Ch-3
Chapter 3: Unfulfilled Promise
Volume 1, Chapter 3: Unfulfilled Promise - Part 1
"Hey? It's Ichinose... I want to die."
On the second July 7th after I abandoned my lifespan, a clear Tuesday.
On this day, the call log on my phone changed to two incoming calls.
Just like last time, we arranged to meet at the old place by the bridge. I crawled out of bed and left the house. Before hanging up, I annoyingly warned her, "Absolutely no suicide, okay!" She stubbornly replied, "I won't do it today! Not today." But I found it hard to believe her.
About a week after our visit to the park, during this period, she didn't attempt suicide.
Even though she promised me she'd live until the fireworks festival, she might not keep that promise, and there's still a risk of sudden suicide. So, I didn't slack off in gathering information, living each day with insufficient sleep.
Yawning, I arrived at the bridge and found Ichinose already there, leisurely blowing bubbles. Seeing her with a familiar bag, it must have been leftover from our time at the park.
"Were you sleeping just now?"
Ichinose's gaze shifted slightly upwards. I looked at my own shadow and noticed my hair was somewhat disheveled from sleep. Stretching, I said, "I tend to oversleep in the morning." To my surprise, Ichinose replied in amazement, "It's already 2 o'clock in the afternoon."
As I fixed my messy hair, I wondered where we should go today, but then I realized I forgot to bring my wallet. Regretfully, even if I wished I had checked before leaving, it wouldn't change the situation.
"I think I forgot my wallet. I need to go home first."
Reluctantly, I had no choice but to take Ichinose back to the apartment. Although I felt it wasn't appropriate to bring a minor like her to my home, it would be troublesome if she attempted suicide while waiting outside.
"Let's go!"
"Huh? Are you taking me along too?"
"If I left you alone... it could lead to a lot of trouble."
"...You don't think I'll commit suicide while you're gone, do you?"
I didn't answer, started walking forward, and heard an angry shout from behind, "Answer me!"
On our way back to the apartment, Ichinose kept asking, "Do I really have to come along?" I replied, "What else can we do?" She begrudgingly followed behind me.
"What's wrong? Come in."
After opening the entrance door, I urged her to enter, but Ichinose hesitated with her hands fidgeting. It looked like she was on guard, but it wasn't for that reason.
"Will it raise suspicions if I'm here at this time?"
She looked worried, as if she thought I had family at home.
After telling her I lived alone, she breathed a sigh of relief and walked into the room.
I led her into the living room and asked her to sit on the couch. With her legs together, sitting in the corner of the sofa, she looked unusually obedient and honest.
"It feels... different from what I imagined."
Ichinose looked around the room, murmuring to herself.
"What did you originally imagine it to be like?"
"Various items scattered everywhere."
"You actually thought my place was a dump or something?"
At home, only the bare essentials were placed, and I hadn't specifically organized it. In reality, there just wasn't enough stuff to make a mess. If I had more items, it might look similar to what she had imagined.
The living room only had a TV cabinet with a TV and a gaming console, a cheap low table, and a two-seater couch.
One of the Western-style rooms among the three was used as a bedroom, while the other rooms weren't even equipped with lighting fixtures. The storage spaces in the kitchen and bathroom weren't filled up either.
Before renting the apartment, I thought living alone was too spacious, desolate, lacking a sense of life, and somewhat eerie. However, even if I decorated the room with things, they'd still have to be dealt with before I died, so it was better not to buy unnecessary items.
This room, like an aquarium without any decorations, seemed dull, but Ichinose curiously looked around with great interest.
"You live alone in such a big place?"
"I have other empty rooms here. You can use them whenever you don't want to stay at home."
"Is that so? If I come every day...?"
"Then come every day."
Ichinose stared in disbelief, repeatedly asking, "I really have to come every day?" Personally, I was more than willing to have her come every day. Confirming her safety was more important than continuing with my current life.
"I don't mind."
"Yeah... well, if you regret it later, don't blame me."
"What do you mean?" I asked her, but she remained indifferent and didn't answer.
As I went to the bathroom to fix my messy hair, Ichinose looked out the window. "Wow, it's so high!" I heard her innocent voice say, but in the next instant, a dangerous thought crossed her mind, "Maybe it would be easier to die by jumping from here..." Please don't jump off.
