i've been working over time

[takesnotes]

[Taku has kept a journal for as long as he could remember. Despite it's explicit purpose in helping record event he could not place what started the habit. Maybe it was to collect his thought and make notes on important events. Maybe it was just something to pass the time. Either way he wrote down random happenings from his day and it was all innocent enough. It was nothing that would cause shame except for when his sister found out and laughed at his 'diary'. He took precautions after that so no one else would stumble upon it but he didn't stop. Why should he? The most scandalous thing he has ever written were complaints about his boss. That's all it was ever supposed to be.]

I saw the calico stray again today. She meowed as I walked by but I can't leave any more treats out for her. The building manager already posted a note demanding whomever was doing such things to stop. It's a shame I think she would have let me pet her soon. Maybe I can buy some dried sardines and feed them to her myself without leaving out a bowl?

The boss praised my speech during the meeting! I will have to review my notes again so that I can continue to meet his expectations.

Owner-san has finally found another clerk to help out around the store. She's a high school girl and quite lively. I think the animals will take to her well, although she laughed when she heard I was there for fish food and not anything else. She reminds me of my sister. I should give her a call tomorrow to see how she is.

There was a flashy man on the subway today. It was the middle of rush hour but he was taking up two seats anyway. I'm not surprised no one said anything to him, he looked pretty shady. It makes you wonder how the youth of today is growing up.

Umeda invited me to drinks again. I said yes because he is my senior but I think he just uses me as an excuse to get drunk. I should say no next time he always causes a commotion. I don't think he would hold it against me but I'm afraid everyone already considers me unpersonable. No one else ever invites me out...

The flashy man returns! I can't fathom why he would be traveling during rush hour twice but it has hardly been a week. Does he actually work a respectable job? He was standing this time so he wasn't in anyone's way at least but he is awfully tall.

He is a student. He was with friends today and they were complaining about leaving during rush hour instead of later. I cannot believe he is enrolled at university. I knew students were supposed to be fashionable but i don't think I've ever seen one dressed like him before. They should be stricter about their public morals.

[But very few things stay true to their original purpose. Even in a journal, something made to keep track of events and to help one remember, Taku can't pinpoint when his casual observances of the mysterious student became habit. Evolved from a small anecdote every few days, a week or two between mentions sometimes, into something constant. Where his eyes would search out which car he saw the familiar silhouette as the train pulled into the station. When he started to purposefully enter that car every single day. It was so insidious that even he didn't notice it. Or he choose not to notice it.]

It was humid today, he didn't wear his jacket for once. He's surprisingly skinny. I wonder if he is eating enough. I heard it's common for students not to take care of themselves if left to their own devices.

I swear the student fell asleep on the train today. It's the first time I've seen him with a seat again since the first encounter. I was sure he was going to miss his stop but he got up right away! Maybe he was just dozing.

I think he got a haircut recently.

It's golden week and I didn't see him. He probably won't be on the train for the entire vacation. I wonder what he's doing with is free time. He's probably not in any sports clubs but he might be in an interest circle... I hope he is enjoying his time off.

His friends were with him again. The majority are women. I wonder if that is the norm now a days, I don't think I had a single female friend when I was in school. He doesn't strike me as type to be composed enough to two time women at least.

He wasn't on the train today.

The only free space on the train was near him today. I didn't mean to(!!) but I overheard some of his conversation. It looks like he is in a business class with the other and they were talking about a research paper and their respective topics. He was quiet but I'm glad he talks abot normal things with his friends too. His name is Kaede.

[It wasn't harming anyone. It was just casual observation. Some called it people watching, didn't they? It was hardly anything bad.

All of this was part of Taku's everyday life now. As normal as brushing his teeth in the morning or saying I'm home! with a wave towards the aquarium in his living room. Or getting on the same rush hour train after work that has been a highlight of his day for the past several months. It's definitely a day that Kaede has classes, he has seen him on Wednesdays consistently since the change in semester, so he is confident in seeing him. Right on time the train pulls in. Naturally as breathing he sidesteps one car down and crams into the same space as Kaede. He isn't with his friends today. That's normal, fellow students tagging along was always a random occurrence that he noted down. It meant that he wouldn't be able to overhear any snippets of his everyday life but, well, the car was unbelievably crowded today as it was. It would be a miracle if he could overhear any conversation.

He grunts as a fresh wave of passengers push him further into the car and closer to Kaede.]

Comments

[hahafish]

[Kaede takes the train almost every day. It's one of the few consistent things about his schedule, almost unerringly so - no matter what he's doing or who he's with before or after rush hour, he will be on the same train at the same time. Like clockwork. The rush hour train is the whole point, he tells his friends when they convince themselves to ride with him instead of waiting. He likes to ride the train.

