16 Everyone Catches Some Fish

Juuto hoped that this little jog they were going on was going to end soon. He wasn't kidding when he said that it was hard to move in this costume. Not to mention that he really didn't ruin it. If only for the fact that he was only wearing his underwear under this thing.

Considering that they bought the same brand outfits. That made him think. She should just be wearing her underwear below that bulky costume, isn't she? Then he stopped himself from going further in that line of thought. It was kind of weird to think of his co-worker wearing just her panties. At least it was to him. Why did he even consider visualizing it?

Finally, the two of them were able to catch up to Asaga and Mifuru. The man had wanted to try out this one game that a lot of children were crowding around. That being the one where one has to catch a fish with a tiny net. It seemed so simple, but given all the torn equipment, it was anything but.

"Oh man, can't wait til I catch me one of those." Asaga rubbed his hands over the prospect. Getting in on the action, he knelt down with a small net in hand. Meanwhile, the other three went to do the same thing.

It sounded like it would be more fun for Rame. After all, this would be an easy way to show off her skills. However, that illusion shattered the moment she made contact with her first fish.

"Aww…" She hung her head down in sorrow, holding up her hand to show the damage. It broke through the net, leaving her with only a hole.

"You gotta be more careful than that." Juuto told her. "There's a level of finesse that you gotta have with these things." He showed her how it was done. After his many years here, the man had gotten the technique down to a science. He could practically do it with his eyes closed at this point.

Slowly and with a steady hand. He dipped the net right besides his target, then as if the fish wanted it to happen. He lifted it out of the water with one careful and smooth motion.

"See?"

"It's that easy?" Well, he only made it look easy. In reality, that little trick of his took quite a bit of hard work and practice to get a handle of. Like he said before, it took finesse. "Great, then I'll just…" She was about to regain her vigor, until she realized that her net was already broken. And that she'd have to pay to get another one.

"Yeah, that's how they getcha." He told her, placing his fish into the bag of water provided to everyone. Then, once it was tied up properly, he held it up to her face.

"Gloating now?"

"It's a gift." He dropped it down to her hands. To which she beamed with joy from his gesture of kindness.

"Thanks." She responded, her smile overpowering every other muscle in her face. "I'll make sure to take good care of it." While she was pondering what to name it. Juuto took a look over to their friends that were attempting to catch fish.

He check on Asaga first, who didn't appear to be doing anything at all. That was a strange sight, considering that man was the one that made them go here. However, it soon became evident just what he was up to, when Juuto looked down to his hands. He was moving a finger on the ground, which was controlling the waters just a tiny bit.

Through the clear liquid, a fish was flowed towards the net that the man had left in the water as a trap. Without having to worry about the finesse of picking it up without breaking your tool. Gently, he followed it up onto his net and brought it up into the air.

"Got one." Asaga turned to smile at his pal. Juuto considered this to be a bit of cheating seeing as no one else had powers with water. Then again, it wasn't a big deal if it was just one fish. Hopefully this wouldn't become too much of a trend.

Their other friend on the other hand…

Mifuru missed the point of this little game. Sure, it's a little bit of a way to show off one's skill. And sure, there's no rule on how many fish you're allowed to catch. It's just that everyone is aware that you go in and see if you can catch one.

Meanwhile, this girl over here is just skillfully netting every fish in her area. She took them all with zero challenge, popping them up into the air. Finally, those fish ended up in her small bag that was barely big enough for one of those animals. It was at this point that Juuto had to step in.

"Maybe you should put most of them back in." He put a hand over the one she was gripping the net with. She didn't think she was doing anything wrong. As small as these fish were, she figured she'd be able to make a couple meals with them. But he's the one that knows the traditions of the land better than him. So she obliged.

"What's next?" Asaga asked once he had gotten his fish in the bag. "We did what I wanted, so what do y'all want to do?" They weren't sure, but there was one building here that had caught Rame's eye.

"What's up with that house over there?" She pointed over to a very dark looking place. It was covered with cotton webs, and there was quite a line out to the front door. "Why's everyone want to go there?" It seemed like was suppose to be special with the attention it had. But otherwise, the way it was presented seemed an abandoned building set.

"That's the haunted house." Juuto informed them of the favored attraction of this whole event. Of course, it's not a real haunted house with ghosts or anything like that. This fact being something else he needed to clarify to everyone. "Since this is all of your first times. We definitely should go inside."

Normally, Juuto would never consider going in here. Not because he's scared or anything, he knows that it's fake and all. In fact, he did go during the first time he attended as a child and had plenty of fun. But it's weird as an adult since he'd go alone when everyone else had a date or something.

They got themselves lined up to go. It was a fairly popular attraction, so there were plenty of other patrons all excited to go inside, get frightened, maybe scream. When he was looking at all the couples. He had an idea how those boys were looking forward to play a little bit of a hero for their girlfriends.

"You guys the type to get scared easily?" Juuto didn't figure that would be the case considering their circumstances. He's wasn't, at least when he knew that things weren't real.

"Heh, I've seen countless battles." Rame went on a spiel about her experiences. "Many times, I could've been killed. But every time, I've laughed at death's face. Then rained down pain and destruction on my enemies!" Her bit of a rant attracted some attention from the people standing in line. However, they just assumed that she was someone that had yet to grow out of the 8th grade.

"The two of us shouldn't be scared." Mifuru ended the bragging. "It's just silly toys for children to be afraid of."

"Are ya sure?" Asaga on the other side of the spectrum. Given that he was no battle-worned soldier, it made sense for him to be less prepared. Still though, Juuto would've expected a man his age to not to be scared of things like this. "Those screams sounds pretty loud."

"It'll be fine, we're all together anyway." That statement sounded like it would be common sense, that's what they all were planning on doing. That is until they were at the front of this relatively long line. Unfortunately for Juuto, the problem with that would begin with the fact that he knew the man running this place.

"Ah Juuto, it's been a long time since I've seen you here." The person that owned the haunted house set was named Kunitoki Marubashi. He was also a long time resident of the neighborhood. The two had met countless times at the store, and he also knew of the new girl that started working there too. "And I see this time you've brought quite a few friends."

"Right…" Juuto had a sneaking suspicion of what was about to occur. "You already know Rame, and this is her roommate, Mifuru." He pointed over to the servant. "Then this is Asaga, someone else who comes to the store pretty often these days."

"Howdy." Asaga greeted him with a firm handshake. "Tell me, this is all fake right?"

"You don't have to be embarrassed about being scared." The older man laughed. "Even the toughest of people get scared of this." He had been running this stand for dozens of years, and he always found a way to outdo himself each and every year. Even if it was fake, people, even those that have repeated quite a few times, always spoke on how real the illusions seemed to be.

"Anyway, it should be our turn soon, right?"

"Actually." Of course, the thing that Juuto was afraid of was about to happen. "There's a new rule for this year. Only two people per set."

"I could've sworn that there was a group of six that came in before us." Mifuru commented. Which was true, but it was clear to Juuto that there was a reason for that lie.

"Your eyes must've deceived you." The man brushed it off, using the fact that the place was scary to explain things. "The low numbers are for a more scary experience. You know, less friends you can hide behind."

"Makes sense to me." Rame didn't care about it, she just wanted to get in and have some fun right now.

"Great, then you and Juuto can go together first." There it was. "Then your two friends will go a little after you." He gave Juuto a little wink for the setup. In response, the younger man could only sigh and roll his eyes. He'll never be free of this, it seems

"We'll wait for you at the back exit." He turned his head to inform the other two.

"Heh, as long as you're not scared!" With that all cleared up, Rame pulled him in by the arm. Their haunted house adventure was about to begin.