CHAPTER TWO

You idiot.

He cursed himself mentally, his eyes glued to the screen of his phone's open dial pad, his mind savagely spewing insults at him once more. Tapping a few random numbers in frustation and deleting them instantly, he tapped away again only to repeat once more. Leaning back against a wall, a frustrated sigh escaped his lips.

"If we were gonna meet up, somewhere less packed would've been ideal, aren't I right?" he muttered to himself, a sliver of irritation coursing through his tone.

Lifting his gaze, he took in the sight before him.

The bustling street of Shinjuku station, the endless sea of people traveling to and fro here and there. It most certainly did not seem like a good spot to meet anyone. But in actuality, it's the ideal spot to meet somebody. It was one of the most convenient places to meet anyone. That's why she had hastily asked him to come and meet her here in the afternoon.

It was indeed convenient to meet anyone here, but only if you have a means of contacting them.

Palming his head with his right hand, he firmly massaged the lids of his eyes with his thumb and index. A hint of a grimace rippled across his face as he glanced through the bottom of his eyes at the gleaming watch bourn on his left wrist.

"Just don't be late." he mumbled annoyingly. He stuffed his hands back into his pockets and leaned back against the wall locking his gaze onto his shoes, the afternoon rays of the sun braising him.

It was a simple thing really, and of course, because it was simple thing it had slipped from his mind. He gripped his phone tightly in his hand as the bitter annoyance filled his core. Irritatingly enough, now he was getting even more irritated at the very fact that he was irritated.

He tapped the tip of his shoes on the ground, a mere attempt at shedding off the energy building up within him.

"Ta-chi-ba-na-san!" a soft voice sang from his left.

He swiveled his head in the direction of his voice for a moment before laying his eyes on the source of the voice. Closing his eyes, he let out a small sigh of relief allowing his shoulders to relax as the irritation ebbed out of him. Opening his eyes, he looked up and gazed into her light brown beads confirming that his mind wasn't playing tricks with him. She stood there smiling awkwardly at him, her bag strung over her right shoulder, her figure tensed and slightly rigid as she stood a meter away from him.

His lips curved into a small relieved smile as he spoke.

"Miyamizu-san, you came. I'm happy."

Her smile lapsed for a moment as her right eyebrow twitched slightly in confusion. She tilted her head ever so slightly, a puny movement that would've certainly gone unnoticed by most people.

"Of course I came, why would I not come?" she asked obliviously.

"Maybe because I'm just a random stranger you met this morning and whom you barely talked to for five minutes?" he replied back bluntly. Mitsuha frowned for a split second before shaking her head slowly and letting out a breath of a chuckle.

"Well five minutes of talking to said stranger was enough to get me to want to talk to said random stranger even more." she stated softly.

"Well to do that-" he began, pulling out his phone out of his pocket, he held out in front of her for her to take. Her eyes widened for a moment as she glanced at the glaring display of the phone. Slowly her eyes returned to meet his own as he gestured at his phone.

"Your phone number."

"Never." She responded back to him, she pulled out her own phone and held it out in front of him. Taki raised an eyebrow at her. She innocently smiled at him for a flash of a second.

Taki sighed in defeat and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. Pulling her phone out of her light grasp, he swiped the screen and opened the contacts list. He tapped the screen saving his contact and handed her phone back to her. She retook possession of her phone carefully with both her hands and stowed it carefully back into her brown bag.

"So, uh, what's the plan? Care to fill me in?" Taki asked her gazing down at her face directly. Mitsuha perked up her face at him and glanced away momentarily before returning his gaze. She straightened herself in front of him and spoke.

"I actually thought the garden would be a good idea ." she replied.

"Shinjuku Gyoen?" he inquired.

Mitsuha nodded her head in confirmation.

"Heh..." Taki voiced, his face contorting a little. Mitsuha raised an eyebrow at him. Shifting her weight onto one leg, she crossed her arms staring at the taller man before her.

"Don't you like the garden?" she asked with a sliver of disappointment in her voice. Taki nodded her head in denial as he took a few steps and walked past her, she turned around and glanced at him for a moment.

"Let's just go." he said. Mitsuha stood still for a moment watching him leave her behind among the crowd of on goers. She shrugged and followed in pursuit of Taki. The two of them began walking silently side by side down the street towards the garden. The mid afternoon sun rays basking them in the comforting spring warmth.

"I just haven't been to the garden for a while." Taki voiced out a few minutes later.

Mitsuha stared ahead for a moment nodding her head in understanding, she clenched the strap of her bag slightly and looked up at the sky. Almost completely void of clouds, it was a classic spring afternoon in Tokyo.

A small smile broke out on her face as she remembered something. She stooped slightly and looked up at Taki as they continued walking down the street. Taki glanced at her for a moment with a tiny amount of perplexion.

"What?" he asked glancing back at the street in front of him.

"You still didn't answer my question." she replied, she swiftly ran in front of him for a moment and started walking in a reverse manner maintaining her gaze at him.

