Seto didn't mind the rain. In fact, he always loved rain, watching it fall from the sky and hit the ground to make large puddles, or watching it hit the window and betting on which raindrop would reach the bottom first. He also loved the smell of the world when it rained: clean and fresh, like the world had started all over again and there is no more worries. He really loved the rain and what it brought to the world.
But he hated being stuck in the rain. Sure, he loved the smell and seeing the puddles, but he also hated having to walk through the rain when it's pelting down harshly. The cold wind doesn't make it any better.
He's only lucky that he checked the weather before school as usual before leaving home.
Still, Seto wasn't wearing the right shoes so he knows full well that his socks are about to be soggy and that already grosses him out…. and it's a little bit of a walk back to his house, so he's all the more excited about heading home in the rain.
At the lockers of the school, he stands up from switching his school shoes to his usual shoes and stares at the cloudy sky. He watches one of the raindrops fall from the endless sky to the muddy ground outside.
Usually, he and his friend Ren would be walking home together, but when he asked her after class ended, she said she had some club activities she wanted to go check out. Seto suggested that he can wait, but Ren hated the idea of making Seto wait for her so she pushed him to go ahead and she could go visit him later if she had some time.
"Guess I'm on my own then," Seto sighs before opening up his umbrella and raising it above his head before stepping outside. He stands there for a little bit, just listening in on the rain hitting the plastic of the turquoise umbrella, drumming a light rhythm that makes him feel a little more relaxed about walking out in the rain.
But the rain's beat is drowned out by a quicker paced beat. Instantly, Seto wants to admit defeat. The rain is just getting harder and harder, and he's almost terrified that it might turn into hail the harder it hits the ground.
Then he looks up to the umbrella, and the rain is hitting the plastic in the same rate as before.
What was it that Seto was hearing then?
"Get outta the way!" He feels someone shove him to the side. Stumbling to find his balance, Seto tries to keep the umbrella above his head. When he finds his balance, he scrunches his nose and eyes who on earth would push him, but all he can see is a rushing black figure exiting out of the school yard.
"What was their deal?" Seto pouts before rolling his eyes at the figure. It doesn't help that the figure looks sort of familiar to him, but to no avail, he cannot connect the figure to the faces he remembers.
No matter. He has to head back home now.
He begins to make his way through the rain, listening to the pelting rain against the umbrella and the ground.
Many puddles later, Seto is starting to feel the rain soak through his shoes. The rain doesn't seem like it's going to stop either, nor was he anywhere close to home. He has a few more blocks left to go before he can get there. He just has to pass through the city first, and waiting for crosswalks to turn green is slowing him down, so his pace couldn't be helped. He could've waited for Ren honestly and he would still be just as slow.
Ren. Seto hopes at least she brought her umbrella and she gets home alright, but she's usually responsible enough to remember.
He checks his phone's clock. 4 PM. It's not too late into the day, but he figures that he should buy some food for dinner on his way back. Seto keeps an eye out for a convenient store, and sure enough, he finds one across the street. He can see a couple of figures sitting around under the roof of the convenient store, all looking up at the sky in hopes for the rain to stop.
After crossing the street, Seto passes these figures, but one figure turns his head from his sky back to Seto, and the two catch each other's attention.
The first thing Seto notices is the catlike eyes of the other peering at Seto. He can't tell if that is what makes him uncomfortable or if it was the fact that the stranger was also looking at him with pursed lips.
Quickly, Seto turns away and keeps his head down, closing his umbrella as he enters the store. That was certainly a weird experience. Sure, he's caught eyes with strangers here and there, but the cat eyes of this stranger are rather terrifying (but also quite alluring) to him compared to any encounter he had.
He just hopes that the stranger would not catch his eyes on his way out of the store.
Seto checks his bag's pocket to scrounge around for his wallet, and surely enough, he is able to pull it out. However, when he opens the wallet, he finds a small amount of cash he can use. He eyes the menu behind the counter and looks back down to the money he found to see what exactly he can afford. He would've asked his grandpa for some money, but he didn't get the chance to do that either. He also worried that Grandpa might be a little mad at him for buying food relatively often. Grandpa assured that it was fine, considering that Grandpa often works late at his job, so he was always happy to give money to Seto.
