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He waited...

Waited...

Waited...

And waited...

But it never happened.

Mikey, in his room, finds himself sketching what he remembers of Itomori's scenery. His walls are plastered with drawings of different landmarks. Reference books of rural Japan lay open beside him. He's surprised he's even doing this. This was way out of his character. It also shocked his siblings and friends. Though his drawings were beginning to improve, he was still in the beginner stage.

He ripped a new paper from his sketchbook and began sketching. He paused on his sketching, a thought coming to play. 'What does she look like, again?' His brows scrunched together, erasing the previous drawing, and began the new one. "Does she... no. What about... no, no, no." He let his head hit his desk, a small thud sounding.

And so, this cycle continued for him. He'd go to school with those thoughts (more like forced), hangouts, and Toman meetings, returning home to continue off the sketches. It continued for weeks. The drawings grew on the wall, and the reference books were stacked on his desk until he finally finished it and rewarded himself with a night of good sleep. He was barely getting them ever since this obsession.

The next day, Mikey takes the drawings of the landmarks, the drawing of the entire town, and stuffs them into his backpack. He wraps the woven bracelet around his wrist, gazing at it with a blank expression before moving on and zipping up his gear. Mikey walks through the train station in thick boots and a thermal coat, preparing for a long journey. Normally, he would ride his motorbike wherever he pleased, but he had to take the train since he had no idea where Itomori was.

Plus, his bike didn't have a GPS implanted, which sucked.

Mikey eventually stopped walking, a cold sweat on his face as shock laced his voice. "Wha..." He blinks and creases his brows. "What are you doing here?" In front of him were Shinichiro, Emma, Draken, and surprisingly Takemichi. Emma giggled lightly and formed a closed-eye smile. "Draken and Takemitchy told us, and here we are!"

Boarding the train, the five sit together. Shinichiro takes the window seat, Mikey takes the aisle, Emma sits between them, and Draken and Takemichi sit in front of the siblings. Mikey looked at his friends and narrowed his eyes as the train began moving. "Ken-chin, Takemitchy, what the hell?" He leaned towards them, cupping his mouth as he whispered. "I asked you guys to cover the Toman meetings and give Emma and Shin an alibi, didn't I?" The annoyance-filled aura made Takemitchy hesitate, but Draken didn't care and just replied. "Baji's got that covered." As said, he flipped his phone and went to his voicemail, pressing the button.

"I got your back! But you better buy me lunch!"

"Um," Takemitchy formed an awkward smile, scratching the side of his cheek, "is putting Baji in charge a good idea?" They don't acknowledge his question; Mikey is still pestering them about his siblings. "We told them because we're all worried about you." The tall blond stated.

"Huh? I'm completely fine on my own."

"You can't go alone." The oldest intervenes, catching their attention, "What if you're getting catfished?" Mikey rose a brow. "Catfished? You're one to talk! You met up with this girl that completely lied about her appearance and still rejected you!"

"That's not the point!"

"You're meeting an online friend, right?" Emma decided to direct the conversation. She knew that if they were going to begin an argument, one of them would throw hands. And we all know who's ass gets beaten in the end. Looking at her, Mikey leaned against his seat. "Well, not exactly, no." The bleached-blond perked up at this and formed a teasing smile. "Mikey, are you using dating sites? It seems like it."

"No!" He screamed. The passengers looked at him weirdly and annoyed, Emma quickly shushing him while the boys stared in surprise. "Well..." Shinichiro trailed on, grabbing a box of pocky from his bag and opening it, "you've been acting pretty weird lately, man." He hands the boys some treats, munching on them with delight. He offered one to Mikey, who didn't hesitate to take nearly the entire snack and munch on them, earning a scowl.

"We'll keep an eye on you." Draken finished, attaining a glare from his friend. "I need adult supervision, huh? I'm the commander of Tokyo Manji Gang, and I need adult supervision?"

"Just shut up, Mikey."

