Work Text:
This can’t be happening. This isn’t real.
Sayo opened her eyes.
She opened her eyes to an unfamiliar scent, an unfamiliar sight, and… an unfamiliar body.
Feeling her face, she definitely knew something was wrong, but that really seemed like the least of her concerns at the moment.
I… am in Imai-san’s room.
As she looked around her, there was no mistaking it. The bright colors, the extreme… girliness , the big makeup table, and, well, the red bass on a stand against the wall, it was definitely Lisa’s room.
She looked at herself, tugging at her vibrant purple pajama shirt carefully. This was not hers. Neither was this body. She ran over to the mirror, staring at it in complete horror as she gripped the edges of the table.
I’m in Imai-san’s body?!
—
No way.
Lisa sat up. She didn’t feel herself. Yesterday she went to sleep just fine, in her room, in her clothes, but now she woke up and she was definitely not in her room, nor her clothes. This was Sayo’s .
She quickly felt her upper body over her shirt— My chest is… smaller.
After a moment of sitting in (not) her bed, she suddenly gasped, before slapping a hand on her mouth.
No way. No way no way no way no way. She looked around once again and ran over to a mirror.
I’m in Sayo’s body???
—
What do I do, what do I do… think, Sayo! Think!!! How did this happen?! How do I even— ah!! Her phone!! Sayo quickly looked around again, grabbing Lisa’s phone and turning the screen on— It had a lock screen. Of course.
…What could it be…?
She frowned, walking around in circles as she glared down at the phone. She tried many things. She tried Lisa’s birthday, she tried a bunch of number combinations, she even tried Yukina’s birthday, but none of them worked. But then she realized something.
Ah! I can try Udagawa-san’s and Shirokane-san’s birthdays.
She did so, but like her other attempts, it didn’t open. Which meant…
She hesitantly typed 0320 and… the phone opened.
My birthday? Why me…? …I’ll ask later. For now, I should just contact her. I assume she’s in my body, just like I am in hers. I should hurry up with it, too.
Although she was hurrying up, a different thought surfaced in her mind.
…I’m weirdly happy it’s my birthday, though. …Unless it’s Hina’s—
—
Oh god oh god oh god… I gotta hurry up!! Think!! Ohhhggh I don’t remember anything strange happening yesterday and I can’t go ask Hina because the moment I speak she’ll definitely know I’m not Sayo!
Lisa paced around anxiously, rubbing her arms as she looked down. At least it felt a lot more refreshing to have less weight on her chest.
Oh! Right! Sayo’s phone! She quickly realized, taking the phone from the desk and opening it. She stared at the lock screen for a bit, taking in a deep breath.
You can do this. Now what could it possibly be?
She tried Hina’s birthday (her own), she tried a bunch of combinations she thought Sayo would use, but none of them worked. That only left one other option, and that was Roselia members birthdays. None of them worked, except…
- That’s… mine. Ahaha, that kinda makes me feel very happy… I wonder why, though.
Lisa sighed, sitting down on Sayo’s bed and searching for her own contact.
If I’m in her body… that probably means she’s in mine, too.
‘Sayo?’
Lisa sent, proceeding to glare at the screen with so much anxiety she thought she was about to make Sayo’s heart explode.
‘...Imai-san?’
‘Oh god, we really did switch bodies!!’
‘It… seems like it.’
‘You didn’t do anything weird to cause this, did you? Weird question, but…’
‘I did not. For all I know, last night I was in my own body.’
‘That’s… really bad.’
‘We can’t possibly meet each other soon, can we?’
‘No, I don’t think that’d work… but that also means…’
‘...That we’d have to pretend we’re each other for today?’
‘Yep.’
‘That’s… terrifying. How do we do that?’
‘Youuuu wouldn’t know how to put on makeup the same way I do, huh… Can you try doing that, though?’
‘I’m afraid I’ll completely mess it up if I tried, and I do not wish to humiliate you this way.’
‘Gosh, Sayo… anyway,’
Lisa paused for a moment, frozen in place. They both had to dress up for school.
‘...Imai-san, I am afraid we must change clothes.’
‘We sure do. I won’t do or look at anything though, I promise!’
‘Same goes for me. Good luck, Imai-san. Try avoiding Hina for now, she’ll immediately figure out you’re not me.’
‘Yep, I know… Good luck to you too, Sayo. Try acting normal around Yukina, too!’
She put the phone down and took another deep breath.
Now to just hope my friends won’t try teasing me today. …Okay. You can do this now. It’s no big deal! Just change your clothes, it’s no biggie.
But it definitely was. After all, she was crushing on Sayo for a while now. Ignoring that, however, she opened the closet and took out a Hanasakigawa school uniform, along with a bra. She had no problem changing, opting to just stare forward at the wall the entire time.
—
Sayo did the exact same thing as Lisa did, although even just having to look at Lisa’s bras made her internally combust from embarrassment. Not to mention just how weird it felt to have more weight on her chest.
It’s just body dysmorphia, but it’s still so embarrassing I can barely even think…
Something about having to see her crush’s undergarments was… even weirder. The hardest part, however, came when she had to work on Lisa’s hair and face.
She carefully put on the earrings Lisa would usually wear, despite her extremely strict code or dressing ideals, and very carefully put on a red lipstick to highlight her lips more. She was surprised she even managed to pull this off. Next, she brushed her hair and put some of it in a high ponytail, just like Lisa would always do.
It seems I just remember every detail about her. …To think I was doubting my attraction to her before…
Sayo stared at herself in the mirror for a bit, only snapping out of it the moment she heard a knock on her door and an unfamiliar feminine voice calling Lisa’s name.
“C-Coming!”
Lisa’s voice…
—
Okay. Okay you’re ready. Now to just get past Hina to just immediately go to school…
After fighting the absolute urge to try finding makeup and making Sayo look a lot fashionable, she settled on how Sayo normally looked and fixed her school uniform, ready to go outside the room.
Mmmmmm maybe I can get away with a bit of blush? I remember Sayo had some around…
Lisa quickly dug around in the drawers until she found what she was looking for. Applying a bit of blush, Lisa nodded at herself. Yes. That’ll definitely do.
She then carefully opened the door, honestly expecting a jumpscare from Hina, but nothing happened. In fact, it seemed extremely quiet around.
Is nobody home…? She quietly made her way to the living room, looking around cautiously.
“Oh! Fhis! Ghood mho-ninh!” Hina waved at Lisa, a toast in her mouth as she prepared a bento for school.
“Ah—” Lisa planned to respond, but just hearing herself speak in Sayo’s voice made her blank for a moment. “...G-good morning!”
“...” Hina turned to face her, taking a bite of her toast and holding it in her hand now instead. “...You okay? It was weird you weren’t up by the time I got to the kitchen, but you’re speaking weird and you didn’t even get mad at me for speaking with a toast in my mouth,” She stomped over to Lisa, squinting her eyes up at her now nervous face.
“A…ahaha… wh-what are you talking about? I’m totally fine. …M-mind your own business…!” She tried sounding assertive like Sayo usually would, but she couldn’t even bring herself to try using a more stern voice for it. She just couldn’t do that to Hina…
“...You speak like Lisacchi.”
“...L-like L—... Imai-san? I think you’re mistaken. I’m me. I’m Sayo.”
“...Is that blush? I didn’t even know you had any makeup!” Hina raised a brow.
“...I just felt like it today. I-Imai-san said that… I should do it more often, so…”
“Mhm… Oh, hey, speaking of Lisacchi, I gotta tell her about that cool book I saw in a store yesterday. Totally seemed like her type of romance.” Hina hummed as she went back to prepping her food. She briefly glanced back at Lisa, seeing her baffled, almost terrified look. “...What? You wanna tell her for me, maybe~?”
“...Y-you’re the one who goes to the same school as her. You tell her.”
She’s totally teasing me!!! She wants me to break!! This is so unfair!!!!
Hina chuckled. “Uh-huh! Ah, hold on though, I was making your bento too!” Hina hummed as Lisa stood there anxiously, watching her lively and cheerfully occupy herself in meal prep. After just a minute or two, she bounced back over to Lisa and handed her the bento she made. “There you go!”
