Chapter Text
“Mahiro-chan let’s go, you need to wake up.” Mihari’s voice called out.
Somewhat surprised, Mahiro’s eyes shot open even though she had been fast asleep only a few seconds prior. Unsurprisingly, she was unprepared for the morning light that was filtering in through the bedroom window and reflecting off the form of Mihari, who was sitting up in the bed directly in front of her. Mahiro felt her eyes burn and snapped then shut again, rubbing them for a few seconds in an attempt to get rid of the pain. She was able to open them again after a few seconds, though she still felt unusually exhausted and let out a large yawn.
“Mihari…why are you waking me up so early?” she asked. “Can’t you let me sleep in for just a few more minutes?”
Mahiro began to instinctively fall back down onto the bed covers, only to be caught by Mihari who straightened her back up without even batting an eye.
“I wish more than anything that both of us could snuggle under the covers some more, but we can’t.” Mihari answered. “The truth is, we’re running late. I overslept and now we only have about thirty minutes to eat, get ready, and make it out of here.”
Hearing those words was enough to completely get Mahiro’s attention and cause her to forget all about being tired. Her eyes nearly boggled out of her head when she was finally able to comprehend the true meaning behind what was being said.
“Say what?” she asked in shock.
“You can ask questions later.” Mihari answered. “Go and get your uniform ready. I’ll head downstairs and start working on breakfast.”
The next thirty minutes were like a whirlwind. Mahiro wasn’t sure how they managed to do it, but both her and Mihari had managed to eat, brush their teeth, and change into their school uniforms, all without any problems popping up whatsoever. Even though everything was somewhat rushed, Mahiro ultimately didn’t have much trouble in getting everything done that she had to do. She was already used to scarfing down her food whenever she felt like it, and the immense amount of stamina she felt in this new body allowed her to move around the house at top speed for long periods without feeling tired whatsoever. And as bizarre as it sounded, Mahiro felt a strange sense of accomplishment as she was able to go about doing this.
Mahiro had just finished slipping into her uniform blazer when a familiar knock came from the front door.
“Well, there they are.” Mihari said, having finished changing into her school uniform as well. “Are you ready to go? Do you have everything?”
Mahiro looked into her bag before closing it and holding it in front of her.
“Yes and yes.” she answered.
“Perfect, let’s be off then.” Mihari said with delight.
The two headed off towards the front door, with Mihari reaching it first and opening it. She and Mahiro smiled with delight when they saw Kaede and Momiji waiting for them with bright smiles of their own. Mahiro wasted no time in rushing over to Momiji and hugging her tightly. By now, she didn’t have to be reminded to do this whatsoever. Performing this action was coming off to Mahiro as naturally as breathing.
“Momiji, good morning.” she said.
Momiji wasted no time in hugging Mahiro back.
“Good morning to you too, Mahiro-chan.”
The two continued to embrace each other for a few seconds before a quick clap from Mihari caused their momentary bliss to be interrupted.
“Hey, I know that you two are having fun and all, but don’t forget that we need to get going or we’re going to be late.” she said.
“Oh yeah, that’s right. Let’s go, Momiji.”
Mahiro quickly grabbed onto Momiiji’s hand and began to pull her towards the street. Momiji was surprised by this action, but did nothing whatsoever to resist it. The idea of being whisked away by the girl she loved, or even a version of her from another world, was enough to make her heart race. She smiled brightly as she began to follow the path that Mahiro had laid out for her.
All of this was seen by Mihari and Kaede, both of whom giggled immensely before following the pair.
“Oh my.” Kaede said. “You two really must’ve gone through quite a lot last night.”
“You have no idea.” Mihari chuckled.
Before long, the two older girls had caught up with Mahiro and Momiji, and ultimately convinced them to walk at a more steady pace. After all, they did need to get to school, but there was no need to race there. Mahiro had sighed a bit over Mihari’s sudden change in attitude, but ultimately brushed it off as the four of them continued on their way.
It was during this time that Mahiro and Mihari explained to Kaede and Momiji just what they had learned from their otherworldly communication session the previous night. They spared no detail whatsoever, going into as much detail as possible whenever it felt necessary to do so. There were many times when both Kaede and Momiji felt skeptical about what was being told to them, with the two of them interrupting to ask an occasional question, but for the most part they found the entire thing to be extremely fascinating. Momiji was particularly happy once she was told that the means to set everything right had finally been uncovered. She couldn’t help but smile brightly to herself as soon as she heard it.
“This is too perfect.” she thought. “Soon enough, my Mahiro-chan will come back and I’ll finally have the chance to confess my feelings to her after all these years. I can hardly wait.”
Shortly after Mahiro and Mihari finished with their explanations, the four girls reached the intersection that marked where Mihari and Kaede would have to split off in order to head towards the high school. After a brief moment of standing in place, the two turned to look back at their younger siblings.
“Have a nice day, Mahiro-chan.” Mihari called out while waving towards Mahiro.
“Yeah, both of you.” Kaede added, waving as well. “We’ll see you both later, okay?”
“Okay.” Mahiro and Momiji called back together, also waving.
After a few seconds had passed, Mihari and Kaede turned around and began to head down the street in the direction of the high school.
“So…did you get any more good shots to show off?” Kaede asked eagerly.
Mihari giggled at this and patted the portion of her school bag that she always kept one of her digital cameras in for emergencies.
“So much happened yesterday that there wasn’t much time to take any new photographs.” she answered. “Besides, like we were saying earlier, those devices from the other world for whatever reason were incapable of transmitting video or photographic information between the worlds, only audio. So even if I had wanted to take a quick snapshot of the other me, there wouldn’t have been much of a point in trying to do so.”
“I suppose so.” Kaede giggled. “And I’m guessing that there wouldn’t have been much of a point in asking the other you to take the picture instead. She likely only takes pictures using her phone or something like that. Even if she did manage to get a few good shots and wanted to send them over to you, it would take a few hours for her to get them printed.”
“That’s for sure.” Mihari said. “Don’t worry though, tomorrow there’ll be plenty of opportunities to get some truly wonderful shots.”
“Ooh, do you have something special in mind planned, Mihari-chan?” Kaede asked with intrigue, playfully elbowing Mihari while doing so.
