CH-7 (THE RAIN THAT SOAKED HER-2 )

It was already dark outside, when she finally woke up. Looking around, she was able to sense the familiar layout, which she promptly realized was her own room.

“Was all of that just a bad dream?”, wondered she, as she decided to sit up, in order to reach out towards her smartphone. Unfortunately, for her though, she felt that as if strength had left her body, as she was assaulted by high fever.

“You shouldn’t move around so much! Just lie down and take some rest, please,” prompting her to look toward the source of the voice.

It was the same boy who had found her in the abandoned park.

“Just lie down quietly, and let me change the wet towel for you.”, said he as an attempt to reassure her.

Realizing that a stranger was inside her house, she decided to ask the obvious.

 “Who are you?”

“Just a passerby.”

“What are you even doing in my house?”

“You don’t remember? It was you who guided me to your house, while I carried you on my back.

You were the one who asked me to take you inside your bedroom, and lie you down on the bed.”

“Did I? Sorry, but I can’t remember.”

“I understand. Your memory feels a bit hazy I guess, due to the heavy fever that you are experiencing. But I assure you, I didn’t try anything funny, while you were unconscious.”

“Thank you, I guess? For dropping me into my house.

But you should’ve just left after that. Why are you still here?”

“You were the one who begged me to stay, to not leave you here all alone. You were literally crying-“

“NOW LISTEN HERE, MISTER! I-“

As an attempt to retort, she wanted to punch him in the face. However, her attempt was unsuccessful, since she lacked the strength to do so. Instead, she just fell over.

“Careful there! I told you to just lie down, and let me take care of you. Like I said, your fever hasn’t gone down yet. You just need to take some rest, and let me do my thing.”

“I JUST WANNA PUNCH YOUR FUCKING FACE!”

“I assure you that you will get the chance to punch me as many times as you want, later. But right now, I need you to just lie down, and relax, and let me take care of you. You are still very weak, since you’ve caught a nasty fever, soaking in the rain.

Seriously, what were you even thinking? Who in the right mind would go out at a time like this? Haven’t you read the news? Even the TV folks had been discussing it all day. Seriously, that was very irresponsible of you, soaking in the rain like that? I mean, what would’ve happened if I had not found you? You could’ve…..”

Emi was losing her patience, listening to this guy blabber non-stop right in front of her face. And why would she not? A stranger had just barged into her place, bringing her back where she did not want to stay in, and was currently lecturing him without any breaks. For someone as short tempered as Kurosawa Emi, a crime like this would mean being beaten up into pulp by her fists. So what, if he was taking care of her, nursing her back to health? It didn’t matter to her, as she was feeling this overwhelming rage and frustration welling inside her.

“…..ying”

“Huh! Did you say something? I couldn’t catch that, so could you please repeat wha-“

“I SAID YOU ARE ANNOYING, YOU STUPID FREAK! NOW SHUT UP! GODDAMNIT!

CAN’T YOU JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTH FOR 2 SECONDS?”

But contrary to her expectations, this boy didn’t react as she thought he would.

Instead of showing any remorse, he doubled down.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, SHUT UP? YOU LITERALLY HAD COLLAPSED DUE TO EXHAUSTION, AND YOU CAUGHT A FEVER…….”

He kept on blabbering yet again.

You see, Kurosawa Emi was not used to getting yelled at. In all her sixteen years, she had never once been scolded. Never once was she denied of any object that she had desired, be it clothes, games, shoes, bags, anything. Her teachers always respected her, even if she would misbehave. Students avoided talking to her, out of fear.

Never once had she met a person who would yell at her, until now. This experience was quite unusual to her, as she was used to yelling at others, but didn’t know how to respond when being scolded or yelled at. This was probably her first time experiencing something, and she was quite unsure of what to make out of it.

As she was lost in her thought, trying to figure out what her next course of action should be, in order to get out of this ridiculous situation that she found herself trapped in, the events that followed were more surprising than anything else.

You see, the boy had developed a strong sense of responsibility since an early age. So, while lecturing Emi about her do’s and don’ts, he had also brought the porridge that he had cooked back in the kitchen.

“Here! Enough talking! Now open up! You need to at least eat in order for the medicine to take effect.”

“I’m not hungry. I don’t want to eat.”

“Now listen here, woman! You can argue and throw tantrums all you want, but please just don’t skip your meal.”

