Chapter Text
Josuke Higashikata was your normal average 18 year old living in a quiet little town. To any outsider, he was just a friendly delinquent. Only a couple of people knew that at age 16, he had defeated a serial killer. He didn’t like to be reminded of it though, he just wanted to finish his last year of school in peace.
Though it was only a summer, he knew he had enough serial killer chasing for a lifetime. He just wanted to live out the rest of his peaceful school days with his friends. April had just begun and so did his final year in high school. Josuke sighs as he leans back on his chair. It was lunchtime and of course, Josuke forgot his lunch. Thank god Okuyasu and Koichi always shared with him.
“Hey, we should do something over the weekend. To celebrate our senior year” Josuke suggests, shoving some rice into his mouth. Okuyasu’s eyes shine in curiosity. Koichi nods along before frowning while sipping his drink.
“That sounds very fun Josuke but I promised Rohan-Sensei I would help him with finding inspiration this weekend.”
“Just bring him with us” Okuyasu states, much to the surprise of his friends.
“Rohan hates us!”
“Rohan hates you, Josuke. He told me once that he doesn’t care enough to hate me” Okuyasu boasts.
“Now that you mention it, Rohan-Sensei told me while he hates Josuke, it’s less than before. I think that deep down, he has some respect for you. He'll agree to come, I just know it” Koichi says with so much optimism that his two friends couldn't help being hopeful too. Josuke stands up from his seat with a heated look in his way.
“Then it’s settled! We’ll hang out and I’ll finally get Rohan to like me!”
“You’re not going to try to use him, are you? He despises people who will use him for money or his terrifying stand the most.”
“Oh come on, I’m better than that!” Josuke pouts, ignoring the fact that he tried ripping off Rohan 2 years ago. He never tried anything again but the burned down house still lingers in his mind.
“Doesn’t matter! Where should we go? It should be somewhere fun!” Okuyasu exclaims. The three friends started talking nonsense and one thing led to another. He wasn’t even sure how the conversation started. All he knew was that Koichi frowned and said the most miserable sentence ever.
“You know...Rohan-Sensei mentioned that he has never gone to an amusement park.”
“What?!”
“Said he was always too busy. Even back in his middle school days and the moment he hit 17, he only had time to work on his manga.”
“That’s...so sad,” Josuke admits.
“You guys! We HAVE to take Rohan-Sensei to the amusement park!” Okuyasu cries into Josuke’s shoulder, howling over how upset he was for Rohan.
“I think going to an amusement park is a great idea. We just convince Rohan.”
“Leave that to me!” Koichi’s eyes shine in excitement.
“We’ll give him a great day!”
~♡~
“You didn’t tell me you would be bringing the idiot” Rohan glares as he makes eye contact with Josuke and Okuyasu. It's not that he hated them, he just thought that Koichi brought him here for research purposes. These two probably wouldn’t let him research in peace.
“Shut up, don’t insult Okuyasu.”
“I was talking about you Josuke.”
“Hey Rohan-Sensei!” Okuyasu grins, ignoring the small insult at his best friend.
“Hello Nijimura. It’s been a while, I suppose.”
“It has! I hope you’re excited! I’m taking you on all the rides!” Okuyasu cackles, reaching for Rohan’s arm and dragging him to the entrance. It was kind of funny to see Rohan get pulled around.
“Well, we should make sure Rohan-Sensei doesn’t punch Okuyasu or something” Koichi sheepishly says. Josuke smiles at the thought of Rohan trying to throw hands with his noodle arms.
“I think I’d pay Rohan if he did that.”
“Be nice Josuke!”
“It’s Rohan! Nice doesn’t exist within him” Josuke sneakily says before going to follow his friend.
“This is going to be a long day...”
~♡~
Once everyone paid for their respective tickets, they walked into the bright and loud park. Completely taken over by annoying families and loud friends. Rohan felt out of place with his awkward nature. For some reason, Okuyasu refused to let go of his arm. Hanging onto him like a mother who was worried she would lose her child.