Going to class when he gets off, or going straight home when he comes back? Not his biggest concern. But he likes the train during rush hour at its absolute busiest, for some inexplicable reason. Something about being surrounded by all of those strangers and yet totally invisible to them comforts him in a strange way; he's one of them and he isn't at once. This he doesn't bother to tell his friends - he makes something up about the fare or not wanting to wait around another hour for the crowds to clear out, because whether or not they come with him is irrelevant. He's getting on the train.

And for months he does without incident. He can count the number of times he's gotten to his car quickly enough to get a seat on one hand, can find without looking up the same handle for standing passengers with the chip on the side, that he kept finding at random until he came to think of it as his own. He even recognizes some of the regular passengers, Beehive-san (the woman with the out of fashion updo) and Pork Bowl-kun (whose dinner on the train is often easier to smell than see). Sometimes he'll exchange a few words about the crowd or the weather with someone he'll never see again.

It's fun riding the train. He doesn't have anything better to do.

Today that rings true more than ever - he hasn't been to class, but he's been to campus again. He doesn't like the new semester yet, and as much as his friends prod him to come and none too subtly worry about his grades whenever he's within earshot, he can't be bothered until something really motivates him. He's waiting for it, like someone will reach over and flip a switch and he'll pull his attendance out of the water at the last minute. That's worked for him well enough for this long, so why not again?

So he hasn't been to class. But he's on the train, one hand in his pocket and the other loosely holding onto his chipped support handle, and he's not thinking about anything. There's a little girl at the other end of the car playing some kind of mobile game on her phone, and he's listening to the music more than focusing on anything else when the crowd lurches and he leans forward slightly with them.

They lurch forward again, and the girl's game music is interrupted by the soft sound of a small thud and a sort of hissing. Kaede blinks and looks down toward it in time to see a wallet, of all things, sliding past his feet and hitting the shoes of the person in front of him. He lets go of his handle to stoop and grab it before it disappears and looks around for someone doing the same as he straightens up. This is someone's, obviously. There are so many people in this car, it's no wonder someone's wallet got jostled free.

After a moment of fruitless looking - he's tall but that means the sea of shorter businessmen and women all looking down at their phones kind of blend - he looks down at the wallet again and surreptitiously just peeks inside. He just needs to see a photo ID, then he'll return this and go home. Easy.

... Except, of course, for all the people. He can spot the owner of the wallet easily enough, but he's not going to swim through the crowd for them. Luckily enough people start filtering our of this car at stops before his, so - he counts them, one, two... - once the car is sufficiently emptied and has started to move again, he makes his way through the thinned crowd with his free hand dragging lightly over the row of support handles.

He stops in front of an ordinary businessman and holds out the wallet.]

Is this yours? I thought I saw you drop it before.

[That's a lie, but.

He doesn't want to look like a stalker.]

[takesnotes]

[For such an observant man he does not notice his wallet escaping his bag in the slightest. Once he rights himself he merely moves away from the bustle of the doorway to avoid further issue, smooths downed his suit jacket, and goes back to his every day. Like every other business person on the train he pulls out his smart phone. The crowd ebbs and flows at every stop, he replies to a few late emails be missed, he notices that Kaede is wearing a shirt he hasn't seen before. It's a monotony that he is used to and welcomes. Today is following its natural order like any other.

The crowd is suddenly manageable now that they are out of the city center and in the residential area. It's the home stretch. He's decided on stopping by the corner store to pick up the ingredients for dinner instead of ordering out tonight. Until he tracks an unfamiliar movement. His station shouldn't be for another four stops but he was moving towards the door this early. It's completely unprecedented and he can't help but wonder what the occasion could be. Was there any trendy new store or gathering place where he would meet up with friends? Not any that he can recall off the top of his head. Idly he starts a search on his phone to make sure when the shadow stops in front of him.

Kaede is addressing him.

Taku doesn't realize right away. This isn't something he ever considered. Ever thought possible in the slightest out of a million scenarios. But he's still talking and still standing right in front of him. It's the normal time lag of someone looking up from their phone, honestly, but the bewildered stare is one degree too far. His mind is racing to a million thoughts. I never realized he was so much taller than me- He's holding a wallet- His voice sounds different, is this how he sounds with strangers?- I dropped something?- God, I've never looked squarely at his face before his eyes are so big-

Only a second has passed. He blinks. His brain feels like a truck has ran it over and then instantly put into reverse as the thoughts fly wild but it clicks what caused this. Slowly he pats his pocket, then his jacket pocket, then the front pocket of his work bag with every increasing speed. He really dropped his wallet and against all the odds Kaede was the one that picked it up. He laughs at the absurdity of it all. Softly, quietly, turning it into something of utter disbelief into sheepish acceptance.]

