When I looked out the window, I noticed it was pouring.

         It had begun raining suddenly, drenching everything in its path, including people, cars, trees, and the roadside.

         Technically, the rainy season hadn’t officially ended yet, so it wasn’t unexpected to find that the weather forecast was inaccurate today. However, the rain was notably heavy. Perhaps because of this, Sendai-san might not come by today.

         So far, there hasn’t been a single day when she didn’t come by when I called for her.

         The rain was rapidly getting heavier.

         If I had known it was going to rain this much, I wouldn’t have summoned Sendai-san at all. As I gazed at the city now soaked in rain, I couldn’t help but feel guilty for what I had done. However, if I were to tell her not to come anymore, there would be no chance she’d listen, so all I could do was wait for her arrival.

         If I remembered correctly, the rainy season had already ended around this time last year.

         Last July, I encountered Sendai-san at a bookstore after our exams were over and the rainy season had ended. That was the memory I held onto.

         My exam scores at the time weren’t great, but they weren’t terrible either. However, this year, thanks to Sendai-san’s unwavering support in helping me with my studies, my grades were slightly better than before.

         But it wasn’t good to keep these memories in my head.

         I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes.

         When you share experiences with someone, they turn into memories, and as your time together increases, these memories start to accumulate. Over time, certain memories might acquire significance and be labeled as special occasions, like anniversaries.

         However, if something were to happen, those labels could easily peel right off, and all the joyful memories with that person might transform into bitter ones tainted by resentment. Ultimately, the more happy memories you shared with someone, the more bad memories you’d be left with in the end.

         I was relieved that I couldn’t recall the exact date when Sendai-san and I first met at the bookstore. I didn’t want to attach too many labels to her.

         But with enough time, something will inevitably change – even if I didn’t want it to.

         Just like how a mother who was always kind could suddenly leave her child behind, even things that never needed to change will eventually change.

          ―― One day, my mother left our home – left me behind – without saying a word. I had no idea what she was thinking, and I never dared to ask my father about it either.

         Maybe they had an argument, and harsh words were exchanged, but I was just a child at the time, so my memories were hazy. As far as I knew, my mother simply left home one day and never returned.

         But as I grew older, I came to understand that there might have been a reason for her departure and began to speculate about various possibilities. Nevertheless, it didn’t change the fact that I once had fond memories of my mother.

         The same went for my relationship with Sendai-san.

         Even though she was quite talkative, I had never been able to discern what was going on in her mind. If Sendai-san were to suddenly vanish from my life, I doubted I would even understand why.

         We were changing little by little.

         Ideally, I wanted us to preserve the same relationship we had as when we first met.

         As we spent more time together, our relationship gradually evolved to the point where we no longer saw each other as two people who meant nothing to each other.

         I glanced out the window from where I was laying on my bed.

         My hair felt a little heavier on rainy days.

         ‘I wonder if it’s the same for Sendai-san?’ I thought to myself, sighing as I reluctantly recalled the memory of running my fingers through her hair.

         I picked up my phone that I had put next to my pillow.

         There were no messages from Sendai-san.

         She was late.

         Even taking the rain into consideration, she was way too late.

         The sound of the rain pattering outside could be heard in my room, so maybe it would be best if I told Sendai-san not to push herself to come by today.

         I hesitated for a bit as I stared at Sendai-san’s name written on my phone screen.

         However, before I could make the call, I heard the intercom ring. Instead of going to the living room, I answered it using the phone connected to it from my room. It was Sendai-san. I quickly unlocked the entrance for her, and within three minutes, my doorbell rang. When I opened the door to let her in, Sendai-san was standing there, drenched.

         「Did you not bring an umbrella with you?」

         「What does it look like? Sorry, but can I ask you for a towel?」

         The weather forecast had predicted it would be sunny today, so it wouldn’t have been surprising if she hadn’t brought an umbrella. However, it seemed that Sendai-san wasn’t one to trust the weather forecast, as she was holding a small umbrella in her right hand.

         「Well, just come inside for the time being.」

         I said, inviting her in as her clothes were still soaked.

         「Aren’t I just going to get everything in your house wet?」

         She was right.

         If Sendai-san could get soaked by the rain despite using an umbrella, she was undoubtedly wet enough to drench my hallway and the rest of the house. Still, I couldn’t just leave her standing there.

