Chapter 12

The classroom door was slightly open, and Mitsuha could hear voices coming from inside. Filled with apprehension, she opened the door fully and moved into the doorway. Immediately, the head of every student in the class whipped round to face her, and there was a single moment of silence before everyone began shouting at once. Unable to face the music, Mitsuha backed out of the room…straight into a pair of small, firm hands. "In you go," came the voice of Hiraoka behind her as she was forced back into the classroom. "You brought this on yourself, after all."

"Well thanks for the encouragement…" Mitsuha mumbled as her friend steered her towards her seat. Most of the class had arrived already, but unfortunately Taki was not among them – he would surely provide some much-needed backup once he arrived. But Hiraoka was right – it was her fault, and she had known this would happen. Being from Itomori was already enough to make her a rarity, but being a miko and writing a story implicating her own family in Itomori's inception…that was sure to elevate her to celebrity status, for a few weeks at least. Luckily she hadn't been questioned on the way up to her classroom, which meant the lower years hadn't found out what she looked like yet. But once they did…

Mitsuha sat down in her usual seat and began unpacking her things as a crowd rapidly formed around her desk and began bombarding her with questions. According to Hiraoka's phone call last night, word had spread quickly via LINE, which meant anyone who knew her had already been informed, even if they hadn't bought or read the book themselves. Someone had even scanned the story in and spread it around, which Mitsuha was not happy about. There were plenty of spare copies, why resort to piracy when they're so readily available?

Suddenly a copy of the book landed on the desk in front of her, and a loud voice accompanied it. "Is it true? Is the story based on your family's actual history?" The room fell silent as Mitsuha looked up at the boy who had spoken. He was large, loud and not someone Mitsuha had ever spoken to – she wasn't even sure of his name. But clearly he knew hers, and on behalf of the class had asked the one question on all their minds. Behind her, Mitsuha heard Hiraoka sigh loudly. "Can't these cretins read?!" was evidently the message she was trying to convey; they'd clearly written about how it was all based on a real event at the beginning of the story, at Erina's request.

But if they really, really needed explicit confirmation… "Yes, it's true. My family ran the shrine in Itomori, I was a miko and that is the legend of Itomori's creation that was passed down through the Miyamizu family. And that's it."

Immediately after she'd finished, the bombardment resumed, this time with even more energy, and Mitsuha physically winced as the volume increased. She was sure Hiraoka was sighing behind her, but couldn't hear it for all the pointless questions being lobbed at her from all directions.

"Are you still a miko?" No!

"Is the comet from two years ago the same one as in the story?" Probably.

"Can you see the future in woven stuff?" No, and anyway I can't weave anything besides braided cords.

"Do you know the special weaving technique?" Yes.

"Did you order the evacuation from Itomori?" Apparently, but I can't remember it.

"Are you married?" No, I'm…wait, WHAT?! How is that even relevant? Of course I'm not!

"Sign my book!" …Seriously?

"Please, you're going to give me a headache…" Mitsuha mumbled to herself, head down and trying to ignore the students practically sitting on her desk. "Guys." She was speaking too quietly. "Guys!" She tried raising her volume, but her voice still wasn't heard over the din of the rest of the class. "Please STOP!" Mitsuha shouted, finally shocking the room into silence. "Finally!" She looked up to see at least fifteen of her classmates looking at her expectantly. She picked up the book that had been dropped on her desk and held it out for someone to take – it wasn't hers and she definitely wasn't signing it. Someone finally took it from her, and she realised they were waiting for her to say something.

At a loss for what to say to the mob surrounding her, she was luckily saved by Hiraoka sitting behind her. "As Mitsuha's editor," she began, causing all heads to turn towards her, "I must request that all questions for my client be submitted in writing." She looked sternly at the students closest to her, which only made them stare back. "Quit bugging her, do you think it's fun to relive the moment your town and all its inhabitants were almost crushed by a giant space rock? Honestly, have some decency and give her some space."

"You heard her, quit pestering," came a voice from near the door. Mitsuha perked up as Taki's head appeared over the shoulders of the guy in front of her. "Just read the book, that'll answer most of your questions. If you haven't got a copy, you can get one from the literature club – they meet tomorrow in…which room was it again?"