“What I will eat and what I won’t, is not up to your decision. Now back off! I’ll eat when I feel like it.”

*~~~~~~~~~GROWWWWWWWWWWL~~~~~~~~*

“Sigh! At least your body is honest. Now here, open your mouth.”

Unable to resist nature’s urge, Emi had decided to finally give in. I mean, it was easier than resisting this knucklehead, and, weirdly enough, the food that he had cooked had a pretty nice aroma.

“WAIT! YOU ARE GOING TO FEED ME?”

“SIGH! Do I have a choice? In your current state, you can’t even hold a glass of water properly. Now here, say Ahhhhhh~~~~~!”

“STOP TREATING ME LIKE A KID! IT’S EMBARRASING!”

“THEN ACT LIKE AN ADULT, FOR GOD’S SAKE!”

*GULP*

*NOM NOM NOM*

“…ty”

“Huh? I didn’t catch that!”

“I SAID, IT’S SALTY!”

“Well,- I’m sorry! I’m not that used to cooking yet! Maybe I’ll just throw this away and make it once again.”

“Don’t bother!”, saying, she took another bite.

“You don’t have to force yourself, if it’s too salty! I’ll just go ahead and make another.”

“I SAID, DO. NOT. BOTHER!”, saying, she grabbed the bowl of porridge away from his hand, and starting munching on the food herself. Meanwhile, here the boy was, smiling, while looking at the hungry girl having a hearty meal.

“W-W-Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You look like a hamster, while eating.”

“SHUT UP! Stop saying embarrassing stuff out loud!”, said she, while turning beet red due to embarrassment.

“Well, a certain someone I know eats just like you, so I don’t see what’s so embarrassing.”, he looked a bit forlorn, while saying those words.

“Is that someone close to you?”, Emi asked, pausing her meal.

“Well, she used to be. But now, even I’m not sure of it either.”

“It’s a girl, isn’t it?”

“…….Does it matter?”

“I mean, when it comes to romance-“

“IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ROMANCE! WE ARE NOT IN THAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP ANYWAY! I-”

“Calm down, dude! It’s not that deep anyway!”

“You are right. I’m sorry, I started blabbering again.”

___________________________________________________________________________

Emi decide to lay down on her bed, as the boy went into the kitchen to clean up. She lay staring at the ceiling, reflecting on her actions over the past few hours.

Within a span of few hours, she had caught a nasty fever, got a lecture from a complete stranger, and had the best meal of her life.

And why would it not be? When was the last time she had eaten a proper homecooked meal? Every day, she returned home to convenience-store bentos and instant ramen, until her taste buds grew numb to taste itself. Which is why, even a porridge from an unknown stranger tasted so delicious.

Her eyelids became moist with tears, and her vision turned blurry, as she was assaulted with memories of her family, that she desperately wanted to forget. She had always known the situation she was in, but only now did she fully realize how messed up it truly was. The little fire of hope she held in her heart was extinguished that very day.

“Are you still awake?”, asked he, outside the door of her room.

Emi hurriedly wiped her tears so as not to be seen crying. Then, in a soft yet firm voice, she said,

“Come in!”

He slammed open the door, and said,

“Forgive me for doing this, but-,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”,

*POP*

He had popped a party popper, showering the room with confetti.

She stared at him in disbelief. Then, her voice trembling with anger, she snapped,

“IS THIS SOME KIND OF SICK JOKE?”

“Forgive me. I saw the decorations in the living room, so I thought-“

“WHAT DID YOU THINK? THAT YOU CAN CRASH INTO MY HOUSE, MAKE SOME MEALS, AND HAVE A PARTY? WHAT, DO YOU THINK THIS IS A CIRCUS?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just, you really seemed to look forward to your birthday, so I just wanted to celebrate it, together with you.”

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? WHAT DO YOU EVEN KNOW ABOUT ME?”

“I might not know much about you, but even I can tell by the decorations that you were looking forward to the birthday party. You must’ve worked pretty hard decorating the room, making prior arrangements by buying the cake and snacks, and whatnot. It requires dedication, which you clearly had. I just wanted to respect those feelings of yours, so I thought maybe celebrating it might alleviate your pain a bit, and improve your mood.”

“FORGET IT! JUST GIVE IT TO ME!”, saying, she grabbed the cake from his hands, and threw it across the room, out of frustration, while the boy stared at it, dumbfounded.

