Note: This story/episode is also available on Doctor Who: The Anime: Series 1 - Episode 14 - Your Name is Doctor Who?
Fictions Mentioned: Doctor Who/Faction Paradox, A Certain Magical Index, Case Closed/Magic Kaito, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Re:Creators, Code Geass, The Works of Makoto Shinkai, Zettai Karen Children, Terminator Franchise, Child's Play Franchise, Shinza Bansho Franchise, Pokemon Franchise, Digimon Franchise
Anime Special - Your Name is Doctor Who?
OP Song:
Sparkle - Kimi no na wa Lyrics (WishLyrics)
Location:
Multiverse Cluster: Shinkai Verse
Universe: Kimi no Na wa Verse
Taki POV:
I have a few habits I've unconsciously picked up throughout the years.
Whether in my ordinary day to day life in my world.
Or my adventures and misadventures throughout the Known and Unknown Multiverse.
My second father, guardian, and mentor, the Time Lord known as the Doctor, can attest to it as he had seen it first hand so many countless times.
For example, when I'm feeling rushed and flustered, I touch the back of my neck. When I wash my face, I look into my eyes, reflected in the mirror. Even on mornings when I'm in a hurry, when I step out the front door, I pause and take a long look at the scenery.
I also gaze at my palm for no reason.
"The next station is…Yoyogi…Yoyogi."
As the synthetic audio announces the station, I realize I'm doing it again. I look away from my right hand, gazing absently out the window instead. We're slowing down, and beyond the glass, the crowd of people standing on the platform flows by.
Abruptly, my whole body breaks out in goose bumps.
A beat later, I think, It's her.
She was standing on the platform.
The train stops. Even waiting for the doors to open seems to take too long, and I leave the train at a sprint. I turn in a circle, scanning the platform. Several passengers dart suspicious glances at me as they pass, and my head finally cools down.
I'm not looking for anyone in particular. "She" isn't anybody.
This is yet another habit I've picked up unawares, and it's probably a weird one.
The next thing I know, still standing on the platform, I'm gazing at my palm again. Just a little more, I think.
Just a little longer. Just a little more.
I don't know what wish accompanies those words, but somewhere along the way, I've started longing for it.
I sometimes asked the Doctor about this strange feeling.
This strange longing that had been budding up inside me for the past few years.
He would just sport that subtle knowing smile on his face, telling me that its not something that he needs to learn yet and that the right time would come when all would be clear.
I didn't have a clue on what he was talking about as usual.
The Doctor was always one for riddles about my own personal timeline, whether if it was the past, the present, and the future. The last one seemed very unknowable.
He seemed to know about what I have been feeling all this time. About me trying to search for something. For someone. Someone whom I cared for after so very long. This feeling of longing that I would always take with me no matter where and when I go.
It was honestly very frustrating sometimes.
Nevertheless, I wouldn't hold it against the Doctor considering his mandate as a Time Lord and that knowing the future is not always the best course of action. It would sometimes lead to even more grave consequences. For myself, my love ones, and everyone else.
And so, I could only just keep on waiting. I would keep waiting. No matter how long it took. No matter have much time has seemed to pass.
Many would say that patience is a virtue.
It was a virtue that had always been my constant struggle as these feelings of longing seemed to be getting stronger as the years go by.
Somehow, I felt that the more time passes, the closer I get to what I'm looking for. To who I'm looking for.
The girl.
Unknown to me and yet known to me.
A girl who is engrave unto my heart.
I would wait for this known and unknown girl for as long as it takes.
This was my promise.
A promise forged through the sands of time.
A promise forged through the red string of fate.
A promised forged through the bond of musubi.
"I applied to your company because I like buildings— Or, no…I mean cityscapes. The landscape of people living their lives in general."
The faces of the four interviewers in front of me cloud slightly. No, no, that's just my imagination, I think. This is the first time I've managed to make it to the second round of interviews at a company. I can't blow this chance, I think, psyching myself up again.
"I always have. Even I don't really understand why, but, um… Anyway, I like them. What I mean is, I like watching buildings and the people who live and work there. That's why I often go to cafés and restaurants. I even worked at a few part-time—"
"I see." One of the interviewers cuts me off gently. "Then could you tell us why you chose to enter the construction field, rather than the restaurant industry?"
She's a middle-aged woman, the only one of the four who looked kind, and I finally realize I've been blabbing about an irrelevant reason for applying. I break out in a sweat in a suit I'm not yet used to wearing.
"Well, I… Serving customers at my part-time job was fun, but I guess you could say I wanted to be involved in something bigger…"
Something bigger? That's a middle school answer. Even I can tell my face is flushing red.
