I originally wrote this near the beginning of the series, and while I really like the idea behind it... Well, I spent tons of time editing and rewriting and I still don't like the execution. But posting anyway for what it is, because I'm starting to think that this is the best I can get it.

Rain showers at this time of year were always unpredictable, but it wasn't the rain that had surprised Kuguru. Seeing the Kisaragi brothers running through it, without any umbrella or rain jackets, did.

She shifted her grip on her own umbrella, pondering the situation for a moment. The rain had only just started, but it was quickly turning into a heavy downpour and the occasional rumble of thunder still fairly soft, alluding that the worst was yet to come, but getting there quickly. Proper etiquette prevented Kuguru from deliberately eavesdropping on their conversation.

They'd be soaked by the time they reached Aibo Academy though. The thought struck her like lightning, urged her legs into quickening their pace and taking action.

The rain must have done wonders for masking footsteps, or they must have been distracted, or something, because Kuguru doubted she could have gone unnoticed for as long as she did under normal circumstances. Zanya was not only notoriously anti-social – at least according to some of the other girls at school – but he also placed too much pride in his ninja skills to allow something like this to happen.

Akatsuki noticed her first. Considering Kuguru knew a little more about Zanya Kisaragi than the girls at school did, that was probably for the best.

(Gao would have insisted otherwise, that Zanya should learn to confront his fears – when he wasn't busy exploiting them, that was – but she also knew that Gao's opinion couldn't always be trusted as unbiased. Some things, like phobias, couldn't be rushed into recovery.)

"Big Z..."

A strangled noise escaped from Zanya's throat half a second later, something that sounded suspiciously like "G-girl!", as he jumped backwards. He hit the fence behind him with a clatter.

Kuguru gave him some credit mentally, for not running off immediately afterward – he seemed to be getting better about that, though it was hard to say for sure. That would have been one way to make a conversation a lot more awkward than it already was, and awkwardness was already the reason why Kuguru was aiming to get straight to the point.

"What were you guys thinking, wandering around like this? Do you want to catch colds or something?"

Her voice came out a little stricter than intended, but it wasn't like she hated Zanya; she merely found him hard to talk to. He didn't really make it any easier by refusing to look at her when he spoke either, and-

Why did his glasses keep getting cracked like that anyway?

At least, Kuguru thought she saw a crack – Zanya turned his back to her far too quickly for her to be sure, staring intently at the fence he'd just hit like it was his new best friend. "N-no!" he stammered.

Kuguru frowned, ushering Akatsuki beneath her umbrella at the same time. Akatsuki, at least, was acting like he had some common sense.

"Ah... I-I didn't know t-that it was going... going to pain," he continued. "I-I mean rain!"

"Last night's weather forecast said that it was going to rain!" she countered.

"The forecast's never light! Uh, r-right, I meant to say 'right'- it's never... any other time!"

She sighed. There was hardly any point talking to him if he was going to be like this, not to mention poor Akatsuki getting caught in the middle. He looked almost as confused as Kuguru felt, but was trying his best to be helpful anyway:

"Big Z doesn't watch the weather forecast."

"Shut it..."

"He doesn't check the newspaper either."

Surprising. Zanya had always seemed like the type who would do that.

"Nin."

"Not you too! Where were you anyway?"

She'd assumed Tsukikage had been in his card form when she hadn't seen him, but apparently not. That at least explained the lack of "ninja away"-ing.

"That's kind of weird," Kuguru commented absently. "I always pictured Zanya as being a lot more responsible than that..."

"I-I am-"

"Then prove it. Take some responsibility for your own health and get under this umbrella already."

"It's a lot drier," Akatsuki pointed out, "And she does kinda have a point. It'd be kinda lame for a great ninja to catch a cold, don't you think?"

Kuguru could only imagine the kind of face Zanya made in response. He wasn't the type of person who liked to be corrected, let alone by his younger sibling.

If he tried that ear-pulling thing on Akatsuki again, Kuguru decided that she might actually have to get angry at him – it wasn't fair to his brother, who only ever tried to be helpful or do the right thing.

He didn't though. Instead of acting bossy or annoyed, it was like his whole mood seemed to deflate. "I can't."

There was too much insistence on that one word, "can't".

Baku might have said there wasn't anything stopping him. Gao would've insisted that it wasn't true. But all Kuguru, who was supposed to be the smart one, managed, was, "Why?"

"Nin!"

Tsukikage's initial message read "Good luck". A few seconds of complete silence later, it changed to "I'm not helping you".

Kuguru had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

"Fine.." Zanya sighed, though by this time he and Tsukikage must have been thoroughly soaked.

Whether or not Zanya understood, or if he was only agreeing out of exasperation, was also a mystery.

Even once he joined them, Zanya continued to make a point out of staying as far away from her as possible. That close to the edge of the umbrella, there was little Kuguru could do to prevent him from catching a few raindrops anyway without putting herself at the same risk.

It seemed to her as though, for some reason, his phobia had gotten worse again.

"Tsukikage doesn't appear to be wet though," Kuguru noted.

There'd been a few seconds where she hadn't been watching him, right before he'd appeared on Zanya's shoulder, that he'd apparently been able to dry off in.

"That's because his body's made of nanomachines!" Akatsuki chirped, bursting with enthusiasm and the occasional factual error as he prattled on about Tsukikage's abilities.

As the so-called Buddyfight "Library" and overall model student, Kuguru was already aware of them, but she had thought that maybe Zanya would warm up if they started talking about his Buddy.

He did not.

Akatsuki either didn't notice that his brother was refusing to so much as look at her or didn't care, but he continued filling what otherwise would've been an awkward silence with relentless chatter. It wasn't a long walk to school, but he somehow managed to cycle through everything from his ninja training to his math homework before they reached the main walkway.

"And that is why you should never make dinner before– Oh? We're here already?"

"Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it?" Kuguru replied politely, because, from the look on his face, it's obvious he enjoyed this walk more than she or Zanya had.

Umbrellas simply were not meant to be shared by three people and a Buddy. It was probably no coincidence that, since he was the driest, Akatsuki was also the happiest of them all.

"Nin!"

She'd started to leave them at the front door, but looked over her shoulder out of curiosity at the sound of rustling paper.

"Wha–"

With Tsukikage's back facing her, it was impossible to see what he'd written on the scroll. Kuguru's only hint was Zanya's wide-eyed reaction:

"I-I didn't need your help!"

...

...

'What could he have possibly written?' Kuguru wondered.

Open endings.

Since I'm not sure how clear any of this story was to begin with... I'm not sure how well the open ending worked here either.

I'll say it outright, then:

The original idea behind this story was that I wanted to write uncertainty about whether Tsukikage was trying to help Zanya to get over his fear of girls or encourage a small crush on Kuguru. All things considered, I think it leans more towards the latter (but someone review, and you can tell me?).

Also, Tsukikage orchestrated this whole incident. I don't think that really comes across at all...