Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or plot of Chihayafuru.

Dedication: For Arata, on his birthday ^3^ Thank you Suetsugu Yuki for bringing him into this world!

Notes: The sequence of events follows the manga (the anime reversed the meeting scene and changed some things with Taichi as well)

*.*.*.*.*.*.*

That Rainy Day

*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Make friends in Tokyo. That's what Arata Wataya's grandfather had said when he hugged him goodbye. *Will I be able to?* he thought nervously as he walked into his new classroom. Arata had to write his name on the board and introduce himself in front of everyone. He wasn't good at public speaking and ended up stuttering through it.

"Poor thing, he's blushing," a girl in the front row whispered to her seatmate.

"Is that Fukui-ben?" someone asked.

"He sounds like a hick!"

"Everyone, lets welcome Wataya-kun to Tokyo," the female teacher said. "Living in a big city will be quite an adjustment for him, so please help him out."

The class greeted him in unison, but he felt too embarrassed to meet their eyes. Arata was directed to a desk in the 2nd row. He muttered a hello to the boy next to him as he pulled out his chair and sat down.

During the lunch break, a cluster of students surrounded his desk and asked him questions about the countryside. Two girls were amused by his dialect. "Wow, you really say things differently from us! It's weird." Arata felt uncomfortable after this so he excused himself to go and use the restroom. While he was washing his hands, Arata looked in the mirror. *Am I that weird?*

The next few days weren't any better. Every time he opened his mouth, someone would comment on his accent. Those same girls came up to his desk holding a notebook. "Wataya-kun, will you speak in Fukui-ben for us?"

He shook his head.

"Come on, please! We only have a few things written down."

Arata turned away from them and looked at his textbook. He felt like a circus animal being asked to perform tricks for an audience.

"How rude," they said. He could hear them complaining to other students as they walked away. *I didn't do anything wrong, did I?* he thought, chewing on his lip.

After this, Arata would only speak if the teacher called on him.

"How was school?" his mother asked during dinner that evening in their small apartment.

"It was alright," he lied.

"Are you making friends?" his father asked, reaching for a cutlet.

He nodded and continued to eat without looking at them.

"I knew that moving to Tokyo would be a good experience for you."

*No, it isn't, Arata thought. I hate it here. I miss our house, and grandpa, and playing karuta…*

"Tokyo is too expensive," his mother complained. "All of your salary goes towards rent and groceries. We don't even have enough money to buy Arata some new clothes."

He met her eyes. "I don't need them."

"But I wish we could give you some spending money at least," she said with a frown.

"He could always get a paper route job like he had back home," his father added. "Arata, what do you think about that?"

Arata had liked being a newspaper delivery boy. It was nice to get up early and ride his bike around while the world was still asleep. "I wouldn't mind," he replied.

"But won't you be too tired for school?" his mother asked.

"No, I'll be fine. I'd like to help out."

That job was the beginning of everything.

*.*.*

It was a cold and rainy morning on his first day of work. Arata pulled up the hood of his waterproof jacket as he hurried down the apartment stairs. He switched on the headlight mounted to his bike before riding to the office. Seeing the bustling city of Tokyo so dark and quiet was strangely exhilarating. After loading the newspapers, the manager tried to give Arata the route map. He had already memorized all of the addresses at home and told him so.

"What? That's impossible! There's 200 houses on this list!"

Arata was eager to get started so he pedaled away, ignoring the shouts of, "You better deliver them correctly!" He went over the addresses in his head the same way that he would go over the placement of the karuta cards. Arata always felt better when his mind was occupied.

*The next house is Ayase…* As he started to climb the steps, he was surprised to see a girl standing in front of him. She was wearing a toggle coat over her pajamas and holding an umbrella with clovers printed around the edge. Her face was flushed from the chilly wind and her breath was escaping in little clouds from around her plaid scarf.

"Good morning," he said softly, holding out the newspaper.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed, grabbing it from him and dashing back into her house.

*Why did she want the paper so badly?* he wondered as he pedaled away.

After finishing his route, Arata went back home to change and eat breakfast. He sat in front of the heater and held his partially numb hands out in front of him.

"Arata, you didn't wear your gloves!" his mother scolded.

"It's hard to grab the newspapers with them on," he explained.

