Title: Starlight
Rating: Rated T.
Pairings: Mazume (Mamura x Suzume).
Genre: Romance.
Summary: During their first true interaction, Mamura could swear he saw something sparkle in her hair.
Regarding Q&A: Any questions regarding the story can be asked via PM or review.
Beta: N/A.
Warnings: None.
Category: Hirunaka no Ryūsei.
Uploaded: November 24th, 2013
(Section Break)
She was wearing his sweater, hiding under makeshift shelter from the rainstorm that pelted the roof and ground. She was missing a shoe, her seat just a foot or so from the plastic side of the resting stop. Her eyes were fluttering, attempting in vain to stay open, and he wasn't sure what to do. She had been acting faint from what she believed to be hunger, and the light-headed dizziness accompanying it was no farce.
He was cold, to be honest - the chill of the rainfall and breeze stung his bare arms, leaving upturned mounds in their wake as its cold dug into him. She had been attempting to reinvigorate herself, but she began swaying while her face was a dark shade of scarlet, and soon her eyelids clamped shut and she tipped to the side, circumstantially falling with her head soon leaned onto his shoulder. He had frozen momentarily, the blood pumping within his his veins being flushed up and into his face, before begrudgingly standing and sliding her limp body against his back so they could return to their class.
It was harder for him at that point, he believed, as he could feel more and more of her touching him. Her arm was draped around his shoulder, as that was the only way to support her, but the warmth of her body pressed against his was staggering. He begged her to pull herself together, to stand back up and spare him from the odd sensation within his stomach that was transported to his face, but her consciousness continually faded and soon she was out cold. The only thing keeping her up from being sprawled across the wet ground was him, and a strange feeling enveloped him before a person calling his name was able to extract him from the odd situation.
He was surprised the owner of the voice had found them, and the surprise was likely to have shown on his face. He ended up mumbling their saviour's title, and together the two males were able to pull his comatose classmate up the cliff they had been stuck below. She was heavier than he had expected, and he strained his arms in effort before his teacher was able to pull her up. It took a second too long, he felt, for the man on top of the cliff to begin hoisting him up, and the moment he was safely on the grass his teacher spun around and shouted an odd nickname then ran over to the girl. He seemed overly-worried, although perhaps the situation warranted the panic.
She asked the male an odd question, and he replied in a way that made only a certain amount of sense, and seconds later she had fainted once more, causing the teacher to sigh. He bent down and pushed her onto his back, standing up and making sure he was carrying her securely. Her arms were laid over his shoulders, and the other student within the vicinity breathed lightly to himself as the rainfall fell all around. The pair of males began walking, and the water trapped on his female's classmate hair steadily dripped down onto the dirt. The rain constantly kept it damp, and at some point he swore it glimmered in the sunlight, despite the sun itself not being there.
He looked away from her, wanting to focus on walking through the forest without stumbling on something, but another glitter caught his eye. Normally he would have ignored it, but sunshine was still barred from the landscape, and he was curious as to what had caused the sparkle. He moved his eyes back to her lean figure, and sucked in an unnoticeable breath.
Coruscating dots had appeared in her entire head of hair, gleaming merrily and glinting brightly. They were small, nearly specks, and he found himself enraptured by the view. They reminded him of stardust, glittering within the dark cloudless sky at night, and he blinked once to see if the illusion would fade. It did not, and he continued to stare at her as her hair glistered during the overcast day. It scintillated magnificently, shining with every step his bland teacher took, and he found himself unable to look away as his strides slowed and his breathing died off.
The stars reminded him of poetry, almost, he thought, and perhaps such a description fit. They melted and swayed with the soft waves her hair carried, and they flickered on and off almost like a light switch was being turned off and on repeatedly. Rich and meaningful words were the only that could narrate such a sight, and even then they seemed to do no justice. She was shimmering within the rainfall that sparked chills on his skin, and he noticed that the temperature he felt at that moment was akin to a sunny day in a greenery-filled children's park. Something, someone, called his name, and he found himself no longer moving while the white dots grew continuously smaller. He attempted jogging to catch up with the view, to inspect closer the animated celestial bodies captive in her tresses, but his legs refused to budge, and soon the sight was shattered by a hand waved in front of his face and an inquiry of his well-being.
He replied with the fact that he was fine, and in a spark of curiosity fuelled by some sort of desire he took a glimpse at the student lain limply on his teacher's shoulders. Disappointment welled up in him as he saw that no longer was her hair the universe laid out for all too see, but the small twinkle he noticed as the man in front of him turned back towards the lodge the class was staying at was proof enough that what he had seen was not just a trick of the eyes. No, it certainly had been real, and he wondered on the rest of the way back if it had anything to do with the fever he was most likely developing from the storm pelting his shoulders.
As they arrived back at his class's shelter for the night, the female still held by his teacher, he realised that he was longing for rain to fill the sky once more. He yearned to see the galaxies enclosed within her dark strands another time, and if precipitation was the only means to do so, then he would wait until outside being hit by the drizzle until he caught a cold so bad it hospitalised him. That much he felt was confirmed, at least, as he saw her being carried to her room to rest. If there was a second chance available to witness a miracle like that once more, then certainly he would like to be there to see it.
The rosiness within his visage had nothing to do with a decision like that, of course.
(Section Break)
*quietly puts away thesaurus*
*silently adds the word "ryuusei" so this turns up on google*
Cover made by mangastories on Tumblr.
Speaking of said cover, that is what inspired me to write this. I wasn't feeling it until I got to the cliff part, but at that point, I was way too far gone to write anything else other than these particular words. And by God, am I in love with this pairing. Someone, please, send help.
In any case, if you review, virtual cookies. If not, that's fine too. As long as you like the story, everything's all good!
Shameless advertising: I have another Hirunaka no Ryūsei fanfiction called Opacity, if you enjoyed this one. It, too, is Mazume. I also have several other one-shots, all of them currently parody, for One Piece and Naruto, if those fandoms are in your area of expertise, hehe.