Howdy y'all! So I watched Your Name a couple nights ago for the first time, and felt the need to write this puppy! I hope you enjoy it, and honestly depending on it's reception I might even continue with it, but I'm still writing Silence and the Sound(Which if you like My Hero Academia, you should definitely check out!) so that's been keeping me busy!

Anyway, I love all of you! Stay safe and healthy, and remember that God's got this, and there's no reason to be anxious, or afraid, because those things have no meaning, or purpose, or worth in your life! You are so, so loved! By me, and by all those around you, and the God of the universe!

I hope you enjoy this my friends!

Erebus

Taki knew.

He knew, as he watched the light of the sun drop further and further below the horizon, that they didn't have much time; knew that as soon as the magic hour ended, they would end up back where they started. Maybe worse than where they started, with no memories of each other or their time 'together'.

It was the worst kind of hell he could imagine.

And so he couldn't help himself.

You had to understand, he didn't mean for anything to happen - at least, nothing mystical anyway - but then again, hadn't he just traveled back in time?

He supposed he shouldn't be surprised he was able to do it again.

And so as the sun fell low, and the young man finished writing his declaration of love across Mitsuha's hand, he pulled her close, and kissed her.

He felt her breath catch in her throat, the way she shivered beneath him - though whether it be from their embrace, or the cool autumn air, he didn't know - and the warm pressure of her hands on his chest, and her lips on his. They melted together, and as the light dipped in the corner of his eyes, Taki knew they'd run out of time.

Not that he regretted it. No, not one bit.

And so he prepared himself. Taking in everything that was Mitsuha, and treasuring up those memories in his heart as the grief tried to strike at him preemptively. He knew what was coming. Knew the pain and amnesia that would follow, the feeling of loss that would follow him for years to come; the hole in his chest that belonged to his other half, that the young man knew he wouldn't be able to fill with anything but her, and would thus remain a terrible, dark, bottomless pit until they crossed paths again.

And he did have faith in that, at least. They would cross paths again, of that much he was certain.

So as he savored her presence and the sun fell away, he strengthened his heart, and prepared for her to vanish.

And then, she didn't.

The twilight ended, and both of them stayed firmly in place. The light of the comet igniting the sky above them as the two lovers looked around in confusion.

"What?" Taki's confusion was heavy, as he looked from Mitsuha to the scene around them, eyes widening as he took in the familiar sight of the Tiamat. "How?"

"I, I don't know." She was just as confused, but with the light of the deadly celestial body accenting her features, both of them came to a sudden, desperate realisation.

"Come on!" The girl cried, grabbing his hand and taking off in a run. "We need to go! It's like you said, we still have things to do. We can figure out whatever happened later, but right now-"

"Right! Tessie, Sayaka, Yotsuha, Grandma, and all the others!" He nodded, a grim look overcoming his features. "Let's go!"

He didn't know what had happened. Didn't know how he was here, now, but none of that mattered at the moment.

Tiamat's coming, and we need to warn everyone. Get everyone away from the blast zone. I know this is going to be dangerous, and that we have no idea how I'm here, but…

Taki stared lovingly at Mitsuha out of the corner of his eye, making sure to keep pace as they sprinted down the familiar mountain he'd hardly ever seen with his own two eyes; at least, not as it was now.

Somehow, even through that, I can't help but think… I'm happy to be here. I can't forget Mitsuha's name if she's standing right next to me, afterall.

Smiling to himself, the duo ran with everything they had towards the substation.

Dashing through the treeline, they approached the towering chain link fence, and held each other as they waited for Tessie to arrive; afraid that if they didn't, that if they let the other out of their sight, they might just disappear, and take their memories with them.

The brilliant light of Tessie's scooter came roaring around the corner however, and the two were forced to break their constant contact as they rushed up to him.

"Mitsuha!" The classmate called, and both of the fated duo answered him.

"Yeah!" In synch, they looked at each other for a moment, as if realising what had happened - and really, they might have laughed about it if they weren't in such a hurry - and smiled, something passing between them as Taki moved towards the bike to help the other boy with the explosives.

"Hey, wait! Who are-" Tessie began, but was cut off as Taki grabbed his hand. In a single, fluid moment, he pushed the two of them through the secret handshake they'd developed together, and gave his friend- who didn't really know he was his friend - a wide grin.

