69. Zoo

Two days passed by and Rei was getting ready to go out. It was already 9:30 and only half an hour was left before they met up. They changed their destination from the mall to the zoo upon Keiko's request.

He looked at himself in the mirror and nodded feeling good. He went towards the hall and saw Narumi watching some tv shows.

"Oba-san I will be going now."

"Ok take care, Rei."

After informing her he sent a text out to both of them indicating he was going out. They had to meet up in Mizuki's house and from there they will go in a car towards the zoo. He wore his shoes and got out of the house.

He walked slowly and greeted some of the shop owners he passed by. It took him exactly 30 minutes to reach her home. He stood in front of the door and rang the bell. The screen on the door flashed and he could see Mizuki. He waved his hand indicating it was him at the camera and the door opened.

He got in and made his way towards the hall. Even though it was a Sunday Mizuki's parents were busy and not in the house. He saw Mizuki and Keiko sitting on the couch watching some movie.

"Let's go. Why are you guys still sitting."

Mizuki turned the television off and all three of them went outside and into the car. The chauffeur drove the car towards the zoo with Rei sitting in the front and the other 2 in the back much to their displeasure.

Reaching there the chauffeur parked the car and all three of them got out. Mizuki turned towards the driver and said, "You can go anywhere till the evening." and started walking inside beside Rei and Keiko.

Rei bought some tickets and all three of them went in. The zoo was famous all over the country and was also one of the biggest. It was famous for keeping the animals in a well-kept environment and a large variety of animals.

Upon entering the ever-enthusiastic Keiko caught both of their hands and dragged them away towards cages with pandas. She caught the cage grills trying to get a closer look with her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Woah! look at those big and fluffy body guys. I want to touch its fur so bad." screamed an excited Keiko.

Rei shook his head while Mizuku went beside her to look closer. After having her full of watching the pandas, they went towards other animals. Keiko grabbed Rei's shirt tightly when they went inside the insect showcase area. Keiko was too scared but put a brave front while entering which changed halfway through.

They continued to walk around and take a lot of pictures with different animals and themselves. As they toured around the 3 of them caught a lot of people's attention. People couldn't help but glance back at them for a second look whether it was a boy or girl. The attention did not affect the three as they enjoyed their time.

They went to the food zone in the zoo to have their lunch. It was Rei who was paying for this as a celebration for him getting over his problems and playing again. Having ordered all the food they got to talking about their experience until now.

Keiko was pretty satisfied with the trip except for the part with insects while Mizuki enjoyed it till now. Rei was happy seeing both of them satisfied with the trip. The food had finally arrived and they started to eat.

"You were so scared when it came to insect Keiko. It was damn funny." teased Mizuki as they ate.

"Oh come on be quiet. Let's see if you will have the same expression when we go to the reptiles section after we eat." teased back Keiko with a giggle at the end.

Mizuki's section slowly lost color hearing about her weakness to reptiles and especially snakes. She turned towards Rei with an expectant gaze, so he could not take them there but to her disappointment he shook his head and said, "We have to go everywhere. Now eat quickly."

Mizuki could only hang her head low and continue eating with reluctance. After eating they made their way towards the reptile area. Mizuki caught Rei's hand as they went inside and didn't leave it. As they reached the snake's section she caught it very tightly making Rei think it was gonna break. Only when they exited did Mizuki leave his hand with a bright red face.

They continued to tour around the zoo and only left when the announcement of the zoo closing rang out in the speakers. Rei checked the time and it was already 5:30. They bought ice cream and came out of the park.

They got inside the car and the chauffeur drove towards Mizuki's house. Reaching all three of them went inside as they had to give the notebooks back to Rei. As they entered they saw Mizuki's mom in the hall watching the news.

After greeting her Rei took his books and went back home. He reached home and made his way towards his room. He took a bath and changed his clothes. He took out his school bag and arranged all his books keeping it aside.

He went to the kitchen and helped Narumi who was cooking.

"Did you enjoy today Rei?"

"Yes, Oba-san it was a nice break."

"Good"

Completing the preparations Rei called Shidou and Sora who were watching a film to eat. After eating he showed them the pictures he took today and Narumi requested a nice picture to get it framed.

He went back to his room to sleep early as he had school tomorrow. His thoughts wandered around how he can finally join the baseball club and play in matches. He rolled on his bed until he was finally able to sleep with a silly smile on his face.