Disclaimer: I do not own POT

Chapter 29

Renji Yanagi – I don't like you.

Renji stood up, of all the crazy locked up individuals, he was by far the calmest of the lot. He did not even seem to lose his composure. But when it was his turn, he looked up and for the first time, he opened his eyes for a minute.

"I want to tell her that I… Don't like her."

"Wha? What kind of candy heart was that?"

Momoshiro asked, feeling a little incredulous. There shouldn't be one like that right? Then again, why would he feel a desperate sense to admit that to Sakuno of all people? But as one would say, as there are lovers of a person, there would be haters.

It was at 7 am. Every day at 7:10 am, there will be a train that would take me to my school. It never runs late, nor does it ever run early. I will be there at 7 am and take the 7:10 am train. So that I can get to school at 8 am. This is my routine and it always has been. So why should today be any different?

As usual, 7:10 am the train comes into my station. Without fail. As usual. Precise and straight to the point. I get on the train and take my usual stand in the middle of the train carriage. This way, I would not be bumped by the majority of people trying to go to school or work earlier, rushing for a meaningless task. They waste time as they might still get stopped at the crossing. I have calculated every step. Every move is backed by my data. My data is never wrong.

7:10 am I know who gets on here. An old lady who is going to the market. She sits on the seat nearest to the door. A few students from Rikkai Dai on their usual commute. They are often standing at the door. I opened my book as the doors were about to shut when I noted another figure entered the train. She fell over into the train. The girls giggled at her, but I stared. Where did she trip? What did she fall on when there were no obstacles there?

She slowly gathers herself and sits on the train on the seats vacant in the middle of the train carriage. Her hairs were sticking out from odd ends, maybe due to the fall? Her large honey brown eyes seemed to dart to and fro before pulling out a book. I looked back at my book. Maybe she is the clumsy girl type. The ones who trip over their own two feet. There are a few of them out there. Akaya Kirihara does that sometimes too. That's normal.

Slowly the train starts moving. At 7:20 am, a man with a bowler hat will get on. He will always be watching his phone and sit at the end of the carriage. At 7:30 am, the old lady gets off so she can walk 5 minutes to the nearest street market. 7:40 am, this new girl gets off. Then the girls and I get off at 7:50 am. We talk 10 minutes to get to our school. My morning schedule changed a little because of the girl. But…all others were like clockwork. As usual. No anomalies.

7:00 am. This morning, it is raining, the weather report had already foretold this. I took an umbrella to the station. 7:10 am, I get on the train. I take the middle train carriage. The girls get on and hover near the doors as usual. They never get to school any faster than I did, no matter how quickly they walk. Every day, they are always 5 minutes behind me. The old lady gets on as usual and sits in her usual spot. I pull out my book and noted she has yet to arrive, so she was a 1-day anomaly. Then…just as we were about to depart… I heard a loud thunk and I looked up to see… the girl was on the ground again. Did she trip over the same invisible object? How did her distance between her leg and the door remain the same distance? She will get a bruise in that place if she hits it often enough.

She gets up, as usual, tries to smother her hair down, and sits in the seats in the middle of the train carriage. As per usual. Her eyes will look to and fro and then took out a clipboard. I continue to read. As usual, I note, everyone got off at their relevant stops. I watched as our usual suspects get on and off the train. That girl left again at 7:40 am. The girls and I get off at 7:50 am. I still get there at 8:00 am. They get there at 8:05 am. Data is based on how consistently a certain plant, animal, or person chooses to behave. I know that most behaviors are due to habits picked up along the way. I knew most behaviors are based on exchanges.

7:00 am rolls around again. This time it is sunny and I waited for the train. This time the girl showed up at 7 am. She was on time. Anomaly. The train arrived at 7:10 am. I walked up and then I thought to myself, the girl will trip again. I stood there and pretending to check my bag. I turn around and she is tripping again. She fell into my arms. Not quite what I was hoping for. She looked so happy not to have fallen. She looks up at me with her curious honey brown eyes and then her face flames up.

"T...Tha…Thank you!"

She dashes to her seat and I slowly walked to my regular spot. Something changed today. But it's fine. As usual, the old lady sits down and then the girls came in. We departed and everyone slowly moved in and out of the train and then I get off the train at 7:50 am and arrived at school at 8 am. Data can change but if then the set of logarithmic behaviors will put my projected arrival time to be the same.

7 am as usual. I arrive at the train station. She was there too. This time she was holding some fruits. 7:10 am the train arrives. I step on… and I stopped. Because she will fall again… True to her nature, she did. She lands into my arms again. Okay, so it seems this will cause her to fall into my arms. But I did it this time because she had fruits. I did not want orange juice on my shoes or trip over her fruits. That will cost me too much of the projected time.

