Someone I Used To Love

As he slowly walked into the rain, he noticed a girl, all by herself, sitting in the middle of the road. He went up to her, only to hear she was crying.

"Hey." He began. "Is everything okay? You shouldn't be out here, alone at night."

Seeing the girl did not respond and simply continued on sobbing, he kneeled next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. He stared at her closely, and without even knowing why, he hugged her; he held her tight in his arms and passed a hand through her hair.

"C'mon, we should move out of the road." He said, turning his face to her.

She calmed down a bit, but still breathed loudly and with difficulty. He took her more in his arms before making her get up and go sit on a bench nearby. He sat her down, holding her hand and warming it up. He could not resist but take a closer look at her: he could not see her eyes, as they were covered by one of her hands and the fact that her face was turned to the ground, but he could see the rest of her body; being used to the darkness, he did not find it hard to see clearly at this point.

She must be a student. He thought. Probably around 18 years old or so.

He sat down next to her and looked around him. He did not know why that girl was there, or what she was doing like that, but he did not dare to ask, too afraid it would only make her even sadder.

"Have... Have we met before?"

He turned around in a swift movement, not expecting a word to come out of that girl's mouth.

"I, uh... I don't know... Have we?"

"Your hug, earlier... It reminds me of someone. Someone I used to love."

He did not know how to react to this confession and decided on staying quiet. A long silence came after that and neither of them talked: strangely, he thought it was better this way.

Sometimes, it's better to say nothing. He thought.

The girl seemed to feel a bit better than before, and that made him feel better as well.

"I understand you probably don't wanna talk about it, but... What's going on?" He said, afraid of what she might answer.

The girl did not say a word and shook her head a few seconds later.

"It's ok, don't worry, you don't have to tell me." He said, taking her hand again.

"What's your name?" She asked out of nowhere.

He wondered why she was so curious about him when in this situation, it should have been the other way around.

"My name's Aizawa, Shōta Aizawa."

The girl laughed sadly.

"Heh. I knew it."

"What do you mean?" Asked Aizawa, confused.

"This tender hug. These warming hands. This soft voice. You're him. The man I used to love, so badly."

Aizawa opened his mouth, only to shut it right back, incapable of finding anything to say. A cat passed by, and without even looking, the young girl felt it.

"You love cats, Aizawa-san, don't you?" The girl said, trying too hard to seem happy when the dark-haired man could hear the sadness in her voice betraying her.

"Yes, I do."

The cat found a clear spot where it would not be touched by the pounding water. Aizawa looked up at the black sky and realized the rain was getting stronger.

"I'm sorry I don't have an umbrella on me for you right now." He said, chagrined.

The girl did not answer, and Aizawa guessed that meant she was ok with it. A sudden noise was heard from where the cat was, and without even raising her head, the girl knew what Aizawa had just witnessed.