The bell tolled and signaled the end of the school day, setting free the students as they rushed to enjoy their weekends.

Rui waited by the entrance for Katsuki, having grown accustomed to walking home with him. Even when she was too busy to chat during lunch or to say anything more than hi in passing, she looked forward to walking home catching up with him. She smiled and waved when she saw him coming down the hall with Eijiro and the others.

"How was class?" she asked, looking up at him and trying not to blush as she recalled what happened at lunch.

"It was fine." Katsuki replied, shouldering his bag. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah, if you are." She waved to the others. "Bye, guys, see you later."

Katsuki led the way out of the main building, Rui falling into step beside him just as she did every other day. They walked a ways before Rui broke the silence and asked how his day went.

"Same as always, I suppose. With final exams coming up, they're really making us cram."

"Sounds rough."

"It's whatever. What about you?"

"It was fairly quiet after lunch, so I was able to get caught up on the homework I missed out on the last few days. I was even able to do my homework for this weekend, too, just to make sure I could completely relax."

"You look like you could use it."

Rui glared playfully at him and stuck her tongue out. "At least I don't look so grumpy all the time."

Katsuki rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help smiling at her playfulness. It reminded him of when they were children.

"There, isn't that better?"

"Whatever."

Rui giggled and looked ahead of them. "So, what do you have planned for this weekend?"

"Nothing really. You?"

"Nothing really."

They stopped as a train passed by and waited for the way to clear. After a few moments of silence between them, Rui hesitantly asked, "Katsuki, we're friends, right..?"

Katsuki looked down at her. "Why would you ask a stupid question like that?" Almost immediately, he regretted the tone he used when he saw the hurt in Rui's eyes.

"It's just... I was gone for ten years and I never wrote, never called... and you were so mad at me that first day..." Rui sighed and fiddled with her hair. "Since then, though, it just seems like you're less and less mad at me... and that maybe... we have a chance at being friends again..."

"Rui..."

The level crossing barrier lifted and the flashing warning lights dimmed, allowing cars and pedestrians to cross once more.

"Sorry, you're right; it was a stupid question... Forget I said anything..." Rui offered him a smile before continuing to walk towards their neighborhood.

Katsuki's chest tightened at her fake smile in that moment and he made to catch up to her, to stop her and say something- anything- but before he could, Rui's phone rang and she quickly answered.

"Hello?"

"Rui, hey! It's Mina!"

"Hey, Mina, what's up?"

"Wanna catch a movie tonight?"

"Sure, that sounds fun. What time?"

"We're thinking around 5pm? There's this new horror movie that just came out."

"That works. Meet you there, then?"

"Yeah, and you can even bring Katsuki with you!"

Rui's face turned bright red. "S-See you at 5. Bye."

"See you at 5, hehe, bye!"

"Everything OK?" Katsuki asked, seeing her flushed cheeks.

"Y-Yes, everything's fine. Mina invited me to go see a horror movie with her and a few others. She said you could come, too, if you want. They're meeting up at 5."

"Horror movie, huh? Sounds fun."

"So you'll come?"

"Sure, why not? I've got nothing better to do."

Rui smiled at that. "We should hurry home and change, then."

The rest of the walk home was short, but it felt like it droned on forever with the awkward silence between them after Rui's question and Katsuki's lack of an answer. They parted ways at their street, each heading to their own home to get ready to meet up with the others.

Katsuki exchanged a brief greeting with his parents, explained that he was going out with Rui and the others for movie and would be back later, then hurried upstairs to shower.

As the water rushed over his body, Katsuki thought back on Rui's question and how it made him feel. 'Damn it... I shouldn't have said it was a stupid question... I need to fix this somehow...'

He finished his shower quickly and changed into a clean set of clothes before checking the weather forecast.

'Guess I was right; it is going to rain.'

"Katsuki! Rui's here, are you ready to go?" Mitsuki called up.

Grabbing his phone and jacket before heading back down the stairs, Katsuki stopped at the bottom and stared at Rui- seeing her dressed in a yellow sundress adorned with white polka dots and matching yellow sandals, her hair pulled into a half pony tail, and a blue jacket draped over her arm as she waited.

"It's supposed to rain later, be sure to bring your umbrella." Mitsuki said, handing an umbrella to Katsuki. "Do you need one, too, Rui?"

"That would be great, actually. I really should get one for myself."

"Here, take this and you can return it later." Mitsuki handed Rui an umbrella as Katsuki slipped his shoes on, then smiled before shooing them both out the front door. "Have fun with your friends, you two. Call me if you need a ride home, OK? Try not to walk home in the rain if you can help it."

"We will." Rui smiled and waved as they stepped onto the street. "Thanks, Mitsuki!"

As Rui and Katsuki walked to the bus stop, a crack of thunder sounded and a thin streak of lightning danced across the sky in the distance. Katsuki looked at Rui, puzzled as she started counting.

"What are you counting for?"

"If you count the seconds between each flash of lightning and sound of thunder, then divide it by five, you get the number of miles away the storm is."

"There's no way that's true."

"Wanna bet?"

Katsuki raised a brow and smirked. "Alright, what're we betting?"

"If I win, you take me out for dinner."

"And if I win?"

"Hmm..." Rui thought a moment. "What would you want for winning?"

"How about you make me dinner at your place?"

Rui blushed a bit, but smiled and nodded. "Deal." She looked to the sky. "Though, let's start after the next round, OK? You made me lose track."

"That sounds like an excuse to me." Katsuki teased.

Rui stuck out her tongue. "It's gotta be fair."

Another flash of lightning in the distance and crash of thunder echoed behind them. Rui began counting again, reaching forty-five before the next round came.

"So forty-five divided by five is nine, which means the storm is nine miles away."

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. And how exactly will we know who wins?"

"This is where I'm glad I paid attention to Mom." Rui was very proud of herself for this moment. "The average rainstorm is typically a single cell type, which means they go about thirty to forty miles per hour. At that speed, it would take about fifteen to eighteen minutes for the storm to hit town."

"OK?"

"So, assuming that's all correct, we'll know who the winner is in about fifteen to eighteen minutes." Rui blushed when she saw the look Katsuki was giving her. "W-What?"

"You're a total nerd, aren't you?"

"N-No, I just paid attention to my lessons." Rui pouted a bit as she tried to hide her blushing from him. "Besides, water is kind of my thing, in case you didn't notice."

"Oh, I've noticed. Every time I've gotten drenched because of you."

The bus finally pulled up and they climbed aboard, finding a couple of seats towards the middle. As the bus headed towards its next stop, Katsuki and Rui continued their playful banter- finding themselves quite at ease around each other despite everything else that had happened.

"Hey, Rui?"

"Yeah?"

"About your question earlier..."

"Oh..." Rui knew which question he meant from the tone in his voice. "Don't worry about it..."

"It wasn't a stupid question." Katsuki sighed, rubbing his neck nervously. "And I'm sorry for making you feel like that."

Rui looked up and swore he was blushing, but they passed through a tunnel and lost the light to tell.

"My point is..." Katsuki swallowed and took a deep breath before continuing. "I'd like that. To be friends, again, I mean."

Rui was a bit taken aback by the how genuine his remark was, but it made her so happy to hear that. "Good, I'm glad."

Wanting desperately to change the subject, Katsuki cleared his throat and said, "So, this horror movie..."