Hello, everyone! Enjoy~
Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online.
Chapter 36. Water Park
"Neh, neh, where are we going exactly?"
"I told you you've already been there. You should remember."
"Ehh... no fair. We've been to a lot of places..." Asuna trailed off as she went into deep thought.
The two of them were walking along the sidewalk in the summer heat, although it was not as humid as the previous day. They had left about fifteen minutes ago, but Kazuto still refused to tell her where they were going.
"Okay, yes we've been to a lot of places," he agreed. "But think: how many of those places require bringing a bathing suit?" He motioned to the bag she carried on her shoulder which had her change of clothes inside.
"Ah! So we're going to the beach?" She guessed.
"I think you've already guessed that about three times and the answer is still no." He replied. "We were just went to this place not too long ago." He hinted.
Asuna fell silent as they continued to walk a little longer, and Kazuto was beginning to think they would reach their destination before she could give her next guess. But a few minutes later, Asuna perked up.
"Oh! It's that skiing place!" She declared proudly.
"You got it." He confirmed.
"That's a relief that it's inside, because I'm at my limit with this heat."
"I hear you."
"I still don't understand why you insist on wearing black even in the summer, Kirito-kun." She pouted. "You looked fine in white as well." She recalled his appearance in-game many months ago when he had worn the Knights of Blood uniform.
"It's just not my taste." He shrugged.
"Okay, but if you get heat stroke don't say I didn't warn you." She said it in a joking manner as she reached over to take his hand.
They trekked the rest of the way under the relentless heat of the sun's rays until the somewhat familiar building was in sight.
"It's been a while since we last came here." He noted as they entered the cool, air-conditioned lobby area.
"I wish it was as cold as it was then." She agreed with a long sigh. "But then again, at that time of year I'm wishing it's as hot as it is now."
The two of them went to the front desk area and paid for full-day tickets before going any further. They first had to walk through the skating area, which was presently not in use except for the lunch tables. There was a handful of other people there eating, but Asuna assumed the majority were in the water park area. She left the picnic basket she had brought along at the table they selected before Kazuto pointed her to the women's changing room.
"Once you finish changing meet up with me and I'll show you where the water park is." He gave her a quick pat on the back before dashing off to the men's room.
Asuna took her bag and went to the changing area, pulling out her bathing suit to change. She could remember the last time she had swam together with Kazuto, Rika, Keiko, and Klein at the beach, but she had decided to buy a different bathing suit since then.
Rather than the pink-striped suit from last time, she now wore a purple bikini with ruffles around the edges, the bottom part being a sideways-cut skirt that was light and airy but also water-resistant.
Once she had finished, she peeked her head around the corner of the room, feeling a bit bashful that she was wearing such a thing in a normal room with no water to swim in. She quickly draped her yellow towel around her shoulders as she made her way to their table to put her normal clothes away. She received several curious glances from some of the other people, particularly the guys, so she hurried along without making eye contact.
She saw that Kazuto's dark shirt and pants were already with her things at their table, so she knew he had finished changing. Removing her shoes, she timidly walked over to stand outside the men's changing room and was about to call out for him when she felt a freezing sensation on her shoulder.
"KYAA!" She gave a short scream and she quickly whipped around, covering herself with the towel. A second later, Kazuto appeared before her with a wide grin on his face.
"Gotcha." He boasted.
"Y-You meanie... splashing water on me out of nowhere..."
"Well you'll get plenty more than that once we're inside." He promised. "Come on, follow me." He took her wrist and pulled her down a short hallway that led to two glass doors. He opened them and led her through, and instantly the refreshing scent of pool water filled their lungs.
Asuna's pout died away immediately when she saw the extravagant sight before her.
A huge room stretched out widely, the center of which being a large circular pool of blue water. There was a platform in the center of the watered area, so that the pool made a sort of mote around its perimeter. Sunlight streamed down from the glass-window ceiling and illuminated the towering water slide and tubing tracks in the middle. In the center of those was a large bucket which gradually filled with water for several minutes before dumping its contents onto the people below. Surrounding the water area were many chairs on the solid floor where people kept their towels and dried off before going back into the eating area.
"Wow..." Asuna's jaw dropped in awe.
"This is awesome." Kazuto agreed.
"Eh? Why are you surprised?"
"What do you mean?" He quirked his eyebrow at her. "You're the one who told me about this place, remember? I've never been to this part. I just followed the signs."
"Oh yeah... I've never been in this part before, either!"
"Well then, not a second to waste! Let's grab some chairs." Kazuto dashed off.
"Ah, Kirito-kun don't run in your bare feet on this slippery ground!" She called after him before unconsciously running off as well.
There was a good amount of free space and Kazuto easily claimed a chair and draped his black towel over it, and Asuna sat in the chair next to his.
"So are you ready? What do you want to do first?" He asked.
"M-Maybe just swim?" She suggested, still clutching her towel over her shoulders.
"Really? But they have a lot of other things to do."
"I-Isn't that just for little kids?"
"This coming from the girl who made me carry her on my shoulders?" He smirked and her face turned red. "Besides, when it's this hot, anyone who's at a water park might as well be a kid. We're here to have fun."
"Y...You're right..."
"But first how about you take the towel off?" He requested. "I haven't even gotten to see your new bathing suit yet."
"D...Don't stare too much..." she muttered, slowly standing and letting the towel fall onto the chair.
She raised one arm in front of her chest and put her fingers to her chin in a criminally adorable manner, her skirt fluttering ever so slightly. "I-Is it too flashy?" She asked shyly.
Kazuto had to bite his lower lip in order to keep his jaw from dropping completely.
"Ah...mm..." he cleared his throat. "I, uh... I guess it's okay." He said, pretending to sound unimpressed.
