Vol 1 Chapter 6 (1/2)

Chapter 6 - Lo's Most Powerful Theory

A few days after the voluntary cleaning activity, we follow our main characters back to the Cultural Research Club clubrooashi+ Taichi who had transferred to [Himeko Inaba] and Yoshi+fumi Aoki who had transferred to [Kiriyama Yui]

Both of the the video they had just taken on the phone

On the screen of the phone

”I, I can't keep acting cruel anymore Actually, my heartsuch words all of a sudden”

[Kiriya eyes

”I, I, eh I, my heart eh, actually I really love you If you are willing to please go out with me”

[Inaba] lowered her head in embarrassment

The girl members of the Cultural Research Club went out to mind their affairs (To be accurate, the ase, Taichi and Aoki; but now Kiriyama was in [Taichi's body] and Inaba in [Aoki's] Having switched to the [two girls], the irls wanted to say using their bodies This stupid plan was, of course, thought up by Aoki

”Arghh, this is terrific! [Inaba] is incisive, boyish, apathetic and displeasing to ly like a young teenage girl this disparity is just so moe!”

Though it was e for Taichi to have acted like that, Aoki see skills

”Aoki, you completely conveyed your innermost wishes”

”Right! Ahhh~~I wish that one day she would speak these words herself”

Aoki [Kiriyama] murmured In the eyes of Taichi, it was miraculous to hear such words from [Kiriyama]

”By the way, Aoki You sure are faithful to Kiriyama”

Aoki neither lost his heart nor did he become desperate when treated ruthlessly To be frank, I really respect hiard

”Yeah, I was mesmerized by her for no reason No, there must be some reason behind this! For example, she's cute, lively, pure and childish When soardless of the consequences Also, she's a tsundere”

Her being a tsundere was more like Aoki's wish rather than the truth

”But my instincts are the most important! That's why I said I was mesmerized”

Aoki [Kiriyama] nodded while he spoke of his love towards Kiriyama

”Anyways, I'm happy now Let's delete those videos”

Having heard Taichi's [Inaba's] words, Aoki [Kiriya his shoulders like those Americans actors in comedy movies

”We've only just begun”

Aoki [Kiriyama] smiled evilly

”But”

”Are we going to stop now?”

Aoki forcibly persuaded Taichi to shoot their first video, but for no apparent reason, Aoki [Kiriya as persuasive as he was before and see No, or rather, he see

”If you insist, then it's fine with me”

That being said, Taichi felt like he was losing so important in humanity

Their spirits had becoain In theory, they should have sufficient time to enjoy theot carried away

They were too careless

The door creaked

[Taichi] and [Aoki] ca around since their last contact, Kiriyama and Inaba should be [Taichi] and [Aoki] respectively)

Seeing their arrival, Taichi [Inaba] and Aoki [Kiriyama] froze immediately

What they had just said shouldn't have been heard, so if they treated this calet aith it Nevertheless, they coitated they forgot about this already)

A few seconds of silence were inevitable

Besides, the newly arriving two members of the Cultural Research Club were not so naïve as to waste those few seconds

”Yui! Grab that phone”

Inaba [Aoki] immediately directed her

”Hand it to me!”

There was ie in physique when she switched to another body—Kiriyama [Taichi] numbly ran to Aoki [Kiriyama]

”Yikes!”

Aoki [Kiriya himself down In a blink of an eye, Kiriyama [Taichi] had already snatched his phone and handed it to Inaba [Aoki]

”Let me see what you have done with my phone Eh? A video huh”

In the silent clubroom, the only sounds came from the video that was taken by the phone, and it reverberated in the room

Corny lines continuously flew into the silent room

Taichi looked at Inaba [Aoki], only to see her emotionless as she stood stone still He even could hear her blood vessels ripping apart that, of course, was only his iination

”Hehe Looks like you've played a pretty interesting game”

While speaking, Inaba [Aoki] took off her sweater, loosened her tie, and unbuckled the buttons on her shi+rt While everyone was still gasping in awe, she threw her shi+rt away and took off her undershi+rt Leaving her upper body naked, she started to move her hands towards the belt on her pants

”Wa-wait What are you doing?”

Kiriyama [Taichi] finally screamed He already had a red flushed face

”What a? I just want to run naked around the school for some air”

”You, you're kidding, right? Inaba?”

Taichi [Inaba] felt flabbergasted at Inaba's idea of vengeance

”Who knohether I' or not fufufu”

”Stop, please stop, Inaba! If you do that, [I] would be dead for sure!”

”That's right, Inaba However you do it, a death penalty seems a bit too much”

Even if she was Inaba, she should still have a little conscience—

”Die”

—Seems like she doesn't have any conscience at all

”Please, I beg you, Inaba-san! I can't live on with this body anymore if you do this!”