A few minutes later, she gave him a warm mug of cocoa. It was the instant kind, but it still tasted delicious. "Thanks, mom," he said with a little smile.

She ruffled his hair. "That's the first time I've seen that happy expression on your face since moving here. I know that you're lonely without grandpa. Why don't you invite a friend over soon?"

"Umm, well maybe," he mumbled, looking down at his mug.

Less than an hour later, he was walking to school holding a black umbrella over his head. Because of the bad weather, Arata couldn't loiter outside of the building and mentally prepare himself like he usually did. He breathed out to try and get rid of the sick feeling that he faced daily.

Arata went over to his locker to change into his indoor shoes. Then he hung up his jacket and put the umbrella in one of the holders. His hand hesitated on the classroom door. *You can do this, he told himself. Just ignore them and it will be fine…* Everyone was talking excitedly as he entered. Arata was getting ready to sit down when he felt someone bump into him. As he turned around, he came face to face with the girl from earlier that morning. "I'm sorry," she said. Arata didn't reply as he slid into his chair.

"Chihaya, don't associate with that kid. Someone from another class saw him eating bugs," he heard a boy say.

"He won't talk to anyone."

"And he has holes in his socks too!"

Arata clenched his fist as he looked down at his desk. Then he heard those two girls say something about his Fukui dialect.

"If I were Wataya-kun, I wouldn't want to talk to someone who takes notes just to make fun of me," Chihaya Ayase commented.

Arata could hardly believe that she had spoken up for him. Class started a moment later and the teacher announced that along with Taichi Mashima, Arata was the only one to correctly recite all 100 poems of the Hyakunin Isshu.

"Wataya-kun, will you participate in next month's karuta tournament?" the teacher asked.

"Umm, yes," he replied softly.

A chair scraped along the floor in one of the rows behind him. "The paper boy!" Chihaya exclaimed. "Now I remember! Wataya-kun, you delivered the newspaper this morning! That's so cool!" Arata turned around to look at her with wide eyes. She was standing up and smiling at him.

"Wataya-kun, is this true?" the teacher asked. "Children are not supposed to be working. Do you deliver them all the time?"

He turned back around and looked down at his desk, feeling absolutely mortified at being the center of attention. "Only sometimes. When I'm asked." Which wasn't a complete lie since it had been his very first day. Arata's face was blazing as people whispered, "he must be poor!" and "doesn't he wear the same pants every day?"

Everyone put their desks together when they ate lunch, but Arata's was separated from the group of four. He had never felt so miserable. *I hope the teacher won't call my parents and make me quit.* At this point, Arata felt like the paper route job would be the only thing to keep him sane.

*.*.*

Arata was walking out of school when someone shoved him hard from behind. His umbrella went flying and he landed on his backside in a puddle. He looked up to see Taichi Mashima standing over him. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to ruin your only pair of pants," he sniggered. "I guess you'll have to borrow a skirt from your mother now!"

Chihaya ran up and punched Taichi in the stomach, causing him to drop his own umbrella. "Owww, what are you doing, Chihaya? Don't tell me you're on that hick's side?!"

"I never knew you were so mean, Taichi!" she exclaimed.

"If you stick up for him, everyone will ignore you tomorrow," he threatened.

"I don't care. Do it."

He pointed a finger at her and said, "We really will! You'll be lonely if you side with him!"

"I said that I don't care," she replied.

Taichi pushed her and Chihaya landed beside Arata. "Don't come crying to me about it later!" he yelled.

They exchanged a look with each other. "Are you alright?" Arata asked.

She got up. "Yeah. What about you, Wataya-kun?"

He nodded. Chihaya held her hand out to him and he took it.

"Ahhh, we're all wet now because of Taichi! I can't believe he did that," she said as she went to pick up her umbrella. "Lets walk home together, Wataya-kun."

She didn't seem bothered about Taichi's words in the slightest. They reached his apartment complex first. "Please come in and have some tea," Arata offered quietly. He was glad the umbrella was hiding his face because he knew that his ears had gone red. The next line came out in a stutter. "As a thank you for helping me."

"I'd like that!"

When they got inside, Arata walked past the folded up futon to turn the heater on. "Be right back," he said, going into the other room to put on some lounge pants. He grabbed another set for Chihaya and got out two towels. He was wiping his face as he walked back into the living room.

