Chapter One
Our Souls Meet
"Geez, I don't like the rain," the pink-headed girl sat on her couch, grasping her knees and holding them to her chest as she watched the dark clouds crying outside of the window. It was a gloomy day and had been raining since she awoke a few hours before.
She was an active girl, loving all kinds of sports. Most of all, she spent most of her time playing baseball. She wasn't good at it, but for some unknown reason, she adored doing it anyway.
…But it was raining.
She started to drift to sleep before she saw someone with blue hair run down the sidewalk. Without even thinking, she threw open her front door and called to him.
"HEY! Get in here before you catch a cold, you delinquent!" She yelled with hands cupped around her mouth to stretch her voice farther and louder over the pounding of droplets. He paused in his run, turning and running towards her. He flew at her, not being able to stop at the speed he was going, slamming into her and knocking her back into her house.
For a moment, he leaned over her, water falling from his hair and soaking her face. Then she pushed him off to shut the front door. He breathed heavily, so she sat on the floor before him and glared until he caught his breath.
"Th-thank you," he managed to gasp through all of his huffs and puffs.
"Are you stupid?" She hissed without changing her cold expression. The water that had come from him dripped from her hair.
"I'm s-sorry," he rubbed the back of his head and cheekily grinned with a few chuckles.
"You should be apologizing to yourself," she folded her arms and stuck her nose into the air. "You could get sick doing stupid things like running around in the rain."
He blinked curiously at her. "Why would you let a complete stranger in here?"
Without reason, her face turned completely red with blush, and she immediately jumped up and onto her feet. "M-maybe because I don't want a young guy like you ruining your youth being ill."
He laughed again. "Thank you. I'm Hideki Hinata."
"Yui here," she grinned and chuckled triumphantly.
He stood up and stretched maybe a foot taller than her. She looked up at him, and he looked down.
"Eh, where are my manners?" She quickly turned and walked away from him, heading to the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink? You must be cold. Sit on my couch; I'll get you warm in a jiffy."
"Hot chocolate, I guess?" He called after her, sitting on the couch like he was told. Jiffy? Who says that these days? Geez, what a strange girl, letting me into her home and then taking care of me… She looks like she's in high school. "Are you living alone? How old are you?"
Without any time at all, she reemerged from the kitchen with two cups of hot chocolate carefully placed on a steel platter. She set it on the coffee table and sat next to him, grabbing one.
"You ask a lot of questions," she sipped the drink carefully. "I've been here for about four years on my own. I'm 24!" She took another sip and then set it down. "What about you?"
"Me…?" He took a sip and then looked up to her creamy colored ceiling. "I'm 26, and I'm on my own too."
"What were you doing out there, anyway?" She blinked a few times at him before taking another sip.
He looked away from her and laughed. "Actually, I was strolling in the park when it started raining. My house is pretty far away, so…"
"Why didn't you take a taxi?" She swung her legs and hummed after she had asked.
"Ah… I… don't have a job," he dropped his head and sighed.
She stuck his tongue out at him. "Well, fix that, silly."
They both laughed and continued on freely until the rain eventually stopped.
"I should… get going," he stood up and walked to the front door, putting his hand on the knob before turning and waving at her. "Thanks for everything."
She quickly turned the television off and ran to him. "You'll come back, right?"
"Yeah, I have to repay you somehow, don't I?
She nodded and he opened the door, walking out. After getting to the sidewalk, they waved to each other one more time and then he was gone.
Months went by and she never heard from him again. Yet, she didn't forget about him. Day after day she'd sit and wait for his return. She learned to love rainy days, and spent more time inside in case he'd ever come back.
One lilac colored morning, she was startled awake by the sound of glass shattering. Her heart pounded in fear.
How could anyone rob me in broad daylight? She thought as she cautiously slipped out from under the covers. She peered around the bedroom, and noticed her window had a cracked hole through it. Her eyes met the broken mess on the brown carpet, and lying there was a simple baseball.
What's this? She picked it up and rolled it around. It was battered and worn, as if it'd been played with far too much. It reminded her of how she used to play all of the time, and now she spent all of her days inside waiting for the person she had accidently become attached to in one day.
Her bare feet stepped into the softer carpet of the living room. She stared at the front door which had opened her heart to him on that rainy day. She remained motionless and counted the seconds.
It takes thirty minutes to get here from the nearest field if walking. Ten if running.
She clutched the baseball harder between her small fingers as she bit her lower lip. As the time ticked away, the world outside began drizzling.
And then the numbers in her mind had reached the ten minute mark. She held her breath for another minute until the rain began forcing itself onto her windowpane. Her anticipation and hope drained away. And just as the rain poured from the sky, tears developed in her eyes and trailed down her red cheeks.
She fell to her knees and sobbed as the darkness from outside swallowed the room. She'd always been alone before the day he came. And then she was happy. She was happy after he left. She was happy with the memories he gave. But as the months continued rolling in, those memories began dying and she could only see his smiling face. She wanted more than anything to make more happy memories with someone like him. But no one ever came. She was left with only hope. And just now it died and faded away.
She sat up and chucked the worthless ball through her open window and returned to her loud and painful crying. Her body hurt from the pain of heartbreak even though there wasn't anything between them. For one day she had everything. She only wished she'd never have met him. Then perhaps the same loneliness she'd been feeling all along wouldn't hurt so bad. She fell back and hugged her knees to her chest. Once again she hated the rain.
"OW!" She heard someone shout from outside, and all at once her sobbing stopped. She stared and could suddenly see a familiar blue-headed boy walking up the couple of steps that lead to her front door. Without knocking, he opened it and stepped inside. He rubbed the back of his head and held the baseball in one hand.
Their eyes intertwined in view and the world became so silent that only the pit-pattering of rain outside and his heavy breathing could be heard.
"Did this…" he held up the ball, "happen to fly through your window?"
She stared blankly at him for a few moments and simply nodded.
He smiled wide, dropping the baseball and running to her. He fell to his knees next to her and threw his arms around her, hugging her close.
"Yui," he cried, "I thought for sure I'd never see you again!"
She began quivering and nudged him away with the little bit of strength she had. "What…" she looked into his violet eyes, "what are you talking about?"
His atmosphere filled her with the feeling that he was relieved to see her, that faint grin and happy expression reminding her of all that time ago.
"After I left those many months before, I went home. I told you it was far away… so I was unfamiliar with where I was. I found it and fell asleep, but that never stopped my thinking about you. I wanted to come visit the day after, but I couldn't find your home… and now…" he dropped his head as he sat there on his knees, his body starting to shake.
"You…" she smiled as honestly as she ever had "…idiot."
He looked up at her and then hugged her again.
I'm alone.
I won't let you be alone anymore.
I'm sad.
I won't let you be sad anymore.
I'm empty.
Let me be the one to fill the hole in your life. I can't let you be on your own anymore. From now on, I'll be your friend. Even if I'm your only friend, I'll be there until the end. I'll take care of you if you're sick, like you took care of me on the day our souls met.
