"Here, Hina," I said, sliding the small box over to her. "Happy 18th birthday." The clock was at midnight. Surely, Hina would appreciate this small gift while we were on the run from the authorities here in Tokyo. "It's not much, but it's something I thought would look good on you."

She opened the box, and there in the middle, sat the ring. She gasped. She looked at me with those beautiful eyes and said, "Thanks!" It wasn't much, but it was enough to make me smile and giggle a little. Then, her voice faltered. "Hey. Can I ask you something?" She took a shuddering breath and said, "Would you like for the rain to stop?"

This was unexpected, but I answered anyway. "Uh, yes. Yeah." The light on the stand flickered as thunder boomed outside. Hina lay on her back and sighed. "I'm a human sacrifice, they say," she said, eyes on the ceiling.

"Huh?" I was confused.

"Natsumi was the one who told me about the Sunshine Girl's fate," Hina continued. "If the Maiden gets sacrificed then her body disappears, but after that, the weather goes back to normal.

I sighed. Was this another legend thing? Those things don't exist in the world. "Come on now," I said. "You can't believe the stuff in those weird legends. I mean, people don't disappear."

She stood up and loosened the strap on her bathrobe. I gasped. I wasn't about to embarrass Nagi in front of us. He was a kid after all!

But as she slid her robe off, I gasped, not at her body, but the condition of it. There was a patch of skin that looked translucent. Almost like…it was turning into water. She was turning into water. She exhaled softly, but there was a hitch in her voice. Almost like she was about to cry. She then noticed my gaze and chuckled. But it was a sad chuckle.

"What are you looking at?" she said, her voice full of lightheartedness. It was almost like she was trying to hide the fact that she was going to disappear.

"I'm not looking at anything!" I cried. My vision started to go blurry. Thick tears started to fall from my face and I wiped at them, trying to stiffen the flow. "I'm looking at you, Hina." I buried my face in my hands and sobbed into them.

"Come on," Hina said, adjusting her robe, her voice still full of that lightheartedness. "Why are you crying, Hodaka?"

I pulled my face out of my hands and looked at her. She was staring at her feet, a sad smile in her eyes. "The more I pray for sunshine, the more my body fades away." Her eyes glistened with tears. "But…if I end up dying from this…"

I couldn't take it anymore. The tears started to come faster. I wiped at them, but they just kept coming like the rain outside. "…we'll finally get our summers back."

No. It was not worth it. I wouldn't lose my only best friend in the world just because I wanted one of the four seasons back, and to see the blue sky and fluffy clouds and to feel the sun on my skin.

"Take care of Nagi for me."

No. No no no no. I wasn't going to let a small kid who barely had parents die in the streets of Japan alone. Not without her sister and her friend by his side.

"No!" I cried. "I won't! 'Cause you are not going anywhere!"

Before she could respond, I crawled over to her and seized her hand.

"Hodaka…" she said.

"Hina, let's make a promise to each other," I said, sliding the ring on her watery hand, "to always be together."

She looked at me, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.

"I'll get a job," I said, clasping her hand in mine. "I'll take care of us. You don't have to be a Sunshine Girl anymore. Your body will go back to normal, and then…"

I never finished that sentence. She wrapped her arms around me tight and sobbed into my shoulder. I grabbed onto her and sobbed as well. The light flickered, but I paid no attention to it. If this was my last chance to be with the person I cared for the most in the world, I wanted to make sure that she knew I loved her.

This moment still haunts me today.

I walk up the path overlooking the submerged area of Tokyo. I know this route because Hina levitated into the sky, showing that she was already disappearing. I shudder at the memory. I'm glad she's still here on planet Earth with us.

"Used to be underwater," I say, repeating the words of the old lady. I glance at the submerged area of Tokyo. She told me that this was once a city named Edo. Could she be right? "The world's crazy," I say again, this time echoing the words of Mr. Suga from a while ago. "Always has been and always will be. So that means it's no one's fault that it's like this now." I take the ring out of my pocket and glance at it. "Is that what I should say to her? I don't know."

