Author's note (actually don't read this, just skip to cringe fest): Howdy, fellas! Back for more, eh? Well to anyone who read the first chapter, thank you so much. I was actually really proud of it, and it made me sound a lot more articulate than I really am. Anyway, this is once again the product of not being able to concentrate during baseball practice (I warm the bench anyway, who gives a damn) and I'm glad I was able to put together a substantive piece of work. These two are still on my mind even a week after I saw the movie, and their story just continues to invade my psyche. So here's my take on the early stages of Taki and Mitsuha's life together. Hope you enjoy.
It wasn't long before Taki found himself drawing Mitsuha instead of the blueprints he was supposed to be putting together. Taki's work didn't deviate too far from sketching plans and blueprints for his architectural firm. He'd always been immensely talented in free-hand drawing, and it served him well in his current occupation. His main motivation for going into civil engineering was to help make Tokyo, and all of Japan for that matter, more memorable for its citizens. The years he spent not being able to remember Mitsuha created the urge to help ensure that no one else has to suffer from forgetting their fondest memories. Right now, his group was developing the structural design of a strip mall, which Taki hopes can bring friends closer together and forge long-lasting memories for those people. Usually, he's laser-focused and deeply vested into his work. But for obvious reasons today, he was noticeably sidetracked.
"She's pretty and all, Tachibana-san, but that's not gonna help us get this strip mall done."
Taki hadn't even realized it until his supervisor pointed it out, but he looked down at his papers and saw that he'd been drawing Mitsuha for the past 4 hours. Much to the chagrin of the supervisor, but the situation created an opportunity for his coworkers to tease him a little bit.
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN, BOY, WHO DIS?"
"THIS YO GIRL, BRO?"
"I guess Tachibana-san isn't a virgin after all"
For the rest of the day until 5, Taki endured humiliation for his absentmindedness. And while he ultimately got done what he intended to, he couldn't help but leave his office with utter embarrassment. On his way out of the building, he flipped through his sketchpad to see just how distracted he was for half the day. He stared in bewilderment as his sketchpad was 12 pages deep with drawings of Mitsuha. All in different poses, but the facial features on every single depth were nearly identical. Most would have been impressed with the attention to detail and the sheer depth of his sketches, but in the workplace, it had cost him a lot of time, and some pride along with that.
But he wasn't bothered by it at all
She's so beautiful, though.
He looked down at his watch to see the big hand point towards 12 and the little hand point towards 5, and realized that he was only 15 minutes from seeing the real thing. A sudden jolt of adrenaline gave him the energy he needed to run for the train station. The stop he needed to get off at came much earlier than expected, since it was a completely off-route detour of his normal commute home. He nearly missed his chance, and had to plow through a crowd of people to get off the train. He again looked down at his watch, panting from his the quick loss of energy from fighting through multiple train passengers. He began to panic when he saw his watch read 5:14, and sprinted to the stairwell. He arrived completely out of breath, and looked over the edge to see his gorgeous partner waiting patiently, leaned up against the railing and looking at her phone. Taki was fatigued, both physically and mentally, making the distance between him and Mitsuha seem twice as long. He made his way down the stairs, trying his hardest to hide his exhaustion. It didn't work as he was breathing noticeably heavily, and Mitsuha just giggled when he approached her.
"A little tired there?"
Taki just sighed and dipped his head down, bearing the weight of his upper body on his hands and knees. Mitsuha placed her hand on his back, sliding it back and forth.
"Thank you for coming to see me, darling. I've been wanting to see you all day. And it looks like you did too," she said softly.
Taki recovered enough energy to stand up straight. He looked Mitsuha straight in the eye and took her hands into his.
"Guilty as charged," he chuckled.
She reached up and wrapped and her arms around his neck, and rested her cheek against his chest. Taki returned her hold and placed his arms around her, holding her head against his chest with one hand. Just like when they had met each other for the first time in 5 years just a few hours ago, the world around them slowed down, and they enjoyed each other for what felt like forever.
With her eyes forced shut and body experiencing a slow melting feeling, Mitsuha sighed in ecstasy as she snuggled closer to Taki in his embrace.
"It was only a few hours ago, but I felt like I hadn't seen you for another 8 years. My heart was yearning for you."
Taki planted a small kiss onto the top of Mitsuha's head and dug his face into it, squeezing her tighter. It wasn't long before he himself began to feel his body melt away. He could feel a lot of Mitsuha's weight against his body; in fact it felt like she wasn't standing at all and he was the only thing keeping her up. Realizing his own body was giving way as well, he knew he had to get the two of them to a place to sit. Otherwise, they would both collapse and not only look very silly, but almost certainly hurt some part of their bodies in the process. His eyes darted around the immediate area for a bench, edge, or somewhere to get off their feet. And then he realized "Wait, why don't we just sit on the stairs?"
