She wanted a perfect ending one where tragedy was changed before it ever began.
Seeing the resolve blazing in her eyes, Rei Ao's lips seemed to lift a fraction.
"As you wish."
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap.
With a light crack that seemed to flip the universe's switch, the frozen scene began to ebb backward like a retreating tide.
Flames flowed back into the ruins. Collapsed houses stood upright again. Shattered stones flew back to their places. Billowing smoke rolled inward and vanished. Tears slid back into eyes, open mouths closed, running bodies rewound
Everything raced headlong into the past.
Mitsuha's eyes widened, drinking in the miracle before her.
A faint dizziness washed over her a feeling like her soul was being drawn out, like the whirling "time tunnel" you see in movies.
The scenery sped up and up, until it became a blinding stream of light and shadow.
She didn't know how long it lasted. Perhaps an instant; perhaps an eternity.
Then all the anomalies stopped.
Dazzling sunlight made her squint. Cicadas screeched in the summer air. A breeze brushed past, carrying the scent of grass and earthand grilled fish?
Miyamizu Mitsuha was standing at the gate of her family shrine.
In the distance, Lake Itomori glittered in the sun. The town was peaceful and whole, with no trace of destruction.
It seemed to be the morning of the previous day?
"Sis! Why are you just standing there? Breakfast's ready! There's grilled fishyour favorite!"
A voice she knew by heart, bright and full of life, sounded behind her.
Mitsuha whirled around.
There stood her little sister Yotsuha in the dining-room doorwayhands on her hips, wearing that classic "you're so slow" face.
Whole and aliveYotsuha.
Miyamizu Mitsuha's pupils tightened; tears flooded out again, uncontrollable.
This time, they were the tears of joy at what was lost and found again.
Chapter 903: Handsome Guy in front of the House
Warm sunlight.
Cicadas, noisy yet brimming with life. A breeze laced with the smell of food.
And right in front of her, hands on her hips, bouncing around and complaining in that clear, tinkling voiceher little sister, Yotsuha.
Alive. Truly alive.
Not an illusion, not a dream.
A tidal wave of regained joy crashed over every nerve in Miyamizu Mitsuha's body.
She could even hear her own heart beating strong again, loud and clear.
Thump, thump, thumppounding her ribs, sweeping away the ice-cold stillness and despair from before.
"Yotsuha!"
Her tears burst their banksnot bitter with despair this time, but scalding, rushing relief.
She stopped caring about how she looked and lunged forward, wrapping her still-grumbling sister in a fierce, crushing hugso tight it felt like she might press the girl into her very bones and blood.
As if the moment she let go, Yotsuha would vanish again.
"Wah! Sis! What are you doing? That hurts! I can't breathe!"
Startled by the sudden bear hug, Yotsuha squirmed and complained, her little face scrunched up.
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?!"
At the dining-room door, Mitsuha's father had just turned to go in. Hearing the commotion, he looked back, and his brows knit in displeasure.
"Mitsuha, shouting and tugging like thatwhere are your manners? What kind of young-lady etiquette is this?!"
Only her grandmother, Miyamizu Hitoha, stopped in her tracks. Those clouded eyes that had seen through the world rested quietly on her eldest granddaughter's loss of composure. Deep within them flashed the faintest hint of comprehensionand inquiry.
This child Mitsuha has been unusual since yesterday. That nightmare, and now this overly intense display of emotion.
Just then, a clear, gentle voicecarrying a strange penetrative qualityrose from not far away, neatly cutting through the fuss at the door.
"Mitsuha."
That voice!
Mitsuha's head snapped up from Yotsuha's shoulder; through tear-blurred eyes she looked toward the sound.
Under the shrine's torii, a figure stood smiling at her, bathed in the golden afterglow of the setting sun.
Rei Ao.
He wore well-tailored modern casual clothes that looked both comfortable and expensivespotless, utterly out of place amid Itomori's plain, everyday clothing. Soft black, tousled hair framed skin that seemed even fairer by contrast. His features were so finely shaped they looked hand-carved by God, and together they were breathtaking.
But it wasn't just his looks.
It was the transcendent, tranquil aura around himas if he weren't standing at a country shrine's gate, but above the clouds, looking down on all beings. That natural air of refinement and aloofness, so unlike everything around him, was impossible to ignore.
Yotsuha, their father, and their grandmother all turned at once, surprise and puzzlement rising on their faces.
