To keep the raindrops from falling on his head, Kazehaya Shouta opened his umbrella. Takanashi Ichika, on the other hand, is trying to find a way to protect herself from the storm.
Kazehaya handed Takanashi his Umbrella, saying, "Here, I have a spare in my backpack."
"Thank you..." says the speaker. Takanashi slid the umbrella open.
Kazehaya retrieved his spare umbrella from his backpack. It was all ripped up and scribbled on.
"What happened to your spare one...?" Takanashi inquired, her voice concerned.
"Too lazy to buy a new one… The one you're holding right now is a gift from my father, and I didn't ask him for an umbrella..."
"..."
"Now then, where do you want to go?"
"..."
"Takanashi?"
Takanashi didn't take long to respond to Kazehaya's question.
"Let's walk to the station..."
Her voice was quiet, as if she was speaking in the same tone as Kazehaya in the Cafe, but it was difficult to hear her. Fortunately, Kazehaya overheard her say station, and the two of them proceeded to the train station together.
Tokyo was already up and going, with a large number of pedestrians passing by. On the other side of the road, it was the same.
As Kazehaya crossed the road to the other side, she found Takanashi's face was sad, as though she had something to regret.
"Takanashi, may I ask what's wrong?" Kazehaya came to a halt and turned to face Takanashi.
"N-no... Let's get up before the rain gets any worse!"
Takanashi bolted as she answered Kazehaya's question.
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It rained a lot, and it rained hard. While using an umbrella, they were both soaked from head to toe when they arrived at the train station.
Takanashi returned Kazehaya's brand new umbrella to him as he was closing his old one.
"Don't you need that to get to your house, Takanashi?" The words of Kazehaya were caught in his throat. Takanashi returned his umbrella to him and walked away without saying anything.
"...Takanashi?"
Kazehaya was taken aback. He's trying to piece it together, but he's not getting the response he's looking for.
The best idea he could come up with was to go after Takanshi, but it was too late; she had already left the station.
"Where is she going...?"
Rather than simply forgetting what had happened, Kazehaya was intrigued enough to investigate further. He took off running in the same direction as Takanashi. He searched around for her, but couldn't locate her. Then Kazehaya discovered her, but she had already boarded a train.
He tried to sprint to catch the train, but he stumbled and hit his head on the floor due to his slick shoes.
"Ow…!"
What exactly am I doing? She's just a customer who needs assistance getting here... But why did I run to her in the first place?
A new puzzle was set next to him. The first was why Takanshi bolted without saying something. Second, why was he pursuing her in the first place?
He was surrounded by people who were keeping a close eye on him. He was able to get back up and pick up all of his belongings that had fallen to the ground.
He gave Takanashis' train a brief glance before turning away and heading back to the line he was expected to take.
Kazehaya was fortunate that his train was still present because it needed immediate attention. He boarded the train and sat in the very back, trying not to get anyone else wet.
When the train began to move, it was about 9 p.m. Kazehaya stood there watching the train doors slowly close.
"What is it about that girl?" says the narrator.
The train jerked itself into motion, moving at such a slow pace that it still seemed to be getting up to speed. Rain poured down on the train's ceiling as it left the station, causing heavy thump noises. Kazehaya's line was destined for Kanagawa, his hometown. His house was close to the beach, and he was fortunate to have a good view from his balcony.
Kazehaya Shouta seemed to be a typical Japanese student, but there was something more underneath the emotionless and cold exterior. His parents weren't your typical Japanese parents; both of them owned several businesses in Japan, one of which went foreign.
A tall young man, standing about 180 cm tall. He spends some of his free time simply walking on the beach while he has it.
He took a job at the cafe to pass time, despite the fact that he is wealthy. He hardly does anything at home, except play video games and clean the house. It wasn't a mansion; instead, it was a typical Japanese home.
the train came to a complete stop, the alarm bell rang, and the train door opened.
There weren't as many passengers on the train as there had been before, and Kazehaya was in the very last car, which had only two people in it.
"What are you doing, Kazehaya, looking so gloomy?"
He heard a voice not far away. As he raised his head, he saw someone dressed in a school uniform. She is well-dressed and has long, dark hair.
"What are you looking for, Koharu?"
A woman of medium height stood in front of him, dressed as a schoolgirl. Soon after, a couple of guys boarded the train. They had luggage, cameras, and ring lights with them.
"Ohh… another session?"
"We'll be doing another scene near your house, mind joining?"
"Me? Joining?"
"Just looking…"
"Ohh…"
The door closed, and the train lurched forward. Kazehaya was in the last cart, and there weren't many people like the other carts. There were still empty seats but only 30 percent of the seats were taken.
"What happened to you? You looked like you've experienced something weird…"
"You can tell…?"
"Even though you're always like this, all gloomy like, there's something that's inside you, right? There's something that you want to let out, right?"
Koharu asked as she was sitting down near Kazehaya.
"...There was a girl―"
"She rejected you!"
"No. She asked me to go on a walk with her but when we made it outside the cafe, her face changed and she wanted to go straight to the Station. When we got there, she just ran off and didn't say anything…"
"So you really did get rejected…?"
"No!"
"Then, what happens next?"
Kazehaya gave Koharu a long sigh, before he continued explaining what happened.
"...I tried running up to her and asked her why she was running away and not saying anything… but that's not important. I was surprised myself when I tried to catch her"
"Mmm… same here. You're not the type of guy who cares about other people, yet, you chased down that girl because she looked sad, right?"
"Again, you can read me…"
Kazehaya shot Koharu with a murky look.
"Out of all of my friends, you're the one who's the easiest to read!"
