Chapter 21: Escape!!!

Hisaki looked down at her. Rina nodded vigorously.

“Which one do you want to ride?”

“That one!”

Rina pointed up at the track overhead.

The roller coaster.

Hisaki looked at the coaster famous for its 360-degree spins, then at the little Shiro beside her who wasn’t even five feet tall.

“That has a height restriction.”

Rina’s face fell.

“No way.”

“You can ride if you’re four feet seven or taller.”

“I… I’m definitely tall enough with my shoes on!”

Rina tugged at Hisaki’s wrist.

They lined up.

Height check.

Rina secretly rose onto her tiptoes, and the staff member turned a blind eye, letting her through.

They sat down.

Pulled down the safety bar.

Hisaki sat beside her, the anti-loss leash curving under the safety bar, still connecting the two of them.

“Scared?”

Hisaki asked.

Rina hadn’t even answered before the coaster started moving.

Then.

“Aaaaah—!!!”

Rina’s scream began the second the coaster shot out of the station and didn’t stop.

Her silver hair whipped backward in the wind, the baseball cap already snatched off by Hisaki’s quick reflexes and tucked against her chest, her little face pressed flat by the wind.

Hisaki sat there, eyes closed tight, both hands gripping the safety bar.

She watched Shiro, all messed up by the wind.

Shiro, tousled by the wind, Shiro screaming her lungs out, Shiro who was scared to death but still rode the coaster anyway.

Adorable.

The coaster came to a stop.

“Again!”

Rina jumped off the seat.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

Hisaki blinked.

“Weren’t you scared?”

“Who was scared? I wasn’t scared!”

They rode it again.

Then Rina said once more.

Once more.

Once more.

By the time the fifth coaster ride ended, Hisaki reached out and touched Shiro’s forehead.

Hot.

She touched Shiro’s back.

Also hot.

Shiro’s stamina hadn’t fully recovered, and five consecutive coaster rides had brought an unhealthy flush to her little face.

“No more.”

Hisaki tugged the anti-loss leash.

“I can still—”

Rina tried to protest, but Hisaki firmly pulled her away from the coaster entrance.

She tried to struggle, but Hisaki’s arm had already hooked under her armpit, lifting her entirely off the ground. Her feet kicked in the air twice, then she was set down steadily on the roller coaster exit bench.

“Sit still.”

Hisaki’s voice carried a tone of no negotiation for the first time.

Rina sat still.

Not because she was afraid of Hisaki’s tone, but because she suddenly realized her legs were shaking.

Too many coaster rides had completely thrown off her balance.

“Drink water.”

Hisaki took a bottle of mineral water from her bag, twisted off the cap, and brought it to Rina’s lips.

Rina lowered her head and took a few sips.

Hisaki sat down beside her, resting her hand on Rina’s back, patting it gently.

Rina drank the water, but her eyes were wandering.

She noticed Hisaki’s mineral water bottle was transparent, and more than half of the water inside was already gone.

She looked at the bottle in her own hand—barely touched.

A plan suddenly formed in her mind.

“Kidnapper!”

She looked up, fixing her sky-blue eyes on Hisaki.

“Hm?”

“I want something to drink.”

Hisaki looked at the mineral water bottle in her hand.

“Isn’t that enough?”

“I want something else! They’re selling drinks over there!”

Rina pointed at a snack stall not far away, where a row of colorful juice cups gleamed temptingly in the sunlight.

Hisaki followed her finger, glanced over, then took the anti-loss leash and walked her over.

“Which one?”

“That one! And that one! And this one! That one too!”

Rina ordered nearly every drink at the stall.

Hisaki paid for each one, received each one, and soon found both her hands full.

“Can Shiro drink all of these?”

“If I can’t, you can.”

Rina said it with absolute confidence, picked up a cup of watermelon juice, took two sips, and shoved it at the kidnapper.

Hisaki quickly accumulated four or five cups of “blessed” drinks that Shiro had sampled.

Then she started drinking.

One cup after another.

What Shiro gave her, she couldn’t waste.

Rina drank her own drink while secretly watching Hisaki.

Seven cups!

Adding the half bottle of mineral water from the coaster ride earlier, Hisaki had consumed nearly two liters of liquid in just one hour.

Rina watched as Hisaki finished the last cup of mint lemon tea and tossed the empty cup into the trash.

Then she started waiting.

***

About five minutes passed.

She saw Hisaki’s brow furrow slightly.

Another three minutes passed.

She saw Hisaki shift her stance.

Two more minutes passed.

Hisaki looked down at Shiro.

“Shiro.”

“Hm?”

“I need to use the restroom.”

Rina’s heart slammed in her chest.

Here it was.

The opportunity.

“Oh~ go ahead.”

Hisaki led her to the restroom entrance.

The women’s restroom was beside the amusement park main path, with a short line at the entrance.

Hisaki stood outside the restroom, looked down at the anti-loss leash on her own wrist, then at the safety buckle on Rina’s waist.

Rina held her breath.

Unbuckle it?

Or not?

Hisaki’s fingers rested on the safety buckle, pressing the clips on both sides.

The buckle snapped open.

One end of the anti-loss leash hung from Shiro’s waist, swaying in the air.

“Wait here for me.”

Hisaki bent down, cupped Shiro’s face in both hands, bringing her eyes level with her own.

Those dark red pupils gazed seriously into the pair of sky-blue eyes.

“Don’t run off.”

The tone was still gentle.

Mm-hm, mm-hm.

Hisaki let go, turned, and walked into the restroom.

Rina stood at the restroom entrance, watching Hisaki’s back disappear behind the door.

Her heart began pounding at triple speed.

Her palms were slick with sweat.

Four thousand in her pocket.

The area was packed with people—she could blend into the crowd and vanish within three seconds.

This was her chance.

Now.

Right now.

Run!

Rina took a deep breath. Her heart raced with guilt and fear. What she’d imagined and what was actually happening now felt completely different. She was really about to run…

Rina stepped back once, twice, then turned around…

And gradually disappeared into the crowd…