Introduction (9 March 2023)

I started writing this story right after watching the "Weathering with You" movie, with the various impressions from this wonderful experience still quite fresh in my memory. Because, like a number of viewers, I too felt the ending was a bit sudden, and didn't show much of Hodaka's inner feelings and thoughts as he returned to Tokyo. I hope this alternate version of the movie's ending will make an entertaining and interesting read.

Update 21 March 2023: This chapter was initially uploaded with the title "Ray of Light" but after the idea came up to turn this into a story with more chapters, a new name was chosen for it and another chapter has been added. I hope this new content will make for a better overall reading experience.

Note: If you want to comment on this story, or any of my other stories, you're welcome to leave a review, preferably as registered member, as I can then reply and for instance express my thanks to you for taking the effort to leave a review. Thus allowing for more interaction with the people who read my stories.

Chapter 1

"Search for the Girl"

At a steady pace, the ferry's bow ploughed through the cold water; A fairly common sight in Tokyo these days. The seemingly endless rain had changed the appearance of the metropolis significantly over the past years. Some of the former highways had more or less become canals. Subway tunnels had all flooded as well as many of the train tracks. Only the parts that were located on areas well raised above sea level, had not been affected much.

It had been close to three years now, since Hodaka last set foot on Tokyo soil. After the incident with the Police in his attempt to save Hina, he had been busy with lots of things, but one thing has always been left wandering in his thoughts…

'Maybe it had all been a dream…' it briefly flashed through his mind. Hina, running the Sunshine Girl business, her sacrifice to stop the rain, and the bad weather returning after he had reached the place above the sky, resulting in bringing her back. Sometimes it was hard to believe this had all been real at all. But the ring he wore on his left hand, the one he had given to Hina for what he thought had been her eighteenth birthday, that was more than real enough, though.

This ring had never left his finger since that day, even though the people in his home town had often mocked Hodaka for it, when they noticed him wearing this. "What is that? Do you think you are her boyfriend or something? Didn't you just make it all up?" and "You must be really stupid to believe in such a thing!" were some of the comments he had been used to getting.

Usually Hodaka would simply ignore those stupid remarks and the accompanying laughter, but once he had nearly lost his composure and had grabbed a classmate by his collar for making such mindless comments. But Hodaka was still on probation and remembered this in time. Since then, that person hadn't dared to mock him again though.

Now Hodaka was back here, trying to find what seemed like a needle in a haystack. 'Perhaps they were right, and I am just crazy...' Hodaka thought, as he stepped on the gangway and set foot on Tokyo soil for the first time in years.

"Here kid, have one of these!" A man selling snacks shouted, as he threw him a bag of potato chips.

"How much are those?" Hodaka asked politely, after he caught the bag, expecting this to be some aggressive sale technique and that he had to pay, since he did already have his fingers on it now.

"Consider it a free sample," the guy said, as he smiled; "So, is this your first time visiting the big city?"

Hodaka was a bit confused at this unexpected kindness. Almost as if Tokyo had changed a lot since the last time he had been there. Besides the obvious changes, the many areas that had been flooded now, that was.

"Thanks!" Hodaka replied; "And no, I've been here before, about three years ago."

"Oh? But then you've seen Tokyo before the massive flooding, right?"

Hodaka nodded in agreement before slipping back into thought.

'Three years had been a long time though. How would Hina have managed during that time? Would she have ended up working in one of those sleazy night clubs after all? Or maybe she had disappeared forever, as punishment for escaping from the upper world, back to Earth? And if it were none of those things, would she still even be alive?'

Hodaka shivered at these disturbing thoughts. Thoughts that had tortured him ever so often, for the past years. But he also remembered how mature Hina had acted, when they first met. How easily she had been able to convince him she was eighteen already. 'Imagine we would have started dating for real back then, and gotten really serious… we would have been in some real trouble!' he thought, as his cheeks briefly flushed red at the very thought.

'But if anyone would manage to survive living in these harsh conditions for the past years, it's Hina!'

