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It's busy in this street in Iwatobi and Gou knows why, after all, she probably has the same goal in mind with the other passerby and customers milling the crowded streets. It's been almost 30 minutes of wandering from place to place until Gou stops at a particular shop hosting a lottery for a galore of items, one of which is a three-pack bundle of flavored protein powders.
Aha! Gou thinks, this would be perfect for Nagisa's birthday!
"Ooh! Is that the limited edition Goldy Dilly Dolphin? It's beautiful!"
This voice...
"Yes, it is! That's really hard to find, that one. And look here," the shopkeeper says as he takes the palm-sized golden dolphin to show, "this Goldy Dilly has red ruby eyes!"
The customer to Gou's left side practically screams in delight, "I have to get it for my collection!"
No doubt about it, this voice is from–
"Ah! Gou-san!"
Gou turns to her left, "Ah, Momotarou-kun!"
Momotarou tucks his head between his shoulders, "You still remember my name, Gou-san!"
"So, what are you doing here, Gou-san?"
"Well, it's Nagisa's birthday in three days–"
"Really? Oh! Are you shopping for a gift then?"
"Yes! I really want the protein powders, I hope I can have it!"
With that said, the middle-aged shopkeeper steps in and invites them to draw from the lottery. Gou gulps, the lottery is fairly cheap but she didn't want to waste her money on things she didn't need, right?
The wheel stops spinning and a blue ball drops on to the plate, the shopkeeper cheers, "Congratulations, you have won–"
Gou crosses her fingers and if she could, she'd cross her toes, too. Would that double my luck? She wonders idly.
The shopkeeper turns around to the stuff behind him and finally stops to get the three-pack bundle of flavored protein powders!
"–the Strength Banzai Flavored Protein Powders!"
Gou squeals and gladly claims her prize from the shopkeep, "Wow, congratulations Gou-san! You must be really lucky today!"
"Thank you, Momotarou-kun! It's your turn next!" Gou cheers, protein powders in hand.
Momotaro rubs his palms together, "I hope I'll get lucky! Goldy Dilly Dolphin, here I come!"
Without any control or thought to her actions, Gou places her free hand over Momotarou's joined ones, "I pass you my own luck, Momotarou-kun!"
The two teens meet eyes and pause as if stuck in a trance, and a moment later they both break apart. Gou, looking away and being a sputtering mess with her, "I hope you get the… G-Golden Lily… Dolphin."
And Momotaro, blushing, with his eyes determined, fired up after holding hands with his crush–that was considered holding hands right? I'd have to ask my nii-chan later, Momotaro thinks.
"Are you up next, boy?" The shopkeep asks, inviting him over to the lottery.
Momotaro pays and the wheel starts spinning, the plastic balls inside clicking and clacking together until a yellow ball drops down and the shopkeep cheers.
"Eh?" Gou and Momotarou wonder.
The shopkeep offers them both a grin, "You just won this…" he turns around to get the prize and presents back to the teens with a flair, "Rare Ruby-eyed Goldy Dilly Dolphin!"
This time, Gou and Momotarou finally cheer as Momotarou excitedly accepts his prize. Other people walking by were giving them looks but they didn't care as they bid farewell to the lottery stall, they were both lucky today.
____________________
Today had, unexpectedly, been a really good day. By the time Gou and Momotarou left the lottery stall and the shopping district, it was already 3PM, a good 20 minutes had passed while they were in the shopping district together.
As far as Gou knows, Momotarou isn't so far off in personality with his older brother, if not, Momotarou is a little more quirky. He has different tastes and a lot–a lot, Gou sighs to herself–of interests. But that was part of the reason why the rest of Gou's afternoon with Momotarou was so fun.
While they strolled the shopping district, Momotarou had his eye on every single toy or on every single animal-themed product on sale. He liked the shiny instruments on display even though he doesn't play any instruments in the first place. He looked at the cheap shirts and the shoes and treated Gou to a whole 'street-food food trip' right after.
But it's 6PM now and Gou is in her room, staring down at her conversation with the soon-to-be birthday boy.
Nagisaaa
@hazukinagisacchi
Gouuu💗 nagisaaa
Gouuu💗 answer mee
Gouuu💗 strawberry shortcakee
Nagisaaa you have strawberry shortcake for me??? 😍
Gouuu💗 quick question 😋
Nagisaaa ehh cake firstttt ✋
Gouuu💗 if someone were to give you ummm say
Gouuu💗 flavored protein powders would you like ittttt
Nagisaaa wohhh ofc!!!
