Symphony of a Storm
The instantaneous explosion of lightning. The roar of thunder. The grey ocean of clouds filling the sky, flooding over blue and drowning out the sun. The pouring rains fell upon the small town on Inaba, and tiny puddles became pools of water. The residents of the small town were asked to stay inside and stay safe, and that was exactly what Naoto did.
Still, that didn't mean she couldn't watch the storm from her bedroom window.
It was a very common trope, or story device, for one to suffer from astraphobia, or a fear of thunder and lightning. Naoto had read several detective novels in which the young, scared damsel was comforted by the brave, stoic detective during the unending brutality of a storm, such as this. Yet Naoto was never either of these roles. She was never scared of thunder or lightning, not even as a child. She understood that the crux of astraphobia was that the average person found thunder to be startling, as well as people fearing the very real danger of being struck by lightning. Yet she never feared it.
She had fond memories of her mother and father sitting with her, staring at the thundering skies. Her mother would talk about the science behind it, while her father would create a fable about it. He'd say that the Thunder and Lightning were racing each other, and Lightning would always win, but Thunder never gave up. Thunder would keep trying, again, and again.
She found the tale to be rather inspiring. Never surrendering, never staying down no matter how often one falls.
She remembered counting the seconds between... When they heard thunder, they'd all count together until the next 'race.' It was a good time. Sometimes, she'd go to sleep to the sound of thunder and rain. Other times, she'd stay up with her parents until the storm said goodbye. Afterwards, she and her parents would walk outside and she'd play in the puddles as they watched. Sometimes they'd join her, jumping into puddles together and listening to the wet splash of rainwater...
Those memories... She'd cherish them forever.
When her parents died, the thunder lost it's flair. The lightning wasn't a beautiful show of nature, but rather a simple part of life. Her grandfather would sometimes ask if she wanted to watch it with him and Yakushiji-san. She would politely decline, but some nights... some nights were just too beautiful to ignore. So she'd stare out her window, gazing at the storm above, and mourn the company she had lost and denied herself...
Then she met Souji Seta, the man she would fall in love with. The first time they had met, truly met, was marked by a clap of thunder.
Souji struck down her Shadows with his Persona, Izanagi, and he watched the Shadow fall. He had summoned his most powerful lightning spell and he watched the robotic Shadow yield. She fell to the ground, sparking, before vanishing in a dark fire. Naoto woke up from her dreamless sleep, finding him standing over her, holding her in his arms...
His very touch, even then, was electrifying.
Souji Seta. Her Senpai. Just thinking of him brought a blush to her cheeks, a warmth that made her face tingle against the cold air of the night. She smiled, despite the clash, or maybe even because of it. She loved him. She loved him she loved him, she loved him. Naoto Shirogane loved Souji Seta...
And Souji loved her.
When they fought beside each other... they were bathed in the roar of thunder on the battlefield. The electrified air... She could feel it in her lungs as they fought side by side. They were so in sync on the battlefield, it was almost as if destiny pulled them together, but it wasn't that. It was something far more mundane. They simply worked well together.
They were so alike. The Detective Prince and the transfer student. They both pretended to be above it all, above flaws and harsh truths. Despite the mask she wore when she first met the Investigation Team, Naoto was awkward, stumbling in the unknown terrain known as friendship, while most saw Souji as some infallible hero, who always knew what to say. Yet her glancing eyes saw the blush on his face, the stares he gave her when he thought she wasn't looking, the shortness of breath when they were close...
She saw the tears he shed when he thought he had lost those closest to him. The pain in his voice as he begged for his friends not to go. The fear of loneliness...
"Why am I always left alone!?" That was what her Shadow had said, all those months ago.
"I don't want to be alone again... I never had friends, not real ones, before I came to Inaba." Souji held Naoto in his arms, a week before he had to leave. She could see tears forming in the corners of his silver eyes. "I don't want to be alone again, Naoto... I never want to be alone again..."
He was not the perfect hero around her, nor was he simply their leader... He was her friend, and a mortal man. He stumbled, he fell, he slipped... Naoto remembered that night well. It was raining, as if Inaba itself was crying over the loss of her new son.
"Though we may be separated by distance, I know you will never be alone." Naoto wasn't one for sentimental words, yet here she was, trying to console her boyfriend, her best friend. He looked at her as she stroked the tear drops from his eyes and kissed his soft lips. They were both blushing as she held him close. "Our bond will never be severed. Gods, Demons, Shadows, mortal men... They can all try, but the love I have for you, Senpai? It is forever. You have stolen not a fraction of my heart, but my entire soul. In return, I believe I have stolen yours. Thus, we will always carry the other, wherever our bodies may go, however far."
Judging by his reaction (throwing himself on her and smothering her in kisses) it was exactly what he needed to hear. They fell asleep in each other's arms, thunder and rain being their lullaby...
Another bolt of lightning across the grey landscape. They were like a painter's hand, stroking across the sky, moving across it with expert precision. She found such a sight to be awe inspiring. The roar of thunder echoed through the night as another bolt of lightning flew across the sky.
"One, two, three, four..."
She counted the seconds in between lightning strikes. She counted the seconds until the next race started. Perhaps Thunder would finally move faster than Lightning this time? A scientific impossibility, but who knows? Stranger things have happened.
