Riku and Hikari are currently distracted playing Ticket to Ride. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 33

Several minutes passed where the boys sat around relaxing and waiting. Yata ended up pacing around between the benching where Saruhiko, Riku, and Sora sat. He stopped after a moment and looked at the group.

With narrowed eyes he walked forward and looked at Saruhiko. "Is he… sleeping?"

"Didn't he fall asleep back at the arcade?" Sora asked.

Riku gave a sigh again. "He always manages to fall asleep at some point. Can't let that go on for too much longer though." Riku started to shake Saru's shoulder. "All right, Saru… nap time is over."

Saru grumbled out nonsense while swatting at Riku.

"Isn't there some other way you can try to wake him? You try that each time and it doesn't really seem to work," Yata commented.

"Well throwing him to the ground or casting magic would most likely get me banned from the park… so can't really resort to that. So…" Riku gave Saru another hard shove by the shoulder. As he wasn't fully conscious, Saru kinda fell off the bench onto the ground, landing on his shoulder with a groan. He then proceeded to roll over onto his back, and annoyingly glare at Riku.

"We're going to head to the next ride," Riku said before standing up. "Might as well do the Behemoth while we are in the area?" Riku looked up to the roller coaster that was just nearby to the tea cups.

Sora nodded happily. "Yeah! That one is awesome!"

Saru groaned in annoyance, standing up and trudging behind the group. The four of them made their way over to Behemoth, a tall steel hypercoaster. Unlike the last coaster this one sat four across, leading the boys to all sit in a line with each other. Like with the teacups, Riku made sure that Saru and Yata sat on opposite sides of the row, just to be safe once more.

The ride was still fun either way and all of them did seem to enjoy the thrill that it brought on. After that they all continued to make their way through the park, next stopping at the small 4D shooter ride, Warriors of Light.

Like how it went down in the arcade, it ended up getting very competitive, despite it only being a small theme park shooter ride. By the end of the ride, the boys had tallied up probably the highest scores they could on the ride or at least near close to it. When it came to the discussion afterwards on the game, the boys learned that they all in fact had played it a multitude of times before.

Now that they had gone on several rides, enough time had passed that the group had grown hungry. Since the Warriors of Light ride was near the foot court, they decided to stop there for a bit to get some food.

They all bought their food and sat down to talk about what they would do next, but then mainly fell into eating quietly. While Saruhiko didn't actually buy anything to eat, he ended up sneaking fries and other small pieces of food off of other's plates, mainly Yata's much to his displeasure. But it never ended up going farther than that. Nothing that Riku had to get involved with thankfully.

It was almost surprising to Riku how much Saru could switch on behaving and not. Some of the moments he was sure he was going to have to severely step in to put a stop between him and Yata, but other times Saru just listened. It was weird to say the least, let alone how blunt Saru was around Yata. Riku knew it was none of his business anyways what Saru said to Yata, just as long as nothing severe happened.

Over the next few hours the group went on a nearby roller coaster. It was a winged steel coaster called Regalia Type F. After that they wanted to try and go on the record breaking wooden-steel hybrid coaster called Darkside, but the line was already over two hours.

After that they continued walking through the park, heading to wherever they decide to go next, or still where Sora decided to lead them. But just as they were walking, Saruhiko grabbed onto Yata's arm and started to pull him off in a different direction.

"What? Hey! Where do you think you are dragging me?"

"Water ride."

Yata looked ahead and saw that they were heading towards a log flume ride. "Oh… I guess it is warm enough out. But what about Sora and Riku?" Yata asked, turning to see that the other two boys hadn't even noticed the split in the group.

"Does it really bother you if it's just us?"

"N-No…" Yata stammered. "But shouldn't we… ya know at least tell them that we are going to split up?"

"Then text Sora."

"Oh… yeah okay…" Yata pulled out his phone as the two of them got in line. After a moment he put it back in his pocket. "They're fine with it. Sora wants to get Riku on the swings ride anyways. And he says that Riku said for you not to cause any more scenes…"

Saru just scoffed, but didn't comment.

After that the two of them stood in line, which moved fairly quickly considering how the ride functioned. Half way through the line Yata caught side of the ride loading area. "Wait a minute! This is another ride where we'd have to sit together with… with you behind me and…"

"There's a divider in the middle if it bothers you that much," Saru pointed out in a bored tone. "Besides the other two aren't with us. We will probably have to sit spilt up anyways."

