The days after Tachibana Yui's arrival passed in a quiet blur.
Makoto found his thoughts straying more often than not during classes, walking home, even while rewatching his favorite anime episodes. Something about her stuck. Not just the red ribbon, or the calm, almost distant air around her. It was the way her smile never quite reached her eyes. The way her voice always seemed to carry a weight, no matter how light the topic.
They hadn't walked together again since that first afternoon.
Makoto wasn't sure if she wanted to. Maybe it was a one-time thing a brief connection out of gratitude, nothing more. But every time he glanced toward her seat during class and found her sketching quietly or looking out the window, he wondered.
"Dude," Shidou said one morning, sliding into his seat beside Makoto. "You've been spacing out a lot. That anime withdrawal?"
"Something like that," Makoto muttered.
He didn't tell Shidou about the subtle exchanges between him and Yui how they sometimes met eyes across the room, or how she gave a small nod in the hallway, almost like a secret acknowledgment. It wasn't friendship. Not yet. But it was something.
Then, on a rainy Thursday, everything shifted.
The clouds had rolled in fast, drenching the city in gray. Makoto forgot his umbrella again and was debating between braving the storm or hiding under the school gate's overhang until the rain let up. Most students had already left, their laughter echoing under shared umbrellas.
He heard footsteps behind him.
"Did you forget yours too?" a familiar voice asked.
He turned. Yui stood there, holding her own umbrella. A faint smile touched her lips.
"Yeah," he said, brushing the back of his neck. "Not my best moment."
"…We can share. If that's okay."
Makoto blinked. "Seriously?"
She tilted her head slightly. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
He smiled, stepping beside her as she opened the umbrella. The space beneath was small, barely enough for two. Their shoulders brushed as they walked down the hill, past quiet shops and flickering signs.
The sound of rain tapping on plastic was the only noise for a while.
Then, Yui spoke softly. "Do you always stay after school?"
"Sometimes. Depends on how tired I am."
"I stay because… I don't like going home right away."
Makoto glanced at her. Her expression was hard to read, but he didn't push. He just nodded.
"I get that," he said.
Yui hesitated. "I used to think silence was lonely. But it's… peaceful. When it's with the right person."
Makoto didn't know what to say to that. His chest felt tight again just like before.
As they reached the station, she stopped just before the stairs.
"I don't talk much," she said suddenly. "Not because I don't want to. It's just… hard sometimes."
"I don't mind," Makoto said. "You don't have to say anything. I still get it."
Yui looked up at him, eyes reflecting the rain soaked city lights. "Thank you."
They parted ways at the platform. No promises, no awkward goodbyes just a quiet moment, and the gentle beginning of something fragile and unspoken.
Makoto stood alone on the train, watching her silhouette fade behind the closing doors.
That night, as he opened the next volume of Infinite Gatcha, he couldn't focus. Not on the plot. Not on the action. His thoughts kept drifting to her voice, her words.
And the rain.