Mitsuha turned to the large projector screen, tapping the forward button on the control she held in her hand. A large, multi-colored pie chart filled the space. She carefully activated the laser pointer, highlighting the larger sections of the graphic.

"As you can see, so far the investment portfolios are mostly large corporations, banks, and government divisions, but there is also a minority part that includes hospitals, NGOs, educational, cultural, and other similar entities..."

She operated the control again. A complex graphic with multiple curves replaced the previous image.

"But our analysis shows that the profitability of large account portfolios has only grown by 2.5% per year on average over the last 10 years, tending asymptotically to stagnate, while the small accounts I mentioned earlier have grown at 6% per year and with signs of increasing their share…"

Mitsuha paused, closed her eyes for a second, as she took a sharp but disguised breath, giving herself strength. Then she turned to the audience.

Thirty eyes were watching her intently, middle-aged men in gray suits, and several women in elegant suits, seated side by side at a long table in the corporate auditorium. In the back, seated in the booth at the side of the head of the table, Noriko was watching her with a curious expression, with a smile that seemed to give her encouragement to continue.

"So..." continued Mitsuha, "I want to propose to the board that the company takes an active stance in reaching out to these small accounts, and invest in their initiatives."

With a pause, she changed the slide to a table with multiple values and data.

"While the volume may not appear attractive at first, we can see from this projection that, if we increase investment in these minority portfolios, in 5 years these portfolios could reach and surpass at least two of the smaller accounts in the large portfolios, becoming a great opportunity for new business and higher profits for the company."

Mitsuha stood silently, hands clasped in front of her lap. She made a noticeable bow to the audience.

"That concludes my presentation. I will be attentive to your questions."

A wave of murmurs and conversations broke out at the long board table. After a few seconds a hand was raised at the end of the table, and the familiar but powerful voice of Noriko Morita silenced the comments.

"Thank you for the clear presentation, Miyamizu-san, but I have a question regarding slide 15 How did you calculate the ROI increase in the accounts...?"

Ten minutes later, all the members of the meeting were leaving in high spirits. Mitsuha stood near the exit door of the room, thanking the attendees and politely and formally dismissing each of the directors.

Noriko approached and stood beside Mitsuha in silence, waving goodbye to the last departing attendees, until they were alone in the meeting room.

"That was very good, Mitsuha. It was a very convincing presentation you gave today."

Mitsuha smiled radiantly, relieved and grateful for her boss's comment.

"Thank you, Noriko-san. I was nervous at first, but as I went along, I became much more confident."

"But it's not just that, there's something different about you; you shine now. And I like that very much."

"How did you...?"

Mitsuha went blank for a couple of seconds, not knowing what else to say. Noriko noticed the girl's confusion, and redoubled the bet.

"Look, you are a great professional, that was always the case. And you have a very attractive personality. But... you've always been kind of repressed, subdued; but this week I've seen you smile, and I've seen you animated like never before. Does that Tachibana-san have something to do with it?"

Mitsuha's eyes widened, and she wanted to say something, but she stopped herself. The mischievous smile with which Noriko looked back at her, as if to say "you know what I mean", turned Mitsuha's face into a tomato. She covered her face, embarrassed.

"Please don't say that... I... I..."

Noriko laughed softly, and put a hand on the girl's shoulder, to comfort her.

"Relax, that was a compliment, don't feel bad. I like to see you like this, happy. And if that boy is responsible of your mood, then he's keeping his promise. Tell him for me to keep it up."

"Eh... thank you... I'll tell him, I think..."

Noriko patted the girl on the shoulder a couple of times, smiling, walked to the exit of the room and left.

Mitsuha stood alone in the room for almost another minute, trying to regain her temper. She didn't think her emotional state was so easy to read, but she understood that Noriko was right. Yes, this week she was feeling radiant, like walking on clouds. And Taki was the reason. She took a deep breath, and looked at the clock in the living room. There were still too many hours before the end of the workday, and the desire to see Taki again made her unconsciously give a deep sigh. A second later she began to laugh at herself for her unusual reaction.

"Ah, Taki, you're changing my world..."

§

Taki looked at the time on his cell phone. It was already close to one o'clock.

Standing in front of the small apartment building and wearing his gray suit, Taki reviewed what he knew about this company he was applying to today: it was a new, small firm to which Katsuhiko Teshigawara, Tesshi, Mitsuha's old friend, had recommended him.

