Minato Mizuhara transfers from Kanagawa and perfectly plays the role of a bright, cheerful newcomer. He smiles at everyone, chats easily, and blends into the class. But on his first day, one girl sees through his mask: Akari Kajiwara, the ace of the judo club. She simply says, 'That laugh—you used the same one before.' Minato freezes, his fingertips turning cold.
From then on, they start walking home together. Beside the silent Akari, who asks nothing, Minato finds an odd comfort. He gradually
The Classroom Without Sunlight - Rain and the Eaves
The sky over Kugenuma, sunk into the rainy season, had been steeped in gray since morning.
Fine raindrops tapped ceaselessly against the classroom window glass. The scenery outside was blurred, and it was impossible to tell where the sea even was. Even the silhouette of Enoshima was completely hidden by clouds today.
Minato let the sixth-period classical Japanese class wash over him as he stared out the window. The teacher's voice echoed somewhere far away. Only the sound of rain felt strangely close.
(It's been raining since this morning, huh.)
That morning, as he left the house, his mother had called out, "Did you bring an umbrella?" Minato had answered with a smile, "I've got one," and slipped a folding umbrella into the side of his backpack. His mother had just finished a night shift, and her face looked tired. Even so, she'd left his bento on the kitchen counter.
(Mom's pushing herself again.)
Minato murmured that in his heart and dropped his eyes to his textbook.
The end-of-class chime rang.
The classroom erupted into noise all at once. Once the end-of-day homeroom finished, the students began moving for their clubs or heading home. Minato stuffed his textbook into his backpack and glanced at the seat next to him.
Akari was silently preparing to leave, just as always.
A chestnut-brown short bob. Her bangs were cut straight above her eyebrows, and her single-lidded black eyes were cast downward at her hands. Her posture was straight, and her uniform collar was neatly arranged. On the back of her right hand were old callus marks from judo practice.
Since they'd become neighbors in the May seat change, Minato and Akari had been walking home together almost every day. At first, Minato had been the one unilaterally throwing out topics, but lately, they'd increasingly walked side by side in silence. Even so, being next to Akari was strangely comfortable for Minato.
"Kajiwara-san, heading home?"
Minato called out in a light tone.
Akari raised her face and looked straight at Minato. Her eyes were quiet as always, hard to read.
"...Yeah."
A short reply. Akari said only that and dropped her eyes to her hands again.
Minato gave a wry smile and hoisted his backpack.
(Same vibe as always today, huh.)
But it didn't feel bad. Minato understood that Akari's "yeah" properly meant "I'm heading home."
The two left the classroom and headed for the entrance hall.
The hallway was overflowing with students heading to club activities. The sound of basketball shoes, laughter, voices calling someone's name. Minato walked through it all, side by side with Akari. Akari slipped along the wall as if avoiding the crowd. Minato walked half a step behind her.
They reached the entrance hall.
Outside, the rain was falling harder than it had in the morning.
A roar of sound poured down from above the roof. The residential area beyond the school gate was wrapped in a curtain of rain, hazy and white. Raindrops burst one after another in the puddles.
"Whoa, it's really coming down."
Minato reached for the side of his backpack. He pulled out his folding umbrella and tried to open it.
That's when Akari stopped.
Minato turned around.
Akari was standing in front of the shoe lockers in the entrance hall. She held nothing in her hands. She had her backpack, but no umbrella in sight.
"...I forgot my umbrella."
Akari said it quietly. Her voice was so small it seemed it might be drowned out by the rain.
Minato was at a loss for words for a moment.
(She forgot her umbrella? In this rain?)
Akari didn't look troubled. She was just gazing up at the rainy sky. Her profile was quiet, as always.
"Ah... want to share mine?"
Minato said with a smile.
Akari looked at Minato. Then she gave a small shake of her head.
"I'm fine. I'll walk home wet."
"Huh, but in this rain? You'll catch a cold."
"I'll be fine."
With that, Akari changed her shoes and tried to step outside the entrance hall.
The rain roared.
It was falling harder than before. The gravel in the schoolyard bounced under the rain's assault. The sky was dark, almost like evening.
Akari stepped into the rain without hesitation.
Her chestnut hair was soaked in an instant. Dark stains spread across the back of her uniform. Akari didn't look back. She just started walking toward the school gate.
Minato stood frozen in the entrance hall.
In his hand, the half-opened folding umbrella.
(Do I just watch her go?)
(Do I just open my umbrella and walk home?)
(And then tomorrow, laugh and say "Yesterday was rough, huh"?)
Countless voices swirled in Minato's head.
But his body was already moving.
Minato closed the folding umbrella.
And shoving it into his backpack, he dashed out into the rain himself.
The rain roared.
In an instant, cold rain poured over his entire body. Droplets dripped from his bangs into his eyes. His uniform clung to his skin, growing heavy. Water seeped into his shoes.
(What the hell am I doing?)
Minato mentally snarked at himself as he chased after Akari's retreating figure.
Akari was walking alone on the road toward the station.
Through the rain, her back straight, heading forward. Her gait was like it was during a judo match—footsteps without hesitation.
"Kajiwara-san!"
Minato called out.
Akari turned around slowly.
Her rain-soaked bangs were plastered to her forehead. Water droplets clung to the tips of her eyelashes too. Those black eyes looked straight at Minato.
"...Mizuhara."
Akari looked slightly surprised.
"I ditched my umbrella too."
Minato said with a laugh.
Akari stared at Minato. Then, as if thinking something over, she tilted her head slightly.
"...Idiot."
Akari said that.
