Chapter 69: When the Rain First Fell
Hoshikawa City – Six Years Ago
The sky was grey the first time Naoto met her.
It wasn't the kind of rain that came and went. It was the kind that lingered, clinging to the skin, soaking the soul. A quiet drizzle that turned dirt to mud and left the whole city shrouded in silver mist.
Naoto Hayashi was twelve. His father had just died.
He sat beneath the rusted bus stop sign on the edge of the old district, knees pulled to his chest, soaked to the bone, arms locked around a tattered satchel filled with the last of his father's belongings. No one came to fetch him. No one offered an umbrella.
That's when she appeared—like a quiet echo in the fog.
A pale yellow umbrella, held awkwardly by trembling hands, extended over his head. Naoto didn't look up at first. He thought it was a mistake.
But then a voice, soft as dew, broke the silence.
"You'll catch a cold like that."
He finally raised his head. A girl—about his age, maybe younger—stood there. Damp black bangs framed her wide violet eyes. Her school bag was clutched tightly against her side. She looked nervous… but didn't move.
He blinked, unsure how to speak.
"…I don't need it," he muttered.
"You look like you do."
Naoto hesitated, then looked down at the satchel in his lap. A corner of a photograph poked out from its side. His throat tightened.
"Why are you being nice to me?" he asked, more bitterly than he meant to.
She sat beside him under the bus stop roof, still holding the umbrella out.
"I don't know," she said. "Maybe because I know what it's like to be alone in the rain."
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Present Day – Hoshikawa High, Rooftop
Naoto stood under the overcast sky, the same kind of drizzle in the air, holding his phone tightly in one hand.
Himari's voice came through quietly, as if the rain had found its way into the speaker.
"Do you… still remember that day?" she asked.
"I do," Naoto whispered. "I never forgot it."
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
Then Himari added, "I never told you… but I was crying before I saw you. I thought if I helped someone else, maybe I wouldn't feel so pathetic anymore."
Naoto smiled bitterly. "You were always stronger than you gave yourself credit for."
A soft laugh on the other end.
"You're still too kind to me, Naoto."
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Flashback – One Week After the Bus Stop
Naoto and Himari sat in an abandoned greenhouse behind the community center, hidden by ivy and silence. She'd found it during her walks and started dragging him there every other day after school.
That day, she'd brought snacks. Mismatched rice balls, a bruised apple, and lukewarm tea in a thermos.
He watched her arrange them like an offering.
"You're bad at cooking," he remarked.
She stuck out her tongue. "Then you cook."
"I never learned."
They shared a laugh—quiet, like they were scared the world would hear it.
Himari looked at him then, eyes serious.
"My parents fight a lot," she said. "I come here to forget."
Naoto hesitated, then offered: "My mom's sick. And my dad… well, you know."
She nodded.
And that was all. No more explanations needed.
Their pain was different—but equal. That was enough.
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Present Day – Rika Hayato's Room
Rika sat on her bed, staring at the quiet phone screen.
Naoto had been acting strange.
Distant, but also warm. Like someone walking a tightrope between two lives.
She remembered the look in his eyes when he got that call.
It wasn't fear.
It was longing.
He still loves someone else.
Rika clutched the edge of her blanket, heart aching. She didn't want to admit it. Didn't want to give shape to the storm swelling inside her chest.
But denial couldn't hold back a truth this loud.
Tears welled up in her eyes—but she didn't let them fall.
"I hate this," she whispered.
"I hate that I care so much…"
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Flashback – Two Years After Their First Meeting
Naoto stood at the edge of the hospital roof, staring at the city lights with Himari beside him. His mom had just been admitted—again. The doctors weren't optimistic.
He was breaking, slowly.
Himari held his hand.
"If you fall," she said, "I'll fall too."
Naoto shook his head. "Don't say that."
"But it's true," she whispered. "If you disappear, I'll have no one."
He turned to her then. His voice was hoarse.
"You already saved me once. Why do you keep doing it?"
She squeezed his hand.
"Because you saved me too, Naoto."
They stood there, hand in hand, two broken pieces finding a way to fit together.
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Present Day – Himari's Apartment
Himari sat on her couch, holding a photo in her lap.
It was old—creased at the corners. Naoto and her, soaked in rain, smiling with ice cream in hand under the greenhouse roof.
Her heart ached.
"I shouldn't have let him go," she whispered.
"But if I stayed, I might've ruined him."
She looked out the window, eyes soft.
"Maybe… it's time I stop hiding."
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To Be Continued in Chapter 70: "A Love That Was Never Meant to End"
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