Rainy days call for...

Ugh, I wonder what she has planned for today.

Yuri thinks as she hesitantly reaches for the door’s handle. However, as she expects the unexpected, a completely normal sight awaits her.

Yaoi is looking out the window on the other side of the room. Yuri is surprised that she isn’t wearing anything weird this time, but she keeps her guard up since it’s Yaoi we’re talking about.

“It’s really coming down out there.” - Yaoi observes while looking at the rainy weather.

“Yeah, the forecast didn’t mention it was going to rain, so it’s kind of unexpected.” - Yuri says.

Hm? Is something wrong with Yaoi-senpai? She hasn’t even looked at me yet and she kind of has a different air to her. - Yuri thinks and decides to ask her about it:

“Uhm senpai? Is something-”

However Yaoi interrupts her:

“I had something else in mind, but this is good too, maybe even better!”

Yaoi exclaims as she turns to Yuri with an excited expression and begins explaining her enthusiasm:

“There’s two ways a rainy chapter can go: One is that the couple shares an umbrella and walk home together, while their hearts are filled with excitement and a bit of awkwardness.”

Looks like there was nothing to worry about. - Yuri thinks as she welcomes the usual, albeit a bit weird thought process of Yaoi.

“Or the other possibility is when one of them gets drenched in the rain and gets sick because of it. And then in the next chapter the other person goes to visit them.”

After Yaoi finishes her explanation she thinks for a few moments.

“The second one would be hard to pull off and might not even work, so let’s go with the first one.” - Yaoi declares.

“That means we have to check if they have umbrellas. Preferably only one of them brought one, but we’ll figure something out otherwise. However, unexpected problems might come up, so let's exchange numbers in order to keep in touch.”

“Ehm, well okay.” - Yuri says and they get each other’s contacts.

“Wait, are we even allowed to bring phones to school, officially?”

“...It depends…So, message me when you’re finished.” - Yaoi says as she tries to gloss over the previous question.

“Ah, ...okay.”

With Yuri’s acknowledgement the two of them part ways and Yuri doesn’t really realise just how used she got to Yaoi’s weird schemes.

A bit later Yuri decides to inquire about Rin’s umbrella:

“It’s raining, huh? I wonder if it stops by the time school ends.” - Yuri casually tells her.

“Well it certainly doesn’t seem to be letting up.” - Rin answers.

Hmm, not much of a reaction and he doesn’t look concerned, so I guess he probably has one. But I think I should make sure. - Yuri thinks.

“I always keep a folding umbrella with me just in case. How about you?” - Yuri decides to just bluntly ask about it and she closely observes Rin’s reaction.

“I don’t always have one with me, but I think I brought one with me today.”

“That’s good, that’s good...Ah, sorry I just remembered something, I’ll be back in a bit.” - Yuri excuses herself and messages Yaoi:

“Rin has an umbrella.”

“That’s not good, Kei has one as well… Let’s meet up.”

A few minutes later the two of them gather for a strategy meeting:

“So both of them came prepared. That is unfortunate. Without the chance to offer a helping hand, there won’t be any interaction between them.” - Yaoi summarizes the situation.

“But I mean, we can’t really do anything about it.” - Yuri says feeling a bit disappointed.

“Well, if we do something with their umbrella, we might still have a chance.” - Yaoi explains.

“I don’t know, that sounds a bit...”

“Come on, it’s for the greater good.”

“You know, somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better.” - Yuri protests.

“I don’t think Rin would have the guts to share his umbrella with Kei, so we have to sabotage Rin’s. When would we have a good opportunity for that?” - Yaoi asks.

“Hm, probably during PE. Even though he usually skips it, he hangs out behind the gym. And nobody’s around the classroom during that time either… Ah, but wait, I didn’t agree to this.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. All you have to do is stand guard then. I’ll take care of the rest.” - Yaoi says and starts walking away, but then she remembers something:

“Also, just tell the PE teacher that you are helping out the student council.”

“W-wait!”

“I’ll be waiting for you at your classroom.”

With that Yuri is left alone with her conflicting feelings.

A few hours later the rain is still pouring and it’s time for PE for Yuri and Rin’s class. Yuri timidly approaches her PE teacher.

Ugh is this really gonna work? - She thinks nervously.

“Um, teacher?”

“Hm? What is it?”

“I-I kind of promised the student council that I would help them out...”

Yuri is about to think of how to word it correctly, however the teacher interrupts her:

“Ah, I didn’t know you were part of the student council. Don’t worry about it and keep up the good work.” - The teacher says with a smile and gives her a thumbs up.

