Disclaimer: I do not own the characters nor the series they are from. However, I do own the words and graphic on this page seeing as I edited it. :P
He told her how he disliked the rain,
and she laughed with a vow to heal old wounds.
x0x
"Ne, Kurosaki-kun, isn't this great?" With a laugh and twirl, the healer was drenched already. Only moments ago did it start raining and the affect it had on the substitute was very clear. He was not over thrilled with the situation.
"Yeah, I guess," came his reply, tone annoyed.
The umbrella was mostly held over himself rather than her, but it was difficult enough to keep Orihime under it. She preferred to be out in it, jumping in the puddles, twirling, reliving her childhood, and he disliked every moment of it. It only brought back the memories of a darker time. How could he tell her? It was very difficult to even linger on the thought alone. His mother…
Pausing, the young woman turned, doe eyes peering up at him. "Kurosaki-kun, are you alright?" Inoue was used to that ever present scowl that lingered on his lips, but this time it was deeper than usual, chocolate depths clouded with remorse.
Are you alright? The question echoed within a chaotic mind, hands now stuffed into deep pockets. What kind of lie could he tell her this time? The question echoed within a chaotic mind, hands now stuffed into deep pockets. What kind of lie could he tell her this time? Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Even if he were to say that, she would worry anyway; that's just how she worked. "Yeah, I'm fine, Inoue. I've just… Never been one to like rain is all." His features would soften then, ghost of a smile on thin lips. It was partial truth, and when the time necessarily came- he would tell her the rest of the story.
"Oh?" Blinking, the princess was quiet for a moment, pondering his response but then laughter bubbled forth. "Kurosaki-kun, you're silly! The rain is not so bad! It's good for a lot of things. Like… Uhm… The plants? And it cools things down after a hot day! And they can wash away a person's worries… It even connects the heavens and the earth.." Now she was the one that felt silly. Here she was, just rambling away in front of the man whom held her heart without even realizing it. Now flustered slightly, she waved her hands in dismissal, "A-ah! Gomen, Kurosaki-kun! I didn't mean to ramble off like that! Ehehe…"
There was something in the way she spoke so tenderly that warmed his heart, and in those words he found a certain truth. While he did have rather… Dark moments in the rain, it wasn't always meant to be so. There were goodthings that came from it, and one of those was being caught in it with the woman before him. She had saved him on more than one occasion with her healing abilities, but this? This touched a place where no one ever had before, and she had stepped in so easily without even realizing it.
A hand was lifted to ruffle her hair, a wide, relieved smile on his lips. She had stopped the rain. "No you're right, Inoue. About all of that… Thank you."
With a racing heart, hands would clasp behind her back as a beaming smile fell across her lips. "You don't have to thank me Kurosaki-kun!" Your smile is payment enough…