“...Thank you, Hina.”
That was… close.
—
I know Imai-san walks to school with Minato-san… which means I must be careful. …And not use honorifics. This will be hard…
Sayo braced herself, taking in a deep breath. She wasn’t able to do makeup right and she was looking way too calm and stoic to look like Lisa does, but she just hoped Yukina would miraculously not notice it.
“You’re quite late,” Yukina’s voice immediately boomed through Sayo’s mind the moment she opened the front door. “Is everything alright?”
“H-huh? Oh! Um… yeah! Everything’s fine!” Sayo tried imitating how Lisa speaks, but that only made Yukina more concerned as she frowned.
“Are you sure? If you’re sick, you should stay home. I especially don’t want you to catch a cold a week before a concert.”
“Don’t worry, I promise I’m fine, Mi— …Yukina.” Sayo nearly bit her tongue trying not to call Yukina like she usually does.
“...What was that?”
“N-nothing! Ahaha…”
“You’re acting extremely strange today, Lisa.”
“I am completely fine.”
“...I see. Well, we should probably hurry.”
“We… should, yes.”
That’s just scary.
Even on their way to school, Yukina would just look at her almost suspiciously. All she could do was just smile awkwardly and pretend everything was fine.
She tried thinking of what to say to drop the suspicion, but honestly, the only thing occupying her mind was just how baffling it was to have Lisa’s voice. It was so soothing and gentle, so cheery yet serious… but with her words being spoken in this voice it felt… bad. But one thing she was a little curious about was the opportunity to see stuff from Lisa’s perspective. A perspective she always wondered what it looked like, and one she very much adored. At least she stopped trying to deny her attraction to her.
“...sa—”
“...?”
“Lisa.” Yukina’s stern voice brought her right back into reality, making her look down into her very concerned eyes. “What’s up with you?”
“H-huh? Really, it’s nothing! Gosh, Yukina…” That took so much willpower to say without breaking.
“...If you say so.”
Sayo never thought staying quiet was this hard. She had to hold herself from correcting students and their misbehavior . She had to forge a smile to at least try looking like Lisa. When she was able to take a break, she immediately excused herself to the bathroom.
Leaning on the sink and staring at Lisa’s reflection in the mirror, her own stoic expression occupying the usually cheery face she knew and loved, she realized something.
Ah… I have almost never seen Lisa so expressionless. I guess it’s my fault, but just looking at her reflection like this… is wrong. I hate it. But I also can’t force myself to smile all the time…
After taking in a deep breath and a break from having to smile, she returned to her classroom after getting lost for a little bit. It seemed like she didn’t really bring the right books and notebooks with her, but improvising wasn’t really hard. What was hard was to not answer every single math question the teacher asked. She knew she’d look suspicious if she did.
When breaktime finally struck, she nearly deflated from the sheer mental exhaustion she experienced these lessons. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the pencil case in an attempt to relax her brain.
“Oh! Lisa! There you are!” Sayo opened her eyes at the unfamiliar voice speaking to Lisa. “I’ve been looking for you all morning! You didn’t answer any texts!”
Oh. Sayo sat back up, her eyes wide in surprise. I forgot Imai-san is extremely socially active. This must be one of her friends…
“...Are you doing okay?” They dragged a seat and sat on it… backwards. Sayo nearly combusted. You’re not supposed to sit on chairs like this!! But she couldn’t say that.
“I-I’m fine.”
“Are you really? You look awfully organized today, and you didn’t even put that much makeup on…” They frowned, leaning on the back of the chair. Sayo’s shoulders were clearly tense and her eyes probably gave away her fear. But Lisa’s friend decided not to press on. “...Oh well. Anyway! How’s it going with Sayo-san lately?”
“...Excuse me?”
“Well? Are you two dating yet?”
“Ooooh! Are you, are you?!” Another student chimed in, leaning back on their chair closer to Sayo excitedly.
“Wh— I— H-huh? Wh—” Sayo backed away, eyes frantically looking around in panic. She didn’t even understand what was going on.
“Oooooooo~! What’s with that reaction~? Is that a yeeeeees?”
“Have you finally done it, Lisa~?”
As Lisa’s friends leaned closer to get a reaction out of her, Sayo pushed her chair back and stood up in even more panic. “Wh-what are you all talking about?! O-of course not?! Why would I—” She spewed, heart racing and face as red as it could possibly get. Catching a glimpse of Lisa’s friends again after her vision cleared, they were all baffled by it. They all expected Lisa to just sulk, sigh hopelessly in defeat and say something along the lines of ‘not yet, no…’, but this wasn’t Lisa.
Sayo’s head was already hurting enough and her mental exhaustion didn’t help it, and now this … instead of trying to clear the misunderstanding, she opted to just run away, leaving her belongings behind and ignoring her own glorified rule of not running in the hallways. As she attempted to lose those students and find a hiding place, she could hear stuff like ‘But I thought you liked her! What’s with that reaction?!’ and ‘C’mon, you gotta do this!!’ , along with other general surprised statements.
Once she finally found a tree to hide behind, she was finally able to breathe again. She slid down against it, panting aggressively from the physical exercise she just underwent. Lisa didn’t seem to have trained her legs much, and running away was extremely difficult. But now in silence, she was finally able to think.
This must’ve been a prank. There’s no other possible explanation. That just… couldn’t be.
She held onto her head, sighing tiredly. Not only was she exhausted, but now extremely confused as well. Lisa? Liking her? Yes, her lock screen password seems to be hers, but it could very much be Hina’s, too… And she wouldn’t be too surprised if that is the case, even if she knows Hina is head-over-heels for Aya. But the idea that Lisa liked her was just too much. Too unrealistic, too… scary.
What would she even see in me? I’m stern, quiet and even though I’ve learned to express myself, I am largely emotionless from the outside. She’s extremely skilled in digging into someone’s emotions and dragging them out, but… still…
As Sayo was busy denying any reason Lisa would like her for, she suddenly perked up at the mention of Lisa’s name.
‘Imai Lisa, please come to the student council room.’ The speakers announced in Hina’s voice.
Oh no.
—
Ever since Lisa stepped into the school’s parameters, she’s been getting many glances and whispers. She knew Sayo rarely smiled, but she couldn’t stop herself from doing it sometimes. She struggled to answer difficult questions teachers expected Sayo to know, she didn’t remember rules Sayo would and would angrily tell other students to follow when they broke it, and she struggled to walk as calmly as Sayo does. At some point, she lent a hairband to tie her hair up into a ponytail because it irritated her. That way, she stood out even more to everyone. When anyone wanted her help, she’d blaffer and respond in her own charming way sometimes. Of course, that made whoever it was directed at blush and be surprised, but more than anything, it made pretending to be Sayo even harder when said help was in something Sayo would know but Lisa absolutely wouldn’t, like high difficulty math.
“H-hey, uh… Sayo-senpai?”
“Hm?” Lisa spun her chair around to face Arisa.
“Are you feeling alright? …N-not to be… disrespectful or anything, but you’ve been smiling an awfully lot today…”
Arisa was right. She has, and she’s been making the face she would usually make. Honestly, it was starting to get hard. Sayo’s face wasn’t used to that much of its muscles being pulled this way.
“Oh, um… yeah, I’m fine. Sorry~♪” Oh crap—
The way she said it sounded exactly like she would say. It made both Arisa and Rinko look at her in surprise.
“...Ahaha, um… m-maybe I do feel a little sick…”
“Hikawa-san you… sounded like Imai-san… would.” Rinko stated in a near whisper.
“Ah, weren’t you… interested in Lisa-san? It’s none of my business, of course, but I heard you mumble something about her once—”
“Hold on, what?” Lisa perked up, her voice nearly cracking in surprise.
“Ah—” Arisa retaliated back, afraid she angered Sayo. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
“Ahaha! Wh-what are you talking about? Me? L-liking L— …Imai-san? Ahaha…”
Sayo likes me…?
