It rained, and the rainwater covered the City, leaving only a blur.
The streetlights reflected a blurry glow on the water, like torches burning in the darkness.
Occasionally, a car would pass by, splashing water as clear as pearls, and the scenery between heaven and earth seemed to be reduced to vague outlines.
The sound of raindrops and rushing water was like a symphony, or perhaps a celebratory song for the two.
The City at night, after being washed by the rain, became exceptionally beautiful, just like Rikka...
At this moment, the two, who were sheltering from the rain and having dinner at McDonald's, sat at a table by the floor-to-ceiling window, staring intently at the rain outside blurring everything their eyes could see, watching the raindrops slide down the transparent glass, and watching the City lights reflecting under the rainwater...
Having seen such a night view, neither of them dared to look at the other.
A boy and a girl who liked each other finished this not-so-sumptuous but incredibly delicious dinner in awkward silence, not daring to turn their heads.
The constant chatter of people around them made the environment so noisy, yet between the two, it was incredibly quiet.
No... I must take the initiative...
Yuta, having made up his mind, was about to speak.
Even if it wasn't to confess now, he had to speak just to break this uncomfortable silence.
Where to start... Ah... The weather, perhaps...
"It's raining... isn't it...?"
"Mm..."
And then? Speaking of the weather, it's raining now, and speaking of rain, it's...
"You, you brought an umbrella... right...?"
What next? What should he say? It's raining, how can they go home without an umbrella, but Rikka only has one umbrella... one... one...
An umbrella for two!?
Yuta dared not speak, but Rikka began.
"What do you want to say...?"
Rikka recalled Yuta's unfinished words on the rooftop this evening, and her heart pounded violently, but she was somewhat used to it now... It was just that she was afraid that if it happened again later... she probably wouldn't be able to bear it.
"I have something I want to tell you... but..."
Yuta mustered his courage.
Rikka was so obvious that she was practically urging him to confess, and Yuta couldn't possibly misunderstand, but here... it was indeed a bit much to ask.
Rikka also understood that this place was not ideal, nor was it the romance she desired, so the two looked at the pouring rain outside, opened Rikka's umbrella, and together stepped into this rain-soaked City, embarking on their way home...
It still happened, an umbrella for two...
Yuta didn't know where to go, and Rikka didn't know where to go.
The two of them just walked in the rain, holding the umbrella.
The City lights appeared so hazy and gentle in the mist, and between heaven and earth, there was only the sound of rushing rain.
The two walked on the road, neither speaking, only the sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella, like their violently beating hearts.
They, at verdandi, did not have the courage to express their feelings to each other, even though they knew the other liked them, even though they knew the other would definitely accept, they... still dared not take that step.
They walked past streetlights, the light spilling onto them, their figures appearing so small yet resolute in the rain, as if the entire world consisted only of the two of them.
However, Rikka's umbrella was, after all, only a single umbrella, and coupled with their awkwardness and distance, the outer half of both their bodies were now wet.
Yuta glanced at Rikka's soaked half, and finally made up his mind...
Can't waste any more time.
Even though our hearts are already connected, if I don't do anything, you might just disappear.
"Rikka... I say..."
"Mm..."
"I say..."
"Mm..."
Rikka quietly waited for Yuta's confession, but Yuta got stuck... He couldn't say it! He couldn't say it!
Yuta, you good-for-nothing!!!!!!
Fang Wuwei, not far away, was seething.
As Yuta suddenly fell silent, the quiet began again, but fortunately, it didn't last long this time.
A gust of wind blew, and because Rikka's body was somewhat soft from shyness, she didn't hold onto the umbrella firmly, and it flew down under the bridge.
"Ah! My Black No. 6 Prototype MK-2!"
"You said the full name too smoothly!"
The heavy rain instantly fell on them, and not to mention that this umbrella was something very precious to Rikka, without it, they couldn't go home, unless they wanted to become drenched.
Rikka immediately rushed down the bridge, oblivious to the wind and rain, and Yuta couldn't just stand by, so he immediately chased after her.
Reaching the bottom of the bridge, a place where the rain couldn't reach, thankfully the umbrella hadn't fallen into the river, but had landed right under the bridge, providing them with a temporary shelter from the rain, and...
Wait, this place...
Yuta realized this was a good place.
On the other side, Rikka looked up and saw that at the far end of this river, there was a flowing neon glow, appearing so hazy yet so beautiful in this rain curtain.
