Yurugi

The bell rings.Everyone takes their seats, but some of them still keep glancing at Rain now and then.Some don't just look — they stare him down.The teacher walks into the classroom and tells everyone to sit down.Rain is called on twice: once when his name is read out from the register, and again when he raises his hand.He answers both questions correctly, and the teacher gives him an approving nod.That's how the day goes.Rain finishes his classes earlier than his sisters, so he just sits on a bench near the school.February snow lies in little piles beside the cleared paths.And now it's snowing, mixed with a light drizzle.He sits quietly, his hood pulled up, head lowered, eyes half‑closed.He doesn't know what to do with himself.About two hours later, Mikuta comes out, followed by Saione.Then, a couple of minutes after that, a car pulls up, with the aunt at the wheel.All three of them get up from the bench and calmly walk over to the car.They all sit in the back seat.They were driving along quietly.Aunt asked how their day had gone.All three of them replied in unison, sounding rather glum: «Fine».

Aunt glanced in the rear-view mirror.After making sure everyone looked okay — at least on the surface — she decided not to press them for more details.Rain sat by the left window, Mikuta was in the middle next to him, and Saione sat to Mikuta's right, by the other window.Mikuta looked at Rain…

«What's wrong? You seem… too withdrawn».

«I've always been like this,» Rain muttered dryly.In response, Mikuta just gave a small smile and gave him a brotherly hug — just like she had on that day before the catastrophe, when she'd seen his drawing.Saione and Aunt Takihara noticed it but said nothing.Still, they couldn't deny that the scene was rather sweet.Rain and Mikuta stayed like that for the rest of the ride home.When the car pulled up in front of the apartment building, all four of them got out and headed to the elevator.Inside, they pressed the button for the 16th floor.A couple of minutes later, they were in the apartment.Aunt's husband was already there.He gave them a calm nod when he saw them all, and when his wife came over, he kissed her on the forehead.Everyone went to their rooms.A few minutes later, they all gathered in the kitchen for dinner.Dinner was quiet.Afterwards, everyone went to their rooms to get ready for bed.Years went by.Rain was sixteen now.He was quite good-looking… but still just as empty inside, still just as cold.The bullying at school got worse every year.By eighth grade, they'd started hitting him.But he never told anyone.Even when he started having hallucinations, hearing whispers, and having nightmares, he kept it all to himself.Even back when he'd been a normal kid — the kind who could laugh and smile easily — he'd always had this sort of restraint.He'd deal with the pain on his own, as long as no one noticed.Back then, that didn't happen very often.Now, though, he'd gotten better at hiding it.Still, sometimes the bruises and scratches on his skin gave him away — and Mikuta was always the first to spot them.Whenever he had injuries, Mikuta would tend to them.A couple of times, she even tried to stand up for her brother.She was a senior now, in twelfth grade, about to graduate.But his classmates just ignored her — until the day she punched one of those popular boys, the ringleader of the group that had been bullying Rain.And that popular kid?

Of course, he complained to his dad, who happened to be a well-known lawyer in town.Just one phone call was enough to force Aunt and Stepdad to pay 230,000 yen in compensation for physical and emotional damage.