「Chapter 6: Ichika Tachibana Does Have a Weakness After All」

Chizuru Ichihara. She was born on March 21 which makes her 17 years old at the moment. She is of importance to me because, as I have stated before, she is the girlfriend of one of my best friends, Yuma. So you can imagine that Yuma, being all lovey-dovey, bought her a nice gift. A pair of earrings to be exact, and it doesn't come cheap. He told me that he had saved up money since the beginning of the year just in case. And the way he likes to treat her, I really hope they get married or something, or else all the money spent between them would have been a steep price for a high school romance. Not that I’m one to talk.

But of course, Yuma wasn’t the only one that gave Chizuru a gift. She received plenty from her friends, sure, but the ones that stood out the most were the gifts from her parents; two tickets—or passports as they're called—for that one big theme park in Urayasu. (You know the one I’m talking about; big company, has a mouse as their mascot. You get the point.)

Anyway, as you might have thought, the two tickets were meant for Chizuru and Yuma. Though it would have been nice for them both to have gone alone, Chizuru thought that it would be nice to invite some of her close friends to which Yuma didn’t object. I was apparently one of those people. At first, I replied a bit apprehensively, after all, those tickets aren’t cheap. But when she offered to pay for my one ticket thinking I was broke, I had to concede to her invitation. I didn’t want her to pay upwards of 7000 yen just for me and on her special day. That just goes to show you just how much she appreciates me.

But anyway, I think she invited two other girls, I don’t know who but I guess I will find that out soon enough. And of course, Sora was absolutely not invited.

I had decided to get there earlier than everyone else, mostly because I wanted to take in the scenery since I had never been here before. And like with all extravagant theme parks, it can be easy to lose yourself in all the chaos, especially here where you have to change train lines. Once you arrived at Maihama Station, you had to then use the park’s own train line to get to the main entrance. To me, that just attests to the immense size of the park. And to think that its counterpart in the US absolutely dwarfs its size.

But even with that being said, the size was still no laughing matter. The moment you stepped out from the station you were greeted with a vast, red semi-circle plaza. It would be completely empty if it wasn’t for the people and trees scattered across it. It made you feel insignificant in a way. It made you ponder life's greatest mysteries like Why is "Tokyo" in the name of the theme park if it isn't even located in Tokyo?

"Haru-chan!!"

And so, the birthday girl appeared.

"Hey, Chiz—" But before I could even congratulate her, she ran up to me and hugged me. She may not look it but she is a strong girl. It's almost impossible to escape her embrace.

"I must be doing something wrong because she never shows me that much love." A smug chuckle helped finish off his sentence. Having been blindsided by Chizuru, I hadn’t noticed Yuma until now. "If anything ever happens to me, I'll leave her in your care."

At this, Chizuru finally let go of me and turned toward Yuma. "Please don't think like that. You'll end up jinxing yourself and then I'll actually be left alone."

"Then promise me…" Yuma grabbed both of Chizuru's hands and pulled her closer, staring deeply into her eyes. "Promise me that you will find someone else if I ever leave this world."

"Yuma, you know I can't do that, you're the only one for me."

Their faces got closer, their lips almost touching, and then...they burst out laughing.

I giggled a bit, too. Those two always did those sorts of things. Their favorite pastime was to watch cringy romance movies and to point out every fault and stupid moment in them. So sometimes those two would get into an over-the-top, lovey-dovey mode as a way to mock those movies. To an outsider it would seem like they were actually this infatuated with one another, but in reality, they were just messing around.

“Anyway, I’m glad you were able to come today, Haru-chan. Hopefully, you weren’t doing anything.”

“Nah. This is what Saturdays are for after all. To go out and have fun.”

“Welp, I hope we didn’t keep you waiting for too long because we still need to wait for Mina, Yuki, and Ichika.”

Wait, who?!

“Hey, Yuma.” While Chizuru was busy doing something with her cellphone, I got closer to Yuma to ask about what I had heard. “You didn’t tell me that Tachibana was coming with us.”