Eventually, Rohan gave up and tried to match his steps with the excited boy. Josuke laughed at how silly they looked while Koichi simply looked amused.
“Let’s go on the biggest and best ride here first!”
“Don’t you save the best for last? That’s how it goes in Manga” Rohan frowns.
“Well this isn’t manga! We’re here at the park early! Obviously we go to the best ride first before there’s a 3 hour line! Besides, life is more fun if you don't follow the rules of manga!”
“I guess you have a point. Koichi, will you ride with me?” Rohan asks the small man. Koichi eagerly nods before looking at the height requirement sign.
“Koichi is too short man” Josuke snickers. The small teen glares at his friend before sighing in defeat.
“Sorry Rohan-Sensei.”
“It’s alright! I can wait with you-“
“Nope, you’re coming along Sensei!” Okuyasu interrupts, taking Rohan to the short line. Josuke shakes his head as he turns to his disappointed friend.
“You want me to wait with you?”
“No, go without me. I’ll be here.”
“If you say so” Josuke shrugs. He follows after his best friend and Rohan. The two seemed to be in a hushed conversation. Josuke didn’t care enough and approached them without a care in the world. Rohan glares but says nothing as Okuyasu continues to ramble about the ride.
Eventually, the line moves up and so do the trio. Josuke and Okuyasu excitedly talked as Rohan dully looked at his surroundings, upset that Koichi couldn’t come along. Eventually, they reach the front and patiently wait to get in.
“Hey, there’s only 2 seats. That means someone will have to go alone” Josuke states. Okuyasu whines and turns around to see a pretty group of girls behind him. An odd number of girls, to be precise.
“You two go together! I’m going to take my shot with one of the girls behind us.”
“That cool with you Sensei?” Josuke asks. Rohan huffs out and looks over to see they were next to get on.
“I guess I have no choice. Let’s go Higashikata.”
“Alright” Josuke frowns before following Rohan into the ride. They climb into the ride and put their seat belt on as they both feel a spike of anxiety. While Josuke snugly sat in his chair, Rohan held onto the seatbelt a little too tight.
“...you scared?” Josuke tilts his head.
“As if! This is just a ride! It’s just that the seat belt doesn’t seem tight enough.”
“Well, you are pretty skinny. Don’t worry, if you fall then I’ll catch you.”
“I’d rather you let me fall then” Rohan frowns as they hear a soft ‘click’. The seat belts were safely locked as the worker spoke into the speaker. Slowly, the ride starts up and they start to move. Rohan tense and grips his self belt for life. Josuke teasingly looks at him.
“...you’ve never been on a rollercoaster, have you? At least, not one like this.”
“What does that mean?”
“Just sit back and enjoy” Josuke grins as the ride slowly starts to make its way up. Rohan’s voice hitches as Josuke feels his heart start to pump in excitement. The ride up was aggravatingly slow at first but when they reached the top, it lingered for a bit. Rohan admired the scenery as Josuke turned to look at him.
For a split moment, he saw Rohan with his guard down. A face that said ‘I’m glad to be here’. Josuke smiles at him as the cart tips over the edge. The small quiet moment was interrupted by the ride plummeting to the ground. Rohan screams and holds on for dear life as Josuke laughs in excitement. With every twist and turn, the two screamed in unison.
“HIGASHIKATAAAAAAAAAA!”
“ISN’T THIS FUN!” Josuke screams as the ride takes a sharp turn. Rohan monetarily bumps his hand against Josuke’s hand before holding onto the seat belt again. Without thinking, Josuke reaches for Rohan’s hand and lifts it into the air, neatly wrapped around him.
“LET LOOSE!” Josuke exclaims as he looks ahead to see the loops start to approach. Rohan looks ahead too and tightens his hand, as they zoom quickly. His other hand let’s go of the seat belt as holds onto his headband. The ride makes a loop as Josuke laughs. Rohan feels his mouth twitch as he sees another loop approaching. Before he knew it, he was laughing alongside Josuke.
Josuke looked at him in awe before screaming as they approached the second loop. The two laugh with each other the rest of the ride. When they reached the end, they’re hands were still wrapped around each other and their hair was tousled by the harsh wind.
