Once every finished eating and preparing for the day, they headed out to the aquarium, about an hour away.
"Why is everything always so far away?" Rhys thought to Kane, who only shrugged, unsure of the answer himself.
"It exists, at least. This wasn't even in the original novel. Kane said as he took his seat in the cupholder.
The drive was quite fun, as Rhys had soon gotten used to the loud music Xavier had always blared, and even got to learn some of the interests the target had.
Xavier was interested in the larger fish, like sharks, while Erin was interested in weirder ones, such as the zebra lion fish, while Seth was interested in the dolphins, considering their intellect.
"Are you really sure you hope they have a zebra lion fish?" Rhys asked Erin, unsure what exactly his tastes were anymore.
Erin clicked his tongue. "It's not like it can poison me, I just want to see one." He replied sarcastically.
"The same old Erin despite being forty affection points in, huh?" Rhys thought, to which Kane perked up.
"The targets attitude towards you has change though, host. At least now he doesn't tell you to get lost or not touch him." Kane reminded.
"I suppose so. It wouldn't really be a target capture system if they immediately fell heads over heels for me instantly." Rhys thought, before frowning a little.
"I shouldn't be so accepting so easily! I still hate this system." He thought as Kane tried to stifle his laughter, reading Rhys' thoughts.
"Looks like you need to consciously remind yourself you hate it, huh host?" Kane thought to himself, delighted at Rhys' progress thus far.
By one fifteen pm, they arrived at the aquarium they paid the fee for their tickets and entered, Xavier already talking their ears off and running around to look at the sea creatures.
Although people were alerted by Xavier's running and erratic behaviour, they could only admire his cuteness and not say anything, as he looked like a happy puppy.
Seth and Rhys only smiled at the passerby's as they apologised for Xavier's behaviour before reigning him, which only got more of people's sneak peeks of them.
"Although it's far, it is a perfect place to practice smile. It should also be easier for the female lead to notice us, right?" Rhys thought, happy for once that the male targets could capture people's attention so easily.
The aquarium wasn't extremely huge, but it was quite a decent size. One hour in, and they explored about half of it, admiring the sharks for much too long.
He had to admit though, he did enjoy seeing all the cute fish swimming together, or how beautiful some of the fish were, along with their time together.
He wouldn't admit it, but he enjoyed aimlessly wandering around, sharing laughs, trying to communicate with the animals, Xavier's suggestion, and even taking a few group pictures.
Still having a few minutes to spare before the show were to start, Rhys wished for the best than Serenity would show up, while guiding them to the gift shop, asking if they'd like anything.
While the targets picked things out on their own, Rhys went ahead and looked for small items that could be considered matching.
"Hmm, what do you think? Anything should do, anyways." Rhys hummed, looking at Kane. In his hands, he held a few keychains in his hand.
"And how are those consistent, you just chose randomly! Do you know what matching is?" Kane retorted, putting them back and picking something out himself.
"Here! See, these are cute right? Little narwhal keychains in four different colours. Anyone can tell these are matching!" Kane said, satisfied with himself as he plopped them into Rhys' hand.
"You don't have to look so disinterested!" Kane hissed, noticing Rhys' thoughts. Although he was smiling to passerby's, he was just wanting to get the mission over with in his head, and never do it again.
"It doesn't matter, though. It's just a keychain, and it's not like I'll keep it in the system safe space." Rhys replied, a valid point.
"You're just so impossible, host." Kane said as he watched Rhys pay, now scrolling through his phone, waiting for them to come back.
As they purchased one by one, Rhys tried to pay, but each adamantly declined, telling Rhys they could do that much at least.
"Remind me not to transfer this much money next time. Just a hundred thousand." Rhys said to Kane, who only rolled his eyes.
"You better remember what you've said just now. You'll regret that later." Kane muttered, knowing full well how the system works, and how ungrateful Rhys was being after he helped him the first time.
As they exited, they made their way to the dolphin show, what Seth was most excited for. He sat on the end, with Erin on his right, Seth next to Erin, and Xavier next to Seth, in the middle row of seats.
Both he and Xavier dropped hints about the show yesterday, and he hoped that Serenity would be there, so he could complete his mission, and never think about it again.
With just two minutes before the show to begin, he still hadn't seen her, causing him to worry and panic a bit. Had he failed in baiting her?
As luck had it, she finally entered and sat a row behind, Kane calming Rhys down. "She's here! I see her, she's sitting behind you, a bit to the right! Seems like she's here with family." Kane said, counting the people she came in with.
Happy, all he needed to do now was figure out a way to capture her attention, and kiss Erin. He purposely chose the end to not get stuck between two targets, hoping Seth would distract Xavier.
"But why pick Erin, host? Did you finally pick a favourite target?" Kane asked, sitting atop of Rhys head, staring intently at Erin.
"No! I don't want to bother Seth, and he'd probably keep Xavier in check, it's just easiest." Rhys yelled at him in his head, as the show soon begun.
