The rain wasn't heavy. Just the kind that sneaks up on you — soft at first, then suddenly your sleeves are wet and your shoes are soaked.
Mihama always felt smaller when it rained. Like the houses huddled closer. Like time slowed down just a little more than it needed to.
Ren, naturally, was walking right down the middle of the road, arms wide open like he was starring in some dramatic movie scene.
"You're going to slip and land on your dreams," Daichi muttered, his umbrella tilted precisely to keep his school bag dry.
Ren turned with a grin, rainwater sliding down his cheek. "That's how all great stories begin."
"Concussions?"
"Dramatic entrances."
Haku padded between them, ears slightly drooped, fur damp but spirit untouched. He looked like he'd walked through thirty storms and never complained once. Maybe he had. He was the calmest of the three — and didn't need words to prove it.
---
They passed Oba-chan's porch — her usual post even in weather like this.
"There go the twins who don't look alike," she called, eyes still on her sweeping.
Ren gave her a flamboyant wave like he was being filmed. "And better looking than ever!"
Daichi followed with a polite, "Evening."
It was a running joke at this point. They'd heard it since they were kids — the twins. Born four months apart. Grew up in the same house, same class, same rhythm.
But one look made it obvious.
Ren was noise and color — like a firework that forgot to explode quietly.
Daichi was silence in motion — all order, no flare.
Still, no one in town called them cousins.
They were just… them.
---
Halfway home, they ducked under the broken vending machine awning — the only dry patch along the walk. Ren pressed his forehead to the foggy glass and sighed like life had just defeated him.
"If I vanish here, tell the world I died chasing flavor."
"You're not dying," Daichi said without looking up. "You're being dramatic."
"Same thing."
Ren dropped in a coin, hit the lemon soda button, and the machine groaned like it was coughing up a lung.
But it worked.
"A miracle," Ren whispered.
---
He cracked it open and stared out into the drizzle. "You ever think about leaving this town?"
Daichi leaned against the wall. "You ask me that every two weeks."
"Yeah, and I keep meaning it."
The soda hissed faintly in his hand. His voice got quieter.
"You gonna tell your mom?"
Ren shrugged, the can cooling his fingertips. "Eventually."
Daichi didn't press. Just popped his own drink open and passed it to him without a word.
"Tell her soon," he said. "You've got something worth chasing."
Ren accepted it, nodding slowly. "Thanks."
"You still suck at keeping secrets."
"Rude."
"True."
---
The streetlight across the road blinked green.
"Come on," Daichi said, stepping out from the awning.
Ren jogged up beside him, sloshing soda in one hand, Haku now padding between them again like he belonged in the middle.
"You remember when I tried to mail myself to space?" Ren said suddenly. "I was six. You were gonna help me tape the box shut."
"I was actually going to mail you."
"You should've."
Daichi smirked, barely. "Too late now. You're stuck with me."
Ren nudged his shoulder as they walked. "Twins who don't look alike."
Daichi didn't smile.
But his eyes did.
---
End of Chapter 1