A line that had become his personal mantra, something that had kept him going, to help him focus on getting through the probation period without any major issues, and the reason he was back in Tokyo on this very day.

"Is something wrong, son? Do you need help with anything?" the salesman asked, waking Hodaka from his ponderings with his voice.

"Oh no, sir. I was just thinking about something. I'm fine!" the youngster quickly replied, with a smile.

"Well, I have to move on, try making some extra profit to cover for your free sample," the guy selling snacks chuckled; "Have a nice day!"

"Thanks again! And you too!" Hodaka shouted, as the friendly salesman started crossing a street that wasn't flooded.

Hodaka stood still for a moment, and looked at the bag of the free snack he had just received. 'So they're still making these, that's amazing...' it flashed through his mind, as he noticed the name on the bag and recognized it instantly. It was the exact same brand Hina had been cooking with back then, after she had taken him in, the first time he had come to Tokyo. 'That sure was some special meal…' Hodaka started reminiscing. 'Just as good as the food we had gotten when we rented that luxury suite. No… it was better than the dishes we bought there. It was as if Hina's food was made with… with love…'

An unsettling feeling came over Hodaka again, similar to when earlier he had been reflecting upon all the things that could have happened to Hina, although this was a somewhat different sensation. This sensation was something exciting and frightening at the same time, somewhat similar to standing at the foot of a tall mountain. And while knowing it would likely be a near impossible challenge to reach the summit, the thought of what it would be like to stand up there, and look around, keeps feeding the desire to start climbing. Love seemed like such a mountain, for sure.

'But even if it is love, is there still anything love can do here?' is what he wondered briefly.

Hodaka soon arrived at the building where he had reserved an apartment. After getting the keys, he quickly made himself comfortable. It sure had felt odd to have the woman at the reception address him with "Mr. Morishima", but since she must have seen on his ID that he was over eighteen years old, such formalities were to be expected.

The room itself wasn't much to write home about, just a space to put down a futon to sleep, a small kitchen and, very important, decent WiFi. There was also a tiny toilet, but the bathroom was shared with the rest of the apartments on the same floor. Which was fine, Hodaka wasn't here on some kind of holiday, to see the sights or so; he had come with a clear mission. Although the view through the single window was breath-taking, he had to admit.

After connecting his laptop to the internet, there was one thing he wanted to check first. Much to his surprise the "Sunshine Girl" website was still available. Hodaka was hoping Hina might have left some message for him there, maybe a clue to help find her, some secret code that only he would be able to really understand, in case she didn't want to expose her whereabouts to just anyone.

Back then, Hodaka had once shown her how to log into the website, and use it, as he knew that Hina was smart, but she had never been too tech savvy. 'Maybe that is why she was chosen by whatever spirit had granted Hina her powers. She must already have had some special connection with nature making her more suitable to become a 'weather girl', over many others…' he thought. 'Which was fine, until I came into her life and suggested she could use her powers to make us a living…'

Sadly though, there was just one request, from Mr. Suga's mother-in-law, asking for a sunny day as gift for her granddaughter. Hodaka had wanted to go there in person, to apologize, but since he was hoping to find Hina as fast as possible, he decided to call the elderly lady instead, and more or less explained why they had not been able to grant her sunshine request. Feeling a certain rush to keep moving, not long after, he found himself standing outside of the apartment building again.

After wandering the remaining streets of the city for a while, visiting several spots, but without any luck in finding Hina, Hodaka felt his stomach grumble. He had been so preoccupied with checking to see which locations he ever visited with Hina were still accessible, as in not flooded yet, that he had forgotten to order lunch. Luckily his mind had still been clear enough to quickly grab something to eat, when he left the apartment. As he was about to rip open the bag of crisps which he had received earlier that day, and have a bite, he heard a loud screeching noise!

"Watch out!" someone shouted.

A bike stopped just a few inches away from him. Its brakes had been the source of the screeching sound Hodaka had heard, seconds before.

"I-I'm sorry!" Hodaka instantly apologized, in a reflex.

