193 Bus (1/2)

They met their first obstacle immediately.

”So the bus will be the first level...” Seiji rubbed his chin.

On their way to the bus stop, he had noticed Mayuzumi's obvious trepidation.

There weren’t too many people waiting for the bus at this time of day, but of course there were still some people which obviously included males.

He felt sorry for how she was acting like a scared rabbit.

Should he call for a taxi?

His wallet would take a huge hit!

For a part-time worker like him, the taxi fee from here to Genhana High School would cost quite a lot.

But seeing how she currently was... Sigh.

”Sensei, let’s take a taxi instead,” Seiji said while mentally apologizing to his wallet.

”There's n-no need,” Mayuzumi refused. ”People... men... there aren’t very many; I can do it...”

She was very afraid.

Her body wanted to escape, but that was no good.

She needed to build up her courage and try her best to face all difficulties!

The bus eventually arrived.

Everyone lined up in an orderly fashion and began getting on the bus.

”Sensei...”

”Yeah...”

Seiji walked in front and got on the bus.

Mayuzumi followed him and also got on the bus, albeit a little slower than him.

There was still an empty seat.

Seiji let Mayuzumi sit down and stood an appropriate distance away from her.

Mayuzumi felt a sense of relief as she sat down and saw how considerate he was. He stayed neither too close nor too far away from her.

Her body wasn’t as tense as before now.

She looked out the window as the bus began driving.

She hadn't taken the bus for quite a long time.

She didn’t need to go out very often for her work, and the few times she did, she would usually take a taxi.

To be honest, she really wanted to take a taxi this time as well and was on the verge of bringing it up herself.

But she actually rejected Haruta-kun when he brought it up.

She didn’t know what exactly she was thinking either, but... it was great that she wasn’t running away!

That was what Mayuzumi honestly believed.

The first two stops passed by without incident, but many people suddenly got on the bus at the third bus stop!

They were all young people wearing business attire... were they going to an interview together or some type of group activity?

No matter what, this was a bad situation for her.

Seiji shot a glance at Mayuzumi and noticed that her face had become ashen pale; she seemed like she was about to begin trembling.

He could only get closer to her so that he could use his own body to block all those men and women that just got on the bus… well, mainly to block the men that were all strangers.

A large crowd squeezed onto the bus.

”Sensei, how are you?”

Mayuzumi didn’t respond; instead, she curled up and attempted to make her body appear smaller.

‘Just what should I do in this situation?

‘Should we get off the bus at the next stop? No! When the bus is this crowded, it’s certain that she’ll have to have physical contact with other men in order to get off, which will be terrible for her.

‘Sensei will just have to bear with it for a while… I hope that all these people get off before the bus stop close to Genhana High School.’

”Sensei, just hold on for a little while. Everything will be alright.” He tried to speak in his gentlest possible tone.

Mayuzumi slowly looked towards him and nodded with an expression that seemed like she was about to cry.

The bus continued on its path.

It was a long period of discomfort for her.

Seiji, who was observing Mayuzumi all this time, could tell that her mental condition was deteriorating.

This large group of men and women didn’t get off the bus anywhere.

And finally, just as Seiji was feared, the large group was still on the bus by the time they arrived at the bus stop closest to Genhana High School.

He didn’t really want to do this, but… should they give it a try?

”Sensei, it’s our stop. Shall we… try getting off?” Seiji asked her cautiously.

‘Get off the bus… and squeeze my way through this crowd of people?’

Just thinking about it caused Mayuzumi to begin shivering.

‘No, impossible—I can’t do it!’

She didn’t verbally respond and continued retreating into herself on her bus seat.

Seiji could tell the answer just by looking at her.

”Okay, there's no need to worry,” he said in a gentle voice. ”We don’t need to get off now. We can wait and get off the bus after this large group of people leaves.”