Chapter 16

Toei Studio Park… It was a unique theme park nestled in Kyoto, faithfully recreates the ambiance of the Edo period. More than just an amusement park, it doubles as a live set for movies and television shows. This park was a one-of-a-kind gem, as it stood as the sole period drama-themed amusement park in Japan.

There was a myriad of attractions awaiting visitors within this recreational park. Dare to explore a spooky haunted house, navigate your way through a 3D fort maze, or test your archery skills at one of the playing booths. The park offered a variety of captivating shows and other theme-related delights. When visitors wanted a break, they could indulge in delicious fare at the park's restaurants and pick up unique souvenirs at the gift shops.

However, the crowning jewel of Toei Studio Park was the opportunity to witness the magic of movie and TV show production, unfolding on specific days and schedules. Lucky visitors may even catch a glimpse of the captivating world of film production in action.

As Fuutaro, his groupmates, and the quintuplets entered the theme park, they were warmly greeted by the classic atmosphere of the past. The architectural marvels, people in kimono and samurai costumes, and antique props and decorations placed in various corners all contributed to this unique and interesting ambiance.

A smile graced Fuutaro's lips as he pulled out his digital camera, capturing the classically designed buildings and the surrounding atmosphere. Meanwhile, two of his groupmates leisurely strolled not far from him, taking in the sights. The quintuplets, on the other hand, were already ahead of Fuutaro, brimming with excitement, especially Yotsuba and Miku, who wore eager and enthusiastic expressions.

"Wahh… This place is so unique," Itsuki remarked with a smile, taking in the nearby buildings and the people in traditional outfits. She then perused the pamphlet of the park she had picked up at the entrance. "The pamphlet mentions that there is no other period drama theme park in the country other than this park."

"Yes, that's true. This is the only period drama theme park in Japan, and it's centered around the Edo period theme. Even some areas in this place were modeled after real-life structures." Miku pointed out a few landmarks nearby. "The group entrance we used earlier was modeled after the entrance of Nijo Castle, and the bridge in front of us is a replica of Nihonbashi Bridge, which was the first bridge on the road that connected Tokyo and Kyoto," she explained in a calm but eager voice, her passion for history shining through.

"Okay, okay, we get it, you history geek," Nino retorted, unimpressed by the historical details. She surveyed the area with her arms crossed and a neutral expression. "As expected from Kyoto, wherever you go, it's all old and traditional... even the amusement park."

Yotsuba, still brimming with excitement, tried to lighten the mood, saying, "Don't get all negative, Nino! We're in a theme park, and no matter what the theme is, it should be fun because it's still a theme park, don't you agree?"

"Well, I guess so," Nino relented, offering a slight smile as she glanced at her own pamphlet containing the theme park's map, directions, and landmarks. "So, where should we go first? If you look at the map, there are tons of places and attractions to visit."

"Hmm... I think we should go to..." Ichika muttered and pointed to a location on Nino's pamphlet as the other three sisters gathered around to discuss their first destination.

While the quintuplets discussed which places to visit, Fuutaro had just finished taking some photos. He then shifted his attention to the sisters, who were not far away from where he stood. He was pleased that he had chosen this destination because Ichika was also there. The reason he had selected Toei Studio Park for the third day was his confidence that she, with her interest in the film industry and her work as an actress, would make the same choice.

When Yotsuba had texted him the previous night, informing him that they had all chosen Toei Studio Park, Fuutaro was delighted that Ichika would be joining him. However, the presence of the other four quintuplets meant it would be challenging for him to ask Ichika to walk alone with him, given that they usually stuck together. Furthermore, her recent unusual behavior, where she always seemed to disappear whenever he tried to ask her, posed a potential obstacle. Nevertheless, as he had committed earlier, he was determined not to give up on the idea of spending time with Ichika, just the two of them.

After all, this was the only and last day for him to make it happen.

Setting down his digital camera, Fuutaro observed Ichika, who was still engaged in conversation with her sisters. He realized he had to act quickly, as they did not have the entire day, and they would also face curfew from their teachers in the evening.

"Alright…"

"This is my chance to do it…"

"I really, really wanted to walk with you…"

"The past two days have been so strange…"

"And I hope nothing goes wrong this time…"

"Okay, here goes nothing…!"

Fuutaro closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and steeled himself for what lay ahead. With a determined gaze, he made his way toward Ichika, to call her for a private talk between them.

"Hey, Ichika, can you come here for a second?"

