Kokoro Connect

Chapter 2 : "That" Was Started from "th"

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Chapter 2 : "That" Was Started from "th"

In order to hold the delayed club meeting, the Cultural Research Club members hurried to the clubroom. Of course, Taichi was one of these members.

The five club members sat around the rectangular table. Although an embarra.s.sed atmosphere could still be felt from Aoki Yos.h.i.+fumi and Kiriyama Yui today, at least they were obedient and kept silent.

Taichi hadn"t yet touched on yesterday"s matter because it felt like it had become quite sensitive. The atmosphere was rather stiff in room 401 of the recreation building.

Vice-president Inaba Himeko paid no attention to the terrible atmosphere and decided to start the meeting.

"Geez! Let"s start our club meeting! First—"

"Ah! I left something in the cla.s.sroom."

The president, Nagase Iori, suddenly interrupted the procedures.

"Hmm! Just when I extraordinarily want to seriously hold a meeting you pour cold water on me!"

Inaba was getting exasperated.

"Inaba-chan, calm down, get a hold of yourself～～"

"You know you are the cause of this, don"t you?"

"Then, Inaba-chan, can I go get that now?"

An innocent childish smile was drawn on Iori"s face . Her hair, bundled behind her head, looked like it was hopping and jumping... Of course, this couldn"t possibly have happened.

"Get those kinds of things later... No, forget it. Go get it... fast."

"Yes, sir～！"

"I"m not a sir... She"s not listening, is she."

Without waiting for Inaba to finish, Nagase had already rushed out of the clubroom.

"Haha, even Inaba can"t handle Nagase."

For the first time since she got in the clubroom, a relieved Kiriyama spoke.

"Although it"s not to the point that I can"t really handle her... still, it might be intractable."

Inaba sighed.

The atmosphere seemed to have cooled down.

With this, Aoki returned to his normal state and started to joke around pointlessly. Kiriyama and Taichi responded with sharp-tongued replies.

The clubroom was returning to its normal condition.

"...It felt as if that girl did that because she felt the mood, which is why I think it"s intractable."

At the very moment Inaba"s low voice reached Taichi"s ear...

—The world turned pitch black.

When he regained his senses, the world had become horizontal.

...Nope, it"s because I am lying horizontal myself - Taichi immediately thought of a really obvious answer.

He wasn"t on the chair he was sitting on just a while ago. Moreover, his face was stuck firmly on a table.

Taichi got up and looked around.

A cla.s.sroom.

Not the clubroom.

No one here. Shouts from some club practising came from the court. There were also batting sounds.

Taichi felt a bit dizzy. He held onto the table to keep his body steady. His view wasn"t quite coordinated... Is it because of the dizziness? No, it seemed there was a more significant reason behind this.

I should be in the clubroom on the fourth floor of the recreation building right now. And I am sure because up until now, I was talking with Inaba and the others. But somehow, for no reason, I am now in the cla.s.sroom.

Did something happen?

To grasp the situation, Taichi looked around the cla.s.sroom again.

The way the tables were organised, the posters on the board, the contacts written on the corner of the blackboard, and the little bookshelf on the edge of the cla.s.sroom—everything was familiar to Taichi.

This was Taichi"s cla.s.s: 1C.

If he had come from the clubroom, no matter how hard he tried, he would at the very least need a few minutes.

Taichi trembled slightly; he felt something bad was going to happen.

Is it that I teleported to the cla.s.sroom from the clubroom instantaneously? Or is it that I walked to the cla.s.sroom myself, but for some reason , my memory has faded? Or is it that my time in the clubroom was only a dream and I was just having a nap in the cla.s.sroom all along? Or could it be... something else?

"So which is it actually... eh?"

That was too impulsive.

Taichi was so shocked that his whole body trembled while he held his hand beside his mouth.

"...You"re kidding."

As he spoke in a low voice, he moved his hand to his neck.

He couldn"t even feel the prominence of his Adam"s apple in his neck. His neck was as smooth as that of a girl.

I must have misheard. Taichi tried in his heart to reject the voice that came from his mouth. Although he tried to, he couldn"t. His rational side told him he didn"t mishear.

"Why did my voice become as smooth as a girl"s?"

Is this a dream?

No, this couldn"t possibly be... this feeling and texture could not be that of a dream, but reality.

Calm down. Taichi repeated these two words in his head. He tried to control his fantasies from wandering off in strange directions. No matter how hard he tried, though, his fantasies were still impossible to control or stop.

Aoki"s words from yesterday flashed through his mind.

