Inexplicable romance
A fanfic based on the moving story of "Kimi no na wa" ("Your name") whose two main bigwigs, Taki Tachibana and Mitshua Myamizu, go on an unprecedented journey of self-discovery, where the love they feel for each other seems to come out of a dream too good to be real... Something seems to be missing from the moment they interact for the first time, as if they had gone into a machine to erase memories of their relationship and destiny had taken the time to bring them back together, in the style of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" starring Jim Carrey. But something much more complex awaits them, from swapping bodies to time travel, things they both did but forgot. The two could be content with the gift of Musubi, who brought them back together after years of misunderstood anguish, but no, something was missing in their love: a past. As I often say, there is no bright future without true knowledge of the past, and the couple sensed that they had a past even without knowing if they had it at all. And the same intuition that made them find and love each other is the same intuition that tells them that there is something more than a happy coincidence of love at first sight. And until they discover these lost connections, tranquility will not reign no matter how much they want it. I hope you enjoy reading.
Chapter 1- Taki and Mitshua
Taki and Mitshua, after looking at each other on the stairs, both go in opposite directions as if the head had won the heart after it had made them meet again. But Taki, as if it were a fight against fate, and someone who is not afraid to explore the unknown, turned to the girl who was already leaving on his back and asked her if she knew her from anywhere. The girl turned her back with a bright and hopeful look, the duties she had, the fear and frustration that ran through her suddenly disappeared, so she answered:
–Yes, I know you from somewhere too! - she replied emotionally as if she was thanking the heavens that the boy had asked the question she wanted to ask so much, but didn't have the courage to ask it.
After Mitshua's affirmative answer, both Taki and she felt an unwavering synchronous instinct to ask their names, as if their lives depended on it:
–What is your name? They both asked, speaking in a loud register at the same time.
They both looked on in amazement at such a strange coincidence, and after a few seconds of silence they both burst out laughing. After all, how likely is it that two people, supposedly meeting for the first time, would ask the same question at the same time? The implication of this is not only the coincidence of the timing of a speech, but everything that led to it, from the first meeting of glances on separate trains, to the sudden desire of the two strangers to want to meet without a single memory to guide them. Only the heart, a gut feeling, something they felt they couldn't explain guided them. After the laughter of the unusual moment, both look at each other more seriously, as if trying to orient themselves in a place they did not know. After a few seconds of silence staring at each other, Taki threw the ball first:
–My name is Taki, Tachibana Taki, and yours? - answered.
–My name is Mitshua, Myamizu Mitsha. - she replied with unusual confidence.
The moment they both exchanged their names, tears began to flow from the corner of their eyes as if they had rediscovered the love of their youth that they had never surpassed years later. But at the time they were total unknown. Taki continued to lead the investigation:
–Are you sure we already meet somewhere, I don't know, at a university or a wedding party? He asked wide-eyed.
–I don't think so, I don't remember seeing your face at any event," Mitshua said in a thoughtful tone, "But just out of curiosity, how old are you?"
–I... I'm 22," Taki replied, embarrassed to note that the woman might be older.
–Well, and I'm 25. Three years apart, it's almost impossible for us to have been college classmates. When you joined, I had just finished the course," Mitshua added.
Apparently, Mitshua's defensiveness disappeared, to the point that she didn't even care that the other already knew her age. She got into Taki's investigative spirit, and with that they both forgot about their routines as time went on. Taki continued:
–It's unlikely indeed, but tell me, did you study at the same college as me in Tokyo? I studied at the agronomist," Taki said a little hopefully.
–No, although I studied at the University of Tokyo, in my case it was in the economics faculty, very far away," Mitshua replied promptly.
–Well, if it wasn't, then I don't know. And I haven't met any of Myamizu's family members at family weddings either," Taki said with his head down, "But if you don't mind, tell me, where are you from?" Are you from Tokyo? - he asked curiously.
–I... well, I'm from Gifu Prefecture, over there to Hida's side – the girl hesitated, she didn't like to tell anyone that she was from Itomori because she didn't want to be called a "comet girl". But with that handsome unknown boy she wanted to tell the truth completely, but she saw it as the duty of her rationality to control the more than uncontrolled emotions at that moment.
–Curious, I once traveled to these parts, there to Itomori to look for something I don't remember. My memories of that time are hazy, but I remember the small village being close to the Hida Mountains. Unfortunately I visited it 3 years after the comet, strange, isn't it? Have you ever visited Itomori when it was intact? From the documentation and images I found, it was a beautiful village. - Taki said nostalgicly.
