A bit of fluff about Kain and Kazune. I was bored! It takes place at the end of the series as an alternate ending. I do not claim ownership of Koge Donbo's characters!

"Eh? C'mon rain, stop already!"

Karin pouted as she stood in the shelter of the bus stop. Rain poured around her, pattering softly on the plastic roof and walls. Stupid summer showers. She was wet and cold and now she was stuck here until the rain subsided. It was too long of a walk home to walk in the rain, she'd get pneumonia. She shuffled her feet and closed her arms tightly around her. Her short-sleeved summer uniform offered no warmth and her socks were damp from running through puddles to find shelter. She sneezed in a squeaky tone. She should've listened to Himeka this morning when she mentioned that it would probably rain today and to bring her umbrella. Lucky Himeka was home already, safe and warm. Karin would've been too, but she wanted to stop by Kirika-sempai's house to see how Mr. Glasses Man was doing. She bit her lip, thinking back to their conversation.

"I can't believe it's been two weeks..."

Karin hung her head, forcing the prickling in her eyes back. It was true, two weeks ago was that fateful battle. And Kazune had been missing since then. After the explosion, he wasn't anywhere to be found; only Mr. Glasses Man was there, looking rather battered. He was resting at home, his body exhausted from being possessed by his vengeful father. Everyone was recovering from the day's events. Yuuki didn't say much about it, and Karin presumed it was because of the shock of it all. Micchi was his normal self, but he was hitting on her less, but whether out of pity or respect she would never know. Himeka took it the best out of anyone. She was surprisingly calm for someone who just found out she was technically the daughter of her two closest friends. Karin was worried about how she would react about the whole Kazune thing, but Himeka just smiled as usual and assured Karin she didn't mind whatsoever. She had said her feelings for Kazune weren't that kind of love, and that Karin and Kazune deserved each other. She had actually found solace in Micchi, surprise surprise. The two had become suspiciously closer recently, and Karin suspected Himeka found someone else already.

So how did Karin feel? Well, she did have trouble grasping it at first. She was really the clone of Professor Kujyou's wife Suzuka. And Kazune was the Professor's clone. So technically, that meant her and Kazune were married and that Himeka was her daughter. The whole thing was so confusing at first, but it did clear up a lot of her questions. She felt her heart twinge in pain just thinking about that. She feared that Kazune could be dead somewhere. Q-chan did say before the battle that one more transformation would kill him. She bit her lip. 'Don't think that way Karin,' she told herself. She missed him so bad. She wanted to make sure he was okay. She wanted to tell him everything that she couldn't before. He told her so much that day, about his feelings, about the two of him, even about Karin's own life. One thing echoed through her head over and over again. Micchi's words before she ran back in to join Kazune.

"Kazune-kun loves you."

She supposed she always knew that. The kiss, his jealousy, his temper, the way he acted around her, it all led to that. But hearing someone confirm it was different. She realized she never was really able to convince herself that her loved her, no matter how obvious it was. She could never convince herself that he loved her over someone like Himeka. Then again, she denied her feelings just as much. She smiled sadly and looked up at the stormy clouds. It was funny how it all turned out. Only a few weeks ago she would've said she loved Kirika-sempai, but now she knew she was lying to herself then. She knew she just couldn't accept herself loving Kazune because she couldn't believe he could love her back. She sighed. She was so pathetic.

She watched the stormy grey clouds rumble on with their shower with a blank face. She thought about the rain, about how it strangely seemed to tie in with her life lately. It was raining the day she found out she was a goddess, mainly because, well, she made it. It was the day she met Mr. Glasses Man. But more importantly, it was the day she saw Kazune's true self, what lied underneath that chauvinistic and callous demeanor. When she was so angry at him that day in the rain, she had told him to go away. In response, he apologized and actually said her name. Then he said how happy he was to finally meet her. She didn't know what he meant that day, but she did now. He mentioned that before he vanished, didn't he? He told her how happy he was to have met her, to meet the person who was his 'wife'. The prickling rose again. She pushed it back once more.

