<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">Ryuu Fukuyoshi was Ito’s opposite in every way, short where he was tall, round where he was thin, nerdy and quiet and shy with his extra weight, whereas Ito was outgoing enough to attend a party and enjoy himself. Yet, somehow, they were still friends—best friends, in fact—bound together by coincidence, although Ryuu preferred to think of it as fate, since the day he had first sat down next to him. They had shared a desk, school supplies, and later a friend group.<br/><br/>Walking out of his apartment building into the street, Ryuu was displeased to see that it was raining, something he hadn’t noticed in his haste to get ready. It wasn’t hard enough to wet him yet, just little droplets that he barely felt, but by the time he got to their usual meeting spot, it was sure to be pouring.<br/><br/>It was typical of a Monday in Japan. Probably Monday mornings everywhere, actually. It was an unspoken rule.<br/><br/>Ryuu forced himself to turn around and run back inside, up the four flights of steps (because of course the elevator was out of service, it was just that kind of morning), emerging on the fourth floor landing out of breath and clutching a stitch in his side. Not enough exercise left him feeling as if he was going to die. He had to wait a moment or so to catch his breath before he unlocked his door, calling out to his mother that he had forgotten something so she wouldn’t wonder why he was back. He didn’t even take his shoes off, he was in such a hurry to get the umbrella and get to Ito, grabbing his little sister’s which was by the door. It was only as he was jogging down the street that he opened it up to protect himself from the falling rain and saw the pink heart pattern and cutesy little characters. Oops. Still, a girl’s umbrella was better than no umbrella at all, so he used it, ignoring the strange stares he got for it. <br/><br/>He heard the first rumblings of thunder as he was walking to the end of the street, out of breath from jogging as far as he could. He made a mental note to do something about this whole exercise thing. There was no reason for a young man his age to be so out of shape. Or so round. Maybe Ito would do the workouts with him, make it less torturous. Slightly. Exercise was still exercise, though.<br/><br/>“Sorry you got stuck waiting. I’m here.” He panted, catching his second wind, so to speak, and jogging the last few steps to him, face flushed and sweaty, but it was raining anyway so it was hard to tell. It was the one good thing about the rain. “And I grabbed Ayano’s umbrella.” As if he wouldn’t notice for himself, holding the pink monstrosity out as evidence. It was raining hard enough now that Ryuu would have used a rainbow umbrella with flashing, neon lights if he had to. “Shall we?” He thought nothing of sharing it with him, even if it was something couples usually did. No way he was letting his best friend, who didn't have a coat or an umbrella of his own, get soaked and possibly fall ill. Besides, anyone could look at them and know that they weren’t a couple.<br/></span>