Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 4 - Chapter 1

That day, Sakuta Azusagawa was thinking only one thing. 

Not again. 

Chapter 1 – Sister Panic 

1 

The scene on his TV screen was bathed in the strobing light of camera flashes. 

“I apologize for the commotion I’ve caused.” 

The speaker was a former idol, a married woman who’d been caught in an affair with a young male model. 

She bowed her head low and kept it there for a full ten seconds. 

When she finally raised her head, her tiny frame was again assailed by a volley of flashes and shutter clicks. 

Absently watching this play out, Sakuta Azusagawa thought, Being famous sucks. 

People were having affairs or cheating on loved ones all over Japan. But none of them were forced to air their shame on network television. None of them found themselves with words like man-eater, slut, or nympho hurled at them like stones. 

The woman on-screen responded to the reporters haltingly, not once looking directly at the camera. Once it was over, she bowed again and repeated her earlier statement. 

“I apologize for the commotion I’ve caused.” 

Causing commotion was bad, apparently. 

But given how packed the venue was with gossip columnists and photographers, everyone was delighted by this “commotion.” The reporters should be grateful for the public lynching she’d staged for their benefit. 

But it was her husband who deserved an apology. And the staff and sponsors of the show she’d been forced to drop out of…and maybe her most devoted fans. That seemed like enough. Bowing her head to the world—whoever that label referred to—wasn’t an apology that reached where it mattered most. 

Sakuta certainly didn’t give a damn. It was none of his business who some celebrity he’d never even met dated or who they had an affair with. 

Why should he care if some pushing-thirty ex-idol’s career went down in flames? 

He had far more pressing concerns. 

Sakuta was sitting in his girlfriend’s living room. On the ninth floor of a ten-story building. Mai Sakurajima’s apartment. 

From his seat on the couch, he’d been watching a robot vacuum industriously cleaning the floor around him. 

Mai was on the other couch, across from him. Their eyes briefly bet, but he said nothing, turning away. Not to hide his embarrassment, but because he had a question for the third person present. 

Sitting next to Sakuta was a girl his age, sporting bright blond hair. 

“So, Mai…what’s going on here?” he asked. Speaking to his neighbor. 

Even though Mai was clearly sitting across from him. 

Neither Mai nor the blond seemed confused by Sakuta’s actions. Far from it. The girl beside him answered readily. 

“Like I said, we’ve swapped bodies,” she said, speaking exactly like Mai always did. 

How did Sakuta find himself in this predicament? We’ll have to turn back the clock a bit. 

The day was September 1, a Monday. The forty days of summer vacation were over, and school had held the opening ceremony for the second term. Sakuta had been expecting to see Mai there. 

Now that she was working again, Mai had spent virtually the whole vacation on the job, and he hadn’t seen much of her. 

And to make matters worse, her agency had made going on dates forbidden. Even when she did have free time, they weren’t allowed to do any summer things that were normally staples for couples. 

Second term had arrived without him seeing Mai in a swimsuit even once! 

The vacation he’d been looking forward to had been ruined, but… 

Mai had said, “At least we can see each other at school.” 

Consequently, for the first time in his life, Sakuta had been looking forward to September 1. Last night she’d even called him to say, “See you at school tomorrow.” 

But once he actually showed up, she was not in her chair during the ceremony. After homeroom, he’d swung by Class 3-1’s room, but there was no sign of Mai. 

No bag at her desk, no indication she’d come to school at all—he was forced to give up and go home. 

As he forlornly dragged his feet back to his apartment, someone came out of the building across the street. It was Mai. 

He happily called out to her, but her response had been alarming. 

“Who are you?” she asked, regarding him with a look of deep suspicion and slapping his hand off her shoulder. 

Mai was a year old than him, and proud of it—no matter how stressed she was, she never let herself lash out at him. 

“Sakuta Azusagawa,” he said. “You may have heard of me. I happen to be dating you, Mai. We have a perfectly sweet and innocent relationship together.” 

“Pfft. My sister would never date someone with eyes as lifeless as yours.” 

The scorn in her voice was a dead giveaway. 

Her appearance was indiscernible from Mai, but the way she spoke and her general demeanor made it obvious this was someone else. 

“Huh?” he said. “Who are you?” 

But the answer to his question came from someone behind him. 

“That is Nodoka Toyohama.” 

He turned around and saw another girl emerging from the glass doors to Mai’s apartment building. 

She walked right up to him. 

The first thing he noticed was the bright hair. A magnificent blond. All gathered on the left side of her head, like some sort of hostess. An attention-grabbing hairstyle with major volume. Striking makeup around the eyes, too—definitely the kind of look that suggested she loved to party. 

She was maybe five foot two. Average height for a girl, but Mai was on the tall side, so she looked small by comparison. 

Her build was quite slim, one other girls her age no doubt envied. Some men might be inclined to call her a little too thin, but she was clearly athletic, so nothing about her seemed delicate. She was wearing shorts, and he could tell those legs were more toned than slender. 

“Nodoka Toyohama?” he said. The name sounded familiar. He thought he recognized this blond girl from somewhere, too. 

But where? 

He gave her a long look. Then the answer came floating into his mind. 

“Oh, right.” 

The manga magazine cover. He’d forgotten to throw it out, and it had been sitting in his room for months. 

The cover had featured a hot new idol group. Sweet Bullet, as he recalled. And this unfamiliar girl was part of that group—Nodoka Toyohama. 

The only reason he remembered that name at all was because her profile had, curiously, listed her favorite thing as “Mai Sakurajima.” Sakuta had agreed wholeheartedly. 

“No, that would be you,” he said, pointing at the blond. 

“Don’t point.” 

She grabbed his finger and pulled it down. 

“……” 

That was rather strange. The way she spoke and acted with him…it wasn’t how people normally interacted with a stranger. It was like she knew him. Like…Mai… 

“I’m currently Mai Sakurajima,” the blond said. “And that’s Nodoka.” 

She pointed at “Mai.” So the blond was Mai, and “Mai” was Nodoka Toyohama. 

He understood what she was saying, but accepting it was a different matter. 

The blond stretched herself up and whispered in his ear. 

“I suspect Adolescence Syndrome,” she said. 

Her voice and face were totally wrong, but…that was definitely something Mai would know. 

Most people didn’t believe in the mysterious phenomena that term described. They laughed the stories off as mere urban legends. The only people who took it seriously were those with personal experience. 

“But this is pretty different from the time I almost disappeared,” she said, driving the point home. 

That clinched it. Last spring, Mai had vanished from people’s memories and almost ceased to exist entirely. And the only people who knew this were Sakuta and Mai…and Rio Futaba, a friend he’d asked for advice. 

“So you really are Mai?” 

“Like I said.” 

The blond smiled at him. A bit derisive but nonetheless gentle—a look he’d seen on Mai’s face any number of times. A smile he’d know anywhere. 

“Nodoka, you’d better come back in. This isn’t a dream.” 

“Huh? Don’t be ridiculous.” 

“Accept reality.” 

“Accept that I’ve somehow turned into my own sister?” 

Nodoka pointed at her reflection in the doors. “Mai” pointed back at her from the glass. Then she began poking her face and patting herself all over. 

“No way,” she said. “This has to be a dream.” 

“Yet everything you touch feels so real.” 

“……” 

“I swear it’s not a dream. Just…like something from one.” 

“No way… I mean, if this isn’t a dream…” 

Nodoka’s lips started quivering. Like she was trying to speak but couldn’t find the words. No sound emerged. She’d been struck speechless. She shook her head several times, as if trying to deny the facts. 

Finally, she croaked, “That would be…bad…” 

A simple, unvarnished fact, provoked by a truth that seemed impossible to believe. When people are really in trouble, it’s hard to be eloquent. 

After that, Sakuta was invited up to Mai’s place so they could discuss the matter in more depth. 

They took the elevator to the ninth floor. Mai had a corner apartment. 

South facing, lots of sunlight. She lived alone, but it was a three-bedroom. Sakuta was promptly led into the living room. 

A big, open layout, with a fancy counter kitchen at one end. Two couches, a coffee table, and a TV stand—minimal furniture, all in the same dignified wood varnish. And the UFO-shaped robot cleaning the floor. 

“Mai, how much is your rent?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Huh?” 

“I own it.” 

“Ohhh…” 

That made sense. 

Mai was super-famous and had been acting since she was a kid. Everyone in the country knew her. She’d been in movies, TV series, and commercials. It stood to reason she could afford a condo. 

“That’s it?” she asked, looking surprised. “I thought you’d be way more worked up if I let you in here.” 

