The Tōsaka Residence Courtyard
The Tōsaka residence courtyard returned to tranquility.
Of course, not the tranquility after the Holy Grail War—
but the kind that comes after a feast.
Rei Ao and Irisviel's tender moment had been caught in the act by Ishtar, Ereshkigal, and the other girls,
and what followed had escalated into chaos—
until, at last, everything settled into a storm-after calm.
Moonlight flowed through the carved window lattice, outlining different sleeping faces.
Ishtar hugged a glittering golden pillow, crumbs from pastries still clinging to the corner of her lips.
Ereshkigal curled up in the corner, her cheeks flushed an unnatural red.
Artoria clutched half a piece of roast beef, breathing long and steady.
Irisviel lay with her head on Rei Ao's arm, her lashes trembling faintly.
Looking at their utterly unguarded sleeping faces,
Rei Ao's lips curved into the faintest of smiles.
There wasn't much turbulence in his heart—
only the calm thought of: As expected, I took them down.
Given his level of existence and the way he did things,
taking down two goddesses—different in personality yet pure at their core—
and even Artoria over there hugging roast beef,
was never a question of if, only a matter of time and method.
The fact that they could sleep safely at his side now was the best proof.
It was all within expectation.
No need for excessive sentiment.
Just as he was about to slip his arm out
and go "check in" on the cool, solitary Medusa in the next room,
Irisviel lightly clasped his wrist.
The girl let out a soft whimper and snuggled closer into his chest.
Rei Ao chuckled under his breath,
his fingertips brushing over the soft crown of her hair.
He was about to murmur a few soothing words—
when the chat group in his mind
suddenly started chiming nonstop.
Not the red alarm of an emergency call,
but the green notifications of everyday chatter—
mixed with a growing, unmistakable anxiety.
Amano Hina was chatting while livestreaming.
What she was streaming was a city about to be swallowed by rain.
Amano Hina: Is everyone here?
Amano Hina: The rain in Tokyo still won't stop. It cleared up for a bit yesterday, but today it's coming down even harder.
Amano Hina: The river's already overflowing the embankments. In the low-lying areas, even the trains have stopped.
Her words carried the tremble of tears—
line after line popping up on the virtual panel,
unable to hide her helplessness and exhaustion.
The brief silence in the group was completely shattered.
Misaka Mikoto: Hina? It still hasn't stopped? That's way too abnormal!
Misaka Mikoto: What the heck is the Meteorological Agency doing?!
Yukinoshita Yukino: Abnormal precipitation for this long is already beyond the scope of climate models. The official explanations are weak.
Yukinoshita Yukino: This can't be explained as a natural phenomenon.
Frieren: Hmm. Even over a thousand years, I've never heard of such prolonged "crying from the heavens." Could there be a special influencing factor?
Frieren: Hina—does your "power" sense anything?
Amano Hina: I don't feel anything affecting me… it's just that even when I use my Sunshine Girl power to clear the sky, the rain starts again really quickly.
Busujima Saeko: Disasters can be that unreasonable.
Busujima Saeko: Hina, you must prioritize your own safety first.
Yotsuya Miko: Um… I think I saw something "weird" in the clouds.
Yotsuya Miko: It was huge and blurry, but it felt really, really strange!
Yotsuya Miko shrank her neck and buried herself deeper under the blanket.
Even through the screen, a bone-deep chill seemed to seep through.
Goosebumps rose everywhere.
Sakurajima Mai: If even Miko says that, then it's definitely not simple.
Sakurajima Mai: Hina, that "Sunshine Girl" power you mentioned before—could it be connected?
Stella: If it's supernatural, then solve it with supernatural power!
Messages in the group flew by at breakneck speed.
Worry, speculation, analysis—an endless stream.
Amano Hina's plea had clearly tugged at everyone's heart.
In her Weathering With You world,
that relentless rain that seemed determined to drown Tokyo
hung heavy, suffocating her.
After a long while,
that dim, grey avatar finally lit up again.
Amano Hina: Thanks for worrying about me. I… I'm okay for now.
Amano Hina: I'm somewhere high up, but in Tokyo, so many people… so many people are trapped.
Amano Hina: I tried using the "Sunshine Girl" power.
Amano Hina: But every time I clear the sky, it only lasts a short while. The rain comes back fast—and it feels even more violent.
Amano Hina: This can't go on. It really can't.
The helplessness between her lines was overwhelming— even her punctuation seemed to tremble.
She'd once learned from Rei Ao
that overusing "Sunshine Girl" power could come with a price—
the cost of being "spirited away."
So she'd always been cautious.
But in the face of a disaster that kept escalating,
personal fear, before collective calamity,
looked so small—so insignificant.
Marcille: It's like the world is crying.
Marcille: No— it's throwing a tantrum!
Marcille: Hina, don't be afraid!
Marcille: I'm going to dig through ancient spellbooks right now!
Marcille: I'll definitely find a solution!
Rei Ao watched the flood of messages.
His fingers tapped lightly against the tatami,
his eyes dark and deep.
He lowered his gaze
to the sweetly sleeping Irisviel in his arms,
then swept his eyes over the goddesses sprawled all over the place.
"Looks like…"
Rei Ao murmured,
his voice dissolving into the night wind.
"…there's entertainment again."
The cherry tree in the courtyard rustled softly,
as if answering him.
The group's messages kept scrolling—
worried ones, hot-blooded ones, cool-headed analyses—
all merging into a warm current that flowed toward the girl trembling in the storm.
Marcille: Does Hina's world have something like a "world will" or a "nature deity"?
Couronne: Natural disasters are often the shadow of man-made calamity—trace the root cause.
Akiyama Mio: Uwah… that sounds so scary… Hina, you have to be careful!
Enju Aihara: Hmph. Even if gods exist, they wouldn't care about humans—just like the world I used to live in.
Hayasaka Ai: We don't have enough data on rainfall range, intensity changes, and correlation with Hina's usage—but there are clear signs of non-natural interference.
Yuzuriha Inori: The rain's… a gathering of sadness.