Aoki kneeled down in front of Inaba, however, it was surprising enough to see [Kiriyama] kneel down to [Aoki]

”Shut up! This is your punishs with [my body]!”

In the end, after a bit of persuasion, the three (after all, since this was crucial, Kiriyama also leaned towards Taichi and Aoki's side) finally stopped Inaba, as still angry

When the atmosphere in the clubroom settled, everyone returned to their [bodies] (Should I say that they calmed down because Inaba returned to her [own body])

”You if you do it again, you will meet your fate”

”Yes, we are really sorry, Inaba-san”

Taichi and Aoki bowed to apologise

”On top of that, I' this next ti violence”

Kiriyama smiled (or at least pretended to)

”Yes, yes I understand”

Taichi was scared If Kiriyao to the hospital, he thought

”This feels strange, but I actually want to be taught a lesson!”

Aoki still spoke mindlessly

”Ah, right There is so I'm quite aware of Could it be that”

Aoki hesitated as if it were hard to speak, but he then ed to continue

”Could it be that Yui is afraid of us? When I became [Yui], if we or rather, if boys come close to me, I felt that my [body] would quiver”

Taichi couldn't fully understand what Aoki meant He tilted his head and said ”Eh?”

Nevertheless

Aoki's words seem to have hit the core of the matter

Kiriyama froze with her face white

Her eyes were focused and still

She didn't even blink

She was like a doll with broken strings

Then, Kiriyaed in She squeezed out a smile and some words as if she had mechanical problems

”Ah Eh? How could that happen Would I even be scared of people like you? Stop kidding! That's because I'er than you people so so, I don't fear boys”

However, no matter who had heard her say that, they would know that it was the inversion of the truth

Kiriyama held her shoulder with her hand to stifle her shi+ver, which, fro weather At the sa chestnut hair and her white shi+rt with the sarasped in her hand

Moving slightly forwards, her hair fell over her head in a way that completely veiled her facial expressions Her body seemed even smaller than usual

Seeing that girl unfortunate and alone, Taichi knew he had to do so, he must do

But until now, he never knew the side Kiriyama showed now had ever existed

Kiriyama had never shown such expressions No, maybe it was I who had never seen them Maybe it was I who didn't care

”Sorry!”

Aoki suddenly stood up and apologised with a large bow

”We've known each other for soh I said I love you, if it weren't for this strange phenomenon, I wouldn't even kno you felt Maybe I hurt you too much I I am the worst bastard!”

He said with all his enerosity

Kiriyama abruptly lifted her head

Her usual a eyes were filled with tears; her eyebroere clenched painfully Her tousled hair stuck to her bud-like cerise lips

She met her eyes with Inaba, Aoki and Taichi, in that order, respectively

Confir their expressions, she then escaped

She turned her body suddenly, letting her chestnut hair and her skirt fly around; she used the elastic force accus and sprinted to the door No one had the time to stop her

”Yui!”

Though a bit slow, Aoki still shouted and began to chase her

Inaba, however, put her right hand in front of Aoki to stop him

”Inaba?”

”It was nice of you to spot this, though, you should have considered the ti of your words before you spoke them Either way, fronificant Or Iwill sink into the [body] Even though I knew it, I didn't really have that feeling when I was [Yui] So was it a problem of her body? Aoki, you don't think s”

Inabaher head with her other hand

”Inaba, you knew this? Then why did Kiriyama”

Taichi inquired to Inaba to learn

”It would be rather strange if we didn't notice it though this uys After all, she veiled it s just froh, eventually I found out In fact, her problem is quite serious! Ah, I don't want to explain too much If you want to know more, ask her yourself”

”Say can you first let o?”

Aoki pushed away Inaba's hand and tried to get past her

”Leave it Even if you go now, I doubt you can do anything Yui is the agitated type It'll be better if I go and cal her recklessly”

They stared at each other for a few seconds, but in the end, he relented

”I understand my hopes are on you, Inaba”

”All I can do now is comfort her, you'll have to think of what to do later Taichi, you're included as well”

”I, I know”

Taichi nodded in consent, although he was a bit afraid of Inaba's cold stare

Inaba stared at him doubtfully for a while and then took her phone and left the clubroom

With her back to them, she spoke to Taichi and the others

”I knew soet hurt No, actually, it depends on the person”

Inaba closed the door after that

Only Taichi and Aoki were left in the clubroom

”Ah I' to infuriateto hateWhy didn't I notice until now I only found out because ofthe rules”

Aoki sloppily stuck his face on the table,

”Sos are inevitable Besides, she veiled it so brilliantly that it even earned Inaba's praise Or I may as well say even when I become [Kiriyama], I didn't notice this How could that be?”