Seeing the contemplated and almost guilty expression on Sayo’s face, Arisa slid closer with her chair to see her better. “Are you alright? You don’t have to tell us, but both me and Rinko-senpai are here for you, right?” She turned to Rinko, who immediately nodded at them.
“That’s… not it…” Lisa mumbled, hugging herself as her shoulders tensed up. Just the thought that Sayo likes her as well felt… scary. She didn’t know how to respond to the two girls nor did she know what to even think for herself. But she decided to brush all of it aside and give the two girls a small smile. “...Thank you for your support, I, uh… I’m not sure about liking… Imai-san, really…”
“Hey, that’s fine, y’know. Just take it slow, love is one hell of an emotion… I know that personally. …Ah! W-we won’t tell anyone about this, though! Promise.”
“I…I appreciate that, thanks.”
That can’t be…
—
“Lisacchiiiiiiiiiii~! There you are!” Sayo was immediately startled the moment she entered the student council room. Hina sat across her gigantic desk, leaning on her arms with a mischievous grin. Tsugumi turned to greet Sayo, but then returned to working on her own duties. “I saw that chase earlier! You know you shouldn’t be causing a scene like that, right~?”
“Hina—” Sayo said, nearly biting her tongue from anxiety. Hina saw it? She saw her running away? That was bad. Very bad. “I-I… apologize—” Only after saying so did Sayo realize she made a grave mistake.
“What’s up with you? Man, both you and Sis are so weird today! You act just like each other!”
“...Do we? Haha, uh… I’ve really no clue what you’re talking about! I’m totally fine.”
“That’s an unusual response from you…” Hina frowned, pushing her lower lip up in thought. “Oh well. What were you running away from? I gotta know! I never saw you sprint so fast! Not even in competitions!”
“I’m not telling you that.” Sayo scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
Hina and Tsugumi silently exchanged a glance as Sayo stood in her place, chest puffed as she readied herself to defend her stance and not give in to Hina’s persistence. When a hellish smirk spread across Hina’s face, Tsugumi sighed and turned to face Sayo.
“Lisa-senpai, I’m… afraid Hina-senpai is already aware of why…”
“...H…Huh?” Sayo looked back at Hina, fear and dread present in her expression. Somehow, Hina’s grin widened even more.
“So what’s that about Sis? I mean, I knew that, but I never knew you’d run away like that!”
“What… do you mean you… knew … Why ask me, then?!”
“Hm? Oh, you’re just obvious about it and I hoped to hear it from you directly! What, you think I don’t notice the way you look when she texts you or the way you look when you’re telling me about cute and funny stuff she does in practice~? She’d be mad if she found out about it, though…”
Sayo’s eyes widened, clearly upset at this information. “She what n— I-I mean—” She then quickly looked away, shoulders tensing up. She messed up badly now, and Hina’s grin looked as if she fell right into her trap.
Thing was… she did .
“I knew something was off about you and Sis since this morning… She talked just like you, and you talk just like her… Lisacchi, you’re not really you, are you?”
“I… genuinely do not know what you’re on about—”
“See? See? That’s totally not how you speak! That’s how Sis speaks!”
“...” Sayo groaned, closing her eyes in an attempt to calm her racing heart. None of this made sense, none of this felt real, and Hina was definitely just pranking her too to make her admit she’s in Lisa’s body.
“Sis, it’s actually you, isn’t it?”
“...No, I…”
Hina sighed loudly, shaking her head. “I guess I’ll have to draw you out another way, huh…”
“Hina, please stop, I’m… I really am Lisa! I’ve no clue what you’re—”
“I put carrots in Sis’ bento this morning and asked Aya-chan to check if she would eat them by hanging out with her.”
Sayo’s heart dropped.
“She’d immediately scold me in text the moment she found out about it. It happened before by accident, after all! But she ate it without even batting an eye. You know that’s not something Sis would ever do, right?”
After a long pause, Sayo instead looked down. “Yes.”
“So I’ll ask again… Sis, it’s actually you, isn’t it?”
Sayo sighed, walking closer to the desk as she looked up with a frown of guilt. “...Yes.”
“Man, what a way to find out someone’s crushing on you!” Hina leaned back into her chair, stretching her arms. “Makes sense why you ran so fast! Now wanna explain what’s going on? That means Lisacchi is in your body, right?”
“I don’t know how this happened, and I don’t know how to reverse this awful effect… I woke up this way.”
“Oh, gosh—” Hina grimaced, hissing in… empathy? “You had to see her underwear… that must’ve sucked!”
Sayo immediately looked away, a fierce blush spreading across her face. “I-I didn’t look at it! I-I just took what I needed and changed with my eyes closed!! …I’ve felt… extremely dysmorphic this entire day.”
“Oh man, that must suck… Poor you. Well, cheer up, at least you know what her bras look like!”
“That is a VERY poor judgement of this situation!” Sayo barked, her face even redder now.
“Awww, c’mon. That’s totally funny though.”
“I do not find it funny whatsoever. I had to dress up with my eyes closed! Do you know how hard that is?! A-and putting on makeup was the worst part, not seeing her body!!”
“Yeah! And that’s hilarious!” Hina snorted, giggling to herself at Sayo’s poor situation.
“You—” Sayo nearly growled, but Hina suddenly neutralized her expression and spoke in a calm tone,
“Do you like her too, Sis?”
“...” Sayo’s eyes opened wide for a moment, before drifting away in shame. Her previous embarrassment and rage turned into sorrow now. “I— Wait a moment!” Sayo suddenly snapped out of her seemingly spiraling thoughts, her body tensing up. She looked to her side at Tsugumi, who, this entire time, was just sitting there silently.
“Oooooooooh… oopsie.” Hina turned to face the girl as well, hissing again. “Busted.”
“I-I-I won’t tell anybody!!!” Tsugumi squeaked, her cheeks turning red as the attention switched to her. She lifted her hands up in defeat as if she was just caught.
“...H-Hazawa-san, I apologize on behalf of my sister and I.” Sayo bowed down in front of her apologetically.
“Tsugu-chaaaaaaaan~” Hina leaned forward, smirking at the poor, extremely embarrassed girl. “There’s no rule saying I can dismiss a student just because I want to, is there~?”
“...H-Hina-senpai, that is very much against the rules…”
“And I am not letting you break it.” Sayo gave Hina a deep frown, nearly startling her.
“Oh man, to see Lisacchi’s face with such a frown and hear her speak so sternly is terrifying! We gotta find a way to bring you back immediately!!”
“Th…that’s what made you want it…?” Tsugumi whispered, honestly feeling sorry for Sayo to be stuck in this situation.
“Oh! Oh! Oh! Sis!!”
“ What is it, Hina?” Sayo grumbled. She sat down by Tsugumi, crossing her arms.
“Are you gonna talk to Lisacchi later? About her crush on you, I mean.”
“...” Sayo looked away with a frown. “I don’t… believe or trust that she really does. This could just be a… silly daydream thought. I’m not—”
“Didn’t Lisacchi’s friends come to ask if she’s dating you already?”
“...Yes, but again, it could b—”
“Sis.” Hina raised her voice a little, startling both Sayo and Tsugumi. She walked over, arms crossed over her chest with a soft frown on her face. “I get that it’s difficult to accept this, but would it not feel better if you just… let yourself go?”
“Hina, I…” Sayo took a deep breath, clenching her hands into fists as she held them in her lap. “I don’t know if I’m even ready for a relationship in the first place…”
“That’s fine! But pining for each other and struggling the way you do won’t really help you, you know. It’ll only make things worse! Besides, she’s talked about this with me. And you trust me, don’t you?”
“...Yes.” Sayo mumbled.
“U-um… Hikawa-san,” Tsugumi began, pausing for a moment when the twins turned to look at her. “I-I think that, well… if you’re not sure about all of this, maybe being in her body will give you better insight on who she is…?”
“I… see.” Sayo sighed, straightening her back. “Thank you, both of you. …However, I do wish to find a way to get back into my body and resolve it that way.”
“Hmmm~ Have you thought of bonking your heads together?”
Sayo raised a brow. “Bonk my head against hers? That sounds ridiculous.”
