150 - Two Umbrellas②

RAW

Ishikura held an umbrella in one hand as he stood in front of the Dojima Dojo gate and pulled out his phone.

"Shizuku better not have overslept."

Before leaving home, he had sent a message saying, "I'm on my way" and it had been marked as read.

Now that he had arrived at the Dojima Dojo, which was also her home, he sent another message: "I'm at the gate." But this time, it remained unread.

"Don't tell me she went back to sleep..."

Ishikura didn’t know where the Tojo residence was, so he needed Shizuku to guide him.

"Jeez..."

With a sigh, he stepped through the gate and headed toward the entrance of her house, which was adjacent to the dojo.

Just as he was about to knock, the front door suddenly swung open with great force.

Standing beyond it was Shizuku, standing tall with her arms crossed.

"Oh, so you’re actually awake."

Seeing that she was already dressed and ready to go, Ishikura remarked,

"I thought you might’ve gone back to sleep."

He raised his voice slightly to speak to her from a short distance away.

However, Shizuku didn’t respond. Instead, she silently gazed up at the sky.

"Huh? Hey, what’s up?"

Since Shizuku’s eccentric behavior was nothing new, Ishikura wasn’t too concerned.

But suddenly, she darted out of the house without an umbrella.

"Hey, hey! Grab your um—"

"Hah!"

Without warning, Shizuku charged straight at Ishikura, who was standing by the gate, and tackled him.

He barely managed to catch her with one hand, preventing both of them from toppling over.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"Kazu-senpai, I forgot my umbrella. Let’s share."

"Your house is right there! Go get it!"

Ishikura pointed at her front door, exasperated.

Shizuku pouted.

"When I was getting dressed earlier, it wasn’t raining."

"That was earlier. It’s raining now. So go back and get your umbrella. Now."

He pointed at her house again. For the record, the rain had been falling non-stop since the morning. Not once had it let up.

Yet Shizuku stubbornly refused to leave his umbrella’s cover.

"No. If I go back now, it would feel like I’ve lost to the rain."

"What kind of battle are you fighting? Just accept defeat already."

"Kazu-senpai, do you even know who I am? I am Shizuku-chan, the invincible Shizuku-chan who bows to no force of nature."

"You sound like a total lunatic! Ugh, fine..."

Realizing it would be faster and easier to just walk together under the same umbrella than argue with her, Ishikura sighed and started walking.

Seeing his resignation, Shizuku smirked triumphantly.

"How lucky you are, Kazu-senpai, to share an umbrella with such a stunning beauty."

"…Yeah, yeah. I’m real lucky."

He gave a half-hearted response as they began walking together.

"So, is the Tojo house far from here?"

"If I sprint at full speed, about ten minutes."

"Why are you giving me the time in sprint mode? That tells me nothing."

"Then if we take three steps forward and two steps back, probably about an hour."

"That makes even less sense! Just walk normally!"

Holding his temple as if fending off a headache, Ishikura groaned.

"Just lead me there properly, alright?"

"My navigation skills are more precise than the latest GPS apps."

"Yeah, I doubt that..."

Despite his skepticism, Ishikura had no choice but to follow Shizuku, since he didn’t know the way.

Still under the same umbrella, they walked together, and Shizuku started giving… questionable directions.

"Kazu-senpai, turn right at a good moment."

"…Define ‘good moment.’ I have no idea where the house is."

"Trust your instincts. Don’t think, just feel."

"I don’t have some kind of homing instinct!"

"But you look like you would."

"That has nothing to do with it! And I don’t look like that!"

As Ishikura shot back, Shizuku smugly replied,

"Oh, come now, don’t be so modest."

Just how many times would he have to correct her before they reached their destination? The thought alone was exhausting.

"Ah, turn right here."

"Next time, just give me normal directions..."

Ishikura sighed from the bottom of his heart.

Then, Shizuku abruptly turned to him with an expressionless face.

"Kazu-senpai, my feet are getting wet."

"Because you refused to grab your umbrella."

He had already tilted the umbrella more toward her side to keep her dry.

"If I tilt it any further, I’ll get soaked."

"You always bathe in the blood of your enemies, so a little rain shouldn’t bother you, right?"

"What the hell?! Since when am I some kind of bloodthirsty monster?!"

"It suits you, though. We should give you a ring name: Bloody Rain KAZU."

"I don’t need a ring name! And that’s the worst name I’ve ever heard!"

Shizuku’s relentless teasing made Ishikura groan, though he still responded to each joke.

Seeing this, the corners of her lips lifted ever so slightly.

"Sigh... You just don’t get cool names, Kazu-senpai. That’s why you’ll always look intimidating."

"Shut up. And I don’t look intimidating!"

Then, without warning, Shizuku stopped walking and looked up at him.

"Oh, right. Kazu-senpai, carry me on your back."

"…Huh?"

Ishikura blinked in confusion.

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"If you carry me, my feet won’t get wet. I’ll even hold the umbrella for you."

"You’ve gotta be kidding me..."

She looked up at him expectantly, completely unfazed by his disbelieving stare.

"Sigh... Fine. Get on."

Giving up, Ishikura crouched slightly so she could hop onto his back.

Shizuku wasted no time climbing on.

"Jeez... Aren’t you embarrassed, getting a piggyback ride at your age?"

Completely satisfied, she answered,

"Not in the slightest. In fact, I feel amazing."

Taking the umbrella from him, she smirked.

"To think I have the infamous Kazu the Terrifying as my personal ride. Truly, I am the great and unbeatable Shizuku-chan."

She patted his head with a light tap, looking smug.

"Keep talking, and I’ll drop you."

"You wouldn’t. You’re too nice."

"Ugh... You sure know how to talk your way out of things..."

Though he grimaced, the faintest smile tugged at his lips.

With Shizuku giving directions from his back, Ishikura continued toward the Tojo residence.

For a moment, he listened to the raindrops pattering against the umbrella before speaking.

"Hey, Shizuku. You okay?"

"Hmm? With what?"

"…Being around Haruto and Tojo. Does it hurt?"

"……"

Shizuku didn’t answer.

But on his back, he felt her body tense—just slightly.

She always joked around and teased him.

But today, Ishikura had noticed—she was doing it more than usual.

Having known her since childhood, he could tell.

"You don’t have to force yourself if it’s too hard, alright?"

"…I like cats."

"Huh?"

"They’re adorable. Even if they scratch or bite, I still want to be with them."

"…I see."

"Yeah."

She went quiet for a moment, then suddenly returned to her usual tone.

"Kazu-senpai?"

"Hm?"

"This is your chance to savor my soft, irresistible charm."

"...Huh?"

And just like that, the nonsense resumed.