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Tears of joy flowed from her eyes down her cheeks.

A smile of undeniable joy painted itself onto his face.

"Can I ask you...your name?"

Chapter I: The Fateful Stairway

The busy Tokyo life moved rapidly right before her eyes, outside the window of the cafe. Each person walked with contentment lifting their step, and moved with purpose driving them forward. The desire to advance and develop was palpable amongst the residents of Tokyo, Mitsuha noted. The city's grandeur had caught her attention ever since she was a child, and had yet to cease to captivate her with its alluring beauty.

The gleaming white metropolis constrasted heavily with Itomori. Prior to the fission of Tiamat that destroyed the town beyond repair, Itomori placed an emphasis on the allure of nature. The greens and the blues and the browns all weaved together to form a tapestry that appealed to many. Mitsuha, however, found that Itomori was much too quiet for her liking. And so, the news that the Miyamizu family would move to Tokyo were receieved very well by her, if tinged with sorrow over her quiet town's destruction.

Despite the excitement that Tokyo never seemed to run out of, as Mitsuha settled in, it became more and more difficult for her to deny the feeling that she was missing something or someone. Someone she didn't want to forget. Someone she shouldn't forget. There was an empty void in her that should've been filled, that previously was filled, but for some reason had been taken from her. The already quiet teen turned into an even more reserved adult as the longing grew stronger and stronger within her.

But suddenly, as she was staring forlornly out the window of the subway, looking for anything that might spark memories of what she was searching for, her eyes met with a man she hadn't met but whose face awoke a plethora of emotions she had long since experienced. By the way his eyes lit up with recognition, she assumed that the sight of her did the same.

And so as soon as the subway stopped, she raced out. The longing and loneliness had receded to give way for determination to find the man who could unveil so much feeling within her that she had thought lost. The search ended at the stairway, Mitsuha standing at the top, looking down at the brown hair and brown eyes that she knew so well but didn't at the same time.

Anxiety bounced around in her stomach as the man made no attempt to call out to her, but instead began to ascend the stairs. Feeling numb, she decided to begin her descent. Each step felt like an eternity to her, as she drew closer to him. The butterflies in her stomach were flying ever so quickly, and try as she might, any attempt to squash them were met with no success.

Finally, Mitsuha reached a point where he was now three steps below her. Now two...Now one...

They passed each other in the blink of an eye. Both of them slowed but did not stop. Now they were no longer moving towards each other, rather, they were creating distance.

Mitsuha tightly clutched her purse as the desire to say something, say anything, threatened to rip its way out her mouth. But as great as the desire was, the fear that she was imagining things, the fear that this man did not actually recognize her, the fear that she would ultimately be rejected kept the desire firmly in check.

Four steps, five steps, six steps...The distance between them grew greater and greater, and yet she remained unable to do anything.

"Why?" she screamed internally. "Why?" Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes, more than ready to spill out. Her foot was right about to reach the midpoint of the stairway when-

"Excuse me!"

She froze as she heard the voice from behind her ring out, desperation clear in its tone. She turned slowly to its source, who had reached the top of the stairway. As her eyes made contact with his, she nearly gasped. His eyes were akin to a mirror, where she saw her recognition reflected.

"Haven't we met before?"

The tears that had been more than ready to fall out did just that – but these were tears of joy. A laugh of joy escaped from her as the joyful tears continued to fall out. "I thought so, too!" she breathed.

Tears of joy flowed from her eyes down her cheeks.

An smile of undeniable joy painted itself onto his face.

"Can I ask you...your name?"

Author's Note:

3/24/18 edit: very minor details, nothing important.

A bit slow on the introduction, I suppose.

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