RAIN
Author: Mitsui no Miko
Rating: PG-13
Genre: WAFF
Disclaimer: I'm merely borrowing those two adorable bishonen, Rukawa and Sendoh. Inoue-sensei, please don't sue! I'm not even working yet!
I look at the dark skies above me. Rain again.
Before, I used to hate the rain. I hated the way that the clouds covered up the sky and turned it into gray. I hated the way how they hung overhead, like a cloak of despair on the world. How it would drench everything, leaving muddy puddles for us to step on. The weather was as miserable as it could be. Almost as miserable as I.
I sighed as I pulled the boots off my feet, in an effort to track as little mud as possible on our kitchen floor. Okaasan hated muddy floors. Almost as much as I hated the rain that brings it.
Rain took away everything I love to do. I couldn't play basketball in the rain. I couldn't go out to sea, as I wished to. Not like when the sun shines. Sunshine… now that's more like it… it matches my disposition. My teammates often say that I'm like the sun. Always smiling, always shining. Bringing light to everyone.
I guess they were wrong. There was one person who never seemed to let the sun shine in. Such a shame, since a smile would bring even more beauty to his already stunning features. He never smiled. Not even at me.
I met him on the court not too long ago. He was grace personified. His playing style, though a bit rough, made everyone gaze in awe. To put it simply, he was magnificent on court. Magnificent… yes, that was one of the words used to describe him.
I was intrigued by this young man. Shohoku's number eleven, the famous Rukawa Kaede. Graduated from Tomigaoka, bagging that year's MVP award. He was so good that he earned himself a place on the starting lineup.
Again and again we would encounter each other. His expression, never changing, became imprinted on my mind. I would dismiss the thoughts that come to mind after that, since I decided that that wasn't really me.
Or so I thought.
Until I saw him one day in the public court.
It was raining then. A light drizzle, but rain nonetheless.
I was already heading home to avoid the worst of the weather. The court was on my way home.
I don't know what came over me to stop for a while and head to the court. But somehow, I found myself heading there.
And then I saw him practicing in the rain. God, he must love playing so much for him to go on like that in this horrendous weather.
The rain washed over his hair, his face, his entire body. And yet, he took no heed of what was going on. He just continued. Running. Dribbling. Shooting. It amazed me how he didn't slip on the pavement. Maybe that's how he got to be so good. Make every terrain your own. Just like Sun Tzu said.
It took him a while to notice that I was standing there.
Giving a small smile of recognition, he acknowledged my presence. I smiled in return.
"So, the great ice-king Rukawa knows how to smile after all" I said in jest.
"My smile is reserved for very few people, Sendoh."
"How come you're playing in the rain?" I couldn't help asking him.
He faced me and said, "Rain is my element. It makes me feel one with the world. Playing in the rain makes me feel relaxed… happy…"
I was surprised. It was hard for me to believe that anyone would actually like rain. I hated it. It reminded me that deep down, behind my smiling façade, I was alone.
"I can see that you don't have the same opinion," he said after a few moments.
How could I? Ever since I was young, the rain always… well… it always rained on my parade. I was often scolded for going out into the rain.
"You never enjoyed rain? Not even once?" he asked again.
I smiled again. "I thought you were a man of few words?"
He paused for a while and said, "Words should be spoken when they're needed. You seem to need a bit of talking-to."
He understood me. After only a few minutes under the rain, he sized me up and told me more about myself than any other person would know or even care about. I was beginning to wonder whether he could read minds.
"I don't."
"How did you?!"
He laughed a little. "Do'aho. You said it out loud." Then he laughed again.
"Masaka?" I couldn't believe myself.
How would he understand me so well? I've never met anyone like him before. A real person. I couldn't help asking him.
"What do you think?"
"I don't know…"
In the rain, your very soul is bared for others to see. In the rain, you show your vulnerability.
"What if I told you that it's because I love you?"
Rain washes away all prejudices. Rain gives you a chance to start anew. Tabula Rasa, some call it. But to me, it's just your mind being opened for the first time.
"Then I guess I would tell you that I feel the same way too." I heard myself say.
Rain also clears your heart and mind, for you to see and feel clearly. I know that at that moment, I meant what I said. Just as he did.
Now, I like the rain. It reminds me so much of Kaede. It reminds me that no matter how I felt, I would never be alone anymore.
I glance at the clock and realize that I only have thirty minutes to meet him in some outdoor café. Smiling, I stuffed my feet back into my boots.
"Kaasan, I'm going out for a while!"
"Be careful, Akira!"
I headed out of the door and into the rain.
~OWARI~