–Wait... Have you been there? - Mitshua was in shock - Well, I've never really visited Itomori... Because I'm from Itomori! - Mitshua said, feeling that it was impossible for there to be a better person outside of her circles to tell her that.
–You... Are you from there? Taki tried to confirm, who turned pale at the revelation, as if he were seeing a ghost.
–Yes I am, I forcibly left in 2013 for reasons you should know. Who knows if this thing was me you were looking for, but you were about three years late, I had been in Tokyo for a long time," Mitshua said in a bold tone that only shows a few times with her best friend Sayaka. It seemed that she had already accepted that this boy was special to her in some way.
–Look... Looking for you? - those words resounded in the depths of his heart without knowing why, growing a blush on his cheeks - In fact, I don't know for what other reason I would have spent my savings to visit a destroyed distant village. - Taki liked to think about the idea that she would be the reason for his search, no matter how stupid and absurd that idea was, such a beautiful and kind girl associated with the place he has come to love inexplicably seems to fit the pieces of a puzzle, totally random in his mind, but logical in his heart.
Mitshua began to navigate her mind with those words, something in her memory suddenly surged like a flash of lightning:
–No... You're not the only one who has made a long journey neglecting your duties. I also did it, to Tokyo, to look for something or someone, that I don't remember. The only thing I know is that I cried a lot and even asked my grandmother to cut my hair, and I only know that thanks to my sister... Have you always lived in Tokyo? - Mitshua asked, looking up her eyes and looking at Taki expectantly.
–Yes, I've always lived here. - Taki looked up at her at that revelation as well. Had he met her on a train before? Or even better, were their crazy trips to look for each other? But something didn't quite match him, she must have made this trip in 2013 or earlier, there was no way they were looking for each other, if he was in 2016, maybe looking for some ghost in a deserted village. "When did you make this trip?" - just to confirm the obvious deduction, as if he was trying a different answer.
–I made this trip the day before the comet disaster, on October 3, 2013. Bizarre, isn't it? I never understood the strange timing of this trip... Did you happen to travel in October? Maybe you might have seen some documentary at the time that fascinated you. - Mitshua was conflicting with herself, on the one hand she wanted to vent the strange mysteries with this stranger who seemed to have an important connection to them, but on the other hand she thought it was unwise to expose her life in that way, even more things that made her seem crazy, and so she also tried to find more pragmatic explanations to be able to close the matter.
–Yes, I did travel in October, two weeks after the anniversary of the disaster. But I swear I was never interested in the disaster before, it wasn't until after the trip that I started watching documentaries about Itomori, looking for anything that showed any image of the village as it was before. It was as if I had lived there in another life, although I don't believe in such things... - Taki denies Mitshua's logical deduction, trying not to kill a subject of which he never had answers, and that he has always sought them without success. The girl in front of him is the closest he's ever had to meeting them.
–Well... if we go that way, what happened to me is much stranger – replied Mitshua opening the game – As I had told you, I traveled to Tokyo, a voyage that took about 6 hours only the one way trip, and that made a hole in my savings. But what happened the next day was far more bizarre. Look, remember the circumstances of the comet and how all the people were saved? - Mitshua asked, not wanting to run the risk of the person to whom she is going to tell this not understanding the context, and thinking that she is making it up or hallucinating.
–I... As far as I know, - Taki paused for a moment, to organize his thoughts and search for the memories of his obsession with Itomori, - I think there was an emergency exercise just before the comet crashed. If I'm not mistaken, the town's deputy mayor took credit for saving the town even if his decision seemed crazy. What adds even more mystery is that Itomori's electrical substation was blown up 1 hour before the comet crashed, perhaps the reason the sub-mayor made the emergency evacuation - Taki paused to breathe - Anyway, the newspapers and news sites didn't stop for a month to invent new conspiracy theories, at the time I didn't call them, but in 2016 I searched the archived news of the time and realized that I had missed a huge party," Taki concluded.
–Okay, I'm glad you're in the know, - Mitshua sighed in relief, - So how am I going to say this... well... It wasn't the sub-prefect who came up with the idea to evacuate the town, or somehow predicted the comet's fall. Someone predicted the comet, yes, but that person was... me - pointing at herself, embarrassed - I don't remember how I did it, but my friends told me that I had been warning the whole town since early in the morning about the impending destruction of Itomori. As I already said, I don't remember that, only the part where I alerted my... - Mitshua paused saw that she forgot an important detail - Sorry I didn't tell you, my father was the sub-prefect, Myamizu Toshiki in case you remember. So, as I had been saying, the only part I remember was that I gave the alert in the last minutes to my father, the sub-prefect, and for some inexplicable reason believed me and followed up with the evacuation order to Itomori's High School, on the opposite side of the impact crater. - Mitshua was finally able to tell her merit to someone in saving the town against the official version that was her father, who tried at all costs until almost the last minute to cancel the evacuation order that her friends prepared, the only ones who trusted her inexplicable premonition and were with her until the end.