“If it was just the two of us, I’d be in your bedroom already.” 

“Don’t say that with a straight face!” 

“I meant every word.” 

“Just…sit down. I’ll get you something to drink.” 

Refusing to engage with him further, Mai opened her fridge. 

Sakuta settled down obediently on the couch. A second or two later, Mai…no, she only looked like Mai. Nodoka sat down on the couch across from him. 

“……” 

Nodoka was clearly still struggling to accept what was happening to her. She was staring at her reflection in the glass tabletop, her expression radiating disbelief. 

“……” 

Sakuta decided to leave her to it. 

To fill the silence, he reached for the TV remote. The screen was soon showing a news program. A former idol caught cheating, getting hammered with questions after a formal apology. 

After a minute of this, Mai came back carrying a tray with three glasses on it. Or at least, this new extroverted blond version of Mai. 

“So, Mai…what’s going on here?” 

“Like I said, we’ve swapped bodies.” 

Once again, he looked from Mai to Nodoka. More accurately, from Mai’s body to Nodoka’s. 

“Well, let’s assume that as a given for now…” 

The conversation could hardly progress if he got hung up on that. 

“What is your connection to Nodoka Toyohama, Mai?” 

Mai was calling her by her first name, and Nodoka had used the word sister earlier. So he had a hunch, one he was fairly certain of. But given the circumstances, he thought it best to get this spelled out. 

“I mentioned it once before, right? That I had a sister from a different mother.” 

“Yeah, you did.” 

After the divorce, Mai’s father had married again and had a daughter with his new wife. Mai and that kid had the same father but different mothers. 

But when she’d told him this, he hadn’t imagined the sister was anywhere near Nodoka’s age. If the profile he’d read was accurate, Nodoka Toyohama was in her second year of high school, the same age as Sakuta. Only one year younger than Mai. 

“He started fighting with my mother while she was still pregnant,” Mai said, seeing the question forming on his face. 

“So why is Nodoka Toyohama here?” 

“She showed up suddenly late last night.” 

“Late?” 

“After midnight.” 

“Good lord. Why?” 

“She didn’t want to go home.” 

“Huh.” 

He glanced at Nodoka. She was still staring at her face in the glass tabletop, clutching her head and muttering, “This is crazy…” 

He would’ve liked to hear the facts from her directly, but that would clearly have to wait. 

“What’s the plan, then?” he asked, turning back to Mai. 

“We’ll have to come up with a way to swap back, but we’ll also have to assume that won’t happen any time soon.” 

This was Mai’s second go-round with Adolescence Syndrome, so she was much more levelheaded about it. 

“Mm, that’s what I thought.” 

They had no idea how to accomplish this, much less when it would happen. Even the glimmer of a solution still lay in the future. 

A few days spent cutting class wouldn’t hurt, but that wasn’t a long-term solution. The schools would check up on them eventually. 

Mai was suggesting they’d have to find a way to live in their new bodies for the foreseeable future—with Mai playing the part of Nodoka, and Nodoka filling in for Mai. 

And hopefully they’d figure out a way to switch back in due time. 

“Um,” Sakuta said. Nodoka looked up—but only her eyes moved. This was something Mai never did. No matter how much she seemed like Mai Sakurajima on the outside, Sakuta’s eyes could instantly tell something was off. 

“What?” 

The voice was Mai’s. But not the tone. This girl had a guarded snark—the real Mai always sounded far more self-assured. 

“Any ideas?” he asked, figuring he might as well go for the heart of the matter. 

“Ideas?” 

“Like why you might have swapped places with my Mai.” 

“I’m not yours.” A hand reached out and pinched his cheek. She might look like a strange blond girl, but the sensation was all Mai. This was a relief. 

“I don’t have a clue.” 

“Okay.” 

He hadn’t really had much hope, so he wasn’t very disappointed, either. 

“But wait…” 

“Mm?” 

Mai and Sakuta both looked at Nodoka, puzzled. 

“How are you two not totally freaking out right now?” 

Her gaze shifted from Sakuta to Mai, searching for answers. Mai’s and Nodoka’s eyes met. 

“Ah!” Nodoka said, and immediately rephrased her question as “Why are you two so calm?” in a much more respectful tone. Her whole posture changed, like she was in a job interview, making the nervous energy in the entire interaction painfully obvious. 

“I’m not sure what you mean, Nodoka,” Mai said, not changing her attitude one iota. 

“I—I mean…we’ve swapped bodies! That! Is! Bonkers! Isn’t it?” 

“True enough.” 

Mai nodded, acknowledging the point but…ultimately remained calm. She took a sip of green tea like she didn’t have a care in the world. 

Nodoka blinked at her. “Is that it?” 

“Mm-hmm.” 

“Mm-hmm? Are you just, like, fine with this?!” 

“No, but it’s the hand we’ve been dealt. We don’t know how to swap back, so what else can we do? We have to figure out how to manage the situation in the meantime.” 

“That’s…true, but…” 

“And given how ‘bonkers’ it sounds, we can’t exactly ask for help. No one would believe us. Even if they did, there’d just be a media frenzy, and they’d cast us aside the moment our audiences get bored. You don’t want that, either, right?” 

“…No.” 

“So until we can fix this, I’ll have to be you, and you’ll have to be me. It’s the only way.” 

“……” 

“Am I not making sense?” 

“…No, you are.” 

Nodoka hung her head, seemingly unable to look her sister in the eye. That might not actually be Mai, but Sakuta had never seen “Mai” look this dejected and would have loved to capture the moment forever. Unfortunately, since he didn’t own a phone, he didn’t have ready access to the necessary camera. 

“In that case, let’s go over our schedules. I’ll get a notebook.” 

Mai stood up. 

“Er, wait, Sis—M-Mai.” 

“…What is it?” 

Mai definitely had an opinion on the way Nodoka had corrected herself, but she was deliberately not addressing the issue. Just like she’d ignored the sudden shift to a more respectful tone earlier. She was clearly choosing to let her sister work things out for herself. Sakuta wondered why but decided to follow her lead for now. 

“Before we go over the schedules, can I ask one thing?” 

Nodoka’s eyes darted from Sakuta to Mai and back again. Before she said a word, it was obvious what the question would be. 

“Are you two really going out?” 

He’d expected this, but the glare in her eyes was far more disgruntled than he’d been prepared for. She seemed ready to cut his head off. 

“Yes, we are,” Mai said, smoothly making it official. 

Nodoka’s frown deepened. 

“That doesn’t make any sense!” she said. “I’ll grant you this Adolescence Syndrome thing, since it’s not like I have a choice, but no way is this your boyfriend!” 

“Am I that hard to believe?” 

“You look ready to sleep with the fishes! Men like you only date the Mai Sakurajimas of the world in their dreams!” 

She was so worked up, all traces of her polite tone had fallen away. This was clearly her default attitude. 

“I’m glad to be a symbol of hope to drab men everywhere.” 

Meanwhile, Mai seemed genuinely surprised by this vehemence. 

“Nodoka,” she said, sounding slightly cross. 

“……Yes?” 

Nodoka backed down immediately, snapping back to her earlier well-mannered attitude. 

“Don’t make fun of my boyfriend,” Mai said, pursing her lips. 

Sakuta had not expected her to come to his defense, and he was unable to stop himself from grinning. 

Mai reached out and pinched his thigh in rebuke. It kinda hurt. 

“While it’s true that Sakuta always has a dopey-looking face, there are some things you just shouldn’t point out.” 

“Mai, I think you should have left it unsaid yourself.” 

His grin had vanished immediately. 

Teasing him seemed to please Mai immensely. Building him up only to tear him down. All with Mai’s usual majesty. 

“On that note, back to the schedules.” 

“Right…” 

Nodoka reluctantly nodded. She gave Sakuta a glare like he’d murdered her parents, but since she looked like Mai, this was a real problem for him…because it was kind of a turn-on. 

“Wipe that smirk off your face, Sakuta,” Mai said, lightly slapping his cheek. Then she went into the next room. 

Sakuta made to follow her, but she snapped, “You stay put,” and he was forced to sit back down. 

“I was just gonna open one closet, that’s all.” he said. 

“Like I’d let you.” 

“Aww.” 

“Maybe when we’re alone together,” Mai sighed dramatically. Like she had no idea what she should do with him. 

She wasn’t planning on letting him get away with anything. Such a shame. Even though she’d finally let him into her home… 

But heedless of his crestfallen look, Mai briskly headed to her bedroom. She came back with a notebook that had a bunny character on the front. 

“Um,” Nodoka said. 

“Mm?” 

“About all this—there’s no way I can pretend to be you, Mai.” 