Afterwards, I quickly stopped Ichinose from walking towards the balcony, and she noticed the mountain of empty convenience store lunch boxes, commenting in amazement, "If you don't eat more nutritiously, your health will suffer." I didn't want to hear such words from a girl who had attempted suicide.
Eventually, when I managed to get her to sit quietly on the couch, it was already past 3 o'clock. I scolded Ichinose for her behavior, urging her to sit properly, and she seemed a bit sulky.
"Have you had lunch?"
Seeing her shake her head in response, I thought of taking her out to eat.
I unintentionally glanced at my phone screen and realized it was Tanabata (Star Festival).
I remembered that a Tanabata festival was held in the neighborhood every year.
After searching on my phone, I immediately opened the page displaying the information. The official website mentioned the 71st Tanabata festival, indicating that it was being held this year as well. There would likely be food stalls, and it might be nice to walk around and eat. Ichinose seemed interested too, peeking at my phone screen. Her face was very close.
Making sure we had our wallets, we left the house and took a wobbly train ride to the nearest station where the Tanabata festival was being held. The train was more crowded than usual, and I could see people wearing yukata and carrying water balloons.
The Tanabata festival took place on a shopping street that extended straight from the station where we got off. Due to traffic control, vehicles were prohibited from passing along the street, which was lined with old shops like thrift stores.
As we exited the station, we were immediately swept away by the crowd and moved towards the street with various vendors. Sometimes, the crowd was so thick that Ichinose would grab my arm and stay close, which felt a bit awkward.
After moving forward amidst men and women in yukata and children with water balloons, a fragrant sauce smell suddenly wafted in. Feeling hungry on an empty stomach, I headed to a stall with a large "Stir-Fried Noodles" sign and joined the queue.
The stir-fried noodles in a transparent box had a nostalgic feeling to them.
Recalling the past, I remembered going to a festival with a friend when I was in elementary school. Even though there wasn't anything specific we wanted from the prize stalls, we got caught up in the atmosphere and kept trying our luck at various draws. By the time we started feeling hungry, there wasn't much money left in our wallets. Despite that, we pooled our remaining change and bought a box of stir-fried noodles to share.
I had memories like that too, reminiscing about the past in a strange way.
To avoid being pushed around by the crowd, we retreated to the back of a stall and ate the stir-fried noodles. They were simple, without much garnish, yet they tasted delicious. The stir-fried noodles we had that day were also quite tasty. Perhaps festival stir-fried noodles were just like this. As I pondered this, I glanced at Ichinose and noticed her eating the noodles with teary eyes. Who told you to be cautious of the heat? Don't force yourself.
"With so many people, it's not easy to leave. If there's a stall you want to eat from, just tell me!"
"But, I don't have any money today."
"Why say that now? It's rare to come to the festival, so don't be polite with me!"
I casually said with a relaxed attitude. I thought that the amount of stir-fried noodles we just ate was quite substantial, and now it would be satisfying to eat something else, like shaved ice.
Unexpectedly, whenever Ichinose saw a stall, she would pull my sleeve and point to things she wanted to eat.
"Mr. Aiba, I want to eat yakitori."
The sauce was really delicious, and she finished it quickly.
"This time I want that one."
She pointed to a hot dog, loaded with too much yellow mustard, and it made me choke.
"Mr. Aiba, over here, over here!"
She pointed to grilled squid. It might be delicious, but I couldn't eat anymore.
"After the squid, of course, we have to eat takoyaki!"
She pointed to takoyaki. However, I was already too full to eat anything else, so I only bought some for her.
"I'm in the mood for something sweet."
She pointed to chocolate banana. I thought I could handle sweets, so I bought two servings for us, but it was a struggle to eat.
"Salt and butter, feel free to add them!"
She pointed to buttered potatoes. Initially, she struggled with it because she was afraid of getting burned, but she managed to finish them.
"You... you really can eat..."
"I haven't had enough yet."
With cotton candy in her left hand and a candied apple in her right, it seemed like her stomach could still fit more.
I hadn't expected her to eat so much.
