“So, where do you want to go first?” I ask.

Since for Natsume, this little “date” is nothing more than a field trip for her to collect reference materials, and she’s the main author at work, it’s only natural that her opinion precedes mine. And besides, I don’t really have a preference for anything, especially from what I’ve seen so far. I might be used to spending too much money that I could realistically care for, but it was precisely because of it that I never developed anything that I could call a favorite.

Luckily for me, Natsume is quite lenient on these types of matter, considering it doesn’t take her even a second to think of an answer:

“We’ll go to everything anyway, right? Then I think we’ll just start from the closest.”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan,” I lightly nod, and so begins our tour around the park.

Our attention is immediately turned to the biggest landmark in this large area - standing tall from afar are the steel beams that go straight to the sky, supporting a giant metal snake of a rustic red color, the rollercoaster.

“Whoa, look at how tall that is!” Exclaims Natsume. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rollercoaster that big before!”

“Yeah, me too,” I nod to agree. Though, that’s more because the last time I went to an amusement park was when I was just a small kid. I couldn’t remember even if I tried.

However, our exclamations can only go so far. As the distance between us and what we thought to be a majestic construction of the human hands closes, we slowly begin to realize the meaning behind the saying of old - the more you know, the more you’re disappointed.

What I thought to be a rustic red color is in fact nothing more than a layer of rust. Thick rust, as a matter of fact, when I can even see the rough, craggy, yet flaky exterior from a mile away. The steel beams suffer from the same fate, with the framework being so wobbly that it still standing right now can only be described as a miracle. And that’s not even mentioning the various holes caused by erosion from the years. It might be rude to say it, but no wonder they’re gonna shut down the place.

Once we stand facing the pile of junk, Natsume is speechless. But it doesn’t seem like she’s disappointed in her little trip here, as her eyes are almost mesmerized by the rugged rust in front of her.

“Should I…” raising out her hand, she unconsciously mumbles. It’s not a question for me to answer, but just a spontaneous action fueled by her spur-of-the-moment desire. As her companion for the trip, I can only respect her decisions and give her the alone time she wants.

Once Natsume’s pearl-white fingertips touch the iron frames, something beyond our wildest imagination occurs.

The entire rollercoaster was still standing just a second ago. That was a miracle in itself, but both of us failed to notice that in order to sustain that miracle, the system had to put in everything it had to support itself.

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Basically, it’s just to say that everything collapses right in front of our eyes in a second. Gone. Poof. Like a house of cards coming down by a shivering hand. And there’s not even a fragment that poses any danger to us, Natsume in particular. As the rollercoaster falls down, it turns into dust almost immediately, to the point that once both of us come to the realization that the hulking contraption is gone, on Natsume’s finger are only a few specks of reddish-brown rust.

Our eyes meet each other. While mine is obviously filled with anxiety, I can’t help but feel like something’s… different in Natsume.

“Pff…”

A light puff of air can be heard, and it’s close to us. Is someone nearby, perhaps? The old guard? But he can’t be coming to this place this fast, right? But then again, he has been a staff here for decades now, so maybe…

“Pfft… hahahaha! I know I shouldn’t, but… this is so ridiculous, it’s hilarious!”

I think I might be hearing things. Maybe seeing things too. Surely it can’t be Natsume - the embodiment of seriousness and strictness - laughing her heart out like a child before the massive construction that she herself just destroyed, right?

“I-I’m sorry, Hakuen… But I can’t…” Seeing my perplexed reaction, Natsume can’t help but go further into her hysterical mode. “I mean, just look at it! That giant ride, just poof! Gone like that, and I just touched it with a finger!”

I give myself the hardest slap as I can. Yup, that hurts a ton. So, I am unfortunately not dreaming. Which means that the girl in front of me, the image of prim and proper, actually has a deep, dark secret side of a tyrannical ruler who enjoys the crushing of others.

Thankfully, this new mode of hers doesn’t last long, as it takes a few minutes for Natsume to calm down and retract her smile.

“Hah… But we do have to find a way to explain to the guard, though…” Feigning a cough, she continues. “While I don’t think we’ll get in too much trouble considering they’ll shut this place down tomorrow, to make a ride just… disappear like this is kind of…”

“... How about we blame Yoichi for this one?” I jokingly suggest. Sorry, man, but you’re gonna have to take one for the team.

Surprisingly, Natsume nods without a second of hesitation. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

“W-Well then, let’s continue, shall we?”

“... Yeah.”

If I were to say that the rest of the date was smooth sailing, then it would be a complete lie. If the rollercoaster - the biggest and sturdiest attraction in any amusement park - fell down with just a touch of a finger, you can imagine how well the other rides would go for us.

A few steps away from the rollercoaster is the merry-go-round. Once again, Natsume shows her gift of destruction as she brings the entire roof down with a single touch. This time, however, we’re not so lucky to escape unscathed. As the roof falls, the tarp that made it covers the area, swallowing us whole under its old and dusty interior. Thankfully, no real damage is taken aside from a few rips in our wardrobes, so we once again continue.

This pattern repeats itself throughout the date, if you can even call it that by this point. Mirror house? Crashed. Ferris wheel? Crashed. Bumper cars? You guessed it, crashed. Wherever we go, destruction comes following suit, and by the time we’re done with our little exploration, the entire park is left with nothing but a literal giant pile of junk.

“Well… that sure was something,” Natsume purposely avoids my eyes to fake-look at the slowly setting sun.

I have no excuses. This is horrible. What kind of date ends up with the couple destroying their date site?

“Let’s… call it a day, I guess.”

As the defeated words come out of my mouth, another voice suddenly appears behind me:

“Eh? But the fun has only begun, you two.”

Disregarding his obvious attempt to jump scare me, never before have I wanted to see him this much in my life.

“Yoichi!”

“In the flesh,” the magician, now clad in the same outfit he wore on his first day at school, takes a bow. “I’m sure you’ve had a great time visiting Wonderland’s attractions, but now it’s time for the grand finale! The magical world of Kuroba Yoichi… starts now!”