"Class 2-1," Mitsuha answered. "Now please just sit down, you're all being a bit overwhelming." Quite honestly, she would vastly prefer some feedback on the story itself, rather than an unending tirade of (mostly stupid) questions. To her relief, the crowd dispersed and sat back in their seats, but from what she could hear it was clear that they were talking about her. I knew this was going to be a bad idea… She looked up and smiled at Taki. "Thanks." Mitsuha turned around in her chair. "And you too, Hiraoka."

Hiraoka just shrugged, so Taki answered for the both of them. "No problem. I thought you were over-exaggerating the impact it would have, until I had a first-year come up to me at the shoe lockers and ask me if I knew 'the Itomori girl, Mitsu-mahou'. I was kinda shocked for a minute there."

Mahou as in 'magic'…this was already going too far. "Mitsu-mahou, huh? So

they really do think I'm a magical girl, then. This is gonna be such a mess…" Mitsuha folded her arms on the table and laid her head on them in despair. If her life was going to be like this for the next few weeks, it would all have been far too much trouble for far too little gain. "Oh, why did I decide to do this? Mitsu-mahou…"

She felt rather than heard Taki lean in towards her. "Well, they're not exactly wrong, are they?" he whispered. "The story pretty clearly had supernatural stuff going on, and so do you, what with all the body-swapping and all. Maybe your shrine maiden outfit is your magical costume, and your special power is invading the bodies of handsome boys."

Mitsuha's face went red as she buried it even deeper into her arms. "Don't you start, too," she mumbled at Taki, who laughed and moved away. "This is going to be bad enough without you joining in as well."

〈◇〉

Break, lunch and end of final period – the three parts of the day every student lived and breathed for. Except Mitsuha, that was. For her, the monotony of regular classes gave her space and time to relax. But as soon as the teacher left, she would be approached and forced to answer questions about this and that, while others would chat on about her as if she wasn't even there. During lunch, Mitsuha had tried to leave and find some peace and quiet, only to be immediately confronted by a gaggle of curious second-years. Apparently, some members of the literature club had been a little too forthcoming with her details, which meant a good portion of the school now knew exactly who she was and which class she was in. Was this what Yukino-sensei went through when she first arrived here?

The biggest problem was that she was repeating herself, a lot. If everyone who was interested was present for just one hour, she could probably answer every single question quickly and concisely. But because different people would ask her the same question each, she would have to give the same answer multiple times. The longest was, of course, how she found the legend in the first place. In a valiant effort to be as truthful and accurate as possible, Mitsuha had explained everything from Itomori's inception to the Mayugoro fire to her visit to the National Diet Library; it had taken over half her lunch hour. As soon as she was finished with that, not only did that group have even more questions, but the next person to show up had wanted to hear exactly the same story. At that point she'd turned to Hiraoka and Taki to chase them away before she ran out of time to eat. They'd even jokingly suggested she write a whole book of her own to answer all the questions.

But Mitsuha wasn't the only one getting some extra attention. In art class, while they were doing their still-life drawings of plants, the teacher had come round to look at everyone's work and specifically commented on Taki's drawings of Itomori he'd done for the book. Apparently he wasn't usually that great with colour, so the beautiful renditions he'd done of the town and comet had really impressed the old art teacher. That wasn't to say he wasn't normally a good artist, he'd just really pulled out all the stops this time, for which Mitsuha was especially grateful.

Finally the end of the day reared its head, and Mitsuha was free to get away from her overly persistent classmates. Except, the day wasn't quite over yet. As soon as the teacher dismissed the class, Mitsuha quickly packed her things away and rushed to Taki's desk before he could take off. She tapped him on the shoulder to get him to turn his head and leaned in so their conversation could be a little more private. "Are you free tonight?"

Taki did a slight double-take. "Free? Um…y-yeah, I guess. What were you planning?" He was reacting weirdly…maybe she had phrased the question in a strange way? Are you free tonight…oh…. Suddenly Mitsuha's cheeks flared up as well as she realised what that kind of question sounded like.

"D-don't be stupid, not like that!" she denied, looking away briefly. "I want to buy a frame for that painting you gave me, but I don't really know anything about that stuff. I wanted some help in picking out a good one. I know it's a bit spontaneous, but I thought you might want to meet my family, too. Especially Grandma, you said she knew about the…you know, swapping." Mitsuha whispered that last part, and it caught Taki's attention immediately. He'd mentioned several times how her grandmother had somehow known when they had swapped bodies, so perhaps meeting her might trigger something.

