Volume 3, Chapter 4: In the Hot Springs Part 4

*****

...

"Mmmm..."

"Amagasa kun? Amagasa kun?? I know that you just came home from the mountains but, it's already 10 AM you know! Amagasa kun!"

"!"

Aya's knocking on my door woke me up before I knew it. I was sleeping too soundly that even the alarm on my phone couldn't woke me up. I quickly got up and answered Aya on the other side

"Thanks Aya, I'm already awake..."

While still yawning, I opened the door to let Aya step in to my room

...

"You could've just entered into my room and directly wake me up here instead of repeatedly knocking on my door though"

"You know that I can't do that even if we've known each other for so long!"

"Really? I don't mind though..."

"..."

Aya just looked at me with her eyebrows slanting downwards, seemingly blushing. I don't know why she's acting like that at what I said, but I decided to ignore it for now

"How's grandma and grandpa by the way? Are they fine?"

"You worry too much, Aya. They're the ones that I visited first before the others. I can assure you that they're alright. They also told me to tell you that you should go home, they said they miss you and want to see you in person, even if its just for a few days"

"I see...although I also miss them so much, I can't go home for now...They're one of the reasons why I'm working in this place after all...thanks for checking them out for me, Amagasa kun"

"Aya..."

...

2 days earlier, I went to a pretty far mountain village with Gen and some staffs. Usually, every month, we get deliveries for the fruits that came from that village, but this time around, there was a conflict in their schedule about having two deliveries at the same day, that was us and another place that was in our opposite direction. Since the other place was the first one to place an order, they were prioritized first.

The village was far away from both places that were mentioned, it would take two days to get the deliveries from either mentioned places. There were also no more fruits in stock in our place if someone wants to buy. Because of that, Gen and the other men took the role

Gen asked me if I wanted to come and greet the locals there since its been a while the last time I visited them. I took him up on that offer and also figured that I can lend a helping hand in carrying one of the deliveries...

...Alot of things happened after that but not too major to even recall any of them

As for Aya, I made a promise to her that I was going to visit her grandpa and grandma first since she asked to. Her grandpa and grandma are two kindhearted people. They warmly welcomed me and thanked me for looking out for Aya the first time I've met them. Even though I only come here once a year, I felt like they meant something else the moment they said that to me. Aya's been living with her grandfather and her grandmother ever since her parents passed away due to an unfortunate accident. Even though she lost her parents, she never felt that way because of her loving, and caring grandparents...

Aya learned how to be independent at a very young age. Although it makes her grandparents worry, they respected Aya's wishes wholeheartedly. Aya knows about it more than anyone else, that's why she works hard everyday at the hot spring...not only for her sake, but also for her grandparents' sake...

"You don't need to worry about me, Amagasa kun. I may not look like it, but I'm a strong girl! *Chuckles*"

Aya noticed that I was feeling sorry for her, she brightly smiled while she said those following words...Its been rough for her, but she's facing it like its nothing...If only I could spend more time here...

...

Aya was giving me a pat on the back when it should've been the opposite...

...

...After a few minutes, someone called out my name

"Amagasa kun! You're back! I thought you'll be arriving later..."

It was Hoshizawa, who had seem just got finished taking a bath...

...I can smell the scent that she's giving from over here...

"Hoshizawa san..."

"Is something wrong...? Amagasa kun?"

Hoshizawa's smile slowly starting to fade as she saw me slightly down

"Well, Hoshizawa senpai, its about that thing that we talked about yesterday, about myself"

"I see...so even Amagasa kun felt sad about it..."

Hoshizawa walked closer to me as she patted my head, slowly and gently stroking my hair

"So even someone like Amagasa kun can make a face like that...so cute...*chuckles*"

Hoshizawa warmly smiled at me. I got embarrassed, but I tried my best to hide it from her. She quickly took a step back from me as she said the following words

"No matter how much Aya san went through, she can still make the brightest smile in her face. When the time comes that she can't smile like that anymore, that's the time where we step in, right, Amagasa kun?"

"Hoshizawa san..."

"True friend...that's what you said to me at the rooftop..."

"You're right, Hoshizawa san...ahaha...I can't believe that you would use my own line to get through me...thanks, Hoshizawa san..."

That's right...when that time comes, that's the time Hoshizawa and I would step in...

...I smiled at Hoshizawa, who was apparently blushing afterwards. Aya took that opportunity to tease us

"Already flirting at each other aren't we? Oh, too be young!"

"We are not! And you're younger than us!"