Then silence consumed the group. They were slowly leaving the city and into rural Japan; the scenery is beautiful as ever.

"The switching stopped, and my calls and texts didn't go through."

At the subway station, Mikey runs ahead while his friends and siblings take their time. Mikey pushes the four to walk faster like a little kid, with Shinichiro telling him to be patient.

"So I decided to go see (Y/n) in person."

They get on a different train after an unsuccessful exploration.

"I wanted to meet her. But..."

"Huh?! You don't actually know where she is?" Takemichi, Draken, and Emma exclaimed. The group was eating lunch on the train; bento boxes and store-bought food lay on their laps. Shinichiro was eating away, smiling at the taste as his reason for not replying. "You just know what the town looks like?" Takemichi mumbled, stuffing his face with an onigiri.

Mikey pouted at the call out, looking at the window as his face felt hot. "That's right." Once again, the train stops, and the group packs their stuff and walks around town. "And you can't contact her? What's this all about?" Emma brought the topic up again, eyeing her second oldest brother while Shinichiro smirked. "Seriously. What a lousy tour planner."

"This isn't a tour!"

"Oh well," Draken expressed. Honestly, he wonders how he and his family can keep up with Mikey. "We'll help you look for her." Mikey studies a map in a shopping center at a train station while Emma and Shinichiro fawn over a cute cow mascot. Draken secretly takes pictures of Emma, hiding his adoration as Takemichi glances over at the light blond.

"How cute! Look!" Emma squealed, tugging Draken's sleeve. Mikey huffed, narrowing his eyes at them. "So annoying." Takemichi just laughed at his comment.

"Oh, it moved!"

Mikey shows a Taxi driver his drawing of the Itomori town. The driver, unfortunately, shook his head and shrugged. Tori gate steps, Emma and Shinichiro, play by the gate, Takemichi and Draken talk to each other, and Mikey asks some housewives. They then walk through some rice fields. Mikey uses a map the station had offered, studying it with concentration.

Mikey shows some local farmers his drawing, and the group play cards on a bench. They move over to some shopkeepers. No one seems to know. The four eat ice cream. Frustration builds up in him, thanking the locals for their attempts and then staring out the mountains. None of them fit the description.

Mikey leads the group to a bus, all sitting at the back. Emma and Takemichi nap on Mikey's shoulders, who sit between them. He can feel his eyebrows twitch and possibly a vein-popping. Draken and Shinichiro text on their phones, unaware of their napping sibling and friends. Eventually, the bus had stopped, the two had awoken and stepped out. Mikey hangs his head low, defeated. "This isn't going to work..."

"What?!" The group exclaims, all sitting together and drinking. "After all the trouble we went through?" Emma groaned as Mikey let out a dramatic sigh. He eyes the four, muttering. "You guys haven't done anything." In the late afternoon, the group decided to enter an empty restaurant for a break. They looked at their menus, thinking of what to get until their waitress came by and asked for their orders.

"One Takayama ramen."

"One for me too, then.

"I'll have what they're having."

"Same."

"Some Peyoung Yakisoba, please!"

The waitress smiled, finished writing their orders then stuffed them in her pocket, gently yelling out to her husband in the kitchen. "Four ramens and one yakisoba!"

"Alright!"

Later, their food arrived and they eat it with delight, taking their time and savoring it. Mikey had finished his already, putting his cheek against his right palm. "Think we can get back to Tokyo today?" Draken, who's currently munching on his noodles, pulls out his phone. He swallowed and answered for him. "We could be cutting it close. I'll check."

"Thanks."

"Mikey-kun," Takemitchi placed his chopsticks on the bowl, "are you sure that's all right?" He didn't answer right away; he just stared out the window, looked at the shining sun, and formed a small smile. "I'm starting to think I'm on the wrong track here." He zips open his backpack and pulls out the town's drawing again while everyone resumes eating. The waitress walked by with a water pitcher, noticed the picture, and smiled. "Why, young man, that's Itomori, ain't it?"

