Back at amane's studio, in the middle of cleaning up.
“Konuma-kun, hey...” “Hey, Takuto...”
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
I know, I know, so please don't say anything more...
““We didn’t use the home recording equipment even once, did we?””
“Stop it—!!”
That's right, the recording equipment that I went out of my way to buy for this occasion, went out of my way to bring from so far away, and went out of my way to persuade the two of them to set up, was not used at all this time. Not even once. What is this? Wasn't this supposed to be some kind of foreshadowing?
““Sigh...””
While apologizing profusely to the two of them for their synchronized sighing, I busied myself with the cleanup. I’m really sorry!
About an hour later, after finishing the loading, we were to board the bus.
“Alright, everyone just sit in whatever seat you like~”
Just like on the way there, the Cruel Angel said such a thing. Are you going to fly away from the window soon? (That’s dangerous, so don't.)
With that command as a signal, the Rock Club members scrambled onto the bus.
As I stood there just like I did on the way here,
“Heeey, Takuto-kun, get on already~”
The Kind Devil called out to me as she passed by.
“O-Oh.”
It seemed Erina-san was going to sit with me on the way back too, thank goodness...
Just as I was about to board.
At the entrance of the bus, someone grabbed my arm with a tug.
“Um...?”
When I looked back, Ichikawa was looking up at me with upturned eyes.
“W-What is it, Ichikawa-san...?”
“Konuma-kun, are you going to sit with Erina-chan on the way back too...?”
“Eh, ah, well, yeah, I guess...”
When I replied haltingly to the sudden, straightforward question,
“Hmm, I see...”
She began to fidget. Um, Ichikawa, could it be...?
“Takuto-kuuun, are you ready yet~?”
Erina-san came back from inside the bus and called out.
“Hm, oh? Amane-chan, what's wrong~?”
But as soon as she saw the situation, she seemed to realize something and, with a smirk like a little devil, she threw a question at Ichikawa.
“Um, well, you see...”
Erina-san leaned her lips close to the hesitating Ichikawa's ear and, while still smiling, told her.
“If you don't say what you want to do with your own mouth, I won't do anything for you, okay?”
“Erina-chan...!”
Ichikawa's eyes widened.
What, what are they talking about...? And this is some kind of heart-pounding play... wait, I mean, heart-pounding exchange, but what is this exactly...?
At Erina-san's words, Ichikawa gave a soft nod.
I gulped. Erina-san was still smirking as usual.
Taking a deep breath.
“Um, you see, I...”
Ichikawa said.
“Just once in my life, I want to try sitting in that back seat for five people...!”
““Wh-Huh...?””
And so.
“Wow! As I thought, sitting with five people is a bit cramped!”
Me, Erina-san, and Ichikawa, along with Hazama and Sako, were sitting in the very back seat for five people.
“Why is Ichikawa-san’s tension so high?”
Sako asked me from across Ichikawa.
“Who knows...”
I’m the one who wants to ask that...
“Amane-chan, sometimes you really make no sense and it's scary...”
Erina-san sighed while looking out the window with her chin in her hand.
“Amane, I get it! The back seat really gets your blood pumping, doesn't it!”
“Ohh! Hazama-kun, as expected!”
“Yay!” The two of them high-fived across Sako.
“Hmph...”
Erina-san, watching them from the corner of her eye, sighed again.
“There, there, Erina-san...”
By the way, the seating order was Erina-san, Konuma, Ichikawa, Sako, and Hazama. (The direction of travel is downward.)
“Ichikawa-san, what's so great about this seat?”
Sako was asking.
“Have you ever seen the MV for ZONE's ‘secret base’?”
Huh?
“I've seen it.”
“Erina saw it too when Sakoshu was singing it at karaoke~”
“Speaking of which, Hasu sings that song quite often, doesn't she?”
“Well, yeah.”
Heh, Sakoshu sings ZONE. Did she watch ‘Ano Hana’?
“In that MV, there's a scene where the boy who's moving away sits in this very back seat, turns around, kneels on the chair, and waves his hand... it’s so tear-jerking...”
“Ehehe,” Ichikawa laughed bashfully.
“So...?”
“Yeah! So, I've always wanted to sit in the very back seat! I wanted to try waving from here! But I can't do that on a city bus, so I thought I had to do it on the training camp bus!”
Ichikawa explained emphatically, her breathing heavy.
““I-I see...””
While Erina-san and I tilted our heads, the bus revved its engine and slowly departed.
“Then wave your hand, go on.”
Sako said that and pointed to the window.
By the way, on paper it might look like she’s saying it coldly, but as a Sako-expression master, I can say she was saying it with the face of a mother talking to her child. It was a surprisingly heartwarming moment.
“Yeah!!”
Ichikawa smiled brightly, actually knelt on the seat, and waved from the back window of the bus.
...Toward the training camp grounds.
“Training camp grounds, thank you! I believe we’ll meet again in August ten years from now!”
“““No, you’re not coming back in ten years.”””
The three of us deadpanned in unison.
“Amane is such a romantic!”
I bet Ichikawa’s tension is weird because she hasn't slept...?
As the bus moved along with a comfortable sway, Ichikawa, as expected, fell asleep instantly.
My sleep time shouldn't have been much different from Ichikawa's, but for some reason, I couldn't sleep and kept my eyes open.
Looking to the left, beyond Ichikawa, both Sako and Hazama were sleeping with their mouths open, going ‘kuka—’.
Erina-san, sitting right to my right, also seemed to be asleep.
Unlike on the way here, she wasn't leaning on my shoulder, but since her face was turned toward me, her face was so close it made my heart skip a beat. Konuma is a bit nervous... Actually, this is probably why I can't sleep.
As I sat with my back straight to keep my face from getting too close.
Erina-san squirmed and,
“Mmm, Takuto-kun...”
...S-She’s calling my name in her sleep!?!?
“Not any more than that... it’s no good...”
More than that!? What is 'more than that' not allowed!? ...How far did you allow!?
“...Ehehe, geez, I guess it can't be helped...”
...Eh, you allowed more than that!?
The moment I turned toward Erina-san with my eyes wide in shock.
“Just kidding~”
The Great Demon King snapped her eyes open and grinned.
“O-Oh, you were awake...!?”
I protested while being careful not to raise my voice too much.
What are you doing, Erina-san! Playing with a man's dreams like that!
“Takuto-kun is really worth teasing.”
Damn, Takagi-san... wait, I mean, Erina-san...!
“There's no way calling a boy's name in your sleep actually happens in reality, right?”
“Is that how it is...?”
“That's how it is~”
Saying that, Erina-san laughed happily.
“...We had an exchange like this when we first talked at Mac, too.”
“Did we?”
When I asked, Erina-san’s expression became gentle.
“We did, Konuma-kun?”
“That way of calling me feels nostalgic...”
“Even if you say nostalgic, it’s only been about two months. But when we meet almost every day like this, two months ago already feels nostalgic, doesn't it?”
“I guess so...”
It’s true.
In a high school life that only lasts three years, two months actually accounts for one-eighteenth of it...
As I was feeling somewhat sentimental.
From my left side,
“Mmm, Konuma-kun...”
I heard such a muffled voice.
“E-Erina-san, i-is this one actually awake too...?”
“No... this is definitely a real sleep-talk... In a way, the real little devil might be Amane-chan, who does this naturally...”
“Not any more than that... it’s no good...”
...So, what is it that's more than that!?