✿ —— Akari could only recall a few memories spent outside during the rain. She had gone out in the rain a lot when she was younger, but that eventually stopped when she grew up. Those moments were associated with laughter and jumping on puddles and catching raindrops in her mouth. Nothing like the current circumstances. Some things were the same, like water sticking her shirt to her back and the way that the rain looked like sparkles if you looked at the ground. But it was different now, because this time there were no sounds made by other children’s shoes hitting the wet ground, no teasing voices mingling with the sound of rain. Her parents wouldn’t have let her out in weather this bad. And instead of reveling at the chill she felt when the water soaked her skin and her clothes and her hair, she was shivering and she wanted nothing more than to go back inside and fix herself another cup of coffee.
She dropped her hand when she noticed that the other had already gotten up by herself. Ears that heard the voice that didn’t belong to her and brown eyes now used to the distortion the rain created were able to identify that the biker was a girl with short dark hair. Apology colored her tone. “Gomen. My house is too far to walk to in this weather and I don’t know if the people living in these parts will be able to hear us over the rain.” She had to exert effort to be audible to someone who was a foot or so away. It would be much harder, with walls absorbing sound and the doors being meters away from the gates.
“You’ll have to settle for the flower shop. I work there. I’ll lead you and help you bring your bike, if you want." There was a porch roof above the entrance, sloping down from the rest of the roof. They could bring the bike there and tie it to one of the pillars that stood on either side of the door. Placing the bike inside the shop itself just wouldn’t do. "My boss won’t mind if she finds you when she gets back. She’s really nice.” Except for that time when she and Akari’s co-worker had endlessly pleaded with her to take this shift. That wasn’t very nice. Look where it got her. But, she supposed, there were a few good things about it. Where would the stranger have gone if she hadn’t gone out of the flower shop to help? Selfishness wasn’t a flaw that she wanted to have, and being upset about the situation when there was somebody else in the equation was selfish, wasn’t it?
A glance at the bike that was sprawled on the pavement. Lips opened to release the countless questions— “Why were you riding your bike in this weather? Didn’t you watch the weather report or see the sky?” But she pressed them together just in time to stop the words from filling the damp air between them. They could be taken as rude, and she could pry for answers when there was warmth around them. For now, it would be best to focus on the situation.