Chapter Text
"Hey, Kisaragi! Where'd you get that umbrella?"
It was the rainy season, and it had been pouring for the last two weeks. Today was no exception. Kisaragi Megumi stood at the campus entrance, and was about to unfurl her umbrella, when suddenly, one of her colleagues ran up to her.
"This?" She gestured to it, to which she got an affirmative nod in reply.
"Oh, someone had left a spare umbrella at the department today. I'd forgotten mine, so I just took this one."
"Really?" Megumi could see that a small grin was forming on her colleague's face at the statement. "Do you know who put that umbrella out there?"
She thought about it. There were a few options: could it have been Tezuka? No, probably not; they didn't really know each other that well. Or perhaps it was...?
"Maybe it might have been, I don't know," a small giggle could have been heard from her colleague's mouth, "Hazama, that patchwork fellow?" It was apparent that there was some ulterior motive for asking this, though Megumi wasn't exactly sure what.
Megumi blushed about this idea. She didn't really want to admit it, but the thought of him often stuck in her head. Maybe it was love?
Probably not, Megumi thought. She shook the idea away from her head. Now was not the time to think about it, she had greater things to focus on.
"I'm not sure, but I'm grateful for whoever left it back there." As she calmly stated this, she opened her umbrella and started to walk out into the rain.
"Really? Well, if you say so, I guess." Her colleague's reply had somewhat of a dejected tone to it.
***
It was finally sunny, for once. Hazama Kuroo took this chance to go outside, sitting on a stony bench under the shade while he read through his medical textbooks.
Suddenly, a voice called out.
"Hey, Hazama. Do you have a girlfriend?" He looked up to see who it was. It was Okamoto, an intern that he was on friendly terms with.
"Excuse me?" He asked, "What exactly are you..."
"I'm just asking if you have one or not."
"No, I don't." Hazama was completely devoted to the practice of medicine. Nobody would expect him to have one.
"Really?" Okamoto cocked her head, confused. "But I heard that you and Kisaragi were-"
"We're just in the same department, that's all." He blurted this out a bit too quickly, to the point where it was suspicious.
"Is that it?" Okamoto replied. "Guess I shouldn't really believe rumors too quickly." She shrugged and walked off. "See ya later, Hazama!"
As he waved back, he honestly couldn't think about what he'd just heard. Him and Kisaragi? No way. That's stupid, right? No woman would date someone as, well, unsightly as him.
He thought that these rumors seemed utterly unfounded and was probably just some kind of cruel prank.
Though, somewhere in his mind, he wished it wasn't.
***
It was already late outside, and yet both Kisaragi and Hazama were still working at the office. When Kisaragi got up to leave, a thought crossed her mind.
"Hazama," she said, picking up the spare umbrella, "have you been leaving your spare umbrella at the office?"
His back was turned towards Kisaragi. He didn't say a word.
"I mean, I'm not mad or anything," she continued, "I just wanted to thank you. We could walk home together if you'd like."
A few seconds of silence.
"I've got work to do." he coldly stated. "Besides, a lady like you shouldn't be working so late."
She sighed and left the office, his spare umbrella in hand.
As she walked home, she could've sworn she'd seen his silhouette in the reflection of the rainy puddles.