“Well, y’see… I think Ako-chan miiiight know something about this. Oh! I can call her here if you want! …Summon her, if you will—”
“Yes. That’d be good.
—
After having some refreshing time with Aya, Lisa was at least able to regain some of her energy. She had to be careful not to sound like herself, but it was very fun talking to her friend like this.
Ever since Arisa and Rinko talked to her about Sayo, she’s been a bit disoriented. Thinking about the subject just made her retract her emotions, since the thought that Sayo liked her as well was just… too much.
Why would she? I mean, if she does, that’s absolutely perfect for me! But… somehow… it feels like I don’t really deserve her interest…
She decided to go up to the roof, making sure nobody was around for her to be able to not be heard. Taking a deep breath, she spoke,
“I like you, Imai-san.”
Hearing that said in Sayo’s voice just made her heart beat fast. It felt so exciting and she felt so happy to hear it, but… that was still herself saying it, not Sayo.
I’m… really hopeless enough to not only fantasize about her but also be able to say she’s in love with me in her voice and body…
She leaned against the wall, sliding down a bit as she let out a sigh.
Maybe I just need to wait. Confronting her is a lot scarier than just waiting for something to happen, really…
She felt useless to herself. Sitting and waiting for something to happen had never worked in her favor, and she doubted this would be an exception to that.
“Sayo-chan?”
Lisa didn’t exactly notice that Chisato was standing by her side. Well, at least not consciously.
“Chisato, I think Sayo likes me…” She mumbled.
“Sayo…chan…?” Chisato repeated, this time looking extremely concerned and confused.
“AH!” Lisa yelped, jumping away and clutching her shirt where her heart was. It felt like she was about to have a heart attack. Did she just say all of this outloud?
“A-are you okay? Y…You’ve never… called me by my first name—”
“Ch— …Sh-Sh-Shirasagi-san!! Ahaha… d-didn’t see you there!!” Lisa tried her best to calm herself down, slapping on a nervous smile.
“What was… that about…?”
“Ahaha!!! Nothing! Nothing at all! J-just talking nonsense to myself!”
Chisato frowned slightly. “Well it’s none of my business, but… I’ve heard you’ve been acting quite unusually today.”
“I’m… doing just fine, though…” Lisa calmed herself down, but her eyes never met Chisato’s piercing gaze.
Chisato sighed, shaking her head. “...Hina-chan told me the story.”
“The story…?” Lisa looked up with a frown. If that’s what she thought it was—
“The body swap with Sayo-chan.”
Lisa blinked, standing straight as she stared at Chisato feeling so many emotions she could express none of them.
“...Unfortunately, all of Pastel Palettes know of it, too.”
“That little shit — Oh that sounds very wrong with Sayo’s voice…”
Chisato chuckled quietly. “I also happened to hear what you said out loud earlier—”
The moment she finished that sentence, Lisa gripped her shoulders and glared down into her eyes.
“This stays between us.”
Spooked, it took Chisato a few moments to actually be able to vocalize her response.
“Y…yes, of course.”
“...Thank you.” Lisa sighed, letting go of Chisato. “I should probably head back to the student council room, but I honestly have no clue what to do and I don’t want Rinko and Arisa to be any more suspicious…”
“You can try saying you don’t feel good and go home to think this over, probably.”
“That’s probably my best bet, yeah…”
“...So you like her?”
“Well, you heard me tell that to myself, didn’t you?”
”Mhm.” Chisato leaned against the wall, Lisa sheepishly joining by her side. “...Do you know if she does?”
“No…” Lisa sulked. “Even though her lock screen password is my birthday, and Arisa kinda literally said she does, it’s… i-it’s just incomprehensible.”
“I get what you mean. Way too well, actually.”
“Huh… are you dating someone?”
“...Yes—”
“Ooooh, now you gotta tell me!” Lisa looked at Chisato with a mischievous grin, but seeing it on Sayo’s face felt like Chisato was having a fever dream.
“I-it’s— well… um…” Chisato struggled to say it out loud, her cheeks gaining a bright red to them. “...K-Kanon— B-but this conversation isn’t about me. Let’s please move on.”
“Bummer. I had a feeling, though. Anyway, I… will try talking to Sayo later. I mean, we do have to hurry up and swap our bodies. Although I don’t mind skipping a day of showering, it’s…” She grimaced, rubbing her arms slowly.
“Ah, right. I suppose that would probably be unbearably embarrassing even if you were dating. But since Hina-chan knows of this, I don’t doubt she’ll find a way soon.”
“True, Hina’s just a genius.” Lisa sighed again, looking up at the sky. “Thanks, Chisato. I needed this talk.”
“Of course. Although I am usually very busy, I would not mind listening to your problems if you were to have them.”
“Awww, you’re so sweet~♪”
Now I just have to trust Hina to take care of this. Good luck, you little rascal…
—
“Ah…haha.” Ako’s trembling, nervous voice was heard throughout the student council room. She forced a terrified smile up at Sayo, who glared down at her intensely. To see such a glare on Lisa’s face was… even scarier than to see Sayo do it, honestly. “S-So that’s… where it went…”
“Do you have any idea what I had to go through, Udagawa-san?”
“You just had to see her bras, jeez—” Hina mumbled jokingly, earning a glare from Sayo.
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t… know it’d… um… work …”
Sayo sighed in frustration, closing her eyes in an attempt to calm herself. “...At least now I don’t have to pretend to be Imai-san.”
“Ako, why did you even cast a ritual if you didn’t know whether it’d work? You know that’s ridiculous, right?” Yukina added, glaring at Ako, albeit softer than Sayo did.
Ako whined in response, covering her head as she shook it. “I’m sorry!! I really am!! I didn’t know!”
“Well that doesn’t matter anymore. We must find a way to reverse this effect. Udagawa-san,” Sayo walked closer to Ako, arms crossed over her chest. “You know how to reverse it, right?”
“...” Ako stayed silent, frozen in place as she refused to look up at Sayo.
“...Right?”
“...S-Sorry, Sayo-san…”
Sayo turned around and groaned loudly into her hands as she covered her entire face. But as both Yukina and Sayo were trying to get a better answer out of Ako, Hina just watched them with a relaxed, curious look on her face. Pretty strange for a situation where her beloved twin sister might be stuck in another person’s body forever.
“...Hina-senpai, aren’t you… concerned?” Tsugumi slid closer to her, bending down to whisper to Hina without the others hearing her.
“Not at all!”
“...H-huh? How… how come…? Sayo-san might be stuck in Lisa-senpai’s body forever…”
“Nah. Since it’s Ako-chan’s doings, the solution to this is probably incredibly hilarious!”
“What are you talking about? Th-this is a—”
“Serious situation? Yeah. Silly? Also yes!” Hina rubbed her chin as her calm smile turned into a mischievous grin. “I told Sis she should try bonking her head with Lisa’s, buuuuut…”
“...It can’t be. This… can’t be that trope r—” Tsugumi leaned closer, hoping Hina to deny it or even just shake her head, but as the president turned to her, her grin widened even further. “...No way…”
“ Yes way! Ehehehe~” Hina giggled almost villianesly. “We’re lucky they like each other, though. This might just be their relationship’s beginning! …A little awkward, though.”
“You’re going to tell them… right?”
“Yep! First, though,” Hina pulled out her phone, dialing Sayo’s number. Her call got answered almost immediately. “Heeeeeeeeeeey Lisacchi~”
“Hina!! Wh-what’s going on?? Have you found a way to bring us back to our bodies?!”
“Not sure I do, but Ako-chan might! I’d need you here, though. Think you can make it here? I can take care of the technical stuff for you~”
“On my way.”
—
I swear if Hina is going to prank us or do something stupid to embarrass us… What am I going to do about my crush on Sayo…?
She hurried through the school gates, definitely being seen by other students and definitely ruining some of Sayo’s reputation.
But… She slowed down a little, casting her gaze down pensively. Am I any good for her? I’ve had this complex before with other crushes and all, but here… I know our feelings are mutual! And yet… it still doesn’t feel like it should be this way…
“Hey! And where do you think you’re going?” Was what snapped Lisa out of her self berating thoughts, making her stop and look back. Hina was leaning against the wall of the school entrance, a grin spread wide across her face.
