Why Did I Follow Him?

6:07 PM. A brightly lit, sparsely populated carriage on the evening train. The noise of the rails is a loud, rhythmic rumble. The train is accelerating out of the station.

Characters:

HASHIMURA YUTA (15): Focused and reactive, driven by his protective new instincts.

KARUIZAWA RIN (15): Driven by fear and traumatic aversion.

(The train carriage gives a violent, unexpected lurch as it hits a speed transition. Rin, whose muscles were tense from shock and rigid from leaning against the slick pillar, loses her footing.)

(She slides off the pillar, losing her balance completely. Her head snaps back toward a hard metal handrail near the door. The collision is imminent.)

(Yuta's reaction is instantaneous. His protective instinct, honed by months of martial training and his deep-seated need to prevent harm, overrides his emotional paralysis. He lunges across the short distance separating them.)

(He catches her. His right arm sweeps around her back, bracing her against the sudden momentum. His left hand rises, not to clutch, but to gently cup the side of her head, cushioning it an inch before it could hit the hard, cold metal railing.)

(SOUND: The harsh, rhythmic rumble of the train is the only sound, masking Yuta's desperate grunt.)

(They are suspended for a split second, chest-to-chest, his breath hot against her ear, the warmth of his body shockingly close. He smells faintly of clean laundry and sweat from an earlier workout.)

(Rin's eyes, wide with panic from the lurch, narrow instantly as the reality of the contact registers. Her trauma-driven instincts kick in: His touch is danger. She doesn't process the save; she only registers the unwanted contact of her former tormentor.)

KARUIZAWA RIN

(Gasping, she shoves hard against his chest, her body convulsing in a violent flinch of revulsion.) Get off!

(Yuta instantly releases her, staggering slightly. His face registers a fresh wave of pain—not from the push, but from the raw, physical revulsion of her response. He knows that his good deed was perceived as an assault.)

HASHIMURA YUTA

(Stepping back immediately, raising both hands in a gesture of surrender and apology, his voice low and strained) Karuizawa-san, I'm sorry! I just—you were going to hit your head.

(Rin whirls away from him, her heart pounding a frantic rhythm of fear and hatred. She scrambles for a handhold, her back pressed against the carriage wall, as far away from him as the narrow space allows. She rubs her arm where he touched her, eyes blazing.)

KARUIZAWA RIN

(Hissing, her control completely gone) Don't touch me! Don't you dare touch me, Hashimura Yuta-kun! What are you doing here?! Did you follow me?! Is this your new test?!

(Yuta's calm resolve is battered. Her fear is so palpable, so genuine, that it eclipses the fact that she was the one who pursued him onto the wrong train.)

HASHIMURA YUTA

(His voice is choked with self-reproach. He realizes how utterly impossible his quest for penance is.) No. I didn't follow you. I was boarding my own train. And no, this isn't a test. I just saved you from a concussion, and I apologize for even having to do that.

HASHIMURA YUTA

(He sighs, closing his eyes briefly, accepting the inevitable conclusion.) You need to tell me why you got on this train, Karuizawa-san. We both know this is not a coincidence.

(Rin is pressed against the wall, hyperventilating slightly, her eyes wide with terror and the aftershock of the physical contact. Her inability to process Yuta's words—her mind a jammed engine of fear—is painfully clear.)

(Yuta observes her reaction. His developed empathy registers the genuine panic, recognizing it as a severe trauma response. He realizes that pressing her for answers will only cause more harm. His desire for penance is momentarily replaced by the urgent need to simply reduce her distress.)

HASHIMURA YUTA

(Softly, almost whispering, avoiding direct eye contact) I'm going to sit down now, Karuizawa-san. I'll move to the far end of the carriage. I won't speak to you.

(Yuta turns slowly and walks a few meters away, taking an empty bench seat by the window. He looks out, giving her his back, his body language communicating respect for her distance.)

(Rin watches him go. She remains pressed against the wall for a moment longer, then, with shaky movements, she slides down onto the bench seat parallel to his, separated by the aisle. She curls inward slightly, placing her bag on her lap like a shield. Her breathing is gradually slowing. She closes her eyes, focusing on the train's monotonous rhythm to anchor herself.)

(Yuta glances subtly at her reflection in the darkened window glass. He watches her struggle for composure, his expression filled with guilt and quiet sorrow. He knows her fear is entirely his fault.)

[MONOLOGUE - HASHIMURA YUTA]

Just breathe, Rin. Just be safe. That's all I can do now. My presence is pain, but I can't leave her alone on a wrong train.

(The train slows, and the doors open with a hiss.) 

6:20 PM. Tachibana Station, a minor interchange station located in Yuta's district far from Rin's district. The platform is nearly deserted.

(The train stops. Yuta stands up immediately, his mind already calculating the quickest route back to her correct line. He looks at Rin, a silent invitation and says nothing, honoring his promise of silence.)

(Yuta exits the carriage. Rin opens her eyes and watches him go. Her mind, still fragile, defaults to the only safe anchor in this unfamiliar place: his familiar face.)

[MONOLOGUE - KARUIZAWA RIN]

He's moving. I don't know where I am. I can't be alone here. I can't.