He gently lowered himself and Mitsuha towards the ground, who didn't seem intent on releasing her grip on him. After some struggle, he managed to get the two of them to sit comfortably on the ground. This was all new. Holding another person in a public setting. In their youth, they'd detested romance and tried to tell themselves that relationships were a waste of time and nothing more than a distraction from the real world. They would always think they were single by choice, and could maintain a relationship if they wanted to. But deep inside, they knew that they couldn't get it right. Their own awkwardness and lack of confidence denied them any chances for a significant other. At least in their own bodies. When they would enter each other's worlds, they seemed to know exactly how to stand out. Taki made Mitsuha more adventurous and exuberant, while Mitsuha brought out a more feminine persona for Taki that ultimately landed him a date with a revered coworker. Through the aftermath in their own world caused by the other, Taki and Mitsuha learned more and more about themselves and what they truly value in a relationship. It just so happened that they were a perfect match.
The position they were in generated a lot of attention from passing eyes. Mitsuha's arms still hung around Taki's neck, with her head buried in his neck, as one of Taki's own arms was draped around Mitsuha's shoulders with his head leaning against hers. It definitely looked strange, two grown adults performing a public display of immense affection as if they were still in high school. Not to mention that the two of them were blocking an entire half of the stairwell, much to the ire of people trying to get up and down the steps.
"Don't worry about them. We're just paying our dues. To each other, that is"
"Yeah. I don't mind the eyes. I wouldn't expect them to understand what we've been through."
"And how much we had to fight to find each other."
"If they understood, they wouldn't mind. But they don't, and that's fine with me."
Eventually the flow of people died down, and it felt mostly like they had the stairwell to themselves. During that time, there were no words spoken. No conversation, no catch up, no retelling of the day. They just rested. And enjoyed each other's presence. After going 5 years without it.
Taki looked down at his watch and saw 5:45. Almost on cue, his stomach grumbled in request for something to eat. Upon hearing this, Mitsuha began to giggle and lifted her head off of Taki's shoulder, turning to see him and gazing into his sparkling blue eyes with her own soft brown ones.
"It sounds like it's time for dinner," she said with a smile.
"Nothing gets past you, does it?"
The two of them stood up on wobbly legs and dusted themselves off after sitting on the ground for almost half an hour. Taki's jacket was almost ruined from the dirt on the ground and a horrible crimp where the back had folded when he leaned against the wall. Mitsuha's cardigan also suffered some taint, but luckily could be easily swept clean.
"Hehe. I feel like with everything that's happened today, there's only one place we can go where we can really catch up and re-forge our memories."
This place was none other than the Italian restaurant where Taki used to work. And for the short time they were switching bodies, Mitsuha also technically worked here. They were both very familiar with the establishment. The food, the setting, the environment, and just the overall feel. But they both knew that with so many years having passed, the staff would undoubtedly be different. Most of Taki's coworkers could be considered negligible at this point, but even after all these years, the head waitress Okudera Miki still had her imprint on both Taki and Mitsuha's memories. They accepted it, though. It was a feeling that if she was still there, there would be a little of the past to hang on to, but if she wasn't, then it would only mean a brand new chapter of their lives was born, with only themselves to write it.
As they made their way to the restaurant, their hands had almost become numb from how tightly they held each other's. Eventually, Mitsuha ditched the hand-holding and just held Taki's arm, who didn't seem to mind either way. Along the way, they conversed about each other's day, knowing that when they got to the restaurant, they would be discussing something much deeper.
"Well I could show you how my day went. Let's just say I'm finally known for something around the office now."
Taki chuckled as he pulled his sketchpad out of his carry-all. He handed it to Mitsuha, who, upon flipping through the first 3 or so pages, began to tear up. She couldn't believe what she was seeing; the woman drawn in so many pages in Taki's sketchpad was completely gorgeous. To the point where she actually couldn't believe it.
"Taki-kun. Oh. I wish I actually looked like this." Mitsuha ran her fingers across one his handcrafted masterpieces.
"Eh, I wouldn't say so. Those aren't very good, I would say you're much prettier in real life."
Mitsuha almost broke down into a crying mess after hearing these words. To know that she was on his mind to this magnitude and that he thinks of her this way made her happy beyond what her heart could withstand. She buried her face into Taki's arm and began to muffle out some words.
"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'll show you exactly what I mean. Some day."
