Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 7 - Chapter 2.4

4

Sakuta headed back to Fujisawa Station and got on a JR Tokaido Line train. An express bound for Koganei. He double-checked the map of the line on the screen above the doors. Six stops between here and Shinbashi. It would take him forty-one minutes. Nodoka was right; it would be less than an hour. Now he just had to pray the snow didn’t cause any delays. There were none showing right now.

“Mommy! There’s a bunny man!”

On the way, a little girl got on the train and pointed at Sakuta. He was still wearing that costume. The head was in his hands—it had been too big to fit in the luggage racks.

This had drawn a lot of attention and not just from the little girl. Same thing on his way through the gates at Fujisawa and while waiting for the train to arrive.

Now that Tomoe had made it possible for people to see him, there was no real need to keep wearing the bunny outfit, but emotionally, he wasn’t prepared to leave it behind.

What if people stopped perceiving him again?

He couldn’t quite shake that fear.

And that left him wanting to stick out no matter how many weird looks he got. He wanted a reminder that people could see him.

Fortunately, it was December 24.

Everyone looking at him went, “Well, it is Christmas.” He’d passed a police officer on patrol at Fujisawa without being asked any questions. Maybe they’d just assumed he was on break from a job at a cake shop. He’d seen Santas and reindeer running around the department stores by Fujisawa, so it wasn’t all that odd to assume there was a bunny among them.

“Bye-bye, bunny man!”

The little girl and her mom got off one stop before his destination.

He waved back. Figured it couldn’t hurt to let everyone know he was harmless. He definitely didn’t want to get labeled suspicious and have someone report him.

While he worried about that, the train reached Shinbashi Station.

He was off the train before the doors were fully open.

He checked the signs in front of him, searching for the exit Nodoka had specified. Hibiya Exit, Ginza Exit, Shiodome Exit—there sure were a lot of exits. And the Karasumori Exit was, confusingly, split in two, with one side labeled FOR SHIODOME and the other FOR KARASUMORI.

“So that’s what Toyohama meant?”

He’d wondered why she specified a side after the exit name. It all made sense now that he was here.

He followed the arrows, hastening to the meeting location. The clocks on the platform said it was almost four.

Down the stairs, he saw Nodoka waiting just outside the gates.

He ran his ticket through the machine and was out.

She ran up to him as he exited. Underneath her duffle coat, he could see a T-shirt poking out from underneath—yellow, Nodoka’s color. That was definitely a Sweet Bullet logo on it.

It was right before a concert, so her makeup was extra intense. Which really enhanced the glare she gave him.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Obviously, she was referring to his outfit.

“This is the result of serious reflection on a problem I was having.”

What he said was true. He meant every word. The problem was just insanely complicated and would take forever to explain.

“But I guess it shortcuts a few things,” Nodoka said, before he could find the words.

“What do you mean?”

“Just follow me.”

She stalked away.

Shrugging, he went after her.

Figuring it was best not to tempt fate, he didn’t mention the punch she’d promised him.

There was a familiar vehicle parked outside the station. A white minivan. The same type driven by Mai’s manager, Ryouko Hanawa.

And while that thought was crossing his mind, he saw Ryouko sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Get in,” Nodoka said, opening the back door. “All the way.” She pushed him inside and climbed in after.

“You talked to her manager?” he said.

He assumed that was why she was here.

“Even I can’t just waltz into a TV studio if I’m not filming there. Good thing I got Ryouko’s number in case anything came up.”

“I didn’t give it to you for things like this,” Ryouko said, glaring at them in the mirror.

“Sorry,” Sakuta said.

“I’ll help this time, but…try not to fight in the first place.”

Their eyes met in the mirror. A reminder that this was the second time. He’d forced her to help him out up in Kanazawa, for Mai’s birthday. That certainly left him without a leg to stand on.

“Sorry,” he said again.

When Ryouko said nothing further, he turned to Nodoka.

“Is the studio far?” he asked. His time was limited. He hoped it was close.

“That’s it,” she said, pointing at the building right next to them. A huge building that had been in his line of sight since he stepped out of the station.

“Huh?” he said. It was, like, a minute or two from the station on foot.

And the roads themselves were stupid busy, so driving would probably take more time. They’d already been moving for three minutes and were only just turning into the garage.

“Sakuta, put your head on,” Nodoka said. She reached out and helped.

It was very hard to see now. He could only make out a narrow range through the holes in the costume’s nose. The van rolled into the garage and stopped by the security gate.

“Talent for a shoot,” Ryouko said, showing the badge around her neck to the uniformed guard.

“Okay. Have a good one.”

Ryouko nodded back, and the gate went up. The car pulled out, and Sakuta bobbed his head at the guard in passing. The car drove to the back of the lot.

“It’s easier to get things past security here than at the main entrance upstairs,” Ryouko explained once they were parked. That was why she’d gone to the trouble of driving him.

He followed Nodoka out of the van. It was hard moving around with the head on. He reached up to take it off, but Ryouko stopped him.

