Author Notes
This is my first Air Gear fic, it is A/U, and there will be some OOC for a few characters.
Disclaimer
I don't own the rights to Air Gear; I'm just using the characters
Time of Sun and Rain
By saffir
Chapter 1: Memories
The clouds hung heavy with the weight of rain threatening to pour down. The atmosphere of Forest heights Academy was buzzing with excitement save for the threat of rain. Along the halls and corridors of the school, a blur of green and blue with blonde hair cut through the hallway. "NO RUNNING IN THE HALLS." Professor Ine called as she opened the door only to be greeted by a gust of wind as the blur flew past her.
"Fuck, I was hoping I wouldn't run into her." The young man muttered as he slowed down. "Where the hell are you Ikki?" Nobunaga had traveled through most of the school looking for Ikki or anyone from the group. He had called Ikki on his cell but there was no answer; he also tried everyone else in the group only to get the same response, no one was picking up their phone. There was one last place he hadn't checked yet, a classroom they'd only hang out in if they wanted to get away from people.
The room was dead silent considering the number of people inside the room. Nue sat on the sill of a window watching the cloud loom over the hillside, while Akito sat in the desk next to Mikan zoned out. Simca sat on the windowsill next to Buccha. Ringo leaned up against the wall between the windowsills occupied by Nue and Simca. Agito leaned against the back wall near his brother staring at the ground. Buccha, with several uneaten bags of chips, sat on the desk in front of Mikan, with Ume sitting cross-legged on the desk next to Buccha.
The door to the room flung open but didn't bother anyone. "What the fuck guys, I've been calling all of you to let you know you have the stage in an hour and a half." Nobunaga glanced around the room and noticed that Ikki wasn't with them. "By the way, where's Ikki?" As if Nobunaga snapped everyone in the room out of a trance, the group began to look around and finally realized he wasn't with them. "Check the garden. They'd hang out there." Ringo replied staring at the floor.
Nobunaga could help but notice the weight of the air in the room, "Come on guys, just because it'll probably rain for the spring festival, doesn't mean it's the end of the world." Everyone's eyes dropped downward to the floor causing Nobunaga to feel awkward. Sighing, Nobunaga closed the room door and headed for the garden.
*****
Ikki sat against large rock and stared off into the clouds, when a familiar set of words haunted his ears. "Rain is not the worst thing in the world Ikki, have you ever danced in it?" Ikki simply sighed and closed his eyes as the very first drop of rain fell.
-Flash-
His sweaty hands clutched the steering wheel, as his heart pounded a mile a minute. Ikki pressed down on the gas pedal even harder, he didn't care if he had gotten a ticket.
-Flash-
The sound echoed in his ears, his heart felt as if it had stopped. He ran even faster now, his legs carried him as fast as they could down the pathway to the front door. Completely focused on his destination, he couldn't hear the voices calling out to him.
-Flash-
Sora wrapped his arm around his little brother, dragging him out of the room. Ikki stared at his hands in disbelief as Sora tried to get Ikki to focus on him.
-Flash-
Ikki's eyes snapped open when an arm touched his shoulder. "Dude, I've called your cell I don't know how many times, you've got the stage for rehearsal in an hour and a half." Nobunaga said crouched down. "You really shouldn't be out here unless you want to get yourself sick."
Ikki got up and headed over to the nearby conservatory without saying a word to Nobunaga. Puzzled by his behavior, Nobunaga began to follow him. "Nobunaga" a voice called out. Nobunaga turned around to see Ringo and the rest of the group. "Don't be upset if Ikki doesn't speak to you today." Ringo continued as they walked into the conservatory. "He's just thinking back to a time when even the threat of a rainy day couldn't bring us down." The group sat in the walkway of the dry conservatory, with Ikki sitting behind a pillar. "It all began the summer of our freshman to sophomore year when we met him."
Nobunaga inquired with his head tilted "him?"
"Kazu" Ikki answered from the other side of the pillar.