“So, Kunimi.”
“Mm?”
“About Sakurajima…”
“You poor thing.”
Before he could finish the question, Yuuma cut him off, giving Sakuta a comforting pat on his back.
“Why are you pitying me?”
“I’m thrilled to see you express interest in a girl besides Makinohara, but, well… She’s out of your league.”
“I didn’t say I was in love or planning to ask her out.”
“Then what?”
“I just wondered what she was like.”
“Hmm… I mean, for one thing, she’s famous.”
“I know that.”
Yes—Mai Sakurajima was a legitimate celebrity. Every student at Minegahara High knew who she was. It’s likely that 70 to 80 percent of the population of Japan did. She was so famous that figure didn’t even sound exaggerated.
“She started acting when she was six. Then the morning soap she was on got ratings so high it was like the golden age of television, turning her into a sensation.”
Her popularity exploded, leading to appearances in all kinds of movies, shows, and commercials. She was so in demand that not a single day went by without her showing up on everyone’s TV screens.
Certainly, two or three years after her meteoric rise, the “Everything must have Mai Sakurajima” fad passed, but by that point, her sheer skill as an actor kept the offers flooding in.
In a business where it wasn’t unusual for performers to fade out in a single year, she worked steadily into her junior high years. That alone was impressive enough, but she was about to get another big break.
By the age of fourteen, Mai Sakurajima had grown into a girl wise beyond her years. A starring role in a hit movie set off another surge of media attention so intense that there were weeks where it seemed like her smiling face was on the cover of every magazine.
“I had a major crush on her back in junior high. Like, she had it all! Cute! Sexy! Mysterious!”
Yuuma was hardly the only one. Legions of boys felt the same.
Her popularity reached a new peak, but just as it did—Mai suddenly announced she was taking a break. This was just before she graduated junior high. No clear reason was ever given—and a little over two years had passed since then.
When Sakuta had learned the Mai Sakurajima was attending his school, he’d been pretty surprised.
Wow, famous people really do exist, he’d thought.
“Man, I remember all the rumors, too. People said her success was due to casting couches or that she was sleeping with a producer…”
“In elementary school?”
“Nah, this was at least in junior high. Actually, the earliest versions of the rumors to hit the gossip shows were all about her mother—her manager. But she’s got her own agency now. Company president. I heard about it on TV just last week.”
“Huh, I didn’t know that… I mean, rumors like that are totally baseless, of course.”
“But where there’s smoke, there’s fire, right?”
“The smoke may not even be coming from her, though. Not in the world we live in.”
Information spread like wildfire across the Internet. People everywhere could learn about things in a flash. Even if it wasn’t true. The people spreading this or that scoop usually didn’t care what the facts were. They only cared if they could make a joke, get attention from it, join in a fad, or rub it in someone’s face. Nothing more.
“Coming from you, that does sound convincing…”
Sakuta let that pass without comment.
The train rolled slowly through four more stations: Yanagikoji, Kugenuma, Shonankaigankoen, and Enoshima.
Sakuta glanced out the window, noticing they were currently rolling down the part of the line that cut through the middle of a regular street. It was always strange seeing regular cars right outside the windows. But he barely had time to think Oh! before they were back on normal tracks.
This section of the line had buildings built so close to the train’s path it seemed like a collision could happen at any moment. Like you could reach out the window and touch the walls of people’s houses as they flitted by. Almost as if the branches and leaves in the backyards might actually brush against the windows.
Heedless of such concerns, the train slipped in between the houses at a leisurely pace, eventually reaching Koshigoe Station.
“But I’ve never seen her with anyone at school.”
“Mm?”
“Sakurajima. You’re the one who brought her up, Sakuta.”
“Oh, right.”
“She’s always on her own.”
She didn’t fit in with her class—or with the school. That was the impression Sakuta had of her as well.
“A senpai from basketball team said she didn’t come to school at all for a good chunk of her first year here.”
“Why not?”
“Work. She’d announced she was taking a break, but there were still contracts in place she had to honor.”
“Oh, I guess she would.”
But why announce it publicly before those jobs were taken care of? If there was some reason it needed to be said right away…
“She didn’t start attending regularly until after summer vacation.”
“…That sounds rough.”
Sakuta could imagine what Mai found when she arrived that fall. Her classmates would have spent an entire term forming cliques and feeling out the hierarchies of school.
“You can guess the rest,” Yuuma said, clearly thinking the same thing.
Once the makeup of a class was set, it was hard to change or inject yourself. Everyone got comfortable where they were, then dug in. It was normal for people to protect their positions.
When Mai started attending in second term, no one knew what to do with her. Plus, she was a celebrity. Everyone was curious, but reaching out to her was a risk. Anyone who tried to make friends with her would have attracted attention. Attention that carried a high risk of people saying things behind their back like “So obnoxious…” or “Who do they think they are?” This made it all but impossible for Mai to fit in.
And once you’re out…there’s no going back. Everyone knows that. That’s how schools work.
