9
Symphony for the rain
The rain pelting against the window. The delicate grey sky creeped through the merging and separating streams running down the window. It had a way of giving her body a glow. Radiating the same lack of effort to shine. It was such an endearing sight to me. Maybe because they were both fragile. If I were ever to touch that sky, I bet it feels like her skin. At first cold to the touch and hard to breathe from the affection. Soaking in the moment, touch becomes taste as a hot breath of surrender against the surface, both physical and emotional.
It rained for a week.
Boss and Nagi were pushed against a corner of the train. It was jammed pack. She was against the wall, Boss standing in front of her, creating a timid human barricade. Every abrupt stop scrambled the people around. Boss held fast to his bag, but was shoved foward. Nagi tried to squirm back, further into her small corner. "Boss." Her eye scanned the amount of people around with anxiety. The doors were a struggle away. They could miss their stop. It was only a few more till theirs.
Boss tried to stay calm, but a bigger business man shoved past him trying to make the stop. Boss stumbled up against Nagi. The train sped again. The screeching tracks crashed him closer to her.
He inhaled and she exhaled. Her pale cheeks the cold of winter. His eyes the warmth of summer.
He quickly backed away, even if only a few inches of space were given. "Are you alright, Nagi?" He stuttered out trying to look away and avoid the forced intimacy.
They both gasped eyecontact. They grew orbs of recollection, before fading to a sad departed stare through eachother. Boss readjusted the school bag strap over his shoulder. "...Sorry, I didn't...um." Not able to properly voice his thoughts. Thoughts processed with emotions, almost impossible to explain with words.
Nagi's gaze lowered to the floor, but her emotional void remained. She rose one hand from the grip she had on the handle of her bag. Her delicate fingers made the effort, hesitated, then attempted again. Boss glared at the index finger and thumb squeezing the cuffed wrist of his uniform sleeve. He reciprocated by breaking her grip. She gasped with hurt, until she felt his fingers interlock her lonely hand. It was faint, as she squeezed back in relief. Boss and Nagi didn't admit to the action. It was an illusion after all. He stared at the window behind her as the non-existant Namimori sunrise setting passed by. The sky was pure gray. The rain, a filter of the truth. A morning mist washed away. The empty gaze held as a loner was with the resonating.
'The rain... it was the same, right.'
Tsuna and Chrome made it to Namimori high, a little roughed up, but nonetheless arrived. Upon reaching the wall around the gates of schooll, they ran into a ninja?
"H-Haru?" His president was trying to climb into the perimeter of school.
"Hahi?!" With a hint of dread. She had both her hands and one knee over the wall. The rain mopped her hair, the perky swirl ponytail drenched. Students were passing by under their umbrelllas, taking pictures of the recognizable air-head damsel. Everyone knew it was her. It didn't matter if she had a makeshift mask from a green cloth. She was going through all this to avoid Tsuna. She was still feeling guilty. She made a last ditch effort and flung her body over the wall.
Tsuna paled. "Haru wait! The grass might be muddy and sl-"
They heard a loud thud on the otherside.
They rushed around the school, into the gates and towards the side of the school she fell. She was struggling to stand. She dropped to her lap with a defeated huff.
"Haru what were you doing?" Tsuna facepalmed. His intuition guided him to the answer. 'But that's a bit overboard to avoid me.'
"Oh Tsuna-san, Chrome-chan. H-Hey!" A truly casual voice.
Tsuna sweatdropped. 'She's avoiding the subject and pretending we didn't catch her acting a fool.
Haru tried to stand again but couldn't add pressure to her foot and collapsed, trying to take a step.
Tsuna sighed. "Chrome I'll see you in class. I'll take Haru to the nurse's office." 'I need to see Shamal anyways.'
"Hahi! I don't need help Tsuna-san, I'm fine." She tried to stand up again. She didn't want to be stuck with him. It was awkward.
Chrome nodded, listening to Boss. "I hope you feel better Haru." And abandoned her.