"The name's Taki. I guess, this is the first time you've ever seen me like… This. We'll explain more later, but the point is you can trust me." Tessie gave him a wide stare, catching Mitsuha's eyes behind him - who nodded - and shook his head violently, having already dealt with a lot of weird stuff that day. Meeting Taki's eyes, he gave him a strained grin.

"Alright! Fine! Today is weird enough already! And I, WE, don't have time for this shit. Lets go!" The two boys grabbing their fair share of the gear, the trio rushed over to the gate, and Taki snapped the chain which facined together the substation gates in a rushed scramble, pushing Tessie in as the thick eyebrowed boy muttered about them really being criminals now.

After setting the charges, the group packed themselves onto the scooter - the two boys sandwiching Mitsuha between them - and took off, calling Sayaka as they barreled down the mountain.

Tessie's crazed laugh bit through the air, and Taki echoed him - incapable of keeping the insane cackles to themselves at the thought of what exactly they were doing, what they had just done - and Mitsuha talked to Sayaka over the phone. After a moment, she reached forward to let the girl talk to the driver, so the young man could frantically convince his friend to go through with the plan.

After a quick crash around a corner, where the scooter was abandoned in favor of running, the trio watched as the lights flickered off, and Sayaka's voice echoed out over the loudspeakers, calling for an evacuation of all those districts which were within the blast zone of the comet to the high school; though, she told them it was because of an explosion from the substation causing a forest fire.

Darting down the stairs, Taki made a mental note of Itomori; how it looked, and felt, and it's spirit with his own eyes - because this would be the first and last time he'd ever get to see it - and began calling out with Tessie and Mitsuha to all those people who were wandering around the festival.

"Everyone! There's a forest fire! Please, get out of here! Evacuate to the high school as quickly as you can!" He yelled, voice growing hoarse as his desperation grew, and the people meandered down the road and towards safety at nothing more than a casual pace. "Please, hurry!"

"Damn it!" Tessie cried. "We can't do this on our own! Mitsuha, you need to go convince your father!" Taki watched as the young man's desperate eyes grew even more so, as the light of the comet filled them with an otherworldly fear. "Please!"

Turning to him, Mitsuha met Taki's gaze, and nodded. Dashing forward, she snatched his hand and began sprinting off down the road, where both of them knew the townhall to be.

"Keep trying Tessie!" He called over his shoulder, "But if it gets too close to the time… Get out of here! No matter what!" He couldn't see the teen's face now - as his back was turned to him and they were too far away - couldn't see how it shifted to confusion at the familiar tone which came from a not so familiar face. "Promise us!"

"Yeah!"

And with that, the two ran with everything they had.

The last time Taki had been inside Toshiki's office, it had been inside of Mitsuha's body, and it hadn't gone well, to say the least.

His rage and frustration, his desperation - to save everyone, to save Mitsuha - had overcome him, and he'd nearly attacked the foolish mayor. He'd been able to stop himself, if only barely, when he'd gazed into the older man's eyes and seen what was rushing through the idiots head.

Fear, confusion, and a distinct feeling of not knowing who was in front of him. The pure, unadulterated realization that whoever it was, it was not his daughter.

And so after calling Taki out, the boy in a girl's body had fled the scene in a huff.

Now though…

Now was different, and whatever feeling Taki had about it being his fault that he couldn't convince the man, and that Mitsuha really could have, was crystallized into truth as the duo barged through the doors; exhausted and dirty, the girl who'd stolen his heart nearly collapsed onto the wall as she pushed herself forwards. Towards the father who hadn't been willing to listen to Taki - who at that point had been Mitsuha - earlier that day, and who was now staring at them - at her - with a different kind of realisation.

That this was his daughter. And this was serious.

"Mitsuha?" Grandma Hitoha asked, confused as her old eyes drifted from the girl to Taki. "And who… Oh, it's you, isn't it dear?" She asked, a gentle smile blooming across her face as Taki sent her one in return.

"Yeah, grandma, it's me." The boy smiled. "This too is musubi, I guess."

"I'd think so, yes."

"What, what is going on!?" Toshiki cried, and Mitsuha approached slowly, heavily, as she stared him down with a resolve that could topple mountains.

"Dad."

He was looking at her now, really looking at her, and it was almost like he'd seen a ghost. He even seemed to forget about the Taki, who stood firmly behind her - an unmovable pillar of support - and who he'd never seen before, but who had a strange sense of familiarity emanating from, as his daughter prowled closer.

