In A Rainy Day
"Damn…" murmured a boy in a red t-shirt. He then pulled his jacket upwards as the rain got heavier. His eyes were gazing tiredly, looking at his blurry reflection on the wild surface of water. He closed his eyelids and took a deep breath. I'm sorry, Father. But things are just your fault, okay? So I'm not going to follow your words, no matter what.
He shivered as the coldness of the rain sunk into his limbs. Huddling himself beside the pool, he finally felt very lonely and decided to go home fast. I wonder what Juudaime is doing right now… He would accept me. A thought of going to Tsuna's house occurred in his head, therefore, without hesitation, he got up and started walking away from the river and approached the road.
I'm not going to forgive him no matter what… never.
He closed his eyes as he walked along the pavements of the street. His vision was blurry as he tried to look straight ahead on the road. He sniffed, and then slapped himself. What the heck are you doing, stupid Gokudera! He rose his head up towards the sky and let the rain wash away his tears. He smiled silently as he tried to remember his days with Tsuna, Yamamoto, Reborn and the others, forgetting his dilemma. Forget Italy, Gokudera, Japan has accepted you.
Up ahead was a small grocery store, only a few meters away from Tsuna's house. Ah, nearly! He walked faster while the splashes of the water sounded louder than before. He walked past the door and… Damn. Not the stupid woman!
He took of his jacket and used it to cover his head, running across the street. There was one thing he forgot to do: run quietly. A young girl with a dark ponytail lifted her head and saw a movement outside the store. She gave a salutation towards the woman at cashier, grabbed her belongings and took her umbrella. She opened it outside the store and looked around. Haru knows that person… but who?
Gokudera breathed in relief after he took a sharp turn after the store. Got away from that one… He then kept on walking, even when he realized that the road would waste a longer time to go to Tsuna's house. He only shrugged as he imagined the ponytailed-girl inside the store running after him. He wouldn't want that to happen.
There he is!
"Gokudera-san!" shouted Haru. She held on to her umbrella tighter as the wind got harder. "Gokudera-san!"
Gokudera, who was a few meters away from the girl, cursed to himself. He took an immediate turn to the left, trying to hide from the girl between the dark shadows of the alleyways. He wouldn't enjoy it very much if Haru interrupted his conversation with Tsuna later.
"I saw you in the alleyway over there, Gokudera-san!"
"No," breathed Gokudera. Now what am I suppose to do? Baka. BAKA. Why can't you get away at times like this? What if a real enemy is chasing you while you are with Juudaime! The enemy will find you and Juudaime. This is bad, Gokudera. If you let that stupid woman find you, how can you protect Juudaime! You know exactly who Juudaime likes, and you exactly how he hates it when Haru is gets too hyper and –
"Gokudera-san," said a voice between heavy gasps. "You've ran so quickly." Haru was trying to catch her breaths as she looked at Gokudera with an anxious look. "Why are you running away from Haru?"
Gokudera was speechless. Oh no… He couldn't think of anything now that the 'stupid woman' was infront of him. No… He glared at the girl who suddenly looked confused. He ignored the girl's face and walked pass her without giving any signs that he saw her. Haru knew this very well, so she pulled out her right foot and stopped the boy from running any further. She stood in front of him with blazing eyes.
"Stop it!" Haru was furious. "Stop running in the rain Gokudera-san! You will get sick!"
Gokudera looked shocked by her words for a split second. "Etch." He then changed his expression back to his usual cold face and pushed the girl out of his way. Haru wouldn't budge.
"You should've turn left, Gokudera-san! I know that you're getting away from Haru, but why?" demanded Haru. "Answer Haru, Gokudera-san! And don't say 'etch' to Haru!"
"Shut up, stupid woman! I need to talk to Juudaime now! I don't have time to handle things like this!" shouted Gokudera back.
"I'm going there too, and you're not going anywhere without an umbrella, you know that?"
"I don't care!" roared Gokudera, pushing his way out of Haru.
"Gokudera-san!" called Haru. "I know that you're not thinking about it right now, but what if Tsuna needs you when you're sick? Who's going to protect him, Gokudera-san? Answer Haru!"
Gokudera stopped on his way to Tsuna. He thought about it.
He thought about it again.
He turned his head towards Haru and scowled, "So what should I do? Use your umbrella and leave you here? That'll make Tsuna worry more, won't it?"
Haru went red. Gokudera just realized what he had said. Oh no, don't tell me that she thinks that Tsuna likes a stupid woman like her? He went back towards her in giant steps. His steps suddenly became unsure when a thought passed inside his brain, did that sound like I care about her, even just a bit? He decided to ignore the thought and continued walking. He grabbed the umbrella from Haru's hand leaving her speechless with burning cheeks.
Is he… Is he going to walk –
"Don't go thinking anything stupid now," he snapped. "I'm only doing this since Juudaime needs my help, get that? And I'll make sure you won't do anything stupid on the way there because I don't want Juudaime to worry about you."
Haru's cheek felt hotter than before. She was embarrassed because of two major things: her false perception and the fact that she was being teased. "Hahi – s-shut up, Gokudera-san! I know that from the start, and don't go telling me to stop doing stupid things just because you're smarter than Haru!"
"The fact is, stupid woman, that I am way smarter than you, so I have more rights to tell you to shut up," said Gokudera with a threatening look. Haru shivered after saying another 'Hahi', and decided to ignore the white-haired guy who bluffs a lot beside her.
The couple walked slowly in the rain without facing each other for a quite long time. You can actually guess that both of their faces were red. Neither of them was interested in saying anything, and it seemed that Gokudera was cursing himself from the second he took the umbrella. Gokudera… This is definitely going to be your last time doing this. You look like a FOOL, idiot!
After some random mumbles under their breaths, Gokudera and Haru's faces were lit up once again as they saw a familiar house in front of them. Their eyes widened as they saw a shadow darkening the windows and footsteps getting louder from the house. Gokudera was obviously looked more panicked rather than Haru. As the knob of the door turned and gave a 'click' sound, Gokudera pushed the umbrella handle towards Haru's hand with Haru giving a slightly surprised expression. Gokudera moved a step away from Haru and got ready for his best smile ever for Tsuna.
A boy with spiky brown hair greeted the two with a broad smile which made Haru's cheek redder.
"Hello Gokudera-kun, Haru-chan! What are you doing outside in the rain? Come in! Yamamoto-kun and Kyoko-chan are inside too, you know," welcomed Tsuna towards his two friends. He looked a little shocked by looking at the sight of the two. Gokudera gave a 'it's-nothing-Juudaime' look and Tsuna smiled again.
"Oi, Tsuna, don't you think it was a little weird for Gokudera and Haru to get along easily?" whispered Yamamoto to Tsuna immediately after Gokudera entered Tsuna's room.
"Yeah, something must have happened out there," replied Tsuna with a confused look, thinking about the situation.
"Ah, yes. Something must have happened out in the rain," said Yamamoto, followed by a giggle. Gokudera gave him a sharp look, and Yamamoto giggled louder.
Haru, who was in the kitchen with Kyoko, stole a glance at her wet umbrella near the door. She smiled silently as she continued mixing the ingredients for bitter sweet brownies.