Speaking of which, after eating at a family restaurant, Ichinose would often continue looking at the menu. I used to think her delicate frame couldn't possibly hold any more food, and that she was just using the menu to hide her face because she didn't want to listen to my advice, but it seemed there was more to it.
I was curious where all the food she ate disappeared to.
After satisfying her hunger, we both tried our hand at goldfish scooping. At first, we were full of enthusiasm, suggesting, "Shall we compete to see who can catch more goldfish?" However, neither of us managed to catch a single one. The kind-hearted stall vendor offered us two goldfish of our choice to take home, but I declined. Most of the goldfish from the stalls didn't live very long, although some did manage to survive for several years. If I were to die first, it would be too unfair to the goldfish.
After that, we played fishing for water balloons and poking at soft candy, both of which resulted in failure. However, I got to see Ichinose's happy profile several times, which was quite rewarding.
"Hey, you two! Can you come over here for a moment?"
As we were enjoying the festival, a middle-aged man in a short coat suddenly called out.
The short coat had "Tanabata Festival Executive Committee" written on it.
Without hesitation, he grabbed our arms and forcibly led us away.
He took us to a place adorned with a large bamboo tree, with various colored short strips hanging from the bamboo, so elaborate that one could easily mistake it for a Christmas tree. There was a group of people gathered around tables nearby, writing their wishes on the short strips.
"Write down your wishes on one of these short strips too!"
The man said this and handed us short strips and markers.
Overwhelmed by his momentum, I took them from him, but I had no idea what wish to write on the strip.
Ichinose also had an expression that seemed to say, "I accidentally took it," not knowing what to write either. The people around us gradually wrote down their wishes one after another, but we were just staring at the short strips, at a loss.
Suddenly, I recalled a bitter memory from my elementary school days.
In first grade, there was a lesson where we had to write Tanabata wishes on short strips.
I don't remember what I did with the short strip, but I guess our homeroom teacher wanted to understand the dreams and wishes of the newly enrolled students who didn't know much yet, so she arranged this kind of activity.
I saw my classmates writing wishes like "I hope to become a soccer player" or "I want a video game," typical wishes for elementary school kids.
Without hesitation, I wrote down the wish to "see my parents."
I wanted to see my biological parents. At that time, I didn't know I had been abandoned by them. I thought they had their reasons for not being able to come get me at the moment. So I believed that if I waited, they would eventually come for me. I always held onto that expectation in my heart.
However, after my homeroom teacher saw what I wrote on the short strip, she repeatedly asked me, "Don't you have any other wishes?"
Even at that young age, it was clear to me—
The teacher wanted me to write a different wish.
But I didn't know why only my short strip had to be rewritten.
Because I thought my wish was just as ordinary as everyone else's.
Among my classmates, some had written wishes to become the superhero from the TV show at that time. My wish wasn't impossible, so I couldn't understand why I couldn't write that wish.
And erasing my wish felt like I wouldn't see my parents anymore.
I also thought that writing another wish would make my parents sad, so I kept refusing to rewrite it. However, in the end, I was practically forced to rewrite it. I don't even remember what I wrote on the short strip that still had traces of erased marks.
Looking back now, this incident made me feel different from the people around me for the first time.
"Mr. Aiba, if I write 'I want to die,' will I get scolded?"
Ichinose asked me in a barely audible voice.
"If that's truly a wish you want to fulfill, then write it."
"...I was just joking. You're not stopping me like you usually do."
My response seemed to catch her off guard, and she reluctantly started writing her wish with an uninterested look. If we continued like this, I could see us being the only ones left staring blankly at the short strips. So I quickly started thinking and wrote down a wish.
"I hope Ichinose Tsukimi finds happiness."
After thinking for hours, that was the only wish that came to mind. With only a year and a half left to live, there wasn't much I could wish for myself.
Ichinose looked at my short strip with a serious expression.
"Hey, Aiba-san."
"What's the matter?"
"It's embarrassing, you know!"
"Well, that's good."
Surprisingly, I was the one who was shocked after looking at Ichinose's short strip.
Because her short strip read, "I hope to pass the high school entrance exam."
I couldn't believe it, so I held it in my hand and checked again. It was no mistake.
"Do you want to go to high school?"
