"Are you... are you okay now?" Hori whispered. Her face was very close to his face.
Kento looked at her. He saw how much she cared for him in her pink eyes. Even though he was tired, he made a small smile. "Yeah. Honestly... if a girl as pretty as you is staying by my side... how could I stay in pain for long?"
Hori's face changed from being scared to looking flat and annoyed, but her ears turned a little bit red. "You were just groaning like you were dying and you still want to flirt? You are unbelievable, Kento."
"I can't help it," Kento said softly. He was still a bit shaky. "It just happens when I'm around you."
Hori sighed, but she did not move away. "Seriously, where was the pain? Exactly where?"
Before Kento knew what was happening, Hori reached out. Because she was so worried, she forgot about being shy. She grabbed the bottom of Kento's school shirt and pulled it straight up to see his side.
Kento's heart almost jumped out of his chest. The cool air hit his skin. His face turned a bright red color, redder than a tomato.
"H-Hori!" he squeaked. His voice broke like a little kid's.
Hori did not look up yet. She was looking closely at his ribs, trying to see if there was a bruise or a red mark. "What? I am just checking for—" She stopped. Her brain finally realized what she was doing. She looked up and saw Kento's wide, terrified, and very embarrassed eyes looking back at her.
They stayed like that for a moment. It was totally silent. Kento's shirt was pulled up, his body was showing a little, and Hori was leaning in so close she could hear his heart beating fast.
"Hori..." Kento whispered. His voice was trembling. "My... my shirt."
"What about it?" Hori asked. Her voice was very small. Her face was starting to turn as red as his.
SLAM!
The door opened with a very loud bang.
"Hey! The Lawyer says it is time for the lazy kids to move their—" Shido stopped talking. His mouth fell open. His light blue eyes went very wide as he saw them on the bed.
"AAAAAAAAHHH!" Shido let out a high, loud scream like a girl in a movie. He quickly put his hands over his eyes, but he kept his fingers open a little bit so he could still see. "MY EYES! My innocent, pure eyes! What are you two doing in broad daylight?! This is a respectable household! There are parents downstairs! Have you no shame?!".
"It's not what it looks like!" Hori screamed. Her face turned a very deep red. She let go of the shirt as if it were a hot stove. "I was just checking his—I mean, he said—"
Then it got even crazier. Heavy footsteps ran up the stairs. Mrs. Kamitani ran into the room looking very worried. "What happened?! I heard Shido screaming—"
She stopped. She saw Shido covering his eyes, Hori looking like she wanted to disappear, and Kento...
Kento could not handle it anymore. The embarrassment and the pain were too much. His brain just stopped working. His eyes rolled back, his face stayed bright red, and he fell backward onto his pillow. He had passed out because he was so overwhelmed.
"KENTO!" Hori cried out. She grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him. "Wake up! Please don't die because you're embarrassed! I'm sorry!"
Shido fell to his knees on the floor. He threw his arms up in the air like a drama actor. "Kento! My brother! Don't leave me! Don't die before you explain what I just saw! It was too much for my soul to handle!"
"KENTO!" Mrs. Kamitani yelled too. She ran to the bed. Everyone was screaming his name at the same time. The room was full of noise and panic.
After all the shouting and the drama, things finally calmed down—mostly because Kento was still fast asleep and couldn't hear Shido's teasing anymore.
Mrs. Kamitani shooed them both out of the room so Kento could rest. Shido and Hori walked down the stairs, though Hori was still looking at the floor, her face still a little bit pink from what happened.
"Alright, we're leaving!" Shido called out as they reached the front door. He grabbed his umbrella and his school bag, looking as energetic as ever.
Mr. Kamitani looked up from his papers. "Finally. Make sure you get Hori to school safely. And Shido—try to behave."
"No promises, Dad!" Shido laughed. He looked over at Hori, who was putting on her shoes very quietly. "Ready to go, 'Nurse' Hori?"
Hori gave him a sharp look, but she didn't have the energy to argue. She just sighed and nodded. "Let's just go before we're actually late."
They stepped out of the house and into the cool, rainy morning. Shido opened his umbrella with a loud pop, and they started walking down the wet street.
"First stop, Tamiko's house," Shido said, swinging his bag. "I can't wait to tell her why we're late. She's going to love the story about Kento's 'stomach' ache."
"Shido, if you say one word about that, I will never speak to you again," Hori threatened, though she knew it probably wouldn't stop him.
The two of them walked away from the Kamitani house, disappearing into the gray mist of the rain as they headed toward their friend's home.
"You know, Hori," Shido said with a big, evil grin. "This is big news. Huge news! I think the whole group chat needs to know what I saw today. I can already see the headlines: Famous Actress Caught in Room with Sick Boy!"
Hori's face turned bright red again. "Shido! No! Please don't tell anyone!" she pleaded, waving her hands in the air. "I'll do anything! Just please, don't say a word to the others."
Shido stopped walking for a second. He looked at her with a curious look. "Anything? Do you really mean that?"
Hori nodded quickly. "Yes! Anything!"
Shido laughed loudly. "Fine, fine. I won't tell... for now. But I am going to take my time to think of a very good favor." He started walking again, looking very pleased with himself.