"I mean… The way I see it, there's no telling when even Tokyo could disappear."
This time, the interviewers' faces really do cloud over. Realizing I've been touching the back of my neck, I hastily put hands on my knees again.
"So if it does— No, precisely because it will someday, I want to create the sort of town that warms people, even if it's only a memory—"
Agh, it's no good. Even I can't follow what I'm saying. I've failed this one, too. Thinking this, I glance at the gray skyscrapers that tower behind the interviewers, and I feel like crying.
I would bet that the Doctor and the others would chuckle at my current predicament as they would sometimes joke about my constant running gag about job interviews.
"So? How many companies have you interviewed at, including today?" Takagi asks me.
"I'm not keeping track," I tell him glumly.
Looking awfully entertained, Tsukasa says, "I don't think you're going to make it."
"I don't want to hear that from you," I cut back crossly.
"Sure it's not because you just don't look good in a suit?" Takagi grins.
"You guys aren't much different!" I bristle angrily.
"I've got unofficial offers from two companies," he counters cheerfully.
"I have eight," Tsukasa condescends.
"Rrgh…!"
I have no comeback. My coffee cup rattles in my fingers as they tremble with humiliation.
Tweedle.
My phone chirps from the table. I check the message, drain what's left of my coffee in one gulp, and stand.
Come to think of it, the three of us came to this café a lot when we were in high school. The memory strikes me after I've waved good-bye to Tsukasa and
Takagi and started jogging toward the station. Life was so carefree back then. I didn't have to think about the future or finding a job.
Those were the days when I get to spend my free time travelling throughout the Known and Unknown Multiverse. Seeing new wonders of many varieties and diversities. Meeting new people from all walks of life. Having a very large gathering of family and friends of many unique individuals of their own right. Because of this, every day was ludicrously fun despite my feelings of longing that would sometimes end up depressing me for days without end depending on the mood. There was especially that one summer—I think it was during my third year of high school. That was when the Doctor took me, Ren, President Connor, Agent Barclay, Koichi, Touma, Shinichi, Kyon, Sota, and Lelouch, all of the mentioned above companions whom I'm close with and our bonds tended to be that of brothers, to the Great Wall of China in many universes where it seemed to have different origins and backgrounds. It was also during that summer when we had close encounters with dragons of many varieties and diversities. Then there were also the days when we get to meet up with Ash and Pikachu in the Pokemon Multiverse or with Tai and Agumon in the Digimon Multiverse. Then there were many other countless adventures and misadventures that followed. It seems like that summer was especially thrilling.
What happened that year besides that? I think back and conclude there wasn't anything in particular if you could count the many constant shenanigans of TARDIS Class. I guess I must've just been at an age when absolutely anything was enough to trigger a giggling fit.
…Wait, no, that's something they say about girls… and there were many of them... Absentmindedly, I hop down the stairs to the subway.
"Ooh. Job hunting, hmm?"
Okudera-senpai looks up from her phone, sees me in my suit, and smiles.
It's evening, and the area in front of Yotsuya Station is filled with the faintly languid hum of people released from their days at work or school.
"Ha-ha. Well, it's not going so great."
"Hmm…" Okudera-senpai murmurs, bringing her face closer to mine. She inspects me from head to toe with a frown. Then, gravely, she asks, "You don't think it's because suits don't look good on you?"
"I-is it really that bad?!" Involuntarily, I look down at myself.
"Oh, come on, I'm joking!"
Okudera-senpai beams, her expression changing easily.
"Let's walk a little," Okudera-senpai says, and I follow her. We set off, going against the current of the university students on Shinjuku Street. We cut across Kioicho, then cross the Benkei Bridge. For the first time, I realize that the trees lining the roads are changing color. About half the people we pass have on lightweight coats. Okudera-senpai is wearing a loose ash-gray jacket, too.
"What's going on today? Your text came out of the blue."
Feeling as if I'm the only one who hasn't kept up with the season, I turn to Okudera-senpai beside me.
"What?" Her glossy lips pout. "I can't get in touch with you without a reason?"
"No, no, no!" I wave my hands hastily.
"You're happy to see me, aren't you? It's been a long time."
"Y-yes. I am."
She smiles in satisfaction at my answer, then continues. "I was in the area for work and thought I'd like to see your face, Taki." She was hired by a major clothing chain and works at a branch store in Chiba now. "Life in the suburbs is fun, too, but Tokyo really is lively and one of a kind," she tells me, gazing at her surroundings like she's a little awestruck. "Look," she says suddenly, and I raise my head.
