173 - A Gift from Ryota

RAW

After enjoying the Giant Spark Mountain, Haruto and the others continued to ride various attractions and have fun.

Thanks to the girls’ detailed planning in advance, they were able to go on a relatively large number of rides despite the heavy crowds typical of a Sunday.

Even so, wait times for certain attractions could reach up to 120 minutes.

While waiting in one particularly slow-moving line, Tomoya raised his outstretched hand and made a big motion.

At the same time, he spoke:

“Transform!”

Striking a crisp pose, he looked over at Ryota.

“Now then, whose transformation pose was that from the Gomen Rider series?”

“Umm, umm, that hand move… that’s the transformation pose of the 5th Gomen Rider, ‘Bugyō’!”

“Ooh! Correct! Nicely done, Ryota-kun.”

“Hehe. The 5th one always ends his pose by hitting his belt with his fist!”

Feeling proud, Ryota explained further, and Tomoya replied, “Alright, next question! Whose transformation pose is this?” as he performed a slightly different one.

Haruto and Ayaka had been worried Ryota would get bored during the long waits, but during those times, Saki would pose riddles for him, Shizuku would pretend Ishikura was the Demon Lord and play hero games with him, and Tomoya would quiz him on Gomen Rider trivia — everyone helped keep Ryota entertained.

Tomoya continued the quiz with poses from the long-running children’s hero franchise Gomen Rider, and Ayaka thanked him.

“Thanks, Akagi-kun.”

“No problem. But man, Ryota-kun is amazing. That last one, the 7th Shogun Rider, is from our generation — how do you know that one?”

“He’s really into it lately. He always carries around the Gomen Rider encyclopedia.”

Standing beside Ayaka, Haruto looked at Tomoya with mild admiration.

“You’re pretty amazing too. You know even the newer ones.”

Haruto himself only knew the Gomen Rider series from when he was a kid and the occasional new episodes he watched with Ryota.

Tomoya, proudly, replied, “Gomen Rider is every guy’s dream.”

Then he put on a dramatic expression and said:

“For the sake of the weak and the just, I will defeat evil! Even if my body crumbles away—Permission to strike!”

With that, he mimed swinging a sword. Ryota’s eyes sparkled.

“That’s the first Gomen Rider’s catchphrase!! Permission to strike!!”

He excitedly mimicked Tomoya.

Ayaka, smiling at her brother, gently reminded him, “Make sure you’re not bothering the people around you, okay?”

“Okay!”

Watching the sweet interaction, Shizuku said to Ishikura in a flat tone that still managed to sound amused:

“Kazu-senpai. You just got slashed by Tomo-senpai and Ryota-kun. You have to react with a proper ‘Gwaaahh!’ now.”

“Don’t make me the villain!”

“But isn’t it your dream to be cut down by Ryota-kun?”

“…I can’t deny that.”

Seeing Ryota so happy, Ishikura muttered in a small voice. Saki gave him a light jab, “You’re supposed to deny it there.”

Even during long wait times, Haruto and the group were enjoying their dream day at the park together.

They ate lunch a little earlier to avoid the crowds, then stopped by a shop selling all sorts of goods.

“Hm. Naturally, one must wear this when at a place like this,” said Shizuku seriously, picking up a headband from the shelf and placing it on her head.

“How do I look?”

It was a headband with ears of the park’s mascot character — making her look like she had cat ears.

Saki smiled and nodded. “Oh, cute, Shizuku-chan. Looks great on you!”

“Hm. Then… Kazu-senpai, you wear this one.”

“Oh, thanks—wait, what is this?”

“It’s a pig-ear headband from Bu-chan the Pig.”

Seeing the tough-looking Ishikura now sporting tiny cute pig ears on his head, Shizuku nodded with satisfaction.

“As expected, this mismatch is high art. Your terrifying aura, which seems ready to overthrow the entire judicial system, clashes with the world-healing pig ears. It’s a masterpiece.”

“Cut it out!”

Shizuku, speaking like a revered critic, was met with Ishikura’s roar. But she ignored him and placed a headband on Saki’s head next.

“This one’s for you, Saki-senpai.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“This park’s character with the best big-sister energy — dog ears.”

Two large, floppy, fluffy ears now hung from Saki’s head like a big dog’s.

Tomoya nodded. “Totally suits you. You do give off big-sis vibes.”

“She’s Big Sis Saki.”

“I don’t have that kind of big-sis aura! I’m a graceful lady, okay?”

“You are not a lady.”

“Hey!”

As Tomoya denied her claim without hesitation, Saki gave him a half-lidded glare.

“Hahaha, sorry, sorry! Just kidding. But really, the dog ears suit you — super cute.”

“…Thanks.”

Looking suddenly emotionless, Saki grabbed a headband from the shelf and silently placed it on Tomoya’s head.

He looked up to check what it was.

“Huh? A panda?”

“Yeah. A laid-back panda living life at its own pace — fits you perfectly.”

“Hmm, maybe?”

Tomoya gave a vague reaction, then turned to Saki and asked:

“So? Do I look cool?”

“Not even a little.”

“So fast!?”

He acted exaggeratedly hurt by the blunt answer.

Saki turned her head slightly and mumbled, “You’re not cool… but you are kind of cute.”

“Oh?”

At her quietly muttered words, Tomoya smiled slightly.

Next, Shizuku picked headbands for Haruto and Ryota.