He looked up at the gray sky and let out a long sigh. "Man, the weather is so bad. The school should have just closed today. Who wants to study when it's pouring like this?"
Hori looked at the rain and shook her head. "You know that's not how it works, Shido. Rain is common in Tokyo. We can't just stop our lives for a little water."
"I guess you're right," Shido muttered. He kicked a small stone on the ground. "If Kento were here, he would probably say something even more dramatic. He'd be like, 'What if a giant tsunami comes and washes the school away?'"
Hori laughed at the impression. It sounded exactly like Kento. But then, her laugh slowly faded away. Her smile turned into a sad look. "It feels... really lonely without him, doesn't it?"
Shido nodded. He wasn't teasing anymore. "Yeah. It's weird. This is the first time he has skipped school since we were in middle school. It feels like something is missing."
"Do you really think he is okay?" Hori asked quietly.
Shido went back to his nagging tone to hide his own worry. "Oh, he's probably fine! Maybe he just ate something bad. Or even worse—maybe he just had a really bad leg cramp and he's being a baby about it!"
"Shido! Don't say such mean things!" Hori scolded him, hitting his arm lightly.
"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" Shido laughed, but he nodded.
As they walked past the main road, Shido saw a few expensive cars driving past. Inside were students from other schools being dropped off right at the gates. He looked at the cars, then looked at Hori.
"Hey, Hori? Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," she replied.
"I mean, you are a famous actress. Everyone knows who you are. Your parents are super rich, right?" Shido asked, looking confused. "So why do you always walk to school in the rain? Why don't you just have a driver take you in a fancy car?"
Hori stopped walking.
Shido took a few more steps before he realized she wasn't beside him anymore. He turned around and saw her standing a few feet back, looking at her shoes. "Why did you stop?"
Hori looked up. Her expression was serious. "Even though I work as an actress, my parents want me to live a normal life. Just like everyone else. They don't want me to grow up being arrogant or pampered by fancy things."
Shido stared at her for a second, and then he started to laugh. "Arrogant? Pampered? Hori, it's just a car! How can a person become evil just because they don't want their socks to get wet?"
Hori's face turned red, but this time it was from anger. She felt embarrassed that he was making fun of her family's rules. "Fine! If you think it's so funny, then don't follow me! Go find a car to ride in!"
She turned around and started walking very quickly, splashing through puddles and leaving Shido behind in the rain.
"Wait! Hori! I was just joking!" Shido yelled. He realized he had messed up. He quickly ran after her. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! Don't be angry!"
He was running fast to catch up to her, but the ground was very slippery. His shoe hit a patch of wet mud.
"Whoa—!"
Shido's feet slipped right out from under him. He went flying forward. His umbrella flew out of his hand and landed in a corner of the road. With a loud SPLASH, Shido landed face-first on the wet ground, his legs landing right in the middle of a deep, muddy puddle.
Hori was walking away fast, her head held high. But then, she heard a loud SPLAT and the sound of something sliding across the wet pavement.
She stopped and turned around. Her eyes went wide. There was Shido, flat on the ground. He looked like a fallen frog. To keep his face from hitting the muddy water, he had quickly tucked both his hands under his chin, holding his head up at the last second.
"Shido!" Hori screamed. She didn't even think. She tossed her own umbrella to the side and ran back to him, her shoes splashing in the water. "Are you okay?! Oh my god, are you hurt?"
Shido didn't move. He kept his eyes squeezed shut.
'Please. Just let me disappear. Let the rain wash me away into the sewer. How can I be this pathetic in front of a girl? My life is over.'
"Shido! Talk to me!" Hori cried, reaching down to grab his arm.
Shido finally opened one eye. He looked at Hori, who was now getting soaked because she had thrown her umbrella away. He slowly stood up, dripping with muddy water. He wasn't really hurt, but he was a total mess. His clean school blazer was covered in brown spots, and his sleeves were soaked with dirty puddle water.
"I'm fine," Shido growled, his face turning red from embarrassment. He looked at his dirty sleeves and then yelled at the top of his lungs toward the sky. "ALRIGHT! WHO DID IT?! Whoever cursed me this morning is going to pay! I'm going to find you and I'm going to make you eat your own shoes!"
At that exact same moment, back at the Kamitani house...
The room was quiet and warm. Kento was tucked deep under his blanket, finally sleeping peacefully. Suddenly, his nose twitched.
"A-choo!"
Kento let out a tiny sneeze in his sleep. He didn't even wake up. He just rolled over and hugged his pillow tighter.
"Go away, Shido... you're too loud..." he mumbled in his sleep, a small, satisfied smile appearing on his face.
Back on the street, Hori stood there looking at Shido. He was soaking wet, covered in mud, and shaking his fist at the clouds like a crazy person.
She tried to stay serious. She really did. But then, she saw a piece of a wet leaf stuck to Shido's hair.
"Pfft—hahaha!" Hori burst out laughing. She pointed at him, clutching her stomach. "Oh my god, Shido! You look like a sad, blue-haired drowned rat! Look at your face!"