Despite the fact that Kazehaya appears to be a lonely student, he has more than two friends.
Kazehaya is two months older than Koharu Minase. When she learned from a friend that there was a famous boy among the girls, she enrolled in the same university as Kazehaya.
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The fragrance of rain wafted in as the train doors opened.
People exiting and joining the train in large numbers. Koharu had to leave Kazehaya because she wanted to finish a project before filming another sequence.
At the entrance, a swarm of scarecrow-like devices read the chips in passengers' train tickets. Normally, there would be two or three attendants on hand during the day, but there was only one near the middle machine.
Kazehaya just had to walk past a short walkway outside the station before the odakyu gate appeared in front of him. He might take another train to Koshigoe station, his home, from inside.
"What are you doing here, Kazehaya?"
"It's supposed to be my question, Sara. aren't you supposed to work at this time?"
Sara was beside him as they ascended the escalators. She stepped forward, holding a purse and wearing her ribbon. The train was in front of Kazehaya as he got off the escalator. The same scarecrow-like gadget was there, reading his train pass's chips.
The train was only four carriages long, but there was already a long line of people waiting to board.
Kazehaya took his phone from his pocket and pressed the screen's buttons. Sara was already standing in front of him, about to scan her pass...
"Sara, don't go yet!"
"Huh? Why?"
Kazehaya called her near the escalator. She ran back to where Kazehaya was and stood right beside him. Kazehaya pressed a button on his phone, making a ding sound.
"...What's that?"
"You haven't eaten dinner yet, right? I'll treat you…!"
"Me? That's weird… coming from a guy like you…"
"So, you don't want to?"
"It's not like I don't want to…"
"You Tsundere"
"Shut up!"
Sara leaned to Kazehaya, where she could look at what was on his phone. But, Kazehaya soon turned off the phone, hiding his privacy away from others.
Kazehaya walked back to the escalator, when Sara asked him "where are you going?"
"I'll buy you food!" as Kazehaya walked down the escalator, looking back at his phone, it was 10 pm.
As Kazehaya was leaving the building where he was supposed to take the train, the girl behind him said.
"Is it okay… if I ask for Ramen?"
"Why ask? Just say whatever food you want and I'll buy it"
"A-alright then… Ramen it is…" the girl pointed at the direction of the Ramen restaurant, it was directly below the walkway they were on.
It was tiny, like all the other restaurants in the city. There were only 4 or 8 seats available, and only 2 of them were occupied. Both of them took a seat near the restaurant's entrance.
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"Are there any more things that you want?"
"No, this is enough…!" Sara said while carrying 4 bags in each hand. Inside, were full of souvenirs and work utilities.
They were walking through a busy road. Sara had only one thing left on her mind "let's go to the aquarium!".
It was already 11 pm when they crossed the road, leading to the aquarium.
"Isn't the aquarium closed at this time?" Kazehaya asked as he walked beside Sara. Sara then checked her phone, realizing th―
"W-why didn't you tell me that it's 11:30 pm…???"
"How is it my fault? The light isn't even on!"
Kazehaya pointed his finger to the empty, lifeless, dark aquarium.
"Now what do we do?" asked Sara who was facing down at the floor with her hands hanging.
"Go home"
"B-b-but, I want to still--"
She turned around. There wasn't a Kazehaya anywhere.
There was a soft beep and then something vibrated inside her purse―her phone. It was a message from Kazehaya.
If you want to stay there, do it. I'm going home.
"――"
A group of people walked past her. The road beside her was still busy, cars were going back and forth. The whole city beside her was all still lit up but she could see some stores, mainly small restaurants, are closing.
"Dammit Kazehaya!!! Can't you be more kind-hearted to your juniors?!"
Sara Fujiwara was in her second semester when she found out about the Cafe. She worked at the Cafe 3 months before Kazehya.
Her eyes were wide, her hair was tied up, not like when she was at work―it was a ponytail.
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"I'm home!"
"Welcome home, Master Kazehaya"
Awaiting for him, was a tall woman wearing a black and white maid costume with an apron in front. Her hair reached only to her shoulders, and her eyes were blue. It was like seeing someone cosplaying as a maid from an anime.
"I'm sorry that I came home late"
"It's okay, I've received the message you sent me"
Kazehaya took off his shoes and put them in the shoe rack near the front door. He gave his bag to the maid and went to his room.
Opening the door to his room, he was blasted by the smell of nothing but "normal", there wasn't anything special about his room but it wasn't like an ordinary Japanese bedroom.
He opened his wardrobe, and then crouched down to reach the lowest part.
Takanashi…
All that time, his mind was still thinking about the girl who ran off without saying anything. It still left him wondering.
Takanashi… Takanashi… Takanashi… Takanashi…
"Master Kazehaya, I've prepared the bathroom for you" The maid called for Kazehaya in front of his bedroom door.
"Oh, thank you Miss Yamamoto"
Kazehaya stood up and closed his wardrobe. He reached to his table and grabbed a small plastic box, putting it inside his pocket.
He made his way to the bathroom and locked the doors.
"I want to know…"
He turned the valve.
"I want to know…"
He grabbed the nearby sope.
"I want to know… I want to know… I want to know…"
"excuse me Master, but may I ask what is wrong?"
"eh..."
It was just then, Kazehaya realized that he had been making the maid, Yamamoto, worried. Since then, he has been mumbling the name "Takanashi".
"I'm sorry Miss Yamamoto, there's nothing wrong―!"
"oh, understood then"
Kazehaya heard Miss Yamamoto's footsteps getting father.
What am I doing...?