"Is it raining?"
"Good thing my mom shoved an umbrella into my backpack this morning before I left."
A soft drizzle began falling from the sky. Students, freshly released from their final class, gathered beneath the school building awning—some pulling out umbrellas, others empty-handed.
"Heh, this light rain? I'll just walk home. Free shower, right?"
"Oh please, like anyone's going to ask you to share their umbrella."
"Shut up! You're in the same boat!"
The umbrella-less guys huddled together, cracking jokes as they waited for the rain to ease. Every time a classmate got invited to share an umbrella with someone of the opposite sex, they immediately responded with teasing whistles and boos.
Is it raining?
Souta Kiryuu looked up at the sky and reached into his backpack.
After everything that happened yesterday—murder, body disposal—he hadn't exactly had time to check the weather forecast.
Still, crafting an umbrella on the spot with a transformation jutsu wasn't a big deal.
"Hey, Kiryuu, want to walk together?"
Next to him, the class rep, Nao Iai, had just opened her umbrella. She hesitated for a second before asking.
"I can walk you to Royal Sakura Academy."
"…Alright."
Souta pulled his hand from his bag and nodded.
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
"Ahhh! Damn it, the class rep..."
As the two disappeared into the curtain of rain, the groans of disappointed guys echoed behind them.
Nao Iai, their class president—top grades, kind personality, and let's not forget, an insanely attractive figure—was the crush of half the guys in school.
She had always looked out for "that pretty boy," but before, people could write it off as helping someone weak. Now that they were walking under the same umbrella? That was basically a confession.
"Bunch of brats," Souta rolled his eyes at the growing noise behind him.
Tap tap tap
"Wait up~~ Let me join!"
Amid quick footsteps, a small figure appeared, holding her backpack over her head to block the rain as she ducked under their umbrella.
"Tenyo-san?"
"Ehehe~"
It was Tenyo Ei, the girl who often walked home with Souta. Her shoulders were damp from the rain, and she grinned playfully at Nao.
"Is it okay if I join, Nao-chan?"
"…Ah. No, I mean, it's fine."
Nao's face flushed red. Her umbrella was big, but fitting three people underneath meant inevitable physical contact.
"Awesome! I even checked the weather yesterday, but still forgot my umbrella~"
Cheerful as ever, Tenyo looped her arm through Nao's and subtly nudged her closer to Souta.
"You two know each other?"
Souta asked casually as he discreetly used transformation jutsu to widen the umbrella's area.
"Of course," Tenyo replied confidently.
"Nao-chan's the top student in our grade—who wouldn't know her?"
Nao shook her head modestly, having composed herself.
"Compared to Tenyo-san, who earns her keep, my grades aren't that special."
"Oh? Tell us more, Tenyo-san."
"It's nothing. I just help out at my grandpa's shrine."
As the three walked off under the shared umbrella, a crow perched atop the school roof spread its wings and flew into the rain. Water slid off its feathers like it had an invisible barrier.
Despite enjoying school life, Souta wasn't slacking.
Even as he chatted, he was multitasking—training in ninjutsu: Paper Clone Technique.
Yes, the same technique Konan used in the World of Fire—and it was just D-rank!
Just like the Four-Legged Technique he gave to Watari Tanimura, which was an extension of the Transformation Jutsu, Konan's Paper Clone was essentially an evolved Clone Technique.
Ironically, more common techniques like Water Clones were actually ranked higher at C-rank.
The crow soared over the campus, scanning the grounds for a suitable target to practice on.
Bunkyo Ward – Tokyo Metropolitan Koishikawa Secondary School
Among Tokyo's 23 wards, Bunkyo was renowned for culture and education. Home to 15 universities, 17 high schools, and 31 middle schools—including the legendary Tokyo University. Whether in anime or movies, whenever someone had to flaunt elite status, "Graduated from Todai" was the go-to line.
Unlike the laid-back students of Adachi Ward, kids here were elites—at least, intellectually.
"…Who's that student?"
A curious girl asked her friend, noticing a boy standing quietly under the eaves.
"That's Jun Kishida from 3-A."
Handsome and bookish, he looked every bit the model student—except his expression was steeped in sorrow.
"Don't bother him… He's probably mourning a friend."
No matter how others stared, Jun stood motionless beneath the overhang.
Eventually, all the other students left. Only he remained.
It's raining again, Miyashita.
Jun looked up into the drizzle, memories taking him back six months.
"I forgot my umbrella…"
Being good at academics didn't mean you were perfect in everything.
Walking out of the school building, annoyed at the rain, Jun's eyes were drawn to a girl opening an umbrella with a cute teddy bear design.
Miyashita…
"What's wrong, Kishida?"
She turned to look at him—Ryoko Miyashita, the ponytailed girl he admired.
"N-nothing."
His face flushed red as he quickly shook his head. But Ryoko had already noticed he was empty-handed.
