Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You stood outside the gates to your new high school, hesitating as you watched as your now-fellow students casually walked in talking amongst themselves. God, why was this so hard? Was it because of how many people were here? Or maybe how big it was in general? Perhaps. It also could be the fact that this would be your first time actually inside this school with these people in the first place.

Great. Now you’re even more nervous.

But if you didn’t go to school and instead skipped on your first day, that would definitely give your new teachers a bad first impression of you. The news would also probably spread to the student body, and people have already seen you here, so no excuses would really work. Rumors would go around and then... Okay. You could do this.
Taking in a deep breath and straightening yourself out, you faced your fears and became part of the parade of teenagers entering the school.

Now you look like you fit in. The more social butterflies would notice that you were new, but other than them and the teachers knowing, you assumed that you seemed like you’ve always been here to other students. Nothing weird or bad to say about you so far. Now to find your way around... As you entered the school, you glanced at the clock above you. Thirty minutes. You had some time. Good thing, too. You had to pick up your schedule from the teachers’s office... And this is a big school. You weren’t expecting to know where everything was in this big place the first day you got here.

Okay. Now where was the office? Shit. Shifting your satchel from one shoulder to the next, you looked around for anyone that looked nice enough to help you out.

That purple haired girl with the two other girls following her looked like a real bitch. No getting caught up with her. You could just imagine what would happen if you let her know that you existed. Maybe that other purple haired girl—oh damn. She’s making a guy carry her things. Geez. Maybe you should just avoid the purple haired girls for now.

Oh! That blonde girl could help. She seems nice enough. “Um, excuse me!” you called out to her, causing her to turn to you. Wow. Those red irises really stood out. You continued after you shook yourself out of your trance, introducing yourself before explaining your situation, “Um... I’m new here and I’m trying to find the office. Can you tell me where it is?”

“If you use one of the staircases nearby, go to the second floor, go to your the right, down the hall, then it’s on your left after passing some classrooms.”

She really was pretty direct, huh? It was almost intimidating. Nonetheless, you managed to give her a good, “Thank you!” before she turned away and went to the lockers. Now that you knew where to go, all you had to do was go up the staircase and follow her instructions. Fortunately enough, it wasn’t too far of a walk to find one of the nearby staircases. After a trip up to the second floor and down the hall like the girl instructed, you were relieved to find that she wasn’t messing with you. Well, she didn’t really seem like the type to lie about something like this. Maybe you and her could be friends...

No. She didn’t seem like she would want to.

Gripping the strap of your satchel tightly, you made your way over to the office door, opening it to reveal multiple faculty members hard at work. Upon your entry, all of them turned their attention away from their computers and files towards you.
Oh. This wasn’t exactly what you were hoping for when you came in.
“Is there something you wish to speak with us about?” one of the older ones asked from his computer. Don’t panic. They’re your new teachers. Be calm. They aren’t scary.

“Oh! Um... I’m, uh. Here to get my schedule. My name is... Um...”

After introducing yourself, you mentally facepalmed. It sounded better in your head... Fortunately, you managed to choke out your name before he could judge you too harshly. The teacher just smiled as he replied, “You seem pretty nervous. Don’t worry. So long as you get along with your teachers, follow the rules, and study hard, you’ll do just fine.”

Okay. You’re off to a good start. Perfect. Now you just have to keep it up. Nice and sweet, nice and sweet. After he had typed something in to his computer, the printer whirred to life as it began to print something—most likely your schedule. After it was done, the teacher got up from his seat and made his way to it, took the paper out of the machine, then handed you your now-printed schedule. “You’ll be in class 1-A,” he began, “Once you arrive in class, your homeroom teacher will give you your locker number and key to put your things into. You get only one spare and that’s it.”

Returning with a polite bow, you replied to him, “Thank you, sir. I’ll do my best,” before exiting the room to the hallway. Seems like you’ll be carrying around most of your stuff until lunch. That’s just great. Well, whatever. It’s no big deal.

Taking a look back up at the clock on the wall, you could now see that you had about twenty-five more minutes. Everything’s gonna be okay. All you have to do is find 1-A classroom. Twenty-five minutes was more than enough time to look around for the classroom. And seeing that this was where most of the classrooms were, you were confident that this was where 1-A was to begin with. It wouldn’t hurt to take a little look downstairs, right? Besides, you were a student here now. You had to get to know your surroundings as soon as possible.
Plus, despite your nervousness, part of you was actually pretty excited about all of this now that you’re seeing the inside of the school. It was huge, but there definitely were tons of places to hang out both inside and out. Once you got used to the surroundings and had a good idea of where everything was, you could see yourself having a nice time relaxing.

Now making your way back towards the staircase you came from, you were about to make your way down when you spotted someone going the opposite direction.
White hair, dark blue (or were they green?) irises, tall, lean... You had to admit, he was pretty cute. But, there was no way he would actually be interested in talking to you. He seems like the type who would have his own fan club in this school or something. But as he got closer, something about him seemed as if he were... Irritated? Angry? In fact, he was storming up the stairs, ignoring everything around him due to his rage. Maybe it would be best to avoid him while going down...

And that’s when it happened.
You weren’t sure whether it was dropped by accident or not, but on the first step, you could feel yourself slip on a piece of paper underneath your foot, consequently falling down...
Right on top of the hot guy.
This resulted in the both of you falling down the stairs together, hitting every possible step on the way down. Obviously, this spectacle wasn’t gone unnoticed by the students.

“Oh my god! Are they okay?!”
“Are they dead?”
“Don’t be stupid! The same thing happened a little while ago, right? They were fine!”
“Oh yeah! Didn’t that really mess them up though?”

What the hell are they even talking about? And why does everything feel dizzy...and...weird..?

