She held onto the sandwich as the train stopped. We moved to the nearest doors, and when they slid open, we waited for disembarking passengers. These newcomers froze as they noticed the wave of waiting people were all wearing masks, except for me. I stood out like a literal sore thumb. After a pause, they stepped off the train, but they looked a bit anxious and I understood it. Some hung back and the passengers already aboard drew away from the new passengers in anxiety. Rui strapped hers on as soon as we boarded. There weren’t any free seats, so we stood next to each other by a pole.

“Oh, no!” Rui exclaimed. “I can’t enjoy the sandwich if I’m wearing a mask!” I could feel Rui pouting over the conundrum.

“Tell you what,” she said as she slipped the sandwich into her bag. “If we get this case cracked, then we’ll celebrate by splitting this delicious sandwich.” She beamed.

I was floored again by her sudden kindness. Maybe my treatment of the elder had triggered some kind of a switch inside her. “Oh... that sounds wonderful--” I paused. “Anyways, what’s the plan now?”

“Ehhhh? We ride to your station and wait to see if something happens.” Rui shrugged and smiled.

“And if it appears? Am I really bait? Is this really how it’s supposed to work? Just it’ll sense me?” I pondered.

“Hmmm…” Rui tapped her germ mask thoughtfully. ”I joked about your being bait, but you never know. It could really be that simple. Maybe you’ll sense it too. Anyways, no matter how things go down, you can at least protect me.”

“Eh? But..." I leaned down to her ear. “If I lose my mind... what if I’m like some kind of super-powered baby?”

The doors closed and the recorded voice played announcing the train was moving on. We ignored it.

“T-that would be a real problem. It’s just..." Rui hesitated. “I really don’t think you would hurt anyone. You’ll probably be the kind who’ll cry all the time and might stick strange things into your mouth. But, no matter what I did to you so far, you’ve never actually done anything violent to me. Look, it could attack us the next moment... I don’t know what it’ll do if it does appear. I just want to say, this while we have a moment to spare. I’m sorry, I’ve been so rough on you.”

I gasped, and nearly noh-drowned in my tears.

“No! No tears!” She seized my costume’s collar. “Be calm!”

I nodded and sniffled. “Y-yeah... that’s right… I’m not used to getting compassion, and there’s this… thing which might show up---"

“Don’t worry…” Rui smiled reassuringly. “Look at my face. I’m super serious. I know I have no spiritual abilities, but I’ll look after your back. We’ll be fine! Hehehe... I’m a superhero too!” She made a silly pose.

I laughed.

“Germ Eradicating Sentai Force?” I guessed, snorting.

“Yup! It means I’m in fighting mode! Hiyaaaaa!” She assumed a mock-fighting stance. I shook my head and laughed, unable to reconcile the current Rui with the oni I met. I’d truly thought she’d reveal that she had real horns like Natalia-sama’s fox ears and tails. As good as Rui was being with me, I couldn’t help longing for Natalia-sama. I tried hard to not think about her amazing breasts. On the upside, at least having Rui as my escort meant I should have fewer noh-nose-bleeds unless she hit me again.

My vision slid to the side, allowing me to witness a suggestion of a strange flickering of movement outside the train. I noh-swallowed. I wasn’t too far from a window, come to think of it. Visions of Noh-face reaching straight through the glass to seize me shook me. I took Rui’s arm and quickly moved to the center of the traincar, jostling people in a semi-rude manner. “E-excuse us!” I murmured. We’d have no pole to lean against, but we’d be warned if something happened.

I tugged Rui after. She didn’t ask any questions until we stopped. Instead she looked up into my face. “Why?” she asked softly.

“I’m anxious. I thought..." I trailed off.

“Ahahaha... Susumu... you’re such a girl. You are a guy, aren't you?? Honestly, you smell feminine.” She rolled her eyes.

I gaped at Rui. At a time like this, she noticed how I smelled? Thinking about it, I smiled. The reason was because I’d liked Reiko-chan’s favorite scent of roses ever since I washed up with her soap in her home. It took time to remember the brand on the bottle, but since then, I’d started mixing some of it with my regular soap to keep it subtle. It was because I missed Reiko-chan. By doing so, I could almost smell her and I’d start to sometimes think she was hovering somewhere behind me, out of sight.

“Hey... you thought you saw something, right? Outside?” Rui asked.

“Yes... a motion... and it feels like… it is eyeing us,” I whispered back.

Rui nodded. “Yes, it is. A lot of people are interested in us. It’s just a hunch, but I’ll check it out. Do you think you have the strength to lift me up onto your shoulders?”