The Passengers on the Hankyu Line полностью

Even just from eavesdropping on this stranger’s conversation that she happened to catch on the train, Misa could tell that they were a happy couple.

I may be older than Et-chan but I let myself be misled by Katsuya’s looks and attitude. Turns out, Et-chan is a much better judge of character than I am.

Misa was no longer wavering. She would break up with him.

This younger high-school girl was much better at love than Misa.

But Misa was not so resigned to being unhappy that she didn’t feel a twinge of envy, and she still had a sliver of pride left.

Mondo Yakujin Station

Mondo Yakujin is the second-to-last stop on the Imazu Line and the station nearest to the eponymous temple. At the New Year, extra services are laid on here, especially from New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day, when trains operate continuously to shuttle the throngs of people paying their first visit of the year to pray for safety and prosperity. The locals refer to the talisman at the shrine there as Yakujin-san, and though the area is urban, the temple sits on a small rise dotted with rice paddies that give the surrounding residential streets the rustic feel of an earlier era. Or so it had been described by a local classmate to Kei’ichi when he arrived here for university.

Even so, despite how close it is to campus, I still haven’t beenthere yet myself, Kei’ichi mused to himself. His thoughts were then disrupted by the boisterous pack of high-school girls that had boarded the same car. Older passengers were blatantly glaring in their direction but Kei’ichi was the kind of person who, in such situations, could easily flip a switch in his brain. Still, every so often the girls’ coquettish voices pierced through the headphones he was wearing, so it wasn’t as if he didn’t understand they could be aggravating.

But, being a first-year university student, he wasn’t so far removed from the experience of having fun and camaraderie either.

Once the train glided into the platform, the number of passengers on this humble little commuter line would reach its peak – having accumulated six stations’ worth already, it would take on one more station’s travellers, quite the throng even on the weekend – before reaching the terminal.

In trying to avoid the oncoming crush from the passengers boarding the train, a girl with a short haircut who had been leaning against the window on the door collided with Kei’ichi, who was also standing there. She looked over her shoulder and ducked her head in an apologetic shrug, perhaps a bit apprehensive about his slightly punk appearance.

The title of the book sticking out of the tote bag on her shoulder was the same as the textbook that Kei’ichi had tucked under his arm. It was for a compulsory course in the core curriculum, written by the professor himself and quite expensive. Students grumbled that he must be raking in the royalties by assigning his own book as required reading for first-year students. A questionable practice, to say the least, and unscrupulous, at worst, it had earned the professor the anger of most of the student body.

Kei’ichi assumed, from the sight of this infamous textbook, that she must be in the same year as him, though he didn’t recall seeing her in class. She was neatly dressed in trousers, her look unassuming – especially when compared to the group of girls who were trying to stand out and reminded him of a flutter of butterflies.

Once the passengers had packed their way inside the car and there was a little more space in front of the door, she distanced herself somewhat from Kei’ichi. Do I look that threatening? he thought to himself, a bit offended, but then he saw her bend and crouch a little in order to peer out at the scenery.

Is there something to see? Kei’ichi wondered, already feeling a sort of affinity with her because they had the same textbook. He stooped his tall frame to peek out of the upper part of the window.

It made her turn towards him in surprise. No wonder – a sudden awkward movement above your head would give anyone a start.

This time it was Kei’ichi’s turn to nod apologetically. ‘Uh, sorry. I wondered what you were looking at,’ he said. In response to her wary expression, he showed her the textbook under his arm.

No further explanation needed. Her guardedness instantly dissipated, to be replaced with a bashful smile. For the first time since acquiring the textbook, Kei’ichi was glad he’d shelled out the money for it.

In the crowded train carriage, she ceded some of the space between them as she pointed at the sky.

‘I thought some kind of accident must have happened over there.’