At first it surprised him that Tesshi had gone to the trouble of getting his number. And then that Tesshi had called him last Tuesday, just a few days after they had met in the... present world. When Tesshi explained that he knew some friends who were looking for an architect, and asked if he was interested, because he could recommend him for an interview, his surprise turned to hope, but almost immediately Tesshi's words left him on tenterhooks:

"They're friends from a new, small company, so don't get your hopes up about greatness. Not yet."

"What do you mean by greatness? What I need most now is work, not a statue!" Taki replied indignantly.

'I know. But I think you might like working with them. You'll know why soon."

Without knowing how, the day after that conversation with Tesshi, Taki was called from that company, and he was immediately summoned for an interview for that Thursday.

And now that he was standing in front of a small building, about four stories high, in an affluent but modest residential area, and somewhat removed from the business centers and neighborhoods where the companies in the field tended to be concentrated. Taki was wondering what Tesshi had gotten him into.

For another minute Taki surveyed the building and the area, then went back to reread on his phone the email from the domain .jp he had received with the directions. He then scanned the map application and reconfirmed that indeed the building in front of him was the correct address. Only then he noticed the detail that the location of the appointment described in the e-mail was the apartment 307. Not in the "office 307", but in apartment 307; so that building was not an office building? His amazement only increased.

He approached the entrance, looking for any plaque or indication of what companies or offices that place might house. He found nothing that would make it look like a building of any corporation or company. In fact, it might as well have been his own apartment building.

He checked the time again, and it was already 12:57. Curiosity finally got the better of him, so he decided to go in at once.

With only a few steps into the building, Taki realized that it was so modest that it didn't even have an elevator, so after a sigh of resignation he made his way to the stairs to reach the third floor.

At almost one o'clock he managed to find apartment 307. Again, it looked like a normal residential apartment. He carefully examined the door and around the doorbell, in case there was a card, plaque or something indicating that this was the "Uozumi Construction Company". Nothing; either he had gone to the wrong place and would not make it to his interview on time, or this was the right place, as strange as it seemed.

With nothing more to lose, Taki rang the doorbell. A female voice was heard shouting "I'm opening!", and a few seconds later a young woman on her 30s, dressed in a homely way and without any "corporate" air, opened the door and stared at him strangely, without saying anything.

Taki assumed that it was the end of the story. Almost just to confirm and not be rude, he bowed in greeting to the woman.

"My name is Tachibana Taki. I was summoned from the 'Uozumi Construction Company', and... is it here?"

The woman's face lit up with a smile, and she leaned over to greet him.

"Welcome! I am Gondō Akari. It's a pleasure to meet you. We spoke on the phone yesterday. Come in, Tachibana-san!"

Taki went from a second of relief to surprise.

"I mean... Gondō-san, excuse me, but... is it really here?"

"Yes, yes, excuse my rudeness. My husband and Ouzumi-san are waiting for you. Please come in."

Taki clutched his bag where he carried a folder with his presentation and documents, settled it on his shoulder, and walked into the apartment.

As he took off his shoes, Akari had left a pair of indoor slippers for him, walked away and waited for him at the end of the entrance hallway, motioning for him to follow her into the living room.

As soon as he reached her, he stood before the entrance of a living room where two men were standing waiting for him. One of them was about 30 years old, and from his age Taki guessed that he must be Akari Gondō's husband. And the other was near his 40s, taller and stouter. Taki looked at his face and felt a crack in his memory, and was stunned by the surprise.

"Tachibana-san, welcome," said the shorter man. "I am Gondō Ozamu, and this," pointing to the taller man, "is my partner Ouzumi Kiyoshi, and he is the owner of the construction company."

Taki was in shock for a couple of seconds not knowing what to say. The confusion of memories in his head left him speechless.

"Tachibana-san, are you feeling well?" Ozamu asked worriedly.

"I... yes, I'm fine, I think," answered Taki, still a little dazed by the surprise. "It is a pleasure to meet you, gentlemen."

The two men looked at each other somewhat quizzically.

"It's a pleasure too... uh... Akari, could you please bring us some glasses and water? I think the heat may have affected Mr. Tachibana."

"Yes, honey, right away," replied the woman who had been standing behind Taki the whole time, and walked away down the same hallway towards the kitchen.

"Come on, come on in and we'd better have a seat and have a chat, Tachibana-san," Kiyoshi Ouzumi said at last, pointing to the armchairs in the living room of the apartment.

Ozamu sat on the main sofa, and Kiyoshi sat in a single chair. Taki was left with the second single chair, all around a small coffee table, which within seconds was filled with glasses and a pitcher of water brought by Akari on a tray. She poured the three glasses and handed them out to the men. As soon as she finished, she approached the exit of the room and, with a «Let me know if you need anything else», she left.