“JUST GET OUT OF MY ROOM, RIGHT NOW!”

“I’m sorry, I-”

“GET OUT, BEFORE I START SCREAMING!”

___________________________________________________________________________

Emi laid down on her bed, closing her eyes, trying to sleep. Unfortunately for her though, she just couldn’t get any. The events today had left her in a state of disarray. She felt a sense of guilt, for having snapped at the boy for nothing. He was just trying to help, trying to lift up her spirits, and here she had diminished his efforts. To Emi, her sense of guilt was her strongest emotion, especially if she had wronged anyone. She had been abandoned once again. She knew that she had wronged him, yet she just couldn’t accept the idea of agreeing to it. Not after she had decided to close her heart for good.

*TING TONG*

Her thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell.

“Who is it at this hour?”, she wondered.

“Probably nothing. Let me just ignore it”, thought she, before pretending to sleep again.

*TING TONG*

The doorbell rang yet again, reminding Emi that it was not an illusion.

*TING TONG*

*TING TONG*

*TING TONG*

*TING TONG*

*TING TONG*

The doorbell kept on ringing, until she finally gave up, and decided to open the door.

To her surprise, she found the boy in front of her room, huffing and puffing, anxiously.

“What is it this time?”, she asked, albeit annoyed.

“HAAAH.....! HAAAH.....! THANK GOD YOU ARE OKAY! AND HERE I WAS WORRIED IF SOMETHING BAD HAD HAPPENED TO YOU.”, said he, while holding her hands.

Emi was promptly surprised by his actions. No one has ever looked at her the same way he looked at her.

“What is the meaning of this?”, she asked, while swiftly retreating her hands.

“I’m sorry, for deciding something for you, which I shouldn’t have. I am just a stranger to you, who barged into your house, and did some chores. Of course, you wouldn’t be comfortable celebrating your birthday with someone like me, as birthdays are meant to be celebrated with people whom you hold dear. And here I was, a stranger, acting imprudently, expecting you to follow along.”, said he, while bowing.

“If you had just come here to apologize, don’t bother. You’d just be wasting my time, and yours as well.”

“But-but-“

“I think we are done here. You should just leave for now.”, said she, while attempting to close the door.

“Just wait a damn minute! Please, for once, listen to what I have to say,”, said he, while blocking her from closing the door by placing his foot to prevent her from closing it.

“And why should I? I don’t think we have anything else to discuss.”

“Because…., because………,

I still feel that even after all this, you should still celebrate your birthday.”

Emi’s expression changed, as he said that.

“This nonsense again? Like I said, it’s not something for you to decide. And besides, how can I even celebrate my own birthday without a cake? I literally destroyed it in front of your own eyes. Now don’t tell me you possess some sort of magic to revive it back.”, she replied, sarcastically.

“I don’t possess any sort of magic like that, but, here-

I know this doesn’t even qualify as a birthday cake, but I tried making one.”

Saying that, he opened his bag, to serve her a small vanilla cake, while placing a candle on top in the process.

“I know this isn’t nearly enough, but even if it’s only for a few minutes, I want you to feel special—to feel like a girl celebrating her birthday today.”

Saying that, he lit the candle.

“Now… please blow it out.”

Emi was in utter disbelief. It was just a few minutes before midnight. No confectionary shop would be open this late. And, judging by the temperature of the cake, it was still warm.

“Did he just run back to his house, bake a cake in a few hours, and return back here again?” she wondered, looking at the boy. He was drenched in sweat, not to mention had bandages wrapped around his fingers, and had stains on his shirt.

“All of this, just for me?”

“Yes!”

“Just why are you so persistent? What do you have to gain from this?”

“Your precious smile, I guess?”

“Sigh! Seriously, flirting at a time like this?” she replied.

With that, she blew out the candle and followed it up by cutting the cake.

“Congratulation, and happy birthday!”, said the boy, clapping.

As she tasted it, her mouth was filled with a taste of comforting and gentle sense of sweetness. He sure had made it with utmost care, as she could eat it without any issues, even if she was going through a fever.

Maybe because of it, she could sense the utmost gentleness that was put into baking it. So much so, that tears started welling down her eyes, making her realise exactly what was absent from her life.

“Are you all right? Does it taste bad? Why are you tearing up?”, he asked, concerned.

