After finishing their meal, Kanade and Utaha stepped out of the restaurant to find a gentle drizzle falling.
The rain had mixed with the air, making it humid and sticky. Raindrops drummed on rooftops in a steady rhythm, blending with the hurried footsteps of passersby to create a serene melody unique to early summer.
But for Kanade, this was no time to appreciate the scenery. The rain, to him, was both ill-timed and inconvenient.
Can't it read the room? he thought irritably. Neither he nor Utaha had brought an umbrella—or even a jacket.
"We should wait it out. This kind of rain usually doesn't last long," Kanade said, glancing at Utaha, who seemed oddly delighted. Like a child, she stretched out her hand, letting the raindrops gather in her palm and trickle down her arm.
"Hmm…" Utaha murmured absentmindedly, lost in her own world.
Seeing her so absorbed, Kanade didn't bother interrupting her "literary-girl moment." Instead, he pulled out his phone and began scrolling through Twitter.
Their plan to wait seemed reasonable at first, but the rain only intensified, showing no signs of stopping. Meanwhile, surrounding shops were gradually closing for the night. Even the restaurant they had just left was nearly empty now, with only the two of them remaining outside.
As Kanade began weighing the option of walking through the rain, a familiar voice called out from behind him.
"Excuse me, sir?"
He turned to see the same server from earlier, now holding out an umbrella.
"If you'd like, you can use this…"
"Ah… Thank you," Kanade said, startled by the unexpected kindness. He quickly added, "How much is it? I'd like to buy it."
Kanade rarely refused others' goodwill, but he also believed in offering fair compensation.
"Oh, no need! Please, just take it—"
But Kanade insisted, refusing to accept the umbrella for free. Reluctantly, the server agreed to sell it.
With the umbrella in hand, Kanade turned to Utaha. "Senpai, let's go."
Utaha glanced at him before nodding lightly. "Alright."
The umbrella was small, barely wide enough to cover the two of them. Kanade moved closer to Utaha to ensure she stayed dry, though he made sure to keep an appropriate distance. Were it anyone else, he might have simply draped an arm around their shoulder to match their pace.
The walk to the station wasn't far, but the wind and rain slowed them down. By the time they arrived, Kanade was met with an unpleasant surprise:
The electronic display at the station read, "Due to heavy rain, train services have been suspended. The last train departed at 9:00 PM."
Kanade glanced at the time on his phone and groaned internally. It's already past 9. We waited too long for the rain to stop.
He turned to Utaha, his tone cautious. "Looks like we'll need to find a place to stay for the night. What do you think?"
Taking a taxi was technically an option, but given Japan's notoriously high taxi fares, he preferred not to play the role of an overpaying tourist.
"Okay. I'll leave it to you," Utaha replied softly, surprisingly compliant.
Her uncharacteristic docility made Kanade pause for a moment, but he quickly dismissed his curiosity and pulled up a map on his phone to search for nearby accommodations.
After a short walk, they arrived at a small inn with decent reviews. However, the seemingly easy check-in process hit a snag.
"What's your relationship to each other?" the middle-aged woman at the front desk asked, her friendly tone masking her scrutiny.
"Uh…" Kanade exchanged a glance with Utaha before responding. "Does that have any bearing on us staying here?"
"Well… Technically, we don't allow unaccompanied minors to stay without a guardian's permission. And, well, your friend here clearly looks like a high school student," the innkeeper said, gesturing at Utaha's school uniform.
Kanade realized with a jolt that Utaha's outfit had given them away.
"Oh, right. Um, I'm also a student, so it's not like… I'm not suspicious or anything," Kanade tried to explain, concerned that he was being mistaken for someone trying to abduct a high schooler.
"Even so… A boy and a girl sharing a room? That's a bit, um…" The innkeeper's expression grew increasingly skeptical.
Before Kanade could attempt another explanation, Utaha spoke up. "It's fine."
Both Kanade and the innkeeper turned to her in surprise.
"Because we're… siblings," Utaha said with a serene smile.
Kanade: "…"
"Oh, siblings? I see!" The innkeeper's demeanor softened, though she glanced at Kanade for confirmation.
Utaha nodded and added sweetly, "Isn't that right, Nii-san~?"
Kanade: "…"
"Uh… Yes, that's right. We're siblings," Kanade managed, his tone strained.
"In that case, I'll prepare a single room for you. It's cheaper that way," the innkeeper said, her expression completely at ease.
Kanade: "…???"
"Is there a problem?" the innkeeper asked, noticing his conflicted expression. "If you're siblings, sharing a room should be fine… Unless you're not really—"
"No, no, it's fine! It's just that… two rooms would've been better," Kanade said weakly.
"I'd love to accommodate that, but unfortunately, we're fully booked due to the rain. I hope you don't mind sharing."
"I don't mind," Utaha chimed in before Kanade could protest further.
Kanade twitched but ultimately relented. "Alright… That's fine."
After filling out the registration form, Kanade instinctively wrote his own name in the first slot. However, when it came time to write Utaha's name, he hesitated.
If he wrote Kasumigaoka Utaha, it would immediately expose the lie.
"…"
"Something wrong?" Utaha asked, tilting her head.
"No, it's nothing," Kanade said quickly, scribbling down the name Natsukawa Shiwa(Utaha?) before hastily passing the form back to the innkeeper.
But his attempt to cover it up was futile—Utaha had been watching him the entire time.
Reading the unfamiliar name aloud, she murmured, "Natsukawa Shiwa… Natsukawa… Shiwa…"
Kanade: "…"
Utaha suddenly laughed, her mood visibly brightened. "Don't you think it has a nice ring to it?"
Kanade: "…"
What else could he do?
Notes-Read all chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X