Saki gave in because of his persuasion and the lunch was decided, and the two started walking towards the exit. But he suddenly stopped, in front of the Claw machine game.
"Are you going to play again?" Saki asked and Adam nodded, "But didn't you say that the best time to win at claw machine, is when you enter?"
"Ah… Well…" Adam did say that it was best to store the luck, and he could see that Saki was making a light joke.
"I think I have saved up enough luck," Adam tried to end the topic quickly as Saki smiled at that.
This is what claw machines do to a person, she thought that he would lose again, but her eyes widened in the next instant, because he won on his first try.
"See what did I tell you?" Adam laughed in delight, holding the Doraemon plushie up in the sky.
"Yeah, congrats," Saki was happy as well, after all his cheerfulness was quite contagious. But this wasn't the end, as Adam held the plushie in front of Saki.
"You can have it," He said making her eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
"But you won it after so many tries?" She was confused, and he already anticipated that, but the reason for this action was very simple.
"It is because you said that you didn't win one before," Adam's words caused her eyes to widen, she didn't expect him to think about it so seriously.
"About before?" He nodded at her words, she did mention not winning it before.
"So, I want to give this to you, think of it as a gift from a friend," He smiled, it was clear that the reason he played this game again, was to win and give it to her.
"Umm, Thank you…" Saki couldn't possibly refuse it after what he said, so she accepted it and hugged the plushie tightly.
"There's no need to say that to a friend you know," Adam laughed looking at how carefully she was holding that plushie, "now let's go and eat, I am literally starving."
"Yes," Saki smiled and followed him to the nearby shop, luckily it wasn't that crowded, and inside the shop that had a simple interior, they ordered what they liked.
"Are you sure you don't want another?" Adam asked after he had finished his 3 orders, but Saki on the other hand.
"No… I barely finished one," She ordered a small portion but was already stuffed, so she was amazed at how much he ate at once.
'Well… he is very big… like a bodybuilder?' Saki thought looking at his forearms, and his clothes also showed his body shape very clearly, '…Maybe I shouldn't look.' She quickly looked away in that instant as a small blush painted her ears.
And after Adam had enough, they went back to the arcade and played a little more, and soon it was 5 P.M.
"It got so late," Saki said looking at her wristwatch.
"Yeah, we played too much, didn't we?" Adam smiled, they were now back in the park sitting on the bench.
"Yes, I've never had this much fun at the arcade before," Saki held onto her bag with a small smile.
She had kept the plushie in there, and had been holding the bag like it had some sort of treasure inside it.
"That's good…" Adam smiled slightly since things worked nicely. This is when she turned towards him.
"I have a question for… you Adam," She spoke slowly as she had been meaning to ask this for a while now.
"Hmm, what is it?" And he didn't see anything wrong with it, after all, he knew it was coming.
"Why did you go that far for me?" Saki couldn't make sense of this, because even if she had fun with him and was glad...
'I don't think someone else will do the same for me,' Saki knew that even the nicest person would leave her after she calmed down, but he didn't do that, and she wanted to know why.
Adam looked at her nervous expression and understood what she was going through in her head.
'Part of it is because, I felt bad about how bad her future was, and I didn't want to leave it be if I can help…' But there was something more that made him help.
"That's because I've been through the same thing," He said looking at her.
"The same… thing?" Saki's eyes widened, how could someone like him have that sort of problem?
He seemed outgoing, fun to be around, and had a caring nature.
"Why was someone like you …alone?" Saki couldn't believe something like that happening, it just didn't make sense.
"That's because of my own choice, I may have been in a bad situation, but I chose to be alone on my own without considering possibilities…" Saki listened to his words and she could understand that, because that is what she did as well.
She was scared of making a mistake, and she herself chose solitude instead of fixing that problem—that is why she was all alone.
"And when I was left all alone, I started to hate myself for how I ended up and I fell into a cycle of justification, trying to prove that what I did wasn't wrong…. I tried to believe that, it was the only choice I had," He looked into her black eyes and continued with a small smile.
"Adam…" Saki knew how painful it was to realize that, because she too realized it just today.
That the so-called justification, was nothing but a coping mechanism that she had been using to escape from the truth, only for it to be standing face to face with it again.
"But it wasn't all bad, I had the fortune of meeting people who helped me… and meeting them made me glad that I kept it together for so long," Adam smiled but he didn't seem happy, "… it isn't that I stopped making mistakes, I still made many… and I was lucky to meet them because they still chose to support me even after that."
"…I am glad for you," Saki's eyes softened while looking at him, it may have been bad before, but in the end, it worked out for Ada—he seemed happy now, this is all that matters, right?
"That's why Saki, don't think about what will happen if you make mistakes," Her eyes widened in that instance as she didn't expect that, "It might seem hard to make friends, but all you have to do is keep trying till you meet the correct person who will stick with you."
"But…" Saki knew that as well, but the thought of failure still scared her.
The fear of being alone again was more prominent in her now that she knew about it, but there was one thing she didn't think about.
"Even if you fail, it isn't that you will be alone," Adam said bringing her out of her thoughts, "I'll be your friend and I'll support you, even if you don't want me to."
"You…will…?" Saki couldn't understand, they had just met today. So why was he making such a statement? Sure he said that she was similar to him, but that didn't mean he had to go that far.
He had already done enough. 'And I thought that it would be the end…'
"Of course, I am your friend am I not?" But Adam smiled proving her wrong once again.
"…Yes, yes you are…" Saki felt her eyes getting watery, but it couldn't be helped. She really thought that this will be the end now that she knew why he helped her, she was prepared for it since she chose to ask that.
Because no matter what his reason was, she considered him to be her friend, so she was happy that he felt the same.
"Just walk ahead, if you fall I'll help you up again." She had found a dependable friend, one that will help her if she was in need.
"Also…" Saki looked at him when he suddenly spoke up, "Don't follow people you don't know, especially if they are overfriendly and older than you." He said that so seriously that she found it funny.
"You say that now?" She smiled because wasn't that exactly how they met?
"I am being serious…" Adam on the other hand wasn't in the mood for jokes, "Promise me that you won't."
"Alright… I promise," Saki nodded because she could feel his genuine care, "but would it be ok if I follow someone like you?"
'This girl doesn't learn…' Adam looked at her flatly before flicking her forehead.
"Ouch! What was that for?!"