This was probably why Mai had never managed to find a place to belong at school.
Everyone loved to groan about how boring things were, wishing something interesting would happen. But nobody really wanted things to ever change.
Sakuta was no exception. If nothing exciting was going on, that meant things were easy. He could relax and be comfortable. No need to stress himself out. Hooray for peaceful days. Boredom rules.
The warning bell rang, and the doors slid closed.
The train lurched into motion again, passing slowly through more rows of houses.
There was a wall right outside the window, which soon gave way to a different wall. Wall followed wall, house followed house, interrupted only by the occasional crossing. And right when it seemed like this would never end, with no warning at all…the view opened up.
The sea.
Blue water as far as the eye could see, reflecting the morning sunlight, glittering.
The sky.
Blue sky as far as the eye could see, clear morning air fading from blue to white as it stretched into the distance.
Between the two, the sharp line of the horizon. Like magic, every eye on the train turned toward the windows.
For a while, the train ran along the Shichirigahama coast, overlooking Sagami Bay. The breathtaking sight included everything from Enoshima itself on the right to the dazzling beaches of Yuigahama on the left.
“But why are we suddenly bringing up Mai Sakurajima?”
“Kunimi, do you like bunny girls?” Sakuta asked, not taking his eyes off the view.
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“So you love them, then?”
“You got that right.”
“In that case, I can’t say…”
>
“The hell is that supposed to mean? Come on, man, tell me.” Yuuma poked him in the ribs.
“If you ran into an attractive bunny girl at the library, what would you do?”
“A double take.”
“Figured.”
“And then I’d stare until my eyes fell out.”
That was the natural human response. At least, the natural straight male response.
“So what’s this got to do with Mai Sakurajima?”
“They’re sort of related, but…I dunno.”
“You’ve lost me.”
Yuuma clearly decided it wasn’t worth asking when Sakuta insisted on being this evasive. He settled for a pleasant smile instead.
The train rolled along the coast, pausing at another station, and then finally reached Shichirigahama Station, the stop for Minegahara High—Sakuta’s school.
When the train doors opened, the scent of the sea wafted in.
Crowds of students in matching uniforms filed off the train. A single scarecrow-like machine stood at the entrance, reading the chips in their train passes. During the day, there would be an attendant standing by, but there was no one around at the hour Minegahara students plodded through.
Outside the station, they only had to pass a single crossing before the school was right in front of them.
“So how’s Kaede doing?”
“You can’t have her.”
“Come on, be nice to your new brother-in-law.”
“You already have a girlfriend who’s plenty cute, Kunimi.”
“True, now that you mention it.”
“She’d be pissed if she heard any of this.”
“Works for me. Kamisato’s cute when she’s mad. Hoh-hoh, whaddaya know? Thar she blows.”
Sakuta followed Yuuma’s gaze and saw Mai Sakurajima walking on her own several yards ahead of them. Long arms and legs. Petite face. A slim, fashion-model build. Everyone wore the same uniform, but on her, it looked totally different. The black tights she wore, the skirt hiding the curve of her backside, the perfectly fit blazer—it all just seemed totally out of place. Like she was wearing someone else’s clothes. It was her third year here, but Mai didn’t seem to belong in her uniform.
There were three girls chatting near her, and each of them looked much more comfortable in their school clothes. A first-year who was enthusiastically greeting a senpai from her club wore it far better. Even the male student playfully kicking a friend in the back came off as full of life by comparison.
The short road from the station to the school was filled with Minegahara students, chatting and laughing.
But in the center of it all, Mai walked alone in silence, completely isolated. Like an alien who’d wandered into an ordinary high school. Someone out of place. An ugly duckling. It was impossible to look at her any other way.
In fact, nobody was looking at all. The Mai Sakurajima was right here, but she attracted no attention. Nobody seemed excited to catch a glimpse of her. At Minegahara High, that was just normal.
Mai was simply there, like the air itself. Everyone accepted this. It reminded Sakuta of what he’d seen in the Shonandai Library. A sense of unease rose up inside him.
“Uh, Kunimi…”
“Mm?”
“You can see Sakurajima, right?”
“Yep, clear as daylight. I’ve got good eyes. Both twenty-ten!”
Yuuma’s answer was just as he’d expected. So what exactly had Sakuta seen the day before?
“See ya later.”
“Mm.”
Yuuma was in a different class this year, so they split up at the second-floor landing. Sakuta headed for Class 2-1. When he got there, the room was already half-full.
He sat down at the front of the row by the windows. With a name like Azusagawa, he pretty much always ended up here on the spring seating charts. Unless there was an Aikawa or an Aizawa, he’d generally be first on the class roll. Unfortunately, being first in this case didn’t come with any real upside. Still, ever since starting at Minegahara High, Sakuta had come to appreciate this spring seating arrangement.
After all, the windows at school offered a commanding view of the ocean.
He could see a number of people out wind surfing, hoping to catch an early morning breeze.
“Hey.”
“……”
“Hey, I’m talking to you.”
