As promised, I brought Rika-chan back to her house. She's surprised when I was about to take off my shoes to enter her house.
"Why are you going in my house?" Rika-chan said.
"Your mother invited me to have a dinner with your family. I just got my permission from my parents. Let's bring them some gifts." I said.
"So that's why you went to the supermarket..." She said.
We entered the house, I greeted Rika-chan's parents. They seemed very happy. Rika-chan went upstairs to change her clothes, meanwhile Rika-chan's mother is in the kitchen preparing dinner. Rika-chan's father is sitting on a sofa next to me.
"Yuuma-kun, thank you for taking care of Rika-chan. She told me about you that day, that you helped her from bullies." He said.
"Which day?" I asked.
"She came back looking dirty, my wife said. When asked why, she said that you had helped her before anything bad happens to her. You have this old man's gratitude." He bowed to me. I stood up and helped him to sit back down. I really didn't deserve that bow. She was being targeted because of me.
I excused myself to walk upstairs. Rika-chan's father saw me, but then looked away, pretending not to see. I wonder what kind of weird permission did he just gave me with that. On my way sneaking upstairs, I heard Rika-chan grunts while changing. It sounds embarrassing. Perhaps she is hurt somewhere. I waited outside, not daring to knock on her door. Moments later, the grunting stopped after a heavy thud.
"Thud!"
"Rika-chan, are you alright?!" I knocked the door. The door wasn't locked at all. I barged in without thinking much. In the room, it's Rika-chan who just took off her skirt, I averted my gaze, and quickly get out of the room and closed the door.
"Idiot!" Rika-chan shouted. Ah... I totally deserve that...
"This idiot over here is, however asking you if you were alright." I said. An awkward silence lasted for a few moments before she started grunting again.
"You... Still there is it?" She asked.
"Yes. I am." I responded.
"Please come in." She said.
"Are you completely clothed this time?" I asked.
"Yes I am." She said.
"I'm coming in then." Here goes, Yuuma! I thought to my self, anticipating myself to be slapped. I entered her room, she is in her casual clothes. She flickered her finger, asking me to come closer. I walked closer to Rika-chan, she turned around and exposed her left shoulder. It's bruised.
"Wait, how did you get this?" I asked, I started doubting myself for not watching out for her properly.
"It's when the delinquent targeted me that time. I fell on a crate and injured my shoulder." Rika-chan said, with her face looked embarrassed.
"It's fine, I understand now." I looked away, and quickly covered her shoulder.
"Please don't tell anyone about this..." Rika-chan put a finger on her lips, she looked cute doing that.
At last, dinner is ready. The both of us went down to have dinner with Rika-chan's parents. They looked like they enjoyed their family time together. Although I did talk to her parents, I still felt a slight distance from Rika-chan. Perhaps mortified from showing me her shoulder? I don't know anymore.
"Yuuma-kun, I remember seeing you hurt your arm months ago, does that mean you couldn't play basketball that time?" Rika-chan's mother asked.
"Yes, it's true. I just go home after school since then." I said. Rika-chan looked at me while chewing her rice. There is a small grain of rice on her cheeks. I picked it up and pretended to put it in my mouth. She gets flustered and got her face all red. That gave us a good laughter.
To think back, I wonder when did Rika-chan became all shy like this... It feels different with the Rika-chan I saw in some odd memories. I shrugged off the thoughts, continued to chat away the times I had there. It's past nine, I should head back home. Rika-chan wants to send me off. I declined, since I only live next door. However, she insisted. We went out of the house, just before I stepped out from the gate, she tugged my jacket, I stopped and looked at her.
"Thank you for today... I just wanted to look cute for once... And you appeared, thank you." She said. So, she dressed up like that for me?
"Ah, I'll be sure not to tell anyone about that. Thank you too!" I said, I got a bit flustered, although feeling unsure, yet I thanked her.
"Why did you thanked me?" She said.
"I got to see a side of you that you never show anyone else... I felt honoured." I said. She blushed, so did I.
"However, Yuuma-kun. Please forget anything you saw today. Just like we never met today. I just went with the flow... So please forget about the feelings you had on me..." She said. I was surprised, I thought we got along pretty well, yet she asked me to forget about these feelings I had since elemental school? I refused and went home.
"Rika-chan. You should rest, don't worry about that. I'll think of something for that." I said coldly.
Days passed, until the New Year's Eve. I had a video call from friends to discuss about heading to Touna's shrine on the New Year's first day. I declined, since I had no reason to head there. They tried to persuade me, telling me that there might be a chance of finding a cute girl wearing a nice kimono. I accepted the invitation because I really wanted to see Rika-chan in a kimono.
It was early in the morning, I met up with friends on the way to Touna's shrine. I rode my bike there, I somehow had some odd recollection of a memory, which felt like an adrenaline surge. I wonder what was I doing that time. I don't even understand, why did I had memories of events where the location matches, but is different from reality. If I needed to pray to the Rain Goddess, perhaps I should seek for the answers from these weird memories.
We paid respects to the shrine, despite being crowded, the shrine's operations were very well organised. It made it possible to get around pretty quickly. Some of my friends looked at fortune slips, I took mine too. It says "Great luck", while my friends were so hyped about my fortune reading, I actually didn't mind about it, since it said "Everything will come to your favour eventually." I just felt that I can't really get along with Rika-chan at all. She always pushed me away no matter what I did. I was thinking, not paying attention about my surroundings. My friends warned me something.
"Yuuma, a girl! Watch out!" They said. A girl bumped into me, it's Rika-chan, in her kimono.
"Ah, are you alright?" I used my left hand to help her to stand up, she gave me her left hand, but I grabbed her right hand instead.
"How is your shoulder?" I asked.
"I'm fine... But!" She pointed on my left arm.
"It still hurts sometimes, but I'm alright." I turned around and checked my friends. And... We got separated. I suppose that they are somewhere around, spying on me and Rika-chan. together.
I took a closer look on Rika-chan, she cut her hair short again. She looked cute with the kimono, I got flustered and looked away. She tugged my jacket.
"Let's go and pray... Together." She said.
"Sure, let's go." I said.
We prayed to the Rain Goddess together. I prayed for success in studies, health for family and friends, and also a little doubt about the weird memories that occasionally flash through my mind. If the Rain Goddess really do exist, please bless Rika-chan for her happiness.
For an unknown cause, I felt familiar to this place. I felt like I've been here for a long time ago, also wishing for Rika-chan's happiness. I don't understand that, but it's good to know that I felt the same way towards her, yet there is a odd feeling of separation. Rika-chan was leaving? I had no idea. Rika-chan walked alongside me. The memories in my head plays simultaneously like a movie as I'm walking in the shrine. I tried to replicate the scenes, walking to wherever I've walked to based on the memory. We lived here for days, and I brought her here. She disappeared after I turned around.
The memory ends with the words "May you find the rainbow as promised... After the rain."
"What did it means...?" I murmured. Despite walking this far, Rika-chan is still with me.
"Did something caught up in your mind?" Rika-chan asked.
"It was something I had no idea why, I had a weird memory with you here last summer." I said.
"Last summer...? We never met during summer." She replied.
"It might sound odd... Did you remember living here together with me?" I asked. She seemed flustered. I think it's too obvious to tell the answer 'no' from her face. I stopped her from answering my question.
"No... I think I just had some wild ideas, I'm pretty sure that we don't." I said.
"Okay..." She nodded.