CH. 59 - A Complicated Valentine's

Soon after their little baking session, the entire group is back together with eyes wide filled with excitement as they stand inside an amusement park.

“Woah! I haven’t been to Four Flags in so long!” Haru shouts.

“I haven’t been ever, so.” Hikigaya says casually.

“Me neither.” Shiori says too. Chizuru and Haru rush in and jump around, looking at all the rides and attractions. Sugawara seems a little nervous, as does Touma, but they come along with them, regardless. 

“What should we do first? Should we do a big ride? Or maybe the big swing? There’s so many things to do here!” Chizuru says excitedly.

“We totally have to go on the coasters first!” Haru says, just as excited.

“Everybody, just make sure we meet back here by five, okay?” Shiori plans.

“Right!” everyone shouts together. Chizuru grabs Touma’s hand and pulls him along.

“Come on, Touma, let’s do the big swing first!” She says with a face full of joy and anticipation. He blushes as she drags him along. Lucy takes Ryuji’s hand and follows Chizuru. Tsuki watches them walk away and scoffs a little.

“Whatever. I’m sticking with Shiori.” He says. He turns around to see Hikigaya and Haru pulling Shiori and Sugawara along, running away from them. Tsuki sweats. “Hey! Wait for me!” Suddenly, Alice grabs his shoulder and turns him around.

“Looks like you’re stuck with the cool kids today.” Alice says with a smirk. She gives him a thumbs up as Hisana and Suiyoubi smile at him while Kitaro and Mormo laugh. He sighs as they head off. 

Group A: Chizuru, Touma, Ryuji and Lucy.

Group B: Haru, Sugawara, Shiori and Hikigaya.

Group C: Hisana, Kitaro, Suiyoubi, Alice, Mormo and Tsuki.

As Group A comes to the large swing, Touma slows down and sweats.

“That’s a big swing…” he mumbles. Chizuru notices him getting nervous at the sight of the large swing ride and slows down, thinking for a moment before getting an idea.

“It’s okay, Touma. Let’s sit together. They have double seats on this one.” Chizuru says softly with a smile as she rushes to the ride. Touma looks at the seat she makes her way to and calms down a bit as she sits. “I’ll be right here.” She says warmly as he nods. Lucy sees the double seats too and gets excited.

“Come on, Ryuji. Let’s do one of those double seats!” Lucy says, pointing at them. Ryuji nods and gets in with a soft smile. A ride helper comes by and clips the lap bar down on Touma and Chizuru’s seat as he begins to shake nervously. Chizuru notices and gets a concerned look.

“You really don’t like big rides, do you?” She asks gently.

“I’ve just… never been on one…” he says, tense.

“I promise it’ll be fun. Trust me.” She says with a smile as she places her hand on his arm. He nods nervously as the ride begins to lift. He slumps back in his seat and closes his eyes as the ride starts moving. 

“Here we go!” Lucy shouts excitedly.

As the ride begins to spin, Chizuru laughs and smiles, grabbing onto Touma's arm tighter with her own, as Touma holds on tightly to the bar with his eyes closed. The ride gets to full speed as they’re lifted high into the air, swung around with cheers and laughter everywhere. After a moment, Touma slowly opens his eyes. He looks around at the sights before him. Other people smiling and laughing, the view of the entire park from up in the swing. His eyes grow wide as his grip loosens around the bar.

He then turns and looks at Chizuru, who is smiling happily with her eyes closed and her arm outstretched as she enjoys the swing. He stares at her and blushes, thinking about how pretty she looks. The sight of her joy bringing him calm as her laughter infects him. He then begins to smile and laugh too, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of the air flying past him. Chizuru hears him laughing and looks at him as he lets go of the bar and lifts his arm into the air, enjoying himself. She smiles warmly and continues to do the same.

“Aren’t they so cute?” Lucy asks as she watches them in front of her. Ryuji nods happily as they look at Chizuru and Touma laughing.