Rohan looks over at Josuke and snorts. Josuke looks over too and giggles.
“Your hair got messy” they both say. This time however, no insults were thrown. Rohan let’s go of their hands as the seatbelt gets taken off. He climbs out the ride and heads for the exit, as Josuke follows close behind.
“Koichi!” Rohan brightly smiles at his friend. The small man waves from the bench he was sitting at.
“How was it!”
“It was a lot of fun! I wish you could have come! I especially loved the loops!” Rohan rambled like an excited child.
“Well hopefully I can go on other rides with you. Ones that don’t go upside down.”
“Yes! We just have to wait for Nijimura and you and I can go together!”
“Hey, there he goes!” Josuke points at Okuyasu and a girl going on the ride. Both screamed in excitement as the ride jolts over and sends them tumbling down.
“It really does look fun. Maybe I can go in the future. I just need a growth sport” Koichi whispers as he watches Okuyasu holler in excitement.
When Okuyasu got off, he had a small piece of paper in his hand.
“Guys! A cute girl gave me her number!”
“Congrats man!” Josuke smiles as he gives Okuyasu a side hug.
“You sly dog!”
“Oh Josuke, she was so cute!”
“I bet she was! I hope you the best in the future!”
“I hope so but enough of that! Let’s go on the rest of the rides!” Okuyasu grins from ear to ear.
~♡~
The rest of the evening was filled with laughter. On the rides that Koichi could ride, were the funniest. Rohan especially loved the bumper car ride, as he was able to crash into Josuke as much as he could. Okuyasu loved the tea cups, making everyone ditzy when they got off. Koichi had fun taking pictures with the mascots and Josuke was just happy about the whole trip.
Seeing Rohan so happy and carefree made him happy. He was so uptight and impossible to get along but today, he just acted like a kid. Even going as far as smiling. Not just to Kochi but to everyone.
Josuke would forever remember the moment that Rohan smiled at him when he suggested they play the games. Even so much as cheering when he beat Josuke and won a cute purple dog plushie.
“I told you! You can’t defeat the Great Rohan Kishibe!”
“Oh yeah? 2 out of 3!”
“You are so on!”
Josuke ended up winning and in the third round, Okuyasu beat them both. They got a green cat and a pink fish as prizes. Still, everyone laughed and went to the food court. They gorged on lots of junk food. Popcorn, chicken tenders, cotton candy, pizza, and lots more. Safe to say, they all felt kind of sick. Okuyasu groaned as he slammed his head onto the slightly dirty table.
“Maybe...maybe we shouldn’t eat like our life depends on it next time.”
“For once, I completely agree with you” Rohan frowns as he rubs his temple. Koichi placed his head on Rohan’s arm. The young man doesn’t move and lets his friend rest. Josuke felt just as sick but decided to look at his surroundings instead of focusing on how awful he felt.
“The sun’s about to set. What should we do?”
“How about we go on one last ride. A peaceful one this time” Koichi mutters.
“Oh, we can go on the boat one! I heard it takes you around and you look at flowers! I’ve never gone on it because it sounds boring but I’ll give it a shot!” Okuyasu says already perked up.
“Then it’s settle. Let’s head over there now.”
~♡~
The line was shorter than everyone expected. It didn’t take long to get onto the cute boat that was filled with decoration from top to bottom. Everyone sat down as the ride started to move. The boat silently moved as everyone looked in awe at their surroundings.
“Woah! Look at those flowers!” Okuyasu points at some tulips. Josuke and Koichi chuckle as they start to point out every flower decoration they could. Rohan looked over on the other side, ignoring the loud boys. He didn’t understand but he felt strangely happy.
“Hey Rohan!”
“What is it Higashikata?” Rohan tried to sound annoyed. It didn’t come out like that, he simply sounded confused. Josuke grins from ear to ear as Crazy Diamond went over to his side and handed him something. A small pink tulip in Crazy Diamond’s large hands. Rohan takes the innocent flower into his own hand as Crazy Diamond disappears.
