——————————— Koji ———————————
The sun began to set, indicating the start of Hanabi; the fireworks festival. This time, we managed to get hold of a yukata for each one of us. Everyone looked nice in it. Especially Suzuka, who made my heart jump when I saw her wearing it.
We all walked around together for a while, eating at some of the stalls and playing many of the games. I liked the one where you shot at targets. It was the first time I aimed a gun outside a videogame—obviously harmless.
It had become dark already. The fireworks were about to start, so we searched around for a nice view. We didn't have luck. All of the nice spots were crowded. Our only option was to walk down the river until we found a spot.
Finally, we stopped walking after ten minutes. We stood on a crowded path with a railing next to the river. It wasn't too far from the main section and there were going to be fireworks launched in front of us anyway.
Kawahara-san chatted with Tarō-san, Sae-san with Hisaki, and Rem-san with Hashimoto-san. Suzuka and I stood together. The soothing breeze brushed my hair and waved the yukata.
"What do you think so far?" Suzuka asked me.
"It has been fun."
"Only fun?"
"Delightful."
"That's better."
As we stared at each other, the fireworks were set off. The sky was illuminated with dozens of colorful explosions, some of them even forming shapes.
Every explosion was beautiful. It was the first time I had seen anything like that. They were loud, but nothing too bad.
They lasted for five minutes. Once it ended, people clapped—myself included.
A lot of people on the path started leaving, whilst the people closer to the river stayed. They were practically having a picnic.
"Why don't we split?" Hashimoto-san suggested. "I'm sure everyone wants to spend some time alone with someone."
"I agree," Suzuka replied.
"Sure," I said.
"I don't," Sae-san disagreed. "Who am I going to go with?"
"Same for me," Hisaki added.
Hashimoto-san sighed. "Come on. Stop acting like children and admit you like each other already."
"We don't!" they yelled at the same time.
"If you say so. Let's meet where we arrived in half an hour, okay?"
Except for Sae-san and Hisaki, everyone agreed and we all split. Suzuka and I followed the path on the edge of the river. We didn't talk much, but it wasn't necessary.
For the past couple of weeks, I had been wondering what Suzuka and I were. Were we more than friends? A couple? I supposed it was time to ask.
"Suzuka."
"Yes?"
"What are we to each other?"
She seemed surprised. "You have been thinking the same, huh?"
We stopped walking. The path had almost ended and not many people were around anymore. A few fireworks still launched into the sky from time to time.
"Am I your boyfriend? Are you my girlfriend?"
"I guess we hadn't asked each other officially."
We stared at each other in silence. Then we asked at the same time.
"Do you want to be my boyfriend?"
"Do you want to be my girlfriend?"
We laughed as I admitted my defeat.
"You won. Yes, I want to be your boyfriend."
"I'm glad!"
Awkwardly, we looked at each other in silence.
"Now what?" I asked.
"I don't know," she giggled. "It's the first time I've had a boyfriend."
"Should we kiss?"
"D-Do you want to?"
"I-I guess that's what the protagonists would do next in a romance manga."
She chuckled. "You are so cute when you stutter."
My cheeks became warm. I scratched the back of my head. "What about holding hands?"
"But what about the swapping—"
Without hesitation, I grabbed her hand and held it tightly. It was colder and smaller than mine.
"Who cares about that?" I replied.
She smiled. "Right!"
Holding our hands, we looked at the river, where the fireworks' explosions reflected. Even though my heart rate raised and my chest felt warm, I felt relieved. I wished for that moment to last forever.
Suddenly, I received a call. I let go of Suzuka's hand and took my phone out of the yukata's sleeve.
"Who is it?" she asked.
"My father."
I couldn't believe my eyes. Everything I was feeling turned into anger and fear in a blink. I answered the call.
"Good evening, Koji," Father sarcastically greeted. "Or should I say Araki-sama?"
"What do you want?"
"I just arrived home in the best of moods to discuss things with you. But what did I find instead? Not you, but our servants telling me about all of your escapes while I wasn't home."
"You weren't home. Why would I need permission to go out?"
"Because I'm your father!" he yelled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. But you're getting on my nerves. We need to talk."
"I'm all ears."
"Face to face. Yoshimura is on his way to pick you up. Don't make him wait too much."
"Wait!"
He ended the call.
"Screw him!" I yelled.
"Koji? Are you okay?" Suzuka worried.
"Sorry. My father wants me to go home now. He has already sent Yoshimura-san to pick me up."
"What? Why?"
"I don't know. He's always been like this, that's why I hate him. Even after he promised to change."
"Oh no."
"What?"
"Koji, we just touched each other."
My heart sank. "What do we do now?"
"I don't know. Even if we sleep now, we will have to wait like forty minutes until we can swap back."
"Yoshimura-san will arrive much before that."
Defeated, we sat on the nearest bench. The beautiful moment we had was overshadowed in a mere minute. We tried to come up with a plan, but it was worthless. Instead, we chatted about many things to try and hide the bitterness, but nothing could hide my anger.