"Other than wanting to die, that's the only wish that came to my mind."
Why would someone at the brink of death be talking about going to high school? Ichinose said it very modestly, but it didn't seem like she had written an unquestionable wish. Maybe she felt embarrassed being seen that way, as she tried to snatch the short strip from my hand and have it back.
We handed our completed short strips to the man in the short coat and asked him to help hang them on the bamboo tree.
"How can I make my wish come true?"
The short strips hanging from the bamboo swayed gently.
"I don't think it will come true no matter what I do."
Ichinose said this with an indifferent expression.
By the time we finished writing the short strips, it was twilight. The lanterns hanging everywhere illuminated the shopping street in a deep red hue, and children holding toy swords and glow bracelets were sparkling.
On the way back, we both had shaved ice. I ordered cantaloupe flavor, while Ichinose got blue Hawaiian. The shaved ice, which I hadn't had in years, was super refreshing and just as I remembered from my elementary school days.
"Does it turn blue?" Ichinose stuck out her tongue and asked me, looking like an innocent and pure girl.
On the train ride back, Ichinose suddenly exclaimed.
It seemed she had left her bubble blower at my place. She said she would come to my house to pick it up tomorrow, so I immediately set an alarm.
"Careless on the way home, huh?"
"I'll be careful going home... Don't try to trick me!"
"Who taught you to be so easily fooled?"
When we parted at the station, she waved and said, "See you tomorrow."
The next morning, Ichinose visited my house.
The doorbell rang even earlier than my alarm, and I groggily opened the front door.
She mentioned she hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so I handed her sweet buns and instant corn soup that I had bought from the convenience store. I suggested she eat in the living room while I planned to go back to bed and snooze a little longer. However, she followed me to my bedroom, probably thinking we were going to have breakfast together. I had to set up the folding table near my bed for her to use.
Lying on my bed, I watched Ichinose blow on her corn soup, but I ended up falling asleep without realizing it. When I woke up, I found her curled up on the bed, asleep as well.
Perhaps she had come over to my place before her family woke up. I carefully covered her with a blanket and gazed at her peaceful sleeping face for a while.
2
On the second July 31st after I gave up on life, it was a rainy Saturday.
It had been three weeks since Ichinose started coming over to my house.
She came almost every day, except when there was a typhoon or heavy rain. During this time, she didn't attempt suicide again, and she lived a peaceful life.
Ichinose usually came in the morning. I never asked her directly, but I assumed she left her house before her family got up. Since her doorbell ringing always woke me up, I gave her a spare key.
I told her that she could help herself to the food on the table, like the sweet buns, and snacks and ice cream that were there. She could also use the TV and phone freely. However, she was quite introverted and mostly stayed away from those things, just sitting in a corner of the room, hugging her knees.
However, it seemed like she finally gave in to temptation, as she started eating more assertively recently and became quite skilled with using the phone. She often used the phone to browse the internet or watch videos. I had worried that she might search for suicide methods, but when I checked the browsing history, it mostly showed videos of hexagon-shaped dinosaurs. I'm sorry for doubting you.
Additionally, Ichinose did study. Even though she didn't want to mention it, she seemed to have completed all the study materials sent by her school, earning credits by submitting her work.
Honestly, I was surprised that she was studying so diligently on her own.
I had expected her to come up with a reason like, "Since I'm going to die anyway, there's no point in studying." At least, that's how I would have reacted.
When I watched her studying from behind, she said her handwriting was ugly and asked me not to look, covering her notes with her hands in an embarrassed manner. Although she found it embarrassing, I thought her handwriting was neat and quite cute.
As I observed her studying like this, I secretly hoped that she might be considering a brave decision to live on in the future. But she still hadn't given up on suicide. Just yesterday, as she was devouring ice cream, she said, "After the fireworks festival ends, I'm definitely going to kill myself."
After finishing her studies in the morning, we mostly spent the afternoons playing video games or watching movies together. Spending time with Ichinose significantly improved my daily routine, and I no longer lost sleep by constantly checking suicide-related news.
The small sofa placed in front of the TV was something I had chosen, assuming I wouldn't have any guests over. As a result, sitting there together felt a bit cramped. Ichinose, who wasn't used to playing video games, would unconsciously move her body to match the actions of her in-game character, which often led her head to bump against my shoulder.