With Group B, they are in a fun house. Sugawara and Haru run through the twisty tube and into the inflatable batons while laughing.

“I love this way more than the rides!” Sugawara shouts as he excitedly rushes through.

“I knew you would!” Haru says with a laugh as they make their way through the room and up onto the next floor. Shiori then comes through the twisty tube and to the inflatable batons. She looks at one of them and gets an idea.

Hikigaya then comes through the tube and looks into the room before being smacked in the face by one of the batons. Shiori laughs out loud as he looks at her from behind the baton in his hands.

“That’s not fair!” Hikigaya complains with a smile.

“Then get good!” Shiori teases before turning and running to the second floor entrance. Hikigaya smiles and follows quickly.

There, they find a mirror maze. They can see Haru and Sugawara in different places within the maze, so Shiori goes rushing into the maze as Hikigaya follows. She laughs as she tries her best to get through as fast as she can. 

“Haru, over here!” Sugawara calls out. Shiori sees Haru make his way out and rushes over to follow but realizes that it was a reflection and not quite the exit. She turns to see Hikigaya rushing after her.

“I got you now! I’m gonna win!” Hikigaya says before running straight into a mirror as she walks away. He bounces off the mirror wall and falls on his back with swirly eyes. Shiori crouches down and pats his head.

“Maybe try not being so dumb.” She says.

“Shut… up…” He groans back. She smiles before getting up and making it to the stairs to the final floor. As soon as she gets up, she sees Haru sliding down the slide to the exit. Once outside, Haru gets up and high fives Sugawara as they giggle. 

“That was so fun!” Sugawara says excitedly.

“I’m sure it was easy for someone as small and nimble as you.” Haru says with a smile. Sugawara blushes and smiles. “So, what’s next?” Haru asks. Sugawara and Haru look around and notice a romance themed river ride for two. They look at each other, then smirk mischievously.

Back inside the funhouse, Hikigaya makes his way up the stairs and to the net bridge to the slide while guarding his face.

“Please don’t be something that’ll hurt me…” He groans.

“Come on, slowpoke. You’re falling behind.” Shiori teases from halfway through the bridge on all fours.

“I’ll show you, slowpoke…” Hikigaya says with a glare. He then dives onto the net bridge and bounces Shiori. She freaks out a bit while trying to maintain her balance.

“Hey! Watch it, don’t break the whole thing!” She shouts.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you wanted me to rush?” Hikigaya asks sarcastically while quickly making his way to her on all fours as well. She gets surprised by his speed and worryingly picks up her pace. Right before the end of the net bridge, she looks back to see him right on her.

“Slow down or you’ll-” Shiori says, standing up on the platform just before the slide when Hikigaya interrupts her.

“I’ll what? Beat you to the slide?” He says confidently before tripping on the edge and falling onto Shiori, causing them both to go falling down the slide.

“Hikigaya!” Shiori yells as they tumble down the slide until they pop out the end and she falls on top of him. Shiori holds herself above Hikigaya, their faces close together. They both smirk at each other, breathing a bit heavily.

“See? I told you I’d win.” Hikigaya says.

“Yeah right. I totally won.” Shiori says back sarcastically.

“Ahem.” Haru voices openly. They quickly look up to see Haru and Sugawara giving them smug looks. They then look at each other and blush before getting up quickly and dusting themselves off.

“It was Hikigaya’s fault.” Shiori quickly blames him.

“It was not!” Hikigaya says back.

“Okay, lovebirds, I believe you.” Haru teases. Shiori and Hikigaya both get embarrassed.

“We are not lovebirds!” They both shout.

“Anyway, put these on.” Sugawara says, approaching them with his hands out holding two blindfolds. They look at them confused.

“Blindfolds?” Hikigaya asks.

“What do we need these for?” Shiori asks too.

“Oh, we just have this fun ride we want you guys to try.” Haru says smugly.

