Ulan

Card Captor Sakura fanfiction. Ulan written by Rico Blanco and Nathan Azarcon, sung by River Maya and copyrighted to BMG Records (Philippines) Inc. My standard disclaimers apply.

Ulan [Rain]

by Lady Aria (writersblock@edsamail.com.ph)

“Next stop, Tomoeda Station.”

Touya blinked sleepily at the sound of the recording. He hadn’t even noticed that he’d fallen asleep. The slender brunette stretched his arms lazily above his head and looked at his watch.

He’d been out four hours.

Still, fours hours is a short time compared to the two months he’d spent away from home for his summer job. Two whole months away from his father, his sister, and most of all….

The rumble of thunder shook him out of his musings as he noticed the clouds gathering at the direction of the station. It was a good thing that his father and Sakura had insisted they pick him.

“It’s great to be back,” he whispered, a hint of a smile on his lips.

“Hiwaga ng panahon

Akbay ng ambon”

“Oniichan!!!” Sakura practically screamed much like a locomotive as she plowed into her brother as soon as he emerged from the terminal. “Ohisashiburi!!!”

“What’re you talking about, kaijuu?” Touya’s eyes lit up evilly at the look Sakura shot his way. “It’s only been two months. Then again, maybe it’s true what they say about how kaijuu miss their favorite targets when they’re away….”

“Oniichan….” Sakura began dangerously.

“Now you two, stop fighting,” Fujitaka said with mock sternness. “Touya, you know that you shouldn’t pick on your sister, and Sakura, you know that your brother’s just teasing. Besides,” he said as he patted her on the head. “It’s just his way of saying that he missed you.”

Sakura sighed as she gave her brother a hug. “Well, I really did miss you.”

Touya returned the hug warmly enough, though desperately resisting an urge….

“I missed you too…”

…And failing miserably.

“…Kaijuu.”

“Why you….”

“Touya!”

“Sa piyesta ng dahon

Ako’y sumilong”

“It’s really dark out,” Touya said as they pulled out of the terminal’s parking lot.

“It’s been like this all week,” Sakura mused from the back seat. “But it never pours. Maybe it’s a good thing, overall. At least it’s no longer hot out.” She brightened visibly as she leaned in on Touya. “Enough about the weather! How was the resort you worked at?”

The rest of the drive was filled with ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from Sakura interspersed with the occasional comment from Fujitaka as Touya told them about his summer job as a lifeguard. The first week at the resort was pretty much uneventful, but the crowd really poured in the next few weeks. The owner had told him that it wasn’t usually that busy, but things eventually became obvious as several of the female patrons almost ‘drowned.’ After the third incident, Touya and the owner knew what was happening – all were desperate attempts to get his attention. Eventually, he was reassigned to the children’s pool.

“They all eventually set upon you like a plague of locusts,” Sakura laughed as she leaned back into the seat.

Touya chose not to comment. Instead, he looked out the window as they finally entered their neighborhood. The familiarity of his surroundings was very comforting, much like when his mother held him in her arms… but at that moment, there were only one person’s arms he wanted to be in.

The clouds finally decided to open up as soon as they pulled up to the house and everyone ran inside.

Slightly soaked, Touya gave his sister a withering look.

“It never pours, huh?”

“Hinulog ng langit

Na siyang nag-ampon”

“Gomen nasai!” Sakura said as she bowed in embarrassment. “I guess my saying so finally made it rain.”

“Sheesh.” Touya sighed as he patted her on the head. “When it rains, it rains. It’s not like you can do anything about it.” He had just stepped out of his shoes and into his slippers when he noticed that the answering machine’s light was blinking. He set the volume to high as he pressed the play button.

“You have one new message. First message…”

Touya stepped into the kitchen and grabbed a can of juice….

“Touya?”

…Nearly spitting it out in surprise.

“Yuki?!”

“Sakura told me you were arriving today. Could we meet at the place in an hour? I can’t wait to see you.”

Click.

Touya dashed to the phone and looked vehemently at the answering machine. No indication as to when Yuki had called, and what did he mean by ‘the place’? That was almost like saying to meet at all of the food establishments in Tomoeda!

“Oniichan?” Sakura said as she watched him from the doorway, dashing over to the hall closet and grabbing his jacket.

“Tell ‘tousan that I have to go meet Yuki,” he said as he hurried to put on his sneakers. “I might be late coming back.” With that, he ran out into the rain.