“Oh, no I… okay thank you.” - Yuri decides to just let things play out.

Um, wasn’t this way too easy?

Yuri thinks as she starts walking towards her classroom and also begins to wonder about just how much influence the student council has.

And to think it has a president like her...

Previous memories of Yaoi flash through Yuri’s mind and a chill runs down her spine.

I wonder which side of hers is the real one… The completely reliable and strict student council president or the weird and scheming Yaoi-senpai… maybe she hasn’t even shown her real self yet..

As Yuri is thinking she doesn’t even realise that she almost got to her classroom. The hallway is really quiet because class is in session in most of the classrooms. Yuri is quietly walking, lost in thought, when suddenly…

“Boo!”

A voice comes from behind her.

“Ah!”

Yuri lets out a small scream and spins around to find the source of her scare, Yaoi, who is waiting for her with a smile on her face.

“Why would you do that?!” - Yuri asks her with a pouty face while trying to calm herself down.

“Oh, sorry I could help it.” - Yaoi answers with her hands held up.

“Haah, you almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Now, this is your classroom right?” - Yaoi asks while motioning towards the one they are standing in front of.

“Yeah, this is it.”

Yaoi opens the door to take a peek. When she made sure nobody is inside she turns to Yuri.

“Which seat is Rin’s?” - she asks.

“The one in the back, next to the window.” - Yuri points out.

“Oooh! A seat worthy for a protagonist.”

“Huh? What?” - Yuri asks, confused.

“Okay then. Keep an eye out outside and I’ll do what I must.”

“Ehm, okay.”

She goes into the classroom and closes the door behind her, leaving Yuri alone in the hallway. She nervously looks around, but it doesn’t seem like anybody is going to show up.

*Clash.* *Bang. *Ding.*

Then suddenly all sorts of loud noises come out of the classroom. Before Yuri could react Yaoi comes out of the room with a satisfied look on her face.

“It is done.” - Yaoi states.

“W-what happened?”

Yuri asks and she looks inside of the classroom, but everything seems completely normal.

“Now we just need to make sure the two of them leave at the same time.” - Yaoi explains. - “Again, I’ll take care of Kei and leave Rin to you. We’ll coordinate it with messages.”

“O-okay.”

“But for now let's go back to our classes… Or should we just skip it and hang out a bit longer..?”

“Huh? What? Aren’t you supposed to be the student council president?”

“Haha, I’m just kidding.” - Yaoi says with a smile. - “See you soon.”

With that the two of them split up.

A few hours later the bell rings, signaling the end of today’s classes. Soon after that Rin and Yuri are walking down the hallway towards the exit.

Okay, according to Yaoi-senpai's texts now is the ideal time to start going to the exit. - Yuri thinks.

“So, what’s the work with the student council like?” - Rin asks.

Yuri is a bit surprised about Rin’s sudden interest in her, but she answers:

“Well, it’s different from what I would have expected, but it’s...interesting.”

“Hmm. And what do you think about the president?” - Rin inquires.

“Heh? Umm, I-I mean I guess I don’t dislike her...” - Yuri says, a bit flustered.

“What I mean is, don’t you think she is a bit...threatening?” - Rin asks.

“Oh, uhm...” - Yuri thinks for a moment about Yaoi and all the weird stuff she did before:

“Well, I mean she does have her moments, but I don’t think she’s a bad person.”

Although even I’m not a hundred percent sure about what I just said, but I’d like to believe in her. - Yuri thinks after defending Yaoi.

*Bzzt.*

Yuri’s phone vibrates.

Speaking of the devil. - Yuri looks at her phone and it really is a message from Yaoi, it says:

“Code red. Code red. Kei just gave away her umbrella. Meet me in the bathroom next to the exit asap!”

Yuri stops walking as she reads the message. She doesn’t even notice the wrong pronoun.

“Uhm Yuri, is everything alright?” - Rin asks, a bit concerned.

“Y-yeah, I’m sorry, I just need to take care of some student council business. Bye!”

Yuri says as she excuses herself and starts running towards her destination.

“O-okay.” - Rin says as she is left dumbfounded in the middle of the hallway.

A few minutes later Yuri gets to the bathroom.

As she opens the door she immediately sees Yaoi standing there.

Huh, no gag this time either. - Yuri thinks, momentarily disappointed, but she shakes it off, and focuses on the matter at hand:

“What are we going to do?” - Yuri asks, feeling a bit more invested than she would admit.