Taki looked seriously at her and nodded. "Yeah, I'm free. I've wanted to meet her for a while, actually. And I have a few words for your dad, too…" Taki returned to packing his things, more earnestly than before.

"Oh, don't be like that," Mitsuha chastised. "He's very different now, you'll see." As soon as Taki was done, he stood up and they quickly left the room together. If they didn't hurry, someone was bound to recognise and stop them on the way down. Luckily their class had ended a few minutes early, so the corridors were mostly empty.

〈◆〉

The two arrived at Mitsuha's house around an hour later. Taki was carrying their purchases in a large carrier bag. They'd gone to a reputable art shop in Shibuya, one that he had visited often, and picked out everything they needed. Getting a frame custom-made was expensive and buying a standard one was often going to result in poor quality. Luckily for Mitsuha, Taki knew what he was doing and bought everything they would need – mat board, glass, backing, and of course the frame itself. He'd had experience with bad frames before, so he knew exactly what to look for and what to avoid. In the end, they'd managed to get a decent-quality batch of materials, with the glass and mat board cut to size by a shop assistant, and all for a reasonable six thousand yen. Well, reasonable to Taki, anyway – Mitsuha had been horrified.

The subway had been busy but manageable, and the walk peaceful, if a little chilly. November was getting along, and the sun was close to setting; the streetlamps were already on. As they walked, they talked about this and that, mostly keeping away from the topic of Itomori and the day's frustrations. For Mitsuha, the entire process of research, writing, editing and selling had been almost cathartic, a way to completely come to terms with what had happened. Taki could see the changes – she had been much more relaxed and open over the last couple of months, her worries and fears being transferred from her soul to the page. And in a few weeks' time, once the spotlight moved away from her, Taki was sure that Mitsuha would feel much more comfortable when talking about where she's from.

As for Taki himself, he was just happy to finally make his dreams a reality. He didn't want to lose those memories, and thanks to Mitsuha he was able to devote his entire summer holidays to capturing those images forever through the medium of art. Now that he knew almost the entire story, it was good to let it all go behind him. Before, those dreams had been glimpses into a life he could never quite remember or understand, and now he could finally move on. He'd turned shards of another life into a timeline of coherent, happy memories.

Eventually they reached the flat. It was in a recently built-up area, and Taki could tell from one outside glance that it would be far bigger than the tiny place he shared with his dad. The area wasn't known for being too expensive, but it wasn't exactly cheap either – Taki suspected it was paid for by a combination of Mitsuha's dad's current salary, as well as the not-insignificant sum he would've been on as mayor of Itomori. Without even entering he could already tell it was a pretty tidy place. But for Mitsuha, it was a far cry from the traditional Japanese house she'd lived in back in Itomori.

The Miyamizu family lived on the ground floor, so Mitsuha simply unlocked the side door and went straight in. "I'm home," she called out down the quiet hallway, and Taki heard a muffled 'Welcome home!' from a nearby room. Mitsuha closed the door behind them as they removed their shoes, and she motioned for Taki to put his bag down as well. "Just dump it here, and your schoolbag and coat, too. I'll just put mine in my room." She disappeared around the corner and returned a second later, sans the schoolbag. Mitsuha beckoned him towards her as she opened a door partway down the hallway and moved into the room beyond.

As she entered, an elderly voice carried over the quiet sound of a TV. "Welcome home, Mitsuha…oh, you brought a friend?" The room was set up quite simply; it was square, with a low central table surrounded by cushions, a door to an adjoining kitchen and a television in one corner. Windows on one side let in the last of the evening's light, which fell directly onto the occupant of the only chair in the room. The TV was on and currently being watched by someone who could only be described as 'Mitsuha, but smaller'. Her dad wasn't home yet, probably still at work.

Taki decided now would be a good time to remember his manners and bowed after closing the door behind him. "I'm Tachibana Taki, one of Mitsuha's classmates. I worked with her on the story she wrote for the cultural festival. Nice to meet you." As the family offered their own formalities, Taki straightened and looked to Mitsuha expectantly. It took a few seconds, but Mitsuha finally realised what she was forgetting to do – introduce her family to him. He already knew them, but they didn't already know him, so as weird as it was going to feel, Mitsuha would have to introduce everyone properly and he would have to pretend he didn't know them. It was like the opposite of one year ago – back then he'd been thrust into Mitsuha's life without knowing enough, and now this time he knew too much.

