Noel and Buster spent the next hour wandering about the shops. The Ahngreel looked relatively normal, though his skin was still a bit too pale. He managed to blend in without too many stares. The few that did seemed to be more concerned about his height than anything else. But that was easily ignored as Noel did her best to enjoy herself.

What she saw in her initial scan was about it for what she wanted to see. The other shops were boring. There was a store for electronics, another for ramen, and one that exclusively sold handmade futons. They spent most of their time at the bookstore as Noel thumbed through various books on plants while Buster watched. He was gloomy as ever; fists jammed into his pockets and eyes downcast. Even his small pompadour seemed to droop a little. 

Noel decided that she did not like this Buster at all. "I know what'll cheer you up," she told him, snapping her book closed. "Come with me." She offered her hand to him, he stared at it. "Go on," she said, "take it." 

He pulled his left hand out of its pocket and started to reach for hers. He was being slow about it, so she made up the difference and grabbed his fingers. "C'mon!" She gave his arm a tug, which prompted Buster's feet forward. 

Noel led Buster out of the shop and across the walkway to the arcade. 

Immediately upon entering the building and letting the noise of various games wash over them. There were kids dotted throughout and even a few adults. They had only been inside less than a minute, and Noel could already feel her annoyance growing. But she held her tongue and smiled up at Buster, whose eyes were alight with wonder.

"What is this place?"

"A big waste of time, if you ask me," said Noel with a smirk, "But I thought you might like to play a game or two. If you wanted."

"Of course I do!" said Buster with some of his old energy. Before Noel could say anything further, Buster ran to the closest unoccupied arcade cabinet and stood in front of it for a few seconds. Noel watched with anticipation of what he would do next. 

The Ahngreel turned on his heel and ran back to her. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do next. Teach me."

"Like I know more than you do." Noel barely had any interaction with television and absolutely no interaction with video games. "Figuring it out is half the fun, isn't it?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Then I'll leave you to it."

Despite what she said, she stayed and watched Buster fumble at the controls, his hands too big for the buttons. 

"Here, let me help," said Noel after a few moments. She scanned the cabinet and spied a small slot below the control. "I think you're supposed to put coins in here."

"Coins?"

She rolled her eyes. The little metal discs you got from Mr. Ono."

"Oh!" He fished them from his pocket, then put one in the coin slot.

The screen flashed and changed to a menu with all the characters. 

She smiled at him, "Hey, you got it. You're on your own."

"Thanks for the help, Noel."

"No problem,"

Buster's attention returned to the cabinet as he fumbled with the controls, taking on an expression of intense focus. His usual smile was slowly returning to his face as he stuck his tongue out. She was glad he was feeling a bit better.

Noel left him to his own devices and stepped outside the arcade to get away from the constant electronic noises that were starting to hurt her head. 

It was quite a relief to feel the summer air on her face, though Noel could tell immediately that something had changed. She looked up.

In the short time they had been inside the arcade, the summer sky had been obscured by heavy gray clouds. The smell of rain lingered in the humid air. Even in Japan summer storms rolled in without warning. 

It had been about a week since it had rained and Noel welcomed a sudden downpour. Her house wasn't too far from here and would make a fun walk back.

There were fewer people on the sidewalks, enough for her to see across to the crepe shop on the other side. She could no longer see Goro, but there was Mr. Ono smiling cheerfully at a couple as they received their food. He glanced up and met Noel's eyes and gave a little wave. 

She waved back, feeling a sudden nauseous guilt bubble up from her stomach. Should I tell him? Noel had been trying to suppress that question since Mr. Ono left the alley, hoping that Buster and the other shops would distract her enough to successfully forget. 

It was easier when she couldn't see his face. 

Noel took one last breath, letting the smell of pre-rain linger in her nose before reentering the arcade. 

She spotted Buster immediately. He was no longer at the cabinet she left him at but was close by, examining other games one by one. 

"What happened to the game you were playing?"

When she approached him, he smiled, "Huh? Oh, I got bored of it real quick. So, I thought I'd take a look around! I want to show you something cool I just found." He pointed ahead of him, but Noel only glanced at it. "I think it's really gonna help your training."

Noel refrained from rolling her eyes at Buster's nonsense."That's nice. I think it's time for us to go."

Buster's smile faded, "But we just got here."

"I know, but it's about to rain. And if we don't hurry, we'll—" 

"It's about to what?"  He looked at her with a blank expression. He was being serious. They didn't have rain in Sohaud either? What kind of a horrible place was it?