“Oh, really?” he grinned. “Didn’t I tell you?”

“No! Of course, you didn’t!” Yuma is pulling this sort of stuff with me. He knows that I get awkward around Tachibana and yet he decided to not even give me a heads up.

“Well, it’s not like I invited her to tease you or something. It might not look like it but Chizuru and Tachibana are pretty close. Initially, she said she couldn’t go because she didn’t have the money which made Chizuru kind of sad. She even rejected her offer to pay for her ticket. Obviously, I couldn’t let Chizuru feel sad on her birthday, so I offered to pay for the ticket. It took some time, but my persuasion skills are second to none.”

Wow. What a nice guy. With Yuma showing this sort of generosity, it was hard to be mad at the guy for not telling me about Tachibana.

“Oh! They’re finally here,” Chizuru cried out from behind us.

Coming out from the fantasy-style station were the three girls we were waiting for. There were two girls that I vaguely remembered hanging out with Chizuru, but of course, my eyes immediately shot over to Tachibana. She was dressed in a plain, mint green t-shirt with shorts and one of those small backpacks for her to keep her things in. Even in such a simple get-up, Tachibana looked really cute. But I had to quickly take my eyes off her when she looked in my direction. I didn’t want her to see me as creepy after all. Still, I thought I saw her smile.

In any case, Chizuru ran up to the trio and hugged each one of them. She seemed pretty bubbly as they all started chatting about how excited they were.

"Relax a bit, Haru," Yuma said as he placed his hand on my shoulder. "Maybe an opportunity will come from this. But in the end, you should just focus on having fun. It's your first time here, no?"

I nodded a bit now that Tachibana was here, it was going to be hard for me to keep her out of mind.

*      *      *

When everyone was done with their greetings, we made our way across the plaza toward the main entrance. There we scanned our passports on the turnstiles and were greeted by another vast plaza, this time with a large flower bed in the middle. And beyond that stood the first building everyone sees when entering the park.

"Exciting isn't it?" I hadn’t noticed that I had trailed off behind everyone until I heard Tachibana's voice coming from my side. She too was admiring the massive and elaborately designed build in front of us. "Never in my life have I been to an amusement park, so this is quite the experience. I need to make sure to pay back Yuma in the future."

"Don't bother. Trying to pay back that man is impossible. If he spends money on you it's because he wants to and so he'll never accept your money." It's a pretty annoying habit of his, especially when spends a large amount of money on you. Eventually, you learn to be grateful for it but initially, it always makes you feel guilty, like if you're just taking money away. So I understood how Tachibana felt.

"Hmmm… If that's the case, do you reckon he'll also buy my food once we're inside?"

"Don't even joke about that with him because he will do it. I'll be surprised if he doesn't treat us to food today."

We both laughed as we entered the main building.

Walking into the bazaar, as they called it her, was quite the experience. Not only were the walkways full of people, but the architecture of the several buildings and shops wasn’t what you usually see in Japan. It really spoke to the name of the atrium. It made it seem like cultures from around the world had set up shop in this one location.

“So, what do you guys want to do first?” Chizuru asked once we reached the center of the bazaar.

“I feel like maybe we should start with all the rides. The stores and eateries will all still be here later on, but the line for the rides can get quite long.”

I honestly didn't know which one of Chizuru’s friends was Yuki and which one was Mina, but they had a good point. I think it’s a universal law that everyone follows at theme parks. You always go on the rides first because of the long lines, and you eat when you have the chance.

“Well,” Yuma chimed in, “I grabbed a map and it seems like the whole park is basically just one big circle. So we can start from the right and make our way around and then check out everything else.”

“Sounds good.” And with that, the birthday girl took the map from Yuma and became our humble park guide even though she had never been here before.

Directly to the right of the bazaar was this sort of futuristic-looking attraction. Apparently, it was a tie-in to one of their animated movies, but I was guessing that that was the case for most of the park.

