Episode 33: The Closer the Thunder Gets, the Closer the Distance Between Us
Outside the window, a gloomy, overcast sky.
The rain kept getting stronger.
Hanamori and I were each locked in battle with our computer screens.
Fixing materials. Adjusting graphs. Checking wording.
I glanced at the clock; it had passed eight in the evening. That’s when it happened.
Rumble rumble rumble rumble…
Thunder, far off.
“…Thunder’s rolling in.”
Hanamori said it. Her voice pitched a little lower than usual. It seemed to be trembling, if only slightly.
“Yeah. The rain’s gotten heavier too.”
Looking out the window, the rain was coming down hard.
“Hanamori-san, you’re not great with thunder, right?”
“Not really. Just a little.”
This girl’s absolutely putting on a brave face.
“Really?”
“…I said it’s just a little, didn’t I? Let’s just hurry up and finish so we can go home.”
I teased her lightly, and Hanamori’s lips pursed slightly. Clear proof she was getting worked up. Cute.
…Wait, there I go again, what am I even thinking?
We kept working.
*
Rumble rumble rumble rumble… CRACK!
*
Thunder again. Much closer than before. Hanamori’s shoulders twitched.
And then, the next moment.
KRRRAAAAASH!!!
An ear-splitting thunderclap.
At the same instant, the office lights cut out with a snap.
Pitch black. Complete darkness.
*
“Eep!”
Hanamori’s scream. Wherever her earlier bravado had gone.
“A blackout…?”
I called out. The computer screens had gone dark too. Nothing visible at all in the pitch black.
“Asami-san!?!? Where are you!? Where are youuu?!”
Hanamori’s voice, unmistakably panicked. Wherever the earlier bravado had gone.
“It’s fine, I’m right here.”
“W-where!? I can’t do the dark!”
Clatter!
The sound of something falling over. Sounded like she’d scrambled to her feet in the dark.
“Hanamori-san, calm down.”
“How am I supposed to calm down!”
Rumble rumble rumble… KRRRAAAASH!!
Another violent thunderclap.
“Uuuu, no, no, no!”
Thud!
“Ow…”
The sound of hitting something, and Hanamori’s voice.
“You okay?”
“My foot… hit the desk…”
Hanamori, completely in full panic. In the dark, I could hear a rustling sound, like she was searching for something.
I reached my hand out. It touched something. Soft. Warm. Hanamori’s hand.
“Hyaaaaah!? What is this!”
Hanamori’s voice.
“It’s fine, that’s my hand.”
“Ah…”
Hanamori’s hand gripped mine back, tight. A surprisingly strong grip.
Desperation I couldn’t have imagined from her usual bratty attitude.
“That’s a little strong, ow, ow.”
“Sorry! But I really can’t do this.”
A desperate voice. Wherever her usual bratty self had gone.
Rumble… KRRRAAAAASH!!
Another violent thunderclap.
“Eep!”
The grip on my hand tightened even further.
Hanamori’s scream. And the next moment—
Something crashed into me.
A soft sensation pressed against my whole body all at once. In the dark, Hanamori had clung to my blouse.
“Can’t, can’t do this… really can’t.”
Hanamori’s voice sounded like it was about to cry. I could feel her body trembling.
And then—in the darkness, my senses sharpened.
My vision was completely gone. So my other senses went unnaturally vivid.
The faint, sweet scent of shampoo drifting from Hanamori’s hair.
Her body heat, coming through the fabric. Much warmer than I’d expected.
Hanamori’s ragged breathing, close by.
Her trembling body. Small shoulders. Slender arms.
She was this delicate, I found myself realizing, belatedly. Because she always carries herself so confidently, I’d never noticed.
Hanamori’s fingers gripped my blouse tight. Even that sensation, I could feel clearly.
The sound of rain hitting the window.
Thunder rumbling in the distance.
But the loudest sound of all was—my own heartbeat.
Thud, thud, thud.
Pounding this hard.
My heart was going wild. Something deep in my chest burned. The core of my body was gradually filling with heat.
Hanamori’s trembling fingertips.
Her breath against my neck.
The sound of her heart.
Cute. Precious.