Gouuu💗 ohh yayy okay
Nagisaaa oh actually i wouldnt
Gouuu💗 oh
Gouuu💗 why not??
Nagisaaa becs ure the one that bribgs the protein powders!! 😋
Nagisaaa *brings
Gouuu💗 but you could have your own now
Nagisaaa nooo don't want ✋
Gouuu💗 hnggg what would you like then??
Nagisaaa why are u asking me this gou-chan??
Nagisaaa is it for my birthday?? 😜 yahooo
Nagisaaa thennn i want this!
Gouuu💗 EHHHHHH???
Gouuu💗 is that goldy liddy dolphin??
Nagisaaa pft HAHAHA
Gouuu💗 Nagisaaaa
Nagisaaa it's goldy dilly dolphin i believe gou-chan HAHAHA
Nagisaaa but how do you know her?? I didn't know you liked this kind of stuff 👀
Nagisaaa rei-chan showed me this earlier!! he said he saw other people walking around with it 😋
Nagisaaa gou-chan?? don't leave meee 😔😤
Gou is sitting up at her bed at this point and is furiously tapping at her phone screen, she searches for Momotarou's Twitter and his name pops up.
Before she could click the Direct Message button, she sees his recent tweet.
MOMOTAROU (@themikoshiba_otter) tweeted:
TWITTERRRR MY DM'S ARE BROKEEEE PLS FIXXX 😭
Sosuke (@yamazaki_sosuke) replied to @themikoshiba_otter:
Who would you even dm?
Rin (@MatsuokaRin) replied to @yamazaki_sosuke and @themikoshiba_otter:
Who would you even dm? (2)
I guess my luck has ran out, Gou sighs. She steels herself and types away at her phone.
Gouuu💗 (@heyletsgou) tweeted:
@themikoshiba_otter let's have lunch tomorrow, if you're free??
MOMOTAROU (@themikoshiba_otter) replied to @heyletsgou:
WOHHH HELLO GOU-SAN 🤩 Sure let's goo same place?? or maybe hamburgers for tomorrow??
Gouuu💗 (@heyletsgou) replied to @themikoshiba_otter:
ohhh hamburgers definitely!! my treat this time 😋
MOMOTAROU (@themikoshiba_otter) replied to @heyletsgou:
YOSHI GOU-SAN SEE YOU TOMORROW 🙂
Gou nods to herself and shuts her phone off. She finally settles back in her bed, strategizing how exactly she could get Golden Something-ly Dolphin for Nagisa's birthday.
Unbeknownst to her, her Twitter notifications have already been blowing up after her tweet.
Gouuu💗 (@heyletsgou) tweeted:
@themikoshiba_otter let's have lunch tomorrow, if you're free??
Rei (@RyugazakiRei) replied to @heyletsgou:
I've never seen 1k likes on a lunch tweet.
Nagisaaa (@hazukinagisacchi) replied to @RyugazakiRei and @heyletsgou:
*lunch date tweet 😋 and what's this Gou-chan?? big brother R*in might get mad
Mamakoto (@TachibanaMakoto) replied to @hazukinagisacchi, @RyugazakiRei, and @heyletsgou:
I don't think that's the right way to censor, Nagisa 😅
Aii (@NitoriAii) replied to @heyletsgou:
pls don't let r**-senpai see this tweet
Sosuke (@yamazaki_sosuke) replied to @heyletsgou and @NitoriAii:
oi wake up @MatsuokaRin
Aii (@NitoriAii) replied to @yamazaki_sosuke and @heyletsgou:
sENPAi nO
SEIJURO (@themikoshiba_best) replied to @themikoshiba_otter:
LETS GO OTOUTOOO SUPPORT ALL THE WAYYY ❤
____________________
Rin (@MatsuokaRin) tweeted:
how much are plane tickets to japan
____________________
It's a peaceful Sunday and just like yesterday, it wasn't very warm or cold in Iwatobi. Gou had already sat down in the fast-food place right in the middle of Iwatobi High School and Samezuka Academy. The table she chose is by the window, tucked into the corner.