“We can’t have you spoiling the surprise, can we?” Sugawara says innocently. Shiori rolls her eyes as Hikigaya ties the blindfold on.

“Okay, but if you make me look dumb, I swear I’ll beat both your asses, got it?” Hikigaya threatens.

“Yeah, yeah, just take my hand.” Haru says as he grabs Hikigaya’s hand and Sugawara takes Shiori’s. The two then lead them to the Romantic River Ride of Love ride. They sit them in the goose seat on the water as the ride attendant giggles with them. The lap bar is locked in as they step back. The ride attendant gives them a thumbs up.

“Alright, you can take the blindfolds off!” Haru shouts from a distance as they do. They look around confused for a moment.

“Hearts?” Hikigaya notices.

“A river?” Shiori looks around. Hikigaya then freaks out, realizing the situation.

“Hearts!? Damn you guys! This is that dumb romance ride or whatever, isn’t it?!” Hikigaya shouts as he shakes the ride in the water out of frustration. Shiori freaks out a little and grabs Hikigaya by the arm.

“Hey! Stop shaking the boat! There’s nothing we can do about it now.” Shiori says. Hikigaya calms down and slumps in his chair.

“Those guys are assholes…” Hikigaya grumbles.

“Considering what they could have done, this isn’t the worst thing.” Shiori says softly while looking around at the ride decorations.

“Yeah, but what if people get the wrong idea? What if they think we’re… dating or something?” Hikigaya mumbles a little as he blushes and looks away. Shiori blushes a tiny bit and looks ahead, watching the slow ride and pausing for a moment.

“I guess that wouldn’t be the worst thing…” she says under her breath.

“What did you say?” Hikigaya asks, not hearing her.

“Nothing. Let’s just get this ride over with.” Shiori says, shaking away the blushing and thoughts. They sit in silence, looking around in the quiet and rather relaxing tunnel as they slowly float through the tunnel lit up by heart lights and archways.

“This ride is actually kind of creepy, isn’t it? Haha!” Shiori says with a slightly awkward laugh as Hikigaya agrees.

“Haha, yeah…”

As they sit in silence, listening only to the sounds of the water gently splashing around them and the cute, soft music playing, Hikigaya slowly, subtly looks at Shiori for a moment and blushes.

‘She’s… so cute.’ he thinks to himself, looking at her face, analyzing the small details of her. The way her eyes are shaped, the way her lips press together, the way her hair sways gently in the breeze. To him, she almost starts to glow in the dim light of the ride.

The lights fade in and out of the light pink color, creating a soft darkness every now and then. Hikigaya starts to sweat a bit as he gets nervous, developing a thought, a feeling. He takes a deep breath as he grows the resolve to act on this feeling amplifying in his chest.

‘Shiori, please don’t hate me, but… I’m gonna kiss you..’ Hikigaya thinks nervously. He blushes as he turns to her. He stares for a moment as he waits for the lights to fade again. Once they do, he scoots a little closer and leans toward her, preparing to kiss her on the cheek casually.

Shiori notices his movement and turns to face him with a confused look, unsure what he's doing, only to be met with a kiss pressing against her lips in the soft darkness of the ride. She blushes intensely as her eyes grow wide and the lights brighten back up. With the lights brighter, Shiori stares at Hikigaya as he kisses her with his eyes closed. Once the lights fade again, Hikigaya pulls back, his eyes still closed. He opens them as Shiori stares at him with an intense blush across her cheeks.

“What… was that..?” Shiori asks softly. Hikigaya is blushing a bit too as he looks away.

“It was a thanks for… helping me back then…” Hikigaya says with an embarrassed look, rubbing the back of his head. She still stares at him in shock from the kiss. Hikigaya notices and gets even more embarrassed. “What? It’s not a big deal. It was just a kiss on the cheek.” Hikigaya says honestly. Shiori then stiffens up hearing these words from Hikigaya.