“Maybe.” Mihari answered with a giggle.
“Well don’t keep me waiting like that, give me the details already.” Kaede said very quickly.
“Okay okay.” Mihari said. “What I want to do is…”
Mihari leaned in close to Kaede and whispered the rest of the sentence in her ear. Kaede’s eyes went wide and she had to cover her mouth with her hand to hide the humongous smile that had just appeared on her face.
“Oh my, are you sure? Are we really going to do something like that?” she asked with delight.
“You betcha.” Mihari answered.
“Ooh, this is so exciting.” Kaede gushed. “What a way for Mahiro-chan to cap off her time being in this world. She’s going to love it for sure.”
“Yeah, but the fact is that we’ll have a lot of stuff to get ready for it, and not much time to do so.” Mihari explained. “Luckily, we still have some time before school to hit up a few places and put in some orders to help take some of the load off.”
“I thought that you had some ulterior motivation for asking us to meet up at your house this morning twenty minutes earlier than we usually do.” Kaede giggled. “That’s so like you, Mihari-chan.”
“Yeah, but that wasn’t the only reason.” Mihari said. “I figured that our adorable little sisters would want some extra time alone together, if you know what I mean by that.”
This time, Mihari was the one who playfully elbowed Kaede while saying those last few words. Kaede immediately began to giggle and covered her mouth once again.
“Oh my.” she said. “Well then, let’s give them all the time that they need.”
Mihari laughed out loud at this as the two continued on their way. Before long, they disappeared around a corner and out of sight of Mahiro and Momiji, who had continued to watch them during the entire exchange, even though there was no way for either of them to hear what was being said between the two. As soon as their siblings had vanished, the two turned towards each other, looked into each other's eyes, and smiled brightly.
“Guess that we’re all alone now.” Momiji said.
“Yeah, I suppose so.” Mahiro replied weakly.
“Feels like an eternity since the last time that happened.” Momiji chuckled.
“Momiji-chan…it’s only been a single day since we were able to be alone like this, you know.” Mahiro said.
“I know, but I’m sure that you’re aware how much I treasure each and every single second that we can be like this.” Momiji said. “And I’m beyond certain that I don’t have to explain my reasons for feeling this way.”
“I think that I understand it well enough.” Mahiro said playfully. “But just in case I’m wrong, why don’t you remind me of just what that reason is?”
Momiji giggled for a few seconds before responding.
“Gladly.” she answered.
Without any further hesitation, Momiji wrapped her arms around Mahiro’s shoulders and kissed her passionately on the lips. Mahiro once again felt herself going limp as that oh-so-wonderful feeling once again spread throughout her core and radiated a powerful warm and fuzzy sensation across her entire body. This sensation was nothing new to her by now thanks to all of the experience that she had achieved with it over the past few days, but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable from Mahiro’s perspective. As far as she was concerned, this kind of thing was starting to become the new normal for her, and she was more than a little bit delighted to be able to enjoy it to the fullest extent that she could. The very fact that she could be considered someone else’s girlfriend in this world was enough to lift her spirits even if nothing was going the way she intended. Plus, given how nervous she had been feeling before, this kind of thing was exactly what she needed to perk up again, even if it was only for a little while.
After about a minute had passed, the two broke off the kiss while continuing to hold onto each other.
“Wow.” Mahiro said in delight. “I hope that that never stops feeling as good as it does. You really know how to rock my world, Momiji.”
“Same to you.” Momiji giggled, running her hand across Mahiro’s cheek. “I think that it all makes sense now why Onee-chan insisted on us leaving the house twenty minutes earlier than usual this morning.”
“Hold on, it’s that early?” Mahiro asked. “So that’s why everything’s felt slightly off since getting out of bed. I know that we ended up going to bed pretty late last night, but when we woke up this morning I felt way more exhausted than I expected. I figured that it was just a side effect of how late it was when we finally crashed for the night.”
“Did you really not remember to look at the clock before leaving your house, Mahiro-chan?” Momiji asked in disbelief.
“I didn’t really have any reason to do so.” Mahiro answered. “I always check it every morning back in my own world, but since this version of Mihari leaves the house along with me, I haven’t needed any kind of extra reminder to get ready to go.”
Momiji chuckled at this for a few seconds.
“I swear, just when I think that you can’t be any more different than the version of you who’s been my best friend for the last five years, there you go again finding a way to behave just like her.” she said.
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Mahiro asked.
“What you said just now, the whole not remembering to check the clock because you have your Onee-chan to tell you when it's time to leave, that’s the exact kind of thing that I’d certainly expect to happen to the other you. It’s so uncanny. I guess that you being here as long as you have has caused more than just a few of her quirks to rub off on you.”
Mahiro’s cheeks turned bright red upon hearing this.
“Um, yeah…I guess so.” she shrugged.
“But, that just helps to add to your overall charm as far as I’m concerned.” Momiji continued. “After all, anything that causes you to act more and more like the woman I love could never be anything other than a positive in my book.”
“Hold on, I thought you just said a few minutes ago how much you treasured all of the time that we would be able to spend alone together.” Mahiro said. “Now you’re saying that you only love me whenever I act like my counterpart?”
“No no no.” Momiji laughed. “I do love you. I love both of you for that matter. It’s…complicated. As you know, I’ve been in love with the other version of you for as long as I’ve known her, that’s a constant which is never going to change. And yet, I was never able to work up the courage to act on those feelings until you arrived. I know that the two of you are very different people, but I can’t help but have feelings for you since you come off as just similar enough to her in every way that counts. I love you not just because of who you are, but also what you’ve been able to do for me.”
“Oh, so the only reason that you keep me around is because of what I can do for you, is it?” Mahiro asked, somewhat annoyed.
“If that was really the case, do you think that I would be doing something like this?” Momiji asked.
Momiji suddenly leaned in close to Mahiro and gave her another soulful kiss on the lips. Mahiro once again found herself paralyzed by the fuzzy sensations running through her by the time that Momiji broke away.
“I’m thinking that maybe there was more to this whole ‘giving us twenty extra minutes’ thing than meets the eye.” Mahiro thought.