We're crossing a pedestrian bridge, so we're eye level with the giant outdoor display screen above an electronics store. It's showing aerial footage of gourd-shaped Itomori Lake and the words The Comet Disaster—Eight Years Later in big letters.
"We went to Itomori once, didn't we?" Okudera-senpai narrows her eyes, as though she's searching distant memories. "You were still in high school, Taki, so it must've been…"
"Five years ago, maybe?" I finish the sentence for her.
"That long…" She exhales a little, as if surprised. "I'm forgetting all sorts of things."
She's right, I think. As we come down off the pedestrian bridge and walk up Sotobori Street where it runs along the edge of the Akasaka Estate lands, I try remembering that day.
It was the summer of my second year in high school— No, it was just about this time of year, early autumn. Tsukasa, Okudera-senpai, and I went on a short trip. We transferred from the Shinkansen to an express train, went all the way to Gifu, and wandered aimlessly around the area along the local train line. Right, and we went into this ramen shop that was standing all by itself on the side of the national highway. And then… From that point on, my memories blur and grow distant, as if belonging to a past life. Maybe we fought? I have a vague recollection of leaving the other two and going off on my own. I climbed a mountain somewhere all alone, spent the night there, and then went back to Tokyo by myself the next day.
That's right… Back then, I was obsessed with the events surrounding that comet.
In the sort of natural disaster that's happened only a few times in human history, a fragment of the comet destroyed a town. And yet, in spite of that, almost all the town's residents survived. It was a miraculous night. The day the comet fell, Itomori just happened to be holding a town-wide disaster drill, and most of the locals had already been evacuated from the area impacted.
It was such a huge coincidence and such incredible luck, that there were all sorts of whispered rumors after the disaster. The unprecedented astronomical phenomenon and the townspeople's stupendous luck were enough to stir up the media's and public's imagination. All sorts of irresponsible ideas flew around wildly for days on end, from folklore-type stories that linked the comet's visit with Itomori's dragon-god legend, to political statements that either praised or questioned the mayor of Itomori's use of plenary power in forcing an evacuation, to occult rumors that the meteorite strike had actually been foretold. Other strange details, such as the fact that the town had been so isolated it was practically a landlocked desert island, and the fact that the power across the entire area had gone out about two hours before the meteorite strike, spurred public speculation. Society's excitement lasted until the programs to resettle the victims in other areas had calmed down a bit, but as with most incidents, just about the time the seasons changed, the topic of Itomori slowly disappeared from public conversation.
Still… Once again, it strikes me as strange. I'd even drawn sketches of Itomori, several of them. Not only that, but my feverish interest had materialized unexpectedly, a few years after the comet strike. Something had visited me suddenly, like a delayed comet itself, then vanished without a trace. What in the world had it been?
Well, I guess it's not important for the present moment, I think, watching the streets of Yotsuya sink into the dusk from a hill beside Sotobori Street. It really doesn't matter now. I write the thought on a wall in my mind. I need to be focusing on finding a job next year, not ancient history I don't really remember. I would cross that bridge when I come to it.
"The wind's come up," Okudera-senpai whispers, and her long, wavy hair rises softly. A sweet scent I smelled once, somewhere long ago and far away, reaches my nose faintly. Like a conditioned reflex, the fragrance sparks a melancholy inside me.
"Thanks for spending the day with me. This is far enough," Okudera-senpai says when I offer to see her to the turnstile at the station.
We ate dinner at the Italian restaurant where we'd worked part-time as students. Thanks to a promise I totally don't remember making—"Come to think of it, Taki, didn't you say you'd treat me after you graduated from high school?"—I ended up paying for Okudera-senpai. Even so, I felt a little bit proud picking up the check.
"You know, I had no idea the place we used to work had such good food."
"Yeah, all the meals they gave us during our shifts were like school lunches."
"We went for years without catching on."
We laugh. Okudera-senpai draws a deep, contented breath, then says, "All right. I'll see you later." She waves at me, and there's a band like a thin drop of water shining on her ring finger.
"You'll find happiness someday, too," she'd assured me earlier over an espresso, after informing me she was getting married. I couldn't manage a good response—I just mumbled something congratulatory.
I'm not particularly unhappy, I think, watching Okudera-senpai's silhouette descend the pedestrian-bridge stairs. That said, I don't really understand what happiness is yet, either. I abruptly inspect my palm. All that's there is an absence.
Just a little longer…, I think one more time.
Before I know it, the season's changed again.
An unusually typhoon-filled autumn passed, moving straight into a winter of nothing but cold rain. Tonight, too, the rain is whispering down unabated, like the memory of a pleasant chat on some bygone day. Christmas lights twinkle beyond windows beaded thickly with water droplets.