“O…Oh—”
“You almost walked off! Do you know how difficult it is to run this fast~?”
“You… don’t look particularly tired— Anyway! Sorry, I uh… spaced out.”
Hina looked up towards the school, humming calmly. “You wanna talk about that before we get to the council room? It’s pretty chaotic there~”
“...” Lisa walked over and leaned against the wall by Hina. She looked down, letting out a soft breath. “I assume you know that Sayo likes me too, don’t you…”
“Yep! I coaxed it out of her earlier!” For some reason, Hina sounded proud to know her twin sister’s (not so) secret crush on Lisa, but Lisa wasn’t surprised that’s how she reacted.
“I just… can’t really comprehend that it’s mutual…”
Hina’s grin slowly died down as she stared at Lisa quietly after she said that. Before not too long, she was looking down at the ground just like Lisa.
“I know what you feel, Lisacchi. I mean, I don’t, but I understand your fear. But I also know Sis, and I know it’d be just fine! Have you never noticed her softness towards you? Even from what you would tell me of her, it was clear she liked you! Even if not romantically at first.”
Lisa groaned, holding onto her school bag. Seeing this, Hina smacked her back lightly and stood back up straight. Her grin returned and so did her pride.
“C’mon! It won’t help you to sulk like that~ This situation is totally an opportunity for you two! Besides, Sis knows of your crush on her, sooooo~”
“...She… does?”
Hina’s grin widened into a smirk. “Your friends asked her if you’ve gotten with her yet~”
“Oh for fu — …Dammit! Ugh! I knew it’d happen!! A-and she knows my lock screen password is her birthday, too!!!” Lisa groaned loudly, pushing herself away from the wall.
“Alright, alright. You can get mad later, we gotta hurry back!” Hina took Lisa’s hand and began gently pulling her towards the school.
As for Sayo, however, waiting for Hina to bring Lisa to this room felt like she was squeezed in between the walls of this space. She paced around as the other sat and watched her do so. The frown on her face indicated her anxiety well enough.
“Sayo. You need to relax.” Yukina said, not being able to bear the tense silence in the room.
“How can I relax?! I’m stuck in Imai-san’s body and she in mine, and this entire day has been absolutely tremendous ! E-even if her friends revealed that she’s interested in me, how do I know it’s actually going to work out?!” Sayo grumbled, walking faster and stomping on the ground in frustration. “Not to mention the absolute embarrassment just looking into her eyes knowing we’ve seen each other’s underclothes!!”
“Isn’t that a goo— Ouch!” Ako planned to say, but was very swiftly interrupted by an elbow from Yukina. At least it was fast enough to go unnoticed by Sayo as she continued to mumble to herself from her anxiety.
“Watch it.” Yukina whispered, giving Ako a soft glare. The latter gulped and nodded her head quickly.
“I… wonder what’s taking Hina-senpai so long… could they have gotten in trouble?” Tsugumi turned to the two Roselia members, holding her chin and covering her mouth. She was just as anxious as Sayo was, just for entirely different reasons. That is, until they heard the doors finally fly open.
“We have returned!” Hina announced dramatically, pushing Lisa into the room and closing the door after herself. Tsugumi sighed in relief, but Sayo only became more anxious, it seemed. She froze in place, staring into her own eyes in shock and fear.
“H…hi…?” Lisa timidly raised her hand as a hello, forcing on a toothy nervous smile. “D-didn’t know there’d be… so many people here…” She whispered to Hina through her teeth.
Hina chuckled, walking over to Sayo and dragging her to stand in front of Lisa. She was like a statue, staring at Lisa without moving or speaking, her shoulders so tense she was pretty much just squeezing her arms together with clenched fists.
“And now that we’ve got both victims in one place, how about we get to the good part?”
“Hina, please j—” Lisa frowned at Hina, but the girl’s smirk honestly just startled her.
“You two like each other, right?”
The two of them mumbled a bunch of unintelligible words, now both flustered and blushing.
“...You know what, how about we leave you two alone for a bit?” Hina’s voice turned soft, her wide grin turning into an understanding smile. Just how was she able to change her expressions so quickly…?
“...Yes,” Sayo unfroze, looking away as her face became even redder. “That’d be… very nice of you.”
Hina nodded at the rest wordlessly, and the group left the two in the council room on their own, surrounded by silence and their racing hearts booming in their ears.
“Imai-san, I—” Sayo began, but really, she didn’t even know what to say. Now that she stood directly in front of… herself, it was extremely hard to speak.
“So we like each other…” Lisa continued. She sat down on a chair, refusing to meet her gaze.
“It… seems so.”
They returned to silence, Sayo gripping and rubbing the hem of her skirt in anxiety again. Neither knew what to say, nor were they ready to do so. And so instead of trying to speak, Sayo dragged a chair over and sat by Lisa’s side, looking to the other side from her.
I can’t just say it… They both thought, tension and anxiety only increasing around the two of them. At some point it became so unbearable they both had to do something about it. And so, Lisa turned to face Sayo.
“Is it true? …That you… like me.” She tried to look up into Sayo’s eyes when the latter turned to her, but ultimately, her gaze slowly drifted away sheepishly.
“Y-you’ve… interested me for quite a while, yes.” The guitarist faced away from Lisa once again, despite the latter not looking at her at all.
“...Why?”
“That is a ridiculous question. I’d have to start writing a list of why if that was the case. …I just do .”
Lisa let out a dry chuckle, hugging herself. “Really…”
“Imai-san.” Sayo raised her volume a little, sliding closer to her. “Berating yourself over this is futile. Hina knew of this, she saw right through both of us, and probably figured out we like each other before we realized it.”
“...W-well, yes, but—”
“Imai-san, I like you.”
How she got this confidence to just say this out loud like this was beyond her understanding. Perhaps it was the fact Lisa was already so hard on herself that it made Sayo determined to prove she does deserve to be loved, and, well, that she loves her.
“That’s… so weird to hear in my own voice, from my own body…” Lisa chuckled quietly again, but more than anything, she sounded like she was about to cry.
“...Imai-san. I would like to speak to you properly once we’re back into our own bodies. …I-it does indeed sound and feels weird to be looking at myself and hearing my voice not from me.”
“Sayo, I…” Lisa looked back up at her, eyes almost pleading. “Are you… really sure?”
“Do you want to be with me? I don’t understand what’s interesting and attractive about me enough for you to have your friends ask if we’re already dating… I just don’t see why you’d be… in love with me.” Saying that, Sayo’s voice (well, Lisa’s) cracked a little. Being reminded she felt the same way as Lisa did, she once again remembered the questions she has been asking herself ever since she found out about Lisa’s crush on her.
“I-I… I love you and I want to be with you, too! I-it’s just that I… can’t really accept myself much yet…”
“That is understandable. I am the same way, too… I will wait. I just want to have a proper talk about our feelings once we don’t have to look at ourselves in each other.”
“...So, your… lock screen password is my birthday, huh?” Lisa’s smile widened.
“...And yours is mine? Or is it H—”
“Oh come on .” Lisa sighed, rolling her eyes as she was finally able to smile a little. “Of course it’s yours! Did you not get that I’m in love with you yet?”
“...Hearing that with my voice is still extremely weird…”
“So is hearing mine be so you- like.”
“Imai-san, that is because I… am in your body.”
“Ahaha~♪” Lisa relaxed a bit more, shaking her head. “Yep~♪ …By the way, you, uh… you really don’t know how to apply makeup that much, huh?”
“I-I did my best! I was… too scared to ruin stuff and mess it up so I… went for what I knew I could do. …It seems you found makeup somehow, though. I don’t remember owning any.”
“Oh, I think I gave you some once. But I just couldn’t resist making your face even more cute and kissable~♪”
Sayo stared at her, eyes wide open at the relatively surprising thing Lisa just said.
“...What? It is!”
“...S…sure.” Sayo sighed, looking away with a blush.