“Leave it on,” she said. “I don’t want a media circus because her boyfriend showed up at the studio.”

She was keeping her voice down, but she’d made her point loud and clear.

He nodded, in complete agreement. This must have been the plan from the start. That explained why there was a reindeer costume on the third row of seats in the van. Why Nodoka had called it a shortcut.

“It’s just kinda hard to walk.”

He could only see a small range in front of him. Nothing to either side, and there was no guarantee he could avoid bumping into things.

“I’ll escort you, then,” Nodoka said, hooking her arm around his right. “C’mon.”

She started dragging him along.

“Have you told Mai I’m coming?”

Mindful of Ryouko’s warning, he kept his voice low.

He’d been asking Nodoka, but Ryouko said, “No. She was filming when the call came in. She should be done and in the green room by now.”

They must have boarded the elevators. He couldn’t really see, but he felt the sudden rise.

The elevator made several stops. TV staff flooded on and off. He didn’t see anyone especially famous.

By the time the bell rang for their stop, it was just the three of them.

“Here we are,” Nodoka said. When the doors opened, she gave him a tug, and they stepped out. He did a little shuffle, trying to look around.

A long corridor stretched in both directions. Doors placed at regular intervals. Names of the talent within next to each.

He saw MAI SAKURAJIMA on a door ten yards down the hall.

“……!”

He tensed up.

Mai was here.

Just a door between them.

Mai. Alive.

Just the thought was making him tremble.

“Sakuta?”

Nodoka must have felt him shaking.

Before he could answer, Ryouko knocked on Mai’s door.

“It’s Hanawa. Okay to enter?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Mai’s voice, through the door.

He knew it.

He’d recognize it anywhere.

The sound waves rippled through him. He could feel her presence.

That was Mai.

She was really here.

“……”

He’d meant to whisper her name, but no sound emerged.

Ryouko opened the green room door.

“Good work today,” she said as she crossed the threshold.

“Thanks, Ryouko. You too.”

“I’ve brought some company.”

“Company?”

Nodoka went in next.

“Nodoka! What brings you here?”

“I’ve got a Christmas present for you.”

Nodoka pulled his arm, and Sakuta stepped into the room. Ryouko quickly slipped around behind him; then he heard the door click shut.

He adjusted the costume’s narrow field of view until he had Mai in his sights, there on the other side of that little hole. Standing there, alive.

Mai was looking at him. In his direction.

“……?”

Half confused, half puzzled. But she wasn’t looking away. Her eyes locked onto a costume that wasn’t saying anything.

He wanted to cry out. He thought about pulling the head off and revealing himself.

But he couldn’t do either right now.

And only he knew why.

He wasn’t even sure when the first drop had fallen. The levees had long since broken, and there was nothing he could do to stop the waterworks.

“……”

He had things to tell her but couldn’t bring himself to start. If he said anything, his voice would be choked with tears, and she’d know he was crying.

Every cell in his body was shaking with joy from the simple fact that Mai was alive. Sobbing with delight. All he could do was ride the rapids of emotion. Simply wait for the deluge to pass.

“Thank you, Nodoka,” Mai said, turning away. “And, Ryouko, sorry to rope you into this again. I can handle the rest. Can you give us a moment together?”

It sounded like she’d guessed something was up, which was a huge relief.

Sakuta didn’t recognize the scent in the green room. There was a huge mirror with a vast array of makeup before it. Costumes for the shoot hung from the rack behind them. All of that combined with the kind of perfume grown-ups wore left a sweet lingering fragrance.

The room itself was fairly big, maybe 180 square feet. Half of that was an elevated tatami floor.

Sakuta was sitting on the edge of that, still in the bunny costume. The head was still on. He was just waiting for the shaking to subside.

After a minute, the door opened from the outside.

Mai had walked Nodoka to the elevator and come back to him.

She closed the door behind her.

Her eyes locked on him.

“How long are you gonna sit there?” she asked.

He shook his head once, an attempt at an answer. He still couldn’t speak without revealing his tears.

“Did you come here to sit in silence?”

Her footsteps came closer.

He had his head down, and her feet came into view. They stopped in front of him.

“That’s not why you came back from the future, is it?”

“?!”

“Are you planning on making me do all the work?”

“Mai…”

His head went up. And his narrow, dark field of view was filled with light. Mai had pulled the head off his costume.

Mai was right there in front of him.

He could see her clearly now.

She was smiling at him.

“It’s really you,” he said. A whole new wave of tears came pouring out. Between the tears and the sweat, his face must have been a mess. But she reached out her hands to him, wrapped them around his head, and drew him to her chest.

“Mai……?”

“Good,” she said. He didn’t know what that meant. “I was able to save you.”

“……”

Her words went right to the heart of the matter, and it wasn’t like that didn’t come as a surprise. But he also knew right away that she already knew everything.

“Good,” she said again.

“…It’s not good at all, Mai.” His voice broke. His nose was clogged. “It’s my fault you…”

“I was finally able to do something for you.”

“……!”

