[Naoki Aiba POV]
As I tried to start walking while supported by Mikage, I realized I wasn't holding an umbrella.
The black umbrella I had dropped had rolled past the awning and was caught against the shutter of a nearby store. Mikage's umbrella had also fallen onto the pavement by our feet, likely dropped when she had rushed to catch me.
"I need to grab the umbrellas."
"...Don't move, Aiba-kun."
Mikage lifted my left arm from her shoulder and leaned my back against the closed shutter. After making sure I could stand on my own, she slowly released the arm wrapped around my waist.
"I'll be right back, so stay here."
Leaving only that behind, she first picked up her own umbrella from the ground. Stepping straight out into the heavy downpour, she reached for my umbrella where it was caught against the shutter.
It was only a few steps away, but by the time she returned under the awning, her ash-beige hair and the left shoulder of her uniform were soaked even further.
One of the ribs on my black umbrella was bent at an unnatural angle, leaving a dent in the fabric.
After making sure it could still open and close, Mikage carefully folded it while minding the bent rib, fastened the strap, and hung it over my bag. Then she opened her own umbrella and took her place at my left side once more.
"Think you can walk?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's go."
"...Alright. Thanks."
The moment I draped my left arm over her offered shoulder, Mikage's breath hitched faintly. Her shoulder tensed for a brief second, the reaction traveling straight through my arm.
Even so, Mikage didn't pull away.
Drawing a quiet breath, she wrapped her right arm around my waist, stepping closer of her own accord until she could support my weight.
And together, the two of us stepped out into the rain.
Because we were sharing a single-person umbrella, drifting even slightly apart would leave one of our shoulders exposed to the downpour. Mikage pressed close to keep me under the center of the canopy, and we fell into step with our sides practically flush against each other.
Through our damp uniforms, I could feel the warmth where her shoulder and arm met my waist. Even knowing this was just to help me walk, it was impossible not to be hyper-aware of our proximity.
With every step we matched, Mikage's shoulder brushed against my chest, and the arm around my waist pulled me closer. Whenever I tried to support more of my own weight, the arm holding me tightened as if she could sense it.
Just as I tried to shift slightly away, rain dripping from the edge of the umbrella struck my shoulder.
"If you do that... you'll end up outside the umbrella, Aiba-kun."
Mikage drew me back under the canopy, exposing her own left shoulder to the rain in return.
I started to tell her that she was only getting soaked to keep me dry, but her profile held no hesitation. Her eyes darted back and forth between my face and my footing, repeatedly adjusting the grip around my waist.
I shouldn't place any more of a burden on Mikage while she was trying so hard to support me.
Thinking that, I let my body relax, and Mikage looked up at me as if confirming the weight shifting onto her shoulder. Without saying a word, she gave the faintest nod.
Keeping the umbrella tilted toward me, we pressed forward through the rain.
Shallow puddles had formed all over the road, rainwater rushing vigorously into the gutters. When I shifted to shield Mikage from the spray kicked up by a passing car, our shoulders knocked firmly together under the umbrella.
Mikage didn't pull away.
She deepened her hold around my waist to steady her support, closing the small gap that had opened between us.
I had no idea what Mikage thought of our current proximity. But rather than worrying about how close we were, she seemed entirely focused on keeping me on my feet.
Even so, I couldn't stop being aware of her body against mine.
Mikage's breathing mingling with the sound of the rain, the water dripping from her wet hair—everything was at a distance I would normally never experience.
◇◇◇
The moment we stepped under the station roof, the tension in my body broke, and a cough tore from the back of my throat.
I tried to suppress it after the first, but it racked my chest a second and third time. Turning my face away from Mikage, I covered my mouth with a handkerchief pulled from my uniform pocket.
The arm around my waist tightened.
"Aiba-kun, are you okay?"
"Yeah. My throat just got a little cold."
Even as I answered, I knew that wasn't all it was.
Considering the chills and heaviness that had weighed on me since noon, I might have caught Koharu's cold. I couldn't say for sure, but I could no longer brush it off as mere sleep deprivation or a chill from the rain.
Mikage looked up at my face in silence.
I tried to fix my expression so as not to worry her, but her gaze didn't waver.
"You don't look okay at all."
Her voice was quiet.
There was no accusation in her tone, but I couldn't just deflect it with a vague smile either.
"...If I rest for a second, I can walk."
Without a word, Mikage kept my left arm draped over her shoulder and guided me toward a nearby pillar.