Oh, it was raining the day she had to protect Kazune too, wasn't it? It was the day after he made her kiss him. She was so embarrassed and Kazune didn't even remember! Well, that was a lie because she heard him confess to Micchi that he did kiss her and he thought she was mad. Honestly, he was dense. Then he did it again, rescued her in the nick of time and it was normal between the two of them. Then, it flipped around and she had to protect him. No words could describe how terrified she was that he would die. What she did was embarrassing, but it saved him in the end, so it was worth it. The prickling returned, much stronger this time.

As she fought back the tears, she wondered when Kazune became so much bigger than her. She wanted to know when she became so small or when he became so big. When did she begin to feel lost and hopeless without him? When did she start crying because of him? She hung her head and kept her hand in front of her mouth, holding back sobs. She had always thought that the two of them were the same size. She was wrong. She noticed it more and more as time passed. His clothes were bigger than hers. The soap they use wasn't soft on him, but bolder. When they argued, he towered over her. When he held her, his whole body formed a cage around her. Why was he suddenly so much bigger than her? She wanted to be the same size as him. She wanted to be as strong as him, as bold as him. She wanted to be able to help him and keep him out of danger. She wanted to be able to survive without him. But she just couldn't. She realized this as tears fell down her face. She just couldn't be without him. He was everything to her. She wouldn't have anything if it weren't for him.

She looked down at her hand, watching as each teardrop burst on her skin. She looked at the small plushie in her palm that hadn't left her grasp in two weeks. It was a small rabbit with a strange expression, the one that reminded her so much of Kazune's. She saw it at the festival and just wanted it so badly. And Kazune stepped up and won it for her, smiling at her as if he had just won her the whole world. Then, the whole ring thing. Not the rings of the gods, but those of a different kind.

"Look, now we match."

She bit her lip and sniffed. The tears continued to fall in bigger, fatter drops. She heard something beside her suddenly, but she was too ashamed to lift her head and look. A voice spoke to her. It was so familiar that she just froze.

"Why are you crying?" it asked softly. She knew that voice, she had wanted to hear it for weeks now. She sniffled. "I'm not crying, it's just the rain." she insisted, trying to be strong. A soft laugh. A hand reached out and touched hers softly, touching the wet spots on her clenched hand. On one finger was a flower ring, a very simple one at that. The fingers brushed the same ring that sat on Karin's finger, where Athena's ring once rested. She looked up to stare into the prettiest color Karin had ever known, the icy blue of Kazune's eyes. His face was smiling-his eyes, his lips, his cheeks, every part. His hair was wet from the rain and clung to the nap of his neck and in his eyes. Band-Aids were plastered on his cheek and near his temple. "Sure about that?" he asked. She bit her lip and felt the tears flow faster.

"K-Ka-Kazu-Kazune-kun!" she wailed, throwing herself on him. He didn't even sway. She buried her face in his neck and hid her tears there, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled herself closer to him. This wasn't one of her normal hugs, this one was like Kazune's when the two argued or when he was worried about something. It said something that couldn't be said. His arms wrapped around her and his face pressed into her damp, cinnamon-colored hair. Neither spoke,

Karin just sat in his warm grasp, enjoying this long-missed feeling. Slowly, the two broke and looked up into the other's eyes. Kazune's arms rested on her waist, as if he was afraid to let go. Karin's arms pulled into her chest, coming up to her face. The tears were smaller now and decorated her eyelashes. She searched his eyes frantically but she wasn't sure what she was looking for. She just wanted to make sure this was really Kazune. Kazune smiled at her and wiped away some of the remaining teardrops on her face.

"What're you crying for, dummy?" he asked, smiling down at her.

"Why shouldn't I? Where've you been? Worrying me like this! Hope you're happy..." she pouted.

"Q-chan didn't tell you? I've been in a hospital. That was rotten of him." he said, slightly surprised. Oh, he was soooo dead.

"You could've let me know!" she said incredulously.

"I thought Q-chan would tell you!" he argued back, frowning slightly.

"Well, he didn't! And I was so worried! You can't just disappear like that y'know after saying all that kinda stuff and not letting me have my say at all!" she yelled, tears welling up unconsciously. Kazune looked at her face and his face softened once more.