*
Somewhere in the middle of feeling that, before I knew it, I had… pulled Hanamori into an embrace.
“Eh? Asami… san…?”
A confused voice.
“Um, wh-what are you doing…?”
Hanamori’s body stiffened slightly.
But I… couldn’t let go.
If anything, strength flowed into my arms, tightening into a full embrace.
I didn’t want to let go.
I wanted to keep feeling this warmth, this sensation.
In the darkness, only Hanamori’s body heat came through, unnaturally clear.
“…Sorry. J-just a little longer.”
“Eh…”
“Just a little longer… like this, is that okay?”
I could tell my own voice was shaking.
“It’s… fine, but. Wh-why?”
Hanamori’s voice was shaking too.
Why.
I already knew the reason, deep inside myself.
But I was scared to say it as it was.
Scared that saying it would make Hanamori hate me.
Desperately, in my head, I searched for a plausible-sounding excuse.
*
“Um… the thunder… I’m scared of it.”
*
I lied, on reflex.
Lying to Hanamori again.
I’m not scared of thunder at all.
That’s not it. What’s real is—
“Ah, um… Asami… san…”
Hanamori’s voice trembled, small.
I could feel the strength gradually draining from Hanamori’s body. Not resisting. Just, leaning into me.
Hanamori’s hesitant hand came around to my back, gripping tight.
That weight, that gripping hand, precious.
My heart pounded even harder.
Thud, thud, thud.
This close together, Hanamori must be able to hear my heartbeat.
I could hear Hanamori’s heartbeat too. Loud enough to resonate through my own body.
But I couldn’t stop.
I pulled Hanamori into an even tighter embrace.
And Hanamori hugged me back, just as tight.
Hanamori’s hair brushed my cheek. Soft.
Her breathing fell against my neck. Ticklish.
All of it, unbearably precious.
But more than that… my chest ached.
No good. This is genuinely no good.
Hanamori has someone she likes. She’s thinking of someone else.
Not me.
Taking advantage of Hanamori being scared of thunder.
Taking advantage of the blackout hiding our faces.
Doing something like this. It feels underhanded.
I’m full of guilt.
But I can’t let go.
In the darkness, a time that belongs only to the two of us.
I found myself wishing this moment would go on forever.
Hanamori’s lips felt like they were right there, close.
In the dark, I could faintly make out the outline of her face. I could tell her eyes were glistening.
Staring at her intently in the darkness—
Snap!
The lights suddenly came back.
The office lit up all at once.
My eyes met Hanamori’s.
Ridiculously close.
Close enough that our breath touched.
Our lips… a few centimeters apart.
Hanamori’s face was bright red.
My own face had to be just as red. Hot enough, my whole face and body, that I thought I might catch fire.
“Ah…”
Hanamori tried to say something, mouth opening and closing. No words seemed to come.
Blinking rapidly, her eyes darting around.
Her ears went red all the way to the tips, and she looked away from me.
We hurriedly pulled apart.
“S-sorry.”
“No, me too…”
Hanamori went back to her seat, hesitant.
“L-let’s finish up work.”
Hanamori said. Trying to return to her usual bratty tone. But her voice was still shaking. Her ears still bright red.
“Y-yeah.”
I hurried back to my own desk too, answering.
“Th-that thunder was scary, huh~”
I said it, deliberately, as if just remembering. My voice came out pathetically strained. Might have been too obvious.
We went back to work, as if nothing had happened.
But my heartbeat wouldn’t settle down, the whole time.
My chest ached, like something was squeezing it.
A silence stretched on for a while.
I stared at my computer screen, but none of the text was sinking in at all.
Then, from beside me, a small, quiet voice.
*
“That kind of thing…”
*
Hanamori’s voice.
I turned to look, but Hanamori kept her eyes on the screen, not looking at me.
Her voice was trembling.
*
“…Isn’t okay. Really, it makes me… get the wrong idea.”
*
Still facing away, she murmured it quietly.
Her profile was still flushed red.
…The wrong idea?
What kind of wrong idea?
Who’s getting the wrong idea, about what?
My heart started pounding hard again.
I wanted to hear all of it.
*
But… I was too scared to ask.
And… the warmth of Hanamori still lingering on my palm hadn’t faded yet.