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It was raining so fucking hard.
Rain spattered across the brick tiling outside the main course building, lapping at Ibuki’s soaked shoes and drenching her head-to-toe in freezing winter rainwater. Ibuki knew that this was going to happen, but she simply couldn’t care less about the rain or the way it whipped in her face and trailed her frantic footsteps. The echoing sounds of water on brick and the sky crackling with lightning, the wind howling past her ears, was all so beautiful and chaotic and fun! She giggled to herself and spun around in the rain, high on the adrenaline and thrill.
Prior to being absolutely demolished by the weather, she’d been practicing well into the evening -much to the dismay of several other Super High School Levels- to perfect the final track for her second album, and was left to lug her guitar back to the dormitories from the fourth floor once a string had snapped after hours of strain. Thunder roared in the distance, and a flash of lightning lit up the night sky among the torrent of rain. Ibuki shifted her guitar case on her shoulders and swept her bangs away from her face.
She quickened her footsteps and reached a cover next to the vending machines a little ways from the dormitory entrance, and watched the rain drip from the roof like strings of notes across a bar. Tap, tap tap, tap, the drops of rain formed a rhythm across the stone tiles and drifted about the courtyard, the music accompanied by the racing of her heart and the shudder of leaves against the wind, and Ibuki relished in the feeling. She’d finally escaped the rain, and leaned her guitar against the vending machine to her left, idly rocking back and forth on her heels, sighing at the realisation that she might catch another cold.
A puff of Ibuki’s breath drifted in the frigid air and dispersed into the rain, and water dripped from her clothes into puddles by her feet. The cold seeped into her bones, making her shiver and gasp. She’d be waiting here for hours for the end of a storm with a life of its own. The storm was a brutal and raw beauty, and it shot a shiver down Ibuki’s spine. Pleats of rain mingled with ripping currents of air. Tap, tap, tap, tap.
A melody formed in Ibuki’s mind, and she couldn’t help but start tapping her foot in an erratic rhythm to match the flow of the tumultuous wind and pattering rain around her. “Life isn't about waiting for the storm to go away. It's about learning to dance in the rain, or something like that! I’ll have to ask Sonia-chan later!” Ibuki thought to herself, ecstatically twirling under the landing with her eyes screwed shut, feeling droplets of ice-cold rain spattering onto her face. Her heart swelled as she silently swayed along to an imaginary beat. It wasn’t nearly loud enough for her tastes, but the real volume was all inside her head!
She cracked her eyes open, only to be met with one Mikan Tsumiki, sopping-wet and struggling to find shelter in the middle of the courtyard, her choppy strands of hair pressed flat on her pale face. Ibuki’s erratic footsteps slowed to a stop, and she turned to wave enthusiastically at Mikan. “Tsumiki-chan! Tsumiki-chan! Ibuki’s here to save you from the rain!” Mikan jolted in surprise and swiveled around to find Ibuki standing under the dormitory landing, and nervously raked her fingers through her bangs. Mikan stuttered, “A- ah! Ibuki-san, I- I’m so sorry for disturbing y- you! You s- shouldn’t be out here in the rain, you c- could fall ill!”
Ibuki cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Tsumiki-chan, what are you doing all wet?! Get under here, you idiot!”
Mikan yelped and trembled in place, frantically grasping at her arms. The rain pelted her body and dripped down her hair, but she seemed rooted to the ground, unable to move an inch.
“N- no…” She squeaked in fear, her voice cracking and raspy like she’d been crying for quite some time. She’d been returning from helping to close up the Nurse’s Office for the night, and was caught in the rain without an umbrella.
The rhythm thundering in Ibuki’s head spun on faster, and she stepped towards the edge of the landing. The rain drenched her hair and every inch of her body screamed for her to go back under the canopy in lieu of continuing to brave the rain. Ibuki threw all caution to the wind and slowly walked towards Mikan against the storm and wind. Water poured from the sky, and Ibuki could hardly see anything in front of her. Tap, tap, tap. Wind swirled around them in a flurry of frigid liquid and water droplets.
“Ibuki-san, w- what are you doing?!” Mikan clasped her hands together and stepped away from Ibuki, and her red, puffy eyes shone in the faint moonlight.
Ibuki quickened her pace and rapidly closed the distance between them until warmth spread through Mikan’s body, enveloped in a crushing and desperate embrace. Mikan relaxed and melted into Ibuki’s arms, and it nearly seemed like the rain around them wasn’t there at all. Hell, Ibuki could have been the last ounce of matter left in the universe and Mikan would still have been content, knowing that they’ll always be able to have each other’s grounding weight among storms and rain.
Ibuki smelled of the dust gathered in the music room, sweet lavender and bright summers on soft beaches, like home and comfort despite the chaos around them. Mikan smiled against Ibuki’s rain-drenched shirt and squeezed back, and they stood tangled in each other’s arms, in the middle of the school courtyard, drenched in rainwater amidst a rampant rainstorm. Ibuki smiled back, and giggled at the sheer absurdity of the situation, resting her head against Mikan’s chest, the throbbing of their hearts together mingling with the strobing of the winter rain.
Tap, tap, tap. “The rain isn’t so bad at all, is it, Tsumiki-chan?” Ibuki giddily whispered against Mikan’s ear, and butterflies erupted in Mikan’s stomach. Ibuki, who wore her heart on her sleeve and treated everyone with boldness and never-ending energy. Sighing against Ibuki’s chest, Mikan gently brushed the hair out of Ibuki’s bright, lavender eyes. “Y- yeah, I think?” Mikan mumbled in response.
Ibuki gingerly lifted her head from Mikan’s shoulder, and Mikan nearly missed her warmth against her body, her heart sinking in disappointment. That it was all over, and that she and Ibuki would be back to acquaintances when the clouds inevitably cleared and the sun rose on Hope’s Peak again, as they always do. The universe kept on spinning, Mikan still worked at Hope’s Peak nurse’s office, and life will keep on moving, regardless of whether Mikan and Ibuki were by each other’s side or not.
Grinning wide and blinking rain from her eyes, Ibuki draped a hand over Mikan’s shoulder and another around her waist, softly prompting Mikan to do the same. Tsumiki blushed and squeaked the revelation that, yes, this was really happening outside of her despairingly gay sex dreams. Mikan nervously fidgeted in place, unsure of what to do next. Hesitantly, Mikan gingerly returned the gesture, and they swayed along to the beat of their hearts and the rhythm of the rain.
“Wow, this is where we are now, huh?” Ibuki said, giggling to herself and holding Mikan close.
Mikan smiled. Sometimes, the happiness you’ve been looking for could be in the embrace of someone you loved, outside in the freezing wind and rain. Tap, tap, tap.
…
Sometime later into the evening, Sonia found them drenching-wet in the dorms’ common room, asleep while leaning against each other on a couch. Ibuki didn't end up asking her about the quote, in the end.