Rain clouds had descended over Chiba. Now, instead of the usual rays of sun, droplets of water fell to earth.
To the students of Sobu Academy, the rains hadn't changed much. They were still required to attend school, but after school sports clubs were to be canceled. The rains, however, hadn't done much to improve the atmosphere of the school.
During the Cultural Festival that had just recently ended, a boy had allegedly reduced the chairwoman of the festival to tears. Now, countless rumors were being spread, and many chose to believe them. To them, the rumors seemed to be more than plausible.
Two students were eating lunch inside of a storage room, marked by a stickered nameplate. The two sat next to each other, one at the far end of the long table, and another to her right. The rain could be heard tapping against the window, seemingly getting louder as time moved on.
But the rain could never drown out the sound of Hiratsuka abruptly sliding the Service Club door open.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, kno-"
"Save it, have you seen Hikigaya?"
Hiratsuka was still in the doorway with an arm on the door, her eyes staring at Hikigaya's usual spot in the Service Club.
"No, I haven't."
Changing her focus to Yuigahama, Hiratsuka repeated her question.
"Have you seen Hikigaya?"
Looking up from her phone, Yuigahama placed a hand on her chin, appearing as if she was thinking hard about something.
"I saw him in his usual seat when I left the classroom for lunch. Did you check there?"
"I did, but he wasn't there."
"Then I'm not sure."
Yuigahama returned her gaze back to her phone with a pair of chopsticks shoveling food into her mouth.
Sighing, Hiratsuka turned to leave.
"If you see Hikigaya, tell him to meet me at the teacher's lounge."
"Alright, I will."
Hiratsuka closed the door behind her and her footsteps slowly faded away.
Returning to her book, Yuigahama asked her a question.
"Why do you think Sensei needs Hikki?"
"He probably submitted one of his outlandish essays again."
"Wait, is Hikki bad at Japanese too?!" Yuigahama's voice was engulfed in cheerfulness and hope.
Chuckling, Yukinoshita told Yuigahama to check the school's rankings for Japanese later. The two returned to their usual activities, reading and doing mundane things on a phone.
However, Yukinoshita's attention wasn't directed towards her cat-printed novel, but something else entirely.
It must be unbearable to eat in a classroom where all you hear are rumors. I know that, but where else would Hikigaya eat lunch? In the bathrooms? Not possible, not even he would dare to do that. The library doesn't allow food, and the overhangs in the school must be crowded with students. Teacher's lounge? But Hiratsuka told us to inform Hikigaya to meet her there when we see him.
Yukinoshita suddenly stood up, making quite a loud sound with her chair. Roughly placing her book on the table, Yukinoshita began walking towards the exit.
"Yukinon? Where you going?"
"I just need to check something, I'll be back soon."
"Okay! See you later!"
Giving Yuigahama a small smile, Yukinoshita left the room.
For the first few feet she was walking. However, her pace quickly increased to a jog, her long hair messily following her.
That idiot, he wouldn't be there, would he?
Yukinoshita jogged towards her shoe locker, where she would place her umbrella along with her shoes. Opening up her locker, she grabbed two things: a heart stamped letter and her transparent umbrella.
Running towards the closest trash can, she quickly disposed of the unknown letter and continued running.
Panting from her short run, Yukinoshita came to a stop in front of two doors. Catching her breath, she slowly opened one of the doors.
What greeted her were stairs leading out to the bicycle racks and tennis courts that were currently unused. The sky was grey, and rain drowned out all other sounds.
Everything was normal.
Except for the black-haired boy sitting alone on the steps.
Looking out towards the tennis courts, the boys posture was slouched with his arms in front of him. To his right was a toppled can of Max Coffee, its contents poured out and mixing with the rain.
Opening up her umbrella, Yukinoshita began walking towards the boy, the sound of her footsteps muffled by the rain.
She reached him within seconds.
Standing to his left, the sitting boy made no movements, his eyes peeking out from his wet hair towards the tennis courts.
Yukinoshita moved her arm closer to the boy so the umbrella could shelter the both of them.
No longer feeling the rain falling onto him, he looked to his left through his peripheral vision. With his focus on the tennis courts lost, he could hear the sound of water hitting against plastic along with the rain.
Yukinoshita
The boy returned his gaze towards the tennis courts, and Yukinoshita shifted her gaze towards the tennis courts as well.
Seconds passed, but to them, each second was like a minute in an entirely different world, free from the judging eyes of their peers and the expectations of their parents.
A minute passed.
Two minutes passed.
Three minutes passed.
"Hikigaya-kun, if you make me stay out here any longer, I'll catch a cold."
Sighing, Hikigaya picked up his can of Max Coffee and stood up. The two began walking under the umbrella towards the doors, their steps synchronized.
"Thank you."
