Chapter 376: Don't Become a Jellyfish Drifting with the Current
The ticket price was 2300 yen — not expensive.
Sakurai Saki led Kaguya in through the main entrance.
"Do they have sharks here?" Shinomiya Kaguya asked as she looked at the information printed on the ticket.
"They do. You can see sharks in the undersea tunnel, but only the small kinds — like cat sharks or lemon sharks. The big ones, like great whites, are almost impossible to keep."
Sharks don't have muscles for breathing, so if they stop swimming, they die.
In other words, if the tank isn't large enough, the shark will suffocate.
(Note: I was confused, so I searched Google: "great white sharks must constantly swim to allow water to flow through their gills, providing oxygen," something like that.)
Considering both the cost and available space, choosing to keep small sharks was clearly the most reasonable — besides, who says small sharks aren't still sharks?
Unfortunately, this aquarium didn't have any orcas, and even if it did, Sakurai Saki would probably find it a bit cruel.
After all, orcas are highly intelligent, and being trapped like sheep in an aquarium just to perform... really isn't right.
"We can go check it out later."
Judging by Kaguya's expression, she didn't seem all that interested in small sharks, huh?
To be honest, Sakurai Saki wasn't interested in sharks either — or rather, he had absolutely no concern for that species at all.
Too weak.
Great white sharks? Hmph, just orca food.
Sakurai Saki was a firm supporter of the orca faction.
"Sakurai-san, you sure know a lot about this stuff."
As they chatted, the two walked past the entrance area and deeper inside.
All around them was a pale blue glow, the reflections making the space feel as though it was submerged in the deep sea.
"I just looked up a few things beforehand. Doing some research before a date is normal. I've even heard of people scouting the place in advance so they won't look awkward on the actual date."
"Did you scout beforehand?" Shinomiya Kaguya asked curiously.
"No. I'm not afraid of losing face. There's nothing shameful about not knowing something — pretending to know when you don't, that's what's shameful. Honesty is one of my strengths."
In truth, this was also his first time coming here.
"Honesty... I can't really refute that." Shinomiya Kaguya recalled all the moments she'd spent with him — indeed, this man truly disliked lying.
Or rather, he disdained the very act of lying — completely different from other men.
"To hide one's own desires..." Sakurai Saki stopped halfway through his sentence — he remembered he was on a date with Kaguya, not discussing philosophy or ideals.
He took her hand. "Come on. Let's grab some drinks at the 'Coral Café' first, then continue our walk."
There was still plenty of time before the dolphin show — enough to explore the entire first floor.
After buying their drinks,
The two entered the "Jellyfish Zone" — rows of transparent cylindrical tanks glowed with a dreamlike blue light, inside which jellyfish floated gently like dandelions drifting underwater.
There were a lot of visitors — this was the most popular area of the aquarium.
Shinomiya Kaguya took out her phone and kept taking pictures.
She was like a little girl on a spring field trip, finding everything fascinating, wanting to look closer at everything she saw.
Sakurai Saki approached one of the tanks and placed his hand against the glass.
Very soon, the jellyfish began moving toward his palm. Creatures as unintelligent as jellyfish couldn't resist the influence of his ability — they blindly followed his hand, circling around it.
The scene immediately caught Shinomiya Kaguya's attention.
How did he do that?
"Looks like the jellyfish really like me," Sakurai Saki said, turning toward her.
"...That's amazing."
Shinomiya Kaguya didn't know what else to say.
Sakurai Saki took her hand and placed it on the glass.
"Try it?"
Shinomiya Kaguya moved her hand, and before long, the jellyfish began swimming toward her fingers.
"Lately, you seem to have something on your mind. If you ever face difficulties, don't be like these jellyfish — just drifting aimlessly with the current, okay?"
Sakurai Saki spoke softly.
Then, he released the hand he had been holding.
"..." Shinomiya Kaguya stopped her movements.
After a while, she spoke: "My father's health has some problems."
She had only learned about this a few days ago.