"It's time for you to listen. What Taki - what I - told you today, it was the truth. Tiamat's split! It's going to strike the town, and everyone will die! Unless we evacuate to the high school." She let her words, what they meant, her resolve, sink in, "I saw it dad. Taki came, he did something, and he's given us another chance. We need to take it!"

She was close now. Closer to her father than she'd ever been in years, and he was looking more and more alarmed by the second.

"Make the call!"

…

"Ah… Ye… Yes, ok. I trust you." He scrambled, "but we're talking about this later. Get Hitoha and Yatsuha to the school, I'll get everything figured out. Just… Go." For a moment, Toshiki met the eyes of the young man who stood behind her; whose dark coal iris burned like fire, and smoke, and were filled with something that made the man shiver.

And he recognized the look.

"You… You were the one who was here today. Taki, right? You were…" The 'inside my daughters body' remained unsaid, but it was heard all the less.

"Yes. I'm sorry but…"

"No, I understand now. Go, we'll speak later." The father shook his head, "just… Go, get out of here. Get them all to safety, and I'll take care of the town. I don't know why, but I feel like I can trust you with this." Something passed between them. "Take care of them for me while I'm gone, Taki."

"Yes sir."

"Good man, now GO! All of you!"

Snapping out of the moment, Taki spun on his heel as he knelt before the older woman in the room, offering up his back just like he'd done that day when they'd gone to see the vessel of the Miyamizu shrine.

"Grandma?" He offered, though everyone could tell it was less of an ask and more of a 'please get on'. She smiled gently, and draped herself onto his back. Standing - much easier than the last time he'd done this - he gave Mitsuha a look as she grabbed Yotsuha's hand, and they took off.

Moving as quickly as they could, they pushed through the doors of the office and out into the streets once again; the sound of the speakers chiming on catching their attention, as the evacuation order was given once again, and government officials flooded the streets to herd people towards the school.

Taki smiled.

This… It's going to work out. We're going to do it.

The trip to the school was made in a tense quiet as Mitsuha dragged her little sister up the hill as fast as she could go, and Taki lagged just a little bit behind them as he carried Hitoha with a pace that he wouldn't have been able to achieve had his system not been flooded with adrenaline. The sorching sight of the large, shattered piece of space rock which was barreling through the sky in a blanket of hot red flames was a constant reminder of the dire situation; it pushed Taki to move even faster, and prompt the girls in front of him to do the same.

They were some of the first to make it to the safety of the large courtyard, only beaten by a couple families who lived nearby, and the small squad of teachers who'd come to stop Sayaka.

Oh, Sayaka!

Taki couldn't help the relief he felt at seeing the girl there. She, just like Tessie, was his friend; and he really did mean that. Even if they had never interacted with him - at least, not while he was him - he still shared a great deal of fond memories with the two that he couldn't imagine giving up. When he'd seen their names in the book of the deceased…

Well, the only pain which topped it had been when he'd seen Mitsuha's.

"Sayaka!" Mitsuha cried, dropping her sister's hand and barreling forward to embrace her friend as Taki wandered over behind her, letting Hitoha off his back as he watched the two friends hug with a small, heavy smile.

All that being said, while I do see Tessie and Saya as friends, well… To Mitsuha, they might as well be family.

The relief and happiness he felt from just seeing Mitsuha - his Mitsuha - happy, from seeing her at all, topped any kind of stress he might still be feeling about the situation.

"Hey, I never asked." Yotsuha was suddenly before the young man, looking up at him with a questioning look plastered across her face. "Who are you?"

He smiled. Really, truly smiled.

"Taki Tachibana. It's nice to officially meet you, Yotsuha. Mitsuha has… Told me a lot about you."

There was something gleaming in his eyes when he said that, and while the little girl missed it, her grandmother didn't - knew what it meant, because really, she understood that Taki already knew Yotsuha quite well, and it wasn't because Mitsuha had told him anything - and smiled. The small child looked pensive for a moment, before a realisation washed over her.

"Eh…? Wait, are you Mitsuha's Tokyo boyfriend!?" She asked, eyes widening with shock as Taki rubbed the back of his neck, smiling as he felt his gaze drift towards the hazel eyed girl he loved.