Everyone immediately paused once that sentence was out. They glance at the lady, who doesn't mind their stares and explains. "That drawing's a spittin' image." She turned to her husband and grinned. "Ain't it, hun?" Her husband trots his way over, wiping his hands with a towel as the waitress shows the drawing to him. He hummed, nodding. "Yeah, it's Itomori, all right. Brings back memories." The waitress glances at Mikey. "He was born there, y'see."

His eyes glow. "Itomori..." Then, excitement bubbles, a smile and sweat forming simultaneously. "Yeah, Itomori!" He stands on his feet, hands on the table as everyone looks at him with surprise. "That's it! It's nearby, isn't it?" The waitress pursed her lips. "What are you..." She glances at her husband, who states. "Itomori was..." It then dawned on the group. "Itomori?" Shinichiro rose a brow, then gasped, "No way!"

"Is it where that comet...?" Takemitchi intervened, and the same expression was shown. They all stare at Mikey, who looks at them with confusion and his mouth parting.

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Cracked concrete, overgrown with weeds and vines, surrounds the school. The screeching of birds echoes the sky, and caution tapes flap against the wind. Mikey runs to the fence, jumps over the tape, and looks over at the cliff down at the town.

Itomori was destroyed.

A shaky breath was let out at sight. A colossal crater connected to Lake Itomori rests where the town once stood. Water from the lake fills the new smaller cavity as crushed buildings, bridges, and cars rot away, partially submerged. The group and Mikey stand in front of the dilapidated school. The restaurant owner, Nakata, stands by his car, smoking a cigarette. "Hey..." Draken was the first to break the silence, "Is this really the place?"

"Can't be, right?" Emma tried to say, holding her arms, "Mikey must be misremembering."

"No."

They stare at him in silence. "I'm sure this is it." He looked over his shoulder; his expression was hard to recognize, "The schoolyard. The surrounding mountain." His face started to shift, his voice stammering, "I remember this high school clearly!" Takemichi formed an overwhelming smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "That can't be true! You remembered that disaster two years ago? Where hundreds died?"

A beat passes. Mikey can fill a pit fill his stomach.

"Died? Two years ago, they..." He trails off when a sudden memory flashes in his eyes, The memory where he watched the comet on his bike. "No way." He quickly covered up his worrisome expression with a facade, sending them a closed-eye smile. "I mean, look." He grabs his backpack and places it down, zipping it open to fish for his journal. "I still have the entries she left behind."

He looked through his journal, flipping the pages with a nervous smile until he reached the first-ever entry (Y/n) had written, but the moment he did, his eyes widened, and sweat began pouring. The entries (Y/n) had started to disappear one by one as if they were never written. He flips to the other pages to see if they remain, but all of them are gone. Only his stayed.

"They're all gone..."

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Nakata drives the group away from the location, the sky falling into night. They all sit in silence, either looking at the window or down at their laps.

"The comet Tiamat had an orbital period of 1,200 years."

In Furukawa City Library, a massive pile of books and articles sit on Mikey's desk. He reads through them.

"Two years ago, in October, it came within a stone's throw of Earth. No one predicted that its nucleus would split at that moment."

Headlines would read such as: "TOWN ANNIHILATED," "OVER 500 DEAD OR MISSING", and "ITOMORI, THE TOWN THAT VANISHED."

"A fragment of the comet became a meteor that struck Japan," Shinichiro commented, looking at one of the research books. Mikey decided to search for more articles on the library's computer. "I was on the day of the autumn festival," Emma reported, her voice solemn. Takemichi made his way to the sibling's side and showed his friend the reports and books. "It came down right here." He pointed at a red circle near the edge of the country. He flips the page, continuing his explanation. "At 8:42 in the evening. It struck where people gathered for the festival."