"*Chuckles*"

I denied what Aya had just said meanwhile Hoshizawa just kept silent. Ever since our outing, Hoshizawa and Aya seemed to got along pretty well with each other even more

"I'm glad that you two are getting along even better now"

"I already told you, Hoshizawa senpai and I aren't even like that"

"Okay, okay, I'm still curious about what happened at the park though"

"We already told you that its a secret!"

"*Chuckles*"

Hoshizawa just let out a small laugh while Aya just kept leaving me in the dark about their so called secret. I don't pry about those kinds of stuffs since its not my thing unless they tell me, but sometimes...curiosity kills the cat, and that cat just happens to be me...

...

After a few conversations, I asked Hoshizawa and Aya if they want to eat together in my room, they both agreed and told them to meet up after an hour...

...

...After an hour, they came to my room, and chatted as we eat our lunch together...

*****

"Alright. Next question, Amagasa kun-"

"Wait a minute, what's with your questions? I just realized that you've been asking me quite a lot right now"

"*Chuckles* no reason"

"..."

While we were eating, Aya kept asking me about myself, I didn't mind it at first, but I realized later on that it was strange of her to ask questions about me since she rarely does that. Moreover, Hoshizawa's also eating with us, hearing some of my embarrassing answers and secrets of mine that I might have told them...

"So, Amagasa kun-"

"Isn't it about time you tell me why you suddenly ask questions about myself?"

"Sorry, sorry *chuckles* girls like Hoshizawa senpai and I sometimes get curious about those kinds of stuff from boys"

"E-eh?! I'm not, really..."

"Aya, Don't drag Hoshizawa san into your schemes"

"*Chuckles*, so, here's my next question, Amagasa kun, do you like someone?"

"..."

"..."

...

Up until now, Aya had been questioning me about what I was like back then, my favorite things, favorite places, and the like, but the question that she asked to me just now, made me, and also Hoshizawa apparently, almost choked from our lunch. Although Hoshizawa getting choked might've been a coincidence, the reason I got almost choked was because of that question

"Oh! So you do like someone!"

"*Cough* I just got surprised from your question!"

"Is that so? Well, do you like someone?"

"You're really gonna press me about that?! I almost choked to death here you know!"

"Just answer the question!"

Are they really this curious?!

...

...But even if they aren't, I don't think I like someone...

"...No, not at the moment"

"You're not lying, are you?"

"Why would I even lie?"

...well...

...technically I didn't lie...

...but I do have someone that I'm interested in recently...

...

While I was trying to make a poker face, I didn't noticed that Aya was looking at Hoshizawa, who had seemed to be down about something

"Is Hoshizawa san okay?"

"A-ah! Yes! I'm fine..."

"It's because its your fault, Amagasa kun"

"What did I do?!"

"*Sigh* You really don't understand girls at all"

"I don't even understand what you're trying to say right now"

"That's what I'm pointing at!"

"Uhuh..."

I get dumber and dumber by the minute, so I decided to drop the argument...

...

Few minutes after eating and Aya consoling Hoshizawa about something, they decided to go out for a walk. I asked if I can go with them since I don't have anything to do, but they immediately refused. Aya kept telling me that it wouldn't be a 'Girls hangout' or something if I come along with them while Hoshizawa just kept nodding in agreement. I listened to them and just let them be...

...

After they left, I lied down in my room. The unusual behavior of Aya got me left thinking for a while...

...I guess people do change when time flies by...

I always thought that Aya was a refined girl with a refined personality, but after she met Hoshizawa, I'm slowly starting to see a new side of her...was it Hoshizawa's influence?

...Or was it a side of her that she doesn't want to show to me?

...

"Whatever it is...I'm just glad that...they're getting along...pretty well..."

With my stomach in full, I felt the drowsiness slowly kicking in through me, drifting me to sleep...

*****

...

"...*mghh*...I fell asleep...?"

I woke up from the sound of the rain that was pouring down heavily. I remember just now that Aya and Hoshizawa went outside together earlier. Well, knowing Aya, I'm sure she would've brought an umbrella with her...

...

Just as I was about to wash my worries away, grandma came knocking on my door

"Shun? Are you awake?"

"Grandma? Yes, I just woke up. Do you need help with something?"

Grandma opened the door and stepped in

"Yes, Aya and Ban sama's daughter, Miu sama, told me earlier that they'll go for a walk, but up until now they still haven't gone back. Its also raining heavily"

"I'm sure Aya brought an umbrella with her"

"Well..."