"You don't even know what rain is?"

"No."

"That's it! C'mere," Noel grabbed Buster's hand with both of hers. 

"But what about the thing I wanted to show you."

"You can show me later! If we don't hurry, you're gonna miss something amazing!"

His eyes brightened, "Really? More amazing than crepes?"

"Almost!" Noel could barely contain her excitement. If this was really going to be Buster's first encounter with rain, he had to experience every second of it. "Now, let's go! Quick!"

He relented at last and let her pull him along outside. The air was heavy, though the ground was still dry. Good! They had not missed it. The crowd of people was already thinner; a few had already taken out umbrellas.

"Let's head back to the park."

Buster, who was looking around with anticipation, gave a start, "Wait, what about that amazin' thing you were talkin' about?"

"We'll see it on the way." Did he not see how gray the world around them had become? Or how hard the wind was beginning to blow? 

The two walked together back in the direction of the park. Noel made sure to avoid eye contact with Mr. Ono and Goro as they worked to roll down a metal door to protect the shop.

The nagging guilt passed again as they turned the corner and headed down the sidewalk back to the park. It took a bit longer to remind herself that she was excited about the inevitable rainfall and whatever Buster was about to do when it happened. 

He did not disappoint. 

They had not walked a hundred yards when Buster stiffened and clapped a hand to the back of his neck. His eyes were wide, alert as they darted back and forth. Even his ears twitched. He removed his hand and stared at his palm with horror. 

His head shot up, and he jumped toward her with a cry of, "Look out, Noel!" Buster seized Noel's shoulders and shoved her out of the way. Of what, Noel had a good guess.

"It's an attack!" Buster's entire head began to move as he was overcome with panic. "But where is it coming from? Another one!" 

He pulled her in closer as Noel watched a drop of water stain the sidewalk brown. Buster did not seem to notice the grin on Noel's face or the shake of her shoulders as she repressed a laugh.

"And another one!" Buster sidestepped as another raindrop missed them by an inch.

Even more raindrops fell, with Buster trying to avoid each one. He was doing a pretty good job, too. But he was quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number of drops. "It's an attack from everywhere! Run!"

Buster charged forward and kept a tight grip on her hand.

This was taking things a little far.

"Stop, Buster! We're gonna be fine!"

 The laughter in Noel's throat as he glanced back at her. She saw fear in Buster's face. Real fear. Then, a drop of rain finally managed to hit Noel in the shoulder, making him flinch.

"Noel! I'm sorry!"

Noel tried to assure him the best she could, "I'm not hurt. Really! We're going to be—"

She was interrupted by Buster coming to a halt and looking up at the sky, then faced Noel. "It's too late!"

The rain came down all at once with a roar. Before a single drop hit Noel, Buster closed the gap between them, enveloping her in his arms to press her against his chest.

"Buster! What're you–?"

 She could barely breathe as Buster squeezed her tighter and tighter. A warmth rose in her face. This was so embarrassing! He would never hear the end of it from her! His chin pressed into her scalp, shielding her from the rain. 

Noel opened her mouth to say something, but then a different kind of warmth crept into her chest.

She had never thought about Buster's smell before this moment, as she was consumed by it. With all that had happened today with training and the spar with Azrath, Noel expected him to stink with sweat, but she was surprised to find that her nose was filled with the smell of dirt–or maybe it was clay.

It was not an unpleasant smell at all…

Noel was brought out of her bizarre thoughts when she heard an odd sniffling sound above her.

"Buster?"

More sniffs. When Buster next spoke, his voice was thick. "No. No matter what, I'll endure this. I have to. Even if I don't survive, I can always come back. But you…"

Buster's body shook; his grip was as tight as ever. Despite this, Noel managed to move her head enough to look up at Buster. His face filled her vision, teeth bared. The rain thundered on his back, sliding past him to fall around her. 

His dark hair had fallen out of place and hung in curtains around his head as streams of rainwater trickled from them. None of the rain reached her under Buster's embrace.

And yet, water drops fell onto Noel's cheek as she stared up at him. They were warm and tickled as they slid down her face. 

Buster's expression was one of intense pain. His lips were tight, and teeth bared. She felt any excitement for the rain or embarrassment about Buster's hug vanish completely. 

"Buster… It's okay. I' You can let me go."