…So, um… what do we do about switching back…?”
“I do not know.”
Lisa hissed. “Oh, that’s…bad, then…”
As if finding the right cue to insert herself back into their horrible situation, Hina peeked through the door curiously to check on the two of them.
“Heeeey, you okay there?”
“Yes.” Sayo looked down at Lisa, nodding at her. “You may come back in.”
“...So about getting you back into your bodies…” Hina approached, Tsugumi rushing by her side to ensure she doesn’t somehow mess this up. “...You gotta stay this way until tomorrow!”
“ What ?!” Both Sayo and Lisa yelled, making Hina take a step back and wave her hands in front of her face defensively.
“Woah! Woah!! Relax! That spell Ako-chan put on you two goes away after twenty four hours! Which must be, like, between midnight and six O’clock.”
Sayo groaned, covering her face. She already had to act like Lisa at school, her parents will definitely know something isn’t right and telling them of it sounded like a horrible idea.
“Oh, gosh…” Lisa reacted no better than Sayo did, just a lot quieter.
“I mean, I can cover up for Lisacchi, but, Sis… you’re on your own…”
“I’m… really sorry, Sayo-san, Lisa-nee…” Ako stepped forward in front of the two, head hung low in shame.
“Aww… it’s okay Ako~” Lisa sighed, patting the girl’s head.
“Well, I disagree.” Sayo, however, grumbled quietly, crossing her arms over her chest in pure annoyance.
“...Hey, so are you two together now?”
“Ahaha… we’d rather be in our own bodies before talking about it. Don’t rush us~!”
“Ooooooh~ Right. Well, I think you two can go home, I can take care of the technical stuff, like I said~”
Sayo groaned at that, but at this point, she couldn’t refuse such an offer. She could tell Lisa’s parents she wasn’t feeling too well and just stay in Lisa’s room until the morning. That was a good plan.
“...Hey, so, um…”
“I sprinted really hard earlier today. I am in definite need of a shower, but…”
“Ahaha… yeah, huh…”
The two walked towards their homes in extreme awkward silence, both too embarrassed to say anything at all. It was only when Lisa realized what all of that meant that she gasped and turned to Sayo.
“Hey, actually, why don’t you come t— …Why don’t I come to… my… house?” Lisa struggled to even form such a complicated sentence, but eventually just sighed in frustration. “Why don’t we both stay at my place so I could at least take care of my face this evening?”
“...I mean, sure, but… how… a-are both of us supposed to take a shower?”
“Mmmm… I mean, you can always just not look down, right?”
“That’s… certainly a way, yes.”
“Although, I wouldn’t really mind if you do, anyway. N-not in a weird way! J…just… for, um… convenience, I guess.” Lisa looked away, her face exploding with an embarrassed blush.
“...Nor would I.”
As if the silence between them couldn’t get worse, now they were both busy thinking about what all of this meant.
“...A-Anyway! Do you mind giving me my phone? I’ll ask my mom if it’s okay for you to stay. …Or, uh… for me to stay.”
“Right.” Sayo dug in the school bag, pulling out Lisa’s phone and handing it over to her.
Dear god it’s blowing up with messages! Ugh, I’ll really have to explain myself to those girls…
“...So my friends revealed that I like you, huh…”
“They did. And I ran away.”
“Ahaha~ Yeah…” Sighing, Lisa occupied herself in replying to texts and making sure their plan could work. In the midst of it, she handed Sayo her own phone wordlessly and continued typing way too fast for Sayo to even keep track of it.
“...I’m… happy you think of me this way, Imai-san.” Sayo said in a near whisper, looking away as her shoulders tensed up.
Lisa paused to look up at her, at first a little surprised, but then quite flustered like before.
“I-it’s extremely relieving to know it’s not one sided, yeah…”
After a bit of more silence, Lisa perked up as she looked at her screen. “My mom said it’s fine! …What about yours?”
“My mother would not mind this, I assume.” As she said so, she turned her face away from Lisa sheepishly. “...Besides, I think she’d be happy to know I’ve gotten close to others, even if she doesn’t exactly know why we’re doing this. …Or that I’m attracted to you.”
“Aha… yeah, huh… well, my parents don’t know either, but I don’t mind. I-I mean… if we… do get together, I, uh… haha… a-assume it’d be inevitable until they find out…”
Oh just how embarrassing it was to speak this way. The weirdness of being in each other’s bodies aside, the mere thought and hope of getting together with Sayo was already just enough to make Lisa’s mind absolutely melt.
“...Ah, yes, she is fine with me coming over—”
“Great! Let’s go!!” Lisa squeaked, happy to be able to run away from her embarrassing thoughts. She took Sayo’s hand in hers and began walking towards her house faster, Sayo nearly tripping because of the abruptness.
“H-Hey! Slow down!”
“Thank you!” Sayo shouted as she closed the door behind her, holding a tray of treats Lisa’s mom made for them. She sighed, walking over to the low elliptical table and sitting down in front of Lisa. “I never thought talking to someone’s parents would be this anxiety inducing.”
“Well, for all they know it’s me and not Hikawa Sayo.” Lisa chuckled, taking a bite out of a cookie. “...Huh, that tastes a bit different from what I remember…”
“Each of us tastes the flavor of food a little differently due to our DNA sequence being different. It helps determine how you taste and smell stuff—”
Sayo continued talking about DNA and its relatedness in each human, but Lisa lost her quite quickly. Still, she half-listened to her, honestly just to see how cute she is when she’s passionate about something. …Even if said thing is something Lisa absolutely does not and will never understand.
“DNA sure is funky~” She responded, leaning on the table, her smile almost droopy. Now that Sayo knew she was absolutely in love with her, showing that love became much easier. Her look was dreamy, but Sayo was way too busy explaining biology to notice it for the longest time.
“It is! A—”
“Aaaalright you~” Lisa sighed, swiftly pushing a cookie at Sayo’s mouth to shut her up. “That’s enough scientific names I don’t understand and will never comprehend how you just remember.”
“...Oh,” Sayo leaned back, taking the cookie from Lisa’s hand as she looked aside with a soft blush. “...I-I didn’t… notice or mean to ramble. My apologies.”
“You’re super cute, y’know?”
“That is… weird to hear with my own voice.” Sayo grumbled, munching on the chocolate chip cookie.
“Yeah, huh…” Lisa sulked for a moment, but she definitely wasn’t about to let gloom spread in her room. She coughed into her fist, puffing out her chest proudly. “I am Hikawa Sayo! A part of the student council, the guitarist of Roselia and I like to kiss g—”
“ Hey. ”
“...irls.”
Sayo sighed loudly, crawling up on the bed and rolling on her side. “Ugh…”
“Hm? What’s up?” Lisa hummed, kneeling by the bedside. She prepped her elbows on the bed and grinned up at Sayo with her usual :3 face.
“...Don’t make that face with my face.”
“Aww~ I bet you just think you look cute with such a big smile!”
“Sure.” Sayo glanced at the wall clock across from her, raising a brow. “Since when is it 6PM already?”
“We’ve been just sitting for a looong while. I guess we both kinda spaced out~♪ …So, wanna tell me more of your biology knowledge? Seems interesting now that I think about it.”
Sayo perked up, eyes wide with excitement, but a very subtle one. “Truly…?”
“Mhm! Go ahead~”
“Okay, so the immune system—”
“Mmmm~ This was good!” Lisa chirped, stretching her arms out. They were called for dinner, an activity that would otherwise be absolutely mundane, if not for the tension Sayo was feeling— For Lisa.
“This was awkward .” Sayo pushed herself through the room, collapsing down on the bed, her hair spread practically everywhere in the messiest way possible. “It felt like they were staring at you the whole time without even looking at you! A-and I felt that! Did you not feel the tension there?!”
“Mmmm~ Well, I did, but…” Lisa sat down by Sayo, a calm smile spread across her face. “I’m not sure it was a bad tension~”
“...What… do you mean?” Sayo looked up, a soft frown on hers.
“Nothing~” Lisa stuck her nose up, letting out a soft ‘hmph~’ at Sayo. Confused, she sat up with a deeper frown.