Maybe...a nap might help...

~~~

You awoke feeling absolutely sore all over. What happened again? And where were you? Why were you on a bed? Weren’t you in school? Oh yeah. You slipped on a piece of paper and fell on top of this really angry looking white haired guy. The two of you fell down the stairs and... Now you got the picture. You must have passed out from the impact and were brought to the infirmary. Hopefully this wouldn’t count against you in terms of attendance.

Sitting up, you definitely felt wrong. You weren’t exactly sure what it was, but it was as if you were different in some way. In fact, you didn’t feel a certain center of gravity that was normally on your chest. Maybe you should check?
Your mind screamed no, but your curiosity screamed yes.
Which one did you pick?
Curiosity.
Slowly looking down, you noticed a couple of things. One: You were wearing a boy’s uniform. Two: Your limbs and torso were longer. Three: Your chest was as flat as a board. What the hell? Was this a concussion or something? No, it didn’t seem like that... Then what was it? You couldn’t help but survey the room for any kind of answer. You honestly didn’t think that you would find one until your eyes fell upon the person in the bed next to yours.

You saw yourself.
Without a doubt, that was you.
Your hair color, skin color, everything. In fact, you were positive that if this doppelgänger were to open her eyes, they would be the same as yours.
Your breathing quickened as you continued to stare at your body. Were you dead like that guy said?! No way. No no no no no. Hold on... Okay, good. Your body’s breathing. This is good. But if your body’s there, then why were you out of it? And where was that...white haired...guy...

The realization to hit you like a truck. Scanning the room, a mirror mounted on the wall was quickly spotted. In what had to be a single movement, you pushed yourself from the bed and dashed to the mirror, gazing into it and hoping you were wrong... But you weren’t. There, staring back at you, was that same white haired teen. Just as scared as you were with his expression growing more terrified as you took this information in. So, if you were in his body, did that mean that he was in your body?! You couldn’t resist looking back to your former body as you began to shake.

No. No. NO!!! You just couldn’t think straight as you snatched up your satchel on the nurse’s table and sprinted out of the infirmary. It appeared that it was on the second floor, but you didn’t care if the hallway you were in wasn’t the one that had a staircase in front of the school. You didn’t care if you had to circle the entire school. You were going to the entrance. Yes. That was exactly where you were going.
And you were going to run out the gates to the only place you really knew around here. You were going home.

Home to sleep this dream away.
To sleep this nightmare away.

Chapter Text

In my defense, it was only supposed to be a sort of experiment, you know? See if speed and stamina remains with the body or changes depending on who’s in it. I figured that Yamada Ryuu would definitely be pissed off enough to chase me if I... Borrowed his body for the experiment and ran off. Turns out that I was right since he immediately demanded ‘what the hell’ when I forced a switch then shouted ‘get back here and give my body back, asshole’ after I ran out of the club room.

As for the results of the experiment, I can safely say that I had Yamada’s speed and stamina, seeing that I completely left him in the dust. My own body isn’t exactly the best when it comes to that stuff, I hate to admit, so it was nice to know how it felt to not be burnt out after running. I guess I do feel pretty guilty about the whole thing though. It was a pretty dirty trick, but it still had to be tested. Sure, I could have said ‘Hey, Yamada. Let’s see if you tire out when you run in my body!’ or something... In fact, I definitely should have. Hindsight is always 20/20.
Tricking him isn’t the only thing I feel guilty about either. Because the Yamada in front of me was definitely not in my body.

“Mi...ya...mu...ra...” the unfamiliar body growled, “I really hope you’re happy with yourself.”

“What even happened? Did you decide to kiss someone with my body to get me back or something?” I asked, half as a joke and half out of interest. Wonder how he’s going to react to that one. Probably not positively.

“HELL NO!”
I know you didn’t, don’t worry.
“What happened was that this chick slipped going down the stairs and fell on me like what happened with me and Shiraishi! So it’s NOT my fault this time!” Yamada explained in the same expressive way that only he could pull off.

Watching someone do all of his mannerisms due to a swap was always a treat, but it was only fun when it was with people who knew about this phenomenon. Seeing this girl none of us knew about doing Yamada’s jaunty movements was different. It made me worried about what was happening right now. Was she going to jeopardize the secret? How was she handling this? Where was she right now? There was no doubt that this girl was probably terrified at the moment. Or maybe she wasn’t? The girls at the club definitely were fine with the whole body swapping thing and they didn’t act as normal as anyone else would. Maybe girls are just weird in general. Yeah, that would explain a lot of things. But then again, I might just be a hypocri—

Suddenly, I was grabbed by the collar and pulled to Yamada’s level, foreign eyes burning with rage. “You’re the one who screwed everything up with your stupid stunt! I asked around and apparently, ‘Miyamura’ was last seen making a mad dash out the school!” he snapped, which caused me to blink.

... Oh. So she reacted about as normally as someone who spontaneously became someone else. Well, might as well ask a question he probably doesn’t know the answer to, “Do you know where she ran off to?”

“How the hell should I know?! If anything, she might have run home! I mean, she took a bag with her according to the gossip,” he replied, “I didn’t take your bag from here, so it was probably her’s.”
Didn’t really take a genius to figure that out, but it was a good observation.

The intercom buzzed to life overhead, followed by a woman’s monotonous voice sounding through the club room and echoing through the hallways, “Would the students in all B classes who have permission from their parents or guardians please come to the front of the school. It is now time for the camping field trip. Gather all of your belongings and arrive in an orderly fashion.”

“Well, looks like I have to go. See ya, Yamada. Hope everything works out with finding—“
My farewell was interrupted by a kiss planted onto my lips. With the familiar floating feeling that I had grown used to in terms of switching bodies, I now found myself looking at Yamada, hands gripping his collar as he was giving me a smug smirk.

Slowly, he took my hands and peeled them off of his shirt. “I’m going on this trip, Miyamura. You’re staying until I get back, got it? If you hadn’t run off with my body, she would have just fallen down the stairs and that’s it. I wouldn’t have been there,” he snapped, “So, there’s no way I’m letting you just go on the trip instead while I find this poor girl and explain things. See you in a week.”

With that monologue, he snatched up his two bags (one of which probably contained his belongings for the trip), slid open the door, and was out of there, leaving me inside of the club room. He really did bring up some pretty good points, I’ll give him that. Didn’t exactly have much of an argument against that. Sighing, I followed out the door, locking it from the other side before sliding it shut.

There’s someone who had a key herself also in class 1-A, same as me, so I wasn’t too worried about keeping my bag in there. To be honest, I thought that she would have lost it already, but when it comes to the Supernatural Studies Club, Itou Miyabi watches its property like a hawk. Goes to show how much of a fanatic she is. When I see her, I should tell her I should tell her about this dilemma when I get the chance. After all, she’s a girl, right? She should be able to get through to whoever this girl was.

But before I talk to her, I should do some investigating. Where did the girl run off to? It wouldn’t be easy to find someone who was watching when it happened... It could take hours. Hours of stealthily listening in on conversations. I might not even find any leads. The tedious process sounded like a spy movie, actually. Cool.

“You mean you saw him run out the gate?!”
“Yeah! He went towards Tori’s neighborhood from the looks of it.”

... Well, roll credits. One of the more chatty girls was gossiping nearby. But that’s good either way. Just had to get more info. Obscuring myself behind a brick pillar in the hallway near the two girls, I listened in more carefully.

“Tori... The one with that big blue house by the school or the one in the apartment by the bridge?”
“You got it right the first time. Now that I think about it, she mentioned to me earlier that there’s this new girl who moved in next to her.”
“Really? Wait... Was it the same new girl that that fell on top of Miyamura?!”
“Yeah, I think so! Maybe he’s gonna try to get with her! Do you think that whoever falls on top of someone on that staircase become soulmates with each other?”
“If that’s the case, then I’m gonna cry! Miyamura is the man of my dreams!”

Big blue house. Just have to look for a big blue house somewhere around the school and do some process of elimination in order to find the girl in my body. Before I could make my way to the stairs, a voice calling out an unfamiliar last name behind me caused me to jump in surprise.
“There you are! I heard about your fall from the nurse. Are you okay?”
One of the teachers. Just perfect. I knew nothing about this girl, so how should I act? Peppy? Cute? Sweeter than candy? All of the above? Yeah, let’s try all of the above.

“Sorry, sir~! I’m, like, suuuuper out of it and sore! I need to get home right away to, like, get better and stuff! You don’t mind, do you~?”

Nailed it.
The teacher was just confused though, so maybe I was a little bit off the mark for how this girl was. After a few seconds of processing my attempt at convincing him to let me leave early, the teacher cleared his throat, “W-well. You’re free to leave, but your attendance for the remaining classes would be damaged as a result. Due to having to be sent to the infirmary, you weren’t given any penalties for the previous ones, so don’t worry about that. If I had to choose, I would only leave if I absolutely needed to.”

... Well, I’m backed into a corner. On one hand, I could leave and track this girl down, but it would hurt her in the end. On the other hand, I could just go to her classes and lay low, only making myself known when I have to do introductions. It wouldn’t hurt any reputations, it would look normal, and it would help with thinking through the things that I could say in order to calm her down. “I’ll go to class, sir! But can you, like, tell me what it is? Someone took my bag and, like, I’m sooo lost!”

“You’re in class 1-A. I’m terribly sorry about your bag, really. I hope that it’ll turn up soon,” the teacher replied with a frown. So, she’s in the same class as me, huh? That makes things easier. Plus, it would make things easier to talk to Itou given the fact that we were all in the same class.
And so, I went on my way to class. Sure, it wasn’t time for it yet, but talking to Itou was priority number one.

~~~

“Um... Can I help you?”

Yes. Talking to Itou was priority number one. However, letting her in on the situation was a part of priority number one as well. “Listen, Itou. It’s Miyamura. Yamada switched me into whoever this girl is. She apparently fell on top of him and kissed him while he was in my body. He had been chasing me since I...Took his for a little spin,” I explained as quietly as I could as to not draw any attention. This was what made her look around for any onlookers before she whispered back to me.

“So, you DIDN’T go crazy from getting hit on the head from the fall?”

Oh great, so that’s what everyone is saying? I won’t be living that one down for a LONG time... Nodding, I responded (though, I was pretty annoyed after hearing about the rumor), “Yeah. After hearing those rumors, I’m pretty sure that she acted in the heat of the moment after finding out and made a break for it. She’s either at her house or lost somewhere. I’m wondering if you could come with me to check around? And I know that it’s not likely, but do you know her name?”

It was a relief to me when she nodded with a smile. I wasn’t really sure if that meant she could do one or both, but I was really hoping that she knew her name more than if she could come to help, honestly. A new student always had to introduce themselves to the class. If I didn’t know this girl’s name other than what was probably her last name, I’m definitely going to ruin her high school life in the worst way possible. “I can come with after school. And as for her name, Shiraishi and I were talking this morning and she told me about a new girl she ran into. I don’t really remember what she said her last name was, but I remember her first name! That could be who you are right now,” she explained, which made my eyes light up.

“The teacher called me by a last name while checking up on me before I got here. Maybe that’s what it is?” I suggested, then disclosed the name to her. This caused Itou to nod a little, then gasp.