         「It’s fine. Even if the floor gets wet, I’ll just wipe it later.」

         「That doesn’t sound fine to me. Just lend me a towel.」

         「I can get you a towel, but let me also lend you a spare change of clothes. Can you take off your uniform for now?」

         「You want me to do it right here?」

         「Yep. There’s no one else here but me anyway, and no one is coming home anytime soon either, so you don’t need to worry about that. Besides, your clothes aren’t going to dry off for a while, so if you entered the rest of my house, you’re just going to get everything all wet.」

         With Sendai-san’s uniform being as soaked as it was, her only option was to try and dry herself off with a towel. If she was worried about wetting everything in my home, then she needed a dry uniform. While it would have been ideal to find a way to stay dry without needing to change out of her uniform, it didn’t seem feasible at the moment. However, for some reason, Sendai-san was being stubborn.

         「You know, I’m not sure I’m keen on the idea of undressing by the entranceway.」

         「Well, if you’re so worried about getting my home all wet, then you should take your clothes off.」

         「Just give me a towel.」

         Sendai-san demanded.

         She’s not going to take her uniform off no matter what, huh.

         Granted, I understood where Sendai-san was coming from. She was in someone else’s home, and if I were in her position, I wouldn’t want to do it either.

         「Okay, wait here a bit. I’ll go grab one.」

         I said before heading to my room.

         At first, I pulled out a hand towel from my drawer, but quickly reconsidered it. Instead, I grabbed a bath towel and headed back to the entrance of the apartment, where I noticed Sendai-san beginning to unravel the braid she typically wore in her hair.

         Her wet hair slowly fell over her shoulders.

         I’d seen her like this several times before in the past, usually after gym class.

         However, it was different now that we were put in separate classes.

         I’d never seen her look like this in my home before either.

         Now that I had the time to get a closer look, I noticed her wet blouse sticking to her body, leaving her undergarments somewhat visible.

         Considering it had been a while since I had last seen Sendai-san – combined with my sudden awareness of her current appearance – my heart began to race. I quickly handed her the towel I had brought out for her.

         「Here you go.」

         「Thanks.」

         Sendai-san said as she began wiping her hair with the towel.

         「What are you going to do about your uniform?」

         「I’ll try to dry it off with the towel as well.」

         「I’ll lend you a change of clothes, so just take them off.」

         「Do you really want me to undress that badly?」

         「Yeah. If you stay like that any longer, you’re going to end up catching a cold.」

         Even though it was already July, the human body didn’t discriminate by months when it came to catching a cold. Getting soaked and staying cold for an extended period could lead to falling ill regardless of the season. Sendai-san should have known that, but she seemed adamant about not wanting to remove her uniform.

         「Don’t move.」

         I uttered the words I had used many times before and took hold of Sendai-san’s hand.

         「Is that an order?」

         「Yes, it is.」

         Sendai-san obeyed and immediately stopped wiping her hair.

         I stared at her wet blouse.

         The first button was undone, as usual.

         But not the second button.

         I took her necktie off and unfastened the second button for her.

         「I didn’t bring a spare change of clothes today.」

         「Like I said, I can just lend you some.」

         I thought back to the day we played the eraser searching game together.

         I recalled that she had attempted to introduce a rule against either of us undressing, though I wasn’t certain if this addition was considered official or not.

         I slowly reached for her third button.

         Sendai-san did not resist.

         Even when my hand moved towards the fourth button, she did not say anything.

         I knew this didn’t necessarily mean I was allowed to do as I pleased.

         But seeing how Sendai-san had followed all my orders until now, I wondered how far I could push her. It felt like she would forgive me even if I treated her like a dog and chained her up in this room. I was even starting to believe that she would forgive me for breaking the rules we established.

         …… No, this isn’t right.

         Right now, all I should be doing is helping Sendai-san.

         All I wanted was to make sure she didn’t catch a cold – not test the boundaries of our relationship.

         I was getting a little nervous, though that might’ve just been my imagination.

         When we were in the same class, we used to change clothes in the same locker room. While I’d never taken anyone’s clothes off before, I had seen some of my classmates half-naked.

         So, taking off her uniform wasn’t a big deal.

         After removing the fourth button of her blouse, I managed to get through the rest of them without any trouble.

         When I opened the front of her blouse up, her undergarments came into view.

         She was dressed in plain, white underwear – nothing out of the ordinary. It had a simple design that you could find almost anywhere. I had expected her to wear something flashier, but that didn’t seem to be the case today. She looked like she was wearing something that even I might’ve owned.

         Yet, for some reason, my heart wouldn’t stop racing.

         What am I doing? If I leave her like this any longer, she’s going to catch a cold.

         Initially, I thought I had no ulterior motives for undressing her. I simply wanted to help. But right now, there was a part of me that wanted Sendai-san to grab my hand to get me to stop.

         That, in itself, seemed to be proof that I did have ulterior motives after all.

---

< Previous Part | Next Part >