Rain prayer

Many members from Sakurasou, whether Shishio, Shiina, Nanami, or Roberta, went on this trip to Izu.

However, strangely, Kamiigusa Misaki didn't join this trip.

Misaki looked at Shishio and pouted. "You're not going to join me?"

"Do you want me to join and listen to what you two might talk about?" Shishio asked in return.

"..." Misaki couldn't say a single word since she felt this was something she should handle on her own. She had troubled Shishio so much, and this time, she had to do it by herself. Yet she still wanted his presence by her side, or at least, she wanted him to give her the strength to overcome her problem.

Shishio looked at Misaki for a moment and realized she might have been reliant on him. It wasn't bad, yet he wanted to see what would happen if he left her alone with Mitaka?

Would she be able to say "no"?

Would she embrace him?

Shishio wanted to know how Misaki was going to handle this situation alone. After asking that question, he didn't say anything and just rubbed her head gently.

Misaki only purred like a cat that was coddled by her master. It wasn't until he pulled his hand away that she showed a reluctant expression.

"I'll go now. I'll bring you souvenirs."

"Shishio!"

"Okay, okay." Shishio entered the car where everyone had been sitting before they started their trip to Izu.

Misaki didn't move from her spot and kept watching them until she couldn't see them anymore. She then took a deep breath, thinking about her meeting with Mitaka Jin soon. She closed her eyes, and her memories with Jin appeared one after another. From how they met each other until they parted ways. Yet that memory slowly dissipated, contaminated by a certain figure, making her memory with Mitaka a vague, distant memory.

Suddenly, Misaki felt a hand on her shoulder, which made her startled and turn. She sighed in relief when she saw it was Mayumi Nishikino. "What's wrong, Mayumi?"

"Don't act like a girl in love. It doesn't suit your character," Mayumi said simply while yawning.

"...."

Misaki felt all the nervousness she felt disappear instantly, and all that left was an urge to fight a bloody battle!

"Mayami, today is your end!"

"Hell, what are you doing?! We're outside! Don't pull my pants?!"

While there was an exciting battle on the Sakurasou, it had nothing to do with Shishio since his trip to Izu started.

The trip to Izu had been something that everyone looked forward to. Therefore, everyone in the literature club and some others also followed on this trip.

Whether Shishio, Shiina, Nanami, Ritsu, Miu, Saki, Nana, Mea, Maiko, Rui, Momo, or Futaba, who weren't even members of the literature club, also joined this trip. Miu and Saki also brought their little sisters, so there were two additional members on this trip.

As for the adults, Kiriya, Hina, and Roberta were the ones who were going to guard them.

With so many participants, it was impossible to stay in the same car. Instead, they brought two cars.

One car was led by Shishio and Kiriya, and the other car was led by Hina and Roberta.

The two cars moved in tandem from Tokyo to Izu together.

"Are you sure you're going to let me drive?" Shishio asked while looking at Kiriya, who sat on the passenger seat. He was a student, after all, and while he had a driving license, it was strange for Kiriya to let him drive.

"It's okay. I have heard you have a driving license, right?" Kiriya answered with a smile.

"Just say you want to be lazy," Shishio said annoyedly.

Kiriya smiled and said, "You don't need to worry. I'll accompany you to talk so you won't get sleepy. If you feel hungry or thirsty, I'll also help to feed you. It's all good, right?"

"...." Shishio.

"...." Nana, Mea, Maiko, Saki, and Futaba.

Saki's little sister only looked at everyone with some confusion, clearly showing she was confused with the situation.

There were many things that they should say at this moment, but they decided to change the object of conversation, talking about where they should visit right after they arrived in Izu. Their trip would take at least two or three hours. They had woken up in the morning and started their journey at nine in the morning, so they should have arrived at the twelfth or one in the afternoon.

At that very time, they could visit various places or eat the special dishes in the area. Moreover, their wallets were brimming with ammunition, whether it was from their parents or part-time job, so at this moment, they were ready for this trip.

Still, their first destination was at the place where the movie adapted from Kiriya's book was shot.

"The next day, we'll see the Capybara Onsen," Shishio said to Saki's little sister, who seemed sad because the first destination wasn't a place she wanted to visit.

Keika Kawasaki smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you, Shishio-oniichan!" She had gotten familiar with everyone in the literature club, and whether it was Nana, Mea, or Maiko liked children, so they quickly warmed up. As for Futaba, even though they were awkward at first, they also became friendly since a child was different from an adult. They were still pure, and they weren't contaminated by society. Well-protected, like endangered species.

It might be the reason why Futaba was okay to engage with Keika, even if they started to feel awkward in the beginning.

Personally, Shishio must admit the participants of this trip were so much that he wasn't sure whether he could put all of those characters on this arc, yet this didn't give him trouble since the main heroine for this arc had been decided.

Mai Sakurajima.

It had been a few weeks since they had parted, and frankly, Shishio missed her so much, and she was the same since she called him every night.

Yet Misaki didn't want to lose in this confrontation with the main heroine in this arc.

While Shishio was worried about what would happen between Misaki and Mitaka, he wanted to make his hands clear until everything was solved, yet Misaki didn't let him and everyone go since how could they have fun while she had to handle this emotional problem alone?

Misaki would be lying if she didn't feel remorse toward Shishio's heartlessness.