"Well..." said Kiyoshi, "first of all, we want to thank you for coming, Tachibana-san. We know that this meeting was scheduled in a somewhat rushed manner, and from your face I think that maybe this is not the meeting you expected to have..."

"No, no, that's not it," Taki wanted to excuse himself. "I mean, yes, I must be honest, this... your apartment is very cozy, but I had imagined it would be an interview in a... more... traditional... company..." Taki stopped, feeling that he was blushing, and almost preferred to keep quiet, not knowing if he was making things better or worse.

The two men looked at each other for a couple of seconds, and burst out laughing, much to the horror of Taki who no longer knew what to expect.

"Ouzumi, I told you it was not a good idea to bring him here, to my house."

"Ha, ha, yes, I owe you a beer, Gondō...; uh, excuse us Tachibana-san, but I know this is unusual, as I was saying before. As you may have noticed, I am the owner of 'Ouzumi Construction Company'. We are a rather small construction company for the scale of Tokyo, but we want to start growing and take on larger projects. And to grow we need to submit larger and more ambitious proposals as well. I had discussed this idea some time ago with our mutual friend, Teshigawara-san, and he just called me on Tuesday, asking if we had a job for an architect friend of his, that would be you. It seems to be fate, doesn't it?"

Taki's head began to stop spinning and everything started to fall into place.

"Yes, well, it's true, I've been looking for a job for a while now and, well, Tesshi... Teshigawara-san knew about it and told me that maybe he could help me, but he never told me how."

"It's true, Teshigawara-san is a great guy," said Ozamu. "Too serious sometimes, but we trust him."

"So, you... have you known him for a long time?" Taki asked, throwing the trick.

"Of course, we've known him since he was a child," said Kiyoshi, with a smile, leaning back to take a sip from his glass. "Although it's clear that he's long since stopped being a brat, and now he's about to marry his girl, Natori-san. How the years go by, don't they?"

"So, you worked for Tesshi's father in Itomori, didn't you?" Taki said animatedly, remembering the young men who had helped them years ago, Tesshi, Saya and Mitsuha, that is, him in Mitsuha's body, bringing logs and tools to that bus stop in Itomori where they had built their log cafe. Now their faces glowed in his memory, and he knew he had not been crazy to feel, a couple of minutes ago, that he had seen them before.

"Oh, yes, of course!" said Kiyoshi with a smile. "Those were different times, but well, the twists of fate made us leave there. Teshigawara's father rebuilt his company and is still working in the Gifu area, but I and many of us who worked for him went to other places. Well, you know, we didn't... there was nothing left to tie us to that place. And over the years I got reacquainted with Gondō-san, who also came to Tokyo, and I also got reacquainted with several of the former Teshigawara workers. Almost all of us continued to work in what we knew, in construction, and with the savings of years and the experience gained we formed the 'Ouzumi Construction Company'."

Kiyoshi took another long drink from his glass, and stretched to set it down on the table, then continued.

"...but unlike Itomori, this is Tokyo, so we need to think big. And not just think about Tokyo. Now we have all of Japan as a possibility, and we think we can do much bigger things right, Gondō?"

"Of course, that's the idea. Aiming for jobs that go much further. Much bigger than what we did in Gifu, although..." Ozamu looked somewhat thoughtfully at Taki, "it strikes me that Teshigawara-san has told you so much about us. Usually that boy is quite secretive about his past. But I don't remember seeing or hearing about you before. You're not from Itomori, are you, Tachibana-san?"

It was only then that Taki realized that perhaps he had crossed the line with his comment.

"Eh, it is true, Teshi-gawara-san is not the most loquacious. I was born, and have lived all my life in Tokyo. It's just that, the Itomori incident... it marked a before and after for me. And I've always been very interested in the history of that place. I think that's the reason why I even decided to become a landscape architect. So, excuse me if I touched on that topic, but for me it's an honor to meet people who come from that place," Taki finished, bowing.

The two men looked at each other somewhat uncomfortably but amused by the situation.

"Well, it's weird to be praised for something you have no control over, like getting a rock dropped on your head from space," Kiyoshi said, smiling and shrugging. "And I'm glad you hold people like us in such high regard, although if it weren't for Mayor Miyamizu, I guess we'd just be a fuzzy statistic in some book of spectacular disasters."

Taki looked at him and felt himself pale before what, unbeknownst to them, was now a clear recollection in his memory. But his interviewers apparently did not notice.