Draken pulled a book from the library shelf as those four were gathered. He looked at the title as it read, "NAMES OF THE VICTIMS." It was big and heavy. He pursed his lips deciding whether or not to show it to the group. "Over 500 people died," Shinichiro continued the information, looking at a computer, "a third of the town's population. And now, no one lives in the town at all."

"Hey," The group looks over to see Draken, holding the book up to gain their attention. Mikey doesn't hesitate to snatch it off his hands and flip it open in the middle, searching for her surname. His fingers trace the page and its ink; a slight texture feels his fingertips. He flipped back and forth, seeing if he missed it or hadn't.

Suddenly, his fingers abruptly stop moving, and his body freezes. Sweat rolls down his cheeks. "Sadako and Riko..." Their names are written by each other with their age, '17'. No pictures are shown of them, though. A moment goes by, and the group looks at Mikey with worry, picking up on that small comment he made.

But his heart drops the minute he looks by their names.

(L/n) (Y/n), 17.

He didn't realize he let out a gasp as his mind was too focused on her name. Everything around him was blurred if only his friend hadn't spoken up to get him out of that trance. "That's her?" Emma then exclaimed, nervousness growing in her voice. "There has to be some kind of mistake. I mean, she died two years ago!"

"Just a few weeks ago, she-"  Mikey paused. "She told me we'd be able to see the comet. Doesn't that..." He looks at the window in front of him. He stares at his reflection. His words seemed to be caught up in his throat when a voice echoed in his head.

"Oh?"

"I..."

"...you're dreamin', aren't you?"

"I... What did I...?"

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Vending machines line the walls with drinks and food. A small TV plays with couches and chairs littered around. Emma, Takemichi, Shinichiro, and Draken were all at the lounge. The group had decided to sleep at a motel for the night since the last train stop back to Shibuya wasn't scheduled until tomorrow.

Shinichiro lights a cigarette and puffs a cloud of smoke. Laughter through the walls can be heard as people watch a sports game. "Lively up there, huh?" The eldest brother muttered to his sister, who nodded as she drank from her can. Takemichi and Draken walk from the reception desk. "Seems like we could only get one room." The short blond informed sheepishly. The eldest shrugged and gave a lazy smile. "No problem, only if Emma and Draken don't do anything weird while we're asleep."

"Shut up!"

"Huh?!"

"I'm just messing with you two, don't take it to heart." The two huffed at his comment. Takemichi orders a drink from the vending machine and takes a sip. "How is Mikey?" Draken decided to change that awkward moment and placed his hands in his pockets. Emma somewhat frowned; the phone she was holding was placed on her lap. "He's still reading about Itomori. Newspapers and Magazine. Just anything from around when it happened."

A pregnant pause was followed.

"What do you think about Mikey-kun's story?" Takemichi was the first to break the silence. They thought for a couple of seconds. "The way he was recent," Draken spoke, gaining the other's attention, "He's always a childish and putting others before him type, but even more so lately. Like he was trying so hard. What he's saying makes no sense to me..." A few motel residents walk by in robes. Cheers from the people behind the walls ring loudly. "But I'm sure he met someone, and that someone changed him. That much is true, I think."

Mikey reads newspapers and magazines about Itomori in the motel room. He rechecks his journal-- no entries. His hands tremble; he hasn't been able to relax ever since the discovery. He rests his head on the table, exhausted from this whole ordeal. He went silent, recollecting his thoughts. "It was just a dream." He began speaking to himself. "I saw the news two years ago, and I remember the scenery from that."

He turns his head to the left, eyes glued on the desk. "If not that, then... A ghost? Or... Was I just delusional?" He raises his head with sudden worry. His heart skipped a bit, mouth lightly hanging.

"Her name... What was it?"

A knock sounds through the door, perking Mikey. Takemichi walks in wearing the same bathrobe that the other residents wore earlier. He sends a gentle smile at him and shuts the door. "The others went to take a bath." Mikey sits up and stares at him. "Oh, Takemitchy." He glances at the window, the faint sound of crickets and cicadas playing. "I've been saying such strange things. Like you sometimes." He stands up, watching his friend go through his belongings. "Thanks for sticking with me."

