Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 10 - Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4 - Idol Song

1

His shift at the restaurant over, Sakuta left the shop to find the skies cloudy. Maybe coming from that typhoon that had been hanging over the Ogasawara Islands all week. Currently, it was headed north and not slowing down. But the weather report predicted it would turn into an extratropical cyclone before it hit the mainland and pass over the waters south of Kanto early next week. It would probably not get too bad here.

But that didn’t mean there were no effects. October was half-over, but the air had returned to midsummer levels of humidity.

He was going to be out and about with Mai today, but the weather was not cooperating.

It was 3:10, and they were meeting up in five.

Mai had said to meet in front of the restaurant he worked at, so all he had to do was step outside, and he was there.

Figuring she’d be coming from the station, he looked that way and took a few steps down the road from the entrance.

It was almost three fifteen now. Still no sign of Mai. She was big on punctuality and almost never late. But Sakuta saw no one coming who looked like her. She wasn’t showing up in the nick of time here; this was legitimately tardy.

What could he pry out of her by way of apology?

His heart filled with hope, he squinted at the station again, and a car from the opposite direction pulled up beside him.

“……?”

It was almost like this ride was here for him. Puzzled, he turned toward it.

A two-tone vehicle. The body was white, but the window frames and roof were black. The fenders and side mirrors were black, too, and the whole thing had rounded curves. It looked kinda like a panda.

The car was a compact made by a German company, the design had made it quite popular, and he saw it about town often enough. This model had five doors, including the luggage space.

The door opened, and someone stepped out of the driver’s seat.

“Get in,” a voice came across the roof. Unmistakably Mai’s.

“Um…Mai?” he said, unsure where to begin.

“Hurry up.”

She sat back down in the driver’s seat without waiting for a response.

He had infinite questions, but she was clearly in a hurry, so he clambered into the passenger seat. It was roomier than it looked.

“I’m in.”

“Seat belt?”

“On.”

“Then let’s head out.”

Her hands on the wheel, Mai checked her mirrors. She waited for a car to pass, then turned on her blinker and eased on the gas.

The car quietly pulled out. It gradually sped up, moving away from the restaurant. Soon, the roof of the building was out of sight.

They drove straight down the road, his cram school passing in the blink of an eye. By the time he turned to look, it was already gone.

He glanced sideways at Mai. She looked completely comfortable behind that wheel. She had fake glasses on, her hair loosely bound and falling down her front. It left the nape of her neck bare, which was always sexy.

“Um, Mai?”

“What?”

She kept her eyes front.

“What is this?”

“A car. Heard of them?”

Of course he had.

“You bought one?”

This was less a question than a confirmation. Mai was the Mai Sakurajima, so buying a car hardly counted as a major expense. She’d bought herself a condo while still in high school…making this a comparatively trivial purchase.

“Just before summer vacation. But then I was away on shoots, so I had them hold off on delivering it.”

“Your license?”

“I have one, obviously.”

Driving without one was illegal.

They got caught at a light just after Fujisawa Station, so she reached into her purse, pulled out her wallet, and showed him her license.

It certainly said Mai Sakurajima on it, with her Fujisawa address listed. The genuine article. And of course, it had a picture of her to go with it. ID photos have a distinct tendency to turn out awful, but Mai’s looked just like the Mai Sakurajima. Astonishing.

Come to think of it, her student ID photo had also been totally Mai Sakurajima. Was there a trick to it? Or did it just come down to superior raw material? Probably both, so he decided not to ask. It was no skin off his nose if his student ID photo featured dead fish eyes. He could always get a laugh from showing it to people. Spread some good cheer in the world.

“So when’d you get it?”

“Last year, while I was shooting the morning soap. Hit up the driver’s school around that schedule.”

Fall to spring, then.

“If you had time to spare, you could have gone on more dates with me.”

“You were too busy studying, and you know it.”

So this was his fault now?

“You had no time for me, so I was forced to get a license to keep myself occupied.”

And yet she’d still done her part to tutor him. Impressive.

“Sigh…”

“What was that for?”

“I was planning on taking lessons myself, once I’d saved up a bit.”

“Don’t let me stop you.”

“Get my license in secret, then surprise you with a driving date.”

He’d figured that might let him spend a bit more time with someone as famous as her. She was good at going unnoticed, but her office were being extra careful lately, and most of her travel time was now in her manager’s van.

“Well, I did the exact same thing,” Mai said, smirking.

“You got a license to take me on a date?”

“Exactly. A car makes it much easier to go out.”

“And not because you needed it on a shoot?”

“Well, that, too.”

“I thought so.”

“Stop grumbling and navigate.”

“Where to?”

“Odaiba. We’re seeing this concert, right?”

As he started giving directions, Mai turned on the stereo and played Sweet Bullet songs to set the mood.