Luckily, Seto has enough money left over from the last time he asked Grandpa to buy a couple of chicken kebabs. The smell of the grilling meat is enough to make Seto's mouth water so he was completely delighted when he found out he had enough money.
He manages to grab a bag full of numerous fresh skewers and leaves after paying. His hand is starting to burn from holding the bag, but the smell is enough to tell him it was totally worth it.
Stepping outside again, Seto sees the rain once again, still coming down as harshly as he left it when he entered the convenient store.
Oh. Then that means.
He turns to his right, and immediately he sees the stranger again.
And the guy is staring yet again with his green cat eyes.
"Hey," The stranger starts.
Oh no. He's talking to him now.
"Hello…" Seto awkwardly nods his head in acknowledgement.
The boy walks closer to Seto. He's several centimeters taller than Seto, which makes this whole encounter a little more intimidating to the maroon haired boy.
"You're from Lunar Hill Academy, aren't you?" The boy asks.
Immediately, Seto looks down to the boy's uniform. Black uniform with the school's logo. Yep he goes to the same school.
"Yeah. Looks like you do too, right?" Seto asks dumbly and instantly Seto regrets not thinking through his response.
"Well, duh," The raven-haired boy gestures to his clothes, "What other school would have this logo, huh? You're even wearing the uniform."
"Right…" Seto nervously looks away. "Do I… know you?"
"You do look pretty familiar now that I think about it," The boy puts his hand on his chin, rubbing it quizzically before dropping his hands to the side. "But whatever. Listen, I was in a rush outta school and —"
"Oh! I know you!" Seto points at the boy in accusation. "You're that boy who pushed me earlier!"
"Hey, you were in the way. What can I say?" The boy slaps Seto's finger out of his face.
"That was really mean, you know. You could have run into me and we could have been hurt," Seto pouts.
"But I didn't, nerd," The boy crosses his arms.
"What were you even in a rush for?" Seto narrows his eyes, adjusting his hand under the heat of his bag of kebabs.
"Oh I just wanted to get out of the rain. Nooot a big fan," The boy admits. "Looks cool, but I hate it. And now I'm soaked from running out."
"And whose fault is that?" Seto shakes his head.
"Hey, look I thought I could make it back home, but I got distracted with something."
Seto raises a brow, "Something?"
"Yeah. Like the…" Then the boy sniffs. He turns his head around and sniffs again, in search for the source. Then his eyes fall on the bag in Seto's hand. Seto holds the bag more tightly to his chest as the boy takes a step closer to him and sniffs. "Like that!"
"The… kebab?" Seto asks.
"Yeah! That!" The boy exclaims. "It smelled so good and I stopped myself and wanted to grab some, but I didn't have money. I would've continued running back home, but I'm soaked so I gotta wait."
"If you're all soaked, you could've just run anyways. You're already soaked enough, some more rain wouldn't hurt, right?" Seto suggests, but that is definitely the wrong move.
The boy peers down at Seto from the tip of his nose, and Seto steps away from the boy, feeling a sense of discomfort.
However, this intimidating look the boy tries to hold is quickly replaced with a playful look in his catlike eyes and in his lopsided grin, "Hey, I know. Why don't I just tag along with you?"
"W-What?!" Seto stammers. "Wait, you can't just do that!"
"Uh, yeah I can. What's stopping me?" The boy cocks his brow.
"Well, I don't want you to!" Seto raises his voice. "Plus, you're probably just joining because I have these, right?" He raises the bag towards the boy.
"Ohoh? So you do have a brain at least. Good good," The boy chuckles.
What is with this guy and insulting him?
Seto puffs his cheeks in anger, "Well, you're not getting any of these either."
"Alright that's fine. See if I care," The boy waves Seto off, but shortly after he says that, there is a growling heard between them.
Seto looks down to the source, and the boy just grabs his stomach before looking away. The boy just points a hand on his hip and waves Seto off.
"Go on now."
In silence, Seto looks at the mischievous boy before looking down at his bag of skewers. He then grabs for one of the sticks and taps the boy on the shoulder.
