A/N: My god it's been a long time! I'm so sorry guys. I've honestly been trying. I have like, five possible chapters for this all half-written, but I just couldn't get them to work. Then, finally, this idea sprung out of an unrelated ZLS drabble I was writing (a drabble I'll soon be publishing when it's finished). I'm really pleased with this one. October's gonna be a super duper busy month for me, but I'm gonna try my best to get another chapter out in November, and then maybe, MAYBE something for Christmas. I had an idea to re-write my 'Thinking Of You This Christmas' story, which is one of my earliest fanfics (and boy can you tell it), so I might do that, or I might try something new. Who knows! Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter :) thank you for sticking with me! Your support brings me more happiness than words could ever say.
Chapter 7: The Thunder in My Soul
There's something about a rainy day that makes you wanna turn your face up at the sky, God's piss pouring down your cheeks, and say, "Fuck you, mother nature."
Me and nature have never got along. Not even when I was alive. Every year that bitch would give me hayfever, and every year I'd make a point of pumping as much exhaust as possible into her nice clean air in return. We had a mutual understanding: 'Fuck me? Fuck you'. For most of my life the balance tipped just a little bit towards 'fuck you'. Then, when I decided to play that game of chicken up on Mount Kagamiyama, the scale swung all the way over into 'fuck me'. I had my revenge, though. The explosion my petrol tank made when it crashed into the pretty little forest down below started one bitch of a fire. Took a whole army of fire trucks to put that fucker out — or so the internet tells me.
I don't hate the rain. Not like Ai hates it. A bit of rain can be refreshing. The little shower I got when I went out to buy ice cream last week? Not a problem. But the motherfucker on display tonight… now that's what you call a torrential downpour.
Sakura asks me, "Do you think Kotaro-san will still want to shoot the music video tonight?"
I watch a river of rainwater drift down the road, "He ain't dragging me out into that mess, I don't care what he wants."
"I don't know…" she's got a wistful look in her eyes, "It might be nice to dance around with cute umbrellas. Have you ever seen Singin' in the Rain?"
She asks it so earnestly, as if I'd actually know what it is, that I can't help but chuckle, "Can't say I have."
Staring out of the waterlogged window she replies, "It's a musical. There's this scene where the main character dances down the street in the rain. It always looked kinda magical."
I resist the urge to ask if it made her wet, "If it's rain you want, you've certainly got it today."
"No…" she says, looking just a little dejected, "My raincoat isn't very cute. It wouldn't feel special."
"The fuck you talking about? Your raincoat's plenty cute."
She doesn't reply. The rattle of raindrops on glass fills the silence. Then finally, "Th-Thank you Saki-chan."
I shrug, "Just telling it like it is. You're cute, Sakura. Cute as fuck. Yeah the coat ain't nothing special, but it doesn't have to be. So if you wanna go and prance around in the rain, then do it. What do you have to fear? We're zombies. We can't get ill."
She laughs nervously, "It's not getting ill that's the problem so much as—"
I quirk an eyebrow at her, "You don't wanna look stupid."
"Well…"
The awkward look on her face tells me everything I need to know. I grab her arm, "Come on."
"S-Saki-chan!?"
"You wanna go out in the rain, don't ya? So let's do it together."
We're in the hall. She complains but doesn't stop me. I'm not exactly holding onto her arm all that tightly.
"You don't have to join me," she says with all the force of a sleepy kitten, "I can go by myself. Or just stay indoors or something…"
I grab our coats. Mustard yellow, same for both of us, "Uh-huh."
"You don't like the rain."
"Don't hate it."
"But—"
I yank the door open so hard that it slams against the wall. That brings Shades out.
"Are you out of your minds?" he scolds us, "You'll get drenched!"
I gaze out at the wall of water machine-gunning down into the yard, "Correction. We'll get wet."
"That's the same—"
Sakura's hand drags me into the yard, and the end of his sentence is cut off by the rain's all-encompassing roar. The house disappears before my eyes, lost in needles of water as the storm picks up. I feel my feet sinking into every puddle. My shoes are definitely fucked now, even more than before. Through the raindrop haze I see the fire in her eyes. She's still holding my hand. I pull her in close, "Let's dance!"
