Chapter 1

Author: Kintora

"Mom! Stop it! I'm going to be late!" I gasped as she tightened the blue scarf around my collar as I stooped, hopping around on one foot. My neck was craned to the side as I tried jamming on my last loafer. "I can do it when I go out! I'm going to miss the train, mom! MOM!"

My mother smiled, amused at my plight. "Hitomi, it's cold outside, okay? Just let me help you."

I heaved a sigh and with one last painful tug, my shoe was on. Without wasting any time, I bolted for the door, "Bye mom, I'm leaving!"

"Be careful honey! It's-" I heard her say before I dashed off toward the stairwell at the end of our apartment complex. I've always been good at running, and bad listening.

The elevator had been broken since the previous week and no one had gotten it up and running yet. So my harried footsteps took me down the stairs, pounding over the cement as my red scarf swung madly behind me. The sixth floor, fifth floor, fourth floor…. First floor! I was going so fast I had to use the wall to stop my momentum, turning the corner and skidding into the small lobby. To my dismay, it was raining heavily outside.

Unfortunately, I had left with such haste that I just realized what my mom had been trying to tell me on the way out. Giving myself a mental shake and cursing the time, I burst out the double doors without an umbrella. I skirted through the crowded avenues in our city swamped with thousands of people.

My blue pleaded skirt dripped with rainwater, and my thick navy blazer weighed down heavily on my shoulders and arms. It was a good thing that this wasn't a summer storm or else I'd be running in the rain with a white top instead. But even as I ran through the cold, I still heard some teenage boys huddling under the store stands hooting at me. I ignored them, scowling all the same. They must be delinquents and have no life. Just die already so the rest of us can live in peace, I thought uncharitably.

Pumping my legs faster towards the subway station, I narrowly avoided mauling the few people who unintentionally got in my way. My loafers were so thoroughly soaked, they squished like I had put on sponges instead of shoes this morning.

I barely had time to use my Suica card, before I was hurtling headlong past the gate and down half the steps. But it was just like me to get caught in an unprecedented situation.

Just when I thought I was in the clear, my bag chose that moment to split open, scattering books and pens all over the platform. Embarrassed of my mishap, I bowed to the onlookers around me and quickly stooped to gather all of my things, reciting a mental list of obscenities. I scrambled faster to collect my rogue belongings when I heard the dry, automated voice announcing the train's approach.

People crowded closer, threatening to trample me. I saw my English textbook a short ways away, quickly becoming obscured from view by people's legs. Face burning, I tried to reach for it but suddenly, someone pulled me up by the arm.

I squawked indignantly, turning to see who had dared apprehend me. "Excuse me-!"

My words seemed to hit a dam when I realized I was glaring up into the startlingly handsome face of a foreigner. He was tall, lightly tanned from the sun, and carried an aura of ease despite the overcrowded space. Dark hair, dark burgundy eyes... He could have passed as Japanese from a distance. And although he didn't look much older than I was, he was wearing a suit and tie. Obviously, not a high school student.

My mind blanked. Would saying hello in English be acceptable in this situation? But I was mad at him for grabbing me! How do I say something that could convey my disapproval but still be civil? I certainly didn't know how to say all that in English, but what if he didn't know Japanese?

"Uh..." Was the only intelligent response I could summon.

But the man didn't seem to mind. He just smiled faintly, letting go of my arm and pressing a book into my hands. When I looked down at it, I realized it was my English textbook. "Be careful on the way to school, and don't be late for class."

His voice was a deep, warm baritone. That's when I realized he could speak fluent, unaccented Japanese. Looking up, I was surprised to see he was gone, and the crowd was pushing up against me even more forcefully as everyone fought to board the train.

After being shuffled into the cart with all the other daily commuters, I hastily put my things away and made sure my school bag remained tucked securely under my arm. Still damp and miserable from rainwater, I tried not to meet anyone else's eyes all while trying to surreptitiously look for the peculiar man who helped me earlier.

As I mulled over his words, I couldn't help but frown. Most people would've just said, "I hope you're all right" or something along those lines and be on their merry way. But something about the way he chose his words bugged me.

