rain and you

....

Plastic bags in both of their hands, Ichigo and Rukia silently walked down the familiar road down the street from the nearest convenience store. It was an uneventful day full of boredom that had quickly lead to hunger, so the two had decided to crush their time by taking an adventure that would promptly end in a cheap but nonetheless pleasant reward-- snacks.

Ichigo held bags of chocolate while Rukia held her own bunny-themed sweets, the humid smell of an approaching rain shower bringing a familiar sense of dread to an absent-minded Ichigo. He slid his hands out of the slits of the bags and instead wrapped them around the plastic so the contents wouldn't get wet.

Sure enough, after another few beats of silence, he felt a small droplet of water fall onto his skin, along with another, then another, and another...

In mere seconds the soft pitter-patter of rain quickly changed into a downpour-- loud and similar to the sound of TV static.

Ichigo ignored the urge to cover his ears. He'd always disliked the rain. Many wet nights, he would sit noiselessly in his room, blasting loud music into his ears to block out the noise and the memories. The nightmares.

He figured that the reason why he and Rukia had quickly established a connection was because she had the same trauma as him.

The trauma of rain, the fear of death, and the ability to understand the suffocating sensation of drowning in guilt.

So when he dipped his head downwards to check on her, he was surprised.

She was smiling.

Completely drenched in rain with nose and ears already red from the cold, she beamed up at the grey sky. Her eyes were crescent-shaped and shining, and her ebony hair dripped water, sticking to her face.

"I hate the rain."

He'd murmured before he even realized.

Her grin never leaving her face, she seemed to search for a response before peering up at him knowingly.

"I know."

Everything sounded like it was underwater. He was drowning.

"Zagetsu hates rain."

"I know."

He didn't struggle. He would never reach the surface anyway.

"You killed him in the rain."

"I know."

He drifted to the bottom... sinking and sinking... no one would ever find him...

"She died in the rain."

"I know."

He reached the floor with an inaudible thunk.

They'd both stopped walking and were standing under the pelting water speechlessly.

Ichigo's spiky hair had flattened against his head, a duller color than his usual sunlight orange hair. His eyes held overwhelming sorrow, and he wore an expression far too burdened for a young child. His hazel eyes gazed at Rukia, clouded with remorse and puzzlement.

"I know," she murmured again, her smile gone. She looked at him in a way he'd never seen before-- one that only perplexed him even further. She took a few steps ahead of him, so he could only see her small back and broad shoulders. Shoulders that seemed to carry the weight of the whole world.

"But it's actually not quite as bad as you may think," she lifted her arms into the air as if inviting an invisible someone into her embrace. Her simply patterned shirt clung tightly to her petite frame, heavy with water. For a moment, she simply stood in tranquility and watched the liquid fall onto her snow-white skin, only to slide down then fall onto the dark cement floor beneath them.

"It reminds me of you," she suddenly said, interrupting the silence, "The rain."

He heard her mellow voice, clear and sharp.

Then,

Then, everything changed.

Her arms fell to her sides, and he was standing beside her. She had an expression that he could understand this time, one that he'd only seen a few times before.

The skies cleared, vivid and bright. Leftover water fell from the tips of roofs, and the cheerful sound of children's laughter was heard along with the splashes of rainboots skipping in puddles.

He lifted his head towards the heavens.

Blue. So blue.

The sun peeked from behind the rainclouds that floated into the distance quickly, carried by the wind. They would bring their rain and misfortune to another town, submerge another soul, and quickly disappear once again. Then, one of the many things people would forget to appreciate would be revealed.

A stunning view. A moment of contentment. A good friend.

Suddenly, he heard the surprisingly childish laughter of Rukia. Hearty, and continuous.

"Sunny skies are also pleasant. They remind me of you as well."

He blinked.

How could he have forgotten?

He watched as she pounced into a puddle, covering her sweat pants in more water.

Eventually, the rain would stop. The puddles would dry and dissipate. The sun would reappear.

She smiled upward again. At the sky, perhaps. Or even as far as Soul Society.

It was a completely different picture from before. One that had been foggy with raindrops was now radiating, blinding him.

And it was...

"Beautiful."

She landed in the water with a small splash and lifted her brilliant eyes to his. She titled her head to the side, questioning.

"Nothing," he said quickly. She only smiled in response.

You're beautiful.

He tore his gaze away from her and squinted at the sun. It gleamed, big, bright, and so warm. It shone against his pointed, silvery hair.

He breathed in, the humid smell of rain bringing a new sense of comfort to a thoughtful Ichigo. He slid his dry hands back into the looped handles of the plastic bags, the crinkling sound of his favorite packaged treats endearing.

His freckled cheeks lifted,

And he smiled.