Disclaimer: Boukenger is not mine

Notes: Spoilers for Task 8

--

Okay, now he was starting to get annoyed.

Mogami Souta wasn't as a great a shot as say, Sakura, but he could hold his own. For example, hitting a brightly painted target no less than a meter away would be no problem for him.

"Oh no, another unlucky shot!" The swarmy man behind the booth's voice oozed with fake sympathy. "Would you like to try again, sir?"

Except tonight, it seemed.

Souta swallowed his pride and reached into his jacket pocket for the yen necessary to give it yet another try. He hadn't even wanted to play the stupid game in the first place, but... Natsuki had caught a glimpse of the prizes on display; in particular a ridiculously huge stuffed lion. And she'd been so cute and sweet, going on about how adorable it was as she dragged him in the direction of the booth (to say nothing of his chivalrous nature) that he told her he'd win it for her without another thought. He glanced over at her, currently oblivious to his streak of bad luck. She was too busy telling her future pet lion where'd she put him with the rest of her collection.

He would win it for her. He couldn't stand the thought of disappointing her again.

Souta readied himself, aimed, and fired.

"Oh no, another unlucky shot! Would you like to try again, sir?"

Agape, Souta shook the toy gun. There had to be something wrong with it. With his free hand, he reached for his money to give it yet another try, and to his horror found there was only enough left for one last try. What was he going to do if--

"Can Natsuki try?" Before he could react, Natsuki took both the yen and the gun, stepping up for her turn to win the prize.

He shifted guiltily as Natsuki pointed out exactly what she wanted before aiming. If he couldn't hit the mark, there was no way she could. He didn't know what he was going to tell her when she--

Hit it on her first try!

They walked away together, Natsuki holding her prize in a tight embrace, Souta still in shock. He couldn't even come close to the target, but she... well, Natsuki was amazing, after all.

"Souta-san?" Natsuki looked up at him, voice softer than usual. "Thanks for getting this for me." She gave the lion another squeeze.

"Don't thank me. You did all the work."

Natsuki smiled again, and then leaned up towards him. Acting on instinct, Souta leaned down towards her...

And then the plush lion gave him a kiss right on the nose. "He thanks you too, Sou Sou Souta," she chirped.

"... You're very welcome."