Heading to the laboratory's glass door, Kōji saw no one on the other side. Even after stepping out, there were no signs of his best friends in the crowded corridors.
People glanced at him as they walked past. Their suspicion turned into glares when Suzuka stepped out of the forbidden laboratory behind him.
The itching in his arms flared up again. He reached to appease it when Suzuka's voice cut in.
"Your friends are gone."
"I didn't know whether they would confront us or run away. Hard to tell with those two."
She stared at him, deadpan.
Moreover, the glares from the corridor continued to burn his chest.
"See you after class."
He smiled and turned away, but had to stop at her voice.
"We should stay together."
The glares immediately gave way to murmurs directed at them. Most surprising was Suzuka's lack of care.
He moved closer to her and whispered, "Why?"
The moment he asked, he realized why. Her silent gaze corroborated it.
There were so many things to worry about that he forgot he was looking at a girl controlling his body—the new transfer everyone talked about, no less.
Just as unbelievable and nerve-wracking, he controlled her body.
"Right," he muttered and forced a smile. "Come with me."
With no other choice, he led the way out of the corridor onto one of the four central garden bridges. They walked around its contour and crossed over the water canal on the opposite side.
Eventually, they left building A behind and reached the gymnasium. Kōji's eyes lingered on the running track surrounding the soccer field in front of the gym. However, they headed past the building.
Pink leaves scarcely mixed with the dead branches and the green on the ground among a dozen trees: the last traces of the cherry blossom season.
Only three people sat on two of the four benches in the garden at the school's edge, all covered by swaying shadows.
Kōji and Suzuka sat together, the farthest from everyone.
"That was quite the walk," she said.
"My friends and I come here when we want some peace, which is never. It'll also be harder for them to spy on us in a place this open."
"I wouldn't be so sure. Not that it matters."
After exchanging a glance, Kōji looked ahead. He listened to the cool rush of the wind as it tousled the leaves.
His mind, however, refused to quiet down, churning with restless thoughts.
"You really don't care about what others say?" he asked.
"Not in the slightest."
"How'd you do it?"
"I don't know them, and they don't know me."
He stopped seeing her despite his eyes staying still.
The weight of her glare never went away, nonetheless.
"You seem to care too much about it," she added.
"Is it that obvious?" he laughed nervously. His gaze lowered to the concrete beneath his dark cherry loafers. "I can't help it."
He knew it was dumb—self-sabotaging, even—but his mind seemed to have its own agenda.
He had no one but himself to blame for being a mess.
"It gets better." The corners of Suzuka's eyes wrinkled gently. "It becomes… freeing."
Her words shut off his inner storm sooner than he had been able to in the past months—such an obvious statement, yet… comforting.
"How are we going to survive until after class?" she asked.
"No clue. I don't know if I'll have it easy in your body because you're new, or hard for that same reason. You'll definitely have it impossible with my friends, Hisa—the blonde one—and Rem. Just make sure to call them by those names, or they'll eat you alive."
"Good to know."
Suddenly, her growling stomach silenced the wind.
She looked down and hummed. "It has been a while since that has happened. I didn't think I'd be this hungry with this stress."
Kōji laughed nervously, his cheeks burning. "It's normal for me. We can go back to your classroom to get your lunch."
"Was I supposed to bring my own lunch? And didn't you want to avoid us being seen together?"
"That'd be best, but I don't want you to starve."
In Suzuka's body, he rose from the bench with surprising ease. He felt lighter, stronger, and more awake than he had in ages—sensations he hadn't realized he yearned for.
"Let's go to the cafeteria," he smiled. "It's closer anyway."
Amid a weak groan, Suzuka stood up. She fixed her tie before joining him in walking back toward where they came from.
The few people around kept glancing at him, much more than usual. He used to crane his neck to meet people's eyes. In Suzuka's taller body, he met their gazes from above.
"I didn't expect people to be this interested in me," Suzuka said.
Everything felt so surreal that it took him a moment to realize the stares weren't for him—they were for Suzuka.
"You're the biggest deal in the school right now," he answered as his brain processed the words. "Everyone's talking about the rich, pretty girl transferring from the only school above Kasen: the wealthy Ōshitsu."
Most rumors weren't nice, but there was no need to mention them.
"Pretty girl, huh?" she repeated, staring forward.
Kōji's cheeks warmed up again.
"T-That's what they say."
"Everyone will keep talking behind my back, then."
His blood snapped cold. He couldn't say much regarding rumors about him being spread around, but he had plenty of experience with people talking behind his back.
The mood had quickly soured, and he didn't know her well enough to try to lift her spirits.
"Did you use the bathroom with my body?" she questioned.
"How did you…?!"
Her deadpan expression kept catching him off guard.
He snapped his burning head away.
"S-Sorry, I really had to. I promise I didn't see anything!"
"I had been holding it in during the last class before all of this happened; it couldn't be helped."
For the first time since they'd met, her cheeks—well, his cheeks—flushed pink. He found himself unable to look away.
