A Date At the Zoo?

"Hey, hey, Kuma-chan! Let's go see the penguins!" Ryuuta cheered, dragging the bear Imagin behind him as he ran at nearly full tilt for the large tank up just ahead. Kintaros just smiled and tried his best to keep up with the energetic dragon Imagin, the sleeves of his kimono and his long ponytail trailing along behind him as he ran.

It had been Ryoutaro's idea. Ryuuta had been in a very sour mood recently. But who could blame him? His "oneechan" was going out on dates with Yuuto. Of course Ryuuta wasn't happy with that, and since he wasn't happy with that, he wasn't happy in general, and he snapped at everyone. Everyone. His regular fights with Momotaros turned a great deal more painful and actually serious. He kicked Urataros in the shins when the turtle Imagin tried to explain to him that it was a good thing for Airi. He shot bubbles in Ryoutaro's face when the dark-haired Rider tried to console him, and with his bad luck of course the bubbles got into his eyes. He wouldn't even let Naomi or Hana near him. The only living things he tolerated around him seemed to be fluffy animals...and Kintaros. So when Ryuuta didn't try to keep the silent Kintaros away from him, Ryoutaro decided it would be a good idea for Ryuuta to get off of the train and get to play around a bit, and for Kintaros to go along with him, to hopefully keep collateral damage to a minimum.

So it was that Ryoutaro's wallet was much, much lighter now, but Ryuuta was happily dragging Kintaros around Tokyo at a rather impressive rate. They'd gone to an arcade, a park, a mall, climbed Tokyo Tower, gotten lunch, gotten ice cream, and were now racing through the zoo. Of course, Ryuuta was spending much more time at the zoo than at the other places. And this was for one reason and one reason only - he had a huge soft spot for all things furry and cuddly. Of course, he liked the non-furry and cuddly things too, as evidenced by the fact that he was cheering at the penguins and trying to figure how to con the staff of the zoo into letting him pet one.

Kintaros just grinned at the Imagin's antics. He could tell that the business with Airi was still bothering Ryuuta, and that he was acting more energetic than usual to cover it up. But he had noticed that, not once since they'd entered the zoo, had Ryuuta once let go of his hand.

Perhaps that soft spot for furry animals extended in some weird way to him?

"Hey, Kuma-chan, what do you want to go see next?" Ryuuta asked, grinning up at him from under his trademark paint-splattered hat. Kintaros blinked down at him. It was the first time that day that Ryuuta actually asked him where he wanted to go. He thought for a moment, eyes narrowing in thought.

"Perhaps...the bears?" he asked. Ryuuta laughed.

"Of course Kuma-chan would want to go see the bears," he replied, dragging Kintaros off with him in the direction of the bear pen. They spent a good portion of the rest of the day wandering around the zoo. Ryuuta didn't drop his hand until he discovered that there was a petting zoo attached to the actual zoo. Two and a half hours later and every cat, dog, mouse, rabbit, ferret, and every other breed of small furry animal had been very thoroughly petted and cuddled by Ryuuta. They left the petting zoo with Ryuuta in high spirits and ready for dinner. They were on some nameless street on their way to the restaurant that Ryuuta wanted to eat at when Ryuuta suddenly stopped walking, tugging Kintaros to a stop as well. Kintaros looked back, confused, and felt his confusion grow to alarm when he saw that the dragon Imagin wasn't looking at him, but down at the ground, eyes shadowed by the bill of his hat.

"Ummm...Kuma-chan..." he started, shuffling his feet. Kintaros had to smile when he noticed that the boy was blushing. He had to admit that this rarely-seen bashful Ryuutaros was absolutely adorable. Ryuuta took a breath and looked up at him, face split by the biggest grin Kintaros had ever seen in his life. "Thank you!" Ryuuta exclaimed, and before Kintaros could wonder about the sudden extreme happiness, Ryuuta leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. Then the Imagin was back to running off, tugging him along behind him like nothing happened, and Kintaros was left with no choice but to run with him, silently wondering even as he smiled at the boy running slightly ahead of him.