“Why not?” 

“I’m sure your friends will notice something’s wrong immediately.” 

A fair point. But not a concern in Mai’s case. 

“That…won’t be an issue at school,” Mai said awkwardly. 

“Huh?” 

“……” 

“Mai doesn’t have any friends,” Sakuta explained. 

“Wha—?!” 

“Like you have so many yourself,” Mai snapped at him. Maybe she’d wanted to keep that a secret. 

“I have some! Three.” 

“Isn’t that one more than last time?” 

“There’s Kunimi and Futaba, but lately I’ve added Koga.” 

“Huh,” Mai said, as if she didn’t care at all. 

“Uh…is that it?” 

“No man would ever dare cheat on me.” 

Very confident. Regal as always. Also completely accurate, so he just nodded. 

“Back to the point. At the least, pretending to be me at school should be easy. Just show up, sit in my seat, take my classes in silence, and come back here afterward. No need to speak to anyone.” 

“…R-right.” 

Nodoka nodded, still coming to grips with the idea. This was clearly not gelling with her concept of who Mai was. Given Mai’s fame, Nodoka must have assumed her sister would be popular in class, too… 

“Um…kinda the same deal here,” she admitted. 

“Oh?” 

“Since my debut last year, I haven’t had time to talk to anyone at school… I just couldn’t keep up with what anyone in my group was talking about. At first, they used to brief me on what I missed, but when that happened again and again, it just got awkward… Then we changed classes at the start of second year, and I dyed my hair over spring break and really stood out, so…you should be fine.” 

“You got to Ouyou Academy, right?” 

Even Sakuta knew that name. It was a famous girls’ school in Yokohama. A combined junior and senior high. If she’d passed the exam to start at the high school level, she must’ve been pretty smart. But at a strict girls’ school like that, her blond hair would stick out like a sore thumb. 

“Man, I dunno…,” Sakuta said, then stopped, unsure what he was trying to say. 

“Well, what is it?” 

“Both of you have no friends at all? That’s so sad.” 

“Just to be clear, I might have none at school, but I have plenty at work,” Mai said. This sounded like an excuse. Nodoka was nodding, though. 

“Are you suuure?” Sakuta asked. 

“You have some strange ideas about me.” 

“Like who? Anyone I know? If it’s some handsome actor, I’m against it.” 

“I’m especially close with the gravure idol Yurina Yamae and the model Millia Kamiita.” 

Sakuta recognized both those names. Yurina Yamae was on the covers of many a weekly manga magazine, and Millia Kamiita was a biracial model who’d been making a lot of appearances on variety TV shows lately. 

“We text each other daily, and we had lunch together last week. They’ve both spent the night here. Relieved it wasn’t a hot actor?” 

“Please never ever make friends with men,” he said. 

As he spoke, he turned back to Nodoka, feeling her staring at him. 

It was more of a glare, really. Like she’d been waiting for her chance to speak. 

“I have a lot of friends from junior high back home! I still hang out with them! I went to visit just the other day!” 

She sounded exactly like her sister. 

“And I get on well with the other girls in my group. Got that?” 

“Sure, sure. Frankly, having no friends at school works in our favor this time, so let’s call it a good thing.” 

As Sakuta brought his line of interrogation to a close, Mai poked him in the forehead. 

“What was that for?” 

“You were being a snot, so I’m training you not to be.” 

“Then I accept it.” 

“You do?” Nodoka gave him a look like she’d just peered into a dumpster. 

“Anyway, school isn’t an issue…but work is.” 

Mai Sakurajima was an actress. Nodoka Toyohama was an idol. Those schedules were a much more pressing problem. 

“This is all I have,” Mai said, putting her notebook down. It was mostly empty. Astonishingly so, given how little free time she’d had in August. “They adjusted the TV show schedule, and we wrapped my part during vacation.” 

The remaining work she had lined up involved shoots for fashion magazines and some related interviews. A few commercials, too. 

“I kept it light for second term, since a certain someone was feeling neglected.” 

“Even if we can see each other, if we’re not allowed to date, there’s no point.” 

Sakuta’s protests were ignored. 

“You’ve done fashion shoots before, right?” she asked. “Think you can handle them?” 

Apparently, Mai wasn’t going to let him flirt right now. He turned his attention back to Nodoka. 

“I think so…,” Nodoka said. She didn’t sound that confident. 

“For the interviews, they’ll send the questions ahead of time, so we can prep for that.” 

“But the commercials…” 

“Here’s the script and storyboard.” 

Mai put six or seven pages, clipped together, on the table. When Nodoka didn’t reach for the papers, Sakuta flicked through them, curious. 

“Oh!” he said, surprised—the filming location was a place he knew well. One of the stations on the Enoden line, which he and Mai both took to school. Minegahara High was at Shichirigahama Station, and this was set at the stop before it, Kamakura High School Station. 

“This director sticks to the script, so it shouldn’t be that hard. You did theater before you joined the idol agency, right?” 

“……” 

Staring fixedly at her hands, Nodoka managed to nod. She really looked despondent. Downright grim. She probably had some acting talent, but it was clear she was afraid she could never replace Mai Sakurajima. 

If Sakuta had picked up on this, then Mai must’ve been fully aware of it, but she gave no indication of that. She simply moved on to the next topic. 

“I’m going to have a tough time learning your songs and choreography.” 

Nodoka Toyohama’s schedule was jam-packed. The Sweet Bullet members had singing and dancing lessons every day. Plus mini concerts on weekends at malls or event halls. They only ran through two or three songs at these performances, but that meant Mai would have to master at least three numbers a week. 

And on the last Sunday in September, they had a solo concert at a venue in Shibuya. 

“Have you actually done any dancing, Mai?” Nodoka asked. 

“Do you have videos of your practice sessions?” 

“I do.” 

Nodoka reached for her bag—a duffel bag, big enough for a spare set of clothes. She pulled out three discs in clear plastic cases—probably DVDs. 

“Here,” she said, offering them up with both hands. 

“Thanks.” 

Mai got to her feet and put one of the discs in her player. Sakuta was still holding the remote, so he turned the TV back on. Mai shot him an appreciative glance. He switched it over to the HDMI input. Voices came over the speakers. “Is this on?” “Okay, give it a shot.” 

A moment later, the screen lit up. Showing a dance studio somewhere. Wooden floors, like a gym. Mirrors on the walls. 

Nodoka and the rest of her group were all lined up. 

As one, they took a deep breath. 

Up-tempo music started blaring, and all seven members began dancing, perfectly in synch and on beat. 

Watching it, Mai deftly weaved a few light steps as she swung her hands and moved her body. Since she was following the screen’s lead, she was a beat behind, but she ran through the whole number with such ease Sakuta immediately ceased to worry about a thing. 

There was a faint sheen of sweat on her brow. Her chest was rising and falling, a little out of breath. But she turned back to Sakuta, looking pleased with herself. 

“The real one was snappier,” he said. 

“I can see how surprised you are.” 

“You got me there. My mind’s blown.” 

He meant it. Mai was usually all grown-up and collected. Even if she was about to miss a train, she never rushed. He’d never seen her do anything particularly athletic. So he’d never expected her to be able to pull off the fast choreography of an idol routine. 

“I had dance training when I was still with my theater group,” Mai said, looking pleased with his response. 

“So not just acting, then?” 

“Right. The place I went to did acting, dancing, and singing. They had plenty of musicals, so…” 

“Oh, makes sense.” 

Mai wiped her sweat with a sleeve, then gulped down the rest of her tea. 

“You can leave now, Sakuta,” she said. 

“Huh? Why?” 

This had come out of nowhere and caught him off guard. He was finally in her home! He wanted to breathe this air as long as possible. Convince her to show him more than just the living room. 

“I’m all sweaty, so I’d like to take a bath.” 

“I’d love to see you with that post-bath glow.” 

“But this is Nodoka’s body, so that’s a no.” 

“As long as it’s you inside, I don’t care which body you have.” 

“But I do. Go on, get out of here. You’re keeping Kaede waiting, right?” 

He glanced at the clock; it was almost noon. Time for lunch. Mai was right; his sister, Kaede, would be getting hungry, impatient for his return. 

Giving up on post-bath Mai, Sakuta got to his feet. 

“Then we’ll meet you down below at seven fifty tomorrow.” 

“I’ll make sure Toyohama gets to school.” He headed for the door. “See you later,” he said, putting his shoes on. 

On his way to the elevator, a voice called his name. 

Mai had put sandals on and followed him. The door closed behind her. 

“Good-bye kiss?” 

“No.” 

