[Naoki Aiba POV]
"She clearly doesn't want you to."
My voice dropped low, cutting beneath the roar of the pouring rain.
Within my left hand, the wrist I had seized stiffened. The fingers that had reached for Mikage hung frozen just inches away from touching her arm.
The boy stared at me in shock. His face looked familiar—a student from our school, though I didn't know his name.
Outside the awning, my discarded black umbrella was being battered by the rain.
The moment I had heard Mikage's voice from down the street, my legs had started moving before I could think. Seeing her backed up against the storefront glass with someone reaching for her, I hadn't even registered throwing my umbrella aside.
Having sprinted all the way here, my breath was ragged. The feverish haze that had lingered since noon had turned into an undeniable heaviness, and beneath my soaked uniform, my back burned with intense heat.
I knew full well my condition was terrible.
Even so, it wasn't enough to keep me from standing. Keeping myself between Mikage and the boy, I didn't loosen my left hand's grip.
"...Aiba? Why the hell are you... Let go of my hand."
He tried to yank his arm back.
"Step away from Mikage-san, and I will."
"It's not like I was gonna do anything bad. I was just... trying to talk to her."
"I heard her say 'don't touch me.'"
"That's why I was just gonna hold her hand... to calm her down."
Neither his words nor his expression showed any realization that he had terrified Mikage. Did he truly believe that holding her hand would put her at ease?
The assumption that good intentions made it acceptable to approach someone who had explicitly rejected you—that mindset seemed far more dangerous than deliberate malice.
I eased my grip on his wrist slightly. However, I didn't let go.
"Take a step back first."
"Huh? Why the hell should I take orders from you?"
"I'm not trying to order you around. I'm telling you I'll let go if you stop cornering Mikage-san."
"No, like I said, I was—"
Stopping mid-sentence, he looked past my shoulder at Mikage.
Even without turning around, I could picture the state she was in. Stepping back to escape his reaching hand, backed into a corner against the storefront glass until she had nowhere left to run.
—Don't touch me!
The cry that had pierced through the rain still echoed in my ears.
After hearing that, there was no room to convince myself she didn't mind.
He opened his mouth to say something to Mikage, but ultimately pressed his lips tight. Drawing his body back slightly, he took a step backward.
Once I confirmed the distance, I released his hand.
Rubbing the wrist I had held, he glared at me with sharp eyes. I hadn't squeezed hard enough to hurt him, but his resentment at being interrupted was plain.
"Y-You're getting close to Mikage too, aren't you? What makes you any different from me?"
It was an unexpected question.
"I'm not talking about the difference between you and me."
"Huh?"
"Mikage-san said not to touch her. Even so, you came closer and tried to grab her. That's why I stopped you."
His brow furrowed.
"Like I said, Mikage was just panicked! I thought holding her hand would help her calm down."
"Mikage-san didn't want that."
"When people are that overwhelmed, sometimes they don't even know what they want!"
"So you decided for her?"
"...Th-That's not what I meant."
"It doesn't matter what you meant."
Mikage had rejected him repeatedly. Even so, he believed his own assumptions carried more weight than her words.
No matter what she said, he twisted it into something convenient for himself. I could only imagine how terrifying it must have been for Mikage to be cornered by someone like that.
All I knew for certain was that the look on her face earlier was not something to be taken lightly.
A car drove past on the drenched road, throwing up heavy sheets of white spray near the awning with a resounding splash.
Reflexively, the boy leaned half a step closer.
At that movement, Mikage gasped behind me—a short, stifled sound swallowed deep in her throat.
I shifted my stance, putting myself between them once more. In the corner of my vision, I caught sight of Mikage gripping her umbrella with both hands, frozen against the glass.
The boy seemed to notice her reaction as well. Whatever he had been about to say died in his throat.
"Mikage... talks to you normally, doesn't she?"
The aggression in his voice faltered slightly.
"She's scared of guys, right? But she comes up to you on her own. Anyone would think I had the same shot."
"That's not for you to decide."
"Why—"
"—Whether you're the same as me or not is for Mikage-san to decide."
He fell silent.
"Who Mikage-san talks to, and who she gets close to, is entirely up to her."
"Huh? What, so you think you're special or something?"
"I don't. How she feels about me isn't for me to decide either."
There was no way I could claim to be special.
I still didn't understand what I was to Mikage. The boy in the fire, and the boy who talked to her at school as Koharu's older brother—I had never even asked how those two identities fit together in her mind.
