Thinking about this, yeah this ‘date’ wasn’t such a good idea. Ria can’t seem to keep calm so the results are now going to be tampered. The logical route should have been to have not tell her and continued with the activities keeping track of heart rate and asking ‘how are you feeling?’ I sighed as we made it through the station, making out way to the town centre. This town is famous for its sea food, being located near the sea but I also heard the aquarium here is something beyond expectations. “Well,” Ria blushed, puffing out her cheeks. “What did you have planned for this ‘date’ of yours?”

I flicked my wrist, looking at the time. 11:37. “Well, we should be able to hit the aquarium first and then grab some lunch,” I stated. “The aquarium is a ten-minute walk from here, so that plan sounds most logical.”
“You’re the lead scientist,” Ria said, adjusting the bag strap on her shoulder. “Just so you know, if this doesn’t give me any inspiration....” She took a long pause before giving me an evil glare. She’s clearly been around me for too long. “You owe me a pudding cup!”

I shrugged. Seemed fair, though she is getting a day out for free. In the end, the walk to the aquarium took thirty minutes and when we got to the entrance, I was tired. It was ALL up hill. Why didn’t I check that? Ria gasped in awe at the size of the aquarium, I must admit, it really is a sight to see. Giggling as if she was a girl half her age, Ria grabbed hold of my sweating hands, and pulled me inside.

Inside, Ria didn’t seem to let go of my hand as I was forced to handover the tickets, pre booking, always recommended. The staff member smiled at us as passed us a couple of bands. “These will give you two love birds' access to all the shows today,” The staff explained. Wait, love birds? “In fact, you should be able to walk with the penguins in about half an hour.”
Ria squealed, causing my ear to start ringing. I didn’t realise she could make that pitch.  “A penguin show,” She continued to giggle. “Let’s go.”

Bands on our wrists, Ria started the adventure through the aquarium, all the time not letting go of my hand. I do remember Hina mentioning hand holding is an essential part of a date, so this shouldn’t be much of a bother. “Woah,” Ria’s hand slipped out of mine, saddening me for some reason, as she ran to the tank. “Check out these jellyfish! Isn’t this awesome Senku.”

I nodded, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a map I had managed to procure as I was dragged through the entrance. Penguin walk, my eyes scanned the map and noticed it was in the area after the touch tanks. “If you’re not fussed about the touch tank. We can make it in time for the penguin walk,” I explained walking up to Ria, who was out of it staring into the tank. I smiled; this must be how I look to people when I talk about space. Wait, my eye twitched. “Since when are you so into the sea?”

Ria let out a ‘hmph’ and turned to me confused. “Well, it’s a part of science that’s endless,” She smiled. “Like space you know?” Bump bump! You know, maybe today will be a good experience.”

I felt my face heat up, Ria taking my hand again and we made our way through the aquarium. The next tank held sea horses. I looked at Ria, whose grip got tighter around my fingers and her face deepened in colour. I looked to the sea horses, two of them dancing around each other. I gasped; this was something not everyone gets to see. Once a dya, for a total of ten minutes, sea horses do a mating dance with each other. There is no set time when they do this so seeing it is pot luck as they say. I smiled, knowing this is a moment Ria and I get to share as a special memory.
For the rest of the visit, it was actually pretty fun. I must admit, the way Ria got to interact with the penguins, did make me happy and getting a video of her being chased by a mother penguin, was quite hilarious. I’m sure Yuzuriha will get a chuckle out of it as well.

All in all, we were in there for three hours, with half an hour being spent in the gift shop, Lillian having asked for gift to be brought back. To say I was shocked over Ria’s choice of penguin plush was an understatement. It was half the size of her. Being close to the beach, we grabbed some ice cream and sat on the nearby wall, staring out into the ocean. “I’ll admit it,” Ria sighed. “This ‘date’ wasn’t such a bad idea.”

You know, a date isn't complete if you don’t kiss the person, Hina’s words rang in through my head. Why do you need to kiss someone on a date? I guess logic dictates is, you’ve had fun with them and are showing your appreciation. I tossed the thought aside. Too soon to introduce something so bold into this experiment.
I felt myself jump  as the cool skin of Ria's hand touched mine. “I hope you got enough data today,” She sighed happily. “Though if you want to do this again for extra, I wouldn’t mind.”

I Smirked. You know, me either.