"Yukina~! Do you not have an umbrella?"
The silver-haired girl turned to the sound of her friend's voice. "Lisa. No, it seems I forgot to bring one today."
"Really, you're hopeless," Lisa said with a laugh. Despite her words, the corners of her mouth were turning up. "Here, we can share mine." She pulled her own umbrella out of her bag and opened it. Yukina stepped closer to Lisa, but pointedly glanced up at the other end. "Something wrong, Yukina?"
"Don't think I forgot about last time. I'm glad to see this is bigger than your old one." They had had to share an umbrella only a few days ago (after seeing the look on Lisa's face back then it was, perhaps, not a total coincidence that Yukina was once again without umbrella), but it was not big enough for the two of them. It didn't take long for Yukina to notice the other's shoulder getting wet, but Lisa insisted that she could afford to get sick a lot more than Yukina could. As if that was going to stop Yukina from scolding her.
"Ah, yeah, wouldn't want you getting worked up about it again. Now, shall we go?"
"You know, it was raining just like this, wasn't it? The day Hina ran in with an umbrella for her sister."
Yukina nodded. "Indeed. Sayo's sound has developed considerably since then. I suppose as her bandmates, we owe Hina some thanks."
"Not that we really know what she did."
"She helped Sayo. That's all that matters."
"I know, I know. It's just..." Lisa paused to find the right words. "Those two sure are an interesting pair, huh?"
"Sayo...has a lot to work through. As a musician, as a sister, as a person." Once upon a time, Yukina would only have cared about one of these aspects of her guitarist. It was a sign of her own growth that she was invested in the other two aspects. "Of course as her bandmates we will do what we can, but I believe with the support of someone like Hina, she'll definitely be okay."
Lisa smiled. "Yeah, Hina would do anything for her sister. It's so sweet, isn't it? Imagine having someone like that in your life!"
At that, Yukina turned to gaze at her friend.
Someone who holds an umbrella for you when the pain won't stop falling.
Someone who breaks down the walls you surround yourself with when you realize how lonely the solitude you've built for yourself is.
Someone who smiles kindly at you even when they're hurting, even when you're the one who hurt them.
"...I don't need to imagine," Yukina said softly.
"Huh?"
"You're already in my life, aren't you?" Yukina tried to say it casually, but the hitch in her voice betrayed her.
"Y-Yukina?!"