Yoshimura-san sent me a message not long after with the location of where he was going to pick me up. In a desperate attempt, we told everyone to meet with us there.
We returned the yukatas to the shop. In the span of five minutes, everyone arrived and returned their yukatas, Hashimoto-san and Rem-san being last.
"What's going on?" Hashimoto-san asked as she arrived.
"Did something happen?" Rem-san added.
Suzuka answered, "Koji's father returned home and he wants Koji to go home now. He even sent his chauffeur to pick him up."
"Why?" Hisaki wondered.
"He's like that," I responded.
"The problem is that Koji and I will swap bodies soon," Suzuka added. "So, to try and slow his drive back, Koji will ask him to drive us all back home."
"That's a good plan," Kawahara-san said.
"Swap bodies?" Hisaki asked.
Everyone stared at him. Right, we haven't told him about it.
"Hisaki, I know it sounds crazy, but Suzuka and I swap bodies when we touch."
After a long silence, he laughed. "What kind of joke is that? And why is nobody else laughing?"
"It's true," Sae-san said.
"Even you joined in on the joke? When did you all agree to do it?"
"We understand you don't believe us, but we don't have time to prove it now," Suzuka continued.
The horn of Yoshimura-san's SUV sounded behind us. He was parked on the other side of the street, so we crossed. As I approached the car, he got out and walked around to open the door for me.
"Yoshimura-san, can you drive everyone home? It's hard to get a taxi tonight."
"I'm sorry, Araki-sama. By your father's orders, I'm not allowed to do that. He strictly demanded—"
"Yes, I know."
Without any option left, I got in the car. Suzuka and I looked at each other before Yoshimura-san accelerated away.
"I'm really sorry," Yoshimura-san apologized again.
"Don't worry, it's not your fault."
I didn't even realize when I fell asleep. The next thing I saw was me being awakened by the taxi driver in Suzuka's body. About to open the door, he stopped me.
"Excuse me, you haven't paid."
"Oh, sorry. How much is it?"
He pointed at the taximeter. I searched for money in my pocket and found almost the exact amount I needed to pay, just two yen over.
How did she know the amount beforehand?
I gave the money to the driver and he gave me two yen back. I got out of the taxi and I was in front of Suzuka's house. I took a long and deep breath before approaching the door.
About to knock, I realized it would've been weird. I simply opened it and walked inside.
"Sis!" Yu-tan shouted. She ran from a room and hugged me. "Big Sis and Niku here! They drunk!"
Big Sis? Niku? Drunk?
She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the room she came from. A woman that looked like Suzuka was sitting at the table, accompanied by another woman whose back was the only thing I could see.
"Su-chan! Come and drink with us!" the woman that resembled Suzuka shouted, clearly drunk.
"She can't drink, dummy!" the other woman laughed.
That voice…
She turned around to see me. "Right?"
Time stopped at that moment. A sudden pressure arose in my chest, preventing me from breathing.
Otsune?
——————————— Suzuka ———————————
Koji and I looked at each other before they drove away. Hisa, Rem, Kawahara, Tarō, Narumi, Hisaki, and I stood on the sidewalk with no idea of what to do next.
Hisaki kept asking about the body-swapping, but it didn't matter what we answered, he wouldn't believe it. I told him he would need to wait until Koji and I could demonstrate it.
We decided to go home. Kawahara and Tarō were the first ones to take a taxi together, then Narumi and Hisaki. Hisa, Rem, and I took a while to find one.
When we told the directions to the driver, I asked him how much it would be to drive to my house after Hisa's so that I could leave the money prepared for Koji.
I almost fell asleep multiple times, but Hisa and Rem kept chatting with me to keep me awake. However, once they both got off at their houses, I couldn't stay awake any longer.
The next thing I saw was Yoshimura-san waking me up. He opened the door for me and I stepped out. I followed him inside the house and into the living room where I had taught Koji piano.
Yoshimura-san joined the two maids and another butler that stood still behind a couch. Koji's father was sitting on it. It was the first time I saw him in person. Tall, slim, with a straight posture, and handsome. Just like Koji. However, he had an imposing aura.
"Take a seat," he said.
I complied. I wasn't angry at him like Koji, but I still felt upset because he forced Koji to return home whilst we were having a special moment. Also because of what Koji had told me about what he had done.
"Do you have anything to say?"
"I don't," I replied.
"Good. Let's be brief. I was out doing business around the country. It took longer than I anticipated, I apologize for that. However, I don't remember giving you permission to go out any time you wanted to. I also strictly ordered our servants not to let you go out except for critical matters. That's why they will be punished for it."
"Wait! It wasn't their fault!" I yelled.
"It was!" he yelled back. "And you put them in that situation. You want to grow? Then take responsibility for your actions. You have been wasting money without my permission. You want to be treated as an independent adult, but you keep taking advantage of our wealth. You want to be an adult? Fine, you've won. Your mother and I have decided to forbid you from using any more of the family money. On top of that, you won't be living in this mansion by the end of next week."
What?