"This is my sister, Yotsuha," Mitsuha needlessly explained as they passed the table. Taki waved and she returned the gesture. "And this is my grandmother, on my mother's side. We've lived with her ever since we were little."

The old woman looked him up and down, then smiled. "So you're the one who did those illustrations for Mitsuha's story, is that right?" Taki nodded, and she smiled even wider. "They were very beautiful, and extremely accurate. I was happily surprised when Mitsuha showed them to me. And the story as well, of course. We were all thoroughly impressed by your joint efforts, including those other two girls who helped out." It seemed as though she didn't recognise him, which was both relieving and disappointing. "So, what brings you here today?"

"You'll see in a minute!" Mitsuha said as she popped out the room and out of sight, most likely retrieving the artwork and what they'd bought that afternoon. Yotsuha followed her out, which left just him and Hitoha. He turned away from the door, only to find her staring intently at his face. Her eyes were deep and thoughtful, and her face was inscrutable. Her previous happy smile had been replaced by a pensive expression that he'd seen on her only a few times before.

"Tachibana, did you say your name was?" she asked quietly, and Taki replied with a simple nod. "I believe we've met before. You may not remember – you were dreaming at the time." Taki suddenly became very awake, his eyes widening and his breath catching. "I see. In which case, please accept my humble thanks for helping save my granddaughters from the incident two years ago." Outside the room, Taki could hear some shuffling and talking – they were returning. Hitoha settled back into her chair and relaxed. "Take good care of her," she whispered, moments before the two girls re-entered.

Taki couldn't help but smile to himself. So, the old woman remembers. She really did know exactly what was going on. I wonder if it happened to her too, when she was a child? Is this the power passed down through the Miyamizu family? Or perhaps she orchestrated the entire thing in the first place? He wasn't sure exactly how she'd managed to recognise him so quickly, but he was surprisingly relieved that she had – it was a final affirmation that it wasn't all in their heads, and proof that the whole body-swapping business was definitely linked to Miyamizu shrine. The story that Mitsuha had written was most likely true after all.

It took them around twenty minutes to assemble everything. Since Taki was the artist, he'd already known what kind of frame and what colour mat board would fit with the piece. He'd also had it cut so that the board would cover the edge of the painting, where you could still see some white unpainted paper. The glass was tricky – luckily the shop stocked anti-static brushes for wiping it down after removing the protective cover, otherwise dust would get stuck to it immediately. Finally, everything was completed. Enclosed was the image of comet Tiamat, illuminating two vague figures on the crest of a hill, surrounded by a red thread. The frame was wood of a dark colour, and the mat was white to contrast between the deep colours of the painting and frame. As far as he could see, nothing had got trapped between the glass and paper – it was done.

The frame rested on its back in the centre of the table, and everyone admired the piece silently. Taki was very proud of it, considering that it wasn't even supposed to have been made in the first place. Most of the pieces he'd done for the book had been on canvas, using a combination of pencil, paint and chalk, but this was the only one he'd done on paper with acrylics. The rich blues of the night sky combined with the striking colours of the comet to really jump out of the frame. He didn't regret giving it to Mitsuha, not one bit – he could tell that every piece he'd made had really meant a lot to her.

"Where are you going to put it?" Yotsuha asked.

"In my room," Mitsuha replied. "I'll get Dad to knock a nail in the wall or something, so that I can hang it up. My room's so plain, this should make it a little bit less boring in there."

"Well, my work is done here." Taki stood and bowed to his hosts. "Thank you for having me, but unfortunately I need to get home soon. Dad will be expecting me around…now, actually." He knew he'd forgotten something – he hadn't told his dad he was going to be home later than usual.

"Of course," Hitoha said. "Thank you for coming, and for everything you've done for my granddaughter." Taki saw Mitsuha roll her eyes at that last remark. "Have a safe journey home."

"Bye," Yotsuha called as Taki left the room. Mitsuha followed him out and closed the door behind her. Taki put on his shoes and coat, picked up his bag, and turned to see her quietly waiting.