“What’s this?”
“The flower that Okuyasu was looking at! Figured I’d give you one for memory purposes! The ride has lots of flowers! I'm sure they won’t miss one.”
“Hmm...do you know what these flowers stand for.”
“I don’t! Tell us Sensei!” Okuyasu bounces like a little kid, rocking the boat along with him.
“Depending on the color, tulips can mean many things. Pink tulips however, are meant for telling a person that you hope they get good wishes and that you care for them. You usually give these types of flowers to friends” Rohan states, making eye contact with Josuke.
“Oh...that’s great then! We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“...” Rohan says nothing as he looks over to Koichi. The small man nods and gives him a thumbs up. Rohan looks back at Josuke and Okuyasu with an annoyed look.
“I suppose we can-“
“HE’S GOING TO ADMIT WE’RE FRIENDS!” Okuyasu dramatically cries out of joy.
“Hey! Why are you crying!”
“I’M JUST SO HAPPY! COME HERE SENSEI! LET ME HUG YOU!”
“Eww no, get away from me!”
“DON’T BE SHY!”
“LEAVE ME ALONE!”
Okuyasu eventually hugged a struggling Rohan, much to the amusement of Koichi and Josuke. The Mangaka stops fighting and frowns at the floor as Okuyasu continues to ramble on about their new friendship. Koichi smiles and leans over to whisper in Josuke’s ear.
“Hey, thanks for suggesting the theme park. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Rohan so happy.”
“It’s no problem. I’m just happy that he’s happy” Josuke whispers back, unable to take his eyes away from Rohan’s slightly pink cheeks.
~♡~
All good things come to an end. They ended the day with the gift store. Everyone decided to buy matching keychains. They were all lovely and Koichi forced them all to go to the photo booth. Once they got in there, they all talked amongst themselves as Koichi got everything ready.
“Alright! It’s starting! Everyone pose!”
The first pose was a normal one. Just 4 friends smiling. The second one was more silly, with Okuyasu making a bunny sign on Rohan’s head as Josuke and Koichi laughed at them. The third had Rohan gasping as he was in Josuke’s arm while Koichi and Okuyasu looked at them in surprise. Turns out Rohan tripped over some spilled soda that never got cleaned up and Josuke was kind enough to catch him. Finally, the fourth one was everyone just laughing with tears in their eyes.
When they stepped out, Koichi took the pictures and ripped them apart so that everyone got a picture. Together, they all hopped on the last train heading to Morioh, simply exhausted. Okuyasu and Koichi slept on each other. Josuke kept dazing in and out as Rohan forced himself to keep track of the stops. He really wanted to go home and pass out so he could draw tomorrow all day of his new experiences.
Josuke yawned as he woke up once again, seeing Rohan silently drawing on his sketchpad. He huddled his cat plushie closer to him as he sleepily smiled at Rohan.
“...Hey.”
“Oh, you’re awake” Rohan frowns.
“Yeah, I’m just making sure we don’t miss the stop to Morioh. I didn’t think we’d be back so late.”
“I’m keeping an eye out, don’t worry.”
“You aren’t tired?”
“This is basically a normal Tuesday for me,” Rohan shrugs.
“You should sleep more.”
“You should sleep now.”
“I thought you were warming up to me” Josuke whispers, already feeling his eyes start to drop. He doesn’t miss the smile on the Mangaka.
“Who knows? Maybe I’m not or maybe I am. I doubt you’ll remember this talk.”
“I guess that’s true” Josuke smiles as he leans down and nuzzles himself on Rohan’s shoulder. Ignoring his friend’s sound of surprise, Josuke completely blacked out. When they arrived at the stop for Morioh, Rohan rudely woke all of them off and pushed them off the train. He wished all of them a good night before running off to his house. The trio of friends shrugged it off due to exhaustion and headed off to their own respective houses.
When Rohan arrived home, he fondly looked at his new keychain with himself and everyone laughing without a care in the world. Taking his new stuffed dog out of his bag, Rohan cuddled it the rest of the night.