March 23 (Wednesday) Yuta Asamura

● March

23

Day (Wednesday)

Asamura Yuta

The blue sky is being sliced by a dragon made of steel.

The ladder-like rails twist and turn, curling back to their original position. There’s no need to ask what this is. It’s clearly a roller coaster.

“Wait, this is the first ride…?”

“Well, you wanted to know the recommendations, right?”

“Well, I did say that…”

The itinerary that Ayase-san and I had decided on for our second day was a tour of theme parks.

We had adopted Nara-saka-san’s recommended spots. However, Ayase-san and I weren’t particularly well-versed in these kinds of entertainment facilities. So even though we had decided on our destination, we lacked the knowledge on how to enjoy it, and we had asked Nara-saka-san for specific guidance on the day.

“Nuuhuhuh! Well, when it comes to USJ, this is a must!”

Even if she said it with such confidence…

I looked up at the attraction again.

I saw an unguarded ride racing at an unbelievable speed along the iron rails. The shrill screams echoed all the way here. Just watching the ride clatter violently along the rails made my heart race.

“It looks fun!” Nara-saka-san exclaimed. “This is definitely the recommendation!”

Is it?

There must be… something else, right? I thought theme parks had more gentle options.

“Are you really going to ride it?”

“Asamura-kun. No, Yuta-nii!”

“I’m not your brother, Nara-saka-san.”

Nara-saka-san shook her head.

“What are you talking about? If you’re a friend of my brother, you’re like a brother too! That’s just the way of the world, Asamura-kun. And if you’re a friend of my sister, you’re practically a sister too, or so someone once said!”

“No one said that.”

“Geez, you’re such a pain. It’s fine, just a little brotherly affection!”

What does “a little brotherly affection” even mean?

“Asamura-kun, actually, you might not know this, but USJ has about as many thrill rides as there are fingers on one hand.”

“Really?”

“And today is theme park day. We’re supposed to enjoy USJ to the fullest for the entire day. What conclusion can we draw from that?”

“…We should try a variety of attractions in the park…”

“No, no, no!”

For some reason, Nara-saka-san denied it in French.

“First, we’re conquering the thrill rides, of course!”

Apparently, that was the plan.

Nara-saka-san was dazzlingly enthusiastic, her smile bright. As a planner, I wanted to support her idea wholeheartedly. I truly felt that way from the bottom of my heart. However, I was the kind of person who hesitated even on the plane to Singapore for a school trip. Conquering thrill rides first thing in the morning felt a bit overwhelming. Wouldn’t anyone oppose this?

“Let’s go, Tomo-kun!”

“Sure.”

Maru, you too?

Is this what it feels like to be Caesar betrayed by Brutus?

But still, starting with a thrill ride… It’s not that I’m scared, but rather, I need to mentally prepare myself.

“Asamura-kun, you don’t have to push yourself.”

“What about you, Ayase-san?”

“I haven’t been on one since I was little, so I’m looking forward to it.”

I thought she was afraid of thunder and horror movies, so I assumed she couldn’t handle scary things at all. But Ayase-san can handle thrill rides?

Why is that? Now that I think about it, she didn’t seem to mind the plane ride for the school trip.

“Well, it’s not that I particularly dislike it…”

“Come on, over here!”

Nara-saka-san, who had been walking ahead, beckoned us.

…Huh?

I stopped in my tracks when I saw the sign with the name of the attraction.

“It says ‘Back Drop’.”

“That’s the selling point!”

“Wait, wait!”

There was no waiting.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), it wasn’t crowded, and the four of us were seated on the back drop thrill ride in about 15 minutes. What surprised me was that we had to leave everything in our pockets behind before getting on. This meant it would shake us around quite a bit. When it flips over, our bodies would be pressed against the ride due to centrifugal force, but anything not attached to us would fall due to gravity. Keys and coins in our pockets would, of course, drop.

…Seriously?

Once we boarded, my upper body was exposed to the outside, and my feet barely touched the floor, giving me a sense of floating. After a brief guidance from the attendant about safety precautions, the ride jolted into motion on the rails. It had begun. We were really moving backward… No, it said so on the sign, so it must be true.

I gulped involuntarily.

Why do thrill rides always take such a long time before the drop?

