Beware what finds you in the rain

[evocalize]

[Rain has honestly never bothered Minato before, not even when an unfortunate downpour had left him sick for days once and had nearly led to his premature demise. It's the perfect cover for him in a way, the pitter-patter of raindrops and the dark sky drowning out what little emotion he may have showing on his face as he weaves his way through the deafening crowd, muttering a few words of apology as he treads on shoes and puddles alike, not knowing which is which and not particularly caring to check right then.

The torrent shifts when he's barely a quarter of the way back to the dorm, a deafening roar following drops of water that pelt onto unwilling victims like bullets. Minato concedes at last and takes shelter below a tree overlooking a playground, broken swings hanging by a single chain and moved by the howling wind. He finds it strange that such an abandoned playground should exist anywhere around Iwatodai, but a sudden sneeze soon follows and he finds himself shivering soon enough, hugging himself and to protect himself from the cold.

It's little wonder then that he's oblivious to a stranger being close by, though the stranger may not be so alien after all...]

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[panatipata]

[Minato blinked and then blinked again. He rubbed his eyes with his hands to wipe away any water that welled up there, then resorted to using his sleeve, but little good that did since his clothes were soaked. He shook his head, surprised that he hadn't been crying.

But maybe he should have been. Rain was only something so distant in memories that didn't belong to him. He never experienced it before, and like the other boy whom he hadn't been aware of yet, thought back to when someone had been left bedridden for days. He shivered not so much out of the cold--though it was--but out of some fear that maybe the same thing would happen to him.

Clearly this wasn't home anymore. Then where was this? It wasn't right; he was supposed to be at home, and it was other people who were supposed to be dragged kicking and screaming from those other worlds to his own. Now he had a taste of that medicine, and he knew that he didn't like it.

He stumbled somehow onto this... This was a playground, wasn't it? But how desolate and dilapidated. He brought an arm up to shield his eyes from the rain and wind, looking around...

Wait, what? That boy over there. That boy over there was familiar, or too familiar. Now was when he felt something hit the back of his throat that would've forced tears to stream down his face, but he swallowed it down.

Without any other thought, he ran up to that boy with the blue hair, water splashing everywhere and unceremoniously.]

... That's going to break, isn't it, if you stay out here for too long...?

[He pointed to the silver headphones and mp3 player around Minato's neck. Of all the things to be concerned about now.]