‘A kiss on the… cheek?! Is he stupid??’ she thinks, then slowly looks forward and sits as normally as she can. Freaking out but not trying to make it known, gripping the lap bar tightly. “Oh, yeah, of course! I mean, where else would you kiss me? You only kissed me on my cheek!” Shiori stutters out. She blushes more intensely as she looks away from him embarrassedly. Hikigaya seems confused but doesn’t ask as the ride comes to an end.

“I hope you lovebirds enjoyed your romantic cruise.” The ride attendant says with a smile. Shiori growls at them as they freak out before Shiori and Hikigaya leave the boat.

“So, how was it for you two?” Haru asks with a playful smirk outside the ride, waiting for their friends approaching them. Sugawara notices Shiori marching towards them at an angry pace and begins to walk away as Haru stays smiling. She then winds up her leg and kicks Haru into the atmosphere.

“You jerks!” she shouts. Sugawara sidesteps to Hikigaya, who also has a confused look on his face.

“What happened?..” Sugawara asks with a whisper.

“I actually have no idea.” Hikigaya says in response.

As they continue through the park, Group C makes their way to a gift shop. Suiyoubi finds some cool spiked wrist cuffs while Alice puts on a new cape and jumps around happily. Tsuki just stands there with an irritated look as Mormo sits on his head.

“I should be out there romancing Shiori. It’s Valentine’s Day!” Tsuki complains.

“Look kid, I don’t know if you know this, but I happen to be a master of love.” Mormo says.

“What? Really?” Tsuki asks, interested in his words.

“Oooh yeah. Back where I came from, dames of all kinds would want a piece of me. And that’s because I’m, what some might call, a master of the way of women.” Mormo says overconfidently.

“Well then, what do you think I should do?” Tsuki asks.

“I’ll tell you what, you get me some of those cheese crackers over there, and I might just tell you what you need to know.” Mormo says, pointing to the crackers on the shelf. Tsuki rolls his eyes but buys the crackers. Mormo takes them and starts eating.

“Alright, now spill.” Tsuki commands with crossed arms.

“Okay, okay. Here’s what you need to know.” Mormo says, mouth full of crackers. He begins telling Tsuki his ‘secrets’ as Kitaro and Hisana sit outside in the warm sun. Kitaro is on his phone playing games. As Hisana sits there smiling, she speaks casually.

“Hey Kitaro. Why don’t you like me?” she asks.

“Cause you don’t like anyone. You hit on every cute guy you meet, and your crush changes faster than a shifter in Battlecoms.” Kitaro says back, not looking away from his phone.

“You know I don’t understand your game references.” Hisana says, looking at him. Kitaro gives her a look before going back to his phone. Hisana pouts. “Fine then, I guess you don’t want my cookies.”

“If you made them, then I think it’s best if I don’t eat them.” Kitaro says plainly. Hisana looks offended.

“Why are you always so mean to me?!” Hisana shouts as she hits him on the arm repeatedly under the sun that slowly starts to lower in the sky.

Group A rides a roller coaster as Touma cries, holding tightly onto the lap bar, Lucy cheering in the car behind them. Group B laughs as they spin in a spinning ride. Sugawara looks nauseous as they get off. He rushes to a trash bin and pukes in it as Haru holds his hair and rubs his back while laughing awkwardly. Shiori shakes her head as Hikigaya laughs at him. Shiori then pouts with an upset look at him and huffs away, confusing him even more. Back with group C, the day eventually comes to an end as they make their way back to the tree spot they agreed to meet up at. Group A soon meets them, followed by group B. 

“That was so much fun!” Chizuru cheers.

“The rides were amazing!” Haru cheers too. Then, the both of them turn and look at Touma and Sugawara, respectively.

“Don’t you think?” They both ask at the same time excitedly. They look at Touma and Sugawara, who are both slumped on the cement wall around the tree. They give weak, shaky thumbs up as Chizuru sighs and Haru giggles.

“I felt like I was flying on some of the rides!” Alice shouts.