It would appear so. I can't believe I was so clumsy. Thank you for picking it up.

[Polite, he bows his head slightly in thanks. Calm is the goal here. He reaches out to take the wallet back and he can't believe how long and slender his fingers are. Hands made to play a piano. Their hands only brush for a second but they did and he now has his wallet back. He carefully secures it in his bag and makes sure the pocket is sealed this time.]

You've saved me a lot of trouble. I wouldn't have known until I got home. Is there anyway I could repay you?

[Anything to talk to him for a few minutes more.]

[hahafish]

[Kaede watches with a detached kind of interest as the businessman - Yoshida Takuya, his ID said, that's not much of a name - slowly realizes what's going on. While he's fussing at all of his pockets Kaede glances down at his phone; he's looking something up, it seems, so maybe he was too distracted to notice...? That would be ironic, if he went somewhere new only to realize his wallet was halfway across the city already.

He kind of expects to be snapped at, the way the man stares at him and doesn't seem to know his wallet was gone at all, at first. That makes him look suspicious, like a pickpocket--so he's surprised at the laugh and then again at being thanked. Lucky, he thinks, he's lucky this particular businessman isn't too busy for polite speech and too suspicious of young people to trust that he just picked it up and honestly wanted to return it to his owner, without any shady motivations. Kaede knows the way he dresses doesn't turn heads sometimes because it's fashionable, after all.

The wallet safely returned (a tiny smile tugs at the corner of his mouth at the very sure way that pocket is sealed), Kaede sticks his hand back in his pocket. He's still holding onto the nearest handle with the other, which lets him rock back on his heels without the movement of the train taking him down. It's a thoughtful movement, accompanied by canting his head to the side and pursing his lips.

Well, he wouldn't say no to some actual cash. But even polite businessmen probably get bent out of shape when their wallets are returned by young men who want "charity" for it.]

No, don't worry about it. [And he leans forward again, feet back flat on the floor--] Nothing is more expensive than free, right? I've done my good deed for the week.

[...... the whole week.]

[takesnotes]

[The same sway of the train car that Kaede is so easily managing throws Taku off kilter as it pulls in at the next stop. He wasn't holding on to anything, one hand fussing with his bag and the other holding his forgotten phone, and almost stumbles into the seated passengers behind him. Thankfully, he has enough sense of balance not to tumble and he throws the phone into a pocket as well to actually grab the overhead rail. It's noticeably more of a reach for him than the other but it wasn't like he was short. Still, he can't help but notice all the differences between them as he stands so close.

Kaede is so at ease. So at odds with the tightly wound energy that was shooting through Taku. Made him feel like he would snap into pieces if plucked wrong. But of course he was okay with this, this was a normal conversation with a stranger to him. He's seen Kaede spare a few pleasantries like this countless times before. It was just luck and happenstance that it happened to be him today. He wouldn't remember anything of this in a day- in an hour more likely. He was already politely excusing himself. Being a good citizen and not asking for anything in return.

Taku can't help but feel happy that he's actually nice. Even if it was just common small talk.

He produces a Professional Smile. He has been staring dumbly this entire time and that was hardly a good impression, legitimate expression of his overclocked brain or not. The conversation may not last much longer but he won't mess it up. Just in case.]

You don't say? I'm glad I could be of help then. Still- I would have had to call out tomorrow to replace my ID and cancel my cards if you didn't help me so I feel like I should offer you something.

[What is he doing? This wasn't like him. He wasn't this assertive. He just watched the world go by he shouldn't mess with the natural progression of his life. That was asking for everything to go wrong. To fall apart around him.

And yet. He reaches into an inside pocket and produces a business card that he holds out towards Kaede.]

A card is free too. If you ever change your mind you can reach me.

[What just in case was he even hoping for?]

[hahafish]

[Kaede doesn't move to hold out a bracing arm in case the man falls over; he's nice, but he's no boy scout. His attention is honestly starting to waver already, since he's said his piece and politely refused some kind of compensation. All he did was return a wallet - most people would. So it's while his gaze is sliding off to the side that the next bit of conversation comes, and he blinks and looks back with an expression of something not quite energetic enough to be surprise. Bemusement, maybe - mild.

He can't help but think this guy talks too much. It honestly is just a wallet. A simple good deed doesn't deserve this much carrying on. But a glance to the end of the car where a screen shows the time to the next stop confirms he has a few minutes left until his own, so he can make idle chatter until then.

The business card is a surprise.]

What?

[And his response is just as mild as his expression, not betraying his genuine surprise at all. It's a wallet, he thinks again -- a regular leather wallet from a department store that he's seen a thousand times in a thousand hands at a thousand stores. It's not like this man carries his life around in it.