She brought me somewhere I could lean back and stood right beside me. The roar of rain hammering the station roof blended with continuous announcements about train delays, and the queue heading toward the ticket gates was steadily lengthening.
Due to the torrential downpour, train service had been reduced, and commuters were crowding onto every arriving car.
Even if we waited for the next one, there was no guarantee the congestion would ease. Rather than standing here letting the cold seep in, it made more sense to get home as quickly as possible.
Once my breathing leveled out, I pushed away from the pillar, and Mikage took my left arm without a word, draping it over her shoulder once more.
Only this morning, unable to find the words after calling my name, she had parted with a hesitant "see you next time."
Yet now, Mikage was supporting my body, refusing to leave my side.
Her fear of guys couldn't have vanished overnight. And yet, Mikage herself was choosing to hold on to me.
Every time that reality sank in, a warmth distinct from the fever spread deep through my chest.
◇◇◇
The train that pulled into the platform was even more packed than I had anticipated.
When the doors opened, the collision of exiting and boarding passengers brought the flow to an immediate crawl. To shield Mikage from the surge, I stepped into the aisle and guided her ahead toward the partition next to the door.
"It should be a little easier here."
Mikage looked back at me from against the wall, her brows furrowing slightly.
"What about you, Aiba-kun?"
"I'm fine."
"I can't really... trust your 'I'm fine,' Aiba-kun."
Meanwhile, more passengers packed in from behind, shrinking what little space remained.
I angled my body to prevent anyone from bumping my injured right shoulder and gripped an overhead strap with my left hand. I stood shielding Mikage against the wall, though a slight gap still lingered between us.
The departure chime chimed, and the doors slid shut.
Just as the train lurched forward, a passenger collided hard into my back.
I tensed my left arm to hold my ground, but my sluggish body reacted a fraction too late. The buffer I had kept between Mikage and myself vanished in an instant, my chest nearly crashing against her shoulder.
"Sorry."
Pulling myself up by the hand strap, I managed to push back.
Leaning in slightly so only Mikage could hear, I lowered my voice.
"If it's hard to breathe, or if you hate being this close, don't hesitate to tell me. We can get off at the next stop."
Mikage's eyes widened slightly. With our faces so close, our gazes locked at point-blank range. Even so, she didn't look away.
"...I'm fine."
With that quiet answer, Mikage reached out with both hands toward my left arm.
One hand took hold near my elbow while the other wrapped around my forearm. Drawing herself in, she pressed her shoulder flush against my left shoulder.
It wasn't because the crowd had pushed her.
Mikage had stepped closer entirely on her own.
I couldn't help but look down at her hands cradling my arm.
"...Are you sure you're okay with this?"
Mikage looked down at her hands holding my arm, then glanced at our touching shoulders. A faint blush instantly colored her cheeks.
Even so, she didn't loosen her grip.
"...If I let go, I can't support you properly."
Only her final words dropped to a whisper, her eyes falling to her hands.
Faced with that, I couldn't press the matter any further.
Still, I could easily imagine how this looked to anyone else.
Mikage had her back to the wall, cradling my left arm against her chest. I stood shielding her from the crush of the crowd, half of our bodies pressed together.
To an outsider, we looked like nothing less than two people holding each other close.
Mikage made no move to pull away; with every sway of the train, she tightened her hold on my arm. The warmth radiating from her touch layered over my feverish skin.
Yet that closeness didn't feel suffocating in the slightest.
Deciding not to question the distance between us anymore, I turned my eyes toward the window.
Through the rain, the outside world was a blur. Reflected in the dark glass were the train interior's fluorescent lights and the two of us standing pressed together.
Myself, with my left arm held close by Mikage.
And Mikage, standing against the wall with me shielding her from view.
Looking purely at our reflection in the glass, no one would ever guess this was just a sick guy being kept on his feet.
Through the window, my eyes met Mikage's.
I expected her to look away immediately.
Instead, Mikage kept looking at my reflection, the corners of her eyes softening slightly.
A small smile touched her lips.
Relieved to see the tension fade from her face, my own mouth curved into a faint smile.
It lasted for only a heartbeat.
Without a single word, we smiled at each other through the glass.
When the train swayed again, Mikage shifted her grip on my left arm.
Our touching shoulders and the seamless proximity between us remained unbroken.
◇◇◇
When we got off two stops later, Mikage naturally draped my left arm over her shoulder again.
Having her accompany me this far was already more than enough, but Mikage showed no sign of heading home. She clearly intended to see me all the way to my front door.