"...Oh...she didn't"

"There are still four umbrellas in the entrance, so Aya probably didn't brought an umbrella, and I don't think Miu sama has brought one either. I don't want to make Ban sama worry about this, so can you go and find them?"

Of course...it also happens to be one of those days where it rains and Aya just didn't mind to brought an umbrella...*sigh*...

...I don't want to Ban san worry about this too, so of course I'll have to do it

...I'm also a bit worried...I'm their friend after all...

"Got it, grandma, I'm gonna change my clothes and head out afterwards"

"Thank you, Shun. take the three out and make sure that you don't take out the broken umbrella"

"Will do, grandma"

I quickly changed my clothes to my casual wear, grabbed the three umbrellas, and headed outside to find Aya and Hoshizawa...

*****

...

"...Not here..."

...

"They aren't here either..."

...

I went to the places besides the shopping district, the places where Aya could've taken Hoshizawa...

...but they were nowhere to be found...

...eventually, I decided to go to the shopping district...

...

...but they weren't in there as well...

...

...Just where could they have gone to...?

...!

"...Could they be in that place...?"

...

"...but its raining right now..."

...

I didn't thought of the possibility that they might be in that place since it was raining heavily...

...but since there was no other place I could think of, I immediately went ahead and look in that place...

*****

"Aya!"

"A-Amagasa kun...you're wet..."

I quickly went to Aya who was standing on a nearby shed, flicked her forehead as I scold her about forgetting her umbrella

"Seriously...on the day that it happens to be raining too"

"Ahaha...sorry...and thanks...Amagasa...senpai..."

Aya seemed happy while I was scolding her which made me confused. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Why's she happy about it?

...And did she just called me senpai?

"...'Senpai'...?"

"? Is there something wrong, Amagasa kun?"

"Oh, nothing"

It's been a while since I heard her called me that...so maybe that was just my imagination...

"I'm surprised that you knew where we are, Amagasa kun"

"I actually didn't, I went to all of the places where you could've gone to before I went here, I just took a gamble"

"I can see you doing that, no wonder you're wet, *Chuckles*"

"It was tiring running around looking for you girls you know!"

"*Chuckles*"

I just sighed to the chuckling Aya...More importantly, there's one more person that should be here with Aya...

...but that person isn't here...

"Where's Hoshizawa san? I don't see her here"

"Oh...about that..."

"Aya...don't tell me..."

"I'm sorry okay?! I left Hoshizawa senpai alone to buy us drinks before we go home, before I knew it, rain started pouring down. I didn't brought my umbrella because I thought it wouldn't rain. It rarely rains especially in summer, you know!"

"And that rare occurrence happened to be today, Aya"

I said as I flicked her forehead again

"Ow!...Ahaha..."

Aya just smiled at me back afterwards

"So, where did you left her?"

"Same place where we went out last time"

"Oh god...she might be soaking wet..."

"I don't think so, there's a place where she could take a shelter nearby"

"I hope she's there. Thanks, wait for us, Aya"

"I'll come too-"

"No, you shouldn't, not when the wind is this strong and raining heavily. You might catch a cold"

"-O-okay...you two take care, Amagasa kun..."

I nodded at Aya, gave her the umbrella, and quickly headed off to the place where I found them last time...

*****

...

"*Huff* *puff*...I already figured that she wouldn't be here, but I thought I should look, just in case..."

I went up to the place near the benches to see if by any chance, Hoshizawa would be there, but as I thought, she's nowhere to be found...

...I then looked somewhere else to see a familiar face near the restroom...

"! That's...Hoshizawa san!"

I went over to Hoshizawa, who also got surprised at me coming at her

"Amagasa kun?!"

...

"*Huff* *puff*...Finally...I found you...Aya said that you would be around here..."

"S-sorry for causing you trouble..."

"It's not your fault...it rarely rains here in summer so you can't expect when it'll rain"

"Still...You got wet because of me..."

The strong wind made the rain even worse. Since I was running around, I still got wet even though I was using an umbrella. It is cold because of it, but it wasn't too major to wear my body down

"Don't mind it...I'm just glad that you're alright"

"A-Amagasa kun..."

I gave the other umbrella that I was holding on to Hoshizawa, who kept looking down the whole time. The moment that she was about to open the umbrella, I realized that-

"Ah-"

"..."

...

-The third umbrella that I brought was broken

"..."

"..."

...

"I BROUGHT THE WRONG UMBRELLA!"