“Tag, you’re it.” Momiji cried out.
“Huh?” Mahiro asked in confusion.
Momiji suddenly ran several paces down the street before stopping and turning around.
“Kissing tag.” she said with a giggle. “Try to get me next. Come on.”
Mahiro crossed her arms in disbelief, but couldn’t help but smile due to how amusing this came across as.
“Who are you, Asahi?” she asked. “Because to me that’s the kind of thing that she’d do instead.”
“There’s no chance of that happening whatsoever.” Momiji said. “Asahi-chan is way too innocent to ever come up with a game involving kissing.”
Mahiro thought about this for a few seconds before shrugging.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right about that.” she said.
“Yes I am.” Momiji declared triumphantly. “Now come on and try to land one on me already. We have to get to school, and I can’t think of a more exciting way to do so.”
“Well alrighty then, if that’s what you want…” Mahiro started.
Mahiro gripped her schoolbag tightly and began to race towards Momiji at top speed. As she did, she once again felt that amazing rush that came from having a super-athletic body with a seemingly infinite amount of stamina.
“Oh yeah, that’s the stuff.” she thought.
“Here I come.” she yelled with a large smile.
As soon as Mahiro made it close enough to Momiji for her to land a kiss on her cheek, Momiji immediately dodged before once again moving several steps away . Mahiro was caught a bit off balance by this sudden action, and turned to see that Momiji was laughing out, much to her confusion.
“Hey, what’s the big idea?” Mahiro asked.
“I do indeed want one of your kisses, Mahiro-chan.” Momiji answered. “But…don’t think this means that I’m going to make it easy for you. Remember, this is a game after all. If you really want to win at it, you’re going to have to work for it.”
“How does one win at a game of tag?” Mahiro asked. “I mean…yeah, there’s an added element of kissing thrown into the mix for this one, but still…”
“Whoever wins is the one who’s scored the most kisses on the other one by the time that we make it to school.” Momiji answered.
Mahiro immediately perked up once again upon hearing this.
“Okay, that is some serious motivation.” she yelled. “If you want me to work for it, then work for it I shall.”
Mahiro once again raced towards Momiji, but kept her eyes focused on her at all times. This way, when Momiji attempted to dodge once again, Mahiro was quick on her feet and was able to change direction without stumbling. In doing so, she had no trouble whatsoever landing a kiss on Momiji’s cheek during a point when she attempted to turn away once again. Even though this game had been invented out of the blue and came off as a little strange, Mahiro couldn’t deny that she was having a lot of fun right now.
“Tag, you’re it.” she said. “I guess that we’re tied now.”
Mahiro took off running down the street, with Momiji getting a look of fierce determination in her eyes to accompany the bright smile across her face.
“Not for long.” she cried out before running towards Mahiro as fast as she could.
For several more minutes, Mahiro and Momiji continued on with this little game of theirs. They never once deviated from the path that led to the middle school, but they did somewhat delay their journey by weaving in and out of the streets, sidewalks, and any trees that were planted alongside the roads. As they continued along like this, the two began to use increasingly complicated methods to either kiss or avoid being kissed by the other. In one instance, Momiji hid behind one of the trees that she passed in order to break Mahiro’s line of sight for a few seconds once she rushed past the tree in the direction that she thought Momiji was heading. By the time that Mahiro had realized what had happened, Momiji was already halfway down the street, giggling immensely at how well her plan had gone. Mahiro paid her back by letting Momiji get ahead, and then using each tree as cover to prevent herself from being seen when Momiji looked around wondering where she had gone. This allowed Mahiro to get extremely close to Momiji and then place a series of kisses on her cheek, hugging her from behind while doing so. Although this multitude sneak attack only counted as a single kiss as per the rules of the game, neither Mahiro nor Momiji cared about this in the slightest. At this point, they had stopped trying to keep score and simply enjoyed the game while it lasted.
Although Momiji was certainly having fun, Mahiro was absolutely over the moon from how much she was enjoying herself at this exact moment. Things like this represented the purest thing that she had been able to get out of life thanks to Mihari’s experiment on her; raw, unfiltered, and above all imaginative fun that could only come about from having best friends still in the springtime of their youth. And to make this even sweeter, as long as Mahiro was in this world, she was capable of enjoying these fun moments in a way that she had never before been able to do, either before or after she became a girl. Having this athletic body put her on the same level as Momiji and Asahi, and this in turn gave her the tools to be an active participant in types of taxing games that she had always been forced to wholeheartedly avoid back in her own world due to the painful limitations of her real body. If the experiences that she had been able to go through previously were exciting, what she was able to experience made her feel as if she had suddenly died and been sent to heaven.
As she continued to run along, Mahiro continued to smile brightly at the form of Momiji in the distance that she no longer had any trouble keeping up with.
“I love you, Momiji-chan. Truly I do.” she thought. “I only wish that we could keep doing this kind of thing forever and ever.”
As Mahiro rounded a corner, she noticed that Momiji had abruptly stopped in place and was looking at something. Realizing that this was her chance to get another kiss in, Mahiro increased her speed and kissed Momiji on the cheek once more while hugging her on the side.
“That’s one more for me.” she cried out in delight. “Honestly Momiji-chan, you really need to try a bit harder.”
Momiji did not respond to this, or even move her body. Mahiro let go of her in confusion upon realizing that she was stiff as a board. Looking Momiji up and down, Mahiro didn’t know what to make of her abrupt stop, or far-away expression on her face.
“Momiji-chan? What’s wrong?” she asked.
Momiji waited a few seconds before responding.
“It’s the sakura trees.” she answered. “Look at them, they still haven’t bloomed yet.”
Mahiro looked around and realized that they were standing at the edge of a large park that ran adjacent to one of the city’s canals that their group of four tended to pass by on most days whenever they were heading to the middle school. Mahiro had basically forgotten about up until this point, but this park was chock full of sakura trees which bloomed absolutely stunning pink cherry blossoms for only a few weeks out of the year. Standing in this park during this time had always made Mahiro feel as if she had been whisked away to a majestic pink canopy where nothing else in the world mattered besides the majestic sight in front of her, though she admittedly hadn’t been able to lay eyes on this for several years due to her previous isolation from the world. It did feel a bit of a letdown for Mahiro seeing that trees were yet to bloom, but she didn’t understand why Momiji was getting so worked up about it.