“Libo-libong alaalang

Dala ng ambon”

<Good grief, Yuki, couldn’t you have been more specific?> Touya fumed as he raced down the streets towards the shopping district. There were few people out, which wasn’t much of a surprise. He stopped under a shop awning to catch his breath as he began to think.

<There has got to be some way to narrow the list down,> Touya thought in annoyance. <Maybe it’s one of the places we habitually go to together….> He snapped his fingers as an idea came to him.

“Daan-daang larawan ang

Nagdaraan sa aking paningin”

<The bakery!> Touya thought as he rushed towards the end of the street. He remembered that that was first place they went to together… and it was also the first time Touya saw how much Yuki could eat. The last time they’d been there had been somewhat of a treat.

Yuki had been asked by his grandmother to pick up a box of creampuffs.

And they walked out carrying the box of creampuffs… along with a box of everything else.

When he finally got there, he was disappointed, however to find that, looking in from the shop window, Yuki wasn’t there.

<Oh well, there’re still some other places left to try.> And he sprinted towards the next possible place.

Almost as soon as he left the shop,

“Tsukishiro-san, I’m sorry for this,” the baker said as they emerged from the kitchen.

“No problem at all,” Yukito said he hefted the large bags of baguettes in his arms. “I totally understand about your assistant being sick.” He smiled in goodbye as he left the shop… in the opposite direction of where Touya had gone.

“Daan-daang nakaraan

Ibinabalik ng simoy ng hangin”

“Irasshai!”

The doors of the convenience store slid open with a dull hiss as Touya stepped inside. It felt good to be out of the rain. Walking further inside, he looked into every aisle desperately hoping to see a familiar head of silvery hair….

Two cases of mistaken identity and several attempts at being asked out later….

“Kinomoto-san!” The shop owner said is surprise as Touya walked to the counter with a warm can of coffee in his hand. “When did you get back?”

“Just a few hours ago, ojisan,” he replied. Almost as an afterthought, he added, “have you seen Yuki recently?”

“Tsukishiro-san? He came in yesterday and bought several shopping bags full of chips and juices.”

“Hmm… those’ll probably last him until this morning,” Touya mused as he handed him the money for his coffee.

“Well, he hasn’t been around yet today,” the owner replied.

“Oh.” Touya couldn’t hide his disappointment. “Thanks for your help.”

“You’re welcome.”

A few minutes later….

“Irasshai….” The owner looked up and smiled. “Tsukishiro-san! Did you know that Kinomoto-san’s back?”

“Yes, ojisan.” Yukito said as he shook his umbrella.

“In fact, he was just here, looking for you.”

“Huh?” He said, blinking in surprise. <Maybe he’s just hoping to run into me earlier….>

“Tatawa na lamang

At bakit hindi?”

By this time, Touya was starting to become weary of the task of looking for Yukito. There were quite a number of people at the small restaurant/sweet shop, mostly in for a nice, warm cup of cocoa or coffee. At the counter, he saw the owner busy with something, so he decided to try looking for Yuki amongst the crowd.

Once again, no such luck.

<Maybe I’m looking at it all wrong,> he thought as he stepped out. <Maybe ‘the place’ is not a food ‘place.’> He smiled as he rushed to the bus stop. <And what better place than where we always see each other.>

Back at the shop….

“Obaasan, thank you for letting me use the phone,” Yukito said as he emerged from the back room.

“It’s no trouble at all,” she assured him. “Were you able to find your friend?”

“Well,” he began, slightly troubled. “His sister said that he left almost a half hour ago and that he was in a hurry…. Plus, he only left with his jacket.”

“Did you tell him where to meet you?” She offered.

“Yes.”

“Then maybe it would be best to go there.”

“Ang aking damdamin

Pinaglalaruan ng baliw at ng ulan”

<Finally!> Touya thought as he stepped off the bus and walked up to the university. The buildings were all dark, school not starting for yet another week. Still, other than a food place, this would be as good a guess as any for the ‘place’ Yuki was talking about.

The rain was not pouring as hard as it had been earlier, but it didn’t change the fact that Touya was soaked. As he walked further into the grounds, almost everything he saw brought back memories of Yukito, and these were all probable places to look for him:

Under the tree where they usually ate lunch.

At the soccer field where he played… while Yukito watched him as he ate a snack.

At the small outdoor shop where Yukito loved to buy sandwiches.

At the school garden where Yukito once said that the pruned hedges were shaped like chocolate bars.

Yet unfortunately….