This colorful neon light connected into one piece, reflecting countless shimmering ripples on the water, illuminating this world through countless reflections... just like that invisible boundary line.
For Rikka, this might be the invisible boundary line, and she also seemed to be able to see her father, who had always protected her, beyond that flowing, beautiful light.
In the past, her father had always protected her, and now... it was Yuta.
"Rikka..."
"I like Yuta."
Yuta, who had been looking at the dazed Rikka, wanting to seize this opportunity to confess, heard Rikka suddenly confess to him, and was so astonished that he almost died of fright.
Rikka turned her head, and the stunned Yuta looked at Rikka's face, which seemed even cuter due to her shyness, and was somewhat mesmerized, wanting to look closer, but Rikka raised the umbrella in her hand, blocking Yuta's view.
She was also shy, Rikka was a timid child.
"I... like... Yuta..."
Having said it once, saying it a second time was no longer so embarrassing, and Yuta finally reacted.
His voice trembled, unable to distinguish between joy and shyness.
"This... I should have said that first!"
"No, the Evil King's True Eye has already determined that I said it first."
Chunibyo has its own unique way of confessing, and Yuta, as a retired player, understood Rikka's past, so he could naturally accept Rikka's strange confession and was willing to play along.
"But I'm still the Dark Flame Master!"
Hearing Yuta's words, Rikka slowly lowered her umbrella, revealing her slightly flushed eyes, and lifted the eye patch over her right eye, revealing her golden Evil King's True Eye.
"The Evil King's True Eye is the strongest."
Yuta laughed, laughing at Rikka's continued innocence, and at himself for having circled Rikka for so long...
If he had realized earlier, and gone straight for it from the beginning, they would probably have been together by now, and his heart suddenly relaxed.
The fragments of love, at this moment, came together as one.
"Doesn't count, doesn't count!" Yuta reached out and took away the umbrella blocking them, throwing it to the ground, so that Rikka, who was hiding behind the umbrella, could no longer hide, and could only honestly reveal her already flushed face.
"I finally thought of these lines, you have to listen carefully!"
Facing the assertive Yuta, Rikka didn't know how to refuse, and could only obediently say, "Mm."
Then, Yuta slid his foot, flicked his hair, and struck the classic pose of covering one eye with one hand.
"O you who are consumed by Black Flame, and I, the Dark Flame Master..."
A sudden jingle of bells came from under the bridge pier behind him.
An innocent passerby rode his bicycle past Yuta, startling Yuta into shrinking back, his face red, unwilling to continue.
Damn it, why are you riding a bicycle in this heavy rain, why couldn't you come earlier or later...
For Yuta, this was just a chunibyo act, but for Rikka, it was the best, most romantic confession.
She hoped Yuta would continue.
Looking at Rikka's eager eyes and joyful face, even if it was embarrassing, Yuta still continued the lines he had rehearsed for some time...
Only this time, he no longer struck those embarrassing poses, and barely dared to look at Rikka's face, only turning away, his face red, to finish these embarrassing lines.
"O you who are consumed by Black Flame, and I... the Dark Flame Master... let us form a lover's... contract."
As soon as the words fell, Yuta felt something press against his back.
He could roughly feel that it was Rikka's head resting against his back.
"Okay."
Even though he had expected it, Yuta finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Rikka agree.
The rain gradually stopped, and the world was no longer filled with the sound of pouring rain, only the sound of the river washing nearby and the shimmering light reflected from the distant neon lights, falling upon the two.
"At this time, people usually lean on the chest, right...? Is it embarrassing?"
"Mm."
"Then... holding hands?"
Although he regretted not being able to hug Rikka like he did in the evening, he also understood Rikka's personality and suggested holding hands.
In his opinion, it wasn't like they hadn't held hands before, so she should agree, right...
But he still underestimated Rikka's shyness.
Rikka only extended her pinky finger, placing it in front of Yuta's eyes.
"A pinky promise... is fine."
"...Then, a pinky promise it is."
Yuta reached out his hand, also hooking his pinky around Rikka's pinky.
Rikka felt Yuta's finger and began to tighten her grip.
The two, in this awkward way, began their relationship...
Fang Wuwei, not far away, also put down his camera... These two kids finally...
At present, more than three people were smiling.
(100 chapters celebration!!! Yay!!!)