"Ngh... Mmm—!"
As [Five Senses Sharing] activated, a tidal wave of impact immediately swept over her, like a broken dam, instantly engulfing Hitori's body and soul.
Caught off guard, Hitori couldn't control herself at all, and a low moan, a mix of distress and sweetness, immediately escaped her lips.
Outside the bathroom.
"Hitori-chan, are you alright?"
Mrs. Goto, outside the door, was startled:
"Do you want Mom to come in?"
"I-I'm fine..." Hitori's body went limp, she slumped to the floor in a duck-sitting position, raising the back of her hand to tightly cover her lips, her eyes watering as she said, "I-I accidentally stubbed my toe just now... Mom doesn't need to worry... Ngh..."
"Hitori, be careful." Although Mrs. Goto was a little puzzled and felt the sound didn't seem like a stubbed toe, she didn't think much of it. "Stubbing your toe really hurts, Mom's going to brush her teeth now."
"Okay..."
Soon, Mrs. Goto's sounds of brushing her teeth and washing up echoed from outside.
Inside the bathroom.
Hitori took a deep breath, wanting to remove the terrifying Kessoku Band bracelet.
But it was impossible.
"Ugh…"
As soon as she removed her right hand, a trembling low moan once again overflowed from between her lips and teeth.
(This is bad…)
(Mom is still brushing her teeth outside!)
(I absolutely cannot let Mom hear…)
Under the enhancement of the item [Pet Collar], happiness would double, and coupled with Kitahara Makoto's curious use of his new ability [Divine Speed], with the two stacked, Hitori felt as if she had become a small boat in the ocean, her Soul and body entirely beyond her control.
(It's much more terrifying than last time…)
(I must cover my mouth tightly and not take my hand away, otherwise, I'll definitely make a terrible sound…)
(What if Mom pushes the door open again…)
(No!)
(Absolutely no to such a shameful thing!)
Hitori only imagined it in her mind and was so ashamed she wanted to turn into a slug and crawl into the sewer.
There was no other way; to prevent her mother from discovering what she was doing, Hitori could only tightly cover her lips with her right hand, trying her best not to make a terrible sound.
But this way, with only one hand free to move, the bracelet on her wrist obviously couldn't be taken off.
Time quietly slipped away, minute by minute.
Hitori felt her mind had turned into a mess, and every second felt extraordinarily long.
Splash, splash.
After an unknown period, the sound of running water from the faucet finally echoed from outside.
Immediately after, Mrs. Goto spoke:
"Hitori, Mom has finished brushing her teeth. I'm going back to my room first."
"K-knew it…"
Her mind, which had turned into a mess, cleared up slightly. Hitori bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, wanting to take off the bracelet.
However, the moment Hitori's guard dropped, the accumulated and full flood finally seized the opportunity, fiercely breaking through the dam and surging out.
"Ugh…!!!"
Hitori felt her mind instantly go blank, and her consciousness directly blacked out.
After an unknown period, Hitori groggily opened her eyes, feeling sore all over and her throat dry. The feeling of being like a small boat had disappeared, and she unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
"F-finally, it's over?"
However, the next second.
An incredibly familiar voice entered Hitori's ears.
"Ryo-senpai, are you awake?"
"…Eh?"
Hitori's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she opened her eyes in confusion. What came into view was an incredibly familiar handsome face.
"K-Kitahara-kun?!"
Hitori's expression was blank.
"Hmm?"
Kitahara Makoto paused slightly, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.
Ryo-senpai wouldn't call him Kitahara-kun now. Could it be another Soul Swap?
The 'Ryo-senpai' in front of him looked exceptionally blank. Nijika and Kita had already experienced it, so they shouldn't be this dumb… Could the person who had a Soul Swap this time be Hitori?!
At the same time.
Gotō Residence.
Yamada Ryo opened her eyes and found herself sitting on the cold bathroom floor.
"Huh…?"
Looking at the pink hair that fell to her chest, Yamada Ryo blinked, supported herself against the wall to stand up, her gaze sweeping across the bathroom, finally landing on a mirror.