“I had a good time too.” Ryuji says.

“I’m glad you guys had fun and all, but now it’s time for the best part! Get out your cookies and pass them out!” Lucy says excitedly, looking at Ryuji, as the others get excited too. Chizuru pulls out her cookies and immediately takes a bite of her own.

“So yummy!” She gushes. Ryuji pulls out his and hands them to Lucy, who takes them with pleasure.

“I can’t wait to see what you did this year!” Lucy says excitedly.

“You eat my food all the time. What’s different during Valentine’s?” Ryuji asks softly, looking down a bit with a neutral look. Lucy looks at him then down at the cookies in her hands with a warm smile.

“It’s not just food. It’s extra special when I know you made it thinking of me.” Lucy says teasingly as she gets close to him. Ryuji's eyes widen slightly as he blushes before looking away. Touma then gives his cookies to Chizuru nervously. She looks confused for a second before smiling.

“These are for me?” She asks.

“Y-yeah… B-but I’m not asking you o-out or anything…” he says awkwardly. She gives him a soft smile before taking them.

“Thank you.” Chizuru says softly. She takes one out and bites into it before smiling wide. “So good! My favorite!” She says happily. Touma blushes and smiles as she enjoys his cookies. Haru and Sugawara sit next to each other with smiles as they watch their friends when Suiyoubi comes up to them.

“Did you guys not make cookies for each other?” She asks.

“Nah, we made a super delicious chocolate cake the other day.” Haru answers with a satisfied smile.

“Yeah, that was our Valentine’s Day sweets.” Sugawara says as Haru gives him a small kiss on the cheek. Sugawara blushes and gets embarrassed as Suiyoubi smiles happily. Alice watches from the side as Mormo jumps up next to her.

“What’s wrong? You didn’t get any sweets, wondergirl?” Mormo asks mockingly. Despite his words, Alice stands proud.

“Ah ha! I am in no need of sweets from another! I am perfect the way I am!” she says confidently when someone calls out to her.

“Alice! Come here, I got cookies for you!” Chizuru says. Alice then gets excited and rushes next to Chizuru, almost on her knees. Chizuru then feeds one of her personal cookies to Alice as she chews happily. Mormo sweats and stares.

“So much for perfect, huh?”

As she does this, Shiori turns to Hikigaya and blushes a bit. She holds a small bag of cookies in her hand as she taps on Hikigaya’s shoulder. He turns and looks at her confused.

“What is it?” he asks. Without much hesitation, Shiori lifts her bag of cookies to him while blushing and looking away with a squint.

“T-these are for you… But don’t think they’re special or anything! You just happen to be who I made them for this year…” she says defiantly. He takes them and blushes.

“R-right! Of course, I mean, it’s not like we like each other or anything!” he says.

“Exactly!” Shiori says back. They both laugh awkwardly before going quiet. After a moment of awkward silence, Hikigaya speaks up.

“Thank you, Shiori. It still means a lot.” He gives her a soft smile, and she smiles back. As Chizuru feeds Alice a cookie, her phone begins to ring. She notices and hands Alice the bag.

“Here, hold this.” Chizuru says. Alice happily takes the back of cookies as Chizuru pulls out her phone and sees her dad calling her. She gets a worried look before getting up.

“I gotta take this. I’ll be right back. Save some for me!” Chizuru says with a smile as Alice gives her a thumbs up. Chizuru then answers the phone and walks away from the group. Hikigaya notices and gets a concerned look too.

“I’m gonna go with Chizuru for a second. We shouldn’t be long.” Hikigaya says to Shiori.

“What’s wrong?” Shiori asks, a little concerned.

“Nothing, I just think her dad is calling, and if he is, then… she might need some help.” He says. Shiori gets a concerned look but just nods. Hikigaya leaves with Chizuru and walks away. Tsuki sees him leave and quickly takes advantage of the moment. He then pulls out his bag of cookies and approaches Shiori.

