To get to Saitama's beach from the shopping street, you need to first take a bus to the subway station, and then take a train heading towards the beach.
The bus stop wasn't far from where Akira and Sajuna were eating; Sajuna and Akira walked a few hundred meters along the road and saw the bus stop sign.
The monotonous roar of a car passed by, and a few lonely birds flew across the sky, making the still-bright sky seem even emptier.
After waiting for two minutes, the operating bus slowly pulled up to the curb.
Akira took Sajuna's hand, intending to board the bus, but then felt his hand being pulled back.
"Aki-Kun."
Sajuna called out to Akira, as if she felt there were too many people around and was a bit hesitant to squeeze in under such circumstances.
However, her words didn't reveal any shyness.
"Let's go in slowly and wait for the seats at the back."
What did going in slowly have to do with finding seats at the back?
Akira subconsciously wanted to retort, but then realized that he usually felt getting on the bus was also about occupying the front seats.
As fewer people boarded, Sajuna pulled Akira onto the bus and walked towards the back of the vehicle.
They arrived at the second to last row of the bus, where there happened to be two empty seats. Sajuna pushed Akira to the window seat and sat down next to him.
Looking at the slightly shy expression on the girl's face, he seemed to also feel that the chosen seats were too far back, as if they were planning to do something mischievous.
His right hand covered Sajuna's hand, while his left hand gently squeezed Sajuna's soft palm below. Akira's heart couldn't help but tremble slightly.
He felt Sajuna's palm was warm, and after he gently squeezed it, it even started to sweat slowly.
Girls truly are made of water.
Akira looked up at Sajuna beside him; in the still noisy bus compartment, only she quietly gazed at the handsome young man opposite her.
Her delicate and lovely small face, clear and bright girlish eyes, and tender skin that seemed as if it could break with a touch, revealing a faint pink blush beneath the surface. She looked like a girl from a classical European painting, with all the surrounding scenery serving to highlight her loveliness.
"Aki-Kun."
Sajuna watched Akira quietly observing her. She felt a little nervous, but couldn't help but blink at Akira. As her eyes moved, light seemed to swirl around them. She tilted her head slightly and asked, a hint of confusion in her voice,
"What are you looking at?"
"I'm looking at the adorable Sajuna in front of me."
Akira's gentle tone made Sajuna's heart flutter. Although his words were still the same old clichés, Sajuna was still flustered by them. Her eyelashes lowered, concealing her sparkling eyes.
"Adorable Sajuna." Saying it like that, it's as if "adorable" is my inherent label.
Aki-Kun has been saying more and more sweet nothings lately, but they still make my heart race every time.
And I'm always messing up. I like Aki-Kun a lot too, but I just can't say it.
The bus body trembled slightly, the engine roared, and then the vehicle slowly began to move.
Akira sat by the window, able to see the surroundings slowly receding. The tall zelkova trees lining the road gently shaded the warm sunlight, offering their lush green and cool shade to passersby.
He felt Sajuna next to him subtly adjust her body, and her soft little hand, which had been cradled in Akira's hands, took the opportunity to escape its cage.
Sajuna withdrew her hand, but not because she felt uncomfortable with their actions, but because she didn't want to be led by Aki-Kun's intentions.
Seeing that Aki-Kun made no special moves, Sajuna leaned a little closer to Akira, feeling their uniforms almost touching.
Sajuna reached out both hands and took Akira's free left hand, even wanting to place it on her thigh.
Aki-Kun must have been looking at my legs just now.
Sajuna thought this, and suddenly remembered the scene of them playing on the sofa at home before.
She always felt that compared to long legs, Aki-Kun always put more thought into cute girls' socks.
She remembered how he used to carefully research which cute socks had a better feel when they were dating, but Aki-Kun became much more serious later and subconsciously forgot about such things.
Sajuna held Akira's palm in both hands, as if playing with a new toy, gently squeezing each of Akira's fingers one by one. Only after finishing did she belatedly realize a familiar feeling that had inexplicably appeared in her heart.
Isn't this what Aki-Kun used to do to her!
Except it wasn't his fingers.
Thinking this, Sajuna, who had originally wanted to do more, slowly slowed her hand movements, then placed Akira's palm on her over-the-knee socks.
Akira felt the rough texture of cotton fabric on the back of his hand and couldn't help but glance at Sajuna beside him, seeing her slowly leaning on his shoulder with a flushed face.
He straightened his body slightly, but with one arm embraced by Sajuna, Akira couldn't make any big movements.
The vehicle went over a speed bump, jolting slightly. Akira's palm moved on Sajuna's over-the-knee sock, touching the edge of the sock.
Feeling the unique texture of the cotton fabric, Akira couldn't help but rub it a few times, then gently pinched the edge of the sock, hesitating whether to slip a finger inside.
Wouldn't that be too strange?
Akira criticized himself in his mind; he was always a person who excelled at self-criticism, so he quickly convinced himself.
Sajuna only felt a slight tickle, but she merely tilted her legs slightly towards Akira, without even uttering a word of protest. Then she felt Aki-Kun's finger lift her over-the-knee sock.
He wouldn't be trying to take off her socks, would he?
His finger slowly slipped in and began to gently rub, then he casually withdrew his left hand and reached out his right hand to stroke Sajuna's hair.
"Why do you always like to touch my hair, Aki-Kun?"
The shy Sajuna, with her head tilted, looked up. The blush on her face hadn't faded, and her rosy cheeks made Akira want to bite them hard.
"Because I need to check Sajuna's hair to see if any strands are missing. If one is, I'll find it."
Akira said this, but he felt unsure who to hold accountable, so he added,
"I'll hold myself accountable. Who else is to blame for not taking good care of such an adorable Sajuna?"
Akira threaded his fingers through Sajuna's hair, using his palm as a cushion, and leaned his head against hers.
Sajuna couldn't help but purse her lips and smile, her cheeks flushed even deeper, her smile sweet. The slowly moving vehicle, the hurried pedestrians on the street, the restless hearts of people, all seemed irrelevant to her and Aki-Kun at this moment.
In this chaotic world, it felt like only she and Aki-Kun had eyes for each other.