Who was this man?
There was absolutely no one like him in Itomori. Honestly, even in Tokyo you wouldn't easily run into someone with a presence like that. He looked like a model stepping off the cover of a fashion magazine or out of a haute couture ador perhaps something even more beyond.
And the key was, he'd called Mitsuha by nameand sounded familiar, too.
Yotsuha was the first to react. Eyes wide, she looked Rei Ao up and down, then nudged her sister with an elbow, lowering her voice, excitement and teasing mingling together.
"Sis, lookdid that super handsome guy just call you?"
"You two know each other? Don't tell me he's your boyfriend? You really kept this one hidden, huh?"
"Eh?! B-boyfriend?!"
Jolted back to herself by her sister's words, Mitsuha turned beet red like a ripe apple.
She looked up in a panicright into her father's suddenly sharp, complicated gaze, and her grandmother's calm yet somehow deeper one.
"N-no! Don't jump to conclusions!"
Flustered, she waved both hands and denied it, heart hammering out of controlpartly because of Rei Ao's sudden appearance, partly because of the suffocating family misunderstanding.
"He's just just a friend of mine! Yes! Just a friend!"
A friend? From where?
Miyamizu Toshiki's brow furrowed even tighter, his suspicion not easing in the slightest.
Mitsuha's scalp prickled under their stares; she wanted to escape this mortifying scene immediately.
She all but stumbled in her haste toward Rei Ao, grabbed the sleeve of his immaculate jacket, and whispered, "W-why are you here? Let'slet's talk somewhere else!"
Without waiting for his reply, she ducked her head, cheeks burning, and practically dragged him out of the family's line of fire.
Rei Ao let her pull him along, the faintest playful smile at the corner of his lips. He matched her pace with unhurried ease.
Behind them, the three members of the Miyamizu family exchanged looks.
Hands clasped over her heart, eyes sparkling, Yotsuha watched the pair hurry off. "Dad, Grandma, did you see that? He's so handsome and has such presencelike a big star from Tokyo. And Sis actually knows someone that amazing. They must be more than just normal friends!"
Father: ""
He watched his daughter disappear at the end of the path with that striking stranger, a tangle of feelings in his chest. On one hand, shock at the man's exceptional bearing. On the other, a prickly uneaselike his "precious cabbage" being rooted up by some top-of-the-line boar.
His relationship with Mitsuha had long been strained, but that man was far too unusual. How did Mitsuha know someone like that?
He said nothing, turned, and went back inside, his shoulders heavy.
Grandmother Hitoha kept gazing in that direction. A glint flickered in her aged eyes as she murmured something only she could hear.
"O wind that brings change where exactly will you blow?"
~~~
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Chapter 904: Mitsuha's Shyness and... eagerness?
Elsewhere.
Mitsuha all but speed-walked with her head down, the heat on her cheeks refusing to fade.
She could feel Rei Ao's amused gaze beside her, which only made her more flustered, so she pretended to focus on the path.
She led him to a quiet little hill behind the town.
The view here was wide openyou could look down over all of Itomori and the beautiful Lake Itomori.
The setting sun dyed everything a warm orange-red, as pretty as a painting.
Only when they arrived, with no one else around, did Mitsuha finally let out a long breath and release Rei Ao's sleeveso crumpled from her grip it looked ironed with wrinkles.
She turned to face him and gave a deep, formal bow.
"Rei Ao-san, thank youtruly, thank you so, so much!"
"Thank you for saving Yotsuha!"
"Thank you for giving us a chance to start over! I really don't even know how to repay you!"
Rei Ao waved it off, lazy yet elegant. To him, it was a trivial errandmore importantly, he knew perfectly well this had been a trade.
"No need for that."
"I didn't act out of kindness. We made a trade and both got what we needed."
"I'm not so saintly that I do losing business."
His blunt, matter-of-fact words cooled Mitsuha's surge of gratitude a little. She straightened, pressed her lips together; the blush that had just faded crept back in. Twisting the hem of her clothes with nervous fingers, she spoke in a mosquito-soft voice, shy and unsure:
"Um II know so should we complete the trade now?"
It took all her courage to say it.
The terms of that trade"unlimited usage rights to my body."
For heryoung and inexperiencedeven thinking about it was enough to make her burn up and throw her heartbeat out of rhythm. She didn't dare look Rei Ao in the eyes.
