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The two of them rested for a bit.
When he felt ready, Max glanced at Moka Akashiya."Moka, what do you wanna do next?"
"Hmm… how about the haunted house?"
Moka thought for a moment, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him with expectation.
"Alright, haunted house it is."
Max chuckled and nodded.
With that decided, the two headed off toward the attraction.
After a short wait, they stepped inside.
Moka immediately latched onto Max's arm, holding it tight as she curiously looked around.
Not a hint of fear showed on her face.
Catching her expression, Max couldn't help but smile.Yeah, that made sense.
After all, Moka wasn't some ordinary girl—she was a yokai. And not just any yokai, but a top-class vampire.
Of course she wouldn't be scared of ghosts like normal people.
Honestly, ghosts were lucky they weren't scared of her.
Not to mention, some yokai looked far scarier than anything a haunted house could throw at them. Moka had grown up surrounded by such things; she'd seen it all before.
And if she wasn't afraid, neither was he.
People usually fear things they don't understand.
The only reason he'd been afraid of spirits before was because he hadn't had the power to deal with them.
Now? He could crush a pile of them with a single finger. If he was still scared, that'd just be… hardcoded into his instincts.
But he clearly didn't have that instinct.
So, with neither of them afraid, the haunted house turned out to be a total flop—zero immersion, no thrills, nothing.
They walked out calmly and moved on to the next rides.
Bumper cars.
Carousel.
Pirate ship.
The musical theater.
One after another, until finally they reached the ferris wheel. By then, dusk had quietly fallen.
The sky was painted red with sunset, streaked with drifting clouds glowing in every shade of orange and purple.
Their gondola slowly rose into the air.
The last light of the setting sun spilled over Max and Moka, wrapping them both in a hazy, dreamlike glow.
Pulling her eyes away from the crimson horizon, Moka turned to look at Max sitting beside her.
Her emerald eyes seemed to shimmer, soft and tender, full of unspoken warmth.
"Max, thank you."
Her voice was gentle and sweet, carrying something more beneath it.
"Thank me? For what?"
Max tilted his head, puzzled.
Moka's lips curved into a bright smile. "For going out of your way to spend the day with me."
"Oh, that."
Max chuckled as the realization clicked. Then he smiled wider."You're silly. We're friends—what's the point of thanking me for hanging out?
Anytime you feel like going somewhere, just come find me."
He reached out and flicked her forehead lightly with his finger.
"Ah!"
Moka let out a tiny squeak, covering her forehead with both hands.
But hearing his words made her heart feel like it had been dipped in honey—sweet and warm. Her smile blossomed like a flower.
"You said it! Don't you dare break your word."
Her brows furrowed a little as a thought suddenly struck her. She dropped her hands, held out her pinky, and grinned.
"Let's seal it with a pinky promise."
She remembered that humans sealed important promises this way—pinky to pinky, a vow you couldn't break.
Their eyes met.
Max laughed softly and hooked his pinky with hers.
"Alright, pinky promise."
Their little fingers linked.
"Pinky swear, promise sealed, break it and you swallow a thousand needles."
They shook their joined hands up and down in rhythm with the chant.
It felt like some childish game of house, but still—it became the very first promise they'd ever made to each other.
...
About twenty minutes later.
Leaving the amusement park, Max glanced at Moka, who was holding onto his arm even more tightly than before.
"Moka, should I walk you home now, or do you wanna grab dinner together first?"
"Um… can I go to your place?"
Her eyes shone with quiet hope.
"My place…?"
Max blinked, caught off guard.
But when he looked into her eyes and saw how much she wanted it, he smiled and nodded.
"Sure. Let's go."
There was no reason to say no.
"Really? Thank you!"
The moment he agreed, Moka's whole face lit up. Her smile bloomed like a flower—no, more dazzling than any flower could ever be.
...
Half an hour slipped by in no time.
They arrived in Nerima. Max stopped outside a quiet house.
"This is where I live."
He smiled as he pulled out his keys.
Moka looked over the house and garden, quickly realizing he came from a comfortable background.
"Welcome. Please, come in."
Max opened the door and gestured for her to enter.
"I—"
Moka started smiling back, about to say something, when a thought suddenly hit her.
Her cheeks flushed red, and she hesitated.
"Um, Max… me suddenly showing up like this… your parents won't mind, will they? Maybe I should leave it for another time."
Just imagining meeting his parents made her heart pound and her nerves tangle up.
A part of her wanted to run.
Seeing her flustered expression, Max couldn't help but grin and explain gently:
"No worries. There's no one else here. I'm… an orphan."
In the story he'd woven for this world, that was his identity.
When he was found as a baby, he'd had nothing but a slip of paper with the words "Max" written on it.
That was why he worked so hard, studying with everything he had, aiming for Tokyo University, determined to graduate, climb the ladder, and secure freedom and happiness for himself.
"An orphan?!"
Moka's eyes went wide, shock written all over her face.
She hadn't expected that at all.
After the initial shock, guilt filled her expression. She lowered her voice, looking at him carefully.
"I'm so sorry, Max… I didn't know."
"Don't worry. It's fine."
Max gave her a carefree smile, reached out, and gently placed a hand on her head.
"I've lived with it for years. I made my peace with it long ago.
Besides, now I've got you guys—friends who care about me and think of me.
That's more than enough. I'm happy."
Even before he crossed over into this world, he'd been an orphan.
Back then, it wasn't abandonment—his parents had died in an accident.
The details were blurry, but the memory of their love was still one of the most precious things in his heart.
As the saying went: Since I'm here, I'll make the best of it.
He'd been given a second life in this world. He intended to treasure it.
And honestly, the idea of suddenly gaining a pair of parents he'd never known would've been harder to accept.
So this backstory suited him perfectly.
He had no complaints.
Even knowing how dangerous a crossover anime world could be, he was content.
"Max…"
Moka stared at him, caught off guard by the warmth and brightness of his smile.
He seemed to glow in the sunset, almost too radiant to look at.
And just like that, something she'd been holding back stirred again inside her, impossible to suppress.
In the depths of her green eyes, a flicker of red light glimmered faintly.
"....."