Waiting for You in the Rainy Garden - Chapter 1

At the end of June, the rainy season showers quietly dampened the schoolyard.

The sky was covered in a blanket of pale gray clouds, and a moist breeze drifted in from somewhere unseen.

Raindrops tracing paths down the windowpanes seemed to mark the slow passage of time, drawing thin lines that vanished as quickly as they appeared.

The library after school had absorbed the rain’s presence, settling into a deep, hushed stillness.

Even in the damp air, the scent of paper was comforting.

In a corner seat, I had my notebook open, gripping my pencil as I drew design lines with the sound of rain as my backdrop.

Though I tried to focus, my mind was restless somewhere deep down.

I’d always liked rainy days, but today, my heart felt strangely unsettled.

I knew the reason.

It was Hiyori.

“You’re here again, Mashiro.”

I flinched at the sudden voice.

Looking up, I saw my childhood friend, Ayase Hiyori, standing there.

Her shoulder-length black hair tied back, she lightly shook her wet umbrella to scatter the droplets—a gesture as innocent and unchanged as ever.

Without hesitation, Hiyori sat down beside me and peered into my notebook as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

She was close.

The scent of rain mixed with the fragrance of Hiyori’s shampoo, making my chest tighten just a little.

“Art club designs? You’re still so detailed. You’ve always been good at this kind of thing, Mashiro.”

“What about track practice, Hiyori?”

“Cancelled because of the rain. That’s why I came to get you.”

Came to get me—those words sent a slow warmth spreading through my chest.

Hiyori had always been good at finding me.

When I was lost, when I was on the verge of tears.

And even now, when I just wanted to be quietly alone.

Hiyori always knew exactly where to find me.

“Let’s go home. Before the rain gets heavier.”

The hand Hiyori offered was just the same as always.

Small, but warm—a hand that made me feel safe just to hold.

But the emotion stirring in my chest as I looked at that hand was nothing like before.

—What is this feeling?

Something more than friendship.

But too vague to call love, a fragile emotion that felt like it might shatter if I touched it.

It wavered softly in my chest, formless and unsettling.

I was afraid that if I took Hiyori’s hand, something would change.

Instead of taking it, I gently closed my notebook.

“…I want to stay here a little longer.”

“Mashiro?”

“You can go home first, Hiyori.”

Hiyori’s brow furrowed slightly.

It was the expression she wore when she knew I was lying.

I’d never been able to lie to Hiyori.

Even when I tried, she saw right through me.

“I’ll stay here until you’re ready to go, Mashiro.”

Her words pierced my heart with a painful kindness.

This side of Hiyori always left me at a loss.

Too kind—leaving me with nowhere to hide.

Hiyori’s kindness shone a light straight into my weakest places.

“Why… are you so kind to me?”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Hiyori blinked, looking surprised, but also somehow happy.

“Why? …Because it’s you, Mashiro.”

Her voice, so matter-of-fact, shook me to the core.

Hiyori cared about me.

But was it—

As a friend, or…?

Too afraid to know the answer, I looked away.

Outside the window, the rain was growing stronger.

In the library’s silence, only the sound of rain filled the space between us.