"Psst…Taki"
"Huh-, wha-…"
After Taki recovered from his post-wake-up disorientation, he looked over to the source of this whisper, to find that it was Shizuka. Lucid and totally normal.
"Oh. Shizuka. Good morning. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. The others told me everything that happened. I…I'm so sorry for all this."
"Look." Taki sat up, waking up Mitsuha in the process. He was a little embarrassed that someone had walked in on him and his girlfriend sleeping together, but decided to ignore it for Shizuka's sake. She most likely would not have done so if she didn't have to. "I said this to your friends too. Don't worry about it. I mean, everyone was okay in the end, right? You guys just stayed a little late, that's all!"
A groggy Mitsuha sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Mmm…Taki-kun, what's going on…are the girls okay?"
"Everyone's fine. In fact, everyone else is gone already. I'm the only one here now."
"Wait, they left already? As in they left before you woke up?"
"No, no! They just left not too long ago. Like, not even a full minute before I came in here. They stuck around until I was okay."
"Well…then everything wasn't for naught. That's good."
"Taki…Mitsuha…thank you so much for taking care of me last night. That was very thoughtful and mature of you guys. I…and despite me passing out, I had a lot of fun last night. I'll never forget what you guys did for me."
"You're welcome. I think any adult would do the same. We just did what we felt was right."
Shizuka just smiled, not confident that Taki was entirely forgiving of what happened. The back of her head still maintained that Taki was completely frustrated about the whole thing. So she didn't want to risk any tension by throwing out another apology.
"I…I honestly hope we can come back and do something together again. I- I feel like I'm overstepping some boundaries, and I know I might have overstayed my welcome, but I know I speak for the others too when I say you guys are so kindhearted and fun to be around. I hope we can hang out under better circumstances in the future."
Mitsuha decided to add to Taki's sentiment, and help Shizuka feel better. "Well…if there's anything I learned about you in the past couple minutes, it's that you're a very mature young woman. The way you carry yourself seems to be well beyond your years. I'd welcome your guys' company any time."
"Thank you, Miyamizu-san." Shizuka's face beamed with a genuine smile.
"I honestly remember when I was a third-year myself. So don't worry about it."
"Okay. Well, I'm going to go now. Don't worry about my mother, I told her I would meet her at a station. Again, thank you so much, guys."
They all bid each other farewell for now, and got out of bed to clean up the main area. But when they entered the room to folded sheets and comforters, all neatly converted into its original form, they were astonished, almost flabbergasted.
"Wow."
"Yeah. Wow."
All the stress from last night made them forget that it was indeed Saturday, and found themselves eager to spend it doing something together.
"You know what, I'm hungry. If you're hungry too, let's get some ramen."
"Sounds good! We can figure out something to do there, while we're at it."
Neither of them ate ramen very much; they both in a way considered it a delicacy. Conversely, they knew people who will never touch ramen again because of how frequently they ate it. After they ordered, they used the time between then and when the food got there to talk. Of course about what they were going to do for the rest of the day, but Mitsuha had to settle a subject that'd been bothering her all morning.
"Taki-kun…were you…I hope you weren't serious about having those girls over again."
"Half joking, but half serious, too. I think if you ignore everything that happened with Shizuka, I'd say it was a pretty fun time."
"I…I don't completely disagree. But…y'know, the whole point of all that was so that I could spend time with my sister. And I felt like I spent the whole night scolding her and just being mad her. And the whole time I was just being reminded of the things that I always disliked about her. Yeah, it was nice to see her, but…I guess I'm just a little bitter that…I feel like she hasn't grown up a whole lot."
"Well…okay, I may be touching a nerve here. But she can't be that bad. I mean, she's taking care of your grandmother by herself now."
"She's in a controlled environment, without any enablers! She was a little bit of a brat growing up, and now, especially around her friends…she's so rebellious! She's so inconsiderate! No regard for the right thing to do! I told you this already, she made you and me liable for something possibly terrible. Did that not concern you at all?"
"Of course it did! Look, I'm the one that looks like this pervert, alright? And I think you should give your sister more time. I think given what's happened, she's being forced to grow up a lot faster than she'd like. Not everyone handles those kinds of circumstances the same way. Look, I don't have any siblings. So, honestly, Yotsuha is the closest to a sibling I have. I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt for the sake of her being comfortable in her skin. She genuinely felt bad about the whole thing too."
Mitsuha took a second to process all that Taki'd just said. "You're right. Maybe I was a little hard on her."
"I think the message was appropriate; she definitely needed to be told that she made a little mistake. But I wanted to say something when you started screaming at her. I didn't think that was the right way to handle it. Look. It's over now. Let's put this behind us, and not let this be something that defines your relationship with your sister."
Mitsuha let her silence be a signal of agreement, and reached over the table to take Taki's hands, stroking the back of them with her thumbs.