But there's a business card yet waiting for him to take it and he does, looking down to read the name he already knows. A strange feeling he can't name wells up in him as he looks at it, this little stiff square that's a symbol of what he should be doing with his life. A professional. This Yoshida Takuya is a professional. And Hajime Kaede won't even go to class.

This train ride is starting to get strange. That's just a wallet and this is just a business card, and it's only been an extra second that he's looked at it but it feels like more. He looks up with an easy half-smile and holds the card up, flipping it deftly over his fingers and back to pinch it with forefinger and thumb and stick it into his pocket.]

Thank you, Yoshida-san. [The half-smile is still there, but he decides not to go the extra mile and punctuate this faux-formality with a bow. Nah.] Hold onto that wallet next time.

[takesnotes]

[He actually took the business card. Taku clenches his hand around the handle of his bag, physically stopping himself from sighing in relief. There's no reason for him to do something so strange. This was going fine. This was a casual conversation between two strangers. It wouldn't have meant anything if he didn't take it. It doesn't mean he won't forget about it, let it get destroyed in the wash- Or worse, throw it away when he was off the train. All he did was take it.

But he watches the small flourish as he pockets it with all the rapt attention of a child watching a magician's show.

Again. It takes him a few seconds to catch himself. It was embarrassing to get lost in the flit of paper and fingers and he had to stay composed. A stranger. They were strangers. The reminder repeats, a mantra at the back of his mind to protect this conversation. It reminds me that he can't ask for his name. Or say it. Instead he relies on niceties once more, nodding his head when Kaede does not.]

I will make sure of it.

[Like a fairy tale the train pulls into the station. Kaede's stop. It all happens too fast and yet the conversation feels like it lasted a life time. He has so much to write about today. So many ideas buzzing in his head that he has to contain on paper and make sense of. Taku lifts one hand in parting and smiles as the doors open with a chime and the announcer cheerily naming the location.

It never does occur to him that he acted before Kaede had moved to leave]


[It's not a conscious thought yet he wonders when he became like this. When every movement of this young man became fascinating to him. There was nothing exceptional about him. There was no transient beauty that could be compared to blossoms in a poem or peerless feature. If anything he looked sloppy. Like he didn't have a care in the world and was living each day as it came. Maybe it was that oddity that caused him to note every detail of his existence. It had to be rewritten everyday since it could be so different. He would muse on this later and write it down too on those rare days he thought about his new found routine. Much later. It was always more engaging to write about him than why he wrote about him.]

Today I talked to Kaede...

[hahafish]

[If Kaede notices anything amiss in those last few seconds, it doesn't show. His gaze slides back to the windows, watching the familiar scenery emerge from blurs into clarity as the train slows down. He is listening, though - and he spares a glance back and another quirk of that half-smile before he says something vague about his stop and goes.

He goes home, shrugs his jacket off onto a chair, and finds something else to do with his time. He doesn't go to class on Thursday, either.]


[It's a few weeks later when he's made it to the point that he might actually get to class. His routine has changed very little - he's still on the train with regularity, but for a time between that Wednesday and this one, he's gotten on the rush hour train from each stop around the one closest to the university campus, and never that one specifically. Today though, it's near the university where he gets on, like before.

But the proof of his crime boards with him; a serious young man who argues with (or rather, at) him for three whole stops about how Kaede would be better off sleeping through class than not attending it at all. Kaede says very little, and alternates between looking at his friend glumly and staring out the window, ostensibly not really listening - but it's during these moments that his few contributions to this non-argument slip in, an "I know" here, a "Next time, I promise" there. At three stops the other young man hastily moves with the crowd to get off the train, saying something over the noise about emailing before the doors shut him out.

Kaede sighs and turns his back on the door, leaning his shoulders against it and staring out the car's opposite windows instead. He'd rather not email, all things considered, although after a moment he takes his phone out and eyes it warily. If an email pops up in the next minute, he swears, he will leave his phone on the train...

But apparently not. For the next week, at least, his refusal to make something of himself can go undisturbed.

He puts the phone back in a different pocket and feels the thick paper of a business card bend and crease against his knuckles. It's still there--he pauses but doesn't take it out, as there are only so many (just one) business cards he's kept in his pocket.

And like so many insignificant things aligning solely for the sake of some other, unknown thing happening, Kaede abruptly finds himself blinking at the side of Yoshida Takuya's head some five seats down just seconds after wondering idly if the man were on this train again. It's a coincidence, he thinks, and then, At least he's sitting this time. He won't lose any of his things that way.]

Wallet-san, [and now abruptly he's standing just in front of him, not having thought about going over but doing it anyway, and not having thought about how calling a near stranger wallet-san weeks after speaking to him once makes him look but doing it anyway. He's half-bent to the side, pretending to look under the seat.] You didn't lose anything, did you?