"Hmm?" Ichika turned her head in response to Fuutaro's call, noticing him a few meters away. She excused herself from her sisters and approached him. "What's wrong, Fuutaro-kun?"

"Hey, I was wondering… How about we walk around this theme park together?" Fuutaro's face showed a hint of nervousness, but his eyes were filled with determination.

"Of course! It'll be fun if both our group walk together. The more, the merrier, right?" Ichika answered back with enthusiasm.

"No, that's not what I meant…" Fuutaro shook his head, his nervousness inching up to his head, leaving him speechless. After a brief pause, he regained his composure and expressed his intentions more clearly. "What I mean is… just the two of us, walking around together and having fun in this place."

"Ehh…?"

A blush adorned Ichika's cheeks, and her heart skipped a beat upon hearing Fuutaro asked her to walk around the park together, just the two of them. An overwhelming mix of excitement and nervousness surged through her. This was exactly what she had yearned for when the school trip was announced - to walk together with the boy she loved in a place that fascinated her. It was a profound and joyful feeling that coursed through her entire being, from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.

Ichika stood frozen in place, her mouth slightly agape, unable to form words. Her eyes remained fixed on Fuutaro's face as she attempted to process this overwhelming feeling of joy.

Seeing Ichika's intense gaze on him, Fuutaro's own nervousness resurfaced, and her silence did not ease his apprehension. His heart raced, and he felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. He shook his head once more to push aside his nerves and, with renewed determination, asked Ichika once more to break the awkward silence between them. "So, Ichika… would you like to walk together with me?"

Fuutaro's voice startled her, bringing her back to reality. Still with a blush present on both cheeks, Ichika answered, "Umm… Well, yes… I would love to walk together with you, Fuutaro-kun," Her response was delivered with a mix of nervousness and joy, accompanied by a bright smile.

Hearing her answer, a gleeful smile formed on Fuutaro's lips. A wave of satisfaction and elation washed over Fuutaro. His nervousness vanished, as his smile grew into a grin. "Heh… I'm really glad to hear that," he said. "I've been wanting to ask you this for the past two days."

"Hehe… I'm glad you asked," Ichika chuckled joyfully. Her smile now turned gentle. "Do you remember what I said before? I originally wanted to pair up with you so we could explore Kyoto together, just the two of us."

Fuutaro nodded, mirroring her smile. "Yeah, I definitely remember that," he said. "Now that we finally have the chance, should we go together now or—"

But before they could proceed, a familiar voice interrupted them, "Hey, hey, hey... Wait a minute, Uesugi-kun."

The voice of the most popular boy in school entered his ears, causing Fuutaro to roll his eyes as his smile instantly vanished, bracing for the annoying situation this groupmate of him was about to impose. He suddenly felt something on his shoulder and, upon looking, discovered that Takeda had casually rested his arm on him, much to Fuutaro's annoyance.

With a click of his tongue, he brushed away his groupmate's arm and turned to face this unexpected intruder. "Tchh... Oi! Get your arm off my shoulder," Fuutaro demanded. "What do you want now? Is there something you want to talk about?"

"Of course. You know, there's definitely something wrong with the current situation," Takeda said with a smirk. "I overheard your conversation with Ichika-san earlier, and you wanted to walk with her together? No, that's not good."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Fuutaro retorted, his expression now showing irritation after hearing Takeda's provoking words.

"You see, we are groupmates, and we're supposed to spend time together as a group, right?" Takeda explained their "something is wrong" situation. "So far, we haven't spent enough time together since day one because you've mostly been with the Nakano quintuplets for the past two days. What Maeda-kun said yesterday was right; you should spend more time with us and also avoid being scolded by the leading teacher again."

Frustration began to build up within Fuutaro as Takeda's words made little sense to him, and a hindrance to spend time with Ichika. "Oi, the three of us have already spent plenty of time together, like during dinnertime and in our room. Wasn't that enough for you?" he raised his voice, responding with a brash tone. "Besides, I've been planning to walk with Ichika since the start of the trip, and this is my opportunity to do so."

"Hmm... No, that doesn't really count," Takeda replied, crossing his arms, with a weak sarcastic laugh. His expression started to turn serious as he continued, "What's the point of a group if you're not spending time with your groupmates. Don't you agree, Nakano-san?" He directed his gaze at Ichika, who had been silently watching their argument from the beginning.

Ichika hesitated for a few seconds before responding. "Umm... Yeah, you make a good point," she said quietly, nodding and appearing to agree with Takeda's statement. She then turned her attention to Fuutaro and spoke to him, "Fuutaro-kun, Takeda-kun has a good point. From what I've seen, you've rarely spent time together with him and Maeda-kun for the past two days."

