The Goddess Needs A Break!

Festivals are hosted with the main goal being the participants' fun and enjoyment. With all of this in mind, there was still some discord between two of the participants.

"I know what you're thinking, but that's a lot of money..." Takei sighed.

"..." Akari pouted in silence.

Not even three seconds later, the "impenetrable" fortress that was Takei's mental defense crumbled.

"Fine. We can gorge a little," Takei relented.

"Yay!" Akari beamed.

The festival was a prime place to waste money. Even Takei who knew this fact couldn't relent against the destructive force of a pouty goddess. There were just too many snacks and drinks for the pockets of two high schoolers to handle. Even so, Akari wanted to try everything that the festival offered in terms of food and games. Takei wasn't opposed to spending money at a festival since it felt customary to him, but all of the games and food costs would surely add up to an unreasonable amount.

Before they headed off to the games, Takei had to keep Akari in check. "Let's keep the costs to a reasonable price, okay?"

Akari agreed while only half listening to him. "Okayyy~"

The two of them headed towards the fish scooping stall with high anticipation. Fish scooping was a must when it came to festivals. It looked like a kind older uncle was running the stand.

"Oh, hey! The cute young couple over there! Come over here and have some fun!" The uncle yelled.

He pointed directly at them and beckoned them to come closer. Akari and Takei did as told, but Takei wanted to clear up the confusion for Akari's sake.

"Actually, we're not dating. We're just close friends," he explained.

In contrast to Takei's expectations of the uncle's reaction, the uncle looked confused when Takei said this. The uncle kept glancing between them and sighed.

"You're a real piece of work kid... I wish you good luck with that, missus."

Takei turned around and saw Akari with a deadpan expression.

"Blockhead..."

Is she talking about me? No way, right? I think she's referring to the kind uncle. Yes, that must be it!

The old uncle gave a wry smile. "Well anyways, go ahead and give it a go on this game. I'm sure mister boyfriend would love to impress his girlfriend?"

"We aren't dat-" Takei began to say until he felt a sharp tug on his arm.

Akari glared at him. "Let's start playing, shall we?"

For some reason, Akari's mood has been seriously spoiled. There was only one thing that Takei knew that could fix it.

He leaned forward and whispered in her ears. "I'll buy you some amazake after this, so please stop being mad."

(A/N: Amazake is a fermented rice drink)

Yes, this was what Takei was betting on. The key to making Akari happy was to feed her tasty food. From his own experience, this has worked almost perfectly every time.

After a few moments of contemplation, Akari reached a consensus. "Fine, but only if you add a side of takoyaki along with that."

(A/N: Takoyaki is a traditional Japanese festival food that is essentially octopus balls)

"Deal."

With negotiations finished, they both began to play the game in front of them. Akari decided to go first, but this was a very poor choice on her part.

"Uuu, I couldn't even get one..." Akari sorrowfully cried.

Ten minutes passed and Akari was still trying to get her first fish. It seemed impossible at this point, so Takei quietly prayed for her to give up.

"Do you want me to show you how?" Takei asked.

"Please!" Akari begged.

After seeing the goddess in such a miserable state, he felt like helping her out a bit.

Takei went behind Akari and put his hand over her hand. Then, he gently guided her hand in a shallow scooping motion that was a very moderate speed compared to Akari's demonic-like scooping from earlier. He repeated the motion a couple times until her hands got adjusted to the motion.

Takei nodded in approval. "Alright, you should be ready now."

He backed off until he realized how close his face had been to Akari's face. To add on, Takei completely forgot that he held a girl's hand without permission.

"I-i'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hold your hand without asking..." Takei frowned.

"It's okay! I don't mind if it's you..." Akari explained.

Surprisingly, Akari didn't realize the impact of what she had just said. The tips of her ears turned a bright red as soon as the realization kicked in. It looked like she was melting on the spot from the experiment.

Takei didn't manage to be unaffected as well.

I have this special permission only since I'm her best friend. Don't get too conceited, me.

Trying to change the subject, Takei moved the conversation ahead. "How about you try the new scooping method I taught you?"

Akari nodded. "I got this!"

She grabbed a new scoop from the uncle working the stall and went to work. Many seconds went by as Akari was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Several moments passed without a single fish getting close to the scoop that was hovering over the water. All hope was lost until...

Splash!

An unlucky fish swam by the scoop without a care in the world and was swiftly caught by the goddess in one smooth motion.

"Takei, I did it! I really did it!" Akari smiled radiantly.

Takei sighed and patted her head. "Good job, I believed in you."

The old uncle looked appalled though. "Jeez, I have a wife and we're not even that bold enough to do stuff like this in public."

Both Takei and Akari started to blush tremendously, so they thanked the kind uncle and walked away.

As promised, Takei bought Akari some amazake and takoyaki as an apology present.

"It's sooooo good!" Akari said, while also chewing on the food.

Takei sighed in exasperation. "Hey... your goddess facade is slipping away again."

Akari shrugged in response. "I don't care, all I need is this food and I'll be happy."

After reaching his limits, Takei karate chopped Akari's head with no remorse.

"Kyaaaa!"

"What was that 'Kyaaaa' for?!" Takei laughed.

"It's because you hit me!" Akari pouted.

"Did not," Takei whistled.

Akari started lightly punching Takei's chest as revenge.

"Ow, ow. I'm sorry, I will reflect on my actions." Takei stated, with no emotion in his voice.

"You don't sound sorry!" Akari yelled.

Both of them were obviously joking around which ended up creating a warm atmosphere that kept other people out. The banter continued for a bit until Takei noticed someone approaching.

"Oh, it's you..."

---

Akari's Affection Meter: 73 -> 75%

Assuaging the goddess's anger and getting her snacks in return, was definitely a power move by Takei.