"What question?" he inquired. She rolled her eyes and shook her head at him. Turning back forward, she played with a strand of her black hair.

"Never mind." she replied.

"Huh?"

What question is she talking about? He thought to himself. He pressed his fingers to his right temple and rubbed it slowly as he tried to remember.

"Don't you like the garden?"

"Hold on, I did answer your question!" he claimed hastily. Mitsuha chuckled for a moment and glanced at him over her shoulder.

"'I just haven't been to the garden for a while.' isn't an answer to my question, now is it?" she stated.

"But it is!" he insisted, he caught up to her side and gazed down at her.

"It is?" she questioned teasingly.

"Uh, well, it..." he begun stammering slightly, "It certainly isn't a proper answer..." he mumbled.

"Good job in understanding that." she with a chuckle, she glanced up at him once more. "So can I get the answer now?"

Taki rubbed his nape with his hand taking his eyes off of Mitsuha.

"I do like the garden..." He begun, Mitsuha hummed back in response with a tone that hinted at her wanting more. He paused for a moment thinking back to years in the past, then he continued, "In fact, I used to love the garden. It used to be one of the places I would often seek refuge while sketching back in the day." He said.

"Refuge?" she asked. He hummed back in response with a nod. "Refuge from what though?" she inquired.

"Eh, I suppose it was just everything in general."

"Everything, I see.." Mitsuha said softly.

"At one point, seeing so many families and people together at the garden became an eyesore for me." Taki grumbled.

"An eyesore? Why? They're just people enjoying themselves, isn't that why you used to go there as well? To enjoy yourself?" she questioned him softly.

"Yeah, I suppose that was one of the reasons. I guess it was just that it started to feel lonely especially when I got into college." Taki replied back.

"I see, so that's why you stopped going there I suppose." she concluded to herself.

"Yep..." He replied softly. He chuckled slightly in a troubled manner before continuing, "It's kind of pathetic isn't it?" He asked slowly pointing at himself shyly with his right index finger.

"Not in the least."

Taki glanced at Mitsuha with a surprised expression. Her gaze was fixed ahead of her as they continued their stroll towards the garden. She glanced at him from the top corner of her eyes and pursed her lips.

"I mean... In what way is it pathetic? Isn't it... natural to feel lonely at times?"

Taki pulled his gaze off of Mitsuha and focused on the street. Unknowingly to him, his eyes rolled slightly as a look of disregard surfaced on his face.

"However, being lonely is pathetic."

Mitsuha's eyes widened as his words registered in her head. She glanced at Taki who was still looking in front of him leading them forward, the gate to the garden just coming into their view.

"How is that so?" Mitsuha asked. Taki tore his gaze off the ground and stared at her directly into her eyes with an expression she had never seen before.

"Because being alone is painful." he declared.

Mitsuha stared at him for what seemed a moment too long.

Not once did she see him take his sharp eyes off the road and return her stare.

A few minutes passed between them in quiet and little interaction as the gate came before them. They paid their entrance fee, grabbing their tickets they head through the gate into the garden. The cherry blossoms were just starting to bloom in brilliant shades of pink, but there were still far from their full beauty.

That would be in a couple of weeks. Mitsuha swore to bring Taki once more during the blossoms' prime.

Kids were playing together, couples together as they walked side by side engaged in their own enjoyment, families taking pictures of the occasion. They too walked side by side, basking in the sunlight and enjoying the quiet between them.

"We should head to the far side of the garden, it'll be quiet there." Taki suggested, Mitsuha nodded her head in acceptance. Together, they made their way slowly to the far end of the garden where the cherry trees grew. Engaging in conversation once more, they talked about trivial and routinely things that were typical for a conversation between a pair of new acquaintances.

Mitsuha came to know that Taki was a student of architecture from his enthusiastic rambling about sketching. She also managed to succeed in making him admit his troubles finding a job much to his annoyance at which she giggled. She reminisced her own hardships while finding a way to make her daily bread in the crowded metropolis as shaky breaths of air escaped her figure.

Back then, going through the hardship had not been fun and humorous at all. The constant worry she bore of having to find a way to pay for her daily bread had kept her from thinking straight for an extensive period of time. Among all the worry and tension, she had never once imagined that later she'd be laughing about her own suffering in the future with a complete stranger.

"Yeah, laugh. My friends laugh as well." said Taki bitterly. Mitsuha brought her hand to her mouth and chuckled into her finger softly. "Great, just great. Even you find my pain hilarious."

"Would it be comforting if I told you I can relate to your pain?" replied Mitsuha softly through a playful smile.

"No, not at all." he bluntly responded with a sigh. Mitsuha chuckled again at his response. Taki stared at her chuckling figure over his shoulder for a moment. A wisp of a smile flashed on his face momentarily before he returned his gaze in front of him as they each took a seat on consevutive steps of a concrete stairway.