”Ayahh, it also depends on the tiuely Ahhh though it's true literally”

Taichi and the others discovering Kiriyaes in the world Perhaps, if we had renorant, it would've been better Taichi had this thought for a

Since he was Kiriyama's friend, this secret would have been unveiled one day or another in any random form It is impossible not to confront it The problem is when it would happen In this case, however, the way it was revealed was not ideal

”But if we think deeper, there surely were oddities! For example, had Taichi ever touched Yui's body or have been touched by her? Of course, it doesn't count when you're in an exchange”

”No right? That's not strange since we are highschool boys and girls”

”Hey, this may not be the case Take the Cultural Research Club as an exaets crazy or violent, has body contact from time to time Iori also likes intimate contact so there are quite a lot of cases?

Indeed, the members of the Cultural Research Club were very close so there wasn'tand being touched' were trivial things that weren't strange to them

”In this atmosphere that allows such intiirl, didn’t do this Isn't that strange? Furthers, could have replaced the violent role that Inaba played But she didn't Isn't that strange or what?”

”Yui is just one ouldn't fight No, this isn't right After all, she had thrown biscuits at me before”

”I also had the 'pillow of oblivion' thrown at me”

This was so that happened at Inaba's house

”I' to say that she is nors I just feel weird when I think deeply about it”

Other than that, there were some other examples that could explain this For exaase [Aoki]

”Aoki you're quite sensitive”

”Because this has to do with the girl I'm obsessed with!”

Aoki looked bright when he spoke those words

”Even when this happens, you're just like usual”

Taichi couldn't hold hi

”Because it'sas I'm happy at the moment”

”Your living style is enviable”

”Right!” Aoki childishly smiled This made Taichi smile wryly

”Hehe, I knohat you want to say After all, after all the personality exchanges and that guy called «Fuusenkazura» the situation we're in now is unpredictable So you want to say 'please treat this seriously', right?”

”That line should belong to Inaba, right?”

Let ued response first

”But I can't treat it seriously because ood and firs”

”But didn't you say that 'your living style that won't waver' is already 'OK when you're happy'?”

”BecauseWhatever I aith to accomplish it, I reckon I've already triumphed”

Aoki's asseveration didn't show any signs of wavering from Taichi's critique

”If I can live a life where, when I die, I can still say 'Ah, that was fun', I'll be happy and satisfied So, if possible, I hope this personality exchange is soh this is a wish that may never come true besides, I've also hurt Yui”

Could it be that the person in our club as the closest to reaching the truth of life was Aoki? Of course, Taichi didn't understand the truth, so he couldn't really tell

Aoki had a sudden realization and shouted

”Wahh～Why did I become so serious all of a sudden? This isn't like me”

”Eh, is Aoki actually a nificent person? I feel a bit sad about this”

”Right Wait, isn't it strange for you to be sad about this?”

”No, because all along I thought Aoki was stupid”

”Taichi, you're too evil Hey! Ah, is it that?! Being overtaken by so is it that feeling?! crap, it was only Inaba when it began How did this happen”

”Speaking of which, I've also been criticised by Inaba as dismal recently”

”Wasn't it usually like that?”

It was quite unusual that he could speak such lines so fluidly

”No It's more dismal than usual, since she pointed out my mistakes in many places”

”Heh～It's extraordinary that Taichi would becoet obsessed with small matters Inaba, however, is quite stern I can hear you out if you want me to”

With a slight hesitation before accepting his good will, Taichi told him hoas criticised by Inaba as a 'fool who loves to sacrifice hiase)

”Ha～ So that is what happened Hmmm, Ah～ Is that so? Oh～ Oh～”

After listening to Taichi, Aoki showed an expression that showed he completely understood what had happened as he nodded his head

”Ahah～ I can understand why Inaba would say so! Honestly, 'a fool that loves to sacrifice himself' is actually very suitable Inaba is really so”

”Even Aoki thinks so”

Taichi felt that he would actually become depressed

”Aye Listen to h so style is crappy and I should cherish s Nevertheless, whatever they say, I wouldn't change what I do! Or I h I pretended to be cool so I said 's', to speak the truth, it should be 'impossible to waver' more than 'won't waver' because I'e incessantly on the surface; still, our 'nature' won't change so easily even if ant it to Even when the nature of soe that's restricted to the surface after all It's just that my nature has a characteristic, which is 'very hard to change on the surface' That's what it is”

Aoki explained in such an unpredictable way, but at the same time, hit the core of the problem

Indeed, Aoki didn't seee situation But it was because he didn't change much that his impression seemed to even fluctuate more than normal people

”Though just now I started to speak of things that I wouldn't normally say, all I want to say is that 'the proble' Although changing that personality of self-sacrificing is better, there are things that can only be done with that personality, right? Besides, in ht?”

