Soul for a Girlfriend?

Chapter 54 - Weed In A Garden Of Flowers

We were walking in silence. We would have a conversation now and then, but there wasn't much to talk about. I could feel her stealing glances at me in my peripheral vision.

The rain was pouring harder now. The bottom of my trouser and my shoe were getting wet. Yasurouka and I were close to each other, otherwise our bags would be dripping by now too.

"Did the rain just get harder?" She asked. I nodded. Winds were blowing too, and it was becoming harder for me to keep the umbrella open.

Since the wind was blowing harder now, the rain also changed its direction, and we were getting wet by it now. It was directed, hitting me in the face.

"The heck!? Why is it raining so much?" I heard her say.

"Hey, let's take a rest somewhere. It's not good to keep walking in this rain." I suggested.

"But where!?" she asked, and her agitated tone made sense because it was quite difficult to find a place to stay in this rain.

"Well, I know a place. Come with me." I said, looking towards my left.

"Huh?" She was confused, but decided to follow me anyway.

"Wait… where are we going?" She asked as we were going straight, but I started walking towards my left.

"You'll see."

"Eh?"

I walked into the park, and I could see a rain shed in the middle. Since we were already quite wet, I closed the umbrella and looked at her.

"Hey...wait… why did you close the umbrella? You idiot!?" She cursed me as the rain covered us.

"We'll make a run for that shed in 3… 2… 1… Go!" I said, and ran towards it. I turned backwards to see her running behind me with a glare on her face. If this was a horror situation, then this might appear as she was trying to kill me.

I stepped inside the rain shed and took a breath. The sound of rain hitting the tin roof was quite loud. Yasurouka also came in and she was out of breath.

"You bastard! I don't run as fast as you. Why did… you…" She tried saying between her breaths, but it seemed like running this much was quite the work for her.

"Ah, take a breath. Sit down." I said, pointing towards the iron bench next to us. She put her bag down and sat down on it.

"Shut… up!"

"Anyway, let's wait here until the rain stops." I said.

"Doesn't… loo…. it…" She struggled, to say.

"Ya , I get you." I nodded with a thumbs up and she also showed me a thumbs up.

It was again silence between us, except for the sound of her breathing heavily. I looked at her as her chest rose rapidly with every breath she took. Her shirt was wet and was stuck to her skin. It was the same with me, too.

I ran my hands through my wet hair as they were falling in front of my eyes. I folded my sleeves and untucked my shirt.

"What?" I said as I noticed her staring at me.

"Well it's not only you who can stare at others." She pouted. I sometimes forget that she is observant too.

"Touche." I chuckled awkwardly.

I was looking around the park. It was so empty, but this emptiness was really assuring. Rain has never been something I could say that I liked. I hated rain.

"Oi, you here?" I was pulled out of my thoughts as Yasurouka tapped on my shoulders. She walked up to me from the seat and was looking at my eyes.

"You know your eyes are always so dead." 

"I know, you made fun of me."

"Oh… I… " She was going to say something, but closed her mouth.

"How did your bestie leave you behind for her boyfriend?" I asked to change the topic, and I was really curious about this, too.

"No need to say it like that…" She looked at me nervously. I didn't answer her and waited for her to continue.

"Well I feel like a third wheel between them in this situation so I let them go ahead." She chuckled softly, and I could tell that it was her honest feelings since her composure was rather calm even though she was nervous to make eye contact with me.

"They did ask me tho, if I wanted to go with them or not… but you know… I wouldn't feel good between them." She said softly while looking towards her feet, which she was tapping.

"Feel good?" I asked, picking this keyword.

"Yeah, you know, like out of place." She said and added something in a low voice which felt like she didn't want it to be heard. "Like a weed in a garden of flowers."

"A weed? You consider yourself a weed?" I bent down to look directly at her face, which was facing away from me.

"Huh? No it's…" Our eyes met and she was blushing. She was probably embarrassedand shook her right palm in denial.

"And they're the flowers, huh?" I continued.

"It's not like that." Her tone was rather submissive than her usual assertive one.

"What is it like then?"

"I mean come on… comparing both of them to me, I'm a weed." She sighed and laughed, but I knew that there was a lot of pent up feeling behind it.

"Huh? Why will I compare you with them?" I said.

"What?"

"I mean you're good in your own way."

"Well, you're saying that so that I don't get sad, but don't worry I know my place." I don't know why she said this. What's with her knowing her place? 

"Your place?"

"I mean… you see… how should I say this… like… umm… compared to Koi-san, I'm nothing to be honest… she is pretty… she is popular… She is cute, and she is also really nice." There was reluctance in her voice, and it felt like she said something, which made her guilty.

"You're pretty cute too." I said, as the atmosphere between us was getting way too dull.

"Ahh… I see what you did there." She chuckled as she caught on to me, calling her pretty and cute together.

"You… should stop looking down on yourself." I said in all seriousness.

"Huh?" She looked at me with a frown.

"Well in your language, you know there is no garden without weeds in them?" As I said that, her eyebrows became more tense.

"Because they are unwanted, right?" I could notice the slight irritation in her voice.

"And you know the reason why they are unwanted?" I asked her in a soft tone.

"Well, they are ugly and ruin the other flowers, that's why." Her answers seem to be giving me an insight into her mind. 

"That's one way of looking at it." I said, but it wasn't the answer which I had in mind. I added, "It's because they make the flowers harder to bloom."

"See… it ruins them." She was stuck on that part.

"Well… weeds also want to survive… right? And they give a tough competition to the flowers for resources. If you think you're a weed, then remember that even after being unwanted and hated, it still survives and makes it harder for the flowers to bloom. Weeds have much more potential in them. So don't look down upon yourself." 

I finished my lecture; I noticed her looking at me curiously. "What?" I asked, thinking I may have said something edgy, and now she won't take me seriously.

"You… sometimes say nice things too." She said, blushing slightly, and patted my shoulder. She was happy. Probably my rant helped her a bit, but for me, I was slowly understanding her.

The rain also stopped, and I could hear the chirping of birds and sunlight shining through the clouds.

"Let's go." She said in a sweet voice as she picked her bag up and started walking.