Seated, they quieted down eventually. Mitsuha gazed at the back of Taki's head and allowed her eyes to wander. She studied him carefully. He had untidy short brown hair, but his hair seemed soft and almost made Mitsuha want to run a finger through the strands to see if they were really as soft as they presented themselves as.

"Miyamizu-san."

"Heh?" Mitsuha snapped out of her own thoughts and focused on the man who spoke her name. His gaze was still fixed to his front, not even chancing her a glance. She waited for him to speak again for a moment before speaking out.

"Tachibana-san, did you want to say something to me?" she inquired hesitantly.

Taki nodded his head in denial still keeping his focus to in front of him.

Mitsuha took her eyes off of him and stared off to her front as well. The sun was still high in the sky, but it had lost its earlier intensity. Instead, now it basked them soothingly with its warm comforting dim rays, much to the liking of Mitsuha as she hummed softly enjoying the comforting warmth for a tender moment.

"Mitsuha."

Her eyes widened.

She sharply glanced at Taki only to find him still staring off in front of him. Her cheeks tinged and seared with warmth as she felt a blush spread across her face. Her face screwed up in embarrassment as she saw Taki's eyes widen from the profile.

He swiveled around and caught her embarrassed gaze. Throwing his hands in front of him and shaking them randomly in front of him, he started apologizing frantically.

"I'm sorry Mit-Miyamizu-san! I don't know why I said that!" he apologized crazily. He traced his gaze to the ground on his right side as he ran a hand through his hair explaining himself even further. "I was thinking to myself and..." He paused of a moment in hestation before continuing, "...calling you by your first name just seemed more natural-" he explained with a tad bit of shyness ebbed in his voice.

Mitsuha shook her head and hugged herself softly for a moment trying to rid the blush from her face.

"It's completely fine, it's only a name..." she reassured quietly through her fading blush.

"Really?" he inquired as he perked his gaze at her. She caught his eye for a moment before looking down and hiding her face with her dangling hair. She nodded slowly as she felt a fresh wave of blood rush through her face.

"That's a relief to hear..." he sighed.

She heard a shuffle and a relieved breath from him as he relaxed. She was supposed to be furious with him. It was simple basic etiquette that he had broken, simple etiquette that should never be broken. She was supposed to be agitated and furious at him, probably even demand for more of an apology from him.

But then why wasn't she? Why wasn't she doing so? Why wasn't she angry?

Why had it felt so familiar and so soothingto hear him utter her first name?

Why had it felt so... natural?

Two hours later, she stood in front of her front door fumbling with her keys in her palm. Two hours later and that one word was still on her mind.

"Mitsuha."

She shook her head as she clutched hold of the door key in her hand.

Click.

She looked to her right side and saw her neighbor open his door, step outside and close it behind him. Leaning against the railing, he looked out at the evening city scenery in front of him.

Mitsuha watched him closely for a moment before stuffing her keys back into her pocket. She stood there in front of the door. He stood there leaned against the railing, staring off into the pink sky. Mitsuha breathed slowly and opened her mouth to say something.

"I'm making dinner."

She turned around and stared at the figure of the man. He had long black shoulder length hair and was clad in black formal clothing. She sighed slowly, and then spoke.

"You don't have to keep doing this-"

"You barely know how to cook and I hate eating dinner alone." he interrupted her calmly. He eyed her at an angle over his right shoulder with his exhausted and worn out gaze. A twang of empathy ripped through her heart on looking at his battered physical appearance.

"You should let me do something for you in return then..." she spoke softly.

"Just buy me some cake, I'll be more than happy." he responded cooly. Mitsuha clutched the strap of her bag for a moment digging the toe of her shoe into the floor.

"It won't make me happy..." she responded after a short silent moment.

The man turned around and leaned against the railing resting his elbows on the metal. Tilting his head, he eyed her carefully before eventually sighing in admittance to defeat.

"Sure if you want to." he replied tiredly.

Mitsuha perked up and flashed a small smile at him before pulling out her keys and shuffling for her door key once more. Unlocking the door and creaking it open slightly, she stepped inside and turned around gazing at the man once more. She flashed a faint smile at him which he acknowledged with a subtle but assuring nod. She closed the door behind her and shut herself away for the rest of the night...

Author's Note:

Just a quick thanks to all the people who commented, reviewed and liked the story. I know that all of us Kimi no Na wa fans suffer from lack of good material when it comes to closure for these two. I know I personally did face a lot of disappointment when I couldn't find any material for this wonderful pair, so it's quite obvious that a lot of people also face that same disappointment. This is something I couldn't accept. So I have decided to continue with this story.

As for regarding updates? The answer is I will attempt to update every couple of weeks if possible. The main reason I couldn't put this chapter out earlier is because I had little to no idea of how I wanted to take this story to where I wanted to go, so my apologies for that and that chapter as well because frankly I'm not too happy with how this chapter turned out.

10/21/2020

Amrik Biswas