Not one to be outdone, she would intentionally rest her head against my shoulder and turn her head to obstruct my view. Even when I impatiently scolded her with, "Hey, stop bothering me," she would find my irritated reaction amusing and playfully retort, "Consider it revenge for all the times you bothered me before."
Her playful antics, punctuated by excited giggles, interfered with my concentration. It seemed like she had a mischievous side. Every time I saw her innocent and playful demeanor, I would think, "It would be great if she gave up on suicide," and wonder if it was okay for me to be the one by her side. Did she really not want to play with friends her own age?
Due to the start of summer vacation, the streets were often filled with groups of middle and high school students. I imagined countless times how if Ichinose hadn't been bullied and had gone to school normally, she would probably be playing with friends just like them.
Although we saw each other every day like this, our relationship wasn't healthy.
That was where she should have been in the first place, not by my side.
I wanted to find a way to send Ichinose back to where she belonged.
I thought about it every day, realizing that I needed to find a solution before the fireworks festival arrived.
However, the July days spent with her quickly flew by.
On the second August 18th after I gave up on life, it was a sunny Tuesday.
I was awakened in the morning by the shrill sound of cicadas. I tried to go back to sleep, but the weather was too hot and stifling, making it impossible. I didn't want to get up either, so I buried my face in the pillow for a moment until I heard the sound of water.
It was probably Ichinose taking a shower.
As August arrived, the scorching heat continued. Ichinose still came over every day. Lately, instead of lounging on the couch or bed, she spent her time playing games in my room.
Ichinose, coming from her own home, would take a shower every morning. She seemed to dislike the feeling of sweat sticking to her body so much that she even brought a change of clothes from home. The bath towel she used was the one I bought for both of us when we went out, and she also had a toothbrush.
My home had become her refuge for this past month.
I tried to avoid letting the residents here see Ichinose entering and leaving my house. If they became suspicious and called the police, I wouldn't be able to focus on preventing her from attempting suicide.
However, since she started coming to my house, her expression had become more cheerful, and she rarely spoke negatively about herself. Besides, I couldn't just let her wander outside in this scorching heat. I could easily imagine her collapsing on the side of the road even if she was suffering from heatstroke and wouldn't ask for help. The risks were high, but maybe it was best to maintain the current situation.
I got out of bed and went to the kitchen to drink some water. I could hear the sound of a hairdryer coming from the bathroom. With her long hair, it must have taken her quite a while to dry it. I sat on the couch in the living room, turned on the air conditioning, and waited for her to come out.
After about ten minutes, the bathroom door "click"ed open.
"It feels so cool!"
Ichinose walked into the living room, raising her arms and stretching with a childlike smile.
I greeted her good morning with a pleased expression, and she let out a little "Ah!" and gave a soft scream. Judging from her overly lively voice just now, she must have thought no one was in the living room.
"Oh, Mr. Aiba, don't scare me like that!"
"You scared yourself."
"You're usually still asleep at this time, right?"
Perhaps feeling embarrassed by being caught off guard, Ichinose pouted and sat down next to me with a displeased expression. For a moment, a sweet scent of shampoo emanated from her hair, tickling my nostrils.
"It was just a startle, don't worry about it."
"...I wasn't worried about it at all."
"Yeah, right. Anyway, it feels nice and cool."
"...That's what I'm saying!"
She leaned her head against me, moving back and forth, and leaned against me, yet she was surprisingly light.
After having a simple breakfast, I comfortably watched TV. However, as the sunlight shone through the window, the room became increasingly stuffy due to the heat. Closing the curtains and lowering the air conditioning temperature didn't help; I ended up sweating.
As I fanned myself with my hand, the TV happened to be airing a special feature about leisure facilities and pools. The screen showed a bustling pool scene that looked very refreshing. Normally, I wouldn't want to go to crowded places like that, but compared to staying in the stuffy house, going to the pool seemed like a more meaningful way to spend time.
"Let's go to the pool!"
Murmuring to myself as if I had discovered an oasis in the middle of a desert, I slowed down a beat and said to Ichinose.
"What did you say?" Ichinose asked titling her head.
