The relentless downpour persisted well into the afternoon. Roads glistened with pools of water that spilled out from overflowing drains blocked off by wet leaves and debris. Those unlucky enough to be walking outside huddled themselves for warmth and protection against the rain, cussing and gesturing angrily at the many few cars that zoomed past and sprayed them with the street's wet residue. Hayden, seeking refuge from the weather, peered out of the convivence store window and gave a contemplative sigh. His hands dug into his hoodie pockets.

"Damn. It's really pissing it down today. I shoulda listened to my Mom and brought an umbrella," he lamented. His friends, far too engrossed in discussing the latest Valoria Online update, did not respond. "Oii, Lukas. Could you grab me some cigs? Left my ID at home again."

"No way, man. You still owe me from last time - and the time before that."

"I told you I'd pay ya back eventually! Money's just tight right now. My part-time job doesn't pay shit. I'm basically living off soda and noodles these days."

"Ask someone else."

"Ren?"

"Nope." He replied, barely looking up from his phone screen.

"Come on, dude. I'm begging here. What about you, Kai?"

"Ahaha, I'm just as broke as you. I would do if I had the cash for it. Sorry, man."

"Shit... uhh, Koda? You've got my back, right? I'll pay you back at the end of the month. Promise."

Koda remained eerily silent - as was custom to his aloof personality. He hadn't been paying attention to his squabbling friends' conversations. He distanced himself from the group, navigating the small store's aisles under the flickering fluorescent lights. They hummed softly, blending in with the ambience of rainfall outside. His attention was drawn to a display of umbrellas, each boasting a unique personality; from the classic monochromatic options to bold patterns and vibrant colours. He thoughtfully evaluated each design and their practicality, before selecting a favourite and headed to the self-checkout.

"What the hell, Koda? Are you buying an umbrella? Can you get me one too?" Hayden called out.

"Sorry, I can't."

"Please, please, please. I know I don't have money right now but I'll give you the rest of my gum."

"I'm good, thanks."

"You're so cold, man. I don't get you. And anyways, that's not the sort of umbrella I'd imagine to be your style. Not hating. Just a little observation."

"It's not for me, that's why."

Kai, who had been half-heartedly listening in on the conversation gasped, releasing a lollipop from his mouth.

"A girlfriend!?"

"No way. Do you have a girlfriend, Koda? Introduce me, man! I gotta see. I bet she's hot as fuck. Happy for you, bro."

As the huddled around Koda with rapt excitement, Koda himself remained quiet, scanning his card against the machine and nonchalantly picking up the umbrella and placing it in his bag. He had no intention of revealing your identity to anyone - especially not to the most obnoxious group of friends he ever had the misfortune of being a part of. Even in his silent protect, they continued to harass him on the way back to the college, squawking theories about who Koda's secret lover could be. None of them would ever have guessed you'd be the one Koda was interested in - especially when he had so many other more vibrant and attractive girls grovelling at his feet daily.

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The classroom filled with chatter and an eagerness to go home. Your dull eyes met with the invasive slew of blackening clouds in the sky as you gazed out of the window. With no coat and no umbrella at hand, you were on track to be on the bitter receiving end of mother nature's fury. You hopelessly peered at your phone's weather app, praying for even the slightest bit of fortune that the storm would die down before you had to make the treacherous journey back home, but no such luck revealed itself to you. You sighed with sour acceptance and walked over to your locker to pick up the rest of your belongings. Little did you know a peculiar surprise awaited you within its confines. You opened it up, eyes widening with confusion as the display.

Carefully placed inside your locker was an umbrella of your preferred colour and style alongside your favourite candy. Beneath it lay a small, handwritten note: Don't catch a cold :) Stay safe.

You eyed the neatly rounded handwriting, desperately trying to decipher who would write such a thing to you of all people. It wasn't like you had any friends looking out for you, and you were certain you had no secret admirers. You examined the umbrella and candy, wondering if this was some sort of cruel prank just to mess with you and get your hopes up. That, or maybe someone put it in the wrong person's locker.

You blinked in disbelief, unsure whether you felt flattered or creeped out. Either way, you still weren't entirely sure if this was even for you.

✧──────✧

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯... 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢?

✮ Use it [Read Section A]

✮ Do not use it [Read Section B]

✧──────✧



You sheepishly raised your hand over the neatly tied umbrella, your fingertips swiping against the waterproof fabric. But then you pulled back and anxiously squeezed your wrists. Your eyes darted from left to right, scanning your surroundings as though you were about to commit a petty crime. This couldn't possibly be regarded as stealing, right? It was inside your locker and - as the cute message wisely noted - you could easily catch a cold if you don't keep yourself dry. Surely it would be fine just this once. If it truly did belong to someone else, you could always return it the day after.

After confirming to yourself that no other students were around, you shyly took the umbrella and opened it up. A smile appeared on your face, beaming against the world, as you admired the fact that it just so happened to be in your favourite colour and style. It was as though someone had picked it out specially for you.