Naoto had fallen asleep to the song of the storm. The soft drumming of rain against her home and the clap of thunder... She truly found them to be beautiful together. Lightning must have been jealous. Thunder and Rain went so well together.
Naoto chuckled at the thought. Some would say it was childish to give the elements a personality and humanistic qualities. Perhaps it was childish, as childish as the badge she gave Souji or the watch around her wrist.
If it was childish, then maybe Naoto didn't truly need to be grown up all the time.
When Naoto awoke, she found the sky was clear of clouds. The lightning and thunder left with them, and Inaba was left with nothing but puddles from the storm. She looked at her clock and found it was rather early in the morning. She doubted any of her friends would be awake at this hour. She looked out her window at the puddles flooding the ground and the drenched trees and lampposts outside her home.
"Come on, Naoto, it'll be fun! I used to play outside after a storm all the time!"
"S-Senpai! Perhaps such an activity was fun in your youth, but we are no longer children. We can't-
SPLASH!
Souji ran out of the house, leaping into the air and laughing at the splash his landing made. He turned to her, the famed Detective Prince, the love of his life, still standing inside of the Dojima Residence. He smiled at her, and her will melted at the sight. Soon the two were outside, splashing around like children.
It had been the first time, since her parents' deaths, that she had acted like that. Coincidentally, it was one of the best mornings in Naoto's life.
Naoto stepped out of her apartment and took a deep breath. Inaba smelled like rainwater, and she savored the smell. Sweet. Fresh. Wet. Was it wrong to love such a smell? She walked down to the streets below and looked around, ensuring no one was there to spy on her. She had an imagine to maintain, as a mature and serious detective...
Once she was sure the streets were cleared, she jumped... and marveled at the splash she made. She ran down the sidewalk and slid against the rain covered cement. She stomped in puddles, embracing the sounds. For a moment, she was a child again.
"My, my, is that the great Detective Prince I see, splashing around like a child?"
Busted. Naoto froze as the voice called out to her. Part of her tried thinking of a lie, another part of her considered threatening the speaker. But a third, more logical side realized something. That voice sounded just like...
"S-Souji?!" She turned around and there he was, the silver haired leader of the Investigation Team and, more importantly, the love of her life. He was there, smiling at her, umbrella in hand. He walked towards her and pulled the stunned detective into a hug, embracing her. It only took a moment to recompose herself and return the hug with a red flush on her face. "H-how... What are you doing here?!"
"I was going to surprise you with a visit." Souji pulled his girlfriend back, only to steal a kiss from those sweet lips of hers. Her blush intensified as he winked. "Surprise."
"I... you..." Naoto didn't have the words for it. She just wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and kissed his cheek. She squeezed him in her arms, burying her face into his chest as he held her. He kissed her blue locks, whispering sweet nothings to her...
It was a moment that felt like it would last forever, and perhaps it would have, had it not been for the familiar sound of rain drops and thunder.
"That's weird. Felt like the storm just ended," muttered Souji as he looked up to the darkening sky. "Doesn't look nearly as bad as earlier though."
"Indeed. Would you... um... Would you care to step inside? You can call Dojima and the others from inside my apartment, if you have not already! If you would like, of course..."
Souji kissed her again. She nearly jumped at the sudden contact. "I'd love to."
The silver haired boy held his umbrella over them as they walked back to Naoto's apartment. The song of rain and thunder filled Inaba again, as if announcing the return of Inaba's favorite son. Naoto and Souji cuddled under the blankets, talking to each other as the storm played her symphony.
It really was a beautiful song.
END
Wrote this all in one night, while listening to a Youtube video of thunderstorms. I actually found the video to be VERY relaxing.
Wanna know a pet peeve of mine? Honestly, calling it that is probably exaggerating, but whatever. I'm not a fan of the cliche 'girl is afraid of thunder and someone comforts her' story/scene in fiction. DON'T GET ME WRONG. I get it. I get the appeal, and I get how it is 'real.' My girlfriend doesn't like thunderstorms (it's not a phobia, she just finds them unpleasant). I'm not against someone writing a story about it, or against the trope in general.
I just find it to be overused. I mean, maybe I'm just in a weird serious of events where I've seen the trope done over and over again, and I'm only noticing it now or something, but man. I'm so tired of the cliche. So that's where this story came in. Again, there's nothing wrong with the trope itself, and there's nothing wrong with you for liking it. You're beautiful, don't hate yourself, baby.
Screw astraphobia stories, though. Let's see some 'Rain is awesome!' stories! Preferably, with couples I like.
For those curious, I do have a sequel in mind. It'll star Rise and Kanji, and yes, it'll be romantic, and yes, it'll parody/play with the cliche of being scared of thunderstorms. Keep an eye out for it!
Oh, and for those who know my previous work, why did I use Souji Seta instead of Yu Narukami? Well, no real reason. I know some people, like Zanmat0, prefer Souji, and I've never used it before. Thought I might as well give it a shot. I have no real preference between the two names.
If you liked this story, check out my other stories if you have the time! They're good to, I hear. Or give Zanmat0 a read. They're pretty good. Have a good day/night! Stay safe! Bye!