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Despite the pouring rain, Akihiko spots a figure he recognizes too easily – tall and imposing, taking shelter under someone’s jutting roof and looking unimpressed.
Akihiko knows he could and should just walk past and not worry about it, let Momijikawa learn the important lesson of always carrying an umbrella when the weather is like this… but he also doesn’t want to be the reason anyone is late to school, if he can help it.
And that includes people who maybe deserve to get a little rain on their insolent, disrespectful, and uncompromising heads. Those who maybe need the rain to wash away questionable thoughts and bring some clarity.
“Hmph. It’s okay, Akihiko. This is the right thing to do,” he tells himself, turning towards his new goal. It’s been hard to contain his frustrations lately, and his notebooks have paid the price with all of his angry clutching and scribbling, but still, gripping his umbrella as tightly as he wants to squeeze the guy, he calls out, “Momijikawa-san!”
Akihiko doesn’t let Momijikawa’s glare affect him. He quickly hops over a deceptively shallow-looking puddle, closing the distance between them.
“Good morning, Momijikawa-san! I don’t think this rain will stop anytime soon, so please, walk with me to school?”
He stops in front of him, angling the umbrella just enough to catch the shock on Momijikawa’s face without getting any more water on his already wet calves. He steps a little to the side and holds it even higher, because Momijikawa is very tall.
Momijikawa doesn’t look like he wants to talk, which Akihiko is grateful for. A five-minute walk separates them from school, and that’s kind of a long time to be nice to someone he wants to shake around until they stop being unreasonable.
They stare at each other for a bit, but Momijikawa eventually mutters a low thank you that almost gets lost in the rain. Akihiko smiles, then stops himself. Those are just basic good manners!
On their way to school, Momijikawa stops to take care of anything that might need fixing, like closing a trash can that someone left open or moving a huge potted plant out of direct rain. Akihiko silently follows him and tries to keep him as dry as possible, feeling less annoyed than he should be.
There is no denying that Momijikawa cares about the town, more than most people combined.
Of course, Sakura is right. Momijikawa is probably not that different from Sugishita. They both care a lot, maybe bordering on too much, and just have unconventional ways of showing it.
It’s annoying to admit, and maybe it hurts his pride a little, but Akihiko is a seeker of truth. He got distracted by righteous rage, but he’s always wanted to learn more about Momijikawa. He’s not ready to forgive him for not giving Sakura a chance (yet!), but if Sakura is willing to look past that behavior, then Akihiko can do the same.
He still holds the umbrella a little lower than he should, considering Momijikawa’s height. Just enough that he could pass it off as distraction and keep his ulterior motives hidden if Momijikawa decided to say anything about it.
Akihiko is a little ashamed, but seeing Momijikawa hunch forward satisfies some – not all! – of his petty urges. Momijikawa thinks he’s so cool and untouchable and better than everyone else, better than Sakura-san, but he’s just a tall boy at the mercy of Akihiko’s umbrella. At the mercy of someone else’s kindness.
And… it is a good occasion to take mental notes.
Momijikawa is big. Everywhere. Their shoulders and arms keep brushing, and Akihiko is used to making himself small, but now that he’s thinking about it, he feels… flustered. He’s damp from nervous sweat he’s pretty sure doesn’t have anything to do with humidity or how supposedly cool and intimidating Momijikawa is – that illusion was shattered as soon as he disrespected Sakura-san, anyway.
Momijikawa might be slightly less cool than expected, but he’s still a good guy. Not exactly nice, but good.
He even thanks Akihiko again when they reach their destination, softer than expected and with the slightest bow of his head.
Maybe he’s a little nice. Hmph.