Silent as Rain

The rain over Tokyo was the heavy kind that turned the city into moving red and white shapes. Traffic lights stretched across the wet road. Headlights showed up out of the grey and vanished again a second later.

By seven the clinic was empty. Shion finished the last summary, shut the computer off, and went down to the underground parking with her coat pulled tight.

She was halfway to the car when she saw Yume standing near the pedestrian exit, pressed under the concrete overhang with her bag against her chest. Water was pouring off the roof edge and collecting around her shoes.

Shion unlocked the car and rolled down the passenger window.

"Miss Asako. Waiting for it to stop?"

Yume turned. "I thought it might ease."

"It won't. Get in. I'll drop you."

Yume paused, then bowed and got in.

"Thank you, Doctor."

Shion pulled out and joined the slow line of cars. The wipers kept a steady beat.

"How are you settling in?" she asked after a minute. "Workload okay?"

"It's fine. The routine is clear. Records are organised."

"Good. Things get messy when appointments overlap. Don't try to handle everything alone."

"I understand. Ishida already showed me where the extra appointment cards are kept."

"That's useful. He's good at that."

Yume nodded. "He is. Very precise."

They drove a little further without talking. The light ahead turned red. Shion stopped.

"You're picking it up fast," she said.

"There's comfort in knowing what's expected."

"I suppose there is."

Yume spoke again, still looking at the windshield.

"Dr. Kuroki, you're perfect."

Shion turned her head a little. "That's a big compliment. Why do you say that?"

"You never look afraid."

Shion stared at her for a second. Then a small smile showed up.

"Do perfect people feel fear?"

"Yes."

The answer came so fast that Shion's smile got bigger.

"Really. What are they afraid of?"

Yume looked away from the windshield and met her eyes.

"Perfectionists fear the Anomalist."

Shion laughed. It came out short and real.

"That's quite a name. Sounds like something from a cheap thriller."

Yume didn't laugh. Her face stayed the same. She looked at Shion for another second, then turned back to the rain.

The light changed. Shion drove on.

Neither of them brought it up again. When they reached Yume's building, Shion pulled up under the canopy.

"Thank you for the ride, Doctor."

"Get inside before you get soaked."

Yume bowed and stepped out. She crossed to the doors without looking back.

Shion waited until the glass closed, then drove home.

The second she opened the front door a small voice called from the hallway.

"Mama!"

Shiya came running with a sheet of paper in both hands. Shion barely got her shoes off before the paper was pushed into her face.

"Look! Look what I got!"

A bright red A+ sat at the top next to a gold star.

Shion crouched down. "Every answer right? That's great."

Shiya bounced. "Teacher gave me a star!"

"Then we should put it somewhere everyone can see."

Akari came out of the dining room with a bowl of rice. "Careful. Praise her too much and she'll start expecting a prize for breathing."

"I'm standing right here," Shiya said.

Akari laughed. "And what a terrifying presence you are."

Shion hugged her daughter and got a squeal in return. Over Shiya's shoulder she saw Kazuya setting dishes on the table.

"How was work?" he asked.

"Long."

"Rain?"

"Enough to make driving miserable."

"Then you're just in time. Dinner's ready."

Shion kissed Shiya's cheek and set her down. The little girl ran off to get her rabbit, deciding it needed to see the certificate too.

At the table Akari was already telling Kazuya about a classmate who submitted the wrong assignment and then argued the lecturer should accept it because the mistake had been made with confidence.

"Honestly," Akari said, reaching for the tea, "some people think being loud counts as being right."

Shion gave her a look. "Worth remembering, little sister."

"Don't start. I know about your grades."

"Mine were excellent."

"And I got one B."

"In statistics."

Akari pointed her chopsticks. "You remember that forever, don't you?"

"Only because you keep bringing it up."

Kazuya laughed into his tea.

Dinner stayed noisy in the usual way. Shiya tried to feed her rabbit a piece of carrot. Akari kept stealing salmon from Kazuya's plate. Kazuya threatened to start charging both sisters for food.

"It's your duty as the only man in this house," Akari told him.

"I'm surrounded by criminals."

"You married into the family," Shion said.

"Sometimes I think I should've read the terms and conditions."

Shion laughed. Kazuya leaned over and kissed her cheek before going back to his food.

Outside the storm kept going. Inside the apartment it was warm. Rice and grilled fish, Shiya's laughter filling the gaps, Akari already planning tomorrow's dinner.

For the first time that day Shion forgot to check the time.

Later, after Shiya was settled in Akari's room for their sleepover, the apartment grew quiet.

Shion checked the front door, turned off the kitchen light, and went to the bedroom.

Kazuya was propped against the headboard with his reading glasses low on his nose and a thick bound manuscript in his hands. He was so into it he didn't notice her come in.

Shion stood beside the bed for a moment.

"Mr. Book Editor. Your wife is here."

"Hmm."

She waited.

Nothing.

"Kazuya."

"Just a minute."

She climbed onto the bed, leaned across him, and took the manuscript out of his hands before he could stop her. She set it on the bedside table.

"Hey. I was reading that."

"And I was talking to you."

"I'm aware."

"Doesn't look like it."

Kazuya finally looked at her. Shion was already smiling, one hand resting against his chest.

"You've got my attention now."

"Good. Took you long enough."

She kissed him.

He laughed against her mouth at first, still trying to protest about the book. She kissed him again, slower this time, and the protest died. His arms came around her waist and pulled her closer. She sank against him, fingers curling into his shirt.

She shifted until she was half on top of him. His hand slid up her back. Then she started undoing the buttons of his shirt he helped her without saying anything, then rolled them so she was beneath him, his weight solid and familiar.

"Your book can wait," she murmured.

"So can everything else."

Neither of them said much after that.

The rain outside faded into background noise. His mouth moved from her lips to her jaw, then lower. Her fingers stayed in his hair. The room felt smaller and quieter than it had all day.

When it was over they stayed close, breathing against each other. Kazuya's arm settled across her waist. Shion rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes for a while, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

Later the bedroom was dark except for the low amber light of the bedside lamp.

Kazuya slept beside her, one arm still across her waist, breathing slow and even. Shion also slept, cuddling up to him. The room was listening to the rain against the window.

And in the corner of that table, there was the book that Shion threw away:

"YOU ARE ONE OF US!"

Below it, where the author's name should have been, there was only a blank line.

by ______