A/N: What's this? Three chapters in one go? Whatever is happening? Got a little inspiration, that's what. Restarted a certain little anime series, can you guess which one? That's right! Attack on Titan. (No, really, made some declarations, glimpsed some spoilers, and decided it was finally time...) And that is why you have three brand new chapters. I'm procrastinating watching Eren's dumb face. (Ah-ha... I mean furious, little... child.)
Heyyy... enjoy the chapter everyone. ^^
Chapter 37. Rain
If he is to venture a guess, it seems every student and faculty member is rushing towards the Academy's entrance, as if the mightiest of warriors is about to give a grand speech. Only that isn't the case, because Black Star is standing right back here, damn it, why is everyone crowding so much? The assassin doesn't see what the big fuss is about.
Black Star lingers away from the mass of students, rolling his eyes at the wonderment around him.
"Bunch of idiots," he mutters, crossing his arms. "It's nothing special."
The assassin observes the city's population with bored eyes as they clamor and shout, spinning beneath the open sky and splashing in fresh puddles.
It's raining in Death City.
There is a coolness in the air as a heavy downpour graces the scorching, cobblestone streets, pulling cries of joy from its residents.
At the first drops earlier that day, students had called out to Sid from their window seats. Then, when the clouds rolled in, they had rushed to the open doors of the classroom, blatantly ignoring their teacher who called after them. However, these calls were halfhearted at best, because even Sid was once a man who enjoyed the rare, Nevada rain.
Now, just about every student has escaped the walls of the Academy and welcomes the fresh, damp air.
Black Star watches Kilik kick a wave of water at Fire and Thunder, setting off Ox who's caught in the crossfire.
Far to the right of the crowd, Maka has Crona by the hands and the two of them are dancing in circles, although the look on pink-haired meister's face isn't one-hundred percent carefree.
A ways to his left, Soul runs fingers through his white hair, grimacing at the dampened spikes, but there is a smirk in his eyes.
The assassin snorts in contempt. A little bit of water from the sky, and suddenly it's the next best thing since sliced bread? Big whoop. They all went on missions in places wetter than this. Hello? Seattle, anyone? Him and Tsubaki had just been on a mission with Harvard and Ox to that bustling city a couple weeks ago. It never stopped raining, and the assassin almost came down with a fever! Of course he didn't because germs are no match against him, but still!
"Friggin' fish, the lot of them," Black Star mumbles. "They all sit out there much longer, they're gonna grow fins and tails and… yeah, they'll just swim away."
"What are you going on about this time?"
The assassin lets his unamused gaze drift to his right, searching Kid up and down as the reaper suddenly appears beside him. The boy's dark hair is dry, his clothes untouched by the rain, and Black Star's frown deepens.
"What's this?" The corner of the assassin's mouth twists into a sneer. "Don't like the rain?"
"Like you're one to talk, sitting here moping," Kid responds. "You look like a child whose day at the beach was ruined. What's the matter? Lose your sandcastle to the high tide?"
His sandcastle. A mighty, little fortress once defended so bravely, only to be wiped out in a single instant.
He doesn't know how the memory has persisted for so long. Hell, he doesn't even know if it's real or just some wild tale his imagination conjured. A tale about a family of assassins and their downfall.
And the little baby left in the rain.
Black Star turns away from Kid, feels a spray of water as Patty goes racing by, and recoils with a growl.
"It's just so… bleak," he says. "It's the beginning of a shower when the damn hot water doesn't kick in, you know? But you're in a hurry to get ready for school or Stein's gonna kill you, and so you're dancing around like an idiot, freezing your ass off, getting soap in your eyes, and— Agh, it's just stupid. It's so heavy, and you can't do anything about it. Like in Needle Village, it was a pain there, too, and Tsubaki was…"
The assassin scuffs the front of his shoe against the ground, trailing off.