“I can see that.” she said after a few seconds. “I guess that they must be coming in late this year or something.”
“I know, right?” Momiji asked while gripping her fists to the side. “Why does nature always have to act so slow?”
“Well there’s not much that we can do about it.” Mahiro answered. “Why are you getting worked up about it?”
Momiji immediately turned to face Mahiro and grabbed the front of her jacket with both hands. Mahiro could see that there were tears forming in her eyes.
“Because…” she answered. “Because, I thought that everything would turn out perfectly this morning, and this is the only thing that didn’t.”
Mahiro broke out of Momiji’s grip by backing up a few steps out of confusion.
“Okay, I’m lost.” she said. “What in the world are you talking about?”
Momiji placed her fist in front of her chest and took a few deep breaths before wiping the tears out of her eyes.
“I wanted to see the look on your face when you saw them in bloom once again.” she answered.
“Huh?” Mahiro asked.
“Yesterday, you mentioned how much you wished that you could see the sakura trees in full bloom once again.” Momiji answered. “You said how you had missed out on them for almost three years as a side effect of spending all that time alone in your bedroom back in your own world. I heard a rumor on the news last night that the trees were on the verge of opening and might do so today of all days. When I saw how nervous you were this morning, I came up with this little plan to cheer you up that would ultimately culminate with us becoming some of the first people of the year to see these majestic trees in bloom. I guess that you shouldn’t really believe everything that you read online. Some second date, huh? And even after I made a solemn promise that this would happen. I can’t believe that I could’ve made such a blunder to you of all people.”
“Hold on…do you really consider what we did just now to be a second date?” Mahiro asked.
“Well…if a date is two people hanging out and having an immense amount of fun together…then yes.” Momiji answered.
Mahiro smiled once again and placed her right arm around Momiji’s side.
“Well, I certainly didn’t see this little fun session of ours as falling under such a category, but that definition that you gave me may have just changed my mind.” Mahiro said. “And believe me when I say that it was fun without any doubt. Ever since I got here, I’ve been able to experience things that I never would’ve been able to back in my own world, and this right here might just take the cake.”
“Yeah, but it could’ve been even better.” Momiji said.
“It would have, but the fact that it wasn’t has absolutely nothing to do with anything you did.” Mahiro said. “Nature is nature, and there’s no way that any of us out there can control it no matter how hard we try. Besides, wouldn’t you much rather enjoy such a moment with the version of me whom you’ve always wanted to be romantic with?”
Momiji was caught off guard by this and immediately began to look Mahiro directly in the eye.
“Just picture it now.” Mahiro continued while panning her left hand across the view of the park. “She comes back home tomorrow night, you finally confess to her how you really feel about her, she accepts, and then the two of you solidify your relationship by seeing these things in full bloom the morning afterwards. I know that you can’t completely trust internet rumors, though there could be some semblance of truth behind them given that it’s the time of year when they usually bloom. If it does happen while I’m still here, then great for me. If it winds up happening once she makes it back though, then it’ll be absolutely phenomenal for you. Don’t you agree?”
A tear began to roll down Momiji’s face before she began to smile brightly once again.
“Yes. I think that it most certainly would be.” she answered. “You really are the best Mahiro-chan. Whether you’re the thirteen year old girl that I’ve always loved, or the former twenty-one year old boy inhabiting her body, you both know me so well. Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Mahiro said.
“And now, I think that I certainly need to repay the favor.” Momiji continued.
Mahiro’s eyebrows raised with intrigue and smiled.
“Oh? And what did you have in mind?” she playfully asked.
Without saying anything else, Momiji once again leaned in close and kissed Mahiro on the lips. Mahiro wrapped her arms around Momiji and pulled her in even closer. The fuzzy sensation inside was so intense that Mahiro felt her leg lift off the ground instinctually. Time seemed to stop while they stayed like this, as if nothing else mattered whatsoever. Mahiro felt totally accepted as a person in this moment, while Momiji was more than happy at the opportunity to live out the fantasy that she had managed to make into a reality thanks to the hands of fate. The two of them actually found it somewhat difficult to break away from each other, but eventually did so while continuing to hold each other.
“I love you, Mahiro-chan.” Momiji said.
“I love you too, Momiji-chan.” Mahiro said back.
Just as the two let go of each other and backed away slightly, Mahiro felt a powerful force impacting her from her right side.
“I got you now, Mahironi.” Asahi called out with unabashed delight.
Mahiro felt herself tumbling to the ground along with Asahi. Unfortunately, the spot where she had been standing was at the top of a small hill next to the trees. When Mahiro landed on the ground, her body started to roll down the hill, with Asahi being pulled along with her due to gravity. The two struggled to gain any sense of control as they continued to roll down the hill, only managing to do so once they came to a stop at the bottom. Mahiro struggled to sit up and catch her breath while Asahi immediately leapt up and jumped for joy.
“Oh yeah, that was so much fun. Let’s do it again.” she cried out.
Mahiro opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out when she noticed Asahi’s joyful expression. Instead, she found herself laughing at the utter ridiculousness of this situation, as well as how much she was enjoying it.
“Even Asahi has something else to offer in this world.” she thought. “Her doing this was a little bit annoying at first, but it’s really starting to grow on me in a way.”
“Hey, are you two okay?” Momiji called out.
Mahiro stopped laughing and looked back up at the top of the hill. She saw Momiji and Miyo standing there and looking down on her and Asahi. Momiji had a look of concern on her face, while Miyo was admiring what had just occurred with a look of absolute delight.
“Oh my.” she said. “What a wonderful morning this is.”
As Momiji slid down the hill, Miyo continued to stand there and put her hands into a prayer sign.
“Thank you.” she thought.
After several seconds had passed, Momiji reached the top of the hill with Mahiro and Asahi supported on both of her shoulders. As soon as she allowed them to stand on their own, Mahiro and Asahi began to wipe the dirt off of their uniforms.
“Honestly Asahi, you really need to be more careful.” Momiji groaned. “If that hill was any higher, you could’ve really hurt not only Mahiro-chan, but also yourself.”