After my next transfer I had almost forgotten all about our encounter. I was dozing so soundly, earphones plugged, and my CD player whirring away in my bag. Aside from being drenched, it was just a normal morning like any other day of my usual commute. The train jarred a little and all of us in the cart were forced forward, catching our balance again. In that moment, someone behind me stumbled into my back, their grip finding purchase on my waist.

I sleepily ignored it. All around me, people were grumbling their apologies to each other, still trying to adjust their footing. But then the lone hand dropped down to my hip, and my eyes shot open. I shifted away, not willing to confront the person behind me. But when the hand just deliberately slipped further down, I twisted uneasily to the side to give the person a baleful look.

I didn't recognize him. He was just your average, middle-aged salaryman with forgettable features. The man didn't even deign to look at me. He simply checked his watch and then readjusted his grip on the handle above his head. His free hand however, slowly stroked my upper thigh. It wasn't exactly in direct view of anyone. Most people sitting down were dozing and not paying their surroundings any attention.

I was on my own.

It wasn't like he was grabbing my butt... But still, should I say something? What could I do? Should I just ignore him? What if he did something worse, because my silence enabled him?

As I grit my teeth, I suddenly wished I didn't live in such a crowded city. I wished I didn't live in Tokyo. In Japan. Women were taught to grin and bear uncomfortable moments – to avoid conflict or anything embarrassing. It was suffocating. His behavior, my behavior, my thoughts were all suffocating me. I was suffocating.

I suddenly gasped, realizing belatedly that I had been holding my breath. Whipping my head around again, I shoved his hand off of me and glared up into his startled eyes. "Stop touching me please," I gritted out as politely as I could.

He blinked, face turning red as other people looked around at us. He sputtered, "Wh-what are you talking about? You must be crazy!"

"Your hand was rubbing my leg. I don't like it. Keep you hands to yourself please," I repeated, firmer this time.

He turned puce, growing angry now. "How dare you speak to me like that, woman! Don't flatter yourself. You want attention? Gods know girls like you don't have any other prospects!"

I was livid, feeling like I'd been slapped. This was why I hated confrontations. Maybe I should have just ignored him. Or maybe waited to find a different spot to stand during the next stop. Anything but this, with everyone's eyes trained on us. There was no where else to move to on the train, seeing as we were still packed together like sardines in a tin can.

"What's going on over here?" A new voice pitched in from my other side. When the figure came into view, apologetically jostling past some disgruntled passengers, I wanted to die right then and there.

"Senpai!" My face blanched, half in horror and half in relief to see my track captain.

Susumu Amano was now moving around me so that he could separate the man from my side, towering over both of us. He smiled down at me, and then turned his head politely to look at the gawking salaryman. "I recognized my underclassman's voice. If there's something you would like to say, I will listen."

The man seemed to tremble with repressed rage. If he continued on a tangent now against a well-mannered and striking young man like Amano, everyone would think he'd lost his marbles. Thankfully, the train was pulling to a stop. Leveling us both with a collective glare, he marched off the train in a huff as soon as the doors opened, elbowing past other people around him with unnecessary force.

As the train pulled away again, Amano tugged me to a more defensible corner by the door and acted as a wall for me. Flushing madly, I ducked my head and fixed my gaze on his chest, doing my best to avoid his eyes. I expected him to maybe lecture me after such an embarrassing situation, but instead, he surprised me.

"Are you all right, Kanzaki-kun?" he asked gently.

I bobbed my head, "Yes. Thank you, Amano-senpai." I chanced a peek up at him, long enough to see that he was still smiling benignly at me.

"Good, I'm glad. Had I known you were here, I would have accompanied you. Do you usually take this train? I didn't know we rode the same line."

"Well, I was late this morning. I usually take a more convenient route," I admitted embarrassingly, "I'm sorry that man got mad at you too."

Amano shook his head, his brown hair obscuring his kind face, "Not at all. It's not your fault. He was very inappropriate. I'm impressed you stood up to him."

I was completely at loss for words. If it was possible to turn even more scarlet, I would have. But before I could thank him or otherwise verbally embarrass myself further, I felt his cool hand against my burning forehead and almost suffered a heart attack.