"You never cease to amaze me."
Just like at the Italian restaurant, their conversing consumed a lot of time, and before they knew it, their food had arrived. So they put down the bowls of ramen, and got to discussing what they ultimately came to the restaurant to do.
"I think a museum would be nice. Just walk through, explore, admire stuff. Just take it easy today."
"No argument here."
When they settled on the Tokyo National Museum, Taki realized that he hadn't been to a museum in years. In fact, the last time he'd been to one was the only other time he'd ever been on a date. And all the memories, along with the feelings associated with that day, came back to Taki, and internally he cringed. So along the commute to the museum, he was uncharacteristically quiet and anxious.
"Taki-kun? Everything okay?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…eh, it's whatever."
"No. Tell me. What's going on?"
"It's a little embarrassing."
"Taki. Come on. You can tell me anything. I mean, whatever it is obviously bothers you."
"Well…huh. The last time I was at a museum…that day is a day I would rather forget."
"Wait, what ha-… oh… that was your date with your coworker, wasn't it…"
"I…I didn't think it was possible to make that much of a fool of myself."
"Taki. Don't say that. Alright, from what I understand…it was your first date. You were, what, 17? It's okay! I sure hope you don't expect anyone's first date to be smooth."
"But-"
"'But' nothing. Everybody's an idiot when they're young. It takes a lot of courage and self-realization to let go of mistakes and build on them. I know that was a pretty traumatic moment for you. But it's made you who you are! Sometimes the worst moments are what forge the best parts of us! For what it's worth, I always thought you were cool and smooth. And I'm so proud to be your girlfriend. Don't let something that happened 5 years ago hold you back and continue to bother you."
"Well…actually, you know what, though…if there's anything I do remember about that day that I do appreciate, Okudera-senpai was able to point out that I was in love with someone else. Have any guesses who that might have been?"
Mitsuha giggled and blushed. "Hmm. Would her name happen to be Mitsuha?"
"Looks like we have a winner!" Taki sighed with laughter.
"What do I win then? Oh! Do I win a date with a dashing and handsome man?"
"Yeah, lemme go find one first, though!"
The two shared a hearty laugh, and the hijinks dissolved, quickly replaced with intimacy, as Taki stopped and wrapped his arms around Mitsuha from behind. "I have no idea what I'd do without you, Mitsuha. I love you…"
Mitsuha, despite being a little confused as to what came over him all of the sudden, took Taki's embrace and rested back against him. "I love you too, Taki. I'll always be here for you."
As they made their way throughout the museum, Mitsuha was of course enamored by all the exhibits and displays the Tokyo National Museum had to offer. But Taki was met with difficulty enjoying himself. He thought his moment with Mitsuha earlier let him make peace with his cringeworthy memories, but yet every passing article, especially the art, pushed him deeper into a state of uncertainty.
He said what he needed to earlier, but experiencing the awkwardness of that date made him appreciate Mitsuha that much more. They held hands as they went through, and when Taki took a second to look over at her and say to himself 'wow, I'm really lucky', his grip on Mitsuha's hand tightened instinctually, as his desire and need for her made him do whatever to not let her slip away.
"Ahh…Taki-kun, my hand. That hurts."
Mitsuha's gentle voice snapped him out of his trance, and his lightened his hold on her hand, but still refused to let go.
"I prefer this anyway."
Mitsuha broke their hold, and hugged Taki's arm, leaning against it. The display of affection caught the eyes of some, but neither of them bothered to care at all. Just like before, they went through a lot to find each other again. Why wouldn't they enjoy each other's presence?
They capped off the night with dinner, and spent the rest of the night at the apartment relaxing. They watched anime for a while, and ended up turning in really early. Neither of them had gotten much sleep the night before, and after being out the whole day, it finally caught up to them.
The next day began very much the same. They set off into the city to find something to eat, as well as a place to decide on what they wanted to do that day. And just like last time they ended up talking about something a little different.
"Hey, Taki. I've always wondered, y'know. My life in Itomori and my life here are so different. Almost nothing is the same. So sometimes I wonder if any of my old life has any presence here."
"What do you mean? I mean as far as I knew, things were pretty similar. You went to school, you hung out with friends, and stuff. The only thing I would think would be different would be the shrine traditions. I mean, obviously, from that regard it's a little different, but aside from the setting, what's so different?"
"Well, we did a lot of spiritual ceremonies and stuff. A lot of praying, and lot of worshiping, I'm sure of all things you remember the sake ceremonies." Mitsuha shuddered a little bit remembering those rituals.
"Well, how about that then? Let's visit a temple today. Let's see how sacrilegious Tokyo can be. As far as I'm aware of, there's a very strong presence of worship here. And if nothing else, it'd at least be a really cool cultural experience!"