"This apartment is really worn out," she said aloud as she looked around. When Chihaya noticed him, she stared apologizing. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it as an insult." She waved her hands around nervously. "I say whatever pops into my mind. My sister even kicked me this morning because of it!"

He held out the pants and towel for her. She smiled at him. "Thanks, Wataya-kun. I'll go change."

Arata went into the kitchen to fill up the kettle. He set it on top of the heater before preparing the tea cups. Chihaya came back a few minutes later. He hung her jacket up on the laundry rod above the heater and set her wet jeans on a stack of boxes nearby to dry.

"Wataya-kun, it's okay to talk to me you know. I'm not going to take notes," she said, kneeling on the tatami by the low table.

He crouched in front of her. "Why were you waiting outside for the newspaper?"

Chihaya looked happy to be asked. "My sister was in a beauty pageant," she replied, pulling out the newspaper and pointing to a girl in the back row. "Isn't she great? It's my dream for her to become the top model in the country!"

The kettle started whistling as Arata said, "You can't call that a dream. A dream has to be something that you work on for yourself. It's not fair to your sister if you ride on hers."

She stood up angrily. "What do you mean? Then what's your dream?"

He took the kettle off before walking over to the drawer and pulling out his box of karuta cards. "Can you play it?" he asked.

"Well, our school holds a tournament every year…"

His eyes lit up. "Lets play then!" Arata shoved the box into her hands and hurried out of the room to get the recorder. He was grinning as he picked out one of the cassette tapes. *I can finally play karuta with another person!*

Arata remembered the tea as he was setting up his cards. Once he finished placing them in rows of three, he poured the water over the tea bags and handed a cup to Chihaya. "Go ahead and drink that as you memorize them."

He asked Chihaya if she was ready ten minutes later.

"Sure."

Arata pressed play and got into his crouching position. 'Arashi fuku' was the first card read and Arata swiped it so fast that it embedded itself into the sliding door. "It got stuck again," he said as he hurried over to retrieve it. Arata got 'nagaraeba' and 'yo no naka yo' next. He continued to dominate until 'se wo hayami' was read. Chihaya dove for it on his territory and got it before him, sending the other cards flying up in the air like a leaf storm.

She lay on her stomach, kicking her feet happily as she held the card in her hands. "I did it! I beat Wataya-kun to a card!" It was the only one Chihaya ended up getting though and she seemed incredibly frustrated about it.

"But I had fun," he said in a louder voice than normal. "Everyone plays karuta in Fukui, but it's not like that here in Tokyo. I was playing by myself before."

Chihaya's eyes widened. "Just using this tape you mean?"

He nodded and looked down at her cards. "Karuta isn't popular in other countries. It's a difficult game, but if you're #1 in Japan then you're #1 in the world. That's my dream, to become a karuta master." Arata picked up the 'chihayaburu' card. "Chihaya is a good name. See, this is your card." He set it in front of her so she could read it. "The first verse begins with 'chihayaburu,' so in my mind this is the Chihaya card." He smiled. "That's how I see it now."

The door opened a few seconds later and his mother walked in carrying a bag. "I'm home," she announced, taking off her shoes. "Arata, is this your friend?" she asked excitedly when she spotted Chihaya. Then she looked closer, pushing up her glasses. "Or a girlfriend perhaps?"

"Mom…" he trailed off in embarrassment.

"Girlfriend-chan, would you like a sweet potato?"

"No, thank you. I really should be going now. Wataya-kun, thank you for the tea." Chihaya stood up and looked at his mother. "My pants got wet and your son lent me these to wear," she explained, getting her jeans off the box.

"Ah that was very nice of you, Arata," his mother said with a beaming smile. Chihaya politely excused herself and went to change. "So you listened to me and invited your friend over today," she commented.

*Is Chihaya my friend?* Arata wondered as he put the cards back in the box. He picked up 'chihayaburu' last and set it beside 'se wo hayami.'

"I'm glad that you found someone to play karuta with!"

He smiled as he stood up. "Yeah, me too." Arata took Chihaya's jacket down and handed it to her once she got back.

"Are you sure you can't stay longer, girlfriend-chan? It won't take long to steam the potatoes."

