Chapter 208 - Rain Between Two Umbrellas
Another successful study session with Aoi comes to an end.
Aoi sorts through their notes while Kuro puts returned books back.
They’ve managed to make their talks way more relaxed than usual.
The librarian smiles, having seen that they’ve become regular faces in the library every weekend.
They exit the library expecting sunny weather.
But dark clouds suddenly appear over the campus.
Almost instantly the rain starts falling.
The students rush to find shelter under buildings nearby.
Aoi forgot to take an umbrella since the morning forecast promised sunny weather.
But Kuro calmly takes out the umbrella from his backpack.
Without any hesitation, he says:
"Come on."
"We’ll both fit."
Aoi takes a second before joining him under the umbrella.
The umbrella is big enough for two people.
Sometimes their shoulders touch.
None of them mentions it.
The rain keeps pouring.
Everything becomes silent except for the raindrops hitting the umbrella.
They start talking about random topics.
Research work.
Books.
Careers in the future.
Childhood memories.
For the first time their conversation isn’t about studies.
Now it’s about them.
A sudden wind blows the raindrops towards Aoi.
Without even thinking Kuro tilts the umbrella towards her.
But now his shoulder gets soaked.
Aoi notices that immediately.
"You’re getting wet."
"It’s okay."
"You’ll catch a cold."
"I’m worried more about your books."
She smiles quietly.
Kuro protects her without making it look important.
This little gesture remains in her mind forever.
But walking along with him Aoi notices something unexpected.
She’s not nervous anymore.
She feels completely comfortable.
There are no awkward pauses.
No pressure to keep the conversation going.
It’s just so natural to walk along with Kuro.
She quietly wonders.
"When did being beside him become my comfort zone?"
And this understanding surprises her.
The rain gets stronger.
They go inside a cafe in order to wait until it stops.
Drinks get warm.
Steam makes the windows foggy.
Aoi looks at the rain through the windows while quietly watching Kuro from the corner of her eye.
He notices that her cup is empty and quietly asks for another cup of drink without even saying a word.
She smiles.
"You remembered that I usually drink two cups when it’s raining."
"I’ve started paying attention to little things."
Her heart misses a beat.
Finally, the rain turns into drizzle.
They keep going towards the station under the same umbrella.
While separating from him, Aoi thanks him.
"For today."
Kuro smiles.
"It was just the rain."
She shakes her head.
"But it’s not about the rain."
Before he could ask what she means, her train arrives.
She waves at him and disappears in the crowd.
In the evening Aoi sits at her desk and starts reading a book.
She suddenly understands that she’s already read the same page three times.
All her thoughts keep returning to one simple moment.
Not about coffee.
Not about the conversation.
But only about the walk under the same umbrella.
She quietly smiles.
For the first time she admits one thing which she had been denying subconsciously.
Kuro has stopped being just her study partner.
Slowly but surely, he became the person she feels safest with.
Outside, the rain still gently falls onto the window.
But instead of feeling lonely...
She remembers about walking with him.
The rain had turned into a gentle drizzle when Kuro and Aoi were walking to the bus stop.
There weren’t many people left, sitting quietly under the shelter.
Raindrops kept falling from the edge of Kuro’s umbrella while he was folding it.
Aoi brushes a few strands of wet hair back and looks at the gray sky.
"I didn’t expect the weather to change so quickly."
Kuro smiles.
"The forecast wasn’t very accurate today."
"I’m glad you had an umbrella."
"So am I."
Silence falls between them.
They don’t feel the necessity to fill it.
After a few minutes, Aoi notices that Kuro quietly rubs his wet shoulder.
She frowns.
"You’re all wet."
"It’s nothing."
"It’s not nothing."
She takes her bag and carefully takes out a neatly folded hand towel.
"Here."
Kuro hesitates.
"You’ll need it."
"I’ve brought another one."
He takes it with a grateful smile.
"Thank you."
Aoi looks away, feeling embarrassed.
"My mother used to say that I should have an extra towel on rainy days."
"It seems that she gave me good advice."
Silence falls again after the bus stop has become empty due to the departure of another bus.
Watching raindrops falling on the pavement, Aoi suddenly understands something that surprises her.
She’s not thinking about assignments.
She’s not thinking about exams.
She just enjoys standing under the same umbrella with Kuro.
When his bus finally arrives, he picks up his bag and looks at her.
"See you next Saturday?"
Aoi smiles.
"Definitely."
When the bus drives away, she stands under the shelter for a minute more, watching its taillights fading in the rainy night.
Looking down at her empty hands, where the extra towel had been, a little laugh escapes from her lips.
She had given him this towel without thinking.