“Actually, yeah! I think that’s what Shirashi said her name was. It does sound pretty familiar,” Itou confirmed. Okay. Everything’s starting to look brighter. I won’t be ruining some random girl’s school life and Itou’s going to help with explaining things.
“But I just want you to know that you’re a dumbass and that I’m not sorry for you.”
Yeah, I was waiting for her to say that. It didn’t take long afterwards before the third period teacher stepped into the room, announcing his arrival with a loud voice as I sat down in my desk.

“Okay, everyone. Settle down and get to your seats... Erm... You’re the new student, correct? The desk you’re sitting in is already taken by Miyamura Toranosuke.”

... Well, so much for trying to appear normal and not draw attention. I had to cover this screw up somehow. “Sorry, sir! Back at my old school, we could sit anywhere we wanted, so I guess I still have the habit. Won’t happen again! Promise!” I replied, trying to make my explanation as believable as possible. That would be a plausible thing in another school, right? If it were, then I really wish that kind of policy would take effect sometime in the future.

“No need to apologize. It’s a harmless mistake. But be sure that there is no repeat of that slip up, got it?” the teacher responded, then stepped aside to make room for me at the front of the classroom, “Since you didn’t get to in homeroom, how about you introduce yourself to your classmates? Afterwards, I’ll assign you your seat and we’ll begin the lesson.”

Okay, I have to not screw this up...
I proceeded to mentally repeat the girl’s name with every step I took from my seat, pounding it into my memory as I approached the front of the class. After turning to face everyone, I had flashbacks of when I had to do this during the beginning of school on my first day here... And I still wasn’t too much of a fan. I was fine with having all eyes on me, but these kinds of mandatory introductions really weren’t as fun.

Now then. I’ve already made too much of a scene already. Gotta make this as boring as possible. And so, with the most dull face I could muster with this girl’s body, I told the class my ‘name’ with about as much energy as a comatose rock before continuing the ‘introduction’, “So. I’m new here. I like doing... Stuff. And I also like stuff. I really hope I can get along with everyone.”
... Well, it was the best anyone could do to really describe someone they don’t know a thing about, right?

The teacher gave me a nod, indicating that the half-assed introduction was (fortunately) passable. “Well, if nobody has any questions for her, then I’ll be assigning our new classmate to the empty seat to the right of Ms. Itou Miyabi,” he told me, pointing to my friend.

The good news is that I’ll be able to have some time to discuss things with Itou during class. The bad news? When we find this girl, she’s going to have to sit away from the two of us. Definitely a predicament if I do say so myself.
After situating myself into the new seat, I looked to Itou, who in return smiled at me. Guess she thought the same thing in terms of the whole discussing thing.

The two of us had to be sneaky about it though. Pass notes by dropping them occasionally would be a good one, but not to be used repetitively. Right now though, I had nothing to start the note. So, I looked over to Itou with the sweetest smile (I think) and asked her something I really needed at the moment.
“Hey, can I have a pencil and some paper? I might as well at least help this girl out with a few notes to catch herself up.”

Chapter Text

It was at times like these that you were glad that your parents were home around dinner time. You didn’t mind the solitude when they were gone, to be honest. When they were home though, they made sure to try and make it up to you, which really was endearing. Usually, you would get most of your social interactions by being with friends from school. But right now? You were going to shut yourself inside and not go to school until further notice.

After rummaging around in your satchel for your house keys and fishing them out, you unlocked the door and sighed as you stepped inside, habitually calling out to the empty house in a light tone, “I’m home,” before slapping a hand over your mouth. Your voice changed along with your body. Well, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise considering that people’s voices are a part of their bodies, but it was just so weird! You had grown used to speaking with one voice your entire life and now that you had a new one, it just didn’t feel right at all! You didn’t mind his voice (you actually really liked it), but that didn’t mean that you could use it without feeling uncomfortable!

As an attempt to ignore your unease, you decided to lean over to peer into the living room and check the time on the clock hanging on the wall.
10:24.
Almost three hours?! Is that clock right?! If it was, you missed the first two periods and it must be around the third one right now. Well, you really doubted that the guy who’s probably in your body would really care about getting to your classes. He might actually be looking around for you instead. Looking back, he was really pissed off when you saw him.
Yet, after hearing his voice and seeing his overall appearance, he didn’t really seem like he was necessarily an aggressive guy... Maybe he was just having a bad day. A REALLY bad day. And now his day got even worse thanks to you.

So.
What now?
You had no idea how long you were going to stay like this and you didn’t feel tired enough to take a nap (most likely since you apparently had been passed out for a few hours already).

You’d be fine with hanging out at home, but your parents come back from work in the evening. If they saw you, you’d be seen as a home intruder or something. And being chased out of your new house by your own parents wasn’t really on the top of your list.

... Wait. Where were you going to stay?! If this really does last longer than the rest of the day, there’s no possible way for you to live in your house at the moment. You also didn’t have any friends to let you sleep at their house because of the move. Would you have to live under that bridge where those thugs hang out? Camp out under the trees around the school? Hide out in an empty room in the school until it closes and use it as an impromptu bedroom? Option three sounded like a possibility (and it sounded like a ton of fun). And the second was the next best thing. It would still require you to enter the area of school though.

... You know? You also could just. Meet up with your body and ask where the his house is, interactions be damned. Seriously, this whole craziness is just really messing with your common sense at the moment.
Hm.
Maybe eating an early lunch would help you get a level head. Your mom might have made it for you to take to school before she left, but at the moment, it was needed now. Plus, who knows how long it’ll be until you’ll get one of her bentos again? You honestly wanted it right now to have some familiar comfort food.

Opening your satchel and gently taking out the green wrapped box by the knot, you slipped off your (or his?) shoes and hung the bag up on a nearby hanger before entering what you now have known to be the kitchen. Upon sitting yourself down at the table and undoing the bento’s knot, you started to consider something.
It’s okay for you to have this, right? Would the person you’re stuck as mind if you ate your lunch in his body? It was TECHNICALLY going to go to him in the end and he didn’t have to wait until noon for his body to get nutrition! It’s a win-win situation for everyone!

That’s the logic you went with. Thanks for the food.
And so, you took the first bite of the homemade lunch you loved so much... And you quickly felt a wave of comfort wash over you. You still were scared about what was happening, that was an absolute given, but you felt significantly better when it came to thinking more clearly. Now you just had to find yourself. And this time, it’s not in a philosophical sort of way. Well. It’s definitely easier said than done. It’s a big school, after all.

There’s a pretty big possibility that you wouldn’t be able to find him even if you two were in the same building. Maybe you could go over there sometime after school? That way, you wouldn’t have many people around to obscure your search. If you remembered correctly, school ended around 3:30-ish. That would leave you with five or so hours to wait for the day to be over...

Looking down, you were surprised to find that your bento was already empty... You always went on autopilot when you were thinking about something, but you never finished lunch this fast while riding your train of thought before. Maybe it had something to do with your new body? Possibly. Taking the now-empty box over to the kitchen counter (whoa, it was shorter than you remembered), you set it inside of the sink. That’s usually what you did when you got home. You were in charge of dish duty, so you just left it in the sink so that you could do it all at once when all of the dishes were needing to be washed after dinner with your parents.

Now you feel a whole lot calmer than before. You just had to figure out how to spend your time... Maybe you could unpack a box that has something to do in it. After all, you still have tons of boxes in your room filled to the brim with stuff, including things that could pass the time. So, you exited the kitchen and took a turn to the stairs, making your way up and to your room.

Yep, it was unsurprisingly just as you left it. The usual furniture pieces were scattered around the room in a crude manner of replicating a bedroom while an assortment of boxes were stacked on top of each other. Sure, more than half of them should be unpacked by now and already decorating your room, but honestly, you’d rather try and convince your parents to paint the walls a different color before you made yourself at home. The white walls were showing some weird yellow stains of some sort and you really didn’t want to know just what the person who lived in it beforehand did to make those stains in the first place..

Observing the wall wasn’t what you were here to do, however.
You were here to spend hours doing nothing productive whatsoever.
Looking through each labeled box to find the one labeled ‘Board Games’ (which were pretty much filled with exactly that), you paused as you spotted the one labeled ‘Picture Box #3’ on top of the first stack you were skimming. Right... The pictures from back home.

