At about an hour before noon, Yuta arrived at the train station that would allow him and Marie to go to the aquarium. She had invited him out a few days prior, and he had accepted because Yuta was excited to go on an outing with Marie.

"Good thing I got here extra early today, I had a feeling Marie was going to come early... Agh, what the heck?! I was right!" Yuta yelled in shock as he watched Marie get on the platform of the train station. "She didn't just come early, she came extra super duper early just like me!"

Marie seemed to not have seen him yet as she went to their meeting point without making any eye contact with him. Since she was coming his way, Yuta made sure to stand out a bit so that she would recognize him instantly.

"Oh, Yuta!" Marie waved the second she noticed him.

Today's Marie looked exceptionally cute in Yuta's eyes. She wore loose-fitted jeans along with a black top and a plaid jacket. Her hair was cutely tied into twintails that were just too adorable.

"Good morning, Marie. You're here early, aren't you?"

"Hehe, but you are too?" Marie giggled.

The two complimented each other on their clothing and then talked for a bit until the train arrived. Once the train finally reached the station, they hopped on and waited 30 minutes for their commute.

"Ahhh, finally~ My back was getting cramped up from sitting," Yuta stretched as he got off the train once they reached their destination.

"You sound like an old man," Marie laughed.

The aquarium was pretty close to the train station so they didn't have to worry too hard about the travel time. About 10 minutes of walking later, the two finally reached the aquarium.

Once they paid for their tickets, Marie decided to go on the offensive the second they got past the ticket gate. Without warning, she grabbed onto Yuta's arm and looked up to him with a happy smile.

"I might get lost, so can I hold on to you?" Marie sweetly asked.

The moment Marie batted her eyes and looked up to him like a shy kitten had set Yuta's fate in stone. There was no way he could refuse such an offer if she asks like that.

Offering his hand to her, Yuta smiled at the cute creature who was clinging to him. "Do you want to pet the stingrays first?"

"Yes, please!" Marie happily grabbed ahold of his hand as she dragged him towards the pool of stingrays. "Stingrays, stingrays~ Little cute stingrays~"

Since Marie was very open about her happiness today, Yuta felt a sense of accomplishment for being a good enough partner for her. He was scared that his personality would make the date boring, but she seemed to really enjoy his company.

Arriving at the stingray pool, the two of them found a vacant area around the pool and went there to pet the stingrays.

"They're quite slimy, aren't they?" Yuta laughed as he petted a small stingray that seemed to have taken a liking to him.

Marie giggled once she saw the scene of Yuta and the stingray bonding. "They're slimy, but they're cute. That makes up for it!"

"Ah, looks like Junior is coming over to you now," Yuta watched the little stingray swim towards Marie.

"Junior?" Marie asked, quizzically."

"That's the name for the little stingray. Isn't my naming sense good?" Yuta proudly grinned.

"Hardly at all," Marie laughed.

They both enjoyed the peaceful time at the stingray pool as many different types and sizes of stingray swam past them. After having pet them for a while, the two headed deeper inside the aquarium to see more types of fish.

"Personally, I'm excited to see the sharks," Yuta scanned the area to see if his favorite animal was here. "I've always been fond of them since I was a kid, so this is like a dream come true."

"This is like a dream come true for me as well..." Marie quietly muttered.

Yuta seemed to have heard Marie whisper something. "Hmm? Did you say something?"

"N-Nope! I just said I want to go see the d-dolphins!" Marie stammered. "They're really kind and cute, r-right?"

"Uhh, yeah..."

Yuta was surprised by Marie's sudden outburst since she was usually very calm and cheery. He wondered if it was because of him, but Yuta quickly disregarded that idea because he didn't want to act self-centered.

"Oh, look! The sharks are over there!" Marie pointed over to a certain area that housed the sharks.

Yuta's eyes sparkled the moment he made eye contact with the sharks. "This is the sacred holy land. Nothing else matters anymore."

He tightened his grip on Marie's hand and headed towards the display of sharks. Ever since he was a little kid, the large majestic predators of the sea had always fascinated him. Although they were a destructive force with a lot of power, Yuta adored the sharks for their way of living.

As the sharks swam by the glass, Yuta beamed at the wonderful animals that captured his heart. "Beautiful..." he breathlessly said.

Since he was too focused on the sharks, Yuta didn't notice what Marie was doing next to him. As she watched Yuta stare at the sharks with excitement, Marie couldn't help but let out a light giggle as she took a picture of him with her phone.

Immediately, Marie changed her home and lock screen wallpaper to the picture she had just taken of Yuta. Holding her phone close to her chest, Marie couldn't help but be elated that she had just captured a perfect shot of Yuta while he was mesmerized by the sharks.

Ehehe, he looks so cute when he's excited~

—

Next chapter is a 0.5 Marie POV chapter.

Serious-san: It feels like we haven't had a .5 chapter in ages

Sugar-chan: Author-san is slacking :(

Author-san: Ahaha, you're not wrong...