I SHOULD'VE LOOKED AT IT FIRST BEFORE I TOOK IT...

...I should've listened to grandma...*sigh*...

Hoshizawa just laughed about it while I almost had a breakdown...

...As I was about to regret bringing the wrong umbrella, I just remembered that I still have one more umbrella, my umbrella

"Hoshizawa san, use this instead"

"E-eh?! But that's...your umbrella..."

"Its fine, I'm already wet as it is"

Well to be frank, only the upper body of mine isn't wet. I don't want Hoshizawa to get wet as well, that's why I thought she should have the umbrella

"But you'll catch a cold..."

"Don't worry about it! I may not look like it, but my body's tough!"

I tried to convince Hoshizawa, but from the looks of it, she wasn't buying it

"T-then...how about we do this...?"

"...?"

I didn't know what Hoshizawa wanted to suggest at first, but as she leaned closer to me while holding the umbrella. I immediately knew what she wanted to do

"W-w-wait! H-h-hoshizawa san! A-aren't we too close?!"

"...We won't get wet if we...do this...right...?"

"I-I know what you mean, but-"

As I was about to argue about it, I saw Hoshizawa getting embarrassed about it more than me...

...well of course she is...sharing an umbrella with a guy...

...

My embarrassment disappeared. I decided to shut up and listened to Hoshizawa 

"I guess...we can do this..."

"! Yes!"

Hoshizawa perked up as she heard me agreeing to it. I didn't paid much attention to it because I was too flustered about our situation...

...and also...a guy and a girl sharing an umbrella...I've seen this on some romance animes before...

...

...is this situation can be called 'Aiaigasa'?!

...

...but...Hoshizawa and I aren't a couple though...

...

...I wonder if she also thinks those kinds of things too...

While firmly holding my grip from the umbrella, Hoshizawa and I started to walk, keeping the silence between us. Like me, I'm pretty sure that Hoshizawa is also embarrassed in our situation right now, that's why I didn't bother to make things even more awkward and just walked to pick up Aya, who was waiting at the nearby shed...

*****

"Amagasa kun! Hoshizawa senpai! I'm so glad you're okay. Sorry for leaving you alone there, Hoshizawa senpai, I didn't know that it would rain..."

"Its okay, Aya san. I'm just glad that you're also fine"

"Hoshizawa senpai...!"

Aya's eyes was beaming towards the smiling Hoshizawa. I interrupted them in their own 'reunion'

"Yeah, yeah, do that when we're already at the hot spring. I don't think the rain will let up anytime now, so we should head back before it starts to get even worse"

"You're no fun, Amagasa kun! But you're right, *chuckles*"

As Aya was about to open her umbrella, a similar occurrence from earlier just happened, almost as if I'm experiencing deja vu

"Oh-"

"..."

Yep...you guessed it, Aya's umbrella also was broken...

"..."

"..."

"..."

...

"ITS ALSO BROKEN?!"

"Ahaha..."

I thought grandma said that there's only one broken umbrella?!

"Not only one...but two umbrellas were broken..."

"Wait, Amagasa kun, did you get the umbrellas near our entrance?"

"Huh? Oh, yea, I did, grandma said so"

"So that's why! Grandma doesn't know but, all of the umbrellas there are broken except for one. I'm surprised that you didn't even see that it was broken before you took it"

"That's because I was in a hurry!"

Moreover, I'm even more surprised that I got the working one! I thought I was already unlucky that I brought two broken umbrellas, but it seems that, that wasn't the case...

"*Sigh*...just take my umbrella you two..."

"Eh? Are you sure?"

"B-but Amagasa kun...you'll catch a cold for sure..."

"I told you earlier Hoshizawa san, my body's tough! You don't need to worry about me"

"But..."

While I was trying to convince Hoshizawa, Aya seemed to have other thing in mind

"Amagasa kun, Hoshizawa senpai, you two take the umbrella-"

"Don't be stupid. You know I wouldn't agree with that"

Aya got taken aback by my words, but just silently smiled at me

"You're right, sorry, Amagasa kun *chuckles*"

I turned over to Hoshizawa, who seems to be worrying about it

"Hoshizawa san, trust me"

I gave her a smile to reassure her. She had seemed to accepted it and gave me a response while looking down

"...You're not fair...making me worry about you...especially when I knew how much you struggled when you got sick last time..."

"? Sorry, I didn't quite heard that, Hoshizawa san. Were you trying to say something just now?"

"N-Nothing..."

Because of the loud rain noises, I couldn't quite hear Hoshizawa's soft whispering...

