"School is just so damn boring..."

A bored teenager by the name of Yuta Takebayashi was laying his head down on his desk to try and escape the reality that was in front of him.

He wasn't exactly the biggest fan of school because Yuta believed that school was just a waste of time. There was nothing he particularly remembered from the lessons by the end of the day, so why did he have to come to this hell everyday?

"Maybe you should try worrying about your future a little bit more."

Yuta's best friend of many years, Hideo Koji, was a bit worried for him since Yuta had always been a problem child in his eyes. There were many times where Yuta would just skip school and not go, but Hideo would beg him to come.

Hideo wanted Yuta to understand that school was an important thing for their futures, so he would nag Yuta to go to school everyday.

"Well, whatever. I just have to endure one more year anyways," Yuta shrugged. "Since we're sophomores now, we only have a year left!"

"If the thought of graduating gets you to school, then that's fine," Hideo chuckled. "Just make sure you finish your schooling and we'll be good."

The two of them bantered as usual while they put all their materials back into their backpacks. Since the last class of the day was finished, the both of them were free to leave.

"I got some club stuff to do today, so I'll catch you later," Hideo waved goodbye. "Get home without making any trouble, if possible."

"Yes yes, I hope you have a good day at your club," Yuta also waved goodbye.

Once the two separated, Yuta headed towards the front entrance of the school. Due to him being a part of the go-home club, Yuta liked to rush home as fast as possible.

"Oh, is that who I think it is?"

Yuta noticed a popular figure within his school. She looked like she was in distress, but Yuta couldn't help but marvel at her attractiveness.

Marie Tanaka. That was the name of the goddess of his school. She was such a famed existence that everyone in the whole school knew who she was.

With long black hair and ocean blue eyes, Marie was easily the prettiest girl in the school as soon as she had enrolled. Due to her unrivaled beauty, easy-going demeanor, and friendly nature; everyone was smitten with her.

She even had impeccable grades and a superb record in sports, and there was no drama surrounding her at all. There really wasn't a reason for anyone to dislike her.

Is she waiting for the rain to pass?

There weren't any more umbrellas in the rental box that the school had by the entrance, so Marie was out of luck when a large downpour began in the area.

Yuta had brought his umbrella with him this morning, so there wasn't any need for him to worry. He was just happy that he saw the news this morning about it raining in the afternoon.

"Well, it doesn't have anything to do with me."

Someone else from their school would surely come to help the goddess, so Yuta perished the thought of helping her and began to leave the premises.

When he walked past her to leave the main building of the school, Marie stared at him with puppy eyes, but he ignored her and continued on with his day.

Interfering in someone else's business never turned out great for Yuta, so he tried his best to ignore other people and their problems. If he somehow got dragged into their problems, there was a very good chance that Yuta would come out on the bottom.

As he passed the school gate, Yuta felt a twinge of regret for leaving a girl out in the rain. Although he was very strict with his non-interference policy, Yuta felt like he could bend the rules a bit here.

He quickly returned to the entrance of the main building and found Marie still standing there with a lonesome expression.

"Hey, you."

Marie's eyes widened when she realized that he came back for her. "Ah, you're Yuta Takebayashi, I believe?"

"You would be correct."

Yuta went back to the girl who was still hiding in the main entrance of the school from the rain. He made sure his steps were loud and he ensured that his voice was clear and resolute to make sure she understood he wasn't a bad person.

"I'm not you. I have a name."

Marie replied with a pout since Yuta refused to directly call her by her name.

"Here's the umbr-"

"My name."

"Eh?"

Yuta was confused as to why Marie was interrupting him when he was trying to do a good deed by handing her his umbrella.

"Please call me by my name," Marie stared intently at Yuta.

Yuta tried to push the umbrella onto her, but she just kept on dodging. "Just take the umbrella!"

"No! Not until you say my name!"

He was getting increasingly exhausted with their comedy routine, so Yuta gave up and decided to listen to the selfish goddess's command.

"Okay, Marie. Please take this umbrella."

"With pleasure!"

Instead of the dejected expression that she had up until now, Marie now had a joyful expression due to Yuta calling her by her name. She did a little twirl as a celebration, which made her just a bit more cute in Yuta's eyes.

"But, what about you?" Marie seemed to realize that there was only one umbrella. "How are you going to get home?"

"By running?"

"No!"

Marie instantly shut Yuta's suggestion down the moment that he had proposed it. There was no way she could let her benefactor walk home in the rain.

"You're going to get sick without an umbrella, so why don't we walk home together?" Marie proposed a brilliant plan that could work for both of them. "How far do you live from here?"

"Not that far," Yuta shrugged. "About a couple blocks in that direction."

"Oh, me too! Looks like we walk home in the same direction," Marie smiled.

Yuta didn't know how to react when the goddess released such a devastating smile, so he just coughed to clear the air.

"Then, it's decided!" Marie vehemently nodded. "We're going to walk home under the umbrella together!"

Yuta didn't see any reason why he should deny her invitation, so he decided to accept the invitation from the goddess.

"Uh... sure?"

"Yahoo~! You should totes meet my parents when we get to my house! They're really nice and lovey-dovey, so I'm sure you'll like them," Marie suggested.

"I-If that's fine with you..."

Yuta was surprised by how much spunk this girl had, but he wasn't annoyed in the slightest. Rather, he found her easy-going behavior incredibly relaxing and endearing.

This girl is quite interesting...

It would be a long time before he noticed, but Yuta had unknowingly set the events of his destiny into full throttle.

Just like Takei had met his fated lover under a rainy sky, so did Yuta.

It's just like they say...

When one door closes, another one opens.

And so, the story begins anew.

—

Afterword tomorrow, probably.

Serious-san: See y'all soon!

Sugar-chan: We'll be back in the afterstory~