Volume 3 Chapter 2 (1/2)

”Neh neh, Sakamoto, I'm going to go boil some black tea, but you can't go looking through my room while I’m busy.”

”Oh, yeah, of course. Kasumi.”

”A-and, even if it’s on accident, you absolutely can't open the second drawer in my desk.”

”Okay, I got it, I absolutely won't open it then.”

”Don't open it… it's filled with a girl's secrets…”

”Alright…”

”You promised. This is a girl's secret… A secret that would make Sakamoto pleasantly surprised…”

——Klunk.

”………”

Did you really want me to look that badly?

”This is serious now.”

I watched Kasumi leave the room, and then raised my head towards the ceiling.

Yes, on this day, I've unexpectedly came to Kasumi's room.

It was about a week after I decided that I would revive Hikari Yumesaki. I did everything that I could to find a clue; browsing on the Internet, flipping through the books at the library, searching for the mysterious black-robed person, and in many other ways.

And on this day, after school, I went to the library to flip through books, and accidentally b.u.mped into Kasumi. At first, I only carelessly spoke a couple of words.

”Sakamoto, my house is near from here. Won't you drop by to have some tea?”

”Eh? Uhm, but…”

”Don't worry, you are more than welcome to come over.”

”Erm, no, well.”

”…Did you already forget about that double date incident?”

And just like, that I was whisked off to the Sanada house. I want to say that it was a rare opportunity——but when I gave my answer, and saw her pump her right fist, I really hoped that it was just a figment of my imagination.

Anyhow, it's cosy, but it's still my first time paying a visit to a girl's bedroom. Being in such a fortunate situation, I couldn't help but feel like I was being tricked, especially since this room——

”Top Ten Secrets to Successfully Deceiving Guys”

”The Secret Techniques for Capturing Guys”

”Choose Carefully! How to Make Boys' Heart Race by Acting Spoiled”

”Beginner's Introduction for BDSM”

”…Why does she have these books?”

There's nothing else more terrifying. Also, there seemed to be something in the second drawer from the bottom.

But that's when another problem came in.

”Excuse me. Sakamoto, stop it! You can't be looking through Kasumi-chan's room!”

Ack, here she is again.

”I-I wasn't fis.h.i.+ng for anything…”

As a certain someone entered the room with a mischievous smile, I instinctively answered back with a stiff expression.

That's right, this person was Kasumi's legendary (?) older sister who's in college.

I did hear Kasumi mention that her older sister was home, and that person had been entering the room several times because her little sister had brought home a guy, and purposely teasing me. Right now, she's sitting on the bed, leaning towards me——ah, wait, why is she leaning so close——Stop, stop! Don't press your face so close! My face is about to turn red!

”Hey, what is your relations.h.i.+p with Kasumi-chan? Can you tell Onee-chan?”

”W-we're just cla.s.smates…”

”Really~? But Onee-chan here knows that Kasumi-chan looks at a secret photo of you every night… Ah, I've said too much. Teehee☆.”

This person… No, more importantly.

Although I felt dumbstruck, I sized her up, and gulped. Wow… I guessed that she would be really pretty, but in all honesty, her beauty far surpa.s.sed my image of her.

I guess using the word ”moe” would be the easiest way of describing her. The sleeves of her sweater loosely approached her hands in a seductive manner, the collarbone that was exposed from her clothes large collar exuded an incomparable s.e.xiness. Her glittering hair was dazzlingly silky, and her nails and earrings were pretty. But there was also one noticeable trait that no one can ever forget.

”Come on, you're not being honest here. Come now, tell Onee-chan.”

”Ugh…”

Some certain ”objects” pressed close, and I felt hotter.

I don't think I have to explain anything, just that she really was Kasumi's older sister. The older sister's was unexpectedly superior to her little sister's ”Super Big b.o.o.bs”!

That slightly soft sensation has been pressing against my arm for a while now. Stop, stop. I'm just a virgin, I'm just Bakatsuki, I really can't take it much longer!

”Sorry for the long wait, Saka… Kyaah! Onee-chan, what are you doing?”

Woah, the power of a virgin I was born with swelled in my body, and the person who came to my rescue was none other than Kasumi. She hurriedly rushed over, and quickly yelled angrily at her own older sister.

”There's nothing wrong here, right? Sakamoto is just an ordinary cla.s.smate from your cla.s.s, right? However, Kasumi-chan, what's this about hiding an ordinary cla.s.smate's gym clothes.”

”Wh-wh-what are you talking about? U-Unbelievable! Get out!”

The agitated and moody Kasumi starting flailing punches at her older sister, but well, this scene was kinda something. Two sisters, standing next to each other, and the destructive powers of their b.r.e.a.s.t.s were overwhelming. And then, I must've misheard some shocking words, probably just me though.

Just when I was pondering this, those two began to whisper among themselves.

”(Now now, Kasumi-chan, I was just bringing you something. Did you bring him home with that in mind)?”

”(——!? W-What are you saying, Onee-chan! I don't need it! I already have some!)”