"Let's go to the pool. What about swimsuits?"
"Swimsuits? We can just buy them there."
"But I don't know how to swim..."
"Alright, let's get ready!"
"Hey, wait a minute!"
Next, I took action with momentum. Ichinose looked puzzled as I pulled her hand and got into a taxi. We arrived at a well-known leisure pool far away from the local area.
It was a popular leisure pool with both indoor and outdoor water play facilities. Due to summer vacation, there were a lot of people here to play in the water. We blended into the crowd and entered the building.
After buying tickets and passing through security, a vibrant array of swimsuits greeted our eyes. The entire floor was full of swimwear stores, several of them adjacent to each other. In addition to swimsuits, they also sold swimming rings, beach balls, sandals, snorkels, and other items.
We both picked out swimsuits, although the sight might not have been pleasant to look at, and Ichinose probably didn't want to either. So, after deciding on a meeting place, I handed her the money.
"I also want to buy sunscreen..."
She looked at me pitifully, as if breaking a plate. I chuckled and replied, "If you need it, you can also buy a swimming ring." Her reaction to this made it clear that she didn't appreciate being treated like a child.
I bought square-cut swim trunks and a towel at the first store.
Ichinose seemed to be contemplating her choice of swimsuit. Surprisingly, she came back to the meeting point empty-handed. She then unexpectedly asked to borrow my phone, saying she wanted to make a call to let her family know she might be home later. After returning my phone, she disappeared again to choose her swimsuit. I waited for her while scrolling on my phone, but upon closer inspection, there were no call records left. Instead, I found search records like "cute swimsuits" and "recommended swimsuits." It seemed I would have to wait patiently.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting so long."
About twenty minutes after Ichinose returned my phone, she came back with a big bag. I asked her apologetically, "Did you find a swimsuit you like?" She nodded with a lack of confidence and replied, "Yeah."
In front of the changing room, I parted ways with Ichinose and changed into my swim trunks. I placed the silver watch with the snake emblem, which I always carried with me, in the locker.
Although I felt uneasy about it, it didn't seem waterproof at all. I put the money in the newly purchased waterproof bag and hung it around my neck.
As I left the changing room and stepped into the indoor swimming pool, a rush of heat hit me.
Inside the dome-shaped building was a massive pool resembling a beach, surrounded by trees resembling coconut palms, as if I had arrived at a tropical coastline.
Countless visitors were playing in the enormous pool. I wanted to jump in immediately, but I decided to wait for Ichinose. Just as I was about to admire her swimsuit, someone poked me on the side.
"Mr. Aiba."
Turning to the voice, I saw Ichinose standing there in a swimsuit.
The white halter bikini suited her well. The design with the frilled edges was cute, yet Ichinose wore it with elegance. Her fair, smooth skin and slender legs made it hard to decide where to look, and all the compliments I had prepared beforehand flew out of my mind.
Ichinose held her hands tightly in front of her and lifted her gaze, asking, "Um, would it look strange?"
"Not at all, it looks very nice."
"...Don't butter me up."
Ichinose fidgeted and blushed. Oh, the complexities of a woman's heart!
The huge pool was visible from the entrance and seemed to be designed like a beach, gradually getting deeper as you moved further.
"It's so chilly!"
Ichinose walked along the shallows, playfully enjoying herself more than the children around. I worried she might slip.
The pool's water was pleasantly cold. I gradually adjusted to the temperature and moved towards the deeper end.
When I reached waist-deep water, I playfully splashed water on Ichinose's back.
"Ah!"
Ichinose let out a surprised yelp and turned toward me with a defiant look.
"I just wanted to startle you a bit..."
In the next moment, "Splash!" I was hit with water in my mouth, and while coughing, she continued to splash water at me without mercy.
"I'm sorry. Hey, stop splashing."
The amount of water splashing increased, and she seemed unwilling to forgive me.
I retaliated by splashing water back at her. Ichinose, now bathed in water droplets, was spirited and competitive. Her shyness from earlier seemed like a facade.
We playfully splashed water at each other until we were both breathless, then we climbed the ladder beside the pool and moved to another pool.
The shallow pool with slides and other play equipment had many children playing in it.
