Chapter 11: End

"I'm over here!"

Taki looked around the busy train station until he saw me.

I waved and made my way towards him.

"There you are," he said.

He was bundled up in a winter coat with a gray scarf wrapped around his neck.

He looked at me for a moment before patting me on the head.

"Is something in my hair?" I asked, confused by his action.

"No," he laughed out loud. "You look very cute today."

"Oh," blood flooded to my cheeks. "Thanks."

"You look cute too," I said.

He looked away in an attempt to hide his blush.

I used his moment of shyness to grab his hand. "Let's go, we don't want to keep your friends waiting."

"They're not too far from the station," he answered.

True to his word, it took only a few minutes of walking before we got to the apartment.

"Hello and welcome!" a beautiful woman with long brown hair happily greeted us at the front door.

"Long time no see, Okudera-senpai," Taki greeted her with a smile.

"Taki-kun, it's been a while," she responded in kind.

Though it was my first time meeting her in person, she had a familiar vibe to when I first met Taki. It was hard to place what the feeling was as I peered at this attractive person. Her face was lightly touched with makeup, just enough to accentuate her natural beauty. Although she wore a simple pair of jeans and white blouse, I could tell she had great fashion sense. I can see why Taki had a crush on her.

She turned to look at me.

"So this is Mitsuha whom I've have heard so much about," she nodded her head and smiled. "It's so nice to finally meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Okudera-san." I replied with a smile.

"Please come in, the others are inside," she said.

"Taki! There you are!" a heavyset man with thick eyebrows greeted us in the hallway.

"Shinta! What's up?" Taki gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Nothing much," Shinta grinned. "I'm helping Tsukasa with cooking."

"Hello," Shinta greeted me. "You must be Mitsuha. My name is Shinta."

"Oh yes, Taki told me about you," I said. "How are you?"

"I hope Taki said good things about me," he laughed wholeheartedly.

We moved to the kitchen where a bespectacled man wearing an apron was ladling broth into each bowl.

"Tsukasa, how you been?" Taki asked.

"Nice to see you Taki," he pushed his glasses back as he worked. "Miki put me to work on making the soba."

"I can see that," he grinned.

"It was mostly me doing the work," Okudera retorted.

I stifled a giggle.

"Come sit down," she pulled up a chair. "We can chat while the guys are catching up."

"Alright."

"Your outfit is adorable," she complimented me.

"Thank you," I lowered my head. "I like your clothes too. You're very fashionable."

"Thanks!" she beamed. "It's probably because I work in an apparel chain, I'm privy to all the latest trends."

"That's cool!" I said enthusiastically. "Where do you work?"

"Chiba," she answered. "It's a bit far from here so I have a spare apartment over there, but on weekends I come back here to be with my husband."

"Is he the one in the kitchen cooking?" I asked.

"Yes, that's Tsukasa," she laughed.

"I also work in the fashion industry, but my branch is here in Tokyo."

"No way!" her eyes widened. "That's awesome."

"I've heard many good things about you from Taki," she said.

"He also said a lot about you too," I said. "You guys used to be co-workers at the Italian restaurant?"

"Yeah," she laughed. "We go way back."

"I was worried that he wasn't going to find someone to be with," she said. "But after meeting you, I don't need to be concerned anymore."

"I don't deserve such praise," I chuckled nervously.

"Nonsense," she waved her hand dismissively. "I can tell you're a good person."

"Also, if you want to know any embarrassing secrets about Taki, feel free to ask me," she gave me a wink.

"I beg your pardon?" Taki popped his head in the doorway.

"Nothing!" she called out.

I could not help but laugh at the comedic exchange.

"Alright, the food is ready!" Shinta shouted.

The men came in with steaming bowls of soba and placed them down on the table.

"Good work everyone," Okudera clapped her hands.

Tsukasa took his apron off and put it away before sitting down.

"Sorry, I didn't say hello to you earlier," Tsukasa reached out to shake my hand. "I'm Tsukasa."

"Pleased to meet you," I said.

Although Tsukasa looked like a serious person, his eyes were kind.

"We have quite the spread today," Shinta said proudly. "Fresh toshikoshi soba topped with wakame seaweed, fish cakes, green onions and seven spice."

"And plenty of alcohol," Taki added.

"Now this is a proper countdown party for New Year's Eve," Okudera said.

