"Miyamizu Mitsuha."
"Tachibana Taki."
Long black hair tied with that hairba-!
That's such a badly fitted suit! Was it that baggy when I wore-!
The dreams are coming back in force. Images of a life completely different from theirs.
A idyllic countryside life.
A bustling city, Tokyo.
This person is key. I've been looking for you.
"Mitsu-!" Taki stopped himself mid sentence, his face burning up.
It comes so naturally...
"Miyamizu-san, do you remember me?"
"I… I do…"
That sounded like a wedding vow! Has grandma been getting to me with all her talk about getting married?!
"But my memory's a little hazy too, Taki-kun…!"
That just rolled off my tongue! Oh god I'm looking more and more like a spinster every second!
Taking a moment to dry his eyes, Taki took the initiative to get closer. He had to see it for himself. At the same time, Mitsuha too approached him. As a result, they were separated by a solid red handrail in the middle of the staircase.
I only had a glimpse, but damn she's really cute! Oh crap, this is getting awkward…
As I thought, his suit was really terrible… Am I staring?!
They both started laughing awkwardly. There was no real reason to be standing this close, or even to chase the other down, but here they were, standing in the middle of the staircase in the morning.
I'm immediately drawn to her. She has to be the one.
I don't know why, but I think he's him.
"Well…"
"Uh…"
The realisation that both had simultaneously left their trains and searched high and low for each other just dawned upon them. Up until just now, they just wanted to meet each other. Now, they weren't quite sure why.
Taki reached for the back of his neck as Mitsuha started twisting her hair awkwardly. This is getting nowhere... better think of a topic fast, Taki thought as his eyes slid across his wrist, locking onto his watch.
07:45 AM
"Damn it-I'm late!"
"Eh?"
"Sorry, i've got to run, I'm still job hunting and-"
"Let's take a taxi! I'm going to be late too!."
Hurrying down the stairs, Taki took a mental note of the nearby shrine. Suga Shrine… he'll remember that...
Mitsuha flagged a cab and the nice taxi driver was confident he could get Taki there in time. Breathing a sigh of relief, Taki turned to see Mitsuha staring right at him. He slowly turned red as Mitsuha's mind caught up to her body.
"S-Sorry! I'm just trying to remember where have I seen you before. You just look really familiar."
"Don't worry, I was thinking the same thing. Hey, can I have your number? I think we have a lot to talk about, maybe tonight at a cafe?"
Taki had no idea where the cafe idea came from, but Mitsuha's eyes lit up. At the same time, he felt a heartache he associated with his wallet.
"Sure! I get off work at 6! I'll give you a call, Taki-kun"
Tsukasa and Takagi will never believe this. When I get the chance I'm going to donate everything I got to that Shrine.
"By the way, do you think you could stop calling me Miyamizu-san? It sounds odd for you to call me that."
"...Miyamizu-sama?"
Mitsuha elbowed Taki in the rib, laughing.
"Mitsuha will do. Weren't you about to do that, anyway?"
So she did catch that…
"Very well, Mitsuha-san."
"Drop the san!"
"Mitsuha-dono?"
"You-!"
Taxi Driver-san simply focused on the road as the young couple behind continue with their antics. Are all first dates like this?
Wishing him luck, Mitsuha watched as the Taki disappeared into the building. As the taxi cruised along Tokyo towards her workplace, her thoughts were solely on him. Nothing about today made sense, least of all her unexplained initial attraction to him. Still, he seems nice, and those were almost certainly tears of joy she was shedding when he called out to her.