High schoolers Mio Miyamasu and Arata Kishimo are childhood friends. Mio harbors feelings for Arata, but she lacks the courage to express them. Even when her friend Madoka asks if she is in love with Arata, Mio reluctantly declines and encourages her friend to pursue her own feelings for him instead. Later, while Mio and Arata visit a fortune-teller, the boy notices a strange phenomenon and tries to drag Mio out of the shop—much to her annoyance. As Mio begins to question her relationship with Arata, an argument erupts between them. That night, feeling guilty for what had occurred, Mio ventures into the rain to apologize to Arata and make her feelings clear. However, an accident along the way turns Mio's world upside down.

Once upon a time, there were two rival kingdoms that did not get along. Every day, they argued over insignificant matters. When a dispute over removing dog waste ultimately turned into a war, God swiftly intervened and directed the two nation's leaders to exchange the most beautiful girl and the most intelligent young man for bride and bridegroom, respectively. Saara, the princess of country A, meets the prince of country B, Naranbayar. As they pretend to be a married couple to protect the peace between the countries, they find themselves gradually falling in love. (Source: MAL News)

Three years into the war, Mahito Maki loses his mother in a tragic fire at the hospital. Shortly thereafter, his father marries Natsuko, the younger sister of Mahito's mother. They take Mahito out of Tokyo to seek refuge in his late mother's rural family home. There, Mahito is constantly taunted by a strange gray heron, who seems to have taken an interest in him. Unable to come to terms with his loss and struggling to adjust to a new life in an unfamiliar place, the boy is shocked to discover that Natsuko is pregnant. To make matters worse, the pesky heron can speak—and claims that Mahito's mother is still alive. Luring him into a mysterious tower near the residence, the heron says that Mahito can save her from death, but the boy is not easily swayed. When Natsuko disappears one day, however, Mahito watches her walk into the tower and becomes compelled to venture in to rescue her. He soon finds himself falling into another world below his, where life and death seem to be entwined. As he navigates through this foreign realm to find Natsuko, Mahito must understand what it means to live if he wants to safely return home.