Life Sometimes Sends You Running

"Class, I have an important announcement: In a few weeks, one of our classmates will be leaving the…"

Homeroom was in session and the teacher of Class 3-4 was doing his job, even if the majority of the class wasn’t paying attention.

Ayato, who was sitting in the back, also had his mind preoccupied with something else entirely.

Yoshinori Sayaka, namely, the girl who butted in when he was a hair length from getting pummeled by another student whom he accidentally knocked into, was on his mind.

More specifically, he was looking at the mysterious red thread dangling above her head.

Her Fate, as his chirpy partner would put it, went unnoticed by everyone around her. You would think having a red wire hovering ominously would attract some eyeballs but nobody batted an eye.

It is really as she says…

Only he could see this thread, passing through the classroom walls to find its way to its intended destination:

The very boy who tried to pummel him.

Ayato opened up his notebook/diary hybrid and scanned through his findings ever since their last encounter involving all three of them.

Two weeks ago was when he told Pip of his discovery.

“Already!? You are one heck of a love magnet, aren’t you?” was her reaction.

Upon asking how they should proceed with their job as matchmakers, she replied thus.

“You’ve got to study them, find out about their likes, dislikes, their motivations in life, everything. And sorry, you need to do it alone, for now, I need to settle some logistical issues…”

Wait…!

“Miss me already? Don’t worry, I’ll be back~”

And in the blink of an eye, she vanished without a trace for two weeks.

It wasn’t long but it was enough that Ayato would find himself questioning his sanity.

Thankfully, the appearance of the red thread only he could observe helped solidify the reality of his bizarre experiences.

With this revelation, he did as he was told, collecting data about the unlikely couple-to-be between his Public Morals Committee (PMC) member classmate and the cold (maybe even violent) boy with sharp eyes.

Having rarely involved himself with the rest of his class, let alone school, his investigation had to start from zero.

“...And that’s the end of Homeroom, please get ready for lessons by turning your textbooks to page 28.”

A certain part of him pitied the teacher who had the sisyphean task of catching the attention of middle-schoolers, of which he had chosen to give up on the results and focus on simply doing the task at hand.

Although, not all hope was lost and some students, a limited handful, did display genuine interest in learning.

Sayaka, that is to say, Yoshinori-san was one of them, unsurprisingly. In his time observing her, Ayato noticed not only would she diligently copy notes and respond readily to teachers’ questions, but she would also put away her PMC armband while in class as if signalling her intention to perform her duties as a student more so than an advocate for public morals.

Not only was she a model student and a PMC member, she was also the captain of the school’s Track and Field team.

If the school allowed for it, she could most likely take on both the roles of a captain and president for the PMC but alas, measures were put in place to prevent individual students from sweeping the key appointment positions in school.

That was why it was strange that the first impression he had of her was that she was a gyaru.

It was through his research that he finally realised her tanned skin was a result of tireless training on the track day-in day-out, but at first glance, with her long silky chestnut hair, he was sure that she was one of those frivolous girls chasing short-lived fashion trends.

So far, he could only say he was pleasantly surprised at the usurpation of his expectations.

Then again, he felt like his expectations for things should no longer be confined to what he could physically see, having seen a chick talking out loud.

“LET’S GO! FIGHT ON!!”

Class came and went as Ayato reviewed the information he had recorded instead of begging for time to pass by faster.

Now, he was sitting on a grass patch overlooking the school track as members of the Track and Field team were concluding their training for today.

He didn’t want to, nor did he think it was moral to, but his logic advised along with his judgement to find out the exact place that Yoshinori-san lived.

This is for better planning of bonding activities in the future…

He continued to convince himself even though his conscience was screaming “STALKER BEHAVIOUR”.

Ok, maybe not her place straight away…

He decided to start small with the shops and eateries she frequented after school.

As such, he found himself tailing the

tanned girl with chestnut hair after she left school for the day.

By then, the evening peak hours had begun, which presented both opportunity and challenge.

Opportunity in the commuting crowd that was steadily building up, allowing him to better conceal himself from being discovered

The same crowd would also make locating her increasingly challenging as well.

Although that didn’t seem to be the case as she intentionally took paths with little people as if avoiding them altogether.

He continued to follow her until she turned a corner and entered a back alleyway.

Oh no.

Not just any back alleyway, it was the shadiest one to ever exist that was devoid of even the shadow of people.

Fearing a little for her safety as a 15-year-old female student, he rushed after her, hoping that they would not run into any trouble.

However, the alleyway was empty.

Any traces of Yoshinori Sayaka entering this place had been all but erased.

He looked around frantically as his mind raced to the worst possible outcome…

“So it really is you… Tsukimoto-kun.”

But greeting him from behind was not the worst possible outcome. It wasn't far behind though.

As he turned around, a smooth, slender, and tanned feet struck the wall beside his face, pinning him against the back wall.

With her arms crossed while maintaining perfect balance while standing on essentially one leg, she made this remark about him.

Ayato tried to nudge himself out from the side not blocked by Yoshinori-san's feet but she dug her raised feet onto his shoulder, further entraping him.

"You had been snooping around me for two weeks. What could you possibly be after?"

It was a simple question with no simple answers.

No way I can tell that it's all in preparation to match you with a boy that was connected to you by the Fates!

He didn't have much time before her impressions of him became irreversible so he pulled out his phone and pointed at the dial pad.

"You want… my phone number…?"

His eyes brightened for having met someone who could understand what he meant at a glance and nodded intensely.

She gradually put her leg down and she pondered with her hand on her chin.

It was a decision made in the 20 seconds that elapsed. After which, she tied up her hair into a high ponytail as she would in training and took a small piece of paper to scribble on.

"You should have just asked."

…

The paper slip on her hand was likely her number.

Ayato reached out to grab it but she retracted it with her hands in the last instance.

"If you want it, then you would have to take it."

She turned and ran in the opposite direction even before the words could be processed by him.

♡♡♡

"Hah… You're good…huu…"

…

Both the girl and the boy were gasping for air.

In his hand was the slip of paper written by Yoshinori-san.

After 10km, he finally caught up and overtook her.

"You… really have no intentions of joining Track?"

They ran past schools and shopping districts, police stations and post offices before ending at a train station that miraculously did not have many commuters.

Lying down flat on the ground as sweat soaked the floor, Ayato couldn't respond to her calling.

"The doors will always be open to you if you ever feel like it. Until then, I'll see you tomorrow, Tsukimoto-kun."

With those words left behind, she walked off into the distance.

There was still time before his thoughts would catch up to him but right now, a sense of pride overwhelmed him.

"But if it is her number you want, Aayato, you could have simply looked through the class chat."

Only to be shattered by the chirps of a small feathery body landing itself on his forehead.

DAMN IT AALLLLLL!!

If he could shout, he would be howling those words into the stratosphere.

[End of Chapter]