I’m at the amusement park in Kōraku-en for a date with my girlfriend, Ichika.
After lunch, we decided to work our way through the remaining attractions one by one. “So it’s a water slider.”
“There’s something similar back at Destiny Land, isn’t there?”
Water flows down the channel, and boats ride along on top of it.
“They said they rent out raincoats. What do you want to do?”
“Hmm, I think we’ll be fine. We won’t get that wet, right?”
At the end, there’s a steep drop where the boat plunges all at once.
Splash! A loud crash erupted as spray from the water flew everywhere.
“Dude, look at that. You’ll be soaked through.”
“That… that is true… I’ll do what you say, Mitsuhiko-kun.”
We rented raincoats at the station and climbed into a boat. I took the front seat, with Ichika behind me.
“There’s no safety bar? This is making me nervous…”
“Then, how about you just hold onto my waist?” “Really?”
“Of course. We’re not the kind to stand on ceremony.”
Hanae broke into a smile and wrapped her arms tightly around my waist.
She clung to me from behind, pressing her body close against mine. “There, that makes me feel safe♡”
“That’s good to hear. Looks like we’re about to depart.” The boat began to move.
Hanae squeezed my waist tight, again and again.
“You don’t need to worry yet; the drop from the slope is still a while off.”
“Oh? But Hikohiko-san, I like being this close to you♡” Hanae’s body was right up against my back.
More than the softness of her large breasts, I felt a sense of security from the strength of his core, solid as a great tree.
Before long, the boat climbed the slope and then plunged down with a rush.
Splash! The boat plummeted into the water, sending up violent spray. “That was quite a splash, wasn’t it!”
“It certainly was… I got soaked on the face.” Hanae was right behind me.
Even without seeing her face, the joy in her voice was obvious.
“But that was such a lovely feeling~…♡ It’s perfect for summer, isn’t it, this ride!”
The boat made a full lap and returned to the boarding area.
I stepped off first and reached my hand toward Ichika. “Thank you, Kouhei-kun.” Her body was lighter than I had expected.
As I pulled her up… there was Ichika’s face right in front of me. “You…?”
“What’s wrong? Ah, n-no way…♡ You just saw my bare face…”
Ichika squirmed with embarrassment. “No, that’s not what I meant.” “Huh?” Ichika’s… chest was see-through.
The splashes from the water slide had penetrated her raincoat.
Her clothes were soaked tight, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Her underwear—bright red and obscene. ”～～～～～～～～～～～!”
Ichika quickly covered her chest with her arms and crouched down. “Y-you saw…~?”
“Yeah. It just… seemed like you were really fired up about it.”
「Ahhhhhhh—!」
She must have anticipated this, arriving in her bright red lucky underwear.
“I’m so embarrassed… I just want to crawl into a hole…” I took off the jacket I was wearing.
“Here, throw your raincoat on it. Just wear this.”
I took the raincoat back from Ichika and handed her the jacket.
“Ko… Hikohiko…! Thank you!”
“You’re welcome. Get changed inside quickly.” “Ah, yeah, okay!”
Hurriedly, Ichika slid her arms into the sleeves of the jacket.
“Let’s get some sunlight on it to dry your clothes.”
“It’s fine, this is nothing.” “No it’s not. Come on, let’s go.”
I pulled Ichika’s hand and started walking. She didn’t resist.
She silently followed behind me. Fufu ♡
I turned around to see Ichika smiling quietly. “What’s up?”
“Nah, nothin’ ♡ It’s all good.”
Ichika came over to my side, and we walked shoulder to shoulder.
Not clinging to me, not dragging me along, not taking the lead…
Just walking like that, together with Ichika—that was a pleasant sensation for me. ☆
Next, we made our way back toward the gate.
Deep inside the area, there was a massive parachute you had to look up at.
It had a canopy attached to it, with a basket suspended underneath.
From a distance, it looked like a hot air balloon, but it operated on a system using wires to pull it up.
“Do we drop from the top in one go? Like a freefall?”
“Exactly that~ Ahhh~ ♡ Nostalgic, isn’t it~!”
Ichika looked up at the parachute, squinting her eyes.
So you told me your family came here before, Ichika?
“Gojoyuen has a lot of attractions that are quite different from the old days. It felt a bit sad.”
It was indeed a sorrowful thought to realize that the scenery she knew was disappearing with the passage of time. But then, Ichika smiled.
“But this one hasn’t changed at all since forever. It makes me feel relieved… like an attraction similar to you, Mitsuhiko-kun… I mean, never mind!”
Seeming embarrassed by what she’d just said, Ichika shook her head in a flustered panic.
“By the way, what era are you referring to when you say ‘the old days’?”
“Ooold times! L-l-et’s get on! Yes! This is really fun!”
Even without trying to evade the question, Ichika was the same age as me…
We stepped into the basket of the parachute ride.
It was surprisingly cramped for two adults.
“Do you think it was this narrow when we were kids?”
“Since I grew up, my body got bigger, so I guess this is normal.”
Besides, Hiwagawa’s brothers are all big and burly. The Terminator Bros.
He mentioned he had a sister too, but what would she be like?
I pictured a Terminator girl and laughed it off. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing… nothing at all.”
Ikka didn’t press the matter any further.
That’s how our conversations always go. She rarely dives deep into things. It’s actually quite pleasant. There are no headaches involved. “Oh look, the parachute is going up.”
As the operator worked the machine, the parachute rose with a shrrruuuu… sound. The view kept climbing and climbing…
Eventually, the parachute ascended until we were looking down on Korakuen Dome from above.
“Waa…! Skytree! So it’s visible from here…” “It wasn’t around when I was a kid.”
“Right? You don’t even notice them popping up big and tall without you realizing it! I thought 333 meters was the record, but now it’s 634!” “Yeah, pretty shocking, huh?” “Exactly!” …Ikka is my age.
So, her worries and thoughts are similar to mine.
I feel a comfort with her that I don’t get with other lovers.
“So… what happens next with this?” “Just have to descend now ♡” “Huh? Descend?” “Yeah, we land.”
The parachute plunges us swiftly toward the ground.
“Hyaahhhhhhhh♡”
The descent was slower than a roller coaster.
But it created a sensation as if our feet were lifting off, light and fluffy.
Ichiha hugged me tightly, laughing with evident joy.
Thinking that she might be blown away, I wrapped my arm around her slender waist to hold her close.
Looking up at me, Ichiha smiled happily and pressed herself closer.
Before long, the parachute brought us back to the earth.
In high spirits, Ichiha stepped down from the platform. “Here you go, Mitsuhiko-kun♡”
Just as I had done for her, Ichiha reached out a hand to me. “Thanks, gotcha.”
I climbed down from the platform and held hands with her as we descended the rest of the way. “Satisfied?”
“Mm♡ It felt nostalgic and it was fun… plus, I loved that you hugged me tight.”
She leaned in close, quietly, looking up at me with a smile.
Her perfectly chiseled features were right there, close enough to make my heart skip a beat.
“It made me so, so happy that you held onto me… making sure I didn’t just fly away♡”
Ichika didn’t kiss me randomly or without reason.
She stayed by my side and simply smiled in silence.
Together we leaned against each other and walked on.
The quiet, slowly flowing moments spent with her felt incredibly precious to me.