The sound of rain hitting the train's roof was muffled by the train's speed and the sound of music playing inside the cart.
It was cold, and a girl with medium-length brown hair peered out the window, her forehead brushing the glass.
Because of the train's speed, the view outside was hazy. Not until the jungle parted, revealing a stunning vista of the mountainside
The Tokaido Shinkansen line transported the two of them from Fujisawa to Nagoya, where they would change trains to Ena.
Sara, on the other hand, must first submit her most recent work.
She took out her little tablet to complete the final page of her 19th volume.
The last page was about a girl who had to leave the boy behind because her parents had summoned her. It was a straight call from what had transpired just before the two had departed Fujisawa the day before
—However, despite the fact that they were on the same train, Sara had no idea Shouta was sitting behind her.
Shouta had attempted unsuccessfully to convince Sara that he would accompany her to her house. Sara had vanished, leaving a path of melancholy in her wake.
Shouta's strategy was to board the same train as Sara and follow her to her home while avoiding being seen as a stalker. Sara appeared to be young on the outside, therefore it would be a disaster if Shouta was found "stalking" her.
During the ride to Nagoya, Shouta stayed put and acted like someone else but also not trying too hard to not stand out or he will be the one standing out.
[Nagoya! Nagoya! Nagoya!]
The doors then opened as the train stopped in front of the station platform.
Sara turned off her tablet and put it inside her bag and then she walked outside of the train, breathing the fresh air of Nagoya.
"..."
Shouta walked out last, after Sara.
The moment his eyes looked out of the train, there was a young girl walking towards Sara. She was wearing a gray Kimono and walked like a proper woman.
"Welcome back, Lady Sara"
"..."
"I will be the one who will escort you back to the palace"
The girl bowed in front of Sara, her hair falling in front of her face, covering it.
The way Shouta looked at her made it seem that he was glaring intensely, making the girl's senses quite uncomfortable. Thanks to this feeling, she quickly checked her surroundings.
"...? what are you doing?"
Sara asked.
"My apologize, there seems to be someone staring at us, mainly me"
"A stalker…?"
Sara also joined and looked at her surroundings and also behind her, where the door of the train was still open wide.
Inside, there were still people sitting and waiting for the train to head off to the next station. And when the train left the station, Sara still looked behind her.
While both of them looked for this "stalker", Shouta had already left the station. He had a very bad feeling even before the girl in the gray kimono noticed his glare from behind.
Yes, it was Shouta that gave the girl that glare before he left the station.
"It doesn't seem like there's someone watching us though"
"Maybe my senses were just a bit off today. My apologize, Lady Sara, we must move right now"
The girl stood up and turned towards the exit of the station, where a car was waiting for Sara.
She was walking down the stairs and scanned her card. Sara's footsteps suddenly stopped when the girl crossed the checkpoint.
"Lady Sara?"
"..."
Sara was still looking back at the platform where there were no trains but a lot of people were standing on the platform waiting for their separate trains.
It was also late in the day, Sara figured that there would be more people using the trains.
Is he… following me?
Before she had arrived at the station; she felt Shouta's presence, before she stood foot on the train; she felt Shouta's gaze from the back of her head, before she left her apartment; she felt Shouta's presence awaiting her on the bridge.
But it was only feelings. She didn't confirm that those feelings were true.
And now, she was left only with suspicions.
Shouta, for her, was everywhere.
"Never mind, let's go"
She said, and confirmed to herself that it was just a feeling.
His first step to Nagoya was taken that day. He felt as if he was lost in some other world metropolis, even though he was still standing on Japanese soil.
"I'm… gonna get lost for sure…"
He said, jokingly. Not really for insuring himself that he'll be okay. He was just saying that to himself just to get a short laugh out of it.
"The next train should be here in—"
At the very corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a young girl with brown hair inside of a black car.
"—?!"
It caught him off guard that he almost tried to deny that it was her riding that expensive looking car. But reality had to make him believe that it was Sara, and his mind accepted the fact.
"W-wait… waaaait wait wait wait"
Shouta said as he cluelessly watched Sara leaving him.
The black car sped off into the distant sky scrapers and Shouta couldn't see where it went.
.
It was a black Toyota century GRMN that she was riding. And it was modified by the Fujisawa family to fit their needs and to be more comfortable.
The whole car can be turned into a moving small house, but only for sleeping. The windows of the car were tinted black; from the outside, you couldn't look what was inside, but from the inside, you could look what was outside.
Shouta had the right moment when he saw Sara. She had her window down for a moment, just to get fresh air because the air freshener inside the car was too strong for her.
The girl in the gray kimono was sitting beside her, her arms on her lap.
Sara looked at the girl and was astonished by the way she looked. Her hair was tied up neatly, showing her magnificent smooth forehead. People could tell it was smooth just by looking at it.
"Hey, what's your name? You already know me, so I bet you're sent here by dad"
The girl then smiled.
"Yes, I was sent by your father. And also, please to meet you, Lady Sara, my name is Kawabe Hinata"
"Hinata-chan"
"E-eh… Lady Sara, you not need to call me with that honorific"
"So what? We're already close"
"Ah… uhh…"
"Come on, you don't have to call me "lady" too. Honestly, I prefer the ones close to me to call me by my given name. With or without honorifics"
"But… that's just…"
"No, it's fine"
"W-well then… what would la— ah, I mean… what would you want me to call you?"
This is so weird….
She was trained since her elementary days to respect her higher ups. She was teached about manners and how to use honorifics.
"Sara-chan. I think it's more fitting for someone like you to say it"
"M-me?!"
"Yeah. You're cute too"
"A… ac… ummm"
Hinata's face turned red.