(V3) Chapter 4: He, Who Hates the Rain, and the First Timer

The rain kept falling.

And I kept hating it.

And then there were the two of us, a boy and a girl, standing at our own worlds clamped into a single umbrella.

I've never seen her face this close, and staring at her makes me feel lightheaded. Her scent, a line between sharp and sweet, was tempting.

"Why are you here?" I started.

"Do I need a reason if you see somebody standing in the rain, clearly in a trance?" she shot back. "It's not like I can avoid it, especially since I recognized it was you."

I looked away from her.

We didn't speak again.

Maybe just listening to the sound of raindrops falling was more preferable than talking about anything. But then again, my life has pretty much been nothing but complicated experiences lately. If opening up about them would lessen the burden, then I'll try to talk myself out of it.

"Pretty ironic, isn't it?" she started before I could.

I turned to Takamine-san, but didn't ask further.

"It was raining the day I rejected you too."

Something inside me cracked. But unlike before, it didn't hurt as much.

I huffed.

“What are you trying to imply?"

She lowered the umbrella, just enough to cover the both of us from watchful eyes.

"That you'll always hate the rain."

I can't help but agree. The rain gave me a multitude of bad experiences for me to resent it. Rejections, deaths, loneliness...the list can go on forever.

But somehow, it was raining too when I saved Ayase. I can't say that it can alone change my perception, but at least that I can single out a great memory from all those other awful ones.

"It's not like I'm going to hate it forever. I have plenty of means of braving through it. There will come a day when rain stops being melancholic and it becomes a good thing. And you can't deny that, right?"

Takamine-san gives me a strained smile.

"But today you looked vulnerable. Maybe a little down. I won't conclude that the rain broke your own walls, but cracked. That, I can say."

My phone vibrated. From the soaked folds of my jacket, I pulled it out.

It was drenched too, but still working.

On the screen—a red alert banner flashed: "Sudden Thunderstorm Advisory Issued. All travel is discouraged until 2AM."

At the same time, Akio-san notified me not to just go home because he'll be closing the diner tonight.

“I guess we’re both caught,” I said, tucking it away.

And the downpour only worsened, loud and steady, and the visibility dropped even lower.

Without another word, the two of us made our way to a small bus stop shelter nearby. The opaque roofing was enough to block out the rain. The long bench can cater up to twelve people, but tonight, there are only two of us stranded here.

I sat a considerable distance from her. Takamine-san didn't seem bothered by it.

The place reeked of wet leaves and rust, but it was the only dry place left.

Night crawled in, but the rain refused to end.

"I wonder why you're still not calling your drivers or butlers. You could be in a car within minutes."

Takamine-san shook her head.

“I don’t want to,”

She caught me by surprise.

“This is…actually nice.” she continued. “It’s my first time watching the rain like this. With someone. I want to remember it.”

“You sound like you’ll never see it again.”

“Maybe I won’t." she trailed off, and played with the ends of her long black hair. "It's not like I could watch it either. I'm just someone locked in the four corners of the house I live in and never leave. And seeing the rain this close, it heals me.”

Her voice was calm, too calm. And I felt a strange tightness in my chest.

"It destroys me."

"Then that makes us even. We can share our suffering together now."

A small smile spread across her face, and I couldn’t resist returning it. Even when I'm miserable, I know seeing smiles make others happy. For once, I am feeling better myself.

"Hey," I whispered. I could feel her returning a sidelong glance. "You’ve always had your life dictated, haven’t you? Everything is planned and the requirement is perfection. You’re not even supposed to be here.”

She nodded softly, and shifted her gaze on the dark sky.

It's not like I implied that thought on my own. Even though we're too distant, Takamine-san and I managed to talk about things personally before I confessed my feelings. After all, we're the same library rats that love to read at leisure times, but when that incident happened, I haven't visited the school library ever since.

The substance of our discussions before remained. And I knew that she barely kept her freedom, and she's constantly fighting for it.