The letter that had arrived last night said she wanted to see the nameless person from the fire once more. Did that feeling extend to the Naoki Aiba who stood before her at school?
I couldn't just assume it did for my own convenience.
That was why I wanted to accept only the words Mikage chose for herself.
"How she feels about you is for Mikage-san to decide, too."
"..."
"Just don't push yourself on her when she says no. For now, that's all that matters."
Without answering right away, he glanced past me toward Mikage.
Clutching her umbrella, Mikage remained rooted in place against the storefront glass, refusing to meet his eyes.
Faced with her silence, the hostility in his expression softened. He parted his lips as if to speak, but set his jaw and looked away. No apology came.
Snatching his umbrella from where it leaned against the wall, he paused once at the edge of the awning. Without looking back, he snapped it open and stepped out into the pouring rain.
The canopy of his umbrella drifted away into the veil of white mist, eventually lost among the distant pedestrians.
Only after confirming he wasn't coming back did I finally turn around.
"Mikage-san."
Mikage was staring right at me.
Her face was pale, her fingers still locked around the handle of her umbrella. Wet bangs clung to her cheek, but she made no move to brush them aside, barely even blinking.
"Did he touch you anywhere?"
"...No."
"Are you hurt?"
"...I'm fine."
She managed to speak, but her voice was far from steady.
In the state she was in, I couldn't bring myself to step closer.
"I see. That's good. He's gone now."
When I spoke as gently as I could, Mikage gave a small nod. Her shoulders rose and fell with shallow breaths.
This morning, Mikage had called my name on her own. Even before that, she had gradually been closing the distance between us of her own accord.
I hadn't forgotten that, nor did I intend to dismiss all the progress she had made as her simply forcing herself.
But right now was different.
She had just been cornered, had her boundaries ignored, and nearly been grabbed. In a moment like this, assuming I was the exception and forcing my proximity on her would make me no better than the boy who had just left.
Did Mikage want someone beside her right now? Or did she need space to breathe alone?
That was her choice to make.
All I could do was step back to a distance where I could honor whichever she chose.
Looking down the street, I spotted several people heading toward the station through the rain. From here, my voice would reach her if anything went wrong.
My discarded umbrella was caught against a closed shutter just past where Mikage stood. One of the ribs looked bent, but it seemed usable enough.
"There are people further up the street."
I turned back to Mikage. Her gaze remained fixed on me.
"I'll walk a little ahead, so take your time. If anything happens, just call out."
She didn't look like she should be left completely alone. Until we reached the station, I intended to stay within earshot.
Even so, I had no right to decide on my own that walking side by side was acceptable.
Mikage didn't answer.
I hesitated, wondering if I should wait for a response, but staying there under her gaze made me worry that my presence was what kept the words from coming out.
Stepping to the side to retrieve my umbrella, I gave her a wide berth as I passed.
Our shoulders didn't align; our bodies never touched.
Only the water dripping from my wet uniform scattered onto the pavement between us.
Behind me, the clatter of an umbrella hitting the wet pavement rang out.
A heartbeat later, a soft pressure caught my left arm.
"...Wait."
It was a quiet voice.
Yet it reached me more clearly than her scream earlier.
I stopped. The grip on my arm didn't let go.
Turning around, I found Mikage holding my left arm with both hands.
For a second, my mind refused to process the sight.
It was an instinctive grab to stop me, but she wasn't merely pinching my sleeve. One hand rested near my elbow while the other wrapped around the inside of my arm.
As if terrified I would slip away, she enveloped my entire arm in her grasp.
Through my soaked shirt, the warmth of her fingers seeped into my skin. Though she must have been freezing from the rain, the spot where her hands rested burned with sudden heat.
"...Mikage-san?"
She didn't let go.
Her downcast face lifted, water dripping from her ash-beige hair and tracing down her cheeks.
Just moments ago, she had been paralyzed with fear at someone trying to touch her, yet here she was, wrapping her hands around me of her own accord.
Without breaking eye contact, still holding fast to my arm, she parted her lips.
"Not ahead of me..."
Her voice hitched for a moment.
The grip on my arm tightened slightly. It was a gentle hold—one I could have broken with ease if I wanted to pull away.
Yet I had no desire to pull away.
Mikage pressed her lips together, drawing a quiet breath against the sound of the rain.
"I want you by my side."
It took a beat for the meaning to sink in.
The roar of the storm suddenly felt miles away.
