From Makoto's Perspective
The rain had stopped the next morning, but the sky still looked like it hadn't decided whether it wanted to cry again or not.
Makoto hadn't expected anything to change. He told himself not to expect it. But still… when he walked into the classroom, his eyes went to her seat.
Yui was already there, sketching. As usual. Her head was slightly tilted, brows drawn in quiet focus.
He didn't say anything. But when she looked up and saw him, she gave a tiny nod.
That was new.
And it stayed with him all morning.
At lunch, Shidou waved a sandwich in his face.
"You gonna eat that or just stare at your bento like it owes you money?"
Makoto blinked. "What? Oh yeah."
Shidou narrowed his eyes, then grinned. "This is about Red Ribbon Girl again, isn't it?"
"She has a name."
"Right, right. Tachibana-san." Shidou leaned closer. "So what's the deal? She say anything weird like, 'Don't fall in love with me?' Or 'I'm secretly an alien princess?'"
Makoto gave him a flat look. "It rained yesterday. We shared an umbrella."
Shidou's mouth fell open. "You what?"
"Shhh!"
Makoto turned away, catching a glimpse of Yui in the far corner of the classroom, quietly eating lunch with her sister, Miku. Her expression was unreadable as always, but she didn't seem… distant.
She didn't seem alone.
After school, Makoto didn't leave right away. Not on purpose, really. He just found himself walking slower. Checking the window. Waiting.
And sure enough, when most students had already trickled out of the gates, he saw her.
Yui was standing beneath the same overhang, no umbrella this time just watching the clouds.
He walked up beside her. Not saying anything at first. Just standing there.
After a few seconds, she said, "You didn't leave."
"Neither did you."
They started walking without needing to decide it. No umbrella between them this time. Just quiet steps along the sidewalk.
Miku had gone ahead earlier, Yui explained. Something about cram school.
"So…" Makoto asked after a while, "Do you like drawing?"
Yui glanced at him. "Yeah. It's easier to say things with pictures."
"You draw people?"
"Sometimes. But not how they look. More like… how they feel."
Makoto thought about that. "What do I feel like?"
Her pace slowed slightly. She looked at him, not quite smiling but something close.
"Quiet lightning."
"…Is that a compliment?"
"Maybe," she said softly.
They stopped by a vending machine near the station. Without thinking, Makoto bought two cans of warm milk tea. He handed one to her.
She blinked, a little surprised. Then took it.
"Thanks," she said, hands curling around the can. "It's warm."
"I figured. You looked cold."
They stood there a little longer than they needed to. The streets glowed gold as the sun began dipping behind the buildings.
"I don't know how to do this," Yui said quietly.
Makoto looked at her. "Do what?"
"This. Talking to someone. Letting them… matter."
He didn't speak right away. He just opened his tea, took a slow sip, then said, "Me neither."
Yui stared at him. Then… she laughed. Just once. Short and light, like a breath escaping before she could stop it.
It made something tighten in his chest again. But not in a painful way this time.
"Little by little's okay, right?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. Little by little."
That night, Makoto found himself texting Shidou:
"You were right about the alien princess part. But I think she's from a quiet planet."
He smiled to himself, then shut off his phone and pulled out his sketchpad.
Not to draw. Just to keep it open beside him.
Little by little.