Chapter 3: Definition of “Fascinating”

When Yaegashi Taichi arrived at school the next morning, he headed directly for the clubroom on the fourth floor of the Rec Hall. This was because, on his way there, he had received an email from one Kiriyama Yui that read “Meet in the clubroom as soon as you get here! MANDATORY.”

He and Nagase had only switched bodies just yesterday. Surely anyone in his shoes would have been on edge.

As soon as he entered the clubroom, he spotted Nagase Iori sprawled out on the couch, looking utterly zoned out. Her usual sparkle was now dark and cloudy. She must have been exhausted. She seemed... empty, somehow.

“Morning, Nagase... It is you, right?”

A question he ordinarily wouldn’t dream of asking someone first thing in the morning.

“Hiya, Taichi. At least, I’m guessing you’re Taichi.”

What a bizarre conversation.

About a minute or so later, a third person arrived at the clubroom.

“Sup, Ao—” Nagase stopped short.

Aoki Yoshifumi had entered the clubroom looking white as a sheet and ready to pass out at a moment’s notice—much like he had a few days prior.

“Y-You okay, buddy...?” Taichi asked hesitantly.

“Oh, yeah, totally... NOT!” On the outside—excluding his pallid complexion—Aoki looked to be his usual lanky, goofy self. His attitude, however, was completely off.

“You wouldn’t happen to be... Yui, by any chance...?” Nagase asked with a tone of forced cheer.

Kiriyama Yui had switched bodies with Aoki just three days prior. Had the same thing happened for a second time?

“That’s right! I’m Kiriyama Yui! God, I hate this... I can’t take this anymore...!” [Aoki] (Kiriyama) shuddered.

No matter how much she professed to be Kiriyama on the inside, it was hard to believe when she looked so much like Aoki on the outside. Hell, for all they knew, it could have been Aoki acting like a girl for a laugh.

That said, it was obvious this was no joke. Her sentiments were clearly the genuine article.

“Just calm down, Kiriyama. We know it’s you in there. We believe you.”

But Taichi’s words of encouragement fell on deaf ears. Evidently [Aoki] (Kiriyama) just couldn’t take it anymore.

“I mean, what kind of sick joke IS this?! Why does it have to be with Aoki?! Why do I have to end up in this gross body?! Why can’t I trade with Iori instead?!”

“Is that really the part you should be upset about...?”

Short answer: no, it wasn’t.

“Mornin’, y’all!”

Then a fourth person entered the clubroom—and the three of them froze.

“Gotta say, I’m not stoked about this whole situation first thing in the morning, y’know? Wait, huh? What is it? What’s wrong, guys? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or somethin’.”

This easygoing comment was delivered in a deep and commanding voice belonging to the one and only Inaba Himeko. In all the time they’d known each other, Taichi had never heard Inaba talk that way. It was rather reminiscent of... Aoki.

A split-second later, the door slammed open with a loud BANG as the fifth and final member of the CRC arrived, gasping for breath.

Someone piloting [Kiriyama Yui] swallowed hard and shouted—

“I... I admit it! You guys were telling the truth! I... I’m in [Yui’s body]!”

“I thought it was...” Taichi began.

“Limited to...” Nagase continued.

“Two people...?” Taichi finished.

Due to the current state of emergency that had taken the form of a three-way body-swap—Kiriyama as [Aoki], Aoki as [Inaba], and Inaba as [Kiriyama]—the CRC unanimously agreed they would be skipping first period as a group.

□■□■□

At lunchtime, Taichi, Nagase, and Inaba were all called into the staff room. All five members of the CRC had turned up late to class that day after missing first and second period without an excused absence.

“Look, you know how it is. I know none of you really need this lecture, but I gotta at least pretend to do my job here. Just act like I’m grilling you, okay? I’m gonna eat my lunch. I got soba today, see. Can’t let it get soggy!”

The three of them stood there as Gotou “Gossan” Ryuuzen, the physics teacher who served as advisor for Class 1-C, painstakingly peeled the cling wrap from his cafeteria-bought to-go bowl.

“I’m hungry too, you know...” Nagase muttered next to Taichi.

“I gotta say, I didn’t expect this kind of behavior from good kids like you three. It’s honestly a bit concerni—ghcckk!” Gotou started to cough up his mouthful of noodles. “Haah... Man, why is it that super-hot food always makes you choke on the first bite? ...What? Just me?”

“Damn it, Gotou, just hurry it up already.”

“Inaba... We’ve been over this. I like to maintain a cool, laid-back reputation, so I’ll let you kids give me silly nicknames like ‘Gossan’ or whatever, but I’d appreciate at least a modicum of respect.”

