I’m really late, and there’s almost nobody around. The calls of the copper pheasants echo, piichik paachik, and it’s just another peaceful morning in town. We’ll have to do it ourselves, I think.

“There’s no way I’m letting anybody die!”

I shout it out loud, emphatically, as if hammering the resolution into my own mind. I run even faster. There’s not even half a day left until that meteor comes down.

“Mitsuha, wha…? Y-your hair…!”

“Girl, that hair! What on earth?!”

The second I enter the classroom, Teshigawara and Saya stare at my (Mitsuha’s) face, dumbfounded.

“Oh yeah, the hair? It was way better before, right?”

As I speak, I flip the shoulder-length bob away from the back of my neck. Come to think of it, Mitsuha lopped off most of that long hair of hers at some point, didn’t she? I prefer long black hair, so I’m not a fan of this… No, that’s not what’s important now!

“Never mind that!”

Teshigawara’s mouth is hanging open so wide, I can practically hear the sound effect for shock. Saya’s examining me searchingly. I look back and forth between them.

“If nothing changes, everyone’s gonna die tonight!”

The hum in the classroom stops dead. All our classmates’ eyes are on me.

“H-hold it, Mitsuha. What’re you sayin’?!”

Saya hastily stands up, and Teshigawara grabs my arm and pulls me. As they drag me out of the classroom, my head finally cools down a bit. I guess it’s only natural that they wouldn’t believe me. Maybe it’s like the old lady said, and it’s unreasonable to expect people to buy something like this out of the blue. I was so excited about swapping for the first time in ages that I convinced myself things would just work out somehow.

Hmm. This might be tougher than I expected.

…Or so I thought, but as far as Teshigawara was concerned, that was wasted worry.

“Mitsuha, is that for real?”

“Yes, it’s for real! Tonight, Comet Tiamat is going to split and turn into a meteorite, and it’s hugely likely it’s gonna hit this town. I can’t reveal my sources, but I got the information through a reliable channel.”

“That’s… a full-on emergency!”

“C’mon, Tesshi, what’re you lookin’ so serious for? Are you really that dumb?”

Naturally, Saya isn’t having any of it.

“What’s this source of yours, anyway? The CIA? NASA? What’re you goin’ on about? ‘Reliable channels’? You pretendin’ you’re a spy now? Honestly, Mitsuha, what’s the matter with you?!”

She couldn’t be more sensible. Getting desperate, I dump all the money out of Mitsuha’s wallet.

“Saya, please! I’ll pay, so take this and go buy whatever you want! Then at least listen to what I’ve got to say!”

I’m begging, and my expression is dead serious. Startled, Saya takes a long, hard look at me.

“But you’re always tight with your money… You’re really goin’ that far?”

Huh? She is? But she burned through my money like crazy!

Saya sighs, as if she’s resigned herself. “…I guess I’ll have to, then. None of this makes any sense, but fine, I’ll at least listen. Tesshi, gimme the key to your bike.” She sets off for the main entrance, grumbling, “This ain’t enough for more than a couple cheap sweets.”