Takemitchy puts his toiletries in his backpack. He stands up in silence and turns to him, shaking his head. "No problem." Mikey and Takemichi read through an Itomori magazine. Pictures of braided cords and woven bracelets fill the page that Takemichi was looking at. He beamed at how pretty it looked and glanced at his friend. "Braided bracelets and cords. They're pretty! That one on your wrist. Is that a braided bracelet?"

Mikey, sipping tea, looks at his wrist. (Y/n)'s bracelet still wrapped around it. "Oh, yeah... I think so." He sets his cup down, "I think someone gave this to me a long time ago." He brings his wrist up at his face to gaze at it. "I wear it sometimes as kind of a lucky charm." He furrowed his brows. "Who was it?"

"Why don't you go take a bath, too?" His friend suggested, hoping to keep his mind off it. "Okay." Mikey nodded. "Or, wait." He leaned in his seat, still staring at the bracelet. "Someone told me this woven bracelet was made by someone precious to them. It represents the flow of time itself. The threads tangle, unravel and connect again. Like time..." He suddenly remembers, his body flinching. "Maybe at that place..."

Immediately he moves the books aside and pulls out a map of Itomori's topography while his friend looks at him with worry.

Later, the group slept soundly on their futons while Mikey slept on the desk; the map spread out in front of him. His hand was holding a black pen, it slowly falling out of his grasp. Circles are drawn on the map, and the words, "AROUND HERE???".

"Mikey... Manjiro... Mikey... Don't you remember me?"

Mikey's eyes shoot open, a startled gasp being let out with small tears edging his eyes. He sits up quickly, staring at the bracelet once more.

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Bright sunlight shines on Takemichi's sleeping body. He groans, hesitantly waking up. Finally gaining his consciousness, he remembers Mikey and looks towards the desk. Empty. The rest continued to sleep, so Takemichi decided to tip-toe his way over to see if his stuff was still there. It wasn't, instead, a note that was addressed to everyone.

"Takemichy, Ken-chin, Emma, and Shin,
There's one last place I have to check. Please go back to Tokyo without me. I swear I'll come back later. Thanks.

-Mikey."

"Mikey-kun..."

Mikey was in a car, riding with Nakata in a small buggy. They drive down a steep forest. The cloudy sky predicts rain as they pass rubble and destroyed buildings. Mikey looks at his map to find the location, pointing to different directions once in a while. Finally, they reached the forest. Nakata stops the car at the entrance to a slight trailing leading down the mountain. He hands a lunchbox to Mikey, making the boy gaze in wonder.

"Eat this when you're hungry."

He kindly accepts it, saying a quick 'thank you.' "Your drawing of Itomori... it was decent." With that, Mikey exits the car, and Nakata drives off. He then turns, hair flowing in the wind, and walks down. The scenery felt familiar to him, barely remembering that he's already been here before as (Y/n). The once red and orange leaves were replaced with lush, green ones.

Thunder roars in the background, making him lookup. But it didn't take long for the thunder to boom again, bringing the rain with it-- had. Mikey hurriedly runs to shelter beneath a large rock. He decided to settle down, hopefully praying the rain would pass by for the time being. To pass the time, he maps out his route and eats lunch.

After swallowing his food, he, again, looked at the bracelet. 'They come together to make a shape. They twist and tangle, sometimes unraveling, then connecting again. That's Musubi. That's time.' It had been pouring for at least 30 minutes, and sitting around for that long just wastes time. He made sure everything was packed, nothing stood out for it to be soaked, and continued forth with a hood over his head.

Mikey makes it to the top edges of the crater. The shallow basin and the god's shrine lie behind the loud waterfall. He removes his hood, eyes focusing on the beautiful cascade. "There it is!" His hand falls to his side. "It really was here. It wasn't just a dream." He wipes his eyes from the rain and tears and makes his descent into the basin. The heavy rainfall became light and steady as fog surrounded him. He arrives at the cave entrance that separates the underworld from the overworld, the waterfall blocking out every sound around him.