“Haru-senpai and Ryota-kun, these are for you.”

They were both tiger headbands. Ryota’s was a child-tiger version, slightly smaller than Haruto’s.

“You’re a tiger parent and child! Haru-papa gets killed by villains, and little Ryota-kun sets out on a quest for revenge — very emotional.”

“Wait, I die!? And what’s with ‘Haru-papa’!?”

“Haru-papa is Haru-papa,” Shizuku replied evasively before turning to Ryota.

“Ryota-kun, try doing a ‘roar’ with this on.”

“Like this? Rawr!”

He lifted his hands by his face and roared adorably.

Ishikura, watching from behind, gasped. “!?”, while Shizuku smiled blissfully.

“Aya-senpai. Tigers are protected under the Washington Convention. Can I take Ryota-kun home? Please?”

“Absolutely not!”

Ayaka shot down the absurd request immediately.

Shizuku pouted and put a headband on Ayaka.

“For mean Aya-senpai — this.”

“Huh? A bunny? It’s cute, but why a rabbit?”

Shizuku folded her arms and explained:

“Because a sneaky, repressed person like you fits a rabbit.”

“What?! I am not repressed!”

“You still won’t admit it? How pathetic.”

And so, the usual bickering between Ayaka and Shizuku began again.

While watching them argue, Haruto browsed a shelf and overheard a nearby college-aged couple.

“Hey, this heart-shaped keychain is kinda nice, right?”

“Huh? Oh, it splits in two.”

“It says here that if two people share this, their future is guaranteed.”

“Seriously?”

“And it’s cheap, too. Best value for guaranteed happiness!”

“Why are you measuring love by value!? Wait… you wanna guarantee our future?”

“...Well, yeah.”

“...F-Fine. Then… should we get it?”

“Yeah…”

Haruto blushed just listening to the exchange. Trying to calm himself, he took a deep breath.

Then Ryota tugged on his sleeve.

“Hmm? What is it, Ryota-kun?”

“Onii-chan, what does it mean when they say your future is guaranteed?”

“Oh, that means… like, you’ll get married someday.”

Ryota, having overheard the couple, tilted his head — but his face lit up when he heard the word “married.”

“Onii-chan! I wanna buy this!”

“Huh? You want that?”

“Yeah! I want three!”

“Three!?”

Haruto was stunned, but Ryota had already made up his mind and took three keychains to the register.

Just then, Shizuku’s argument with Ayaka ended, and Shizuku said, “Okay, everyone, let’s go buy our headbands,” leading the group to the cashier.

Ayaka, red-faced and pouting, mumbled, “I’m not repressed…”

Wearing their new headbands, Haruto and the group exited the shop.

Tomoya, now with panda ears, turned to them.

“What do we ride next?”

“Hmm, Galaxy Mountain’s wait time is insane right now…”

Saki checked wait times on her phone. Then Shizuku pointed at Ishikura’s pig ears.

“If Kazu-senpai shouts, ‘Out of the way, punks!’ we can get on in seconds. The piggy ears make it even more powerful — Chaos Bomber.”

“I’m not doing that! And what the heck is ‘Chaos Bomber’!?”

As the group laughed and chatted, Haruto, holding Ryota’s hand, gently interrupted.

“Hey everyone, can I have your attention? Ryota-kun has a present for all of you.”

“Huh? A present?”

Saki tilted her head and looked at Ryota in response to Haruto’s words.

Feeling everyone’s gaze, Ryota looked a little shy as he pulled out the heart-shaped keychains he had just bought and handed one to Saki.

“These keychains… if two people carry them, it means their future is promised.”

As he said this, Ryota split the heart-shaped keychain into two and handed one half to Tomoya.

“I hope Saki-oneechan and Tomoya-oniichan’s date goes really well.”

Ryota said it with a big, innocent smile. Tomoya grinned right back at him.

“Thanks, Ryota-kun. I’m gonna be happy, for sure!”

“Yeah!”

“Hold on! Hold on a second, Akagi-kun!”

“Huh?”

“‘Huh?’ is not the response here!”

Saki hurriedly stepped in between the two boys, flustered.

“Tomoya and I are friends! Right? This is a friend-date, remember!?”

“Yeah, but look…”

Tomoya glanced over at Ryota, then lowered his voice to whisper into Saki’s ear.

“We don’t wanna ruin that smile, do we?”

“…You’re right.”

With a small sigh, Saki knelt down so she was at eye level with Ryota, who was looking at her with such pure eyes.

“Thank you, Ryota. I’ll treasure it.”

“Okay!”

Smiling happily at her gratitude, Ryota then turned to Ishikura and Shizuku.

“I’ve got one for Shizuku-oneechan and Brownii-chan too.”

“Whoa! Thanks, Ryota-kun!”

Ishikura was visibly moved and practically burst with joy over the gift. Shizuku, in contrast, wore her usual unreadable expression at first, but then let a gentle smile appear on her lips.

“Thank you, Ryota-kun. I’ll make this a family heirloom.”

“Hehe.”

Ryota laughed bashfully, and finally, he handed keychains to Ayaka and Haruto as well.

“Here, one for onee-chan and onii-chan too.”

“Thanks, Ryota.”

“Make sure you marry onii-chan soon and become a family!”

“Yeah… I will.”

Accepting the gift from her little brother, Ayaka gave him a tender smile and gently patted his head.