Miniature Golf, But Big Friendship

PixelatedGlory

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Tadashi stepped back out of the way to watch Ezra take their shot and leaned a little bit on his golf club. It was a really nice day for this outing. He watched carefully as Ezra went about setting up the shot and nodded along as they thought everything through aloud.

Ezra's ball had bounced and tumbled like a pinball all around the walls of the course but in the end it stopped almost in the same place Tadashi's had. He giggled. "Well... yeah I think you did hit it a little too hard but it was a really good first shot. At least you didn't send it into the water or anything." He smiled reassuringly at Ezra and and gestured for them to follow him onto the green. "Now we try to gently hit it into the hole over there. I would just work on trying to hit it softer this time."

With that he lined up his putter and ball and took another gentle swing. He'd hit it hard enough to get the ball to the hole and soft enough not to have it fly past but his angle was off by just a hair and the ball rolled along the edge of the hole and back out again. "...Let me just go tap it in so it's out of your way," he sighed as he made a face at the hole and then went back to smiling. He wasn't really unhappy- it had just been so close to going in. A slight tap of the club sent the ball nicely into the hole and then it was Ezra's turn to go again.

 

ArcanaFate

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Ezra watched as Tadashi hit his ball two more times before dropping it in the hole successfully. This game was quite complex for such a simple goal. Each stroke had to be just right or else you would lose points... gain points? The scoring system was somewhat odd as well. But no matter. Spending time with Tadashi was good so why argue with this game. Carefully lining up his shot, Ezra took another swing but much softer this time. The ball rolled once more, bouncing off two walls and slowing to a crawl halfway between its original position and the hole. Two swings later, and Ezra eventually sunk the ball in proper.

"Apparently I need to learn how to properly adjust my shots. This is quite a challenging game. But it is... fun." Ezra gave a nod, plucking their ball from the hole and holding it in their hand. "Where do we go from here?"
 

PixelatedGlory

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He stepped out of the way to watch with excitement as Ezra's ball rolled towards the hole, but it was clear it wasn't going to go in. Ezra was doing pretty well but they still had some work to do. Some of the holes would be a lot harder than that one. Of course Tadashi was only really one stroke ahead and neither of them were on par.

Not that Tadashi really cared at all about the score. He'd taken a couple of those short golf pencils but he wasn't even writing down the scores. It was just fun being out there spending time with Ezra.

Tadashi laughed and almost went to put his hand on Ezra's shoulder in a reassuring gesture but stopped himself short. Ezra was more particular about their personal space, he reminded himself.

"I know i'm having fun, and we barely even started. You'll get better though. Maybe by the 18th hole you'll be even better than me!" Tadashi exclaimed with a grin and pointed at the little pathway from where they were standing towards the next little putting green. "See that sign with a two on it? That's for the second hole. We just follow the paths to the next numbered hole."

It was a few more holes until the more significant obstacles began popping up. On hole number 5 there was a small section on a fake boat that had three holes you could aim for after hitting the ball up a ramp and a lower section obscured by planks of wood and a fake cannon. One of the holes would be an almost guaranteed hole in one but the others would take more swings.

"I think we have to guess which hole is the best one to go for here," he said as he looked over the part of the course they could see from where they were.

 

ArcanaFate

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"It is good that you are having fun. I am enjoying myself very much as well."

Ezra gave a simple nod, following along with Tadashi as the bakeneko led them through the next few holes. They still quite weren't sure how scoring worked but trusted their friend to handle it. But the score never really mattered in the first place. The point was to 'hang out' with their friend and learn how to be social. Stepping up to the fifth hole's starting point, Ezra looked at all three of the openings with a blank stare. Which one was the right one? Tadashi said they had to guess.

It probably wasn't the center one. That seemed too straightforward. So left or right. Ezra looked to the left hole and aimed his shot carefully. Sending the ball up the ramp and towards the left side, it disappeared from view. However, they didn't hear the now familiar sound of the ball rattling into the hole, so apparently that wasn't the correct pathway.

"It is your turn, Tadashi."
 

PixelatedGlory

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Tadashi smiled back at Ezra when they said they were enjoying the golfing too. Or at least having fun in general. If they hadn't been having fun Tadashi would have just abandoned the game and took them somewhere else.

He stood there watching as Ezra took their shot. He agreed that the center hole had to be one of the decoys. Why even have the other holes if that one just gave a hole in one? Ezra's ball went up the ramp and into the left hole and Tadashi listened with anticipation to hear where it would make the telltale sound of golf ball on plastic that would indicate it went in. The sound hadn't come and Tadashi was a little disappointed. It would have been great to have Ezra get a hole in one.

"Oh, well you did really well getting the ball into that hole Ezra," he tried to console Ezra a little bit. Though he wasn't sure he needed to- Ezra didn't seem upset by it too much. Maybe he was trying too hard to make sure Ezra had a fun time.

He set himself into the position and then hit his own ball into the hole on the right side of the course. Surely that one must be the correct choice then. The ball rolled smoothly up and into the hole, disappearing from sight. And yet there was no sound once it was through the hole.

"Huh...," Tadashi seemed confused that neither of them had picked the correct hole. Was the center one the correct choice after all? "Ok... let's go see where our balls are Ezra," he shrugged and gestured for Ezra to walk with him down the steps to the other half of that hole. He almost reached for Ezra's hand, but didn't and then was utterly confused why he had even had the thought in the first place.

Down on the rest of the green the holes form above ended in tunnels that directed the balls out towards the bottom. The left hole pointed far off to the right and the center hole pointed off towards the left. The right hole seemed to point right at the end hole but only Ezra's ball was visible down there. Tadashi's was nowhere to be seen.