In the mirror, there was an incredibly familiar face, teary-eyed and with a face red to the point of exploding…
"Hitori?"
The 'Hitori' in the mirror showed a joyful smile:
"Well, things just got more interesting."
"…"
"Ryo-senpai, first, get up and have some water to rehydrate."
Kitahara Makoto reached out and helped Ryo-senpai sit up.
Hitori shyly covered her chest, stammering softly:
"W-why is Kitahara-kun at my house?"
"Is Ryo-senpai's head confused?" Kitahara Makoto said calmly, "Look carefully at where this is."
"Eh?"
Hitori looked around and quickly recognized it:
"This is Kitahara-kun's room?"
"That's right." Kitahara Makoto handed over the water cup, "Drink quickly."
(Such a blank and flustered expression… It must be Hitori.)
"Thank you…"
Hitori's head was dizzy, and she subconsciously took the water cup, gulping down the water.
Looking at 'Ryo-senpai' who was drinking water in small sips, Kitahara Makoto felt a subtle emotion.
He had thought that Nijika or Kita might not be able to endure it and would fall into it, leading to a Soul Swap… He never expected it to be Hitori.
It seemed that even Hitori was full of desire to explore unknown territories.
After drinking a full glass of water in one go, Hitori's dizzy head finally began to cool down, and reason once again took over.
(How strange…)
(I should clearly be in my own bathroom at home, so why am I in Kitahara-kun's house?)
(My mind is blank, I can't remember what happened…)
(Could it be that Kitahara-kun secretly snuck over and carried me from home?)
(Impossible.)
Hitori quietly shook her head.
This guess was too absurd no matter how she thought about it.
"And also, Kitahara-kun kept calling me 'Ryo-senpai'…" An incredible thought vaguely arose in her mind. Hitori felt nervous, "Could it be that…"
She put down the water cup.
Hitori quickly saw the mirror in the corner of the room, quietly leaned over, and looked into the mirror.
"Ugh…"
Accidentally tugging at her body, the exceptionally sore feeling made Hitori let out a soft groan.
However, Hitori couldn't care less; her eyes widened, and she looked incredulously at 'herself' in the mirror.
"R-Ryo-senpai?!"
Blue short hair covering her eyes, a tear mole at the corner of her eye, wearing earrings… Who else could it be but Yamada Ryo?
Hitori nervously looked down at her body.
The slime that had severely obstructed her view quietly disappeared, and she could finally see her navel again…
(W-what happened?)
(Did I turn into Ryo-senpai?)
Looking at Hitori, who was flustered and constantly checking her body, Kitahara Makoto understood.
"It seems Hitori has guessed the truth. Next is Ryo-senpai's reveal…"
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
The vibration of a phone suddenly rang in the room.
Kitahara Makoto glanced at it and picked up the phone:
"Ryo-senpai, your phone."
"Ah…"
"Hitori called you."
"Ah…?!"
Fumbling to take the phone, looking at the name on the screen, Hitori was super flustered.
(I… actually called myself?!)
(So scary, so scary, so scary…)
(It's too scary no matter how I think about it.)
(Wait, could the person in my body be Ryo-senpai?)
"I'm going to the bathroom." Kitahara Makoto turned and walked out, "Ryo-senpai, answer the phone first."
"Ah… okay."
Watching Kitahara Makoto leave, Hitori quickly answered the phone.
"Moshi moshi~"
Hitori's familiar yet unfamiliar voice came from the phone.
It was familiar because Hitori could clearly distinguish that it was her own voice.
And it was well-known that the sound one hears of oneself is completely different from the sound others hear, so it was also full of unfamiliarity.
"Ah…"
Hitori opened her mouth, completely unsure of what to say.
Suddenly receiving a call from 'herself' felt too strange no matter how she thought about it.
Fortunately, Ryo-senpai slowly broke the silence:
"Is Kitahara nearby?"
"No." Hitori quickly replied, "Kitahara-kun went out to the bathroom."
"That's good." Ryo-senpai said leisurely, "You're Xiao Hitori, right?"
