Ever since he was sent back to Kozushima from the juvenile detention center for his probation because of what he had done in Tokyo, Hodaka had been biding his time.

He knew that they couldn't keep him around here forever. They knew that they couldn't keep him around forever. He knew that if he just waited, he'd be able to leave and come back. Probation could only last so long. Eventually, graduation would come and break him free of his chains. They always said that great things came to those who wait.

So that's what he did. Wait.

But of course, just because he knew what he had to do didn't mean he had to like it in the slightest.

He remembered why he even ran away in the first place the moment he stepped foot in his hometown: it was suffocating, even more so that he was under his punishment. He couldn't go anywhere that wasn't home or school without his parents' permission (but then again, it was as if there was actually anything entertaining in their village), local policemen were well-aware of his status as a (now ex) fugitive in Tokyo and made sure he was aware that they were blatantly watching every move he made to make sure that he wouldn't run away again.

But he knew that there was no point in running. All he needed to do was stall the days out until graduation, and he would be free from his chains. Why bother stirring up a storm that was sure to just chain him down in Kozushima even further if doing literally nothing would get him out of there eventually?

But ever since he came back, the things he used to do subconsciously without second thoughts were now the same ones he had hesitated upon. Eating food, going to sleep, walking - they seemed like a challenge, and he seemed debilitated. It was like getting a deaf person to listen to you - they can't.

He'd trip randomly on roads, immediately forget the question given to him during class, and just suddenly pause while eating, chopsticks still in hand. He felt like a numbnut.

Every time someone would tell him about these irregular actions, he'd just tell them that they spaced out a bit.

He still went through many things as he should've, as to not worry anyone. In school, he'd clean and listen. He'd talk to others. He existed.

At home, he'd obey and follow his parents. They were a lot more lenient than they were years prior, especially with his father - but that didn't mean they'd let him get away with dirty deeds.

Then there was the monthly talk with his assigned probation officer. He was understanding - a lot more lenient than Pompadour, who came off as a bit of an impatient asshole.

Regardless of what he thought of the detective, he understood why he was the way he was - Hodaka's case was probably no different from many cases he could've possibly had in his career, and his constant escape from the hands of the police did nothing more than serve as an annoyance to him - a stopgap to his paycheck.

A month before his final year would end, the monthly talk stopped. Hodaka was indifferent about it; it was mostly just him letting him know what had happened during the month, mostly to see if Hodaka had stirred himself up into trouble once more.

But then again, even if he had done anything, the local policemen would've let the man know and would've been two steps ahead of Hodaka.

Before long, he'd had gained more friends than before. His grades had gone up. He kept his record straight. He was more sociable and outgoing - but then again, there were about thirty people in the entire high school.

Eventually, it came the day. Graduation.

The ceremony itself was fairly boring - having been through it for two hours after school every weekday made sure there were no surprise aside from the almost obligated cheering from the parents. Getting a home was a bit more troublesome, after two girls had called him out while he was on the road.

"Excuse me! H-Hodaka!" someone called.

He turned around. It was a girl, and her friend alongside her, both he'd recognized to be a grade below him. Ame and Akari, if he remembered correctly.

Upon their request, they spoke at a nearby gazebo. Hodaka was curious to know what this was about.

"Hodaka... I-Is it true that you're moving to Tokyo?" Ame asked, sounding somewhat nervous.

"Uh, yeah!" he responded. The girl looked even more nervous than before, putting her hands together to make it look like she was praying, or in deep contemplation if she actually wanted to say what she wanted to say.

Akari also noticed this and gave her a slight nudge on her side. "Just ask him already! This is your last chance!" she goaded. This sparked something in Hodaka - a realization.

'Wait a minute, could this be...'

"I just- I- well there's something I've always wanted to ask you," she shyly told him. Hodaka gasped out of mere surprise.

'I don't believe it! My first love confession?!'

He didn't think it would ever happen. But then again, it wasn't as if it mattered - his heart belonged to Hina, after all. And he was by no means a pushover, but he wouldn't really know what to say to her if it was what he thought it was...

"Uh, Hodaka..."

"Huh?" Hodaka asked back.

"I..." she spoke. "I heard you were wanted by the police in Tokyo! Is that true?!"

He snapped out of his reverie almost immediately. "What?"

Oh.

They had animated, most of all expectant faces. More than certainly, they were expecting him to confirm it as a true statement.

"...No, it's not." he denied.

Ame made no attempt to hide the disappointment in her face. "What?! But- I know you don't look like it, but people say you have a track record and everything! They even said you had connections to the yakuza in Tokyo!"

