雨の中の涙 (Ame no Naka no Namida – Tears in the Rain)
Wednesday, 5:17 PM – Overcast Skies, Silent Hallways
Ren sat by the kitchen counter, untouched tea growing cold.
The house had been quieter than ever. Even Yui hadn't made a sarcastic comment in two days. Haruka barely left her room. Mei seemed like a ghost, and Rika…
He hadn't seen Rika all day.
"Everything's falling apart."
He stood up, suddenly restless.
That's when a slap of rain hit the window.
And footsteps echoed from the hallway — fast, light, desperate.
Emi came rushing in.
"Ren! Rika just ran out the front door… she was crying—"
Before Emi could finish, Ren had already thrown on his hoodie and sprinted out.
Scene: Into the Storm
Rain poured from the sky like the emotions no one had dared to release.
Ren's shoes splashed through puddles, his breath fogging in the air.
"Rika. Where would she go—"
Then he saw her.
By the riverbank.In front of the sakura tree.Soaked. Alone. Knees hugging her chest.
Scene: The Breakdown
"Rika!!" he called, voice nearly drowned by thunder.
She didn't look up.
He knelt beside her, rain soaking them both.
"Why'd you run off like that?!"
Finally — her voice, cracking.
"Because I didn't want you to see me break."
He froze.
She looked up, mascara smudged, cheeks red, eyes raw.
"I thought I could handle this! The jokes. The flirting. The competition."
She laughed bitterly.
"But guess what? I can't! I can't, Ren!"
Lightning cracked across the sky. The storm outside mirrored the one in her chest.
Scene: Ren's Heart Moves
Ren didn't speak.
He just pulled her close.
She resisted for a second — but then her fists balled up in his hoodie.
And she cried.
For the first time — not as the sarcastic gamer girl, not as the too-cool-to-care wildcard.
But as Rika.
A girl who loved him.
A girl who felt left behind.
A girl who was scared.
"You're not second," Ren whispered."You've never been second. Not to me."
Scene: Shelter in the Rain
They sat like that under the sakura tree.
No umbrella. No cover. Just heartbeats and storm clouds.
Rika's breathing slowed.
"…You're really annoying, you know," she muttered against his chest.
"Yeah," Ren said. "You tell me every day."
She chuckled, weakly.
Then whispered:
"Don't let go yet."
He didn't.
Scene: The House Waits
Back home, the other girls waited by the window.
Yui chewed her sleeve.
Mei stared out silently.
Emi watched the clock.
Haruka… stayed in her room.
But when they finally saw two figures approaching in the rain…
None of them said a word.
Because something had changed.
Final Line:
"Some tears fall louder than words.And sometimes…it takes a storm to show who's worth running after."