"Y-yes…" Hitori quickly nodded, feeling nervous and anxious, "You're Ryo-senpai?"
"That's me. Don't be nervous yet; let me explain slowly."
"…"
Ryo-senpai, as someone who had been through it before, was already very experienced and quickly revealed the hidden attribute of the bracelet [Soul Swap].
"Soul Swap…" Hitori opened her eyes wide, without a trace of luck in her heart. "So, I really did exchange bodies with Ryo-senpai."
Taking a deep breath, Hitori forced herself to calm down and lowered her voice:
"Then, um… how can we switch our bodies back?"
"Good question." Ryo-senpai's voice suddenly became cheerful, as if she was chuckling on the other end of the phone. "Hitori and Kitahara-kun just need to play the poker game from before."
"…Eh?!"
Hitori's small face instantly turned red. Just imagining that scene in her mind made her so embarrassed that smoke seemed to rise from the top of her head.
"W-why do we have to do that kind of thing?"
"Because only the poker game can switch the bodies back."
"I-is there, is there any other way?"
Because she was too embarrassed, Hitori began to stutter.
"Sorry, there isn't." Ryo-senpai's voice became even more cheerful. "Kita and Nijika have both exchanged bodies with me before. At that time, everyone asked the answer book, and there was absolutely no way to switch back except by playing a game with Kitahara."
Hitori's mind roared, and she finally knew the whole truth.
(So, the reason everyone was so strange some time ago wasn't because they discovered Kitahara-kun and Ryo-senpai's secret with the bracelet…)
(But because they directly exchanged bodies.)
(No wonder everyone felt like a different person those few days. It turned out they really became someone else…)
"I've already told Hitori the truth and the way to switch the bodies back." Ryo-senpai said slowly, "Hitori, do your best and switch the bodies back as soon as possible."
Hitori panicked:
"S-sorry, I really can't do that kind of thing…"
Ryo-senpai silenced Hitori with one sentence:
"If you don't switch your body back, Hitori-chan will never be able to go home again. Hitori-chan doesn't want to lose her mom, dad, and sister, right?"
Hitori: "…"
"Relax, don't be nervous." Ryo-senpai coaxed, "Don't forget, Nijika and Kita have already done the same thing as Hitori-chan, so Hitori definitely won't have any problems."
Hitori: "…"
The phone hung up quickly.
At the same time.
Inside the bathroom.
Kitahara Makoto quietly waited after washing his face. Not long after, a message popped up on his phone.
"It's settled. Kitahara can go back and take advantage of Hitori-chan."
Seeing the message from Ryo-senpai, Kitahara Makoto expressed that he didn't have much hope.
When Nijika and Kita exchanged bodies, they weren't able to change their mindset on the same day. With Hitori's shy personality, there was no way he would be able to start a new round tonight.
On the other side.
After sending the message to Kitahara Makoto, Yamada Ryo felt that it wasn't enough and started a video call, pulling Nijika and Kita in together.
Because it was a video invitation initiated by 'Hitori', Nijika and Kita were completely unprepared and connected to the video one after another.
"Nijika, Kita, I have good news for you…"
Ryo-senpai got straight to the point.
"Eh, what's the good news?"
Kita was sitting in the bathtub at the moment, with a white towel wrapped around her head, obviously taking a bath.
Upon closer inspection, one could still see the lingering blush on Kita's face.
Coincidentally, Nijika was also sitting in the bathtub taking a bath at the moment… There was no other way, her clothes were all soaked, and she felt uncomfortable without taking a bath.
Ryo-senpai's pink and moist lips curved upward slightly:
"How was tonight's shared experience?"
Kita was taken aback, her small face quickly turning red:
"Eh, eh, eh, what is Hitori-chan saying? I don't understand at all!"
"Wait!"
Ijichi Nijika was the first to react, widening her eyes in disbelief:
"You're not Hitori-chan… Ryo, is that you?"
Kita blinked, also reacting.
The girl in the video was indeed Hitori, but regardless of her tone of voice, demeanor, or how she addressed everyone, it was completely different from the usual Hitori.