Somehow, taking care of him became the most natural thing for her.
Holding her bag tighter, she steps into the rain with a warm feeling in her heart, already looking forward to the next Saturday.
Monday afternoon came around with sunny skies, as if the rainy weekend had never occurred.
Kuro was going through the psychology section of the university library when he found a familiar notebook lying on one of the tables.
He instantly recognized the handwriting on the cover.
Aoi Tachibana
"...She left it behind."
He scanned the silent reading room but couldn’t find her anywhere.
Picking up the notebook carefully, he decided to give it back after his afternoon seminar.
One hour later, Kuro found Aoi alone under a big cherry tree near the education building.
She was rummaging her bag with growing desperation.
"My notebook..."
"It has to be somewhere."
"It has to..."
Aoi lifted her head as someone approached.
"Kuro?"
He held up the notebook.
"Are you looking for this?"
A smile of relief spread over her face.
"You found it!"
"I thought I had lost all my months of research."
She received the notebook with both her hands.
"Thanks."
"I don’t know what I would’ve done."
Kuro gave her a warm smile.
"I guess it was important."
"It was."
She looked down at the notebook and added quietly,
"It’s not just class notes."
"There are some ideas which I haven’t showed anyone yet."
He nodded.
"I haven’t opened it."
Aoi looked at him in surprise.
"You haven’t?"
"It wasn’t mine."
She let out a warm smile.
"...Thanks."
Not for returning the notebook.
But for respecting her privacy without any questions.
It was precisely the sort of person Kuro always had been.
They decided to take a walk around campus before their next classes.
Students were filling the pathways with their lively conversations.
Cherry blossom petals were floating gently in the spring breeze.
Aoi hugged the notebook tighter.
"My grandmother gave me this."
"She used to say..."
"’Some thoughts need time to become ready to share.’"
Kuro listened quietly.
"She was a wise woman."
"She was."
Aoi smiled softly.
"She also used to tell me never to lend books to people who don’t return them."
Kuro smiled.
"I’ve always returned yours."
"You have."
She looked at him with kind eyes.
"I guess that’s why I trust you."
The words slipped out of her mouth before she had enough time to think about them.
For a while, she got confused.
"I mean..."
"I trust you with books."
Kuro chuckled.
"I understood."
In some way, his calm reply made her more embarrassed.
When they got near the psychology building, they stopped near its entrance.
Aoi took a look at the notebook in her hands.
"I’ve been writing something else besides class notes."
"Oh?"
"Some observations."
"Of people."
She hesitated.
"...Including you."
Kuro raised his eyebrow.
"I hope they are positive."
"They are."
She smiled shyly.
"The very first observation I made..."
"’Kuro listens to people like their words are important.’"
She lowered her head.
"The latest observation is different."
"What is it?"
Aoi thought for a while before replying.
"’When I’m with Kuro...’"
"...I don’t feel like I have to pretend to be someone else."
Silentness fell between them.
Not awkward.
Just truthful.
The campus bell sounded in the distance.
Students were hurrying to their classrooms.
Neither of them moved for a while.
Finally, Kuro smiled.
"I’m glad."
Aoi looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because I feel exactly the same way."
For the rest of the afternoon, both of them went to their respective classes.
Neither could concentrate fully.
Every now and then, their thoughts were wandering to a simple conversation under a cherry tree.
Neither of them had confessed.
Neither of them had said ’I love you’.
But something changed between them.
Like a bookmark put gently between two pages, their relationship reached the beginning of a new Chapter.
And neither of them wanted to close the book
That evening, Aoi sat at her desk with the returned by Kuro notebook lying beside the lamp.
She opened it to the last page and wrote her reflections about the events of the day after a moment of thought.
Afterwards, her pen started moving.
"Today, I almost lost something important."
"But someone important brought it back to me."
She paused, smiling to herself before continuing.
"Kuro has changed less than I thought."
"He is gentle."
"He is considerate."
"Perhaps... That’s why he feels so natural."
She closed the notebook and picked up her phone.
Her thumb hovered above the screen for several seconds before she finally wrote a short message.
Thank you for returning my notebook. And... thank you for always being so thoughtful. Good night.
She read the message twice before hitting the Send button.
Near the other side of the campus, Kuro’s phone vibrated as he finished reading another psychology journal.
A small smile appeared on his face.
His reply followed shortly.
You’re welcome. Have a good sleep, Aoi. See you on Saturday.
Aoi looked at the message for a long time.
It was a simple one.
Just one sentence.
But somehow, it made her more excited for the weekend than any holiday or vacation did before.
She switched off her bedside lamp with a smile, counting the days until the Saturday will come again.Chapter