AN: Ahahaha, half a year later... Sorry about that. It's finally summer break in the real world, but there's still a ton of stuff to do! Stuff...so much stuff... I'm going to mark this as "Incomplete", now, since it's obviously not complete. Sorry to all who clicked this story before, hoping for a complete story to read.
I actually forgot that I had this chapter finished a while ago. Woops.
Oh, and about what I said earlier, about the ''choose whatever name you want for Mizu, there you go'', thing. There'll be a minor backstory to her nickname. (But her real name will forever remain up to your choosing.)
Thanks for Sorta Hira (I see you changed your username :D) and that Guest for reviewing! This chapter seems less dialogue-oriented, I guess. I'll work on that more!
(Also, "A Walk in the Rain"? Really? Really?)
I rummaged through my schoolbag. "Come on." I muttered. "You're in there, I know it!" My hand closed around a cylindrical object and I frowned. No, that was a pen. I shook the bag and peered at its contents. It wasn't there. "Are you kidding me?" It's the last day of school before break and God decided to let all this rain fall down, and I don't even have an umbrella.
I sighed. Okay, whatever. What else do I have? I rummaged through my bag and found approximately 382 yen. Was that enough to buy a cheap umbrella? I wasn't sure. In any case, I would have to run to the nearest convenient store, which would take about ten minutes. I peered out the window with distaste. I could already see the ground wet with mud. Right, time to get this gauntlet over with. I pulled my jacket closer as I grimly made my way to the exit.
"Ah! Mizu-chan!" A voice called out to me. I turned around. Ah, it's Tachibana-kun. I gave a small wave of hello, and returned to mentally preparing myself to walk through the onslaught of H2O.
Right, here goes. I sighed, before beginning to run with my schoolbag over my head.
Ugh! Wet! In my socks! Whyyyy!? I thought miserably as I splashed through the deep puddles. I was already at the school gate when I heard Tachibana-kun call me again.
"Wait up!" Tachibana yelled at me. I paused as I waited for him to catch up with me.
"What is it?" I asked him. Wait, was he panting? Was he running too fast? Impossible, Tachibana's a perfectly capable athlete, and I doubted something like a little sprint would've been difficult for him.
He tried to give a small laugh. "You don't have an umbrella, right? We can share." He held up the umbrella he was carrying over my head, which did relieve some of the annoying pattering that fell onto my bag. However, the situation felt quite…awkward, to say the least.
"Thanks, but I'm fine." I said automatically. Ha. Hahaha. Mizu, you idiot, anyone can see that you're already soaked to the bone.
"Are you sure?" Tachibana said with concern. He shook his head. "Wait, no, I insist! You'll catch a terrible cold if you walk home in this weather!"
"I said I'm fine." I said calmly, before continuing to walk away. Gaddamn it Mizu, you're making a bad decision. So what if you're not used to this kind of situation. You'll be sneezing and drooling some disgusting shit from your nostrils tomorrow if you don't take up on Makoto's kindness.
Jeez, shut up, why should I? A cold isn't the end of the world.
You idiot, you have work tomorrow.
Oh.
I stopped walking, only to realize that Makoto had been behind me the whole time I had my internal monologue. He smiled at me while continuing to hold up the umbrella that shielded us from the godforsaken rain. I lowered my schoolbag down.
"Is it alright if I walked you home?" He asked once more.
"…Sure." I said. "…Thanks."
"No problem, Mizu-chan." He smiled again.
I pulled my jacket closer. It was getting a bit chilly. "My house is a few minutes past that old swimming club we used to have." I said as we began to walk.
"Oh, really!" He was quiet for a moment before continuing to speak. "Did you ever go there? The swimming club, I mean?"
I shook my head. "Well, my parents told me that I used to go there until I was two. Then suddenly, I just stopped going." I shrugged. "Swimming's just wasn't for me, I guess."
"I see."
Okay, Mizu, don't be that awful conversation bummer, say something! "What about you?" Nailed it. I tried again. "What about you? When did you become interested in swimming?"
Tachibana-kun's eyes lit up, obviously happy with the question. "Oh, I don't know, Haru and I have always gone to that old swimming club that I just can't really remember my actual first time there." He chuckled. "Oh, once it rained a lot, about the same amount that we're having right now." He shook the umbrella slightly for emphasis. "We were just leaving the club when Haruka suddenly just stood there and looked at the sky."
Why in the world would he do that? I thought.
Tachibana-kun smiled. " 'What are you doing, Haru-chan?' I asked him. And all he said was, 'The rain feels nice.' "
"…Nanase-kun is weird, sometimes." I said simply.
"Right? In the end, he caught a cold. When I visited him the next day to drop off some soup, he kept on moaning 'Mackerel…' " Tachibana-kun laughed. "Oh, I think I went off-topic, there, didn't I?"
"No, that's alright." I said. Better for him to talk than me, anyways. Tachibana-kun smiled. He changed the topic.
"Nagisa-kun's thinking about having a group trip sometime over break. Last year, we visited the beach as part of club training, but it'd be nice to go somewhere else for a change. Maybe a mountain, or an aquarium..? Ah, but if we go to an aquarium, we'd all have to keep an eye on Haru."
"Why?" I asked him. "Why, would he try to eat the fish?"
Tachibana chuckled. "Maybe, maybe. Actually, Haru tends to dive into any body of water he finds, so that could be problematic." As I thought, Nanase-san is a weirdo. I thought grimly.
"It sounds like you guys have your hands full." I said, a bit matter-of-factly.
"Yeah…" Tachibana trailed off. We passed the site where the old swimming club once stood, and I thought saw wistfulness and nostalgia in Tachibana's eyes. The rain kept on pouring down as we continued to make our way down the puddle-filled street. "You know, if we do have a group-trip, you're welcome to come with us, if you'd like."
I gave Makoto a glance before returning my eyes to street. "I have a lot of things to do this summer, but I'll think about it." I said. Wow, that was totally not vague. It didn't seem to bother Tachibana-kun much, however. In fact, he seemed pleased with my vague reply.
"That's great! I hope you'll be able to come with us!" He replied. I nodded my head listlessly.
After a few minutes, we finally reached my house and parted ways.
"I'm home…" I said into the empty hall. No one replied. Which was to be expected since both of my parents had already gone to work at this time. The rain seemed to tap on the windows in a melodic rhythm and, combined with the fact that my clothes were very damp, it caused me to feel very drowsy.
"Shower." I muttered to myself as I took off my shoes.
After a quick shower, I decided to turn in early.
AN: And now you've talked to Makoto! Yeahhh, (Affinity: +)! I guess the only guy you haven't directly spoken to is Rei. Hmmm...