"This is the edge of the next world."

He steps inside and wades his way through. Crude, stone steps lead the way down. An old rope, serving as a handrail, barely fights off the rot and decay. Mikey arrives at a small shrine in the back of the cave. A shakuhachi lies on its podiuem. Mold and fungus grow on it. He got on one knew, picking it up gently as he inspected it. "It's the flute we carried up here." Digging through his bag, he pulls out a flashlight to get better detail.

"This is the shakuhachi Mom, and I offered." He brushes the mold and fungus off the mouthpiece and the holes, "I was before the comet struck. So the (Y/n) I know is from two years ago?" He purses his lips. "Our timelines were offset." He grabs a water bottle and pours it into his fingers, gently cleaning the flute to clean some of the remaining molds off possibly. "This is half of her..."

He positions the flute against his lips, sitting with his legs crossed. 'Musubi. If time really can unravel, if it can come undone, then give me one last chance.' He takes a deep breath, praying that he can remember the notes before finally playing it. His hands shook, hoping not to mess up a bit. He did a little bit, but he quickly returned to playing the right note. The song came to an end.

Releasing a sigh, he placed the shakuhachi back in its place. He slowly stands, the flashlight at hand, until he slips and falls on the wet stone. As he falls, the flashlight illuminates the cave ceiling. 'A comet!' An old cave painting of a comet reflects the flashlight's light. Vibrant colors used from different iridescent paints recreate the colors of the comet.

Time felt slow to him as he hits the ground, and soon, everything starts moving around him. The cave painting comet becomes animated and turns into a red ribbon twisting through space, then water. Mikey splashes through the water, one end of the red string tied around his wrist.

The string travels through space and turns into the comet hurdling through Earth. When it hits, the comet becomes a sperm; the Earth becomes an egg and the zygote duplicates. The sound of a heartbeat is faint while a baby cries far away. (Y/n) mother, beautiful and sweaty, laying in bed, clutching her newborn baby's hand. Her father then comes into the picture, picking up the little girl with a smile, happy tears forming. "Your name is (Y/n)."

Scissors cut the umbilical cord, and Mikey falls further away from them while, at the same time, wondering what's happening. Images of (Y/n) and her parents have a happy life, living together as (Y/n)'s father teaches her a few things to understand her surroundings. (Y/n)'s little 3-year-old self had fallen asleep in her bed. Her father and mother watch her with smiles as the dad comments.

"You're both my treasures; you know that?"

The sound of snorting echoes as small laughter rang.

"C'mon, you're gonna make me blush."

At least two years later, a 5-year-old (Y/n) shows a crayon drawing of a family that reads, "Get well soon, papa," Her father accepts with a closed-eye smile, patting her head in thoughtfulness. "I'm so sorry, my little star."

Unfortunately, as time goes, her father passed. (Y/n), her mom and her relatives and in-laws that lived far attended the funeral. Her mother held her daughter's hand like she would disappear any minute. (Y/n) could hear her mom weep quietly, trying to be strong in front of her child as the little girl looked up. Why was Mommy crying? That was what she thought. "Mommy, when is papa coming home?"

After the funeral, her mother fell into despair in those few months. She fell into drinking her sorrows away and seemed out of space. Despite this, her mother did her very best to take of her child. She knew if she kept this up, she would become the person she swore never to evolve into, so she tried her best to get rid of this addiction and spend as much time with her only child.

(Y/n), at six, she listened to her mom and her grandma from her dad's side arguing in the house. She cries, holding her ears to try and block them away.

"You're not fit to take care of her!"

"I am! I've been clean for seven months, if this is about my drinking problem! What I did was wrong for my child to see. I don't know why I chose that for me to cope, but it ended that way!"