…No, I know. Of course, this delay is meant to heighten the sense of fear by stimulating the imagination. The essence of entertainment is tension and release. When you’re tense to the brink and then suddenly let go, your brain gets… excited. Yes, this is entertainment. It may look dangerous, but it’s actually a very safe ride. If it were truly dangerous, it wouldn’t qualify as entertainment. The safety might even be higher than that of an airplane. I don’t know, but it must be.

Still, how high have we climbed? The fact that I can’t see the destination makes me anxious… Moreover, we’re covered by a roof halfway up, further obstructing my view.

As the ride ascended, the buildings and people on the ground grew smaller. My back slightly lifted from the seat, putting weight on the safety bar in front of me. We’re climbing… How high are we going? Oh, the people are so tiny now…

Suddenly, my body lurched backward. A jolt coursed through me as if we had just crossed over something.

In an instant, my view was filled with blue sky.

The next moment, the scenery blurred.

The sensation of falling began, as if being peeled away from the blue sky. It was a steep drop, slightly better than free fall, as I fell backward.

The wind howled in my ears. A collective scream erupted around me. I was doing my best to clench my teeth to avoid biting my tongue. The wheels clattered along the rails. Thanks to the music playing from the speakers nearby, it was somewhat bearable, but my body was shaking violently. It’s going to be okay, right? I won’t be thrown into the air halfway through, right? Even though I knew in my head that such a thing couldn’t happen, my body was overwhelmed by fear.

I could hear Ayase-san’s screams next to me, but for some reason, they sounded like she was enjoying it.

The coaster raced down, repeatedly climbing and descending as it sped through the park.

But I didn’t have the luxury to look around. My body was being tossed side to side, and the sudden acceleration pressed me against the seat.

Ugh… waaaaaah!

Before I could let out a high-pitched voice, the speed began to decrease.

The jolting gradually settled. The ride came to a stop in a daze. I barely heard the faint noise just before the announcement came over the speakers, urging us to disembark. I gathered my trembling legs and somehow managed to get off.

“That was fun!”

“Well, it was okay.”

I heard Nara-saka-san and Maru’s voices, but I didn’t have the energy to agree or disagree.

“It’s been a while, but it’s still great!”

Ayase-san’s cheerful voice felt a bit distant to me.

When I got off, my legs were shaking like a newborn deer.

My heart was racing too. The beats were fast. The world was swaying. A tremor of 3 or 4.

I collapsed onto a bench near the attraction.

“Saki, I’ll go find you something to drink.”

“Ah, wait. I’ll come with you.”

Maru and Nara-saka-san went off somewhere.

“Are you okay?”

Ayase-san, who had supported me to the bench, sat down beside me and tilted her head to peek at my face, which was looking down. She was close. My heart raced for a different reason.

“I-I’m fine, I’m fine.”

“Should I look for the infirmary?”

“It’s not that bad. Sorry for causing trouble.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

As she said this, she placed her hand on my forehead, but I didn’t have a fever.

“You might not be able to tell since my hand is cold too.”

Maybe it was because I had been gripping the metal safety bar the whole time.

“I don’t think I have a fever.”

“Really?”

While saying this, she lifted her bangs and pressed her forehead against mine.

“Hmm… I can’t tell.”

If my temperature were higher than hers, I would feel hot—at least that’s what I’ve only seen in old stories. Ayase-san seems to know this method of measuring temperature well. In this day and age, I’ve never seen anyone measure temperature by pressing foreheads together.

More than that, having her face so close made my heart race even more. Was this excitement due to the thrill ride, or was it because I was seeing Ayase-san’s face from a distance where I could measure the length of her eyelashes?

I couldn’t distinguish between the two by the speed of my heartbeat. So this is the bridge effect—no, that’s not it. Calm down, Asamura Yuta.

I lifted my face and took a deep breath. Phew.

In my line of sight, I saw Maru and the others approaching.

“Back to life, Asamura?”

“Here. I brought you a drink!”

The two returned and handed me the drinks.

“Thank you.”

“You can rest a bit longer. We’ll quickly take care of the next one.”

“The next one is… we’re going to fly like dinosaurs!”

“I think it’s more like being pulled by a dinosaur, though.”

As Maru said this, he threw a glance. I turned to look, and at the front was—was that a pterosaur? There was a ride with a model of a dinosaur with wings. Terrifyingly, this attraction didn’t involve boarding a box-like vehicle; instead, it felt like hanging completely horizontal from the rails.

