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there had been a time where kunikida doppo did not exist. he was around, but he had not yet been bestowed the name that he now wore with pride. for the sake of the story, we shall call him doppo, as this is the name he had truly chosen for himself.
the loud rumbling of thunder disturbed the first good sleep doppo had experienced in a long while. at first, he had assumed that he had dreamt it, but laying there in the dark, covered by much too heavy blankets, the thunder had rang out again and again.
slowly sitting up, brushing off his blankets, he checks the time.
‘
1;11
’
the digital alarm clock reads. his father would grow deeply upset with him if he were to find out that doppo was awake at the time. however, doppo internally argued with himself, body aching from bruises. it was a thunderstorm, a once in a million years experience for him. this was an over exaggeration, he knew, the last time he had experienced a thunderstorm was a year ago, during the summer. but this was the first thunderstorm of the year, and it would be all his.
doppo decided that any sort of physical punishment his father could inflict onto him would be worth seeing such a storm.
he moves slowly, careful not to make any sound, or to bump any of his bruises. he quietly opens the blinds, allowing the gentle, yellow light of the broken street lamp to pour into his room. it doesn't do much, but doppo finds it’s for the better.
leaning his arms along the windowsill, he stares out into the dark abyss of the night, listening to the gentle pitter patter of the rain.
the first flash comes as a surprise to him, it's white and blinding but it's gone before he could really register what it was, a lightning strike. excitement fills his bones, so it really was a thunderstorm. his thunderstorm. the thunderous boom that follows lightning rang out soon after the flash. when he was younger, many children his age had claimed that the thunder had scared them. doppo could never understand that. the thunderstorms had always been a source of comfort to him. they protected him from his father.
the flashes of lightning appeared to be striking down the street. rationally, he knew they probably weren't, but he pressed his face up to the cool glass of his window and strained to get a better look at the storm. the rain was gentle, he noticed, and could be easily drowned out by the roar of thunder.
the next strike was just out of veiw of his window, the light simply brushing the edge of his window. the roar that came after it was not in fact lighting, but instead the engine of a car. it splashed through the night, its tires creating a unique sound as they sprayed rain everywhere. he had missed the thunder, doppo realized, too caught up in his own thoughts.
he allowed himself to wonder. where was the car going? who was in it? what could have possibly put these people in a situation where they needed to drive somewhere at, doppo checks the time, at 1;23 at night. perhaps they had an emergency, and needed to rush someone to the hospital. it seemed like a good estimate, so he thought nothing more of the matter.
the next strike of lighting seemed right in front of him, filling his entire vision with a blurry, fuzzy, white light. however it was the sound that came after that stirred something deep within his bones. the loud, roaring, echoing thunder that rumbled out in all of its glory. doppo could swear he could almost hear the thunder disperse across the countryside, before fading from the range of hearing.
it filled him with something like joy to imagine the thunder rolling out over the vast expanse of yokohama, and then the even vaster countryside. he did this strike after strike after strike, looking out his window with a small smile on his face.
doppo remembered a trick that a man from his dreams had once taught him. the man appeared worn and old, but loved. his silver hair fell past his ears, and his face had wrinkled as he smiled at doppo. doppo had long forgotten what the purpose of the trick was, but he remembered the steps. so doppo indulged in such a trick, given to him by some dream man.
waiting for lightning to strike again, doppo prepared himself. as the blinding white light encompasses his vision, he begins to count. “one one thousand. two one thousand. three one thousand.” as he began to count the fourth one thousand, thunder rang out into the night. doppo smiled, it was nice to count, even if he couldn't quite remember what he was counting for.
as the thunder strikes grew quieter, the rain grew louder, pounding against his window. doppo momentarily wondered if it would hail as well, but saw no reason why it should. returning his thoughts to the rain, doppo pulled himself away from the window. tenderly laying down on his back, he closed his eyes and focused on the sound of the rain. it beat down onto the house harshly, creating a wonderful sound to listen to.
doppo liked the rain, it was all encompassing, consuming great areas at a time, blanketing them with water. rain was like a blanket covering everything it touched in a momentary moment of oblivious bliss.
as much as he liked harsh rain, doppo did not enjoy the strong gusting winds that often came with it. they whistled like terrible creatures, swaying trees drastically, uprooting plants, and even carrying away things from peoples backyards.
he could hear the wind howling outside, it wasn't too harsh, but he knew that in the morning, several branches and sticks will have fallen and scattered across the yard. it will be doppo's job to pick them up in the morning, risking missing school if he does not complete the task well.
sitting back up, doppo watched the remainder of the storm drift away, his mind buzzing with questions. he wanted to know everything he could about thunderstorms. how they formed, if there were different types, what caused the lightning. everything.
the rain had calmed, and the wind was gone. he could only hear the gentle pitter patter against his window if he ceased moving and breathing, and strained his ears. the storm was over just as quickly as it had started.
rationally, doppo knew that he now needed to sleep, for many reasons. he had school in the morning, so he needed to be well rested, and his father would be upset with him if he knew he had been missing sleep. there was also the matter of the sticks in the yard, and his schoolwork he was sure to receive.
there was, without a doubt, no reason for doppo to stay awake any longer than he already had. so, he quietly pulled his blinds closed and painfully turned to take a drink from his water bottle. when no water bottle was to be found on the nightstand, kunikida was reminded of his second punishment. he would make do without water tonight, no matter how dry his mouth may feel. the storm had only made him more aware of this dry feeling.
if he had gone outside, he could have turned his head up to the sky and let the rain pour over him. then he could have satisfied his thirst. but he was not in the rain, and the rain had passed, so he could only dream.
grabbing at the blankets that he had kicked to the end of his bed, doppo pulls them back over himself, careful to adjust them in case his father was upset in the morning. curling into an unusual sleeping position to ensure that none of his bruises will cause him any grief during the night, doppo closes his eyes and once more allows sleep to overtake him.
the morning air is cool, but the ground smells of dew and rain, bringing comfort to doppo. there had been little sticks for him to pick up, which had come as a relief, and his father was hardly upset with him. slinging his school bag over his shoulder, doppo checked the time. 8:00. the perfect time to be leaving for school.
a few people littered the way to school, an old lady with some groceries, a young child with no parent in sight, and a couple on a walk. doppo enjoyed observing the people around him, wondering about their lives, who they were, and what they meant to other people.
the intricate chime of the candy store bell caught doppo's attention. he had never been inside the store, his father didn't allow it, but he knew the sound of the bell well enough. it piqued his interest, what sort of people would be leaving the candy store at such an early hour of the day.
the boy leaving the store looked to be in his early teens, he had brown hair and wore something resembling a cape. he was carrying a large bag of candy. once the boy was out of the doorway, a girl on crutches exists the store behind him. she looks around the same age as the boy, her hair cut into a short brown bob. the two of them are talking, they look happy. the final person to leave the store was a man, he appeared to be in his early thirties. this man looked familiar to doppo, he just couldn’t figure out where he had seen the other before. the group heads down the street, and doppo watches the silver haired man and the two brown-haired teenagers round the nearest corner and vanish from sight.
he resumes walking, a boy, a bag, and the memory of a storm, only confirmed by the smell of damp dirt.