The Usual Cliche
I headed for the station to go home.
On any other day I might have considered walking, but I wasn't in the mood for that today. I'd been dragged out first thing in the morning for something completely pointless, and then even my plans had fallen through, leaving both my body and my mind feeling strangely out of sorts.
Taking the subway meant several transfers before I'd finally make it home. Roughly two hours?
"...That's a long way."
I checked the departure board and headed down to the platform. The train that pulled in shortly after was, thankfully, a car that wasn't too crowded. I spotted an empty seat and quickly claimed it.
The moment I set down my bag and leaned back, the tension drained from my entire body.
"Haa..."
Today really had been a day where nothing went right. A friend had called me out, only not to show up himself, and the other friend I'd happened to run into had taken off to see a movie with some girl.
And so here I was, after a completely wasted day, heading home alone on a commute that would take two whole hours. If I'd just stayed holed up in my room from the start, I might as well have been chained to it—but at least I wouldn't have gone through all this.
I closed my eyes, letting those pointless thoughts drift through my head. It was still a long way home. Closing my eyes for a bit wouldn't hurt.
The rhythmic rumble of the train rolling along the tracks and the murmur of passengers drifted past my ears in a dreamlike haze. Surrendering myself to those indifferent sounds, a light drowsiness crept over me before I knew it.
...How much time passed like that?
I sat there with my eyes closed, lost in a vacant daze. And then—something felt off.
At first I tried to dismiss it as just another noise of the train. But it was different. Slightly different—sounds that had no business being heard on a subway.
Mixed in among the rattling of the windows was a noise that grated on the nerves. A small, trembling breath. A stifled movement. And a suppressed voice, as if someone were desperately enduring something unbearable.
"...I don't like this."
I slowly opened my eyes. The drowsiness that had been pressing down on my head vanished as if it had never been there.
I looked around. Naturally, the car was packed with people. Everyone had their eyes glued to their smartphone screens, or sat slumped in their seats with earphones in, looking exhausted. And yet the sound was definitely there.
Finding the source of the sound didn't take long. It was coming from the aisle, just a few steps from my seat. A girl was hunched in on herself, her face twisted with discomfort, and right beside her a middle-aged man was pressed uncomfortably close. His hand kept reaching persistently toward the hem of her clothes. She twisted her body again and again, trying to get away, but in a packed subway car there was nowhere to run.
"Ugh..."
I let out a short sigh. ...Today really wasn't going to let me off the hook, was it.
I stood up and strode over. The man turned his head and looked up at me with an unpleasant expression.
"The hell are you?"
Instead of answering, I seized his wrist—firmly enough that it made no sound—and pulled it away from the girl.
"...What do you think you're doing?"
"That's what I'd like to ask you."
The man's brow furrowed. I kept hold of his hand and stared him down with cold eyes.
"A man your age, putting his hands on a young student—is that really so enjoyable?"
"What are you talking about? What did I even do?"
"Are you saying you don't even remember what you just did?"
"Let go of me."
The man tried to yank his arm free, but I didn't loosen my grip.
"No."
"Hey, is this how a student talks to an adult?"
"So because I'm a student, I'm supposed to look the other way?"
I deliberately raised my voice a little. A few nearby glances started turning our way. The man's face stiffened, just slightly.
Naturally, I had the advantage here. At his age, there were plenty of things he stood to lose socially. Of course, if he was willing to risk all of that just to keep this up, he'd simply be an irredeemable lunatic. But generally, once things reached this point, people knew to back down.
"No, this is a misunderstanding..."
"She clearly said she didn't want it, and you kept touching her anyway."
As I kept talking, the girl who'd been hiding behind me trembled and nodded in a tiny voice.
"...Yes."
It was barely a whisper, but in the suddenly hushed train car it rang out with an almost unnatural clarity. I looked down at the man again.
"That's enough."
"When did I ever..."
"Then shall I call the police right now?"
At those words, the color drained from the man's face. A taut silence hung in the air. I released his hand with a flick and took a step back.
"Get off at the next stop, or move to another car—I don't care. Just don't come near us."
The man glared at me through clenched teeth, but the surrounding attention must have become too much, because he clicked his tongue, dusted himself off, and disappeared toward the opposite car. As if glaring was going to accomplish anything. Someone among the passengers had probably already hit the emergency report button anyway.
Only then did I catch my breath and turn to the girl.
"You okay?"
She was still looking up at me, her face taut with tension.
"...Yes."
"You're not hurt?"
"I'm not..."
"That's good."
