Chapter 90: When the Rain Won't Stop
The autumn rains had returned, casting a steady rhythm against the windows of the Hayato estate. It was a sound Rika had grown used to—a comforting melancholy that seemed to mirror her heart. As the sky wept endlessly, so did the weight of unspoken truths press harder against every corner of their lives.
Naoto sat silently at the kitchen table, his fingers wrapped tightly around a warm cup of tea. Hana Hayashi's recent relapse had drawn him back into a storm he had long feared. Though the doctors were doing what they could, the outlook was beginning to look grim. She smiled less now, spoke in softer tones, her touch growing lighter with each passing day.
Souta had noticed the change in Naoto. It wasn't in grand gestures or dramatic outbursts—it was the quietness in his eyes, the way he lingered a little longer outside the hospital room, the hesitation in his voice when he spoke of the future.
Meanwhile, Rika sat on the veranda, hugging her knees to her chest as she stared out into the mist. A soft rustle behind her alerted her to Souta's presence. He didn't speak immediately. He just sat down beside her, letting the silence stretch until she finally broke it.
"Do you think it's selfish... to want something you can't have?"
Souta turned to her, his brows knit together. "What do you mean?"
"Naoto." Her voice cracked. "Even when I know there's someone else... Even when I know he's hurting so much already. I still—"
Souta placed a gentle hand over hers. "Loving someone isn't a crime, Rika. And it's not selfish to feel. It's human."
Rika looked away, blinking rapidly. "But it hurts."
"Then let it hurt," he whispered. "Let it teach you, let it shape you. But don't let it define you."
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Later that evening, the group met again—Naoto, Rika, Souta, Aiko, Shun, and Minami—this time at a small diner near the school. It had become their little sanctuary, a place untouched by the world's complications.
They laughed at old jokes, recounted stories from last month's school festival, and shared their midterm struggles. For a brief moment, it felt like nothing had changed. But beneath the surface, emotions swirled like the winds outside.
As the group left the diner, Minami nudged Naoto. "Are you okay? You've been spacing out a lot."
Naoto gave her a half-hearted smile. "Just tired."
But Aiko saw through the lie. "You should let us help, Naoto. With your mom. With everything."
"Thanks, but some things... I have to face on my own."
They walked on in silence after that, each of them grappling with their own thoughts.
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Back at home, Rika stood in front of her mirror. She reached into the drawer and pulled out the leather-bound journal she had kept hidden for months. The one where she'd poured out every thought, every fleeting hope, every moment she couldn't say out loud.
She opened it to a blank page and began writing:
*"Dear Naoto,
If you're reading this, it means I finally found the courage to let go…"*
Her words flowed with tears, raw and vulnerable. But they were needed. She had to face the truth that the heart doesn't always get what it wants—but it learns, it grows, and it survives.
Downstairs, Souta quietly closed the front door. He'd seen the light in her room and knew tonight, she needed time alone. But he would be there when she came down. He always would.
Naoto, meanwhile, stood beside his mother's hospital bed, watching her chest rise and fall.
"Mom," he whispered. "I'm scared. I'm scared of losing you, and I'm scared of choosing the wrong path."
She opened her eyes, barely. Her voice was barely a breath. "The right path... is the one your heart whispers when everything else is silent. Follow that."
He held her hand tightly, her warmth fleeting.
And outside, the rain continued to fall—soft, steady, and endless.
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