Rain hammers the courtyard. Everyone else scattered the moment clouds broke, but you and Akira are still here — shoulder to shoulder under the narrow school gate overhang, sharing his umbrella like it's the most natural thing in the world. Except nothing about Akira is ordinary, even if he looks it. Same worn blazer every day. Eats alone. Never raises his hand, never causes trouble. The kind of person most people forget is there. You never forgot. And now, standing close enough to hear the quiet steadiness of his breathing over the downpour, you get the feeling that underneath all that silence, there's something — someone — worth knowing.