1. Taki

"Your name is…?"

I felt my breath catch and my pulse quicken. In front of me, this stranger's eyes widened slightly. There was something about the way we said that at the same time that filled me with anxiety and impatience. It felt...familiar. Warm. Tantalizing. Electrifying. Some instinct in me was throwing off all kinds of red flags, informing me of something big about to happen. I cleared my throat.

"My name is-" we started at the same time, then stopped ourselves and giggled lamely. Even that sort of childish behavior was enough to set my brain on overdrive. For some reason, my mind jumped to another place; I caught a glimpse of a ridgeline and a vibrant twilight before the moment passed.

"Oh, excuse me, why don't you go first." Ladies first, after all. I made a vague gesture in the woman's direction, throwing a halfhearted smile her way.

"Oh, um, thank you." I saw the moisture in her eyes as she looked away, trying to hide a smile. For some reason, I was crying, too, inexplicably feeling unashamed as I took no efforts to clear my sight. Somehow, just the simple act of meeting this woman was enough to set my heart aflame, easily eliciting my own tears.

"My name is Mitsuha."

...Mitsuha...

Her name echoed in my head. I could almost feel the word physically bouncing around in there. What was happening?

...Mitsuha...

What is this? What is this feeling? This feeling of love, of heartbreak...of fulfillment…of desperation...

...Mitsuha...

I know this name! This name is special to me! ...But where? How? Who is Mitsuha? Why do I know this name?

...Mitsuha...

My thoughts unwittingly turned to Itomori and that comet. Was there some connection? Was this woman related to my mad trip throughout Japan's countryside?

Mitsuha...

Images started flashing before my eyes. A bottle of sake. A shrine. A stone overhang. A crater. A high school. A country road. A house...

Mitsuha…

I know this place. It's Itomori before the comet strike - that much I knew through my poring through books and articles of the event, but somehow...it feels intimate to me. Like I've been there. Like I've lived there. It's a beautiful place - a place so gorgeous I might have dreamed it once-

Mitsuha!

My eyes widened. Dream? It all started...with a dream!

Mitsuha!

It was as if an electric shock passed through my body. Memories rose out of the murky, scattered void of the forgotten and reformed, filling the gaps in my past.

Mitsuha!

It was as if discovering a new color, not realizing that its beauty had always shone upon the gray world around me. I felt my heart soaring as the images returned with rushes of emotion. I remembered the devastation at seeing the crater where Itomori had been, the desperation of trying to save the town, and-

Mitsuha!

I felt the strength in my knees give way as I gripped the railing, slowly sliding to the ground.

Mitsuha!

I remembered...her. I told her we'd write each other's names on our palms to not forget, but instead I wrote "I love you".

Mitsuha!

She never even got the chance to write her own name. ...Her name? Yes, that's right. Her name was-

Mitsuha!

I put my head in my hands and began to sob uncontrollably, allowing the relief and sheer joy to purge my soul and body of the emptiness I had carried around for so long.

Mitsuha...how could I have forgotten you? I demanded of her, of myself, and of the world. The girl I "met", who started off so annoying, yet became the one star of my life - my one true love.

"Eh? Are you okay?!" I barely registered her voice, for a moment unable to even recognize the sounds as words. I was too overwhelmed by my present elation and my remembered grief, by the realization that my time alone was over.

"Are you okay?!" This time, I heard the alarm and worry, and silently reprimanded myself for breaking down and crying in the middle of the street. I looked up and was startled to see her face so close to mine. Evidently, she had knelt down to see if I needed help.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I waved her off. "It's just that…"

Did she remember? Would she remember? What we did together? Who I was? ...Who I am?

"I remember now."

"U-Um...I'm sorry?" Ah… The slightly puzzled face. The confused words. They pierced my heart and split it in two. Was it...was it impossible? Did her change of fate - my interference - remove me from her life?

I couldn't bear it, but if that were true, then I couldn't let my burdens fall to this woman - to Mitsuha, I angrily corrected myself. Even if she didn't remember, she's still technically the same person.

I resigned myself and decided to make an introduction. "Mitsuha...my name is Taki."