"I dunno, Taki. You remember. I was…so, so happy when I was in your body. Living in Tokyo and living your life was my escape. And I honestly dreaded the times when I was back in my own body. Life here is so robust!"
"I feel you. Adaptation is important, but I feel holding on to your roots and remembering where you came from is equally important. After all, going through all that built a lot of character. Wouldn't you say?"
"I guess so…"
"Then come on this journey with me! Enlighten me! I've honestly wanted to learn more about this sort of stuff, especially after I, well, I guess 'met' you. I'm sure there's a lot of things you can clarify for me. In fact, you'll probably learn something too!"
Mitsuha felt like Taki was already locked in on visiting a temple today, so she figured it'd be best to not waste her breath on trying to convince him otherwise. Besides, she herself didn't have any noteworthy ideas either. So they went to the Meiji Shrine, and neither of them knew what to expect. When they got there, they were met with a rather unexpected scene. They noticed that the area surrounding the shrine was almost scarily modern. So modern, that it even had a baseball stadium, which they later learned was actually in operation, and owned by the shrine. They decided to ignore everything else and just check out the shrine. And the nostalgia rush that hit Mitsuha was a little bittersweet for her. Many of the structures and buildings reminded her of the shrine her family had in Itomori.
Having a taste of her childhood was nice, and it brought back a lot of fond memories of Itomori as a small town. Oh! I haven't seen Tessie and Saya in forever! She made a note to meet up with them someday, and introduce them to Taki. But above everything else, her memories as a shrine maiden left her disgruntled. The restrictions, the ceremonies, the solemn lifestyle were those which she was glad to have left behind. Especially the sake ceremonies. And despite her best efforts to embrace her origin as a shrine maiden, or at the very least make peace with it, she still couldn't shake the embarrassment and resentment of being one. Why do I still feel like this?
The more of the shrine they explored, the more Mitsuha felt like she was growing up again. Vividly being able to see her memories, her highest and lowest moments. Eventually she came to the realization that everything happens for a reason, and she took a second to compare her old life to her life now. The current life that has her hand in hand with an incredible man. I'm the same way, Taki-kun. Where would I be without you? She stopped him for a moment, overcome with emotions and appreciation for what she has now.
"Is everything okay?"
"Everything…right now, everything is amazing. I can't be more content with my life right now."
"Ahh. I see you're going through a little bit of an existential moment. Just like how I did at the museum. But I think your case might be a little different."
"Mm-mm. Not really. I…this whole time we've been walking through, seeing all these buildings and the activities and the architecture…I mean, I'm glad I got to taste my old life a little bit. Just for old time's sake. But…I never really realized how good I have it until…I revisited my memories."
"I think you may have that confused with something else. I didn't bring you here to make you appreciate your current life. I think if anything, I brought you here so you can appreciate how great your life in Itomori was. And to show you that your old lifestyle has a very strong presence here in this 'modern' world. This stuff doesn't go away, Mitsuha."
"So…you tricked me. You brought me here to teach me a lesson."
"Mmm, not specifically. I mean, I wanted to come here personally, too. Seeing the Miyamizu shrine through your eyes was one thing, but I never got to see it through my own. So seeing all this let me experience all of that again. Living your life for a couple weeks taught me a lot about myself. I'm sure going through here reminded you a lot about your character."
"So what's the moral of the story?"
"The point of all this is to show that you wouldn't be the woman you are, the woman I'm so madly in love with, the woman who I wanna spend the rest of my life with, without all of this. You ought to be very proud of how you got to where you are now. And that includes being a shrine maiden. And a country girl."
Overwhelmed by Taki's beautiful words, she collapsed into his arms, wanting to stay in his hold forever. And with what he just said, she came to finally accept who she is. If he can accept me for who I am, how in the world can I not?
They went through the rest of the shrine, greeting the priests and learning more about life at the shrine. Mitsuha was able to connect with the priests on a, dare one say, "spiritual" level, having a lot of similarities in experience. For everything Taki learned about this lifestyle, Mitsuha herself felt like she learned more than she already knew. She thought she knew everything there was, but having the priests explain the ideas a reasoning and the connection to the spiritual world behind everything they did, it shed a lot of light on her old life, and gave her a greater appreciation for it.
They bid the priests goodbye, with intention on visiting again one day, and returned to the city, where they capped off the weekend with dinner and grocery shopping. When they got home and got settled, they realized that during that whole weekend, they both had to endure and come to terms with some rather uncomfortable memories. So they took a moment to express their appreciation for each other.
"Mitsuha…I just realized that…both of us had to remember stuff we'd rather not. And I dunno about you, but having you with me, having you by my side when I was having all these memories trigger, was all I could ask for. I know it sounds cheesy, but I felt like I fell in love with you all over again."
