Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 12 - Chapter 4.2

2

Mai’s hands on the wheel.

“……”

Sakuta in the passenger seat.

“……”

Sara in the back seat, bolt upright.

“……”

The car left Fujisawa Station and headed south toward Enoshima on Route 467. This would eventually take them to the coast road.

That sounded like a lovely drive, but nobody was saying a word.

There was only the pleasant hum of the car in motion.

Mai was the first to break the silence.

“Sakuta,” she said.

“Mm?”

He glanced sideways and found her eyes on the car ahead.

“She seems rather bewildered. Perhaps you’d better introduce us.”

He checked the back seat in the rearview mirror. Sara was sitting like a cat stuck in a tree. She hadn’t once let her back touch the seat since she stepped into the car.

“Um, Mai.”

“What?”

“I’m pretty bewildered myself.”

“Why would you be? It’s not like I caught you cheating.”

“It sure feels like you did.”

“That’s because you haven’t introduced us.”

That did seem the only way to relieve this awkward tension.

“Himeji,” he said, turning around to look at her.

“Y-yes?” she stammered. She was definitely stressed out by the whole situation.

“I’m sure you’re aware, but this is my girlfriend, Mai Sakurajima.”

“Of course I’m aware. I’ve seen her TV shows. The concert scene in her new movie gave me goose bumps.”

Even her tone was stiff. Like she was reading a book report in front of class.

“Thank you,” Mai said, smiling warmly.

“And this is Sara Himeji, one of my students at the cram school.”

Completing the formality.

“She goes to Minegahara, so she’s our kohai.”

The car stopped at a red light.

Mai turned around and looked Sara right in the eye.

“Nice to meet you,” she said.

“Th-the pleasure is all mine!”

Sara was blinking, still astonished this was real. Mai Sakurajima, in the flesh. Right in front of her, moving, talking. And the shock of that was all too obvious.

“Can I call you Sara?”

“Y-yes. Please.”

“Feel free to use my first name as well. Sakurajima is so long.”

“Okay.”

“Careful, Himeji. I tried giving her a nickname once, and she nearly killed me.”

“I did not.”

“You were pretty mad, though.”

“Not at all. I was simply disciplining an ill-mannered kohai.”

“See? She’s furious.”

He turned around to address her directly, but Sara wasn’t answering. Her mouth was half-open, just barely managing a smile. It was an awkward one. She couldn’t exactly agree with Sakuta while Mai could hear her. Or perhaps their no-holds-barred banter was just shocking. That actually seemed pretty likely. He got why.

Before she recovered, Mai asked, “Is Sakuta a good teacher?”

“My students like me more than you’d think.”

“I wasn’t asking you.”

“Aww.”

Ignoring his disappointment, Mai glanced at the mirror, saying, “Well?”

“Um, his students like him more than you’d think.”

“Really?” Mai asked, like she couldn’t believe her ears.

If he tried to butt in here, she’d probably just tell him to hold his tongue. Not wanting his student to see that, Sakuta voluntarily chose silence.

“Really. Not just me. His other students—Yamada and Yoshiwa—they’ve both gone to him for help, too.”

“With classwork?” Mai asked.

“Mostly romantic advice. Yamada asked how to get himself a girlfriend.”

Sara started laughing halfway through, her stress finally ebbing away.

“What subject do you teach again, Sakuta?”

“I’d prefer to teach math.”

But for some reason, all the questions he got were about dating.

“I’d argue you’re the reason I get these questions, Mai.”

If they knew who his girlfriend was, anyone would start to wonder. Math would become a secondary concern. It was only natural.

“Don’t blame me.”

They got caught at another red light. Once they’d stopped, Mai reached out to pinch Sakuta’s cheek again.

“Ow, ow! Ack, look! Mai, the light’s changed!”

He pointed ahead at the green light.

Mai let go and eased on the gas, following the car ahead.

“Are you always like this?”

“Like this?” Mai asked.

“Like what?” Sakuta asked, a beat later.

“In perfect sync,” Sara said, for lack of a better phrase.

“We’re normally even more intimate.”

“Don’t make it weird when your student is watching.”

Despite her words, Mai was smiling. And she didn’t seem inclined to refute what he’d said.

Sara clammed up, even more sheepish than before. There was no room for her between them, and that left her in an awkward position.

But while she stalled, the car sped away. The Shonan Monorail station passed on their left. Specifically, the Shonan Enoshima Station. On the right was the crossing for the Enoden Enoshima Station. A train bound for Fujisawa was just running through it.

In a moving car, these things sped by.