I feel like the world's happiest rubber duck as I dance, bright yellow, beside Sakura. We twirl around in the yard, leaping into puddles with both feet, laughing like maniacs. The rain hammers me hard enough to give me a headache — mother nature's way of letting me know where I stand. But I don't give a fuck. The bitch can batter me all she wants. I'm an immortal zombie, I've already won the only game that matters.
Sakura's like a little kid, "I'm siiiiinging in the rain!"
I can hear her but I can't see her.
"Oi, Sakura!" I call, just in time to walk straight into her fist. I go down clutching my nose. Sakura stops singing.
"Saki-chan!? Was that you?"
Sakura, a yellow-clad angel, appears over me. As she leans down she protects me from the worst of nature's liquid fury.
I'm still holding my nose, "Damn girl, you sure got a punch on ya!"
She looks worried, "Are you okay?"
"Pfft! This?" I say, pointing at my nose with a grin, "This is nothing. One time I got hit with a whole-ass crowbar. Shit nearly broke my skull in half."
I can tell that my anecdote doesn't ease her mind.
"Sakura, seriously, don't worry. Though…" I notice that she's now on her knees in the mud, "…you've probably wrecked your pajamas."
Now she notices too, "Oh no…!"
I smirk, "Here, let me fix that!"
I grab some mud and smear it over my yellow coat, turning it sludge brown, "Now we match!"
Sakura's horrified, "Saki-chan!"
"Hey, you're the one that wanted to dance in the rain!"
"But—"
"But nothing! Embrace it!" I grab some more mud and fling it at her chest, "Looks good on you!"
She scowls, "You've ruined my coat…"
I notice her arm move, "Sakura…?"
Before I can react a fistful of mud flies at my face. I grab a clump of my own and climb to my feet.
"I'm impressed!"
Letting the rain wash the gunk off my eyelids I slap some mud in her general direction. I hear her run away.
"Come back here, Sakura!" I yell, then a cannonball of mud punches me in the gut, "Fuck! Where did you learn to throw like that?"
"I'm covered in mud!" she cries, though she doesn't sound that annoyed.
I repeat her line from before, "I'm siiiiinging in the rain!"
A mud bullet flicks off of my knee. I crouch down and scoop up my next round, "Alright girl, this time I'm not gonna hold ba—"
Mud in my mouth. I reel back, stunned by the force of the blow.
Jesus christ, she ain't playing around!
I lob my blob of dirt into the void. Through the rain's constant hiss I hear, "Ow!"
"You earned that one!"
Back and forth we go, flinging mud at each other like it's the Gatalympics, till finally she chases me down.
"Saki-chan, wait!" she giggles, "I can't run anymore!"
I rest my hands on my knees and sigh in exhaustion, "Man, haven't had that much fun in a long time!"
She bumps into my ass and almost trips over her own feet, but I catch her just in time.
"You dumbass," I smile, looking into her ruby eyes, "At least watch where you're running."
Suddenly she goes quiet. I can't read the look on her face. She's staring at me.
"Sakura?"
She shakes her head like she just got woken from a dream, "W-We should go inside. The others will be waiting for us."
I guide her back to the house, "They shoulda joined us. Surprised Tae didn't jump in halfway."
Yugiri answers the door, "Did you two have fun?"
She asks it honestly. I answer honestly, "Most fun I've had in years."
Sakura just nods. Yugiri replies, "Wonderful. I've got some spare clothes for you in the living room. Saki-han, Kotaro-han told me you'll have to make your own way to the radio station tonight. You still have your bike, don't you?"
My heart falls through my ass, "The radio…? That's tonight? Holy SHIT!"
I sprint back into the yard, into the rain.
Sakura calls out, "Saki-chan, wait! You don't have your makeup!"
I pause, ankle-deep in mud. Then I get an idea.
"And that, my dear listeners, is why no one in the office is willing to come within ten feet of me."