"Oh yeah… that's right. Well, that's good then! Don't need you trying to grab me again."

"Did Misaki not like being held?" Saru asked teasingly.

"No, I didn't," Yata said grumbled. Though after saying it, he was left with an odd feeling. Like having said what he had left him feeling empty or bad. He couldn't explain it, but it was just a weird feeling.

Saru looked at Yata with a slightly hurt expression, but nothing else was said.

After that, just like before, the two of them made it through the rest of line without a word. That ugly feeling that Yata felt before still clung to him, and it was growing strong. By they were at the front of the line, he could barely stand it.

"I don't get it… I can't stand him, but when I said it, and he looked at me like that… I can't help but feel bad for saying it. Did… Did I really hurt his feelings?"

Yata didn't get to go any deeper with his thought for the ride attendant was telling him something. "Huh?'

"I said you two will need to pair up. The lines long so we need to put smaller groups together on the same boat."

"Oh," Yata said before glancing to Saruhiko, who wasn't even looking at his direction.

The two of them were sent to a log flume were there were three younger kids, and because of that what happened next was exactly what Yata hadn't wanted to happen. The younger kids sat up in the front section of the flume while Saruhiko and Yata sat in back, with Yata sitting in front of him.

"There. You happy? You got what you wanted," Yata grumbled as the log flume left the loading dock area.

"Tsk. Zero points," Saru commented in a disinterested tone, kinda just spacing out off at the scenery around the ride.

"Huh? What are you even talking about?" Yata asked. He felt a small tinge of pain in his heart from the disinterested tone. He sighed as he tried to figure out what to do. The last thing he wanted to do was actually lean back against him, but… he couldn't help but feel worse with each passing second. It was driving him crazy at this point.

"Nothing important."

Yata was about to ask something else but then the log flume reached the first hill. Because of the angel and without any seatbeats, Yata had no choice but to lean back onto Saruhiko's chest. The ugly pain faded from his chest, making things feel a bit easier, but he was still laying back on Saruhiko.

Saru's arms moved, as if to wrap around Yata, but then he hesitated and instead grabbed the hand railings on the inside of the flume.

A more uncomfortable feeling now filled Yata's chest. The silence between them was awkward now and it just makes it all feel worse than before. As soon as the log was going through the bends and turns and no longer on the hill, Yata sat back up right. He opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't find the words.

"Damn… this just really sucks now… Did I honestly hurt him that bad by saying… I-I didn't want him to hold me?"

The ride continued to have an unbearable silence between the two of them. By the time the final drop came close, Yata looked back slightly to Saruhiko. If he was ever going to ask about it, right before the drop would be the only time he could. He breathed in deeply before finally trying to ask what he had been wondering. "Are you sure… you don't want to hold me?"

Saru looked surprised. "You said you didn't like me holding you…?"

"I don't! But you stupid hurt face was really starting to bug me."

Saru just looked at Yata, a confused, calculating expression on his face.

By this point, their boat had reached the separation gate right before the drop, which halted the flume with a gentle jerk. With them paused for a brief second, Yata turned back around and faced forward. The gate then opened, letting the flume through to the drop.

Yata sighed as the drop happened.

It did not feel at all enjoyable or fun anymore.

When they came back in to the loading dock, Yata got out and turned around to see Saruhiko getting out on his own. Yata tried to give him a wondering glance, but the already moved heading towards the stairs out.

Yata sighed again as he followed behind Saruhiko. "I don't get him… I can't understand him at all…"

They passed by the photo spot, as the ride did take a picture of them at the drop. Yata only spared a short glance at their photo, seeing how unhappy both of them looked. Yata let out yet another sigh as he picked up the pace to catch up to Saruhiko.

When Yata got there he spoke up. "I guess when I was younger I remember that ride being much more… you know soaking."

"Usually the ones sitting in the front get soaked," Saru quipped in a bored tone.

"Still… though," Yata felt his shirt and shorts. They were only a little bit wet from the water, but other than that he wasn't too soaked at all. "Um… what do you want to do next?"

Saru looked at Yata with an inquisitive gaze, but didn't answer.