"…Want to share my umbrella?"
She hesitated, blushing, and offered it toward him.
"Eh?"
Before Jun could respond, teasing voices echoed behind him.
"Oooh~ Look at that~"
Unlike in lower-tier schools, these elite kids didn't whistle or hoot—but their grins and knowing chuckles were just as mortifying.
To Jun, it felt like thunder.
"No, I'm good…"
He turned his head and refused.
"…I see."
Her head lowered, the umbrella hid her face.
"Sorry. I guess I overstepped."
Then, the shy girl turned and ran off into the rain.
Jun instinctively raised a hand, but it was too late. The other students whispered behind him in pity and amusement.
"She got rejected. That's rough."
"Poor girl."
Ryoko ran faster and faster—eventually breaking into a sprint.
Rain blurred her vision. She didn't see the traffic light.
She ran out from the school gate and—
A truck sped past.
SPLASH.
The sound of something heavy hitting water pulled Jun back to reality.
A teddy bear-print umbrella appeared before him. Under it—a girl's school uniform from his school.
"Hey…"
"Want to share an umbrella?"
A familiar voice.
Jun froze.
That voice… That voice?! No, it can't be… Miyashita is already—
He looked down.
Under the umbrella: a pair of bloody hands. Below that, a soaked skirt.
And—those shoes. The ones soaked in blood six months ago.
"A-aah…"
His breath caught. His body went rigid. Was this real—or a dream?
"Want to share an umbrella?"
The question came again. Finally, Jun reacted.
"Miyashita!"
"I need to tell you something."
Face-to-face with the girl who'd haunted his dreams for half a year, Jun finally spoke his truth:
"I've always liked you… But I couldn't act on it."
"That day, when you offered to share your umbrella… I was so happy."
"Still—I didn't step forward. All because of my stupid pride."
"It was my fault. I killed you!"
Bowing deeply, his hands pressed to his pants, Jun shouted,
"I'm so sorry!"
"Want to share an umbrella?"
That was still the only response.
Because of his bow, Jun finally saw half her face under the umbrella.
Blood and rainwater dripped from it.
Jun, a high-achieving student, was no stranger to urban legends. Ones he used to laugh at… but now—
A Rain Maiden.
A famous yokai in Japanese folklore.
If a woman stands alone in the rain and a man invites her to share his umbrella, she'll follow him forever. Eventually, he'll live in constant dampness, and that moisture will slowly kill him.
"Want to share an umbrella?"
Miyashita…
Will you keep repeating this forever?
As her question echoed again, Jun, trembling, reached out his hand like a traditional confession.
"Please…"
"Let me walk under your umbrella."
Finally, his hand clasped her bloody fingers.
If this could bring Ryoko peace, then even dying…
"I don't forgive you."
…?
The voice startled him. Jun looked up.
The umbrella tilted back, revealing her full face.
It was her—familiar and beautiful. But blood and tears streamed down her cheeks.
"I don't forgive you, Jun."
And then—
She vanished.
Only the umbrella remained, still in Jun's hand.
"Ryoko…"
"Ryoko Miyashita."
Crying, trembling, Jun stood alone under the school's eaves, clutching the umbrella.
"…I'm sorry."
Not bad.
Perched on a nearby branch, the crow blinked with appreciation.
A normal human, surviving a "Naraku Vision" without powers? Impressive.
This kid had real mental strength—and now that Souta Kiryuu's Paper Clone had encountered such talent, he wasn't going to let it go to waste.
"Oh dear… Breaking the rules, are we?"
!?
A flippant voice caught Jun's attention.
A man in a white robe and tall white cap appeared, hovering just off the ground.
His snow-pale skin, long flowing white hair, and crimson eyes gave him a hauntingly soft beauty.
His sleeves and pants bore fire-like—no, blood-like—patterns.
"A Rain Maiden meant to take souls gave her vessel away to someone else."
The man shook his head disapprovingly.
Vessel?
Jun glanced at the umbrella in his hand and steadied himself.
"Who… are you?"
"You may call me Shiragami, the White Death Envoy."
Still floating, the man continued,
"Jun Kishida—you should have died. Killed by the Rain Maiden, Ryoko Miyashita. But…"
He didn't need to finish. Jun already knew—Ryoko had spared him!
"What will happen to her?"
"What do you think?"
Shiragami sneered.
"A Rain Maiden who breaks the rules suffers a tragic fate."
"I'll take her place!"
Jun stepped forward, umbrella in hand, his other hand pressed to his chest.
"Use my soul instead! I don't care what torture awaits—just please!"
"No can do," Shiragami wagged a finger.
"We in the underworld operate by strict rules."
"But…"
"If you help me with something, I might bend the rules. Maybe even…"
The smiling Shiragami looked like a perfect gentleman.
But to Jun?
He was the devil.
Resurrect Ryoko Miyashita…
Could he really refuse?
"I'll do it."