Never Trust Him.

5:45 PM. The busy, darkening street leading from the convenience store to the main train station. Shop lights are casting colorful reflections on the wet pavement.

Characters:

HASHIMURA YUTA (15): Maintaining a facade of relaxed politeness.

MIZUKI AYAKA (15): Grateful and friendly, clutching her cold drink.

(Yuta and Ayaka walk side-by-side. Yuta keeps the conversation light, focusing on school and academics, his mind analytically cataloging her responses—calm, cheerful, genuinely kind.)

MIZUKI AYAKA

I still can't believe how nice you were, Hashimura-kun. Most people would have just ignored me. I mean, my friend, Rin, she always tells me to be careful around strangers.

HASHIMURA YUTA

(A slight hitch in his voice, but he smooths it over instantly.) Your friend sounds wise. It’s important to be careful. But there are decent people out there, too. Sometimes you just have to give them the benefit of the doubt.

MIZUKI AYAKA

(Nodding seriously) That’s true. Rin is incredibly cautious. She had a really bad experience with a manipulative kid when she was younger. It made her build a huge wall around herself. She’s kind, the most selfless person I know, but she never lets anyone get close.

(Yuta feels a cold wave of guilt wash over him. Ayaka, entirely unaware, is detailing the lasting damage he inflicted.)

HASHIMURA YUTA

(Carefully choosing his words) That sounds difficult. For her. And for you, as her friend.

MIZUKI AYAKA

It is. She’s brilliant, tops our class, but she’s so intense. I wish she’d relax. If you ever met her, I should warn you, she’s not good with small talk. Or strange boys.

HASHIMURA YUTA

(Averting his gaze, a painful truth escaping his lips) I can imagine. Some past hurts are too deep for small talk to fix.

(They reach the station entrance and proceed through the ticket gates. Yuta pays for his own fare.)

(As they step onto the platform, Yuta immediately spots a familiar figure near a pillar: Karuizawa Rin. She is standing rigidly, wearing her uniform, holding her books tight to her chest. She is standing alone, staring intently at the tracks. She looks small, and clearly isolated from the small cluster of other commuters.)

(Ayaka sees her too, and her face brightens.)

MIZUKI AYAKA

Oh, look! There's Rin! She's always early. I have to go say hi and tell her about my clumsy mistake.

(Ayaka turns to Yuta, bowing gratefully.)

MIZUKI AYAKA

Thank you again, Hashimura-kun! You really saved my afternoon. You are genuinely kind. Have a good evening!

(Before Yuta can respond, Ayaka rushes across the platform toward Rin, her relief and excitement palpable.)

(Yuta is left alone. He watches Ayaka approach Rin, and his heart clenches. Rin doesn't see him; her back is to him.)

(Ayaka gently touches Rin's arm. Rin turns, her severe expression instantly softening into a small, rare, genuine smile—a flicker of the selfless, kind girl Yuta once knew, reserved only for her closest friend.)

MIZUKI AYAKA

(Excitedly, inaudible to Yuta) Rin-chan! You won't believe what just happened—

(Rin listens patiently, the softening of her posture a stark contrast to the hostility she showed Yuta. She laughs once, a light, melodic sound Yuta hasn't heard in years.)

(The sight of Rin's genuine warmth and happiness, which he is completely locked out of, is a profound and agonizing revelation for Yuta. He sees the life she has built—a fortress of happiness sustained by her friend's kindness—a fortress he can only admire from the outside.)

[MONOLOGUE - HASHIMURA YUTA]

There she is. The kindness I destroyed. That smile… I haven't seen that in years. It exists without me. She is happy. She is safe. She has a friend who cherishes her. That wall she built—it's not to keep everyone out. It's to keep me out. And it's a necessary boundary. My presence is her pain. Her laughter is my proof of guilt.

(Yuta turns his back on the scene, unable to watch them further. He steps away, walking to the far end of the platform to wait for his own train, resolving to leave their interaction—and Ayaka's grateful impression of him—untainted by his past.)

(He is completely unaware that Mizuki Ayaka is, at that very moment, telling Rin about the "genuinely kind" boy named Hashimura Yuta who bought her a drink.)



6:00P.M. A quiet corner of the elevated train platform. The harsh, fluorescent light illuminates Rin and Ayaka, who are standing close together. Yuta is at the far end of the platform, his back to them.

(Ayaka is enthusiastically relating the tale of the convenience store, demonstrating Yuta's unexpected kindness with gestures. Rin is listening, her genuine, soft smile still present.)

MIZUKI AYAKA

…And I was standing there, completely stressed, mumbling to myself like an idiot about the train fare. Then, this boy, Rin-chan, this really kind boy, just stepped in. He didn't even hesitate!

KARUIZAWA RIN

(Softly, amused by her friend's antics) Oh, Ayaka. You really need to stop forgetting your wallet on practice days. What did he say?

MIZUKI AYAKA

He just said, "Let me help." So simple! He paid for my drink, and he was so polite, so focused, and genuinely nice. He even walked me to the gate. I asked him his name, you won't believe it—

(Ayaka pauses for dramatic effect, taking a sip of her drink.)

MIZUKI AYAKA

His name is Hashimura Yuta. He's a third-year at Seinan, the one with the really good grades and the track records! You know who I mean, right?