Hearing a voice nearby, Sakuta looked up.
A girl was standing in front of his desk, staring crossly down at him. A key member of this class’s most popular group of girls. Her name was Saki Kamisato.
Big, wide-open eyes. Hair to her shoulders that curled slightly inward. Subtle makeup, with a tasteful shade of pink on her lips. All the guys agreed she was cute.
“Can’t believe you ignored me!”
“Sorry. Didn’t think there was still anyone in class who’d actually talk to me.”
“Listen…”
The bell rang.
And the teacher came in with it.
“Argh! We need to talk. Roof, after school.”
She slapped his desk and then wove her way through the classroom back to her own seat.
“I don’t get a say, huh?” he muttered. Then he put his chin on his hand and focused on the view.
The sea was still there. Offering no assistance.
“What a pain…”
Getting called out after school by a girl didn’t give Sakuta even the slightest flicker of hope. Not even the tiniest hint of a thrill.
For one thing, Saki Kamisato was dating Yuuma Kunimi.
3
After school, Sakuta pretended he’d forgotten his appointment and started heading for the shoe lockers but then thought better of it and went to the roof. He’d decided blowing her off now would only make things worse later. Haste makes waste… Though maybe that didn’t quite apply in this case.
Regardless, the first words Saki Kamisato said to him were “You’re late!”
Already mad. Totally unfair.
“I was on cleaning duty.”
“I don’t care.”
“So what do you want?”
“I’ll get right to the point,” Saki began, glaring right into Sakuta’s eyes. “You’re a total outcast in class, so being with you devalues Yuuma’s stock.”
“……”
Quite a thing to say but certainly to the point.
“Despite this being the first time we’ve ever spoken, you sure know a lot about me, Kamisato,” he said, keeping his voice flat.
“Everyone knows about the whole ‘hospitalization incident.’”
“Right, that,” Sakuta said absently, like the topic bored him.
“If you feel at all sorry for Yuuma, never talk to him again.”
“By that logic, you’re the one in trouble now. Your stock’s crashing as we speak.”
There were other students on the roof, and the palpable tension between him and Saki was drawing a lot of attention.
A few were even typing on their phones. Probably reporting to their friends.
How industrious.
“Forget about me. This is about Yuuma.”
“I see. You’re amazing, Kamisato.”
“Huh? Why’d you suddenly compliment me?”
He’d intended it as a bit of a joke at her expense, but this seemed lost on her.
“I don’t think you need to worry. Kunimi’ll be fine. His market value won’t take a hit just because someone sees him talking to me. Everyone knows he’s the kind of guy who eats the lunch his mom made him with real appreciation and always talks about how great it is every time. They know he’s a good dude who looks after people.”
Yuuma had laughed once, saying that anyone raised by a single mom knew how precious mothers were, but even an idiot knew it wasn’t that simple. There had to be kids who came from similar homes who acted out all the harder.
“So don’t worry. Kunimi’s such a great guy, he’s honestly way too good for someone like you.”
/> “You trying to start something?”
“You’re the one who showed up raring for a fight, Kamisato.”
Sakuta was starting to get annoyed, and it was finally showing in his tone.
“Ugh, don’t remind me! Why does he call you by your given name but calls me Kamisato? I’m his girlfriend! So why does Yuuma use my family name?”
This was the last thing he’d expected to spark a tangent. Who cares? he thought but left that unsaid. He didn’t need her love life burdening him any more than it already was.
But what he chose to say instead was possibly even worse.
“You’re really on edge today. Is it that time of the month?”
“Hah?!”
She turned beet red.
“Th— Drop dead! You idiot! I hope you die!!”
Having completely lost her cool, Saki headed back inside, screaming insults over her shoulder. She slammed the door behind her.
Still standing there, Sakuta scratched his head, muttering “Crap, maybe it actually was” with a hint of regret.
To avoid accidentally bumping into Saki Kamisato in the halls, Sakuta spent a while enjoying the sea breeze on the roof before heading home.
By the time he reached the shoe lockers, the sky was turning red.
The place was quiet. No one to be found. This time of day was like a lull between two waves—students who left immediately after their last class were long gone, but everyone else was still busy with their clubs or practice. As he changed into his shoes, he could hear the sports teams shouting in the distance. That far-off sound only made him feel more alone.
The walk to the station almost made it seem like he’d rented out the whole road for his own personal use. He was soon inside Shichirigahama Station, which was also pretty empty. He usually left with everyone else when classes ended, joining a huge crowd of students packed onto the tiny platform, but today there were only a few people around.
His eyes were instantly drawn to one of them. A girl standing stoically at the end of the platform, as if rejecting all contact with those around her—earbud cords dangling loose, the cord leading to the jacket pocket of her uniform.
Mai Sakurajima.
Bathed in the light of the setting sun, she radiated forlorn beauty—just standing there, she was picture-perfect. Sakuta felt like he could gaze at her all day…but his curiosity overwhelmed that urge.
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, Volume 1 Page 2