Rain 2
“Didn’t you check the weather forecast? It’s going to rain today.”
“What!? My laundry is still hanging out!”
Just then, a drop of rain falls.
Then the rain intensifies and quickly darkens the asphalt.
“Ah, Tenjō-san! I have a folding umbrella with .”
“It’s close by, so I’ll be fine!”
“Then let’s run!”
We hurried along, gripping our shopping bags tightly in the increasingly heavy rain.
It was only a few minutes to the apartnt, but the rain grew fiercer by the second.
“Isn’t running pointless at this point?”
I call out while getting drenched.
“I just hung up all that laundry I had accumulated! I don’t want to have to wash it again!”
Seems like Tenjō-san is determined not to give up.
“Please don’t slip!”
The asphalt is completely wet and glistening.
Our apartnt cos into view.
“Yuunagi-kun! Sorry, can you help ? There’s quite a lot.”
“Okay!”
We open the door to room 103 and rush in.
Without worrying about wetting the hallway, we dash through the room and open the windows.
Working together, we hurriedly take down the laundry hanging on the drying poles.
Once everything is stored inside, a pile of laundry forms on the floor.
Finally, we take off our wet jackets.
“Wow…everything’s soaked. Looks like I’ll have to rewash them.”
“Is there anything I can help with for laundry?”
I offer help to a dejected Tenjō-san.
“In what world would there be a female teacher who lets a male student hang her underwear!? Is this so kind of play?”
“I an, except the underwear of course. It would be awkward for too.”
I calmly retort.
“——”
“Tenjō-san, do you actually have no immunity to n?”
“Huh? I’m not. I don’t have a problem with you approaching .”
I reflexively step back as Tenjō-san suddenly cos close and gets worked up.
Not seeing where I was stepping, I kicked a trash can unintentionally. Then I lost my balance and fell to the floor.
Unable to brace myself, I hit my back and felt a dull impact.
A voiceless groan escaped , and in the discomfort of pain, all I could do was grimace and close my eyes.
“Ah, Yuunagi-kun!? Are you okay? That was a loud noise.”
Her voice got closer, so she must have co to my side.
“It hurts so much it feels like I’m dying…”
“Eh, that’s not good. Should we go to the hospital?”
“Just let rest for a while, it should be fine.”
“Is there anything you want?”
“Can I have a cushion?”
It hurts, and I don’t feel like moving for a while. I think I need to lie on the floor for a bit.
It would be nice if I could borrow a cushion nearby as a makeshift pillow.
“Alright. Here, raise your head. Okay…”
I do as I’m told, lifting my neck and relaxing.
“Hmm…?”
This cushion feels weird. It doesn’t feel like fabric, it’s soft and warm.
When I open my eyes, Tenjō-san’s face is right above .
Her tied hair has co undone.
“How is it? Do you feel sick or anything after hitting your head?”
“Are you seriously giving a lap pillow?”
“Oh, if it’s uncomfortable, I’ll stop.”
Trying not to show her embarrassnt, she avoids looking at .
“No, it’s the most comfortable I’ve ever been.”
“Then that’s good.”
Because of the rain, everything in the dim room with only the faint light from outside and the sound of rain seems different.
Her pale lips and hair seem more lustrous than usual, and her wet, clinging clothes reveal the lines of her body.
The curves of her chest and hips contrast with her slender arms, legs and shoulders.
Above all, I’m surprised by the softness of the body that was touching .
“…Don’t look up, my innerwear might be showing through.”
“Sorry.”
We remain still, feeling each other’s body heat as ti passes.
“The rain is intense, and it’s getting stronger.”
“We’re lucky we got back before it turned into a downpour.”
“Your room is next door, though.”
“If I’m bothering you, I’ll leave.”
“I’ll leave the timing to you. At this point, both our rooms feel like one and the sa.”
Perhaps influenced by the lap pillow, she utters those words.
A fierce light rips through the sky.
The woman’s face is illuminated by the flash of lightning, appearing monochromatic to my eyes.
Then cos the thunder.
The intense sound, as if shattering the world, makes droplets from her wet hair fall on my cheek.
“It’s cold.”
“I should get a towel before you catch a cold. I was careless. I’ll bring one right now.”
Before she can stand up, I impulsively move and grab her wrist.
She stiffens and doesn’t move.
It’s as if ti stands still unless I take another action.
Despite the discomfort of my rain-soaked shirt clinging to , my body feels unusually hot.
I’m acutely aware of the suppressed flas of desire.
My heart races as if it’s about to burst.
The intense sound of the rain fills the room, drowning out all other noises.
The sound of my movents is surely inaudible in this room.
It almost feels like a permission granted by the heavens.
“Please don’t go.”
Tenjō-san, with her back turned, takes a deep breath through her shoulders.
I pull the arm of the person I used to only look up to and gently seat her back on the floor.
I let go of her hand, but she doesn’t run away.
“Aren’t you cold from being wet?”
“I was warm because of your body heat.”
“That sounds sowhat lewd.”
“I think one is free to interpret it as they like.”
“Is it because I did sothing unnecessary?”
“For , it was the best pillow of my life. I wanted to keep sleeping like this.”
“Then my legs would go numb.”
“Why did you give a lap pillow then?”
I ask, curious.
“On the contrary, what do you want from ?”
Her question was more straightforward than ever before.
“I want to get closer to you.”
“Is that love? Or lust?”
“Both. I’m not so clever or simple enough to act on just one.”
Love and lust are two sides of the sa coin.
Neither is more noble or dirty than the other.
I think humans live in a mix of unconditional love and unavoidable physiological desires.
It seed to that this encapsulates the complexity of human nature.
“I’m sure you and I are just being swept away by the mood.”
“I am not.”
I was certain about that.
“Then, are you interested in just because I’m a convenient woman who’s close by?”
“If it were for such a cheap reason, I would have already taken you to my bed.”
She shivered at my words.
“Ah… I’m sorry. I an, I cherish you.”
“——I’m not as great a woman as you expect.”
She whispered, her face downcast.
“Tenjō-san…?”
I sensed an unpleasant turn in the conversation.
Reviews
All reviews (0)