Hodaka felt a bit relieved, and at the same time he felt stupid. Of course this girl that was a grade under him that barely even knew him didn't like him that way. What did he even expect?

He gives the girls an honest answer. "I had nothing to do with the yakuza, but I did get arrested. I had a hearing in Tokyo," he explains to them. "Because I was a runaway, and... some other things."

Said other things involved assault, owning an illegal firearm, attempted murder with said illegal firearm, obstruction of justice, and running on the railway tracks. At least, that's what Detective Pompadour and the other prosecutors had told him.

But they didn't need to know that, right?

The girls give out a high pitched noise out of glee, then took each other's hands and jumped up and down in joy. "That's so cool! You're like a movie hero!" they praised, completely entranced.

Hodaka was surprised they revered him for such a thing, if he were being honest. What was so impressive about being arrested? "Thank you." he told them, a small smile plastered on his lips.


Once he had gotten home, he was congratulated by his parents, who were actually proud at his achievement - having learned to appreciate him after he had runaway. Regardless of this, Hodaka wasted no time to tell them straight after the graduation that he'd be moving to Tokyo in a few days - both for job experience and to get into a good university, and while they were saddened by this, they accepted it for what it was, finally welcoming to the fact that the quiet lifestyle that their village in Kozushima offered just wasn't for him.

Nonetheless, they told him he was always welcome with them should he need the assistance.

In addition to this, Hodaka's father had also apologized to him for what he had done years ago - realizing that physically abusing and controlling every choice and action Hodaka made in order for him to bend to his own personal ideals was wrong (wow, who would've thought?) and that he was hoping that Hodaka would forgive him and they could start over.

Initially, Hodaka refused to believe what he had just heard. For all his life he knew his father, he was a rather unforthcoming and prideful person, mostly choosing to keep his problems to himself and normally refusing to admit defeat and apologizing in many situations, especially if it were a matter of pride, so for him to apologize, and to him no less... to say the least, it was bizarre. Surreal.

Yet, in any case, he was satisfied he would get the closure he needed in his strained relationship with his father, he was more than happy to bury the hatchet and start over with him.

Kozushima and his strained family ties finally behind him now, he was more than ready to start a new leaf in Tokyo.


The day he went on the ship that was headed to Tokyo was the same day he was arrested three years ago.

Standing before trial for many laws he'd broken (being a runaway, in possession of an illegal firearm, resisting arrest), but because he was a minor he couldn't face the full brunt of the law, he was instead sentenced to probation until he graduated high school and therefore became an adult, where he could actually be sent to prison if he did the same things again.

That had also been the last day he saw Hina, when they were brought away by authorities when they had figured out where they were. He held the ring in his fingers. He didn't know what to think. He hadn't seen Tokyo ever since it changed. Suffice to say he didn't like it.

Everything had sunken. Only the uphill parts were left as they were. Most bridges, that were made to drive over water, had their purpose wholly defeated by being completely submerged under rain. Many buildings that used to make Tokyo up for what it was known for nowhere to be seen.

His own efforts started off small. He looked and applied for jobs that now three years into the future he could (legally) apply to now and found a small, one-room apartment that he could stay in, near the university he planned to enroll to. He wasn't a fan of how cramped it was, but with the endless torrential rain, a roof above his head rivaled gold, so he supposed it didn't matter as much as he wanted it to believe.

He checked the old website they had.

Sunshine for You

1 new request!

There was still one more unfulfilled request, much to his shock. It was from two years ago.


He made his way to Takashimadaira Station. An hour of two of searching and asking had led him to an apartment complex just south of the station. He looked at every room door until he stopped at one. Tachibana.

He knocked on the door. An elderly woman, Fumi Tachibana, was the one who greeted him at the door. "Oh, it's you!" she greeted, before she looked around him and saw no one else. "Are you alone? Where's your sunshine girl?" she asked.

"O-Oh, she's no longer a sunshine girl," he stated. "Actually, it's why I'm here - to tell you that." he explained to her.

"Well, you've already made the trip, so come on in," she told him. Not seeing anything else to do, he accepted her offer, entering the house. Her house was definitely bigger than his apartment, but way smaller than the old house she used to live in, downtown in Shitamachi. In the room housed many framed photographs. A picture of herself and an unknown, elderly man; Hodaka chose to assume the man as her deceased husband. A family photo. A picture of her grandson and his fiancée, presumably at their wedding. He could smell the incense coming from a small, Buddhist altar; only that was what was similar to back then in Obon.

Following her gesturing, he sat down on the dinner table. He patiently waited, and after a few minutes she came back with a bowl of sweets in one hand. She placed them on the table, as if offering some of it for him to eat.