I gave a short reply and turned to go back to my seat. But after a few steps, I stopped. The bloodless pallor still lingering on the girl's face kept catching in my vision.
After a moment's hesitation, I turned back and approached her.
"If you'd rather sit, you can take my seat."
I pointed to my spot and picked up my bag.
"I don't mind standing."
"Ah..."
The girl blinked, looking flustered.
"No, I'm fine."
"Even so."
I glanced around at the remaining empty seats.
"It's going to take a while to calm down after that guy. You'll be more comfortable sitting here."
She hesitated for a moment, then slowly, carefully nodded.
"...Thank you."
"It's nothing."
I waved it off casually, gave up my seat, and lightly gripped the handrail beside it. The train rattled along the tracks as if nothing had happened. Beyond the window, the dark tunnel scenery slid past indifferently.
"...Where the hell am I going."
Suddenly, the man who'd been heading the other way stopped and turned around. His face was twisted with rage and humiliation. Nearby passengers glanced over, but he paid them no mind as he roughly shoved a hand inside his jacket.
"Fuck! I was already having a shit day!! You little shits... some brat who doesn't know his place, acting all high and mighty!"
A flash of metal caught the fluorescent lights of the car. A folding knife? I'd heard most blades were controlled at the government level. Whether he'd gotten that from some black market or the government just wasn't doing its job, I couldn't tell.
The entire car froze.
"Aah!"
The girl's short scream was joined by the panicked shrieks of nearby passengers as they shoved themselves toward the opposite end. In an instant, the whole place was chaos.
My own heart dropped, and my mind went blank. I didn't think he'd actually pull a knife. Cold sweat ran down my spine. But my body reacted before the fear could.
The moment the man came at me, swinging the blade with wild eyes, the self-defense lesson from class flashed through my mind. Don't grab the wrist when the opponent has a weapon. Break the joint and destroy their center of gravity.
The man lunged, thrusting the tip of the knife. I dropped my hips and let his charge slip past by half a beat, then immediately dropped into the Standard Self-Defense Techniques stance I'd had drilled into me during PE class. Putting my weight behind it, I wrenched his elbow joint hard to the outside and hooked his ankle.
"Ghk?!"
With the sound of bone giving way, the man's balance collapsed completely. A heavy thud, and he crumpled to the floor of the train.
"Gahk...!"
I didn't waste the opening. I pinned his wrist under my foot, knocked the knife away, and sent it skidding far across the floor. Then I climbed onto his back and locked in the restraint. Looking down at the man groaning face-down on the floor, I sucked in ragged breaths. My hands were trembling slightly, but it had worked.
"...Huh. That actually works?"
The muttered words slipped out on their own, half disbelief, half relief. I should probably start paying attention in class. I never thought it'd actually come in handy.
I looked around. Passengers were clutching their phones with stunned expressions, rushing to call the police. The train slammed on the brakes and began rapidly decelerating toward the next station.
With a screech and a bang, the train came to a complete stop at the platform. The moment the doors opened, railway police and station staff who'd been waiting in the station rushed in.
"What's going on! Everyone step back!"
Officers hurried into the car, subdued the man on the floor, and recovered the weapon. One of them looked up at me, sweating profusely.
"You all right, kid? Did this guy swing a weapon?"
I slowly got up off the floor, dusted off my sleeves, and answered.
"Yes, that's right. I've already subdued him, so please take him away."
The officers stared at me in surprise—the student who'd somehow taken down the perpetrator—then cuffed the man and led him out. The moment it was over, the tension drained from my body and my legs started shaking. I let out a rough breath and looked back.
Over by the seats, that girl was still staring at me with a stiff expression. What an unusually long day. Dragged out by a friend for nothing, treated to an unexpected spectacle, and now I'd even taken down a knife-wielding groper.
"...Unbelievable."
The scoff had barely left my mouth when I felt a gaze and turned. The girl, who'd been silent this whole time, was sneaking glances at me. Feeling those furtive eyes on my back, I finally turned around first.
"What? Something wrong?"
Her lips trembled faintly, and then, as if she'd made up her mind, she carefully opened her mouth.
"Um..."
"Yeah?"
"Do you... happen to remember me?"
"...?"
I looked at her face steadily. Her features were distinctive enough, but it wasn't a face that existed anywhere in my memory.
"Sorry, I don't think I do."
At my answer, her pupils wavered, just slightly.
"...Really?"
"Yeah. I'm not great at remembering faces."
"You really... you really don't know who I am?"
"That's right."