The first attraction was pretty weird, to say the least, and not something I had expected since I had never seen the movie it was tied into. It was basically a little interactive train ride through a factory where only monsters worked and you had to shine the provide flashlight on all of them. It was quite charming but not anything special. But Tachibana seemed to like it. She said I reminded her of your childhood, so I guess she was the only one who saw the movie as a kid.

Apparently, this whole area of the park was future-themed because the next attraction was this sort of 4D experience that Yuma was really excited about since he was a fan of the series. Basically, it was like a simulation of being inside a spaceship and the whole room shook around as if we were actually flying through space.

But while it was a pretty cool ride, the thing that had me the most excited was the next attraction.

"Ooo, I've heard that this is a pretty famous ride. People always mention it when they talk about the park." I didn’t know who was talking, Yuki or Mina, but I could agree with that. This was one of the three rides I knew about. I guess having even the slightest knowledge of something makes you more interested in it.

"This is space-themed like the other one, no?" the other girl chimed in. "I heard it's pretty dark with a bunch of colorful lights."

Off to the side, Tachibana remained a bit silent.

"Oh? Are you afraid of the dark by chance?"

"W-what? Of course, I'm not. I just…it's my first time on a roller coaster, so I don't really know what to expect."

"Are you sure that the dark doesn't have anything to do with it? You did stutter for a bit there. Do you need someone to hold your hand while you ride it?" Finally, a chance to tease Tachibana, a rare opportunity, so I had to take advantage.

"Oh?!" Tachibana grinned. "What's this? Are you trying to scare me enough to where we hold hands? What a sly plan. I must commend your efforts of trying to get me to fall in love with you. They truly are valiant efforts but my heart isn't that fickle."

Every sentence she spoke was like a punch to the gut. Even in a state of mild panic, Tachibana managed to counterattack with ease, rendering my own teasing useless.

"But maybe I should at least be kind enough to give you some hope. Though the dark does scare me a bit, I would have to be in a state of utter dismay to grab one to your hand. So maybe one day, Haru, you'll have the opportunity to comfort me like that." She smirked and began to fall the rest of the group into the cone-shaped building as I stood there in utter defeat.

What have I gotten myself into with her, I thought as I dejectedly followed them inside.

*      *      *

“You having fun?” Yuma asked as we waited in line. Since it was still early in the day, the line to the ride was very long. The lights were dimmed down giving everything a soft blue glow. I guess it was like that so that it felt like being in space or on a spaceship. Speaking of which, there was one hanging from the ceiling.

“Yeah, everything has been very entertaining so far, but I have to wonder why this ride has 'mountain' in the name if it doesn't even look like one. Still, too bad Tachibana is adamant about keeping me in the friendzone.”

“Oh? So you two are having your first couple’s quarrel? Don’t worry. It’ll pass.”

“Well, it can’t be a ‘lover quarrel’ if we aren’t lovers, to begin with.”

“But that’s yet to be the case.”

“Yeah, in my dreams maybe.”

Yuma grinned. We were at the front of the line now and he walked up to the four girls in front of us. He got the attention of Yuki and Mina and whispered something to them. They both gave a simultaneous “Aww…!” and nodded.

What was that about? But I didn’t have much time to think about it because the gates to the ride opened up and the attendant prompted us to take a seat in the rollercoaster cars. Each module consisted of six seats, two seats wide and three seats long. I found a place at the very end. Obviously, Yuma sat with Chizuru up at the front, and Yuki and Mina took the middle seats. That left only the seat next to open, something I didn’t think about.

"I guess I'll sit here then," Tachibana said as she got into her seat.

Though it felt a bit awkward for me after all the teasing she had done, I guess there was no helping it. Yuma and Chizuru obviously were going together and Mina and Yuki seemed closer to one another than they were to Tachibana. So that just left me and her together. Even so, it's not so bad sitting next to your crush.

The attendants checked the restraints and seat belts, and with the press of a button they sent the cars off into the dark tunnel before us.

"Remember, Haru," she started as she moved closer, "just because it's almost pitch black in here doesn't mean you can just grab my hand or any other body part for that matter."