"Took the words out of my mouth. I don't think I'd be nearly the same person if it weren't for you. You taught me a lot about myself, things I didn't really even know. It's funny. I had this feeling that maybe we didn't know each other as well as we thought. But from what happened this weekend…I know I can always fall into you when I'm down."
Taki kept his words to himself, and let his feelings take over, as he pulled her into his body and enveloped her in his warmth. The passion and mutual energy evolved their embrace into a kiss, where they lost themselves in the heat of the moment. And before they knew it, the night melted away, and the expenditure of energy knocked them out, just in time to wake up for work the next day.
Taki arrived to a very tense and unstable atmosphere. As far as he knew, it should've been just a regular day at work. No board members, no financial group moguls, no one out of the ordinary coming in today. Yet everyone was nervous. Several small groups of about 3 or 4 people were talking amongst themselves, with Taki noticing a morbid tone in everyone's voice. Many of these people were actually crying, others on the verge of doing so. Among everything else, though, the thing that stood out to Taki the most was the feeling of uncertainty; everyone looked lost, like they had no sense of direction, like their guide to the world had just disappeared.
"Tachibana-san!"
Taki turned around to see the director, walking towards him slowly, with a somber look on his face, the kind that people make when someone they know just died. Oh no…did someone…
"We…well…just…please come with me."
Taki wasn't sure what to expect, and was also hoping that the ideas that he had of what was going on weren't true. This environment was not normal. The air in the office was dark, dejected. Something clearly happened. But then everything was starting to connect in Taki's head. The sadness, the disorientation, the uncertainty, someone important had died. Or maybe, at the very least, incapacitated or something. No, impossible. If there were any chance of this person living, no one would be like this.
He then started to dart his eyes around the building, picking up faces, trying to remember who he'd seen earlier. All in an effort to figure out who was missing. Taki's heart sank when he realized who it must be, but tried to remain optimistic, and hope that the director would tell him something else.
"Tachibana-san. You worked very closely with Moroboshi-san, right?"
At that moment, Taki knew it. "I…I did."
"Would you say that he played an important role in your development here as an architectural designer?"
"Sir, he's, quite frankly, one the reasons I am with this company. He gave me the chance to do what many other firms didn't want to. He was a mentor, a teacher. I would like to think that to some degree, we were friends in a way. He's lifted me up and showed me things that have gotten me this point. I have no idea where I'd be professionally if not for him."
"That's…that's very touching. Then, it makes me regretful to be the bearer of this grim, horrible news. Tachibana-san…over the weekend, Moroboshi-san suffered from a heart attack. Currently, he is in critical condition at the hospital. At the very least, he will be hospitalized for a significant amount of time. Enough time such that his absence will disrupt the work flow. If we put aside his sentimental value as a friend, not having him as a supervisor alone puts us in a stagnant state. That is why, Tachibana-san, I am conducting interviews for his position."
Taki had just about every emotion possible envelop him. All the memories of his supervisor, going all the way back from his interview to the multiple moments of tutelage, played through his head at light speed. Conversely, the excitement for an opportunity to climb the corporate ladder filled him with motivation and enthusiasm; nothing would make him happier than the chance to do Moroboshi proud and take over in his stead. But he couldn't help but feel a little dejected, almost offended, that the director had already given up and pulled the plug, not believing in the slight chance that Moroboshi would return to health and come back one day. But he realized the logic behind it, though; even if he were to miraculously leave the hospital, it would be a very, very long time before he's in working condition.
"This is a very unique opportunity. I…I honestly am not sure how to handle this right now. Y'know, for everything you must feel about Moroboshi, I'm sure I feel the same by at least 10 times. He was to you like I was to him. He was the first designer that I hired, so he's a bit special to me. To see him do all these great things has been heartwarming; I'd say what he's done is one of the reasons why I'm a director now. Anyway. There obviously isn't enough time to provide proper supervisor training, so whoever gets this spot will be presented with a brand new challenge. Not only for themselves, but for everyone else involved as well. Keep that in mind, as you will be one of the candidates for this position."
Taki had to pause for a moment, as the reality of the moment sank in. It wasn't that long ago that he'd been told that it would be an indefinite amount of time before he can move up. He had to cast aside the circumstances, and his personal feelings for his supervisor, to mentally prepare himself for this interview.
"Thank you very much! I look forward to competing for this spot!"
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A/N: Howdy, fellas! Not much from me this time, other than an apology for the long gap between chapters. They'll come out faster now (I hope). But I've kind of made it an effort to make these chapters longer, and capture more action within them. I supposed that's what's causing these delays. Anyway, as usual, thanks a ton if you're still with me. I've still got a lot floating in my head I'd like to put to writing, so a huge kudos to those who read even a sentence of my story. Catch whoever in the next one. Cheers.