Checkmate

9

Crowds.

If I had to rank the top ten things that I despise the most in this world, large crowds of people would be very close to a top spot on that list, nestled somewhere between riajuus and subpar adaptations of my favourite novels. I mean, how can you mess up a character's arc so badly, or leave out such an important part of the story to cut costs? Maybe then you wouldn't have had to have those filler episodes that served no purpose. What was I monologuing about again? Ah, yes.

Crowds.

Everyone knows that there is strength in numbers. Thus, forming packs with other members of your species is understandable – and in many cases, necessary – in terms of survival. But the crowds that we humans form in public spaces are a demented perversion of this natural survival method. There is no structure, no order, just pure chaos. The strong point of forming a pack is that every member works together, but crowds of humans are the exact opposite: everyone only thinks of themselves. Sure, the people around you might be total strangers, but it's still common decency to watch out and think of other people when you're trying to get somewhere – everyone else is trying to get somewhere as well, after all. The Japanese are fairly good at this (and dare I say that the Chibanese are exceptionally good – just one more reason why Chiba is the best place in the world!), but as I have proved based on my observations in the past fifteen minutes, there is still work to be done. And, my loner lifestyle has once again been proven to be the best possible one, as standing on the sidelines means I do not bother anyone by getting in their way, and neither does anyone accidentally bump into me. It's a win-win situation.

Still, it would be better if I didn't need to be in this situation in the first place, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem like I have a choice.

I let out a sigh and pulled out my phone, noting that the person I was supposed to be waiting for was now just over ten minutes late. Why the hell does Miura want to meet up with me on a Sunday anyway... She said to me in the phone call that she wanted to talk about her and Ebina's plans, but couldn't we have done that over the phone..? Well, I guess this does save me from the endless questions from Komachi regarding the matter had she overheard, but I'll probably be subjected to those anyway when I get home, if the strange look she gave me when I woke up this early on the weekend was any indication... I stifled the incoming sigh and pocketed my phone, placing my hands in my pockets as I leaned against the pillar behind me, looking up to the cloudy sky past the eaves of the roof of the station. Well, at least I don't have to do this in the summer... The crowds would be even worse, and don't even get me started on the heat.

Letting my gaze drop back down, I began to absent-mindedly scan the crowds of people that passed by, going to and from the station just behind me, hoping to catch a glimpse of the blonde hair of the girl I was waiting on, but to no avail. Just as I was contemplating on sending Miura a message questioning her lateness, I noticed a head of light-brown hair peek through the crowds, before a short girl – the owner of said hair – ran out, and I momentarily froze in place. Quickly, though, I realized the girl was not who I had initially thought they were, as her blue eyes looked past me without paying any attention to my existence, before she ran off to a group of other girls off to the side. Inwardly, I let out a sigh of relief and lifted my gaze up to the clouds again. Isshiki, huh...

My brows furrowed as I recalled the events that had transpired on Friday.

"What... did you just say..?" I must have misheard her.

The girl in front of me was looking up at me with a pleading expression, her hands slightly trembling, though I somehow guessed it wasn't because of the cold.