Yuya... Did it really take all this humiliation to remind me of that? Am I just that stupid?

“Hey!” Kokoro yelled. Her voice was terrifyingly cold. “Do you two really think it’s okay to say stuff like that?”

Is she really going to tell them we’re not dating with her mom so close? This must be even more humiliating for her than it is for me. I guess I can’t blame her, but it’s still painful.

As I fell into despair, Kokoro spoke up again. “Don’t talk about Ichigaya like that. You don’t know the first thing about him!”

“...Huh?” Nishina...?

She was fiercely staring down her friends, and I had no idea how to react. This isn’t about the misunderstanding... She’s standing up for me. But why, Nishina? I’m plain. I’m below your level. Everything they said is true. Why would you argue with your own friends just for my sake?

“Wh-Whatcha getting all worked up over? We were just poking some fun!”

“You must really like him a lot, huh...? S-Sorry!”

Faced with Kokoro’s reaction, her two friends could do nothing but nervously apologize.

“Um... Sorry for making it awkward. We really gotta go now,” one of them said, and the two girls and their boyfriends quickly shuffled away.

“N-Nishina...”

“I’m sorry my friends were so rude to you,” Kokoro said, staring at the ground with a pained expression on her face.

“N-No, don’t worry.”

Yes, they had been rude, but it didn’t matter what two girls I barely knew thought about me. Right now, I was just happy that Kokoro had stood up for me. She cared more about defending me than defending her own image. She must think way better of me than she used to.

Kokoro’s words had saved me from despair. It had looked like she was trying to distance herself from me, but what she’d just said convinced me that it wasn’t because she hated me.

She doesn’t hate me. Somehow, that makes me so happy...

“Welcome back!” Mrs. Nishina greeted us with a smile when we returned. For some reason, she looked much more appeased and calmer than earlier. “Kokoro... you really do love Ichigaya a lot.”

“What?!” Both Kokoro and I were shocked.

“Y-You heard that just now?!” Kokoro asked.

“Yes, and it made me feel a lot better about you two. I was worried you didn’t get along all that well, since you don’t really act like a couple, but it seems I’d been worrying about nothing.”

Of course, Nishina doesn’t actually love me. Her mom’s just assuming things based on what she heard. But... why am I so happy to hear that?

After that, we rode on a few more rides, and Mrs. Nishina even joined us on the tamer ones. Once we’d used all of our tickets, we left the park and had dinner at a nearby restaurant before taking the train home.

Even hours later, I still couldn’t stop thinking about what Kokoro had told her friends.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget what happened today.