Gou supposes she's being too serious at this potential 'transaction' but then again, Gou remembered the literal sparkle in Momotarou's eyes when he won the dolphin toy–Goldy Dilly Dolphin, Gou researched earlier, hoping to impress Momotarou–she could hardly think of the redheaded teen easily handing over a rare item to her.
So when Momotarou has sat down across from her and started stuffing fries in his mouth, Gou breathes away her nervousness.
"So, uh, Momotarou-kun, thank you for coming today even though it's a Sunday."
"Oh! It's fine," Momotarou swallows his food, "I actually don't have anything to do today, Gou-san."
Okay, so far, so good.
"Ah, um, s-so, Momotarou-kun…"
"Hm?" The teen hums, mouth poised before his burger as he waits for Gou to finish talking.
"Uh, how's Goldy Dilly Dolphin?"
Momotarou places his burger down and with a grin, he says, "She's doing great! She looks amazing beside Freddy Finny Fishy!"
"Well, I wanted to ask for a favor, that's why I asked you out to lunch."
"Hm? Sure, Gou-san, what is it?"
Gou swiftly presses her palms together and bows her head, "I'd like to trade Goldy Dilly Dolphin, please!"
"Eh?"
Gou looks up from her position at Momotarou's O face, his eyebrows are raised and his golden eyes are wide and confused. He looks a bit… cute?
I must not get distracted! Gou tells herself.
Momotarou recovers and crosses his arms, he hums as if thinking, "Hmm."
Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.
"Uhh, why do you want it, Gou-san? Are you planning to start collecting as well?"
"N-No, I actually want it for Nagisa's birthday."
Momotarou does another one of his O faces again, "Ohh, I thought you'd get him the protein powders from yesterday?"
Gou sighs, "I planned to. But then, for some reason, when I asked him about it he said he wanted Goldy Dilly instead."
But Matsuoka Gou is not one to give up, she rummages through her bag on her side and takes out one of her Male Muscle Catalogs, a special Christmas Edition she had gotten from her mother, "Would you trade with me, Momotarou-kun?"
"Uhh, well, I-I'll think about it, Gou-san!"
Gou nods slowly, hoping and praying for some miracle that Momotarou would actually give her his prized Goldy Dilly Dolphin.
"Ah! Look, Gou-san! His shirt!" Momotarou suddenly jumps from his seat to point outside of the window, there's someone across the street who is wearing a black and neon pink capybara shirt, "That's so cool!"
And as if some (thin) ice had been broken, Gou and Momotarou continued on their afternoon together.
____________________
MOMOTAROU (@themikoshiba_otter) tweeted:
you've made it hard gou-chan 😔
Rin (@MatsuokaRin) replied to @themikoshiba_otter:
made what hard?? gou-chan??? senpai pls @themikoshiba_best
SEIJURO (@themikoshiba_best) replied to @MatsuokaRin and @themikoshiba_otter:
oho what's this?? i don't know anything about this matsuoka
Gouuu💗 (@heyletsgou) replied to @themikoshiba_otter:
i'll be good to it Momo-kun!! 😭
Sosuke (@yamazaki_sosuke) replied to @heyletsgou and @themikoshiba_otter:
provide context please??
Aii (@NitoriAii) replied to @yamazaki_sosuke, @heyletsgou, and @themikoshiba_otter:
provide context please?? (2) 😭
____________________
Rin (@MatsuokaRin) tweeted:
honestly what's going on
Rin (@MatsuokaRin) tweeted:
i'm going back to japan??
____________________
Just before Gou could explain to his brother–who definitely had worrying tweets for the past days–she receives a notification stealing all of her attention.
MOMOTAROU (@themikoshiba_otter) tweeted:
@heyletsgou food trip again?? my treat!! 😋
Rin (@MatsuokaRin) replied to @themikoshiba_otter:
no
Gouuu💗 (@heyletsgou) replied to @MatsuokaRin and @themikoshiba_otter:
sure momo-kun!! and nii-san check your dm'sss
Gou calms herself down, she's never been this stressed for a birthday present! But right now, she had another matter to settle. She had to talk to her brother, hopefully, Rin didn't misunderstand anything.
Rin
@MatsuokaRin
Rin gou
Gouuu💗 nii-san!!
Gouuu💗 how's australia??
Rin it's great, as usual
Rin how's momotarou
Rin you've been really close lately
Rin are you...
Rin seeing each other??