He couldn’t put his feelings into words, but he wanted to refute that, so he shook his head like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

“I never thought you’d do that,” he managed.

“I told you. I love you a lot more than you think I do.”

Her arms tightened around his head. In her embrace, he could distinctly feel her heart beating. Proof she was alive. The pulse of life.

Right here, right now, Mai’s mind was already made up.

He should have known that, but only with her warmth around him did realization set in. No matter what, she would save him. That was Mai’s decision.

“I’m sorry, Sakuta.”

Her voice was gentle.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I made you cry like this.”

“I…”

“I left you alone.”

“…I…I just…”

He couldn’t say more, couldn’t think of anything else to say. His feelings for her couldn’t be expressed in words, only tears.

Here in her arms, every part of him could feel Mai. Her breath in his ear brought him peace. Her feelings for him reached his very heart.

He was no longer trying to stop crying. Mai had given him these tears. So he clung to her, letting them out, like he was returning the feeling.

But they couldn’t stay like this forever.

Sakuta had things to do.

And so did Mai.

“Sakuta,” she said, pulling back. “Let me see your face.”

She cupped it in both hands. He looked up at her.

“You haven’t grown much,” she said, a little choked up herself.

“I’m from the future, but only four days.”

“Oh. I got a voice mail from Sakuta saying there was a future you around, so I got all excited.”

“I’ll grow up eventually, but you’ll have to wait for that to happen.”

Mai’s smile seemed slightly conflicted.

“I’ve gotta go.”

“Go…?”

“We’ve got a date, remember?”

She took a coat off the rack. She was already headed for the door.

“Wait, Mai.”

He stood up and grabbed her arm.

“Let go.”

She spoke quietly but she held firm.

“It’ll be okay,” he said.

“Like hell it will!” she snapped. She spun toward him, tears in her eyes. “If Sakuta knows I’ll be in the accident, that’ll just make him want to sacrifice himself even more! He’ll just take that as proof he should be the one to die!”

“……”

“He would never agree to live at the cost of the two Shoukos’ futures.”

He knew full well how right she was. Mai understood him completely.

“If I don’t go, Sakuta’s gonna die!”

She understood him, but not this version of him. She didn’t know future Sakuta. She didn’t get what losing her had done to him.

“Let go!”

She tried to shake him off, but he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

“Please, Mai. Stay here.”

He tightened his grip, not letting her get away.

“Please…”

But his voice was barely a whisper.

He knew he was shaking like a leaf.

Trembling. A complete mess.

“…Sakuta?”

He was trying to hold her tight, but there was barely any strength to it. And that, in turn, made her stop fighting him.

“I can’t…I can’t lose you again.”

The shaking wouldn’t stop. He was shaking so hard his heels were lifting off the floor.

“Stay here until after six.”

“But…”

“It’ll be okay.”

“……”

“I’ll do something about me.”

He knew that didn’t sound convincing.

He was still trembling pathetically.

The fear was overwhelming.

He was scared of losing Mai.

Scared to the bone.

And he was afraid of what he was about to attempt.

After all, it meant stealing Shouko’s future.

“You’re really fine with that?” Mai asked, stifling her own feelings.

He nodded wordlessly. “I made up my mind.”

His voice was a croak. Barely containing the emotions.

“So I need you to wait here.”

“……”

Mai was still hesitating. He could hear it in her breath.

“I mean, it’s me we’re talking about, so I’m sure I’ll come back to you in tears.”

“…Sakuta.”

“And I’ll need your arms around me again.”

“You’re sure?”

“You’ll help me get through it.”

“Sakuta…”

“And I’ll make you happy.”

“……”

Sakuta heard her sniff. He slipped a key into her hand. The key to his apartment. The one he’d taken from the mailbox.

“Take this. Please.”

“……Okay,” she whispered. Clutching the key tight.

“Thank you, Mai.”

“But you’ve got one thing wrong, Sakuta.”

She turned in his arms and faced him. Her forehead tapped his.

“I don’t need you to make me happy.”

“……Huh?”

“We’ll be happy together. You and me.”

Mai’s words hit him right in the heart. Then he felt her presence within him, spreading outward through every fiber of his being. A warmth, like the spring sun. He felt sure moments like this were what “happiness” was all about.

“I knew it,” he said, his lips curling up in a smile.

“Knew what?” She scowled at him.

“I’ll never be a match for you, Mai.”

With just one line, she’d stopped his trembling.

They’d be happy together.

Armed with those words, he might still have doubts and worries, but he knew in the end he’d find his way. If their thoughts were aligned, it would all work out.

With some reluctance, Sakuta let Mai go. He felt if he clung to her any longer, he’d never leave. He’d want to feel her presence forever.

But Sakuta had to go.

Back out into the falling snow.

“I’ll be waiting for you, Sakuta.”

“I know.”

Mai had put her faith in him, and he had to keep that promise.

“I’ll be waiting—so make sure you come home to me.”

“I will.”

And to keep that promise, he had to leave her side.

“Go on, Sakuta.”

“See you soon, Mai.”