“Then…” 

“Uh, Sakuta…it’s a big if, but…” 

Mai’s gaze shifted nervously. 

“If you’re stuck like that forever, I’ll just have to put up with it.” 

“Put up with a real-life idol singer,” Mai said, laughing. But the anxious look in her eyes was gone. “Just to be clear, you aren’t laying one finger on Nodoka’s body.” 

“Aww.” 

“Think you can deal with that the rest of our lives?” She shot him an impish grin. The same self-assured smile she always had when she was teasing him. 

“Not really what I had in mind.” 

“Don’t sweat the details.” 

“It’s kind of the point!” 

“Look after her tomorrow,” Mai said, suddenly serious again. 

There was only one response to a request like that. 

“Will there be a reward when you get your body back?” 

The elevator arrived, and he stepped on board. 

“If I ever do,” Mai said grimly. Driving the point home. Like she was almost certain that wouldn’t be happening any time soon. 

But then she flashed him a warm smile, and the elevator doors closed. 

“If it’s Mai inside, is dating an idol acceptable?” he muttered aloud as the elevator descended. 

He had his answer before it reached ground level. “Absolutely.” 

Practically speaking, Mai merely looked like Nodoka now. No point fussing about anything else. Worrying wasn’t going to solve anything. 

If he was gonna worry, it should be about something that mattered. Like what exactly he was making for lunch. 

The elevator came to a stop, and the bell rang politely. 

“Fried rice?” he muttered, remembering the leftover rice sitting in the back of the fridge. 

2 

The next morning, Sakuta was woken by their pet cat, Nasuno, stepping on his face. Apparently, she was hungry. 

Kaede lived to wake Sakuta up, so having Nasuno beat her to the punch was a crippling blow. She started wailing, “I wish I was a cat!” 

But when he made scrambled eggs the way Mai taught him, she instantly recovered. 

“What a beautiful morning!” 

She saw him off as he left a little earlier than usual. He’d promised to meet Mai. 

As he left the elevator and stepped out into the street, he was greeted with a yelp, half-surprised, half-tense. 

“Good morning,” the yelper said, bowing to him. A delicate-looking girl, only four foot eleven. Wearing a junior high school uniform that still looked brand-new. Her name was Shouko Makinohara. 

“Mornin’,” he said. 

She smiled happily as she rushed over to him like a puppy. 

“Should you be running?” he asked, momentarily worried. 

He knew Shouko had a serious heart condition. 

“I’ll be fine,” she said, looking proud. “I’ve been in good shape since I was discharged.” 

“Cool.” 

“But thank you for worrying.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

Shouko smiled again. She looked well, like she really was healthy again. 

“You get some good news or something?” 

“Why do ask?” she asked in reply, surprised. 

“You’re all smiles.” 

“I—I am?” 

Having that pointed out seemed to embarrass her. She put her hands on her cheeks and rubbed them. 

“How’s Hayate?” 

“Great. He’s been eating a lot.” 

Hayate was a white kitten they’d found. Even in his new home, if Shouko was looking after him, he was taken care of. He’d grow up big and strong for sure. 

“You always go this way?” 

“……?” Shouko blinked at him, not sure what the question meant. 

“On your way to school?” 

“Oh, yes. But also no.” 

A confirmation and a denial. Confusing. 

“Huh? You aren’t going to school?” 

She was wearing her uniform, so he’d assumed. 

“I am going to school, but I don’t always go this way.” 

She’d told him where she lived once, and this was a bit out of the way if she was headed for the station. 

“So why today?” 

“I was hoping I’d run into you.” 

“Ah.” 

“And I did!” 

Shouko grinned again. 

“……” 

“……” 

Three full seconds of silent smiles. Shouko’s face slowly started turning red. Even her ears and neck. 

“Er, um, I’d better go!” she said, suddenly flustered. “I’ll be late otherwise!” 

She ran off, fanning her face with her hands. 

“Take your time!” he called after her. 

She turned back once and waved. He waved back. 

Then he watched till she was out of sight. 

“Mornin’,” said a familiar voice behind him. 

He turned around and found Mai and Nodoka standing there. 

“Morning, Mai.” 

The blond girl acknowledged his greeting with her eyes. Whatever faint hope he’d had that she’d be back in her own body in the morning was instantly dashed. 

“How long were you watching?” 

“Since you made Shouko turn red by staring at her.” 

There was no hint of emotion in Mai’s voice. Did she not care, or was she secretly mad? It was hard to tell. 

Prying further would likely result in him digging his own grave, so he opted to change the subject. 

Fortunately, Mai’s appearance gave him plenty to talk about. As Nodoka Toyohama, she was wearing a school uniform—from Nodoka’s school. A simple, clean sailor uniform. The skirt was all the way below the knees—like every strict girls’ school required. But this didn’t work at all with the dazzling blond hair bound to one side, or the striking makeup around the eyes. It all clashed. 

“What’s that smirk for?” she asked, narrowing her eyes. 

“I dig the outsider vibe.” 

“……” 

That was a compliment, but she stomped on his foot anyway. 

“Also, you had the uniform handy?” 

Nodoka had been one well-prepared runaway. Maybe this wasn’t her first time. Curious, he glanced her way. 

In Mai’s body, Nodoka was wearing the Minegahara summer uniform he was used to. Despite the lingering heat, she had on black tights, albeit thin ones. Mai had explained that this was to prevent her legs from getting tanned. Celebrities had it rough. 

Nodoka didn’t seem used to summertime tights and was fiddling with them under her skirt. Kinda sexy. His eyes were instantly glued to it. 

“Sakuta,” Mai hissed, twisting his cheek. 

“Yes, Mai?” 

“You were imagining something perverted, right?” 

“It’s your body, so it’s allowed!” 

“Not while Nodoka’s in it.” 

“Then am I allowed to think perverted things about you while you’re in her body?” he asked, glancing over the blond girl’s uniform. 

“Absolutely not.” 

“What options do I have left?!” 

“Don’t look so desperate. You can go without.” 

“Aww.” 

“If you don’t like it, figure out a way to switch us back.” 

“As long as it’s you inside, it doesn’t matter what you look like.” 

“It matters to us!” 

They kept talking on the way to Fujisawa Station. 

The station lay at the heart of a city of 420,000 people, and they were in the midst of the morning rush. 

Mai split off here, heading to school in Yokohama. She would have to take the Tokaido Line, while Sakuta and Nodoka would board the Enoden for Shichirigahama Station. 

“Oh, Sakuta!” Mai called, just before she stepped through the JR gates. 

“What?” 

They’d almost reached the connecting passage to the Enoden Fujisawa Station, but he left Nodoka there and ran back to Mai. 

“I have a favor to ask,” she said, glancing up at him. Nodoka was shorter than Mai, so even familiar body language looked rather different. Mai was five foot five, so when she looked at him, only her eyes moved—but Nodoka was five foot two, so she had to tilt her whole head. 

“I’d love to hear that line when you have your own face.” 

“Don’t be dumb.” 

“Your attractiveness makes me dumb.” 

“About Nodoka,” she said, her serious expression quickly ending the jokey vibe. “I think I can guess, but…if you can, ask her what happened.” 

“If she ran away from home, probably something with her parents.” 

“I imagine so. Still…” 

Mai paused for a moment. Her eyes drifting sideways. 

“This might also be about me,” she said softly. 

“It’s hard having a sister as famous as you?” 

And not just any sister, but one from a different mother. 

“Am I overthinking it?” she asked. 

“I think being your sister could be pretty rough. You’re like the worst person to get compared with.” 

And in Nodoka’s case, she was also playing the celebrity game, which really twisted the knife. 

“Rude,” Mai said, sulking. 

Sakuta pretended not to notice. It would have been easy to take it back, but she knew it was true, so there was no point in paying lip service to the idea. It was better to be on the same page here. 

“My mother’s pride as a parent and a woman is…affecting Nodoka, too.” 

“Pride?” 

“Didn’t I mention? My mother only put me in the business to pay my father back for leaving her for another woman.” 

Mai Sakurajima had made a spectacular television debut and remained firmly on the front lines of celebrity ever since. She’d built her fame until she was a household name. And rubbing that fame in her father’s face was how Mai’s mother kept her pride intact. 

Showing off how well you were doing after going separate ways did often dull the pain. He could understand that sentiment. It was a form of revenge. And it could be very motivating. 

But it sucked to be the children caught up in their parents’ wake. Especially when they were too young to really understand how their parents felt. 

Sakuta glanced back at Nodoka. 

“Remember how she said yesterday she’d been in a theater troupe, too?” Mai asked. 