Indeed, Gotou’s casual teaching style had made him wildly popular with the student body. Plus, it probably helped that he was in his mid-twenties. Maybe a younger teacher was just easier to relate to overall.

“You’ll get your respect once you quit slacking and start doing your job, Gotou. Remind me again who ended up handling all the bookkeeping for 1-C’s Culture Festival budget?”

“Oh yeah... Man, I really owe you one for that, Inaba-san! Hahaha... Please don’t mention that in front of the other teachers, okay?”

So relatable, in fact, that he was bordering on incompetent...

Gotou slurped up a few noodles, then took a sip of broth. Beside him, Taichi heard a small, cute stomach rumble in Nagase’s direction. He glanced over, and she stuck her tongue out in return, clearly embarrassed. Did everything about her have to be so goddamn adorable?

“Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. What were you guys doing, anyway? I’m told Aoki and Kiriyama missed first and second period, too. I mean, all five of you? Really? As your club advisor, I’m in hot water here... blah blah blah. Just play along with me.”

Yes, Gotou also happened to be in charge of supervising the Cultural Research Club. More specifically, he was the one who founded it earlier that year.

“We weren’t ‘doing’ anything. What happened was, we all split a 5-pack of mini chocolate cream buns yesterday, but it turned out they were expired. Sure enough, it made us all sick, and that’s why we were late,” Inaba recited matter-of-factly. She had warned Taichi and Nagase in advance to let her do all the talking.

“And if we asked Aoki and Kiriyama, would they say the same thing? I believe Hirata-sensei from Class 1-A is having a talk with them as we speak.”

“Yes, of course.”

Naturally, they’d conspired to come up with a cover story in advance.

“Mmmm...” Gotou let his eyes wander over the walls as he chewed, seeming to be deep in thought. “Well, there’s no proof that you’re lying, so I’ll take your word for it. You’re all free to go.” He gestured at the door with his chopsticks.

“Gladly. Let’s go.” With that, the three of them bowed their heads in farewell, and headed for the exit.

But before they made it out of the staff room—

“Next time you wanna skip class with the whole club, try to make it less obvious, okay?”

Either he was really understanding or just completely unfit to be a teacher.

“Thank you! We’ll be going now!” No one was listening, but it was still the polite thing to say regardless.

“Classic Inaban! I’ll never know how you can make lying look so easy!” Nagase gushed as soon as they stepped out into the hallway.

“Not only that, but she does it with such an uppity attitude, too...”

“I bet she’d make a great scam artist... Maybe insurance fraud or something!”

“Shut it, you two! If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all!” Inaba cut in, interrupting their commentary.

“Aw, c’mon. I meant it all as a compliment!” Nagase replied.

“Oh god, she’s serious...”

Despite the three-way body-swap they had endured this morning—a feat so ridiculous, it would almost certainly cause a schoolwide panic if word got out (assuming everyone believed them, anyway)—Taichi and the others seemed no worse for wear.

The key word here being “seemed,” of course. Something was almost certainly changing below the surface. But as long as no one got hurt—

—And at that, darkness fell in the blink of an eye.

The next thing he knew, Taichi was face-to-face with a girl he’d never met. He was sitting down, but even still his point of view was much lower than he was accustomed to.

“What’s wrong, [Yui]? You just kinda zoned out all of a sudden. And you dropped your asparagus on the table.”

At this rate, someone was bound to get hurt sooner or later.

“I... I gotta go to the bathroom real fast.”

“Huh? Right now? Are you feeling sick?”

“No... No, um, I’m fine...”

“Want me to come with you?”

“N-No thanks! I can go by myself!”

Once again, the body-swapping phenomenon had struck, this time between himself and Kiriyama. Thinking quickly, he piloted [Kiriyama’s body] to the girls’ restroom to wait it out. The next moment, Kiriyama’s phone started buzzing—but before he could answer it, they switched back.

All in all, the switch lasted just over three minutes.

It was a crazy whirlwind of events... A destructive force that left no one intact.

□■□■□

At last, sixth period came to an end.

Regardless of whatever bizarre trials the members of the CRC were forced to endure, so long as it had no impact on anyone outside the five of them, the world carried on like normal.

As he packed up to leave, Taichi chatted with his neighboring classmates. Then Gotou came in to hold a brief class assembly—making sure everyone was caught up on the latest updates, announcing who would be assigned to cleanup duty—and with that, the day was officially over.