"No. I won't let you go." The Ahngreel's glowing eyes shimmered with tears as they met hers. "I won't let you die, Noel. I promise."

Noel shook her head at his words, "I'm not going to die."

"Yes, you will. And I might be the one to kill you."

His voice broke, along with Noel's heart. 

She fought past the desire to shed tears of her own and kept her voice steady, "Maybe. But not now. Not yet." Noel returned her face to Buster's chest and buried her face into the cat shirt she had given him. She let him hold her for a bit longer. Noel had to admit that she felt secure in his strong arms.

They were silent as the rain fell around them. It did not matter if there were other pedestrians walking about in the storm. It was as if a veil had enveloped them, shutting the rest of the world out from this moment that belonged only to them.

At last, Buster broke the silence. "I'm sorry. My face just started leaking on its own."

Noel gave a small laugh, "It's the rain, that's all. It really is amazing, isn't it?"

"This is what you wanted to show me? So, it's not dangerous?"

"No, not this amount, at least. You can let me go. I'll be fine."

Buster hesitated, then he said, "Okay." His grip softened enough for Noel to finally untangle herself from his arms. She backed away and let the storm consume her at last.

Noel was soaked within seconds, the cool water washing away Buster's lingering warmth. She gave Buster a toothy grin, something Noel rarely did as she was self-conscious about the small gap in her front teeth. But she wanted to assure Buster in the clearest way possible. 

"See? It's not that bad."

"I guess," said Buster, running a finger through the mess that was his hair. Noel was surprised that it was as long as it was. He did not look happy as several strands clung to his face.

"Sorry," said Noel, "I guess I should have warned you it was coming." Noel kicked at the ground and turned her back on him to walk to a nearby tree. 

It wasn't a perfect umbrella; water dripped slowly from the leaves, and the ground was still wet, but it was dry enough to wait for the rain to blow over. She sat against the trunk and hugged her knees to her chest. Though the air was still warm and heavy, Noel found herself shivering from the cold. And from the truth of Buster's words. 

 I might be the one to kill you.

She was happy to think of Buster as her first real friend. And he was. But in the end, they would have to fight. If Darris had his way, it would be to the death. Whenever the time came for Darris to declare their battle, what would she do?

Noel had only known Buster for two days, yet she was already this attached to this big dope. What would happen the more time they spent together? How would she feel about him? Maybe it would be better to put an end to whatever this friendship was becoming and stay as training partners.

She looked up to find that the Ahngreel was still standing there in the rain. Noel could see his eyes shining through the wall of water, staring at the sky, mouth open like a turkey waiting to be drowned. She could not help but smile at his dopey expression as he literally drank in the rain. There was no way she could let him stay like that. 

"Buster! Over here," she called, "Come sit next to me." She patted the ground beside her.

He splashed his way over and sat where she indicated.

"I don't think I like the rain very much. Too wet." He shook his head hard enough to send water flying everywhere. Noel shielded her face with a cry of disgust, but she did not mind at all. She was already soaked. When Noel lowered her hands, Buster's eyes had returned to the rain. "I never realized that the sky could sweat like this," he said as he slicked his hair back into an approximation of his usual style. 

"Ew! Don't describe it like that," said Noel, elbowing him in the side. "It's water that collects in clouds up in the sky and falls when they become too heavy." A sudden wind stirred the rainfall and sent Noel into a fit of shivers.

"Cold?"

"Y-yeah. A little. But I'll be fine." Noel tightened her arms around her knees.

Buster placed a calloused hand on her bare shoulder. "I can help with that." Another spell of warmth spread from Noel's shoulder all throughout her body at his touch.  

Within seconds, Noel felt as warm as if she had been wrapped in a blanket for several hours. She marveled at Buster. "What did you do?"

He winked at her, "It's a secret, remember?"

"Right…" That only served as a harsh reminder of their inevitable clash. Now that she was warm again, Noel found she needed something else to do with her hands. So, she pulled her ponytail over her shoulder and took out her hair tie to wring out the water from her hair. 

Noel could feel Buster's eyes on her as she did this. "Um…Thanks for being willing to protect me. From Goro, I mean…and the rain, too, I guess." She continued to tug and squeeze at her hair.

"Why would I not?" he asked, "I like protectin' you. I would do it forever if I could. But I can't."

His hair fell over his face again as he turned away to stare at the rain.

Forever?! Noel shook off the shock of that word. "Because you have to go back to Sohaud soon?"