I take a sip from my paper cup of coffee, as if swallowing my scattered thoughts, then look down at my notebook again. Even now, in December, it's packed with job-hunting appointments.
Visits with former upperclassmen to discuss their work, information sessions, entry deadlines, paper schedules, interview dates. The range is chaotic, covering everything from major general contractors to design offices to old-town factories, and as I check the notebook against the schedule on my phone, even I'm a bit disgusted by it. I start organizing the main points from tomorrow onward, writing them into my notebook.
"Y'know, I'd like to go to at least one more bridal fair."
Mixed with the sound of the rain, the conversations of strangers sound a bit like secrets. The couple behind me has been discussing their wedding for a while now, and it makes me think of Okudera-senpai. Their voices and bearing are completely different, though. There's a bit of an easygoing regional accent to their speech, and their conversation seems completely relaxed, as if they're childhood friends. I'm not really listening, but my ears pick up what they're saying.
"Again?" The guy sounds annoyed, but even then, there's no mistaking the affection in his tone. "We've been to a ton of fairs already. They were all pretty much the same stuff."
"Well, I was thinkin' a Shinto ceremony might be nice, too."
"You said your dream was to have it in a chapel."
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I can't make up my mind that easily."
"But you said you did make up your mind," the guy quietly complains, and I chuckle.
The girl ignores him. "Hmm…," she murmurs, thinking. "Never mind that. Tesshi, you gotta shave off those whiskers before the ceremony."
I was about to drink my coffee, but my hand stops dead.
My pulse is speeding up, though I don't understand why.
"I'll lose a few pounds for you, 'kay?"
"But you're eatin' cake!"
"I'll start for real tomorrow!"
Slowly, I look behind me.
The two of them have already gotten up from their chairs and are pulling on their coats. The tall, skinny guy is wearing a stocking cap over his buzzed head. I just catch a glimpse of his profile. The girl is petite, and her bobbed hair makes her seem young, almost like a student. The pair turns away and leaves the café. For some reason, I can't take my eyes off their backs.
"Thank you for your visit." The café employee's voice reaches my ears indistinctly, mingled with the rain.
By the time I leave the café, the rain has turned to snow.
Maybe it's because of all the moisture up in the atmosphere, but the town is oddly warm in the falling snow. I feel strangely uneasy, as if I've wandered into the wrong season. It seems to me as if each and every person I pass is hiding some important secret, and in spite of myself, I keep turning back to look at them.
I go straight to the ward library, which is almost ready to close for the evening. The sparseness of the handful of readers in the vast, vaulted space makes the air inside feel even chillier than outside. I take a seat and open the book I've retrieved from the stacks. The title is Vanished Itomori—Complete Records. It's a collection of photographs.
As if removing an ancient seal, I slowly page through the book.
Gingko trees and an elementary school. The shrine's steep stairs, with their view over the lake. A shrine gate with peeling paint. A tiny railroad crossing, like toy building blocks abruptly set down in the fields. A pointlessly expansive parking lot, two snack bars right next to each other, a drab concrete high school. A prefectural road with old, cracked asphalt. A guardrail that traces a winding hill road. Vinyl greenhouses, reflecting the sky.
They're the sort of ordinary sights you see all over Japan, so I recognize all of them. I can visualize the temperature of the stone walls and the chill of the wind, just as if I'd lived there.
Why is this so…? I wonder as I turn the pages.
Why do the unremarkable sights of a town that no longer exists make my heart hurt this much?
All of these many countless unanswered questions came crashing back on me just like it were yesterday.
All of these many countless unanswered questions to which the answers were kept hidden from me.
The clock of time seems to be ticking down as it seems the sands are nearing to the full from the hourglass.
Just a little longer…, I think one more time.
Mitsuha POV:
Once, fueled by intense emotions, I made some sort of resolution.
I remember this out of nowhere when I look up at the light in somebody's window on my way home, or when I reach for a box lunch in the convenience store, or when I retie my loose shoelaces.
I decided something once. I took an oath because I met somebody—no, so that I would meet somebody.
Washing my face and staring into the mirror, tossing a plastic bag in the trash, squinting at the morning sun between the buildings, I think this and smile wryly.
"Somebody," "something." In the end, I don't know a thing.
Still, I think as I close the door at an interview.
Still, even now, I'm fighting my way through. Perhaps it's a bit dramatic to say, but I'm struggling against life. Wasn't that what I decided once? To struggle. To live. To breathe and walk. To run. To eat. To bind, musubi. To live an ordinary life so I shed tears over the sights of a perfectly ordinary town.
Just a little longer, I think.