Gouuu💗 wait wait waitttt
Gouuu💗 what's this about us seeing each other 😭
Rin well...
Rin you've been, uh, going to lunch together
Rin so...
Rin i won't stop you if you really like him gou!
Rin i just... want you to be happy
Gouuu💗 aww nii-san i might cry!!
Gouuu💗 but it's not like that!!
Gouuu💗 you see... it's nagisa's birthday soon
Gouuu💗 i got him flavored protein powders becs he likes it
Rin but then he actually wanted something else??
Gouuu💗 yeah :(( and it's a golden dolphin toy
Gouuu💗 and momo has one, and i am now asking for it
Gouuu💗 but i don't know if he'd even give me it nii-san 😭
Rin huh.... i misunderstood then
Rin i thought you were
Rin ahem
Rin i'm sure momo would understand
Rin but even i don't get him sometimes
Gouuu💗 sighhh we're meeting again tomorrow so my fingers are crossed!!
Gouuu💗 oh!! it must be late there already nii-san
Gouuu💗 you should go to sleep!! good night nii-san ❤
Rin good night gou
____________________
"Gou-san! Over here!" Momotarou calls her.
Gou resists the urge to gulp, but she does anyway as she makes her way closer to where Momotarou was standing.
Their eyes meet and a moment later Momotarou gives her a grin, "Here."
Goldy Dilly Dolphin!
"Eh? Th-Thank you so much, Momotarou!"
"Of course, Gou-san! I really was going to give it to you, especially since my siblings really scolded me about it!"
Gou was ecstatic, on her hands was the toy dolphin, still looking very pristine with a shiny keychain attached to its fin, Gou looks up again at Momotarou, "Oh! I forgot to bring the protein powders, Momo-kun!"
"No, it's fine, Gou-san! But why don't we have that food trip, huh?"
Gou nods and Momotarou marches on with a, "Let's gooo!"
Before Momotarou could get far, Gou wraps her arms around the other teen's torso, "Thank you so much, Momo-kun."
Later that afternoon, they are overlooking the sea with the bustle of street food stalls and families milling behind them. Momotarou is blowing gently at his still warm takoyaki and Gou is sipping on her bottle of water with the biggest smile on her face. Inside her bag is Goly Dilly Dolphin.
____________________
"Happy birthday again, Nagisa!"
"Thank you, Gou-chan! But waaah, I can't believe I got two Goldy Dilly Dolphins! Thank you, Rei-chan, Gou-chan!"
Rei and Gou exchange smiles, "Of course, Nagisa!"
"Let's take a picture!" Amakata-sensei suggests as she sets up her camera's timer.
Nagisa's in the middle with his two dolphin toys in hand, Gou and Rei are on either side of him while the new members, Shizuru, Romi, and Ayumu as well as Coach Sasabe and Amakata-sensei are posed in front of the camera. The Iwatobi pool is once again decorated in the variety of animals that they used for Rin's surprise party. There are colored streamers along with the tables where they had food, well, food being desserts and sweets for Nagisa's sweet tooth.
____________________
Nagisaaa (@hazukinagisacchi) tweeted:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEE 😋💗👐
[birthday.jpg]
Mamakoto (@TachibanaMakoto) replied to @hazukinagisacchi:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NAGISA!!! ME AND HARU CELEBRATED TOO <3
[birthday2.jpg]
Haruka (@sabasabananase) replied to @TachibanaMakoto and @hazukinagisacchi:
Happy birthday.
Rei (@RyugazakiRei) replied to @hazukinagisacchi:
Happy birthday again, Nagisa-kun ❤
MOMOTAROU (@themikoshiba_otter) replied to @hazukinagisacchi:
ohh?? TWO goldy dilly dolphins?? CONGRATS NAGISACCHI HAPPY BIRTHDAYYY
Rin (@MatsuokaRin) replied to @hazukinagisacchi:
Happy birthday, Nagisa! If I'll find another dolphin like that, I'll gift it to you.
____________________
Rin (@MatsuokaRin) tweeted:
how are you @heyletsgou @themikoshiba_otter?
MOMOTAROU (@themikoshiba_otter) replied to @MatsuokaRin:
I'm fine senpai!!! i think its @heyletsgou we should be asking HAHAHA
Gouuu💗 (@heyletsgou) replied to @themikoshiba_otter and @MatsuokaRin:
can you both not 😭