Lily glares at me from across the broadcast table. Even Tae doesn't want anything to do with me. With a mud-caked hand I pick up one of my many fan letters.
"Dear Number Two… I wrote to you before and took your advice, but the girl I like still hasn't noticed my feelings for her. I know I should be up front, but I just don't have the confidence—"
I put the letter down without finishing it, "Listen, with a girl this dense, you gotta grab her by the balls. Or by whatever. You know what I mean."
Lily isn't sure how to feel about my statement, and I'm not sure either.
"If you can't tell her, show her! Push her to the ground and just, get on top of her!"
Lily interrupts me, "No, please don't do that. At least not without asking first."
I pinch the bridge of my nose, "Yeah, what she said."
Lily continues, "She probably wouldn't realise why you were pushing her down anyway, if she's as much of an idiot—" she looks at me, "—as you say."
I ignore Lily's unexplained snark, "There's more than one way to make an impact. How about a kabedon? You haven't gotta push her down for that. Just… dramatically smack your hand against the wall. You know, like cornering her. But don't corner her."
Jeez why the fuck is this sounding so complicated?
I sigh, "What I'm trying to say is, be direct. You ain't gotta, I dunno, wrestle her in the mud to get your message across, you know? I bet she thinks you're real cool. I bet she sees you in ways you don't even realise. But if you never take a chance, you'll never know. If you ask me, I reckon your friend's sitting there right now thinking about how awesome you are, just waiting for you to come along and say 'Hey, I like you'. So do it. Go for it. It's better to regret something you did, than something you didn't do."
Lily's mouth is wide open in shock.
I give her a dirty look, "What?"
She refuses to explain.
Sakura's waiting in the hall for me, as always. I greet her with a smile and a gentle tap on the shoulder.
"Thanks for always waiting up for me. Seeing your face is how I know I'm home."
But as I walk away something snags on my mud-encrusted shirt. Her fingers.
"Saki-chan."
Her voice is serious, anxious. I let myself get turned around, "Sakura?"
She stares at me, her mouth a thin line. I notice that her arm is trembling. Behind her the door is open, letting in the howl of the wind, the roar of the rain. I see the minivan's door slide open in the distance. The others are coming.
I ask again, "Sakura? Everything alright?"
Footsteps in the hall. She releases my shirt. Lily and Tae, and Lily isn't pleased. Either to me or to Sakura she says, "I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen."
The 'he' in question barges past us, his sunglasses dripping rainwater onto the old floorboards.
"The idol industry waits for no one," he declares, then he strides into his study and closes the door with a quiet 'click'. The moment's passed. Sakura scratches the back of her head and yawns.
"I can't even remember what I was going to say," she lies, and I know she's lying.
"You sure?"
She nods, "Positive. I'll get my futon ready. It's already so late!"
"Not like you to get tired."
She laughs nervously, "All that dancing in the rain must've worn me out!"
I let her do her act, "Yeah, you're probably right. I'm feeling pretty fucked up right now myself. Gonna go hose down. You have a good night, Sakura."
She pauses halfway into the living room. There's something in her eyes, like in the yard before, but I can't put my finger on what.
"You too, Saki-chan."
Then it's just me and Lily in the hall. She gives me a look.
I grumble, "What's your problem?"
She tuts, "You're impossible."
"Excuse me?"
But she's already shuffling down the hall. I call out, "Oi! Don't walk away from me! Shrimpy!"
I kick the wall in frustration and immediately regret it, "Fuck!"
Tae copies me, "ACK!"
I hear the rain clattering down the leaves outside. That's where I'm headed now. Out back, into the rain.
Probably won't even need a hose.
I schuck off my clothes on the veranda and walk naked into the storm. God's piss rains down on me once more.
"Dunno why you're so pissed. What is it? Can't handle that I had fun at your expense?"
A gust of bitter wind tosses my hair in my face.
"Go ahead, bitch all you want. You may have fucked up our music video session today, but you couldn't fuck me, could you? And you never will, not now I'm dead. It's gonna take a lot more than a little mud to stop me, asshole."
As if in reply, a bolt of lightning races across the clouds.
"No, fuck you."