“Hehe, sorry.” Asahi chuckled. “That was my fault for sure. Whenever I see Mahiron, or even Mahironi, standing there like that, I just can’t help myself. At least this time I waited for the two of you to stop being all smoochy with each other before I did.”
Mahiro and Momiji’s mouths dropped open in shock.
“Hold on, were you spying on us or something?” Momiji asked.
“We were walking this way and saw the two of you doing your thing.” Asahi answered. “I was going to go in right away, but then Miyo-chan, well…you know.”
As Asahi said those last few words, she playfully elbowed Miyo’s side. Miyo did not appear to notice this however, as her eyes were fixated on Mahiro and Momiji. Her cheeks were bright red and there was an enormous smile across her face. Mahiro and Momiji sighed upon seeing this.
“So the only reason that Asahi didn’t jump in right away was because of you, Miyo-chan.” Mahiro asked.
“Well of course.” Miyo answered. “It would be an absolute crime against humanity to disrupt such a beautiful sight. Ever since I was invited to become a part of this group, I always dreamed of the day when this pairing would come to pass. I was starting to think that it would never end up as anything more than a yuri-loving schoolgirl’s fantasy. And yet here the two of you are, together…as a couple. The very idea that this is what I’ll have to get used to expecting as the new normal in my life is almost too much for me to handle.”
Miyo twirled around in place as she was saying this. Although Mahiro, Momiji, and Asahi wanted to say something about how strange she looked while doing this, they ultimately made the decision not to do so. Like it or not, they all knew that this was the kind of person who Miyo was, and it would be better for all of them to just let her get it all out of her system.
“It’s nice to see you so enthusiastic about all of this.” Mahiro chuckled. “Although, I wouldn’t get used to the idea of this being the new normal quite yet.”
Miyo immediately froze in place and looked at Mahiro with a confused expression.
“Huh? What do you mean by that?” she asked.
Mahiro immediately began to blush and placed her hand behind her head.
“Um…it’s a long story…” she began.
***
As the group of four continued on their way to the middle school, Mahiro explained to them what had transpired since the last time they all saw each other the previous day. She mentioned how her Mihari had been able to establish steady contact via the box and the customized radios, as well as the information that she, her counterpart, as well as both Miharis had been able to exchange during that time. Miyo and Asahi had looks of amazement across their faces the entire time that Mahiro was talking. Although what they were hearing raised a multitude of questions on their part, Mahiro was able to answer each and every single one of them without fail. Mahiro eventually finished telling them everything by the time that they made it to their shoe lockers.
“And that just about sums it all up.” Mahiro finished, opening up her locker and grabbing her pair of shoes out of it.
“So you really got the chance to talk with our Mahiron all because of a special box?” Asahi asked. “That’s the coolest thing that I’ve ever heard in my life. Maybe next time you can get the other me to come on the other end so I can speak to her. I have so many things that I’d want to ask her.”
“Asahi, as cool of an idea as that is, it wouldn’t work for two reasons.” Mahiro said.
“Huh?” Asahi asked.
“First off, remember that the other versions of you three don’t know the truth about who I used to be before Mihari’s experiment.” Mahiro answered. “They may know about me being in this other world, in this other body, but that’s just about it. You go on there, and you might just accidentally spill the beans and ruin the first real friendships that I’ve ever had back in my own world.”
“Oh yeah, I can totally see that happening.” Momiji giggled.
Asahi dropped her head down slightly.
“That really does sound like something I’d do for sure.” she said.
After a few seconds, Asahi lifted her head back up.
“What’s the other reason?” she asked.
“It’s because, well…one of you is enough to deal with as it is.” Mahiro answered.
Asahi’s mouth fell open in shock, causing Mahiro to panic.
“I didn’t mean that as a bad thing though.” she stuttered out. “What I mean was, um…Asahi, what makes you so endearing is your pure heart, your cheerful attitude, and the amount of positive energy that you exert which always brightens up the room wherever you go. Don’t get me wrong, we all love it, but I think that I speak for all of us when we say that we’d feel a little bit overwhelmed if there was more than one of you to deal with. Don’t you guys agree?”
Momiji and Miyo nodded without hesitation, much to Asahi’s surprise.
“That’s for sure.” Miyo said.
“Asahi, you’re extremely fun to hang out with and all, but I agree that having to deal with two of you would be just a little bit too much.” Momiji added.
Asahi looked down with a slightly saddened expression on her face, which was quite a rare sight given the kind of person that she was. All of a sudden, Mahiro moved behind Asahi and began to stroke her hair in multiple places from behind. Asahi immediately began to cheer up as the familiar, comforting sensation began to overtake her.
“What she means to say is that we all love you exactly as you are.” Mahiro continued. “Why would we ever need another Asahi around when the one we have is already so amazing?”
Asahi’s cheeks began to turn red as she showed off an even larger smile than the one she had before.
“Awww, thanks Mahironi.” she gushed.
All of a sudden, Asahi turned around and began to hug Mahiro’s head, pulling it into her chest while stroking Mahiro’s hair.
“No matter what world you come from, you’ll still be one of the greatest friends I could ever ask for.” Asahi said with a soothing voice. “Since we know that you’ll be going home very soon, I guess that this will be my last chance to share my energy with you like this.”
Miyo’s eyes widened in delight once again while Momiji began to feel very annoyed at what was happening. Mahiro on the other hand felt her eyes close as Asahi’s overwhelmingly sweet aroma filled her nostrils and calmed her nerves. Asahi didn’t do this kind of thing very often, but every time that she did it always made Mahiro feel so incredibly safe and secure. Even though Asahi hadn’t started developing as a woman as of yet, Mahiro was certain that she would someday become a wonderful mother if she kept this friendly attitude of hers for the rest of her life. After a few seconds had passed, Momiji had officially had enough and forced her way between the two to separate them.
“Okay, that’s enough of that.” she said.
Mahiro leaned against the lockers to catch her balance once she was pushed out of Asahi’s grasp. As she straightened herself out, she smiled at the thought of what had just transpired.
“I guess that regardless of what world you find yourself in, some things never change.” she thought.