"I feel the same way. You've only been back in my life for a few hours, yet you've brought me more happiness in that time than what I've felt for the last 5 years. You've given me a reason to keep going. And that some things are worth waiting for."
He planted another kiss onto the top of Mitsuha's head, who had to battle the urge to stop and slam her lips into his. Oddly enough, what ultimately stopped her was knowing he was hungry and probably wanted to get to the restaurant as quickly as possible. So with her arm still hooked around his, they kept walking.
Eventually they got to the restaurant, and was met with a pretty sizable crowd. The dreariness of going through the same routine every single day left them devoid of some of the most basic knowledge that's usually taken for granted. Like knowing what day of the week it was. Well, it was Friday. And it was 6 P.M. And the place was totally packed.
Taki began to experience a very odd mixture of feelings. The heart-pumping and stress-inducing race against time and the customers' patience as a waiter brought back some rather forgettable memories, but having put so much of his youth life into making this place go and seeing how busy it was, he felt like he had a responsibility to step in a give the place a hand. Of course Mitsuha felt sort of the same way too, albeit not to the degree that Taki did, having only "worked here" every other day for a couple of weeks. What took them both completely aback was seeing the host. It was the same guy. From 5 years ago. Doing the same thing. With the same bright smile on his face. He was one of the only people who, during Taki's tenure at the joint, seemed like they enjoyed what they were doing. His efficiency hadn't faltered, either. The waiting guests spent very little time meandering, as his clairvoyance and observation allowed him to seat customers as quickly as possible. He had obviously aged a little, but his features were roughly the same and his beaming personality and attitude towards the patrons all but guaranteed that it was the same guy Taki worked with 5 years ago.
The restaurant had a really nice seating area outside that kept the host's stand clear and free of obstruction and crowds. So approaching the stand was as simple as walking up to it. As soon as the couple came within clear viewing distance of the host, Taki held his hand up in salutation to his former colleague. The host's jaw almost dropped upon seeing him.
"My goodness…how long has it been?"
"About five years, maybe?"
"It's good to see you, Tachibana-kun"
"Likewise"
The two men grabbed each other's right hand, pulled each other closer and put their free hand on the other's back. Mitsuha, despite having a hazy memory of this host, couldn't help but smile with her hands clasped together.
"And it looks like you're already spoken for. Who's the future Mrs. Tachibana?"
"Eh?! Well. Umm." At this point, Taki's cheeks were completely engulfed in red. "This is Mitsuha. My uhh…uh…"
"Giiirlfriiieeend"
"Right. My uhh…my girlfriend…" Taki performed his signature chuckling and rubbing the back of his head act, having turned into a tomato with his eyes glued to the ground. Mitsuha just closed her eyes and smiled. The host had to restrain himself from laughing.
"Right. Well Tachibana-kun, having worked here for some time, you're well aware of our private room, correct?"
"Oh how could I forget? The tips I got from waiting that room were enough to buy lunch for a week"
"Hehe. Well, I sure hope you work what you dress for, because that means money. Which means big tip. Because you're gonna be having dinner in that room."
Taki's eyes expanded and just stared at this guy. Who offered him an experience he thought to be impossible as a waiter. This room was the money room. The likes of Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka1 have dined here. During his time here, he had only dreamed of someday having saved enough money to take someone really special here, who at the time was Okudera-senpai. But here he is five years later. On the same day he finds his true love, he has a chance to really treat her to a spectacular night. How fitting. From this point, Taki began to believe that he was being watched over by something. Or someone. He would've liked to believe that it was the Miyamizu shrine god, but he wasn't really sure what to think.
"W-w-w-w-what? I mean, are you serious? Does no one have it booked?"
"Nah. It's open tonight. The only free night in a 5 week stretch. How freaking lucky are you?"
Taki was completely speechless, while Mitsuha, having never waited this room, didn't really know what the private room was aside from light talk with Taki's coworkers.
"Well, then. Mr. and Mrs. Tachibana, if you would follow me this way, please"
1 Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka are prominent Major League Baseball players of Japanese origin
Author's note: Well if you read through the whole thing, then I thank you. A lot. If you read through the whole thing without cringing, then you deserve a medal. Even though this fic is absolute sharp cheddar, I still think it's pretty cute. Taki and Mitsuha have a cute relationship that left me wanting more. This chapter was a little harder to write, since the last one was mostly retelling of the movie, while this one is written going off of nothing and based solely on imagination. Either way, it was still fun to write and the third chapter is getting churned out. Whether you like it or not. For anyone who didn't die of cringe reading that, you're awesome. That being said, for anyone still reading, thank you so much for giving this fic the attention it totally doesn't deserve. I'll see whoever in the next one. Cheers.