“This is a sudden change of plan, but your cover story will be that the student council is looking out for the students on this rainy day, so you are giving umbrellas to those who don’t have one. So go to Kei and give her this.”

Yaoi quickly explains and hands Yuri her umbrella.

“Uhm, okay, but why didn’t you do this from the beginning?” - Yuri asks.

“I told Kei that I need to take care of some things and we split up. So I wasn’t with him when it happened, I only saw it. Now hurry, Kei is probably near the entrance.”

“I’m going, I’m going.”

Yuri says and takes off towards the exit. Soon she can see Kei’s back as she is looking at the rain.

“E-excuse me, Kei-senpai?”

Yuri calls out to her, a bit exhausted from running.

“Hm? Oh, Yuri! What’s up?” - Kei asks, with a smile on her face.

“I’m helping the student council and they asked me to uhm, look out for students who don’t have an umbrella today. Do you have one senpai?”

Yuri asks while trying to put on the sincerest look she can manage.

“Well, I kind of gave it away not long ago, so you really saved me there.” - she says while averting her gaze a bit.

“Then, here it is.”

Yuri hands over Yaoi’s umbrella and looks for an opening to take her leave as Rin should be getting there soon as well.

“Well, I gotta go the-”

“Ah, you’re handing out umbrellas?”

A voice calls out to Yuri, interrupting her sentence. She turns to look at the source and finds the leader of the literature club or rather, one of the members of the merged club.

“Ehm, yes?” - Yuri answers.

“Wow, the student council is really nice. You not only saved our club, but you protected me from the rain as well. We at the Historical and Modern Cosplay Literature club won’t forget what you did for us.” - She proclaims with a determined look on her face.

Ah, what should I do? What should I do?

Yuri thinks as she looks around and tries to think about a solution for this problem.

Ah, there’s no way out of this. Kei is still within earshot so I can’t deny giving out umbrellas. I mean I still have mine with me, but then what about me?

Yuri tries to think for a few more moments, but she soon accepts her defeat as she didn’t manage to come up with anything else.

“H-here is the umbrella.”

Yuri says as she takes out her own and hands it over.

“Ah, thank you so much. I’ll remember what I said. Keep up the good work!”

With that she walks away, out into the rain.

Yuri slowly walks to the place she and Yaoi planned to watch Rin and Kei from.

“Ah, you’re barely on time. How did it go?” - Yaoi asks just as Yuri gets there.

“...Well, I-”

“Oh wait, here comes Rin, let's watch how it goes.” - Yaoi says as she interrupts her.

Yuri and Yaoi are in another wing of the main building, but they have a nice view of the main entrance from the windows.

As Yaoi observed, it looks like Rin and Kei noticed each other and started talking. After a few moments it looks like the two of them are about to leave and they take out their umbrellas. Rin as well.

“Huh? Why does Rin still have his umbrella?” - Yuri asks as she turns to Yaoi.

“Just look.”

She answers with a satisfied look on her face. Yuri turns her attention back to the other two.

Kei opened her (Yaoi’s) umbrella and then Rin followed along as well...Except as soon as she opened it, it’s top came off, and it got carried away by the wind.

“Huh? Was that because of you?” - Yuri asks.

“Well, I said I was gonna sabotage it.”

“What? So you broke it? I thought you were just going to… well take it and put it back into her desk on an other day.”

“Well, it’s fine isn’t it? Look!” - Yaoi protests and motions to Rin and Kei.

Yuri looks in that direction and sees that Kei just invited Rin to share her umbrella, at least that’s what it looks like. Rin tries to refuse, but Kei just grabs her arm and carefully pulls her next to her.

“Wow, that’s so precious.”

Yuri accidentally says out loud as she closely observes the expressions of the two (at least to her knowledge) boys.

“Hmmm?”

Yaoi’s voice snaps Yuri out of it and she looks at Yaoi who has an “I told you so” look on her face.

“What? You still owe Rin an umbrella!” - Yuri says as she turns her flustered face away.

“Okay, sure.”

Yaoi says and looks back at the other two, but they are already walking away in the other direction, so only their backs can be seen.

“Well, I guess we succeeded. Good work! We should probably get going as well. Especially since we only have one umbrella as well.”

As Yaoi finishes her sentence Yuri freezes up. Yaoi notices the weird shift in Yuri’s composure and decides to ask about it:

“...What is it?”

“Ehm, well, I kind of got approached by another student when I was handing out the umbrella, so I… don’t have one anymore either.”