Haru cringed. She didn't want to be left alone with the source of her worry. Tsuna squatted down. Haru fidgeted at his bored stare.
"Why are you avoiding me? It's supposed to be the other way around."
"Ara? Ofcourse I wasn't Tsuna-san. Why would you think that?"
Tsuna ignored her question. He took off the headphones around his neck. He grabbed the earmuffs with 27 etched. Haru grew curious, until his hands were besides her cheeks with his signature headphones. She was about to ask why he was so close. He placed them over her head and ears. They closed with a fluffy warmth. She blinked for a few moments. She didn't hear any music. But Tsuna always had his headphones on.
"It's what I do to avoid people."
She felt like a huge fool, yet also relief. Tsuna wasn't acting out of character. He was actually being slightly nicer. "Wow Tsuna-san you're an expert at loneliness. I would of never thought of something so simple."
He ignored her unintentional insult of a complement. "So you were avoiding me." She dropped her jaw. He caught her and reeled her in. He smirked at her 'deer caught in the headlights' gaze. "Come on." He draped one of her arms over his shoulder and supported her up.
It was quiet. A familiar quiet. She had to atleast acknowledge it, for the both of them. "Thank you, Tsuna-san."
"Don't thank me. Shamal is going to have a field day with you."
"Hahi! Tsuna-san, you are the worst!" Smacking his chest. He chuckled with a no good laugh. She tried to scowl but ended up laughing with him.
"Shamal can you take care-" Tsuna casually busted into his room.
"I don't treat men." His automatic response.
Tsuna nodded. "OK, come on Haru, let's-" In a heartbeat he was tending to her. "...Oi. Atleast show some humility." Tsuna deadpanned.
"How did my little angel damage her cute ankle? It's sprained." His lovesick face creeped Haru out to the extreme! "Let me kiss it to make it better." Puckering his lips.
"Nooooo!"
"Good luck Haru." Tsuna was about place to his headphones back on and head to class.
Her arm shot to his hand, stopping his attempt to leave. "Wait, you can't leave!" She didn't want to be alone with this pervert.
He rose an amused eyebrow. He didn't want to admit it, but teasing her was pretty fun. "But didn't you specifically say something about me watching? I remember something along the lines of, 'Tsuna-san you're the worst! Pervert! You would probably spy.'" He even went as far as copying her voice and the way she covered her self.
Tsuna swrestdropped at the opposite reaction. Shamal and Haru had puzzled looks of horror at his performance. "Don't ever do that again." Shamal threatened. He had shivers from his girlish voice.
Tsuna grew embarrassed cheeks. "It was a joke." He mumbled, back to his monotone voice.
Haru thought it was slightly adorable how he used this loner persona as a defense mechanism. He was shyly-coldly avoiding eyecontact, his head slightly faced away from them at the ground. She grew a sad realization. It was a defense mechanism for a reason. She thought of the baseball game and how dependent he was on it after he saw Kyoko and Yamamoto together.
Shamal began to wrap her ankle up. Tsuna was sitting on a bed across them. He was bored but Haru asked him to stay. He didn't want to leave either. It was in good conscience, too. Shamal was a great assassin and doctor, but also a great pervert!
Tsuna stared at the gloomy sky. "Ne, didn't you know rain makes everythings more slippery? You should be more aware, President." The sarcasm. The uncaring sarcasm of caring.
She flung her school bag. Smack right across the face! "-Gwhaa!"
"Baka! It's your fault!" She shook her first menacingly.
He laid unaffected across the bed. "Ahhh. So comfy. Shamal, let me ditch class and nap."
"Letting a man sleep here is ridiculous." He ordered. "But you can take as long as you need my sweet Haru!"
"C-Creep..." In coldsweat. Haru was suddenly grateful for Tsuna-san's presence.
Tsuna tilted his head towards the window again. The lingering droplets streamed down the glass as the sky crept into his vision. His eyes were dim, hollow, memory gazing.
'Yea... exactly the same.'