"Uh, thanks, but I'm okay," he politely refused, before looking up, the woman staring at him. "So, how long have you been living here? Last time, weren't you in a house downtown somewhere?" he asked her, yet he knew the entire reason why she moved to begin with. If anything, it was just small talk.

"I had to move; the entire area is underwater now." Fumi answered, a slight undertone of dejection in her voice.

Hodaka noticed this and couldn't help but feel even more guilty for what he had done. "Sorry," he uttered.

Fumi nearly chuckled. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I-" he had said it without any forethought. He wanted to explain, but perhaps it would be better that she didn't know instead. He had a feeling that she wouldn't believe him anyway. "I don't know."

The old woman took a sweet from the bowl, a small, chocolate pie, and opened its wrapper. "Did you know, the entire area of Tokyo used to be under the sea?" she queried as she then proceeded to give the small pie to Hodaka, who accepted the offer. While it was clear that Hodaka wasn't aware of such, the question came out rather rhetoric and was intended to interpolate her next statement. "...I think, until about... two-hundred years ago?"

She continued with her next statement. "Back when it was called 'Edo', Tokyo was just a bay. Little by little, humans as well as the water changed this landscape."

Fumi looked out the window and into the scenery with a knowing smile. "Look at it now. It's sort of reverted back. Back to its original self." she finished, Hodaka surprised at her nonchalance over Tokyo's state.

Perhaps it was because she thought it was perpetual and was bound to happen eventually. But maybe it was because there was no use crying over spilt milk. It was not as if she hadn't experienced the loss of her belongings in part of the flood, since her old home downtown was certainly none more different than a shipwreck.

He stayed in her house for the next hour, then excused himself. Before he left, she said that if he ever needed help or advice, her doors were always open.

He thanked Fumi for her insight and left.


A few days after he talked to Fumi to (in a way) fulfill her last request from him and Hina's business, he made his way to find Suga to speak to him (to thank him for what he did years ago? To repay him a favor? To ask him if he knew where Hina was? Many things, basically). He didn't necessarily have a hard time finding the office he worked in since over the years, K Planning had become way more than just a small private affirm whose entire systematic was evolved around finding and writing about urban myths and legends that was probably malarkey for the sake of 'entertainment'.

Nowadays, there was a bit more variety to what Suga had his workers write about - sure, the old, tried and true classic that was the urban legend and supernatural myth article was still there, but these days their journalism wasn't entirely drivel and could range from things like the aforementioned classic supernatural myth malarkey, to forecast and weather prediction (since rain seemed to be the only weather for the past few years, many ate this up like Suga wished they had with the supernatural writing they published years prior), and run of the mill news alerts.

Hodaka was glad to know Suga had grown a sense of integrity for his company, at the very least.

He knocked, then proceeded to make his way to Suga's table. Without having to look up, Suga knew it was him immediately.

"Hodaka? Good to see you again. What brings you here?"

Hodaka talked to him about what had happened between him and Hina. Of course, Suga doesn't believe it, and nonchalantly dismisses it.

"What's wrong with you? You've been thinking about this shit for the past three years," he said gruffly, face in contorting in displeasure.

"Hey, don't call it 'shit'-" he was about to defend, until Suga cut him off.

"Stop acting like a kid. You're about to start college, you should focus on other things." he responded once more, completely uncaring as to what he had to say.

"Yeah but, the two of us did something-"

"Did what? You think you caused this? You really think you're responsible for changing the world?"

He finally looked up at him, putting his reading glasses on his hair. "That's precisely why I called it shit. You don't matter in the scheme of things, don't flatter yourself." he bluntly told him, before his phone buzzed, which signified a notification.

"Oh!" he said, before he pulled out his phone and showed Hodaka what was on it. "Check it out. It's from my last date with my daughter. Natsumi and Nagi were the third and fourth wheels though."

It was a picture Natsumi had apparently posted on Instagram of Suga, his daughter Moka, and of course the aforementioned Natsumi and Nagi. It was clear that the Amanos had gotten close to his ex-employer and Natsumi overtime. He couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy, but taking into consideration everything that had happened between them, he supposed that he shouldn't be surprised in the slightest.

Suga spoke up after a few seconds of Hodaka looking at the picture, turning his phone off and putting it back on his right side. "Now can you stop brooding all over this nonsense and just go see her? I don't know why you haven't already."

"I was on probation, so I wasn't supposed to," he gave as an exposition to him. "And I didn't want to cause her any trouble, plus even if I wanted to she doesn't have a cellphone, and also I'm super nervous," he explained even further. "I don't even know what to say to her."