"There were signs of it last autumn; he had to be hospitalized once back then. This time, it seems more serious."
Shinomiya Kaguya's voice was calm. Her hand glided over the surface of the water tank, but without Sakurai Saki's influence, the jellyfish no longer swam along with her movements.
"How sudden."
A word suddenly surfaced in Sakurai Saki's mind — decapitation.
If the Shinomiya family lost its head, it would be nothing more than a pile of scattered sand. Within the family were all kinds of factions; even without external interference, they would end up tearing each other apart.
It must be the Shijo family making a move.
He wondered what his mother was doing. She had once granted Shinomiya Gan'an longevity; such a thing shouldn't have happened.
Could this be a lure for the enemy?
Forget it, thinking too much is useless. Let the Shinomiya family handle their own mess.
"But don't take the initiative to get involved. As long as you stay in Tokyo, no one can lay a hand on you."
Sakurai Saki reassured her.
"...Mn~."
In truth, Shinomiya Kaguya never thought she could escape this matter. As a member of the Shinomiya family, unless she left home completely, she could not stay uninvolved during a life-or-death struggle like this.
She had enjoyed the privileges of being a Shinomiya; therefore, she also had to bear the corresponding responsibilities.
Last time, when her brother summoned her home, he had told her to seduce Sakurai Saki — Kaguya still remembered that clearly.
Today it was Sakurai Saki; could it be someone else tomorrow?
After all, for a girl like her, what did she have besides her looks? Knowledge? No matter how smart she was, she was still just a high school student. Ability? That went without saying.
"As long as you're in trouble, I'll be there by your side. That, I can guarantee."
Sakurai Saki patted her head.
Shinomiya Kaguya snapped out of it, brushed his hand away, and said irritably: "You can't teleport, so how could you always be by my side?"
"My strengths aren't many, but acting fast is one of them."
Sakurai Saki replied cheerfully.
Shinomiya Kaguya didn't argue.
That fireworks festival during the summer break — from the moment Sakurai Saki learned she couldn't attend, to the moment he took her to Kyoto to watch fireworks, all of it had happened in less than a day.
That alone showed how strong his ability to act was.
"I hope your prince keeps his promise."
"Let's wait and see, my Princess."
Seeing his serious expression, Shinomiya Kaguya couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
He sounded so sincere.
But still, if only he really had superpowers, how wonderful that would be.
Take me away from this cage called the Shinomiya family, my prince~
(Note: Sweet ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧)
...
They finished watching the jellyfish.
The announcement speakers in the aquarium sounded, announcing that a dolphin show would begin soon.
Although Sakurai Saki wasn't particularly interested in animal performances, Shinomiya Kaguya seemed quite intrigued, so the two decided to go watch.
But the moment they arrived at the dolphin show entrance, Sakurai Saki froze.
"Shirogane? Why are you here?"
"Sakurai? That's my line!" — Today, Shirogane Miyuki was working part-time here.
The question was: as a dolphin fanatic, how could Shirogane Miyuki manage to visit the aquarium for free every week?
Answer: Get a part-time job!
Just like how Jotaro became a marine biologist because he loved dolphins, Shirogane also came to work here.
He earned money while satisfying his own passion — win-win.
"Kaguya said she'd never been to an aquarium before, so I brought her here today."
"Umu umu." Shinomiya Kaguya poked her head out from behind Sakurai Saki.
A moment ago, she had even been planning to play ostrich.
To be caught on a date by someone you know — how embarrassing!
Even Kaguya-sama, who normally didn't care about others' opinions, at that moment just wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
Kaguya: (⸝⸝⸝>﹏<⸝⸝⸝)
Shirogane: (≖ - ≖)
"..." Shirogane Miyuki was silent for a few seconds.
These two were obviously on a date, no doubt about it.
But he had no intention of exposing them.
He only reminded them: "When you go in, don't sit too close — you'll get splashed."
"Also, you can rent raincoats; they're not expensive."