Rainy Days and Mondays
Rain can be nice.
It can come down in graceful sheets and wrap around you comfortingly, or mix with your tears on sad day.
It can have a nice sound, a clear and perfect and soothing song to fall asleep to at night.
It can taste as good as water in the Sahara.
It can be as delicate-looking as spun glass.
But this rain wasn't nice at all.
It burst against the skin like splattering blood.
It sounded like drums too close to your ears.
It tasted like sand, plain and disgusting.
And it was hideous rain, on top of it all. It wasn't the pretty kind that came down lightly on empty streets. It was storm, hammering down on roofs and melting fresh snow to transform into dirt-flecked slush.
"I hate rainy days," she says softly, head resting on her hand as she sits curled up by the window.
"Why?" asks Renji, slightly irritated by his friend's opinion. "It has a nice sound."
"It's a lousy start to the week," replies Rukia. "It's like the sky itself is in mourning."
Renji hesitates, looking up at his friend from his paperwork. He can already tell that she's down, and for no reason at all. He puts his hands down and asks, "What's really wrong? Why do you hate the rain? You never used to."
Renji pauses, recalling an image of Rukia dancing and laughing on an empty street in Rukongai, trying to get him to join in her delight.
Come on, Renji!
Her peals of laughter ring in his ears.
It's fun! Don't try to fool yourself into thinking that rain is sad!
Rukia looks up, startled by his remembering. She sighs and closes her eyes.
"It was raining that night."
Renji doesn't even have to think about what she's referencing. He already knows what she's talking about: the event that had marked the beginning of a new time in her life, the death of Kaien Shiba.
Renji sighs, remembering how Rukia had shouldered a burden that didn't belong to her: the burden of Kaien's heart.
"I'm not going to try to change your mind."
Rukia's eyes snap wide open at his words.
"But can one bad encounter influence your past feelings about rain that much?" Renji continues.
Rukia closes her eyes again, reflecting in the rain.
That's right.
She used to love the sky's tears.
"Renji?"
"What?"
A smile spreads across Rukia's face as she utters, "Don't try to fool yourself into thinking that rain is sad!"
Rukia, that's the thing.
Renji smiles back as he realizes that Rukia's back to being herself.
I never thought of rain as being sad.
Rukia slides open the window, jumping out and twirling through a puddle, dancing and grinning.
Whenever I hear the rain…
She spins around, then pauses. Breathless in her laughter, Rukia waves for Renji to come join her before twirling again in place.
…I'm hearing you laughing and dancing like you used to.
The door to the Sixth Division office slams shut and water splashes up from running footsteps in puddles as he joins her in dancing, indulging in Rukia's musical laughter.
She had always loved rainy days.
