"No matter whether you understand it or not, no matter whether hearing this makes you hate me or makes you stay far away from me, I still have to tell you exactly how I feel."
Uta gazed into Cain's eyes.
Tears shimmered in her eyes, and her voice trembled, yet it rang out with startling clarity.
"Cain… aishiteru!"
In that moment, Cain froze completely.
This was a confession.
A direct, unmistakable confession.
He almost wanted to slap himself.
How could he let the girl say it first? His mind was already a complete mess.
He knew Uta had learned quite a lot from Shakky, but he never imagined her experience bar would rise this quickly.
Then again, the feelings between them had already built up long enough.
All they lacked was the right moment, and now, although Cain had no idea what exactly was happening, this really did seem like the best time.
In the end, Cain let out a helpless sigh and spoke softly.
"You beat me to it, Uta. Those words should have been mine to say first."
"Does that mean you…"
Uta's voice instantly trembled, her heart feeling as if something had seized it tight.
"Yeah…"
Cain's voice was low and gentle, carrying a faint smile and a sense of relief.
"I've liked you for a very long time."
The moment his words fell, Uta's heart beat so fast it felt ready to burst from her chest.
A joy and excitement she could not describe exploded inside her.
She could no longer hold herself back.
Rising onto her toes, she threw herself into Cain's arms, wrapping both arms tightly around his waist.
Her cheek pressed against his warm chest as she greedily took in his warmth and scent.
Then she suddenly realized just how intimate this action was, and her cheeks burned. She hurriedly raised her head, only to meet Cain's gaze.
The instant their eyes met, both their faces flushed red at the same time, the color spreading all the way to their ears.
A sweet, ambiguous atmosphere filled the air. In their ears, they could clearly hear each other's hearts pounding like drums.
Their faces slowly drew closer, their noses almost touching, their warm breaths mingling together.
Just as their lips were about to meet, the world around them suddenly spun.
...
Uta's eyes flew open.
What entered her vision was a white bear standing beside another bed, fanning someone nonstop.
Before she could see who was lying on that bed, the white bear stumbled outside while shouting at the top of his lungs,
"HE'S AWAKE! HE'S AWAKE!"
Only ten minutes had passed since Cain fainted, yet it was already night.
Hearing the commotion, Shakky and Law immediately walked in.
As for Rayleigh, he naturally was not here. Earlier, while he was rushing over, the pirates had all been drawn after him.
They were desperate to see Uta, but none of them dared barge inside, so Rayleigh was currently outside busy dispersing the crowd.
Law was just about to step forward and examine her, but Shakky stopped him.
There were some things that needed to be asked first.
"So then, who do we have here right now? Cain-chan, or Uta-chan?"
Uta tilted her head, completely confused.
"Of course I'm Uta. Uta!"
Only when she saw her own body lying on the other bed did Uta jump in fright.
"T-This… S-Shakky-nee… this!"
"So that's how it is. The exchange succeeded! Uta-chan, right now, you're inside Cain-chan body."
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh?!"
Uta instinctively looked down at her body.
Still unsure of what was going on, she hurriedly pulled her clothes tighter around herself.
Then she saw the neatly defined abdominal muscles, touched them without thinking, hugged herself tightly, and let out a scream.
There was excitement, joy, embarrassment, and just a tiny bit of awkwardness in that scream.
What exactly was happening?
How had she entered Cain's body? No, according to Shakky, they had exchanged, right?
Wait.
Being inside Cain's body… exchanging…
Why did that feel a little exciting?
After Shakky and Law explained the situation, Uta finally understood what had happened.
She was also worried about Cain's current condition, but that feeling of being connected to Cain by entering his body made her a little reluctant to let it go.
"That's roughly the situation. Next, we need to cool down Cain—meaning Uta-chan body."
As Shakky spoke, she brought over a basin of warm water and placed it nearby.
Law's examination also confirmed that neither side had anything seriously wrong, and he nodded.
Uta volunteered immediately.
"I'll do it."
"My, my. Since it's Uta-chan own body, I'll leave it to you, then."
Shakky nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, everyone left the room. Before leaving, Shakky even said deliberately,
"If you want Cain-chan to wake up faster, you could always try the kind of development you see in fairy tales."
She lightly tapped her own lips, then closed the door.
Looking at the Den Den Mushi in her hand, she shook her head.
"Looks like I shouldn't tell Uta-chan that person is coming after all."
...
After the door closed, Uta's face turned bright red as she remembered Shakky's words.
She instantly recalled the scene from earlier, when she had confessed to Cain and they had almost kissed.
She looked at Cain lying to the side.
Although it was her own body, somehow, it felt different.
Uta slowly moved closer and gently removed "Cain's" outer clothes.
With every passing second, her breathing grew heavier.
It was clearly her own body.
So why did it feel so strange?
She gently wrung out the towel and began wiping him down.
Her fingers brushed over that face, and she slowly leaned closer, gently pushing aside the half-white hair covering his eye.
"Is this how Cain usually sees me? What happened before… was it real, or was it only a dream?"
"It was real."
Cain, lying on the bed in Uta's appearance, slowly opened his eyes.
Looking at his own face in front of him felt strange, but he still nodded in answer to Uta's question.
Then he suddenly felt a chill over his body.
A warm, large hand was wiping over his abdomen through the towel.
From the corner of his eye, Cain seemed to catch sight of something he absolutely should not have seen.
He instantly squeezed his eyes shut and shouted, "I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING!"
"What's there to worry about? If it's you, Cain, anything is fine."
As Uta spoke, she quickly continued wiping Cain down while his eyes remained tightly closed.
Hearing those words, Cain's face flushed instantly.
Yes, the two of them had already confessed to each other, but this still felt way too intimate.
Shouldn't this kind of thing happen step by step?
As the wiping movements grew bolder, the atmosphere in the room instantly became delicate.
"Eep~!"
"Huh? What was that sound just now?"
Uta's hand paused.
Then, almost instinctively, she repeated the same motion.
"Eep~! Ah, Uta, stop moving around! This feels really dangerous!"
"What are you scared of? This is my body. If even I don't mind, what are you worrying about?"
Looking down at "herself," eyes tightly shut and face completely red, Uta grew more and more excited as she continued wiping!
"Aaaah, no, not there! That tickles! Stop, Uta, aaaaah!"
…
"Uuuh…"
Cain kept his eyes closed and quietly sobbed.
Uta dressed him properly, then picked up a lollipop from the fruit basket beside her, placed it in her mouth, and bit it into pieces.
She pulled out the stick, breathed out lightly, and spoke slowly.
"All right. Why did you become so weird after entering my body? Well… I suppose I was using your body to wipe down my body, after all."
"If you really feel bad about it, Cain…"
Uta smiled.
"Then Uta will take responsibility for you!"