“Rain, huh? Good thing I brought my umbrella.” I leaned my chin on my hand as I stared into the window, pouring rain that terrified some of the students that might not have an umbrella on hand. Well, not like I really leave my umbrella behind.

Oh? I looked to the side just right after classes had ended, and I see Furushira-san leaving immediately. Is she going to the library? Or…. If we speculate more properly, the rain is still pretty weak, and if she's leaving so hurriedly, then she probably… didn't bring her umbrella with her. Well, not like I really care. But thinking back again… it would be bad of her to get sick again, huh. 

Well, it'll really be bad for someone like her to get sick, it seems that she's unaware of her own health, so it's worrying. But, I may be overthinking it, maybe she has something to do, and she has her umbrella?

Well, I myself wouldn't want to stay until this rain gets stronger though. But the opposite seems to be for Leo, who appears to not have his umbrella, again. He always forgets his umbrella, even after I went out of my way to lend him one.

“I'm going home now.” I told him as I tapped on his back.

“Sure, I'll wait for this rain to subside here, I'll just study or something in the meantime.” he gave a wry smile.

Whatever. A rainy day is a blessed day. After all, the cold breeze brought by rain is such a bliss. Plus, I get to reduce my electricity expenses for another day. I mean, in such cold weather, why bother using your A/C?

But… it seems my speculation was correct….

“Oh, Ryou-kun.”

“Urk, Furushira-san…”

“Going home already? I would've wanted another milk though.”

“Go buy it yourself, I want to go home before this rain gets stronger.”

“Hey, just buy me one~” she said sweetly as she pulled her face closer to me. How annoying. But….

“Are you… stalling time, because you don't have your umbrella?”

“Eh?”

“Heh” I smirked at her. “How totally unexpected. The ever so perfect Fuyuko Furushira leaving her umbrella, confused on what to do on a rainy day so she decided to stall time with her toy. Or something like that?”

“Wha—?!” I definitely left her jaw half open, filled with shock and left her, walked to the side, to the vending machine.

Nope, I'm not going to the vending machine to buy her milk, I just thought a warm drink would be good at times like these. Good thing they have warm milks. They're not as good as what I usually drink though.

“Oh, thank you. After saying that, you still bought me one, eh?”

Eh? I… bought her one…? Why…? What just… Why did I buy 2 milks? I have the one I want… but why did I buy her one…?

“I must've done it subconsciously… whatever, here.” I just pushed the milk carton to her as she hurriedly took it.

I, myself hurriedly sipped on the milk as well though, which is pretty warm, and I like it. Still, it's not as great as what I usually drink. But after emptying the can, I immediately threw it in the trash bin.

Well then, time to go. I took out the umbrella on my bag, and opened it. I immediately started to leave the school grounds, but I found myself slowing down… and eventually stopping. As I looked onto my feet, wet from the dripping rain and wet ground, I felt something. I didn't expect it though.

But as much as I hate her, as much as I don't like how she bosses me around, I just can't… leave her like this… what if the rain got stronger? What if she gets sick again? Ahh, geez! I'll just…

“Ryou-kun?” I placed my umbrella above her, and looked at her as she tilted her head up, staring at me with her beautiful silvery eyes.

But… is it just me or… her eyes feel like they're dazzling… life now…? Whenever I talk to her, whenever she tells me what she wants, her eyes are just plain, beautiful silver, as if something so lifeless, staring at me. But now… just now… her eyes felt like it showed something she's never shown before…. 

Whatever… whether she changed or not, grew or not, this is a different case. This was a bad idea. There are still students around us… suddenly going back for her and letting her go under the same umbrella as I have… this will surely leave some misleading rumours…. 

I know she won't misunderstand this… but what scares me is how she'll use this. She might use this to her advantage, use the rumours against me or something…. For now, I'll sugarcoat it as much as I can.

“I'm just doing something I should do for Furushira-sama.” I didn't say that in a monotone, flat voice, but I tried to say it in a way that won't seem like I don't like what I'm doing. I hope it's working though.

“Is that so? Well, at least you know now where you stand. You even did something without me asking for it.”

“Yes, yes. Let's just go, Furushira-sama, it'll be bad if the rain gets stronger, right?”

“Yeah.” She smiled at me as she stepped out of the school grounds and stood next to me, under my umbrella.

I wasn't imagining it…. Her eyes may have really shown emotions for once…. After all… the smile she showed was for the first time… a really warm, beautiful one….

She really is beautiful huh…

“You should smile like that even more.”

“What? Did you fall for me just because of one smile? Oh, sorry, but you're not to my liking.”

“Well, I'm sorry for not fitting your preferences, Furushira-sama.”

“Haha— well, there should be at least one girl in the world that will fall for you.”

“Thank you for your blessing then, Furushira-sama.”

What… so she can laugh like this as well… and as much as I hate how we usually spend time with each other, bickering onto what she wants me to do, these kinds of times won't be so bad….

But… acting slightly cuter wasn't over… just before we got home, or rather, just before I dropped her off in front of her house, with just a few meters away, an unexpected strike striked us both.

Boom!

A loud thunder suddenly came. No, I don't really mind the sound of thunder, no matter how loud they are. They do give me a slight surprise, but they do not frighten me. But… I can't say the same to the person standing next to me… although, I can't really say she's standing next to me now….

“Hya—!”

“Fu-Fu-Fu-Fu-Furushira-san?!” 

The moment the thunder cracked, she immediately pushed herself onto me, clinging her whole body onto my arm. The sudden shock almost made me let go of the umbrella though, so both of us got slightly wet. Good thing I got the hold of it immediately, if not, both of us would be really wet.

“Could it be… you're afraid of thunder…?” It really is an unexpected question that I asked, but for a girl her age, it is reasonable to be afraid of it. But the Fuyuko Furushira being scared of it is quite unexpected.

“Wh-What if I am…?!” 

Even under such circumstances… she still decides to act strong?! Although, a different problem is arising, and her house is right in front of us, so it'd be best to get her to her house already.

“W-Well, this situation is already bad if you keep on clinging onto me, Furushira-san, omand your house is already right in front of you….”

“Th-That's right…” she said, but she clinged harder, making me feel them even more.

What exactly? I never really took notice of this since the very first day we met, but I'd have to admit, she is… pretty soft…. The moment she clinged onto me when the thunder cracked, I immediately felt her… chest… push onto me…. They weren't overly big, neither were they extremely small… they were… softly perfect….

W-Well, anyway… the two of us, or rather, I started walking as she clinged onto me, I felt my face heat up though. But then again, I finally got free from her, I placed her on her doorsteps, only to find myself immediately looking away.

“Wh-What?!” don't act like that now! Please just go in already!

“Why are you looking away?” are you seriously asking that?!

“Y-Your clothes….” I didn't look, but I pointed my finger onto her, which she had appeared to take notice of already as I heard the door open.

“Pervert.”

“Wha—?!”

Bam!

Then the door closed before me.

“At least take a warm bath, I don't want to feel guilty if you catch another fever!”

Of course I'd feel guilty. After bringing her here under my umbrella just to let her get sick again.

But still… white huh… that is just like her….

Wait, no! Clear your thoughts. Purify them! What the hell are you thinking about, Akira Ryouko!

Well, I'm still a healthy high school boy after all, I guess…?

◆

He… saw them… and even felt them…. But even so… even after getting soaked by the rain… why do I feel… warm…? For the first time in my life, I feel… kind of warm….

For now… I guess I'll take a warm bath….