Chapter 1: Monochrome

Author's note: Please go watch the movie before venturing further. Kimi no Na Wa (Your Name) is a great movie. This story will spoil it. It is also my first fan-fiction, so criticism and advice would be helpful. I'd like to thank my friend, Dan, for helping me out with this.

A wet sensation coursed down the sides of my nose. My eyes annoyingly itched as my inner curtains drew, unveiling the scene above me.

White ceiling.

It's a habit of mine that developed a few years ago, a familiar feeling that greeted me each and every day. Water flowed out my tear ducts—as if it was a fall— flowing with its brimming liquid. Like a car's wiper cleaning its windscreen, my right hand brushed my tears away as is routine. To be honest, even with all my intellect, there was no particular or specific reason why this should occur. That's what it seemed to me.

Nothing more, nothing less than a strange habit.

Shirt, pants, belt, tie, suit, socks and boxers, I thought to myself; all the necessities that one would need when job hunting.

Dragging my body to the bathroom, my vision peered into the glass right in front of me. A mirror. It was essentially a fact that mirror gazing was a weird habit that my consciousness picked up, similar to me crying for no reason. Nothing popped up in my mind could even come close to explaining this strange phenomenon, which has befallen me the past few years. However, whenever these bizarre habits occur, a peculiar feeling slides into my veins and distorts human senses. A feeling of longing for something that suddenly disappeared from my life. A piece of myself, of my soul was gone and a large hole in its place.

I'm sure of it…

The hands of the clock kept ticking, striking its bell to signal the hour.

'No use over-thinking this,' I remarked to myself, acknowledging that wasting any more time would make me late for the forthcoming interview. 'Better get ready.'

It was over in a jiffy and crept myself to the front door, whilst putting on my leather shoes. The shoes were polished and shone brightly, unlike myself.

"Good luck, Taki," reaffirmed my encouraging dad in the living room, albeit in a monotone voice that felt like it wasn't sincere at all. "Oh, and you have bread crumbs on your mouth."

'Blast it,' I knew something was off. Though a simple tissue paper was enough to fix this as the door behind me closed.

'They aren't hiring me, are they?' softly remarking my thoughts aloud. My palm was covering my face, thinking whether or not God existed. If God did, why are they so cruel to me?

'Life isn't fair,' I mumbled, thinking back to the interview I just had...

"Why did you apply for the architecture position? What is your motivation?" one of the three interviewers in front of me asked in a serious tone.

"Well, I suppose it is because I always had an interest in buildings — no, the scenery of rural villages," I quickly corrected myself. "I want to draw and design architecture that will be remembered with warmth, like the unique décor of the countryside."

"I see, it is quite interesting that you like the countryside and georgic villages. Many applicants here say they love the city, not the landscape beside it," an interviewer replied.

"I would like to add that seeing people living in towns, the way they live, as if they were one with nature, is calming" I panicked a bit—realising that they might not want to hear stuff like this—whilst brushing the back of my neck. However, I went on. "If Tokyo were to suddenly disappear, I want to create something...something bigger. A town-like city, where its buildings and unique view will distinguish it among the world. A place that will live in the memories of people, even if it existed no more."

"Thank you for your time today, Mr. Tachibana."

...

'Yet, here I am now. No job, no girlfriend, plus something tingles at the bottom of my heart, but I can't pinpoint what it is,' this thought mumbled itself out of my lips. 'No, wait, this might have something to do with that feeling...I don't remember touching the back of my neck when panicking, ever. My eyes stray from others, not the former.'

Something changed me. All these habits I've picked up is proof of that. Yet, I can't remember, no matter how hard I tried. This feeling...of yearning for a segment that fell from my spirit. Something precious.

Another habit of mine is to take in the horizon and view of the metropolis I live in, the one currently in front of me. However, it lacked the personality and serenity of the calming countryside. Looking at pictures of rural towns soothed me; the rocky and snowy mountains, the budding environment with its lively grass and trees swaying back and forth through the wind — its scent like no other, a unique haven from the chaotic life in Tokyo. However, what troubled me the most was that out of all the villages, the only one that piqued my heart was Itomori.

'Itomori,' I repeated out loud. A town long gone interested me the most. It had this deja vu quality about it. Like it was my home town in a previous life. I read news papers, articles and entries on Itomori ever since that day. The day that a falling meteorite—which broke off from the celestial comet passing by—was hurled towards Itomori and destroyed the majority of the town, in a large radius that essentially expanded Lake Itomori. Miraculously, barely anyone was killed or injured due to an emergency drill, although it was all but habitable after. The school grounds, from what I remembered, felt reminiscing to me.

My sight moved down, scrutinising the flesh on my right palm, as the bitter, bleak city stared at me. The same feeling of longing for something dear to me coursed through my blood.

'Even if the whole world doesn't want me to, I will find it,' I shouted with all my strength as a breeze howled through the air. I want it — I need it back in my life. 'Even if I can't remember, even if my voice dampens, even if God forsakes me, I'll chase after it!'

Author's note: Congrats! You made it to the end. This is my first time writing on the site, and my only fan-fiction so far. It may not be the best, but I wanted to convey what Taki might have been through before meeting Mitsuha at the end of the movie.