"Hey, Okuda, Kayano!" Rio called out as she waved towards her friends. The two girls stopped walking and allowed their blonde friend to catch up to them. It was the end of the school day and they were just making their way down the stairs.

"Oh! Hey Rio. What's up?" Kayano asked curiously as soon as the blonde had reached them.

"So there's this cool fair in town and I was wondering if you two would like to join me. There's going to be rides and food and it looks like fun." Rio said. The two girls pondered this…

"Uh…I-I don't mind…When can we go?" Okuda asked.

Rio smiled. She was thrilled Okuda had agreed to her proposal. She really liked Okuda, she was really sweet and cute, and Rio wanted to take the first few steps in pursuing a relationship with her…She even got Karma's blessing! And boy was that hard to get!

"Tomorrow's Saturday so we can go then around two o' clock in the afternoon? Does that work for you?"

"Yeah it does." Okuda responded…. "Oh! What about you Kayano?" Okuda asked as she turned to face her green haired friend.

"Uhh…well…C-can I invite Nagisa…?" Kayano shyly asked. Rio grinned all was going according to plan.

"Sure! The more the merrier, am I right?" Rio said with a smile.

"Well okay…I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow…."

The sound of children's laughter resonated within the air as did the musical notes from food stands and various rides and midway games. The air was filled with the smell of popped popcorn, sugary cotton candy, and various other sweets alongside other food stands. Rio was waiting patiently outside the entrance for her friends. She finally saw them in the distance.

"Yo!" She greeted with her carefree smile.

"Hey, Rio!" Nagisa greeted. "I hope you don't mind, but Kayano asked me to tag along." Nagisa said with a sheepish smile.

Rio grinned. With Nagisa here not only could she play matchmaker but she could also send them off alone together so she could have Okuda all to herself.

"Hey, no it's not a problem." She reassured the shota boy.

"Uhh...So what should we do first…?" Okuda asked.

"Whatever you want." Rio responded. "I mean you guys can choose whatever you want." Rio clarified…did that sound suspicious? No maybe I should have just left it at whatever you want….

"Hmm…Let's play some carnival games." Kayano suggested. They all agreed and decided to play a few games.

The first one they tried was a shooting game. In order to win it you had to knock the prize over with your BB gun.

"Hey Okuda which one do you want?" Rio asked as she widened her stance, ready to take aim.

"Um…how about the little rabbit…" She suggested hoping she didn't pick a hard one.

"You got it!"

"Man that game was super easy!" Rio said as she helped Okuda carry the prizes she had won for her.

"W-Well I guess it really wasn't fair since we are trained assassins." Okuda remarked.

"Yeah but…then…Why didn't I win any?" Kayano whined.

"Uhh…Lousy luck…?" Rio offered. Kayano pouted.

"Hey, if you want I can win you one later." Nagisa offered. Kayano blushed.

"W-well you don't have to…but if you're offering!" With that both Kayano and Nagisa made their way back to the stand leaving Rio and Manami alone together.

"So what do you want to do?"

"Hmm….I guess whatever you want to do." Okuda said.

Rio glanced around the carnival and she smirked as an idea came to mind. She grabbed Okuda's hand and dragged her along.

"Come on I know what to do."

"O-Okay…"

The haunted house…It was a grand tall house made out of mossy stone and rotting wood. Climber plants weaved their way up the walls, clogging drain pipes, as they reached for the sunlight above. The windows were broken and the wooden frames had disintegrated and were barley intact. There were a few plants placed at the entrance, once meet for lively decoration, now they lay on the creaking wood withered and yellow most certainly dead as a few empty pots laid shattered with their soil pouring out like spilled blood. Rio smiled. This is going to be perfect! She thought as she imagined how it would go down.

"Eek!" Okuda shrieked as she jumped back in fright.

"Okuda you okay…?" Rio asked concerned.

"I-I'm sorry Nakamura…It's just I'm scared…" Okuda said quietly as she tried to make herself smaller.

"Hey if you want you can hold my hand." Rio offered kindly.