God also seemed to be in Misaki's favor, so he decided to send a downpour on their trip.

The downpour might not be hard, but it made them slightly worried, considering how they planned to go on the trip. If the weather turned bad to worse, then their trip would be foiled. The only consolation they heard was the fact they didn't hear there would be any storms from the radio they heard.

It was something that made their hearts sigh in relief and calm their hearts since they hoped when they arrived at their destination, this rain would stop.

"I wonder how the movie is..." Kiriya murmured while looking at the rain.

Under this rain, it would bring many problems to the shooting progress, yet when Shishio looked at Kiriya's expression, he felt in doubt since all he could see from his eyes was excitement as if he expected something from this rain.

But what?

Shishio tried to recall Kiriya's novel and suddenly thought about a certain scene that happened after the rain. It seemed his thought was right, considering Kiriya took his phone and started to call someone.

No one seemed to question what Kiriya was doing since they were playing cards together and eating snacks. As for watching the scenery, what kind of scenery could they see under this rain?

The cloud turned dark, and the rain caused the window to be covered by a curtain of water, making it hard for them to see anything.

Yet if there was something to be blessed about, it was the fact the road was pretty clear, and it could be seen they might be able to arrive earlier than they predicted.

After the end of the call, Kiriya seemed to be hesitant about something.

"What's wrong, Sensei?" Shishio asked.

"No, I just wonder when this rain is going to stop," Kiriya said while staring at the rainy sky.

"Hmm..." Shishio looked at the sky and said, "I guess around 12?" Strangely, the "Ninjutsu Mastery" also included a technique that made him able to guess how the weather was going for a day. Still, somehow, it was quite understandable. After all, for a ninja, it was necessary to check the weather since one's presence might become noticeable when the weather didn't support them.

"If so, can we arrive before 12?" Kiriya asked expectantly.

Shishio looked at the time, and it was already ten and a half, one and half hours right after their journey. "It should be possible, but what's wrong?"

"There's something that I want to see, and if possible, let's just tell the other car that we're going straight to the shooting of the movie." Kiriya seemed to be excited about something, which somehow made everyone curious.

Shishio also agreed since he knew what made Kiriya so excited since he was also the same, wondering how Mai would be in this special scene.

After the call, everyone had made up their minds to visit the place where the movie was shot directly.

The other car was driven by Roberta, and she followed Shishio's order without hesitation, so she didn't question much.

As for everyone, no one seemed to question this decision since if they were done seeing this movie shooting, they should be able to visit various exciting places in Izu, so there was nothing they complained about.

After all, even though it was quite rude, the last place they wanted to visit on Izu was the location where the movie was shot. It might be strange of them to say this, but as a high school student, a movie was something far from them. It was something that had never entered their mind unless they watched it at the movie theatre, video rental, or even a television.

If they could finish this soon, they could play around, so why not?

While talking and playing, the time seemed to pass so fast, and as expected, they arrived earlier than they had predicted.

As Shishio parked the car at the beach where the movie was set, Kiriya walked out of the car in a hurry. "I am going out first!"

"Wh—?!"

Everyone was stunned by Kiriya's action.

Shishio looked at the sky and saw the rain was almost over. "If you don't mind getting wet, how about we walk out in a hurry to see what's going on?"

They nodded since they were also curious.

Everyone quickly walked out of the car after they closed the door.

As for Roberta and her group, they were stunned by what they were doing, but they couldn't ask since everyone had dashed away toward the beach.

When they came to the beach, they saw the movie staff was there, and they seemed to be busy with their work. They saw that Kiriya didn't approach the movie scene and told them to stay. "Don't get too close. You'll bother them and be quiet."

They nodded and stood by his side. The distance between them and the movie scene wasn't that far. They could see clearly what had happened there. There, they saw Mai's figure, dancing on the top of the stage-like place.

The stage wasn't a normal stage. Instead, it was like a stage used for a certain Shinto ritual, like the Kaguya dance or something similar. It was placed on the beach as if it was used to worship the god of the sea.

On the stage, Mai was there. She was dressed as a young priestess in red hakama, dancing on the top of the stage as if she offered a sacred offering. Even under this drizzle, she didn't stop, gracefully moving every part of her body as if she had caught a glimpse of the divine being. Her body was wet, causing the loose hakama to become tight, showing the beautiful shape of her body. Maybe because of how earnest her feeling was, her wish was delivered, and the drizzle slowly stopped.

The dark, cloudy sky also slowly parted apart as if the shy beings that had been hiding behind those clouds also wanted to see the figure of this beautiful girl.

Yet Mai was unfazed and focussed on her prayer.

Under the golden rays between the clouds, the girl's figure became the center of everything. She was like a goddess that descended from the sky, almost sacred-like and the most beautiful existence in this place.

Everyone was in awe and gasped when they saw her.

For the first time in his mind, Shishio realized how lucky he was, yet at the same time, was it wrong of him to want to monopolize this beautiful girl for him alone even if the gods were his rivals?

No.

Even if the gods were his rivals, Shishio wouldn't give this girl to anyone.

As if Mai noticed his will, she glanced in his direction and gave a light yet a seductive smile at his direction.

Even if it was just a glimpse, with their tacit understanding, they understood everything.

Tonight, they will meet each other.