"Anyway, but let's not talk about sad events of the past," Kiyoshi continued, "and let's concentrate on work issues. The fact is, we need an architect. And a landscape architect is an unexpected advantage. There's a project we want to carry out, which we learned about recently, and it involves supporting, upgrading and maintaining critical infrastructure in multiple state-controlled parks throughout Japan. And the project means providing services for the next 10 years. The company that wins this project will have guaranteed work. But, to win the competition, the winning company must demonstrate that it has the necessary skills, resources and ideas, and for that the government came up with a plan to repair and modernize several parks in Nagoya, as a matter of a test. That's just the kickoff. And that's where we need a good architect."

"But all this is just a possibility for now," continued Ozamu Gondō, taking the floor. "We have to present a good project, and if we win Nagoya's proposal, we'd need to carry it out perfectly. And if we do it well, the gates of heaven will open for us. But there is no project yet, there is no guaranteed work yet, and so the starting pay for our architect would be the basic one, but with a guaranteed contract bonus if we win Nagoya's proposal. And then work also secured by contract for 10 years in case of success in the national proposal. So, are you interested to know more about it, Tachibana-san?"

Taki leaned back in the armchair. Nagoya. It was a city with numerous parks. And it was the entry point to Gifu. But it was more than 250 kilometers away from Tokyo. As a landscape architect he knew that Japan was by far more than just Tokyo, so he always knew that such a challenge could be his future career path, but also the beginning of his farewell to the capital.

"Yes, I think I'm interested. Very much so," said Taki confidently.

"Excellent answer," replied Kiyoshi. "But then we need to know what you have done and what you are capable of. And while I have more years of experience than Gondō-san, he is the one who is going to interview you to see the technical details, Tachibana-san. The theoretical stuff I leave to the experts, like Gondō-san, who after the comet got a degree in civil engineering. And by the way, did you check the mail with the presentation material that Tachibana-san sent us?" said Kiyoshi looking at his partner.

"Yes, indeed," he replied, "and I have many questions for him."

Taki swallowed hard. Even though they were in the living room of a random apartment, and it was far from looking like an office or a formal company, Taki realized that they were really serious. He grabbed his bag and pulled out a folder loaded with drawings, papers and sketches, and laid them on the table.

"Well, tell me then what you want to know about me or my work," said Taki, smiling at both of them. "I guess fate brought me to you after all."

§

Mitsuha waited impatiently for the small electric kettle to finish heating the water. Alone in the mini cafeteria on the fourth floor of the Finance Department, she felt she urgently needed to have some hot beverage to relax.

But her uneasiness was not only due to the device's delay. As she paced back and forth, she checked the messaging app again on her phone: her last message to Taki saying "Cheer up" still remained unread, just as it had been for the past three hours.

How was Taki doing, had he succeeded in his interview? She wanted to talk to him, but she didn't want to interrupt him either, so the internal conflict made her even more uneasy.

Not knowing what else to do, she stood in the middle of the small coffee shop and closed her eyes with the phone in her hands in prayer position as she pleaded in her mind, "Taki, you have to succeed. I know you can do it."

"Mitsuha, are you alright?" said a female voice near her, which made her jump in surprise.

"Oh... Kana, sorry, you scared me. Yes, I'm fine," replied Mitsuha, a bit disturbed at being caught in that position.

The newcomer, a dark-haired executive in her 30s, wearing a smart light blue two-piece suit, looked at Mitsuha quizzically.

"Ah, you looked worried, I thought something bad had happened to you."

"It's nothing. It's just that I'm waiting for an important message, and it's been delayed..."

"Ah, I see..." said Mitsuha's companion as she looked questioningly at the kettle, calculating how much water it contained. "I've come for a cup of tea. Would you like one too?"

"Yes, indeed, that's what I was coming to, thank you very much," said Mitsuha.

The executive took two cups from the shelf and as she prepared the concoctions, she glanced sideways at Mitsuha, who had been leaning on the bar with her eyes lost on the floor.

"I knew your presentation today went very well," said Kana, to break the silence.

"Yes, it went very well indeed. I received a lot of questions, and there was a lot of interest in the proposal," Mitsuha replied with a smile, looking more animated.

"Wow, we're having a women's meeting here?" interrupted a second woman, a blonde in her twenties dressed as a secretary, who entered the cafeteria smiling.

"Oh, good afternoon, Jessica-san," Kana greeted the newcomer. "No, I was just preparing a mid-afternoon tea. Do you know Miyamizu-san?"

"I think we've met a couple of times. I'm Jessica Powell, I work on the management floor, nice to meet you," said the blonde.

"I am Miyamizu Mitsuha, pleased to meet you," said Mitsuha, giving a small bow.

"Do you work in the same team as Kana-san?"