“Oh...”

Yaoi says as she kind of understands where Yuri is coming from, but now they are left in a standstill.

The two of them head towards the exit anyway and stop just before the rain could reach them. After a few moments of silence Yaoi starts speaking:

“Well, I still have a raincoat with me. We might not be able to fit entirely, but it’s still better than nothing right?”

“Ehm, okay.” - Yuri agrees as the rain doesn’t show any signs of stopping soon.

After a bit of searching Yaoi takes out a small square from her bag and starts to unfold it. A few seconds later it turns into a normal sized raincoat.

“You’re going to the station, right?” - Yaoi asks.

“Yeah, I live five stops away.”

“Well, we’ll figure out the specifics later. Come on, get in.”

Yaoi says as she grabs the raincoat, but instead of putting it on, she just puts it over her head like a blanket and holds up one of it’s sides for Yuri to get under.

Yuri hesitates for a bit, but left with no other choice, she takes up Yaoi on her offer and the two of them start walking out of the school.

Whoa, this is pretty embarrassing.

Yuri thinks as she is very self-conscious about the small distance between Yaoi and her.

I bet Yaoi-senpai is looking real smug right now.

Yuri slowly looks up at Yaoi’s face and a surprising expression awaits her. Yaoi’s face is kind of red, but Yuri can’t really see it because she is intentionally averting her eyes.

Ever since I met her I have never seen that look on her face. I-is she flustered? - Yuri thinks

Is it because we’re so close to each other right now? Hmm, then let’s try something out.

“Uhm, senpai?” - Yuri calls out to her.

“What is it?” - Yaoi finally turns to face Yuri, but she manages to mostly hide her previous expression.

“Do you have any ideas for what we should do next time?”

“Well, I usually come up with something depending on the-”

Now’s the time.

Yuri thinks as Yaoi is in the middle of her sentence. She lightly bumps into Yaoi’s shoulder, like it was an accident and immediately focuses her attention on Yaoi’s face.

“Oh, sorry.” - she adds, to make it more believable.

“N-no, it’s… it’s okay.”

Yaoi says while trying to look as normal as she can, but Yuri already managed to confirm her suspicion.

Looks like I was right. Hmm. This could be my chance to pay Yaoi-senpai back for all the times she teased me…

Yuri thinks as she plans out her dastardly plot for Yaoi. Then a smile creeps across her face as she gets ready to make it happen.

“Ah, senpai, your shoulder is still getting wet, here.”

Yuri says and hugs Yaoi so the raincoat can be used more efficiently.

“This way it can cover more.”

This is pretty embarrassing for me too. - Yuri thinks as her face gets redder as well.

But it’s worth seeing Yaoi-senpai’s reaction.

Which is true. Even Yaoi can’t hide her awkwardness anymore and Yuri gets more and more into making Yaoi feel even more embarrassed.

She keeps teasing Yaoi like this all the way until the station and she got so invested in it that she didn’t even realise they got to their destination.

She only notices it when Yaoi quickly gets out from under the raincoat leaving only Yuri in it.

“Huh? Wait, senpai?” - Yuri gets surprised by the sudden movement.

By putting a fair distance between them Yaoi quickly recovers from Yuri’s unexpected attacks.

Ugh, I would have never expected that Yuri would take advantage of the situation. If things continue to go like this my cool senpai image will completely shatter! - Yaoi thinks as she quickly comes up with a plan as well.

“What is it senpai?” - Yuri innocently asks as she begins to move closer to Yaoi.

I-I need to get away from her, she is just going to keep exploiting this! I’ll think of a way to do damage control later. - Yaoi thinks as she instinctively takes a step back.

“I actually live nearby so, I’ll leave my raincoat to you and quickly hurry home.” - Yaoi says as she chooses tactical retreat.

“Huh? But it’s still pouring. I’ll go with you!” - Yuri offers, but Yaoi already got pretty far from her and while running away she says:

“I’ll see you tomorrow!”

With that Yaoi disappears into the somewhat dark, rainy evening.

Aw, she got away. - Yuri thinks, disappointed by the lost opportunity.

I wonder why she got so flustered.

Yuri thinks back on their interaction and realises something. Simultaneously her face gets redder.

Huh? Wait, why did I even do that? That wasn’t really a normal thing to do.

Yuri gets embarrassed from her recent actions.

Ugh, senpai’s weirdness is starting to rub off on me.

She decides to blame this on Yaoi.

Although, is she really going to be okay? It’s still raining quite a bit…