Gently taking the box from the top of a taller stack, you took it with you towards your bed and sat down, opening the box up as you used the bed’s cushioning as your chair.
On top was a framed family photo. At the time, you were starting middle school and your parents wanted to take a picture as a sort of before-and-after as the years went by while also having the cute family vibe. The picture was actually supposed to be hung up in a hallway, but it was decided to be put with your stuff instead. Probably because since the pictures in it were mainly of you, they were put in along with your own personal pictures as well.

Smiling, you set the picture down next to you and took the second one out. Okay, this definitely was going to be in your room. It was the picture you and your best friends took together the day before you left.

Kaede and Taka...

You definitely missed them. You’re positive that if you called them and tried to explain the situation, you’d be seen as some jerk at your new school who got ahold of your phone and decided to screw with them. But, there’s also that tiny, itsy bitsy chance that they would believe you if you told them.

Laying the picture down on the bed, you got up, headed back downstairs, and slipped your bag off of the hook before returning upstairs. Keeping your belongings up here would be more convenient if you wanted to get something out of it. Such as your phone that you had placed inside it for the day.

After you got it out, you were pretty confused that the fingerprint lock wasn’t working until you remembered why, which pretty much made you feel like an idiot after trying two times.
You didn’t have your original fingerprints anymore. Well, at least there was an option to do it manually.

Once you typed in the password and went to your contacts, you pondered on who you should call first. Taka would be a good choice. He takes things pretty seriously most of the time. Taka it is. Selecting his number, you held your phone to your ear and waited...
The call was declined.

You were pretty pissed off at first until you remembered something else about him. He takes his academics VERY seriously. Not to mention that he was also probably in class now despite being in a different school and town. Same goes for Kaede, though she would text you saying that she was in class afterwards. Taka would probably call you back during lunchtime to scold you before you’d be able to get a word in, but at least you’d know when to call the two in the future.

Well, you weren’t putting this picture back in the box. It was going on your nightstand. Once you took it and propped it up on top of said small table next to your bed, it was time for the biggest item. At least, compared to the rest of the things inside. It was the photo album featuring all sorts of memories, both old and recent... But to be completely honest, you really weren’t up for looking through it. You felt as if you’d only get depressed from seeing a picture book starring your previous self taunting you with every photo. One with your friends was enough for you. So, you just stuffed it on the shelf under the nightstand.

The rest were just embarrassing pictures that were to be set up around the house to make you hate yourself. Such as that one with you in that duck costume. That one wasn’t really too flattering, but it was a favorite amongst your family. Maybe you’ll someday learn to appreciate it. Closing the box, you returned to looking for the ‘Board Games’ box.

‘Books’... ‘Display Items’... Things you weren’t really interested in right now... Here we are. Lifting the boxes off of the box containing the board games, you considered which one you had that would be a good way to make time go by... Only problem was that mostly all of them required two people to play.

You’ve heard that chess could be played with one person by switching the board around. And chess was one of those games that could take a while. So, it’s perfect! Taking out the board followed by the bag of pieces, you set it down on the carpet and set up the monochrome pieces in their proper places.

