𝗣𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗦 ━ MIYAMURA IZUMI ¹

chapter two

by the time classes were done for the day, it was already raining outside. (name) hated the rain. it made him feel so gloomy. and akane was in a committee meeting. after grabbing his umbrella from the entrance of the school, he took a step back - accidentally bumping into someone as he did.

"oh, sorry-"

the rest of his apology died on the tip of his tongue as he turned to face the same guy that completely blew off his apology this morning. (name) recalled his friend calling him miyamura. not wanting to seem ill mannered, he gave a small nod in his direction. miyamura simply looked away.

'he ignored me?!' (name) thought, completely shocked by this guy's behavior.

he was done with the silent treatment, so he decided to make a beeline towards the entrance. however, a conversation between two female students caught his attention who hovered in the doorway of the entrance.

"whoa! it's raining. this is the worst," one of them complained.

"what do you want to do? should we run and just get wet?" her friend asked.

"not a chance! i'm seeing my boyfriend after this!"

"really? so, what are we going to do?"

"i don't know!"

it didn't take long for (name) to come up with a decision. growing up, his mother taught him how to help those in need. to always offer them a helpful hand. it didn't matter whether they were male or female, young or old. shouldn't people want to willing help others?

"um," (name) began. "would you like to use this-"

"give them this one."

miyamura, who had appeared by his side, handed the second year his umbrella before walking outside. the only source of coverage he had from the rain being his school bag.

"please use this!" he exclaimed, offering the female students one of the umbrella's.

"seriously? are you sure?" one of them asked.

"thank you," the other replied. "what year and class are you-"

"sorry, but i have to go."

with the umbrella sheltering him from mother nature's elements, (name) dashed out into the rain, hoping to catch miyamura in time. he was beginning to wonder if the guy was naturally cold or if he was nice. he didn't know which one it was. luckily, he wasn't that far ahead.

"wait! um...miyamura, please wait!"

(name) sighed internally as he caught up with him. he held out the umbrella.

"here. please get under it. i know there's not much room, but i'm sure we can make it work."

"who are you again?" miyamura asked.

'he already forgot who i am?'

"we met this morning and you helped me out with that man on the train."

"oh! i remember now. sorry and thanks," he responded as he took the umbrella. "let's get going then."

the two walked in silence for the next six minutes. neither one saying a word to the other. the amount of awkward tension between the two was thick enough to cut with a butter knife. (name) needed to say something.

"hey miyamura, are you the type of person who can't ignore someone in trouble?"

"anyone would've done the same," he simply stated, ending the conversation.

(name) wasn't going to give up that easily. he really wanted to get to know miyamura better and the only way to do that was to push forward. even though (name) was the type of guy who would rather much keep to himself, there were times when he was able to gather the courage to speak up and talk to others.

it wasn't like he was anti-social, he just didn't know how to hold a conversation with other people. he was a good listener though. that had to count for something, right?

"i don't think that's true. it's really great that you think like that."

"it's not great."

"but you did help me. when things like that happen, people pretend not to see. they always look the other way. maybe they're too afraid to act. i don't understand it. why do people refuse to step in for others who need help?"

"it's called the bystander effect," miyamura explained. "it's basically the term for individual unwillingness to help someone in distress when there are other witnesses present. and it doesn't just happen in public situations with a clear victim and an obvious attacker. it happens all the time with societal issues that we continue to ignore, and even with personal problems that we refuse to fix."

"i see."

"we're not that different."

"what do you mean?" (name) asked, glancing at him from the corner of his eye.

"you were trying to give those girls your umbrella earlier."

"i suppose..."

"is it always like that for you?"

"what?"

"the creepy old men?"

"it's not always like that. sometimes those type of men just come around, you know? surprisingly enough, it's not only women who have to deal with situations like that."

"wouldn't you be better off going to school with a friend?"

"my friends ride in from the other direction," (name) informed as he closed his umbrella, seeing as how the rain had finally let up.

miyamura turned to him. "well, you can always come find me. i'm usually on the train at that time."

'what? did he seriously say that? he didn't mean anything by it, did he?'

"see ya."

miyamura raised a hand before continuing down the sidewalk. (name) wasn't sure what came over him in that moment as he called out.

"i'm (last name) from class three. i'm a second year. i'd really appreciate it if you learned my name!"

miyamura glanced over his shoulder, then offered him a faint smile.

"i'll make sure to remember that."