Chapter 32 - Jam-Packed

Two shadows moved through the pitch-black underground.

Their faces were illuminated by the light of a smartphone, but the expressions were grim.

“Are we really going through a place like this...?”

In front of Daiki stood a small rectangular hole blocking the way.

They could probably crawl through, but they’d definitely get wet.

And it looked suffocating.

“This is the only way,”

Takumi took a wrapped raincoat out of his backpack and tossed it to Daiki.

While putting it on, Daiki grumbled.

“Well, if you go straight through here, you’ll get to the shopping district, but using this as an escape route means it’s going to be packed in tight.”

“Better than being crushed by a horde of zombies and turned into sushi.”

“Eh... do you think I can even fit...?”

Daiki was stronger than an average person but also stocky.

Would his broad shoulders fit through this hole?

Daiki forced his body into the rectangular opening.

“Hngh... hngh...”

He twisted his body with all his might.

Then, Daiki stopped moving completely.

Worried, Takumi called out.

“You okay...?”

“Senpai...”

“Hm? What is it?”

“I’m... stuck...”

With a clatter, the flashlight slipped from Takumi’s hand.

BOOOOM!

“Yahhooo!”

Ryuu threw up a victorious fist pump.

The one who was knocked over by that sound was Tooru.

“Ry-Ryuu! What did you do!?”

“Well, I figured it’d be a pain to dismantle everything piece by piece, so I thought, why not just blow it up and make it neat all at once…”

The bus windows shattered into pieces, and thick smoke billowed out from inside.

Flickering red flames could be seen here and there.

“Fire! Put out the fire!”

“Got it!”

Ryuu grabbed a hose from the fire hydrant and sprayed water at the bus windows.

The school’s fire hydrants are called “No. 2 hydrants,” which are designed to be operated by a single person.

Within several dozen seconds, the fire was extinguished.

“How on earth did you make a bomb...?”

“Hey, you remember checking it out the other day, right? I did this as an experiment, too.”

Looking inside the bus, the aisle was so badly burnt it looked like it might collapse, with seats blown away or reduced to just frames.

“See? Perfect, right?”

“No way, the aisle is totally wrecked…”

When Tooru gently stepped on it, the floor crumbled beneath him.

“Well, if we cover it with some wood or something, it should be fine.”

“That’s pretty careless…”

They threw the broken seat parts out through the fully opened window.

Then, Shinjii came running, carrying tools.

“What was that explosion just now!?”

His face looked fierce, like a demon.

“Ah, I was just trying to remove the seats…”

“Don’t mess around! This isn’t a game!”

“Please don’t be so uptight.”

“How can you stay so calm!? One wrong move and the gasoline could’ve ignited and caused a huge explosion! The school could’ve been damaged too! And the bus, which is our precious transportation…!”

“Well, it didn’t happen, so there’s no point in dwelling on it forever…”

“Are you an idiot!? Is there some kind of substance in your stomach that dulls your thinking!?”

“What!? Inside my stomach are dreams and hopes…”

“Please stop already!”

Tooru’s voice interrupted the pointless quarrel between the two.

Both fell silent.

“Both of you, calm down. Ryuu, making bombs isn’t wrong, but experimenting with them in the bus is dangerous. Shouda-senpai, your points are valid, but constantly nagging isn’t the right approach either.”

“Ugh…”

Shinji faltered.

“…Let’s get back to work.”

As Tooru began inspecting the welding tools, the two stood there, watching his back.

“Phew. Finally done!”

Hazuki tossed the mop aside and sat down.

Her view was filled with the usual colors of the hallway.

The only red in sight was the fire extinguisher—no alarming signs instinctively warning her.

“That’s true, but we only finished half,”

Yuuki muttered, causing Hazuki to slump a little.

“But I think this is enough for today. We still have to organize the supplies.”

Miu said that, then poured the water from the bucket out the window.

Of course, no one was eager to clean, so everyone started putting away their tools.

However, Sakura was nowhere to be seen.

“I wonder where Sakura-chan went... I hope she’s not with Kazuma-senpai or anything.”

“Haha. I think it’s fine. After all, we have the ‘purity police’ here.”

“Purity police?”

Hazuki tilted her head, while Yūki gave off an intense aura.

The aura was so strong it looked like it might crack the window glass.

“In the student council…”

Yuuki spun around to face Hazuki.

“Impure relationships between boys and girls are met with very severe punishments.”

“Waaah! I-it’s not me! Maybe Kazuma-senpai and I are just… no, having a completely pure relationship…”

“A completely pure relationship with a guy who looks so frivolous?”

“No, no, no! It’s not decided or anything!”

“I see. Looks like I’ll have to check that out myself.”

With that, Yuuki grabbed a rag and walked off.

After that, Hazuki was consumed by a growing worry that she might have done something bad.