[There's no reason to talk to this man other than Kaede is in a bad mood now, and chattering nothing at a stranger might scratch the surface of it if not actually help. He needs a good reason to ignore his email for the rest of this ride, and here it is.

He straightens back up a second later and half-steps forward to bump his leg against the next empty seat but doesn't sit down; he's touching it, it's claimed, but he's still going to stand.

As an afterthought,] Sorry, you probably don't remember me. I found your wallet that time?

[takesnotes]

[Realistically, Taku shouldn't have had any expectations. He told himself that he wouldn't have any expectations. They got dashed anyway. Kaede never called him.

The first few days he would pull out his cellphone and look at it during lulls at work or idle hours at home. No messages or missed calls. The thoughts were pervasive. No matter what he was doing, grocery shopping, eating lunch at his desk, writing a quick email to family, his mind would wander and he'd wonder- did Kaede remember him? Every time he realized what he was doing he would frown, internally berate himself, and put the device away or focus back on the task at hand. It was silly to place hopes on that. He threw it away. Of course Kaede would throw it away. They were strangers and that was to be expected. After a week he wrote 'there's no way he will call me' and promptly crossed it out to start a proper entry.

Riding the train was another trial all together. It was harder to ignore Kaede than it ever was before. He was saved the direct day after, the student hadn't boarded, but afterwards was a constant struggle. He wanted to look at him more. To hear more. To know more. But he shouldn't know him. He should be a faded memory the same as the vague face of the clerk at the convenience store. It felt like every passenger knew this discrepancy. Could sense it every time he scanned the car or pretended to look out the window instead of at the tall man standing in front of it. He had more excuses than ever to notice the man and yet he felt like he was weaving a larger lie. It was only a matter of time until someone was aware of how strange he was.

Yet, anything can be commonplace after enough time passes. The shine wore off from learning those finer details from their meeting. They became normal inclusions into his notes - his eyes were darker today than normal, he sounded tired, he looked bored. He felt confident in these assessments. He might not have gotten a second chance to talk to Kaede but he knew him better still.]

[It's a day like any other. The most notable thing of the day is that Taku has managed to find a seat on the train for once. That, and Kaede was having a heated discussion with a friend. The girls he usually travels with are the easy going sort, the worst he has ever heard from them are complaints about the crowds, but he recognized the boy. It was the only time he ever heard anything about his time in university or what he was studying. He was a good source of information. Plus, he was one of the few men that traveled with Kaede so he stood out while the girls ran together.

Thankfully, a fight in a crowded place is guaranteed to get stares so he didn't have to worry too much about shooting looks at them during and after the little episode. Other passengers were doing the same. A fight about school though. Kaede looked troubled afterwards. Hopefully it was nothing too serious. Students skipped all the time, it was normal. Although his friend seemed very bothered.

Taku was so lost in thought in his imaginings of Kaede's life and troubles, staring blankly down at his own lap, that he doesn't even realize the real one has come over.

Wallet-san?

After all this time what would possess him to approach him now? It wasn't like this was the first time they were in the same car after that day. Could he have been staring too much? Was he drastically abnormal compared to the other passengers? But no, that couldn't be, not when he was called with such a strange nickname. Kaede remembers him. Against all odds and lack of contact he had left an impression. No matter how small or strange. All Taku does is watch him move- when he bends to mock checking under the seat, any quirks to his moth and face as he talks even when it doesn't change much at all.

Sorry, you probably don't remember me.

Finally, he realizes he has been staring in silence. He raises a hand to cover his mouth, blinks, thinks. What is he going to do? Hopefully he assumes the strangeness is only a symptom of delayed memory and nothing else.]

Oh. Oh! Yes, I remember you. It's been quite a while. [17 days exactly.] I've been good and made sure everything was packed away tight before leaving after that scare. Thank you, again.

[hahafish]

[It's obvious that Kaede doesn't expect to be remembered. He's said as much, literally, and he isn't trying to be coy or funny about that. On this train he's everyone and no one and that's always been the point, so--he expects it to hold true again now. Still, he's already started this conversation with a mostly-stranger by bringing up the memory of the last one.

So what exactly is he trying to do? He wants to talk to someone who doesn't expect anything of him; his family no longer is and his friends - even the girls, who've no doubt been emailed en masse by now with complaints about the argument he just had - seem to expect more than he ever said he'd give. What he does or doesn't do with himself and his life is no one else's business, and so when he reaches this point and feels bogged down by nags and obligations and disappointments both old and new and personal, he wants to talk to someone who won't want anything from him.

A stranger on a train is the best choice. And here he's picked the one he's talked to before about more than just the weather. It's barely "more," but in his pocket he works the corner of the business card back and forth slightly with his thumb and thinks, it's stupid to think anything of it. He's just saving himself the trouble of coming up with a topic to open with, since there already is one.