"I'd say… Yes. We haven't made anything official yet, but I do lo-" He cut himself off, "Like her quite a bit."

…

"Wait, you were gonna say love! You love her!" Yotsuha cried, her voice both teasing and joyful at the same time; as though for a moment, the present situation seemed lost to her.

Though she really was young, so maybe it was. She hadn't seen what was coming, afterall, not like they had.

Taki blushed and ducked his head, shushing the girl as he ruffled her hair.

"Don't say such embarrassing stuff! I haven't even told her yet!" He whisper yelled, looking carefully at the hordes of people who were slowly making their way into the courtyard, worried they might have overheard. "At least, not like, with my voice…"

"Whaaa- Are you telling me you told her over text or something?" Yotsuha looked beyond disappointed with him, and he scratched his cheek as he looked away for a moment, catching the falling fragment of the shooting-star in the corner of his vision, and feeling his heart rate spike.

It's getting closer.

However, even as that alarmed him, he made sure to keep his attention on Yotsuha. If she was focused on him, maybe she would be less focused on the approaching danger. If he could keep the fear from the child's heart for even a little bit, he would. Even if it meant talking about embarrassing things.

"I mean, it wasn't over text, but uh… It might be written on her hand right now. I don't think she's noticed yet, with everything that's going on."

…

Yotsuha groaned in that special, younger sibling kinda way, but Taki couldn't find it in him to regret his decision. It might have been the last thing he ever got to tell her, afterall, so he was still quite content with his choice.

Even if it meant her never remembering him, his name, his very existence, the fact that he loved her could have at least stayed with her when he couldn't, and help carry Mitsuha through the hard times that were to come. He didn't give her his name, but he did give her his heart.

And to him, that was more than enough.

Though, I suppose I also gave her my first kiss…

"Yotsuha." Hitoha cut in, smiling gently like the loving grandmother she was. "Give Taki some grace. He and your sister have been running around trying to help the town all day, and I'm sure he just wanted to make sure she knew if things didn't work out."

"Like… If he died?" The girl seemed to realise their situation, why they were there, at the school, and the conversation that she'd overheard in her father's office not that long before. She found the scarlet streak in the sky, and shuddered. Something descended upon her, a sudden understanding of the danger they were in, and Taki felt his heart break for the girl who wasn't his sister, but was also his sister.

I wouldn't have died, but I would have been erased. My existence would have disappeared from Mitsuha's memories, and… That sounds almost worse than death.

He nodded, and the girl collapsed in on herself a little.

"Oh… Well that's pretty romantic then, I guess." She shook her head. "You should still tell her though!"

"I will." He said, laying a hand on her shoulder as he gently guided her towards the still sobbing girls standing a couple yards away. "I promise."

She nodded, and moved towards her sister, pulling her into a hug as the two Miyamizu daughters held each other tight.

"You're a good man, Taki." Hitoha commented as she moved to stand beside him. "You've done a lot for this town, for Mitsuha, and I want you to know that even if no one else knows how much you've sacrificed for us, I, at least, will always remember."

"Thank you grandma. Or," the boy stumbled, "Miss Hitoha. Sorry, force of habit."

The old woman laughed.

"It's quite alright, Taki. You're welcome to call me grandma. Afterall, even if you weren't you at the time, I think I've come to know you, and passed on enough traditions to you, that you're more than earned that right. " She chuckled heartily. "You're the closest thing to a grandson I think I have. Certainly more connected to me than Toshiki, the coot."

Taki laughed.

"I don't like him much either. Earlier, when I went to his office in Mitsuha's body, I almost fought him." He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I just wasn't thinking clearly, and I was desperate, and angry, and well…"

"Oh ho, you don't have to explain these things to me, of all people. If I was a couple decades younger, I think I might have done the very same thing at this point."

They both laughed, and moved closer to the trio of girls as the courtyard began filling with more and more people, and they were packed tighter together.

"Oh, Sayaka, I want you to meet someone." Mitsuha smiled as she grabbed Taki's hand and turned to him with those brilliant hazel eyes, and he felt something gentle and loving cross his features. "This is Taki. He's, um…" She looked at him for something - a sign, perhaps, that he really did feel the same way she did - and he made sure to answer her unspoken question as clearly as he could.

Squeezing her hand, he nodded, and she beamed.