Either way, I doubted she would simply agree if I told her "I'll be fine from here."
Outside the station, the rain was still pouring relentlessly. On top of my black umbrella having a bent rib, my right arm was out of commission and my left was draped over her shoulder, leaving us no choice but to share her umbrella once more.
Mikage held the umbrella in her left hand and supported my waist with her right arm.
With two people crammed under a single umbrella, our shoulders couldn't both fit. Mikage pressed close to keep me as far under the canopy as possible, leaving her own left shoulder exposed to the rain by that same margin.
Whenever I tried to shift the umbrella toward her, she immediately tilted it back over me.
"You're getting soaked, Mikage-san."
"Don't get any wetter than you already are, Aiba-kun."
Silenced by the quiet firmness in her voice, I couldn't argue.
When I lengthened my stride, Mikage matched my pace; whenever my balance wavered, she put more strength into the arm around my waist. Even when our school bags bumped against our hips, she never let go.
We barely spoke.
Yet the silence didn't feel awkward at all.
Beneath the steady rhythm of rain on the umbrella, only the sound of our footsteps and breathing filled the air. The unbroken warmth radiating from Mikage beside me made the familiar route home—one I should have walked alone—feel entirely different from usual.
When another coughing fit seized me along the way, Mikage stopped in her tracks.
She waited in silence until my breathing settled, and once it passed, she wrapped her arm even more firmly around me and resumed walking.
My body felt heavier than when I had left school.
Even so, it wasn't as though I couldn't walk on my own.
I was only letting Mikage support me because it was safer that way. There was no deeper meaning to it.
Yet even as I told myself that, I couldn't ignore the arm around my waist or her shoulder brushing against my chest.
Turning the corner along a stretch of white wall, the roof of my house came into view through the sheets of rain.
"Is that it?"
"Yeah. The white-walled house."
Stepping under the eaves of the front porch, Mikage closed the umbrella.
Relieved to finally be out of the rain, I let out a short breath. Mikage still hadn't taken her arm from my waist, her eyes fixed on the front door.
"Can you call someone inside?"
"No, I'm fine from here."
"I'll wait until someone answers."
"...There's no one home right now."
The moment the words left my mouth, Mikage gave a visible jolt. The arm around my waist tightened slightly.
Perhaps the thought of stepping into a guy's house alone made her uncomfortable. For Mikage, even crossing a front threshold was likely no small hurdle.
"My mom's at work, and Koharu is over at Sawamura's place. She said she'd head back once the rain lets up a bit."
"...I see."
"Thanks for walking me all the way here. You really saved me."
I meant it as a cue that she was off the hook.
Once I got the door open, I could manage on my own. There was no reason to drag her any further into this.
Yet Mikage didn't release her hold on my waist.
Pressing her lips together, she drew a small breath as if making up her mind.
"...Let me come inside."
The unexpected request left me speechless.
"Wait, it's just me in there."
"Yeah. I know."
Mikage's voice softened slightly.
Even so, her gaze never wavered.
"Even so... leaving you all alone would feel worse, Aiba-kun."
It wasn't that she was oblivious to the fact that we would be alone together.
Nor was it that she had zero hesitation about stepping into a guy's house.
Even so, Mikage was choosing to come inside.
I opened my mouth to refuse again, but facing her direct, steady gaze, the words died in my throat.
"Do you have your key?"
"Yeah. In my left pocket."
When I started to lift my left arm from her shoulder to reach for it, the arm around my waist tightened.
"Stay like that. Can I grab it?"
"...Go ahead."
Mikage reached out with her left hand and slipped her fingers into my uniform pocket.
The movement of her fingertips through the fabric made me involuntarily stiffen.
Mikage didn't seem entirely unaffected either; by the time she pulled the key out, even the tips of her ears were bright red. Still, without pulling away in a panic, she guided the key into the lock.
With a soft click, the deadbolt turned, and the front door opened.
Leaning on Mikage's shoulder, the two of us stepped inside.
The moment the door shut behind us, the roar of the rain battering the roof and umbrella faded into the distance.
In its place, only the water dripping from our soaked uniforms onto the entryway floor and the sound of our breathing felt strikingly close.
The empty house was completely silent.
The ticking of the clock—a sound I rarely ever noticed—drifted faintly from down the hallway.
With her arm still wrapped around my waist, Mikage looked once into the quiet house.
"Excuse me for intruding."
Her voice carried down the hallway and faded into the empty rooms.
Inside the house sealed off from the rain, there were only the two of us, still touching as we were.