Fros, but the main point of his words had a definite difference fro up

In other words, we must accept and confront it with our mind; and then, we can advance forward

”You surely are so”

It feels like Aoki had already found so that Taichi and many others must still use a lot of time to discover

”If you speak about this seriously, I'et enificent Speaking of 'potential', you're much ahead with it”

”What kind of potential?”

”Aye It's because you're so chaste you ! It's because of this that you would attain that nickname, 'a fool that loves to sacrifice hi with Yui, I feel that you, Taichi, areit When I realized that, I was unsure of how to face her I didn't knohat to do”

What would happen after Taichi and the others learned of the secret that Kiriya to hide all this time? Also, how should we act?

”Yeah What should we do in order to save Kiriyama?”

”As I was saying you're really sos like this happen this is tooto save her radically? I' a headache from how I should deal with my relationshi+p with her”

”No, I wasn't thinking of anything this wonderful”

”It's because you look like you're really going to do it that s really happen as you say, will Yui becos will really happen like that!”

Aoki becaonized by his own delusion

Personality exchange visited Taichi suddenly, like the way it had been normally

After dinner, Taichi should have been watching the television ai room

He lifted his body, which was lying on the bed, sat himself on the bed, and looked around the room

His vision was blurry, as if he were sub was about to trickle from his nose, so he quickly sucked it back up; at the same time, he realized his cheeks were all wet He wiped the tears that trickled down his cheeks with the collar of his pink shi+rt and stifled his tears

He didn't quite understand, but his chest had an intense squeezing pain

It looks like he had exchanged his personality with soain

The height disparity took soot off the bed and looked in a heart-shaped, red-bordered mirror that was on a nearby shelf He peeked at himself in the mirror

His eyes and nose were red His chestnut hair seemed to lack the usual lustre and vitality His face was pale and even more childish than usual The face seemed to invoke people to protect its owner

[Kiriyama Yui] was inside the mirror

—— Our condition now is the most serious—a crisis that is filled with absolute desperation!

—— Anyone could get hurt or destroyed anyti that could happen

Inaba's voice started to ring in Taichi's head

Only noas Taichi forced to reckon with the effects of the personality exchange

Did Kiriyama cry non-stop after she had arrived home? Did she cease her tears at one point, but was unable to stop herself froain? Or did she cry because of another reason?

Although I have beco in her place, I don't even know the reason why I'es between our bodies and personalities, it does not ether

Taichi wiped his eyes again, laid on the bed, and started to think of what to do The fluorescent laht hand to block the light rays Though white, and trained in martial arts, his hands, he kneere too s

The tears that Kiriyama shed alone were tears that weren’t supposed to be seen by others, but I felt them with my own body in a way that transcended even the ht?

Coht, because this couldn't happen in normal circumstances

Nevertheless

There were also sos, weren't there?

For example, at least I could bear the pain in her body for her—her chest, her eyes, her nose Though this was nothing compared to the pain in her heart, still, in theory, she should be better off than if she had to bear this all by herself

Was what I thought wrong?

People constantly complain about their problems

They complain that 'it is all because of this' They hate what had happened They dreas would not be what they were now If they brush off their own mistakes and say that it was iiven

That, however, is just an escape Giving up is what it is called Instead of doing so reality and confronted their problems in their mind only

However, through our trials, we discover the light inside; this is e call fighting, isn't it? Moreover, fighting is entirely different fro plainly free and optimistic

It is different fro that in the end, things will fix themselves

We have to try our best to come up with solutions

If I were to think like this because ofof despair, would Inaba forgive me?

The phone rang with the tone of a music box

Taichi pushed hiht pink phone on the bed, and quickly grabbed it, confirashi+ Taichi' were shown on the screen

He answered the call right away He had been getting used to hearing his own voice already, but it still felt strange

”Hey, is that Are you Taichi?”

That was the voice of 'Yaegashi+ Taichi'

”Yes, you're right”

”Maybe you know already, but I'h it seenore it Actually, please forget it!”

[Taichi]'s sound, which wove his words, sent along Kiriya will

It's noret so that was meant to be seen If I can divert et this But what this would create was only false stability

Taichi did not plan to condeain that kind of stableness, because this could create a sense of security If we don't veil certain things, there would be too much in the world for us to bear or overcome

He understood this point

Nevertheless

”It's iet”

Taichi knew the truth must be accepted before a step could be advanced

The scene of Kiriya over the phone was shown clearly upon his eyes

”Relatively, wouldn't it be better if Kiriyaot these tears?”