"R-Really…No I don't want to be a burden…" Okuda said as a small blush adorned her cute face.

"No worries." Rio said in English as she gently held Okuda's petite hand in hers. "I'll protect you my princess."

"T-thank you Nakamura…." Okuda said with a thankful smiled as she hugged Rio's arm.

"Call me Rio." Okuda blushed at the informality…shyly she stuttered out:

"T-thank you R-Rio y-you're my hero…"

"Hehe…."

"Uhh…Nakamura, are we going in or…?" Okuda asked causing Rio to snap out of her fantasy.

"Oh right!" Rio said sheepishly as they made their way inside the creaking doors of the rundown haunted house.

The hallway was long and narrow. There were a few ripped paintings loosely hanging on the wall and the wallpaper was slowly peeling off like dead skin. The wooden floors groaned and creaked with each step taken threating to collapse under their weight. Rio grimaced at the musky smell that drowned them.

"Err…It's really creepy here isn't, Okuda?" Rio commented as she tried walking closer towards Manami.

"Hm….yeah I guess…" Okuda responded as she quietly observed the halls with a silently apathetic expression, unaware of Rio's growing closeness.

They walked a bit more, but Rio stopped walking when she heard the cry of a child. Her shoulders ridged up.

"D-did you hear that…?" Rio asked hopping she wasn't hearing things.

"Yeah. I hope the kid's okay….Maybe he accidently wondered in…Let's go look I think I heard it over hear." Okuda said as she walked towards a lone room.

"W-wait…I don't think that's a good idea…I mean what if something scary pops up, I don't want you to get scared." Rio said.

"Oh w-well thanks for looking out for me, but I'm sort of desensitized to this kind of stuff….Karma often takes me out to watch scary films." Okuda said as she opened the creaking wooden door. Peeking in to see a lone child's room with broken toys and injured stuffed animals along with an old busted TV.

Karma often takes me out….Takes you out like….A date!? Rio frowned. Why is Karma taking Okuda out on dates and forcing her to watch scary movies with him! She bets Okuda was a lot more easily scared before hanging out with the devil boy…she could see it now:

"EEeekk!" Okuda shrieked as she jumped back into her seat trying to cover up her scared face with her hands.

"Hey don't worry Okuda-chan." Karma said with a gentle smile as he slowly lowered Okuda's hand down. "As long as I'm here no demon or ghost would dare hurt you…"

Okuda blushed her heart ponding as she stared into Karma's golden eyes….She smiled that gentle smile of hers…She felt safe and warm whenever she looked into his eyes.

"T-Thank you, Karma-kun…"

"Err! That Karma!" Rio growled.

"Huh…? What about Karma-kun….?" Okuda asked as she closed the door to the room once she saw nothing of interest inside managing to close it just as a ghost child appeared behind her…

"Oh! I-I uhh…It's just I'm kinda peeved Karma would make you watch those films against your will." Rio said slightly taken back when she saw the poltergeist child.

"But it wasn't against my will...I wanted to see them…but I'm always so scared so I asked Karma-kun to join me…Now I'm not that scared. Besides no one's scarier than Karma-kun and Karma himself isn't that scary." Okuda said as she made her way down the hallway.

"Really I think OHMY GOD!" Rio screeched as a zombie cardboard cutout popped from the side of the wall.

"Huh…Neat…" Okuda commented before continuing down the hallway…when she noticed Rio wasn't following she stopped walking. "Nakamura you okay…?" She asked.

"Oh yeah! Yeah! Just kinda surprised that's all!" Rio said as she sheepishly made her way towards Okuda. Okuda tilted her head.

"I-if you want y-you can hold my hand…" Okuda shyly said as she extended her hand outwards towards Rio….

This isn't how I imagined it…I always thought Okuda would be clinging to my arm as I save her from ghosts…but…I'll take what I can get!

"Yeah!" Rio said as she took Okuda's hand in hers with little to no hesitation. "Don't let go until we get out of this house, okay." Rio said. Okuda blushed and with a gentle smile she nodded in agreement.

"Okay."