“No, it’s definitely something.”
“Mmmm~ Well, I’m not telling you if you can’t figure it out on your own.”
“But—”
“Anyway~!” Lisa jumped up, untying her hair and shaking her head to let it flow, before turning back to look at Sayo. “I think it’s time.”
“...It’s… time?” Sayo raised a question, but only after that did she realize what Lisa was referring to. Her face slowly transformed from a confused glare to an almost terrified, extremely flustered gaze. “Oh.” It’s time.
And so the shenanigans began. Lisa decided to go in first, having seen Sayo absolutely combust and explode thinking of the idea itself alone. Although embarrassing and pretty hard to do, Lisa had almost no problem going through it without any hiccups. It felt pleasant, and once she got through the anxiety, it wasn’t even that bad anymore.
As for Sayo, however… To absolutely no one’s surprise, she was barely able to even undress. Ultimately, after struggling for so long, she was able to actually take a proper shower with either her eyes squeezed shut as hard as she could or just looking up at the ceiling. Either way, when she came back to Lisa’s room, her face was burning red.
“Woah. You look like a tomato.” Lisa remarked in an almost surprised tone. It’s not that she thought Sayo wouldn’t be flustered and embarrassed, rather she expected Sayo to be in an even worse state. But to her surprise, Sayo survived.
“Taking a shower has never been this difficult in my entire time being alive.”
Lisa chuckled, patting the spot on her bed by her, gesturing for Sayo to sit down. “Alright, you.” She turned her face to herself, a soft smile spreading across her face. “I need to take care of my face and nails. Do you mind?”
Sayo did her absolute best to stay calm, still a bit disoriented from the shower and very nervous about Lisa being so close to her face. “No, I don’t.”
“Neat! Thanks, Sayo. Really. You’ve put up with so much today, I kinda feel really bad…”
“It’s no big deal. I’m just happy we can go back to normal soon. …Besides, I… do not think either of us would be able to… reveal our feelings if not for this day.”
“Ahaha~ I guess you’re right~ Gosh, I wanna kiss you so bad~”
“I-I am afraid I would feel extremely uncomfortable to be kissed from your perspective.”
“Yeah… um… would it be okay if I did something else that’s… similar to a kiss?”
“S-so long as our lips aren’t touching, I don’t mind. You may continue,”
“Great~♪” Lisa murmured, pressing her index and middle finger to Sayo’s lips and then pressing them on her own, a smirk widening on her face. “Let’s have this sort of count, then, hm~?”
Sayo blinked, trying to process what happened despite giving the permission to Lisa to do so. Soon after, a strong blush appeared on her cheeks as she looked away sheepishly.
“...S…sure.”
“Heeeey now~ I can’t do anything if you’re facing away~!”
—
Sayo opened her eyes, vision hazy from the brightness in the room. She turned to her left, glancing up at Lisa’s gorgeous face as she hugged her pillow in her sleep. She reached up, carefully moving Lisa’s bangs away from her eyes as she rested her head on her folded arm.
Lisa groaned softly, a small smile spreading across her face as she nuzzled Sayo’s hand.
I wish I didn’t have to wake her up… Sayo sighed sadly. “Imai-san, wake up.” She whispered in the softest voice she could, half hoping Lisa didn’t even hear her. To her dismay, she did. But as much as she was sad she didn’t get to see Lisa’s cute sleeping face anymore, she was extremely happy and excited to see her smile widen once she opened her eyes.
“Mmmm~” Lisa hummed, taking Sayo’s hand, placing it on her cheek and pressing her own on top of it. “Your hand is so warm…” She said in a sluggish voice, closing her eyes and letting out a dreamy sigh of relief. “I never noticed it was so warm…”
“That is because I’ve never really had my hand pressed to your cheek, Imai-san.”
“Mmmmhm…”
“...You need to get up, though.”
“Do I haaaave to?”
“Yes.” Sayo stood up, Lisa groaning and trying to reach up for Sayo’s hand again.
“Noooo…”
”If you want me to press my hands to your cheeks, you’ll have to get up.”
“Fiiiiiine.” Lisa sat up, stretching her arms up. “Ohhhh man, feels good to be back in my body! And have my voice! …Awww, now the weight of my boobs is back, too.”
Sayo sighed aggressively. “I’m glad being in my body gave you a day of freedom. I felt dysmorphic quite a bit.”
“Ahh, yeah. Sorry~”
“No need. It wasn’t really unpleasant, rather just unexpected. Anyway, I must get to my home and get dressed in time so I don’t come late to school.”
“Sayo… it’s Saturday.”
“...Is it?”
Lisa grabbed onto the hem of Sayo’s shirt, pulling her back and down to sit on her bed. Wrapping her arms around her from behind, Lisa nuzzled her shoulder. “Are you trying to run away from me~?”
“N-n-no! I…I didn’t mean t—”
“I’m joooooking, silly.”
Sayo relaxed after that, looking down. She stayed quiet, Lisa making herself more comfortable behind Sayo. This moment felt so blissful, and yet so scary at the same time. They have already established their relationship, but they didn’t get the chance to do so properly. Instead, both were filled with anticipation and anxiety, too embarrassed and timid enough to not be able to say anything out loud.
Fortunately, Sayo was able to snap out of it.
“Imai-san, about… yesterday,”
Lisa hummed in response, waiting for Sayo to continue.
“...I want to do it properly now.”
Burying her face in Sayo’s shoulder, Lisa hugged around Sayo’s waist tighter. “Are you… really sure about this? That you like me, I mean…”
“That is a ridiculous question. Have I not made it clear yesterday?”
“Well, yeah, but…” Lisa mumbled. Maybe it’s the fact she had been woken up at 6:10AM, maybe it was her anxiety from yesterday, or maybe it was even the fault of the moody weather, but she could not let her self-hatred go.
Sayo moved aside, turning to face Lisa as the latter looked at her in confusion and melancholy.
“Imai-san, I like you.” Sayo said in an assertive voice, leaning closer to Lisa to look her better in the eyes. “I’ve liked you for a while now, but I would constantly keep berating myself that I wouldn’t be able to do it, or that you’d like me back at all, and… well, I was scared.”
“Sayo…”
“I don’t know the reasons for your hesitation, but whatever it is, I would be happy to reassure you they’re incorrect.”
Being too busy being so confident, Sayo didn’t really know what was happening in front of her. Before she knew it, she was tackled down to the bed in a strong hug.
“...Ima—”
“You’re stupid.” Lisa whispered, resting her head on Sayo’s chest. “So, so stupid…”
“I-I… don’t understand—”
“You make my mind blank, your smile makes my chest feel so tight, and you’re so charming it makes me swoon every time you speak like that…”
Although a bit startled and stunned at first, Sayo recovered from it quietly and carefully wrapped her arms around Lisa’s waist. She opted to stay quiet, to let Lisa let it all out before she spoke.
“A-and now you use all of this… towards me … you’re so unfair, Sayo…”
“I don’t see what’s unfair in this.” Sayo spoke in a quiet, soothing tone. She stroked Lisa’s messy hair, smiling at her. “I’ve also never seen you with such messy hair.”
“Mmm…” Lisa nuzzled closer to Sayo’s collarbone, holding onto her tightly.
“...You still don’t believe that I like you, do you?”
Lisa paused, forgetting her previous spiraling thoughts for a moment. She isn’t going to do that trope, is she…?
“Not… fully.”
“Well,” Sayo clearly hesitated, her previous confidence seemingly gone. But after a deep breath, she continued, “...If I had a way to prove it, would it suffice?”
She went for the trope. Oh god oh god oh god oh— “...D-depends…”
“Then, may I kiss you?”
SHE’S DOING THE TROPE SHE’S DOING THE TROPE SHE’S DOING TH—
“...Imai-san…?” Sayo looked to her side to try seeing Lisa’s face, a little worried that Lisa had not replied.
“Ahaha!! Y-yeah!” Lisa squeaked, pushing herself off of Sayo and rushing to the corner of her bed to sort of hide, thus directly contradicting her words. Despite being so confident saying she wanted to kiss Sayo yesterday, it was an entirely different story when Sayo was the one asking this.
