A newly built water park was still in its final inspection phase before opening, so it wasn't open to the public yet. The massive park sat in near silence, with only a handful of staff members stationed here and there at their posts.
Karuizawa was loving the almost-private-park feeling. Even the way she walked across the artificial beach was all bouncy and buoyant, making Yukio stare without blinking.
What was he staring at?
The bouncing headlights on that luxury supercar, obviously.
Karuizawa's outfit today was especially pure and pretty. Under the sun, her sky-blue two-piece swimsuit, matched to the color of her eyes, made her skin seem to glow with a fine, silky sheen.
Her golden hair swayed in the wind like rippling stalks of wheat under a summer breeze, reflecting a warm, burnished light.
Really, a swimsuit like this wasn't that daring by most standards. If you were talking conservative, it obviously couldn't beat a one-piece with more coverage. If you were talking bold, it definitely couldn't compare to a bikini.
But for Karuizawa, this was already the boldest swimsuit she'd ever dared to wear.
Before, she'd never have had the courage to wear a two-piece somewhere like a water park, because the long scar on the left side of her abdomen had always been something she was deeply self-conscious about.
Thankfully, the scar-removal medicine Yukio had given her had worked wonders. After using it for years, the scar had really vanished, and that was what finally made Karuizawa want to come to a water park.
Girls loving beauty was just human nature. Over the years, there had been no shortage of cute swimsuits Karuizawa had wanted to try, but she'd never had the chance. She'd always been stuck wearing the most basic, dead-boring one-piece school swimsuit just to hide the scar.
Even going into places like the girls' locker room had always been a hassle. She had to make excuses so she could go in first or last, and even changing afterward was a pain.
That was why Karuizawa had never really liked places like this.
But now the scar was finally gone. Her stomach was smooth and pale, and even Yukio had said it looked amazing. He'd even started saying that when they got home, he wanted her to watch some instructional videos and learn belly dancing so she could do a private performance for him.
That was why Karuizawa had eagerly invited Yukio to come to the water park with her. And Yukio had the right connections, so he'd managed to arrange for them to come while the park still hadn't officially opened, meaning they could enjoy a whole day without lines.
The most attractive part of a water park was naturally the wave pool.
The pool was huge—so big it was hard to estimate its size by eye, but it could definitely cram in over a thousand people.
At the far end was a complicated machine that could generate huge, surging waves.
If there weren't many people around, you could probably even grab a surfboard and practice surfing in there. But if it was crowded, then to avoid crashing into anyone, all you could really do was enjoy the sensation of being carried off by the waves.
The waves really were huge. Even though the water was shallow, only reaching Yukio's waist and letting him keep both feet firmly on the ground, once a wave hit, he still got shoved a fair distance.
You could vividly feel yourself being caught in the swell, spun around and pushed along by the water. It was a pretty amazing sensation.
Once he climbed back up, Yukio wiped his face and couldn't help thinking about how far humanity had come.
Back in ancient times, great waves would frighten people into dropping to their knees, even offering fruit or pig heads in prayer for calm seas, terrified of getting caught in rough waters whenever they went out.
But now?
People could actually control waves themselves, deliberately creating higher and stronger ones, then turning them into a fun attraction.
What the ancients feared, people now played in. Times really had changed.
Karuizawa also surfaced from the last wave, her face lit up with a smile.
"Haha! This is so fun! Yukio-kun, these waves are huge!"
Yukio couldn't help glancing at her chest and thinking that hers wasn't exactly small either, but before he could say it, he saw Karuizawa already making her way toward him, pushing water aside with both hands. She looked adorable.
He couldn't help smiling.
The pool was shallow enough that you could just walk, so it wasn't really swimming. The way she was paddling at the water in front of her probably didn't help at all, but psychologically, people always felt like it made moving easier.
But the wave machine wasn't about to give them much time to rest. The next big swell was already building.
By then, Karuizawa had already worked her way in front of Yukio. Like a clingy little koala—like a golden-haired baby monkey—she jumped right onto him.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, her legs came up and hooked around his waist, and she kissed him fiercely.
The entire sequence had taken less than two seconds.
Then the wave crashed over them.
Both of them shut their eyes as they were tumbled and rolled in the water, but neither the kiss nor the embrace broke. It was like no matter what happened, they wouldn't let go of each other.
When that wave finally passed and the water settled again, Yukio pulled his head back slightly and saw Karuizawa's flushed face and shining eyes.
Unable to resist, he leaned in and stole another quick kiss before pulling back again.
"What made you want to do a hugging-through-the-waves thing?"
"Hehe." Karuizawa was a little embarrassed when she brought it up, but after so many years together, she wasn't the kind of girl who'd get so shy she couldn't speak anymore. "It was because of that movie we watched yesterday."
"It was some kind of end-of-the-world movie. I think they explained what caused it, but I don't remember anymore. Anyway, there was this giant tsunami and everybody was running and screaming and all that."
"And then there was this old couple in the movie—this grandpa and grandma. They couldn't run because their legs were bad, so when the huge wave came, they didn't even try. They just smiled at each other, hugged, kissed, and got swallowed up by the wave together. It felt so romantic~ So I wanted to try it too!"
Yukio laughed, freeing one hand and lightly flicking her nose. Karuizawa gave a couple of offended little hums, then the two of them left the wave pool.
Next they went around trying all sorts of water slides.
One of them required two people to carry a float all the way up to the top, then sit front and back inside it and rush down with the fast-moving water.
There was an even more intense one that didn't need a float at all.
Three slides sat side by side: one about three stories high, one five stories high, and one around twenty-plus meters tall—roughly eight stories.
You had to slowly climb the stairs to the top, then step into something that looked like a giant standing pod. Once the staff got you into position, they hit the switch and you dropped straight down into the slide.
Karuizawa had a blast.
She even dragged Yukio up the stairs twice so they could do it all over again. Her shrieks echoed over the whole slide area while she screamed her lungs out on the way down.
Eventually, once they'd played themselves out a little, Yukio took Karuizawa over to the lazy river.
For that one, the staff gave you a larger float.
You could sit in it, or drape yourself over it and soak your lower half in the water. Then you'd just drift slowly along the artificial stream through the park.
There was nothing thrilling about it at all. It was purely for relaxing, and you could take your time enjoying the scenery on both sides.
The landscaping had all been carefully planted, and halfway through, the river even drifted into an artificial cave.
Colored lights had been installed underwater there, lighting up the cave in a gorgeous, dreamlike glow. Add in some fake stalactites and wall murals, and the place absolutely sold that leisurely, vacation atmosphere.
Still, Karuizawa looked a little shy.
"Why do we only get one big float? Wouldn't it be better if we got two and sat separately?"
"Hm?" Yukio looked puzzled. "We've been an old married couple for ages. Sharing one float shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"No, that's not what I mean." Even after all these years together, Karuizawa still couldn't totally handle saying some things outright. "Couldn't you at least... calm it down a little? Press it down or something? It's poking me."
Looking ahead at the fake cave they were about to drift into, Yukio curled his lips into a smug smile.
"That's not really up to you anymore, is it?"
...
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.