But her voice was just a little softer than usual.
Minato fell into step beside Akari.
The two began walking in silence.
Only the sound of rain echoed around them.
The residential streets were full of puddles. Minato's sneakers were already soaked through. With every step, he could hear water sloshing inside his shoes.
Akari was silent as ever.
But Minato could tell. That Akari had slowed her pace just a little. That she was walking half a step slower than usual so he could walk beside her more easily.
(This person is that kind of person.)
Minato thought that as the rain soaked him.
It was a fifteen-minute walk north from school to Kugenuma-Kaigan Station.
Walking through the rain, it felt much longer than usual.
Eventually, a small station building came into view.
Kugenuma-Kaigan Station on the Enoshima Electric Railway. An unmanned station with a single platform and single track. The station building was old, with paint peeling from the roof in places. The eaves were narrow, and the space available for sheltering from the rain was tiny.
The two ducked under those eaves.
The rain roared.
It was still falling hard.
The eaves were just barely wide enough for the two of them to stand side by side.
Minato caught his breath and pushed his wet bangs up out of his face. Droplets dripped from his uniform sleeves. Even his socks were soaked, and his toes had gone cold.
Beside him, Akari stood quietly.
Akari's chestnut hair had darkened from the rain. Droplets falling from her bangs traced down her cheeks. Her uniform was soaked through from shoulders to back.
(It's really coming down.)
Minato looked up at the sky.
Gray clouds hung low. The rain showed no sign of letting up.
Silence filled the space under the eaves.
Only the sound of rain filled the world.
Minato tried to say something.
"Man, we're soaked. Kind of feels like youth, huh?"
Even he thought it was a lame joke.
Akari looked at Minato.
"...I suppose."
That was all.
Minato tried to make a smile. But he couldn't smile well.
(I have to fill the silence.)
(I have to say something.)
(Otherwise, it'll be awkward.)
The usual voice echoed in Minato's head.
Read the other person's expression. Listen to their voice. Gauge the distance. And choose the topic most fitting for the moment.
The technique Minato had spent three years polishing.
But now, that technique wasn't working well.
In front of Akari, Minato already knew he didn't need to force a smile.
(You don't have to push yourself.)
The words Akari had said that day.
Minato touched the wristband on his right wrist with his wet hand.
(...Is it okay to talk about it?)
A small voice spoke deep in his heart.
(With this person.)
(Is it okay to talk about it?)
Minato listened to his own heartbeat.
Thump, thump, thump.
Mixed with the sound of rain, it sounded strangely loud.
"...Kajiwara-san."
Minato opened his mouth.
His voice was trembling slightly.
Akari looked straight at Minato.
Her eyes were quiet, as always.
"I was bullied at my old school."
Minato said it.
Even he was surprised at how smoothly the words came out.
Akari said nothing.
She just kept looking into Minato's eyes.
"For three years. The whole time. I was ignored, my things went missing, rumors were spread. Even when I talked to the teachers, they never did anything."
Minato's voice had grown low.
Not his usual bright, light tone. The low voice that only came out when he spoke his true feelings.
"My mom, between night shifts, suggested I transfer schools while crying. She said this town would be okay. So I moved here."
The sound of rain wrapped around Minato's words.
Akari listened in silence.
She didn't look away.
Minato placed his left hand over the wristband on his right wrist.
"...There are scars under this."
Minato shifted the wristband just a little.
Old cut marks appeared on his rain-soaked skin.
"Back then, I really thought about dying. That's when I made these."
Minato stared at the scars.
"But I couldn't die. I was too scared. Pathetic, right?"
Minato gave a small laugh.
But that smile was more fragile and weak than any smile he'd shown before.
Akari looked at Minato's scars.
Then she looked at Minato's face.
"...That's not pathetic."
Akari said it clearly.
Minato raised his face.
Akari's black eyes were fixed straight on him.
"Not dying was the right thing."
Akari's voice was clearly audible even through the rain.
Minato tried to say something and choked on his words.
The back of his throat grew hot.
(Oh no.)
(I'm about to cry.)
Minato looked down.
Raindrops fell from his bangs and were absorbed into the ground.
"...I don't know if I can do well here either. I might end up like that again. When I think about that, I'm scared."
Minato squeezed the words out.
"But I want to start over in this town. Because my mom did her best for me. So I have to do my best too."
Minato returned the wristband on his right wrist to its original position.
Akari was silent.
Minato stole a glance at her reaction.
(She's probably put off.)
(She probably thinks I'm gross.)
(I shouldn't have said anything after all.)
Regret began swirling in Minato's heart.
But Akari didn't look away from him.
"...I see."
Akari just said that.
That was all.
No lecture, no comfort, no pity.
Just "I see."
Hearing that single phrase, Minato felt all the strength drain from his body.
(Ah.)
(This person really is that kind of person.)
Minato gave a small laugh with his rain-soaked face.
This time, it was a smile from the heart.
The rain was gradually letting up.
The roar of sound shifted to a steady patter, and eventually to the soft tapping of individual drops.
The sky was still gray.
But it was just a little brighter than before.
"...The rain's letting up."
Minato said.
"Yeah."
Akari looked up at the sky.
"...Let's go."
Akari said that and stepped out from under the eaves.
Minato followed after her.
The two began walking side by side in silence.
The road in front of the station, washed by the rain, was damp and glistening. The light of the streetlamps reflected faintly on the asphalt.
Walking beside Akari, Minato thought about what had just happened.
(I'm glad I told her.)
Minato thought so from the bottom of his heart.
Something he hadn't been able to tell
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.