“Come on, Asahi.” Momiji complained. “How can you do something like that right in front of me even though you just saw me kissing Mahiro-chan less than half an hour ago?”
“Aw, you know that I’m perfectly harmless.” Asahi answered with a chuckle. “There’s nothing wrong with me wanting to show one of my best friends just how much I care about them. Now let me do the same to you, Momiji.”
Momiji winced slightly as Asahi moved in to hug her in the same way that she did for Mahiro. Miyo felt her knees starting to give out as the gap between the two became smaller and smaller. Just before Asahi could touch Momiji though, she was interrupted by the sound of the warning bell ringing throughout the school. The four girls stopped what they were doing and looked up as the bell’s sound abruptly cut out.
“Oh my.” Momiji said. “We’d better get a move on or we’re going to be late for class.”
Without further ado, everybody finished changing into their shoes and began to make their way in the direction of Class 1-B.
“So…what are you going to say to Kocho-chan, Mahiro-chan?” Momiji asked.
“I’d certainly like to know.” Asahi added.
“Given what she…did with you…I’d certainly be understandably nervous if I was in your shoes.” Miyo added.
“No, I’m not nervous about what happened. That’s all in the past.” Mahiro chuckled. “What is concerning though is how I’m going to convince her to give me the necklace without letting her in on what’s going on.”
“Why don’t you just be honest with her?” Asahi asked. “Like my Mom says, ‘honesty always wins in the end’. If she knows what’s really going on, I’m sure that she would be happy to hand it over to you.”
Momiji whacked Asahi on the back of her head.
“Asahi, that’s a terrible idea.” Momiji answered. “What if she ends up leaking that truth to someone else? Mahiro-chan is already dealing with enough already. Having this secret leave the confines of our group would just make things way too complicated.”
“I do admit that such a thing would be problematic, but would there even be the most remote possibility of that happening?” Mahiro asked. “I talked with Kocho-chan, the real her, yesterday, and she didn’t really seem like the kind of person who would be willing to blurt out a secret to anyone who was in the vicinity. She may have acted somewhat aggressive while wearing the necklace, but without it she seemed to be rather shy and withdrawn, much like how I used to be during my first go around as a boy. Do any of you think that she’d spill the beans like that if I was to suddenly tell her everything?”
Momiji, Asahi, and Miyo looked at each other for a few seconds before turning to look back at Mahiro.
“To be honest, we have no idea.” Asahi answered.
“The other version of you only recently became friends with her.” Momiji added.
“And on top of that, none of us have ever had a chance to hang out with her as of yet.” Miyo added. “The other you is the only one out of all of us here who’s had any sort of experience with her so far. Maybe you ought to ask for some advice about talking to her later the next time that you use that box to contact her back in your world.”
Mahiro placed her hand on her chin and began to ponder what her friends were trying to tell her. After a few seconds, she lifted her head back up again.
“I guess that would make the most sense.” she said. “All things considered, it’s not like I have to rush this or anything. I’m going to be in this world until at least tomorrow, so I can always wait until then or even Thursday or Friday at the latest if the need arises. Even so, if I see an opportunity to talk to her today, I’m going to take it. We need to get all of this undone as soon as possible, and the fewer things we have to worry about, the better.”
“Woohoo, that’s the spirit, Mahironi.” Asahi cried out while lifting her fist into the air. “You got this.”
For whatever reason, these words caused the group of four to laugh for several seconds, extending until they entered the classroom and made their way towards their desks. The view inside the room was quite different from the past several days that Mahiro had spent in this alternate version of the school that she knew so well. As opposed to previous days and despite her and Momiji leaving their houses twenty minutes earlier than usual, all of the little side detours and delays that the group had faced on their way to the building had left them with very little time before the final bell. As a result, almost every single student in the class had already arrived, though Mari-chan-sensei was still nowhere to be seen as of yet.
As Mahiro made her way towards her desk, her eyes instinctively focused on the desk directly next to hers; the one that belonged to Kocho. She became somewhat surprised when she noticed that the desk was one of the few in the classroom which was still empty. Kocho was nowhere to be found.
“Hmmm…” Mahiro thought. “I guess that she must be running late just like we were.”
Mahiro took her seat, set her bag down on the floor and began to focus on the classroom door, waiting for Kocho to arrive for the day. She knew very well that it was too late for her to ask Kocho about the necklace now, but it would still put her mind at ease knowing that she would still be here to ask sometime later in the day, possibly during lunch or another bathroom break as she had done the day before.
Although Mahiro tried to remain calm, she felt her nerves steadily increasing as the minutes ticked on without Kocho coming through that door. A few other late stragglers raced into the classroom at various points, but none of them were Kocho. Eventually, Mahiro’s heart sank when the opening bell rang out and Mari-chan-sensei entered the classroom and clapped to get everybody’s attention.
“Good morning, class.” she said.
“Good morning, sensei.” everyone in the class replied.
“Thank you all very much.” Mari-chan-sensei said. “Now, I know that we only have a few days left together, but we still have a lot to get done. So without further ado, let’s get attendance out of the way, shall we?”
Mari-chan-sensei took out her clipboard and began to call out the names of each student, starting with those in the corner of the classroom opposite from where Mahiro was sitting. As she read through the names on the class list, Mahiro could feel her heart beating faster and faster out of nervousness. She would occasionally glance over to Kocho’s empty desk for a split second before once again staring at the door. She eventually placed both of her hands on top of her head in an attempt to stop herself from shaking.
“Okay, calm down.” she thought. “I’m sure that she must have overslept or something and is just running late to class. Yeah, that has to be it. That kind of thing happens all the time in manga and anime where you see a young schoolgirl running down the street with a piece of bread in her mouth because she didn’t have time to sit down and eat breakfast. I’m sure that Kocho-chan will race through that door any second now. Right…?”
Despite her attempts at self-assurance, Mahiro’s nerves continued to grow as each student’s name was called out. Eventually, Mahiro’s worst fears were realized when Mari-chan-sensei reached the student who sat directly next to Kocho.
“Nakai-san.” Mari-chan-sensei called out.
“Here.” Akira called out while raising her hand.