“Are you guys… going on that?”

“We have to hurry or we won’t finish all the rides before sunset! We’ll finish by noon and then take our time with the other attractions in the afternoon!”

To conquer a number of thrill rides by noon… what incredible courage.

“So we’re off!”

“If you stay put, we can regroup here.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll rest here a bit longer too.”

Ayase-san said, sending Maru and Nara-saka-san off.

Clearly, she was doing this to keep me from being alone. I felt bad for making her worry.

“Sorry, Ayase-san, you want to have fun too.”

“It’s fine. More importantly, you should drink something if you can.”

I thought I wasn’t dehydrated, but my mouth felt completely parched, and just a sip of the drink (iced oolong tea) made me feel much better.

However, this was completely unexpected.

Before coming, I had scoured social media to research USJ. All I saw were cheerful girls leisurely enjoying themselves, and most of the photos were of them wearing character ears and sipping colorful drinks. Looking back, it might have been a prejudice, but I thought Nara-saka-san would be the same, taking it easy…

But starting with a thrill ride.

We entered USJ early in the morning, but it might have been fortunate that I had a light breakfast before coming. If I had been full, I might have felt a bit nauseous.

“Phew. I’ve calmed down a lot.”

“Good.”

Ayase-san leaned closer to me, sounding relieved.

“I was a bit worried.”

“Well, I was just surprised. I’m fine now.”

“Don’t push yourself. If you’re not comfortable, you can sit here with us until Tomo and the others finish.”

It seems Ayase-san doesn’t dislike theme parks like this either.

And neither do I.

“I’m going to be a university student starting this spring. I don’t want to miss out on this opportunity for new experiences.”

Because I’m not comfortable, I want to avoid being picky.

I steeled myself and stood up.

“Let’s go to the next one.”

“Um… Are you serious? You’re not forcing yourself, right?”

“Of course. In fact, this feeling of my heart racing might become addictive.”

“That’s a dangerous thing to say. I understand that feeling because I like it too.”

But, Ayase-san said,

“You can stop anytime if you think it’s too much, okay?”

“I understand.”

If I ride the next thrill ride, knowing myself, I’ll probably end up trembling like a newborn deer again—though I wonder if that’s even cute. I would have hated showing such a pathetic side in front of her before. That’s why I pushed myself too hard during the summer training camp in my third year.

But now, my feelings had changed a bit. Even if I showed a pitiful side, I felt that Ayase-san wouldn’t dislike me for it.

More than hesitating to change, I now have a stronger desire to understand the thrill ride’s appeal that she loves. I want to cherish her feelings of wanting to support me just as much as I want to support her.

And if she’s going to be this close to me, I can’t help but feel a sense of privilege. Well, I won’t say that out loud.

“I’ll send a message to Maru and the others. Which one do you want to ride?”

“I want to ride that one that looks like it’s being pulled by a pterosaur!”

…Huh?

“It looks scary but fun!”

I almost said I preferred something a bit gentler, but I closed my mouth and managed to smile at Ayase-san, nodding, “Got it.”

As promised, Maru and Nara-saka-san conquered the thrill rides throughout the morning.

“Ha! I’m stuffed!”

“But we haven’t eaten yet, have we?”

“I’m saying I had fun! I think I’m good on thrill rides for a while.”

“Nara-saka’s ‘for a while’ means at least two months…”

“Come on, Tomo-kun. It’s longer than that!”

As she said this, Nara-saka-san smiled, holding up four fingers. Four months… that hardly qualifies as “for a while.” Maru shook his head, exasperated.

“I’m good for six months.”

That’s not much different from Nara-saka-san. I think you’re one of them too, Maru.

By the way, after that, I rode two more rides, and that was my limit. I was barely able to hold back the sourness rising in my stomach. Ayase-san had said she would stay with me the whole time, but feeling bad about it, I entrusted myself to Narasaka-san and the others. She looked regretful, saying she was just one ride short of completing the challenge, but I thought she had done more than enough.

The restaurant we entered for lunch was themed after a shipyard.

I had heard it was featured in a movie, but since I didn’t know the name of the place, I asked Maru. He said it was a movie about a shark attack. I remarked that there were plenty of movies about shark attacks, and he replied, “You know, the first one, that’s the one!” and it clicked for me.