He doesn't expect to have made an impression and tells himself he hopes he hasn't, anyway. Everyone and no one - not Kaede, the overlooked, the ever-hassled.

There's a kind of irony in purposely striving for the same thing he hates when he has no say in it, but it's easier. All the background noise of his irritated thoughts and vague ideas about what he's really supposed to be doing are pulled out from under him as soon as his not-so-stranger companion looks at him with recognition.

Yes, I remember you. Some inane chatter about checking for lost items and then, Thank you, again.

His brow furrows at the same time he smiles somewhat uncertainly. He must look more confused about this boring wallet chatter than anything.]

Yeah, have you? That's good. [--and this feels like a weird conversation to be having with someone older than him. Ostensibly at the questioning glances he keeps getting from someone who wants the empty seat he's blocking but really to give him enough pause to change the subject, he turns and takes the seat himself. With a mumbled, Oh, sorry when his leg bumps the other man's. He's too tall for train seats...]

You gave me that card, but I forgot to tell you my name. It's Hajime Kaede.

[He pauses. Considers. Furrows his brow, again.]

Do you always take this train?

[takesnotes]

[The moment drags on it almost feels like months. He's not certain he picked the right path. It would be impossible to mask his recognition of Kaede and yet would remembering him be too strange? But he was approached first. What was he expecting if he didn't think there was any chance he would be remembered, especially when he opens with such a distinct name calling. Taku thinks through the logic fervently, convinces himself its the right choice, but the uncertain smile makes him question it all over again. He must have slipped up. Botched the entire second encounter. He should have pretended like he didn't know him at all despite the blatant lie. That would have been the normal expectation.

Almost immediately Taku tenses up. A business smile and manners might get him through most of his social interactions but this is so far removed in his head they vanish completely. Every action is blown up in his perception. Every misstep must be painfully obvious. Who has he been fooling? No one. Kaede must be aware that he is strange. He looks away, down at his lap where he fidgets plucking at his thumb. He's expecting Kaede to nod and walk away but then he replies and sits down.

Sits down right next to him. Their legs bump. He's quite bony, isn't he? Has he been eating enough?

Taku shifts away and bumps into his unfortunate other neighbor. There's a bothered exclamation as they push back and look up from their phone but it falls on deaf ears. It should probably occur to him that looks like he's bothered by the other sitting down rather than trying to give him more space for a more positive(?) reason but there's a reason tunnel vision has never been praised. Honestly, puzzling out why Kaede is still talking to him takes precedent. Or why he's officially introducing himself. It's been so long and he just appears and acts like talking to strangers is standard fair. Maybe he can play pretend again for one more train ride and just talk to him. Just stop worrying. Kaede chose to talk to him so he shouldn't worry. No one around them cares. He shouldn't overthink it. Just chat. Then they can part for however long until Kaede talks to him or loses interest.

Suspense like that wouldn't be good for his heart.]

Ah- Hajime-san then.

[He would do something business normal like try to shake his hand or something but then Kaede strikes without warning. Of all questions to be asked while hes worrying over being found out.

Do you always take this train?

How does one approach this? The uncertainty, the panic, flashes in his eyes for half a second. Of course, the honest answer is everyday. It's the best route between his work and his apartment. That's the truth. The overlap in cars is where it gets difficult. But he doesn't have to say anything about that. No one would wonder about that, right? A businessman on a schedule isn't strange.

The hesitation lingers before he manages to slap on what he thinks is a normal smile and laugh lightly, a little self deprecating.]

Yes, the strangest little things become habit. [An understatement.] It's a bit crowded but I always look at the silver lining, at least I'm not working overtime when I catch this train.

[The half truth worked the first time. Please let it work this time.

Hopefully Kaede didn't notice how sweaty his palms were.]

[hahafish]

[Kaede watches Yoshida Takuya not look at him even after he's sat down. He notices the way the man jerks his leg away hurriedly even on a train this crowded and wonders if he's that much of a concern, a strangely-dressed university student on the train. For all of the man's innocent babbling about lost things and train routes, maybe Kaede is too much for him to handle. It could be that in both of their random meetings so far, Kaede has gone too quickly for a normal person to handle - wallet-san, he called him already, and that's not behavior that's readily accepted by most regular businessmen. Or people in general.

Maybe his manner has offended Yoshida Takuya in some way, and the man remembers him much more distinctly than he'll politely admit as a pushy student who shouldn't be taking up seats next to him and talking so familiarly. His grandmother always said he was arrogant, though, and how arrogant is it to assume that a stranger on the train notices you at all, let alone cares? Kaede lets out a chuckle that's mostly just air and leans back in his seat, looking up at the ceiling.

Hajime-san, then.]