"...I'm fine with it...if you're that serious enough...Amagasa kun..."

I gave them the umbrella, and head back together. I then took on the heavy rain, making me completely wet inside and out as Aya and Hoshizawa were talking about something that I couldn't quite hear, but from the looks of it, it looks like Aya's teasing Hoshizawa about something...

...I didn't paid much attention to it as I immediately just recalled what Aya said to me earlier about 'Girls Hangout'

...this is probably what they call 'Girls Talk' too, so I didn't butted in on their own conversation

I just walked around the rain that was pouring down on me while minding my own business...

*****

"Thank goodness you're back- Shun! You're soaking wet!"

"Ahaha...Two of the three umbrellas that I brought with me were broken, that's why I let Aya and Hoshizawa san have the last umbrella"

"Oh my...I thought for sure there was only one broken in there...I'm sorry, Shun"

"Its fine, grandma, its my fault that I didn't check it before I left"

"I'm also partly to blame, Shun. Anyways, you might catch a cold if you don't take a bath right now!"

"I'll take one now, grandma. Don't worry"

"Good, Aya san, Hoshizawa sama, you should take a bath as well"

"Thanks grandma, we will"

"Thank you for worrying about us"

Aya and Hoshizawa both bowed their heads as grandma went ahead to the hallway to prepare my change of clothes. Aya, Hoshizawa, and I went on our separate ways after that. Although I felt tired, I still took a bath like grandma said, changed to my yukata, and went out to my room afterwards...

*****

...

"*Phew*...glad we got back safely..."

For some reason, my futon and my pillow were quite soft. With this kind of comfort, I feel like I'll be sleeping like a baby through the night...

...and since my room's temperature was also cold because of the continuous rain, the warmth from my body that came from taking a bath slowly turned to being cold as well...

...

Few minutes after, grandma came in to my room with my food in hand, she then asked me if I feel anything right now, which I assured her that I'm fine. She also asked Aya and Hoshizawa the same thing and they both said that they're fine as well, which put my mind at ease

...Although still unsure and worrying about me, grandma left me be while carrying the plates. I just lied down on my futon as I used my phone to kill some time with it...

*****

...

"Im starting to feel...dizzy"

A few hours in, my head started to ache, so bad that its making me want to stay in bed. I'm pretty sure I got this because of what I did today...it'll probably go away if I sleep now...

...

The thoughts that was on my mind was replaced by the headache that I'm feeling. The more I think about something, the more it hurts...

...and for some reason, even getting up also makes my head ache...

...I put down my phone next to me, tried to sleep in hopes of making the pain go away as the rain started to pour down even more than it did earlier...

*****

(Hoshizawa's POV 7)

Amagasa kun, Aya san and I were heading back to the hot springs as the rain was pouring down on us. Aya san and I was sharing the umbrella, while Amagasa kun chose to dive in to the rain...I worry about Amagasa kun that he'll get sick like 'that' time, that's why I was about to suggest that Aya san and Amagasa kun should share the umbrella...

...yet Amagasa kun told me to trust in him as he smiled at me...

...Its not that I don't trust him, I just don't want to see him in that state ever again...

...

Aya san noticed my quick glances at Amagasa kun and asked me about something

"Hoshizawa senpai, how was it?"

"How was what...?"

"You know...a guy and a girl...sharing an umbrella...Aiaigasa"

"A-a-a-aya san!"

Since I want to know what Amagasa kun likes and dislikes, his hobbies and other stuff, I've come to known the word Aiaigasa. I learned it from one of the romance animes, a girl and a boy, sharing an umbrella...

...Typically, people who do that are mostly seen as couples...so Aya san asking me that made my whole face turned red

"*Chuckles* did Amagasa kun asked you?"

"...actually...I did..."

"Eh?! Seriously?"

"Yes...but he did asked me to take the umbrella and that he would just dive in to the rain...I was the only one who was stubborn about it..."

"That's so Amagasa kun but still-"

"I was happy. I was happy that he agreed to it...even though I was a bit too pushy..."

As I recalled about what I did earlier, it made my face turned red even more...

"*Chuckles* you might melt, Hoshizawa san, calm down for a bit"

"Uuu...."

Aya san kept laughing at me while I looked at Amagasa kun, who had seem to be minding his own business...

...I really hope that he doesn't get sick after this...

Aya san and I kept talking while Amagasa kun remained that way as we head back to the hot spring...

(End of Hoshizawa's POV 7)

*****

End of Chapter 4