“I do.” 

“It wasn’t the one I was in, but…when we were little, we ran into each other at auditions sometimes.” 

“Ohhh…” 

That would definitely make things worse. Both their mothers must have been agitated. Sparks flying under the surface at the audition venue. 

Mai and Nodoka were pawns in a proxy war. 

And the results of that war were brutally clear. Mai became nationally famous, and Nodoka had left the theater troupe and was now a newly minted idol, moving from one small venue to another, trying to build a following. 

The humiliation of this could certainly warp the relationship between many a mother and her child. Maybe that was why Nodoka had run away. 

“Well, as a favor to you, I’ll see what I can get out of her.” 

“Thanks. I’d better go.” 

She gave him a little wave and disappeared through the gates. 

Sakuta headed back to Nodoka. 

“Sorry,” he said. 

He led her down the passage from the JR station. Before them lay a big department store, with the Enoden Fujisawa ticket gates to one side. 

“What’d she want?” Nodoka asked as they stepped through. 

“Mm?” he said, leading her down the platform. 

“My sister.” 

“You curious?” 

He wasn’t sure if he should tell her but figured this wasn’t the time. 

“Ugh,” Nodoka said and turned her back on him. 

“……” 

She didn’t say anything else. They simply stood together at the far end of the platform. 

“You sure it’s not a problem to let Mai just head into school?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Wondering if the idol Nodoka Toyohama would cause a riot if she showed up on a train like everyone else.” 

“Are you making fun of me?” 

“I’m genuinely concerned.” 

“……” 

Nodoka gave him a long look, as if trying to get a read on the question. Mai would never be this transparently suspicious. Having a different person inside really made her body seem totally alien. 

“She’ll be fine,” Nodoka muttered. “Nobody knows who I am.” 

She turned her eyes away. Clearly comparing her own fame with Mai’s. 

As if trying to hide that, she added, “I feel like I’m the one who should be worried. Does she just ride this train all the time?” 

“She’s a bit too famous, so nobody dares come up to her.” 

But she definitely got a lot of attention. Especially since she’d started working again. Lots of “Ah! Look!” or “Wow, is that really her?!” or people arguing “Go talk to her,” “You go talk to her!” 

Those reactions were totally fine, and Mai never seemed bothered by them. On the other hand, it definitely bugged her that people took photos—not that she’d ever admit it. Mai would happily oblige if someone asked to take a photo with her, but most people just stole shots behind her back without permission, and that really got on her nerves. 

Even now, a dude in a suit had a phone in his hand and was glancing her way. As a train pulled in, he pointed the lens in her direction. 

“This way, Mai.” 

“Huh? What?” 

Her put a hand on her shoulder and switched places with her. With him in the way, the dude couldn’t get a shot. 

He heard the shutter a moment later. So did Nodoka. She peered around Sakuta and spotted the camera. The man pretended he was merely taking a photo of the retro-looking train car. 

“……” 

Nodoka gave Sakuta a look. 

When he pretended not to notice, she said, “That won’t be enough to get me on your side.” 

“I don’t need you to be.” 

Sakuta stepped onto the train at the very front. 

He led Nodoka over to the doors on the other side. The train wasn’t packed, but in the middle of the morning, there definitely weren’t any seats. 

He stood in front of her and grabbed an overhead strap. 

After a bit, the warning bell sounded, and the doors closed. As the train rolled forward, the view outside the window changed. The big station building was soon out of sight, and they were rattling through a quiet residential neighborhood. 

Nodoka was standing bolt upright, watching the view passing by. A gloomy expression on her face. She didn’t seem to be paying any attention to the other passengers. Diligently pretending not to notice the looks she was getting. 

In that alone, she was exactly like the real Mai Sakurajima. You would never guess there was someone else in there. 

Nodoka knew how to act the part. 

The train stopped and started, advancing one station at a time toward their destination. 

“Next stop: Enoshima. Enoshima next.” 

The same voice that always played. A calm female voice, with a comforting warmth to it. 

“Like a bus.” 

“Mm?” 

“This part.” 

She had a point. 

After Enoshima Station, the space around the tracks grew very tight. It threaded its way between houses all the way to the next stop, Koshigoe Station. 

“Should there even be a train here?” 

There was someone’s front door right outside the window. Did the people who lived there have to check for trains every time they left the house? This was Sakuta’s second year riding this line, but that mystery had remained unsolved. 

Every now and then something caught Nodoka’s interest, but each time, she stifled that emotion, composing Mai’s face once more. 

“You’re definitely getting there,” Sakuta said, impressed by her performance. Even the way she brushed her hair back was Mai-like. 

“As a kid, I used to copy her roles,” Nodoka said. She was even talking like Mai now. “I was proud of her…and looked up to her.” 

Was the use of past tense significant? Why did she sound so bored? Sakuta considered asking, but before he could, Nodoka let out a little gasp. 

The train had left the houses behind and was running along the coast, with an unobstructed view of the water. The windows showed nothing but sky and sea. The sky gradually shifting from white to blue. The deeper blue of the ocean dazzling in the morning sunlight. The horizon spreading in the distance, as far as the eye could see. 

In that one moment, there was no trace of Mai. The smile that broke out on her face looked far younger than any he’d ever seen Mai make. 

She was still staring at the sea when the train rolled into Shichirigahama Station, where Sakuta and Mai went to school. 

It was a tiny station, without any real ticket gate. An odd little place—it was like you were just walking down an ordinary street and suddenly found yourself at a station. From the platform, it was only a couple of stairs, and you were already outside. 

It was her first time here, but Nodoka kept her cool as she walked next to Sakuta. There was a slight crease on her brow, probably a reaction to the smell of salt on the breeze. 

The walk from the station to Minegahara High was less than five minutes. They just had to cross the tracks, and then the school gate was right ahead. 

Inside there, Nodoka whispered, “Lots of people staring.” 

“Well, you’re really famous, Mai.” 

“That can’t be all. Am I doing anything weird?” 

She glanced down at herself nervously. 

“Don’t worry. At a glance, you look just like Mai.” 

“Then what?” 

“Well, that’s the thing.” 

Sakuta had a hunch. He’d been getting similar looks during the opening ceremony yesterday. 

“What thing?” Nodoka asked, baffled. Her first contact with this school’s atmosphere, so the answer wasn’t obvious. 

“Everyone here knows I’m dating Mai.” 

“So?” 

“And we just got off summer vacation.” 

“Again, so?” 

“They’re all wondering how far we got.” 

“……” 

She didn’t react at first. She let the thought sink in. Finally, realization dawned. 

“Th-then…b-by how far you mean…you know?” 

There was a squeak in her voice. 

“What do I know?” he asked, enjoying her reaction way too much. 

“You know! If you had…” 

She couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud. Her voice got quieter until it actually disappeared. He couldn’t make out the last word at all. Even her ears were red. 

“Had?” 

“Obviously…s…” 

Nodoka almost said it, then turned even redder. 

“S—what?” 

“S…s……s…… I can’t say it!” 

Looking furious, she punched him in the shoulder. It hurt a lot. Her usual look definitely gave the impression that she fooled around, but the real Nodoka couldn’t even say the word sex. 

“Careful, the act’s starting to slip,” he said softly. 

She’d gotten a bit too loud, and people were staring. 

“……” 

At the reminder, she quietly lowered her fist. But she was definitely glaring daggers. Still pretty embarrassed. Was she wondering if Sakuta had done anything like that with Mai? Almost certainly. 

“You heard yesterday that we have a sweet and innocent relationship, right?” 

“Th-then how far have you gone?” she demanded, apparently really wanting to make this point clear. 

“You don’t know?” 

He meant “Mai didn’t tell you?” but he didn’t want anyone within earshot wondering why he’d say that. 

“She said to ask you.” 

“Hmm.” 

“Don’t play dumb! I dunno how close we’re supposed to be!” 

“Well, just play like we’ve been dating two months.” 

“Two months…two months…so…you’ve held hands?” 

“We’re not children.” 

“Oh, shut up!” 

“Argh, you fool…” 

She’d yelled again, and now everyone was giving them dubious looks. 

“Ahhhhh, sorry!” he said, putting on a show. “Please don’t get mad at me, Mai.” 

“J-just don’t do it again,” Nodoka said, recovering. 

They walked in silence until the crowd lost interest. 

“S-so you’ve ki-ki-ki—” 

“Are you imitating a chimp? You’re good!” 

“Ki-kissed, you ass.” 

“……” 

“Y-you have?” 

“No, no,” Sakuta lied, on the assumption that admitting the truth would lead to another commotion. Regardless of what she normally looked like, the girl inside Mai was clearly sheltered. 