Just a little is fine. Just a little more.
I don't know what it is I want, but I keep on wishing for something.
Just a little longer. Just a little more.
The cherry blossoms bloom and scatter, long rains wash the streets, white clouds billow high, the leaves change color, freezing winds blow. Then the cherry trees bloom again.
The days are accelerating.
I've graduated from university, and I'm working at the job I somehow managed to find. I spend every day with the desperation of a man trying not to be flung from a careening vehicle. There are times when I can believe I'm getting closer, in very tiny increments, to the place I want to be.
In the morning, when I wake up, I stare at my right hand. There are little drops of water on my index finger. By the time I notice them, both the dream I was in a moment earlier and the tears that for an instant stained my eyes have evaporated.
Just a little longer. With that thought, I get out of bed.
Just a little longer.
As I recite the wish, I face the mirror and tie my hair cord. I pull my arms through the sleeves of my spring suit. I open the door of my apartment and, for a moment, gaze at the Tokyo cityscape that unfurls before me. I climb the station stairs, go through the automated turnstile, and board a packed commuter train. The little patch of blue sky I can see beyond the heads of the crowd is piercingly clear.
Taki POV:
I lean against the train door, looking out. The city teems with people, in the windows of buildings, in cars, on pedestrian bridges. A hundred people to a car, a thousand people to a train, a thousand trains crisscrossing the city.
Gazing at them, I make my wish. Just a little longer.
In that instant, with absolutely no warning, I see her.
Mitsuha POV:
And then, I see him.
He's there, close enough to touch if it weren't for the windowpanes, on a train running parallel to this one. He's looking straight at me, and his eyes are wide with surprise, like mine. Then I realize what the wish I've carried for so long really is.
Taki POV:
She's there, just a few feet away. I don't even know her name, but I know it's her. Our trains are pulling away from each other. Then another train passes between us, and I lose sight of her.
But I finally know what I'm wishing for.
Taki and Mitsuha POV:
I wanted to stay with her, just a little longer.
I want to be with him, just a little more.
Taki POV:
The train stops, and I dash through the streets. I'm looking for her. I'm already positive she's looking for me, too.
We've met before. Or, no, that could be my imagination. It might be just an assumption, something like a dream. It might be a delusion, like past lives.
Even so, I—we—wanted to stay together a little longer. We want to be together, just a little more.
Mitsuha POV:
As I run along the sloping road, I wonder, Why am I running? Why am I searching? I probably know the answer. I don't remember it, but everything in my body knows. I turn at a narrow alley, and the road drops off. Stairs. I walk over to them, look down…and there he is.
Taki POV:
Fighting back the urge to run, I climb the stairs slowly. A wind that smells like flowers lifts my suit jacket and fills it out into a bell. She's standing at the top of the stairs, but I can't look at her directly. I only watch her out of the corner of my eye. She's descending the stairs. The click of her shoes drifts softly into the spring air. My heart is leaping in my rib cage.
Mitsuha POV:
As we approach each other, we keep our eyes downcast. He doesn't say anything. I can't say anything, either. Then, still without speaking, we pass each other. In that moment, I feel a tense, squeezing pain all over, as though something inside me has taken hold of my heart. This is wrong, I think fiercely. We can't possibly be strangers. It goes against something as basic as the mechanics of the universe, or the laws of life. And so…
Taki POV:
And so I turn around. She turns, too, with the exact same speed. She's standing on the stairs, the streets of Tokyo behind her, her eyes wide and round. I realize her long hair is tied back with a cord the color of the evening sun. My whole body trembles slightly.
Mitsuha POV:
I finally found him. We finally met. Just as I think I'll probably burst into tears unless I do something, I realize I'm already crying. Seeing this, he smiles. Even as I cry, I smile, too. The spring air carries with it all sorts of apprehension and anticipation, and I draw a deep breath.
Taki and Mitsuha POV:
Then we open our mouths at the same time.
Like children who've agreed to go on the count of three, we say together:
"What's your name?"
Third Person POV:
When the two people at opposite ends of the staircase spoke those words, words that held a history and a bond that surpasses time, that's when everything became mute.
In the same nanosecond that the last syllables hit the air, all other sound evaporated in a single instant.
And that's when everything seemed to be washed out in white.
Taki didn't really see or hear his bag hit the concrete with a fwumph as he shifted it off of his shoulders. Mitsuha didn't see her cream-colored heels tumble down the steps when she kicked them off or hear the tiniest splashing sounds of her hand gripping the post-rain-soaked handrail as she pulled herself upward.
Everything was invisible.
Everything was silent.
Everything was gone.
Except him.
