Vol.3 Ch.1: Rainy Day Goldilocks ②

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Classes all wrapped up in no time, and it was now mid-afternoon. As she gathered up all her things into her bag, Yuko was approached by a familiar face.

“Today sure was dull, huh? These dark clouds are totally souring my vibe.” Chisa yawned, as she gave her arms a stretch.

“Yeah, even I started getting sleepy during that last class, haha.” Yuko gave a wry smile.

The two friends made some small talk as they both left the classroom and headed downstairs to the shoe lockers. Upon arrival, they noticed the pouring drops of rain hitting the ground outside the front entrance’s windows. Sure enough, it’d begun storming.

“Oh great, the rain’s already here…” Chisa sighed. “Well, at least the theater isn’t that far away.”

Chisa, a member of the school’s theater club, made sure to grab the umbrella from her bag to have at the ready.

“Getting all the way to the café is going to be a hassle… At least the rain’s still pretty light for now.” Yuko muttered as she changed her shoes.

Once the two finished changing their shoes, they approached the entryway. There they saw several students opening umbrellas or putting on raincoats. A handful simply dashed out into the downpour using only their school bag to shield their head.

“How odd, normally the student council would be out here keeping watch to make sure everyone was okay leaving in the rain.” Yuko pondered as she glanced around.

She recalled seeing some students who tried to use their bags as an umbrella getting lectured by a council member before on a different day.

“Yeah, I think they’ve been too busy with that other thing lately…” Chisa said, noticing the council’s absence as well.

“Hm? What other thing?” Yuko asked.

“What, you haven’t heard?” Chisa was a little surprised. “It was kind of a big deal. Since late last week, a few students have suddenly started suffering from anemia. The student council has been investigating to figure out why.”

“Anemia? No, I haven’t heard anything about that…” Yuko frowned.

Yuko tended to be a little slow on picking up recent rumors or topics of discussion, so if she didn’t hear it from Chisa, it was likely she’d be totally out of the loop. Chisa, who was always more adept at keeping up with the latest fads and information, ended up being Yuko’s go-to source for such things.

“It’s some pretty bizarre stuff. It sounds like everyone who came down with it didn’t really have any record of poor health before.” Chisa explained.

“I see…” Yuko pondered. “I wonder if I should talk to Kanna about it.”

“Ah, that’s right! I haven’t seen you talking to the prez much lately. Did something happen?” Chisa gave a look of slight concern.

“Oh, no! We’re still good. There just hasn’t been much to talk about, I guess?” Yuko waved off her friend’s concerns.

“Well, whatever. All the more time I have you to myself! Hehe!” Chisa grinned, reaching in to tickle Yuko’s sides.

“Hahaha, hey! C’mon now, Chisa! Stop, that tickles!” Yuko whined in-between her fits of giggling.

“Hehe, sorry, sorry!” Chisa let go, a mischievous grin still plastered on her face.

“Jeez…” Yuko sighed as she regained her composure, readjusting her shirt and skirt.

“Welp, I’m off. See ya later, Yuko!” Chisa patted Yuko on the shoulder before stepping outside and opening her umbrella.

“Take care!” Yuko waved as Chisa swiftly dashed out into the rain, umbrella in hand.

Anyway, I guess I should ask about this anemia stuff next time I see Kanna around…

Yuko clumsily opened her own umbrella while her thoughts shifted to Kanna. After taking a glance at the sky, she lifted up the umbrella and started to make her way towards the cafe through the rain.

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“Waah, it’s already so busy!” Yuko had just finished changing into her work uniform and returned to the front of the café, when she realized just how busy it was. Sure enough, a lot of students would be coming indoors on a rainy day like this.

“Hey Maeda, get on the other register, would ya?” the Boss requested from across the room. It seems he had his hands full as well.

“Right away, sir!” Yuko nodded and went to open a second line for the customers.

Yuko worked hard in the café as afternoon slowly passed into evening. All the while, the sound of the rain outside echoed throughout the building. In a way, it was a bit of a calming ambiance.

The sun had set and it was now dark out. The rush of customers had slowed as well. Yuko was taking her mid-shift break by having a small dinner in the corner of the café. While eating, she heard the chime of the door as someone entered the building.

“Hello, sorry I’m late! I’ll get ready right away.” It was Tanabe Murakami, Yuko’s upperclassman. The two of them both worked at the café and would often have shifts together. However, due to also being a key member of the kendo club, Tanabe isn’t at the café as often as Yuko.

“No rush, man. Grab a bite to eat first. There’s still some time before the dinner crowd starts showing up.” the Boss gave Tanabe a thumbs-up.

“Thank you, sir!” Tanabe nodded before heading to the back to change.

Even though both the high school and middle school dorms had their own cafeterias managed by the cooking club of each school, there were some students who liked to eat out at other facilities around the district, such as this café. Often times, the cooking club’s best students would be taken in by these extra student-run businesses, and their cooking would become a specialty. That being said, the café didn’t particularly specialize in food, and the only cook was another 3rd-year student the Boss happened to be acquainted with. Still, perhaps because of the café’s atmosphere, if anything else, there would be a small crowd that’d come around dinner time to eat here instead of at the cafeteria.