"Oh…!" What…?! Her eyes went wide! I almost reached out to her, but stopped myself in time with great mental difficulty, forcing my eyes to the ground. To her, I'm a stranger. I shouldn't be touching her without her permission. I didn't want to come off as some pervert or anything, but…

"Ta...ki...kun?"

What? What did you say?

"Taki...kun?" I looked up at her to see her trembling hand reaching towards my cheek. Her eyes were brimming with tears, but she made no effort to wipe them away.

"I...I remember…"

I felt my heart fill and expand and took a sharp inhale of breath, even as my mental faculties effectively overheated and malfunctioned. I blinked, and somehow found Mitsuha in my embrace, her hand gripping mine in a firm, unrelenting clamp.

I took a moment to gather my scattered thoughts. "Mitsuha…" What do I say? What do I do? What do we do?

In that split second, I decided to ask the obvious. "You remember? Everything? Switching places, the comet...everything?"

The time following the end of my question seemed to extend into eternity. What would her answer be? For a moment, I felt another sting of trepidation. Perhaps I misunderstood. Perhaps she was remembering something else, and-

A nod.

I closed my eyes and let out a labored sigh, feeling anxiety I never realized I was carrying wash out from me. When I opened them again, it took my entire being not to gasp. I found myself held captive by Mitsuha's gaze. Her eyes glimmered with a light so beautiful that all I could do was smile. I reached out and wiped her tears away, and felt my heart rate kick up a notch as she reciprocated the motion.

"Heh...we must look pretty weird, Mitsuha. Crying together in the middle of the stairs and all." None of my usual bravado. With Mitsuha I felt like I could be myself.

"Hmph...it's your fault I'm like this," she grumbled, proceeding to elbow me in the ribs none too lightly.

"Ow! Hey, how was I supposed to know you were dead?" Seriously. That never would have occurred to me naturally. Even saying it just sounded bizarre.

"Baka. Not that. You should have written your name on my palm." The way she pouted put me so off guard that I suddenly found rubbing the back of my head really interesting. Besides, she wasn't wrong; I probably could have saved both of us five years of heartbreak.

"Oh...right...sorry," I muttered, looking away.

"Pft...hehe…" Oh, what, so you're laughing now?

"Ha...hahaha…" Damn, I'm laughing now?!

The two of us broke into helpless peals of laughter, Mitsuha putting her face into my chest. It felt like our moment on top of the crater - during kataware doki - only without the creeping urgency of trying to save Mitsuha's future. My arms naturally found their way around her waist, and we stood like that for a long while, feeling the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the wind. I wanted nothing more than to stay like this forever.

Except…

There was one thing that was stolen from us both. A signature of love. Even as I had the thought, I looked down at my beautiful partner. She was still calming herself after our hysterics.

"Hehehe…" She opened her eyes and looked up. My self-discipline disappeared right there.

"Hm? Taki-kun? What are you doing?" I couldn't say anything. Not while looking into those eyes. I put one hand around her neck and started pulling her close. Her mouth fell open a little, drawing my focus. Her lips...so soft. So...inviting. She closed her eyes. I followed suit. There was only one direction from here. Just a little closer. A...little…

I don't remember what happened. Not exactly. All I know is that my mind went white, and my heart soared to new heights. I only recall my vision having to clear afterwards and breathing hard, looking right into her eyes and trying to remember their every detail.

Eventually, I found the strength to speak. "Hah...five years overdue." I tried to keep it a little light, but the reality of the statement pained me a little.

Mitsuha headbutted me lightly from her position on my shoulder. "Eight years for me."

Shoot. That's right. It may have been five years for me, but Mitsuha's experiences happened three years in my past. She's been waiting for me longer than I have been for her. It was such a strange thought that I wasn't able to stop my next statement.

"How...old are you, Mitsuha?" Damn. Damn it, Taki! Not something you ask a woman! "I'm sorry. I mean-"

"No, I get it." Mitsuha interrupted my apology. I guess she was thinking along similar lines. "I'm 25."

...Huh? "You're older than me."

"Hm? Yes, I suppose I am. Is that weird?"

