Happy birthday to me! I am 22, which I suppose is some sort of golden birthday? Duo-undecuple birthday? Whatever, it's a double-digit where both digits are the same number, that's special. Not like I really have anything else to celebrate.

June 19th, 2021

The rain made a pattering sort of music as it splashed down out of the sky, washing the world with metallic color and taste and sending a chill through the air.

Its not Hinamizawa, tugged a tiny voice in the back of Mion Sonozaki's head, but she ignored it, chafing her arms as she looked up at the sky from under the shelter of a storefront awing. Heir to the Sonozaki family or not, Batcha had seen the writing on the wall, and knew that times were changing. Hinamizawa might be as rural and isolated as an Oyashiro-sama fanatic could wish, but the 20th century was drawing to a close, and the future was creeping up around them. If Mion wanted to be a family head worth reckoning with, wanted to exercise her influence not only as the de facto lead of Hinamizawa's Three Families but also to the people in the areas around Hinamizawa, she'd need credentials.

Credentials like a university degree, top of her class, and all that other nonsense, stuff that Mion was and wasn't devoted to. She wasn't gonna break her back becoming the valedictorian of the class, but she was leaving here with good grades, a good reputation, and degree in hand –that was inarguable. Mion knew how important education was, much as she despised the useless busywork that most education consisted of.

But then, she had a perfectly good boyfriend to help out with studying.

Rhythmic splashes alerted her, and Mion looked to the side and grinned as she saw Keiichi walking down the street, red umbrella held aloft over his head as crystal raindrops beaded on the top and slid down to dribble infrequently off the edge. A schoolbag dangled off his shoulder, and his answering grin was like the sun coming out.

"Dashed out of class without an umbrella, huh?" Keiichi teased as he reached her, angling his umbrella up and to the side to offer shelter as she joined him without a second thought, unselfconsciously linking their arms together as they set off, continuing down the street together.

"Ah, that's what I have you for, Kei-chan." she drawled carelessly, ignoring the giddy, fluttery feeling she still got from being able to do that, to tuck her arm in his and walk side-by-side down the street, like the couple that they were. "You're brains, I'm brawn."

"Beauty, too." Keiichi said cheerfully, though when she glanced at him, he flushed a little and looked aside, still shy of expressing such things directly to her face. Mion grinned and snuggled closer to him, unabashed.

"You ever miss the city?" she asked after a while, indicating the grey world around them as they walked down to the dorms, and Keiichi made a face.

"I guess…but not really." he said, thinking it through aloud. "I mean, I was born in a city, I grew up in a city, but…Hinamizawa's my home, same as you. I miss the air, and the mountains, and our club."

Mion sighed reminiscently, laying her head on his shoulder. It was a bit tricky to do when walking, but totally worth it, as she felt Keiichi shiver a little under the weight of her head and lean into her.

"Ah, its just not the same when its only you and Rena and me." she lamented.

"I'm just glad you haven't let an armed takeover of the school yet." Keiichi said ruefully. "What's the holdup? Are your professors actually competent?"

"Competent at filing paperwork, maybe." Mion groaned. "I think I've written more papers than I've ever seen before in my life. How did you live in that cram school of yours?"

"I didn't." Keiichi said, which surprised her a little as she brought her head up, looking at him. Keiichi was staring down the street, an uncharacteristically pensive look on his expressive face. "It was all just studying, studying, studying, all the time –mechanical, dull. I never had a moment to breathe, and it felt like every second of my life, eating or sleeping, was devoted to thinking about what next sheet of paper or test or essay I was about to fill out. It was miserable."

"Sounds like it." Mion said, squeezing his arm a little tighter in sympathy.

"Yeah." But then Keiichi looked down into her face again, and she was bathed in the radiance of his smile. "But then I came to Hinamizawa and met you guys, and the whole world seemed brighter again. I treasured every single day I spent with you, and I never wanted those days to end. Hinamizawa was where I really learned how to be alive, and it's all because of you."

Mion blushed, even though she knew he was referring to the rest of the club as much as her. She was the club leader, after all…in the end, all that credit was due to her.

She leaned up and pressed a kiss to the underside of his chin, making Keiichi pause a moment as the rain continued pouring down around them outside their umbrella.

"Charmer." Mion said when she pulled away again, smiling. "Looks like the Magician of the Mouth still hasn't lost his old touch, eh, Kei-chan?"

Keiichi blushed a little, and if his arms weren't equally imprisoned by her own and his duty of holding up the umbrella, he probably would've rubbed the back of his neck bashfully.

"Everyone becomes great under a great leader." he said, before they started off again through the rain. "I wouldn't be where I am today without you, Mion."

Mion hummed agreement, leaning closer to him again and just basking in this, the moment when they could be together under the rain and the grey skies, pressed tight together under an umbrella and ignoring the chill and the damp of the day, reveling in the time that they could share. She knew without asking, without speaking, that Keiichi was doing the same thing, as their shared experiences continued to weave a bond of love between them.

"One thing I don't miss about Hinamizawa," Keiichi said suddenly. "-is knowing I can get the shovel talk from a yakuza boss at any second. I knew you grew up with them, Mion, but do you know how freaky it is for a bunch of guys with missing fingers to corner you in an ally, even if they are just telling you to be nice with your girlfriend?"

Mion tilted her head back as her boisterous, uncivilized laughter rang through the dull city streets.

9.13 AM, USA Central Time