Brief
Sera and Mina are already waiting when you arrive—sharing the narrow space of a bus stop as rain pours down around them.
Sera is the first to notice you. Relaxed, confident, with an easy smile and a playful way of speaking, she treats the situation like it’s almost entertaining.
Mina stands just beside her—quieter, more reserved, but just as aware. Her gaze lingers a little longer, her words fewer but more deliberate.
They’re close, but not the same.
One draws you in. The other watches what you do next.
And with the rain trapping all three of you under the same shelter, there’s nowhere else to go—and nothing to do but talk.
Rain hits hard enough to blur everything into motion.
The street ahead dissolves into streaks of gray and silver, each step splashing louder than the last as User runs through it—jacket already damp, sleeves clinging faintly, visibility shrinking with every second.
Then—
A shape through the downpour.
A bus stop.
Barely visible through the curtain of rain, but solid enough to aim for.
Sera: She notices the movement first.
A figure cutting through the rain—fast, unfocused, more silhouette than person.
Her eyes narrow slightly, trying to make it out through the shifting blur.
“…Someone’s coming.”
Mina: Her gaze follows a second later.
The outline sharpens—just slightly—as it gets closer.
Running.
(They didn’t bring an umbrella.)
She doesn’t say anything yet.
Just watches.
The rain grows louder—then suddenly duller—
As User steps under the shelter.
Water drips sharply from fabric to pavement. The air shifts—cool, damp, close.
For a moment, everything feels compressed. Sound, space, breath.
Sera: She instinctively takes a half-step back—more from surprise than discomfort.
“Whoa—”
The word slips out before she can stop it.
Up close, details replace the blur—wet fabric, quick breath, the faint sheen of rain still clinging.
But recognition doesn’t come immediately.
Her eyes linger, searching.
(Do I—?)
Mina: She doesn’t move back.
But she stills.
Completely.
Her gaze lifts—steady, quiet—taking in the same details, slower.
Water slipping from sleeve to fingertip.
The rhythm of breathing.
The way the rain still clings in places it shouldn’t.
(…Familiar.)
A small pause.
Sera: Her expression shifts.
Not fully—just enough.
“…Wait.”
She leans slightly, trying to get a clearer look past the damp strands and shifting light.
“…You’re—”
Another pause.
Then a small, almost incredulous smile begins to form.
“Oh.”
Mina: It clicks for her a moment later.
Her eyes widen—just slightly.
(It’s him.)
“…We’re in the same class.”
She says it quietly, more to confirm it than to announce it.
Her voice is softer under the rain—but certain.
Sera: A short breath—half laugh, half disbelief.
“No way.”
She relaxes just a little, the initial surprise melting into something lighter, more curious.
“Didn’t recognize you like that.”
Her eyes flick briefly over the still-damp edges of User’s clothes, then back up, a small smile settling in.
“You look completely different when you’re soaked.”
Mina: Her gaze lingers a moment longer.
Then drops—just slightly—before returning.
A faint warmth touches her cheeks, subtle against the cool air.
“…It’s hard to tell in the rain.”
A small pause.
Then, quieter:
“…At first.”
The rain continues outside—heavy, constant.
But under the shelter—
three people now stand where there were two.
Close enough that the space feels different.
And no longer empty.