On they drove, until they reached an intersection. This one involved not just the roads and sidewalks, but the Enoden tracks. People, cars, and trains went through here. There were houses and shops on either side. This was the stretch right before Koshigoe Station, the sole section of the Enoden Line that ran along the street. A remnant of when it had been a streetcar. Other traffic had to yield to the trains. This stretch of tracks had only remained possible with the cooperation of the locals, and the result was positively picturesque.

But even that atmospheric locale was soon lost in their taillights.

At Koshigoe Station, the road left the tracks behind.

The train followed the tracks, and the cars the road.

The road ran straight off ahead, flanked on both sides by signs advertising whitebait. And just as those petered out—they reached the ocean.

Route 134, a road that followed the coast.

The steering wheel turned toward Kamakura and Zushi.

Glancing right at the driver’s seat, he saw the blue of the ocean, glittering in the sunlight, and Enoshima itself off to the rear.

As that distracted him, a green-and-cream train popped up outside the passenger window. The tracks had cleared the stretch that ran between houses, and the train was speeding up, running alongside their car.

The Enoden on his left, the ocean on the right. Only a car could be framed between the two.

He’d seen all these things before, but this was an entirely new perspective.

They matched the train’s pace all the way to Kamakura High School Station.

Not long after, they hit another red light.

This was the intersection near Minegahara High.

Sakuta and Mai both glanced up the hill at their alma mater.

“Seen from a car, it feels weirdly new instead of an old haunt.”

“Agreed.”

They’d been sick of the sight of it, but it felt oddly unfamiliar.

“Oh, this tea’s for you, Sara,” Mai said, like she’d just remembered.

She pointed at the bottles in the drink holder. There were two of them. Sakuta picked one up.

It was still warm.

“Here,” he said, passing it back.

“Thank you,” Sara said as she reached out to take it.

“None for you, Mai?” he asked.

There was only one bottle left.

“I’ll just have a sip of yours,” she said.

He twisted off the cap of the remaining bottle and handed it to her. Keeping one eye on the light, she took a sip. “Thanks,” she said and handed it back to him.

He put the cap on and dropped it back in the drink holder.

The whole time, he could feel Sara’s eyes on him. It had been like this since they got in the car. She was searching for a chance to speak, waiting, but couldn’t quite find one. Her usual outgoing chattiness had subsided completely.

The light turned green, and the car drove on along the coast.

He glanced at the school again and saw several students headed in.

“Are the teams still practicing over Christmas?”

“Oh, that reminds me. Sakuta-sensei, did you see Yoshiwa this week?”

Sara was leaning forward, pouncing on the topic.

“I saw her yesterday, for the makeup class. She said they got to the beach volleyball semifinals but were eliminated there.”

But they’d won the third-place playoff. Third place nationwide was nothing to sneeze at.

“She came back crazy tan!”

“She said the weather was so warm most teams ended up playing in their swimsuits.”

Juri has explained this without his asking, like it needed to be excused. She’d had a hint of desperation to her voice, her face red for reasons other than the sun.

“What’s this about?” Mai asked, sensing some hidden meaning here.

“Yoshiwa’s got a crush on a boy, but that boy’s got a crush on me. So Sakuta-sensei gave her some advice on how to get his attention.”

Sara was clearly amused by the whole situation. Delighted at the opportunity to share one of Sakuta’s secrets with Mai. Excited to see where this would lead.

But before she said anything else…

“If I know Sakuta, he just told her to flash her tan lines.”

Mai sounded like she was just stating the obvious.

“Wow! Got it in one…”

Sara sounded shocked. Clearly, she hadn’t expected her to get that right. It was hardly an answer you’d arrive at with conventional thinking.

“You know me well, Mai.”

“It’s exactly the kind of thing you’d say. But be careful who you say it to.”

“……You really are a couple.”

Sara leaned back in her seat, the fight going out of her. A sigh escaped her lips.

“What, did you think he was making it up?” Mai grinned, eyes on the road.

“No, just…you’re so comfortable with each other. Sakuta-sensei doesn’t act like this at school.”

“Oh?”

“He’s totally doting on you.”

Sakuta glanced in the mirror and saw her sulking. She was more childish looking than usual—or perhaps just acting her age.

When Sara caught him studying her, she pointedly turned away.

“Sakuta adores me,” Mai said cheerily. It wasn’t clear that she’d picked up on Sara’s mood, but Sakuta was sure she had. That was a knowing smile. She was intentionally picking words that would needle the girl.

Sakuta was unsure how he should play this.

If there was a preferred answer, he’d love to follow it.

How were you supposed to handle a date with a student when your girlfriend was riding along…?

The car ran along the beach at Yuigahama for a while and turned left just before the Nameri River.

The guide signs said this was the way to Kamakura.