"He's my boy, um, my boyfriend." It was a bit awkward, and rolled off her lips like some kind of impossible declaration, but it just sounded right, and so Taki pulled her closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Taki Tachibara, it's nice to finally meet you face to face, Sayaka. Mitsuha has told me tons about you." He smiled as, just for a moment - something that seemed to always happen whenever Taki showed up, or introduced himself - she seemed to forget about everything else, and let out a shrill noise of confusion.

"What! Seriously?" She cried, stepping backwards as her hands flew up in blatant shock. "Wait, are you the reason for Mitsuha cutting her hair!?"

…

Right, she'd come to see me, and I didn't know her because of the timeline difference…

He looked uncomfortable, but answered shakily anyway.

"I mean, I guess so? There was a… Misunderstanding. We've cleared it up though!" He assured the girl, who'd begun to look at him with a bit of sharp protectiveness in her eyes.

"Ya, Sayaka! It's fine! He didn't do anything wrong, I promise!" His other half came to his defense, and he watched the pig-tailed girl deflate a bit.

"Oh alright… By the way, you're not acting strange anymore, Mitsuha. You've been in your 'possessed' mood all day, and then there was the plan, and now the council really is evacuating everyone… What's going on?"

The two lovers tweaked their necks to meet the others gaze, letting an unspoken conversation pass between them.

"Well…"

"It's a long story. But…"

"The point is, you see that comet? The one coated in red flames?" Taki asked, reaching up to point at the celestial body which promised untold destruction, "It's going to strike the fairgrounds, and everything within a half-mile radius will be turned to ash. And that's not even taking into consideration the blast radius of everything around the impact sight. It's like I - I mean Mitsuha - explained to you earlier." Something passed over the boy's face. A deep sorrow, as though he was remembering something terrible, which he really was. "Everyone would have been killed. Over 500 casualties, and the utter destruction of Itomori."

The girl choked on her spit.

"Wha- Seriously!? Are we even safe here? Shouldn't we-"

"No, it's ok." Taki reaffirmed, and the girl was frozen stiff at the confidence in his voice, at the familiar confidence, which Mitsuha had been using all day. "The school is outside the radius of destruction. We'll be ok here."

"Are…"

"Yes. I'm sure."

The look Mitsuha's classmate sent him asked a question he wasn't quite willing to answer.

How do you know this? How did either of you know this?

And he couldn't say. At least, not yet. Maybe later, after everything had happened, and they were safe, and away from the massive mob of people who surrounded them. When they could all sit down and really explain to them what had been going on, and let them into what had been their greatest kept secret of the last couple months.

But for now…

His words were cut off by the terrible screeching sound of the comet shearing through the atmosphere, and Taki instinctivly tucked both of the Miyamizu sisters behind him as the space rock cut through the air, and struck the ground in a terrible, deafening crack. Hot wind and dust whipped up in his face as he looked on towards the destruction that he had never really seen before, and kept the dread from rising up in his heart at the thought of Mitsuha having been caught in that.

He shuddered, and thanked whatever deity had let him come to save her, and had then proceeded to let him stay with her, a thousand times over.

Holding her and her sister tight as the lake churned and shifted - both of them burying their faces into his chest and arms as the ground shook - large plates of earth growing upwards from where they sat peacefully only a moment ago. The shockwave of wind died down as quickly as it came, and as his ears rang, he only held the two girls tighter.

And then his hearing came back, and everyone was looking on towards where the town used to be. Everyone being most - if not all - of the town, and something joyous grew in Taki's chest as he met Mitsuha's eyes through the shocked cries of the people around him.

Pressing his forehead against hers, he let himself be thankful for everything, and let himself just go with it as she angled his face and met his lips again; a second kiss which held so much more hope than the first.

Because the first had been a goodbye, and a promise to find each other again, even as they both knew they would forget, and suffer for so many years.

This one though, this one was filled with love, and relief, and a promise that they would never leave each other again.

Never again… Never again…

They broke apart, and leaned against one another; foreheads pressed together as they cried, relishing in the joy of being alive, and together, and having done it.

Never again.

Bop. I watched Your Name for the first time a couple nights ago, and felt the need to write this puppy! Hope you all enjoyed it!

Might update again, as my need for closure in the heartbreaking movie - which actually had an amazingly written ending, in my opinion - grows and returns to me.

Stay safe! And remember that you are never alone!

In Love, Erebus