She looks up, her eyes look wide and filled with pools of deep amber-ish to brown eyes. They were bright and she looked relieved.

"Thank you!"

She was able to say a full sentence without spluttering or stuttering. That was an improvement. The old lady came on as well, but then I noted… this new girl would slide closer and provide the old woman with a fruit. I watched as the older woman's eyes glittered with respect. So she brought those fruits for the older woman. That woman has sat on this train for 5 months now. She goes to the market I know… but the woman smiled. For the first time. Her eyes twinkled as well. She spoke a lot and almost missed her stop. She got off at 7:40 am as usual. Out of my life and mundane can continue.

Today it's 7 am. It is thundery and rainy. I've got a lot on my mind. I've noted that our team's practice would not be enough to help tackle Seigaku at our stage. Genichiro Sanada also stated for them to take a break which I do not agree with as it does not allow them to improve. My data seems to specifically specify that they need to balance their skills. But to allow a break would mean that we need to restart our training again. 7:10 am. I've added something to my routine. I stand beside the door for a minute to catch this falling angel.

She falls and I stabilize her. In the many times, I've seen her, my data taught me to expect her to respond and smile when her honeyed brown eyes as she then said

"Something is on your mind?"

That single sentence blew me away. How did she know? How long as she been watching me? On what data is she basing this on? She noticed this. She only knows me as long as she started to take this train which was 3 weeks ago. Based on my understanding, she does not have any data to go on. I barely interact with her.

"Ahem!"

A voice woke me from my thoughts. Behind us, the girls seemed to be standing there with a peculiarly annoyed look. My schedule… I unwittingly had kept my hands on her and so I had to move us both further into the train.

"How cute."

The old woman cooed. But all I could see was this girl looking at me.

"S..Sorry! Fo….Forget I said…An..Anything."

She released herself from me and walked to sit down in her chair. This anomaly affected my schedule. Due to the delays, the train left later. She could see what was written on my face? I went to school and arrived at 8:05 am. But the whole day, no one asked me about my thoughts. She could see it, but no one else did. So what data was she basing her judgment on? I prided myself to hide my information better than this.

7 am came around, I was standing there. But my eyes were looking out for her. I wanted to ask her how she knew. She arrived at 7:05 am. There was one thing I noted, I could never predict what time she would arrive at the station. She looked at me and then she smiled and bowed politely. But my mind wondered about her. Our usual routine began at 7:10 am. She will trip and I would catch her. You'd think she'd learn after 3 weeks of falling.

"Than…thank you. A…are you okay?"

I released her and then we walked together but that question burned.

"Why do you ask?"

"You look…co…confused."

"…"

There has been something that has been bugging me. Did she intentionally fall every day so that someone would catch her? Apart from her schedule of falling and getting off the train at 7:40 am… every other part of her time is not efficient.

"What do you mean?"

"When you caught me, yo…you looked at me as…as if you don't understand…and something."

Well, that was true enough. She was an enigma to me.

"…I don't. But I am endeavoring to understand it."

A look of relief filtered across her face. She went back to sit down as if she understood. I don't know why, but from another person's perspective, this conversation is half-finished but to me… it was. We addressed the question, I told her I'd resolve it, she left me to it. Other girls would have pestered me and wasted their time trying to understand and she left it.

At 7:40 am, a new routine began. She left first and then I would follow after her. I was going to find out about her. I do not have enough data, and I said I would endeavor to find out. The crossing was about to flash red, but she rushed across the road. Why? What a wasteful behavior. It puts her in danger and how bad does it affect her time and schedule to wait 4 minutes? I could see her from my side of the road to see that she rushed because an elderly man was stumbling. This girl, who stumbles and falls all the time, she was going to catch another person.

I continued to follow her, I realized one thing. These girl's actions are often wasteful. She'd trip every so often and then when she managed to stabilize she heads into cake shops and comes up with nothing… except I noted that she went into the grocery shop opposite first with nothing, came out with a drink and a letter, and went into the cake shop without the letter OR the drink. I cast my eye into the cake shop, the man in there was smiling at the letter with the drink on the table. These behaviors are strange. Why doesn't the woman or man from the grocery shop give the person in the cake shop the letters themselves? She gets nothing for it in return.

I noted, she was going towards Rikkai Dai. Why? Suddenly I could see a noticeable black-haired devil… I had to hide. I quickly hid and peered out. Akaya Kirihara was meant to be still at home trying to rush to school. Why was he so early? This behavior is different. His eyes glowed in soft light and he looked gentle towards her. This was the behaviour that I have yet seen. She talked to him for a bit and then they parted ways... Akaya headed to Rikkai Dai and I watched her get on a bus. That bus goes in the opposite direction. This girl… she wastes her time to get on the train to get off 1 stop before Rikkai Dai and then proceeds to travel back. Why on earth does she waste her time and money like this? What was her goal?