Best three out of five.

~~~

It was close, but white ended up winning. That doesn’t mean that white won the war, though. Black would try and make a comeback, so white had better watch out for that day. Occasionally, however, a feeling would creep up on you. Or rather—it was more of a thought.

‘This is just sad’.

Just before you could put away the game, your phone began to vibrate followed by that annoying marching music you chose for Taka... Well, time flies when you play a game. Snatching up your phone, you answered. Well, you were right about the scolding, because you didn’t even have a chance to even greet him before he practically shouted out your full name.

“Have you forgotten about our own class time already?! I apologize for declining your call, but you, of all people, should know better! Please, be more considerate next time!!!”

Okay. Time for the hard part. Clearing your throat, you pieced together the right words in your head before speaking, “Um... Uh... T-Taka, I—“

“Hello? Who is this? Why do you have this phone?”

“T-T-Taka! It’s me!” you stammered out, probably a bit too fast, “S-something crazy happened to me! I don’t know what to do! I just wanna talk to someone to—“

“Please strive to return this phone to its owner at your earliest convenience, sir. It’s rude to prank call people using someone’s own phone contacts.”

And with that, he hung up. Well, that’s just great. But maybe Kaede would help! Choosing her own contact, you waited... And fortunately, she picked up! “Hey there! What’s up?”

“Listen, Kaede. First, don’t hang up. Second, it doesn’t seem like it, but it’s me. Not anyone else. I’m the contact on your phone. Something weird happened to me today. Please, you have to listen to me.”
Silence on the other end.
After a couple of long, excruciating seconds, Kaede sighed in annoyance.

“Okay then. When this is over and done with, give back my friend’s phone, please.”

Relief washed over you once you heard her say that. She might not believe you and she probably will hang up on you as well once she hears the story, but it’s better than hanging up on you instantly after hearing your voice. Now to give her a rundown. “Okay. I fell on top of this hot guy and now I’m in his body. I ran out of school and went back to the new house. I can’t stay because my parents will think I’m a burglar or something when they get home tonight. I ate lunch way earlier than I usually do and I played chess by myself for three hours.”

There was more silence on her end as she processed the surplus of information you gave her. You honestly didn’t feel like you had much of a choice in the matter. If you just said that you switched bodies with someone, you’d better believe she’d hang up on you. Finally, she replied, voice dripping with confusion.

“How did you know that her parents don’t arrive until nighttime?”

This made you get excited. You could probably convince her if you kept it up! “Because it’s me! Really! I’m not lying! Listen, you and Taka are the only friends that I feel like I can turn to right now. I already tried talking to Taka already and... It didn’t go so well. But I can’t just go around in public and claim that I switched bodies with someone!”

“Um... I don’t exactly know how to respond to that. But, I’ll think about all of this. So, uh, bye?”

And with that, Kaede hung up.
Well, at least she would consider it. That was a plus. So now, it was time for you to wait until school gets out. You were already tired of chess and you weren’t up for having a nap... So maybe a movie? If you don’t think about how long it is, it’s no problem.
With that in mind, you left your room and headed downstairs to the living room, trying to remember what movies were available to you at the moment.

Chapter Text

DIIIIIIIING!!!

DIIIIIIIING!!!

DIIIIIIIINGDIIIIIIIINGDIIIIIIIINGDIIIIIIIINGDIIIIIIIINGDIIIIIIIINGDIIIIIIIING—

“I think you got your point across the second time,” I told Itou calmly as she stood mashing the doorbell next to me, hoping that she would settle down a bit. I really did understand her eagerness though. I mean, a possible new member of the Supernatural Studies Club? And it’s a girl? Itou seemed like the type of person to be excited about that. The room would be pretty cramped though...

Itou then turned to me, this time with a worried look on her face. “Um... You sure that this is the right place? There’s plenty of other houses that it could be. Why’re you so positive that this is the right one?” she asked curiously, which I returned with a shrug as the sound of footsteps began to grow louder as someone approached the door.

“Well, it’s the only house with a ‘sold’ sign by the blue house. Figured that it might be her’s since she just moved here. Trust me on this one, okay?” I assured, though I swear I could see her roll her eyes at me from the corner of my eye the moment I faced the door. So little confidence in the club’s vice president...

I’ve been swapped around enough to be used to seeing someone walking around in my own body. I lost count, actually. But you know what? Despite seeing this as a normal thing now, there’s always that awkward feeling that remains after seeing yourself being controlled by another, no matter how much it’s become a daily routine. Some people feel it more than others, but it’s still there. I’m someone who feels awkward only a little bit, but that’s just me. Other people can get a little more overwhelmed... But seemed like this girl took it a whole step further.

As soon as the eyes I once had gazed upon me, she froze, then proceeded to back away... Only to fall backwards on the elevated floor. “Ow...”
Well, nothing’s really stopping us from coming in to her house, right? I’m her right now, so there’s not a problem.

After Itou and I went inside and shut the door, my body was continuing to back away by scrambling backwards on the floor, quickly stammering, “Y-you’re the gu-guy, right?! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to fall on you! It-it’s my fault! I was trying to get out of your way since you looked so mad, b-but there was a paper and I didn’t see it a-and it made me slip and this happened and I’ll have to live under the br-bri-bridge and—“

This scene in general was completely embarrassing to watch, but I wasn’t going to blame her panicked state. In an attempt to give her a sense of relief, I put my hands up slightly, “Calm down. This isn’t your fault, okay? We can explain everything that’s happened.”

My soothing managed to calm her down enough to make her frantic backwards crawl devolve to hugging her legs. “Um. Okay... So, you aren’t mad? I assumed that you would be since you looked like you were pissed beyond belief when I first saw you. I didn’t want to get in your way and get yelled at or anything...” she confessed nervously, causing me to sigh and rub my temples. Yamada really needed some anger management classes or something.

“Okay. Before we tell you what’s up, how about we find a place to sit?” Itou suggested, which was returned with a nod as the (still shaken up) girl got up from the floor and began to walk to a room near the staircase.

“The living room is in here. I was watching a movie, so give me a second to turn it off,” she called out to us. Movie, huh? Seems like Itou and I had the same idea because we followed right after her, eager to see what kinds of movies she was into. As soon as we entered the room...

‘So why male models?’

‘Think about it, Derek. Male models are genetically constructed to become assassins. They’re in p—‘

Well, that question was answered quickly. By the looks of whatever that was, that’s definitely an ‘interesting’ movie. As Itou and I watched the girl turn off the TV after pausing the movie, she turned around to find us. “Oh, uh. Didn’t really think you’d follow me in here. But you can take a seat if you want,” she offered as she gestured to the couch beside her, “Do you want anything to drink while you’re here?”

“Oh, we’re fine. Thanks for the offer though,” I replied as Itou and I sat down on the couch while our new potential friend took a seat in the armchair in front of us, “Well, I guess we can begin with some explanations. See, when you fell, you ended up kissing my body... But, that wasn’t me. It was Yamada Ryuu. I kind of pissed him off with a little ‘experiment’. So, the person who was looking like he was about to punch a hole in the wall was actually Yamada. And trust me, he’s honestly capable of doing that no matter whose body he’s in.”

I could see that she was pretty interested in the whole subject, seeing as she was now leaning in intently, hand on her chin. Itou was the one to go next. “Yeah! Yamada has the power to swap bodies with whoever he kisses, be it a boy or a girl. He’s not too enthusiastic about kissing boys, but Miyamura here doesn’t seem to mind too much from what I’ve seen. He usually is the one that kisses first—“

“You do know I’m here beside you and in a way, you literally just said that to my face.”

Itou returned with a pout, “Well it’s true! Anyway, he can also get other powers. Like the ability to charm others! Gotta admit, Miyamura gets seriously flirty when it happens. Remember when you made that bento with Yamada’s face on it? Then fed it to him?”

Oh, so she’s going to play like that, huh? Well, maybe she needs to be reminded of something. With a sly smirk, I replied, “Don’t you even pretend that you didn’t make him one and were also all over him when that happened. And let’s not forget that you did everything else that I did when you were under that power. In fact, I’d say that it was even worse than me. So, you’re being an absolute hypocrite.”

Before Itou could retort, my laugh began to fill the room. Looking to our host’s direction, she was practically in tears at our display. After a few moments of this joyous laughter, she calmed down with a sigh. “Thanks for that. I’ve been pretty upset because of all this, so you two really helped cheer me up despite it being unintentional,” she confessed, “Plus, hearing about that Yamada guy makes me feel so much better knowing that there’s a way to fix this! Is he nearby? Can he come and switch us back now?”

Oh no, she looks so hopeful... Dammit, Yamada. You’re a complete and total asshole. Itou and I looked to each other uneasily, then back to the unfortunate girl. How should we tell her..? Give it to her straight? Let her down gently? Itou’s expression obviously told me that she wasn’t up for telling the bad news, so it was up to me. Really wasn’t what I wanted to do, though... “Well, he’s not around. He’s on a camping trip with the rest of the B classes. There’s a girl who wouldn’t hesitate to help, but she’s on that trip as well... It’ll be a week until they get back.”

I’ve never seen someone’s happiness melt away into utter despair so quickly. “... A week?” she repeated, as if to have confirmation. Well, I couldn’t exactly say ‘just kidding’, you know? It would only make things worse. So, I nodded, assuring her that my statement was true.

The silence in the room was almost suffocating as her expression remained empty. Finally, she stood up from the armchair and turned to leave the room, making Itou speak up, “H-hey! Where are you going? Do you want us to leave?”

“I’m going to get a few things from my room. I’ll be right back, so just stay put, okay?”

With that, she made her way upstairs, leaving Itou and I in the living room as a heavy atmosphere crushed down on us. I knew that Itou wasn’t up for really striking up much of a conversation, but I guess I wasn’t either. That empty look that was given to us already spoke volumes...
But I was wrong about Itou’s silence the instance I noticed the TV blink on followed by the movie being played from where it was paused.

‘—eak physical condition... They can gain entry to the most secure places in the world.’

“Itou, you’re really going to watch her movie while she’s probably emotionally broken?” I asked flatly, which caused my fellow club member to glance at me. With a stretch, she shifted her position as she replied to me.

“She said that we should stay here while she got a few things from upstairs. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if we watched the movie she was watching, right?”
That was some pretty warped reasoning, all things considered. But it was true that she told us to stay here, so... Might as well, I guess.

‘YOU’RE A MONKEY, DEREK! YOU’RE A MONKEY! DANCE, DEREK! DANCE IN YOUR LITTLE SHINY SUIT!’

... I really wasn’t sure where this girl got this movie from, but it was weird as hell. Maybe it would make more sense if I watched it from the beginning? Usually with things like these, everything makes sense when you actually know what’s going on.

‘He’s just a punk-ass errand boy working for the international syndicate of fashion designers. You do a little background check on your Mr. Mugatu and you’ll find that he’s sold his soul to the devil for a shot at the big time.’

‘... But why male models?’

I change my mind. I doubt that I’d understand it even if I did watch it from the beginning. And judging by Itou’s expression, I wasn’t the only one that thought the same (but she seemed to be way more interested in it).
Eventually, I just began to drown it out and take more-than-just-occasional glances towards the staircase. I mean, I obviously wanted to know if the girl is emotionally all right. She obviously didn’t really like the fact that she had to be another person for an entire week... Maybe I SHOULD go see her.

Yeah. It wouldn’t feel right to just leave her alone like this.
So, after getting up from the couch, I began to walk towards the stairs, calling back to Itou as I did, “I’m gonna see if our new friend needs any help. You okay with staying there?”
The reply I was given was an ‘uh huh’ and a thumbs up. Okay then.

I imagined that I would have to search around for her bedroom rather than see it first thing. Maybe get it right on the first try? Maybe the last one? Well, seems like I didn’t have to do any searching, since the moment I was about to tread up the stairs, the girl inhabiting my body was making her way down holding a duffel bag. Upon seeing me, she still seemed to hesitate, but slowly got over it as she continued downwards. “I packed a few things that I wanted to take with me to your house. It’s just some stuff that I think will help keep my sanity for the week. A stuffed animal, a blanket I like, a picture I had on my nightstand... That kind of stuff. I also decided to take one of my shirts. It might be fun to try it on,” she explained, then held out something small and metallic, “This is my house key. I left my satchel in my room, so all my books are there for classes and stuff.”

