Plans Unfold, and the Duwang Gang Arrives (2013) (Chapter 2)
Taki reaches the bottom of the crater, and wades through the waist high ring of water, which gave him an odd feeling of nostalgia. Once he made it through the water, he carefully enters the stony and damp cave, which felt more like an ancient ruin to him, than an actual place of religious importance.
When he reaches the actual shrine, he sees two bottles that were covered with moss. He was drawn toward one of the bottles, and he opened it without even thinking, and immediately said "This was Mitsuha's, wasn't it?" Taki then drank the bottle of ritual sake, as if his body knew more than his brain on what needed to be done, and he felt a powerful feeling of familiarity and security. But then he slips backward and falls to the ground, seeing the ancient cave art on the wall above the shrine, and it sparks a deep vision.
Taki felt like he was drifting through time and space, and during his confusion, he eventually lost consciousness. When he woke up, he was in Mitsuha's body again, and he immediately knew that this was his chance to save the town from destruction, and challenge fate. He quickly contacts Tessie and Sayaka, and convinces them of the coming disaster, so the three of them move to formulate a plan.
As they run down the road, they pass another group of three high schoolers, who were wearing unfamiliar uniforms, but they were in too much of a hurry to think about them. As the three ran, the stockier one with short hair said "Wow, guys! They're sure in a rush." Then the boy with the pompadour responds, saying "I guess this town was livelier than we thought. Still can't compare to Morioh." And then the shorter student said "Yeah… Josuke, Okuyasu, do you think this place has got a café or something? I'm really thirsty!" Josuke replies, saying "Sorry Koichi, I looked it up and apparently the best you'll get are vending machines."
So Koichi sighs, and says "Well, I'll go look for one. We can meet up a bit later I guess. See you guys soon!" And as Koichi walked away, Okuyasu yells "We're gonna head up that mountain, and see some sights!" The three Morioh native students head off, wanting to kill some time before the night's festival started.
Taki (as Mitsuha), Tessie and Sayaka all move around the town to prepare for their plan. Tessie sets the explosives, Sayaka waits at the school broadcasting room, and Taki (as Mitsuha) makes her way to where her father was, so she could convince him to evacuate the town, as the backup plan. Tessie and Sayaka enact their parts first, and Sayaka is able to effectively mimic an official evacuation order, causing most citizens to slowly head for the school, but also causing the government officials to freak out.
Josuke and Okuyasu heard the evacuation message, which confused them while they looked down at the town from the quiet mountain path. Josuke looks up at the trailing comet, and mutters "Something's really weirding me out about that thing." Okuyasu says "Well don't ask me about it. I'm not very good with science or smart stuff!" Sadly, Taki (as Mitsuha) couldn't convince her father, and the mayor quickly stops the broadcast, before saying "You've really been a foolish girl! Maybe it's my fault, but I'll send you to a good doctor in Tokyo, so don't go anywhere."
Taki (as Mitsuha) gets incredibly angry and frustrated at his inability to change anything, and he rushes at Mr. Miyamizu, while yelling "You damned bastard!" Taki (as Mitsuha) grabs his tie, and pulls his neck toward him, but stops midway, while Mr. Miyamizu mutters "What? Who are you?" But before anything else could be said or done, Taki (as Mitsuha) runs out of the building and toward the mountain. He realizes that he needs to meet Mitsuha herself to have a chance to fix this, and goes full sprint up the path.
He doesn't notice the two Morioh students sitting down, and they both are impressed by how quickly Taki (as Mitsuha) ran.
←To Be Continued