[AFTER] Chapter 244 – Closer and closer to you

After spending a sizable time watching the sharks swim and interact with their fellow neighbors, Yuta and Marie were on their way to watch a live dolphin show. Both of them were having a very enjoyable time together, so bright smiles could be seen throughout the whole aquarium date.

The shark tank was on one side of the aquarium while the dolphin show was on the opposite side, so there was quite a bit of walking they had to do. Despite that, there was a quite amicable conversation going on.

"Hey hey, Yuta. Have you had any past girlfriends?"

"Mhm, I was with this girl for a little bit in elementary school."

"Muuuuu..."

"Why do you look so displeased?"

In elementary school, there was a period of time where Yuta had dated a girl. It wasn't necessarily true dating though since all they did was play together on the playground, but Yuta enjoyed those simplistic times.

In contrast to his expectations, Marie pouted and glared at him even though he answered her question honestly. He hadn't met or talked to that girl since elementary school, so it was ages ago since he was last taken.

"Did... did you go far with her?" Marie anxiously asked Yuta with panic evident in her eyes.

Yuta shook his head. "We "dated" for a month until summer vacation rolled by and she moved away. The only things we did were climbing the monkey bars and riding the seesaw."

"Really? Are you positively sure?" Marie inched closer and closer to the point where her face was only a few inches from his.

Unsure of why she cared so much, Yuta nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, we were more like close friends than lovers."

"Is that so..." Marie sighed in relief.

There were many gift shops and food/drink locations on the way to the dolphin event area, so the two inevitably got curious. Yuta noticed Marie intently eyeing a stuffed dolphin toy like a child staring at something they really wanted.

"Do you want something like this? It's quite cute," Yuta chuckled.

"E-Eh, you don't have to get me something like this," Marie waved her hand as if to dismiss the thought.

Despite Marie not wanting him to buy it for her, Yuta wanted to buy that stuffed dolphin as a token of appreciation for all the things Marie did for him. Picking the stuffed dolphin up and looking at the price tag, Yuta could feel his heart jumping out of his chest.

Holy f*ck! Why are the stuffed animals at this gift shop so expensive?! This could feed a family of four for several months!

Yuta was not expecting the price of the stuffed dolphin to be absurdly high, so the color in his face drained as soon as the numbers registered in his brain. It would probably take up all of his allowance for the next three months to pay it off, but the purchase was definitely worth it.

As a gift of gratitude to the girl who gave him so much affection and trust, Yuta decided to make her happy no matter the cost.

"Miss, can you ring me up for this?" Yuta asked a store clerk.

"Of course, dear customer. Right this way," the clerk prompted them to follow her.

Marie was looking between them in confusion. "Eh? Hey, Yuta... you're not buying that stuffed dolphin for me, right?"

"Who else would it be for?" Yuta tilted his head quizzically.

"B-But, it's a lot of money. I couldn't make you spend this much money on me," Marie frowned.

Shaking his head once again, Yuta smiled and patted Marie on the head. "I wanted to get you something to show that I really appreciate you. You do so much for me, so thank you."

"I should be the one saying that... but, okay. I'll cherish your gift until my last breath."

"You don't have to go that far!"

Once they got to the register, Yuta paid for the stuffed animal and handed it over to Marie. Seeing her hug and cuddle with it made Yuta want to burn the sight into his mind so that he could remember it forever.

"How is it?"

"Dolphy feels very nice and soft! I'll fall right asleep when I hug him to bed tonight. Thank you, Yuta!" Marie happily smiled.

"It's... no problem."

Dolphy? Do we both have a problem with our naming sense? Putting that aside, she's just too cute right now!

The two resumed their walk through the aquarium's various centers as they admired all the different fishes and sea creatures that were swimming about. As they walked, the distance between them remained at a normal distance between friends, but Marie wanted to change that.

As a part of her plan to get closer to Yuta, Marie wanted to close the distance between them. They had been steadily learning more and more about each other, but now she wanted to reduce their physical distance.

Noticing that his hand was unoccupied, Marie swiftly grabbed it with her own hand. Yuta looked at her with confusion written all over his face, but she refused to let go.

"Uhh, Miss Marie?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"What's up with this?"

"..."

It's not like Yuta didn't like holding Marie's hand, rather he quite enjoyed it, but holding the hand of a beautiful girl was a nerve wracking thing in itself. After a brief lapse of silence, Marie shyly told Yuta why she wanted to hold his hand.

"...There's a lot of people here so I'm scared that I'll get separated from you. Is holding hands no good?" Marie asked with anxiety in her expression.

"It's fine," Yuta firmly squeezed her hand. "I won't let go so you won't get lost."

"Yay! I did it!" Marie quietly cheered so Yuta couldn't hear. "I managed to get closer to him, it's a dream come true."

With the warmth that she felt from Yuta's hand, Marie felt like she was going to melt any second. She was still hesitant to name the feeling in her heart since Marie was being stubborn, but her bottled-up feelings would surely explode soon.

And when that happens, Yuta can only hope to be able to survive the barrage of her pure maidenly feelings!

—

Yes, yes. We'll go back to Takei soon. I miss our protagonist as well.

Serious-san: Just make me the main character!

Author-san: It's not April fools yet...