Chapter 1

The new school year was just starting, and the morning train was crowded, as it always was. Classes hadn’t even begun yet, and I was already feeling down, when I noticed a girl in my grade nearby. She held her phone right up to her face, careful not to bother anyone around her. This obstacle meant I couldn’t see her face clearly, but her slender physique and smooth long hair were enough to tell me she was pretty. Around her was a man who appeared college age, a businesswoman, and a salaryman. I recognized them from my everyday commute, except for the salaryman. Him I hadn’t seen before. False charges of sexual assault had been plastered all over the news and social media lately, so men—especially salarymen—tended to place their briefcases overhead, holding onto the straps with both hands…but this man didn’t. He held the strap with one hand, and I couldn’t see where the other was. Then the girl suddenly stopped tapping at her phone. It’s April, the beginning of a new school term—new year, new life—and it kicks off with this? Thinking something was amiss, I observed her more closely and noticed her phone was shaking more than it should. The train wasn’t enough to account for it; I guessed her hand was the one doing the trembling. Hey, college student, see anything out of place? Okaaay… What about you, lady? …Nope. They won’t take their eyes off their phones. “Plea……it…” The soft voice belonged to the girl. Is it only me? Does no one else hear her? Everyone around had earphones in. No way they’d catch that. I hope I’m wrong, but if not… “Excuse me. Excuse me. Sorry…” I pushed my way through the densely packed train, earning me glares and disgusted frowns in the process, and forced myself between the two, facing the salaryman. I was pretty sure the girl had said, “Please, stop it.” I wasn’t brave enough to tell off a complete stranger, much less an adult man, but I couldn’t bear to watch this girl shaking from how much she wanted him to leave her alone. I braced myself and glared at him a little. The fortysomething man was wearing glasses; anyone would have pegged him as an upstanding citizen. I scowled at him, and he adverted his gaze, faltering. “The next station is…” I could hear the train announcement. “Wh-what do you want? What are you looking at me fo—?” “Could you please stop it?” I needed a ton of courage to say that, and I wasn’t even the victim. I couldn’t imagine how the girl must’ve felt when she was saying those same words a moment ago. Despite the noise of the train along the tracks, it seemed like everyone around heard me. “Huh? Wait, was that man groping him?” Wait, me?! “She’s my friend. P-please stop bothering her,” I said while pointing at my back as a sort of explanation for the onlookers. We’re from the same school, so that should be believable. Although I don’t even know who she is. “Whoa, a molester? Gross…” “Gropers are the worst.” The looks of disapproval made the man nervous. “This dude was molesting a high school boy?” I’m telling you it wasn’t meee! “A groper going after guys? Oh, that’ll be juicy.” No, stop spreading rumors! Wait, what should I do now? Grab him and call the police? Would that be the thing to do here? While I was thinking of my next move, the train arrived at the station, and the crowd flowed outside. Wait, where’s the guy?! The culprit had taken advantage of the commotion and stepped outside. “W-wait!” I didn’t have any obligation to pursue him, but I wanted to see this through to the end. Thanks to the flock of people at the station, catching up to him was easy, and I grabbed his hand. That made a scene, which caught the station attendant’s attention. I explained what had happened, and the man was taken into custody. “Nice work, kid. And…what about the girl?” Oh, she’s not here. Guess she stayed on the train. Well, whatever. I doubt she would’ve wanted to be interrogated anyway. By the time they had finished questioning me in her place, it was already past eight. My usual twenty-minute trip to school had taken four times longer than it was supposed to, and I was late on my first day. I checked the class-placement announcement hanging at the entrance and put my sneakers into the shoe rack. Mine was the only empty slot, so finding it was easy. The opening ceremony was already over, and all of the classrooms I passed by were already starting homeroom. I found my new classroom, Class B, and stealthily crept through the back entrance. The homeroom teacher was a woman: our English teacher from last year, Miss Wakatabe. She was wrapping up her introduction just when… “Ryou Takamori. We already know you’re late; there’s no need to be sneaking around.” …she called me out. “Oh… Okay.” Everyone turned toward me, some of them softly laughing. The station attendant had offered to tell the school about my tardiness, and fortunately, everything had already been taken care of on that front. The teacher didn’t scold me for arriving late while I found the one open seat. Finally. I can catch my breath. I decided to see who my next-door neighbor was, and it turned out to be Hina Fushimi. “Again?” I murmured. Fushimi was my childhood friend; we’d been together since preschool. Well, she wasn’t exactly my friend, but I’d known her my whole life. And we’d always been in the same homeroom class. We often ended up near each other at the start of the term, too. This was the fifth time we’d found ourselves in adjacent seats. I hadn’t spoken to her since middle school, so we weren’t really close anymore. Not to say we couldn’t get along, though. I looked at her while she kept staring straight forward at the teacher. Her skin was pale white, her cheeks slightly flushed, and her lips were thin and moist with some kind of lipstick. Her long eyelashes brushed together with every blink; her legs were slender, wrapped in black knee socks, and the pleated skirt of her uniform wasn’t too short or too long. Her hands were small, her fingers slim, her nails glossy. It was as if Fushimi’s whole body received a fresh coat of cuteness and prettiness every day. As someone who’d known her forever, I felt like I was watching a great piece of art slowly nearing completion. Everything the teacher said went in one ear and out the other while I kept my mind occupied with such thoughts. Then Fushimi took out a pen and started writing something down in her notebook. She showed it to me. Thank you for helping me out. Helping her out? The only “helping out” I could remember doing recently was speaking up back on the train. So…that was her? But how could she tell it was me? As far as I knew, she’d seen only my back. Our eyes met. “Oh… I heard your voice. And I took a photo.” She started tapping at her phone below the desk, then showed me the photo of what had been behind her then, taken like a selfie. Yup, that’s me and that guy. “Were you all right?” Fushimi gave a vague smile. Of course she wouldn’t be all right after that. “He touched my uniform, but that’s all.” That was a relief to hear. Seriously. If I hadn’t noticed, or if I had decided to ignore it, things could’ve been worse. “I’m glad you saved me,” she said. “And I’m glad you’re okay.” “You were like a superhero back there, Ryou.” It was the first time since grade school she’d used my given name, which felt a little awkward. “Let’s forget about what happened today, okay?” I said. She smiled bashfully and shook her head. “No way. I can’t.” I didn’t usually go around saving damsels in distress, so I thought it’d be better to put the whole incident behind us. Especially considering most people would rather forget about the horrible experience. So why had she replied that way? I was still confused when Fushimi flashed me a smile that would outshine a goddess. “Guess we’re in the same class again. I’m looking forward to another year together.” “Oh, yeah,” I replied shortly, still wondering why she was smiling like that. I had no way of knowing then that a completely average dude like me would fall in love with Fushimi—an extremely beautiful, popular girl who just happened to be my childhood friend.