White-dress Mai was headed for the Red Brick Warehouse. Every step brought her closer to it.
“Another one?”
His brain was not processing what his eyes were seeing. It came out as a grumble.
“She’s here?”
“Across the street.”
He pointed to the girl in the white dress, but Ikumi just squinted, not seeing her at all.
The light turned green.
The crowd started moving.
“Sorry, Akagi, I’m gonna run ahead.”
“Ack, hold up—”
The crowd that had been waiting on the far side started walking toward him. When the two crowds collided, all he could see were the people walking around him.
Sakuta slipped through and made it across the street—but by then White Dress Mai was gone.
“What is going on…?”
His thoughts crossed his lips verbatim.
“Seriously?”
Once proved not enough, and he muttered again—picking up his pace toward the warehouse.
He didn’t know why.
He didn’t know what was happening.
But he knew something was going down.
And that was unsettling.
He’d seen Mai once—he had to find her again.
Knapsack kid or white-dress teen—he didn’t want them running into the real Mai. If they were also Mai, then they could not simultaneously exist.
He was almost at the Red Brick Warehouse.
Mai would be performing in this music festival. That meant she was already there.
Scanning the crowds, Sakuta forged ahead.
He found no knapsack kids.
Nor any girls in white dresses.
There had been no further sightings by the time he reached the Red Brick Warehouse.
The two brick buildings loomed on either side of him.
The clearing between them was normally open to the public, but today it was fenced off—and already filled with festivalgoers.
At the far end of the lot, a rock band was playing. The audience seemed to be having the time of their lives, with everyone in the crowd jostling one another. Sakuta could feel the energy through his soles.
This was definitely the music festival.
Sakuta got in line by the white reception tent, aiming for the venue. Two men in their twenties stepped up behind him.
“Girl I met at that mixer went to high school with Mai Sakurajima.”
“Seriously? What was she like?”
“She likes bunnies.”
“Is that right?”
“Her phone case and hairpin were both rabbit themed.”
“That’s perfect. She’s into bunnies, and I’m into bunny girls.”
“In your dreams,” his friend said, laughing.
“Wouldn’t you wanna see bunny-girl Mai Sakurajima?”
“You’re obsessed. This is the Mai Sakurajima! She would never wear that!”
They were both laughing now. The lady at reception said “Next” to Sakuta.
As he stepped up to the counter, he spotted two ears cutting through the crowds—bunny ears poking out above the sea of heads. Unmistakably the black ears of a bunny-girl costume.
They bobbed up and down, left to right.
Through a gap in the crowd, Sakuta managed to catch a glimpse of a familiar face and a black bunny suit.
Just as he remembered it.
The day he’d first met Mai.
His heart skipped a beat.
“Can I see your ticket?”
“Er, uh, yes.”
The lady prompted him, and he fished his ticket out.
She handed over a wristband—proof of admission.
“Show this to the man at the gate if you step out.”
“Will do.”
He was already on his way in.
He looked left and right and saw only crowds.
It was impossible to see more than a few yards in any direction.
He stretched up, looking for those ears.
She’d been going toward the smaller warehouse. He headed that way, hoping to glimpse the ears again—and finally caught sight of them twenty yards ahead.
“There!”
He tried to close the distance, but in this crowd, speed was not an option. When he tried to avoid the person moving in from the right, he almost hit the person on his left.
But the bunny ears seemed to have no problem moving forward, steadily getting farther and farther away.
Nobody seemed to notice her.
Even though practically everyone was here to see Mai Sakurajima.
And Mai was wandering around in a bunny costume…
No one noticed when the bunny girl vanished into the shadow of the brick building either.
Clearly, only Sakuta could see her.
He finally made it out of the crowd around the entrance and hurried around the building after her.
This was the crew parking lot. Because of the music festival, there were a bunch of tour buses in a row. A restricted area meant for the performers.
Naturally, there was an expandable fence set up to keep the crowds at bay. Five or six security guards were on the lookout.
The bunny girl waltzed right past them.
No one tried to stop her.
She moved with purpose, like she knew where she was headed.
Sakuta tried to follow, and a burly guard stopped him.
“Staff only, no entrance allowed.”
The fence was only thigh high. He could just vault over it. But if he did that, the guards would tackle him. Not a promising prospect.