Except her.
Taki and Mitsuha were walking towards each other, slowly but surely, savoring every single nanosecond, never wasting it as they drew near to each other as memories of long ago slowly come back to them.
And then sight, sound, smell, taste, and most importantly to the young man and woman, touch returned when their bodies collided at the top of the alleyway staircase. The five senses seemed to be linked together in that one single intimate moment that seemed to last a lifetime's worth.
Taki and Mitsuha threw their arms around each other, their fingers digging into one another's back as if a distant tornado threatened to rip them apart again.
"Mitsuha…"
"Taki…"
"Mitsuha!"
"Taki!"
As the nanoseconds seem to pass, the plaintive whispers became relieved and exuberant yells, and the earlier-released trickles of tears swelled into streams.
Taki pushed his face into Mitsuha's shoulder and clenched his teeth so tightly he thought they would shatter, but at that moment any resolve melted, and he had no choice but to let the sobs come out. Mitsuha's attempt at a joyful noise was also quickly decimated. She tried to laugh through her tears, but now all that came out of her throat was a high wail only muffled by Taki's chest.
The two carried on like that for a while, locked together with almost no movement save for the tremors caused by heavy, loud crying and noticing nothing else in the world. Chirping birds flew overhead. A few children on bicycles zipped on past. An elderly couple opened their second-story window to see what all the commotion was about. After looking on at the youths for a few seconds, they smiled at each other and gently closed the window back up.
Taki took a few seconds to run his fingers through Mitsuha's hair and cradle her head into his chest. Mitsuha in turn raised her arms so that she could caress Taki's shoulders. Both of them finally pried their faces from each other, the man's white dress shirt and the woman's pink jacket deluged with moisture from their lachrymose symphony.
After taking deep breaths, Taki and Mitsuha at last got to look into each other's eyes.
Ten seconds ticked by, and for all of those ten seconds the pair saw five years pass by once more – every uneasy waking moment, every laugh shared with their friends, every hour spent braiding an ethereal cord or poring over maps over a land destroyed by fragments of the cosmos. Those things and more danced across Taki's blue orbs and the hazel gems that were Mitsuha's.
Then time stopped for a brief moment once more.
Lives torn asunder by fate and hearts wracked with uncertainty and grief were brought together when the man and the woman lips collided.
A moment had come.
A moment that had been a long time coming.
For both the man and the woman.
Musubi had been renewed and made whole at that very moment.
The heat of the comet that struck Itomori became tepid tap water on an old pebble now that the slow-burning flames of unexpected love erupted into the tight kiss Mitsuha and Taki shared. All of the trips, the falls, the tumbles didn't stop them from escaping the doldrums of small-town adolescence, the haze surrounding first infatuations, or even forces outside of their orbit in hopes of reaching each other atop the concrete stairs.
Mitsuha and Taki continued their lip lock with their bodies practically sewn together, together as one in the same place after so long apart and even as each other.
Their soft rubs of the shoulders and backs sent relaxing waves throughout each other and their tears still ran free and hot.
Finally, they broke apart and took a breath.
The couple silently stepped together to retrieve Mitsuha's shoes and Taki's bag.
With everything collected, two lovers who knew each other inside and out bounded up the steps hand in hand and would have the intention to walk through the street in order to find the nearest train station. Whether it was his or her apartment, Taki and Mitsuha knew for sure that they would spend the rest of the day in each other's arms, watch the stars gleam in the night sky, and wake the next day side by side knowing, and ready to learn, much more than their names.
However...
To Taki and Mitsuha's surprise, they spotted in their field of vision a couple of people and a blue box that are present at the top of the staircase.
All of them were sporting smiling expressions.
A man with green ancient eyes, who wore a eggplant purple cashmere frock coat that reached mid-thigh with a corduroy collar, wearing it with a burgundy bow tie and braces, dark jeans and a new pair of brown leather boots.
The Doctor.
A teenage boy with black eyes, with spiky hair, who wears a school uniform that was composed of a while shirt, light black pants, an orange undershirt, and wears white shoes with red stripes as his footwear.
Touma Kamijou.
A high class lady with purple eyes and a hime cut of light blue indigo hair with a solid tint of purple, who wore a white shirt, a pink bow tie, a long blue skirt that touches the knees, white socks and black shoes.
Rika Kamijou.
A little boy, with the apparent appearance of a child but with the mind of a high school detective, who has dark brown hair which mostly hangs downwards just above his blue eyes, but there are also a few strands that stick up at the front and back of his head. His outfit consists of a blue blazer with a single button and a pair of shorts, red trainers and white socks. He also wears a red bowtie, his father's old glasses, and red shoes which were all modified to aid him in his cases as a detective.