"Because you're going to die, Noel. And stay dead."

She swallowed. "Is it…different for Ahngreel?"

"Yeah. Humans don't have forever; Ahngreel do. We stop agin' at our prime, and as long as no one kills us, we live on and on and on. And even if we die, we have a chance to live again thanks to the power of Freelan Lake. The Lake heals all as long as there is a body and a soul." He took a shuddering breath, "But I guess that's not how it works for humans, is it?"

"No." Noel could feel a tightness in her throat. How nice would it be to never fear death, of losing loved ones to the inevitability of age, disease…or car accidents. 

Buster was wrong about humans not having a forever. They might not be able to live forever as Ahngreel do, but they certainly stayed dead forever.

Buster tugged at his bangs that nearly covered his eyes. "What happens to people after they die, then?"

Somewhere in her mind, Noel knew he would ask this question. If Buster had never known about the permanence of human death, this was the logical, inevitable conclusion. It was the fundamental human question.

And all she could tell him was the truth. "I don't know." Noel let her hands fall from her hair. "Azrath says that there is an afterlife in the Everflow, but I don't know what that means."

Buster remained quiet, waiting for more explanation.

Noel's felt rather than heard her thoughts spill out of her mouth. "It'd be nice if we knew that our family was somewhere watching over us instead of just being dead. But I can't tell you if that's true or not."

"It might be," said Buster, "Sohaud is supposedly the land between life and death. That's gotta mean something, right?"

"Maybe."

They sat in silence and watched the rain wash the world around them clean. A small current had formed around Noel's feet, leaking into her socks and shoes so that her toes squelched whenever she moved them.

Buster was the first to speak, "I don't think I can train you anymore."

"What? Why?!"

"I can't stand the idea of being the one to kill you, Noel. Not if it means you stay dead."

"I know."

"I'm serious." He turned desperate eyes on her. "I'd rather die a thousand times."

"I know you would." She met his eyes, "But you can't just give up on me. I need you!"

"You have Azrath. He's good enough to get you where you need."

She shook her head, "That's not true, and you know it! Azrath knows it! You and I are going to have to fight at some point. We can't change that. Darris chose you."

If Darris willed it, then they would fight. Even together, they had no power to stop him. But at the very least, Noel had come to a decision.

"Buster Brinn," she said with as much gravity as she could.

He was startled by the use of both names. "Yeah?"

"When the time comes, I want you to fight me with everything you've got."

"But I just said that—"

Noel stood and looked down at Buster for a change. "Why not? Would you hold back for Khary or Nuumalt?"

"No, but they're different!"

Fire crept into Noel's gaze as she bore down on Buster, "How? How are they different from me?"

Buster's eyes darted as his mind raced, "I don't like them as much as I like you. If you died…" He fell silent as his eyes found the ground.

"Then it has to be you who trains me," she said, "You and Azrath. And you'd better make damn sure you give me your all. Because if we fight, and you let me win, I'll never be able to surpass the Equituum, let alone Darris. And if you don't kill me, then they will. Guaranteed. Would you prefer that?"

"No."

"Then what's your answer?"

Buster fell silent for a long time, enough for the rain to lessen and eventually stop completely. There were no pedestrians on the sidewalk; the only sound was the slow drip drip drip of water from the leaves around them.

She waited for Buster to speak. Even if they had no choice but to fight, they had control over how they would face the inevitable. That was their power. She would not prompt him. It had to be his decision.

At last, Buster grinned up at her, "I guess I'm not being very Ahngreel, am I?"

"Not at all."

"But you, even though you're facing permanent death, you're still willing to push yourself past your limits. If that's not the most Ahngreel thing I've ever seen, I don't know what is."

"Thanks," She really meant it.

"All right, Noel. I'll train you."

Noel raised an eyebrow, "And?"

"And I'll fight you, Ahngreel to Ahngreel, with everything I have. No holding back."

She smiled at him and held out a hand to him, "That's what I like to hear."

He took it, but Buster was too strong for her and pulled her down instead. She fell atop his broad shoulder in a heap. As she lay there, she felt Buster's shoulder shaking again. Instead of sobs, however, she heard the Ahngreel's laughter.

"Guess we'll have to work on your core strength first." His laughs became a fit.

She couldn't help it. Noel laughed along with him, guffaws and all.

They would be opponents sometime soon, but right now, Noel was content with enjoying every moment she had with her friend for as long as possible.

That was her power.