“I know people here…,” he said, but he had no follow-through. The look it earned him was very dubious, and his eyes swam. But that wandering gaze found on a familiar face. “Oh, Hanawa!”
Mai’s manager was on the phone some ten yards away—Ryouko Hanawa.
She jumped at her name, turned toward him, and looked surprised to see Sakuta standing there.
Wrapping up the call, she came over.
“What’s this about?”
“Just need to talk to Mai real quick.”
“About?”
“It’s important!”
The bunny girl was still walking through the staff area. That beautiful pale back. The round tail above her hindquarters. Long, slim legs. Heels clicking as she went.
“Then use this.”
Perhaps bowled over by the urgency in his tone, Ryouko pulled a staff badge out of her pocket. He hung it around his neck and vaulted over the fence.
“Where is she?”
“In the back, bus two.”
She glanced toward the ten tour buses.
That was all he needed. Shouting a “Thank you!” over his shoulder, Sakuta raced off through the staff area.
He was back on the bunny girl’s tail.
She vanished around the corner of the second bus.
The one Mai was in.
A moment later, Sakuta dived into the gap between the buses.
“Mai!”
He’d called his girlfriend’s name any number of times before, but he yelled it again as he sprinted to the door.
“Mai!”
One more time as he climbed inside.
She answered quickly.
“Sakuta?”
She poked her head around a seat in the back, looking surprised and baffled.
“Anything happen?” he asked, rushing down the aisle, checking every seat for signs of the bunny girl.
He found none.
It was just Mai and Sakuta.
“Like what?” Mai asked, getting to her feet.
She was in full costume, but he was in no state to appreciate that.
“I saw bunny-girl Mai.”
Just to be sure, he turned back, scanning the bus interior once more. He looked in the driver’s seat to make sure no one was there. He checked the makeup stand. Even opened the fridge.
He’d inspected every seat (and under them as well) but found no one.
Only he and Mai were on this bus.
“I swear she came in here.”
“I didn’t see a thing. Ryouko went out to make a call, and then you came in.”
“On the way from the station, I also saw red-knapsack Mai and white-dress Mai—you know, from the heart-condition movie. Not something I’d easily confuse.”
He found it hard to chalk this up to his imagination.
But it was a fact that only the two of them were here.
“Mai, you’re sure nothing’s wrong?”
“Nothing at all.”
“You’re sure sure?”
“Are you okay, Sakuta?”
She moved slowly toward the driver’s seat with a concerned expression.
“I’m fine.”
“Really?”
When she asked again to make sure, he reconsidered.
He could see his face in Mai’s eyes, and he looked rather upset. He could tell why Mai seemed worried. Maybe he was making her worry.
“Um, Mai…”
“What?”
“Feel free to say no, but can I get a hug?”
“Well, okay. Go on!”
Mai held her arms up, half-teasing.
Sakuta took her up on it, stepping forward and putting his arms around her slim shoulders and back.
“My stylist’ll kill me if you wrinkle anything.”
He stopped himself from squeezing her tight.
But they were still close enough for him to feel her heartbeat. Her warmth. Her breath on his ear. She leaned against him just enough for him to feel her weight.
“You like me here and now, better than little knapsack me.”
“Absolutely.”
“You like this me better than the old white-dress version.”
“Naturally.”
“You like hugging me like this better than that bunny girl.”
“That’s a tough call.”
“If you can make jokes, then you’re okay.”
Mai pushed his chest, signaling the end of their embrace.
But Sakuta didn’t let go.
He wasn’t ready.
“The best Mai is you hugging me in a bunny-girl outfit.”
“If that’ll stop you from hallucinating, I might consider it.”
“Weird. I was supposed to be the one worried about you.”
How’d she turn the tables on me?
“Well, I guess I’m just gonna have to feast my eyes on this beautiful dress.”
Deciding that he’d hung on long enough, Sakuta finally let her go.
“Do it,” she said, flashing him an impish grin. Her stage costume was beautiful.
An announcement came over the loudspeakers outside.
“Attention all concertgoers. Sakuta Azusagawa from Fujisawa, your friend is waiting for you. Please come to the front entrance. I repeat—”
“They’re calling you.”
“That’s so Akagi…”