"Hey! It's not funny!" Shido snapped, trying to brush the mud off his sleeves, but only making it worse. "I have to walk all the way to Tamiko's house looking like this! People are going to think I fought a monster in the middle of the street!"
"Maybe the monster won!" Hori teased, still giggling. She went and picked up her umbrella, then Shido's umbrella, and handed his back to him. "Come on, 'Monster-Fighter.' We really have to hurry now. Tamiko is going to have a heart attack when she sees you."
Shido huffed and grabbed his umbrella, pouting like a little kid. "I'm telling you, it was a curse. Kento did this. I can feel it in my bones."
A few streets away, the smell of freshly steamed rice and salty seaweed drifted through the rain. This was the home of Tamiko Kaneri, a small, cozy shop with a wooden sign that read Grandma's Riceballs.
Tamiko was already busy. She looked beautiful even in her simple apron. Her light brown-blonde hair fell just past her shoulders, and the soft pink highlights at the ends added a touch of color to her calm look. She had neat bangs that framed her face, and her eyes always looked thoughtful, like she was solving a math problem or thinking of a new manga plot.
"Grandmother, I've finished packing the morning orders," Tamiko said, her voice gentle and steady.
Her grandmother, a small woman with a kind, wrinkled face, looked up from the counter and smiled. "You work too hard, Tamiko. You should be thinking about school, not the shop. You need to keep that number one spot in class, you know!"
Tamiko smiled back—a small, warm smile that could make anyone feel relaxed. "Helping you is more important, Grandma. Besides, I can study while the rice steams."
Tamiko's life wasn't easy. Since she lost her parents young, it had just been her and her grandmother. She worked multiple part-time jobs and did all the housework, all while staying the top student at Kami High. She hid her worries behind a calm face, but inside, she had a heart of gold.
Suddenly, the bell above the door rang—ting-aling!
Tamiko looked up, expecting a customer. Instead, she saw a very strange sight. Hori walked in first, looking tired and soaked. Behind her was Shido. He was a disaster. He was dripping wet, his blue hair was flat against his head, and his uniform was covered in brown mud.
Tamiko blinked, her calm expression breaking for a second. "Shido? Hori? Did... did you walk through a swamp to get here?"
"Tamiko! Help me!" Shido cried out dramatically, holding up his muddy sleeves. "I've been cursed! First Kento tries to skip school, then I get blinded by a scandalous scene, and then the Earth itself attacked me!"
Hori sighed and shook her head. "He tripped in a puddle because he was being a jerk, Tamiko. Don't listen to him."
Tamiko didn't laugh like Hori did. Instead, she immediately walked toward them, her eyes full of kindness and worry. She grabbed a clean towel from the counter.
"You'll catch a cold if you stay like that," Tamiko said softly. She stepped close to Shido—close enough that he could smell the faint scent of rice and sweets on her—and began to gently wipe the mud off his face with the towel.
Shido, who was usually so loud and annoying, suddenly went very quiet. His face turned a light pink as he looked down at Tamiko. She was so calm and focused on helping him, even though he looked ridiculous.
Tamiko felt her heart beat a little faster — not because Shido was handsome, but because he looked so honest and silly when he was embarrassed.
"Oh, dear!" Tamiko's grandmother hopped over, looking at Shido with wide eyes. "You poor boy! You look like you fell into a rice field! Come here, I'll get you some hot tea and a fresh riceball. You can't go to school on an empty, muddy stomach!"
"See?" Shido said, looking at Hori with a proud grin. "At least Tamiko and Grandma appreciate me!"
Hori rolled her eyes. 'He's such a baby.'
The romantic mood was perfect. Shido was staring into Tamiko's eyes, and Tamiko was gently fixing his collar. But just as Shido was about to say something cool, the kitchen door swung open with a loud BAM!
"Alright! Tea is served! And I brought the extra-salty seaweed because Shido looks like he's been crying!" Hori announced, walking in with a tray.
She stopped and saw how close Shido and Tamiko were. A mischievous grin spread across her face. "Oh? Am I interrupting a 'Main Character' moment? Should I go back into the kitchen for another ten minutes?"
Tamiko quickly stepped back, her face turning bright red as she smoothed out her apron. "N-No! I was just... cleaning the mud!"
"Cleaning the mud? Is that what the kids call it these days?" Hori teased, putting the tray on the counter. She turned to Tamiko with a serious look. "Don't let him fool you, Tamiko. Do you know why he actually tripped?"
Shido's eyes went wide. "Hori! Don't you dare!"
"He tripped because he was making fun of me!" Hori said, pointing a finger at Shido. "He said that riding in a car to school doesn't make someone pampered! He was laughing at my family rules so hard that he forgot how to use his own legs and face-planted into a puddle!"
Tamiko looked at Shido, her eyes narrowing just a little bit. "Shido... you were being mean to Hori again?"
"I-It was a joke! A harmless lawyer-style joke!" Shido stammered, sweating. 'I'm losing! I'm losing the romance points!'
Tamiko watched Shido quietly as he argued with Hori, her lips curving into a tiny smile she didn't even realize she was making — the kind that appears when your heart feels warm without you knowing why.
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