"So that's why every second right now mattered more than everything."

"But will Mr. Takamine start looking for you?"

She chuckled softly, brushing a strand behind her ear. “Probably not. But I told them I had an overnight project just in case. I used your name. I said I was researching the life of a boy who hates the rain.”

"That's not funny."

"That is funny."

I looked at her expression. There was no trace of her fooling around. My heart started to race.

"Tell me you're joking."

She mused, "Do I look like I'm joking?"

Involuntarily, my palm found my face. I can't stand the thought that she'd actually do such a thing just because I confessed to hating the rain. So twisted.

"I'll walk you home. This isn't a joke."

But instead of complying, Takamine-san just smirked and stood up.

"Force me."

"What—-"

Without another word, she brushed past me and stepped out in the open.

“What are you doing?!”

She walked into the rain. Arms out. Head tilted up. Letting every drop crash against her.

“Takamine—!”

I'm not sure if this was the right choice. I rushed forward and opened her umbrella to shield her but she shoved it away.

"No!" she yelled over the thunder. "Just let me feel this! Just let me remember the rain the way I want!"

The umbrella was carried away by the wind. I shielded my eyes from the rain, but the picture was clear. Takamine-san wanted this moment for herself.

"You're impossible." I remarked. Too stunned to do anything.

So I just watched and joined her. She danced, laughed and screamed as if she were five years old again. As if the weight she always carried slipped from her shoulders and drowned in the rain. Her long and dark hair stuck to her skin, and her blouse clung to her body, but she didn’t care. Takamine-san never looked this alive, wild and real.

She took my arm and pulled me in circles. I almost stumbled, but her grip was firm. If anyone will see us right now, they would surely think we were insane. I don’t really think that was wrong though. Everyone experiences emotions differently. And I know for certain that I've experienced many of them today. I just never expected it from her of all people.

"Come on," she grabbed my hand and tugged me towards her. I followed without hesitation. "This is so freeing!”

She skipped like a frog, her sandals squishing against the puddles of water until we're below the light of a big street lamp.

For some reason, that made me laugh despite how utterly ridiculous we looked.

Because it was the first time I saw her without the mask.

And damn, she was beautiful. She smiled like it was the world would end tomorrow, she giggled, flailed, almost dancing, but most of all, she was genuinely happy.

Did chasing perfection costed her so much joy?

I can see it. She was releasing.

Not just the rain washed away every weight she carried. It washed away the image of her I always kept in my mind.

The trophy daughter…became human.

Later after our antics died down, we looked for shelter to dry ourselves. I offered my home, but Takamine-san refused.

"I just want the two of us to be alone."

That's what she said. Albeit venomous and provocative in a sense, I followed along. I ignored the alarm bells ringing faintly in the back of my mind.

We found a small lodging house tucked behind near Mukojima station. Of course seeing a boy and girl together renting a room will raise eyebrows, but I'm glad that the owner didn't question us too much about it. She just handed us two towels and a pair of blankets, then showed us the spare room.

Inside, Takamine-san took the first bath. I waited on the living room sofa, listening to the muffled downpour from the rain outside and the ripple of water and her humming behind the bathroom door. At the same time, there was a soft rumble of a machine running that filled my ears.

If I'm right, then there's a washing machine and dryer waiting for me inside the bathroom.

It took Takamine-san around 20 minutes to finish, and when she came out, she was already in her school uniform, cleaned and dried up and her hair was covered in a bath towel.

I wordlessly took my turn and sank into the bathtub with steaming water. At the same time, I already threw my clothes into the dryer and turned it on.

I stayed silent as I offered myself into the hot, soothing water. Every time I close my eyes, I see her.

Her image soaked in the rain.

The genuinity of her laugh.

That beautiful smile of hers.

And that look of contentment in her eyes as she mumbled how freeing it is to dance in the rain.

It refused to leave my head.

We shared contrasting feelings and yet, somehow, we met in the middle and fit together perfectly.