The number of questions asked between the two of them might've been akin to that of an interrogation, but deep down, Mitsuha couldn't shake the feeling that she already knew everything Taki was telling her and that she was merely confirming those details.
'It's nothing,' she told herself. 'Just déjà vu.'
Chapter Two: Déjà vu?
"Miyamizu-san?"
Mitsuha's train of thought was broken as a kind voice said her name. The owner of the voice looked at her with slightly concerned eyes, offering her a frappucino. "Oh, sorry," she replied with an apologetic smile, one that he returned. She took the coffee from him and set it in front of her as he slid into the seat adjacent to hers.
Tachibana Taki. His name is Tachibana Taki...
"We didn't really have a proper introduction back at the stairway," Taki murmured sheepishly. Indeed, they hadn't. Immediately after exchanging their names, they had quickly walked to the closest cafe to talk in a more private area. He held his hand out to her. "My name is Tachibana Taki. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Miyamizu Mitsuha," she replied, taking his hand and shaking it. "It's nice to meet you as well," she added.
He let go of her hand and took a sip of his coffee. A giggle almost escaped from her as he winced. "You're not a child, Mitsuha!" she chided. "Get a hold of yourself!" Clearing her throat, she said the statement both of them had been thinking since they passed each other on the trains: "I'm not sure why, but you seem very familiar."
Taki nodded in affirmation. "I thought the same. I'm certain that I've heard your name before, but I can't pinpoint from where." Mitsuha hummned in agreement. "I grew up in Tokyo," Taki continued, turning to face her. " perhaps we were in the same class in elementary or junior high school?"
Mitsuha could tell from the doubt his eyes that he already knew that she wasn't from Tokyo. "No, I'm from a small town named Itomori." His eyes grew wide at the mention of her former hometown. "What?" she inquired while leaning slightly closer to him, curious to know why Itomori shocked him.
"Itomori," he said slowly and unsurely. "The town that was destroyed by Tiamat years ago?"
"Yes, that one," she confirmed, tone lowering in sadness. Despite the fact that she hadn't particularly liked life in Itomori, she would've never wished for the tragedy that was Tiamat.
"Ah, I apologize if I brought up any memories, Miyamizu-san," Taki backpedalled, observing the change in her voice. Mitsuha's lips curved upwards ever so slightly to form a sad smile in response.
"It was a while ago," she sighed, closing her eyes. After a moment of silence, they fluttered open again. "Why the curiosity, Tachibana-san?"
"I visited Itomori five years ago, in my third year of high school. I don't know why," he added quickly as Mitsuha opened her mouth. "but I had this obsession with Itomori. I read everything I could find about it when Tiamat struck, during my last year in junior high. All the news articles, everything. But...I didn't even know anybody from Itomori." His voice trailed off towards the end, making it clear that confusion that had afflicted him three years ago still resided within him.
"Well...you know me now!" She smiled to ease the tension.
Taki chuckled slightly. "Yeah, I guess so. Since you're the Itomori expert here, how was life there? It must be much different from here..."
The atmosphere between them changed to that of a more upbeat one, and the initial awkwardness that came with meeting someone new melted rapidly as two exchanged details of their lives.
'He was born and always lived in Tokyo, he wants to be an architect, and he's three years younger than me,' Mitsuha listed in her head as she compiled the details of his life. The last detail shocked her somewhat. He seemed very mature for being three years her junior.
In return, she told him about her life in Itomori ("Sounds very naturey," he said), her life as a shrine maiden ("So this is my first time talking to a shrine maiden then," he said in between spurts of laughter. Her face turned ever so slightly red), about Sayaka and Tessie ("They sound like good people," he observed. She heartily disagreed.), her job as a fashion designer ("No wonder you look so good." Her face turned ever more red.), about Yotsuha ("Ahhh, she sounds like the coolest person ever!").
The number of questions asked between the two of them might've been akin to that of an interrogation, but deep down, Mitsuha couldn't shake the feeling that she already knew everything Taki was telling her and that she was merely confirming those details.
'It's nothing,' she told herself. 'Just déjà vu.' Having convinced herself of that, if temporarily, she lost herself in conversing with Taki. His cheerful disposition, dry wit, and kindness completely dominated her interest, and hours passed by without either of them noticing.
Mitsuha stumbled out the door of the cafe, laughing so hardly that she had difficulty breathing, and a chuckling Taki followed suit. The door behind them slammed shut and the "open" sign was hastily flipped over by a glaring man.
"Sorry!" they called out in between spurts of laughter . The glare remained, only disappearing when the blinds were snapped shut.
