On A Rainy Day
Title: On A Rainy Day…
Pairing: Sakumiya (Sakurai Sho x Ninomiya Kazunari); Sakuraiba friendship
Rating: PG-ish
Genre: Fluff, AU
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story. I don't make any profit with this.
Summary: Sho meets Nino, a reclusive travelling magician, in the rain one night and becomes somewhat allured by the other’s strange aura as he tries to get to know him.
A/N: I BLAME THIS PERSON COMPLETELY FOR EVERYTHING WRITTEN UNDER HERE: nicefinalbeam. Add a daily dose of Arashi with a song called “Itsumo Yori Nakimushi Na Sora” (The Sky Is Being More of a Crybaby than Usual) by Hatsune Miku, and you end up with…. fan fiction! :D
“Come on, Sho-chan!”
“Masaki, wait!” Sho gasped out as he ran down the sidewalk towards his five-year old brother. It was around 6 p.m. and the sky had already turned an ugly grey from the absence of the sun, leaving street lamps to illuminate the dark. The streets of the neighborhood were quiet, save for the occasional car that would lazily drive by and the crickets chirping their lullabies for the town.
The smaller boy glanced back, but did as he was told and patiently waited at the street corner for Sho to gain up, stopping in front of him and placing his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
Masaki giggled with his hands covering his mouth as he watched his older brother with bright eyes gleaming with childlike amusement. “Sho-chan is really lame, ne?”
Sho looked up and pouted, puffing out his cheeks slightly before pulling the other into an arm lock and rubbing his fist playfully against the top of Masaki’s head. “What’d you say, brat?”
Masaki pulled at the arm around his neck, trying to get free as his laugh echoed down the empty road. Once Sho had released his little brother, they continued down the walkway towards home, this time with hands intertwined and swinging back and forth.
Then it started to rain.
It first came as a hesitant drizzle, which neither of the two boys paid any heed to, but then began to gain strength until the sky started to produce a steady rhythm of drops upon their heads.
Sho glanced up at the sky, somewhat surprised at how quickly the weather had changed, and pulled Masaki’s hood over his head. Then Sho lifted his own jacket that had no hood to cover his head and briskly began walking down the sidewalk, never letting go of his brother’s hand.
Figuring that their mother would nag his ear off for having Masaki out in the rain, Sho was hoping to get home before either of them got extremely soaked. But as he was trying to calculate the quickest route to their apartment, Masaki began to slow down, pulling at their intertwined hands slightly.
“Sho-chan…”
Sho slowed down to glance back at his brother, and then stopped walking altogether. Masaki was looking across the street towards the playground, staring fixatedly at a certain point. At first, Sho suspected that the boy wanted to play and just when he was about to refuse, Masaki pointed towards the swings.
“Why is he sitting all alone in the rain?”
Sho blinked a few times, and then looked over to where his little brother was pointing at, squinting as rain ran down his face and into his eyes. Sure enough, in one of the swings a small figure with black hair sat, his backside lit from a nearby streetlight, completely unprotected from the rain.
Staring at the man, Sho racked his brain and tried to come up with an answer for the boy. “Some people… are just like that, Masaki.”
Masaki frowned, appalled at the thought of someone being so lonely, and ran across the street towards the playground, determination written on his face. Sho called after him, but he ignored his older brother and pounced onto the figure on the swing, wrapping his arms around the small frame.
The man jumped in surprise and whipped his head around to see Masaki clinging onto him for dear life and looking up at him with eyes full of pity. “What the…?” He muttered in confusion.
“Please don’t be sad! Life is beautiful!”
The man furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, unsure of what to say to the child’s loud declaration, when Sho appeared before him, apologizing profusely as he grabbed onto the child and attempted to pull him off.
“Let’s go, Masaki.” Sho hissed through gritted teeth, his cheeks a light pink as he tugged on the littler one. But the child had his nails dug deep into the other’s shirt and had now wrapped his legs around the man’s waist, crying out in protest.
This went on for a good few minutes, with Sho and Masaki going back and forth with the man on the swing somewhat stuck in the middle, left with nothing else to do but stare at the odd pair and wonder what the hell was going on.
The man soon figured that if he didn’t do something quick, that he was going to be stuck there for a very long time, and said the first thing that came to his mind. “Hey kid, do you wanna see a magic trick?”
The fighting duo immediately ceased their bickering and stared at the man, Sho with confusion written on his face and Masaki with eyes gleaming with wonder.
“Magic?” The boy asked hesitantly, as if to make sure that he hadn’t heard the other man wrong.