But the response she expected wasn't what came.
Above her, she heard a soft, teasing chuckle.
"Oh?"
Rei Ao's voice sounded unhurried, with a hint of playfulness.
"So eager already?"
"Seems you're more enthusiastic than I imagined, Mitsuha."
"N-not at all!"
Mitsuha's head shot up, her face so red it looked ready to drip. She flailed, trying to explain.
"That's not what I meant! I just I just thought we should honor our agreement! I"
Seeing her panic like a startled little rabbit, the smile in Rei Ao's eyes deepened. He suddenly reached out and brushed his fingers lightly across her burning cheek. The cool touch made her tremble; every word stuck in her throat.
"Easy."
He withdrew his hand and pointed to the sky. The sun was easing down toward the horizon, the clouds blazing with color.
"What you asked me to change isn't completely finished yet."
Mitsuha followed his finger, blinking. Not finished? But hadn't everything already changed?
"You asked to go back to the beginning of it allnot merely to restore Itomori," he reminded her lightly. "So I haven't adjusted the comet's trajectory yet."
"But there's still a while before it falls. In that time"
He paused, his gaze returning to her, as if seeing straight through every thought.
"let's spend some time together."
"After all, those future 'usage rights' are 'unlimited,' so we should at least get familiar with each other, don't you think?"
"Spend time together?"
Before Mitsuha could fully unpack his meaning, Rei Ao casually raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap!
With a crisp pop, space itself split open.
Right before them, out of nowhere, a door appearedold-fashioned in shape, intricately carved, as if made from some warmly colored woodstanding by itself on the grass. Ripples like water shimmered in the air around the frame.
"What is?"
Mitsuha stared, stunned by the surreal sight. Rei Ao didn't give her time to react. Smiling, he pushed the door open.
Beyond the door wasn't the hillside but a soft glow where nothing could be seen clearly.
Then, naturally, he took Mitsuha's hand and, before she could respond, gave a gentle tug.
"Ah!"
She managed only a short yelp before a soft yet irresistible force drew her through the doorway. Once she was fully inside, the door shut without a soundand vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
The hillside fell quiet again. Only the breeze moved through the grass, as if no one had ever been there.
It was like passing through a warm membrane of water. After a slight feeling of weightlessness, Mitsuha's feet landed on something firm yet cushioned. She stumbled; Rei Ao steadied her.
She looked around and her eyes flew wide.
This wasn't the little hill in Itomori at allit was an extraordinarily spacious, luxurious room she had never seen before. The overall style was understated modern luxury, a soft, expensive carpet underfoot, a faint relaxing fragrance in the air.
"This is a temporary residence I created," came Rei Ao's voice from behind. He seemed right at home here. Releasing her, he strolled to a small bar in the center of the room and poured two glasses of crystal-clear liquid.
"Time flows differently here than outside. We can take our time."
"Time flows differently?"
Mitsuha's mind was still reeling from shock after shock.
"Mhm." He handed her one glass, a meaningful curve at his lips.
"So we have a whole day to spend together."
Her fingertips brushed his cool skin, and her heart skipped again.
Up close, his face was impossibly flawless; the depth in his eyes felt like it could pull a soul right in. Heat crept back into her cheeks. She had a vague sense of what "spend time together" might entail. Her heart drummed like a war beat.
What followed, for Mitsuha, felt like falling into a surreal, dreamlike reverie.
Chapter 905: The Comet that Destroyed Itomori
On the other side.
Rei Ao didn't rush to claim anything. He truly did as he'd saidhe started by "spending time together."
He was frighteningly good at leading a conversation, and so well-read it felt unreal.
From the customs of Itomori Town to tales of the far-flung starry seashe seemed to know everything. In fact, he really did seem omniscient.
With the occasional tease or joke, he could stir Mitsuha's shyness just enough without ever making her feel embarrassed.
He'd prepared food so exquisite it felt unreal, and played stirring music she'd never heard before.
In this secluded, luxurious, private space, Mitsuha's initial nervousness and stiffness slowly melted under his guidance.
In their place rose a steadily warming ambiguity and an attraction that was hard to put into words.
She didn't know what was happening to her.
They'd only just met; she couldn't even claim to truly know him.
Yet under his gaze and murmured words, her heartbeat slipped out of control again and again. Her body loosened even began, without her willing it, to respond to his nearness.