She definitely was on top of this whole thing... But I could tell that she was hurting inside. It’s not every day that you suddenly have to leave your own house because you’re not your parents’ kid anymore.
I guess since she was doing all of this, I should as well. Walking towards the hangers near the door and lifting my own book bag off of it, I held it towards her. “Keys are in a pocket on the inside. You’ll recognize which one the house key is when you see it, so don’t worry.”

Nodding, she took my bag, then looked into the living room (probably to Itou). “Um... We’re going to go to Miyamura’s place. Or uh. I’ll be following him to his old place. So are you gonna come? Or maybe go home?” the girl asked in a delicate tone (one that I never thought that I could ever pull off in my entire life). Upon being addressed, I could hear Itou bound over towards her.

“Oh, sure! I was actually gonna head off once everything was explained and meet up with you two tomorrow. I really hope we can be great friends together,!”
And with that, Itou gave her a hug, which was returned after a few seconds once the girl’s surprise at the sudden hug was settled... But I swear Itou mentioned something about this girl in my body ‘being the best at hugging’ under her breath.

Chapter Text

The walk to Miyamura’s house was a pretty long one. He definitely got his exercise in when it came to coming to school. Going would take longer than when you were literally right next to it, but it wasn’t impossible. Especially since it wasn’t too hard of a route to remember. He even gave you his number and said that you could call him if you got lost, so there’s no need to really worry, right?

Eventually, Miyamura stopped in front of an open gate, indicating that the two of you had arrived. Upon looking to see his home...
Holy shit.
There is no way that this is the place that you’d be staying in.
This must be a different house.
“Well, this is the place.” Miyamura called out to you from the front of what could only be described as a miniature mansion. Seems like he had already made his way towards the front door. Good god, were you REALLY going to call this place home for an entire WEEK?!

Gingerly following after him, you watched as Miyamura stepped aside to let you unlock the mansion. “So, uh. Who do you live with?” you asked, causing him to hum quietly to himself.

“I live here with my parents and older sister, Leona, but I don’t really see my parents around much at all. So, I mainly just live here with my sister... But, don’t interact with her. It’s not a good idea unless you want to end up like the wall across her door. But whenever you make dinner and breakfast in the house, make a plate and bring it up to her. Let her know that you’re there to give her a meal and slip it into her room. That way, there won’t be trouble. You do the same with lunch when there’s no school. If you’re not going to be home, then she’ll do it herself,” he explained, which made you a bit uneasy. What exactly did Miyamura mean by ‘end up like the wall’? Does he seriously prepare all meals? What trouble would even happen if you didn’t tell his sister before opening the door? Just what kind of household is this?!

After opening Miyamura’s bag and looking inside various side pockets, one of them eventually revealed a key ring holding a variety of keys. Let’s see... One was small and had a plastic bit with a number etched onto it, so that might be his locker key. Two of them looked identical to keys you’d normally see teachers carry, so maybe not those. Finally, you spotted a shiny key that looked different from the others in term of quality. Yeah, that seems like the one.

Your guess was proven correct, as once you inserted the key and turned it, the door unlocked, allowing entry inside. “Alright. Now you know what key opens the door. Keep that key ring safe in there, okay?” Miyamura instructed, resulting in you quickly slipping it back inside of the satchel while he opened the door and stepped inside. As you followed him, the inside was just about as grand as the outside. Sure, your family was well off enough, but Miyamura’s parents might as well be the bosses of your parents. Or maybe even the bosses of the bosses of your parents. You didn’t exactly want to get into comparing financial statuses though.

“So, uh... Make yourself at home?” Miyamura tried with a shrug as he disappeared into a hallway, which was followed by the sound of footsteps going up a flight of stairs a few moments afterwards. Well, better find a place for yourself to hang out until he comes back. Maybe that bench near the door would do.

Sitting down on it, you began to take in each of the ‘rules’ you had to partake in when it came to meals. Did that mean Miyamura cooked for himself and his sister? Nobody else? If that was the case, then his parents must not get home until later than yours. At least some of this loneliness would be familiar, but the whole cooking part was new. Sure, you had a few ideas about what you could make and you weren’t completely clueless about cooking, but it’s not like you did it every day.
Guess that’ll be changing this week.

Taking a look at your phone, another question popped up in your head. Will you be switching phones or will you have the same ones? It would be more convenient to have your own, since you could call and text your friends. There’s also a few things that you’d rather not some guy you just met have full access to snoop around in. Yeah, it seemed like a good idea to—
Your phone began to ring, the name of the contact being ‘Mom’.
Oh shit.

In the heat of the moment, you answered, then mentally punched yourself for doing so. Why didn’t you just let it ring?!

“Hello! How did things go for your first day of your new school? Did you get home okay?” your mother’s sunny voice asked you through the phone. Usually, you’d be fine with filling her in on the events that happened. But right now? There is no way you’re going to disclose this kind of stuff to your parents. Friends, sure. Parents? Having to be sent away to a mental institution was the last thing you needed. So, you tried to impersonate... Yourself.

“H-hey, mom! Yeah, I’m home right now. School went fine for the most part! It was hard navigating around, but I found out where my class is. I even made some new friends!” you replied, straining Miyamura’s voice to resemble yours as much as possible.

You guess you can call your mom being worried for your health rather than demanding that you return the phone you ‘stole’ a successful impersonation, because after a few seconds of silence, your mother spoke again, this time more concerned, “Are... You okay? You sound a little weird... You didn’t catch a cold, did you?”

“O-oh! I’m fine! I just choked on some water while having a little drink is all! I’m glad you decided to call! I’ll tell you everything when you and dad get home, okay? See you then! Love you, mom!”
As soon as you heard a ‘goodbye’ from the other end, you hung up and breathed a sigh of relief. Yeah, it would be too risky to keep your phone with you. You certainly didn’t trust that Miyamura wouldn’t go through your phone, but it was the only thing that you could really think of to do. Your parents would catch on eventually if you didn’t.

“Okay, I’m back! Just had to put some things away.”

You were snapped out of your thoughts by your voice calling out to you as Miyamura entered back into the front room... Empty handed? Tilting your head to the side a little, you decided to ask, “Don’t you need anything to take back to my house with you? Also, what did you need to put away?”

“I don’t really need much of anything other than what you probably already have. As for what I needed to put away... Well, I didn’t want to have my room a mess for you, so I just stashed up some books,” he replied, which made you raise your eyebrow suspiciously. Books... Best not to elaborate on that one.

“Thanks... Also, I think it would be best if we swapped phones as well,” you suggested as you held up yours, “My mom just called me and I had to make the excuse that I choked on a drink in order to make it believable. I doubt that it’ll work next time and not answering will only make things tense over there, so it’s best if you held onto my phone in case my parents call.”

You then offered your phone to Miyamura, which he accepted after a few moments of consideration. After inspecting it a bit, he gave you a nod as he responded, “Okay then. Mine’s in my bag. If you need any help, just call or text me and I’ll help as much as I can. I kept my bedroom door open so you know where it is, but you can spend some time getting to know where everything else is around here... But like I said before. Don’t interact with my sister. Her room is the one that has the damaged wall on the other side of it.”

Again with his sister... Is she really that dangerous? You didn’t know what was up, but you were definitely going to be paying attention for that wall.
Seeing that there was officially nothing else to do, you figured that it was time for the two of you to part ways for the day. With a small smile, you gave Miyamura a wave. “I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Thanks again...”

He returned your smile, waving as he made his way out of the door of your new temporary home. As soon as the door was shut, you were officially alone once again, this time in a much bigger adobe than before.
Perhaps you should start with finding your way to his room and get your things unpacked there? That was a start. Taking a deep breath and adjusting both the duffel bag and the satchel on your shoulders, you went down the hall you had seen Miyamura go down when he went to his room.

Just as you had expected, a staircase came into view. Probably the one that he went up to go to his room.
After reaching the top and looking around the second floor, it fortunately wasn’t too confusing as what you had imagined. The first thing you noticed was that the infamous ‘damaged wall’ was in view, as it was parallel to a door at the end of the hallway... Yeah, you weren’t going anywhere near that right now. In fact, it’s safe to say that you already knew where that room lead and that you didn’t have any business going inside whatsoever.

Miyamura said that he had left his room open, so... Scanning the area, you found an open door revealing what appeared to be a bedroom, which you immediately made towards after seeing it. Upon entering the room and closing the door, you officially had a sort of ‘base of operations’. You really had to admit, the room wasn’t too bad at all. You knew that you weren’t going to get a hotel room or anything when it came to tidiness, but it was pretty good overall. It might have been because of the quick clean up though.

Setting both bags onto the bed, you opened up the one containing your belongings and began emptying the contents.
The first thing that you unpacked was the blanket you decided to bring, which was soft, warm, and smelled of home. It wasn’t big enough to cover your new body vertically, but it was something that you couldn’t help but bring during trips longer than a few days. Same with the second item: A plushie that always seemed to find its way into your luggage. You knew that you were the one putting it into your bags, but it’s become so much of a subconscious habit to include it when packing for trips that you might as well pretend that it stowed away with you.

Then there was the picture of you and your friends laying on top of a shirt. Maybe you could try calling them again with Miyamura’s phone? It might convince them... In fact, you found yourself with his phone already in your hands and about to call them when you realized something.
If they thought that you were some asshole that ‘stole’ their friend’s phone, then having the same asshole call them will only result in them thinking you were a creep followed by an unceremonious block. Maybe Miyamura could help out with the whole misunderstanding.

Setting down the picture on his own nightstand and placing the phone next to the duffel bag, you took the remaining items out from it. A few books to read, a composition book to write your notes in... And finally, the shirt you brought with for curiosity purposes.
... Hm.
You did say that it would be fun to try one of your shirts on while you were like this, but this wouldn’t be considered harassment, would it? You were a little bit unsure about the whole shirtless thing as well. But there still was that part of you that wanted to try it now...

Well, you WERE going to be changing into his uniforms and casual clothes regardless, right? This could be considered practice for the long run. With a slight bit of hesitation, you slipped off the top of Miyamura’s uniform, tossing it on the bed and taking a look at your chest.
Wow, he was toned. You really couldn’t help but trace your finger along as you admired his physique. Definitely something to be proud of—

Okay, what you were doing was just plain creepy. No more of that. You weren’t taking his shirt off to admire him. You were going to put one of your own shirts on. Nothing else. Quickly taking hold of the shirt, you pulled it over your head, feeling it cover yourself.
Well, not fully.
It was a bit small on you and it reached about halfway down, revealing his flat belly. In short, you probably made Miyamura look like a male stripper.

...
Okay, you only just met the guy. It wouldn’t feel right to check yourself out like this when you barely even knew him. You already violated him enough by admiring his chest. Better set a few boundaries until further notice. So, with a little bit of difficulty, you took your shirt off and was about to put the uniform back on when you paused. It wouldn’t hurt to put on some casual clothes while you’re at it. Miyamura must have some stashed away in his wardrobe or something.

Putting the shirt back in the duffel bag, you approached his wardrobe and began to look around for anything that might seem comfortable.