Kaede. [--he frowns then, hearing his own voice come out too harshly, with more bite than everything he's said so far. He pauses then to collect himself, to bring back his lackadaisical drawl and put that snapping, teeth-bared voice aside. Now he's definitely toeing the line between normal and too much for a stranger.

This might have been a bad idea. He rolls his head on his shoulders, folding his arms as he looks sideways at the other man.] Just Kaede is fine. 'Hajime-san' is more for my parents, you know?

[His parents... who might be this guy's age...... who knows. No, he doesn't look that old--]

I thought I might have seen you before. [Before the wallet incident, anyway.] But who knows, right? I'm the local celebrity around here, anyway.

[Wry, as he lifts a hand to wave cynically at a couple of older women across the car and a few seats down who can't seem to stare at him and whisper disapprovingly in a more subtle way. That's annoying-- he can't sit here and be reminded of his one-sided argument any longer than he absolutely has to, and honestly, anything said to him in the next minute or so doesn't register at all. He's watching the women out of the corner of his eye as they keep glancing at him, and when they finally stand up to disembark as the train comes to a stop, his gaze flicks up to the station name flashing at the rear of the car.

That is the exact moment his heart sinks, because it's his stop. Outwardly his expression hardly changes, although he does throw the women one last disparaging look as they pass by the sitting men and leave the car. Kaede doesn't move, eyes trained on the exit. The doors slide closed, and the train starts moving again.

It's only when it's picked up some speed and the next station name blinks to life at the rear of the car that he sighs, very put-upon.]

Damn. I missed my stop.

[takesnotes]

[What does one do when the phrase they believe to be innocuous gets more of a raise out of someone than a devious lie? Taku knew Kaede's full name before, of course, it's why he tried to glance over the admission as much as possible. A normal person wouldn't make such a big deal over learning a stranger's name. He thought he was safe. That tone indicates anything but.

Despite the close proximity, Taku had been looking anywhere but Kaede. They're too close for comfort is the issue. He doesn't want to overstep his bounds but he cannot help but turn towards the student in confusion at his reaction. Fear over angering him mixes with interest over the new development. This was something he didn't know. He can't help himself, he needs to record every second it, his gaze shifts as he watches every twitch of emotion on Kaede's face. Annoyance, bordering on anger, pulled back and hidden behind a disinterested smirk. The explanation is just as fascinating. Does he not get along with his parents? Is he trying to make a forced joke out of the incident? What could be behind this? So focused on cataloging his thoughts Taku is unaware of his own hand, clenched into a clammy fist on his knee. Talking face to face was so exciting his heart might not be able to take it. He couldn't let it end there. He had to learn more.

But he couldn't push him. The interaction was strained as it was. But he wanted to know more. He had to handle this delicately. It might be dangerous but he wanted to prolong it. There wasn't assurance Kaede would ever approach him again in the future. Was it so bad to be proactive just this once? He could happily return to their separate existences if he could only satiate his curiosity a bit more.]

I see. [Don't push the issue, don't apologize. Yet he can't say something as simple as 'Kaede-san' either, his heart clenches at the thought.] You do stand out quite a bit compared to all the office workers commuting. I wouldn't bother too much over the talk if I was you.

[Awkward, forced, and he continues hesitantly to provoke another reaction out of him but is denied. Although that is to be expected, with no further response he resorts ice breakers that would have people groaning after parties. No one cares about the weather but he doesn't know what is safe. What he should say. So instead he accepts the silence and they ride along without his useless chatter. Until the train approaches Kaede's next stop. With resignation he accepts that their second meeting will come to an end and he won't learn anymore. No, that wasn't the right way to think about it. He learned something new. That was enough. He shouldn't be greedy.

Except his stop keeps approaching and he doesn't say anything or move to stand up. It occurs to him right as the train begins to slow that something might be amiss but he can't say anything to that affect. He shouldn't know the boy's stop after all. Not that he wants to say anything either. The intercom dings, the doors open and close, and Kaede does not move a muscle. It feels like lying again to not alert him but his happiness taps down that dark feeling boiling in his stomach. He was blessed with a few minutes more. This is fine.

Damn. I missed my stop.

Taku turns towards him, showing a concerned frown. His heart is racing.]

Oh dear, how far ago? Would you be able to jump off and walk? Do you want- [me to call a taxi? No. That's not a normal flow. Wrong level of familiarity.] any help? I still owe you that favor.

[It's not the best save but better than the alternative.]

[hahafish]

[True to form, Kaede hears nothing said about how he stands out. It's not like he needs to; he already knows that. The bit about not paying the local rabble any mind would amuse him at least, if not make any impact - he usually doesn't, but on days like this when he's already out of sorts... It's a pain. His routine is already thrown off from having a fight, and it's like every petty offense is the greatest wrong that could be done to him instead; things he could have brushed off are making him do this. Act like a child.