You began your journey back home, oblivious to the student following close behind. Koda, who had been observing you the whole time from behind one of the locker aisles, shivered with a heightened sense of ecstasy. His trembling hands reached to cover his mouth and control his heated breaths of excitement. His rose gemstone-coloured eyes glistened with tears of joy, detailing every touch your hand against the staff of the umbrella. It was all too much to bear. He needed to get home. He needed to replay this moment in his head and savour it, consume it. To think an object he himself had touched was now being squeezed between your sacred hands. His heart pounded. Was this indirect hand-holding? Koda became feverish at the notion.

It didn't take long for him to slide his phone out his pocket and begin snapping multiple pictures to commemorate this special milestone. He had taken so many photos of you day by day that his phone frequently ran out of storage. Oftentimes, he'd have to resort to buying multiple hard drives and USBs to contain each and every one of them. He couldn't cope with the thought of ever deleting them. Even his worst, most blurry pictures of you managed to make a way on to his sacred shrine.

He giggled to himself, holding the phone close to his heart and imagining it as you. Oh, if only you were this tiny and helpless. It would be so easy to just pick you up and take you home with him. No one would know. No one would interfere... Don't worry though, Koda would never dream of tormenting you. He'd treat you like a princess - or, perhaps, more of a treasured pet. You'd be his property, his doll, but he'd be determined to make you see otherwise. He'd show you how much you're worth to him.

The mere thought of being at your service and showing his love for you sent shivers down his spine, making his cock twitch from beneath his pants. He gasped quietly to himself as he noticed his body's unseemly reaction. Blush marking his shame, Koda did his best to cover himself up and not stand out amidst the crowds of students returning home. Koda hated himself whenever these impure moments occurred in his day to day life. You were his angel, something he wanted to cherish and protect - not destroy and sexualise. He sighed, disgusted at himself. You'd be surprised how much a degenerate stalker like himself can ejaculate over a used napkin and a discarded bobby pin from his crush's trash. Koda returned to the present moment.

[Y/n] [Y/n] [Y/n]! ♡ Oh my god~ You're so cute right now holding that umbrella. I think I'm gonna be sick. Is this real life? Is this actually happening right now? What did I do in my past life to be given such a blessed moment in this one? Gaaaaah, pictures aren't enough. I wanna eat you up and keep you with me forever! Thank you, universe. I can finally die happy knowing that me and [Y/n] are connected once again. This is kinda like holding hands, right? Maybe not directly but... Spiritually! Gosh, I wanna touch [Y/n]'s hands so bad. I bet they would feel so amazing!~ I want to put them in my mouthhhh. I want to lick [Y/n]. I want to worship them at their feet and be their personal stool. No. I need to calm down. Be calm and respectful.

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Yin (𖦹﹏𖦹;) woahhh I'm so confused rn help me

Kitty Yin! What's wrong? ('･ω･')? You okay?

Yin I'm fine! It's just that... I found a gift in my locker today. Someone left me an umbrella. Well, I say "me" but I'm actually not too sure. I feel really bad. Like what if it wasn't for me? What if someone put it there accidentally? Did I just steal someone's cute umbrella gift? AAAAAAAa

Kitty Yinyinyin Please don't worry. I'm sure it was for you ( •᷄ᴗ•́) So please don't feel guilty about it. You should keep using it! (っ'ヮ'c) I bet whoever put it there will be happy that it's keeping you nice and dry.

Yin But I don't have any friends. Soo... who could it possibly be from? Like I don't talk to ANYONE here. It really does feel like an accident.

Kitty Hehehe ( ≖⩊≖) You must have a secret admirer

Yin lol I wish

Kitty Anyways ('・ω・｀) I'm glad everything worked out. I was worried you'd be caught in the rain. I don't want you to get sick.

Yin Mhm!

Kitty Maybe run a warm bath or something when u get back. An umbrella is good but you u still need to get ur temperature up. Take care of yourself for me ('｡• ◡ •｡') ♡

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As much as you wanted to stay dry from the rain, your morals and aversion to confrontation led you away from the prospect of using it. You sighed with miserable acceptance, a knowing feeling that soon you'd be outside in the cold rain. It sucked but a small part of you praised yourself for your honour and respect of other people's property. You removed the umbrella from your locker alongside the note and left in on one of the benches in the cloakroom in the hopes that the original gift giver would notice it and place it in the correct locker this time. Clearly it was for someone's partner - not you. I mean, who would do something like this for you? With no friends, and certainly no secret admirers, you were confident that this was clearly a little mishap.