It was then that the sleeping Rain, who was content sleeping on the office chair next to Suga, jumped onto the man's table with a disgruntled look and sat, looking at Hodaka the entire time, clear as crystal that the cat remembered him (Hodaka was his original owner, after all).

"Huh, Rain? You've gotten so big..." he chuckled at how far his feline friend had come since he was a street cat, just like how Hodaka was slumping on the streets of Tokyo all those years ago.

Suga made a shoo-ing gesture with his left hand. "Go on. Get out of here. Can't you see that I've got work to do? Beat it." he told him, Rain meowing in agreement.

"Go and find her, you know you want to."

Hodaka agreed with this notion and turned around for the door. "Thank you for your time,"

"Nice to meet you!" both of Suga's present employees told him at roughly the same time.

"Hey," Suga called out once more. Hodaka turned around to look at him.

The man smiled. "Don't sweat the small stuff, big man." he spoke encouragingly. "The world has always been crazy. Always has been, always will be."

Hodaka smiled knowingly. He left the office in a new light, fueled by his pseudo-father figure's words.


A few hours of pacing around Tokyo had lead him to an all-too familiar place: the small road where he had first seen the effects of Hina's powers on her. He paced forward, umbrella in one hand, the ring he had given to Hina in the other.

"The world has always been crazy. Always has been, always will be." he repeated the words Suga told him. "So that means, it's no one's fault that it's like this now..."

Yet, while he says this, a small part of himself still blames his own being for what Tokyo was now. He tried to push the lingering thought out of his mind, if only for a short period of time. He could deal with his self-loathing at a different time, right?

"Is this what I should say to her?" he said more to himself than anyone. "I don't know..."

Suddenly, his heart froze, almost knowingly. He lowered his umbrella and looked up. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was her.

It really was her.

She was overlooking the drowned city, praying for something. Knowing her, she was praying for the sunshine to go away, but secretly, he was hoping that her prayers wouldn't be granted - because to Hodaka, nothing was more terrifying than seeing the girl you love's body be almost entirely decomposed into water.

He teared up, remembering what he had told her when they were falling out of his sky, and how he had gotten into that position in the first place. Those ambitions paid off, and the fact that she was still here attested to that.

"I made a choice." he told himself, his fist clenched. "I've chosen her. I've chosen this world. I've chosen to live here."

He screamed. "Hina!"

The girl looked in his direction, and saw him.

First, her face was surprise and disbelief, surprise at someone suddenly snapping her out of her prayer and calling for her, and disbelief that the person who called was.. him.

'It really is him!' She thought to herself.

Then she smiled, and shouted back: "Hodaka!"

They both ran to each other and shared a tight hug, as if they never wanted to let go of each other ever again.

'It's been so long…' they both thought to themselves.

Hina noticed the boy's tears. She softly asked him as if caressed his face.

He took her left hand in his hand and removed it as she removed her right hand in the same fashion too. "Yeah, I'm fine," he reassured her. "You know what, Hina?"

They took each other's hands in theirs.

"We're going to be alright!"


Obligatory AN and stuff you may need to know in the future:

- Ame and Akari are not the actual names of the girls that speak to Hodaka after his graduation (if you bothered to remember them, anyway). I just needed filler names so it's less jarring for me to write them as 'girl' and 'the other girl'.

- This chapter is basically (what I think was) Act IV in the movie (what had happened after Hodaka brought Hina back to Earth), just novelized, with some extra parts sprinkled in so it's not just (literally the last eight minutes of the movie but worded) and so the events are bridged semi-properly. Don't worry, an actually originally created story starts next chapter!

- I like the English dub better because it makes it easier for me to imagine scenes because I can actually understand them (I know subtitles exist, but I find it easier if I understand the voices themselves), so most honorifics like '-san' and '-kun' will be non-existent and things like 'Mr.' and 'Ms.' will be in their places instead.

- Feel free to leave this story any reviews, whether negative or positive! Just make sure it's constructive, however - calling myself and this story purely expletives (no matter how called for you think it may be), doesn't help anyone, and it just makes me unnecessarily vindictive. If you want to call my story 'a piece of shit', feel free to do so, but make sure you tell me why you thought it was.

In any case, I hoped you liked this chapter (although to be honest, it was more of a novelization of the last part of the movie than an actual chapter but whatever I suppose) and I'll see you next time!

Also a small thank you to Puterboy1 for their recommendation of the movie's novel adaptation! Helped me have a bit more insight on the smaller pictures the movie didn't pick up on.