Chapter 4 : Rainy trouble and Evil plans

It’s the fourth day of high school.
I wake up with a bad feeling.
You know that feeling when you drop your toast and it lands jam side down?
Yeah. That.

I walk to school in silence.
The sky is full of clouds. Dark ones.
Please don’t rain,
please don’t rain,
please don’t—

It starts raining.
Great.

I run the rest of the way and still get wet.
My hair is sticking to my forehead.
I probably look like a wet dog.

I got to school and try to dry myself with tissues.
That’s when I hear it.

“Yuuji-kun. You looks like a soggy rice ball.”

I freeze.
I don’t even have to turn around.
I already know.

Airi Fujimoto.
She’s standing behind me with a smirk.
Not a kind smile.
Nope.
A smirk.

“Oh,” she says, “you didn’t bring an umbrella? That’s so smart.”

I stare at her.
She’s bone dry.
Not a single drop on her.
She twirls a pink umbrella in her hand.

“Good morning, Airi,” I say.

She leans closer. “Your hair is kind of sad today. It looks like overcooked spaghetti.”

I die inside a little.
She pats my head like I’m a dog.

“Don’t worry. Wet puppies are cute too,” she says.
Then she walks to our class, humming.

Class began, and Mr. Kumagai stormed in dramatically like always.
He slammed a stack of papers on the desk.

“Good morning, young minds!” he shouted. “I have something exciting!”

Oh no.

“This week, we will start… a group project!”

The whole class let out a groan louder than my stomach during math.

“Don’t worry,” he said with a sparkle in his eye. “I have chosen the pairs with… random chance!”

(Translation: chaos.)

“The topic is Family Traditions. You’ll work together until Monday.”

He read the names from his paper like a game show host.

“Morishita and Nishiyama.”

Daiki high fived Kenta so hard it echoed.
Someone whispered, “The school’s not ready.”

“Kuroda and Sakamoto.”

Hina gave a short bow. Mika tripped over her bag in excitement.

“Tanaka and Fujimoto.”

My body froze.
I saw my life flash before my eyes.

I turned slowly.
Airi was already looking at me with the look of someone who had just won a lottery.

“Fate is real,” she whispered.
I whispered back, “So are nightmares.”

During break, I considered hiding in the janitor's closet.

Daiki found me instead.

“There you are, Romeo.”

“Shut up.”

“Do you know how rare this is?” he said, biting into a mochi bun.
“You and Airi, working together, out in the wild? This is a dating sim side quest.”

“This is a horror route,” I corrected.

He wiped powdered sugar off his face.
“Think about it! Shared glances over textbooks. Awkward café meetings. Rainy walks under one umbrella—”

“Why are you narrating my doom like a drama CD?”

He slapped my shoulder.
“Live it, bro. I’ll be here when you crash and burn.”

“…Thanks, I hate it.”

“Dude! be for real, You and Airi? That’s the dream combo!”

“In what dream?” I asked. “A nightmare?”

“Yuuji, you don’t understand. This is fate. The gods want you two together!”

“Which gods? Hades?”

“Maybe she’ll warm up to you,” he said. “Like those anime girls who pretend they hate the guy, but deep down they’re soft.”

“She just called me a overcooked spaghetti.”

“…Maybe she likes spaghetti?”

Daiki pointed at my lunch.
“Also, you forgot your chopsticks.”

I looked down.
I was eating rice with a straw.

At the end of the day, I was stuffing my bag when I heard a tap tap tap on my desk.

Airi stood there.

“Let’s meet tomorrow,” she said. “For the project.”

“Where?”

“Somewhere public. Where you can’t run away. How about that cat café near the station?”

“There are cats involved?”

“Yes. Unlike you, they’re cute and obedient.”

I blinked. “Did you just compare me to a cat in a bad way?”

She smiled. “I said obedient. You’re more like a confused raccoon.”

I blinked again.
That… might’ve been fair.

I stepped outside and saw that it was raining again.

Rain.

That brought back some bad memories.

I stood there, already wet, when a shadow appeared beside me.

“Seriously?” Airi asked, holding a pink umbrella. “Do you do this on purpose?”

“I forget things sometimes.”

“Like your brain?”

She sighed and opened her umbrella.

“Come on, raccoon boy.”

We walked side by side.
It was a small umbrella.
Airi was very good at 'accidentally' hitting me with her elbow.

“Ow.”

“That was a bump,” she said.

“That was an attack.”

“You’re imagining things.”

I took a deep breath. “Can you walk more to the left?”

“No. I like it here. You’re a great shield.”

I was 80% wet and 100% confused.

“You walk like a penguin,” she said suddenly.

“What?”

“Waddle, waddle.”

“I’m trying not to slip!”

She shrugged. “It’s cute. In a tragic way.”

I didn’t reply. I was too busy waddling with dignity.

When we reached the station, she handed me her umbrella.

“Take it.”

“Wait… why?”

“I want you to remember who saved you.”

“It has strawberries on it.”

“Yes. It’s cute. You’re welcome.”

She walked away into the rain, her short hair bouncing behind her.

I looked at the pink, sparkly umbrella in my hand.

I looked at the sky.

“Why me.”

Yuuji’s Mental Diary – Day 4

Group project with Airi (Send help)

Meeting tomorrow at a cat café (Why cats?)

Shared umbrella = 1% romance, 99% wet shoulders

Umbrella is pink and smells like bubblegum

Called a penguin

Dignity: 0

note : I’m bringing snacks tomorrow. Maybe the cats will protect me.

[Extra Scene]

After lunch, I tried to sneak out of the classroom like a ninja.

Key word : tried.

“Where you goin’?” Kenta asked, suddenly popping up in front of me like a boss fight.

I froze. “Nowhere important.”

“Sounds suspicious!” he shouted. “DAIKI! Get over here!”

Daiki jogged over with a milk carton in his mouth. “What's the mission?”

“Yuuji’s being shady.”

“I’m not! I’m just uh... stretching my legs. Outside. Very far outside.”

Kenta squinted. “Wait… is this about the project?”

“...Maybe.”

“You’re paired with Airi, right?” he said, eyes sparkling.

“Yes.”

He gasped like it was breaking news. “This is HUGE. You two are basically married now!”

“No, we’re not—”

“Where’s the honeymoon? The library? The cemetery?”

Daiki laughed. “Dude, if she kills you, can I have your pencil case?”

“Sure. Just don’t let her use it as a weapon.”

Then, like a horror movie jump scare, Airi appeared in the hallway behind them.

She didn’t say a word. Just smiled.

Kenta and Daiki turned around.

Kenta immediately dropped to a crouch. “I WAS NEVER HERE.”

Daiki saluted. “Good luck, soldier.”

Then they both ran.
They left me for dead.

Airi walked up, hands behind her back like a final boss.

“Ready for class?” she said sweetly.

Writers note :

Mika Kuroda :
Wavy chestnut hair, Petite height, Use lots of accessories (Heart shaped hair pins, Ribbons etc.)

She's a bit shy but very sweet and friendly

(Will get more screen time!!)