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You and Riko had been waiting in the ice cream line for about 10 minutes when they began to sweat.
“I need a break from this summer heat…” You mumbled.
Chika appeared from out of nowhere, and shouted, “Hey! Let's go to the aquarium!”
You was not startled, as she was accustomed to Chika’s odd habit of disappearing and reappearing in random places, but her entrance had made Riko shriek.
“Oh, I'm sorry, Riko!” Chika said, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. Riko looked a little miffed, but managed to calm down and lean into the hug.
They're so cute together… You thought, as she wondered how it would be nice to have someone to hug. A girl or a boy, it really didn't matter, but she usually fantasized about girls at school. Random passerby in the halls, no one that she knew.
Lost in thought, You didn't notice when the 2nd years had arrived at the front of the line. She felt Chika shaking her shoulder, and her mind snapped back into reality. “Oh, uh, me? Yeah, I'll have chocolate.”
“Two chocolates and one vanilla?” asked the lady behind the counter.
“Sure thing!” Chika replied, handing over a ten dollar bill in exchange for the ice cream cones.
Riko was the odd one out with her vanilla cone, but it sorta suited her personality. You began to think about her fellow idols as ice cream flavours. Ruby would be strawberry, of course, Hanamaru would probably be caramel. Dia and Kanan would like mature, savory flavours, something like green tea. You could also see Dia as being chocolate. What would Mari be? Some kinda fruity sorbet, maybe. Yohane seemed like the type of person to eat an ice cube whole and call that an ice cream cone. Someday, I'd like to ask everybody what their favourite flavours are.
Soon, the three girls arrived at the Numazu Deep Sea Aquarium. Chika paid the admission, and they walked inside.
“Riko, you've never been here before, have you?” You asked.
“No, I've only been to Awashima Marine Park! This should be fun,” Riko replied. She then gasped as she saw all the ocean life exhibits spread around them. You could see how overwhelming it was for her, but didn't say anything. Riko would be okay in a few minutes.
The second years wandered over to the touch pool. It was surrounded by little kids, but there was still a few spots around the edge where nobody was at.
The three friends spent a solid twenty minutes at the touch pool, feeling the sea animals and plants. Some were soft, and some were bumpy. You’s favourite was the sea cucumber. It was so relaxing to stroke it again and again. Something this repetitive is so nice and relaxing. It was a feeling that couldn't be put into words. “Hey, Riko, feel this! It's a sea cucumber,” You said, handing the creature to the magenta-haired girl.
Riko felt it and shuddered. “It's… slimey.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah! Slimey! I love the texture of sea cucumbers!” You excitedly waves her hands around, accidentally knocking Chika in the face. “Oh! I'm so sorry!!” she cried out.
“It's okay, You! I know it was an accident and you didn't mean to hurt me, so it's fine. You just got a bit excited!” Chika replied and smiled.
They wandered around for a little while longer, until Chika saw a sign for turtle feeding.
“Oh! Let's go this way, Riko!” Chika grabbed Riko’s hand and pulled her off to see the turtle exhibit.
You sighed. She was used to being left behind. Chika and Riko didn't seem to notice or care that You wasn't trying to keep up with them.
As she moped, You wandered aimlessly, eventually arriving at the reef exhibit. She looked up at the giant blue tank full of fish and coral, and watched them lazily swim around. It was really pretty to watch. You was so mesmerized that she didn't notice a familiar idol sidle up next to her.
“Boo!”
You screamed and jumped back, ready to fight. Mari was standing in front of her, giggling. To her right was Dia, looking disappointed but not at all surprised. “Mari, please. That is not funny!” she said, with that icy tone she uses when she's upset. It made her sound a little like a primary school teacher in a class full of rowdy kindergarteners.
“I dunno, I thought it was pretty funny!” Mari replied, laughing some more. “You, your reaction was priceless!”
Sighing, You accepted her fate. Mari was just going to tease her, now that they had crossed paths. Hopefully, Dia might save her. Mari teased everyone in Aqours, but picked on You the most. You didn't know why. Maybe it was just something too complex for her to understand.
“Hey… you and Kanan are kind of like a fish, aren't you? Does that mean both of you will breathe fine while submerged?” Mari asked. You couldn't tell what emotion was in Mari’s voice, but she knew it was a euphemism for… something, she didn't know what, though.
“Um, I'm not a fish,” You replied politely, “I just love swimming and sailing!”
Mari laughed. “I love how you react to me, You.” She turned around to look back at Dia, who was looking a little annoyed.
“Anyway… I wish I had gills like you, I'm drowning in enamorment!” she continued.
“Enam...or… Dia-sama, do you have a dictionary?” You called out.
Dia looked surprised and angry. “What, you think I'd bring a dictionary to an aquarium? I'm not as uptight as everyone says, I really do relax and have fun sometimes, it's not like I'm a workaholic-” she continued like this, but You had already stopped listening.
Mari chuckled and decided to keep talking in cryptic words, saying things like “If I were a shark, I know what I'd eat first!” and “The sun must be jealous of you.”
I don't get it. What's going on? You thought, desperately searching for an answer.
Dia must've noticed You’s confusion, because she sighed, walked up to Mari, and said, “You fool! She doesn't get your jokes! How many times do I have to tell you?”
“It's so cute!” Mari giggled, “She's oblivious!”
You could feel her cheeks burning. She hated being talked about as if she wasn't listening, as if she was just a ghost in the room. Her own parents did this so much, she didn't need her friends talking about her. “Hey!” You shouted, “Maybe I don't know what's going on, I might be just as oblivious as you think, and it's true that I don't know big words like ‘enamorment’. But I am a person too, and I'd like to be treated as your equal!”
Mari looked stunned. Dia still looked very uptight, but she was smiling now, a proud smile. She turned to Mari, and hissed, “Do it.”
“I…” Mari began, looking downward. “I'm really sorry, You. I went too far, didn't I? You're so cute when you're being teased, y’know, but I should've thought more about your feelings. I'm not the only person who matters, thank you and Dia for helping me realize how selfish I was being.”
You felt her heart touched by the sincerity of Mari’s words. “Oh… thank you for apologizing, I'm glad you understand what you did wrong,” she said quietly.
Dia cleared her throat and gave Mari a pointed look. Damn, if expressions could kill…
Mari nodded and grabbed You, pulling her into a tight hug. “I'm so, so sorry,” she whispered.
“It's okay,” You whispered back, closing her eyes. It felt nice to hug someone, just like Riko and Chika always hugged each other. Even if Mari went too far sometimes, You felt safe and happy in her arms.
When they finally broke apart, Dia looked like she was at peace for the first time today. That was good, You didn't like seeing Dia stressed.
The three girls walked out of the coral reef exhibit to look for Riko and Chika. “Hopefully they're staying PG-13,” You joked, which made Mari smile.
“That was a good one.”