AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello! It's been a while. I got lost in the road of life. But I found my way back here, or rather, depression found me. And as always, when it strikes, I try to find something familiar and heartwarming to hold onto to tide myself over until I feel better and then I'll be off again, in some grand adventure.

I thought I posted this story already. But apparently not. Or maybe I deleted it. I really thought I posted this already. In any case, I'm putting this up (again, or whatever) here for your enjoyment. Constructive criticisms are always welcome. Please read and review.


DISCLAIMER: Standard disclaimers apply.


It was a Friday when they first met. She was aboard Bus No. 58 going to Bunkyo after her class. She sat on the window seat as usual, staring through the window and humming a cheerful tune as she looks out at the people going about their life in the urban jungle called Tokyo.

She chuckled softly, remembering how she cried over missing out on the last copy of Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji. She had found the book on a bookstore near the university but as she had no extra money that time when she went out to explore, she asked the store clerk to keep it for her while she rush back to her dorm to get her money. But the store clerk had sold it to somebody else while she was away. Maybe it was the fact that she had been wanting to read the book but wasn't able to borrow a copy from the school's library, maybe it was hormones, or maybe it was the stress of the upcoming exams, or maybe it was all of the above, but her eyes stung upon hearing what happened from the apologetic store clerk, and her tears came unbidden. She had to run to the ladies' room so that no one will see her crying. The tips of her lips lifted in an upward curve, shaking her head, remembering her silliness.

A few minutes before the bus left, somebody sat beside her. She didn't bother to look, busy amusing herself with her thoughts and the limited scenery.

"Miss? This bus is going to Todai, right?", the stranger beside her, a guy from the sound of his voice, asked as the bus left for its next stop. She glanced at him, finding the question dumb, since there was a timetable listing the destinations in the bus stop.

"Hm." She hummed and nodded a little, and went back to looking out her window, clearly not wanting to be disturbed.

As the bus left the stop, she realized she forgot to get her ticket when she boarded. She turned, planning to go to the small machine by the door to get her ticket.

"Excuse me, can you move a bit? I forgot to get a ticket." She said apologetically to her seatmate, as she stood up and prepared to go down the aisle.

The stranger looked at her and smiled a little, standing up to make way for her. "Okay. I'll reserve this seat for you," the stranger offered nicely.

Seeing how polite the stranger was, and comparing it with her earlier behavior, she felt a little guilty. Wanting to clear her conscience, she smiled at him and nodded her agreement, then quickly went to the machine and got her ticket. She carefully made her way back to her seat, slip of paper on hand. Her seatmate stood up to make way for her.

"Thanks," she whispered to him, gratefully, as he sat back on his seat. Probably sensing a change in the atmosphere because of the earlier exchange, her seatmate started talking to her again.

"So, where are you heading?", he asked, after clearing his throat to get her attention.

"Todai," she answered politely.

"Oh," he exclaimed, surprised. "I'm going there, too. Are you a student there?" he asked curiously.

She shook her head negatively. "No," she said, then with her natural curiosity piqued, added, "And you?"

He smiled at her question. "Yes. I'm a med student there. You're from Waseda, then?"

She stared at him for a few seconds, remembering how other people – men, in particular - reacted when they learned she's in university. She wondered how to answer, guessed at his reaction and then wondered why she thought it was important. Deciding that it doesn't matter how he reacts, she answered, obvious pride in her voice, "Yes." And after a beat, added, "I'm a law student."

She waited for the usual outburst – a mocking laugh, or some praise-that-is-not-a-praise-at-all, and prepared herself for the disappointment. But he just smiled brighter, "That's great," he said, sincerity ringing in his voice.

"Really?" she asked, bewildered.

He chuckled at her reaction, "Of course, its great. Girls should have dreams."

She smiled at him, sincerely now. "No,' she said playfully, 'us women should have vision."

He laughed, surprised by her answer, "Touché."