The pajama pants would work. After all, you needed to change out of the uniform entirely, right? Plus, you doubted that you were going to be going anywhere. That baggy gray shirt also looked good. With your after-school outfit decided on, you scooped up the said articles of clothing and began to change.

The shirt went on first, since you were already prepared to put it on. Seems like the comfortable look of it wasn’t for looks, because it felt great! Definitely a nice thing to slip into after wearing the uncomfortable school uniform. However, next were the pajama bottoms. You were pretty tense about the thought of changing out of the pants due to the fear of seeing something you shouldn’t... But you knew it was irrational. After all, Miyamura would be wearing boxers or something, right?

... Do guys wear boxers under their pajamas?
No. Gotta focus. Slowly, you took off the pants and draped them onto the bed next to the uniform’s top. Afterwards, you grabbed ahold of the pajamas and pulled them on in the fastest time you’ve possibly ever put anything on in your life. Yes, you were positive that Miyamura was wearing something underneath the pants, but the thought of him not was enough motivation to get it over with as soon as possible.

Now that you were in casual clothes, you felt a tiny bit more at home in this unfamiliar mini-mansion. Not by much, but probably enough to sleep tonight. Taking up the school outfit into your hands, you set it aside and flopped onto the bed, considering what you should do for the rest of the day. Despite having Itou and Miyamura to talk about in terms of swapping, you still felt... Alone. Truly, you just wanted your other friends to talk to. But would asking Miyamura to confirm the story annoy him? Would he veto the request? He didn’t appear to be the type of person who would be annoyed with these things, so why were you nervous to ask?

You shook away the needless worries clouding your mind and made a grab for Miyamura’s phone once again. Once you snatched t up and unlocked it, you typed in your phone number and began to call.

Fortunately, he didn’t ignore you... Though you weren’t too sure why he would given the whole situation. “That was fast. What’s wrong?” you heard yourself on the other end. At least he didn’t sound too irritated at your call so soon after he left.

“I was just wanting to ask if you could tell Taka and Kaede that I didn’t steal my phone back when I called them earlier. I mean—I was wondering if you could tell my friends that I wasn’t lying when I said that I was me when I called them earlier,” you explained, then quickly followed up, “But don’t worry! They would keep a secret to their graves! Besides, they’re in a completely different town. I doubt that anyone would believe them about people swapping bodies if they told people without any possible proof where they are.”

There was silence on the other end as Miyamura pondered this, causing you to feel even more anxious than before. After what felt like an eternity, he finally replied, “You said that their names are Taka and Kaede, right? I’ll look for them on your phone and do as best as I can to convince them that this happened. So, keep my phone on you for any incoming calls just in case.”
You would have hugged him if you could. Before you could say thank you, you heard him continue, “But I’ll only do this on one condition.”

You couldn’t help but sputter out a “H-huh?”
What exactly did he have in mind? Was it something bad? Something that you would regret in the future?!

“If you want me to try and convince your friends, you have to allow me—as you—to join the Supernatural Studies Club at our school tomorrow.”

... You just had to join a club? It sounded like a pretty weird club, but it was way better than doing something sketchy... Well. Unless ‘Supernatural Studies Club’ was just a front and the members were up to no good. Though somehow, you couldn’t really believe a conspiracy theory like that. Nodding to yourself, you responded to him, “Um, okay. I mean, I was planning on joining a club or something anyway, so I don’t see any harm in joining it.”

You could practically imagine him smiling on the other end. “That’s that then! Is there anything else you need? If not, then I’ll go ahead and hold up my end of the deal.”

“No, I’m good for now. Thanks so much for the help, Miyamura. Really, I mean it.”

“It’s really no big deal. See you tomorrow.”
With that, the call ended. Supernatural studies... That meant researching aliens and ghosts and stuff, right? Was he really interested in that stuff? You never would have guessed that he would be. He practically gave off a vibe of ‘I’m too cool for this’ for... Literally everything. So what was up with him wanting you in the club? Weird.

Well, you didn’t exactly have anything to do but wait. It was too early to start making dinner, so keeping yourself occupied with that would just be pointless in the end. It was then that your eyes fell upon Miyamura’s phone once more... Is that Yamada guy’s number on there? If it is, maybe you could call him after your friends (hopefully) contacted you.

But if you called Yamada, how would you confront him about the whole body swapping thing? Should you be angry at him? Understanding? You were truly tempted to call him right then and there in order to decide what you wanted to feel, but you figured that it would be better to wait until later when you had a more level mental state. You might feel fine now, but you knew that deep down, you really weren’t.

So, you just tossed the phone back onto the bed with a sigh and decided to leaf through Miyamura’s bag for any books for school. After all, you had missed a whole day of school. If you wanted to make up for it, you had to study on your own. If you couldn’t find any books, maybe you could find his notebook and study that way—
A small packet of papers with your name written on it caught your eye as you had begun sifting through his notebooks. The papers themselves had gotten a little wrinkled from being smothered by the books, but you could clearly see your name on the front of the packet itself.

Carefully taking it out and flipping through it, it was now clear to you just what Miyamura has done.
He did end up going to your classes after all.
And these were notes that he had taken for you.
All while you were being too scared to even make any attempt to try and do the same.

Instantly, a wave of guilt flowed through you as you thought back to the hours you spent at your house. All that time you spent doing nothing and tarnishing his reputation while he was filling in for you.
There was no denying it. You had to make this up to him somehow... But how?

... Maybe he likes yakisoba bread? You could try to make him some yakisoba bread...
Yeah no. That wouldn’t fix anything.

Finally, at the end of the packet of notes, there was a message written for you.
‘Don’t feel bad about running off. Just talk to the Student Council President with me before school tomorrow. He has a soft spot for girls.’
So, along with joining a club, you also had to meet the Student Council President... Did he know about the whole body swapping business? And why would you have to meet with him anyway? If the guy had a ‘soft spot for girls’, then shouldn’t Miyamura go without you?

The phone on your bed began to buzz, startling you as you quickly turned towards it.
Upon picking it up and inspecting the number, you smiled brightly after seeing that it was Kaede. Naturally, you answered the call, “Kaede! Did you talk to Miyamura? Do you believe me?”

“Before we talk, I have to absolutely make sure it’s you. So... Um... What’s my hair color?”

Well, that would make sense. Better safe than sorry. Smiling, you replied to her question, “It’s blonde. And you have that strand of hair that doesn’t go down, which I always call cute.”
The result was silence followed by a loud ‘ca-clink’, indicating that Kaede must have dropped her phone in surprise.

After some shuffling on the other end, her phone was apparently in her hands once again. “... It’s really you, isn’t it? I-I’m really sorry for doubting you earlier! It’s just... It’s not possible! It’s IMpossible!” she stammered, her voice wavering with each word as she spoke.

“I know it is, Kaede! This has been the worst day ever! Why can’t you be over here with me?! I need a hug!” you whined, then winced once you heard yourself. You’re definitely not doing that again. At least Kaede found the humor in it, because you could hear a quiet giggle from the other end.

After she stopped, you could practically imagine Kaede giving a firm nod to steady herself. “Okay. You said something about falling on top of the guy you’re stuck as when it happened... Did anything else happen when you did? Like, did you bash your head really hard against his like on TV?”

And there’s the question. You remembered what Miyamura had said regarding how it happened, but it wasn’t exactly what you would call realistic. Then again, none of this can really be considered realistic to begin with.
Before you could fill her in on the ‘how’, a soft beeping sound filled your ear, indicating another incoming call. As you took a glance, it was the very number you had expected: Taka.
“Taka’s calling. Mind if I add him to the conversation?” you asked, knowing full well that Kaede would say something along the lines of ‘that’s fine’.

“Oh, that’s fine!”

And so, you answered him... Only to be met with the instant demand of, “Tell me my full name, height, blood type, and preferred television program!”
You had expected him to be skeptical, but he still managed to surprise you with his directness. Unfortunately, you only knew two of the four things he had asked.

“Your name is Ishimaru Kiyotaka and you don’t watch TV. I would in no way know your blood type or height as if it were common knowledge because that would just be creepy,” you replied flatly, resulting in Taka giving a hum in response, indicating deep thought (and also resulting in Kaede giggling once more at your reply).

You could practically imagine him trusting his index finger in your face as he loudly proclaimed, “Very well! I will choose to believe you for now! But I’m still not convinced! There’s still a possibility that you and her have organized this as an elaborate joke!”
Oh great, you’re now positive that if he hears the reason behind the switch, he’ll take everything you say as a grain of salt. Fortunately, Kaede was there to save the day.

“Taka, do you really think she would trust someone she literally ran into on her first day of school with information about us? We’ve known her for years. There’s no way she would reveal anything like that so openly!” she scolded, causing Taka to sputter a bit as he considered these facts. You knew that he was just wanting to be absolutely sure, but you won’t deny that his uncertainty hurt a bit. It was who he was though. The one who questions everything that he deems preposterous.

“Y-yes. It is true that she would never openly reveal such information...” Taka trailed off, “So, I shall hereby apologize to you and listen intently to the reasoning behind such an anomaly!”
Oh dear, it was time for the reveal.

Taking a deep breath, you mentally prepared yourself for your explanation. “Well, I was told that when I fell, I managed to kiss the guy I swapped with. However, it wasn’t actually him who was in his body. Instead, it was some guy named Yamada who was in his body at the time. From the explanation I was given, kissing either Yamada or this one other girl in the school can switch me back... But they’re both on trips with their classes. They won’t be back until a week from today. I know, it sounds totally weird and stupid, but how it was explained... I couldn’t sense any lies in the story, you know?”

“A... Kiss?” Taka repeated, his tone dripping with a mix of confusion and disbelief, as if he was trying to decide whether or not to believe this or not. You could tell that Kaede felt the same way, as you could hear her making a few unsure sounds.

Sighing, you shrugged, pretending that they both were present in front of you, “Yeah. I’m just as lost as you two are about it. I just am relaying what I was told, okay?”
Fortunately, they didn’t press much on the kissing thing. Rather than that, it seemed that they wanted to disprove any lingering suspicions about the whole tale in general through casual conversation. It was quite awkward on their end to try and talk to you like you were... Well, you. However, as time went on and your own personal verbal quirks and inside jokes to them became clear, the uneasiness faded until neither Taka nor Kaede seemed to think of you as anyone other their old friend regardless of how different your voice was.

You really weren’t sure how long you had been on the phone with them, but you had made yourself comfortable on Miyamura’s bed sometime in the middle of the long conversation and were starting up at the ceiling when you heard Taka exclaim, “I cannot believe how much time has gone by! It’s already dark! If I continue with this call, I’ll most certainly miss all opportunities to further study for my exams! I wish a good rest of the evening to you both!”

After a resultant ding from Taka hanging up, you could hear Kaede gasp, “Oh, wow! It really is late! Taka’s probably going overboard again with his studying, but I guess it doesn’t hurt to review a few things, right? I’ll keep in touch! I promise! Bye!”

With that, the phone was now silent, indicating that there were no more people on the other end. Knowing that your friends believed you truly gave you a feeling of closure, especially after the long conversation you had with them that revealed how little they cared about the voice you spoke. They truly accepted you as who you really were. And that’s the kind of closure that you didn’t know that you needed until now.

So. Since it was late now, you could get started on dinner, right? Getting up from the bed, you made your way downstairs, going through the limited recipes you knew how to make in your head as you walked into different rooms in hopes of stumbling into the kitchen.
Sure, you did eventually find it, but you still scolded yourself for neglecting to get yourself properly acquainted with the rooms in the large house.