"I guess we're not welcome there anymore," she giggled. Taki's laughter continued, a response in itself. Their laughter slowly faded to silence, leaving a wide smile of content on both of their faces. Mitsuha walked over to the cafe terrace before her. The winding streets, the tall skyscrapers, the bright and vibrant life she saw from it truly amazed her.
She felt Taki move next to her, the sleeve of his suit touching her arm. 'Living in Tokyo and finally not feeling like I'm always searching for something,' she mused absentmindedly. 'This really is a dream.'
"Miyamizu-san," Taki said, breaking her thoughts. She turned her head to face him.
"Hmm?"
"I really enjoyed this afternoon. A-and the evening." A blush appeared on both of their faces as the realization that they had spent hours simply talking hit them full force.
"I really enjoyed it, too, Tachibana-san," she echoed.
"I hope I didn't keep you from anything," Taki blurted suddenly, nervously scratching the back of his head. She shook her head slowly, smiling to ease his worries. "No, today's my day off. And even if I did have work," Mitsuha said as Taki opened his mouth, probably to apologize again. "today was so much more important."
Finally, Taki eased up. "I'm glad." They turned back to view the Tokyo skyline. As Mitsuha watched the busy night life of the grand city, a question that she had been dying to ask surfaced from her subconcious and made its way to the tip of her tongue. But the fear that had prevented her from calling out to him on the stairway hours earlier put its curse on her tongue again.
'Why?' she asked herself, stealing a glance at him. She had to admit, he did look quite handsome, especially with the moon gently lighting his features. 'Stay on topic, Mitsuha,' she admonished herself. 'It shouldn't be a big deal, to ask for his number. Yotsuha's done it plenty of times!'
Try as she might, however, she couldn't muster the courage to just ask. A couple of moments later, Taki ended her struggle. "I really enjoyed today, so..I was wondering if we could do it again some time," he said, startling her.
"Y-yes, of course!" The words flew out of her mouth in relief.
"Well, in that case," he replied, looking slightly taken aback from her sudden outburst. "could I have your number? We can arrange something from there."
She recited it to him, double checking to make sure it was the right one. She even went as far as to request that he send her a message to be certain. When her phone buzzed lightly, she rushed to take it out of her purse, nearly dropping it in the process.
"Hi, this is Tachibana Taki! It's a pleasure to meet you!" the text read. She looked up. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Tachibana Taki."
"Good, the message went through. We can arrange another time to meet up."
With his message firmly in her inbox, any remaining uncertainty she had melted away. Eight years of searching had ended, and she intended to make the most of what she found.
"Sorry Miyamizu-san, but I need to get home," Taki said with reluctance slowing his voice.
"No, of course. I'll see you sometime soon?" she asked, internally cringing at how desperate she sounded.
"Yes, of course. See you soon!"
And with that, Mitsuha stared after Taki as he walked down to the train station. "Bye..." she sighed. Long after he disappeared from her sight, she walked the opposite direction to the other train station.
Already, she felt like she missed him.
The door to Mitsuha's apartment opened quietly, and its owner stepped through, hardly making any noise. "I'm back," she called out softly.
Light footsteps similar to hers could be heard as Yotsuha Miyamizu peeked outside of her room. "Onee-chan, why are you so late?" she whispered, pulling out her phone and showing her the time. It read 22:48.
"I met someone really special, that's all," Mitsuha replied, setting her purse down on the kitchen table. There was a bounce in her step that hadn't been there previously, and hints of a smile just dying to break out on her lips.
"Who?" Yotsuha questioned, wide-eyed at the change she saw in her sister. "No one I know would make you act this happy..."
"His name is Tachibana Taki," Mitsuha all but sang. She made her way to the room adjacent to Yotsuha's, and closed the door. The younger Miyamizu could only stare, dumbfounded.
"She's acting weird again..."
Mitsuha collapsed onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. The past few hours had been all manners of happiness, but draining nonetheless. Already exhausted, it didn't take long until sleep's warm embrace took her.
The soft buzzing of her phone failed to wake her. But if it did, she would've instantly opened the texts Taki sent her.
"Good evening, Miyamizu-san! I hope you got home safely!
I was wondering if you were free next Saturday. We could grab coffee or lunch if you want.
I hope to hear from you soon!"
AN:
I'm so sorry I wasn't able to update this last Wednesday. I had a standard 800 word chapter done, but I felt it was sorely lacking. So I scrapped it and rewrote the nearly 1700 word monstrosity this chapter is.
Future chapters will be under 1000 words. This 1700 word chapter is just because I skipped a week.
I think you all can tell where the next chapter is going. I'm hope you're as excited to read about Taki and Mitsuha's interactions as much as I'm excited to write them!
As always, thank you for reading, and please consider leaving a review. It really helps me write better!