"Itadakimasu!" we said in unison.

"The soba is delicious!" I said after tasting the noodles.

"I'm happy you like it," Okudera said. "I was worried that we went overboard on the shichimi togarashi."

"No, the amount is perfect," I said.

"Taki told us that you're not originally from Tokyo?" Tsukasa asked.

"Yes, that's correct. I used to live in Itomori in the Gifu prefecture."

"Itomori?" Okudera's eyes widened, "Was that the village that got hit by a meteorite?"

"Yeah, that one," Taki answered.

"Oh… sorry," she looked at me apologetically.

"It's alright," I shook my head. "I get that a lot."

"Hmm," Shinta looked over at Taki. "Didn't you guys go there one time?"

"Yeah," Taki answered.

"You were trying to search for something…" Tsukasa said. "And I remembered you were quite desperate to find it."

"I remembered I had to make up work for Taki so I missed the trip," Shinta said glumly.

"So did you find what you were looking for?" Okudera asked Taki.

He shrugged. "It's a long story."

Taki explained to his friends about all the strange coincidences we found after meeting me and the theories he and I came up with.

When he finished, everyone shook their heads in disbelief.

"So let me get this straight…" Okudera began. "You guys somehow recognized each other and found a ton of similarities but there was a mismatch of when it occurred… is that right?"

"More or less," I said.

"Sounds like a great sci-fi setup to me," Tsukasa took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I'm still trying to process everything," Shinta put his hands on his head.

"Trust me, it doesn't make sense to us either," Taki said.

"Oh well," Okudera shrugged. "The past isn't as important as you guys being happy together. That's what truly matters."

"I agree," Tsukasa nodded his head in agreement. "This is the first time I've seen Taki this cheerful in all the years I've known him."

"What?" Taki frowned at him. "I'm always happy."

"I think he means happier," Shinta explained. "As in 'I got a girlfriend and life is great' happier."

Everyone around the table broke into raucous laughter at Shinta's words.

"That was a good one," Okudera wiped tears of mirth from her eyes.

She raised her glass. "Let's go for another round of drinks to celebrate the New Year!"

The next morning, we got up early to meet up with Yotsuha at Meiji Shrine for hatsumode.

"You guys sure are late," she said.

"Sorry, we were drinking late last night," Mitsuha apologized.

"Happy New Year's, Yotsuha-chan," I said.

She raised her eyebrow.

"Yotsuha-chan?" she repeated.

"It sounds cute," Mitsuha grinned.

"Well… okay," she puffed out her cheeks. "But it's weird coming from Taki."

"Hm, there's already a large crowd of people here," Mitsuha said. "Let's go pay our respects."

Before we entered the shrine, we purified ourselves at the temizuya.

I threw a coin into the slotted box and rang the bell, then bowed twice and clapped my hands two times before closing my eyes and prayed. When I finished, I bowed one last time to complete my prayer, then waited for the others.

"Alright, now let's leave before it gets too crowded," Yotsuha said.

We took the train back to the apartment where their grandmother and Yotsuha lived.

I could not help but feel a bit nervous. This was the first time meeting their grandma.

Yotsuha took out the keys and unlocked the door.

"Grandma is probably resting in the living room," she walked in.

"Are you nervous about meeting my grandma?" Mitsuha asked.

"I'm not nervous."

"Then why are you clenching your fists?"

"Oh."

She took my hands in hers. "Don't worry, it'll be okay."

"I'll wait till you guys are done being lovey-dovey before we go see Grandma," Yotsuha crossed her arms.

The bedroom door suddenly opened and an elderly lady wearing a kimono peeked out.

"Hello," she said.

"Hey Grandma," Yotsuha went to her. "Sorry if we woke you up."

"I was already awake."

She turned her head and saw me.

"You're Taki-kun?" she asked.

The way she scrutinized me reminded me of my first meeting with Yotsuha.

"Yes," I stepped forward and bowed my head. "I'm pleased to meet you, Obaasan. Thank you for inviting me to your home to spend the New Year's."

She adjusted her glasses and looked at me carefully.

"Haven't we met before?"

"Uh, I don't think so?"

The sisters exchanged a puzzled look but said nothing.

"You must have confused him for someone else," Mitsuha said to her grandma. "This is the first time you met him."