”(But you never used them… anyway, it's not a bad thing to have more of them.)”

”(Argh! I've already said that I don't need it!)”

Her older sister pulled out what looked like a small box (?), and they were both shoving it to each other. Ahhh, if the large b.r.e.a.s.t.s were to b.u.mp into each other in this kind of cramped s.p.a.ce… I had a thought, and it turned out the way I expected. Kasumi was pushed by her older sister, and completely lost her balance.

”Ah, watch out!”

”Watch out!”

And then she fell towards me and the bed I was sitting on, so I hugged her out of reflex——

”Ouch… S-Sorry, Sakamoto————”

”Uh——————————”

The situation took a turn for the worse.

If I had to explain, I was currently fully embracing Kasumi. Furthermore, since the force of that impact overcame my balance, I fell onto my back. And I didn't know why, but Kasumi was pressing down on my body, and that pair of impressive soft mounds evenly pressed down on my face. From an outside perspective, it looked like she was giving me a great service——

”S-S-Sakamoto, I'm sorry! Are you alright? Sigh, Onee-chan, you're an idiot! That was dangerous!”

No no, Kasumi.

Why are those things pressing against me even as you say that, and why aren't you moving? The real question is, why are you hugging my head so firmly? Also, why am I able to see you giving a thumbs up to your sister with a smile from the corner of my eye? Eh? Her older sister is also giving her a big thumbs up?

As such, after going through this nerve-wrecking experience, it was already 8 o'clock by the time I realized.

”Why don't you stay for dinner?”

”You can also stay for the night too. We don't have enough rooms, so you can sleep in my room.”

”I'm sure something good will happen…”

Kasumi said, and it made it difficult for me to say that I wanted to go home, but I still firmly resolved myself to decline her kindness, and so she had no choice but to watch me leave from her front door.

”Do-do your best, Sakamoto.”

”Eh?”

Just when I got on my bike, Kasumi said those words to me.

”Although I'm not clear on what you're up to…but you've been working quite hard lately, always coming in and out of the library, or hurrying home after school…”

”…Oh.”

”Even yesterday during break time, you were in the computer lab looking up things and shouting, 'As long as it's for Mom, this kind of trouble is nothing!' ….”

……That idiot.

”B-But, I still don't think you should put on a black robe, and make 'Kuhuhu' sounds on the street. Play-acting a weird, suspicious person is fine and all, but I know that you were scolded by a policeman. What did you actually mean when you said, 'I want people to mistake us for accomplices, and now I'm waiting to be contacted!' ?”

……That idiot!

”Um, anyway, I probably can't help with anything… I'll be cheering you on. Because I really like… seeing you working hard, Sakamoto.”

”Oh, thanks.”

”Really like”, was there any special meaning behind these words? I couldn't tell, but just by seeing the smile on Kasumi's face, I could feel strength well up inside me. I'm truly grateful to have known you.

”I'll be going then, Kasumi. See you at school.”

”………”

Huh? What's wrong? Why do you look like you're wanting something——

”Give and take…”

”…….Oh.”

I reached out and patted her head. Although I'm not quite sure what happened, Hikari Yumesaki seems to have made a promise with Kasumi that whenever they would say goodbye, I would have to pat her head. Whatever, that idiot probably acted on an impulse again.

Kasumi narrowed her eyes and smiled, just like a small animal seeking love and attention, looking quite happy. Sigh, now that there was something ”given”, something must be ”taken’. I was curious, and fearful.

”I'll work hard, definitely.”

The light blue moon and starlight adorned the indigo night sky, and looked brighter, more dazzling than usual.

I casually pedaled my bike, like I was swimming in water, and silently made a small promise to myself.

________________________________________

”Hikari-chan just had a very amazing thought! You might have to start calling me a genius from now on!”

”Yes, yes, so what is it, genius?”

Two days later, this was the first line written in the diary.

”A clue to reviving… I thought of an amazing way to find this clue!”

”Oh, something only a genius could come up with.”

In contrast, I muttered coldly. After all, she's the type of girl who went around on the street with a black robe draped over her. Honestly, she wasn't reliable at all, and she was the kind of idiot who even went online and searched, ”Black Robe WiOOpedia”.

As I thought about these things, I continued reading without having any expectations——

”……….!”

I couldn't help but silently gasp, as if I was in the depths of an endless tunnel, and saw a glimpse of light.

”This method——may work?”

Takayuki Kazes.h.i.+ro.

A former cla.s.smate of Hikari Yumesaki, he was one of the few who knew about our personality switching phenomenon and a friend. He's p.r.o.ne to making mistakes, but he's quite cerebral. Having an unrequited love for Hikari Yumesaki, he was also my love rival.

”We're going to increase awareness of the situation here?”

After school, I made a call to that guy.

”Yeah. Through the internet and other methods, let's spread information about our current situation.”

This was the proposal that Hikari Yumesaki had written in today's diary entry. The rest went something like this:

”Let's start by spreading out information about switching personalities every other day!”

