Disclaimer: It's a Hakkai-centric oneshot, for all you green-eyed youkai fans. I know I'm one ^_^. Very mild Gonou x Kanan. 'Laughter in the Rain' (c) Neil Sedaka.
Laughter In The Rain
The ikkou made it to the inn just minutes after the rain grew heavier. Goku ducked under the eaves immediately, shaking his head from side to side like a dog drying itself. Fat, shining drops of water splattered all over the already drenched Sanzo-ikkou, and Sanzo was quick to whip out his harisen to paste Goku across the eyes. Of course, the paper fan being soggy from sweat, muck and rainwater, the usual crisp thwack was replaced by a miserable 'blut'.
It was Sanzo and Hakkai who had their issues with the rain. Goku loved to see the big, fat drops fall from the sky and splash the waiting Earth, sliding down the windows and dancing merrily along the leaves. Gojyo just didn't like his hair smelling like a wet rug in it. Sanzo kept his secrets to himself, but whenever the rains came, there was a distant pain that dulled the sharp amethyst depths of his eyes, a pain that made him seem distant and vulnerable; almost child-like, almost like the little one called Kouryuu who was lost so many years ago. Hakkai, Hakkai sitting cross-legged on his bed next to the window and staring out into the sodden streets, had not begun to develop any averseness to the rain until three years ago; he could actually smell rain coming sometimes, a faint but distinctive, slightly smoky odour on the damp wind, and it had always managed to stir a strange energy deep within him. Even now, the cold, clear summer shower outside aroused the same energy. It was only now that he feared and was sickened by it, for this was the same energy that had propelled him through a thousand bleak, dim corridors of the Hundred-Eye Demon's Castle, killing a thousand innocent souls trying to save just one that would slip through his fingers into the darkness. The sound of rain was now like a thousand voices crying for the blood of Cho Gonou the demon, the sinner, the murderer, the liar. The smell of rain now brought back memories of a happier time, sometimes so strongly the raindrops would have Hakkai's tears as company.
As mentioned, it had not been until three years ago that he developed an averseness to the silvery mercy from the heavens. Kanan, bless her, had loved the rain. Because he loved her, so did he.
"Those clouds don't look too promising," Gonou said worriedly as the two strolled home from the shops, each with their arms full of bags. They made a promising young couple, Gonou and Kanan did -- both with the same deep, rich brown hair, both with the same brilliant emerald eyes.
"I think the rain will hold off for a while," replied Kanan in her melodious voice. She smiled at Gonou, confident in her statements. "I don't think the heavens would be so mean as to rain on two lovers like us, would it?"
Right then, a big fat drop of water splattered Kanan's nose, and a few more began to sprinkle Gonou. He gave a yelp, partly surprised and partly amused, and quickened his pace, looking for shelter. "Argh, Kanan! You've jinxed us!" he laughed.
"Gonou, you make jest of me," she pouted, running after him and catching hold of his hand. "YOU said we wouldn't need an umbrella!"
It starts to rain, it begins to pour
Without an umbrella we're soaked to the skin
I feel a shiver run up my spine
I feel the warmth of her hand in mine
"OK, mea culpa, mea culpa, I was wrong," Gonou conceded, catching his breath under a stand of bamboo. He put the shopping bags down on the ground for a moment. "Ah, Kanan, you're soaked!"
She was. The long-sleeved blouse she was wearing clung to every contour of her body, and her braid dripped. Her fringe was plastered down over her eyes. She flicked it away from her forehead, and burst out laughing at the sight of her Gonou dripping wet with his clothes clinging to his almost too-slim body and his hair plastered straight down over his face. "So are you, Gonou. You look drowned."
"Now who is making jest of whom?" he smiled, taking off his jacket and wringing it out. She only smiled and laughed gently, a sound that Gonou loved more than anything else.
Walking hand in hand with the one I love
Oo, how I love the rainy days
And the happy way I feel inside
"In any case," he said a little more seriously, "I don't want you to catch cold." He draped the jacket over her shoulders and arranged it warmly around her neck. The rain was getting heavier, much to his displeasure. "Looks like we'll be here for a while. The rain's not letting up."