"Of course I wouldn't do such a thing. Who do you think I am?"

"My self-proclaimed lover."

A lovers quarrel.

“Haha, even when it’s dark I can still see you blushing.”

“Well, just make sure not to grab onto my hand, you know if you truly aren’t scared of the dark.”

“Oh, so you're still going on about that? As you can see, it isn’t all that bad here. The stars make it feel nice and comforting--Aaah!”

Just before she could finish her thought, the rollercoaster jerked forward and Tachibana let out a short yelp. Through the darkness, I could her hands clasp onto the restraint in an effort to keep herself steady. Meanwhile, I was having quite a bit of fun. It wasn’t as intense as other rollercoasters I had been on, but the darkness combined with the sudden movements helped with that aspect.

After not having heard a word out of Tachibana for a while, I assumed that the experience was getting to her. “Ahaha. So not only are you scared of the dark but you are also scared of rollercoasters. And this one isn’t even as intense as others.”

“I-I’m not scared… This is just a new experience. It surprised me a bit, that’s all.”

I giggled and continued to enjoy the ride as I thought about how Tachibana did in fact end up being scared of roller coasters. I quite literally got the last laugh.

When the ride ended and the light once again illuminated us, most of us were either happy or wanting to ride it again, but when I looked over at Tachibana, her hands were still gripping onto the restraints, her face silent with shock.

"Um… Tachibana? You do know the ride stopped, right? You can get off so that other people can get on."

"Yes, yes, I know," she said as she stepped out.

"Wow, if you get this agitated on a small roller coaster, you won't survive this trip. There are bigger and more intense roller coasters yet to come, and we'll be here until nighttime."

"As I said, I'm not afraid of the dark, but I guess when we get to the bigger roller coasters, I'll just stick to taking pictures on the ground."

And just like that, the sunset and the park was engulfed under the gentle blanket of the night sky. The park seemed more lively this way, though, and I believe this is the best way to enjoy it. The beauty of the park is really accentuated during the late evening. All the lights from the attractions and shops would cut through even from the other side of the park. It looked almost like a fantasy world, but I guess that was their intention.

The roller coaster we had just finished riding was a great way to see a lot of the park. You could see the castle at the center before one of the drops. And as you’d imagine, the view from there, witnessing the countless lights that blended in with the stars in the night sky, really was breathtaking.

And unlike the roller coaster we rode in the morning, this one actually looked like a mountain.

But I really wished Tachibana had gotten over her fear of roller coasters. Before we got on she took one look at it and said “No way. I’ll stay here and take pictures.” We couldn’t really convince her otherwise, so we had to leave her outside.

As we exited the ride into the western-themed town we found Tachibana with her cellphone out. She waved at us and smiled, and I walked over to her.

“You know, it wasn’t as bad as you think. You should come with us while you still have a chance. We can ride it again.”

“No need. I was content with taking pictures. My mom will be happy to see them. She said she hasn’t been here since she was in high school. So I guess she won't find it quite as she remembered it.” She seemed a little melancholy when she said that.

“Maybe you two can come together one day.”

“Yeah, one day.”

Just before I could continue my conversation with Tachibana, Chizuru came running up to her and asked “Ichika, Ichika. Since you have your phone out already, could you take a picture of me and Yuma in front of the ride?”

But just as they both found a good place to pose, a little ding came from Tachibana’s phone. When she took the time to read the message, a pained look appeared on her face. “Oh, sorry, I have to answer this. Haru, could you please do it instead?” I agreed and she stepped aside to answer the message.

When it was all sent and done, the other four started walking to the next attraction. I went to let Tachibana know we were leaving but I found her looking at her cell phone with the same worried expression as before.

“Who was that?” I asked.

Just my mom. She was asking me where I had left her medicine.” She smiled but I could tell it was forced. “Come on, let's catch up to them before they leave us behind.” And just like that, she put her phone away and ran after them.

But through the rest of the night, that pained expression never fully left Tachibana’s face.