I thought time was on our side,
I put in far too many years, to let this pass us by.
You see life is a crazy thing, there'll be good times and there'll be bad times,
And everything else in between.
And I don't know, which way it's gonna go.
If it's gonna be a rainy day, there's nothing we can do to make it change,
You can't pray for sunny weather, that won't stop the rain.
Feeling like you've got no place to run, I can be your shelter til the sun,
We can make this last forever, so please don't stop the rain.
Please Don't Stop The Rain by James Morrison
Chapter 14: I Need A Hug
[Outside the Main Gate]
Crimson met purple as two people noticed each other while walking towards the gate of Gakuen Alice.
A battle ensued.
"What are you doing here?"
"Same question I might ask you Imai."
"I thought you left."
"Looks like I'm back."
"Where have you been all this time?"
"Places. None of your business. You?"
"Places. None of your business, Hyuuga."
"Whatever."
"Err, Imai-san, are you ready to go in?" A nervous chauffer interrupted them. Hotaru looked at him and nodded, then she looked at Natsume again and sent him a glare as she coolly made her way to the gate, two robots trailing behind her with her stuff.
Natsume followed, lugging a suitcase behind with one hand.
[Inside the academy…]
A pretty brunette girl of fifteen looked up at the sky.
"Ruka, it's getting pretty dark. You better take out your umbrella."
"Rain in February, right after winter, hmm, who knew?" A blue-eyed boy of the same age with cornsilk hair muttered while taking out an umbrella from his knapsack.
From afar, you wouldn't even recognize these two people, considering the changes they went through not only physically, but emotionally and mentally too.
Mikan Sakura wasn't what the infamous Natsume Hyuuga would call 'The flat-chested ugly' anymore, because she had, ahem, developed some curves, grew a bit taller and held a more graceful statuesque compared to before. Her face also changed since it grew longer and was now framed by a lovely frame of honey brown locks that wonderfully complimented her matching brown eyes.
With Natsume gone and a tall, well-made build crowned with an adorable face to die for to top it all off, Ruka Nogi officially had the hardest time to control his growing number of fangirls. The same clumsy and stuttering blonde boy everyone knew and loved finally evolved into a somewhat confident and charismatic young man everyone grew to love even more. The only things that remained the same were his brilliant light cornflower eyes and small sunny grin that still held its boyish quality and charm after all this time.
Ruka opened his umbrella just as the rain started to pour, accompanied by late February's chilly winds. Mikan shivered as the wind blew in their direction.
"Why don't we go back to the dorms now?"
"Let's." They started walking faster towards the dorm building when a robot carrying three heavy-looking suitcases zoomed past them, shortly followed by a clumsy looking robot that resembled Ruka.
"Was that - ?" He was interrupted by a voice from behind them.
"No pointing at my robots, that's rude."
"Hotaru?" Mikan spun around to find a stunningly beautiful raven-haired girl standing behind her.
"Imai?!" Ruka was mesmerized, there and then.
"Oi, ugly, stop staring at Imai." A midnight-haired, crimson-eyed boy came into view. Mikan squinted her eyes since the falling rain made it harder for her to see who it was.
"Cut the egotistical crap, Hyuuga." Hotaru elbowed the boy that stood beside her.
"Fine. Did you miss me Polka?" He monotonously said. Mikan was lost for words. Then, she ran to him, like a child to his mother after his first day of school, and a girl to her lover, after not seeing him for a very long time.
Hotaru went under the cover of a tree nearby. Ruka followed beside her. They both watched their best friends stare at each other in the rain.
Natsume acted, without thinking, and gave a short peck on Mikan's lips. Mikan's eyes widened. She felt a blush slowly creep into her face. Hotaru felt bile slowly rising in her throat.
Why that little… Hotaru's fist tightened while her other hand reached for her horse-hoof glove in her bag.
…What just happened? A happy yet somewhat sad Ruka watched from the sidelines.
…WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! Mikan grew redder.
Stupid, stupid. Natsume closed his eyes.
Then almost too suddenly, he felt warm lips touch his for a short while. He opened his eyes when their lips parted.
"Need a hug?" Mikan beamed at him. Her dazzling smile shown brightly against the gray drops of rain and huffs of wind.
Natsume nodded.
The rain grew stronger and stronger as Mikan and Natsume were closed into a tight and warm embrace. Hot versus cold, inviting against frosty. That was one sentence to describe that embrace.
Ruka smiled, while Hotaru's eyes softened while watching the two of them share a hug underneath the storm clouds. She truly was feeling sincere happiness for her best friend, and Ruka was too, even though he knew he had to let go.
But as he once again glanced in Hotaru's direction, he, for the first time, found a light that shone through Hotaru's cold and indifferent exterior. He didn't know why or how, but it just suddenly made sense. He stretched out his arm, offering the umbrella to her.
"Nice try, I don't come cheap, Nogi." She glared coldly at Ruka.
"Please? You might catch cold, and we wouldn't want you blaming me for that, right?" Ruka grinned.
Hotaru rolled her eyes and whispered 'fine'. She crept closer to Ruka, while they shared some cover under the same umbrella.
Mikan hugged Natsume tighter, keeping her eyes closed. Natsume complied and rested his cheek on Mikan's head.
***
As cheesy as it sounds, those four people stayed under the rain for quite some time. Although it didn't sound good, it was fine, since each of them found their own warmth on the way.
Got a feeling in my soul, love burns brighter than sunshine.
Brighter than sunshine.
Let the rain fall, I don't care.
I'm yours and suddenly you're mine,
and it's brighter than sunshine.
Brighter Than Sunshine by Aqualung