“Shiori?” He calls her attention. She turns and looks at him, surprised. He then gives his cookies to her.

“You made these for me?” Shiori asks, taking them.

“Well yeah. I have a huge crush on you, of course I made you cookies.” He gives her a soft and slightly embarrassed smile, and she smiles back.

“Thanks.” she says. Tsuki then sees Mormo out the side of his eye, giving him a thumbs up and a wink. Tsuki nods a bit and looks at Shiori.

“Hey, let’s go on one more ride. You and me.” Tsuki says. Shiori is surprised by his offer.

“Oh, um, I don’t-” Shiori says before Tsuki interrupts her.

“Great, the tram wheel is perfect. Let’s go!” He takes her wrist and pulls her along towards the large tram wheel not too far from where they are. Shiori goes along with him despite having her reservations. They get on, and the attendant closes the door behind them. After a bit of awkward silence and a slow ride up, Shiori speaks.

“What are we doing up here?” She asks.

“What do you mean? I can’t enjoy myself at a fun amusement park?” Tsuki asks nonchalantly.

“You had all day to do that. Why take just me to this secluded spot up here?” Shiori asks, knowing his thought process. Tsuki gets nervous and looks away for a moment. He thinks back to what Mormo told him earlier.

“Get her in a secluded spot. Just you two. And when you get the chance, just grab her by the face and kiss her! It’s that simple.” Mormo says casually. Tsuki looks a little concerned.

“That’s it? No words or anything?”

“Eh, words shmords. Chicks dig it when a man takes charge. And after that kiss, she’ll realize how much she really likes you and will definitely fall for you.” Mormo says with a thumbs up.

Tsuki comes back to the present and takes a deep breath.

“Shiori..?” he says softly. She looks at him confused as he quickly leans closer to her and kisses her. She is surprised for a moment but doesn’t react too much.

On the ground, Chizuru and Hikigaya come back to the group. Chizuru rubs her head with a bit of anxiety but sighs and lets it go as Hikigaya looks around for Shiori.

“Where's Shiori?” he asks.

“That weird guy took her to the wheel. I would’ve stopped him, but Shiori seemed to be willing to follow. You know she wouldn’t have gone if she didn’t want to.” Lucy says, giving him a slightly upset look before turning back to talk to Ryuji. Hikigaya looks up at the wheel and sees the seat they’re in. His eyes grow wide as he sees Tsuki and Shiori kiss. He stares for a moment in disbelief before he looks down. He lifts the bag of cookies Shiori had made for him and stares at them for a moment.

“But don’t think they’re special or anything…”

He thinks back to what Shiori said about the cookies and gets an upset look before letting his hand fall to his side. 

‘I guess they really weren’t…’

In the seat of the wheel ride, Tsuki pulls back from the kiss, blushing, but stops when he sees the lack of emotion on Shiori’s face.

“What’s… wrong?” he asks. Shiori gives him a sympathetic look before sighing and looking down for a moment. 

“Tsuki, you’re a great guy as far as I can tell. At least you’re a lot nicer than most people I’ve met, but… I just can’t seem to feel that way for you. Even with that kiss, I felt.. nothing.” she says directly. Tsuki stares in disbelief for a moment as he slouches in his seat.

“Well, that’s not what I expected to hear. A simple no would’ve been nice.” He mumbles.

“Look, I’m not the nicest person. I’ve been hurt a lot, and I’ve hurt a lot more. I think you are definitely better off with someone else.” Shiori says.

“I just… wanted to show you how thankful I am for saving my life…” Tsuki says softly, his voice shaking a bit.

“There are other ways to show that. Such as just saying thank you and that’s it.” Shiori says. They sit in silence for a moment as Tsuki covers his eyes with his hands. After a moment, he laughs a bit to himself and drops his hand.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I still like you. Even after that crushing defeat." Tsuki says, looking at the roof of the cart with tears in his eyes. He pauses for a moment before continuing. "I’ll try to ease off that crush stuff, I guess, but I’m still gonna try.” Tsuki says with a weak voice. Shiori smiles at him a bit.