“Hello Maeda, may I sit here?” Tanabe, now in his work uniform, had approached Yuko, his meal in tow.

“Sure thing!” Yuko happily smiled back.

The two made small talk as they both ate and finished up their food.

“So kendo club’s got you running late, huh?” Yuko asked.

“Yep. We’ve got the big inter-district tournament coming up this weekend… The club is in full-swing with practice. The best I could manage tonight is a half-shift, but I may have to skip out on the café for the rest of the week, haha.” Tanabe smiled at Yuko, apologetically.

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard some talk about that!” Yuko perked up. “Your team will be facing the kendo team from a different district’s high school, right?”

“Yeah, we’re going up against the kendo team from the western district.” Tanabe nodded. “It’s one of the rare opportunities to interact with students from other districts of the academy. The kendo team always goes all out for it.”

“That’s amazing. I’ll definitely make sure to come cheer you on!” Yuko smiled.

“Thanks, Maeda.” Tanabe smiled in turn, before looking down. “As one of the star players of the team, a lot of pressure is being put on me for this match… It’s not like any of our competitions before now.”

“Ah, I see…” Yuko could only look on at him sympathetically.

“Oh, please don’t worry about me. Actually, spending this time here with you really helps me to relax.”

“Oh?” Yuko was a bit surprised, but was happy to hear those words. “Well, if I can help just by being here, then I’m glad.”

A bit later, the two finished chatting and gathered their stuff from the tables, before heading into the back and preparing for the rest of their shift together.

Sure enough, more customers started to trickle in for the dinnertime hour. Yuko and Tanabe both worked hard for the rest of the evening.

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Closing time for the café arrived and the rain still had yet to cease. Ending their shifts at the same time, Yuko and Tanabe both stood at the entrance, back in their school uniforms, and prepared their umbrellas.

“Dealing with this rain pouring all day is quite the hassle…” Tanabe muttered with a sigh.

“Yeah… It’s been so dreary today.” Yuko concurred with a wry smile.

The two both stepped outside and raised their umbrellas to shield them from the rain, before making their way down the walkway and heading back towards the dorms. A handful of other students were out and about heading the same way, all holding umbrellas of their own. Yuko glanced their way, before focusing on the boy walking beside her.

Walking home in the rain with Murakami by my side… Isn’t this situation kind of romantic? Well, maybe if we were sharing an umbrella…

Despite thinking about the potential romantic atmosphere for a moment, the wet pavement soaking their shoes and the dark surroundings illuminated only by a few streetlights left the situation feeling more like a pain than anything else.

The two continued to make their way through the downpour, passing by the path that lead toward Rigel Park, when suddenly Yuko caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye.

“Hm…?” Yuko stopped to glance toward the trees.

“Huh? What’s up?” Tanabe stopped and turned towards Yuko.

“I feel like I just saw something over there…” Yuko pointed towards the trees just off the paved pathway; the woods that lead into Rigel Park.

“Really? Like what? It’s so dark…” Tanabe tried squinting and looking into the dark forest, but between the lack of light and the rain, he wasn’t noticing anything.

“Hmm…” Yuko scanned the area again. “Maybe it was just my imagination…”

Just as she was about to drop the subject and turn away, Yuko caught a glimpse of it again, this time locking eyes with… a person.

“…!” Yuko gasped as she stared down the other person.

“Hm?” Tanabe noticed Yuko’s reaction and tried to look in the same place as her. “… Ah!”

He, too, noticed the person hiding in the woods.

“Who is that…?” Tanabe whispered.

It was too dark to see the person clearly. The most the two could make out was that they had long hair and didn’t seem to be very tall. Feeling concerned, Yuko decided to speak up.

“Um… excuse me!” Yuko called out.

“…!” the figure suddenly jolted up, and dashed back further into the woods.

“Ah, they ran!” Tanabe noted.

“Oh no, could they have been in some kind of trouble…? Should we go after them?” Yuko asked Tanabe, a look of concern on her face.

“Well, I mean…” Tanabe was at a loss over what to do, but…

When he looked at Yuko, he could sense an aura of determination coming from her. Sure enough, Yuko had already decided she wanted to go after that person and figure out what was happening.

I don’t want to leave Murakami here and run off… I hope we can go look together…

Normally, Yuko wouldn’t be this eager to run off and search for some stranger in the woods. But when she locked eyes with the person before, a distinct feeling came over her.

Yuko has already experienced a couple of extraordinary circumstances recently, and just as things seemed to be going back to normal, she came across this odd situation. Rather than ignoring it, Yuko felt as though this were something she should try to tackle head-on. After all…

“I think… they were crying.” Yuko whispered.

Of course, it was too dark to actually see something like that, especially in the rain like this. But the eyes Yuko saw… she could tell: they were the pleading eyes of someone in need. Or at least, that’s what Yuko was starting to believe.

“Well, if you’re sure… Then yeah, let’s go after them.” Tanabe nodded after a moment of contemplation.