“Then how far?” 

“We’ve held hands.” 

“N-now who’s a child?!” 

While they hashed out the details of their relationship, they reached the school entrance. Pretending to be inseparable, he guided Nodoka to Mai’s shoe locker. 

Once they’d both changed into slippers, they went up the stairs toward the classrooms. 

Sakuta’s room was on the second floor, but the third-year classes were a floor above that. They split up on the second-floor landing. 

“Remember, it’s 3-1.” 

“Yeah. And my seat’s the second from the back on the window row.” 

Mai had made sure she knew that much the day before. 

“Then I just have to sit there quietly until classes are done.” 

“I’d say you should definitely go to the bathroom if you need to.” 

“Do you think I’m a total idiot?” 

“I think you can’t tell when people are joking.” 

“……” 

Nodoka glared at him. Looked like she knew he was right. Someone must have told her that before. 

“If you need something, I’m in 2-1.” 

“Got it. See you.” 

Conscious of the students around them, Nodoka quickly put her Mai face on. She smiled faintly and gave him a little wave. This looked a lot like the real Mai. 

He watched until she rounded the corner of the stairs, then someone grumbled, “You’re blocking the path, Azusagawa.” 

He looked behind him and saw a girl in a white lab coat. One of Sakuta’s few friends—Rio Futaba. 

She had her long hair bound at the back and was glaring with heavy-lidded eyes through her glasses. 

“Nice timing, Futaba. I need some help.” 

Rio’s scowl deepened. She clearly knew what that meant. 

“Have you considered a purification ritual?” 

“What for?” 

“With all the trouble that comes knocking at your doorstep, you are clearly cursed.” 

“Anyone who assumes they’re cursed is full of themselves. Everyone’s got it equally hard.” 

“Well, if you say so…” 

She trailed off, her expression clearly wishing he’d leave her out of it. 

3 

“Putting speculation about what’s happening aside, this time around, for once, the path to a solution is pretty obvious.” 

This was Rio’s opening statement when Sakuta stepped into the science lab at lunch. He’d given her the bullet points before morning homeroom. 

He sat across the lab table from her, munching on a yakisoba roll he’d bought from the lunch break bakery truck. Between them was a beaker on a gas burner, the water in it simmering away. 

When it reached the boiling point, Rio poured it into a cup of instant harusame. 

“You on a diet?” he asked. 

For some reason, she glared at him. 

“The living embodiment of tactlessness told me I was heavy.” 

“Who might that be?” 

“Obviously the Sakuta who gave me a ride on the back of his bike.” 

“…This explains a lot.” 

Sakuta frowned, then remembered. Over summer vacation, they’d summoned Yuuma in the middle of the night and then headed for the beach to light some fireworks. Sakuta had put Rio on the back of a bicycle to get her there. 

“A life where you think I’m fat is a life too humiliating to be worth living.” 

It seemed like he’d hit a nerve, so he thought it’d be better to get the conversation back on track. 

“So what’s this about a path to a solution?” 

“You really are the worst, Azusagawa.” 

“Thank you.” 

“This involves a hypothetical definition of Adolescence Syndrome triggers based on previous examples.” 

“Mm-hmm.” 

“My impression is that unstable psychological conditions are the direct cause of these inexplicable phenomena.” 

“I agree.” 

The previous cases—particularly Rio’s and Tomoe’s—were consistent with that theory. 

“So you just need to resolve the situation causing the instability at the source.” 

“Makes sense.” 

“And if I have a pretty good idea what the source of this is just by hearing a quick rundown, I imagine you’ve already worked it out yourself.” 

Rio held up her cell phone, showing Sakuta the screen. 

It was a fansite dedicated to the activities of the idol group Sweet Bullet. 

They’d been around for a year now. After auditions had been held to discover new talent, the current seven members were picked. 

Since then, the group had released five singles, none of which had sold particularly well. Only one of them had even hit the top twenty the week it went on sale. 

The concerts they’d put on generally saw them paired up with other idols from the same agency. Mostly pretty small venues. Nothing larger than three hundred people. 

They’d only made a handful of TV appearances, and even then, most of them were on local television. 

Nodoka herself seemed to rank third or fourth within the group, popularity wise. Since there were only seven of them, that was right in the middle. Her nickname was apparently Doka. 

You could glean that much info in no time at all from a single phone. The power of the modern day. 

“Meanwhile, Sakurajima…” 

Rio took the phone back and poked at it a little more. 

Then she showed him a rundown of everything Mai had done, from her spectacular morning soap debut to the present day. Row after row of hit movies and TV shows and countless awards, all thoroughly documented. 

Even skimming the whole list took a while. 

Like Rio said, the cause was plain to see. 

Having a sister that accomplished would give anyone a complex. Mai was just too accomplished. 

“But how do you fix this?” 

“By becoming a nationally famous idol?” 

Rio didn’t sound like she was joking. 

“It was a serious question,” Sakuta said. 

“I gave a serious answer,” Rio said. 

She took the lid off her harusame and stuck a fork in them. He waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t so much as flash a smile until her noodles were gone. Apparently, this was how girls paid you back for calling them heavy. He would have to avoid that in the future. 

During his afternoon classes, Sakuta took Rio’s thoughtful advice to heart and considered ways to turn Nodoka into a top idol. 

But he wasn’t exactly a Midas-touch producer, so he came up with exactly nothing. He knew it was doomed from an early stage, and he was forced to start actually paying attention to his classes. Thus, the afternoon went by. 

He could think about this more once he actually talked to her about the problem. Nodoka had yet to tell Mai or Sakuta anything about why she’d run away from home. 

After school, Sakuta headed for the third-year classes to collect Nodoka but ran into her on the landing. 

“Oh, destiny!” 

“In what way?” she scoffed. 

After spending a whole day as Mai, she’d become much more Mai-like. 

At this level, given that nobody at school was all that close to her, she could easily be Mai without any students noticing anything wrong. 

“We’re headed home, right?” he asked. 

They took the stairs together. From the landing halfway up to the second floor, then down the stairs toward the first. 

Partway down those stairs, Nodoka said, “I still can’t believe it.” 

“Mm?” 

“She really doesn’t have any friends at school.” 

“I wasn’t there to see it myself, but Mai was so busy working during her first term here that she didn’t come to school at all.” 

She’d completely missed her chance to fit in with the class, to become part of the student body. Mai had said she’d been so busy acting her whole life that she’d never really fit in at elementary or junior high, either. Making up for the time she’d lost was an art beyond her capabilities. She’d gone her whole life without knowing what having “normal” friends was like. 

“Such an ordinary reason…” 

“Reasons usually are.” 

There was a long silence, and then she said, “Yeah, fair enough.” 

She must have remembered how her own high school friendships had faded. He could hear the weight of that experience in her tone. 

Outside the school grounds, the bells were ringing at the railroad crossing ahead. 

“Haven’t seen one of those in a while,” Nodoka said. 

“Bragging about being a city kid?” 

There were a lot of elevated tracks these days, so many modern lines never actually intersected with streets. 

“That ain’t worth bragging about.” 

A train pulled out of Shichirigahama Station and moved through the crossing. It was traveling so slowly they could make out the faces of everyone on board. A number of Minegahara students included. They must have booked it out of the school after classes ended. 

As they watched the train roll away, the warning bells stopped. It was suddenly quiet. The gates slowly lifted. 

The crowd of waiting students started moving again. Sakuta and Nodoka crossed with them. 

In front of them was a gentle downslope. It ran all the way to Route 134. And beyond that there was nothing but ocean, which glittered in the late afternoon sun. 

A gust of wind came up the hill, smelling like the end of summer. 

“The ocean…,” Nodoka said, stopping where the other students took a right turn toward the station. 

Sakuta had taken a step that way himself, but he stopped, looking at the water. 

“Why don’t we take a detour?” he asked, then started walking in the direction of the beach. 

Nodoka followed soon after. 

The light at Route 134 took ages to turn green, but once they crossed, Nodoka quickly ran down the stairs to the beach. 

“It really is the ocean!” 

“Girl, you’ve got one in Yokohama, too.” 

“It’s better with a beach,” Nodoka said. The sand was grabbing her feet, but she seemed to be enjoying the sensation. 

It was a weekday, so there weren’t many people playing on the beach. A few families with small children, and a few college students whose summer vacations likely extended into September. And the usual crowd of windsurfers out on the water. 

It was downright deserted compared with the peak summer crowds. 

“Am I allowed in?” Nodoka asked, her eyes locked on some kids in the surf. 