"Come on," Yata said before rolling his eyes. "I know you got something on your mind. Why don't you just say it already!"

"Are you… a tsundere?" Saru bluntly asked.

Yata blinked slowly. He tilted his head to the side slightly before shaking it. "What!?"

"Idiot. I can't dumb down the question any more. Are you a tsundere?"

"Why the hell would you ask me something like that?"

"You've been acting oddly around me, and what you said earlier, heavily implies that you're a tsundere that can't make up their mind."

"That's…" Yata mumbled. He grumbled feeling a bit frustrated. "That's a really stupid thing to assume, ya know?"

"You've been blushing around me quite a bit, and yet seem to hate me but not at the same time. If you're not a tsundere, then you should really go see a doctor… and maybe a therapist for your anger management issues."

Yata was taken back. While he had quickly come to learn that Saruhiko was rather blunt, he had not expected that. "I… I'm… what's wrong with me if I am?" It wasn't what he wanted to ask, but it was the only thing that left his mouth.

"It just makes it easier to read you if you are."

"Why does that even matter to you?"

"You're quiet oblivious," Saruhiko replied before smirking.

"Ugh!" Yata sneered. "You and your stupid smirk. Still can't stand it…"

Saru chuckled, but didn't comment.

The two of them now saw that they had reached the swings ride. They didn't see Sora or Riku anywhere nearby. Yata pulled put his phone and read a text that had been sent a few minutes ago.

"Looks like they're at the mini arcade that's right over there," Yata said before pointing to the building just next to the swings ride.

They then headed into the arcade after that and began to look for Riku and Sora. Since the building was small, it didn't take long for them to find the other two. They were currently at one of the claw machines with Sora trying to maneuver the claw.

A second later he clicked the button and the claw dropped down. It started to pull up something, a Komory Bat Plush, but just as the claw reached the top, the plush slipped through. "Aw… darn it! We were so close!"

Riku placed a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Hey you know how rigged these are. I was surprised I even was able to win anything on the other."

"Yeah I know… I just wanted to win you something…" Sora sighed before looking over to see Yata and Saruhiko coming closer. "Oh hey guys! Check out what Riku won me!" He held up a semi oval shaped plush pillow that resembled a Meow Wow.

"You really wanted a toy?" Yata asked.

"It's a squishmallow!" Sora exclaimed. "They are like the softest thing ever!"

"We got lucky trying to get it," Riku added. "Only tried twice and it actually worked."

"So now what are we going to do?" Sora asked. "You guys already did one water ride, the other one is right by us. How about we all do that?"

"I'm good with it," Riku said. "As long as you two are wanting to do another one."

"I… I mean we can," Yata grumbled before crossing his arms. He glanced over at Saruhiko. "That is if you want to too… you know again."

Saru just shrugged, a disinterested look on his face.

"What? Not going to make up your mind now?" Yata asked.

"You didn't enjoy it last time, so why should we go on another one?"

Riku raised an eyebrow to the conversation, but he wasn't able to interject. Instead Yata went on to reply to Saruhiko. "That was before. Doesn't matter anymore. And…" Yata hesitated, losing the serious tone he had been speaking in. "We could try to make it more enjoyable. Ah! And I don't mean like how you are probably thinking! I just mean not as awkward!"

Saru quirked an eyebrow, as if prompting Yata to explain better.

"What more do you want? I said we can go on the ride! I don't care okay?" Yata huffed out quickly.

"Or we don't have to go on the ride at all if you two aren't going to cooperate," Riku said stepping in. "I don't know what happened when you guys went off on your own, but if it you two are going to get into another argument, we don't have to do it."

"But I really want to go on the ride," Sora said. "Can't just the two of us go? Or three if Yata really wants to?"

"I said I was fine going on the ride," Yata muttered.

Saru just shrugged before muttering out his response. "Fine… I'll behave… for now…"

Riku narrowed his eyes at his brother, but chose not to say anything more on the subject. "All right, let's get in line."

"Let me just dropped this off in a locker and I'll meet you guys over at the front of the line," Sora said before running out of the arcade, towards where the lockers to store items were. After that the entire group made their way to the next water ride to get in line.

We hoped you all enjoyed! Another long mini arc of a date has arrived!