“Where could he be?!” Touya said out loud as he walked to the bus stop.

In time to see the bus pull away….

…As the rain once again started to pour like crazy.

“Just my luck.”

Meanwhile, inside said bus…

“I wonder if Touya’s ok?” Yukito said to himself as he watched the rain come down.

“At sino’ng ‘di mapapasayaw sa ulan?

At sino’ng ‘di mababaliw sa ulan?”

Touya eventually caught a bus and had gotten off at the stop at Penguin Park. It’s been almost an hour since he left home and it had to be the most harrowing “almost-an-hour” of his entire life. He’d practically covered the entirety of Tomoeda, still, no Yukito.

He walked into the park and sat on one of the swings as another recollection came to him.

Him and Yukito sitting there after one of his soccer practices.

Yukito telling him about a new recipe he’d found while browsing through the Home Economics library.

The look on Yukito’s face when he pulled out a box of his favorite chocolates.

It’d been Yukito’s birthday.

And they’d gone to the temple afterwards.

“That’s it!” Touya said and he nearly slipped when he practically jumped off the swing. Unmindful of his almost-accident, he sprinted off in the direction of the temple.

Yet another few minutes after he left….

Yukito passed by the park in the direction of the Tsukishiro house.

“At sino’ng di aawit kapag umulan?”

*Puff, puff*

Touya felt like he was about to collapse. He’d run nonstop from the park to the temple, which was no mean feat. In the pouring rain, the temple looked surreal, where what you see at one moment is different from what you see the next. Almost like looking at it through a kaleidoscope.

He walked the rest of the way to the temple proper, his hope welling up inside him….

Only to be dashed when he didn’t find Yukito there.

“At sino’ng di mababaliw sa ulan?”

“I give up,” Touya said as he walked over to his favorite tree at the temple and sat down.

What was happening wasn’t totally his fault.

Yukito should’ve been more specific over the phone.

<But it still doesn’t change the fact that I’m disappointed at not finding him,> Touya thought glumly. <It’s almost like I didn’t really know him as well as I’d thought…. I couldn’t even find ‘the place’….>

He became suddenly aware that the rain wasn’t hitting him when it was still pouring.

At the same time, a warm towel landed on his head.

“At sino’ng di aawit… ulan!”

He looked up to see Yukito’s concerned face as he held an umbrella over their heads. Touya’s annoyance dissipated and he had to smile when he saw the umbrella’s design.

It was covered with prints of cupcakes, ice cream cones, candies, and other sweets.

It was only then when he realized why this place was ‘the place.’

This was where Yukito had told him that he loved him too.

Yukito smiled as he helped him to his feet, the rain finally letting up and making way for the full moon to shine.

“Okaeri nasai.”

***

Hiwaga ng panahon [A mystery of the season]

Akbay ng ambon [That comes as it starts to drizzle]

Sa piyesta ng dahon [Under a canopy of leaves]

Ako’y sumilong [I take shelter]

Hinulog ng langit [Released by the heavens]

Na siyang nag-ampon [Which had taken charge]

Libo-libong alaalang [Of thousands of memories]

Dala ng ambon [Brought by the showers]

Daan-daang larawan ang [Hundreds of images]

Nagdaraan sa aking paningin [Pass before my eyes]

Daan-daang nakaraan [Hundreds of times past]

Ibinabalik ng simoy ng hangin [Brought by the fragrance in the breeze]

Tatawa na lamang [I’ll just laugh]

At bakit hindi? [And why not?]

Ang aking damdamin [My feelings]

Pinaglalaruan ng baliw at ng ulan [Are being toyed with by fools and the rain]

At sinong ‘di mapapasayaw sa ulan? [And who wouldn’t want to dance in the rain?]

At sinong ‘di mababaliw sa ulan? [And who wouldn’t go crazy ‘cause of the rain?]

At sino’ng di aawit kapag umulan [And who wouldn’t want to sing when it rains?]

At sino’ng di mababaliw sa ulan? [And who wouldn’t go crazy ‘cause of the rain?]

At sino’ng di aawit… ulan! [And who wouldn’t want to sing… rain!]

***

Glossary:

Oniichan - older brother

Ohisashiburi - it's been a while

Kaijuu - monster

Gomen nasai - I'm sorry

‘Tousan - shortcut for ‘otousan’, father

Irasshai - welcome to the store

Ojisan - mister, used for people a little older than one's self

Obaasan - miss/missis, used for older people

Okaeri nasai - welcome home

********** The End **********