 

ArcanaFate

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Ezra looked at where their ball had landed, seeing it resting somewhat near the hole. Not close enough to be an easy putt into the hole, but not the worst place their ball could have ended up.

Tadashi's ball, however, was gone.

With a curious head tilt, the teen glanced around the area looking for any sign that the ball may have rolled out. But there was no sign of it at all. Maybe it had gotten stuck in the tunnel? But what would have caused it to get stuck? "Where is your ball, Tadashi? Did it roll back to the beginning or maybe it is stuck inside the hole? Although that would be a poor design feature of the course if that was the case."
 

PixelatedGlory

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Tadashi looked around with Ezra for a couple minutes but his ball just wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Um, I don't know Ezra. I saw other people ahead of us on the course- they still have their balls so I don't get it," Tadashi answered, very confused as he stepped over to the tubes that the balls were supposed to come out of.

Tadashi knelt down to look inside the one his ball should have come out of. "Maybe I can look in a little as a cat?" He wasn't really asking Ezra though, as he emptied his hands and then his form shrunk until he was just a white cat with black paws again. The curious feline hopped up and stuck his head into the hole. It wasn't a huge hole so he couldn't go too far but apparently it was just far enough.

There was the sound of scratching on the inside of the pvc tube and a hiss and yowl from Tadashi as the cat, a fat squirrel and one missing golf ball all came tumbling out of the tube. The rotund squirrel was angrily chittering at Tadashi for disturbing his nap and then the golf ball plopped out and hit Tadashi on the head, bouncing off in the direction of the hole.

Tadashi hissed again and arched his back as the fur stood on end. Fortunately the squirrel took the hint and fled as Tadashi chased it to the edge of the green.

After the excitement ended Tadashi rubbed his face with his paws and then sat to shift back into being a boy. "Uh.... I don't even know what to say about that," Tadashi giggled and shrugged at Ezra. He didn't look hurt though, so that was good. Plus the whole thing had to be funny from an outside perspective. Like a cartoon almost.
 

ArcanaFate

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Ezra was about to argue that Tadashi's cat size would not adequately fit within the hole but before they could say anything, the bakeneko was already shrunk down with his head poking inside to see if his ball was still within. The sounds of hissing and yowling made the spirit flinch in surprise, and they quickly got the club ready in case they had to initiate combat with some sort of enemy.

It was a squirrel. A very overweight squirrel nesting inside the course. That had to be a health code violation at bare minimum. Tadashi took a small bump on the noggin from his ball, and the squirrel ran off after getting another hiss and a quick chase from the cat. Watching everything happen in such a rapid fashion, Ezra could only look at Tadashi with their head tilted for a moment before something quite unexpected happened.

Ezra laughed.

It was a small chuckle, but between the faint smile and the softest exhale, it was something so out of the normal emotional expectation that the spirit flinched in surprise. "That was... different. Although a little humorous." Their face immediately shifted back into its normal neutral expression as they stared at a small smudge of dust on Tadashi's cheek. Most likely gained from sticking his head into the tunnel.

"Hold still, please." Ezra asked, carefully pulling a handkerchief from their vest pocket and moving up close to wipe Tadashi's face. Two quick movements later, the spirit had already backed away. "Apologies for entering your space, but you had a mark on your cheek. It would not have been very polite of me to leave it there. I would have been a bad friend if I had done so."
 

PixelatedGlory

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Tadashi looked up as his friend laughing. Well chuckling, but it wasn't something he'd seen Ezra do before and although he felt really foolish for that whole set of events that had just happened he smiled. It was good to see Ezra was happy. Even if he had to get in a fight with a lazy golf ball stealing squirrel to make it happen.

"It's good to hear you laughing Ezra. It suits you," Tadashi grinned even as Ezra's face went back to neutral. Ezra had been saying they were having fun but Tadashi had to admit it was a little hard to know for sure until that point. He knew it wasn't Ezra's fault and he would never get upset that they didn't show emotion much but still, it was great to see a little bit of it. He'd fight an army of squirrels if he had to.

He did look curiously up at Ezra as they came close. Why? What- and then Tadashi sat there as Ezra dabbed at his face with a handkerchief. There must have been something there. Tadashi wasn't really concerned with personal space all that much but having Ezra clean his face for him made his face warm as blood tinged his cheeks a little pink from embarrassment.

"No- no, no you don't have to apologize. It um, didn't bother me I just didn't expect it. Um, thank you," Tadashi hurriedly spluttered as he stumbled over his words. Which only made it worse and finally he just sighed. "I don't think you could ever be a bad friend. You're too nice for that," he finished after regaining some composure.

Then he stood up and dusted himself off so they could get back to their game. Now that they had the ball back. Who knows if that had been the tube that would have given Tadashi a hole in one. Honestly, he didn't care. Ezra laughing was a million times better than a hole in one.

 

ArcanaFate

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"Oh. Thank you."

Ezra stared at Tadashi, seeming unsure of how to take the compliments that Tadashi had given them. First, being told that odd chuckle suited them was curious. They were unaware of how a chuckle was very fitting for them, but maybe Tadashi knew something they didn't? Maybe it was a social thing. But the other compliment was a surprise. Being told that they were a good friend and very nice was much more flattering. Apparently they were doing something right, because the bakeneko seemed to be having a very good time. Although tripping over his words was strange. Why was Tadashi struggling to speak? More mysteries seemed to pop up as time went on.

"Should we just move onto the next hole, Tadashi? I think we have reached the maximum amount of entertainment from this particular course." They nodded, still holding the club with a rather refined stance for one who had never played a game of golf, miniature or otherwise, in their life.
 
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