One minute passed, and then two, and then three, but Rhys did nothing. "Are you going to go for it?! I'll push your lips into his if you refuse, host." Kane yelled, the taste of mission accomplishment so close.
"Cut it out! There's still time, I need her attention on me, first." Rhys replied, now that he had to do it, it felt different. He could talk big, but could he really walk the walk?
"I assure you, her eyes are on Erin. Just kiss him!" Kane hissed, his patience running a little thin, worried that Rhys just couldn't do it, like in the tutorial.
"How do I gain more affection points after this, though? Isn't it, a bit too unnatural? It's fine if I don't do it." Rhys doubted, causing Kane to kick his back hard, forcing him to collide with Erin.
Playing it off, Rhys pulled a Xavier, and wrapped his arms around Erin, leaning his head against his shoulders. "What the hell?" He shouted.
"This is for your own good! I'm only thinking about you! Her full attention is on you!" Kane said, trying to help Rhys just a little in his own way.
"What happened to playing offence? Or being blunt and going for things? No wonder someone like you is friendless, bad at flirting, and never got a lover!" Kane said, striking a bit of a nerve.
Taking a deep breath, Rhys looked directly into Erin's eyes, as his attention was shifted to Rhys, after he suddenly grabbed onto him.
Leaning in, he gave a chaste kiss to Erin, brushing their lips, as he played it off, trying to look at Serenity, who was now glaring at him.
Five seconds soon passed, and the system space hadn't started, and then, ten seconds had passed. "Why isn't it working!" Rhys thought.
Kane gulped, and looked away. "I guess it requires a French kiss." He said, his attention now fully on the dolphin show as Rhys had panicked.
He was already halfway there, so he just had to do it, right? It greatly scared him, but he bit down on Erin's lip lightly, as Erin opened. It was now, or never. He didn't want to lose another memory, even if it cost him affection points, or awkwardness in the future.
He had never kissed a person, but he knew what to do from movies and novels. He wrapped his arms around Erin's neck, and let his tongue battle for dominance against Erin's.
He lost, as Erin's tongue explored his mouth, the two were quiet, but it was a little bit sloppy, the two had no experience, after all.
As Rhys pulled away for air, the safe space begun, "MISSION SUCCESS", causing Rhys to jump and run out of the room, trying to find a nearby bathroom to hide in, screaming obscenities towards Kane.
"You never said anything about that kind of kissing!" He yelled, the tips of his ears a crimson red. It was his first actual kiss, and with a man.
"My bad! How was I supposed to know? Don't tell me you're going to be gaslighting him! And go read your reward before the safe space ends!" Kane said, watching Rhys lock himself in a bathroom.
"That kiss was a figment of both our imaginations! Never existed!" Rhys cried out, vividly remember how he tugged on Erin's locks, and how it felt as Erin's tongue explored his mouth.
Banging his head against a stall door, he calmed and read the reward, three minutes left.
"Rewards upon completing a gift and a kiss, system will now evolve." Reading that, a light enveloped Kane's body, for about two minutes.
As he finally emerged, Rhys' blush had died down a little, but was still there. Kane didn't look much different, but he was maybe a little larger than before.
"What happened to you? I thought you evolved?" Rhys asked, causing Kane to happily float in circles.
"My energy! I have much more power now. Soon it'll be able to manifest, you did great, host!" Kane said, dancing in the air happily, while talking to Rhys.
Although he was genuinely happy to have evolved, he wanted to distract Rhys at least a bit. Soon, the safe space ended and the commotion outside started up again, but Rhys was distracted by Kane.
Within five minutes, his blushing face subsided, and he made his way out of the bathroom and washed his hand, going back to the show, where he found Erin there looking confused.
As Rhys sat down, Erin looked at him and whispered, "Where were you?" to Rhys, causing Rhys to smile and tilt his head.
"I was in the bathroom, it's kinda far. I guess I missed the past ten minutes, can you tell me what's happened?" Rhys whispered back, making Erin blush.
"You really chose to gaslight him, huh host." Kane shook his head, a little okay was this outcome.
Erin coughed, unsure what to make of it. It's true Rhys was suddenly gone after he pulled away, but it just felt so real that he nearly thought it was.
Erin affection soon rose by seven, putting him at fifty, which startled Rhys, a shocker to him. "Its probably raised high because you gaslit him, making him think that he's infatuated with you so much that he thought of the scenario." Kane said, noticing the glint in Erin's eyes.
"So if I gaslight each target I'd raise my affection that high?" Rhys asked, listening to what Erin was saying about the show so far.
"No, it's probably a one time thing, and gaslighting wouldn't always work, considering personalities, since Xavier doesn't seem like the type to be affected, right?" Kane responded, back to watching the show.
Rhys let out a small sigh, he didn't want to do that again. The kiss didn't feel good, he was only blushing because it was his first kiss taken from him, is all. That didn't count either, because he was the submissive one despite initiating it, which pissed him off a little. He hated the fact he would kiss again.
"You know, since you're such a bad kisser, why not watch a few more romance movies." Kane snickered as Rhys yelled a bunch of profanities and shut up at him.