Rain had been falling since early morning.
It wasn't just rain, but wet, heavy rain, with hail that drummed against the roof like hundreds of tiny hammers. Water streamed down the windows in murky rivulets, and the world outside seemed blurred and unfamiliar. The wind howled through the cracks, and the old wooden house standing on the outskirts of the city groaned like a living creature.
Inside, it was warm. The stove was burning, and the smell of firewood and dried herbs filled the room. A kettle stood on the table, and steam rose toward the ceiling, mixing with the smell of old wood. Four people sat at the table.
Itsuki, in his usual dark coat, with his hat lying beside him on the bench. He was staring into his cup of tea.
Sua, tall, thin, with his perpetually messy hair. He sat on the floor with his legs tucked beneath him, skillfully cracking sunflower seeds and dropping the shells into an empty glass.
Takamura, calm and composed, wearing a black jacket despite the rain. She sat upright, her hands resting on the table, and watched the fire in the stove.
Akira, a young girl with black hair tied into braids. Her gaze was stern. A black band with a white circle was pulled over her head. She kept to herself, but listened attentively.
The rain grew stronger. The hail struck the roof louder, and for a moment it became almost impossible to speak. But then the noise subsided, and silence returned.
"Tell us," Takamura said, looking at him. "There's time."
Sua smiled, put another seed into his mouth, and began:
"When I was a kid, I was a real rascal. Dirty, spoiled. I was always carrying garbage to fences, throwing stones at other people's windows, simply because I thought it was fun. I didn't understand that you could live differently. I liked watching people argue, watching them run out of their houses and scream. It was like a performance."
Itsuki smirked.
"And did they catch you often?"
"All the time. But I was fast. I ran away, hid, climbed trees. One time, I even climbed onto the roof of an abandoned house and sat there all day until my parents found me."
Takamura shook her head, but a slight smile appeared on her lips.
"And then?"
"Then I grew up. And I realized that throwing stones and garbage wasn't fun. It was just dirt. But I still sometimes miss those days. When everything was simpler."
Everyone chuckled. Even Akira smiled slightly, but quickly returned to her serious expression.
The silence dragged on. The rain outside subsided, and only the occasional tapping of hail against the roof could be heard. Then Itsuki raised his head and said:
"I was a strange child too."
"Stranger than us?" Sua smirked.
"Possibly," Itsuki replied. "When I was a child, I used to go to the cemetery. Not to play, but to watch. I was… about six or seven years old. I would sit on a bench and watch funerals. People cried, stood around coffins, threw flowers. It fascinated me."
"Fascinated you?" Takamura asked.
"Yes. I thought death was the most honest thing in the world. People don't lie when they die. They simply leave. And that's all."
Sua listened carefully.
"And what did you do with the flowers?"
"I stole them," Itsuki said. "After funerals, I would pick up the flowers that were left by the graves. Sometimes I would even pick fresh ones from other graves. I brought them to my mother. Even for International Women's Day. She thought I bought them at a flower shop, but I simply took them from the cemetery. It was my little secret."
"And you became a detective," Sua remarked.
"Yes. I started looking for those who truly love death. Necrophiles. I pursue them. That's my job. I know how they think. Because once, I myself came too close to that line."
"You catch them?" Akira asked.
"I do," Itsuki replied sternly. "That's the only thing I do right."
Sua sighed.
"We're all strange people gathered here, huh?"
"Seems so," Itsuki smirked.
Akira raised her head. Everyone looked at her.
"I have an unusual past too," she said quietly. "My father was an influential politician. Very influential. After his death, a clan remained. Forty thousand people. And my father told me to lead the clan in his place."
"How old were you?" Sua asked.
"Twelve. I was a child. But I took on that responsibility. Since then, I've worn this band in memory of him. A black one with a white circle. It's the symbol of the clan."
"Must have been difficult," Takamura remarked.
"Yes. But I got used to it. I have to be strong. For those who believe in me."
Sua looked at her, then at Takamura, then at Itsuki.
"You know," he said, "we're all very different. Someone stole garbage, someone stole flowers from a cemetery, someone had forty thousand people. But there's one thing that unites us."
"What?" Itsuki asked.
"We all ended up here. In this little house. Under this rain. And we're all waiting for something."
"For what?" Akira asked.
"I don't know," Sua answered honestly.
Outside the window, the hail began tapping again.