Is it? I dunno. In my experiences with Mitsuha, I always saw her as younger than me - maybe around the same age. Though, I suppose her being around my age three years before me would make her older than me.

"Care to repeat that?"

Hm? Did I accidentally say that out loud in my dumbfounded state? I must have; Mitsuha's laughing at me now.

"Ah, it's not important. You're here now. Time, distance, and death could not keep us apart." No. Grandma Miyamizu was right; musubi will always keep us connected.

"Mm. Never leave me again."

Of course. I held her even closer. "Never."

I held her like that for an hour. Or was it a minute? I'm not too sure. All I know that it was too short. Before long, her phone buzzed, begging her attention. She swore and disentangled from me.

"Damn. Excuse me, Taki-kun." She took her phone out of her dress pocket, checked it, and swore again.

"Damn. I'm sorry, Taki-kun, I have a meeting I need to go to."

Life calls. I nodded glumly in response. I guess now was a good time, if any; I also had obligations today, though I'd gladly forget them at the drop of a hat.

"I understand. I actually have a job interview in-" I checked my watch "-half an hour."

I stood there and lost myself in her eyes again, before we had to return to being functional adults. The thought of Mitsuha being a professional woman was a little startling; it reminded me of the time we lost, and now I found myself reluctant to let her go.

"U-Um...may I have your contact information?" she asked, still holding my hands and looking right at me.

Some of my teasing intentions returned, and I couldn't stop a playful smile from spreading across my face. "I gave it to you eight years ago. You mean you don't have it?"

I got a slap for that, but it doesn't really work if you're smiling, Mitsuha. "Baka. Just give it to me."

I laughed and gave in. "Yeah, yeah. Here." We exchanged phones, entering in our contact information. It felt so much like it did when we were swapping bodies that I felt a wave a nostalgia hit me.

"Arigatou." Mitsuha held my phone out. I returned hers, linking fingers with her as we walked towards the station together. At the concourse, I turned towards her.

"I suppose this is where we split."

"Mm," was all she had to say, but I didn't mind. After all, there isn't any need to say anything when there isn't anything to say.

"Tomorrow at seven?" Despite normally having cold feet when asking girls out to dinner, I had no such qualms with Mitsuha. I felt like though we've only technically met once, we're able to communicate directly with each other - from heart to heart. She understood what I was asking even though I didn't finish the question.

"Of course. Where?"

"The restaurant?" Again, I didn't have to specify which. It's a bit on the expensive side, but that restaurant is a special place for the two of us. It's also close to a great café we can go to afterwards, and I remember how much Mitsuha loves her cafés.

"Sounds good! Are you paying?" Er...I hope I can afford it. Right now, I'm worse than a broke college student; I'm a broke graduate.

"Eh...I'll see if I can get Miki-san to pull some strings…" I hope so. She's still pretty close with management; besides, Mitsuha made me pretty popular among the waiting staff.

"Hehe…It's a date, Taki-kun." The smile she gave me was so brilliant, so radiant that it blocked out all other sights. My vision tunnelled and all I could see was her face, and the future that the two of us would explore together. I looked up and smiled back, taking her hand in mine.

"It is, Mitsuha." Without breaking eye contact, I bowed and kissed her hand. It's a little cheesy, perhaps, and maybe old-fashioned, but it felt right. I finally tore myself away from her, heading towards my end of the station. I could feel her eyes on me even as I turned the corner, and I caught a glimpse of her waving before stepping onto the platform. As the train arrived and I squeezed into the car, I caught a small puff of her perfume, having clinged to my fingers through our contact together.

For the last five years, I've been looking for something. Something special, something personal - something forgotten. It had something to do with Japan's countryside; that much was clear to me, and the stories of Itomori's destruction drove my career into architecture and disaster prevention. I spent these last five years carrying a feeling of loss and emptiness.

"No more," I whispered to myself. My fingers tingled with the phantom impression of Mitsuha's delicate grip even as I caught her scent yet again, and I held that hand close to my heart. My time spent searching was finally over.

"Mitsuha…" This whole time…

I was searching for you!