We had been looking for clues all this time, but this was going about it in reverse. Putting it in another way, Hikari Yumesaki was proposing that we spread our personality switch story around the entire world, allowing the people who have information come forward themselves.

”Does such a person even exist?”

”I don't know, but there's no proof that they don't exist, right?”

As Kazes.h.i.+ro said, there was no proof other than us that there were other people who knew about a personality change incidence, but maybe, it could just be that we didn't know about them.

”But even so, how much are you guys planning to make this public? You're not going to spread out personal information, right?”

”Well, you're right about that, but anyway, we got a draft written out. I just shared it with you, have a look.”

And then I waited for Kazes.h.i.+ro to read the email.

”'A dead person revives by sharing a living body. What is needed for this to work? If you know the answer, please mail the address below.' …So that's how it is. For someone who wouldn't understand, they would think that this is a weird post. However, someone who would understand would probably understand.”

”Mhm. If the answer is 'One half of your life span”, bingo.”

The truth was that I wanted to reveal more stuff, but I wouldn't know what would happen beyond that. In any case, I decided to just reveal minimalof information, allowing the other party to have enough to come to us.

Hikari Yumesaki most likely wanted me to openly praise her for coming up with this idea, since this was written in the diary:

”Sure enough, in the end the one person you can always rely on is Hikari-chan! Sakamoto, pat my head! You have to brush your hair aside while blus.h.i.+ng, like a tsundere! Just like Akibos.h.i.+ from my favorite light novel!”

Such words were written, and an ill.u.s.tration of Hikari Yumesaki with dog ears and a tail wagging back and forth, and who was looking forward to being praised, was drawn on the side. This idiot's gotten drunk with success.

”Alright, understood. I will also a.s.sist you. Now then, what should I do?”

Just as my mind was wandering off, Kazes.h.i.+ro asked me this. Oh, that's right, the next part is the important part.

”I'll be setting up an email address, so you spread that post around on all the social media websites you know. Every one of them!”

”Alright, got it.”

Maybe it was because he felt swayed by my high morale, but Kazes.h.i.+ro replied back with a bit of energy.

And so, the two men ended this conversation, and immediately got down to work.

I was responsible for creating a free email address, and Kazes.h.i.+ro was responsible for spreading the post around. For the time being, we tried a multifaceted approach, like social media, anime upload sites. Anyway, we posted it on every place we could think of.

”I'm begging you… please work…!”

Time quickly flew by while we were busy spreading the post around.

As for how our online responses went, we only got a lot of troll emails, which we basically disregarded. However, we obviously couldn't give up, so we continued spreading the post around.

”Hmm… Ah——”

And so, around two weeks later.

At 4:29am, on a certain early morning, I woke up in front of the computer.

I felt a little tired, and it would appear that Hikari Yumesaki was up early searching around. It's rare to see that sleepyhead idiot wake up early.

The computer had traces left of that idiot's hard work, and entered into the search engine were the keywords ”multiple personality beautiful young girl”. As usual, she forgot her original intent.

”Ah.”

And then I noticed something. There were three not so nice looking rice b.a.l.l.s on my desk, along with a cup of tea that was still warm. The journal on the side was opened up, and in there was a note left behind by that idiot.

”Good morning, Sakamoto. Thank you for always trying your best, but please don't overexert yourself. Although I don't want to disappear like this, I really don't want Sakamoto to have a painful look on his face.”

”………”

c.r.a.p, I feel a tear in my eye. However, that was only for a short moment.

”Heheh, lol, how was that? I tried donning the image of a proper wife; doesn't that maidenly? As expected of Hikari-chan! By the way, one of the rice b.a.l.l.s has a pleasant surprise, so try and guess which one!”

Those words completely dispelled the feeling I had a moment ago. That idiot never does anything seriously.

”Alright, let's do my best. I need to at least meet that idiot's expectations.”

I became filled with determination as I ate the rice b.a.l.l.s.

Regret is the punishment for those who didn't try their best. I forgot who it was that once said that short quote. I must save Hikari Yumesaki. I will definitely save her, no matter what I have to do——

”………”

…What the h.e.l.l is this whipped cream rice ball?

________________________________________

”Hey! Sakamoto, wake up!”

”What is it this early in the morning…?”

A few days pa.s.sed, and it was a certain freezing morning, almost winter.

As I was lazily sleeping, I was woken up by the ringtone, and Kazes.h.i.+ro's voice came out from my cellphone.

”We finally got an answer yesterday! Look at this email!”

I couldn't move for a second. Could it be?

To be honest, I thought it was impossible. We couldn't look for clues, no way anyone else would have realized. However, maybe. Finally,

To confirm the email, I hurriedly switched the computer on. I couldn't wait for another second. I restlessly clicked the mouse, and opened up my email inbox.

There were two emails from an unfamiliar sender.

As I nervously held my breath, I opened the first email. The first line only had a brief sentence, and it was precisely the correct answer that we had desperately been looking for——

”It's one half of their lifespan, right?”

”——————Yes!”

Without thinking, I cried out, and clenched my fist.