"Are you sure you're all right?" he asked me again, this time worried, "You're soaked and you feel like you have a fever."

"I'm okay! Really okay, I'm perfect!" I blurted out, clicking my jaw shut as more inane words threatened to tumble out unchecked.

He wasn't convinced. "I'll tell Coach Yagami what happened. Since it's raining, Coach will probably just have all of us stretch in the gym this morning. You should go to the nurse when we get to school instead of going to practice."

"Senpai, it's really nothing..." I protested, "Yukari will worry if I don't show."

"I'm sure Yukari would miss you and worry all the same, but she'll understand," Amano-senpai reasoned lightly, his pleasant face turned a little teasing, "She's our manager after all. It's kind of her job to worry about all of us."

She was indeed our track manager, as well as mutual friend. Yukari was close to all of us, but she was also notably my best friend. Our families are good friends, we were born in the same hospital, and we practically grew up in each other's houses. Once we got into the same high school, she even became manager when I joined the track team! Part of me felt a little jealous, having to share her with everyone else. But now a different kind of envy was rearing its ugly head, and I wasn't ready to consider it.

Now that we were talking more amiably, I carelessly shrugged. "But, you know Yukari. She'll think I skipped on purpose! I already owe her cake for covering for me the last time I actually ditched practice..." I froze, realizing both Yukari and I could get into huge trouble if Amano decided to rat us out.

But Amano just laughed easily, pulling me out of the train as we came to our stop. When we were out of the station, he drew me under his umbrella. All scarlet faced and awkward again, I resigned myself to walking closely to him as we hurried as quickly as we could to school. Before I knew it, we were trading stories again, mostly with Yukari somewhere in the context. It was much easier talking to him once we found some common ground. It was even easier talking about my best friend. Her interests, her antics, and her incurable sweet tooth... even her ability to track me down anywhere I went as if she had radar.

Amano laughed hysterically as I pantomimed Yukari, and I couldn't help but grin like an idiot. And that was how Yukari descended upon us at the school gate. Arms crossed, huddled under an umbrella, she scowled at me in particular as she marched beside us back towards the school.

"Kanzaki, Hitomi!" she snapped, clearly ready to launch into a tirade about my tardiness. However, the words died as soon as she took a closer look at my soaking figure. Her ire turned into genuine concerned, "Did Amano-senpai have to fish you out of a storm drain? What happened to you?"

"Well, you know me. I was determined to outrun the rain, but almost drowned instead." Under her unimpressed glare, I shrugged, smiling meekly, "Okay, okay. I was in a hurry and forgot my umbrella."

"You should really take better care of yourself," she rolled her eyes as she chided me. Turning her attention on Amano, her tone turned even drier, "Thank you, senpai. I'm glad both of you could make it. Coach Yagami wants everyone in the gym today, and if the weather clears, we'll all be meeting on the track field."

Amano nodded enthusiastically, trying to placate her. "Of course! I'll report to him immediately. But first..." he glanced at me, "I think you should take Kanzaki-kun to the nurse. She may have a fever."

"I'm fine!" I protested again as we entered the shoe bay.

"You're not going to go against the wishes of our senpai, are you?" Yukari grinned saccharinely as she changed into her indoor slippers.

I muttered incoherently as Amano and I followed her example. I hated it when they ganged up on me. I hated it even more when Amano seemed overly pleased that Yukari was taking his side. Squashing the feeling down, I let Yukari steer me away as we said our goodbyes and separated from Amano. I wished I could thank him again for his help, but I didn't want to worry Yukari about the train incident unnecessarily.

She ushered me down the hall into the medical bay, and even took it upon herself to explain to nurse about my fever. They had me change into my track uniform, which had escaped the rain relatively unscathed. Before I knew it, I was tucked in bed with a cool compress on my head. Yukari promised to tell our homeroom teacher where I was.

"And under no circumstance are you allowed to leave the sick room without the nurse's approval!" Yukari told me in her sternest manager voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I'll just wet the bed then when I have to go."

Yukari flicked my forehead in response and left me to doze away the morning. Normally I found it difficult to sleep anywhere but in my own bed, but this time around, I must have been more ill than I had realized. Soon, I was asleep and dreaming of wine red eyes.