Wanting to end the conversation in a pleasant note, she turned and looked out the window again. They lapsed into companionable silence until they got stuck in traffic and the stranger decided to start asking questions again.

He asked what she'll be doing in Todai. Feeling more at ease now, she answered honestly, "I'm visiting friends."

He nodded, and offered to take her around campus, but she declined politely. She didn't know him enough to agree. Further, and most importantly, she got a good look of him earlier when they started talking, and she doesn't want to be enemies with the female campus population by walking around with him. This perfect specimen of a man is sure to have a lot of admirers.

Her denial made him frown a little, but he did not push. Despite his obvious disappointment, he continued asking her a few more questions that she briefly answered. She snorted to herself, finding it funny that he seemed to be genuinely interested in her answers. Trying to return the favor, she asked him how old he was because he looked like a high school student hitting on someone older, and jokingly told him to use a more polite way of talking to her.

"I'm 27," he said with a laugh. Her eyes widened, "What?! You're four years older than me!" she spluttered and he continued laughing at her reaction.

There was a lull in conversation, until another heavy traffic, which has now become typical of Tokyo. They started talking again, first, about traffic, then the pollution in the city and then, about seemingly everything and nothing, all at once. The conversation flowed easily, like two old friends meeting each other after a long time.

Sometime before they reached their stop, her tummy growled, reminding her she hadn't had anything since the early lunch she had that day. "I'm hungry," she whispered as she leaned towards the window.

"We should have dinner," she heard him say, and she blushed, wondering whether he heard her stomach growling or if she didn't whisper low enough for him to not hear.

"Thanks, but I'm grabbing dinner with my friends," she said, and wondered about the sudden feeling of loss and regret she felt at her answer.

As they reached their stop, he offered again, but she firmly declined. Talking with a stranger had been a strange enough experience for her, dining with him would have been too much.

The bus slowed to a stop and an announcement that they had reached their destination sounded. He smiled and stood up, and waited for her to do the same. He looked at her again and asked, "Are you sure you won't have dinner with me?"

She shook her head, smiling at his insistence.

He nodded dejectedly, finally accepting her answer. "May I walk you to your meeting place, then?"

She chuckled softly, amused at his behavior. "What, can't bear to part?" she teased.

He snorted in surprise, amazed at her repartee.

Seeing that he was about to insist on walking her to her destination, she quickly bid him goodbye, suppressing the excitement of meeting and talking to a stranger that had been growing inside her throughout the whole journey. She imagined they were characters in a story, and she decided, that was the end of their story.

She found Kanae and Chiori waiting for her at a table in a corner of the coffee shop that was their meeting place. As the three of them exchanged stories, she told them about the stranger she met in the bus. She laughed, even if she was teased mercilessly, and forgot about it.


It was Saturday morning. Humming a tune to herself, she pressed the doorbell at her student's door and waited patiently for someone to open it. She tried to ignore that giddy feeling that swept over her, tried to ignore the heavy beating of her heart, like she did the past few times it unexpectedly happened. She had been feeling it for a week now, coming to her like a promise, a sign, a premonition, that something wonderful is about to happen.

She was about to press the doorbell again, when she heard muffled footsteps on the other side.

"Coming!" She heard a muffled voice say on the other side. She frowned. The voice sounded like a blurred memory, somehow familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. She held her breath in that infinitesimal moment it took for the door to open, her heart suddenly heavy with expectation and anticipation.

"It's you!" the voice exclaimed, surprise and delight obvious in his voice.

She shuddered, and a palpable, positive feeling washed over her, like a swift, surprising transition between nothing and everything, like suddenly intrinsically knowing she had finally arrived at her destination without realizing she was on a journey.

"Sensei!" she heard her student say before she can reply, "This is my cousin, Kuon, he's helping me with Science!"

A slow smile bloomed in her lips, as she gazed at the stranger she met in the bus. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kyoko."

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"Can we have that coffee now?"

A beat. A laugh. And then,

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"Yes."

FIN.