You watched the youth approach the other people on the platform as you waited for your train. He was showing them something on a flip phone that looked like it might have been a trend ten years ago. He was about your age with mussy blonde hair and clothes that hung on a gaunt frame, and as he came to you it was clear from the dark bags under his eyes that he didn't have a good night's sleep for some time. Yet for all that, there was a sharpness in his gaze and spring in his step.
You just wanted to get home though. You'd just left school and you wanted to have the house for yourself for the next couple of hours before your parents came home. You hadn't decided what to do yet: play on your phone, make a start of your homework because mid-terms were coming up, or lie on your bed staring at the cracks in the ceiling because you were just so tired of everything and everyone. All you knew was that you couldn't wait for the weekends.
"Have you seen her?" the youth asked, showing you his phone screen. On it was a selfie of him and a young dark-haired girl. They were holding ice cream and surrounded by several well-groomed huskies. "We were on the train together and she got off at this station by mistake," he explained. There was a slight scent about him. Like the factory your uncle worked as a metalworker that one time you had to bring his lunch over because he forgot. Or was it that time your father spent the whole morning trying to fix the lawnmower?
You shook your head. You hadn't seen her. He let out a loud exhale and clutched at his forehead, fingers scratching into his scalp. You felt sorry for him and before you thought it through you were offering him your help, never mind the fact that you were going to miss your train.
The youth's face broke out into a grin and he clapped you on the shoulder before sheepishly pulling his hand back when he noticed you recoil. "Her name's Nayuta," Denji explained as he scratched the back of his head. "She's my…cousin on my old man's side. I'm Denji by the way. Really appreciate you helping out."
"It's fine," you said. "Let's have a look and see if she's still around." A thought occurred to you right then. "Does she have her own rail pass?" you asked. "Maybe she went home on her own."
"Yeah but I'm not sure if she remembers the way."
You couldn't argue with that. Still, there was also the niggling thought at the back of your mind that you just couldn't get rid of. You could feel your hair rising on the back of your neck, and there were goose bumps breaking out over your arms.
You both opted to split the eight platforms up and doing a circuit of each one in the hopes that one of you would spot Nayuta.
But after your third platform, you were beginning to think that perhaps this was a wild goose chase. That maybe Nayuta had already gone home and was waiting for Denji to show up. She could have asked around for directions.
On the next platform, you found Denji surrounded by four high school students who were in their senior year. You recognized the look. Untucked shirts, loose ties, rolled up sleeves. Hair dyed, some sporting the odd earring. The deliberate slouch. The big man walk. The fuck you glare. The bulk of days spent working out for the kind of muscles to push classmates around into buying them soft drinks from the high school vending machine.
You have the vague impression of a pack of wild dogs looking for trouble. And compared to them, Denji was the stray mongrel with ribs showing tripping into their path. The delinquents were already getting into it as they had already surrounded him.
Your inner voice told you to let it be. It was not your problem. But when one of the delinquents spotted you, you decided it was too late to back out. So you came closer and heard Denji talking. His voice was strained. You feel like he was doing his best to be civilized, and who could blame him? A little girl was missing. Their parents would be worried sick if Denji wasn't able to find her. It was still daylight but nightfall was not that far away and a child could not be out that late.
And now Denji had this to deal with.
One of the delinquents shoved Denji. There was a blur of movement as Denji knocked the arm away before a punch sunk into his gut, winding him. Two of the delinquents crowded you out as you tried to push forward. You stood up on your toes to look over their heads. Denji was on the ground covering his face as a delinquent rained blows over his head. Suddenly he reared up and the delinquent screamed, scrabbling back and staring at his hand.
It was bleeding. You could see the imprint of teeth on it and the teeth had broken skin. Denji was sitting up, battered but grinning with blood in his mouth and a glint in his eye.
"You fucking animal!" The delinquent shouted as his friends helped him up. "What is wrong with you?"
"Maybe he has rabies!" Another suggested. There was laughter but it was tinged with hysteria. Denji snarled.
Then the Voice spoke. You heard it in your head, as if she was right next to you hissing in your ear. You heard it in your spine, and your body trembled as if your whole skeleton wanted to jump out of your meatbag skin and flee. It was the voice of a little girl, low but pitched in command.
Stop.
The delinquents froze. The one whose arm was bleeding let it drop to his side limply, dripping red onto the platform concrete. You found you could not move your feet. You're feeling lightheaded. There's something wet running down your nose. You wanted to wipe it but no, you were told to stop and you had to obey and you wanted to obey. To obey the Voice was all you ever needed to do. All you were ever meant to do. Twenty seconds had passed and you hadn't taken a breath.
The small footsteps came from behind you. She drifted into view from the corner of your eye.
Nayuta.
And right then and there was when you managed to place the sense of foreboding you felt earlier.
In the selfie Denji had showed you of him and Nayuta, you had noticed but also not noticed the multiple rings in her eyes. Like a spiral maze constantly turning till you were lost in it.
Denji was standing now with a peculiar look on his face. Fear, yes but longing as well. No, more like yearning. Not the kind of expression for a blood cousin. There's a high pitched whine in your ears and a tightness in your chest. Denji went down on one knee as Nayuta came up to him. They talked but you could not hear anything. Denji pointed your way. Nayuta looked at you and the delinquents and her eyebrows went up.
Her lips moved, and your legs gave way beneath you. You gulped in air as Nayuta approached you. Her lips moved again and you were aware of the delinquents leaving without argument as Denji and Nayuta helped you to your feet.
You didn't remember much of what happened after. You all took the same train together and sat on opposite seats, Denji on one side, you and Nayuta on the other. Denji talked to Nayuta but watched you carefully. She was holding your hand. You still couldn't hear the conversation. The only thing you could think of was the feel of Nayuta's hand in yours, and how it was strangely the most important thing to you.
You were disappointed when your stop came and Nayuta let you go. She and Denji waved goodbye as the doors closed and you watched the train depart for the next station.
You stood there for a while staring after the train as it vanished out of view. An old lady came up to you and asked if you were alright, gesturing at your face. You realized there's still blood running down your nose. You thanked her, wiped your nose with your wrist and checked your face with your phone's camera function.
Your phone dinged and another train roared past behind you. Your hearing had come back. You opened the message.
Sorry about what happened! Thank you for looking out for Denji.
He told me you needed to go home but let's meet again!
Your phone dinged again as Nayuta sent you a smiley face. You deleted the message. You blocked the number. You proceeded to forget any of this ever happened.
You thought about the way the Voice made you feel, and ended up doing none of those things.