"Here," Seto hands him a skewer. The boy blinks looking at the food and back to Seto in confusion, but he doesn't hesitate to grab the stick and start biting down on the meat and devouring it quickly. It's kind of alarming to Seto just how quickly the boy was eating it.
"That was delicious!" The boy chirps. "Hey, could I get another one? Please?"
Seto cannot help but grin at this boy's demeanor. Earlier he could only imagine this boy as arrogant and a bit of a jerk, but now he's just asking for more food. It's a little weird, but he doesn't mind. It's just funny to him if anything.
Seto grabs for another stick and hands it to the boy. The boy happily reaches for it but Seto pulls back, making the boy narrow his eyes in annoyance.
"We need to get you home first. You're all soaked and probably need to shower so you don't get sick," Seto advises.
"Fine fine. And then can I eat on my way over?" Crow asks.
"Yeah, sure," Seto nods, before giving him the stick he was holding, "Let's just get you home first."
But the boy wasn't listening, he was too busy eating his next kebab.
Seto sighs and shakes his head laughing quietly before guiding the boy underneath the umbrella down the street.
As they keep walking, the boy would keep stealing a couple of more sticks when Seto isn't paying attention, and as soon as Seto notices, he would bicker about it.
At some point in their walk, the boy offers to hold the umbrella as thanks for making it easier for him to steal the kebab, and Seto isn't sure if he should be grateful or annoyed, but he's glad he's getting something out of it.
Under the rain, they share laughs and some talks — most of it just joking or making silly remarks at each other, but it all turns into laughter amidst the drumming rain. What started as a rough first impression blooms into a sense of comradery with this stranger. A possibility of friendship he thinks, but when he begins to notice the way that the boy laughs or smirks when he laughs, it almost feels like something else. As though they knew each other for a long time, and not for like half an hour or less, and he loves it.
They begin to reach a neighborhood, and the boy stops in front of one house. Turning to Seto, he puts a hand on his hip, "Alright. This is my place. So here," He hands Seto the umbrella, "Thanks for letting me steal you to stay dry for a bit."
"It's no problem," Seto chuckles, taking back the umbrella, still holding it over them. "But you did steal half of my dinner."
"Oh come on. Isn't it nicer we had dinner together?"
"You were the only one eating though," Seto points out.
"Still," the boy rolls his eyes, "Thanks anyways. Well, I'll see ya around then, shorty."
The boy turns to the door of his house and begins to open the door.
"Wait!" Seto shouts.
"Huh?" The boy turns his head to look back at Seto. "What? Gonna give me the entire bag?"
"No it's just…" You're actually really nice, and I wanted to hang out some time. Seto can't make himself admit that.
Wait but…
"I don't think I got your name! I'm Seto!"
"Seto huh?" The boy smirks, "Well, 'Seto,' you can call me Crow."
"Oh come on, that can't actually be your name." Seto laughs.
"Hey, a pirate won't reveal their true name to some lackey!" Crow argues.
"I don't think that's a pirate rule," Seto points out.
"Watch it," Crow jeers, leaning down towards Seto, and the two laugh at how silly this conversation is. It's just been like that for the past couple hour, but maybe it's because Seto and Crow are so close now that Seto can't help but notice the burning sensation in his cheeks. Maybe from laughing too much.
"Alright. Alright." Seto waves his hand, "Crow it is. Well, Crow, I'll see you at school tomorrow."
Then Crow smiles at Seto, "Yeah. See you around, Seto." He turns back to the door, opens it and disappears behind it.
Wait. What was that just now? Seto wonders. The smile that Crow just smiled. It's not like the smiles from earlier — the smiles full of mischievous glints and scheming.
No, this one. It was warm. Genuine. Pure happiness and joy. It was a really beautiful smile, Seto has to admit shyly to himself. He loves it.
He chuckles to himself and turns back to the sky with a smile, thinking about that smile. He takes a deep breath in of the fresh and clean air. The rain is falling continuously, and there's no signs of it stopping still after all this time, but Seto doesn't mind. He feels happy at the sight of this rain.