Today’s routine was just the same as always. It didn’t matter if a hellacious tornado of destruction was tearing up five measly lives. To the world at large, it was a tiny blip at the most.

Together with his assigned group, Taichi headed out of the classroom to clean the restrooms.

Suddenly, he sensed someone glaring daggers at him, and a shiver ran down his spine. He turned to find Fujishima Maiko, president of Class 1-C and key participant in the antics that went down yesterday when he and Nagase had swapped bodies. Beside her stood Nagase, who shooed Taichi away with an anxious look on her face.

Perhaps today’s routine had deviated a little...

“Sorry I’m la—aagh!”

The instant he opened the clubroom door, Nagase pounced.

“Taichi! You little punk... We need to talk, NOW!” Her whole body shook with barely contained emotion; her expression rife with confusion and panic.

“Wh-What’s going on, Nagase?”

“Yesterday, in the classroom, before I got there... what the heck happened between you and Fujishima-saaan?!”

Evidently things had taken a turn for the worse.

“Oh, not much—”

“I’ll decide how ‘much’ it is, mister!”

“Whoa, dude. Iori-chan almost never gets this mad,” Aoki commented, but Taichi’s brain only vaguely registered it. He had more important things to worry about... like Nagase’s terrifying expression. He knew trying to cover it up would only make things worse, so he decided to come clean—and that meant telling Nagase that Fujishima had seen him fondling [her] breasts.

“Waaahhh! You squeezed my boobies?! Now I’ll never get married!” Nagase sobbed.

“I... I swear, I was just trying to figure out what was going on! I needed to know if I was actually in a girl’s body!”

“Yeah, I know... It’s actually not that big of a deal... But F-F-Fujishima-san... Aaaagghh!” Nagase began to visibly quake. She was legitimately freaking out.

“Y-You okay, Nagase?! What did she do to you?! What kind of monster are we dealing with here?!”

At this rate, Fujishima was rapidly proving to be scarier than any horror movie monster. It was hard to believe any ordinary human could strike this much fear into the heart of the same girl who laughed off their body-swap like it was nothing.

“Okay, moving right along! I have a question for Taichi!” Aoki cut in loudly. “How big are Iori-chan’s—bwegh!”

Inaba brought her fist down on Aoki’s skull. Just watching it was painful.

“Quit wasting time with your stupid questions! If you wanna know so badly, I’ll tell you! Iori’s a C cup, okay?! And before you ask, I’m a B cup, and Yui’s an A cup!”

“Wh... What’d you go and tell them mine for?!” Kiriyama howled, leaping up out of her folding chair with such momentum that it fell over.

“Sorry. Caught up in the moment.”

“Iori’s one thing, but now you throw me in ‘cuz you got ‘caught up in the moment’?! You did that on purpose!” Kiriyama shouted, slamming her hands on the table as Inaba looked on in amusement.

“Yo, relax, Yui! So what if your twin peaks are more like speed bumps? There are plenty of other great things about you!” Aoki flashed his pearly whites.

“Speed bumps?! The heck is THAT supposed to mean?! And besides, they say anything more than a handful is a waste!”

“Oh, I see. I didn’t really have a decent frame of reference for cup sizes until now. So Inaba’s a B, and Kiriyama’s an A...”

“TAICHI! What, are you like taking notes?! You j—hhck!” Kiriyama screamed herself into a coughing fit.

Be it now or in the future, no matter what manner of insane circumstances were foisted upon them, one thing would likely never change: the CRC would always have something to yell about.

However, the situation at hand proved dire enough that they knew they needed to settle down and have an actual serious discussion about it.

“Alright, let’s go over everything we know. It all started three days ago... or more accurately, the night before yesterday. Yui and Aoki were fast asleep when they suddenly switched bodies in the middle of the night.” As the resident record-keeper, Inaba began to scrawl notes on the chalkboard as she spoke. “Next, Iori and Taichi switched yesterday after school, after we’d just met up in the clubroom. Then, this morning, while we were all on our way to school, there was a three-way shuffle: I got swapped into [Yui’s body], Yui ended up in [Aoki’s], and Aoki ended up in [mine]. Then, finally, there was a brief moment at lunchtime where Yui and Taichi switched.”

“When you lay it all out like that, it’s kinda crazy... If we keep getting shuffled around like this, I think I’m gonna lose track,” Nagase muttered, her brows furrowed.

