Far Off Memories

Part 1: Forgotten Potential. Chapter 4: Chayao Amusement Park

(September 4th of 1965. Location: Chayao Amusement Park, Hika-yue. Current time: 1:00 PM)

          Nisha stood at the entrance to the Chayao amusement park, periodically checking time and waiting for Jagged. Chayao amusement park is one of the largest and most popular amusement parks in Hika-yue, being ranked 3rd since 1940s, despite being built around the end of 18th century. Nisha sighed in frustration "Why did I believe my mom's tales about women being always late when it comes to such things as-" Then she stopped herself and shook her head "Dono- dono dono dono, it's not a date, I'm just about to spend time with a friend of mine is all-" "Uh... Nisha?" Nisha was taken aback by Jagged standing just two meters away from her "O-Oh mie bogi- I-Ive Jagged! You scared me- How long have you been...standing here?" "Um, I've just arrived..." "Really?" Nisha went over to the speedership parking place, and it took Jagged merely 2 seconds to realize "Wait, none of these are mine- I... I took a bus." "Oh, now that makes sense." Nisha grabbed Jagged's hand and dragged him into the park "Let's go! We musn't keep the fun waiting!".
          "Nisha, wait- You go forward, I... I need to make a call with my parents- I-I forgot to warn them that I'm here.." Jagged nervously spoke up, knowing that he partially lied about having parents. He couldn't tell her that he was fostered by bounty hunters "Huh, hosho toda(Alright then).. Go ahead! I'll go check the list of attractions." Nisha then ran off, and so did Jagged, but in the opposite direction. He stood at the entrance, waiting for someone else that he invited: Sei Jinhiya. Turns out, Jagged didn't have to wait long, as Sei finally arrived on his speedership and quickly parked it "You've waited for me?" "Don't be delighted just yet, I'm not alone." "Oh- Ocho(Right)..." "Here's a brief summary: thanks to your hacker friends, Nisha called me yesterday in the morning and told me how she met you. So, as to not create suspicion, I told her that I have no idea who you are." Sei looked visibly shocked and disappointed "To-?! Uh- How do you think it's gonna work out?!" "First, we'll split up, and then you must pretend to just happen to walk by. Ake?" As Jagged made his way to the park, Sei stopped him "I'm deeply offended that you said that about me, but...you don't have to be so secretive. I'm not saying that it's a must but just- why are you so desperate?" Jagged angrily glared at Sei but then facepalmed and groaned "You can't be serious! Are you suggesting that I should tell her my origins?! NO thanks! If there's ONE thing that I can't tell ANYONE, then it's my PAST. We should go." He went back into the park 'Donlukeya na yovuyu saktiu, yo vesa siyo Shijeuho, nae ii(Despite your power, you're still a Shijeuho, you know)..' Sei sadly thought to himself before catching up.
          As Jagged went on and sighed of relief, he thought 'He SHOULD be smart enough to go along, right?' "Jagged!" Nisha ran up to Jagged, holding a bunch of tickets, probably almost 20, which left the Shionhō maniac shocked "Th-That much?!" Nisha chuckled "Why yes? There's never too much fun!" "Uh-huh... Da..." Then, Sei 'unintentionally' goes by the two, but Nisha immediately stops him "Hi there, Sei!" Sei smiled in a friendly manner "Ah, Nisha, what a surprise!" He looked over at Jagged, he seemed to be quite decent in acting "I see you've brought a friend." Nisha nodded and pulled Jagged over to her side while still holding the tickets "This is Jagged! You know, you gave me his number." "Oh- Heheh, I didn't recognize you at first, rasiti. Don't you remember me? We used to be best buddies." Sei then extended his hand. Jagged also knew how to pretend, though it's only perfect when he knows for sure what he has to do. Though hesitating at first, he shook hands with Sei "Uh, unfortunately, I don't... But I'm thankful that you've kept my number." Then it hit Nisha like a truck "Oh! Ohhh! I get it now! That's why you said you didn't know him, right?" Jagged nodded "Yeah... And also, you woke