@nijimx continued from here
"Ah, I see." She wasn't sure whether Miss Niijima had simply failed to notice the rain in the first place, or whatever was on her mind was so consuming of her that she'd chosen to ignore it. Neither could they speculate on what could be the source of her wandering mind - being in the position that she was, it could be any number of things. It was Shinobu's personality, then, seldom to offer her advice unsolicited, nor to be unnecessarily pushy when it came to the personal matters of others. Miss Niijima had a number of classmates that she was close with, besides.
After a moment's pause, the archer gave a small nod in return. "Well, good luck with it, Miss Niijima," she offered with a small bow, before continuing on past the courtyard in the direction of the school gate. After switching her school shoes for her regular ones, she readied herself for the walk through the rain, only to notice that the small, knee-high box at the door had one single umbrella handle sticking out. "Ah..." Truthfully, they'd not expected any to be left at all, given the weather, and how late it was. But, only one, however...
"Miss Niijima?" Having changed back into her school shoes for a moment, Shinobu stood in the roofed walkway beside the courtyard, connecting the entry lockers to the school proper, closed umbrella in her hand and her backpack and her archery gear slung over her shoulders. "Ah, you're still here. I'll not insult your intelligence by suggesting that standing in the rain will cause you to catch a cold, but it is rather unpleasant, isn't it?" Or perhaps she preferred the rain. That would be unusual, perhaps, but not excessively so.
She gestured to the umbrella. "Regrettably, this is the last umbrella in the service box." There was no thunder or lightning - yet, at least - but mostly-outdoors like this, she could hear the sounds of rain upon the grass and dirt, and atop the school's roof. At least it wasn't windy."I'd prefer not to put you in a position to deal with this weather without one, so if you planned upon leaving soon, would you like me to walk you to your station?" Her reasons were less altruistic than they perhaps seemed, of course. Anything that would waste a few extra minutes before Shinobu's own arrival home was of benefit to her, especially given the foul mood her father had found himself in as of late.