"How can I believe you're telling the truth? You could be lying for all I know! I could ask (Y/n) and see the truth."

"Are you kidding me? She doesn't even understand what you're going to say to her! What's wrong with you?!"

Enough was enough for the poor girl as she got up and ran towards her door, shutting it as she jumped on her bed and sobbed. She can sneak out at least until her mom and grandma calm down. She looked up from her bed and looked at her window. Sniffling, she rubbed her eyes and opened the window, feet landing on the roof.

The tears returned, and no matter how many times she tried to wipe them away, they would return. Finally, she arrived at her destination. She slid down, jumping down on the grass with little pain, and ran to the nearest playground. She sat on a bench, letting out whimpers and sniffles until two shadows loomed over her. Curious, she looked up with snot trailing her nose to see two girls.

One had a bobbed-black haircut, and the other had long hair that reached her bum. "Hey? Are you okay?" The long-haired girl questioned with worry. The other girl sat right by her, a reassuring smile present. "My name is Sadako, and that girl there is my friend, Riko! So, if you don't mind, wanna talk about why you're so sad? We're all listening!"

(Y/n), in her early teens, sits across from her mother, who holds her hands and stares directly at her. "(Y/n), it's just gonna be us from now on." The girl rose a brow. "What about Aunty, Uncle, and Grandma?" Her mom pursed her lips. "They decided to forget about us..."

The red string flows out, the other end still connected to Mikey's wrist as he is pulled away.

(Y/n), 17, looks at Mikey's handwriting in her notebook, her face filled with puzzlement. "Who am I? No, who are you?"

(Y/n) writes her name on her hand. Then to her cheek with annoyance.

"Don't get a big head! Not like you have a girlfriend."

Mikey, in the mirror, watches her. Next, (Y/n) sat up in her bed, looking out the window. "Wish I were him." After getting dressed, (Y/n) walks to her mirror to fix her hair. "He must be having fun with his friends." She abruptly stopped as the tears fell, shock spreading her face. "I... Why?"

After a while, (Y/n) and her friends walked together; Sadako and Riko talked and playfully argued while (Y/n) remained silent. Then, a thought bubbled in her mind, and she stopped moving. The girls moved, only realizing they were living (Y/n) behind, and Sadako glanced behind her. "Huh? (Y/n)? What's wrong?" They rushed over, worry shown.

"I'm..." She paused but then looked up with determination. "I'm going to Tokyo for a bit!" Both girls eyes widened. "Huh?!" (Y/n) just pushed past them, making her way to the train station as the girls rushed toward her. "Wait, (Y/n)!" She stopped when they continued calling her. She turned to them as Sadako placed her hand on her shoulder and side-smirked. "Finally becoming rebellious, huh? If you're going to Tokyo, then so am I! It's dangerous to be alone, y'know." She then turns to Riko and points directly at her face. "You're gonna be our cover-up and makeup excuses, okay?"

"Huh?! Why me?!"

The same day, with her hair down, (Y/n) stands in the doorway of her mom's bedroom, her stance full of sadness. Mikey resumes floating through the mess of memories.

"Mom, could you do me a favor?"

Scissors cut through her hair to a now (H/l). In her room, her phone rings as she answers it. "Oh, yeah. The comet. They say it'll look the brightest tonight." She dresses in her yukata, studying herself in the mirror. Mikey tries calling out to her from it, hand pressing against the glass. "(Y/n), you can't stay. (Y/n), get out of there before the comet strikes!"

He floats away and turns around, seeing her last memory; he sees the comet fall. He sees her distraught expression, fear taking over as she couldn't move. "(Y/n), get out of there! (Y/n), run!" The meteors crash down in the fields around her. Sadako and Riko stare with fear, rushing to (Y/n) and grabbing her, yelling at her to move.

"(Y/n)! (Y/n)!" He continued to cry. His whole heart sank when he notices the largest meteor right above her head. He looks down at her in trouble, yelling at her one more time.

"(Y/N)!"

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