"Yes, we are both from finance. Powell-san, I'm surprised you speak Japanese so well," said Mitsuha.

"You can call me Jessica. And my family came to Japan when I was a teenager," said the blonde, "so it's not that surprising…".

The blond woman turned to Kana, arms akimbo, and scolded her friend with a mischievous smile.

"Hey! Kana-shin, I was looking for you, are we going out tonight? You-never-answered-me…"

"Oh, right, right, I had forgot it," Kana replied, a bit embarrassed. "Did you find out what that bar was the other day, the one your friend mentioned?"

"Yes, I asked him, it's about 25 minutes from here. And he said he might be going with some other friends of his," Jessica replied, giving Kana a wink.

Kana stared at Mitsuha for a couple of seconds in thought.

"Mitsuha, would you like to join us for some drinks today? Maybe you can meet some handsome boys."

"Yes! That's a good idea, it's always better to go in a big group of women, the fishing gets better with quantity, ha, ha Let's go, Miyamizu-san!" said Jessica.

"Oh... well... thank you... but I've already arranged to go out with someone today," excused Mitsuha.

Kana looked first at Mitsuha in surprise, and then at Jessica as if asking for help before that answer that she thought was unexpected from Mitsuha. But the blonde returned her gaze without understanding what the problem was.

"Wait, you have a date with a boy?" said Kana, incredulous.

"Well, yes, that's right," Mitsuha replied sheepishly.

"Really? Well, that's a surprise. Well done, Mitsuha! Is it someone from the office?" Kana asked, excited, but lowering her voice, as if it were a secret.

"No, he's an old friend I met up with recently."

"Ah, an old high school boyfriend?" said Jessica, also excited, looking at Mitsuha with a mischievous smile.

"Well, not exactly, but it's as if it was," Mitsuha replied. She felt that was a good way of explaining it, since ultimately both Taki and she had gone to their respective high schools, albeit in each other's bodies.

"Well, but don't go bringing it to the office, because you might get in trouble with building security, ha, ha," said Jessica, amused, waiting to see the faces of her two coworkers at the gossip she brought.

But Mitsuha blanched.

"I beg your pardon?" said Mitsuha, embarrassed as she felt herself cringe at what seemed to her to be a veiled accusation.

"Didn't you hear it?" asked Jessica, amused. "In the management department, earlier this week, there was a whole brouhaha over something that happened over the weekend. It seems some colleague brought her crazy yakuza boyfriend into the building, and the guy was holding her hostage or something."

"Really?" asked Kana, puzzled. "And how did you know that?"

"You know that as a secretary one sometimes hears things. And there was a parade of people in the office on Monday, including your boss, Morita-san, and the head of security. One of the guards who was around told me that they were stepping up their surveillance because of what had happened. They're sure they want to catch that delinquent."

"No, no, that's not true!" Mitsuha protested without thinking, feeling that Taki was being insulted.

Jessica and Kana turned around in surprise at the unexpected reaction of Mitsuha who, realizing what she had said, only managed to turn as red as a tomato and shrink even more on herself, looking at the floor.

"Wait, do you know what happened?" asked Kana incredulously.

Mitsuha didn't want to say anything else, she could hardly look at the women back, and their inquisitive gaze inhibited her.

Suddenly an idea crossed the mind of the blonde, who was dumbfounded by the sudden revelation.

"Hey, don't tell me... that childhood friend of yours... is the last weekend's yakuza?"

Mitsuha felt her face go from red to pale in a second. She hadn't expected the weekend incident to keep bringing up coattails, and it had never crossed her mind that there was gossip circulating throughout the company, about Taki and her. For a fleeting instant she felt the desire to deny it, or to lie her way out of it. But she immediately felt that would be betraying Taki. He was not a criminal. Nor was she. In the end, adrenaline forced her to the only possible response, and that was to defend her boy.

"In fact... I..." Mitsuha became embarrassed, but took a deep breath of air, and after a deep sigh, she did her best, and looked the women straight in the eye. "I was the girl from the weekend. And I came to the office with my friend on Saturday morning, but to clear up a misunderstanding. He's innocent, and he's not a criminal!"

The two women looked at each other dumbfounded at the surprising revelation.

"But then, did he really kidnap you? The guard told me he was an extortionist or something who had been arrested," asked Jessica, not believing Mitsuha was the heroine, or the victim, of the gossip she was carrying.

"No!" protested Mitsuha vehemently. "That's just what I'm telling you. I went out with him on Friday afternoon, and I was cut off because my cellphone was dead, and my boss thought something bad had happened to me, but I was fine, it was nothing, and that's why I came on Saturday, to clear everything up. And it is true that the company's security team made a tremendous mess, although later they explained us why, and I understand that that is their job... but everything was cleared up! Absolutely everything! And nobody was arrested or anything."

