I rested my head on the table and sighed, "It was all just a dream, I recognised the landscape because I just remembered the news from three years ago. If not that... is she a ghost? Or... did I just make it up? The whole thing." I sat up straight, my eyes dart left and right, "What was her name? I can't remember." I clutched my hair, "Tsukasa said he was going ahead to take a bath," Miss Okudera knocked on the door and opened it, "Oh. Miss Okudera, I um... I uh... I realise I've been saying a lot of strange things I'm really sorry and thank you." I stand up, she shakes her head. The two of us sat at the table, she was flipping through a book about Itomori and it's traditions, "Kumihimo... pretty. That band on your wrist, that's one isn't it?" She looks at my wrist, "Hmm?" I look at my wrist and undo the clip I used to hold it together and unraveled it, "Oh, this? I guess so, someone gave it to me ages ago. I wear it as a lucky charm." I look at the design on it, it was crafted with perfection, "But who was it?" I stare at the kumihimo, "It's getting late, you should take a bath." She looks at me, "Wait. I remember, someone who makes these once told me the cords represent the flow of time they twist and tangle, break and connect and that's what time is." My eyes widen and I grab a map of Itomori lake, Miss Okudera seemed worried.
"Taki, Taki, Taki. Don't you remember?" I heard a voice and my eyes opened, wide awake, Tsukasa and Miss Okudera were already asleep in their futons, I slowly sat up and looked at the kumihimo. I wrote a letter and slung my bag on my back. I asked the man to bring me back to as far as he could, "Eat this bento while you're there. Your drawing of Itomori, you did a good job." He drives off, I bowed thank you and began trekking my way up the mountain, it quickly began to rain and I pulled my hood on and ran into a small cave where I marked where I've walked so far and ate the onigiri the man gave me, I looked at the kumihimo on my wrist, they assemble and take shape, they twist, tangle, unravel every now and again, break and reconnect, that's what a union is, what time is. I kept walking till I was at the top of the crater, "It's really there, it wasn't a dream." I ran down, "What lies ahead is the netherworld," I walked closer and slipped into the river where I waded across, I felt the feeling of water soak into my shoes, it felt nostalgic in some way.
"It's still here. This one's Yotsuha's and this was mine. This was before the comet so when I switched with her it was also in the past. Our times got tangled somehow." I wiped some of the moss off of the kuchikamisake bottle, "This is half of her." I take off the cork and poured a little into the cap, I shined my phone light at the sake, it sparkled, "Musubi, if it's true, and time can be unraveled, just give me one more chance." I drank it, I stood back up and I slipped backwards, my eyes widen, a comet! I saw drawings on the roof of the cave, I felt myself getting lighter and lighter, my eyes followed a red kumihimo, "Your name is going to be Yuki." "Both of you are going to be my treasures." "You're going to be a big sister." "I'm so sorry my dears." "Dad. When is mummy coming home?" "I couldn't help her." "Get a hold of yourself!" "Who cares about the shrine?!" "But you're in charge now!" "I loved Futaba! Not the Nariko Shrine!" "Get out!" I saw Yuki fall to the ground, "Now listen to me girls starting today you'll be living with Grandma." I saw events from Yuki's life. Yuki. Yuki! That's her name! I loved Yuki!
"Who am I? Who are you?" I heard Yuki's voice and her write on her hand, I smiled a little at our memories, "Don't be full of yourself, it's not like you have a girlfriend." She wrote IDIOT on her cheek, I remembered writing those characters on Yuki's cheek when I was in her body and when I woke up I found the word FOOL scrawled on my cheek, "It must be nice, they've probably met up by now." I saw her with tears rolling down her face, my heart clenched, "Taki... I want to be on that date with you." She cried on her vanity, "Yuki!" I shouted to her but she can't hear me, "I'm going to Tokyo." I saw her leave, "What? Wait sis!" Yotsuha cocks her head, "Oh yeah. The comet, it'll be brightest tonight won't it?" I saw her fasten her kimono, "Yuki, don't go there!" I cry out to her, "Yuki, you've got to get out of town before the comet strikes!" I was now shown a scene of her in a grassy clearing with Teshi and Saya staring up at the comet, "Yuki run! Yuki! Yuki get out of there! YUKI!" I saw the comet come down at her, "Taki... I love you..." I heard her say, I felt tears run down my cheeks, "RUN!" I woke up with a jolt, I heard the sound of the creek by my room, the room I woke up in countless mornings, I saw the pink pyjamas I was in, "She's alive," I hugged her tight and felt a few tears escape, I looked at her arms and smothered them in kisses, "You're alive, you're alive." I kept saying as I kissed her arms, "Let me guess, you're touching your boobies-" Yotsuha slid the door open, I had tears running down my cheeks and snot running out my nose, I was kissing her arms over and over again, "My sister! Yotsuha!" I crawled over to her but she slid the door harshly.
