An aquarium looks pretty huge, and if you're only looking at the map, it can almost give you the illusion that it would take days to fully explore.
But in reality, if you focus on walking around without lingering too long in one place, half a day is more than enough to cover most interesting areas. With another couple of hours in the afternoon, you could see every single worthwhile part of the entire aquarium.
After all, an aquarium isn't quite like an amusent park where each attraction might require an hour or two of waiting in line.
Aqua Park is no different.
If you dedicate the ti to walking around, a bit more than half a day is plenty to cover everything.
However, Kotomi and gumi both had a relaxed, almost laissez-faire attitude about whether they'd see everything in one go. To be honest, they hadn't thought about it at all from the start.
Even if they didn't see everything, it was no big deal. Sure, there was a bit of distance between Chiba City and Shinagawa, but it wasn't as if it required a flight to get there. If they missed anything, they'd simply co back next ti.
The Aqua Park aquarium guide booklet could be taken ho, so they'd marked off the areas they'd already visited, ready to pick up right where they'd left off on their next visit.
They weren't here to tick items off a checklist; they were here to have fun.
With that mindset, Kotomi and gumi spent the morning wandering leisurely, taking their ti to pause here and there. If they weren't interested in an exhibit, they'd look for a few minutes before moving on, but if sothing caught their attention, they'd linger for a while. gumi captured many photos on her phone.
Kotomi wasn't one to take selfies often. In fact, she rarely thought about selfies. When she saw beautiful scenery or food that piqued her interest, she preferred to use her phone's cara to capture it without including herself in the fra.
Except for that recent penguin pajama selfie she sent gumi, the last ti she'd taken a selfie had been during her first year of middle school.
Which was several years ago, really.
But today, whether it was due to gumi's influence or the change in their relationship's sweetness, every ti Kotomi saw sothing she found captivating, she would happily scoot closer to gumi, snuggling into her side, wrapping an arm around gumi's shoulders, and leaning her head affectionately against her as they snapped a selfie together.
And gumi, of course, played along perfectly each ti, often with an amused, barely-restrained smile on her lips.
"gumi! Look at this selfie—you're smiling sneakily again. What on earth are you so happy about?"
Sitting on a bench inside the aquarium to rest, Kotomi happily scrolled through their selfies from the morning and noticed that in nearly every single one, gumi either had a barely-contained grin or was outright smiling.
"Am I really?"
gumi leaned in close, looking at her questioningly.
"Of course! Look here. Your sneaky little grin is so obvious—can't you just smile normally instead of looking like you're hiding sothing?" Kotomi pouted slightly, pointing at the fifty-second selfie they'd taken.
Looking at the photo of herself, gumi's lips curved into a slight smile as she glanced at Kotomi with an expression full of hidden aning. "I can't help it—I'm genuinely happy, you know. I could smile normally, but I'm afraid if I do, I might lose control."
Hearing gumi say that, Kotomi's curiosity was piqued, and she asked, "What is it that's making you so happy?"
"Because every ti you pull in for a selfie, you're either hugging my arm, resting on my shoulder, or snuggling up to . It's just so... 'girlfriend-like.' And when I think of my sweet little girlfriend, my future wife, being so adorable and clingy, how could I not be happy?"
gumi's voice was calm, but each word hit Kotomi's heart like a hamr, making her cheeks flush faintly pink.
"S-smooth talker…" Kotomi mumbled softly, her face warm and embarrassed.
gumi smiled at her without responding verbally, instead gently but firmly tipping Kotomi's chin up and pressing a tender, lingering kiss to her lips. After a mont, she slowly pulled away, only to playfully nip at Kotomi's bottom lip before letting go, causing Kotomi's cheeks to turn an even deeper shade of pink.
Leaning close to her ear, gumi murmured softly, "Am I a smooth talker or not? Heh, don't you know best? Or are you saying that my love for you isn't enough for you to see that clearly? No worries—I'll just turn it up a notch and show you even more love."
"T-that's not what I ant…"
"Oh? So you do understand my 'smooth talking,' but still… well, I get it now, Kotomi. You're like a little kitten with an endless appetite—no matter how much I show you, you just want more, don't you? I never realized you were such a 'hungry' girl."
gumi's lips curved into a mischievous smile as she teased, making Kotomi's blush deepen until it seed as if her cheeks would burn.