"No-no-no, I am sorry! Are you really okay? I should have realized you were going to cross the street and then slowed down earlier," a guy in a bike courier outfit excused himself; "But please do be more careful, you might get seriously hurt if someone is even less alert than I was."

"Ehhh, thanks…" Hodaka replied, totally not expecting someone going to great lengths to apologize for what had actually been his own mistake.

'Something definitely feels different…' the same thought struck Hodaka again. It was like somehow the inhabitants of this partially flooded city had begun to appreciate their daily interactions, all these tiny connections they could make at any moment, a lot more now...

'People seem more radiant than before, as if they're trying to show a bit of sunlight themselves, to make up for the lack of it in the weather…' Hodaka pondered. 'Nah, I must be imagining things, the only sunlight I can expect to find in this place, is Hina. If she is still here, I will find her!' he concluded his inner monologue. 'Please, please let me find her!'

The next moment, as if the sky had answered this request, a break in the clouds appeared, allowing a bright beam of light to pierce through. People looked up, like it was a miracle, and started discussing this sudden strange phenomenon. Hodaka couldn't really discern most of the words being said, but he did manage to overhear some people talking about this being the same thing as had happened exactly one year ago…

This further peaked his interest. To get a better grasp of where exactly the narrow beam of sunlight had 'landed' Hodaka brought up a map of the area on his smartphone. His eyes grew big; he saw a red dot in the vicinity of that spot, showing that he had marked it as a place where he had been with Hina before!

After the initial shock, Hodaka started running. He didn't look at the traffic, people warning him to be careful, he kept running, running like he had never before. 'Is this just a coincidence, or could this be a sign that…?' it kept repeating in his head.

He ran around the corner, and then felt a shiver going down his spine. There she was, perhaps a little bit taller than before, but unmistakably, it was Hina, praying to the sky! A beautiful sight, one Hodaka had feared to never see again…

"Oh hi… Hodaka…" Hina opened her eyes and greeted him with a smile, almost like they had seen each other just a few hours earlier.

"I th-thought you'd lose your powers after you coming back from the sky?" Hodaka stammered.

'That's just great, after being apart for so long, that is the first thing you say to her?' he scolded himself in his mind.

"I did… but…" Hina replied, "… somehow I still seem to have a bit of power left. Maybe some sort of reward for having been willing to sacrifice myself to stop the rain back then, I don't know. But they granted me the ability to bring out the sun once a year, on my birthday, and only for a short time. I've been doing that every year since we got separated, hoping that one day… well… you might…"

Tears started rolling down Hina's beautiful face. For a brief moment Hodaka feared she would start dissolving again, into these tears. But then he quickly got fully back to his senses, and put his arm around her, letting her face rest on his chest. Hina's sobbing intensified, and Hodaka could feel the tears soaking his shirt a little.

"Hey, I'm here now…" he gently whispered, while slowly caressing her hair.

Hina started to calm down a little, then suddenly freed herself from his grasp, and put her fists on his chest, shouting: "Why did you take so long to come for me!? Do you even realize how much I have missed you? Like every day!?"

"Well, that makes two of us, you know! I woke up on top of that building, and you were gone without a trace, again!"

For a moment they stared at each other with a gaze that showed passion and anger, in a constantly changing mixture.

"And what about Nagi? He must have been worried sick!" Hodaka was the first to break the silence.

"I had one of Nagi's girlfriends pass him a note, saying I was okay…" Hina explained, with a rather monotone voice.

"You told him, but not me!?" Hodaka felt anger coming up again.

"Well, he is my little brother!" Hina countered his reproachful remark instantly.

"Then what exactly am I to you!?" he replied, with a mix of anger, and fear about what the answer would be.

Hina remained silent. 'Maybe it was a mistake to come here. Chasing a dream, thinking it might have been love, what I felt…' Hodaka thought, as he kept staring at the face of this girl, standing so close to him now, and yet it felt like they were as far apart as the world above the clouds was from the very soil they were standing on right now.