A flash of lightning crossed her mind, and Kita Ikuyo blurted out:
"Ryo-senpai, did you and Hitori-chan exchange bodies?!"
Ryo-senpai said slowly:
"Correct answer."
"Isn't that too unbelievable?" Kita widened her eyes and couldn't help but complain, "Hitori-chan is so well-behaved, I didn't expect her to secretly wear the bracelet like us…"
"Ahem."
Ijichi Nijika's pretty face blushed slightly, and she quickly coughed twice, interrupting Kita's words.
The two girls were already aware of the 'shared experience' of wearing the bracelet.
But knowing was one thing, and there were some things that could be done secretly but not spoken out.
"It's not necessarily Hitori's fault." Ijichi Nijika bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, her pretty face flushed, and said softly, "I… I accidentally looked in the mirror before and found a pink heart appearing in my eyes. I checked it carefully twice, and I'm sure I wasn't seeing things."
"Eh?" Kita was curious, "What's that about?"
"I suspect it's a side effect of the Eden Fruit…" Ijichi Nijika pursed her pink and moist lips, her face red, and said, "The book once said that when we generate original sin, the original sin will become particularly strong under the influence of the Eden Fruit… That's why everyone can't help but give in."
"I see." Kita suddenly understood, "No wonder I couldn't help it… Ahem, anyway, it's not our fault, it's all the Eden Fruit's fault!"
"…"
After learning this news, Kita Ikuyo suddenly felt much relieved.
It wasn't that her will was not firm, but it was a side effect of the Eden Fruit.
Moreover, even Hitori, who was so shy, couldn't resist it, so it was super normal that she couldn't help it, right?
At the same time.
"Ryo-senpai, I'm back."
Kitahara Makoto returned to the room with two glasses of water.
"…"
Hitori turned her body to the side, not responding, pretending to be asleep.
When she didn't know what to do before, Ryo-senpai helped her come up with a way, which was to pretend to be asleep—as long as she pretended to be asleep, she could leave the rest to Kitahara Makoto.
"Is Ryo-senpai asleep?"
Kitahara Makoto put down the water glass and hugged Hitori from behind, feeling the girl's body suddenly tense up.
"Looks like she's really asleep."
Kitahara Makoto spoke, so that Hitori wouldn't easily 'wake up', while also starting to test Hitori's bottom line.
With Hitori's shy personality, it was highly unlikely that he would succeed, but exploring was also very fun.
"Ryo-senpai was a little strange just now…"
Kitahara Makoto placed his right hand on Hitori's shoulder, and while speaking, he naturally slid down along her shoulder.
Very good.
Slime acquisition successful.
Thump, thump.
In the quiet bedroom, the girl's rapid heartbeat could be heard clearly, but the sleeping Hitori still didn't "wake up."
"Hitori-chan has indeed become stronger after exchanging bodies…"
Kitahara Makoto sighed in his heart.
After bullying the slime for a while, just as he was about to continue exploring, Hitori, who was pretending to be asleep, finally couldn't bear it anymore, nervously grabbed Kitahara Makoto's wrist, and then suddenly sat up.
"Ryo-senpai, why are you awake?"
Kitahara Makoto asked knowingly.
Hitori's small face was flushed, her eyes were teary, she opened her lips, and finally stammered:
"I-I'm not feeling well…"
"I understand." Kitahara Makoto nodded, "Then I'll just hug Ryo-senpai to sleep and not do anything else."
"Never mind, I can't disturb Kitahara-kun's rest. I'll go rest next door." Hitori said, covering her chest and running away in a panic, "Good night, Kitahara-kun!"
Escaping to the next room.
Hitori finally breathed a sigh of relief, then sat on the bed, hugging her knees with a hot face.
(So scary, so scary, so scary…)
(That kind of thing is really too scary.)
(I want to go back into my mom's belly…)
(It's all my fault. If I hadn't taken out the bracelet, none of this would have happened, right?)