Conan Edogawa, formerly Shinichi Kudo.
The little girl to his right side has naturally wavy auburn hair, who wore a lab coat, a pink shirt, brown shorts, pink socks, and brown shoes.
Ai Haibara, formerly Shiho Miyano.
A teenage boy with brown eyes, who wears the standard uniform of North High which is composed of a red tie, blue jacket, white shirt, gray pants, and brown shoes.
Kyon.
A teenage girl with a pale skin tone, big brown eyes, and brown hair, wearing an orange-yellow headband with ribbons on the side, tallest for some but fairly short in stature, standing lower than most of her female peers, wearing the standard uniform of North High which is composed of an old-fashioned sailor uniform.
Haruhi Suzumiya.
A teenage boy that has the looks of an average young man in high school with straight brown hair that reaches down to his neck and amber brown eyes who was wearing his school uniform which is composed of a red tie, blue jacket, white shirt, gray pants, and brown shoes.
Sota Mizushino.
A teenage girl with long black hair and grey eyes, with glasses being worn around them, who was wearing a white jacket, with a white dress and blue collar.
Yuna "Setsuna" Shimazaki.
A teenage boy who was a tall handsome young man with black hair and violet eyes, which he inherited from his mother, who was physically fit, having hidden muscles that are hidden on his person and appears rather thin. He wears the standard uniform of Ashford Academy which is composed of black trousers, white long sleeved shirt, black shoes, and a black jacket (or gakuran) with gold trims and linings which is accompanied with the Ashford logo on the neck.
Lelouch Lamperouge, secretly Lelouch vi Britannia.
A teenage girl who has long light brown hair that reaches her hip area, with the large portion of her hair on the left side hanging down over her shoulders, in the middle of her face, another portion of her hair reaches down though it is much shorter than the one on the left. A noticeable trait of her hair is two small strands on both sides are tied together in a ponytail, which are sometimes made larger or disappear all together. Her eyes are a yellowish green. She is above the average height, and slightly taller in stature. She wears the standard uniform of Ashford Academy which is composed of a light yellow jacket with gold trims and black cuffs, white long sleeved shirt, dark green tie with Ashord logo, short black skirt, navy blue knee socks, and black shoes.
Shirley Fenette.
A man in his mid-twenties who is usually seen with a formal suit and with glasses due to his sight. He is slim, in good shape, fairly tall, with medium dark hair, and light colored skin. He is also considered to be rather handsome by many of the opposite sex.
Koichi Minamoto.
A man that looks to be about his forties and has a significant scar on the left side of his face, who wears a black business suit which is composed of which is composed of a white dress shirt, black jacket, black pants, black underwear, black tie, black socks, and black leather shoes.
President John Connor.
A man that looks to be about his forties who sports a beard, who wears a grey jacket, a dark green shirt with a child-like drawing picture at the center, blue pants, and brown shoes.
Agent Andrew William "Andy" Barclay.
A man with a white scarf around his neck who has blue hair and blue eyes, white shirt, blue jacket, dark blue pants, and brown shoes.
Lord Ren Fuji, also known as Lord Tenma Yato and Lord Setsuna.
A woman with a simple white dress, and walking in simple black shoes.
Lady Marguerite "Marie" Breuil, also known as Lady Tasogare.
There was an object to their back that has the words 'POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX'.
Mitsuha was just widening her eyes out in surprise and shock.
Where did all of these people come from? How long where they all standing there? Did they just see...everything that had just happened not only a few moments ago?
She wondered greatly in embarrassment as all of these questions and more begin to flood her mind.
After a few moments she turns towards her beloved Taki who was just sporting a deadpanned expression on his face, not fazed in the slightest bit as he utters in a deadpanned tone that was tinged in familiarity and exasperation which was noted very much by her as it would appear that her beloved Taki somehow knows these people.
"You were all here watching the whole time, weren't you?"
"Guilty." the man with the bow tie said with a smile.
Taki couldn't help but sigh in exasperation. Of course, they all wouldn't pass up with this opportunity to watch the most intimate moment in his life despite some of their busy schedules in case.
"Um..." Mitsuha begins to ask in a curious tone. "Who are all of you?"
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," the Doctor said with an excited smile as he begins to come down the stairs in order to greet Mitsuha with handshake. "Where are my manners. Hello, I'm the Doctor."
Mitsuha could only sport a look a confusion. "Doctor Who?"
Taki and everyone else would either begin to smile or smirk at that.