“Okay, present.” Mari-chan-sensei muttered under her breath, placing a small checkmark on the list as she did. “Nezumi-san.”
There was no response, which caused a few curious students to glance in the direction of Kocho’s desk.
“Nezumi-san, are you here?” Mari-chan-sensei asked.
When there was once again no response, Mari-chan-sensei looked up at Kocho’s desk, and saw that she was indeed not present.
“Absent.” Mari-chan-sensei muttered under her breath. “Oyama-san.”
“Here…sensei.” Mahiro blurted out while raising her hand.
Mari-chan-sensei smiled as she finished filling out the attendance list and set it down.
“Alrtighty then, let’s get started.” she said.
As Mari-chan-sensei began her lecture, Mahiro stared at Kocho’s desk with a thousand-yard stare across her face. She had still held onto a tiny sliver of hope that Kocho would burst through the door within the next few minutes, and then subsequently be reprimanded by Mari-chan-sensei for being tardy, but that hope evaporated when no such event happened within ten minutes of the school day beginning.
“You have got to be kidding me.” she thought. “Of all the people in class who could’ve been absent today, why did it have to be her?”
Mahiro collapsed face-forward onto her desk, after which she let out a muffled groan a few seconds later.
***
As the morning progressed, Mari-chan-sensei continued to lecture to her class, Mahiro found herself unable to focus on anything due to her preoccupation with Kocho being a no-show to school that day. This unexpected development had put an end to the quick solution that she had planned out in her head the previous day. Even though she should’ve known better than to think that all of this would be resolved so easily, based on how things had progressed over the last few days, in her mind it was no less infuriating. She found herself absentmindedly glancing back at both the door and Kocho’s desk from time to time.
As the hours ticked onward, Mahiro eventually felt herself growing very hungry, likely as a side effect of all of the stress that she was feeling. Even though she normally looked forward to lunch, she wasn’t really in the mood to eat anything right now. Even so, she decided that she would still do her best since eating almost always managed to make her feel better whenever she was feeling down. The fact that she would be doing so with her friends caused her to perk up ever so slightly. From that point onward, she stared at the clock and slowly counted down the minutes leading up to when the bell would always ring.
A few minutes before this was set to occur, Mari-chan-sensei finished up her lecture before setting her teaching aides on her desk. She then turned to talk directly to the class.
“Everyone, before you break off to enjoy your lunches, there’s one last thing that I’d like to say.” she said.
Mari-chan-sensei closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing.
“Now that this year is drawing to a close, I just want to express my sincerest appreciation for having had the opportunity to have been your teacher.” she said. “All of you have been so wonderful, and it’s been an absolute pleasure watching you all grow up the way that you have.”
The students in the class reacted to this with a mixture of bashfulness and chuckles.
“It’s hard to believe that’s actually been almost an entire year at this point.” Mari-chan-sensei continued. “Soon enough, all of you will be moving on to greener pastures with all new exciting opportunities on the horizon. Although, it would be quite the lie to say that all of you will be blessed with the same exact opportunities as you continue on your way. In fact, there are some specific individuals out there who will be given chances to excel in ways that could ultimately end up changing the world should they choose to go down such a path.”
These words caught Mahiro’s attention right away, and she immediately began to stare at Mari-chan-sensei with a very worried expression on her face.
“No.” she thought. “Certainly she’s not referring to…?”
“What I mean when I say this is that there is one amongst you all who has become very fortunate.” Mari-chan-sensei continued. “You see, this person has recently been given an opportunity to take a very special exam created by a mentor of mine in the Ministry of Education in which only a very tiny percentage of all students in Japan are ever considered qualified enough to be offered an invitation to take it.”
Mahiro could feel the beads of sweat rolling down her face as her face began to turn bright red.
“No. Oh please no, Sensei.” she thought. “Why are you telling the entire class about this? I’m already stressed out enough about it as it is.”
“In my entire time being a teacher at this school, which I admit has only been for a few years at this point but still, there have only been two individuals including the one in my class now who were ever offered the invitation to take the exam. The first was a brilliant young lady who I had the pleasure of teaching during my first year here several years prior. The second is someone who I believe needs no introduction to any of you whatsoever, though who just happens to be the younger sister of this first student of mine. I wouldn’t like to believe that academic brilliance necessarily runs in one’s family, though this belief of mine has certainly been tested time and time again throughout the year as I’ve watched this person amaze me on so many occasions.”
Even though all of the students in the class had a good idea about who Mari-chan-sensei was referring to, they were still very much taken by the pedestal at which their teacher was placing this individual on. All the while, Mahiro cringed inside and trembled at what she was hearing.
“Come on, Sensei. Just stop already.” she thought.
“And before any of you ask, though from the looks on your faces, I will tell you all as to which one of you I’m referring to.” Mari-chan-sensei continued. “And that person’s name is…”
“Don’t say it.” Mahiro screamed internally.
“…Mahiro Oyama-san.” Mari-chan-sensei finished.
Mahiro suddenly felt as if she was an inch tall as Mari-chan-sensei’s hand gestured towards her. This in turn caused the heads of every single student in class to turn towards her desk; it was extremely easy for them to do so given the fact that she was positioned in the back corner of the classroom. Having all of this attention drawn to her was putting Mahiro way outside of her comfort zone. She had long since gotten over her fear of going outside and being around other people, but what was happening to her at that minute was causing those feelings to relapse. She started trembling immensely and felt a strong desire inside to run back home to her bedroom and hide under the covers for her own protection.
“To be more specific about this test that I mentioned before, it all has to do with the early advancement of minors such as yourself into college-level programs.” Mari-chan-sensei continued. “Putting it simply, it means that if Oyama-san passes the test, she will have the opportunity to skip the rest of middle school and high school and start college immediately.”
There was a collective gasp throughout the classroom as the student’s mouths dropped open in shock. This only caused Mahiro to cringe even more.
“I know that this must be a lot for all of you to take in.” Mari-chan-sensei continued. “I know the vast majority of you have become so close to Oyama-san over the course of the school year. It was never guaranteed that she would end up in the same class as the rest of you, but I have a good feeling that those of you who like her were hoping to make many more fun memories with her.”
