Bonus chapter
Sayaka pov:
Sayaka smoothed down her white summer dress, which she had bought specifically for the occasion. She was getting more anxious by the minute and wasn't sure if her sweat was from her nervousness or the hot weather.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Sayaka turned around and saw Kirari walking toward her. Her heart started to flutter.
"It's okay, I just arrived myself," she replied shyly.
Kirari smiled softly. "Your dress is lovely," she said, causing Sayaka to blush.
"Thank you," stammered Sayaka, trying to hide her red cheeks. Kirari extended her fair hand toward Sayaka and asked, "Shall we go in?" Sayaka quickly took Kirari's hand and smiled softly. "Yes."
As they entered the large building, they were met by cool, refreshing air. "The air conditioning really makes a difference," commented Kirari. Sayaka nodded in agreement. "The temperature is great in here."
"That's a long queue," said Kirari, gesturing to the long line of people waiting at the ticket counter. "This is going to take a while," replied Sayaka, disappointed that some of their valuable time together would be spent in line.
Sensing Sayaka's disappointment, Kirari gently tucked a few strands of loose hair behind her ear, causing her to blush again. "How about we look through this tour guide of all the fish while we wait?" she asked, pulling out a folded paper and handing it to Sayaka.
"Good idea," Sayaka replied with a soft smile.
As they waited in line, they spent some time looking through the tour guide. Kirari used her extensive knowledge of fish and sea creatures to teach Sayaka, but Sayaka noticed that Kirari sometimes mixed up dolphins and sharks.
Suddenly, Kirari tapped Sayaka on the shoulder and signaled for her to be quiet. "Try to look subtly behind you," she whispered. Confused, Sayaka quietly turned her head and scanned the area for a few seconds until she finally spotted what Kirari wanted her to see.
"Do you see them?" Kirari asked, whispering into Sayaka's ear. Sayaka nodded and they saw Terano and Yumi Totobami standing at the back of the queue. Both were members of the same clan as Kirari and students at Hyakkou academy. They appeared to be having a serious conversation, with Yumi bent down, listening intently to what Terano was saying.
"What do you think they're doing here?" Sayaka asked, turning back to Kirari.
Kirari simply shrugged. "Not quite sure. But it seems like they know we're here."
"Really? How do you know that?"
"Just an inkling. Trust me on this one," Kirari replied with a smirk.
"Want to do something fun?" Kirari whispered to Sayaka.
"Fun?" Sayaka asked.
"We're going to pretend we haven't seen them," Kirari explained, with a grin playing on her lips.
"Why? Shouldn't we just go say hi?" Sayaka asked, confused.
"Where's the fun in that? Listen, Terano will probably try to avoid us all day, so wouldn't it be fun if we followed them around and then watch them try to hide from us?" Kirari proposed, seemingly very amused at her idea. Sayaka didn't really understand, but she wanted to go along with Kirari's plan.
"It sounds like fun," Sayaka replied excitedly.
Kirari smiled softly at her. "Let the game begin!"