“Next, let’s go over what we know about the phenomenon itself. Disclaimer: this is all subject to change as we learn more. So, first: it happens without warning. As of yet, we haven’t figured out what, if anything, triggers it, so we have no way of knowing when it will strike. Second: it appears to have no set time period. Today’s incident at lunch holds the record for shortest swap at just over three minutes, and the swap this morning has been the longest we’ve seen at 90 minutes. Between all four instances, this brings us to an average duration of 40 minutes. Third: it takes place specifically between the members of the CRC... Okay, I’m honestly not too sure about this one. It’s a bit too oddly specific for this phenomenon to affect just the five of us, so we should assume there’s a chance it’ll spread. Lastly, as of today, we’ve discovered that the body-swap itself can take place between more than just two people. Am I missing anything?”

“Oh, um... Well, there’s something that’s been bothering me...” Kiriyama answered hesitantly.

“There’s no concrete basis for any of this, so feel free to say whatever’s on your mind,” Inaba responded, though judging from her tone, it was hard to say whether she was trying to encourage Kiriyama or not.

“So, um... I might be totally overthinking this because I’ve been involved in most of the swaps, but when it happened to Iori and Taichi, [Taichi’s body] fell forward like he was totally passed out, remember? But this morning, when it was the three of us—when I found myself in [Aoki’s body], [he] was just sitting on the ground, not completely collapsed like that... And...” Kiriyama trailed off and looked over at Taichi.

Sensing where she was heading with this, he picked up where she left off. “Good point. When I switched with Nagase, [her body] was collapsed on top of a desk, but when it happened with you, [your body] stayed perfectly upright in your chair. And with chopsticks in [your] hand, too... although I did drop your asparagus.”

“Right? And when I was [you], I felt [your] knees buckle a bit, but other than that [you] didn’t even stumble...”

“Does this mean we’re getting the hang of it, or something?” Nagase pondered.

“That’s a valid observation. Nice going, Yui.” Inaba paused. “But if we’re building up a tolerance to the body-swap... is that necessarily a good thing?”

The implication of her words loomed heavily over the CRC. How long would this continue? And supposing it would last a while... where was the light at the end of the tunnel?

“Alright. If there are no further comments, let’s start discussing what we can do to combat this situation.” For a moment, Inaba had looked just as conflicted as the rest of them, but she quickly recovered her momentum. Her motto: maintain total control of the situation at all times. And it was to that end that she dedicated her time to information gathering and analysis.

“The first thing we need to figure out is how this started. Crazy shit like this doesn’t just happen every day. There has to be a reason behind it... At least, I really hope there is... So, any ideas? I, for one, certainly don’t remember signing up for this.”

“What could the cause even be? I mean, if we somehow triggered it, surely it would have been really obvious the second it happened.”

“Taichi, don’t be a dipshit. That’s exactly why I’m asking everyone to think about it.”

Okay, sheesh... You didn’t have to call me a dipshit... Taichi thought to himself.

“Hmm... Well, when ya see it happen in manga, usually it’s because two characters crashed into each other at full speed, right?”

“Aoki, you moron! I’m gonna call you Moroki for short! Anyway, of all the stupid things you could possibly... Well... Then again, this whole situation is stupid to begin with, so maybe you’re actually on the right track here...”

On second thought, maybe “dipshit” isn’t so bad.

“Goddamnit... The second you accept one implausible thing as plausible, suddenly it’s all fair game...” Inaba bit her index fingernail in frustration. “Seriously, guys, we need to think about this. There’s got to be some kind of explanation for—”

Just then, the door opened.

Outside of the five members of the CRC, Room 401 never saw any visitors. No one was ever desperate enough to climb all those stairs; the five of them would get summoned down to the ground floor instead. As far as Taichi was aware—that is to say, as of this spring, when the room was officially assigned to the Cultural Research Club—he and his clubmates were the only people to ever set foot in 401.

But now an outsider had opened the gates to their inviolate space.

Instantly, the tension in the room spiked. With everything that was happening to them, this unusual event felt far more significant—like a sign of something to come.

Their visitor peered inside the room. It was Gotou Ryuuzen, advisor to Class 1-C and supervisor for the Cultural Research Club.

“...Hellooo... Good to see you...” His voice was unusually lethargic.

“For fuck’s sake, Gotou! Warn us before you come up here! You nearly scared the shit out of me!”

Evidently even the usually unshakeable Inaba was a little unnerved by this... though in Taichi’s opinion, Gotou hadn’t really done anything to warrant a reaction like that.

“Well, that’s hardly my problem...” Gotou seemed... different, somehow. His eyes were half-lidded, as though someone—or something—had drained all the vigor from his spirit.

“What’s the matter with you? Feeling sick or something?” Inaba asked. Evidently his listlessness had given her cause for concern as well.

“No, no, [this fellow] is perfectly fine... Ridiculously healthy, as a matter of fact... I imagine it’s just my lack of enthusiasm, or spirit, or guts, or vitality, or whatever else...”

Gotou didn’t sound like himself. Nothing he said made any sense.

Then an impossible conclusion dawned on them.

“Who are you?” Nagase asked, her dour, icy gaze fixed firmly on the person who, by all accounts, should have been [Gotou Ryuuzen].

“...Thank you for understanding, Nagase-san... That’ll make this go by faster... It’s too much effort to have to explain every last little thing...”

“Wh... What kind of joke is this...?” Inaba forced the words out like she was desperate to cling to any other possibility.

“Compared to what you five are going through right now, I’d say this is rather tame...”

“Hold on a minute... What’s wrong with you, Gossan?” Kiriyama asked, utterly lost.

“Nothing’s wrong... The five of you were getting good and panicked over this body-swapping business, so I thought I’d pay you a visit, obviously... I’m not here for the fun of it, you know... Oh... Another thing... Please stop calling me ‘Gotou’ or ‘Gossan’ or whatever... That’s not my name... Although I suppose it doesn’t really matter...”

Its words pierced deep into their hearts. Instantly, they knew their normal lives were gone for good.

The Gotou-esque entity then proceeded to describe the body-swapping incidents in painstaking detail, including tidbits the five of them hadn’t shared with each other. With this, Inaba’s pet theory—that Gotou had been eavesdropping on their conversation and was just screwing with them—was proved irrefutably false.

And if the five of them could switch bodies at any given time, it wasn’t a stretch to assume it was possible for other people, too.

“...Alright. I get that you’re... different, and you’re not the same Gotou we know. So who exactly are you?”

At Inaba’s question, [Gotou] adopted a contemplative stance. “Who am I, you ask...? I’m not really sure how to answer that... I have a sort of name, I suppose... It’s «Heartseed»...”

“Heartseed? What, you’re named after some obscure plant?” Inaba retorted under her breath.

“...Huh...? I’m not sure... But in terms of my role here, I’m the one who watches over all of you, I suppose you could say...” It sighed. “Forget it... Let’s just say I’m a nobody named «Heartseed» and leave it at that...”

“You watch over us...? Wait, but... then what happened to the real Gossan? Is he in [someone else’s body] right now?”

“Ah... Quite astute, Yaegashi-san... Thank you for helping things along... Basically, yes. Though, to be exact, in my case, it’s not a ‘switch,’ per se... That would take too much time... More like I’m just visiting, I guess...? I don’t really need you to understand, I suppose... Ugh... Why did I bother explaining, then...? Do you mind if I get right to the point...? Just let me say my piece so I can go home... Thank you for your cooperation...”

With its lethargy and blatant apathy toward everyone else, [Gotou] «Heartseed» was in full control of the conversation.

“Then, does this mean you will enlighten us as to the circumstances we currently find ourselves in, my good sir?” Aoki asked, apparently having adopted some sort of strange, overly-polite persona.

“Oh... Well... More or less... But it might not be the explanation you’re all hoping for... After all, there’s no point in living up to your hopes in the first place... Now then... Let’s get started... Oh, wait... Does one of you want to take notes or something...? Oh... Right... I guess you don’t have to, since you can just rely on Inaba-san’s photographic memory...”

“How do you even know about that?” Inaba muttered, but [Gotou] «Heartseed» ignored her and carried on.

“Let’s see... Well, for the time being... The five of you will be switching bodies with each other, completely at random... I’ll go ahead and say this... You’re all doing a great job so far... Not that I actually meant a word of that... Wait... I shouldn’t have said that last part... Oops... I did it again... I’ve been talking to myself a lot lately... It’s a bad habit I’d like to unlearn, but... well... I don’t care that much, I suppose... Guess I won’t bother unlearning it, then...”

“So it’s totally random who ends up switching with whom? And it happens at random, too?” Nagase asked. She was surprisingly calm and rational—much more so than Taichi had ever seen her. Her voice seemed... colder, somehow.

“Ah... I knew I could count on you, Nagase-san... Yes, that’s exactly right... The five of you will be switching bodies at random, and I’ll be observing the results... That’s all there is to it... Oh, but I won’t be infringing on your privacy 24/7, so no need to worry about that... I only watch under certain conditions... I don’t watch for the fun of it, after all... It’s too much effort... Does that answer all your questions...? Though, even if it doesn’t, I’m not planning to do anything about it...”

“That doesn’t even begin to answer our questions,” Taichi retorted.

Inaba let out a breath. “Okay... Normally this is the part where I’d say ‘you’re not making any goddamn sense,’ but then again, our current situation doesn’t make much rational sense, either. So, I’ll bite. I have a few questions for you. One: why us? Two: do you have full control over what happens to us? Three: how do we make this stop? Four: what is your objective in doing this?” She paused. “Honestly, I have a hell of a lot more where that came from, but I’ll leave it at that for now.”

[Gotou] «Heartseed» froze, staring blankly in Inaba’s direction for a few moments. “Those are all very astute questions, Inaba-san... I’m impressed you didn’t bother asking me how I’m capable of doing this in the first place... Under circumstances like these, it’s a common question, but upon further reflection you soon realize it doesn’t actually matter... Ugh... There I go rambling on about pointless nonsense again...” It droned on at a snail’s pace. “Let’s see... Regarding your first question, you were chosen purely by chance... Nothing more to it, really... Well... More accurately, you were chosen because you happened to be interesting, kind of...”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Taichi muttered.

“Come now... Wouldn’t you agree the five of you are a bit more fascinating than most...? Oh... Right... I forgot... Some people are patently oblivious...”

By “some people,” it seemed it was referring to the five of them. But what did it mean by it?

“What else was there? Do I have control... How to make it stop... My objective...? Okay, I’ll answer them in that order... Wait... Was I ever obligated to answer all this in the first place...? Ah, yes... This is entirely pointless and unnecessary, isn’t it... I was so caught up in the flow of the conversation, I nearly told you everything... That was a close call... Whew... Anyway, there’s no set rules... You’ll be switching bodies for a while, and once I feel you’ve proved sufficiently entertaining, that’s when it will end... It won’t be for too much longer... Not that I know your definition of ‘long,’ nor do I care to find out...”

“So, judging from that last part, I take it you’re in full control of this situation—or at least, you decide when it ends. In which case, I think it’s safe to say you’re the one who made this happen,” Inaba declared.

“Uh oh... Busted... Actually, I wasn’t ‘busted’ until just now, when I copped to it... Anyway, please just go about your daily lives and try not to worry about it too much... Worrying about it is a waste of time, after all... Think of it as just another one of life’s little hurdles, or something like that... You’re not in any mortal danger, after all... Also, I encourage you not to waste time thinking about the science behind how the body-swap works... It’s beyond your understanding... And if possible, I would greatly appreciate it if you could forget I ever existed... The five of you have more important matters at hand... Use that time to think about yourselves instead... That way the body-swap won’t have to be dragged out any longer than it needs to be... It’s a win-win scenario for both of us... Yes... How lovely it would be...”

Did «Heartseed» actually expect them to just learn to live with it?

“Am I forgetting anything...? Oh, right... I strongly recommend you keep this body-swap situation to yourselves... It’ll only complicate matters... Not so much for me, but almost certainly for you... You know what I’m getting at, yes...? I’m going to assume you do...” [Gotou] «Heartseed» scratched [his] head and stared up at the ceiling like it was reviewing a mental list. “Okay... I think that’s everything... In fact, I’m just going to assume I’m done so I can leave... Anyway, best of luck... I’ll be rooting for you from the top of my heart... Oh, wait... I should have lied and said ‘the bottom of my heart’ instead...”

With that, [Gotou]—or rather, «Heartseed»—turned and headed for the door. Clearly it had no interest in helping them understand. It just wanted to show up, drop its bombshell, and leave—

“Hold it right there!”

—but naturally, Inaba wasn’t about to let it off the hook. That would go against her motto, after all.

She strode over and seized «Heartseed» by the shoulder. “Up ‘til now I was content to shut up and let you say your piece, but I still have a ton of questions. And you haven’t even answered the ones I asked earlier.” If she was afraid of it, she certainly didn’t act that way.

“We’re in the middle of a crisis here. You don’t really think we’d just let you leave, do you?” Nagase added, cracking her knuckles.

Inaba had a naturally combative personality, and Nagase was easily influenced by her surroundings. Let the two of them fall in sync and there would be no stopping them.

«Heartseed» looked back over [his] shoulder. “Like I said... The five of you have more important business to be dealing with... As for me, I’m not trying to pick a fight with you... I sincerely mean that... Not that I care if you like me—oh, I shouldn’t have said that part...” Judging from his expression, he didn’t seem too upset by his slip-up. If anything, he looked to be mildly annoyed at most.

Inaba forcibly spun him back around to face them. “We’re not just gonna roll over and let you have your way!”

The next instant, his eyes glinted with unearthly light, and a dull impact rippled through the room as flesh and bone collided. Inaba flew backwards, colliding with Nagase, and Aoki behind both of them. Chairs and tables toppled as the three of them crashed to the ground—almost like a scene out of an action flick.

Someone screamed.

Collapsed on top of Aoki, Inaba clutched at her chest, coughing up fluids. It looked like she’d taken a hard elbow strike to the solar plexus.

“Ouchie...” Nagase had fallen squarely on her rear and was now rubbing her tailbone. Judging from her goofy tone, she was probably fine.

“I didn’t want to have to do that, but maybe it’s the fastest way to help you understand... Seriously though, I didn’t want to do it... Too much effort...” In a blink, the bloodthirsty aura from moments before had faded, and «Heartseed» was back to its usual, sluggish self.

They were completely outmatched.

Taichi couldn’t really explain how he knew, but he did.

Meanwhile, Inaba struggled to speak as she gasped for breath. “Guys... gghcck... Don’t... let him... get away...!”

“Shhh... Just take it easy, Inabacchan!” Aoki cut in, cradling her.

“Look... I don’t believe in violence, but it looks like we don’t have a choice here,” Taichi said, stepping forward. «Heartseed» looked in his direction and fell still.

Though it was wearing [Gotou’s body], there was something imperceptible about it that made Taichi reflexively recoil.

Nevertheless, Inaba was right. They couldn’t afford to let it get away—not when it was clear it was directly involved in the supernatural phenomenon that currently plagued their every waking moment. If they let it walk out the door now, there was no guarantee they’d ever get a second chance.

At this point, they had no choice but to resort to violence—and Taichi was obligated to step up to the plate.

With «Heartseed» wearing [Gotou’s face], the task at hand would not be easy, but again, he had no other option.

But then an arm shot out in front of his chest, blocking his path.

“Wait, Taichi. Let me handle this.”

It was Kiriyama.

“But I need to—”

“No, Taichi, you don’t need to,” Kiriyama interrupted. She was smiling, but her brows were furrowed in frustration, as though she were admonishing a spoiled child. “Besides, you and I both know I’m stronger than you. Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

Taichi opened his mouth to argue, but fell silent and bit his lip instead. She was right. While he may have had superior physical strength, Kiriyama had trained in full contact karate up until middle school. She was so talented, in fact, many considered her to be a child prodigy.

And yet, her voice was shaking.

“Then let’s team up and—”

“No thanks, deadweight.”

Rejected before he could even finish his suggestion.

“Yui! What about me? I could back you up—”

“Get lost.”

Evidently she was in no mood to go easy on Aoki, either.

She hopped back and forth, assuming a low stance, her long reddish-brown hair bouncing along with her. She exuded an entirely different vibe now—one that seemed to recast every movement in slow motion. It felt like she might pounce with the slightest twitch... a fearsome aura radiating from a girl barely 150 centimeters tall.

It felt as though a bird of prey had manifested inside the room.

But «Heartseed» showed no signs of alarm; instead, it stared at her blankly.

“I’m ready to play! Not sure why you bothered waiting, though. You totally could have made your escape by now... so why didn’t you try?” Kiriyama asked as she edged her way closer.

“...Oh, you’re right... Ugh... Hindsight is 20/20... Anyway, I just thought I might get a glimpse of something mildly entertaining... though you’d be surprised just how trivial it turned out to be...”

“Guess I’ll just have to change your mind, then.”

Kiriyama took a step forward—then leapt into the air, launching a flying kick at [his] face like a hawk descending upon her prey.

“I’m sorry, Gossan!”

But right before her strike connected, «Heartseed» raised [his] arm to block.

In that moment, the twenty-centimeter height difference scarcely seemed to matter. And yet, in the blink of an eye, «Heartseed» had effortlessly intercepted the attack. This duel was already overwhelming for an average joe like Taichi—but it didn’t stop there.

As she descended, Kiriyama swung her fist in midair. With her tawny tresses flowing behind her, she looked ever more like a hawk in flight.

But «Heartseed» seized her wrist with [his] free hand—a feat Taichi knew no ordinary human could pull off, though considering the bored expression on [his] face, it certainly made it look easy.

As soon as Kiriyama’s feet hit the floor, her legs buckled, and she fell to her knees.

In an instant, her battle girl persona was shattered.

[He] was barely touching her, and yet she had completely lost the will to fight. She stared at the floor, trembling like a newborn fawn.

“Yui!”

“Kiriyama!”

Nagase rushed over, followed by Taichi.

But the next instant, his sight warped and dimmed.

The next thing he knew, he was on his knees, cradling Inaba in his arms.

Confusion set in. Then he realized.

If he was holding Inaba, that meant he was in [Aoki’s body].

A beat later, [Inaba] began to cough hoarsely once more.

“Whoa... You okay?!”

“...Inaban... Th... This really hurts...!”

Inaban.

The only person in the CRC—no, the entire school—who used that nickname was Nagase.

Taichi looked up and glanced around the room.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone in [his body] collapse weakly to the floor... probably Kiriyama, judging from the state she was in just moments prior. Meanwhile, [Kiriyama] was frozen in place on [her] knees, [her] wrist still in «Heartseed»’s grasp, her face white as a sheet. Lastly, someone in [Nagase’s body] was standing tall with [her] arms folded across [her] chest.

“Wait... Did the body-swap just kick in...? That’s actually... sort of fascinating...” said «Heartseed», looking down on Taichi and the others with an expression that suggested it wasn’t fascinated in the least. “Alright... This looks like a good time for me to leave... For real this time...” It let go of [Kiriyama’s] wrist and reached for the doorknob.

“Wait. At least answer me this,” said whoever was currently occupying [Nagase’s body]. “Obviously we’re powerless to stop you, so let me ask: will we ever have another opportunity to see you again?”

“...Good question... I imagine you’ll see me again once this is all over... No guarantees, though... Now, could you please stop trying to manhandle this... what was it... ‘Gotou-san’ person...? You’re only wasting your time...”

“That so? Well then, looks like we won’t be able to oppose you. Hmph... Guess we don’t have a choice. I would’ve liked to kick your ass, but ah well... Unfortunate. Say, «Heartseed», before you go, would you mind if I pointed out something I just noticed?” [Nagase] asked, smirking, her tone strangely casual.

Taichi could think of only one person who would have the guts to act this way—Inaba.

“When you first got here, you said you came to us because we were ‘getting good and panicked over this body-swapping business,’ yeah? Which suggests if we hadn’t met your standards, you wouldn’t have come. And considering you said you were ‘impressed’ by my choice of questions, that must mean you’ve done this at least once before, right? And another thing—if you have a name, that would imply there are more than one of you, correct?”

Even in the face of utter chaos, Inaba could always be counted on to analyze what small scraps of data she had in order to turn the tables against her opponent... and her wicked grin was even more terrifying coming from the ordinarily sweet and innocent [Nagase].

In response, «Heartseed» offered just two words.

“Who knows...?”

Then, for the first time, [his] lip curled slightly—a shadowy, eerie smile that [Gotou] could never have managed. For a moment, Taichi could practically see sparks flying between it and [Nagase] (Inaba)... but then it returned to its usual lethargic self.

“Well... Try to put up a good fight, I guess... Oh... That kind of slipped out in the heat of the moment... I don’t actually intend to fight with you... I guess I just wanted an excuse to say it for once...”

With that, «Heartseed» walked out of the clubroom, leaving them to deal with the aftermath of its absurd experiment.

Belatedly, Taichi realized that [Kiriyama] was (Aoki) via process of elimination.

Some time later, the CRC decided they needed to check on Gotou. When they arrived at the staff room, sure enough, there sat Gotou Ryuuzen, advisor to Class 1-3 and supervisor for the Cultural Research Club, looking just the same as ever. When they asked him to recount his memory of the day’s events, he replied, “What do you mean? I’ve been working on paperwork all day... Wait, what the?! How is it already this late and I haven’t made any decent progress?! That’s so bizarre... Maybe it’s one of the seven mysteries of Yamaboshi! You should write about this in the next issue of the Culture Bulletin!”

At this, Inaba nearly lost her patience, but then he added, “Hm? Why does my arm hurt...? Whoa! It’s all red, too! Wait... If I put these two observations together, then logically... I’ve got it! I must’ve fallen asleep resting my weight on my arm! That explains it. Silly me! I need to get my act together.” It was a comment so utterly blithe that Inaba lost her temper, put him (a grown man who also happened to be her teacher) in a headlock, and gave him a vicious noogie, right there in the middle of the staff room.

“Owww! Inaba! I’m technically your teacher, you know!”

“Oh yeah? If you’re a teacher, then have some damn SENSE! I don’t even want to bother interrogating you for clues now... Pretty sure you’d just waste my time!”

Somehow, Taichi got the sense he knew why «Heartseed» might have chosen [Gotou]... though there was no telling for sure whether his assessment was accurate.