“Uh, it’s not like there’s a license required…” 

“Then I’m going for it,” she said before he even finished. “This heat is killing me!” 

“What about those?” he asked, pointing to her tights. 

“Huh? Obviously, I’m gonna take them off.” 

Nodoka’s hands vanished down the sides of her skirt. She rummaged around down there a bit, and the tights wound up around her knees. She peeled the rest off one foot, leaning on the breakwater for support, her upper body turned to reach the foot held up behind her. 

Quite a trick. Almost gave him a glimpse inside the skirt, but not quite. 

Though that was plenty alluring in its own right. 

“I had no idea girls taking tights off was so sexy.” 

“D-don’t watch, dumbass!” 

“I am your boyfriend. I’m allowed.” 

“Dating or not, some shit is off-limits!” 

She got the other half off the same way. She rolled the tights up, shoved them in her bag, and raced into the surf, leaving Sakuta in her wake. 

“Oh, this feels amazing! This is the best beach!” Nodoka yelled, splashing along the whitecaps. 

“You’re right. This is the best.” 

He almost never got to see Mai’s bare legs. They were mesmerizing. It was probably the first time he’d ever seen them paired with her school uniform. 

“Wh-why are you staring at my legs?” 

“They’re really nice.” 

“Stop looking at my sister’s body like that!” 

“I wish it was wrapped around me.” 

“……” 

That last one disturbed her so much she couldn’t even manage a response. Clearly, she’d gotten the wrong idea. 

“Just so we’re clear, I meant my face.” 

“Why would you think that was any better? Drop dead.” 

“Mai would probably say, ‘Having a younger boy’s face between my legs is no big deal.’” 

“…Sis, what do you see in this guy?” 

“……” 

“What’s with the dead look in your eyes? You wanna fight?” 

“No, but I do have a question.” 

“Huh?” 

Something he’d been wondering since yesterday. 

“Why do you avoid that word when you’re talking to Mai?” 

She’d even cut herself off, calling Mai by her name instead. 

“……” 

“You keep changing your tone so you sound more polite, too. Totally different from how you act with me.” 

“Of course I talk polite! Professionally, she’s my ‘senpai.’” 

That definitely sounded evasive. She refused to look him in the eye, too. Her gaze was locked on the waves at her feet. 

“That’s all?” 

“Yes.” 

“Then why go to her place when you left home?” 

“Huh?” 

“Normally, if you’re such a mess you’ve gotta run away from home, you don’t go to somebody you can’t even admit is your sister.” 

“……” 

“Personally, I’d pick someone much closer than that.” 

Nodoka herself had brought up her friends from junior high. She’d said she was still going to visit. 

“I’m not like you.” 

“So there’s something you want Mai to know?” 

“!” 

Her shoulders twitched. She might look like Mai, but her poker face was not nearly as advanced. She was biting all the bait he laid out. 

“Is it something like, ‘I super-hate you, Sis!’” 

“No!” she yelled over him. “That’s not it…,” she whispered. 

But the way she said it, he could only assume he’d been right. Her overly vehement denial had basically confirmed it. If nothing else, Sakuta had no doubt in his mind anymore. 

“Do what you want, girl,” he said cheerily. Not having any intention of keeping up with her turbulent emotions. 

“……” 

Nodoka stared at him, as if trying to get a read on his intent. 

“I figure if you ran away from home, you must have had a fight with your parents.” 

“……” 

Silence signaled agreement. 

“And if Mai’s the cause of that, stands to reason you’d hate her.” 

“?!” 

Her eyes went wide. He was definitely on the money. 

“Wh-what is your deal?!” 

“Girls really do blame the other girl when their boyfriend cheats on them.” 

He was sure Mai would definitely rake him over the coals, though. 

“I didn’t even say anything!” 

“You don’t need to spell things out. Mai probably knows, too.” 

“No way…” 

“I’m pretty sure. That’s what we talked about when she stopped me this morning.” 

“…It’s none of your business!” 

“Then give me her body back.” 

“……” 

Nodoka glared directly at him, not averting her eyes. She must’ve really not liked his attitude. But he didn’t like hers either, so they’d just both have to deal. 

“You’re the reason?” Nodoka asked after a brief silence. 

“For what?” 

“That she went back to work.” 

There was a grim look in her eyes. 

“No,” he said, but if Nodoka asked Mai, she’d probably get a yes. Sakuta didn’t agree. He thought it had simply been a matter of time. Him putting his oar in had just moved the timetable up a little. 

Mai loved her job, so she would’ve returned to it eventually, even without his help. She couldn’t stay away. 

Nodoka didn’t seem like she believed him. He ignored her glare, picked up a pebble from the beach, and tossed it at the water. 

“So Mai going back to work sparked a fight with your mom?” 

Mai had only just gotten back in the game and had already been in several shows. One-episode guest appearances or specials, but fairly major parts nonetheless. And she’d played them all like the star she was. 

And she’d shot so many commercials it was hard to watch TV for an hour without seeing her face. 

“……” 

Nodoka hadn’t said a word since her last question. Maybe she felt like anything she did say would be digging herself in further. 

She put her shoes on and angrily stalked off down the beach. He shrugged and went after her. 

“Don’t follow me!” 

“We’ve going the same way. Don’t make it a fight; it’ll be super-awkward.” 

“You’re the one who did that!” 

“Ack, this is painful.” 

“……” 

Now she really was giving him the silent treatment. She seemed genuinely furious. 

They didn’t talk at all until they were back home. Sakuta tried a few times, but Nodoka didn’t say a thing. Or even look at him. 

A grueling thirty-minute trip, but Nodoka emerged victorious. 

“Go home and have the talk that you clearly need with Mai,” he said outside their respective buildings. 

“……” 

Nodoka didn’t respond or even look at him. Nothing he could do. 

“Right, then,” he said and turned to go. 

“Wait,” she said. To his surprise. 

She was still staring at the ground. 

“…I don’t wanna go,” she said. 

“Huh?” 

“Can I stay with you instead?” 

She finally looked at him. 

“You’ve mostly got it figured out, so…how can I stay at her place now?” 

Certainly, it was awkward finding out that someone knew everything you were trying to keep secret. 

“Don’t worry about me knowing. I mean, I’m sure Mai does, too.” 

“That just makes it worse! And I can’t go anywhere else in this body…” 

This made some sense, but it also didn’t. 

“What are you gonna tell Mai?” 

“Well…” 

“No plan at all?” 

“…Come up with an excuse for me.” 

“That would just make Mai mad at me.” 

“If you don’t let me stay, I’m in trouble.” 

“Nah, sounds like a pain.” 

“Oh, come on!” 

“Hey!” said a voice behind them. “Think of the neighbors. Don’t start yelling outside my home.” 

A blond girl was walking toward them from the station. Mai. 

“What?” she asked. 

“……” 

Nodoka didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. She just stared at the ground, remaining silent. 

Mai glanced at Sakuta. 

Asking the same question with her eyes. 

How should he answer? 

Honestly, he didn’t think it was a problem anyone else should be addressing. Even if, somehow, he was forced to be involved, it should still definitely be Nodoka herself doing the talking. The two people concerned had to hash this out between themselves. 

“……” 

But it was also true that the problem wasn’t going to be solved if nobody said anything. Might be some harsh medicine, but Sakuta figured he would have to get the ball rolling. Staring at the ground in silence sure wasn’t gonna accomplish that. 

And Sakuta was clinging to the hope that Mai would be able to handle all of Nodoka’s mess somehow. 

“Given everything between the two of you, Toyohama suggested she stay at my place.” 

“……” 

Nodoka glared at him like he’d betrayed her. This was her own fault. Sakuta had never been on anyone’s side but Mai’s. 

“Why?” Mai asked flatly. 

“……” 

Nodoka didn’t answer. She was still staring silently at the ground. They were getting nowhere fast. 

“Uh, so…,” Sakuta began. 

“Wait,” Nodoka said. Not sounding sure of herself. “…I should be the one.” 

Maybe she figured if Sakuta was going to say it anyway, she should at least say it herself. In which case, there was no reason for him to continue. 

There was another pause, and then Nodoka finally spoke up. “I…I’ve been compared with you my whole life.” 

Her voice barely above a whisper. 

“Ever since I was little…we went to the same auditions, but you were always the one who got the job. And every time, my mom got so mad. ‘Why can’t you do what Mai does?’” 

Mai didn’t say anything. But she didn’t look away, either. She was watching Nodoka closely. 