"For all you stargazers out there the Comet Tiamat has been visible to the human eye for the past week now, tonight it'll reach its perigee around 7:40PM and be viewed at its peak tonight." I watched the TV, "It's tonight, there's still time." I put my hands on her hips, "Good morning Yuki. What's this? Hold on you're not Yuki are you." She touches her glasses, "Wait... how'd you know? Do you know?" I turn around, "No but looking at the way you've been acting stirred some memories up. When I was a young girl I had some pretty strange dreams myself, but it's been so long the person who I became in my dreams have faded at this point. Treasure the experience, drams will eventually vanish. I've been through experiences like this and so has your mother." She pours me a cup of green tea, two steams of tea leaves stuck up vertical, good luck, "Wait, does that mean all the dreams of the Nariko people it had to do with today. Grandma you have to listen to me, the comet will fall on Itomori, we'll all die!" I tell her, "No one's going to believe that." She sadly shakes her head. I run outside, "No one's going to believe that. I couldn't have expected that to come out of Yuki's Grandmother's mouth, it doesn't matter, there's no way I'm going to let you all die!" I run to school.
"Listen up, we're all going to die tonight if we don't leave!" I tell Teshi and Saya, everyone in the classroom looks at me, "It's up to us to save everyone." I nod, murmurs spread across the classroom. I got Saya to buy food and snacks at the convenience store while Teshi and I prepared, "The warning system?" I look at him, "Yeah the speakers all over town," He nods, we search up 'Superimposition frequency', "Oh, I get it, it could work. Nice work Teshi~" I grinned and pushed him to the side, "Hey I don't think you should be sitting so close to me." He blushes, "What's wrong? Uh oh, you're shy." I grinned and nudged his chest, "Would you quit it, it ain't proper and you know it!" He sits on the back of the couch, "Don't get your panties in a twist, I've already got the girl for me." I smiled, "Oh I mean guy for me." I clear my throat, "I got all the snacks guys." Saya walks in, "Here's the change." Saya passed me the change, "Thanks for all the trouble." I hold my hands out, "It was no trouble," She inches closer with a spare chair, "So, what'd you come up with? Got an evacuation plan?" She uncaps a strawberry shortcake and began eating it, both of us laughed and grinned. "A-A bomb?!" She was shocked, "Yeah we've got tons of water gel explosives we use for the worksite," Teshi eats some M&Ms, "And the warning system?!" She asks, "A startup frequency could hijack the town's warning system pretty easily," Teshi eats, "So we could broadcast an evacuation plan right from school, look, we're right out of the disaster area right here so we'll just make an evacuation announcement to go to the school." I point at the map, "I-It's totally a crime." She shudders, "You'll be in charge of the broadcast," I looked at her, "Why me!" She was scared, "You're in the broadcast club Saya and I'll be in charge of the explosives," Teshi points at himself, "While I go have a word with the mayor." I point at myself, "But why?" She asks, "Because if the evacuation order's not coming from town hall then nobody's going to go anywhere," Teshi explains, "But if I talk to the mayor, as his daughter I'll convince him." I grinned, "It's the perfect plan," Teshi looks back at the computer, "Fine, well this is just your theory isn't it?" Saya drinks some strawberry milk, "Well..." I rub the back of my neck, "Theories can be based off reality like do you know the story of how Itomori lake was formed! It's a crater! That means a meteor hit once at least a thousands years ago!" Teshi brings his computer up and shows her, my eyes widen, "That's it, nice one Teshi!" I hold my fist out, the drawing on the roof of the cave, that must've been it! Teshi bumps my fists and we bump forearms, "Let's go evacuate the town!" We both look at say to Saya, she looked skeptical.
"What on Earth are you talking about?" Yuki's dad leans back in his chair, "Like I said, we have to evacuate everyone from town before-" He interrupts me, "Enough, shut up." I flinched at his tone, does he really speak like this to Yuki? "The comet is going to split into two and strike the town? Over 500 will die? How dare you stand there and spout such nonsense! If your serious you must be sick, I guess recklessness is a Nariko trait. I'll have a car send you to the city hospital for an examination, we will continue this conversation once you go to the doctors," He picks up his phone, I grit my teeth, "You. You son of a... How dare you talk to your daughter like that, if she was here in my timeline, I'd shower her with love and happiness!" I grabbed his tie, I slowly let go after I realised what I was doing, "Yuki, no, wait a minute, who are you?" He takes a step back.
I walked back defeated after the chat with him, I balled my fists up, "How dare you talk to Yuki like that." I grit my teeth, I saw three little kids waving each other goodbye as they said they'd meet up at the festival later, my eyes widen, "You mustn't go! You've got to leave town, tell everyone, all of your friends!" I hold his shoulders, "What's wrong with ya?" He jolts me off, "What was that about?" The girl grabs his arm and the two of them walk off, no, no, no, I've got to get these people out of here. I have to.