"I'll try my best to avoid using the bathroom with your body," she said.
It finally hit him.
"Please," he trembled. "We really, really need to get back to our bodies before going home. It'll be the end if we don't."
A chuckle sounded beside him.
A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
His eyebrows raised. "You're laughing?"
Her lips straightened instantly.
"It's just…. Don't you find it strange looking at your own body's reactions?"
"Obviously, but why did you…? Wait, you also find it cute?"
"I do."
Their steps deafened the conversation.
He would do anything to avoid the awkwardness. Luckily, they arrived at the cafeteria, a two-story building in the middle of the school's land, the furthest from its gate.
"I'll wait for you here," he said in front of the entrance.
"You'll stand here until I'm done eating?"
"Oh, it's okay if you wanna eat inside, but that'll make people more suspicious of us."
"Isn't it mandatory to eat in the cafeteria? Don't they serve you as soon as you sit down?"
"Is that what it was like in your school? You have to line up and pay for what you want here."
With a raised brow, she replied, "Strange."
"It's weirder the other way around," he deadpanned, holding his hips. His smile then returned. "I'll go with you just in case."
She took a moment to answer, "Alright."
They stepped through the building's front double door.
Half of the lunch break had passed. Not many people lined up at the counter. However, that meant fewer, colder food options and cramped tables.
He stood behind the fifth person in line, waiting for her to take his place. She stopped behind him and looked in every direction instead.
He moved aside and pointed up above the counter. "Take a look at the menu."
She did so until only two people remained before them.
"Everything is practically free," she said. "Do they accept phone payments?"
"No? It's a high school cafeteria. We also don't have our phones with us."
"Only cash and credit card, then?"
"Why would they…? They only accept cash."
"That's a problem either way. I left my card in my backpack."
"Why would you bring…?"
She turned around and took a step.
"Where are you going?" he questioned.
"I can't buy something without money."
"There's some in your pocket."
She halted. She slid her hand into her trousers' pocket and took out a few bills and coins.
"But it's yours."
"You can use it, no biggie."
Her eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
"I… yeah," he said, thrown by how stunned she looked.
She gazed at the money as if it were some precious family treasure she'd been entrusted with.
"I'll pay it back tomorrow," she said.
"It's only a few hundred yen, it's fine. Really."
The voice of the lunch lady behind the counter interrupted Suzuka's stare.
"Next, please."
Suzuka approached the counter, keeping her sight on the hanging menu boards.
"A beef bowl, an omelet, and milk. Oh, and soy sauce." Her brows raised. "Please."
A new drop of sweat slid down Kōji's forehead each time she added something to the order.
The lunch lady swiftly scooped rice, beef, and veggies into a bowl from beneath the counter. She placed the rolled omelet on another plate, then set it beside the bowl on the tray. Lastly, she walked to the fridge behind her, took a milk carton, and added it to the meal set.
"That'll be ¥520."
Instead of counting the money while the lunch lady did all that, Suzuka watched her the entire time. She scrambled to choose the coins, even though she only needed one ¥500 coin and two ¥10 coins.
She raised her arm once she figured it out and aimlessly looked around the counter. The lunch lady extended her palm and waited for Suzuka to give her the money.
The movement made Suzuka's sleeve—his body's sleeve—fall back enough for a little of his scars to become visible. That lasted only a second as the lunch lady slid the tray across the ceramic counter. Suzuka's eyes moved between it and her smile before grabbing it.
Another person joined the line behind them. Not wanting to bother them any longer, Kōji walked away. Suzuka followed him.
"Where are you going?" she questioned.
"There might be a free spot on the second floor." As they walked upstairs, he asked, "How many floors does Ōshitsu's cafeteria have?"
"One."
"Oh. I expected it to have at least five."
"That'd be unnecessary. There are also fewer and smaller tables. Though the hall is at least four times the size of this building horizontally."
"Four times?!"
They reached the table farthest from the stairs—the only empty one—and sat in front of each other.
The window behind her revealed the entire school: two L-shaped buildings, one uniting with the other to form a U. In the center, the water canals contoured the two central gardens.
A beautiful panorama, yet his gaze kept drifting back to her. Her eyes danced around her lunch before shooting up to his eyes, making them dart away.
"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked.
"I'm not that hungry."
She scanned his face, her expression frozen.
"What is it?" he hesitated.
"It's strange seeing my face like that."
She grabbed the disposable chopsticks from the tray, unstuck them, and began eating. Her posture stayed straight while doing so—almost too straight. No beef nor rice fell off the chopsticks after biting them; waiting a similar amount of time between each bite.
Meanwhile, everyone around stared at him in her body… or just him—the weight of their gazes multiplied by ten.
The itching burned him.
He stood up. "I think you'll be fine without me."
Without looking at her, he turned around to leave.
"Let's meet in the garden after class," she said.
His heart skipped a beat. Why did she always make it sound like that and shout?!
Still facing away, he nodded and left.