"See? Even she noticed and pretty much agrees with our situation," Takeda remarked, smugness now mixed to his serious expression. Returning his attention to Ichika, he adopted his usual charming and playful expression. "So, Nakano-san, could you kindly postpone your alone time with Uesugi-kun and let us borrow him for this afternoon trip?"

Ichika fell into contemplative silence, her expression becoming more serious. She glanced briefly at Fuutaro, then at Takeda, and finally, she put her fingers on her chin, closing her eyes in thought. After a few moments, she gave her response, "Yeah, sure. I can always walk with Fuutaro-kun since he's our tutor, and we see each other almost every day."

"W-Wait, what?" Fuutaro was taken aback by her unexpected response, immediately gazing at her.

"Good. Glad you understand, Nakano-san," Takeda said with a smile, feeling satisfied with how the situation had turned in his favor.

Seeing the situation take an unexpected turn, Fuutaro began to panic. "Oi, Ichika, are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, it's fine, Fuutaro-kun," Ichika nodded. She adopted a stern expression but added a hint of playfulness as she explained her reason. "Remember what I've said to you before. You're a class representative, and you need friends to support and help you. This is your chance to bond and get to know Takeda-kun and Maeda-kun better. You need more friends in school other than the five of us to improve your image, you know?"

"Uhh... Yeah," Fuutaro mumbled hesitantly.

Takeda reassured Fuutaro by placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Uesugi-kun. Someday, I'll make it up to you, and you have my word on that." He lightly tapped Fuutaro's shoulder before letting go. "Anyway, let's go back to Maeda-kun. He seems eager to try some of the attractions here."

"*sigh* Okay, okay..."

Their conversation was interrupted by Yotsuba, who shouted not far from them, calling for Ichika.

"Hey, Ichika, we're about to go to a restaurant since we didn't have breakfast this morning," Yotsuba announced. She glanced at Itsuki, who had a half-dead expression due to hunger. "Look at Itsuki... Hehe, I bet she'll faint at any moment if we don't head to one very soon."

Ichika chuckled seeing Itsuki's state. "Ahaha... That's right." She turned to Fuutaro and said, "Then, have fun with your group, Fuutaro-kun! See ya!"

Seeing Ichika walked away from him, again, Fuutaro felt a big hit in his stomach. He had been so close to successfully asking her to walk with him, but an unexpected obstacle had thwarted his plans, this time in the form of his charismatic yet annoying groupmate.

Frustration once again welled up inside him as his carefully crafted plan went awry. However, he knew he could not let negativity take over and damage his image in front of Ichika. Takeda and Ichika did have a point – as a class representative, he needed to spend more time with his groupmates and build relationships to improve his image.

Fuutaro resolved not to succumb to discouragement and to remain determined in his goal of spending time with Ichika. He realized he needed to adjust his plan and brainstormed ways to achieve his objective while with his groupmates during this afternoon trip.

So, for now, he would spend this afternoon with Takeda and Maeda, removing any more obstacles that might block his plan to be with Ichika.

"*sigh* Alright, you win," Fuutaro said with an upset tone. "So, where do you want to go?"

"Wherever you two wanted to go, I'm down with it," Takeda replied. "Maeda-kun mentioned earlier that he wants to test his courage in the haunted house. How about we start with that?"

"Haunted house, huh? Sure, let's go." Fuutaro followed Takeda, his determination still intact despite the recent setbacks.

With a clear destination in mind, the three boys ventured toward the haunted house attraction, located in the northeastern corner of Toei Studio Park. As they approached the attraction, they were met with the chilling sight of an ancient, foreboding structure. Eerie wails and the distant echoes of screams emanated from within, sending shivers down their spines. The building's exterior exuded a palpable sense of decay, its paint weathered and cracked, the walls bearing the scars of time.

Steeling themselves, they stood at the entrance, where a dimly lit corridor beckoned. The air within carried a persistent, bone-chilling cold, as though the spirits of the past were exhaling their frozen breath upon their arrival.

Amidst this eerie atmosphere, Fuutaro felt another slight shiver running down his spine. It reminded him of a courage challenge from the previous year's school trip when he heard a terrifying voice in the forest after rescuing Nino from falling off a cliff.