“You’re a good guy. I’m sure someone much better than me will come your way, just you wait.” she says supportively. Tsuki smiles a bit as he looks at her before looking away.

Eventually, the ride comes to an end, and Tsuki leaves the seats first. He walks away as Shiori comes back to the group. She looks a bit upset that she hurt his feelings but carries on.

“So what was all that about?” Lucy asks.

“It was nothing.” Shiori says.

“That was a long time for nothing.” Suiyoubi says with a smile. She gives Suiyoubi a look before she grabs her bag and walks ahead.

“Come on, we should probably start heading home.” Shiori says.

“Yeah, it’s getting kinda late, and my dad’s asking where I am..” Chizuru says, sweating a little. Everyone gathers their things and gets together as Shiori walks over to Hikigaya, who is sitting against a lamppost on his phone.

“You ready to go?” She asks. He looks up with a smile.

“Of course! Took you long enough. Too busy sucking face in there?” He asks with a smug smirk at her.

“What? Ew no. Well, yeah, I guess, but-” Shiori says before Hikigaya stands up and interrupts her.

“Don’t worry, it’s none of my concern who you want to date. Let’s just go home.” He says, punching her arm a little playfully as he walks ahead of her. She is surprised a bit but doesn’t talk about it anymore. With that, the day's events come to an end and they all leave the amusement park, making their way back home.

Chizuru eventually makes it back home and as she enters, she does so cautiously, heading straight up the stairs as quietly as possible.

“Chizuru, you’re home?” Henry asks, stepping into the living room with a worried look. She stops and gets an upset look when she hears her dad call to her. She turns around and smiles at him as he comes towards her.

“Yep. I’m home, safe and sound!” She gives him a big smile as he gets an upset look.

“So where were you all day?” Henry asks.

“I told you, I was hanging out with my friends. You heard Hikigaya.” Chizuru says.

“Yes, and I also heard lots of noise in the background. You weren’t hanging out at his house, were you?” He asks with a stern tone.

“Does it matter? As long as we’re together and safe then-” She tries to step up the stairs when her father speaks up, stopping her.

“It does matter when I don’t even know where you are. How can you be safe if I don’t know where you are?” He asks, raising his voice a little.

“I’m not just gonna drop dead, dad. I’ll be fine.” Chizuru says back.

“Then where were you?” He asks again.

“We were just at an amusement park. It’s not that big of a deal.” Chizuru admits, looking away but not lowering her voice. Henry’s eyes grow wide as he looks even more upset.

“Not a big deal? An amusement park?! You know you’re not supposed to get your heartrate that high! What were you thinking? Did you even have your medicine on you?” He asks, even louder than before.

“Of course I did! And I made sure to only do what I can take, I know my body. I’m not an idiot.” Chizuru says back. Henry huffs a little and rubs his brow with his fingers under his glasses.

“I never said you were, sweetie. Just, after this last incident, we can’t take any risks.” He says, composing himself a bit.

“They’re not risks. I’m just living my life. Is that so much to ask for?” Chizuru asks, obviously upset. She sits down on the stairs and puts her head in her hands. Henry is upset with the direction of the conversation and stands there in silence for a moment, looking at his daughter.

“I know you wish this didn’t happen to you. I know you wish you could just get better, but that isn’t the reality. If I could make it all better, you know I would-”

“I know dad, I know…” She interrupts him and sighs. “I know you only watch out for me but I’m 15 now. I don’t want this condition to control my life. I won’t let it. I promise, I’m okay and my friends all know about it. If something happens we’ll handle it, okay?” Chizuru says with a soft smile. Henry smiles back and nods as Chizuru gets up and goes to her room. Henry watches her as his face changes to anxious concern. 

“But, if it happens again…” He lowers his head into his palm as he stands in the dim hall alone.