(Rin stands up. She moves quickly, exiting the train just before the doors close. She finds Yuta standing on the deserted platform, looking at the schedule board.)

(As she watches him, the fear and panic from the train lurch begin to recede. The routine of the train station, the cold air, and the fact that he is not looking at her allow her well-practiced control to reassert itself. The composure returns, hard and cold.)

[MONOLOGUE - KARUIZAWA RIN]

Control. Logic. He is here because he made a mistake, too. He didn't follow me. I followed him. Idiot. Now, what does he want? I will treat him like an annoyance, nothing more.

(Rin clears her throat and walks up to the schedule board, forcing herself to stand next to him, her face settled into its familiar look of intense annoyance.)

(Yuta sees her in his peripheral vision. He doesn't react outwardly, but his shoulders tense. He is focused on the board, tracing routes.)

HASHIMURA YUTA

(His voice is neutral, professional, like a ticket agent) We missed the last express to your district for the next hour. The next train for the Senzan Line transfer won't arrive until 8:00 PM.

(Rin looks at the board. The confirmation of the delay frustrates her, but his information is correct.)

KARUIZAWA RIN

(Voice calm and icy, completely regaining the hostility from the confrontation at the school gate) I can read the board myself, Hashimura-kun.

HASHIMURA YUTA

(He sighs inwardly, knowing the truce is over. He turns slightly toward her, his expression weary but resolute.) Right. Then you understand. We have over an hour and a half to wait. I'll stay on this platform to ensure your safety until your train arrives. I will not approach you. I will not speak unless necessary for directions.

(He turns and walks to the far end of the platform, pulling out his logic textbook. He is settling in for a long, silent watch, his penance extended by two hours.)

(Rin is left standing in the middle of the platform, alone but for the presence of the one person she truly hates, yet who is now ironically providing her security. She is too drained to move, and too proud to leave the station and wander alone.)

[MONOLOGUE - KARUIZAWA RIN]

'ensure my safety?' what does he think I am? a lost pet? Why would he go out of his way to stay here for two hours to 'ensure my safety?' Its probably to manipulate me into thinking he's reliable. Focus, Rin. Don't let him hurt you. Not again.

6:40 PM. Twenty minutes into the waiting period. Tachibana Station platform. Fully deserted. The atmosphere is cold and quiet, save for the hum of the platform lights.

(Yuta, at the far end of the platform, slowly closes his complex logic textbook. He has been unable to focus; the image of Rin's terrified flinch is overriding his concentration. He sighs almost imperceptibly, then walks toward the nearest long, metal bench.)

(He takes a seat on the very far edge of the bench, positioning himself to take up minimal space. He crosses his arms tightly over his chest, closes his eyes, and stills his breathing, using meditation techniques to force mental control. His face is a picture of serene resignation.)

(Rin, standing twenty feet away, has been silently watching him. She has been fighting the intense fatigue and stress from the day, and the unexpected pursuit. Her legs are beginning to ache badly.)

[MONOLOGUE - KARUIZAWA RIN]

He's trying to impress me again. The 'calm, collected, spiritually advanced' routine. He's still doing this for show. But... I can't stand anymore. I hate him, but I need to sit.

(She makes a deliberate choice, prioritizing physical necessity over maintaining distance. She walks toward the same bench and sits down on the opposite edge, leaving a vast, symbolic gulf of cold metal between them.)

(The scene is dominated by the long, silver bench, cold and impersonal, with the two teenagers perched on the extreme ends. They are separated by silence and three years of emotional damage.)

(TIME PASSES: Five seconds of profound, awkward silence.)

(SOUND: Suddenly, a loud, undeniable, uncontrollable grumble erupts from Rin's midsection, echoing loudly in the deserted platform silence. The sound is utterly embarrassing, betraying her intense focus on academics over basic sustenance.)

(Rin's face instantly flushes a deep crimson. She shrinks inward, mortified by the lapse in her perfect composure.)

(Yuta's eyes flick open at the sound. He doesn't laugh; his expression is one of genuine, neutral concern. He keeps his arms crossed, a habit developed to keep his hands from reacting instinctively.)

HASHIMURA YUTA

(His voice is steady, not mocking, merely stating a fact.) Didn't eat dinner yet?

KARUIZAWA RIN

(An embarrassed, barely audible whisper, her eyes fixed on the dirty platform floor.) ...no.

(Yuta closes his eyes again for a second, silently calculating the situation. His empathy tells him her hunger is compounding her stress, and her embarrassment is compounding her hatred for him.)

HASHIMURA YUTA

(Opening his eyes, maintaining his polite distance) There's a small kiosk on the lower level, near the ticket barrier. They might have a few snacks left. I can check—

KARUIZAWA RIN

(Cutting him off, her voice suddenly sharp and defensive, still unable to accept his kindness) No. Stay here. I don't want anything from you.

(Rin remains rigid, unwilling to admit to a basic need, terrified that accepting food would be another hook he could use to reel her in.)

HASHIMURA YUTA

(He sighs softly, resigning himself to the next stage of her rejection. He knows arguing is useless.) Understood.

(Yuta sits perfectly still, eyes closed, but his mind is racing, trying to deduce a way to help her without her permission, without crossing the emotional line she has drawn.)