1 Meeting an Angel

"…What're you doing?"

The first time Amane Fujimiya spoke to Mahiru Shiina was when he caught sight of

her sitting on a swing in the park, in the middle of the pouring rain.

This was Amane's first year as a high school student. He'd recently begun living alone

in a nearby apartment building. Little did he know when he first moved in that his

next-door neighbor was a veritable angel on Earth.

Of course, calling her an angel was just a figure of speech, but Mahiru Shiina was such

a beautiful, sweet girl that the comparison seemed entirely fitting.

Her straight, well-groomed, flaxen hair was always silky smooth and lustrous. The

girl's pale, milky-white skin was always soft, as if it had never been anything less than

perfect. From her shapely nose and large eyes rimmed with long eyelashes to her

delicate, dewy pink lips, every part of her looked like it had been sculpted by the

practiced hand of a true master.

Amane went to the same high school as Mahiru and was in the same grade, so he'd

heard plenty about her. Mostly, people talked about her beauty or how she was

accomplished in both academics and sports.

As it happened, Mahiru always got the top score on exams and was a real ace in gym

class, too. Amane was in a different class, so he didn't know all the details, but if the

rumors were anything to judge by, Mahiru was some kind of superhuman being.

Truly, she seemed without a flaw—attractive in face and figure and an excellent

student. Perhaps most surprising was that she wasn't the least bit stuck-up about it.

With her quiet, modest personality, it was no wonder she was so popular.

Living next door to such a beautiful girl would've gotten most boys practically salivating

at the mere thought. Amane, however, didn't intend to make a fuss over her or try to

get too close.

He certainly wouldn't deny that Mahiru Shiina was beautiful, but she had never been

more than a neighbor to him. There hadn't really been any opportunities for them to

talk, and not once did he consider approaching her himself.

If they did somehow become involved in some fashion, it would definitely make a lot

of other boys jealous, and that'd be trouble. Amane knew it was better to remain

amicable next-door neighbors and avoid the wrath of her other admirers.

It was possible to appreciate a charming girl without falling in love with her, after all.

Amane recognized that Mahiru was the kind of girl best cherished from afar and had

contented himself with existing in her life as only her neighbor.

Thus, when Amane caught sight of her looking lost in thought and alone in the pouring

rain without an umbrella, he couldn't help but stop and stare, wondering what she

might be doing.

The downpour was heavy enough to send most everyone else scurrying home, but

there she was, sitting all by herself on a swing in the park between their school and

their apartment building.

What is she doing in the rain? Amane wondered.

Everything was gloomy beneath the darkened sky, and the rain, relentless since that

morning, only made it even more difficult to see. Mahiru's conspicuous flaxen hair and

her school uniform made it impossible to miss her, however, even veiled by the dismal

weather.

Amane did not know why she was sitting there without an umbrella, letting herself

get soaked. Mahiru didn't appear to be waiting for someone, nor did she seem at all

concerned by the rain. As far as Amane could tell, Mahiru was simply staring off into

the distance.

Her face was tilted slightly upward, and though she was always pale, her complexion

appeared downright pallid. If she wasn't careful, she was sure to catch a cold, but even

so, Mahiru sat there quietly, not making any move to head home.

If she's content to sit there, it probably isn't my place to interfere, Amane thought as he

made his way quickly past the park. He took one last look and could see that Mahiru's

face was screwed up as if she might cry.

Amane scratched his head nervously. He wasn't really looking to make any kind of

connection with her or anything, but it seemed wrong to him to ignore another person

who was making such a pained expression.

"…What're you doing?"

When he called out to her in the bluntest voice possible, trying to convey that he was

not a threat, she tossed her long hair, now heavy with water, and looked at him.

Mahiru's face was as lovely as ever.

Even wet with rain, its radiance was not dulled. In fact, every droplet only seemed to

enhance her elegant features. One could say she was dripping with beauty.

She stared at him with large, striking eyes.

Mahiru must have been vaguely aware of Amane as her next-door neighbor because

they occasionally passed each other in the morning. However, the look in her caramelcolored eyes revealed that she was slightly guarded—someone she had never really

spoken with had suddenly called out to her.

"Fujimiya? May I help you?"

Amane was rather shocked that Mahiru had remembered his name, but at the same

time, he also figured that this level of familiarity most likely wouldn't cause her to drop

her guard. It was only to be expected that Mahiru would raise her defenses when

confronted by a stranger, even if he wasn't entirely unknown.

She probably didn't want much to do with the opposite sex. It certainly seemed like

she received plenty of romantic advances from the boys at school, regardless of what

year they were in. Would anyone have blamed Mahiru for suspecting Amane of

harboring an ulterior motive?

"I don't really need anything. I was just wondering why you were sitting in a place like

this, all alone in the rain."

"Oh, you were? I'm grateful for your concern, but I'm here simply because I want to be.

Don't worry about me."

There was no edge of suspicion in Mahiru's soft, listless voice, but it was also clear that

she had no intention of opening up to Amane.

All right, suit yourself.

It was clear that there was something going on with her, but she didn't seem to want

Amane to get involved, and he wasn't particularly inclined to pursue the matter any

further.

Amane had only approached her on a whim. He'd simply been curious about her

situation; that was all. It wasn't really his concern. If this was what she wanted to be

doing, then that was just fine by him.

Amane sensed the evanescent beauty regarding him with some suspicion. He was sure

that Mahiru was wondering why he'd even bothered speaking to her at all.

"Ah, I see," he offered in reply.

Pressing the issue wouldn't get him anywhere, so Amane decided to withdraw. There

was no shared history between them, and perhaps that was for the best. The decision

to leave her alone was an easy one.

Even with a very good reason to depart, Amane still didn't think it seemed right to

abandon her—and thoroughly soaked to boot.

"You'll catch a cold, so take this and go home. No need to bother giving it back."

Deciding this would be the one and only time he meddled, Amane offered Mahiru his

own umbrella. After all, he didn't want her to get sick or anything.

Amane handed over the umbrella—or to put it more accurately, he gave her little

choice but to accept. Without giving Mahiru a chance to reply, he turned away and took

off. As he left the scene, Amane heard Mahiru calling to him.

Whatever she was trying to say was too quiet and became drowned out by the rain.

Amane didn't stop or turn around until the park was well behind him.

He had cared enough about the girl possibly catching a cold to foist his umbrella on

her, so he didn't feel that guilty about the fact that he had originally intended to ignore

her altogether.

At any rate, Mahiru had refused his attempt to start a conversation, and Amane didn't

intend to get any closer to her, either. After all, they had no connection to each other

beyond this.

Amane assured himself along those lines as he made his way home.