"I… I thought it would perhaps be better… if you were to forget about me…" Hina explained, with a soft voice, as she looked at the ground; "After all the trouble I caused you…"

"Forget? About you?" Hodaka reacted as if stung by a bee; "How could I? Not even if I wanted to, I would ever forget about you! I love you!"

Hina looked up, hearing these words, spoken without any restraint, showing these were coming straight from his heart.

"Then… why didn't you come back for me, until now?" Hina whispered, somewhat flustered about his loud confession, even though there was no one around to overhear them talking.

"M-My parents wouldn't let me come here sooner…" Hodaka started explaining, as all his anger had instantly subsided, merely by looking straight into Hina's eyes. He continued talking: "Well, there was the probation period, and graduation, and I had to turn eighteen first."

"I can get that, but…"

"Then, after hearing you were only fifteen when we met, my parents had me wait even longer, until you had also turned eighteen," Hodaka elaborated further.

"Huh? Why was that?"

"I guess that was to make sure you were no longer too young in case… in case something well… were to ehhh… 'happen' between us…"

"What do you mean with something to h-…? Ohhh…"

Hina started blushing profusely and seeing her like that, Hodaka almost instantly did the same…

"A-Anyway…" Hodaka started, as he put the ring on Hina's finger, "… I promise I'll never leave you ever again. You'll be fine. We'll be fine…"

"Is this supposed to be a wedding proposal? Because if it is, it isn't a very good one…" Hina replied, as she adjusted the ring so the ornament would be on the right side; "And then coming here and saying all will be fine is suddenly going to make everything be alright?"

"I-I can understand if you are mad at me, and if you don't want to marry m-"

Hodaka couldn't finish his sentence, as he suddenly found Hina's lips firmly pressed against his!

"Of course the answer is 'yes', you dummy…" Hina said, with a beaming face; "Sheesh, you're still such a child, I see. Maybe you lied about your age too, when we met," she added, chuckling.

"I most certainly did not!" Hodaka loudly objected; "And I think I'll want that ring back."

"Not happening!" Hina countered his remark; "You're stuck with me now, forever!" she added, while pulling down her eyelid and sticking out her tongue.

"Oh, who is the child here now?" Hodaka said, mockingly.

They both burst into laughter, before watching the sky, where the clouds slowly went blocking the sunlight once more. But small as it may be, another ray of light had entered their hearts, and was here to stay now, no matter what the weather in Tokyo might be, in the present, and in the future…

"Hodaka, there is so much I want to show you…" Hina said, as they started walking.

Hodaka stopped, suddenly looking rather flustered.

"Wait, what are you thinking?" Hina said, as she stared at him, her cheeks flushed red.

"N-N-Nothing!" Hodaka replied, not knowing if Hina was teasing him, like on the night she had disappeared, or angry about this.

"Maybe later…" Hina whispered, while fidgeting a bit with the ring that Hodaka had put back on her finger. "First we have some things to arrange, if we're going to get married. Like maybe Nagi won't approve seeing his big sister ending up with a wannabe 'city slicker'…"

"Y-You think?" Hodaka replied, as his face went a little pale.

Hina was no longer able to contain her laughter.

"You should have seen the look on your face!" she chuckled; "if anything, I'm sure he will be more like 'Well, it's about time!' or something along those lines."

"Hey, I told you already why it took me so long to get here!" Hodaka objected.

"It's fine, let's enjoy the last bit of sunlight together, before it fades again, okay?" Hina suggested, as she reached out for his hand.

"Yeah, let's do that," Hodaka agreed, as he firmly grasped Hina's hand, their fingers entwined, not intending to ever let go of her again…

(To be continued…)

Story Afterthoughts (11 March 2023)

Another 'side project' that crossed my path unexpectedly. It was interesting to write for a different series, and I hope this little story was able to capture something of the unique feel of this movie.

Disclaimer

Btw, since I am not a native speaker, there will likely be some silly mistakes in this story. Hope you can bear with me and see through that. Helpful tips and suggestions for improvements are welcome.

Stay safe, and maybe until soon!