1 meeting an angel

"…What're you doing?"

The first time Amane Fujimiya spoke to Mahiru Shiina was when he caught sight of her sitting on a swing in the park, in the middle of the pouring rain.

This was Amane's first year as a high school student. He'd recently begun living alone in a nearby apartment building. Little did he know when he first moved in that his next-door neighbor was a veritable angel on Earth.

Of course, calling her an angel was just a figure of speech, but Mahiru Shiina was such a beautiful, sweet girl that the comparison see

med entirely fitting.

Her straight, well-groomed, flaxen hair was always silky smooth and lustrous. The girl's pale, milky-white skin was always soft, as if it had never been anything less than perfect. From her shapely nose and large eyes rimmed with long eyelashes to her delicate, dewy pink lips, every part of her looked like it had been sculpted by the practiced hand of a true master.

Amane went to the same high school as Mahiru and was in the same grade, so he'd heard plenty about her. Mostly, people talked about her beauty or how she was accomplished in both academics and sports.

As it happened, Mahiru always got the top score on exams and was a real ace in gym class, too. Amane was in a different class, so he didn't know all the details, but if the rumors were anything to judge by, Mahiru was some kind of superhuman being.

Truly, she seemed without a flaw—attractive in face and figureand an excellent student. Perhaps most surprising was that she wasn't the least bit stuck-up about it. With her quiet, modest personality, it was no wonder she was so popular.

Living next door to such a beautiful girl would've gotten most boys practically salivating at the mere thought. Amane, however, didn't intend to make a fuss over her or try to get too close.

He certainly wouldn't deny that Mahiru Shiina was beautiful, but she had never been more than a neighbor to him. There hadn't really been any opportunities for them to talk, and not once did he consider approaching her himself.

If they did somehow become involved in some fashion, it would definitely make a lot of other boys jealous, and that'd be trouble. Amane knew it was better to remain amicable next-door neighbors and avoid the wrath of her other admirers.

It was possible to appreciate a charming girl without falling in love with her, after all. Amane recoginzedthat Mahiru was the kind of girl best cherished from afar and had contented himself with existing in her life as only her neighbor.

Thus, when Amane caught sight of her looking lost in thought and alone in the pouring rain without an umbrella, he couldn't help but stop and stare, wondering what she might be doing.

The downpour was heavy enough to send most everyone else scurrying home, but there she was, sitting all by herself on a swing in the park between their school and their apartment building.

What is she doing in the rain? Amane wondered.

Everything was gloomy beneath the darkened sky, and the rain, relentless since that morning, only made it even more difficult to see. Mahiru's conspicuous flaxen hair and her school uniform made it impossible to miss her, however, even veiled by the dismal weather.

Amane did not know why she was sitting there without an umbrella, letting herself get soaked. Mahiru didn't appear to be waiting for someone, nor did she seem at all concerned by the rain. As far as Amane could tell, Mahiru was simply staring off into the distance.

Her face was tilted slightly upward, and though she was always pale, her complexion appeared downright pallid. If she wasn't careful, she was sure to catch a cold, but even so, Mahiru sat there quietly, not making any move to head home.

If she's content to sit there, it probably isn't my place to interfere, Amane thought as he made his way quickly past the park. He took one last look and could see that Mahiru's face was screwed up as if she might cry.

Amane scratched his head nervously. He wasn't really looking to make any kind of connection with her or anything, but it seemed wrong to him to ignore another person who was making such a pained expression.

"…What're you doing?"

When he called out to her in the bluntest voice possible, trying to convey that he was not a threat, she tossed her long hair, now heavy with water, and looked at him.

Mahiru's face was as lovely as ever.

Even wet with rain, its radiance was not dulled. In fact, every droplet only seemed to enhance her elegant features. One could say she was dripping with beauty.

She stared at him with large, striking eyes.

Mahiru must have been vaguely aware of Amane as her next-door neighbor because they occasionally passed each other in the morning. However, the look in her caramel-colored eyes revealed that she was slightly guarded—someone she had never really spoken with had suddenly called out to her.

"Fujimiya? May I help you?"

Amane was rather shocked that Mahiru had remembered his name, but at the same time, he also figured that this level of familiarity most likely wouldn't cause her to drop her guard. It was only to be expected that Mahiru would raise her defenses when confronted by a stranger, even if he wasn't entirely unknown.

She probably didn't want much to do with the opposite sex. It certainly seemed like she received plenty of romantic advances from the boys at school, regardless of what year they were in. Would anyone have blamed Mahiru for suspecting Amane of harboring an ulterior motive?

"I don't really need anything. I was just wondering why you were sitting in a place like this, all alone in the rain."

"Oh, you were? I'm grateful for your concern, but I'm here simply because I want to be. Don't worry about me."

There was no edge of suspicion in Mahiru's soft, listless voice, but it was also clear that she had no intention of opening up to Amane.

All right, suit yourself.

It was clear that there was something going on with her, but she didn't seem to want Amane to get involved, and he wasn't particularly inclined to pursue the matter any further.

Amane had only approached her on a whim. He'd simply been curious about her situation; that was all. It wasn't really his concern. If this was what she wanted to be doing, then that was just fine by him.

Amane sensed the evanescent beauty regarding him with some suspicion. He was sure that Mahiru was wondering why he'd even bothered speaking to her at all. "Ah, I see," he offered in reply.

Pressing the issue wouldn't get him anywhere, so Amane decided to withdraw. There was no shared history between them, and perhaps that was for the best. The decision to leave her alone was an easy one.

Even with a very good reason to depart, Amane still didn't think it seemed right to abandon her—and thoroughly soaked to boot.

"You'll catch a cold, so take this and go home. No need to bother giving it back."

Deciding this would be the one and only time he meddled, Amane offered Mahiru his own umbrella. After all, he didn't want her to get sick or anything.

Amane handed over the umbrella—or to put it more accurately, he gave her little choice but to accept. Without giving Mahiru a chance to reply, he turned away and took off. As he left the scene, Amane heard Mahiru calling to him.

Whatever she was trying to say was too quiet and became drowned out by the rain. Amane didn't stop or turn around until the park was well behind him.

He had cared enough about the girl possibly catching a cold to foist his umbrella on her, so he didn't feel that guilty about the fact that he had originally intended to ignore her altogether.

At any rate, Mahiru had refused his attempt to start a conversation, and Amane didn't intend to get any closer to her, either. After all, they had no connection to each other beyond this.

Amane assured himself along those lines as he made his way home.