V3 SS: The rain will definitely stop.
Translator: Soafp
“…Here it comes.”
Ayana muttered to herself, sitting alone on a bench at an unused bus stop. In front of her, raindrops fell heavily, pouring down with incredible force.
It was pouring so much that even stepping outside for a moment would make clothes soak up water and feel heavy… it was that intense.
“Haa… forgetting to bring a foldable umbrella on a day like this…”
Although she usually had a foldable umbrella in her bag, she had forgotten it at home today.
“It’s inevitable to get wet on the way back… especially in a school uniform.”
While getting wet in regular clothes might be tolerable, it was a different story when it came to the school uniform. Nowadays, even school uniforms were expensive. Ayana and Towa’s school uniforms were no exception… thinking about that, Ayana could only wait for the rain to stop or weaken a little.
“…The rain.”
At times like this, Ayana felt something mysterious about rain. It was not unpleasant at all; rather, it evoked a nostalgic feeling. Ayana reached out and collected raindrops in the palm of her hand.
“Rain may be cold, but I don’t dislike it.”
Ayana didn’t hate the rain. The raindrops falling on her body felt like they were washing away unpleasant memories along with her.
“Ah, I wonder what Towa-kun is doing right now.”
Because she had someone dear to her, someone who had not only saved her heart but also promised to protect her and share happiness with her in the future.
“Oh, the rain seems to be weakening.”
Compared to the torrential downpour earlier, the rain’s intensity had weakened. Ayana thought it would be fine now and was about to step out… when unexpectedly, a voice called out to her.
“Ayana!”
“Eh?”
Surprised, Ayana immediately turned her gaze to the source of the voice.
There stood Towa, holding an umbrella.
“I just finished up some business with Aisaka, and as I was about to head home, I felt strangely drawn in this direction and found you.”
“I see… that’s quite a coincidence.”
It was quite fateful, Ayana thought, smiling.
Towa seemed to have noticed that Ayana had forgotten her umbrella, but he didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he simply invited her to come under the umbrella with him.
“Thank you.”
“It’s okay.”
However, sharing one umbrella was a bit cramped. So, Ayana did what she could and stuck close to Towa, even joking that she was glued to him with adhesive.
“Just being like this makes me happy. Anything is enjoyable and… makes me happy when I’m by Towa-kun’s side.”
Putting an end to the long-standing fate from the past, Ayana and Towa had finally become a couple in the true sense of the word.
There were still problems that lingered, but Ayana believed that she could overcome them as long as she was with him.
“Oh, the rain…”
“Ara… it stopped.”
And as they walked a little further, the rain had completely stopped.
With no need for the umbrella anymore, Towa folded it, and Ayana embraced his arm to her chest without reservation.
“Hey, Towa.”
“Yeah?”
“The rain… it stopped, right?”
“Yeah… that’s kind of philosophical, isn’t it?”
“Fufu♪”
Indeed, rain always stops. Even if they liken rain to tears, tears always stop… there’s never a rain that doesn’t cease. If Ayana had been silently shedding tears until now, it would have been like the torrential downpour earlier.
But Ayana wasn’t crying anymore… It wasn’t that her tears had dried up, but rather, her heart had cleared, and there was no need for tears anymore.
“Towa-kun, you’re my sun. No matter how hard or dark the clouds cover my heart, you easily bring light like the sun… I love you, Towa-kun.”
“Maybe not the sun, but I want to be the warm sunshine that you can always lean on… I love you too, Ayana.”
Their hearts, walking forward with faith in the future, will never again be clouded. The destination of the future they weave together surely shines as brightly as the clear sky spread out before them.