Water sprayed from various devices all around. There was also a large bucket overhead that would tip over when filled with water, pouring down a deluge.
"Mr. Aiba, go stand over there."
Ichinose tugged on a control rope, causing a large amount of water to pour down on my head.
"Who told you to splash me earlier?"
Ichinose playfully stuck her tongue out and laughed, even more lively than usual. Even nearby children were pointing and laughing at me, so naturally, I had to retaliate.
"Ah! Wait, Mr. Aiba!"
I lifted up the struggling Ichinose in a princess carry and carried her directly under the water bucket. It was about to tip over with water, and a crowd had gathered nearby.
After I finally put her down, she angrily scolded, "Don't princess-carry me in a place like this!" At the same time, the water bucket tipped over.
Unaware that the water was pouring down and with her back to the bucket, Ichinose was hit by the water and fell toward me. As a soaked couple nearby exchanged smiles and children played and laughed, Ichinose landed in my arms, blushing.
Due to her sulking, Ichinose refused to talk to me for a while. However, as we enjoyed ramen, hot dogs, and potato chips at the indoor dining area, her irritation seemed to dissipate while eating. She even had ice cream, displaying a hearty appetite.
After lunch, we walked outside, where the scorching summer sun forced us to quickly alternate our steps on the hot ground.
We made our way through an arched water column to escape into the lazy river.
Ichinose rented a large inner tube designed for the lazy river and sat on it, allowing the current to carry her away. Sunlight danced on the water's surface, reflecting off her fair skin.
As I guided the tube forward, she excitedly exclaimed, "So fast!" I intentionally spun the tube, making her laugh and scream in surprise. Her innocent laughter made me forget everyone around us, and I focused solely on pleasing her.
After playing around in the lazy river, we attempted to cross a floating bridge.
It was an unstable bridge floating on the water's surface, leading to attractions on the other side, and it was challenging to maintain balance.
When I couldn't make much progress, Ichinose's cries of distress reached me from behind. I turned around just in time for her to grab my arm and pull me down with her as she lost her balance.
"You scared me..."
The perpetrator who had grabbed my arm rubbed her eyes and blushed with a shy smile. I was the one who got scared!
Later, I dragged Ichinose to the waterslide she wasn't too keen on. We rode a tandem rubber raft down the curving slide, and as the front-seat rider, Ichinose let out loud screams and plunged into the pool at a rapid pace.
"I told you I didn't want to play!"
After getting off the raft, Ichinose lightly bumped into me. My apologies!
In the artificial wave pool, we stood in water up to Ichinose's shoulders, waiting for the massive waves that occurred every hour. I asked if we should move to shallower water, but she said it was fine, so we stayed put.
However, as I watched her swimming, a sense of unease suddenly washed over me. Despite her insistence that she was doing freestyle, it looked more like a doggy paddle to me.
Just as I was contemplating whether we should return to shallower waters, a massive wave approached.
The wave was higher than I had imagined, even taller than me. People around us cheered, but honestly, I wasn't in the mood at all.
Due to the rapid succession of the artificial waves, it became hard to catch a breath, especially with Ichinose tightly holding on to me. I felt the soft touch of her swimsuit against my skin... but my mind was elsewhere. She clung to me like a koala, making it challenging for me to move through the water.
After finally managing to carry Ichinose, we were stuck in the midst of a crowd and couldn't make our way back to the shore.
I began to worry, thinking this situation was getting out of hand, but thankfully, the waves gradually subsided.
"I thought I was going to die..."
Ichinose muttered weakly, then immediately tried to explain herself, "Ah! I'm not saying I don't want to die. I just don't want to drown."
"...I get it, come down quickly."
After saying this to Ichinose, who was still clinging tightly to me, she suddenly realized and quickly got off me. I couldn't see her expression clearly as we left the pool in silence.
We played and rested until the evening started to darken and a chill set in. As the outdoor pool lit up, visitors began to leave.
It was almost time for us to head home, so we entered a cave-themed hot spring pool.
The warmth of the hot water felt comforting against our chilled bodies. Ichinose closed her eyes, looking truly relaxed.
"I want to stay here forever."
Sitting beside me, her fair skin turned slightly rosy from the warm water
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