(The name—Hashimura Yuta—drops onto Rin like a bucket of ice water. The change in her demeanor is immediate and terrifying. The soft, genuine smile instantly vanishes, replaced by a mask of raw terror and hatred. Her eyes widen slightly, and she visibly pales.)

KARUIZAWA RIN

(Voice cutting through Ayaka's happy recounting, sharp and laced with desperate urgency) STOP.

(Ayaka flinches, startled by the sudden, violent shift in Rin's tone and expression. The cold drink slips slightly in her hand.)

MIZUKI AYAKA

R-Rin-chan? What is it? You look sick.

KARUIZAWA RIN

(She grabs Ayaka's arm with surprising strength, pulling her close, her voice a low, fierce whisper charged with fear.) Ayaka. Listen to me. Listen closely.

MIZUKI AYAKA

(Frightened by Rin's intensity) What are you doing? You're hurting my arm!

KARUIZAWA RIN

(Ignoring the complaint, her eyes blazing with the conviction of her deepest trauma) You are to stay away from him. Do you hear me? Stay away from Hashimura Yuta. You don't talk to him. You don't make eye contact. You don't even acknowledge his existence.

MIZUKI AYAKA

(Confused and defensive) What? Why? He was so kind! He just bought me a drink! What did he do?

KARUIZAWA RIN

(Her voice trembles slightly, exposing the underlying fear she usually masks with anger) He is not kind! His kindness is a poison, Ayaka! He is a manipulator, a selfish, sadistic liar! He uses people's kindness against them until they break. I know him. I know the monster inside him!

KARUIZAWA RIN

You were his target. He saw you were vulnerable and he threw you a small kindness like bait on a hook. That is what he does! He's just changed his clothes and lost weight. The rot is still there! Promise me, Ayaka. Promise me you will never speak to him again!

(Ayaka stares at Rin, utterly stunned. She has never seen her poised, controlled friend this close to a breakdown. The intense fear in Rin's eyes is more convincing than any rational argument.)

MIZUKI AYAKA

(Whispering, nodding slowly, intimidated) O-Okay, Rin-chan. I promise. I won't. I believe you.

(Rin lifts her gaze from Ayaka's face and looks down the platform toward the distant figure of Hashimura Yuta. He is now moving, walking toward the open door of the train that has just arrived, his back still to them.)

[MONOLOGUE - KARUIZAWA RIN]

He's leaving. Just like that. After planting his seed of manipulation in Ayaka. He thinks he's done his damage and can walk away. No. I won't let him. I need to know where he is going. What his new plan is. I need to know if this is a genuine retreat or a tactical pause.

(An intense, irrational urge seizes her—a need to verify his movements, to prove his malicious intent. It overrides her logic and her promise to focus on academics.)

KARUIZAWA RIN

(Releasing Ayaka, her eyes fixed on Yuta's retreating figure. Her voice is strained, high with sudden decision.) I need to go. Now.

MIZUKI AYAKA

(Stuttering) G-go where, Rin-chan? Our train isn't due for ten minutes!

KARUIZAWA RIN

(She doesn't answer. She spins around and begins to sprint down the platform toward the train Yuta is boarding. She moves with a panicked urgency.) I’m taking this one. I’ll figure out the connection later!

(She rushes toward the open doors. Yuta has just stepped onto the train and moved into the carriage's doorway area, still unaware of the turmoil he caused.)

MIZUKI AYAKA

(Shouting after her, bewildered) Rin-chan! Wait! Don't go!

(Rin ignores her. Just as the closing chime sounds, Rin darts through the doors and slides into the corner of the carriage, collapsing slightly against the wall, breathless. The doors hiss shut behind her.)

6:06 PM. A brightly lit, sparsely populated carriage on the evening train. The noise of the rails is a loud, rhythmic rumble.

(Yuta is standing near the doors, looking out the window, his shoulders slumped in resignation. He's accepted his failure and is bracing himself for the internal monologue of self-flagellation.)

[MONOLOGUE - HASHIMURA YUTA]

It's done. I won't try again. I'll respect the distance. Her life is better without me, and I won't risk causing her pain by crossing her path again.

(He turns his head slightly, scanning the interior of the carriage out of habit—a leftover trait from his obsessive analysis of his surroundings.)

(His eyes catch a flicker of motion near the far corner. He sees a girl—small, breathing heavily, hunched against a pillar. The familiar uniform, the long hair, the intense fear radiating off her posture.)

(Yuta’s eyes widen in genuine shock. He is certain. It is Karuizawa Rin.)

HASHIMURA YUTA

(His mind reels, confused and surprised. He murmurs to himself, inaudible over the train noise.) Ri- (He stops, correcting his mistake) Karuizawa-san... why?

(Rin realizes she has been seen. Her terror spikes. She had intended to be an unseen shadow, but the man she suspects of being a master manipulator has spotted her immediately. She straightens up, ready to fight, the full weight of her hatred and suspicion focused on him.)

(Yuta sees the hostility and fear in her expression. He has no idea what she heard from Ayaka, but he realizes the truth: this isn't a coincidence. This is a deliberate pursuit driven by her trauma.)

HASHIMURA YUTA

(Lifting his hand slightly in a non-threatening gesture, his voice calm despite the internal chaos) Karuizawa-san. What are you doing? This isn't your line.

(The train lurches forward, beginning its journey.)