His teasing got just the reaction he wanted out of her.
"Eh?!" She cried. "I-It's not that nice, is it?" She quickly grabbed her towel again and covered herself.
"As-u-na!" He annunciated, stepping forward to place his hands on her shoulders. "It was obviously a joke! You look amazing. Gorgeous. If anyone else so much as thinks otherwise, I'll arrange an intelligence test for them."
He slowly pulled the towel back off of her arms and let it fall. Asuna slowly raised her head to look up at him past her bangs, her face flushed pink. He smiled as he pulled her in, lifting her chin with his finger and kissing her gently. Asuna placed her hands on his arms and kissed him back softly before they pulled apart.
"You should already know you're the most beautiful person in the universe to me." He reminded her. "Like I said yesterday, you could be wearing nothing at all and-oof!" He took a step back as she stepped on his foot with her heel.
"You started off wonderfully but if you say another word I'll won't speak to you for the rest of the month!" She cried.
"Ahh, right sorry, sorry. I wasn't thinking..." He grinned, shaking off his foot.
"Alright. Then let's swim."
She grabbed his arm and led him toward the water, keeping her face angled away from him to hide her expression. But Kazuto smiled, as he could tell as clearly as day that she was delighted about what he had said about her appearance.
They reached the water's edge and slowly walked down the large steps leading into the water. It was the perfect temperature and the pair of them immediately dived underneath to cool off after the long walk there. They surfaced a few seconds later and decided what to do first.
"How about those?" Kazuto motioned to a series of sprinklers that were lined up on the same platform that the slides stood on.
They climbed onto the steps and out of the pool area before walking over to the sprinklers. Several other people were there, but it was not crowded, so Asuna and Kazuto found plenty of room to walk about.
After a few moments cooling off there, they headed for the huge tubing slide, selecting a two-person tube and climbing up the spiraling stairs. After waiting a minute for their turn, they reached the top and placed the tube in the water, Kazuto taking the front seat and Asuna the back.
"Hold on tight!" He called over his shoulder as they began moving downward. The speed increased drastically as they dropped down, and they both let out shrieks of joy and laughter as the water splashed up at them. The rush of air blasted their damp hair behind them as they swerved sideways and around curves. At the very end, a slight ramp left them airborne as the tube let them off into the pool. They landed with a big splash, rocking a little too much sideways so that they both toppled over underneath the tube. They broke the surface together, still gasping from the exhilaration.
"That was so much fun!" Asuna cried out.
"See? What's next..." Kazuto glanced around.
After returning the tube, they walked around the center platform, to see the other attractions. At one point, a bell rang out.
"I wonder what that is." Asuna wondered.
"Dunno." He shrugged, before suddenly walking a little away from her.
"Where are you going?" She asked, taking a step forward.
"Just wait there. You'll find out." He promised.
"Eh?" Before she had too much time to be suspicious, she heard a loud sound from above her and a chorus of delighted laughter went up around her. A second later, a massive waterfall cascaded down on top of her, the downpour lasting for a full fifteen seconds.
At the end of it all, the giant bucket turned right-side up to refill as the drenched children ran off giggling. Asuna remained where she had stood, sopping wet with her hair three shades darker. Kazuto stood at the edge of the platform chortling merrily.
"Too good! That was too good, Asuna!" He laughed.
"Why...you... Revenge!" Lunging forward, Asuna pushed him over the edge of the platform and into the pool before he could even find the time to be surprised. His laughter instantly turned into and ungraceful "duwah!" as he splashed under. He spat out a mouthful of water as he came back up to find Asuna standing smugly over him.
"Don't underestimate me."
"What a view." He whistled.
"P-PERVERT!" She instantly dipped her foot into the pool and splashed in his face as he laughed out loud. He splashed her back, and after a minute, her embarrassment died away into happy giggles again.
She sat on the edge of the platform, sticking her feet in the water and splashing at him as he cupped his hands into a mini squirt gun and tried to aim at her. He dove under once and tickled her feet and received an instinctive kick to the shoulder but he laughed it off even as she apologized.
The next time he went under, he grabbed her ankles and pulled her down into the water with him where she proceeded to chase him about.
After a while longer, they went back up onto the platform and climbed the stairs for the water slide. Once they reached the top, they savored the view of the water park from the highest point before taking a mat and placing it at the top.
This time he urged Asuna to take the front seat and Kazuto sat behind her. He locked his arms around her stomach as she leaned back against his chest, and they slowly moved forward. There was a single, long drop almost directly downward and Asuna shrieked with delight as Kazuto hugged her tighter. Directly afterward, there was a series of bumps that took them up before falling into the next one.
Unlike the tubing slide, this one ended in a flat portion, sending them directly into the water. However, they miraculously managed to stay on the raft, and slowly cruised about the water for a while as their laughter died down.
"Ahh, that was fun..." Asuna sighed, leaning against him. "My heart's still pounding!"
"We can always go again." He offered.
"Let's do it." Her hazel eyes sparkled.
They returned to the tubing slide again and this time their tub ended up going down backward and they screamed in laughter the entire way down before they crashed into the pool and fell off again with one splash.
They rode each one a few more times before finishing up underneath the giant bucket once more. They held hands as the massive downpour drenched them, and when it finished they both shook themselves.
At last, they headed back to the pool and swam to the other side and returned to their chairs. Kazuto dried himself off quickly as Asuna wrung out her hair with her towel.
"That was so much fun!" She exclaimed.
"I'll say." He agreed, placing his towel on her shoulders. "Maybe we should have some lunch next?"
"Sounds like a plan." She beamed.
A/N: As always, thank you for reading! This was a fun chapter to write!
Please review!