Mikage was touching me of her own free will. She had caught me as I tried to walk away, asking me to stay right beside her.
I couldn't let myself jump to conclusions, but in the next breath, I realized these were words Mikage had consciously chosen and given to me.
No one else had decided what they meant.
Mikage was holding onto me because she wanted to.
I knew I had to answer, but the breath I had fought so hard to steady after running threatened to unravel all over again. The feelings I had kept locked deep in my chest surged at once, and the moment I registered her hands wrapped around my arm, the words caught in my throat.
"...A-All right."
Somehow, that was all I managed to get out.
Even I could hear how unsteady my voice sounded.
Mikage's eyes widened. Pretending not to notice her expression, I moved to turn around.
Her grip didn't loosen; holding my left arm, she stepped up to match my side.
At that moment, the fever trapped deep within me spiked straight to my head, washing away the chill of the rain. My vision swam, and for a fraction of a second, my footing faltered.
My center of gravity tilted left.
"Aiba-kun!"
It wasn't enough to make me fall. A single step would have restored my balance, and with a moment's rest, I could have walked just fine.
Mikage, however, was faster.
With the hand holding my left arm, she pulled it across her shoulders. Before I could right myself, her other arm wrapped around my waist, pressing our drenched uniforms together.
From shoulder to arm. From flank to waist.
Through the rain-soaked fabric, Mikage closed the distance, eliminating any space between us.
I caught my breath.
The same girl who had been paralyzed with terror at being touched was now holding me up, wrapping her body around mine.
With my arm draped over her shoulder and her arm locked around my waist, it went far beyond mere support. To anyone watching, it was close enough to look like an embrace.
Her damp hair brushed close to my cheek. The slightest turn of my head would make our faces touch; having no idea what to do, I threw my gaze down the street.
Even so, there was no escaping the sensation of her arm around my waist.
"Mikage-san, I'm okay. I just stumbled for a second—"
"—You're not okay."
Her reply cut in instantly, firmer than I expected. The tremble in her voice had vanished, replaced by an unmistakable note of concern.
"You've been out of breath this whole time. You're pale, too."
"I just ran a bit, that's all. If I catch my breath—"
"You're... burning up."
Her arm tightened around my waist, drawing me closer. At this distance, the fever radiating from my skin was obvious even through our soaked clothes.
I knew the heavy fatigue dragging at me since noon could no longer be excused as a bad night's sleep.
Even so, it wasn't as though I couldn't walk. More than anything, I didn't trust myself to keep my composure with her this close.
"Really, I can walk on my own."
"...I know."
"Th-Then you don't have to—"
"—No."
She cut me off, leaving no room for argument.
Mikage kept her hold on me, refusing to pull away. Instead, she readjusted her arm around my waist, firmly anchoring my wet frame against hers.
"It's not about whether you can walk."
Her voice reached me from inches away, cutting clean through the downpour. There was a steady, deliberate strength in the hands holding my arm and bracing my waist.
"Right now... let me support you."
"..."
I was at a loss for words.
If I kept insisting I was fine, I would be the one ignoring her wishes.
Mikage had stopped me herself and asked me to stay by her side. Even now, she was holding me because she chose to.
I couldn't dismiss this as fear or confusion anymore.
Nor did I have the confidence that I was keeping a straight face.
She was so close. The drops falling from her damp hair, her slightly uneven breaths, the steady pressure of her arm around my waist—it was all too close to ignore.
Yet she didn't stiffen, nor did she flinch away. If anything, she leaned her whole body into supporting me, making sure I wouldn't slip even if my balance gave out again.
"...All right. Just until the station, please."
When I finally gave in, the tension in her arms eased just a fraction.
I thought she would step back.
Instead, her arm stayed right where it was around my waist. Adjusting my left arm over her shoulder, she leaned in closer to find a better angle to take my weight.
Her wet hair brushed against my cheek.
It was only for a split second.
Just that light touch sent my heart hammering against my ribs.
"Let's take it slow," she murmured right beside me.
"...Yeah."
I tried to answer normally, but my voice came out raspy. I wanted to believe my racing pulse was just from sprinting through the rain.
Yet every time her hand shifted against my waist, the pounding in my chest only quickened.
Mikage stepped forward into the rain, bracing my weight, and I matched her stride. As our soaked clothes shifted against each other, her wet hair grazed my cheek once more.
We were going to walk all the way to the station like this. The moment the reality sank in, the heat trapped beneath my skin flared just a little higher.