There was a long bout of silence. Then, Rain exhaled lightly and smiled.
Turning to Sunny, she shrugged.
"Well, it isn't the first time. You left to challenge the Second Nightmare, then to fight the Chain of Nightmares. You always return, though, don't you?"
Rain paused for a moment, and then added sullenly:
"Even if, sometimes, you do stuff like erasing yourself from everyone's memory and getting into my good graces again by pretending to be an eccentric immortal... who just happened to decide to become my teacher because of a fortuitous encounter..."
Her teasing was meant to lighten the mood, but Sunny did not respond.
Instead, he simply looked at her for a few long moments.
"I do tend to return. But, Rain… this time is different."
Her smile faltered.
Sunny looked down, brushing his fingers against the warm cup, then glanced at the mighty tree Rain was leaning on. Finally, he spoke:
