Chapter Text
Chan Mahiro and Kun Mihari continued to stare at the green-glowing box with expressions of awe. There was something about the sight of it that came across as incredibly mesmerizing and hypnotic to the two of them, coming off like something straight out of a science-fiction movie. Kun Mihari placed her hand on her chin and stared at it intently, trying to deduce how such a phenomenon was even possible.
“It’s completely astounding.” she thought. “Even though my fields of study have been biology and chemistry, I’ve become well versed in nearly every single branch of science thanks to Senpai’s tutilage. Despite this, I’m completely at a loss as to what this could be. Senpai would likely trade her left arm for a chance to be here to witness this thing in action, especially given all of the experiments that we performed on it earlier today.”
“Um, hello…is anybody still there?” Chan Mihari asked.
Chan Mahiro and Kun Mihari immediately snapped out of their thoughts and once again began to focus on the device.
“Yeah, we’re still here.” Kun Mihari answered.
“Good to hear.” Chan Mihari said. “You said that the box started glowing green because right after the necklace was pulled out, right? If that’s true, the real question here is just why that occurred.”
“I think that I know the answer.” Kun Mahiro answered. “Think about it. In the past few days, both versions of us have encountered strange things happening to us, things that come off us just too out of the ordinary to completely ignore. First with the boxes, and now the necklaces, I had a good feeling that it wasn’t a coincidence that they appeared in both worlds. Now that the necklace caused one of these boxes to respond, I think that this all but confirms that these two objects are directly connected, both to each other and whatever force caused the two of us to switch bodies. Unfortunately, I can't verify this idea since I’m not in the world with the box that’s glowing right now, but I think that it lines up. Although, I’d need to see what the necklace looks like to verify if it looks like the one that the Kocho-chan in this world was wearing.”
“In that case, let’s put it in the box and send it right over to you.” Kun Mihari suggested.
“Good idea.” Chan Mahiro said.
Chan Mahiro clamped down on the necklace and began to move it towards the open box. Right before she reached it though, she became confused when she found that her hand was incapable of moving forward.
“Huh? That’s strange.” she said.
“What?” Kun Mihari asked.
“I’m trying to put the necklace in the box but it won’t go in.” Chan Mahiro answered, repeatedly trying to force her hand forward to no avail.
“That’s quite bizarre.” Kun Mihari said. “Here, let me give it a try.”
Chan Mahiro handed the necklace to Kun Mihari, who proceeded to dangle it slightly from the chain.
“Okay, here we go.” she said.
In one swift motion, Kun Mihari launched her hand forward at the open box. Just as her hand passed through the perimeter of the box, she felt a slight pain in her hand at the point where the necklace’s chain was touching it. Out of instinct, Mihari’s fingers opened up and let go of the necklace, which immediately fell back onto the table. This did not go unnoticed by Chan Mahiro who backed up slightly out of shock.
“What’s going on with this thing?” she asked.
“I’m not sure.” Kun Mihari answered.
Kun Mihari proceeded to lift up the necklace by the ornament underneath. Very slowly, she moved it towards the box again and found that she was once again unable to push it forward past a certain point. Her attempts to do so made it feel as if the artifact was touching against some kind of invisible barrier. Curious about this, she placed the ornament against her palm and pressed it directly against the unseen barrier. As expected, Mihari’s palm was halted at the exact same place as before. Mihari discovered though that she was able to curl her fingers past the barrier with absolutely no resistance of any kind. She pulled back her hand and allowed the necklace to fall back onto the table.
“Fascinating.” she said.
“What’s going on?” Chan Mihari asked.
Kun Mihari remained silent for a few seconds before answering.
“To put it simply, the necklace is somehow refusing to allow itself to be placed into the box.” she answered. “My hand is going in there just fine, but it’s like there’s some sort of invisible wall here preventing only the necklace from going through.”
“That’s it.” Kun Mahiro called out.
“What’s it?” Kun Mihari and Chan Mihari asked together.
“I think that I’m beginning to understand how all of this is connected.” Kun Mahiro explained. “We already knew that the boxes and the necklaces were connected, their reaction in each other’s presence confirmed this. And despite the fact that they are connected, the necklace that’s currently in my world cannot be placed in the box. This is very interesting indeed.”
“Will you just get to the point already, Onii-chan?” Kun Mihari asked.
“I was just about to.” Kun Mahiro answered. “This whole thing is very reminiscent of video games where you can’t pass through a certain checkpoint until you’re able to acquire a very specific item. To check for this, there are usually invisible and intangible colliders that exist a specific radius away from the specific point that you need to interact with once you have the item in order to proceed. The fact that we’re unable to place the necklace in the box suggests that this is what we were meant to do all along in order to reset everything back to normal.”
“You know, that actually makes perfect sense when you really think about it.” Kun Mihari said. “I don’t know all that much about video games, but it would make sense that whoever did this would need to leave some sort of breadcrumbs that would make it easy for us to figure out this puzzle. Congratulations Onii-chan, it seems like your vast knowledge about video game mechanics can be useful for something after all, given the circumstances anyway.”
“Hold on, something still doesn’t add up.” Chan Mihari said. “If we already have the necklace in our possession, then why are we still unable to place it in the box.”
“Because there’s more than one necklace.” Kun Mahiro, Kun Mihari, and Chan Mahiro answered together.
“That’s right.” Kun Mahiro continued. “While the one that resides in my world has already been retrieved, the one over here in this world is still in Kocho-chan’s possession. I wonder if…”
Kun Mahiro soon began to look over the box on multiple sides.
“Wonder what, Mahiro-chan?” Chan Mahiro asked. “What are you doing?”
“Whenever I’ve come across scenarios in games like this, they rarely leave you high and dry when it comes to figuring out what you need to move forward.” Kun Mahiro explained. “If they don’t tell you outright, they at the very least leave you a picture explaining what’s required. We didn’t notice anything when we looked over this thing before, but given the presence of the necklace in the other world, I’m hoping that we may be able to…jackpot.”
Kun Mahiro lifted up the box and looked across the bottom side that had been resting on the table. Hers and Chan Mihari’s eyes widened when they noticed that there was a collection of small, green-glowing lettering that had suddenly appeared on the box. They hadn’t noticed it since the table had gotten in the way of the light.
“Woah.” they said together.
“What? What is it?” Kun Mihari asked.
“You’re not going to believe this.” Kun Mahiro answered.
“Some glowing words have appeared on the bottom of the box.” Chan Mihari added.
“For real?” Chan Mahiro asked.
“Well don’t leave us in the dark, what do they say?” Kun Mihari added.
“Hmmm…” Kun Mahiro answered. “I think that it says something along the lines of: When two and two are brought together, all will certainly be made better. If only one is what you have, the puzzle’s means to solve you lack. Right, Onee-chan?”
“Yep, that’s correct.” Chan Mihari answered.
“In that case, I think that this proves what I’ve been thinking.” Kun Mahiro continued. “What this means is that we need to bring both necklaces within the boxes’ seven meter ranges before we can do anything else. We can’t place one necklace in the box otherwise since both of them are required in order to fix this. It’s like some kind of bizarre interwordly game with a shared inventory, in which case you need two unique items in order to proceed. That’s actually quite clever.”
Kun Mihari leaned back in her chair out of shock. She was absolutely astounded that her Mahiro was the one who had managed to figure out all of this. Try as she might, Kun Mihari couldn’t poke a single hole in any of her brother’s logic. Everything added up, and now it appeared that they finally knew of a way to get things back to normal. A bright smile began to appear on her face.
“All right. Good for you, Onii-chan.” she cried out. “That’s two in a row for you right there. I never thought that I’d see the day.”
Kun Mahiro’s cheeks began to turn red. She wasn’t sure how to feel about the way that her Mihari had decided to phrase that.
“But…the good news is that we’ve finally been able to figure all this out.” Kun Mihari continued. “At long last, we know how to return you two back to your own bodies. I can finally be with you again, Onii-chan.”
“And I can be with you again, Onee-chan.” Chan Mahiro added.
There was a collective sigh from the four girls across both worlds. All of them felt as if a gigantic weight had suddenly been lifted from their shoulders, though some of them felt this more strongly than others. For the past four days, they had been left almost completely in the dark regarding how they were going to figure out a means to reverse what had happened. None of them had been prepared to deal with a crisis of such magnitude, but they managed to the best of their ability so far. At long last though, the end was in sight. The path forward was clear since theft knew exactly what needed to be done, and it made them feel amazing in every sense of the word.
“Well I guess that settles it then.” Kun Mihari said. “All that Onii-chan needs to do is get the other necklace back from the Kocho-chan in your world, bring it to the box over there, place it inside while we do the same on our end, and you’ll both be sent back home. I can’t believe that the answer to all of this was actually this simple.”
Chan Mahiro cringed a bit upon hearing this.
“It wasn’t exactly so easy for me to get a hold of the one over here.” she thought.
“Um…it might not be as easy to do this as you think, Mihari.” Kun Mahiro shrugged.
“What do you mean? What’s so hard about it?” Kun Mihari asked. “When you go to school tomorrow, just ask to borrow it from her, bring it back to the house, and we’ll be all set. What’s so difficult about doing that?”
“That’s not what I meant.” Kun Mahiro answered. “I’m not saying that such a thing will be hard, as a matter of fact you make it sound like an incredibly simple task to do. No, I’m referring to something else. You see, there’s been some…recent developments of sorts that might make it complicated for us to change back right away.”
“Developments?” Kun Mihari asked.
“Yes, it’s quite…fascinating to say the least. Chan Mihari answered.
“Well, don’t leave us in the dark, what happened?” Kun Mihari asked.
Kun Mahiro and Chan Mihari looked at each other for a few seconds before taking deep breaths.
“It has to do with the S.E.S.E. exam.” Kun Mahiro answered.
Kun Mihari started to feel very confused while Chan Mahiro backed up by a few steps out of caution.
“Hold on, isn't that…?” she thought.
“Um…how do you know about that, Onii-chan?” Kun Mihari asked.
A flash of lightning rushed through Mihari’s head as she suddenly realized what was going on. Her eyes became wide as saucers and her mouth nearly touched the floor out of sheer disbelief.
“Wait, don’t tell me.” she continued. “Did you really…I mean…were you actually…you know?”
“To answer your question, yes.” Mahiro answered. “Today while I was at school, I was offered the chance to take the S.E.S.E. exam. Or rather, I guess that I should say that my counterpart was offered the opportunity, and I had to accept it on her behalf since I’m currently inhabiting her body.”
“Hold on, you were offered the chance to take that ridiculous exam created by the Sunohara-sensei guy with the beard?” Chan Mihari asked in disbelief.
“Yes, the very same one.” Kun Mahiro answered. “Although it was Mari-chan-sensei who offered me the link to a digital invitation on his behalf.”
Chan Mahiro was starting to have trouble seeing straight due to how surreal all of this was sounding to her.
“And you actually…said yes to the whole thing?” she asked. “You…someone who couldn’t even make it into college during the point in life where you should’ve been able to go there no problem, actually accepted an invitation on my behalf to take a test that would allow me to skip ahead to college early?”
Kun Mahiro’s cheeks began to turn red.
“Well…it’s not like I had any other choice.” she shrugged. “I know that I’m only living your life temporarily, but who am I to just deny you such an amazing opportunity. I may not understand everything that my Mihari has done since she herself took the exam, but I have been a personal witness to the amazing things that she’s been able to do with her life because of it. Sure, skipping ahead to college isn’t exactly everybody’s cup of tea, but there’s no way that I was going to back down just because of my own insecurities related to my failures in the past. A man has to do what a man has to do, and in this case it means doing my best to pass this exam on your behalf. I still have my pride, you know.”
Chan Mihari scoffed at this notion, not noting that Kun Mihari had begun to tear up at what she was hearing.
“Well, whatever stupid pride you claim to have, you need to know that this entire thing has to be the…” Chan Mahiro started.
All of a sudden, Kun Mihari clamped both of her hands around Chan Mahiro’s mouth, completely muffling what she was trying to say.
“Single greatest thing that I’ve ever heard in my life.” Kun Mihari interrupted, tears running down her face completely.
“What?” Kun Mahiro and Chan Mihari asked together, and Chan Mahiro thought at the same time.
“Onii-chan, I wish that you could be here right now to see how happy I am right now. I may be crying my eyes out, but note that there are without a doubt tears of absolute joy.”
“I’m sorry?” Kun Mahiro asked.
“Ever since I first conceived of the Onii-chan Rehabilitation Project, I was always waiting for a day like this to come.” Kun Mihari answered. “Never in a million years though did I ever suspect that it would wind up happening so soon.”
“Mihari, you’re not making any sense.” Kun Mahiro said.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Kun Mihari asked. “They did explain to you what the purpose of the exam is, right? The reason that it’s given is to determine if someone, no matter how old or young they may be, is truly ready to enter the adult world and be treated as such. The whole purpose of my project was to give you a new lease on life via a second childhood that was completely different from what you had experienced the first time around. This included a new sense of style, actual friends for the first time in your life, and an education which, at least at first, wouldn’t be too difficult or complicated for you to get through. At the end of the day though, the long-term end-result of all of these things was to allow you to mentally mature in a way that would allow you to once again reenter society as a responsible adult. Whether that took one year, three years, or the entire eight years that you got back thanks to the drug, that was always what I was guiding you towards. And now, you’ve been given a chance to take a test that will act as proof of whether or not you’ve reached that ultimate end state. Granted, I never once imagined that such a thing would happen to you, but I guess that life is very funny that way. If you can actually pass this thing, it will mean that all my efforts have paid off, and that you could finally change back to normal knowing that you are finally mature enough to do so.”
That last sentence immediately struck a chord with Kun Mahiro. Her Mihari was actually telling her that passing this test meant that she would finally be able to return to normal after so many months of living as a middle-school aged girl.
“So you mean…I could finally get my ‘comrade’ back and you would have absolutely no problem with me staying that way?” Kun Mahiro asked.
At that moment, Chan Mahiro bit onto Mihari’s fingers in an attempt to get her to let go of her. Kun Mihari let out a small yelp of pain and stopped gripping Chan Mahiro’s mouth.
“Hold on, are you all forgetting something very important?” Chan Mahiro asked. “Let me remind you, other me, that technically speaking, you were not the one who was offered to take the exam, I was. And let me tell you right now that even though you may have accepted the offer to take in an effort to help me out, I consider the idea that you did to be a complete insult. That is because there is nothing in this world or beyond that would ever want me to take an exam that would allow me to start college earlier. I can’t possibly fathom what could’ve possibly been going through your head to make you think that I would, and I’m sure that Onee-chan feels the same way.”
Chan Mihari narrowed her eyes at this statement. All of a sudden, Kun Mihari leaned in close to the device.
“Onii-chan, can you excuse us for a few seconds?” she asked. “I need to talk to the other you for a bit, alone.”
Not even giving a chance for Kun Mahiro to respond, Kun Mihari pressed the mute button near the microphone. Kun Mahiro sighed at this, then became surprised when Chan Mihari did the same thing to their own device. Kun Mahiro blinked a few times out of surprise before turning to look at Chan Mihari, who had a rather serious expression on her face.
“She’s not wrong you know.” she said.
“What?” Kun Mahiro asked.
“I honestly cannot believe that you would actually think that your counterpart would ever want to take a test like that.” Chan Mihari answered. “Would you want to give up all of your friends and this amazing life that you’ve come to experience firsthand all for the sake of being able to skip ahead to college? I’ve turned down every opportunity that I’ve been given to take the test because there’s no way that I’d ever want to do something like that. I now know the reasons behind the other me deciding to take it, but even if I was in her shoes I don’t think that I would’ve chosen to go down that same path.”
“Well it’s not like I want to take it or anything.” Kun Mahiro answered. “You’re absolutely right. The thought of giving all of this up, especially given how much more amazing it is compared to my life back home, is something that I’d have very mixed feelings about doing if presented with the opportunity. Nonetheless, it’s not like I accepted the invitation out of malice. I did it because I didn’t want to deny her the amazing things that could come out of her life just by having the chance to take it. Believe me when I say that the thought of taking something like this exam scares the hell out of me. I was never good at anything academic during my first go-around through childhood, and even though I’ve been able to improve somewhat I’m still nowhere near the level required to pass a college-level test. Regardless of that however, I have to do this. I am the one who accepted the challenge, so I can’t exactly back down now. And if the other me is really against taking the test to that extent, then I’m willing to stay here just a little while longer if it means being able to take one for the team in any way that I can.”
Chan Mihari stepped right up to Kun Mahiro and looked down at her, right in the eye.
“I still have mixed feelings about you agreeing to take on something of this magnitude on someone else’s behalf.” Chan Mihari said. “That’s not something that anybody should do, regardless of how noble your intentions might be.”
Chan Mihari poked Kun Mahiro very gently in the forehead. Kun Mahiro cringed slightly upon this happening.
“As for what you just said, I have this to give to you in response.” Chan Mihari continued.
Kun Mahiro closed her eyes, fearful that she was about to be poked in the forehead once again. Instead, Chan Mihari pulled her into one of her signature sisterly hugs. She pushed Mahiro’s head into her bust and began to stroke her hair. Kun Mahiro’s face turned bright red and she began to smile as the now-familiar soothing sensation began to spread through her.
“Thank you so much.” Chan Mihari said. “You are willing to go through so much to reduce the burden on someone else. I forgot how nice it feels to see this side of you again, even if you are technically a different person.”
“I’m sorry?” Kun Mahiro asked, lifting her head up to look at Chan Mihari.
“The other you has been a caring person for as long as I can remember.” Chan Mihari answered. “She was rather shy, but once she began to come out of her shell, everyone was able to see just how kind she was. Lately though, such a side of her has been so hard to come by. Maybe all of that newfound popularity of hers has gone to her head or something, but I’m fairly certain that she would not do the same thing for you right now if she was in your shoes. That little outburst of hers before is more than proof that she's regressed compared to how she used to be long ago. It seems like the other me is right, you’ve truly matured in a way that makes you superior to her when it comes to sacrificing yourself for others. I know that you may not be my real little sister, but I’m just as proud of you for this. Well…maybe not enough to start bawling my eyes out, but enough to keep this perfect hug of mine going on for just a little while longer.”
Chan Mihari pressed Kun Mahiro even tighter into her chest. Kun Mahiro’s hands seemed to instinctively move themselves so she could hug Chan Mihari back. The two siblings smiled brightly as they both felt so warm and fuzzy in each other’s arms. They eventually broke off the hug after several seconds had passed, though the smiles did not fade from either of their faces.
“Thanks, that was really nice.” Kun Mahiro said.
“It’s my pleasure.” Chan Mihari said.
“Even so, this doesn’t exactly solve the problem of the fact that the other me doesn’t want to do the test.” Kun Mahiro said. “If we had learned about this any earlier, it may not have been a problem, but since we now know about needing to get the necklace from this world’s Kocho-chan, I’m certain that she’ll want to switch back as soon as possible. I do want to help her, but she might just want to decide that switching back first takes first priority. I wouldn’t exactly blame her for wanting to come back to this amazing life that she has going for her.”
“Well…I’m sure that the other me is talking to her about that right now.” Chan Mihari said. “Though if it comes to you taking the test for her, I guess that it all has to do with timing. Getting the necklace will be an easy enough task, but no one’s saying that we have to bring it to the box right away. What day is the test scheduled for?”
“Hold on, I’ll check.” Kun Mahiro answered. “They printed out the invitation physically with all of the instructions and important dates and times on it.”
Kun Mahiro began to rummage through her bag until she pulled out the sheet of paper from earlier and handed it to Chan Mihari.
“Here you go.” Chan Mahiro said.
Chan Mihari took the invitation and began to read the contents. By the time that she had finished, her face had broken out into a bright smile.
“Well then, I think that we might be able to make this work out after all.” she said.
Kun Mahiro breathed a sigh of relief.
“Really? That’s good to hear.” she said.
Meanwhile, Kun Mihari had just pressed the mute button on her device.
“Hey, what’s going on here? Why’d you cut them off like that?” Chan Mahiro asked.
“Because the way that you were behaving just now was completely out of line.” Kun Mihari answered.
Chan Mahiro looked at Kun Mihari with a dumbfounded expression.
“I’m sorry, what?” Chan Mahiro asked.
“What was all of that just now?” Kun Mihari asked. “Why did you treat the idea of taking that test as if it would be the worst thing in the world? There are numerous people out there who would kill for the opportunities that passing this test opens up.”
“Well hear me right now, I don’t want any of them.” Chan Mahiro answered. “My life is perfect just the way it is, and it only stands to get better if I stay on the path that I’m currently on.”
Kun Mihari cringed a bit inside upon hearing that last sentence.
“If only you knew.” she thought.
“The last thing that I need is to be forced into the working world a few years early for the sake of ‘getting ahead’”. Chan Mahiro continued. “I don’t want that kind of life for myself. Onee-chan has set a very good example for me in this department that I intend to follow as well.”
“So that’s what you’re basing all of this on?” Kun Mihari asked. “You don’t want to take a test just because your actual older sister has decided to turn it down as well?”
“That’s right.” Chan Mahiro answered. “Regardless of what you may think of my reasons for not wanting to do this, I’ve had a lot of time to think long and hard in order to make this decision. I can still remember the first time that Onee-chan was offered the invitation to take the test. It was about midway through the time when I was in the second grade, and when she was midway through her first year of middle school. She just came home for the day and told me all about it.”
“And just what was it that she said to you that made you come to such a conclusion?” Kun Mihari asked.
“It was when she threw the invitation in the trash and asked me why anyone would ever want to uproot their entire life when it was beyond perfect the way that it was.” Kun Mahiro answered. “She compared it to asking me if I would feel like doing it right then and there if I had been the one to get offered it. I gave it some thought, and realized that there was no way that I would ever want to do so. And do you know why? It’s because that period in my life was just after I had befriended Momiji and Asahi. For the first time in my life, I had people who wanted to be my friends, and I continuously looked forward to the immense amount of fun that the three of us would have together each and every day that we were able to hang out together. If I was to suddenly skip ahead to college, I would have to give all of that up. If I had been in her shoes back then and said yes to the opportunity, I never would’ve met Miyo-chan, or Kocho-chan, or any of the other girls in my class that I’ve loved spending time with. Maybe some people are able to handle having their entire existence uprooted, but I think that only people like your brother who never had much of a life to begin with could possibly handle it. In those kinds of situations, you’re demolishing a foundation that had no stable base and rebuilding it from the ground up so there’s almost no way that it can get any worse. I mean let’s face it, He was pretty much a deadbeat loser before you introduced your little miracle potion into the fray and turned his whole life around. Isn’t that right?”
Kun Mihari’s cheeks flushed red with anger.
“Using Onii-chan as a weapon in your arguments, that’s a low blow.” she thought.
Kun Mihari took a deep breath to calm herself down before responding.
“Well then, it's clear that you’ve put a lot of thought into this.” she said. “However, based on all of that, it’s clear to me that you are sadly lacking in one critical aspect to make such a sound argument.”
“And what would that be?” Chan Mahiro asked.
“Years and years of real-life experience.” Kun Mihari answered.
“I’m sorry?” Chan Mahiro asked.
“Do you honestly think that you can make a sound judgement like that at your age?” Kun Mihari asked. “You have no idea. The adult world is way more complicated than it looks, and some people are better equipped to handle it than others. Just as everyone matures at a different pace, everyone’s ability to enter the working world changes with time. And do you know why this is? It’s because as we get older, we earn more experience from the greatest teacher that the world has to offer; life itself. You could memorize the manual of life cover to cover if you wish, but you’ll find that once you actually find the strength to venture outside and experience it for yourself, you’ll likely crash and burn due to how different it actually turns out to be. The world is constantly evolving and changing in ways that most people could never imagine, and the only way to stay on top of it is to experience it firsthand. No offense, but in the few days that I’ve known you, it’s become clear to me that you still have a lot of growing up to do.”
Chan Mahiro opened her mouth to respond before Kun Mihari raised her hand to silence her.
“Look, I’m not implying that anything that you said before was wrong.” she continued. “In fact, a lot of it was indeed correct. However, there are many areas where you’re making assumptions or coming to conclusions that are based on what other people have told you, not necessarily based on what you yourself have been able to experience firsthand. And I understand this because I was very much the same way when I was your age.”
Chan Mahiro’s anger faded immediately, and was replaced by a confused expression. Before she could say anything, Kun Mihari beat her to the punch.
“What I mean is that…when I was your age, I still had a lot of growing up to do.” she continued. “By the time that I ended middle school, I was a completely different person than when I had begun it three years prior. Back then, I didn’t have a single friend. I was perfectly okay with this though, as I had Onii-chan instead. He was always so loving and caring towards me that I didn’t think that I needed anyone else. That’s why the last thing that I imagined was that Kaede would just walk up to me out of the blue on our first day of school and start talking to me the way that she did.”
“Onee-chan said the same thing.” Chan Mahiro interrupted. “She was just minding her own business, and then Kaede-chan just started a conversation with her even though they had never seen each other previously.”
“Indeed.” Mihari nodded. “I was admittedly very surprised by the entire ordeal, but I soon found out just how nice of a person that she was. When I asked her why she was talking to me of all people, she just answered that she felt like doing so. There was no specific reason why she tried to befriend me, she just wanted to. It was at that moment that I realized that I had made a real connection to someone other than Onii-chan for the first time in my life, and from then on everything turned around for me. Kaede and I began to hang out together almost every day. She helped me in areas where I was sorely lacking, such as fashion, and I couldn’t be more grateful to her for doing so. I never would’ve grown my hair out as long as I have if she hadn’t told me that she thought that my face would be better framed by it if it was longer.”
“That is literally the same thing that happened to Onee-chan.” Chan Mahiro gasped. “I swear, no matter how long I’m stuck in this world, I think that the ways that it perfectly aligns with my own freak me out more than the differences. It’s pretty creepy that multiple worlds with such different beginnings would have such parallels.”
“That’s for sure.” Kun Mihari said. “Anyway, like I was saying, after that things really started to open up for me. Kaede was my true bestie for sure, but I started to make other friends as well. There was Mai Kato, who was my rival for the top ranked spot in class during our first year. Even though we could’ve easily become bitter enemies, we both started grouping up for projects and study sessions so we could push each other further and further. Even though she was never able to beat me, she never let it get her down. Everything that we did together was beneficial to us both in the long term, and we were equally thankful for the others’ help. Then there was Nami Kobayashi and Aika Honma, two girls who I befriended on the track team. They noticed my potential to become a champion right away, and soon enough the three of us were pushing ourselves to do our best and bring home the gold. I may have been the one to set all of those records in the end, but I never would’ve been able to do so without them pushing me in the ways that they did. All and all, I came out of middle school as an academically and athletically successful young woman who was ready to conquer whatever life had to throw at me. Even though I was offered the chance to take the S.E.S.E. exams during my first year there, there’s no way that I ever would’ve been able to pass it then. I needed some more time to blossom, and the extra years that I got before I ultimately accepted the offer really came a long way. If there really are such parallels between our worlds, I’m certain that the other me probably feels the same way.”
“You’re wrong.” Chan Mahiro said. “Onee-chan’s life has only gotten better since she entered high school. Of course, you wouldn’t know anything about that since you decided to just skip it over.”
“First of all, that’s not entirely true.” Kun Mihari said. “I didn’t conceive of the project until my first day of high school, so I was able to attend briefly before I skipped ahead to college. Second of all, there you go jumping to conclusions yet again. Stop treating my choice as if it was an easy decision. You have no idea how much I sacrificed in the long run all for the sake of my goals.”
Chan Mahiro narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Actually, I do.” she said. “My real Onee-chan is all the evidence I need to represent what you gave up, because up until now she’s lived the life that you chose to cast aside. A life which, I might add, she’s described as the best years of her entire life up until this point. Is there some kind of point that you’re trying to make out of all of this, because it seems like we’re going in circles here?”
Kun Mihari backed up slightly, having realized her mistake.
“Damn, I spoke without thinking.” she thought. “Of course she would know what I gave up. I’m basically arguing with a younger version of myself that knows an alternate version of the present me, and that’s throwing me off my game. I need to be more careful.”
“There are lots of points that I am trying to make here.” she explained. “Know though that the most important points here all involve moments of monumental change. I just mentioned Mai, Nami, and Aika, but have I or the other me done so recently that you can recall?”
“Well…no. Not that I can recall.” Chan Mahiro answered.
“And do you know why that is?” Kun Mihari asked. “Why is it that out of all the friends that I surrounded myself with in middle school, Kaede is the only one that I’ve kept in close contact with?”
Chan Mahiro didn’t answer, unable to think of anything to say.
“The answer is: because we all shifted to being high school students.” Kun Mihari answered. “You of all people should recognize the immense changes that happen in someone’s life whenever they change schools. You’ve admitted to me that your only friends were Momiji-chan and Asahi-chan before you started middle school and started befriending Miyo-chan as well as every other girl in your class.”
“I guess that is true, now that you mention it.” Chan Mahiro said.
“Exactly.” Kun Mihari said. “Were the five of us friends? Of course we were. Did we enjoy hanging out together? Of course we did. Would we have kept it up if we could have? I’m pretty sure that we would have. Unfortunately, nothing perfect can last forever. The reason why it was difficult to hang out directly with those girls outside of school was because they lived on the other side of the city; they took a train to get to class every day. When the time came for them to start picking which high schools they wanted to attend, it made more sense for them to pick a high school that was closer to where they lived. Kaede and I still lived close to each other, and the high school that we chose to attend, but that was more of a coincidence than anything else. Thus, I lost contact with those three girls that had pushed me in ways that I didn’t know were possible. I still have their numbers in my phone, but I can’t recall the last time that any of them reached out to me, or I reached out to them. We’re living separate lives now, and that’s perfectly okay. Life upheavals like this happen all the time, sometimes when you least expect them. As much as we might want our relationships to remain exactly the same whenever that happens, more often than not they can’t. People grow, people change. People drift apart, people find their way back to each other. It’s all just a part of growing up.”
Chan Mahiro sat down and crossed her arms.
“Growing up sucks if it means losing all of your friends.” she said. “That means that by the time I end middle school, I could find myself a friendless loser just like your brother.”
Kun Mihari walked over to Chan Mahiro and placed her right hand on her left shoulder.
“There’s always a chance of that occurring for sure.” she said. “However, in your case I sincerely doubt that such a thing will happen. For starters, every single one of your very best friends in the world lives close enough to you that you can walk to all of their houses. As I said before, Kaede and I remained close because of how close we were to each other. She's even thinking about studying at Yotsuba University the same as me once she graduates next year. Because of this, should she get accepted there, we’ll be able to stay close for at least another five years or so while she completes her studies. You never know what might wind up happening, but I like the odds of something similar carrying you this way through middle school and high school at the very least.”
Chan Mahiro looked up at Kun Mihari.
“Thanks for that.” Chan Mahiro said. “I still don’t want to take that test, or let some other version of me take that test. Even if by some miracle that your brother does pass on my behalf, what would that mean for me? He passes, and then I’m forced to uproot everything because of something that he did. How is that supposed to be fair to anyone, especially since there’s no way that I’d willingly want to go through with something like that?”
Kun Mihari suddenly leaned in close to Chan Mahiro until her lips were just beyond her left ear.
“Well, if you really want, I can let you in on a little secret about the test that only I know about.” Kun Mihari whispered.
“Oh?” Chan Mahiro asked.
By the time that Kun Mihari had finished telling Chan Mahiro the secret, Chan Mahiro’s eyes had completely widened, and her mouth had dropped open in shock.
“Are you for real?” she asked. “This isn’t some kind of sick joke?”
“Why would I ever lie about something like this?” Kun Mihari asked. “Out of everyone on this call, I am the only person who’s not only taken the test, but passed it as well, so I would know.”
“Well this changes everything.” Chan Mahiro said happily. “Why does it need to remain a secret though? Shouldn’t we let your brother know about this so he knows what to do in the unlikely event that he does pass?”
Kun Mihari shook her head.
“No, that’s the last thing that should happen.” she answered. “Onii-chan needs to go into this with the idea that failure would be a real possibility. If he had been asked to do this when the experiment first began, there’s no way that he could have handled this, but he’s come so far since then. You’d be amazed at how motivated he can get at the most random of times, and it’s those moments that showcase how much he’s been able to mature during his second go-around through life. You heard him say that he’s willing to take this thing on, and when he says that he’s going to do something, he always finds the strength to do so. Pass or fail, they will give him the results of the test to take back home with him. If he gives this test his all, those results will be a clear indicator of just how far he’s been able to come. None of that will be apparent though if he knows about this, so can you please keep this under wraps, at least until after the test is over?”
Chan Mahiro waited for a few seconds before nodding her head in agreement.
“Okay, I’ll try.” she said.
Just then, the voice of Chan Mihari blared through the device.
“Hello, are you two finished up over there?” she asked.
Kun Mihari quickly pressed the button to unmute the microphone on the device.
“Yeah, we’re still here.” she said. “Sorry about that. It took a bit longer than I expected to talk everything out.”
“I hope that everything is okay.” Chan Mihari said.
“Couldn’t be better.” Kun Mihari said. “But back to what we're saying before. About the test…”
“Mihari, you don’t have to worry about it.” Kun Mahiro interrupted. “I know that I might not be prepared to do something like this, but I am completely willing to do this for my counterpart since she’s shown zero interest in doing so. I don’t think that I can pass it, but that’s no reason not to give it my all and try.”
Kun Mihari giggled a bit at this.
“Just as I predicted.” she thought.
“Besides, the other you and I talked it over, and we found out something about the test that might allow things to work out without too much extra damage.” Kun Mahiro said.
“And what might that be?” Kun Mihari asked.
There was silence on the other end of the line for the next few seconds.
“Do you want to tell her or should I?” Kun Mahiro asked Chan Mihari.
“Go for it, Mahiro-chan.” Chan Mihari answered. “You are the one who’s going to be going through with it after all.”
Kun Mahiro smiled before turning back towards the device.
“The invitation that I was given says the following about the test.” she explained. “I am to report to Auditorium #3, on the basement floor of the Humanities Center of Yotsuba University, this Wednesday at 9:00 AM in order to take the test.”
Both Kun Mihari and Chan Mahiro gasped, the former out of delight, and the latter out of shock.
“That’s less than two days from now.” she thought. “Why in the world would they give someone such little time to prepare?”
“Oh Onii-chan, that is so wonderful.” Kun Mihari cried out. “In almost no time at all, you’ll be able to face that test head on, and at the same place that I go to school nonetheless.”
“Yeah, but that does present a few problems.” Kun Mahiro said. “First off, we already know that we need to get the necklace back from the Kocho-chan in this world, but that will be an easy task. Supposing that nothing goes wrong, and we get back the key item that we need in order to reverse all of this, it still means that we’ll need to hold off swapping back again for at least another day so that I can take the test in her place. Assuming that she’s okay with that, obviously.”
“Does that sound okay to you, Mahiro-chan?” Kun Mihari asked.
Chan Mahiro shrugged slightly before answering.
“Yeah, I think that would be okay.” she answered. “This may technically be a boy's body, but I’ve gotten comfortable enough in it that having to put up with it for another day or two wouldn’t be the end of the world.”
Kun Mihari’s eyes narrowed upon hearing this.
“Sure, that is…as long as you don’t get involved in ‘that’ again as long as you’re here.” she thought.
Kun Mihari immediately switched back to her previous cheerful demeanor.
“Then it’s settled.” she said. “Onii-chan will get the necklace tomorrow, and then take the exam on Wednesday. By the time he gets home that night with the results, school will have let out for the day, and we can switch the two of you back no problem.”
“Awesome.” Chan Mihari said. “It appears that we still have some time before any of us need to crash for the night. Shall we resume sharing stories until then?”
“Ooh, got something interesting to share then?” Kun Mihari asked with anticipation.
“Oh yeah.” Kun Mahiro answered. “Believe it or not, we had a pretty exciting weekend over here. I’d be willing to bet an entire month’s allowance that you’d never guess in a million years what happened to me.”
“Wow, you never risk that much unless you’re really confident in your victory, Onii-chan.” Kun Mihari said. “Nonetheless, whatever you may have to share with us, I’m willing to bet that the story of what your counterpart went through in your place can top it.”
“Really?” Kun Mahiro asked. “If that’s the case, then by all means go first and astound us all. What did the other me do this weekend that would blow what happened to me right out of the water?”
Kun Mihari and Chan Mahiro looked at each other and giggled for a few seconds before turning back to the device.
“Well you see…it all started after the weekly study session with everyone…” Chan Mahiro started.
“…and with that, Kerori was disqualified and I was declared the winner of the entire tournament.” Chan Mahiro continued. “Not bad for a newbie if I do say so myself.”
Kun Mahiro and Chan Mihari’s mouths had practically touched the ground at this point. For the past several minutes, the two of them had listened to a tale that almost defied belief from their perspectives. Apparently on Saturday, Chan Mahiro had met up with Yuta and Minato, and the two had coerced her into entering a Slam Sisters Ultimate Tournament that was being held at a local store that Kun Mahiro had never heard of before. Although she had never touched a gaming controller in her life, Chan Mahiro not only held her own, but eventually went on to win the entire thing. Kun Mahiro was completely at a loss for words. She may have talked a big game, but the simple truth was that she was terrible when it came to playing against other people. No matter how hard she tried, she would always lose against each and every single person that she was paired up with, even if that person in question was a complete newbie to the game compared to her. It was one of the many things that could cause what little was left of her male pride to be hurt, and it always came off to her as the worst kind of experience imaginable in her eyes. Now she was hearing that another version of herself was so naturally skilled that she had actually managed to win an entire fighting game tournament without any kind of significant effort. She was honestly in a state of disbelief right now.
“So let me see if I got this right.” she said. “You not only entered a Slam Sisters Ultimate tournament, but you actually managed to win it and the grand prize as well?”
“That’s pretty much the gist of it, yes.” Chan Mahiro answered.
Kun Mahiro’s head immediately fell forward in despair.
“Seriously, why does everyone have to be better than me at gaming?” she thought. “For years, that was always the one thing that I could truly say that I was good at. Even a version of myself from another world who had never otherwise touched a game in her life was somehow better than me. Seriously, is the universe playing some kind of sick joke on me or what?”
Chan Mihari clapped a few times in delight.
“I’m so proud of you in more ways than one, Mahiro-chan.” she said. “First for winning, and second for how much you were able to grow because of this at the same time.”
“Huh? What do you mean, Onee-chan?” Chan Mahiro asked.
“Oh come on, don’t tell me that you don’t know what I’m talking about.” Chan Mihari chuckled. “Whatever happened to the little sister I knew who vowed to never touch a single video game because ‘only boys play with stuff like that’?”
“Um, well…things change I guess.” Chan Mahiro answered, blushing a bit as she did so. “I gave it a try and learned that there’s way more to it than meets the eye or something like that.”
“That’s exactly what I meant.” Chan Mihari exclaimed. “Because of this entire situation, you became open to something that you had previously refused to be associated with. You have no idea how proud I am of you right now.”
“You know, I think that Momiji mentioned something about that last night when we were out.” Kun Mahiro said. “She said that you had always refused to try out the arcade at the Entertainment Center because you considered the idea of playing the games there to be way too boyish for your liking.”
“Wait a minute, you went to the Entertainment Center with Momiji.” Chan Mahiro asked.
“Yeah, we went there last night.” Kun Mahiro answered. “She wanted to get to know me a bit better, and thought that such a place would align with the stuff that I was interested in. We had lots of fun.”
“Okay, this I have to hear.” Kun Mihari said eagerly. “Let me guess, this is that “I’d never guess what happened in a million years” story that you mentioned before?”
“It is.” Kun Mahiro answered. “Honestly though, I’m starting to think that mine won’t top what happened to my counterpart by that much. It was basically just two friends from different worlds hanging out and doing fun things both during and after we were there.”
“Like what?” Kun Mihari asked. “Give me the details already. I want to hear them.”
“Okay okay, calm down.” Kun Mahiro said. “Like I said, there’s not much to tell. The first thing we did after arriving there was play this old fighting game in the arcade that I knew from my time back in middle school. I wasn’t planning on doing so, but Momiji was very excited to do so after I pointed it out to her.”
“That sounds interesting. Did you win against her?” Chan Mahiro asked.
Kun Mahiro’s cheeks began to turn red again.
“Well, I um…it’s like…uh…” she stuttered out.
Kun Mihari began to laugh for a few seconds upon realizing what her brother was trying to say.
“Oh, I get it now.” she said. “Man, you really catch a break in this department at all can you, Onii-chan? Even in another world, everyone you face off against while gaming is still better than you.”
“Hey, you don’t need to rub it in.” Kun Mahiro angrily retorted. “It was bad enough having to hear about the other me being able to coast her way through that tournament. I would’ve given anything to have been in her shoes, and yet I know for a fact that even if I had, I never would’ve been able to pull off what she did. I guess that some people are just born lucky.”
Nobody said anything for a few seconds.
“I’d like to say that you’re mistaken about that, but when you’re right, you’re right.” Chan Mahiro said. “I honestly have no idea how I managed to pull off something like that. That game was easy to learn, but hard to master. The fact that I managed to win in the final tournament was basically just sheer dumb luck, and nothing more. But I can’t deny how exciting it was to be crowned the victor. I hope that they have things like that back in my own world, because I’d love the chance to do it again.”
“Well then, Momiji will be very excited about that.” Kun Mahiro said.
“Why’s that?” Chan Mahiro asked.
“Because she had always wanted to do these kinds of things with you, that’s why.” Kun Mahiro answered. “She told me that of all the many things that one can do at that place, that arcade was the one place that you refused to venture into along with her. She actually…hugged me because she was so grateful that I gave her the chance to live out this little fantasy of hers where the two of you played one of the games in that arcade together. I guess that it’s kind of ironic in a way. You got to live out something that I had always dreamed of doing on the same day that I helped your Momiji live out a dream of her own. I guess that proves that the two of us switching places like this wasn’t done without a greater rhyme or reason behind it.”
“Wow, it’s almost like you filled in a small piece of her life that she was always trying to fill, but couldn’t do so with the other you.” Kun Mihari said. “That’s so like you, Onii-chan.”
“Thanks for that, I guess.” Kun Mahiro said.
“So was that it? Is the only thing that the two of you did there?” Kun Mihari asked. “I know how you’ve always been super into video games and all, but I sincerely doubt that anyone other than you would consider an evening in an arcade to be an unrivaled night of fun.”
“Naw, there was definitely more to it than that.” Chan Mahiro answered. “I’ve been going to that place for years, and there’s so many more things to do there than just play video games in an arcade. There’s batting cages, miniature golf, and…”
“Bowling as well.” Kun Mahiro interrupted.
Kun Mihari immediately blinked a few times in confusion, unaware if she just heard her brother correctly.
“Hold on, did you just say bowling?” she asked.
“Yeah.” Kun Mahiro answered. “Momiji and I played a few games, then enjoyed some food before we headed out. I wasn’t so sure about it at first, but it turned out to be lots of fun. I’m thinking about taking everyone else there once I get back so I do it again, assuming that this place also exists back in our world as well.”
Kun Mihari nearly fell over backwards out of shock.
“Let me see if I got this right.” she said. “You’re saying that you not only had fun doing something athletic, but that you actually want to do it again once you’re back in your own completely unathletic body? I think that I could pinch myself a million times and still not be able to convince myself that this isn’t a dream. I never thought that I would ever hear the day where I would hear you voluntarily saying stuff like that.”
“Stop being so dramatic.” Kun Mahrio groaned. “I probably would’ve played something like this all the time growing up if I knew that it was one of the few competitive sports out there where being ultra-athletic doesn’t necessarily matter. It takes the hand-eye-coordination that comes from digital gaming and places it in a low-impact but extremely empowering sport that doesn’t rely on brute strength. And as it turns out, I’m a natural at it. It might be a little bit harder for me to play using my own body, but as long as I can aim the ball I shouldn’t have too much of a problem.”
“I can vouch for that.” Chan Mahiro said. “Bowling really is a sport that anyone can do, provided that you know how to properly throw the ball. Now that I think about it, maybe doing that would be a good way to get a decent workout before we end up swapping back. Maybe I’ll take everyone there tomorrow so we can have a good time knocking down pins for a few hours.”
“Hey, don’t steal my idea.” Kun Mahiro yelled. “They are my friends, you know. I wanted to be the one to bring them there and do that.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Chan Mahiro chuckled. “At the very least, consider it my way of checking to see if the Entertainment Center even exists in your world. Either way, I can let you know tomorrow after we make it back, and if it is you’ll then be free to take them whenever you want. I know that Miyo-chan might not be in the mood, but I’m certain that Momiji and Asahi will be very eager, especially since you’ll be joining in with them on the fun this time around.”
Kun Mahiro began to blush again upon the mention of Momiji wanting to join in on the fun, as it reminded her of all of the lovey-dovey things that this world’s version of Momiji had done with her as part of their date. For a second, she was tempted to tell her other self about all of this, but quickly laid the idea to rest. Chan Momiji had finally had a chance to experience what it was like to date the love of her life who was completely oblivious to her feelings. It would be much better for Chan Mahiro to hear it from her directly once they eventually reunited.
“Well, I can certainly understand why you’d want to get a good workout in.” Kun Mahiro continued. “Sorry that my body doesn’t even come close to living up to the extremely high bar that you’ve been able to set with your own.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over it.” Chan Mahiro sighed. “I will admit that I was quite surprised when I was first experiencing it, but it makes perfect sense now all things considered. The funny thing is that mine used to be almost the exact same way, back when I was still very young that is. Momiji and Asahi pushing me all the time is what made it into the powerhouse it is today. I did try my best to help yours along in any way that I could, though I found out the hard way that such an effort was quite the lost cause indeed.”
Kun Mahiro and Kun Mihari burst out laughing at this for a few seconds.
“That’s for sure.” Kun Mihari said.
“I can only imagine what you must’ve gone through to learn that.” Kun Mahiro added. “I do apologize for coming off as insensitive, but your body just rocks compared to mine. In gym class on Friday, it allowed me to do something that I never would’ve even dreamed was possible.”
“Don’t remind me.” Chan Mahiro groaned. “That class also did something that I never would’ve imagined was possible to happen to me; falling flat on my face from being exhausted.”
“Okay, let’s not dwell on this angle too much.” Kun Mihari interrupted. “I think that we’ve basically covered everything that happened in both of our worlds at this point. Besides, it appears to be getting pretty late. We’d all better get ready for bed before we miss out on some well-needed beauty sleep.
Kun Mahiro, Chan Mahiro, and Chan Mihari looked at the nearby clocks on their walls. Their eyes nearly bugged out of their heads when they noticed that it was almost 23:00 in both worlds.
“Oh my.” Chan Mihari exclaimed.
“I guess that we were so engaged in what we were doing that we lost track of time.” Kun Mahiro added.
“Yeah.” Chan Mahiro added. “At this rate, none of us are going to get a full night’s sleep.”
“Then let’s call it quits for now.” Kun Mihari said. “We’re all aware of our plans for the next few days and what some of us need to do in the meantime. I’m glad that we were all able to meet up like this. Even though we couldn’t see each other, I still think that things went well.”
“I think so too.” Chan Mihari said. “Everything is out in the open, we now completely understand what’s happening with the boxes and necklaces, and most importantly of all, we know how to fix all of this. As long as we all do our parts, everything should turn out okay.”
“Now if only we can do something about this green glow.” Kun Mihari said. “I know that we could simply put the box away somewhere out of sight, but it still is pretty distracting. If someone noticed it like this, they’d surely get suspicious and alert the authorities.”
“I get that.” Chan Mihari said. “I’ve read stories about situations where ionized light from highly radioactive orphaned sources drew in so many people that they ended up unintentionally causing widespread outbreaks of radiation sickness and death.”
Kun Mihari began to smile.
“You really know your stuff, despite your decision not to go down the path of science like I did.” she said.
“I hear things, and I do read all the time from a wide variety of genres, thank you very much.” Chan Mihari said with annoyance.
“Um sorry…forget that I said anything.” Kun Mihari chuckled nervously.
Chan Mahiro sighed at this.
“And there it is again.” she thought.
“Well, if we move the box and the necklace to separate ends of the house, the glow should deactivate on its own.” she said. “I’ll head downstairs and try to find a place to…put…it.”
As Chan Mahiro had said that last sentence, she had slipped the necklace back into her pants pocket. As soon as she did, the glow from the box abruptly ceased, much to her and Kun Mihari’s shock.
“What the?” they thought together.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Is everything okay over there?” Kun Mahiro asked.
“The box. It stopped glowing.” Kun Mihari answered.
“It did?” Kun Mahiro and Chan Mihari asked in shock.
“Right when I put the necklace in my pocket.” Chan Mahiro answered.
Chan Mahiro immediately pulled the necklace back out, and the box once again began to glow again. She then placed the necklace back in her pocket, and the glow once again vanished. She repeated this action a few more times to confirm what was happening, and sure enough the glow once again came and went. She and Kun Mihari were at a loss for words for a few seconds before Kun Mihari suddenly figured out what had transpired.
“Oh, I get it now.” she said. “The necklace and the box’s connection to each must act like some sort of infrared sensor; in that a direct line of sight is required for the box to properly sense the necklace and glow. The fabric on your pants must be blocking that line of sight just enough to interrupt the connection.”
“Well that’s good.” Chan Mihari said. “At least now we both know of a way to stop our boxes from glowing should the need arise. Although, it seems that for now you two are the only ones who would actually have a need for such information.”
“Perfect then.” Chan Mahiro chuckled. “I think that I saw a small satchel in my room earlier that would contain the necklace in a similar fashion. I’ll go put it in there right now.”
Chan Mahiro stashed the necklace back in her pocket and ran upstairs, leaving Kun Mihari by herself. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Mahiro running up the stairs.
“Just like Onii-chan in yet another way.” she thought.
“Well then, good night everyone.” she said. “Onii-chan, it was so great being able to hear your voice once again and knowing that you’re okay over there. I’ll talk with you again tomorrow after school, okay?”
“Okay.” Kun Mahiro answered. “Um…Mihari, can I ask you something before we officially sign off.”
“Sure, ask away.” Kun Mahiro answered.
Kun Mahiro trembled nervously for a few seconds before suddenly collapsing onto the table in tears.
“Can you please help me with the test?” she cried out.
“Huh?” Kun Mihari asked.
“I know that I was putting on my best game face before, but the truth is that the thought of taking this test has left me beyond terrified. I know that I’ve already been through high school, but this kind of thing is giving me flashbacks to when I had to take my college entrance exams.”
“Back when you failed them, you mean?” Kun Mihari asked.
“Yeah.” Kun Mahiro answered drearily. “You know just as well as I do that I couldn’t even handle a basic first-year middle school test a few months ago. I’ve come a long way since then, but I’m certain that I’d slip up for sure if I was facing the high school equivalent of a written test like that. The test is a written one, isn’t it?”
“Yes, there is a written portion.” Kun Mihari answered. “But there’s so much more to…”
“Then please help me out in any way you can.” Kun Mahiro interrupted. “Are there any kind of study guides, practice questions, materials that would help give me a refresher on what I need to know to pass. I’d ask for my old notes, but I’m certain that they wouldn’t exactly help me remember subjects that I didn’t get a full grasp on when I was actually writing them down. I know that I don’t exactly have that much time left to study, but anything you could do at all would be more helpful than you could possibly know. So can you please help me out. Pretty please, Onee-chan.”
Kun Mihari felt her heart thumping in her chest. The idea that her brother was actually taking the idea of studying seriously and asking her for help was something that she never would’ve expected to experience. On top of that, Mahiro had used the phrase ‘Onee-chan’, which was Kun Mihari’s one weakness. She immediately began to smile brightly after a few seconds.
“Of course, sweetie.” she beamed. “Give me until you get home tomorrow to get some materials together to help you study. Once I do, I’ll place them in the box and send them right over to you. Don’t stress yourself out too much though, I promise that no matter how much you understand the material, what matters most is being yourself.”
“But I’m not myself as long as I’m here.” Kun Mahiro exclaimed. “I’m taking this test on behalf of my counterpart, and to make sure that she doesn’t fail I have to do my best to be like her.”
“Alright, whatever makes you comfortable.” Kun Mihari said. “Be sure to get plenty of rest then. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow.”
“I’ll do my best.” Kun Mahiro said weekly. “Good night then.”
“Yeah, good night to you too, other me.” Chan Mihari added. “Say goodnight to Mahiro-chan on my behalf, and be sure to keep her safe.”
“I’ve been doing that so far, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” Kun Mihari laughed. “Be sure to do the same with Onii-chan. Talk to you tomorrow.”
Kun Mihari and Chan Mihari turned off their respective devices, with Kun Mihari closing her box shortly afterwards. Just before Chan Mihari closed her box, she took a small envelope out of her pocket and placed it in the box, much to Kun Mahiro’s confusion.
“Hey, what was that?” she asked.
Chan Mihari simply giggled in response, leaving Kun Mahiro even more confused.
Kun Mihari let out a long yawn and stretched her arms above her head just after closing the box.
“Well okay then, time to hit the hay I guess.” she said.
Mihari stood up from the table. Just as she was turning around, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that the scale on the box was not currently zeroed out.
“Huh?” she thought. “Did they send something through without telling us about it?”
Somewhat cautiously, Mihari slowly lifted the top of the box back up. Her mouth dropped open when she noticed a white envelope sitting on the bottom of the box.
“I swear…even though I know how it works now, I don’t think that there’s a chance in the world that I won’t continue to find such a thing completely astounding.” she thought. “I mean, it was completely empty less than thirty seconds ago.”
Mihari reached into the box and picked up the envelope before closing the box once again. Turning it over, she noticed that a single-sentence message had been written on the back of the envelope with blue ink, and in her own handwriting nonetheless. She immediately realized that it was her other self that was trying to communicate with her in private
Please keep this a little secret, for now ;)
Not knowing what to make of these words, Mihari turned the envelope back over and ripped it open. Pulling out the contents, her heart skipped a beat upon seeing what it was that had been sent for her.
“Oh my.” she cried out.
Inside the envelope, Chan Mihari had placed a series of photographs, all of which depicted Kun Mahiro dressed in various cute outfits. Kun Mihari’s heart lit up upon seeing these, as they were the exact kind of thing that she loved seeing more than anything; her brother-turned-sister showing off her adorableness in a way that could be eternally preserved for generations to come after being captured through something as simple as a camera lens.
“Oh my oh my oh my oh my.” Mihari gushed in delight. “There’s just so many of them here. Onii-chan’s been excelling in more ways than one over there.”
Mihari leafed through the photos, and noticed that the subject had changed. Although they still depicted Mahiro, they instead showed her hugging Momiji, who was standing right next to her. While this by itself wasn’t all that different from what had been previously shown, what really surprised Mihari was the fact that Momiji was dressed in a very feminine purple dress; something that Mihari knew that the version of Momiji in this world was passionately embarrassed about doing.
“That’s quite an unexpected development.” Mihari said. “What in the world would cause Momiji, any version of her, to dress up like that? And I’m not seeing any signs of embarrassment on her face, so this means that she decided to dress like that voluntarily. Just what is going on here?”
Mihari got her answer the moment that she flipped over to the final photo in the stack. It was taken from a rather poor angle; the second floor bedroom considering the fact that it was aiming down at the front door. Even though the background was pitch black, Mihari could see Mahiro and Momiji standing in the bright glow of the outside porch lights. What really drew Mihari’s attention though was what the two were doing. Her cheeks turned bright red the instant that she saw it. Her hands began to tremble as she didn’t know how else to react.
“Is that…? No way…are they…kissing?” she thought.
Mihari collapsed onto the ground, unable to move her legs due to the sheer shock of what she was seeing. That was her brother, inhabiting the body of her other self, making out with the alternate version of the person who was her first and best friend back in her own world. Mihari had to pinch her arm several times to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming. A few seconds after she had finished doing this, she smiled brightly and hugged the photo to her chest.
“Onii-chan, I’m so happy for you.” she beamed. “After all of those years of being alone, you finally managed to go on your first ever date, and it was with a version of your best friend of all people. I swear that I’m going to hug you until you pop once you make it back home.”
Mihari stopped hugging the photo and simply began to look at it while holding it in her hands. She remained silent for several seconds, simply continuing to smile at the heartwarming sight.
“It sucks that you chose not to talk about this out loud, but I think that I understand perfectly why you chose to do so.” she said. “In any event, I think that this clenches it for sure. Onii-chan, between you and your counterpart, you definitely had a much more exciting and unexpected weekend for sure. Congrats for winning.”
Without saying anything else, Mihari got up, slipped the photos into the pocket of her lab coat, and began to head up the stairs to her room.
“We’re going to have so much more to talk about once all of this is over and done with.” she thought. “I can’t wait.”
Mihari opened the door to her room, and then jumped back in shock when she saw Chan Mahiro sitting on her bed wearing the same babydoll nightie that she had worn over the previous few nights. She immediately beamed upon seeing Mihari enter the room.
“There you are, Onee-chan.” Mahiro said cheerfully. “You certainly took your sweet time down there.”
Mihari was too stunned to respond for several seconds.
“What are you doing in my room?” she asked.
“I came in to sleep with you again, duh.” Mahiro answered. “Get changed and get in quick. I already made up the bed for both of us.”
Mahiro suddenly leaned forward on the bed and stretched out her arms towards Mihari.
“Or you can just get in right now just as you are. I won’t mind.” Mahiro continued. “Now come on, I’ll sleep much better with a large, warm older sister to rest my head into.”
For a brief moment, Mihari was very tempted to accept the offer. She couldn’t deny that it had felt somewhat nice over the last few days having Mahiro sleep with her. It almost felt like the inverse situation of how she used to crawl into bed with her Mahiro when she was a very small child. As tempting as the offer was, when Mihari saw those outstretched hands, it triggered flashbacks to the disgusting scene that she had stumbled upon earlier in the day. Seeing those fingers only reminded Mihari of where they had been and what they had been doing only a few short hours ago, and it caused her to shudder and shake her head.
“No, not tonight. Now get out of my bed.” she yelled.
Mahiro became very confused, and then surprised when Mihari yanked her out of the bed and then shoved her into the hallway.
“Onee-chan? What are you doing?” she asked.
“Sleep by yourself tonight.” Mihari answered.
“But…but I…” Mahiro stuttered out.
Mihari held up her hand to silence Mahiro.
“No complaining.” Mihari said. “Your real older sister told me before to do what I can to keep you safe, and I think that some well deserved time away from me tonight is a good first step.”
“I’m sorry?” Mahiro asked.
“Look, just do it okay. I’ll explain later.” Mihari answered. “Good night.”
Mihari immediately slammed the door, leaving Mahiro all alone in the hallway. Still extremely confused, Mahiro slowly made her way back to her room, and crawled under the covers of her futon. After lying on her back for a few seconds, she turned onto her side and pulled her knees into her chest with a sad expression on her face.
“ What in the world happened to Onee-chan today?” she thought. “This morning she was perfectly normal. Then, the second that she gets home, she throws me into a cold bath. And now, she tells me to sleep by myself tonight, all without giving any kind of reason why she’s doing any of it.”
Mahiro closed her eyes and attempted to get herself into a relaxed position.
“I really hope that she goes back to normal by tomorrow morning. I don’t think that I could put up with being in this boy’s body for an extra day if it means that I have to deal with a version of Onee-chan that acts this way.”
“Hold on, you actually sent my Mihari all of the photos that you took of me and Momiji?” Kun Mahiro asked in shock. “When did you even have time to get them developed?”
“There’s a little old-timey shop on the way to the high school.” Chan Mihari answered. “I dropped off my film rolls and memory cards there when Kaede and I headed there yesterday, and they were all ready to be picked up on my way home once school let out for the day.”
“Are you sure that that was a good idea?” Mahiro asked. “I chose to stay silent about my date with Momiji for a good reason. I don’t want to risk my other self accidentally learning about how Momiji-chan feels about her. If she does, it might ruin their friendship forever, and I don’t think that I could live with myself if that happened.”
Mihari poked Mahiro in the nose with her finger.
“I just wanted to give her something that would show that you’re doing alright, that’s all.” Mihari giggled. “You did say that she beams with pride whenever she sees you making significant progress in your social development. I think that evidence of you going on your first date will absolutely make her day.”
Hearing this caused Mahiro to giggle for a few seconds.
“Yeah, that adds up.” she said. “Although, what if the other me does wind up seeing them?”
“I was a bit skeptical at times, but from what I’ve observed it seems that the other me has a good head on her shoulders.” Mihari answered. “She was keen on finding a good hiding place for the necklace, so I’m sure that she’ll keep those photos in a safe place as well. There’s a locked drawer on the bottom of my desk for personal items that only I have the key for. I’m sure that she has someplace similar that will serve a similar function for her as well. Besides, I did write a little note reminding her to keep it a secret, so I’m certain that she’ll know what to do.”
“Wow, you really think of everything don’t you, Onee-chan?” Mahiro asked.
“That’s what being an Onee-chan is all about.” Mihari answered. “I have to stay on top of everything, because if I don’t, who will?”
“I suppose so.” Mahiro answered. “Question though…why did you have to drag me into your bed in order to tell me all of this?”
Indeed. Once again, Mahiro found herself sleeping in bed right next to Mihari. She had attempted to go back to her own room after saying goodnight, only for Mihari to suddenly yank her into her bedroom, dress her in a rather modest sleeveless nightgown with a very long skirt, and then pull her under the covers with her once the lights were turned off. It had all happened extremely fast, leaving Mahiro with almost no time to process any of it. And yet, despite her confusion, she had found herself initially unable to respond due to the fact that her face was once again mere centimeters away from her not-quite little sister’s bust, which was prominently displayed in an identical nightgown.
“We only have a few more days left to spend together.” Mihari answered. “What better way to do so then for me to show off the full extent of all of the sisterly love that I have to express?”
“What about all of that stuff you said before about how you spoiled the other me with such treatment?” Mahiro asked. “Seems a little counterproductive.”
“You’re not her.” Mihari answered. “You’re much more mature than her, so I’m not worried about you becoming overly attached to me. Besides, doesn’t it feel good to cuddle like this. You may have felt a bit embarrassed last night since I did kind of force you into that nightie, but this time I decided to dress you a bit more conservatively so you’d feel a bit better. How did my efforts in this department fare?”
“Pretty good actually.” Mahiro answered. “At least this time I’m actually wearing underwear underneath it.”
“Glad to hear it.” Mihari chuckled. “Now why don’t we get to sleep then. Morning will be here before we know it.”
Mihari suddenly leaned forward and kissed Mahiro’s forehead.
“Good night, Mahiro-chan. Sweet dreams.” she said softly.
Mihari closed her eyes and snuggled her face into her pillow. Within a minute, she was out like a light and snoring softly. Mahiro continued to keep her eyes open for a few more seconds before closing them as well. It was already somewhat of a chore to stay awake since Mihari’s body heat was giving off such a soothing sensation. Within a few seconds, Mahiro felt herself beginning to nod off as well.
“Yeah, you too, Onee-chan.” she thought.