Several of the female students looked at each other and nodded in agreement at this. Yuta and Minato looked at each other for a brief second before looking away and blushing brightly. Mahiro noticed this second action out of the corner of her eye, and the confused feelings she got from observing this briefly snapped her out of her funk.
“Please know though that taking this test is an enormous opportunity for Oyama-san.” Mari-chan-sensei continued. “So to those of you who consider her to be your friend, I urge you to offer your support to her in any way that you can.”
Mari-chan-sensei opened her mouth to say something else, only to be cut off by the sound of the lunch bell suddenly ringing throughout the school. She proceeded to quickly gather up her teaching supplies and head for the door.
“Well okay, see you all in a little while.” she said, waving back to the class as she stepped through the door.
No sooner had the door shut then Mahiro found her desk completely surrounded by practically the entirety of Class 1-B students. The vast majority of the group who had assembled were the various female classmates that the Mahiro in this world was close to, taking up the first few rows. A few male students had assembled on the outer edges of the group, but this was mostly out of a sense of innate curiosity more than anything else.
Mahiro felt very uneasy as the girls suddenly leaned in close to her.
“Is it really true, Oyama-san?” Satsuki asked.
“Are you really taking a test to go straight to college?” Minori asked.
“I…um…” Mahiro stuttered out, unable to form a response.
All of a sudden, Momiji forced her way through the circle and stood directly in front of Mahiro with her hands forced out.
“Okay everyone, give her some space.” she said.
Mahiro made a prayer sign with her hands.
“Thanks for the save, Momiji.” she thought.
“To answer your questions, yes it’s true.” Momiji continued. “Instead of coming to school tomorrow, Mahiro-chan is indeed taking a specialized test at Yotsuba University which will allow her to skip ahead to college if she passes.”
There was a collective silence from the assembled students for several seconds before Aoi decided to break it.
“Wow.” she said.
“I’m not all that surprised.” Misao added. “Oyama-san’s been at the top of the class all year long. On top of that, she seems to excel at anything and everything that she puts any effort into. I never would’ve been able to figure out my history midterms if it wasn't for her special teaching methods.”
“And on top of that, she’s so fun to be around.” Mai added.
“Yeah, no matter what she has to do or who she's previously committed to, she will always find a way to make time for someone else if she sees an opportunity to help them out if they appear to be in distress.” Miyako added.
All of the girls who had been speaking once again began to focus on Mahiro.
“Oyama-san, I can’t believe that you’re really going off to college like that.” Miyako continued.
“We’ll certainly miss you, all of us.” Minori added.
All of the girls nodded in agreement before smiling brightly at Mahiro.
“But…it’s like Nogata-san said before, I think we all knew deep down that you were destined for much greater things.” Mai said.
“Given all that you’ve been able to accomplish thus far, it’s only natural that you’d be fit to enter the adult world so early.” Satsuki added.
“Just imagine all of the amazing things that you’ll be able to experience.” Aoi said dreamily. “I can’t understand why you would be chosen and I wouldn’t since we’ve pretty much been on the same level academically for as long as I’ve known you, but I’m not going to complain about it. I wish you the best of luck.”
“Same here.” all of the other girls cried out.
As all of these things were being said, Mahiro said absolutely nothing in response. She simply looked down with her hair partially covering the extremely embarrassed look on her face.
“Well, I know that you won’t be in class tomorrow, but be sure to tell us all about it on Thursday, okay?” Miyako asked.
After a few seconds, Mahiro softly nodded in response to this, and the girls began to disperse, breaking off into the usual groups that they gathered in during each day’s lunch period. As soon as they were gone, Momiji breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to face Mahiro. Asahi and Miyo soon came up to the desk to join them, carrying their bento boxes in hand.
“Wow, they sure are a lot to deal with all at once.” Momiji said.
“That was some quick thinking there, Momiji.” Asahi said proudly.
“I agree.” Miyo said. “What about you, Mahiro-chan?”
Mahiro once again didn’t answer, which caused her friends to look at her with very confused expressions. Momiji waved her hand in front of Mahiro’s face in an effort to get her attention.
“Hey Mahiro-chan, are you okay?” she asked with concern.
After a few seconds, Mahiro suddenly planted both of her hands on her desk and started gasping for air. She was acting as if she hadn’t been able to breath for several minutes, and this sudden shift caught Momiji, Asahi, and Miyo off guard. The three quickly moved in close to Mahiro in an attempt to get her to calm down.
“Woah, are you okay?” Asahi asked.
“What’s wrong?” Miyo added.
“Tell us.” Momiji added.
After a few seconds, Mahiro was able to get her breathing under control. Her friends thought that they were in the clear until they noticed tears starting to leak through her eyes.
“I’m a fake.” she answered weakly.
“Huh?” Momiji, Asahi, and Miyo asked together.
“All of that stuff that they said about me just now only applies to the me that they’re familiar with.” Mahiro answered. “She’s done incredible things that have changed the lives of so many people. That is why she alone was asked to take the exam. What am I thinking believing that I stand a chance of passing it in her stead. I’m not smart, not by a longshot. I may be athletic in this world, but it’s not like I earned any of it myself, that was all because of her hard work and effort, not mine. Every time that they said those kind things about the other me, it felt as if someone was stabbing me directly through the heart. That’s because I know that I can never measure up to what she’s been able to accomplish, and I never will. Never in this world or my own have I ever been able to measure up to anyone’s expectations of what I’m supposed to be at any given time, and I never will.”
Mahiro gripped her desk tightly and felt her vision starting to blur.
“What chance does a complete failure like me have of filling the shoes of a bonafide prodigy?” she asked.
Mahiro collapsed onto her desk once again. Her sobs were muffled, but could still be heard by her friends.
“Damn these natural female hormones.” she said.
Momiji, Asahi, and Miyo looked at each other and sighed.
“Shall we get started with lunch then?” Momiji asked weakly.
Asahi and Miyo simply nodded in agreement while gathering several nearby empty desks, including Kocho’s together around Mahiro’s desk. As the three sat down, they each placed their hands on top of Mahiro’s hands while continuing to stare at her.
“Mahiro-chan, why in the world would you possibly consider yourself to be such a failure?” Momiji thought.