"Hmm… This reminds me of last year's courage challenge…"

"That voice, huh? Heh…"

However, he reassured himself that this experience should not be as scary as that challenge, as it was just a theme park haunted house, not a real one. He mentally prepared himself for the inevitable jump scares and reminded himself that there were no actual ghosts here.

"But this one should not be as scary as that challenge…"

"Since it's just an attraction, not a real haunted house…"

When Fuutaro observed his groupmates next to him, he noticed different reactions from each of them. Takeda wore a confident smirk, appearing genuinely interested and eager to enter the haunted house, with no hint of fear on his face. On the other hand, Maeda displayed visible nervousness, biting his lips, and constantly glancing around with a nervous expression.

After they had stood at the entrance in silence for more than a minute, Fuutaro decided to break the silence, startling Maeda in the process. "Oi, what are you two waiting for? Let's just enter the haunted house." He then directed his gaze at Maeda, showing a lack of interest, as Maeda still wore a fearful expression. "Maeda, you were the one who suggested this attraction in the first place, right? So let's just go in."

"Umm... Uhh... On second thought, let's explore another part of the park first and save this attraction for later," Maeda suggested nervously, turning around and slowly walking away from the haunted house.

Noticing his groupmate's attempt to escape, Takeda immediately placed a hand on Maeda's shoulder and pulled him back to his original position. He teased, "What's wrong, Maeda-kun? Are you afraid of this haunted house?" A mischievous smile played on Takeda's lips. "Don't tell me you're afraid of ghosts? First, you were afraid of heights, and now this? I never thought a tough guy like you would have so many fears."

"O-Oi! Who said I'm afraid of ghosts?!" Maeda retorted in a panicky expression, clearly annoyed by Takeda's teasing. "It's just that I suddenly want to explore another part of this park and save this attraction for last... You know what they say, 'save the best for last,' right?" He added with a weak, hesitant laugh.

"Hehh... Is that so? Then, how about you lead the way, and we'll follow from behind?" Takeda positioned himself behind Maeda and stood close to him. "You fine with that, Uesugi-kun?"

"Yeah, I'm fine with that."

"O-Okay then! Let me show you two that I'm not as chicken as you might think!" Maeda exclaimed with a loud, slightly trembling voice as he entered the haunted house with his head held high.

Having successfully teased and convinced Maeda to enter the haunted house, Takeda playfully whispered to Fuutaro about Maeda's behavior. "See? It's always fun to tease Maeda-kun," he said in a hushed voice, glancing at Maeda, who was bravely walking ahead. "Despite his intimidating appearance, he's actually a good-natured and friendly person. You should try teasing him once in a while, but not too much, as he can get hot-headed easily."

"Heh... You certainly know how to interact with people," Fuutaro responded nonchalantly, while also feeling intrigued by Takeda's teasing approach.

"Well, you know me, I've met and befriended various people during my three years of high school, participating in clubs and the student council," Takeda explained. "Don't hesitate to ask me for advice on how to interact with people, especially since you don't usually interact with our peers and teachers much."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."

A/N:

Chapter 16 is now complete, and here it is.

So here we are, the story continues and we will delve into Fuutaro's interactions with Takeda and Maeda. You might be wondering why I've chosen to focus on these seemingly minor characters from the main series. Well, that's exactly the reason. Takeda and Maeda had limited screen time and roles in the main series, and I've always felt that Fuutaro's friendship with them could be more significant, especially as they are his only friends outside of the quintuplets. This gives a great opportunity for me to expand their relationships and show that Fuutaro has friends beyond the quintuplets.

While we're at it, I want to apologize for dragging this story for so long, considering it's meant to be a Fuutaro x Ichika story. I'm sure that many of you are eager to see more of their interactions, but rest assured, once the story reaches that point, Ichika will take center stage, and we'll finally witness the promised pairing and interactions between Fuutaro and Ichika.

About the usual chapter fixes, I plan to release the fixed and updated version of Chapter 14 of "Our Promise and Bet" on December 31st or January 1st. This particular chapter is very long, longer than my usual ones, so it requires a bit more time to wrap up.

Looking ahead, the next chapter is scheduled for the third week of January (January 15th – January 21st). Keep an eye out for updates during that week.

Since this chapter is posted near the end of the year, I want to wish you all a late Merry Christmas and happy holidays. And since I won't be posting until mid-January, I'll also extend my early Happy New Year wishes to you. Here's to hoping we all have a fantastic year in 2024.

As always, thank you for reading this chapter, and I'll see you in the next chapter.

If you enjoy the story, feel free to review, follow, and favorite it!