Taki stood in silence for several seconds, looking up and down not just any person from Itomori, but the one who supposedly saved the city with a prophetic warning, something he thought only existed in ancient Japanese legends. He looked at her as a being of light, as if it wasn't enough to have made him forget the emptiness he had in his heart, she also saved an entire village! But coming back with his feet on the ground, he wanted to better understand the veracity of this story:
–It's an extraordinary story, one that I've never seen on any news portal. But I'm going to believe you, I don't think you're the kind of person who seeks to take credit either, and I don't think you're going to expose yourself to a stranger for a false story that the public doesn't know about, - he paused, thinking that he made a judgment too harsh out loud, - It's hard to believe, but from our conversation I feel that we both went through inexplicable situations, and then in the same places where we live (even if in separate times)," he stammered in that last part.
–Hey! Did you think that about me? - gestured Mitshua a little offended.
–No! I've already told you, I believe you, we're in the same boat! Taki said as he flinched as if she was going to hit him, even though he was much stronger than her.
–Well... - Mitshua sighed. In this time of sighing and breaking the mood of conversation, she came out of her trance, and realized that she was hopelessly late for work. She had to dispatch it now – Look, I loved this conversation, but I'm late for work. - she said annoyed.
–Were you late? Forgive me, it's all my fault! If you want, I can come to your work to try to get them to hold me accountable and not to you," Taki was grieving with regret that he had made a lady late, even though it was her will too.
–No! You don't have to. I'm to blame! – trying to calm Taki down – Look, I'm going to have to go to work alone and we're going to have to separate paths, you're going to go to what you were going to do.
"Separate paths", "you go to what you were going to do". Those words frozen his body. He wanted to spend more time with her, maybe never be separated from her, and he didn't understand why, but they spoke like intimate people, even though they had just met a few minutes ago. Minutes... time! How much time has passed? According to their estimates, more than half an hour. Poor Mitshua! She had to go to work, while he just had to go look for a job, nothing with an appointment like her. He felt stupid, but at the same time he didn't want to be separated from her. Then he had an idea:
–How about we exchange contacts? To continue this conversation with more time? Taki came forward, confident that it was the only correct option.
–I... I would like it very much! - replied Mitshua blushing. How did she not remember this before? To be separated from that man without being able to see him again would be one of the most painful things that would have happened to her in retrospect.
–Fantastic, I'll give you my contact now. - Taki took out a notepad, wrote down her number, tore up the sheet and gave it to her, - Here it is. - gave to her the sheet enthusiastically.
The next moment, he handed her the notepad so she could write down her number. But just as she was putting down her pen to write it, a sudden unknown shiver ran up his spine, and the moment she began to write he began to shed tears, and an involuntary gesture of his hand held her hand that was writing her contact, stopping halfway through.
–Eh?! What's wrong with you? Why are you preventing me from writing my contact to you? Mitshua asked, perplexed by his gesture and look of desperation.
–I don't know... I want you to write the contact, but something inside me not! - Taki sniffled.
–If you don't want my contact... - said Mitshua with her head down, but frightened by his sudden outburst.
–Yes, I do! - Taki almost shouted, as he manages to take his own hand off Mitshua's hand with the pen - Now you can write the rest, I won't stop you! - tried to calm Mitshua down.
–Okay, here it is. No more remote-guided handoutbreaks, okay? If it had gone somewhere else, I would not have blamed your hand, but yourself! - warned Mitshua defensively - But it breaks my heart to see you in this sadness at a moment that seems important to you, to us... Well, enough of the mysteries, there's your notepad, I have to go, - Mitshua said nervously.
–Than... Thank you for showing up, and for forgiving me for this outbreak, I hope we can talk with more time. - Taki said it wiping away tears and relieved, as if what he feared had apparently disappeared.
–Thank you, me. I thought I was making a bear figure on the street in vain, almost breaking my shoes. I want to see you later. Bye, kisses – saying goodbye to Taki.
–Bye, and I hope to see you again too, kisses to you – replicating Mitshua's farewell, very moved.