Chapter 54: The Terrifying Yukinoshita!
After comfortably playing around in the [Dog] zone and filling out the club application form, the two planned to look for Yukinoshita.
"Ooh~ My foot's asleep."
Yuigahama stood up, but trembled as she pressed her hands onto her knees.
"Walk slowly for a bit, it might get better."
Luke extended his hand towards her.
"Come, I'll help you."
"...Is this okay?"
Yuigahama's gaze flickered between him and his hand, murmuring hesitantly, like a child tempted by an elder with lucky money.
"Never mind." Luke lowered his hand.
"Huh?"
Yuigahama lifted her foot in a strange posture, following behind the slowly walking Luke, muttering softly: "Seriously, just insist a little more..."
Yuigahama quickened her pace, catching up to him.
"Where did Yukino-chan go?"
"[Cat] zone."
"Cats? They're quite similar to Yukino-chan," Yuigahama murmured softly.
The two chatted as they slowly headed towards the [Cat] zone.
However, as they passed the chicken coop in the [Chick] zone, seeing the densely packed chicks jumping and bumping under the warm light, they couldn't help but frequently glance over.
"How about we play with the chicks for a while before finding Yukinoshita?"
Luke suggested inquiringly.
"Okay."
Yuigahama pressed her face directly against the enclosure.
The [Chick Zone] was an area specifically prepared for chicks, featuring a small and cozy coop.
This coop was decorated like a small farm, with fake trees and farmhouses, filled with a rustic atmosphere.
Coupled with the yellow light source hanging above, it looked very warm and pleasant.
The ground inside the coop was covered with clean wood shavings.
Even though it was evening now, it hadn't become very dirty; it seemed like it was changed regularly.
The type of chicks, he observed, looked like normal bantam chickens.
Besides the yellow furballs and brown chicks, there was also a small hen, with several chicks wobbly following behind it, walking around the coop.
"You can get feed by inserting coins here to feed the chicks," a staff member nearby gestured and introduced to the two.
Beside her was a coin box, with boxes upon boxes of chick feed piled underneath.
It was the kind of feed used on farms for chicks, containing about a palmful of feed.
100 yen per portion.
"So expensive," Luke couldn't help saying.
Spending money like this unreasonably would only make one feel bad.
The staff member merely smiled in response to his words.
Yuigahama over there was already eager to play with the chicks.
However, the mother hen standing on the wood shavings nearby stared intently at her, making clucking sounds, preventing her from reaching out.
Yuigahama, refusing to believe it, circled to another corner.
The mother hen hurriedly followed her steps, continuing to eye her vigilantly.
"How can even a chicken bully you?" Luke said, somewhat speechless.
"Is, is that so?" Yuigahama wrung her fingers, her gaze wandering.
"You idiot." He helplessly took out one of his few coins and gently inserted it into the coin box.
Thus, the staff member happily handed him a box of feed, clapping her hands together happily and placing them by her cheek: "Thank you for your patronage!"
"Annoyingly unpleasant," Luke muttered, opening the lid, walking over to Yuigahama, and placing the feed box into the coop.
The mother hen took tentative steps, inching towards the feed.
Only after confirming there was no danger around did it lower its head and start pecking at the feed, bite by bite.
The chicks hiding behind its rear end hurriedly followed, but several were caught by Yuigahama, who was giggling 'hehe', using her fingers to gently scratch their fluffy bodies.
"Hello hello~~~ So cute~" Yuigahama greeted the chicks, speaking happily.
They won't understand human language, you know.
Luke looked at the clusters of chicks, asking the dango-head next to him: "What do you think happens to them when they grow up?"
"Hmm?"
The foolish Yuigahama with her hair buns wouldn't ponder such questions.
She guessed, saying: "Maybe, maybe they continue to shine somewhere."
"Hmm... Fried chicken shop?" He grasped the key point, guessing the answer.
As his words fell, Yuigahama's hand stroking the chicks suddenly stopped, letting them escape.
The nearby staff member's smile also inexplicably stiffened, anxiously scanning the children also playing with chicks nearby.
"Don't mind that kind of question!"
Yuigahama straightened up, puffed her cheeks, slapped her face, and made a 'hmph' sound to psych herself up, once again extending her hand to pet the chicks...
However, her hand slowly hovered in the air, finally lowering her head dejectedly with a faint sigh...
"Aigh!"
"You're not playing anymore?" Luke asked the downcast Yuigahama.
"It's all your fault for saying scary things! Too dark," Yuigahama said listlessly.
"So capricious. My 100 yen was wasted. I might as well go to a fried chicken shop and add..."
Yuigahama decisively pushed his back, pushing him away from the [Chick Zone].
"I'll compensate you, stop scaring the kids here!"
Yuigahama gathered her spirits to look for Yukinoshita, but found her near the owl enclosure before even reaching the [Cat] zone.
"Yukino-chan!" Yuigahama called out from a distance.
Yukinoshita Yukino pretended to nonchalantly move a little distance away from the glass wall containing the owls.
Are owls also considered cats?
Is the 'cat' you like perhaps a conceptual cat?
Luke grumbled inwardly.
He had just seen Yukinoshita mouth the shape of 'meow' fleetingly.
"Why are you two here?" Yukinoshita turned around coolly.
"Yukino-chan, he said something really scary back at the chick area," Yuigahama tattled to Yukinoshita, grabbing her sleeve.
"What was it?" Yukinoshita struggled slightly.
The frequency of struggling decreased.
Luke observed.
"He said that when the chicks grow up, they'll be sent to fried chicken shops!"
"Mmm—" Yukinoshita pinched her chin and started pondering.
"Based on general experience, possible destinations for these chicks after growing up are usually adoption, animal organization intake, or transfer to places like farms..."
"Among these, the most likely is cooperation with farms, transferring the chicks to continue living on the farm."
"Looking at it this way, it's possible that for some of the chicks, their final destination after growing up might indeed be a fried chicken shop."
"Eh—!"
Yuigahama released Yukinoshita's arm in shock, her lips moving up and down in disbelief.
"What Yukino-chan said... is also scary."
Luke nodded gravely; he already knew that.
Yukinoshita snapped out of her contemplative state, lifted her calm eyes, and explained to Yuigahama:
"Yuigahama-san, this is reasoning based on experience and common sense. Your point of fear is somewhat strange."
"If you really want to talk about scary, look at this..."
Luke slowly took out a horror manga from his bag.
"Ah—! I don't want to see it, I don't want to see it!"
Yuigahama saw the fleeting image of the slit-mouthed woman on the cover and started running away in panic.
And Yukinoshita, watching Yuigahama's reaction, inexplicably curled her lips into a smile.
...