"Let it fall," she replied softly, drawing close to him and slipping her arm through his. "I don't mind. I like the rain. It makes me feel peaceful inside."
"You love it for the same reasons I do you, then."
"Aw, Gonou...that's poetic."
"Wasn't trying to be. It's the truth, Kanan, and nothing more."
"Can you prove it?"
Gonou kissed her warm, sweet lips, sending a shiver of pleasure through her. "Love of my life, my light and beauty, and my only soulmate, is that proof enough?"
"More than enough. Here's my apology for doubting you." She drew close to him, kissing him softly and gently upon his neck, cheek and then his lips. "And you can keep the change."
I turn to her and she kisses me
There with the beat of the rain on the leaves
Softly she breathes and I close my eyes
Sharing our love under stormy skies
"Araa...the rain just got heavier..."
"Oh dear. Now what?"
Gonou shrugged simply, letting the raindrops drench his face and spectacles. "You know what? I think we're both as wet as we can get. Sitting around here isn't going to do anything. Let's just go home and get properly dry." His face was close to hers as he grinned "I fancy a hot bath. Do you?"
"...Don't use up all the hot water, or no dinner for you tonight."
"The rain takes away my apetite. No worries."
"Pity, because I'm making your favourite chicken and turnip soup tonight..."
"...Chicken and turnip soup! Yay!"
"You're like a child, Gonou, honestly."
"We're all children, deep down."
"Not me."
"So why are you stepping into every puddle that you can? Splash, splash!"
Kanan pretended to be infuriated as Gonou burst out laughing, and the two raced up and down the streets in the chilly downpour for quite some time before she caught up to him, squeezing his arm tightly, her cheeks flushed and merry and her eyes sparkling like the world's greatest treasures.
Ah, for those old days...Kanan...
Walking hand in hand with the one I love
Oo, how I love the rainy days
And the happy way I feel inside
I feel the warmth of her hand in mine...
"Kanan..." The word slipped out of Hakkai's mouth before he even realised it. He felt a sudden tightness in his throat as he thought of his beloved. He pressed his hand against the cool window pane, fingers splayed, and rested his head on it tiredly. He noted, rather dazedly, that the window must have been slightly open. There were small drops of moisture sliding down the interior of the glass.
It was then he heard the laughter of a man and a woman, and he jerked upwards, startled and eyes wide.
It was from the street one floor below. A young man and a slightly younger woman were sheltering under what looked like a thin jacket, but it looked like they were having a lot of fun. Hakkai felt a sudden wrenching in his heart, but a smile crept to his face. The sight was comforting, almost nostalgic.
It was then Hakkai knew exactly what to do.
"Sumimasen, sumimasen! Chotto matte kure!"
The couple stopped and turned at the request they heard behind them, and saw a green-eyed man some years their senior splashing through the icy, muddy puddles. "I saw you two from the nearby inn, and was wondering if you might perhaps want this." He held out a plain umbrella, the Eastern type made of oil paper and painted with flowing calligraphy.
"Thanks, mister," the young man said, looking up at Hakkai with eyes like sparkling sapphires, "but we're almost home anyway. It's real kind of you."
"Take the umbrella anyway." Hakkai smiled a warm, deep smile. "It's not often one sees such a loving young couple." The two had the good grace to blush profusely.
"Bless you, kind sir," the woman said with a bow of her head. For a brief moment, the eyes that looked up at Hakkai were as green as his own, the smile one so very familiar...
Kanan?
"...It's nothing, really," Hakkai stuttered, his grin becoming increasingly flustered and sheepish, and he watched the two move on their way. The young man put his arm round her shoulder, and she drew closer to him as they walked off into the rain.
Hakkai closed his eyes, letting the cold shower drench him to the skin. He could almost hear, in the back of his mind, the laughter that had been suppressed by memory for three years and more.
Y'know, maybe the rain wasn't so bad after all.
Oo, I hear laughter in the rain
Walking hand in hand with the one I love
Oo, how I love the rainy days
And the happy way I feel inside
Oo, I hear laughter in the rain
Walking hand in hand with the one I love
Oo, how I love the rainy days
And the happy way I feel inside...