“Then you put your career on hold…and I finally managed to get somewhere, joining Sweet Bullet. Mom was finally a little nicer, even praising me sometimes…and then, and then, you came back?! Grabbing juicy parts on all those TV shows! Tons of commercials! I can’t look at the fashion magazine rack without seeing your face on a cover! Why do you have to stand in my way?!” 

“……” 

“Here I am, finally able to achieve something, and you just vault right past it! Nobody ever pays attention to anyone but you. Even my own mother never thinks about anyone else! Stop ruining everything I’ve worked so hard for!” 

No matter how worked up Nodoka got, Mai said nothing. Her expression never changed. This whole situation seemed to be way harder on Nodoka herself. 

But it was way too late for her to back down. She kept her eyes on Mai, too. 

“I hate you…!” she said, her voice shaking. The heated emotions of a moment ago were gone now. She was calm again. “I hate my own sister.” 

The air was so tense it seemed to have stifled all noise around them. 

Like all moisture and color had been drained from the world. 

In that gray space, the first words came from Mai. 

“Well, good,” she said and let out a sigh of relief. 

“Huh?” Nodoka gaped at her. She clearly hadn’t expected that reaction. But what Mai said next made her gulp. 

“I’ve always hated you, Nodoka.” 

Her voice was flat, curt, and horrifyingly cold. 

Nodoka froze completely. Mai’s good had lowered her guard, and then she’d hit her with this. The color was draining from her face. She was clearly in shock. She looked genuinely hurt. Sakuta was pretty shocked by this himself. 

“You said you hated me first. Why do you look so surprised?” 

Mai had a point, but Nodoka obviously hadn’t expected the counterattack, and that made the damage all the more severe. She was horribly pale. Her lips were quivering like she was trying to say something, but nothing meaningful came out. 

Keeping her eyes on her hapless victim, Mai spoke again. 

“My father abandoned me and left home. Why should I give a damn about some kid he had with another woman?” 

This was a reasonable position. Normally, the two of them would never have met. 

“All of this is his fault. Not just for leaving. He’s the one who first put us on a collision course.” 

“……” 

Nodoka was staring at a crack in the asphalt, unable to look Mai in the face. Letting Mai’s words cut her to pieces. 

“It’s not like you’ve done anything wrong yourself, Nodoka. But I have my share of pent-up emotions about you, too.” 

How could anyone possibly respond to that? Even if you understood it, you couldn’t agree with it, but trying to deny it would only make things worse. 

“……” 

Nodoka picked the best option—saying nothing and keeping her head down. Life was full of shit that just wasn’t fair. 

4 

Sakuta sat in the bathtub, lost in thought for what seemed like an eternity. Then a bead of sweat rolled down his bangs and landed quietly on the water’s surface. 

He blinked, emerging from his reverie. 

He’d been in the water so long his whole body felt flushed. If he stayed in any longer, he’d definitely pass out. 

Putting his thoughts on hold, Sakuta heaved himself out of the tub. 

This was a problem he’d never find an answer to, no matter how long he thought about it. 

Mai and Nodoka were each carrying a ton of baggage. Sakuta was pretty sure none of those emotions were simple enough to boil down to “hate”—the roots of it ran way deeper than that. This was a family issue, the kind of problem made even worse by how close they were. 

Not something a third party could casually get involved with. 

“But if I’m gonna marry Mai someday, Nodoka’ll be family, too,” he muttered as he dried himself off. 

He threw some shorts on and left the changing room, bare chested. Heading straight to the living room. 

Someone moved as he entered. 

A blond girl was sitting in front of the TV. She had the remote in her hand but was just channel surfing. She had the appearance of Nodoka Toyohama, but that was still Mai inside. 

After that big fight, there was no way the two of them could be together. Mai had asked Sakuta to let her stay the night. 

Kaede had come to the door expecting Sakuta and freaked out. She’d fled all the way back to her room, terrified of this strange blond girl. 

“H-have you become a delinquent?!” 

“Not at all.” 

“Are you a gigolo?!” 

“What in the world makes you think that?” 

“You’ve brought another new girl!” 

“Ah, right.” 

Over the last few months, he’d brought over Mai, Shouko, Rio, and now Nodoka. The sheer quantity of girls he’d had over did lend Kaede’s argument some weight. 

“B-but don’t worry!” Kaede said emphatically. 

“What now?” 

“I promise I won’t tell Mai!” 

“Mm, thanks, Kaede.” 

“You told me once men live for adventure!” 

“I don’t think I did…” 

But his protests were apparently not convincing enough. Mai reached up from behind and pinched his butt. He let out a weird yelp. 

That whole mess must have worn Kaede out. There was no sign of her—she must’ve already gone to bed. Sakuta glanced at the clock; it was already past midnight. Children should be asleep. 

“You sure took your time. Were you thinking about me?” Mai asked with an impish grin. 

“I am always thinking about you, Mai.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” 

“It’s true!” 

“What were you really doing in there?” 

“I was pretending to be a submarine.” 

She shot him a look of contempt. 

“Ho-ho, you know what I’m talking about?” he asked. 

“If we don’t get off this topic right now, I’ll be furious.” 

Her eyes looked grim, so Sakuta zipped his mouth closed. In lieu of further speech, he got a sports drink from the fridge and took a sip. The same product Mai was in a lot of ads for. Their eyes met, and she nodded approvingly. But her smile soon vanished. 

“Those scars aren’t fading,” she said. 

There were three claw marks on Sakuta’s chest. Like welts, they were a different color—and had persisted for two years now. 

“Wanna touch?” 

“Why would I?” 

“I just want you to touch me.” 

“Don’t be stupid. Put a shirt on.” 

She turned her back on him. 

“Feel free to stare all you like,” he said. 

“It’d be a tragedy if Nodoka ends up unable to forget the image of your naked body.” 

“She’s not a kid or anything.” 

“She definitely is.” 

“And who just had a huge fight with that kid?” 

“I didn’t…” 

Mai started to argue the point reflexively but quickly thought better of it. She trailed off awkwardly and pretended to be interested in the TV. The screen was showing late-night sports. A digest of the pro baseball leagues—the pennant race was nearly over. Mai was unlikely to be getting much out of this—her mind was clearly on other things. 

“Were you about to say you didn’t mean it?” 

“Oh, I meant it,” Mai snapped. “Everything I said, I feel. Still do.” 

There was no trace of a lie in her voice or expression. 

“But that isn’t the whole truth, either.” 

“……” 

This time she didn’t answer. Sakuta took that as a sign he was right. 

“There’s all kinds of hate,” he said as he pulled a T-shirt on. 

He sat down next to Mai, their shoulders almost touching. 

“Not too close,” she said, giving him a shove. She scooted away for good measure. 

“I can’t even sit next to you?” 

“You seem ready to pounce on me.” 

“Was it that obvious?” 

“If you do that to Nodoka’s body, I’ll make sure you can never pretend to be a submarine again.” 

Mai was unyielding on this point. Her attitude remained unchanged. She was not going to let him touch Nodoka’s body…and despite the big speech about how much she hated her, she was still calling her Nodoka like they were close. 

“That would ruin the one source of entertainment baths have to offer.” 

“Sigh… Why are you so dumb?” 

“All men do it!” 

“When you’re little, maybe…and I said we’re not talking about that! Don’t force me to entertain such dirty talk with Nodoka’s mouth any further!” 

“You’re the one who brought it up again.” 

She scowled at him. He didn’t think this was about the submarine thing, though. 

Mai had hurt Nodoka’s feelings in a fight she’d wanted to avoid. And that had hurt her, too. So she wanted something else from Sakuta—she wanted him to be nice to her. Probably. 

But Sakuta chose a different tactic. 

“I think honesty is the best policy,” he said. 

Even if it seemed like Mai wanted him to be nice, if he dutifully comforted her, it would only get on her nerves. Sakuta was well aware she was always harsh on herself that way. 

“I don’t want you to talk sense.” 

“You’re supercute when you sulk like that.” 

“Does that mean you think Nodoka’s cute?” 

“Ugh, don’t be obnoxious.” 

He was expecting her to get mad at him. 

“……” 

She did give him a wordless glare, but the strength of it faded quickly. 

“Okay, I admit to that one,” she said, grimacing. “Can I borrow your bath?” 

She got to her feet. He watched her go. She turned back at the entrance to the changing room. 

“If you peek, I’ll stab you.” 

“Don’t stab me until you’re back in your own body.” 

If it was going to be the last thing he ever saw, he wanted the moment to be perfect. 

“Idiot,” Mai said with a laugh. 

She closed the door behind her. 

After a while, he heard the shower running. 

“Hopefully, she’ll switch back in the morning,” he muttered. Allowing himself a brief moment of hope.