"Thank you," she said, and lightly stepped forward before embracing him for just a second. "I know it was on the spur of the moment and everything, so thanks for coming and helping me put all this together. And thanks so much for the painting, it really means a lot to me."

"No problem," Taki responded, "I'm glad I could help." He opened the door and stepped outside. It was quite a bit colder than it had been when he'd arrived, and the sun had either completely set or was blocked by all the buildings. However, it was far from pitch black – the streetlamps and light pollution meant Tokyo was never truly dark. He shivered slightly and zipped up his coat, glad for the extra layer.

"Oh, one more thing." Taki turned to face Mitsuha, who was standing on the other side of the doorway. "Your grandmother knew." Mitsuha's face barely showed any change – it seemed she was expecting as much. "She recognised me. I don't know how much she knows, but it's more than we think."

"She really is something, huh." Despite being barely a metre apart, Mitsuha waved, and Taki waved back. "Good night, Taki."

"Good night, Mitsuha."

〈◆〉

The next day, things were a bit quieter. Inside the classroom, Mitsuha was still being bothered by everyone, but at least they were being a bit more organised about it. Information was spreading, and apparently a lot of students were going to visit the literature club this afternoon to buy copies of the book. Unfortunately, a lot of people decided that they would take this chance to educate themselves on Itomori via the internet and ask Mitsuha really specific and strange questions. They also found out that she was the mayor's daughter, and people could be seen discreetly showing each other their phones, watching video interviews of him following the disaster when teachers weren't looking. By the end of the week, most of the school would know more about Mitsuha than she did herself.

Taki watched from his seat as Mitsuha entered the room, trying desperately to ignore the attention suddenly given to her. As Taki had arrived first, he'd already been approached by a number of classmates, but he simply claimed ignorance and ignored them until they left. Unfortunately, that just meant there would be an even longer queue of questions for her.

Luckily for her, she arrived only moments before Furakawa-sensei entered the classroom. After everyone bowed, greeted him and settled down, he did the standard roll-call, then stood up at the front of the room. "I have a very exciting announcement today," he began, which quickly got the class' attention.

"As you know, every year we hold a school trip for each year group, and the third-year trip will be early next month." There were cheers from across the classroom. "It was supposed to be before the summer holidays, but unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances the residential we had in mind had to be cancelled, which is why it's happening now. The trip will be partly a social and cultural experience, but there will also be the opportunity to engage in some academic study – the history, geography and science departments have all altered their planning slightly to allow their lessons to tie in with where you'll be going. Also, because of the short notice and the destination, it will be a single-day trip instead of the usual weekend."

With that last statement came groans of disappointment from across the room. "Not fair!" someone shouted. "Why did it have to be us?" Furakawa-sensei raised his voice to make himself heard.

"Quiet, please! I know you're upset…Morita-san, please sit back down! As I said, because everything had to be rearranged, we were unable to secure accommodation suitable for your entire year. Summer would have been too short notice, October was spent preparing for the cultural festival, November is a busy period for everyone, late December has Christmas and the National Centre Tests are in January; this was the only time available and we just couldn't make it all work out. We really are sorry." He seemed genuinely disappointed – since homeroom teachers rotate every year, he'd been looking forward to this trip for as long as the students had.

"As for the location in question…" At this the room quietened down – this was the important part, after all. It would be worth giving up the weekend residential if the place they went to was good enough. Taki leaned in to make sure he didn't miss anything, which meant he noticed the worrying look Furakawa-sensei sent in Mitsuha's direction. Wait, don't tell me…!

"The final arrangements were made just a few days before the cultural festival last week. The trip will be on Saturday the second of December, and will take place near Hida, in Gifu. I'm sure by now you're all familiar with the town of Itomori."

As one, the entire class turned their heads towards a single girl on the left side of the classroom. Her eyes wide and her mouth in a parting state of shock, Mitsuha was frozen in place.

She would be returning to Itomori.

A/N

Finally, we return to the source of everything! I've been planning this since before I even started writing the story, and now it's actually happening. It's been a long way coming, but Itomori was always going to be the final destination, from the very beginning.

I feel like this chapter is pretty bad, I just couldn't get it to sit right somehow. Next chapter will be the last, so look forward to it!

Talndir

23/01/2019: Corrected 'Hayashi' to 'Furakawa' (thanks PenguinMangu!).