Pedestrians scattered in every direction, opening umbrellas, ducking beneath awnings, or sprinting toward the nearest building. The busy streets that had been filled with people only moments ago instantly became a battlefield against the weather.
Trying not to grin like a complete idiot, I reached into my backpack and pulled out my folded umbrella.
Everything was going according to plan. Now all I had to do was wait for Kazuha to leave the bookstore without an umbrella. Please... Please don't have one.
I peeked through the glass entrance.
She was still standing in line at the cashier with a small paper bag resting on the counter. Calm as always, she quietly waited for the customer in front of her to finish paying.
My heart began pounding.
This was my chance to naturally offer my umbrella. No chasing. No weird excuses. No suspicious bookstore books. Just one normal act of kindness. Even I couldn't mess that up, right?
I took a deep breath.
"You can do this, Kaoru." I gave myself two encouraging thumbs up.
Then immediately hid both thumbs when a little kid walking past stared at me.
"..."
Never mind. That was embarrassing.
"Wasn't it Kaoru?" A familiar voice suddenly called from behind me.
My entire body jumped as I spun around.
Standing there with a surprised smile was Niina. "It's really Kaoru!"
Before I could even react, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me in a brief hug.
My brain completely shut down.
...
Emergency! Unexpected physical contact detected!
Warm, soft and smelled nice. Very dangerous.
She pulled away as naturally as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, my brain was still buffering.
Wait... Do girls just normally... hug each other when they meet? Is this some kind of hidden social mechanic? Then why has Kazuha never hugged me? Should I have hugged her the first day we became roommates? Would that have increased our friendship points? Was I already playing this game wrong?
"O-Oh..." I finally rebooted. "Niina! H-Hi!"
She giggled. "It's been a while."
"Y-Yeah."
Please don't hug me again. My heart only has limited durability.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I..." I instinctively glanced through the bookstore window. Kazuha was placing her wallet back into her bag. She was almost done. "I was just about to head back to the dorm now."
"I see." Niina smiled brightly. "That's too bad. I thought maybe we could hang out for a while." As she said that, she casually reached over and held my hand.
Again?!
Another system error. How?! How was she this comfortable touching people?
Girls... Girls were terrifying.
Did they not understand the destructive power they possessed? Because I was currently suffering critical damage from a single one.
"I..." I forced myself to smile. "Sorry. Maybe next time."
"Aww." She puffed her cheeks ever so slightly before laughing. "Well, next time then."
I nodded repeatedly while sneaking another glance toward the entrance.
Kazuha had finished paying and she was walking toward the exit.
Target moving. Operation entering final phase.
"Oh!" Niina noticed the umbrella in my hand. "You brought one? That's lucky. I forgot mine, so—"
"Take it." My mouth moved before my brain did. Without thinking, I shoved the umbrella into her hands.
"Eh?" Niina blinked.
I blinked too. Why... Why did I just do that?
My smile slowly disappeared as reality hit me like a truck. My brain finally caught up with my body's betrayal. I had just given away my umbrella. The umbrella. The key item had somehow ended up in Niina's hands... because my idiot body had decided to act before asking for permission.
"Thanks?" Niina said uncertainly.
I turned around so quickly I almost tripped over my own feet.
Abort! Abort before my brain realizes what I've done.
Behind me, Niina looked down at the umbrella before looking back at me. "Why did she suddenly give me this?"
Kazuha had just stepped outside the bookstore when I instinctively called her name. "Kazuha!"
She stopped and turned around, her calm eyes meeting mine. The moment she looked at me, every thought inside my head vanished.
...
Why did I call her again? It took a second before my brain finally rebooted. Right. The umbrella!
"W-Wait!" I quickly reached into my backpack, trying to salvage the situation, then I froze. Cold sweat trickled down my forehead. I... had just given my umbrella to Niina.
Then why did I call Kazuha over? My brain had probably been so busy obsessing over today's umbrella scenario that it completely forgot reality halfway through.
Kazuha quietly watched me fumble around inside my bag. Without saying a word, she simply raised the umbrella she had been carrying all along.
Click.
The umbrella opened above her head.
...
She had brought one.
My soul immediately left my body.
I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. No, forget the ground. I wanted a one way ticket to another planet. One without bookstores. Without rain. Without umbrellas. Most importantly... without memories of the last thirty seconds.
"Kaoru!" Niina hurried after me, holding my umbrella above her head.
"You forgot your—" Before she could catch up, a sleek black luxury sedan pulled up beside the curb.
The rear door opened. A man in a perfectly tailored suit stepped out and bowed respectfully.
"My apologies for the delay, Lady Niina."
Niina turned toward him in surprise before giving a small nod. "It's okay."
"I've arrived to pick you up."
I didn't stay to hear another word.
I glanced at Kazuha one last time. She was simply standing there beneath the awning, silently watching me with those calm, unreadable eyes.
That was it. My dignity had officially flatlined.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Unable to endure another second of embarrassment, I turned on my heel and sprinted straight into the pouring rain.
Within seconds, I was soaked from head to toe, but at that moment, drowning in rainwater felt far less painful than drowning in my own shame.