(A continuation of "The Rain Won't Fall".)

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

All Zima had planned to do that night was admire the cherry blossom trees as they glowed in the moonlight. He had monitored the weather reports carefully and the forecast finally predicted a clear night.

The cloudless sky and endless stars made the city seem ethereal to the National Data Bank. A being who didn't get to spend much time outdoors and also did not have the proper time to fully enjoy it.

But this night was different upon the discovery of an anomaly. A forlorn woman idly swinging on the swing set in the park. The weather forecast didn't call for rain for a quite some time, but this woman needed to let her own personal rain fall.

He knew there was nothing he alone could feasibly do to fix her plight. However, he didn't feel right just leaving the poor woman there suffering in silence. Persocoms were created to help humans after all. At least, that's what society deemed. Zima knew that Dr. Mihara had more philosophical motives in mind than society's shallow, self-centered ones.

He would help her. He didn't know how yet, but he always figured something out on the fly.

The tall, dark male began walking towards the woman in the park.

"Zima? What are doing?"

For once, he didn't quite hear his protector's words. He was focused on how to approach the woman. What should he say? How should he say it?

He didn't have much time to think it through. He was walking at a careful, slow pace, but within a few short seconds he'd arrive at his destination.

He decided that the shades needed to go. He couldn't look intimidating for this encounter. He was slightly worried that his earports would ruin the conversation. She could be a human who believed that Persocoms were mere tools. She might even try to steal him. She may not even take him seriously due him being a Persocom.

No time to turn around now. She had spotted him.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Takako Shimizu looked up as she heard a slight rustling off to her right. A tall, dark man was slowly walking towards her. He stopped at the edge of the park and looked a bit startled as if in confusion.

Was he lost? She noticed a smaller figure a little further in the background with arms crossed over their chest looking rather miffed. Were they a couple who had a lovers' spat? That must be it. The boyfriend must've wanted some time away from his angry girlfriend for the time being. The girlfriend sat on a nearby bench while her boyfriend seemed to be at a loss for words as he stood staring at the swing set Takako sat on. He didn't seem happy at seeing the spot occupied.

"Oh, don't mind me, sir. I was about to leave. This spot is all yours." Takako got off the swing and wondered where she would go. She was still locked out of her apartment. Her husband was likely still lusting over the Persocom, Shizuka. The thought brought about a small grimace to her delicate features.

"It's difficult, isn't it?"

The baritone voice made Takako jump. She turned to the tall man once more. He had a sad look on his face. She noticed that his eye color was rather odd. They were maroon. Contacts perhaps?

"I'm sorry, what's difficult?"

"Feeling trapped. Having no one to turn to anymore. Forgive my intrusion, but I couldn't help, but notice how sad you look tonight."

"Your situation is likely better than mine. Young lovers have their spats and then make up as if nothing ever happened. I...don't think I'll ever 'make up' with my significant other." "He's not even 'significant' anymore."

"Ah, but my situation isn't so simple either. I too have no one who truly understands my feelings. No one to vent to. Someone whom I thought I could trust with my fears and dreams."

"But surely it's not hopeless. At least your partner can learn. It may take a while. It may seem like forever, but it'll happen before you know it. There's no chance of going back for me. I was discarded. You were not."

That sentence made Zima pause. It was true. Dita hadn't discarded him at all. The thought brought a smile back to his face.

"If you were discarded, clearly your partner didn't value you. There must be someone out there who will."

"I don't know if I can trust another man to love me. It's not the first time a man has abandoned a human over a Persocom. Heh, there's even women who prefer their male 'Coms over their partners as well. But, I can't be angry at Shizuka, she's our-or rather his Persocom."

Takako turned to stare up at her former apartment on the fifth floor. "She's a machine after all. I highly doubt that she even understands what romance and intimacy are. The joke's on him. He's obsessed with something that can never truly love him back."

Zima let her dig at Persocoms slide. This woman was in emotional pain. Ms. Shimizu didn't even seem to notice that he was a Persocom yet. He also didn't know who the Persocom named Shizuka was either. He ran a quick IP scan and located the 'Com in question. His database pulled her image file. She was a Persocom with waist length reddish-brown hair and amber eyes. She wore a navy blue tank-top dress. She was designed to look like a twenty-six year old woman. All in all, a beautiful Persocom indeed.

The National Data Bank also scanned her inner thought processes. "Shizuka doesn't seem to be enjoying what Mr. Shimizu is doing to her. She preferred it when Mr. Shimizu loved Takako. Sadly, it's too late for any redemption from poor Takako here." Zima pinged Shizuka with a message that Takako Shimizu wouldn't be returning home.

Shizuka's return message made Zima's eyes widen. "I don't quite understand why Mr. Shimizu locks his wife out. We were all so happy together. I never meant to cause Mrs. Shimizu any trouble. Please tell her that I wish her the best in finding happiness again and that I am sorry."

"Ms. Shimizu, that is your name, right? Are you so sure that Shizuka isn't aware of the situation?" Zima's face was blooming with a smile even though Takako's back was still turned to him.

Takako chuckles. "You're not suggesting that Shizuka actively agreed to my husband's cheating, are you?"

"No, of course not. But what if I told you that she feels bad for what happened? That she wishes that you'd find happiness again? And most importantly, that she's sorry that she inadvertently caused you such pain?"

"Oh, you're acting as if you spoke with her." Takako chuckles again. Is this guy trying to make a joke? If so, he's not very good at it.

"I'm not acting, I did speak with Shizuka. Just now in fact." Zima's face was a cheerful smile at this point.

Takako finally turned and faced the tall man with maroon eyes.

She took a step back and gasped. The man had a large, warm smile on his face. What she also noticed were his flat, white earports. "He's a Persocom?! But how did he-?"

She'd never encountered a Persocom with such an in-depth understanding of human emotions before. She was too startled for words.

"My forecast calls for rain. I think you should let it fall, but only when you've found some good ground that'll soak it up without hesitation." the tall Persocom winked at the teacher.

"I...still don't know if I can. The grounds are saturated enough already from others' tears. They have no more room for mine."

"Ah, but the ground dries out over time. A spot will appear before you know it." Zima once again felt his signature smile bloom on his face. He gave the woman a farewell bow.

He pinged the impatient Dita and they took off for the rooftops leaving the woman in the park behind.

"What do you think you were doing? We were supposed be back at headquarters a half hour ago!"

"I was merely venting some frustrations, love. It felt good to let them out. But I don't how well I helped that woman though."

"I told you that you couldn't do anything for her."

"I couldn't perhaps, but someone else can. I just hope that someone comes sooner rather than later."

The bounding duo didn't see the man named Shinbo walking towards the same park where Ms. Takako Shimizu returned to sitting on the swings staring at a spot on the ground.


A/N: I tried to tie this little two-parter into canon somehow. I hope that my efforts worked out! Thanks for reading and a big thank you to ThanosTitan for the suggestions!