me up before my alarm yesterday.." He glared at Nisha, but he tried to not make it look intimidating "Hehe, rasiti mi- Well, we should go now." "Hold on, Nisha, may I see your tickets?" Sei took a quick look at Nisha's tickets "Ah, I see. I'll go get my own." "Ake!" Nisha then grabbed Jagged's hand and started dragging him "I think I might have an idea where I want to go!" "N-Nisha, stop dragging me like that!" "Oh- Uh... Rasiti, I-I'm just overexcited.." Nisha blushed out of embarrassment "I don't always have the chance to spend time like this with my friends..." Jagged sadly looked away, his ears were down and he muttered "At least you have friends..." "Aww man..!" Nisha exclaimed and Jagged's attention was now focused on what was infront of them. There was a large crowd around the attraction that Nisha wanted to try out first: a wave-styled roundabout 'Yahara's Waltz', named after the ruler of the city Wong-taine-shu, who was also the worldwidely known Goddess of Wisdom. She's also the one responsible for creating water on the planet. The roundabout involved about 6 decorative narval-styled seats with the statue of a long-haired woman dressed in blue fabric the patterns of which resembled waves, seashells and pearls. She seemed to be holding a trident. It was the Goddess herself. Nisha pouted at the sight of the crowd "Is there really no other way around..?" "I don't know, seems like an average roundabout to me-" "It's not just some children's roundabout, Jagged!" Nisha clinged onto Jagged "Just you watch!".
          The roundabout was activated and it started spinning, also accelerating it's speed each time the sequence reached a certain point of the wavy ground. The narval-styled seats were also spinning, the Shijeuhoes inside of them screaming and laughing. They were truly having fun. Nisha giggled "See? Isn't that fun?" Jagged was unsure of how to respond. It was actually his first time being in an amusement park, seeing how much everyone enjoyed themselves while testing out such wonderful inventions as attractions on themselves. Eventually, Jagged sighed "It...does. If we keep waiting in the crowd, we're just gonna waste time so, let's try another option." Nisha looked around, her gaze stopping at an enormous lone-standing ferris wheel "Oi, yo boita haitsu(Are you afraid of heights)?" "Pff- Daosu don-" Nisha started dragging Jagged once more, just as when Sei finally caught up with the two "Oi, vo todie(You two). Are you going to witness the entire Hika-Yue from the heavens?" Nisha nodded "Da! What took you so long?" "Uh..." Now, Sei looked nervous "I had a run-in with...someone that I don't have a good relationship with- Don't ask, I hate talking about them." Jagged turned around to face the ferris wheel "Look, there isn't much crowd around the wheel." Nisha excitedly jumped and ran "Perfect, let's go!".
          The trio made sure to hurry up and claim their 'carriage to heaven'(that's litterally the name of the attraction: "Carriage to Heaven"). The ferris wheel was slow, as its purpose was to leave the best of sights of the wonderful city of Hika-Yue for the later. Soon enough, Sei, Jagged and Nisha were at the very top. Almost all of Hika-Yue was visible, even the grand Mount Zhaolin, named after the deceased 'Deity of Tectonics'. Nisha was the most fascinated with the landscapes scattered below, but she made sure to hold herself from leaning over "Oi, I think I can even see the Great Church!" Sei was quite surprised and moved closer to Nisha "Really, you do? Let me see!" Jagged only kept looking at the direction of the Mount Zhaolin, and then he looked up at the sky, and back at the countless tall buildings. How would all of this look like in the sunset?
          "Jagged? Oiiii-" Nisha was waving her hand right infront of Jagged's face, but it took him only a few seconds to realize that he spaced out, and that they were going down "Shingao to Jagged-" "AH-" Jagged turned around to Nisha and Sei, both were staring at him "Um, I spaced out... It's not every day that you see an entire city and its other surroundings.." "We're going down now, so let's prepare.".
          The trio tried out all of the attractions listed on their tickets, ordered lots of different snacks and even took photos together. But there was only one attraction left to visit: 'Yahara's Waltz', the one that Nisha wanted to test since the beginning. To the girl's relief, there was no big crowd, just a few other Shijeuhoes. Soon enough the trio were assigned their seat and they were instructed to hold on tight to the removable lever so no one flies out during the 3-minute sequence. It was at this moment Jagged remembered what was about to happen "Uh- Guys, I'm kinda nervous-" "Oi, you heard the instructor, buddy, just hold on tight and you'll be fine." Sei reassured. Before Jagged could speak another word, it started. The ground below along with the narval-styled seats were crazily spinning, it was just as crazy as screams and delighted laughters of others. At first, Jagged was terrified, but he grew to enjoy it, and his laughter was just as loud as Nisha's and Sei's.
          After 3 minutes, the trio left the attraction. Nisha's joy had no limits, was she ever this happy before? "This was absolutely INCREDIBLE!!" She jumped a few times and even squeaked like a mouse "Eto da! Spinning all the way around before continuing to move on is the best part." Sei agreed to keep up with the cheerful mood, only Jagged remained silent. Both Nisha and Sei looked over at him "Jagged, did you have fun?" Jagged slowly, but then quickly nodded a couple of times, a smile crept up on his face, he couldn't control it. It was the first time ever that he got to have fun like this, and the fact that he wasn't alone in all of this is what made him smile the widest and brightest. He let out a delighted chuckle and looked up at his friends "It's... It's the first time ever that I got to have fun like this.. Especially with friends.." Suddenly, he was hugged by Nisha "I'm glad you had fun.. We've known each other only for a little while, but still, I just want to see all my friends genuinely happy and enjoying themselves." She looked at Jagged with a tender smile, which made him blush "O-Oi now this is awkward-" Nisha then also blushed and let go of Jagged. The sight only made Sei chuckle "Who's up for a few more snacks?" Both Jagged and Nisha raised their hands "Hosho, don't wander off." Sei laughed once again before leaving. It was at this moment when Jagged's holographic phone rang and he looked panicked "AH- U-Uh- M-My mom's calling me, just a moment!" He went a few steps away from Nisha, the Shinomiya girl suspected nothing at all. Turns out it was Akane phoning Jagged "Oi, are you still at the Chayao amusement park?" "Da... We just ran out of all our tickets." Akane giggled "Heh, completely forgot you weren't alone- I wanted to know if you're gonna go anywhere else after you're done having fun at the park." "Uh, hang on for a sec-" Jagged turned away from his phone "Nisha, are we gonna go anywhere else after this?" "I'm afraid I can't... My parents told me that once I'm done spending time here, I must phone them and they will pick me up." Nisha responded, she didn't seem so happy now. Perhaps she doesn't have exactly the most affectionate relationship with her parents... "Oh..." Jagged turned his attention for the phone call, and he noticed Sei coming back with the snacks "Uh, no, we're parting ways.." "Uh-huh, alrighty, I'm gonna be on my way. Uvideya!" Akane finished her sentence and Jagged ended the phone call "I heard your parents are pretty strict when it comes to hanging out with friends, right?" Sei asked, his hands occupied with a bunch of snacks. Nisha nodded, her ears moved down and she whined "Yeah..." Then her expression changed: it was somewhat irritated, envious "You should see how they treat Nagohara... I wish they showered me with the same amount of attention and consideration... They're a lot less strict with her because they believe she needs a lot more attention due to her 'illness'. And they're deeply convinced that I was the cause of it..." Jagged and Sei looked saddened, both of them felt bad for Nisha, even though the explanation was short. But then Sei's ears perked up and his tail wiggled "To me, that bears a question: do your parents ever hug you?" Nisha looked at Sei and shook her head "My dad always tells me that everyone needs a hug at least 3 times a day. Shall we do a group hug then?" First, Sei puts the snacks at the nearby bench and then he spreads his arms. Nisha internally squeaked and immediately rushed to hug Sei, however, Jagged was a bit hesitant. Not that he didn't want to, he was just shy. Sei extended his hand to Jagged, smiling "Avai(Come on), Jagged." Eventually, Jagged smiled and joined the group hug.