Oishi was sitting on the grass finger tracing idle patters in the earth next to him. Yuushi was next to him, silent in the wake of Oishi’s bombshell. There wasn’t much to say, the reason given made perfect sense. Oishi started to stand, to leave the shelter of the tree to run home in the rain, but a slightly trembling hand on his elbow stopped him. He looked over his shoulder, surprised.

“The rain’s almost over. Wait until it ends to run off,” Oshitari said softly. “We’ll call it quits between us then.”

Oishi shook his head as the straightened. “It can’t go on, Yuushi. I’m not the love of your life and I’d rather end this before it hurts us anymore,” he said softly. Oishi pulled away from the soft grip on his elbow and started running, letting the rain wash over his body. He loved being out in the rain and wondering if it would ever purify him like it did everything around him. It couldn’t, but it was nice to believe that maybe one day the rain would take away all of his inadequacies and make him someone that deserved to be loved like Yuushi could.