What would his grandmother say? he wonders again, and something in his expression darkens for the second time this ride before he tunes back into the conversation somewhere around "jump off and walk." Maybe he ought to just do that... There's nothing else demanding his attention right now.]

I'll figure it out. [He shifts in his seat to lean forward on his knees, in more of a position to get up and leave at the next stop than his stock-still staring at the door minutes ago. This old man... Kaede glances at him, brow furrowed slightly, like he's just really clued in that he's bringing up that favor again. Like it actually meant something, which is the part that gives him pause. That's...

It's something. He's still going to refuse - politely! - and just get on with his walk home when a tiny chime rings from inside his jacket pocket. His phone. So that'll be the email all about what he's ruined about his life this time, then - and a long one, given the amount of time it took.

Well, forget that. He tugs his jacket closed like that will silence his phone for the rest of however long it takes and fixes the older man with a smile that's suddenly interested in his silver linings and miscellaneous babbling.]

Sure, why not. What are you going to do from here?

[Like, he's just saying.]

[takesnotes]

[And the end comes as quickly as expected when it comes to conversation between strangers. There was no way that Kaede would continue talking to him when there was more important things to consider such as getting home. The dismissive response cuts and he only has himself to blame for building up his own expectations. He should just accept when their paths cross and not push the issue. That was his fault. He would have to reflect on it later. It was only putting their tenuous relationship in danger. It was a bitter pill to swallow but he has to. He leans back in his chair, ready to bid the other goodbye as he stands. Except he is thrown for another loop.

Sure, why not.

There is no way for Taku to know what caused him to change his mind but change it did. Will he ever feel stable when talking to him? Like the world wasn't slightly off-kilter at all times? He wasn't the most confident men at the best of times but he thought himself competent at least. Yet here he was left speechless as he follows the bizarre pace of a man near half his age. And he was only happy to be included in it.

Only a few seconds pass in silence but the train is near completely stopped. Maybe Kaede believes he has stumped the businessman and will come away with the encounter with a laugh but he has been given one last chance and will seize it. That smirk might be at his expense but what does he have to lose?]

Nothing. [The intercom dings, the crowd by the doors shuffle as commuters leave the car. And Taku stands suddenly, grabs Kaede's upper arm, and begins walking onto the station.] But I'll manage something from here.

[They are one stop away from Kaede's place and quite a few from his own. He's had no excuse to visit this residential area before, he's going in blind. Everything is a jumble, his heart is pounding, and he needs to say something. He carried through with this crazy idea and he needs to see it to the end. With a slight start he realizes he's still touching the student and quickly drops his hand. It's difficult but he collects himself. Enough to keep his voice steady as if this wasn't a big deal. That's the most he can hope for after doing something like this.]

It's much easier to figure something out now that we've stopped moving further away from our goal. Now I can pay for your return trip or something else if you'd prefer. I can manage anything now.

[By some miracle he turns to cockiness at the end. He's not sure of anything he's saying at this point but maybe that will be explanation enough for a college student.]

[hahafish]

[Kaede is in this for a laugh, a distraction, a what-will-he-do-now if nothing else - that much is true. But in contrast to the lazy and confident control he's had of the situation until now, what he gets when his arm is grabbed is surprise. It occurs to him to think this is taking a turn for the worse, he's run into a serial killer or something and since this looks like nothing more than a respectable businessman throwing a rowdy delinquent off a train, no one will pay them any mind-- but he doesn't actually think it. Not seriously. He's genuinely surprised, and it shows on his face without any effort from him to mask it as he's literally dragged off the train.

When they've stopped moving and he's let go, he's tugging his sleeve into place when it occurs to him that this is something he would do. He's probably done this before, actually - yanking someone off a train at the wrong stop. The only difference is that he does it to people he actually knows, but something about the unexpected action holds his attention where he'd likely be better off taking some return trip fare and getting the hell out of there.

Belatedly he wonders, Doesn't this guy have somewhere to be? He's made no mention of this being his stop either, nor is he rushing to get rid of Kaede and get back on the next train. Kaede watches the one they've just left slowly pull out of the station curiously, then looks back at his train-hopping companion. This isn't his neighborhood, he never comes to this stop, what kind of help is this really...

Hmm.]

I hope so, or dragging me off the train like that might put me in a bad mood later.

[But he's not here because he's in a rush to get home, so without any ceremony he slings an arm around the other man's shoulders in camaraderie, like they're old friends and not strangers from a train. Without waiting he turns to steer them away from the station and see what there even is at this stop besides other people's houses, alright...]

Dunno about you, but I'm sick of the train today. That takes 'return fare' off the list, so what's your next big idea?