"Wow... that friend of yours must be worth it, if you're willing to defy even the police, ha ha," laughed Jessica, relaxing. "Hey, Kana-shin, and no one on your team knew about this?"

"I don't know, I hadn't heard anything about that story before..."

"Please stop it!" said Mitsuha obfuscating. "I had no idea that Saturday's incident was being the small talk of the office, but nothing really happened, and there is no problem with me or my friend. Jessica-san, please don't tell anyone about what I told you, and don't keep spreading that story. Do you understand me? Ultimately, it's something from my personal life, and that's why I want it to stay that way."

"Calm down, Mitsuha, and you're right, it's wrong to spread gossip if it's going to affect you," Kana interjected, trying to calm the mood. And then she looked angrily at her blonde friend, "And besides, it's not even the way you understood it, Jessica-san! Do you agree to cut that rumor?"

"Well, it's okay... I just thought it was something unusual and funny, and I didn't know it was one of you. I apologize, Miyamizu-san, and I promise not to tell anyone about this again."

Mitsuha gave a long sigh from the sudden tension. She looked at the women, and decided it was best to close the subject.

"It's okay, I accept your apology, Jessica-san. I understand that you didn't quite know what had happened, and I know you didn't mean to make me feel bad on purpose."

"Well, then everything is clear!" said Kana, relieved. "I hope all goes well with your friend tonight, and I'll take care of punishing Jessica-san and soaking her tongue in alcohol, ha, ha."

"Hey!" Jessica protested at her friend's pique. "Look, I'll buy you the first round for today, to get out of punishment. And then let's see if we can find some guys worth paying for our bad deeds."

Mitsuha and Kana laughed at the blonde's strange occurrence, when suddenly Mitsuha's phone on top of the counter was activated with an incoming call.

Mitsuha almost stumbled as she tried to take it to see the identity of the caller. It was Taki. Her first impulse was to answer the call immediately, but she looked at the two women watching her intently, and felt uncomfortable enough to vent even more about her relationship with Taki; and more so in front of the sharp-tongued blonde.

"Girls, I'm sorry, I have to take this call. Nice to meet you, Jessica-san. And I'll see you later, Kana."

And Mitsuha made her way out of the cafeteria at a brisk pace, but so anxious, that within a few meters she answered the call.

"Taki-kun? Are you okay..."

The two women stood in the kitchen for a few seconds in silence, surprised by the abruptness of Mitsuha's departure. They looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

"Wow, that girl is a special case, ha, ha," laughed Jessica.

"She's never had a boyfriend before, and look what she's in now. I've known her for a long time, and I still don't believe it."

"Could it have been her friend calling her?"

"It's possible. She said she was waiting for an important call. And by the way she looked at us and went out, it might have been him."

"Did you hear what she called him? I think she greeted him as 'Taki'"

"Eh, yes, I think I heard that. Hey, but you already promised to stop the gossip! If you keep playing that game, I'm really going to get mad at you!"

"Yes, yes, all right, Mommy! Don't keep scolding me!" said Jessica imitating a childish voice. "But… I wonder what kind of man that Taki is. If Miyamizu-san was able to create that ruckus on Saturday and she is able to defend a guy like that, like she did just now, he must be very handsome..."

"Who knows! Although I've always seen Miyamizu-san withdrawn when it comes to men," said Kana musingly. "In fact, I had asked her out for a drink before and she always declined my invitations. And now I was thinking of inviting her with us to help her, even though she took the lead, ha, ha!"

"That just makes me more curious. That guy must be quite a catch, then."

Kana sighed and shook her head from side to side in an act of surrender to her friend's crazy ideas. Then she noticed that the teacup she had served Mitsuha had been left abandoned on the counter.

"In any case, that friend must be very worthwhile because Mitsuha didn't even remember to take her tea..."

§

Taki arrived about ten minutes before 6 o'clock outside the building where Mitsuha worked. After the interview he had reached home to change clothes, and leave again with some time to spare, so he decided to stay there and wait for Mitsuha calmly.

He sat on the same bench where he had found Mitsuha on previous Friday, when they met the first time. That bench had become the de facto meeting point for him, as it was far enough away from the building and on the public road so as not to have to deal with the company's guards; the idea of getting closer than that to the building made him nervous, and the previous time he had waited for her there he could not help but feel somewhat uneasy, and in fact he had noticed a certain degree of attention and stares from the building's lobby, where he thought he perceived that he was being watched closely by the receptionist and the guards on duty that afternoon.

