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“Hey there, Yachiyo.”
Yachiyo glanced up from her work to see Momoko approaching, a hand held up in greeting and a backpack casually slung over one shoulder.
“Momoko,” she said, nodding in acknowledgment. “Hello.”
Momoko pulled out one of the other seats at Yachiyo’s table and sat down heavily, shrugging off her backpack. “Whatcha up to?”
“Research,” Yachiyo said.
Momoko leaned in a little, interested. “What about?”
“Rumours.”
Momoko’s eyes widened. “Do you think there’s a new Uwasa?” she asked.
Yachiyo nodded grimly. “I’ve noticed something unusual lately. I’m trying to find if there’s a rumour that might fit it.”
“Something unusual? What is it?” Momoko asked.
“You should have noticed it as well,” Yachiyo said. “It’s Iroha.”
“Iroha?” Momoko asked, concerned. “Is she okay?”
“Hopefully,” Yachiyo said. “But haven’t you noticed she’s been different recently?”
“Different?” Momoko asked.
“Yes,” Yachiyo said. She frowned a little. “Have you really not noticed?”
Momoko shrugged. “She seems normal to me…” she said, but she sounded a little worried. Hesitant. Afraid that she’d missed something that Yachiyo had caught. And in this case, she was right.
“She’s… more attractive,” Yachiyo said.
“Excuse me?” Momoko said, blinking.
“Surely you couldn’t have missed it completely,” Yachiyo said, leaning forward. “She’s more attractive. Hotter.”
“Hotter,” Momoko repeated incredulously.
Yachiyo narrowed her eyes. “Yes,” she said. “There are other effects too. Haven’t you noticed that when she looks at you and smiles, it makes your heart speed up? Or how when you look at her for too long, your palms get all sweaty?”
“Oh my god,” Momoko said, sighing and leaning back. “And you think this is an Uwasa?”
“Of course it is!” Yachiyo said. She wasn’t sure why Momoko was suddenly seeming so skeptical. She’d just given evidence of something clearly unusual happening, and it didn’t seem like the activities of a witch, so wasn’t an Uwasa the logical conclusion?
“Have you considered any other possible causes?” Momoko asked.
“Like what?” Yachiyo asked.
“Like… you having a crush on Iroha?”
Yachiyo stared at Momoko in disbelief. Momoko stared back, nonplussed.
“Surely you’re kidding,” Yachiyo said, scoffing and crossing her arms. “If you don’t have any serious suggestions, then-”
“Yachiyo, what you’re describing is love sickness,” Momoko said. “Do you think I don’t remember having a crush on that guy back in high school?”
“You’re being unreasonable,” Yachiyo said. “I’ve known Iroha for years, and I haven’t had a crush on her before. Why would that change now?”
“Uh, because she’s grown up since then?” Momoko said. “She doesn’t exactly look the same as she did at fifteen.”
“I suppose that’s true…” Yachiyo said reluctantly. “But regardless, I’ve never thought of her that way. If anything, she’s a cute junior. Not hot.”
“And you think the most likely reason that you suddenly changed your opinion on that is that you’re being affected by supernatural magic?” Momoko asked skeptically.
“Yes,” Yachiyo said.
“And not because her school just switched to summer uniforms.”
Yachiyo frowned. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
Momoko sighed and shook her head. Then, suddenly, she grinned. “Okay then,” she said. “What if we try a test?”
“What sort of test?” Yachiyo asked suspiciously.
“If the Uwasa is doing something weird to Iroha, it means that it’s only her that would be affected, right?”
“Logically…” Yachiyo said.
“So what if we go find a fake Iroha in the Mirror Witch’s labyrinth?” Momoko suggested. “You shouldn’t find a fake attractive, right? The Uwasa’s magic wouldn’t work with a familiar.”
“Hmmm…” Yachiyo considered the idea. It seemed to make sense. “Alright,” she said. “Let’s go there now, then. Although there’s no guarantee we’ll run into a fake Iroha, is there?”
Momoko shrugged. “The Mirror Witch definitely reacts to people, doesn’t it? If we go in there looking for “Iroha”, it’ll probably try to use that.”
Momoko’s hypothesis turned out to be correct. They entered the Mirror Witch’s labyrinth, making sure to casually remind each other to keep an eye out for Iroha, and it wasn’t long until they found her.
“Yachiyo! Momoko!” “Iroha” said, running up to them as they made it to the third level of the mirrors. “I’m so glad you’re here!”
“What is it?” Momoko asked.
“Tsuruno went deeper into the mirrors! We have to go save her!”
Yachiyo and Momoko exchanged a glance. Tsuruno was definitely not in the Mirror Witch’s labyrinth right now.
“Okay, okay,” Momoko said. “But first, can we do a quick check to make sure you’re real? This is the Endless Mirrors.”
“Oh. Um, yeah, that makes sense,” “Iroha” said.
“So,” Momoko said, walking closer to “Iroha”. “Can you just say this phrase to Yachiyo?”
She leaned closer and said something Yachiyo couldn’t hear. Yachiyo frowned. Momoko was getting awfully close to her… wasn’t she opening herself up to be attacked? It seemed a little careless.
“O-Okay…?” “Iroha” said, and then turned to Yachiyo. “Um… Yachiyo, I’ve always liked you! Please go out with me!”
Yachiyo froze. Her breath caught in her throat. Her heart sped up. Her cheeks flushed.
She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. She knew this wasn’t the real Iroha. It couldn’t be. But it was Iroha’s face looking anxiously over at her, waiting for her response, and it had been Iroha’s voice that had said those words.
“Oookay, I think that answers that,” Momoko said. “That’ll be all, thank you.”
“So you’ll follow me into the maze?”
“I don’t think so,” Momoko said.
“Then if you won’t follow me into the maze…” “Iroha” said, raising her crossbow. “Follow me into hell!”
“So,” Momoko said, once the fake Iroha had been defeated and they’d left the labyrinth. “You seemed pretty thrown off by that fake Iroha, huh?”
Yachiyo frowned and didn’t answer.
“So if Iroha isn’t being affected by an Uwasa,” Momoko said. “What do you think the cause is?”
“...I must be the one who’s being manipulated by the Uwasa,” Yachiyo said.
Momoko shook her head.
“This is going to take a while…”