The man nodded, and shifted uncomfortably in the younger’s grip, which was surprisingly stronger than what he thought any child’s gripping strength should be. “Yeah, but first you have to let go of me.”
Masaki quickly complied, jumping off of the man’s lap and looking up at him expectantly as he stretched out his back slightly and then pulled out a pack of cards. At this point, all three of them had practically forgotten about the rain tapping on their heads and shoulders as the mysterious guy began his magic show.
It didn’t take long for Sho to figure out that the man had obviously been learning about and performing magic for quite a while. The tricks at first started out simple, but soon became more and more complex, to the point where Sho began staring in amazement as the man skillfully worked his cards. Once it was over, both of them applauded immediately.
“That was amazing.” Sho complimented, earning a somewhat shy smile from the magician.
Masaki nodded furiously in agreement, looking up at the man with bright eyes. “How did you do that?” He asked in a somewhat dreamy voice.
The man chuckled slightly and tapped the boy on the forehead with the deck of cards playfully. “The fact that you don’t know is what makes it magic, stupid.”
Masaki huffed slightly with a light tinge of color forming on his cheeks, but couldn’t help giggling feverishly. “You’re so cool! Way cooler than Sho-chan.”
“Don’t say that out loud.” Sho quickly said, lightly hitting Masaki on the head, sending the younger into a fit of giggles once more. “So you’re a magician?” He asked, returning his attention to the other as he leaned back onto one of the poles that supported the swing set.
The man shrugged, shoving the pack of cards back into his pocket. “You could say that. It’s not a great profession, but it puts food on the table, y’know? I travel to a town and entertain the local kids ‘til I don’t have anything else to show them, then move onto the next one.”
Masaki, deciding that the conversation was too boring for him, ran towards the slide and in a burst of momentum began climbing it, clambering on its metal face before slipping on the slick surface and slowly sliding back down on his belly. After reaching a complete stop, he hopped up on his feet to try again, just to face the same result.
“When did you come to this town, then?”
“Today, actually.”
Sho raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Really?”
The man nodded, gripping the swing’s chains with his hands and leaning to the side slightly with a small smile. “Yup. Just blew in during the afternoon, looking for places to stay. But apparently you all are stuffed to the rim with people. Hell, I couldn’t even find a hotel with a vacant room.”
“Oh…”
A silence gradually covered the two as the rain continued to fall. Masaki, who had apparently given up on trying to climb the slide, lied down on its slick surface and looked up at the sky as the rain fell on his face and slowly trailed down his cheeks.
“Well…you could stay with us.” Sho offered, which immediately made the other male look at him as if he grew a few extra limbs. Feeling self-conscious, he moved his gaze towards his shoes. “I mean, if you want to. We have more than enough room.”
The other male shook his head in confusion and crossed his arms. “Are you seriously asking a random travelling magician, whose name you don’t even know I might add, into your house for no pay or nothing?”
Sho looked at the male’s face, his bright hazel eyes, pale complexion, and small, fragile frame sitting on a lone swing in the rain, and smiled slightly. “I guess so.”
The male stared Sho down for a few seconds with an eyebrow raised and then shook his head with an amused chuckle. “You’re either the nicest guy I’ve ever met, or the stupidest.”
Sho shrugged. “I’m probably both.”
The magician laughed, which made Sho’s heart flutter frivolously in his chest. Sliding off of the swing, the smaller male walked up to Sho and stopped in front of him, holding a hand out. “Ninomiya Kazunari, but most people call me Nino.”
Sho smiled and shook Nino’s hand. “Sakurai Sho.”
“Sho, huh? Well then Sho-chan, lead the way.” Nino said, playfully bowing slightly and motioning with his arm.
“Finally!”
Both men looked over in surprise to see Masaki jumping up and down in joy around the park. “Sho-chan finally has a boyfriend!” Running towards Nino, Masaki ran into his legs and hugged them tightly. “Thank you for dating my brother!”
Nino looked at Sho and raised an eyebrow with a smug smile, making the older male blush in embarrassment.
Paying no heed to his brother’s obvious discomfort, Masaki grabbed one of Nino’s hands with both of his own and began dragging him out of the park. “Mom and Dad are gonna be so surprised! Don’t worry, though, I’m sure they’ll like you. They own a Chinese restaurant, and we live right upstairs!”
Masaki continuously chattered, pulling Nino along, who then grabbed Sho’s hand and gave the blushing man a warm smile. And as the three walked down the sidewalks of the empty streets hand in hand with the rain falling upon their bodies, a loud rumble of thunder broke through the night, signaling the start of a soon to be great storm.