Arata wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but Chihaya's cheeks looked flushed. "No, I really can't. My parents don't know that I'm here."

"Well, please come again. You're welcome any time!"

"Thank you," she replied with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Wataya-kun."

Playing karuta had put him in a great mood. His mother teased him during dinner by referring to Chihaya as his "little girlfriend." His father laughed and said, "The only thing in Arata's head is karuta. He's an exact copy of his grandfather."

Arata knew that his father didn't mean it as praise, but he was proud of it nonetheless. *I'm going to be just like grandpa and become the meijin when I'm older,* he promised himself.

"Speaking of daddy, why don't you write him a letter soon, Arata? He'll want to know that you're making friends and playing karuta."

"Yes, I will."

Arata did his homework and then took a bath. His mother laid out the futon in front of the heater and he burrowed under the covers to get warm. *A lot of things happened today. Maybe living in Tokyo won't be so bad…* he thought as he drifted off to sleep.

*.*.*

The rain had cleared the following morning and Arata's second day of delivering newspapers was far more enjoyable. He ran up Chihaya's front steps to put the paper in the slot. The cool wind blew through his hair as he rode down the hill and Arata found himself grinning. After finished his route, he watched the sun rising high into the sky. Seeing the pink dawn filled him with hope. For those brief moments, the world was peaceful and perfect.

But unfortunately, Arata had to face reality by going to school. He knew that Taichi Mashima would make good on his promise. *The bullying will probably get worse now, he thought as he walked through the school gates. I can deal with it, but I don't want Chihaya to be a target.* Besides his usual nervous feeling, he now had a pit of guilt in his stomach.

As soon as Arata walked into the classroom, he noticed that both of their desks were against the back wall. Arata sighed as he carried it over. Chihaya entered the classroom with a cheerful "Good morning!" but she was greeted by silence.

"If you stop talking to the outsider, we won't ignore you anymore," Taichi said as she walked by with her desk.

"It's fine. Taichi, you should stop ignoring Wataya-kun instead."

Arata's heart sped up.

"What are you talking about? Everyone in the class decided to ignore him!"

"Taichi, quit being so mean!"

Arata got up from his chair. "Ayase-san, it's okay," he said quietly, reaching for her shoulder. "Please don't bother."

"There's nothing to like about this little hick!" Taichi shouted.

"Yes, there is! Wataya-kun can beat everyone in karuta!" Chihaya turned to him. "Right?"

Her bravery encouraged him and he was able to meet Taichi's eyes. "I won't let anyone take a single card from me."

Taichi gazed back at him in surprise before kicking a chair and putting his foot on it. "Ha, we'll make you eat those words! If anyone takes one from you at the karuta tournament next month, we'll ostracize you until graduation."

After class was over, Chihaya walked home with him again. "I'm really sorry that you're an outcast because of me," he apologized, looking down at the ground.

"Oh don't worry about it. We're friends, Wataya-kun, so at least we're not alone," she replied optimistically.

Arata's stomach leapt at the word 'friends,' but it wasn't the usual sick feeling: it was the excited butterflies that he always got right before playing karuta.

"We have to practice a lot that way you can win the tournament. Last night I tried to memorize more of the cards. I'll work hard so lets do our best together!"

He glanced up and smiled. "Okay."

*.*.*

Later that night, Arata sat down to write a letter.

Dear grandpa,

I made a friend in Tokyo and we've been playing karuta. She's a beginner, but I can tell that she has the talent for it. There's a school tournament next month and I'm determined to win. I also have a paper route job that I like so far. I miss you a lot, but I'll try to stay positive and make the most of it here. How have you been? Please write back soon and let me know what's going on in Awara. Oh and say hello to everyone at the Nagumo Society for me!

Love, Arata.

Closing Note: I had to fill in some gaps after Chihaya and Arata were pushed down by Taichi. In the manga, we don't see them walking home together, but I figured that Arata must have invited her over (and I used the excuse of tea). In the anime version, Chihaya is wearing gray sweatpants when they're playing karuta. She must have changed into them off-screen since her jeans are shown drying on some boxes. I imagine that a lot happened during those few weeks between Taichi's challenge and the school tournament, so I wrote that scene showing Chihaya and Arata becoming friends. I'd like to think they hung out a lot during that time ^.^ Reviews are greatly appreciated!