"Perhaps," she replied. "Let's continue our discussion in the living room."

Though she used a walking stick, her gait was steady and purposeful as she led us to the living room.

I sat down in the kotatsu, while Grandma sat down opposite of me and put the stick next to her.

"Is the food ready yet?" she asked Yotsuha.

"Yes," she replied. "I'll go get it."

"I'll help too," Mitsuha said.

While the sisters were in the kitchen, their grandma continued to inspect me.

Feeling very self-conscious, I put my hands on my knees and stared at the table.

After several excruciatingly long minutes, the sisters came back with the food. Mitsuha was put down the ozouni and divided them into separate bowls while Yotsuha unstacked the osechi boxes and laid them out on the table.

"Yotsuha has spoken to me about you," Grandma said finally.

"She did?" I asked.

"Yes, and Mitsuha as well. So much so that I wanted to meet you in person."

Her eyes twinkled and her mouth curled into a tiny smile.

"Mitsuha chose well."

Mitsuha's mouth opened and she nearly spilled the soup.

"Thank you for your kind words," I lowered my head.

"You think he's better than those omiai partners Sis had in the past?" Yotsuha wondered.

"That I don't know," Grandma answered. "But I do know that Mitsuha is very happy."

"Do you enjoy being with him?" she asked Mitsuha.

"Yes, very much so," she answered.

"Then I don't see a problem," Grandma said.

"If Grandma says so," Yotsuha said. "I'm still going to look out for Sis."

Grandma pulled back the sleeves of her kimono and picked up her chopsticks.

"Please, help yourself," she said to me.

"Thank you," I said. "It all looks delicious."

Each of the trays had separate compartments with a different type of food. There were sweet rolled omelets, candied sardines, herring roe, various types of pickled vegetables, fish cakes, simmered shrimp, and so much more.

"You can thank my granddaughters," Grandma said. "They insisted on making everything from scratch instead of buying it at the store."

"The store-bought ones aren't as good or healthy for you, Grandma," Mitsuha said.

"So you say," she said.

"You guys are amazing," I told the sisters.

"Thanks," Mitsuha smiled.

"It wasn't much," Yotsuha replied.

I picked up a piece of toasted mochi from my bowl of ozouni with my chopsticks and bit into it.

"Oh, you wear a kumihimo," Grandma pointed out.

I finished chewing and answered. "Yes, Mitsuha made it for me."

"I assume she also told you about our history?"

"Yes she did."

"Good," she closed her eyes in content. "Now I can rest easy knowing that my granddaughters will carry on our legacy."

"Except we don't have a shrine," Yotsuha said.

"As long as you continue to weave the threads and practice the kagura, it will be enough for the time being."

"More importantly," Grandma looked at Mitsuha and me. "I hope I live long enough to see great-grandchildren."

Mitsuha blushed. "I'm sure you will."

"You never know at this age."

"Don't say that, Grandma," Yotsuha said. "You'll live to be over a hundred."

Grandma laughed gently and patted Yotsuha's head.

"We shall see."

When we finished our meal, it was time to go home.

"Thank you for your hospitality," I said to Grandma. "I don't want to take up too much of your time, so we'll be taking our leave now."

She nodded. "It was my pleasure."

She picked up her walking stick and, with Yotsuha's assistance, followed us to the entrance.

"Thank you for inviting me over for New Year's," I bowed.

"Taki-kun," Grandma said.

"Yes?" I raised my head.

She looked at me intently before speaking.

"You're not dreaming anymore."

Author's Note:

I want to take a moment to thank you for your continued support of this fanfiction remake. I hope you are enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it. The decision to rewrite stemmed from the fact that in the span of three years, there has been additional information provided by other works such as Tenki no Ko and director interviews that gave me more to work with. Thus I am fleshing out the story as much as possible with more interactions and dialogue compared to the previous work. As always, I strive to adhere as close to the source material as possible and respect the cultural backdrop of the story. To those who have read the previous version, be rest assured that the story will play out the same way but in much greater depth and detail. I expect it to be 25 chapters in total. As such, I will be taking a short break to plan out the storyboard. To those who give their precious time to write a review, thank you. I read every single one and usually respond back via PM. Your feedback is important and lets me know that I am heading the right direction.

- Alyena

P.S. I enjoy coming up with witty chapter titles.