The trio has been around for a long time and they have many things to share. The happy times, when they struggled and their personal stories. So many things yet so little time to do it. "No." Haruomi denied. "We have all of the time here in Kazemachi." Said Haru to Takashi, the mayor of Kazemachi and Shigeru. Both Haru and Shigeru had decided to stay in Kazemachi.
It is a lovely city with a lovely view but it has a lonely beach. The beach was Eiichi's favorite place. He and Haru would throw parties when Haru came to visit with his ship. Now Shigeru looks after the port and there were no parties since Eiichi left. There's an apple tree in the middle of the city and everyone pays their respects in memory of Eiichi.
"Mayor Matsumoto speaking." Takashi picked up the phone. "It's us. Ryuichi and Yukihiro." Ryuichi answered from the other end. Takashi asked how the two are doing and Ryuichi told him that they are doing fine. Yuki then took the phone and asked, "May we speak to Hosono-san, please?". "Please hold. I'll relay you two to him." Takashi replied and forwarded the call to Haru. "It's the Professor and Yukihiro-kun." He added.
"Professor! Yukihiro!" Haru greeted. "What a surprise! I hope you're doing well.". "Thank you, Hosono-san. Both of us hope the same for you." Yuki replied with a smile. Haru then asked why the two called and Ryuichi told him that he and Yukihiro want to come and stay in Kazemachi until the next storm comes.
Haru understood what they meant and gave his permission. Ryuichi and Yukihiro had visited Kazemachi a few times before and after Eiichi disappeared and the citizens there enjoys Ryuichi and Yuki's company. "Thank you for your permission but...". "How do we get there?" asked Yuki after Ryuichi.
That's one thing about Kazemachi... it's not accessible with normal transportation or even available on any map. Only Happy End and its citizens know where it's located. The reason Ryuichi and Yuki can come to visit is because Haru would take them there. They never visited Kazemachi on their own. "It's easy." Said Haru.
"Listen to the wind very closely and you'll hear the sound of the city." And gave the clue. Just like what Shigeru always say, "Scud clouds in the sky, I hear the sound of the city nearby.". "Try to listen it very, very closely." Haru added. "It has been raining lately here.". "Thank you for the info, Hosono-san. We'll see you there." said Ryuichi and closed the phone.
Kazemachi has been raining since Eiichi disappeared and people there calls the city, "City of Rain". On most days, the rain would turn to a storm and the breezy winds would turn to a typhoon. Everyone hates it when the storm came. Shigeru would have to make sure all of the boats and ships are properly anchored and no one is near the beach or they would be hit by the crashing waves.
Ryuichi and Yukihiro met up on the next day and went to listen where the wind usually gathers. The two followed and they found a tram with "Kazemachi" written on the destination board and the two hopped on. The other weird thing is that there's no one to drive it.
The tram drove for a while then it stopped at the entrance of Kazemachi. Ryuichi and Yukihiro got off along with their stuffs and went in. Everyone in Kazemachi noticed the two's arrival and greeted them as usual. Both Ryuichi and Yukihiro are quite familiar with the city and they easily found the mayor's building where Happy End was already expecting them.
"Ryuichi-kun! Yukihiro-kun!" Shigeru greeted the two and Takashi smiled while Haru just stood there. ""I hope you two didn't have any trouble finding the place." Said Takashi and Yuki told him about the tram. "There was no one to drive it...". "Oh, that was Matsumoto-san." Shigeru shrugged and the two were surprised. Everyone in Kazemachi knows about Takashi's curfew.
Haruomi then showed his bandmates their usual rooms and invited them for lunch together. "When will the next storm comes?" asked Yuki to Ryuichi. "Soon I hope. The port isn't far from here, right?" Ryuichi asked back. Yuki answered that the shoreline isn't too far then he asked about Takashi's curfew. "Did you know he can do that?". "How should I know? I thought Suzuki-san told you." Shigeru never really told Yuki about it.
As invited, Ryuichi and Yukihiro had lunch with Happy End. They were just catching up and they talked about the picnic they had. "Wait..." Yuki interrupted. "We really ever did it?" he thought it was just a dream. "We did." Shigeru confirmed. "We had that picnic when that apple tree appeared." Haru explained. The tree mysteriously appeared not long after Eiichi disappeared and everyone in Kazemachi believed that the tree was a sign.
"Sakamoto-kun and I have been wondering about when will the next storm comes." Yuki brought the main topic. "It has been raining lately so it's a bit hard to predict the next one." Takashi explained. He added that the last one was already taken by Chu Kosaka and Yuki remembered that. "What do you think, Shigeru?" asked Takashi to Shigeru about the next storm.
"I can't really tell but hopefully it will come next week." Shigeru gave his answer. There's also another legend in Kazemachi. "The Girl by the Shore." Whenever the storm comes, a girl would appear on the beach. She looks like the average schoolgirl and she always wearing earphones while wandering around the beach then a boy appeared. Everyone calls him a "Slightly Feverish Boy". Everyone thought the two were Happy End's children but no one knows who they are. The two children love the storm and always play together.
Both Haru and Shigeru would always see them when it's raining or anyone wants to cross the see when the storm comes. Takashi already knows the children without having to see them by himself. "Thank you." Thanked Ryuichi. "We'll be on the lookout for the next one." And Yuki nodded in agreement. They finished their lunch and played together for a bit.
During one of the days on their visit, Ryuichi went to the apple tree to pay respects. He told the tree that he wrote a music book about Eiichi. He hoped that Eiichi can hear him and he was sure that Eiichi would love to read it. Everyone knows how close Ryuichi was with Eiichi and he left the book by the tree before heading back.
A week has passed and Ryuichi and Yukihiro finally got their storm. Both of them went to the port accompanied with Mayor Matsumoto while Shigeru and Haruomi were already there, preparing the boat while monitoring how the storm is. The Girl by the Shore and the Slightly Feverish Boy are playing on the beach again. Everyone in Kazemachi believes that if anyone crosses the sea during a rainstorm, they will never come back. Maybe that's the reason why Ryuichi and Yukihiro came here and asked about the storm.
Takashi, Ryuichi, and Yukihiro arrived at the port and Haru along with Shigeru were waiting for the three. Haru and Shigeru already prepared the boat fit for the two with a big sail so Ryuichi and Yuki can easily control the boat from the wind. "Are you two sure with this?" Haru sadly asked. "You can still stay a little longer here.". "But then we won't get another storm." Ryuichi sadly replied. "This is our one chance and we really did wish we can have more time." Yuki sadly smiled.
YMO hugged each other for quite a long time and finally took one last look. "If you see Chu-san and Ohtaki on the other side... tell them we said hi." Takashi requested and Yuki nodded, "We will, Matsumoto-san." Takashi and Shgeru smiled as a thank you. "Promise us that you'll catch up.". "I will when my storm comes." Haru smiled.
Ryuichi and Yukihiro hopped on the boat and started rowing. "Goodbye, everyone! Thank you for having us!" Yuki waved while Ryuichi rowed the boat and the two floated away. Happy End waved back and so were the two kids. The wind blew stronger and the sea became rough. The boat struggled a bit to go through and they finally disappeared to the horizon when they passed the waves.
A.N : Here it is, guys! The 50th chapter! I actually had written a different one but I decided to upload this one. Just like in the previous Kazemachi lore, I dropped A LOT of references here. You guys can make your own interpretation of what the chapter means. I'll see you guys in the Closing Note! RD out!! Boi!!!