I nodded so frankly that she clamped her mouth shut, as if she'd suddenly lost all words. A faint flush rose across her pale face, and then her gaze dropped to the floor.
"That... can't be..."
"What was that?"
"N-nothing."
She shook her head hard, as if startled. Then she took several deep breaths, composing herself, and opened her mouth again like someone wringing out every last drop of courage.
"I... I'm..."
"Yeah."
"Ah, no... I mean, that's..."
The words kept tangling on her tongue. I waited quietly for her to continue, in no particular hurry. After a long hesitation, she finally squeezed out a voice.
"My name is... Tadashi..."
"Tadashi?"
"...No, not Tadashi..."
She waved her hands, her face turning red.
"No, that's not my name..."
Finally, her ears burning crimson, she whispered in a voice so small it nearly vanished.
"...It's Oguri Akira."
"Akira."
"Yes..."
I rolled the name around quietly in my head. Akira? Didn't ring a bell.
"And..."
Akira fidgeted with her fingers and added, very quietly,
"We're... in the same class."
"...Same class?"
"Yes."
"Our class?"
"Yes..."
I looked her up and down again, bewildered. Same class? No matter how hard I searched my memory, there was no kid like this in the classroom in my head.
No, wait. I called the classroom back into my mind. The familiar space I walked into every morning, sat down in my assigned seat, stared at the blackboard, and horsed around with the noisy group during breaks. There were plenty of kids in there. I pulled those faces out one by one, feeling my way through every corner of the room. The front row. By the window. And... the far back corner on the hallway side.
"Wait."
I pointed at her as if something had just clicked.
"Are you maybe..."
"Yes?"
"In our class."
The puzzle pieces of memory finally locked into place.
"The one who sits in the back right corner... all the way in the back?"
In that instant, Akira's eyes went wide and round. A spark of life lit up in them so brightly it was hard to believe this was the same girl who couldn't even get her voice out a moment ago.
"Yes! That's me! That's me!"
Akira nodded vigorously. Her eyes sparkled, as if she were genuinely moved.
"You remembered..."
"Ah..."
There was a strange mix of relief and joy in that voice. Feeling awkward, I scratched the back of my head.
"Sorry, your presence is just so... I mean, I don't usually pay much attention to what's around me, so I never properly memorized your face."
"No, it's okay."
Akira shook her head quickly. Her voice had gone small again, but the corners of her mouth were curling up, as if she couldn't help it.
"But still... you remembered."
"Well, I didn't expect I'd end up remembering you over something this messy."
She pressed her lips together, looking shy. Strange. Was it really that happy a thing, that I'd finally remembered she was a classmate after treating her like a complete stranger? I looked down at her quietly and shrugged, as if to hide my embarrassment.
"Well, anyway, it's a good thing we got it sorted before anything worse happened. You must've been pretty shaken up earlier, so try to calm down."
"...Okay."
Akira's face was still a little flushed, but she pressed a hand to her chest, looking far more at ease than before.
The train began gliding smoothly along the tracks again. The once-chaotic car had settled down as if nothing had happened, and passengers murmured among themselves about what had just taken place. But around the two of us, it was strangely quiet.
I confirmed that the weapon the man had dropped had been cleared away, then stepped back beside my original seat and took hold of the handrail.
"Um..."
Akira, who'd been sitting in silence, spoke up again. Her voice trembled a little this time, but it was much clearer than before.
"Yeah?"
"Th-thank you. Because of me..."
"I already told you. I just couldn't walk past it, that's all."
I waved it off like it was nothing. Truth be told, I hadn't known the self-defense techniques would actually work in a real fight, and I was sweating bullets on the inside—but at least on the outside, I was trying to play it cool. ...A guy's allowed to look a little cool, right?
"More importantly, are you actually okay? You were right up against that guy—you're sure you're not hurt?"
"Yes... I'm really fine. It was scary, but..."
Akira's words trailed off as she glanced up at me. I could feel a strange mix of relief and trust in that look.
"I'm so glad you came... I mean, that you saved me."
"Isn't that a bit much?"
"N-no. It... really is."
A brief, light silence settled between us, and then the train announcement played as a familiar platform number came into view beyond the screen doors. This was my transfer station.
With a hiss, the train stopped at the platform. I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and stood. And before I got off, I tossed a remark toward Akira, who was standing by the door looking up at me.
"If you're that grateful... starting tomorrow, don't pretend you don't know me when we pass each other in class. At least say hi."
"...Huh?"
Akira's eyes went round as she stared at me, startled.
"Anyway, I'm heading out. Get home safe."
I gave a small laugh and stepped through the open doors.