Mitsuha had reminded him that they had the company's permission to interact without suspicion, all from the mouth of Noriko Morita, the director of the department for which she worked, and that meant he could therefore go in and look for her if he wanted to, as could any member of an employee's family. But Taki declined the offer and promised her that he did not want to push his luck again unless it was an emergency.

So, reassured that he was right on time, and confident that he was away from unwanted security, he pulled out his cell phone. It was barely 4 minutes to 6 o'clock, and already some employees were leaving the building. Men and women dressed in elegant suits were leaving alone, others in small groups of two or three people chatting animatedly.

Taki thought about writing a message to Mitsuha to let her know that he was already outside, but then he regretted it, as he did not want to pressure her. He put his cell phone away and, as he happened to glance towards the building, his eyes suddenly caught sight of a young blonde woman behind the windows of the entrance hall, dressed in a light blue suit, and from her features no doubt a foreigner in her twenties. The woman was looking directly in his direction.

The woman's attentive gaze made him uncomfortable, but he thought that perhaps he was misreading the situation. Trying to conceal that he had noticed, he turned around looking behind him, perhaps hoping to find some reason other than himself that would explain why that blonde was looking in his direction. But he saw nothing peculiar, so somewhat nervously he turned back towards the building, catching a glimpse of the blonde retracing her steps and disappearing into the elevator hall.

Somewhat relieved by what he thought was just a misunderstanding or that he was being suggestible due to his own nervousness, he continued to sit and wait for his girl. He pulled out his cell phone again and began to check something on the web, when a message from Mitsuha came to him.

"I'm just finishing up here

I'll be out in a couple of minutes

Where are you?"

Taki responded with alacrity:

"I'm outside

Take your time

I'll wait for you."

Smiling to himself, he continued to concentrate on his phone when suddenly the sound of female heels near him caught his attention. He looked up and in surprise saw how the blonde woman he had seen earlier was walking towards him and was already a few meters away from him. This time she was closely followed by another slightly older woman, a black-haired Japanese woman who looked a little older than the blonde, maybe in her 30s, who was also watching him as she walked, although she couldn't hide her disturbance when she realized that Taki had seen them.

Taki tensed and almost reflexively stood up, not knowing what else to do, until the blonde stopped in front of him, looking him straight in the eye with an attractive smile.

"Hello, excuse me, are you waiting for someone from this building?" said the blonde in a clear Japanese that surprised Taki, indicating with her hand behind her back.

"Oh, yes, I'm waiting for someone," Taki replied, doing his best to hide his nervousness.

The blonde girl nodded cheerfully and looked at her companion next to her.

"Did you see? I told you it could be him."

"Yes, but..." replied her companion, showing some discomfort.

Taki was left with a thousand questions filling his head as to what was going on, but the blonde girl ignored her companion's protest and faced him again, always smiling.

"And, by any chance, are you Taki-san?"

Taki froze. Who were these women? Why did they know his name? Were they someone from the building's security? His mind kept spinning, but he played along a bit to find out what was going on.

"Yes, indeed, I am. Did you... did someone send you to find me?" Taki asked, suddenly thinking that perhaps Mitsuha had commissioned these women to contact him for some reason.

"Oh, no! No one sent us, don't worry," said the blonde, with a mischievous smile when she saw how nervous the boy was. "But I'm being very rude, and we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is Jessica Powell. Nice to meet you, Taki-san."

"And I am Noriyuki Kana," said the second woman, "I work with Mitsuha-san, she is my coworker."

Taki felt some of the tension he was building up leave him when he heard the name of the girl he was waiting for, but it also increased his strangeness.

"Excuse me. I am Tachibana Taki," said the boy, bowing. "It's a pleasure to meet you, but is she alright? Did something happen to Mitsuha?"

"No, nothing, she's fine..." said Kana, looking at her blonde friend, as if asking for help on what else to say.

"Yes, Miyamizu-san must be on her way out, I guess. But she was telling us about her special friend, and we were curious to meet you. Kana-san thought maybe it was a joke from Miyamizu-san, but I knew she wasn't lying," said Jessica, winking at Taki.

Taki looked at both women trying to decipher what they meant. What was the joke the blonde woman was talking about? Had Mitsuha revealed something to them?

"Oh, I see... but what did she tell you about me?" Taki wanted to probe, speaking in a reserved tone.

"Ah, don't ask us that, Taki-san, we don't want to be gossipy," said Jessica, with a laugh. Then she moved a little closer to Taki, as if to tell her a secret. "But she told us that you two were old friends, so I thought you must be someone pretty interesting if you could catch Miyamizu-san's attention. And from what I see your friend had you well hidden, ha, ha."