“Sniff…. Sniff…

Wahhhhhhhhhhh!”

She couldn't hold back her tears any more.

___________________________________________________________________________

“So, what now?”, asked the boy, while sitting beside her on the bed, staring at the sky across the balcony.

“Honestly, I do not know myself.”, replied she, sitting beside him, staring at the moon.

“I’m not sure of it either, but the relationship we have now, I don’t think it could be considered normal.”

“When was anything ever normal anyways?”

Maybe it was just a spur of the moment, but to Emi, this was the solace she was looking for. She never wished for this night to end, as she stayed by his side, trying to live in the present.

She had just done something unthinkable. She kissed the boy she had just met, but she was too afraid to do anything else and go on further.

Clearly, she had crossed a line that day. She wasn’t exactly sure what she felt for him. Surely, it wasn’t hatred, to say the least, but she couldn’t call it love either. If anything, she had this twisted sense of obsession that she felt developing inside her, yet strangely, she found it quiet comforting.

“There is something that I need to give you.”, his voice interrupted her thought process.

“What is it?”

“Here! This does not exactly qualify as a present, but it’s something I treasure the most.”, saying, he handed her a black pen.

“What is this? A pen?”

“Use it whenever you are feeling lost. It’s a powerful tool, one that enables you to clearly express yourself, at your lowest. It might not be able to fill up the void in your heart, but it sure does ease the pain. Keep it safe, Emi-senpai!”

“How do you know my name? Wait, who exactly even are you?”

“Just a junior at the middle school you attend.

And the name is Nishimura Reiji, or, as my fans like to call me,

Kitagawa Airi.”

___________________________________________________________________________

Emi opened her eyes, to find a white ceiling. Only this time, it was unfamiliar to her.

She was reminded of the memories of her past. Memories that she held dear, yet found painfully hard to bear. She was reminded of that fateful day, when she met him for the first time. Yet, as it stands, she did not deserve to hold onto them.

She looked around, to find herself sleeping inside the high school infirmary.

“Why am I even here?”, she wondered, as she tried to sit up.

“You should just lie down, and rest, senpai”, said a voice, which was too familiar to her.

“Why have you guys even brought me here anyway? I don’t think I’m sick, Kouhai-kun.”

“Well, you had collapsed a few hours before, while discussing about the budgets of the clubs. So, I just carried you on my back, and brought you here.

Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious though. The nurse said that you had collapsed due to exhaustion and extreme fatigue. Looks like the all-nighters finally took a toll on your body.”

“Just shut up!”

Meanwhile, the door to the infirmary opened again, and an awfully face familiar to her appeared.

“Emi-senpai! Are you all right? Is your head okay? I heard that you had collapsed, so are you hurt anywhere?”

“Calm down, Akeno-chan. It’s nothing serious. I was just a bit tired, I guess?”

“Of course you’d be tired, Senpai, if you try to manage everything on your own! Even the student council, which is supposed to be run by a proper group, is basically handled by just you and Rei-chan. What were you thinking, firing the entire council?”

“Well, Akeno-chan, it was just something out of necessity! Those people couldn’t keep up with my pace, and were slowing things down, so I decided to fire them.

It was only Kouhai-kun who was able to match my demands, and act accordingly.“

“Although, that decision of yours is taking a toll on both of us!”, I decided to give a sharp reply, for once.

“Hey! My council, my rules!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever!”, I replied, sarcastically.

But to Akeno, our situation must’ve seemed dire, especially since Emi-senpai had collapsed.

“Then let me help! I’ll join the student council!”

“Akeno, listen! This person right here is a monster when it comes to her work, so you shouldn’t just-“, I tried to discourage her, especially since I knew what kind of a workaholic Emi-senpai was.

But, to my surprise, it went much differently than I had anticipated.

Instead of her usual barbaric attitude, she just gave her a smile, and said,

“Sure, why not? I don’t mind.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yes, why not? But only under these two conditions:

First, Kouhai-kun! You need to teach her about the ways we operate inside the student council, as well as look after her studies, so that her grades could improve.

And second, Akeno. You need to promise me something.”

“What is it? I’m ready for anything, senpai!”

“That you’ll perform in this year’s cultural festival,

acting for the drama club.”,

said she, with a smile, that could only be described as melancholic, as the rays of the setting sun basked the infirmary.