Chapter 59: Rainy season

We’d been studying in the school library for the past few days. At first, I was hyper-aware of Aya, flustered by Mizuki’s playful teasing. But I was adapting, growing more comfortable with the charged atmosphere.

Despite the romantic-comedy setting of our lives, Aya and Mizuki were serious about their studies, consistently ranking first and second in the class. We easily fell into a focused rhythm, our study sessions surprisingly productive.

Golden Week, filled with nothing but studying, came to an end. Normal life resumed, and I thought I’d be returning to a typical routine, but…

“Kurosawa, you have to help us!”

I was leaning back in my chair, daydreaming, when a group of classmates suddenly surrounded me. Aya and Mizuki were in the restroom.

“Um… what is it?” I asked, and they all began airing their grievances.

“This is ridiculous! You have to find out if it’s true!”

“He’s spreading rumors!”

“I heard it too! But I don’t know if it’s true!”

Confused, I looked around, then noticed two students facing off: Sugisaki, a generally trustworthy classmate, and Inoue, known for gossiping. “What’s going on? Sugisaki, tell me your side first.”

Sugisaki sighed. “Inoue is spreading a rumor that I was badmouthing other classmates!”

“What?! I just repeated what I heard!” Inoue protested, shrugging.

“You didn’t even confirm if it was true?”

“Well, other people were saying it too!”

‘…Is this… another protagonist scenario?!’ This felt like something from the novel. It was supposed to have happened to Aya, but she hadn’t been able to resolve it, so the protagonist had stepped in. Why was this happening to me?

I could feel the expectant gazes of my classmates, their silent plea for me to intervene. ‘Did my reputation improve after the festival…?’ I didn’t like thinking of life as a game or a novel, but it felt like I had “status points,” and having reached a certain level, these events were triggered. I looked at the two students, then calmly summarized, “So, someone told Inoue that Sugisaki was badmouthing other classmates, and Sugisaki believes Inoue is spreading it. Inoue just repeated what he heard?”

“Yes!”
“Exactly! I just repeated it!”

“Then who started the rumor?” I asked, and Inoue flinched, avoiding eye contact. “W-Well…”

“Inoue, you didn’t hear it directly. You shouldn’t spread it as fact.”

Inoue hesitated, then sighed. “I know… it was just a joke. I didn’t think it’d blow up.”

I turned to Sugisaki. “And Sugisaki, you didn’t ask Inoue directly. You just got angry.”

“Well…” she mumbled, pouting. This was exactly how it had played out in the novel.

I clapped my hands together, concluding, “Okay, let’s clear this up. No more spreading unconfirmed rumors. Apologize to each other.”

“…”
“…” They glanced at each other, then nodded reluctantly.

“Sorry, I overreacted.”

“I’m sorry too. I’ll be more careful.”

The conflict was resolved. The other students sighed in relief, looking at me with newfound respect.

I’d just stated the obvious…?

“Rina,” a familiar voice called out. I turned to see Aya and Mizuki. Aya looked at me intently, and Mizuki grinned, patting my shoulder. “Rina-ring~ you’re a natural mediator!”

“Ugh, no, I’m really not…!” I waved my hands frantically, but Aya just smiled softly.

“Still, I’m glad you were here, Rina.” Her words made my heart flutter. ‘Aya… don’t say things like that…!’

Mizuki chuckled and waved her hand dismissively. “Class is about to start. Back to your seats, everyone. And no more gossip!” Mizuki’s playful teasing was reserved for Aya and me; around others, she projected an air of authority. The other students quickly dispersed.

“Rina.”

“Y-Yes… Aya.” Aya, sitting beside me, was smiling warmly. It had been a week since we’d started dating, but her smile still made me blush, and I fidgeted, looking away.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, and I quickly looked away, my cheeks burning.

She paused, her hand on her textbook. “Just… you seem… more… impressive lately.”

“Wh-What?! Don’t say things like that so suddenly!” I mumbled, hiding my face, but Aya just looked ahead, nonchalant.

“But it’s true,” she insisted.

“Ugh…!” Even reacting was embarrassing. I could feel Mizuki giggling beside me.

Rain began to patter against the windowpane, a sign of the approaching rainy season.

****

The final bell rang. With midterms over, the student council was relatively quiet. I packed my bag and headed out into the hallway.

But then…

‘…Where’s my umbrella?’ My foldable umbrella was gone. I searched my bag frantically, then glanced around, but it was too late. My classmates were leaving, umbrellas unfurled. The rain, which had started lightly at lunch, had turned into a downpour. The ground was soaked. Even with an umbrella, my shoes would be drenched.

I couldn’t find my umbrella, and I couldn’t walk home in this downpour.

“Rina-ring~ forgot your umbrella~?” a familiar voice chirped.

I turned to see Mizuki, holding an open umbrella, a spare in her other hand, her phone clutched in her free hand. I sighed in relief.

“How did you know?”

“That look on your face~” she grinned. “I brought an extra, so don’t worry~ So, Rina-ring, what are you going to do? Share with me?”

I instinctively glanced to my side, and then… thump. An umbrella tilted over my head. I looked up, startled.

“Aya?” She was standing there, raindrops clinging to her long eyelashes. “Let’s share,” she said calmly, tilting the umbrella further towards me.

“Uh… w-what…?” I stammered, and she looked at me, her gaze soft. “You’ll catch a cold, Rina.”

I stepped under her umbrella, my face burning. ‘How did this… happen?’

I was sharing an umbrella with Aya. Mizuki grinned, twirling her umbrella playfully. “Ooh~ Aya-ring, smooth~”

“…Let’s go,” Aya said, her gaze fixed ahead, and I… I was hyper-aware of her beside me.

‘Our shoulders are touching…!’ I tried to move away, but Aya kept the umbrella tilted towards me. ‘You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you, Aya?’ I thought, my heart pounding. It was a kind gesture, but… this close…

Mizuki chuckled. “You two look like a real couple~ Especially with me walking behind you like this~”

“Mizuki, stop teasing!” I grumbled, but she just continued to laugh. Aya, after a moment of silence, glanced at me. “Rina, don’t walk so far away.” And then, she reached out and pulled me closer, until I was pressed against her side, the warmth of her body a comforting presence in the rain.

‘Eeeeeeek!’ I’d always admired Aya’s cool and composed demeanor, but this close proximity, her taking the traditionally masculine role in our relationship… it was overwhelming. But I couldn’t escape, not in this downpour.

We walked in silence, Mizuki’s cheerful humming a counterpoint to the rhythmic drumming of the rain against the umbrella, Aya’s soft breathing a comforting presence so close to my ear.