The blonde turned away from Taki and looked at Kana.

"How about asking him out?" she said to her friend.

"Well, if he wants to, I don't object," said Kana with a shrug.

The blonde turned to Taki and encouraged.

"What do you say, Taki-san? Kana and I were thinking of going for some drinks now. Would you like to join us? Of course, take Miyamizu-san with you. But that way we can all get to know you, right?"

Taki was for a second stunned by the surprise of the strange turn the conversation was taking.

"Well... I don't think it's a good idea," Taki tried to answer politely to get out of the situation.

"Oh, come on!" Jessica said with a reproachful face. "I know we can all have a great time! And you could also invite some of your friends to join us, don't you think?"

Taki opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off short when, looking toward the building, he saw Mitsuha standing in one piece at the exit door of the building. The girl was staring at him and the other women with a blank look on her face that made him feel ice go down his back.

Mitsuha tightly grasped the straps of the bag hanging from her shoulder, adjusted it, and started walking briskly toward them.

Kana noticed Taki's gaze and turned to look.

"Oh, Mitsuha-san is coming," she said to Jessica in a worried voice.

The two women took a couple of steps to the side, opening up the group, leaving Taki in the middle, until Mitsuha arrived and planted herself in front of Taki.

"Taki! Is everything all right?" Mitsuha said, looking Taki straight in the eyes.

"Hi Mitsuha! Yes, everything is fine," replied Taki, relieved by the girl's arrival, but puzzled by the attitude with which she had arrived. "Your friends introduced themselves and came over to talk to me."

"Hello again Miyamizu-san," said Jessica. "We saw this handsome guy and figured out he might be the friend you told us about, right, Kana?"

"Well, yes, Jessica saw him and we wanted to know if it was him," said Kana.

"And we were just telling him that we were going out for drinks, and that he and you could join us as well."

Mitsuha looked at the two women for a second, as if weighing them, and then looked at Taki. Then she took determined steps towards him, and stopped just inches away from the boy, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him towards her, giving him a kiss right on the mouth.

Taki was so shocked that he could do nothing except let himself be carried away by Mitsuha's unexpected and passionate kiss.

After a few seconds, Mitsuha opened her eyes and separated slightly from Taki, turning to face her office mates.

"I'm sorry, but Taki-kun is not available. My boyfriend and I have other plans for tonight, so it's better for you to go to that bar alone."

Jessica and Kana had gaped in surprise, watching the couple.

"Come on, Taki, we'd better go now, right?" said Mitsuha, looking at him with intensity as she took him by the hand.

"Well... that's right," said Taki reacting, "We have plans to make. It was nice to meet you, Powell-san, Noriyuki-san."

"See you tomorrow," Mitsuha said a little dryly, looking at the two women, and started to walk.

Taki gave a small nod to the women, and also started walking with Mitsuha, who began to pick up her pace, moving away from her coworkers.

Jessica and Kana stood motionless for several seconds, watching Taki and Mitsuha walk away, until they disappeared from sight around the corner. Then Jessica could not contain her laughter.

"But... what... was... that...? Ha, ha, ha, ha. Kana, you said your friend Miyamizu was shy around men, but that was intense!"

"I... I swear I had never seen her like that, so... determined and defiant, she even scared me!"

"Oh, yes, did you see how she looked at us? I think that guy is very handsome, but your friend won't forgive us if we get close to him again, ha, ha."

Another slightly older woman who was leaving the building approached Jessica and Kana, and questioned them.

"Hey, girls! Was that Miyamizu-san with you just now?"

Jessica and Kana turned to the newcomer.

"Well, of course it was her, did you see what happened?" asked Jessica.

"I thought I saw her kissing a guy in the street! Did I see something wrong?"

"No, that's exactly what happened," replied Kana.

"Well, well... And who was he?" asked the newcomer woman. "I didn't recognize him. Is he someone from the company?"

Jessica and Kana looked at each other for a second, as if thinking about how to respond.

"Well, that was Mitsuha-san's boyfriend. Tachibana Taki-san," Kana finally answered.

"She has a boyfriend now? In good time!" said the woman, turning in the direction where she had seen the couple leave, as if trying to see if they were still in sight.

"Yes, she's a lucky girl," said Jessica, sighing. "Next time I see her I'm going to ask her if her boyfriend has any friends as handsome as him, and see if she'll introduce us to them, ha, ha."

NEXT CHAPTER: "Life Plans"

To be published on October 1st. 2023