~~~

You had decided on stir fry when you had found the kitchen and searched it for ingredients. It was simple, easy, and could be tasty when done right. You had learned how to do it from your mother a few years back and occasionally, you would help her out with a few meals when she arrived home. It was fortunate that you paid close attention during those times, seeing as you now had to put those skills to use for the next week.

And so, here you were. Holding a plate for Miyamura’s sister as instructed. He said that Leona was her name, right? Or something similar? You would ask later. With a knock and a slow opening of her bedroom door, you called out into the darkness inside.
“Um... I brought you dinner—“
THUNK!

Something sped by your head at blinding speed and embedded itself into the wall behind you. Glancing to it, you now see what the holes in the wall were caused by. Swiftly thrown scissors.
“Who the hell are you..? You’re not Toranosuke...” you heard a voice growl from inside the room. Seeing how prone this ‘Leona’ person is to attempted murder, you could see what Miyamura meant by ‘don’t interact’. Well, it seems like there wasn’t much of a choice now since she seemed to know that you weren’t her brother.

“Um... You’re right. I-I’m not. I switched bodies with your brother and we won’t be back to normal until a week from n-now. I promise that I won’t bother you and that I’ll give you what you need like he usually does,” you explained as quickly as possible, then quickly introduced yourself after the explanation. As of right now, you just wanted to get out of there ASAP before another pair of scissors flew at you. “Like I said before, I made dinner. S-so, here’s your plate.”

After that was said, you slowly bent down and put the plate in front of the doorway, feeling a pair of eyes watching you as you did. After setting it down and standing back up again, you backed away as a silhouette made its way to the door. From the other side, a slender hand picked the plate up, brought it inside the room, and shut the door. A few moments later, her voice spoke again, “Even if I didn’t know that you weren’t Toranosuke, the food is a dead giveaway. I’ll leave the dish in the kitchen.”

You weren’t too sure if that statement was an insult or not, but as long as it would get you out of there, you were fine. Besides, you had your own dinner to get to. And, unlike her own possible negative opinions, you and Miyamura’s body will enjoy it. Thoroughly.
It wasn’t until you seated yourself in the dining room in front of your own dinner that the realization of what had just happened came crashing down onto you.

YOU COULD HAVE DIED.
YOU WERE GOING TO BE LIVING WITH A PSYCHOPATH.
YOU WILL HAVE TO POSSIBLY LOOK DEATH IN THE FACE TWICE A DAY.

With these thoughts repeating through your mind, you began to quickly eat your dinner in hopes of getting your mind off of such a terrifying train of thought. You had to keep calm about this through every means necessary and look on the bright side. And one of those bright sides would be that after such a stressful situation, it would be so much east o fall asleep! The day would end faster and then you’ll be one day closer to saying goodbye to this hell!

With your dinner now finished, you scooped up the dishes and stowed them in the sink. Before you could begin your ceremonious after-dinner dishwashing, you paused as you noticed a specific machine next to you.
A dish washer.
Oh hell yes.
Grinning, you opened it up, stashed your dirty dishes inside, then closed it happily. Your parents had been meaning to get one for a while now, but you personally never really cared much when it came to washing dishes. It was a hassle, but it gave you something to do. You won’t deny that you’ve always wanted a machine to do your job for you though.

Seeing that there weren’t many dishes inside of it, you figured that it wouldn’t make sense to run it at the moment. So, you were free to go bed without anything stopping you... But Miyamura was a different story. You knew that he was stuck with doing the dishes back at your house, one of which being your bento. God, why didn’t you just wash it while you were there?!

There wasn’t too much you could really do about it now though. You couldn’t just run all the way over to your house and wash your bento yourself. That would just be weird and you would be kicked out faster than you had just eaten dinner. Sighing, you trudged out of the kitchen and up the stairs to Miyamura’s (or should you call it your?) bedroom.

After entering and collapsing onto the bed, the events of the day piled onto you all at once, causing fatigue to come more quickly than usual. You never had expected that moving to a new town would end up with you in the body of a complete stranger... Well, maybe you shouldn’t exactly consider him much of a stranger anymore. Acquaintance probably. Still though, it was absolutely crazy... As these thoughts swam through your mind, you just couldn’t keep your eyes open.

Eventually, your mind slowed as you drifted off into peaceful sleep.