FicWad

This was originally written for the Summer Fun contest in renji_rukia. I won, too. ^_^ Much thanks goes to my beta, shayheyred.
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Nothing in Izuru's life worked out the way he wanted it to, and this vacation was no exception. He had invited his two new friends, expecting a cozy getaway, but Renji had invited Rukia (whose surname he could never recall) and Momo had invited a friend from the Rukongai named Hitsugaya, and it was awkward trying to talk to people he didn't know very well. They had gotten a late start on their journey from the Academy to his family's summer home, and then there had been some sort of disturbance in the South quadrant of the Rukongai that left them stuck for hours. They'd arrived at the house in the middle of the night, not mid-afternoon as he had hoped.

And now, of course, on the first morning of their beach vacation, it was raining.

Izuru closed his eyes and turned away from the window. Perhaps, if he didn't get up, nobody else would either, and the whole miserable day would disappear. But it was no use; he heard Renji turn over beside him and sit up.

Renji jerked suddenly; Izuru flinched. "RUKIA!" he bellowed. "Get your lazy arse out of bed! It's raining!"

Izuru sat up and blinked at him, no longer pretending to sleep. "What are you talking about?" On his other side, Hitsugaya mumbled something and covered his ears.

Renji was pulling on his clothes as quickly as he could. "It's raining, you idiot. We've gotta go out and play in it." He tied the last knot and bolted into the hallway. "You better be ready, Rukia!"

"Shut up! I was ready thirty seconds ago!" There was the sound of a door sliding open, and then the sound of whoops and running footsteps outside.

Izuru walked to his door and peered out into the hallway. Momo was standing there, looking similarly bewildered. "I guess it's not some kind of Rukongai thing, then," Izuru said after a moment.

"No," Hitsugaya said from behind him. "We stay indoors when it rains."

Momo smiled. "They do some strange things in the outer districts, I've heard. Well, I suppose we'd better get dressed."

Momo and Hitsugaya spent the morning playing shogi on an old board found in one of the spare bedrooms. From Izuru's seat in the corner, he could hear the tap of the game pieces, Momo's high-pitched giggles and Hitsugaya's growls. He wished he knew how to play. The rain had come down hard when they first woke up, but as the day wore on it softened to a steady drizzle. Still, Renji and Rukia still hadn't come inside when the housekeeper informed him that lunch was prepared.

"No, I'll go call them myself," he told the servant. "You can bring the towels."

Renji and Rukia both had been yelling all morning, but when Izuru came onto the porch, they were waist-deep in the ocean, looking up to the sky with their mouths open. He had no idea what they were doing. "Um..."

Renji suddenly sputtered. Rukia started laughing, spraying the water in her mouth all over him. "I-I-that was th-th-three times out of five I've w-won," she sputtered. Izuru waved to catch their attention.

"You've got servants?" Renji said, as the housekeeper handed them towels.

"Don't be such an uncultured pig," Rukia hissed. "He's a noble with a big house, of course he has servants."

Izuru suddenly felt intensely uncomfortable. "Er, lunch is this way," he said, changing the subject.

At the table, Renji and Rukia both wolfed down their food. "It's great out there," Renji mumbled between mouthfuls. "The rainwater's so pure, and we've never had a mudfight with sand before. Which I won, of course." Beside him, Rukia muttered darkly about Some People's dirty tricks.

"So, is this a custom in the 78th district?" Momo asked.

Rukia answered while scooping a third helping of rice into her bowl. "More like a necessity. It hardly ever rains out there, so when it did, we all went out and played in it."

"A lot of people did," Renji added, grabbing some more beef. "It was the only time we ever got free water, so we'd put out all our pots and things too." He nudged Rukia. "Hey, remember when that shopkeeper broke Hiro's leg, so we went and knocked holes in all his barrels?"

They laughed, and Izuru smiled weakly as well. "I guess you don't miss that place," he said.

"Well, we can't all grow up in a palace," Renji said, waving his arm. Izuru flushed, and paid closer attention to his rice.

"Maybe we could play in the rain too," Momo said, with a mischievous look at Hitsugaya.

"Hmph, aren't you too old for that kind of thing now?"

"Don't be so grumpy, Shiro-chan. I know you'll like it. Let's go!" She grabbed Hitsugaya by the arm and dragged him outside.

After a moment, Rukia poked Renji. "Aren't you finished yet?"

"Okay, okay. Some of us have a normal-sized body to feed, y'know." He lay his chopsticks to the side and headed for the door, Rukia right beside him.

"I'm the perfect size! It's not my fault you're so unnaturally large."

"Sand! Right down your..."

Izuru followed them outside, unsure of what to do. He stood on the porch, awkwardly, until a ball of sand hurtled toward his face. He ducked automatically, only to get hit by two more. When he looked up, Momo and Renji were both grinning at him. "Get out here, you idiot!" After that, it was all a confused whirl of sand and salt water and rain.

Eventually, Momo and Hitsugaya dragged themselves to the porch, and Izuru soon followed. The sky was darkening, and the rain finally seemed to be letting up. Izuru toweled himself off, and watched the only two people who hadn't had their fill of rain yet.

Renji and Rukia were lying on their backs in the sand with their heads facing each other. Izuru couldn't hear them from the porch, but they seemed to be talking to each other. It was the first time he had ever seen them being quiet with each other. After a while, they sat up, facing the ocean. Slowly, they leaned in toward each other... and Izuru realized that this probably wasn't something he was meant to see. He turned away, unsure of how he felt.

"Thank you for inviting us," Momo said, startling him. She hadn't noticed the beach. "We really had a lot of fun today."

Izuru smiled. He felt content, he realized. "Come on," he told Momo and Hitsugaya. "Dinner should be ready soon. Let's go inside."

Let the rain kiss you.
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.
Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

The rain makes still pools in the sidewalk.
The rain makes running pools in the gutter.
The rain plays a little sleep-song on our roof at night-
And I love the rain.

-- Langston Hughes, "April Rain Song"