…I hate wasteful people. I know that much. I know that much… but at 7 am in the morning, I am there looking out for her. At 7:40 am I follow her off the train. Because I am not able to understand her.

"Akaya! A word."

I called Akaya and he came towards me. His eyes looked a little unsure to be called over during tennis practice.

"What?"

"Who is the girl you speak to near Rikkai Dai?"

Akaya Kirihara flushed and his eyes darted to and fro like he wanted to run away. I continued to watch him and he burst out of pressure, knowing him when you increase pressure, he will explode.

"I am not flirting with the enemy!"

"?"

"Ryuuzaki-san and I so happen to exchange details about where I can get my tennis racquet re-stringed!"

"…Ryuuzaki?"

That is Seigaku's Tennis Coach's name. But she was never wearing her school uniform though… was that girl Seigaku's student?"

"You are not sharing secrets are you?"

Akaya's eyes widened in indignation

"SHE's not that kind of person!"

He fumed and headed back to training. But Akaya's defensiveness towards Ryuuzaki was almost out of his usual behavior. Don't tell me this child likes Ryuuzaki? Not my business anyway right? Then what is that prickly feeling in my chest? I ignored it.

3 days. Ryuuzaki stopped taking the 7:10 am train. On the 3rd day, the old lady who usually never speaks to anyone asked me

"Where's that sweet lady who comes on this train with you?"

"?"

I could not answer. I got out at 7:40 am and followed her usual route, but she was not there.

"Excuse me!"

I looked up to see the cake shop/bakery man come out, he smiled and said

"Where's Sakuno-chan?"

"?"

Why were people beginning to ask me where she is? When I ask them this, they looked perplexed and said

"Aren't you a friend of hers?"

Her friend? What gave them that idea? We only met on the train and followed her to understand how she read me so easily. Only to find that she was wasteful in efforts. I don't like that kind of people.

7 am and I look up and around. She was not there as usual. But my eyes went for a sweep… at 7:10 am, the train arrives. I get on the train. I looked out the other side and that was when I noticed… Ryuuzaki was wearing Seigaku uniform and getting on the train with Inui and they were holding a familiar clipboard and discussing something. Why was she there? Inui seemed to have a sixth sense and he looked up to see me. Sakuno Ryuuzaki noted the pause and looked towards the same direction to see us just as we were departing. Her eyes smiled and she waved at me as their train took off in the opposite direction.

At first, I thought Sakuno Ryuuzaki might have a different lifestyle from her grandmother and maybe is that kind of girl who helps random strangers and studied. Some air-headed girl. But Inui and Ryuuzaki were looking at a clipboard together. Inui considered her someone. Inui recognized her as someone.

I saw them again on the tennis courts. How did I not notice? Sakuno sat there and cheered and then on rare occasions she would go and speak to Tezuka the Team Captain of the Seigaku tennis team about something… he would then redirect someone and returned a word to Ryuuzaki. She would cheer for Eiji and I noted, Eiji's stamina is improving. She'd hand Ryoma a Ponta can and they would not speak but somehow understand each other. Kaidoh would grumble but with her, he'd just sit there in peace. Oishi merely thanks her for the towels… Inui would often talk to her about one thing or another.

"You aren't focusing Renji!"

Sanada's voice cuts everyone in surprise as Sanada spoke to me. There was no surprise. I know. I was a mess. I hated that too. Sakuno Ryuuzaki is a distraction. She messes up my data and confuses me. I hate distractions, she is a distraction. I grit my teeth as I walked towards the water fountain to have a drink.

"…Are you okay?"

I recognize that voice instantly. I looked up to see Sakuno Ryuuzaki standing there looking concerned. Why? Does my heart race? Is it because she frightened me? Unexpected call out? I stood up and easily towered her short stature.

"Why?"

"Y..You….your play...ing style… is…is all over…the place."

She knew?! Somehow, I am both impressed and unsure as to what to say to that. She knew. I looked back at the water and wanted to say… 'yeah well you're the cause'. But I refuse to give her that much credit and who knows if Inui would hear it or not. Would he use this to his advantage? I stood there staring at her…

"…Yo…you do…best…wh…when you rely…o…on what you are confident…in."

"Ryuuzaki!"

A voice called out and she bowed and disappeared. I turned back to the tap and the water felt very cold to my face. It was very hot today. Am I trembling in fear or anger? How could she know? How? How can she see right through me? I concluded one thing. She knows my weakness… and I don't like her for that.

To be continued…

Snowrider14 signing out.