The Doctor begins to smile at the expected and anticipated question. "Just the Doctor. Now then," He begins to lead Mitsuha by the hand as they both went up the stairs, with Taki following them from behind. "I believe its about time that I would have to show you something that I think you may spark your interest." As they draw near, the Doctor begins to snap his fingers, automatically opening the doors of the blue box, much to the surprise of Mitsuha who looks at the Doctor. The Doctor in turn was smiling in encouragement. "Go on, step inside. I promise you'd love it."
Mitsuha sported a slight hesitant expression, all the while continuing to deeply ponder on the "magic trick" that was performed through the snapping of fingers. Taki decided to speak in an encouraging tone. "Its alright, Mitsuha," Taki gently takes her hand, sporting an encouraging smile while doing so.
Mitsuha looks towards Taki sporting that encouraging smile which made her hesitation falter, making the first few steps towards the blue box.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
By the time Mitsuha went inside, she would see something that was impossible by nature.
The blue box seemed bigger on the inside. It felt more computer based and less organic but still maintained a magical feeling. It was a straightforward six sided console with no large clunky panels separating the panels like the previous two designs. The console room would consist of eighteen ribs supporting it. Each rib swept from the floor to the roof suggesting an organic nature amongst all the high technology. Their colour was a cosmic blue, suggesting a unique type of alloy of alien (Gallifreyan) origin. There were several staircases leading to different levels in the console room, the position of these were designed to give a confusing yet magical look.
Mitsuha could only widened her eyes, slowly walking through the console room, examining it with amazement and awe, with over a hundred questions go through her mind, as she looks at Taki with a surprised expression, with the latter sporting an embarrassed smile, with his left hand scratching his head. She would also look back towards the Doctor who was coming inside along with the rest of the passengers.
"Well, my dear," said the Doctor, sporting a kind and expecting smile. "What do you think?"
Mitsuha could only respond in a tone of subtle shock and amazement. "Its bigger on the inside."
The Doctor and everyone else would begin to smile, having grown rather familiar with the words.
Mitsuha looks back towards Taki who was sporting a kind, encouraging, and embarrassed smile. "(Sigh). Yeah, I know you have a ton of questions. Mitsuha. Let's just say that Itomori isn't the only weird thing that I've been through in my life, whether if it was before we met, during our time travel body hopping experiences, or after we lost our memories and went out separate ways for a while."
"Weird he says," muttered Kyon, being heard by everyone else as they laugh softly.
"Right then," The Doctor exclaimed in excitement as he heads towards the main console, beginning to flip through the switches, one by one. "Now that our favorite infamous couple is onboard the ship, its time that all of us would finally head towards our next destination, Barcelona, the planet of the dogs with no noses," After a few switches were flipped, the Doctor begins to pull the lever down, with a wheezing sound being heard from the main console room.
"You might want to hang on to something, Mitsuha-san," said Ren, sporting a knowing smile. "Its about to get a little bumpy in the next few seconds."
"Huh?," Mitsuha only sported a confused expression.
The Doctor in turn would make an exited smile on his face. "Geronimo!" After which, the blue box, known by many as the TARDIS, would begin to dematerialize from existence, with the strong winds accompanying it, taking off towards the swirling vortex as it heads straight towards the next destination.
Vworp Vworp Vworp
ED Song:
YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of This World – Opening Theme
Characters:
The Eleventh Doctor - A: Matt Smith
Touma Kamijou - VA: Atsushi Abe
Rika Kamijou née Furude - VA: Yukari Tamura
Shinichi Kudo/ - VA: N/A
Conan Edogawa - VA: Minami Takayama
Shiho Miyano/Ai Haibara - VA: Megumi Hayashibara
Kyon - VA: Tomokazu Sugita
Haruhi Suzumiya - VA: Aya Hirano
Sota Mizushino - VA: Daiki Yamashita
Yuna (Setsuna) Shimazaki - VA: Ayaka Ohashi
Lelouch Lamperouge/Lelouch vi Britannia - VA: Jun Fukuyama
Shirley Fenette - VA: Fumiko Orikasa
Ren Fuji/Tenma Yato/Setsuna - VA: Kōsuke Toriumi
Marguerite "Marie" Breuil/Tasogare - VA: Yui Sakakibara
Andrew William "Andy" Barclay - A: Alex Vincent
President John Connor - A: Michael Edwards
Koichi Minamoto - VA: Yuichi Nakamura
Taki Tachibana - VA: Ryunosuke Kamiki
Mitsuha Miyamizu - VA: Mone Kamishiraishi
Tsukasa Fujii - VA: Nobunaga Shimazaki
Shinta Takagi - VA: Kaito Ishikawa
Miki Okudera - VA: Masami Nagasawa