“Are you… okay?” Sayo sat up, frowning in confusion. “I believe this is a direct contravention of your earlier comment.”
“J-just give me a moment!! Wait!! I-I’m not ready!!!”
“...Alright…?” Sayo sat on her knees in the most formal way possible, very patiently waiting for Lisa silently. The only problem was that she was staring at Lisa that entire time. And intensely.
Ughhhhh I can’t do it if she keeps staring at me like that!! A-and she’s making such a pleading look!!!
“Okay. Okay.” Lisa turned around, inhaling in an extremely exaggerated way. “Okay. Yes. I’m ready—”
“You look… extremely anxious. You can take your time, you know…”
“No! I-I want to do it now. Right now. This instant.” Lisa laughed awkwardly, her face as red as it could possibly get.
“...Imai-san, hyperventilation may cause a l—”
“No! I’m fine, I’m fine. I promise!”
“...” Sayo sighed, sliding closer. She cupped Lisa’s cheeks and stared at her silently.
Lisa sat frozen in place, eyes wide open as her brain blanked at the charismatic sight of the girl in front of her.
“Now, may I kiss you?”
Lisa gave her a small nod, trying her utmost best to keep calm as she closed her eyes. She waited in anticipation for what felt like ages . When she finally felt Sayo’s lips press to hers, just like that, all of her anxiety disappeared. She relaxed her shoulders, placing her hands on Sayo’s. Once Sayo leaned back away, a warm smile spread on her face.
“Does this prove my love for you?”
“And if it didn’t?” Lisa was able to say in a calm voice finally, and her cheeky grin made Sayo’s heart skip a beat.
“...Then I suppose I could kiss you again, until you’re convinced that my love for you is real.”
“Gosh, just how are you that charming?” Lisa murmured, bringing Sayo back closer to herself for another kiss.
“To be fair, I’ve no clue.” Sayo murmured back once Lisa let go of her, draping her arms on Sayo’s shoulders instead. “I suppose I like you so much that I’ve forgotten my anxiety.”
“Alright, you charming bastard. Now you’ve done it~!”
[EPIC EPILOGUE]
Coming back to school as herself the next week, Sayo felt quite… uneasy. She would usually simply be greeted by other students like normal, but now… all she was getting were weird looks and quiet whispers from other students staring at her.
Why is everyone acting so weird? Sayo frowned. She hurried to the student council room, knowing Arisa would at least be there, and opening the door, she was extremely relieved to know she was right.
”Ichigaya-san.” She said in a calm, reserved voice, walking over to the confused girl.
“Y-yeah?”
“Did something happen last Thursday?”
“...You… don’t remember?”
“Not particularly. May I ask what happened?” Imai-san definitely did something that made me look suspicious…
“Well, uh… you smiled… a lot. And you ran in the hallway—”
“I did WHAT now?”
Arisa jumped at the sudden remark, laughing awkwardly as a result. “S-sorry…?”
“...No need. I apologize for this sudden outburst. …Did I… say anything weird?”
“Not… really? I mean, we did talk about your interest in Lisa-senpai—”
Sayo sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she shook her head. “I can’t believe it…”
“...What?”
“Ichigaya-san, that wasn’t me. You were speaking to Imai-san.”
“...HUH?”
“I’m sorry. Udagawa-san had accidentally switched our brains, trapping us in each other’s body.”
“S…so I was… talking to… Lisa-senpai that whole time yesterday…?”
“Correct.”
Arisa hesitated, looking away for a moment, but quickly shook her head and looked back at Sayo. “Um… so… a-again it’s none of my business, but are you two…?” She stopped, dragging the ‘u’ in a question, hoping Sayo would understand what she was trying to ask. And it seemed she did, given that her face began flushing red.
“...Yes. Yes we are. Thank you for your concern. …P-please keep it between us, though.”
“Yup! Yup, no worries, haha…”
Now that I think about it, we didn’t really have the chance to actually live as each other for most of that day… but I think we can definitely discover things about each other together, in our own bodies. Time alone with her does sound extremely exciting and a great opportunity to get to know her better. …Now to just go around apologizing for the probable several rules she had broken while in my body…
—
“IT WAS HER ALL ALONG?!”
“Heeeeey~ Relax! Relax!!” Lisa waved her hands in front of her face, trying to calm her frantic friend down. She wasn’t sure how to tell them that Sayo was in her body that Thursday, and the moment she did , they reacted in the exact way she expected them to.
“No way. Did we tell your crush you liked her?!”
“Ahaha… so about… that…” Lisa scratched her nape, looking away embarrassingly. “It… worked out…?”
“ No way . You did it?!” One of her friends leaned in, smirking at Lisa. “And how was that? When we said that you liked her she just ran away~”
“Mmmm~” Lisa hummed, slumping over her desk as she let out a dreamy sigh. “She stayed at my place—”
“Woah. Bold.”
“Hey! Don’t you start getting any assumptions!” Lisa whined, slapping her friend’s arm weakly repeatedly as the latter laughed. Lisa’s face flushed red, having already been embarrassed enough by her friend.
“Uh huh~ So, go on, she stayed at your place,”
“...And the next morning we were back in our own bodies… a-and since Hina got us to actually talk to each other about… dating… w-well, we just… y-y’know… just kinda… talked about it? And she kissed me? And I felt like fainting?? And—”
“Holy crap girl, calm down! Your face is so red I’m scared you’re gonna faint now !”
Lisa wailed, hiding her face by having it on the desk with her arms covering most of it. “She was just so charming!! And I don’t even think she noticed she was charming!”
“Sounds like you definitely enjoyed it~ Congrats though. Was that your first kiss?”
“...Yeah.”
“Even better! C’mon~ You should be happy!”
“I am!” Lisa sat back up, her face just as red as before. “Just… y’know… it’s just too good to be true!!”
“Girl what are you on about? No it’s not! Anyway, when am I meeting your girlfriend~? Hmmm~??”
“No way I’m arranging a meeting for you! You’ll just tell her embarrassing stuff about me!!”
“Yeah? And~?”
“And I’m not letting you do that!!”
Lisa’s friend sighed dramatically, leaning back. “Lame! …Oh? You’ve got a message—” They looked down at Lisa’s phone, immediately gasping upon reading the name on the pop-up. “No way!”
“...Hm? Oh. Hey! Don’t you dare touch my phone!” Lisa exclaimed, yanking her phone from the desk as fast as she could.
“Lisaaaa~ I wanna see what she says!! Pleaaaase?” They tried making a pleading puppy cat, one which they knew Lisa couldn’t resist much. Fortunately for them, it did work on Lisa.
“...Fine. You can look.” She sighed, unlocking her phone and opening her messages. Her friend rushed behind her, leaning on her left shoulder to see her screen better.
‘Good morning. I hope you’re doing well today. Are you free today in the afternoon?’
A text from Sayo read. Lisa’s friend pushed her lightly, smirking at her. “Oooooo~ Wonder what’s that about~♪”
Lisa rolled her eyes, opting to just reply.
‘Not really, why? You got something for me~?’
She sent, expecting Sayo to be embarrassed at this, but that’s not what happened at all.
‘Precisely. I’ve wondered if you would like to come over to my place. Hina will be home, but I’ve made sure she won’t interfere.’
“Gosh, she writes in such a stupidly adorable way…” Lisa mumbled in a soft voice.
‘Sure! Can’t wait to find out what you’ve planned~☆’
‘I am sure you will like it. I will see you this afternoon, then.’
Lisa sighed softly, slumping over her desk once again. “Man… she’s just such a dork.”
“Oh? Hey, look, she sent another message!” Lisa’s friend tapped her phone to keep it unlocked, being able to read the message before Lisa did. “Aww! Lisa, look!”
‘…I love you.’ It read.
She said it… Lisa stared at her screen with widened eyes. It seemed weird that she was surprised, but this time, her friend waited until she replied.
“She’s gonna get so many kisses from me today.”
I couldn’t possibly be any happier right now.
‘I love you too~♪’