Explaining clearly didn't work, and staying quiet didn't either.
Faced with such a "no-win" situation, Kotomi threw caution to the wind and boldly declared:
"You say all this, but you're just craving my body!"
One of the main reasons that Kotomi always ended up flustered by gumi was that she didn't know how to take the initiative. If only she knew how to be more forward, she wouldn't get teased into blushing every single ti!
The fact that she could never manage to be the one taking control when they were together finally made Kotomi reflect and resolve to change things up. She'd had her share of frustration and felt it was ti to figure out why she was always the one getting cornered.
Now, Kotomi felt like she understood. As long as she learned how to make the first move, she was sure she could turn things around in her favor and let gumi know who was really in charge… Well, that might be looking a little far ahead.
With that thought, Kotomi shot gumi a smug look, fully expecting to finally see her flustered and red-faced.
A minute passed, then another…
But instead, after two whole minutes, Kotomi was surprised to see that gumi showed no signs of embarrassnt. Her expression had actually changed into more of a mischievous grin, one that only grew more confident as she t Kotomi's gaze and calmly replied:
"Yep, you're exactly right—I'm totally craving your body. From the mont I first saw you, I've wanted you. Now that you're finally my girlfriend, of course, I'm not going to hold back."
"And it's not just your body I crave; it's all of you. If you're wondering how much I want you, well... I'd marry you right now if I could. I'd take you straight to a jewelry store to pick out wedding rings if I had enough cash on ."
gumi shrugged, flashing a wry smile. "Is there really anything so shocking about that? I don't think so. All I know is that I don't plan to hold back my feelings in front of the person I love. In fact, I want you to feel my love in every possible way, every mont we're together."
After listening to all that, Kotomi's cheeks had turned the deepest shade of red, leaving her so flustered that she didn't know whether to sit or stand. Finally, red-faced, she ducked into gumi's arms, mumbling softly:
"You're just way too good at this… I give up."
"I'll take that as a complint," gumi said with a soft laugh, wrapping her arms around Kotomi's back.
…
After they spent a little more ti together, they decided to head over to the souvenir shop near the aquarium's exit, where they could buy various ocean-thed keepsakes to commorate the day.
Just as they entered, Kotomi's attention was imdiately drawn to a shelf of starfish-shaped cookies.
She couldn't look away.
"Wow! They actually made cookies shaped like starfish?!"
"If you're interested, you're welco to try a few," said a shop clerk who noticed Kotomi eyeing the shelf.
"Huh? You have samples?"
Selling snacks at souvenir shops was common enough; even everyday snacks could sell at double the price when dressed up in the-park packaging. Add a cute ani character to the design, and custors would pay thousands of yen without a second thought.
There was even the option to create limited editions, special or anniversary editions—the "premium" tag could raise prices to a full 10,000 yen, and people would still consider it a "bargain."
How did Kotomi know this strategy so well?
Because she'd fallen for it plenty of tis herself. Even if she knew she was paying extra, if she saw her favorite ani character on the packaging, she'd usually end up reaching for her wallet.
Back to the present: Kotomi's interest in the starfish cookies was simply because it was rare to see cookies shaped like sea stars.
Curious to try them, she figured that 856 yen per bag didn't seem too expensive.
She was definitely surprised that they even offered samples; this wasn't a grocery store, after all.
One for Aimi, one for Yui and Yuka, one for Tomoka Yuigahama, one for Iroha, and one for Yukino...
As Kotomi ntally counted how many bags she'd need, the shop clerk ca over with a tray of sample cookies, saying:
"While Aqua Park has sold cookies before, this is the first ti we've had starfish-shaped ones, and today's actually the first day they're available. You must be hungry after walking around the aquarium, so please feel free to try so. No pressure to buy!"
With such a friendly invitation, Kotomi decided she'd buy a few bags if they tasted good.
She picked up one of the starfish cookies, popped it in her mouth, and began to chew.
Kotomi's face imdiately froze, her expression stiffening as if she'd bitten into sothing unexpectedly unpleasant.
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