Suddenly, I hear a flock of geese take off from the water. Startled, I jerk my head up…and I lower my umbrella in shock. I see a figure on the hill up ahead. I know that figure.

She had her hands clasped in prayer like she was wanting the weather to clear up again, but I know better. I have waited three years to see her again, and now I finally have that chance.

I feel my eyes go wet, not from the rain, but from my tears.

No, they're wrong! I think. That day I… No, we changed the world. I made a choice. I chose her. I chose this world, and I choose to live in it!

"Hina!" I call out. The figure turned to me. A gust of wind lifted the hood from her head, revealing silky black hair tied in two pigtails. She looked as beautiful as the day I met her. A ray of sunshine hit her face and she smiled. It was a smile that I had missed for 3 years.

"Hodaka!" she cried, running towards me. I dropped my umbrella and ran for her as well. When she got close enough, I opened my arms and she lept into them, and I swing her around. It feels great to see her again.

I set her down and she smiles. Then, her smile fades a little.

"Hodaka, what's wrong?" she asks, cupping my face in her hands. They feel a little cold. She wipes my eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I say, taking her hands in mine. "Yeah, I'm fine." She smiles again.

"You know what Hina?" I say. "We're gonna be alright." She breaks into her widest smile yet.

"You know, Hodaka," she says suddenly, tears prickling in the corners of her eyes. "I've missed you these past three years."

"Yeah, me too," I say as I stare into those wonderful eyes of hers. "I couldn't even give you a call if I wanted to. You don't even have a cell phone!"

"Oh," Hina says, breaking contact with my hands. "Yeah, I had to save up on things in order to take care of Nagi." Her eyes continue to moisten. Some early memory she was not too fond of. "But I have you. That's what matters." She wiped at her own eyes.

I sighed. I hate seeing her like this…not since the night three years ago.

"Hina," I say. "I would like to tell you something."

"Oh?" she said, looking at my eyes. "What is it?"

"The flooded section of the city," I said, glancing to the submerged area of Tokyo. "Do you think it will ever clear up? And if it does, how long will it take to rebuild the city?"

Hina sighed, but her smile didn't fade. "As long as we keep hoping, I think it will one day. Until then, I get to spend my days with you." The smile she gave me was enough to make me feel warm on the inside as if the sun really decided to poke through the clouds and bathe us all in its warmth.

"Speaking of that, I saw you praying," I said. "Don't tell me you are going to disappear again."

"No, Hodaka," Hina said. "I don't think I have my powers anymore."

"Oh," I said, slightly surprised to hear this. "Then, what were you praying for?"

"I hoping you would show up today," Hina said. "I had been doing that every day since my days on probation began to dwindle." She smiled at me. I smiled back.

"Well, if I am glad about one thing to back with you, it is this," I said, taking her hand and sliding the ring onto it. "I want to spend the rest of days with you, Hina. There is no one else I would spend my time with than you other than one reason." I took a deep breath. "I love you, Hina. I don't need any clear skies or rainy days to be with you. Just say yes, please."

Her eyes sparkle with tears, not the sad kind, the happy kind. "Yes," she said. "I love you too, Hodaka." She then did the unprecedented thing: She stood on her tippy-toes and kissed me.

Holy-

I officially have a girlfriend.

This is the best day ever.

She let go of me after a few moments. She giggled. "You're blushing, Hodaka."

"Uh-" I desperately tried to hide my face, but Hina just giggled.

"You're really cute!" she said, as I emerged from my arms. "Especially for an 18-year old."

"That would put you around…" I said, trying to figure out her age.

"Almost around your age," Hina filled in for me. "2 weeks." She then smiled even wider. "Don't worry, spending time with you is the perfect present I need."

"Heh, you're right," I said. "Especially since you will always be my Sunshine Girl."

"Aww," Hina said, hugging me tightly. "That must make you my Sunshine Boy."

I couldn't think of anything else to say after that. As I stood there in the light drizzle, hugging my precious ray of sunshine, I promised that she will always be moving the weather with me, no matter what powers she had and no matter how far we were.

Even up in the clouds.