The Comet Strikes (2013) (Chapter 8)
Mr. Miyamizu is able to effectively restart the evacuation, passing it off as a standard drill, as to avoid any potential panic if the comet really was going to strike the town. While Mr. Miyamizu and his staff finalized the evacuation, as Mitsuha and her family, plus Josuke and Okuyasu, all waited, Mr. Miyamizu said "I really should scold you and your friends Mitsuha, for that crazy plan of yours. But I just can't deny how helpful that stunt was for the evacuation, but you're not off the hook yet!"
Mitsuha laughs and sighs, while saying "I'm just happy you're believing me, dad!" Once Mr. Miyamizu and his staff were finished with the evacuation, the whole group made their way to the school building next. While they walked, Mr. Miyamizu turned to Josuke and said "I'm sorry for being short with you Josuke. And thank you for contacting Mr. Joestar on our behalf." Josuke started to scratch the back of his head, while saying "It's no biggie, Mr. Miyamizu! We weren't busy anyway."
Then Mr. Miyamizu adds "You boys live in Morioh, correct? How is the town?" Okuyasu nods and says "Yep! Why do ya ask?" Mr. Miyamizu replies, saying "Well, if this comet does strike, we'll need to worry about all the displaced residents. And I want our family to move to a nice town, and I would rather us not need to move to Tokyo or another large city." Mitsuha hears what her father just said, and it makes her tear up, and she says "Oh no, you're right… Our home might actually be gone by tomorrow…" But before Mitsuha got any sadder, her grandmother grabs her hand and says "It will be alright dear. Everything will work out in the end."
Josuke also notices the change in atmosphere, and quickly says "Oh, Morioh is really awesome! It's got great history, and so many cool people. And it's pretty small, so there's a lot of space for people to move in." Mr. Miyamizu just smiles, and says "I'll need to keep that in mind then. I'll be very busy, if this comet does actually happen."
While Mitsuha's group walked towards the school, Tessie, Sayaka, and Koichi already made it to the school building, and were chatting while waiting for their respective friends. Tessie drinks a soda, and excitedly says "I can't believe Mitsuha pulled it off! The town will be saved now. And your friends should be okay too, Koichi!" Koichi smiles while sipping his soda, and says "Yeah. I'm glad they're gonna be okay now. Are either of you going to get in trouble for what you did, earlier?" Sayaka nervously answers, saying "I don't know, but I hope not!"
When Mitsuha's group finally makes it to the school building, she sees her two friends, and runs toward them while yelling "Hey guys! We did it!" Both Sayaka and Tessie happily waved at her, while Koichi figured that this girl must have been the Mitsuha that they were talking about. Mr. Miyamizu started to record the population along with his staff while Josuke and Okuyasu casually followed Mitsuha, which caused Koichi to perk up once he saw them. Okuyasu laughs and says "Yo Koichi! Looks like you beat us here!"
Once Mitsuha, Josuke, and Okuyasu reached the others, everyone introduced themselves to each other. Then Tessie says "So you guys helped out Mitsuha, huh? Thanks!" Okuyasu grins and says "Ahh, it wasn't a problem!" Then Mitsuha turns to Koichi, and says "I heard you scared away a wild dog, and helped Tessie and Sayaka. Thanks Koichi!" Koichi rubs his neck and modestly says "It was nothing!" And while they all chatted and got to know each other, the comet finally made its impact on the town, and once it struck, the whole building shook fiercely.
Everyone grabbed onto friends and objects to stay standing, but then a piece of the roof cracked and fell right towards Mitsuha. She looked up, and she could feel her whole life flash before her eyes, but she also had some weird memories about a guy she didn't remember meeting mixed in, but they were too fast to consciously react to. Right before the piece of rubble landed on Mitsuha, Okuyasu yelled "The Hand!" and used his stand to erase the part of the rubble that would have hit her.
Tessie and Sayaka ran towards her and pulled her towards them, while Josuke yelled at Okuyasu, saying "Why didn't you just pull Mitsuha towards you, ya moron?" He stares for a moment, before laughing while saying "Huh! That's a good idea, Josuke." Koichi could only sigh while going to check on Mitsuha as well, as the whole group stayed alert while the comet's impact and aftershocks affected the building.
But soon enough, the shaking died down, and Mr. Miyamizu used a mega-phone and said "It seems like the worst of the impact has ended, but please remain calm for the time being." Once Mr. Miyamizu and his staff deemed the area safe, Mitsuha's group walked outside, to see the damage for themselves. When they made it outside, Sayaka's eyes widened in horror, while Tessie put his arm around her while sadly saying "That's Itomori, our town… It's completely destroyed! What if we never evacuated?"
Mitsuha started to laugh to ease the tension, but before she could say what she wanted to say, she got a short splitting headache, as if she was remembering something distant and painful. But it passes as suddenly and it came, so she says "At least we're all okay now!" While everyone silently looked down at the devastated landscape, Mr. Miyamizu walked outside and gently announced to them, saying "I've been able to contact the government in Tokyo. They will send out relief workers and transporters, so we will all have somewhere to stay tonight. The best I could get was a shelter, but at this point, I'll settle for anything. The families with relatives in other towns were able to make arrangements internally, however."
Mitsuha, Tessie, and Sayaka all immediately felt dejected, because they all didn't have many relatives outside of Itomori, so they would need to stay in the shelter as well. But then Josuke says "Actually, I have some room in my house! We've got a big house, and it's just me and my mom right now. You and your family are welcome to stay with us for the night, Mitsuha! And Okuyasu's got an even bigger house than mine!" Okuyasu playfully elbows Josuke, while saying "Yo! Don't go offering up my house, ya bastard!" But then he laughs, before saying "Well, I'm cool with a few guests, either way…"
Mr. Miyamizu shakes Josuke's hand, and says "Thank you very much, Josuke! You really are a decent young man." After that, Josuke makes a quick call to his mother, Tomoko, who starts by yelling "I saw the news, Josuke! Thank goodness you're alright! Never scare me like that again, you damned punk!" Josuke laughs and says "Sorry about that, mom! Nobody knew that comet would hit the town, though!" Tomoko cuts him off, and says "That's no excuse!" But then Josuke changes the subject, saying "Anyway, would it be alright if a friend's family comes and stays the night at our place? They don't have any relatives with a large enough house, and they'd be stuck in a shelter in Tokyo otherwise…"
Tomoko sighs, and says "You really are a kind boy, Josuke… That's fine with me. But any kids will need to pull their weight, if they want to stay under my roof!" Both Mitsuha and Yotsuha shuddered upon hearing what Josuke's mother said, and Josuke says "It's a deal! I'll see you when we get back to Morioh tonight. Love ya, mom." Tomoko replies, saying "I love you too, Josuke. And I'm glad you're okay. But Koichi and Okuyasu are okay as well, right?" And Josuke answers, saying "They're both fine! I'll see you later, mom! Gotta go!" Tomoko smiled and sat back with breathing a sigh of relief, with the confirmation that her son was still alive and well, after seeing the horrifying news.
After that conversation, the group waits for the emergency workers to bring them to the next town, so they could start taking the train back to Morioh.
←To Be Continued