"I dunno, I guess it just gets me thinking about pointless stuff. I get to thinking about this memory of—Well, I don't even know if it's a memory, all I know is my old man's there, and then there's some other people, and it's just cold… Damn it, everyone here can just let it all go when the rain comes down, but then there's me. I let it all go until the rain comes down, and then suddenly I get to thinking about all these stupid things that ain't have anything to do with me anymore, and—"
Now the assassin goes completely still, realizing he's been rambling on and should really shut his mouth now. He refuses to look at Kid, but can feel the reaper's eyes on him.
"Forget it."
A silence settles between the two while the joyous commotion of the DWMA goes on around them, but everything is deafened by the falling rain that grows heavier still. Outside, the students are soaked through, laughing between shivers, but not many choose to head for the Academy.
"Oh, the answer is no, by the way."
Black Star turns to Kid, raising an eyebrow at the other boy's words and grunting in confusion.
The shinigami takes a single step forward, reaching out a hand to the wall of cold water that crashes just beyond them.
"No, I don't hate the rain," Kid repeats himself. "It's vital in helping things grow. Stubborn as they are, cacti can't survive without it. A little spiked thing, always facing off against the sun and just doing its own thing… now who does that remind you of?"
"Ha ha," Black Star responds dryly, watching as Kid takes another step into the downpour. "Dumb plant."
"Maybe so."
The young reaper sidesteps Patty who goes racing by again, calling for her meister to watch as she goes sliding across the cobblestone that has effectively become a waterslide. Other students are doing the same, skidding barefoot and laughing as a clap of thunder erupts overhead.
Kid looks over his shoulder at the assassin and blinks against the frigid cold pummeling his thin frame. His black clothes cling tightly, and he suppresses the urge to shiver, instead smiling warmly at his friend.
"Admit it, though," he calls over the thunder. "There isn't much that raises the spirits of the DWMA quite like this, now is there?"
Black Star considers this, studying his classmates before returning his attention to the drenched shinigami. Much to his chagrin, the other boy has a hand extended towards him, beckoning for the assassin to join him.
Slowly, he steps out beyond the Academy's shelter, feels the cold like a blade against the back of his neck, and goes still.
Little baby left in the rain.
There is soft laughter and an arm reaches across his shoulders, and Black Star opens his eyes, not remembering having closed them. To his right, Soul is grinning, his white hair completely flat and looking all manner of ridiculous. To his left, Tsubaki offers her sweet smile, the one that comes so easily with the tip of her head. Maka stands with Crona while Ragnarok berates his meister for being so weak to the rain. Beyond them, Patty launches herself into yet another puddle, flooding her older sister who gives a cry of indignation.
And in front of him, arms crossed while droplets fall from gold eyes, Kid stands unmoving against the torrent from above.
Black Star stares back at the reaper, nodding distractedly as Soul removes himself to assist his partner who's bickering with Ragnarok.
Kid shrugs, tightening his arms across his chest.
To the assassin, he looks like a drenched cat, absolutely pitiful but too stubborn to do a damn thing.
With a sigh, he takes another step forward, then another, ignoring the cold and icy pinpricks and all the memories it conjures.
Or figments of his imagination, who can say?
He stops just before the drowned death god, studying the way the other boy's frame trembles ever so slightly.
"Don't hate the rain, huh?" Black Star inquires, smirking in bemusement.
"Not entirely." The answer is followed up with an involuntary shiver.
Black Star snorts and returns his attention to the ever growing excitement that has yet to die down, the inexplicable wonderment of the desert souls enjoying their summer oddity.
"You're so full of shit," he mumbles.
Kid shrugs at this and sticks his tongue out, a childish action as rare as the rain itself.
"So what? Doesn't stop me or anyone else from dancing."
A/N: Love me a little glimpse into Black Star's past. This one almost echoed my old one-shot between these two, Snow is Snow.
And to anyone reading this possibly in Seattle... Wassup! ^^ Hope it's sunny now.