I had never seen it, but it was famous, after all. I was invited to watch it together with the four of us next time, but seeing Ayase-san grimace beside me, I declined with a wry smile. She can’t handle horror movies.

The sandwich and drink set was reasonably priced, so we all chose different types to share.

“Is this a baguette sandwich?” Ayase-san asked, and Narasaka-san shook her head in denial.

“A baguette is French bread, right? It doesn’t look hard enough on the surface, so this is probably a koppe-pan sandwich!”

“I see.”

It was lunchtime, but we managed to get to the register without much wait. It was likely due to it being a weekday before spring break. The sandwich I received after paying was, as Narasaka-san had predicted, a soft koppe-pan filled with meat and shrimp. “See?” Narasaka-san smiled. The paper holder for the bread had a shark with its teeth bared printed on it. It looked like it was about to eat the bread with its huge jaw. So this is the shark from the shark movie…

“I absolutely don’t want to see this movie,” Ayase-san said, her hand reaching for her sandwich hesitantly. Even the printed teeth seemed to scare her.

We managed to secure a table on the terrace that was conveniently empty.

Once seated, we showed each other the contents of our sandwiches while eagerly sending the food and drinks into our increasingly demanding stomachs.

After a short break, it was time for the afternoon turn.

We leisurely went around the attractions recommended by Narasaka-san.

In stark contrast to the intensity of the morning, many of the rides were relaxed and laid-back.

Well, there was one ride that was as intense as a water slide.

By the way, it had been quite some time since the recognition of USJ as a theme park for Hollywood movie attractions was accurate. I had realized this again after researching on social media.

“Recently, they’ve been actively collaborating with globally popular anime and games, going beyond just Hollywood movies!” Narasaka-san explained on my behalf.

Ayase-san asked, “Even if it’s not a Hollywood movie?”

“Exactly!”

“Is that so?”

“Well, that’s why you see signs with designs that look familiar all over the place,” Maru added, pointing around the park to illustrate.

Looking around the park, I saw many familiar sights that Maru and I recognized.

Attractions based on games and manga. Unfortunately, they were so popular that we had to skip them this time. Besides, Ayase-san didn’t know much about any of them.

The attractions on Narasaka-san’s recommended course weren’t overly crowded overall, yet they included all the classics and were a lot of fun.

We laughed and gasped, our voices echoing under the Osaka sky.

By the time the red sunset sank beyond the park, our legs felt like lead, and we were all exhausted. But it had been enjoyable.

“Theme parks are great, aren’t they?” Narasaka-san said as a closing remark, and everyone nodded in agreement. She had been an excellent guide.

Thanks to her, we had overdone it, and by the end of the day, we were even more tired than the day before.

“Maaya’s guidance was really great. Thank you, Maru-kun, for all your trivia,” I said.

“Yeah, keep the compliments coming!”

“I just said what I knew. I might be wrong, so make sure to double-check.”

“No, no. Your knowledge was much more practical. I can’t compete with that.”

I bowed my head to the humble Maru.

“Oh, if we move now, we’ll make the transfer easily,” Ayase-san said, checking her watch. I checked the schedule too. I hurried everyone toward the station. We didn’t have time to eat dinner at a restaurant, so we bought bento at a convenience store.

By the time we returned to the hotel, we were so exhausted that no one could even hold a conversation.

We still had one more day left, though.

“This is bad. We should just go to bed early today,” Maru said.

Everyone managed to nod in agreement, though even that felt like a monumental effort.

After eating the dinner we bought at the convenience store, we quickly took a bath and lay down.

Thus, the tumultuous second day of our graduation trip came to an end.

Before falling asleep, a fleeting feeling of reflection crossed my mind.

Ah, this isn’t good. I had intended to actively engage so that Maru and Narasaka-san would enjoy themselves… What had I done today? I felt like I had spent half the time just recovering from the rides.

Tomorrow for sure, I thought as I succumbed to the sleepiness that enveloped me like mud, falling into the depths of slumber.

Moreover, the way I fell was reminiscent of being pulled in backward on a ride I had taken during the day. It felt less like gently drifting into sleep and more like being forcibly deprived of consciousness.

It also seemed to symbolize my anxiety about stepping into an environment without the experience of university life.