Episode 6 – Rain in the Heart

Act I: The First Rain

Rain again.

Not harsh or stormy—just a soft drizzle that clung to the air like a secret. The kind of rain that soaked into your sleeves before you realized you were wet.

Yuki didn't run this time.

She stood under the school gate, her umbrella still folded, watching the water fall in a hush. The usual anxiety didn't rise in her throat. Not like before.

Maybe it was the way Ren had made her laugh last week. Maybe it was because he had listened when she talked about her parents. Or maybe—just maybe—it was because he was already waiting for her in the rain, holding a cheap clear umbrella like it was the greatest invention in the world.

"Yuki!"

Ren jogged up the hill, slightly out of breath, drops glistening on his hair and lashes.

"You forgot your umbrella again," he teased, even though hers was clearly in her hand.

Yuki glanced at his see-through plastic umbrella. "You like the rain too much."

"Not too much," he replied, grinning. "Just enough to make people uncomfortable."

She sighed and opened her umbrella. "I'll walk with you today."

He looked pleased, stepping beside her. Their umbrellas bumped once, then again, before Ren tilted his awkwardly sideways to keep it from knocking into hers.

It made him look lopsided.

Yuki almost laughed.

As they walked under the soft curtain of rain, the usual sounds of the world faded—the clatter of students, the distant hum of traffic. All that remained was the steady rhythm of rain on rooftops and umbrellas. The quiet was peaceful… almost comforting.

"Hey," Ren said after a while, "wanna know something dumb?"

Yuki glanced at him. "Always."

He chuckled. "When I was little, I thought lightning was like… a dragon."

She blinked. "A dragon?"

"Yeah! I imagined it would swoop down from the sky, breathing fire into clouds. Every flash was its wing slicing the air."

Yuki didn't reply—but her lips curved ever so slightly.

"I used to chase it," he continued, eyes faraway. "Ran up hills near my neighborhood with this ridiculous plan to find lightning. I had a glass jar. Thought I could trap a bolt like a firefly."

"That's dangerous."

He grinned. "Yeah, I got grounded a lot."

"And electrocuted?"

"Once. But just a shock. It made my hair stand up. Totally worth it."

Yuki shook her head. "You're insane."

He looked at her, eyes twinkling. "You smiled."

"No, I didn't."

"You definitely did."

She turned away slightly, cheeks warming. The rain picked up a little, light tapping sounds now turning more rhythmic against their umbrellas.

"I think," Ren said after a pause, "I chased lightning because I wanted to catch something I didn't understand. Something that scared me."

Yuki's grip on the umbrella handle tightened.

He continued, softer now. "My brother used to joke that storms were alive. That they were lonely. I never forgot that."

Yuki blinked. "You talk about him a lot."

Ren looked surprised. "Do I?"

She nodded. "You always smile when you do."

A quiet settled between them—not awkward, just full.

"I think that's how I grieve," he said. "I turn memories into stories. It's easier than silence."

Yuki glanced at the rain falling outside the umbrella's edge. The street looked blurred, like the world was smudged in watercolors.

"I used to think rain was cruel," she said. "But now… it just feels like it's always been there. Waiting."

Ren looked at her with something unreadable in his eyes.

"Then maybe," he said gently, "it's been waiting for the right person to walk with."

Yuki's heart skipped—just a little.

The wind passed through her sleeves. Her umbrella trembled slightly. And she didn't care.

Not this time.

They reached the corner where their paths split. Yuki paused, her shoes squishing slightly on the wet sidewalk.

Ren stopped too.

"You ever notice how the rain makes everything quieter?" he asked.

Yuki nodded. "It's like the world is listening."

He looked at her, his smile a little softer now.

"Thanks for listening to me," he said. "Most people don't."

Yuki looked at the sky above him—cloudy, soft, weeping gently.

Then at his face.

Maybe it wasn't the rain she had feared all along.

Maybe it was what it brought—memories, ghosts, vulnerability.

But now, with him standing there beneath the gentle shower, she didn't feel small.

She felt understood.

"I don't mind the rain," she said softly, "when I'm with you."

Ren blinked, stunned for a moment.

Then a grin slowly spread across his face—genuine, bright, maybe a little flustered.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Careful, Hoshino. Say stuff like that and I might start thinking you like me."

Yuki raised her umbrella slightly, hiding part of her face. "Don't assume things."

Ren laughed. "Not assuming. Just hoping."

Yuki looked away, but her heart was thudding like rain against windows.

They parted at the corner, each stepping into their own quiet part of the world. But the feeling lingered like the warmth of shared tea, like sunlight behind clouds.

That night, Yuki sat by her window, sketching the raindrops sliding down the glass.

For the first time in years, thunder cracked faintly in the distance—and she didn't flinch.

She picked up her pencil and drew a dragon, curled between clouds.

And beside it, a boy chasing the storm with a jar in his hand.