I Ended Up Pretending to Be the Boyfriend of a Beautiful but Tough Classmate for Just a Month, but It Seems That She Has Awakened Her Yandere Tendencies Because of That. - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

“Alright, we’ve done a round, so let’s head over to the souvenir shop over there.”

Even after leaving the Penguin Corner, Takamiya was still excited and running around. She sent sparkling glances at the deep-sea fish introduction corner and even at the unfamiliar fish swimming in the tanks, pointing her camera at them.

After going around the entire facility, she finally calmed down and said that, walking quickly toward the souvenir shop.

“Are you buying something for Mika-san?”

“Yeah. And for my aunt too.”

“I’ll buy something for Mom.”

“If I don’t buy anything, they’ll think I’m an idiot. Mika will be fine if I just apologize if I forget.”

“You really trust Mika, huh?”

“Well, yeah. Mika and I have been through a lot. We’ve shared each other’s troubles, so we’ve naturally been together all this time.”

While picking up a keychain of a character I didn’t really recognize, Takamiya seemed a bit distant.

“I see. But seriously, you’re not going to buy that keychain, are you?”

“Huh? You don’t think it’s cute?”

“Where’s the cuteness? Is that a ghost?”

“Eh, it’s the octopus we saw earlier. Isn’t it cute?”

“Don’t you ever get told you have no taste?”

“Oh, all the time. Mika always says that. During our middle school trip, we bought souvenirs for each other, and she laughed and called the keychain I bought ‘super gross.’”

“Then you should definitely skip that one. Look, the seal over there is cuter.”

I picked up a different keychain as a replacement, and although she said, “Eh, that’s not cute,” she still put it in the basket.

It seemed like she was aware of her lack of taste.

After that, she had me help her choose souvenirs for her aunt, asking, “Hey, should I buy these cookies or these? Come on, choose.”

Once we finished buying the souvenirs and were at the register, an announcement played over the speakers.

“Attention, the next dolphin show will begin in 15 minutes. We kindly ask the audience to come to the venue as soon as possible.”

Upon hearing the announcement, the other customers started leaving the souvenir shop in droves.

“We have to go too,” Takamiya said.

“Wait, are we still watching?”

“What do you mean, ‘still’? We came here to watch the dolphin show.”

“I didn’t know that…”

“Just hurry up. If we don’t get seats, we’ll have to wait another hour. Come on, hurry.”

Takamiya hurried toward the venue, and I followed with the souvenir bags in my hands. When we reached the venue, it was already packed with people, and the seats were filling up fast.

We searched for an empty spot and eventually found one where the two of us could sit together.

“Wow, there are so many people. Is this place that famous?”

“It was famous even before it was renovated. There are aquarium enthusiasts who say this dolphin show is the best in Japan.”

“What kind of enthusiasts are those?”

“Well, there are all sorts of people. Anyway, please take pictures. I want to watch it live.”

Even though the show hadn’t started yet, Takamiya was staring intently at the pool where the dolphins were supposed to swim.

“You really love aquariums, huh? Do you go to others too?”

“…This is actually my first time at an aquarium.”

Takamiya quietly said that. Almost at the same time, a staff member appeared in front of the pool and announced, “Alright, everyone, thank you for waiting. The dolphin show is about to begin!”

Then, the dolphins popped their heads out of the water.

“Hehe, they’re so cute.”

“Yeah, they are.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me? Why I was so eager to come here even though it’s my first time at an aquarium?”

“I’d ask if you wanted me to.”

We both faced forward, but I could sense that Takamiya wanted to say something.

I could only listen, but I’d ask if she wanted me to.

“Alright, first, they’ll swim through these hoops in succession! If they succeed, give them a big round of applause!”

As the show progressed, we remained silent for a while. Eventually, Takamiya started speaking softly as she watched the dolphins jumping, her voice almost drowned out by the surrounding cheers.

“After I found out about my dad’s affair, the next day we were supposed to come to this aquarium as a family. I was really looking forward to seeing the dolphins. But of course, that was the last thing on my mind after that.”

“…Then wouldn’t coming here make things worse?”

“I thought that too. I’ve wanted to come here for a long time, but I was scared. I didn’t want to remember that day. But I started thinking that maybe it’s not good to keep avoiding it. Watching you, I started thinking that way.”

“…”

“Oh, look! Look at them! They’re swimming in sync!”

“Yeah, they are.”

As the dolphins continued their performance, Takamiya clapped her hands softly beside me. I kept watching her profile as she smiled gently.

She continued speaking.

“Until we came here, I was really anxious. I tried to fake excitement to cover it up. But then, somewhere along the way, I realized that I didn’t feel scared anymore. I was really looking forward to it, and when we got here, it was actually fun. Maybe it was because I was with someone. Or maybe…”

“With me, you mean?”

She didn’t look at me, still staring forward.

“…Takamiya, it’s because you were trying to overcome it on your own.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Oh, it’s almost over.”

A large number of staff members came out, and the dolphins, who had been swimming one by one, gathered together.

As the crowd raised their hands around the pool, the dolphins leaped into the air, performing synchronized jumps with perfect timing. The audience couldn’t help but stand and cheer.

As I watched this, Takamiya beside me clapped gently.

Tears were running down her cheek.