So, sorry I haven't updated my story "Hell On Earth," In forever, I've been really busy. I spent most of my summer tracking down rentals for my fiance and I that were near the university I transferred to, and also near his work. He got a new job, and I started a job on campus as well as taking 20 credits of classes, I've hardly seen my fiance in two months and everything has just been a huge mess. Now that Christmas break has started, I get a little time to relax with my man, and finish updating, including this, which has been sitting mostly finished on my computer since November.
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Unnatural Rain
Sakura sighed under the roof of the old bridge. She had walked this route many times in the past, over this old forgotten bridge, closed to all but foot traffic, and she had never run into any problems before.
She stuck her hand out over the side of the bridge, out from under its shelter, and felt the hard rain on her palm. She quickly withdrew her hand. The rain was so heavy it hurt her fingers. It was cold too; freezing and very unlike early November's rain showers. She hadn't even bothered to check the weather report before going out. She just wanted to grab a few things from the craft store. She berated herself for that.
She groaned, bending to place her forehead against the railing. She knew she would just have to wait it out. It was strange though. Although she had not checked the weather, there was absolutely no indication that it would rain at all that day, let alone a downpour like this. When she looked at the sky, the blackness of the clouds led her to believe it was not going to let up any time soon. It was dark enough to seem just after sunset. She pulled out her phone and sent out a text to her mom.
"May take a while to get home. I'm gonna wait out the rain."
Her phone bleeped about a minute later. She could hardly hear the quiet tone over the roar of the rain, but she felt it vibrate.
"What rain? Where R U at that its raining?"
Puzzled, Sakura re-read the text several times. She wasn't far enough from home that the weather should be any different. 'This is weird,' she thought.
While she thought of a reply, she glanced down at the creek below her. Her eyes widened in surprise, then curiosity. Besides the normal swiftness of its flow, there was no change in the creek's surface. There were no distortions made by the rainstorm. She leaned further over the rail to view the water and felt the large heavy drops on the back of her head. She ducked back under the covering. For good measure, she once again stuck her hand out and felt the heavy moisture on her palm. She held her hand up to her face, watching water roll down her wrist and wet the edge of her sleeve. She cocked her head to the side, staring above her. She definitely heard the rain on the roof, loud as any torrent she had ever heard.
"Sakura Mamiya?" Came a familiar voice.
She looked out into the storm, and eventually spotted a white, black, and red wash of color through grey of the rain.
She smiled. He stopped about ten feet from her, floating away from the edge of the bridge, and said something to her. She couldn't hear over the insult of the rain. He hopped over the railing at her gesture to come closer.
His feet hit the wooden boards and Sakura spoke, "what are you doing out in thi…"
She looked him up and down; he had not a drop of water on him. She blinked. 'Not even Rokudo-kun is aware of the rain?' She was beginning to suspect her sanity was not in a perfect balance.
"Are you waiting out the rain?" He asked, drawing a relieved sigh from Sakura.
"Yeah," she replied, then to herself, "I wonder when it will let up…"
"Not for another 12 hours, I'm afraid," he answered.
Sakura looked at him. How could he possibly know the exact hour?
"How can you know that?"
"This rain… It's an unnatural sort of storm. It's called a 'Phantom tempest,' although from what I remember, it's mostly just heavy rain."
"You've seen this before?"
He nodded, before hopping to sit on the railing.
"All I remember is what granny said and that it kept me up all night."
"If it's some sort of Phantom storm," she said showing Rinne the water on her hands, "why is it wet?"
"Well," he began, "normal humans aren't aware of it. They can't even see the clouds. Shinigami aren't able to get wet to begin with, so the only ones really susceptible are those humans who see the supernatural, like you."
"And Tsubasa-kun?"
"And me if I were to take my haori off. If I did, and I went out in this, I'd get soaked to the bone, and no one would be able to tell. They'd just wonder why I was shivering. They can't see any traces of the storm, even wet clothes."
Sakura crossed her arms and leaned against the railing.
"You've seen this before? When?"
"Granny said it comes about once a decade. It's like what's left of flood that wiped out everything in this area a thousand or so years ago."
He paused.
"It's actually a pretty awful time for shinigami. This storm separates the worlds everywhere that the clouds cover. No shinigami can pass through, spirits either. Everyone seems to have bad luck, because evil spirits reign with no shinigami to keep them in line. The shinigami stuck on this side have to trap the evil spirits they come across in rattraps, and try to keep ghosts calm and wait for the storm to pass," he showed her the trap he'd been carrying under his arm.
Sakura frowned. "So I guess the spirit way isn't working either."
He shook his head. "No luck," before realizing the meaning in her words.
"Oh, do you need to get home or somewhere?"
She shrugged. "I was aiming to get back home without getting too drenched, but I guess I can't wait until then."
"H-hey," he jumped off the railing and removed his haori, "wear this, you won't get wet that way. I'll walk you home."
She looked at the haori before declining his offer.
"Please, wear it."
"You'll get soaked if you go out without it."
"And so will you. I couldn't forgive myself if you got sick. It was my family's fault you're in this predicament to begin with."
She waved no, but he kept insisting, almost pleading with those somber red eyes of his.
Finally, she broke down and took the garment from him, slipping her arms into the sleeves.
"You really don't have to do this Rokudo-kun."
They stepped out into the unnatural rain, and Sakura saw that she had, in fact, gained the same astral body as Rinne. He, however, was getting poured on by the buckets.
"Thank you," she whispered, turning from him, hoping the incessant drone of the rain would cover her words. She felt very shy in that instant for some reason. The pair walked side by side wordlessly; not that either would hear a conversation if they wanted to start one.
They stepped under her porch overhang and Sakura removed the haori, looking back at Rinne. She saw him closely for the first time; he looked more like a sad red mop in a tracksuit than a boy right now.
She gave him a pitying look. He noticed this and averted his eyes, pushing his sopping bangs from his forehead with one hand and holding out the other to collect his haori. She handed it back to him, and he turned away and waved goodbye half-heartedly.
She bit her lip.
"R-Rokudo-kun!" She grabbed his wrist. He turned his head to face her, crimson locked onto bronze for a brief moment.
"Thank you."
Rinne froze for a second. Sakura's petite voice had stalled the motors in his brain. When he regained his ability to think he just nodded at her, his heart in his throat had effectively cut off his ability to speak.
'How does she do that to me?' He thought as he saw the inside light dim from the closing door. He unclenched his muscles; the ones he had clenched in an attempt to keep his blush from spreading past the point of obviousness. He shivered the instant he loosened, however. He was rather cold, so he put on his haori to make the trip home.
Then he sneezed.
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