"I guess this is the right thing to do," you mumbled to yourself sadly after rejecting the gift. The weather app on your phone promised nothing but rain all the way through the evening so it wasn't like you could just wait it out either. With a miserable yet accepting sigh, you braved the storm and stepped outside. Immediately, the overflowing water from the rafters spilled on to you, sending icy trickles of rain down your collar. A couple of students, much more appropriately dressed than you, noticed and giggled to themselves at your misfortune. Usually such an embarrassing moment would sting more, but today you felt numb. It was as though you were an outsider observing yourself from inside, an alien watching a movie about a strange, sad little human with no friends or family. You solemnly looked up at the grumbling grey sky, twitching as droplets spat on to your face. This was your life.

Unfortunately, your good deed went unnoticed. Another student, who had also forgotten their umbrella, quickly snatched the opportunity and stole the gift from the bench. They completely disregarded the cute, handwritten note and ran over to their friend group. Koda was devastated. Not only had you indirectly rejected his present, but now he had to watch you - his poor little lamb - stumble through the storm unprotected. His hand seized at his chest as he became overwhelmed with a harrowing anxiety. He had failed again. He had failed to keep you safe and warm and happy. No no no no no no no!-

Koda left the building and hurried along behind you, desperate to catch up. The stress of it all had him practically trembling in raw emotion. It was too much to bear. You were soaked from head to toe, shivering and hugging yourself for warmth. Koda began to seriously question the possibility of giving you his coat. He had told himself that he would keep to himself and avoid forcing interactions on to you until the time was right but now he was reconsidering everything. He didn't want you to catch a fever because of him.

[Y/n], I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. FUCK. I suck at this. I'm terrible. How could I forget to write your name on the note! I should have known you would be too good-hearted to accept anything from a total stranger. [Y/n], why are you so nice to the world? It doesn't deserve your kindness. This is horrible! You're gonna catch a cold all because of me. And- and we're not even friends yet in person. I mean- we are but you don't know that yet! Which means I can't come over to your house to take care of you without looking like a... a stalk- a creep! Shit. Okay. Okay. Calm down, Koda. Take it easy. Let's plan this out. If [Y/n] does get sick, maybe they'll be so out of it, that they won't even care if I break into their house to nurse them back to health? Yeah, and then when they get better, they'll see that I truly have good intentions toward them. And then they'll love me again and we can go back to being happy.. No. Shut the fuck up, Koda. Dumbass. Be realistic. You can't break into [Y/n]'s house just yet. It's too soon. I-I don't want to scare them - not while they're sick and vulnerable. Oh god. What if they're too sick to even text me back!? FUCK. I'm going to kill myself and mail my body parts to [Y/n]. I'm probably more useful to them as pieces anyways. This is the worst thing to ever happen to me. I'm such a failure. I'm so so so sorry!! If only [Y/n] knew how sorry I was.

Maybe... maybe I can give them my coat. I have to. I can't let my crush walk like this in rainstorm. Okay. Okay! I-I'm gonna do it. I can do this. I need to step up. I am going to save [Y/n]. This is what I am here for. [Y/n], stay put. I'm coming to you! Our in-person relationship begins now.

"Um excuse me-" Koda's soft-spoken voice was interrupted by a hoard of workers leaving the train. They pushed past the two of you in haste, causing the distance between you and Koda to extend. Koda's heart dropped as he found himself completely separated from you as you entered the train carriage. He quickly got on, using the tracking app on his phone to find you but his line of sight toward you was swamped by students and salarymen squeezing together. This situation only caused Koda to catastrophise even more as his mind became flooded with the possibility of you being harassed or groped by members of the public. At this point Koda was nearing on the verge of a panic attack. You felt your phone repeatedly spasm with vibrations from inside your bag.

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Kitty YIN YIN YIN Pleaase answr pls answer right now I need to know ur okay Is everythign alright?? Respond bacjk to me asap. Are u on the train No one's talking to u are they?? ?? Yin Pick up the phone. Get back to me Please

Yin What r u panicking about?

Kitty Yin! I'm sorry for spamming u I was just really worried.

Yin About what

Kitty I just wanted to make sure everything is okay! (Í﹏Ì;) I'm sorry. I just need you to speak to me right now.

Yin Kitty, are you okay? I feel like I should be the one worrying. You seem really stressed out.

Kitty No no I'm okay! ('• ω •') You needn't worry about me. Although, it does make my heart feel fuzzy when u say that. (>/////< " ) Ur on the train, right?

Yin Hehe I am! How'd you know? lol

Kitty Guessed! ( ˶o˶˶o˶) !! Ur not being bothered by anyone, are u?

Yin No?

Kitty Okay, that is a relief (..◜ᴗ◝..) And I recall you saying you didn't bring a coat or an umbrella today.

Yin Guilty.

Kitty Please make sure you get nice and warm when you get back. It's important. I don't want you to get sick. （ ; ; ）

Yin It's whatever, man. If I get a cold, it's not biggie tbh. Means I'll have an excuse to skip class ;)

Kitty ('；ω；') Yin Please

Yin Okay okay calm down I'll run myself a hot bath or something

Kitty ( '･ω･) Good. Thank you.

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[☽ EOC]