Thinking about having to play poker with Yamada Ryo's body next, Hitori was so embarrassed that she couldn't breathe.
(If only there were regret pills in the world…)
Hitori fell on the bed, feeling sorry for herself for a while, then picked up her phone and sent a message to 'herself'.
"Ryo-senpai, you didn't make Futari and Mom suspicious, right?"
Yamada Ryo: "Rest assured, I've already coaxed Futari to sleep and didn't see Hitori's mom."
Hitori: "That's good…"
Yamada Ryo: "But I don't know if I'll be exposed tomorrow."
Hitori: "…"
Her nerves, which had just relaxed, tensed up again.
Yamada Ryo: "When will Hitori-chan switch her body back?"
Hitori: "S-sorry, I'm not ready yet. Can we talk about it tomorrow?"
Yamada Ryo: "Then we'll talk about it tomorrow. Sleep, sleep."
"…"
Putting down her phone.
Hitori couldn't sleep at all and could only toss and turn on the bed.
"Eh, …"
Hitori exclaimed softly, suddenly discovering a new world.
"It's not difficult to breathe at all when sleeping on my stomach."
Hitori lay on the bed, her eyes shining brightly.
Hitori liked to sleep on her stomach when she was little, feeling a sense of security for some reason, but since she entered middle school, the slime began to upgrade rapidly, and she could no longer sleep on her stomach.
Now that she had exchanged bodies with Ryo-senpai, Hitori rediscovered the joy of sleeping on her stomach.
Before Hitori knew it, a wave of drowsiness washed over her, and she quietly fell asleep.
The night passed without incident.
The next day.
Waking up groggily, Hitori stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Last night I had a really scary dream…"
"I dreamt that Ryo-senpai and I swapped bodies, and I became Ryo-senpai, and the only way to swap back was to do that…"
"So scary."
"That dream was truly terrifying."
"Eh, wait a minute… why does the ceiling look a bit unfamiliar?"
Hitori quickly sat up, looking at the unfamiliar room, her mind quickly clearing.
"It's the guest room at Kitahara-kun's house…"
"It wasn't a dream, I really swapped bodies with Ryo-senpai last night?"
After realizing the reality, Hitori immediately panicked.
What should I do?
What should I do now?
Knock knock knock.
A knock on the door suddenly sounded.
Hitori jumped in fright and quickly looked towards the door.
"Ryo-senpai, are you awake yet?"
Kitahara Makoto's voice came from outside the door.
"A-awake…"
Hitori quickly replied.
"Then I'm coming in."
Kitahara Makoto pushed the door open and entered the room.
Their eyes met.
Hitori's small face quickly flushed red, and she flusteredly averted her gaze.
"Breakfast is ready," Kitahara Makoto stepped to the bedside, "Ryo-senpai can come downstairs for breakfast now."
Hitori quickly said:
"I-I'll be right down…"
"Wait a moment first." Kitahara Makoto sat down by the bed, "Did Ryo-senpai forget something?"
"Eh?"
"Good morning kiss." Kitahara Makoto pointed to his cheek and shamelessly said, "Kiss me quickly."
Hitori: "…"
Swapping bodies did not inherit the other's memories, so Hitori naturally didn't know if Ryo-senpai had ever agreed to a 'good morning kiss'.
But Kitahara-kun said it so naturally, it must be true, right?
Thinking this, in order to avoid 'giving herself away,' Hitori could only endure the shame, her small face red, and leaned in to kiss him.
Kitahara Makoto turned his head, continuing to tease Hitori:
"And the other side."
Kissing one side was a kiss, kissing both sides was also a kiss, Hitori could only redden her small face and kiss him again.
"Finally, here."
Kitahara Makoto pointed to his lips.
Hitori's small face was crimson, and she nervously covered her mouth, utterly ashamed:
"No… I-I haven't brushed my teeth yet…"
"After eating an Eden Fruit, even if you don't brush your teeth when you wake up, there won't be any smell." Kitahara Makoto's gaze was burning, teasing Hitori really made him feel refreshed, "Anyway, Ryo-senpai, kiss me quickly."
☰