"So talk." he instructed. She looked at him, shocked at his forwardness and felt a blush creep along her cheeks. She actually didn't know what to say. She hadn't prepared. She sat there with her mouth open, trying to find the words. Darn it. He chuckled and poked her cheeks with a grin. "Nothing to say, huh?" he asked, smirking. She frowned. He was teasing her. Now she was annoyed.

"Well I'm glad you find humor in this Kazune-kun, 'cause I don't! Ask anyone around her and they'll all tell you how worried I've been and how miserable I am without you! I thought you were dead! I barely made it two weeks without you! And you laugh at me? After all those things you said, too!" she yelled, her olive eyes locking into his. His eyes narrowed slightly, ready to fire back when she added something on without thinking twice.

"You don't realize how much I love you, do you Kazune-kun?!" she shouted.

Then she realized what she just said. Her face went bright pink and her hands flew up to clamp over her mouth. She had just admitted it to him. She told him right out that she loved him in the worst way possible! She was embarrassed to meet his eyes so she quickly looked down.

"Um-uh, well, what I mean is...well, ahh..." she spluttered, trying to find the right words. Suddenly, he pulled her into a tight hug, so strong that she couldn't move. She was pressed against his chest, forced to look over his shoulder. His head hung over her shoulder and she heard a small sound escape his throat that sounded like a small annoyed grunt. She wanted to see his face; it was hard to read him this way.

"Kazune-kun..." she said, her voice shocked. His voice cut in suddenly.

"Of course I do, you dope." he muttered to her. She felt really small once more. She looked at the storm clouds over his shoulders in awe as he spoke softly to her. "You weren't the only one having a hard time. I missed you too, so badly. I was finally able to tell you everything but I couldn't be with you. The time just crept by while I was there. I wanted to be here, with you. I wanted to talk to you and let you know I was okay and to make sure you were too, but I couldn't. So I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to tease you. I'm just so happy to be seeing you." he explained softly. Karin blinked a few times as the tears welled up yet again. She sniffed and wrapped her arms around him slowly, bringing her hands up to grasp the back of his shirt. She lowered her head into his shoulder. She felt him sigh and stroke the hair on her head lightly, then slowly let go of her. She looked into his face and saw him smiling.

"Let's go home, Karin." he said. She felt a smile cross her face and she nodded enthusiastically.

"'Kay!" she said happily.

Kazune pulled an umbrella out from seemingly nowhere and opened it up, holding it above the two of them. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her along the road. She smiled as he led her through the rain. Her love for him was bubbling up in her chest. She quickened her pace so she was alongside him. She pursed her lips and spoke.

"You never said it, y'know."

"Said what?"

"'I love you.'"

"I need to?"

"Well, I said it!"

"I didn't tell you to."

"You're so stubborn! That hurts my feelings, y'know!"

"Well, I'll say it on one condition."

"What's that?"

Kazune stopped walking and looked at Karin. She looked at him, slightly confused. What did he want? She noticed his lips curl into a mischievous smirk and suddenly knew.

"That's not fair!"

"That's the condition."

"You're such a pig!"

"If that's so, then, forget it."

Kazune turned his head and started to walk away. Karin let out an annoyed growl and stood in front of him. She let out a breath and closed her eyes. She lifted herself onto her tiptoes, putting her lips against his lightly. She felt his lips curl once more and press against hers. His hand let go of hers to wrap around her waist, the other holding the umbrella steady. Without a second thought, her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling herself into him. Her cheeks flushed, but she ignored it, losing herself in the kiss. After what seemed like an eternity, they broke free. Karin looked into Kazune's blue eyes and saw them smiling at hers, warming her chilled body. She grinned at him.

"Now say it!"

"Say what?"

"'I love you!'"

"Nah."

"Whaaa?! No, you can't do that! I did it!"

"Mmm, nah."

"Th-That's not fair! Kazune-kun!!"

Kazune laughed and walked ahead. Karin puffed out her cheeks and clenched her fists. She ran after him, yelling at him as he yelled back. He smirked as she frowned and grabbed her hand, yanking her close. His head bent to whisper something in her ear softly. Her face went bright pink and she smiled a small, embarrassed smile at the puddles by her feet. He smiled at her and the two walked home, hand-in-hand, caught in the rain's magic.