The next day arrived under darkened clouds, a light rain falling steadily from the sky.
Step. Step. Step.
Kuroki and Satsuki ran toward the school, trying to escape the rain.
"Ah, damn it—my shirt's soaked," Kuroki complained, glaring at her. "Why didn't you let me under your umbrella?!"
"Sorry, I was in a hurry too, you know," Satsuki replied, sticking her tongue out smugly.
"U-um, Aozaki?"
A girl approached her nervously, holding something out.
"Please accept this."
She handed Satsuki a neatly folded handkerchief.
"Oh, sure. Thanks." Satsuki accepted it with a bright smile.
Kuroki scowled. "Why did you accept that? You're not even wet."
"You know—gotta keep the fans happy." Satsuki gave him a proud grin.
"You—whatever. I'm going to class."
"Okay."
They split off, heading to their respective classrooms.
—
The classroom door slid open.
Kuroki walked to his desk, clothes still damp.
(Damn it, Satsuki… she's so annoying.)
His frustration simmered. (Maybe I'll throw out her lunch… or give it to someone else. Heh. She'd get what she deserves.)
As he sat down, someone approached him.
"Hey, Ichinose."
He looked up to see Aohana.
"O-oh… Aohana. How are you?" His face immediately heated up.
"I'm fine, but… your clothes are all wet," she said with concern. "Didn't you bring an umbrella?"
"Ah… no. I didn't check the weather and left without one. Haha." His laugh was stiff, nervous.
"I see." She reached into her bag. "Here—you can use this."
She handed him a pink handkerchief decorated with small flowers.
"Oh… t-thank you, Aohana."
He accepted it carefully and started drying himself off.
(Ahhh— I can't believe this. A girl gave me a handkerchief. That's never happened before.)
His face burned as he turned away so she wouldn't see him blushing.
(Whenever something like this happened, Satsuki was always the one getting handkerchiefs.)
A memory surfaced—middle school.
"Satsuki, please take this."
"No, take mine instead!"
"Hey, I was here first!"
"No, I was!"
(Whenever she got hurt or wet, people rushed to help her.)
(Some were too nervous to give her theirs directly… so they asked me to do it.)
"H-hey… c-can you give this to Satsuki?"
A shy girl held out a handkerchief.
Kuroki stood there, drenched from the rain.
"S-sure… n-no problem."
A vein throbbed on his forehead as he forced a smile.
(I hate this so much.)
The memory faded.
Back in the present, Kuroki clenched his teeth.
"Um, Ichinose?" Aohana's voice broke through his thoughts.
"Y-yeah?!" He jumped slightly.
"Are you okay?" she asked gently.
"Oh—yeah. I'm fine. Perfectly fine." He forced a laugh. "Thank you. The handkerchief really helped."
Her smile softened. "No problem, Ichinose."
"I'll dry it when I get home and return it to you," he said, holding the damp cloth.
"It's okay," she replied, taking it back and placing it into a small case.
"O-oh… okay."
"See you, Ichinose." She returned to her seat just before the teacher arrived.
"Y-yeah… see you."
Kuroki stared down at his desk, his thoughts spiraling.
(Does she like me? …There's no way. A girl as cute as her wouldn't give me her handkerchief—and then take it back with all my sweat on it.)
(The closest I ever gotten with a girl was in my Eroge and Gacha games.)
(Is this my lucky break) A slow, unsettling grin spread across his face.
With a creepy smile, he lowered his head.
The classroom door slid open moments later.
The teacher walked in, and class began.
—
After school, the rain had grown heavier, pouring down relentlessly outside.
"Damn, look at that," Satsuki muttered as she watched the rain hammer against the ground.
She walked toward the front entrance of the school.
"Mmm… my umbrella…"
She rummaged through the umbrella rack, her brows furrowing.
"D-did someone take it?" Her expression darkened. "Are you serious? I have modeling today too. Whoever the asshole was that took it, I wi—"
"Yo."
She turned as Kuroki walked up.
"Did something happen?" he asked, glancing at the rack.
He paused.
"Oh… someone took your umbrella," he said, stating the obvious.
Satsuki shot him an annoyed look. "I know already."
(Heh. That's what you get.)
A smug expression crossed Kuroki's face—until something clicked.
"Wait… you have modeling today?" he asked.
"I do," she replied sharply. "And I can't get wet. But I don't have an umbrella."
She looked genuinely upset.
Kuroki went quiet for a moment.
"Wait here."
Before she could react, he bolted out of the school and into the heavy rain.
"W-what are you doing, you idiot?! Get back here!" Satsuki shouted.
But he kept running.
Through the downpour, Kuroki spotted a nearby convenience store with umbrellas lined up outside.
"Ah—there we go."
Already completely soaked, he grabbed two umbrellas from the rack and sprinted back toward the school.
When he returned, he was drenched from head to toe.
"Pant… pant… h-here."
He handed one of the umbrellas to Satsuki.
"You idiot!" she snapped. "You're all wet now!"
"So…?" Kuroki replied calmly.
"So?!" She stared at him. "What do you mean, 'so'? What if you get sick?"
There was a hint of worry in her voice.
"It's fine," he said. "Your modeling's today. You can't miss it."
He gave her a small, genuine smile.
"I know how much this means to you."
"Yeah, but you're also—"
She stopped herself, looking away.
"…Never mind."
Kuroki opened his umbrella.
"Come on. Let's go."
She hesitated for a moment.
"…Okay."
They stepped out together into the rain.