In any case, not confirming it would not get him anywhere. So Taichi inhaled deeply and, after exhaling, slowly looked down to his feet.

From his waist to his knee, there was a cloth, cylindrical in shape. Looking objectively, this resembled a piece of clothing that females would wear... in other words, it was a skirt.

Then, at the bottom of the skirt, he could see a hint of the white and slender thighs. Looking further down revealed a pair of soft legs covered with black knee socks.

"Arghh—!" Taichi cried. But it was not Taichi"s voice... Or should we say that this voice was now Taichi"s?

Taichi drooped his head and used his hands to pull at the "thing" covering his upper body for confirmation.

Undoubtedly, that was Yamabos.h.i.+ High School"s uniform. The only thing was... it was the female uniform.

Taichi was very confused.

He couldn"t grasp his present condition, situation and plight.

No, more accurately, "it wouldn"t be that". Such a conclusion brought along an overwhelming existence that floated in his mind. Even so, a consciousness long developed in human manners was continuing to boil in his mind and trying to veil his sudden conclusion.

Reality, however, brutally forced itself upon Taichi"s eyes.

If he were a man, he being Taichi, then that would never exist... that object, which had appeared in front of Taichi at the very start.

Taichi"s chest had expanded.

That degree couldn"t possibly be due to inflammation. No matter how strong a force his chest was subjected to, this kind of expansion was obviously not the kind that a boy"s pectoral muscles would undergo.

Undoubtedly, this should originally belong to a woman, this is, "that" which started from "th".

If this was the real thing, he had to acknowledge that "this is what happened".

Taichi nervously swallowed his saliva in an effort to calm himself down.

Then he finally decided to hold his hands in front of his chest and used his right hand to grasp the right hill and his left hand to grasp the left hill. Then he started rubbing them.

Rub, rub, rub, rub...

Even though it was so supple, as if it were about to melt, it was quite firm and elastic at the same time. It was as though it was slipping out between his fingers but at the same time it absolutely wouldn"t. This was an indescribable and amazing sensation.

This in fact was an unknown experience. Although Taichi hadn"t touched the real thing in his sixteen years of life, he believed it wholeheartedly.

—This must be the real thing, "that" that started from "th".

And every time he rubbed "that" from "th", he could feel that sensation. In other words, this was not simply a decoration stuck on his body—-just as Taichi started to think like this...

A *click* came from the cla.s.sroom door. The door opened. A girl entered the cla.s.sroom and her eyes met Taichi’s.

Taichi"s condition had already made him dizzy to the point where he could not respond to this unexpected new development.

Walking stiffly with the same pose was a person who held her silky hair behind her, and wore a trademark pair of gla.s.ses—Fujis.h.i.+ma Maiko, cla.s.s president of cla.s.s 1C.

Staring at each other silently for a few seconds, Fujis.h.i.+ma started to speak slowly.

"I am...that...I saw that the cla.s.sroom windows were open, so I returned to close them. That"s because the weather forecast said that it might rain tonight...Then, [Nagase-san], what...are you doing?

—Fujis.h.i.+ma called Taichi [Nagase].

He should be Yaegas.h.i.+ Taichi and not [Nagase], but is he now [Nagase Iori]?

"If I were to tell you what I saw, you looked like you were rubbing your own b.r.e.a.s.t.s..."

Having been told this by Fujis.h.i.+ma, Taichi then realized he was still clenching his b.r.e.a.s.t.s with his hands. He hurriedly unclenched of his hands. Although he felt that his brain couldn’t operate because of insufficient storage, he still understood how bad the situation was.

"..."

Fujis.h.i.+ma eyed Taichi and widened her pupils behind her gla.s.ses to have a good look at Taichi. Taichi couldn"t escape. He could only stand rigidly.

Deep silence spread through the room.

But Fujis.h.i.+ma quickly dispersed it with an unpredictable question.

"Do you want me to help you to rub them?"

"...Eh?"

What development was this?

"Rather than doing it yourself, wouldn"t it be better for someone else to rub it for you? On multiple levels."

"No, no need."

Although the part "on multiple levels" was quite interesting, Taichi still rejected the offer.

"You don"t have to hold back. I have some confidence when it comes to this."

Fujis.h.i.+ma stepped forward.

"Fuji, Fujis.h.i.+ma?"

Fujis.h.i.+ma seemed to have been turned on by a miraculous switch.

The cla.s.s president, who was normally a model student, had an erotic expression on her face for the first time, which caused Taichi to be uncertain about what to do.

Fujis.h.i.+ma gradually approached Taichi.

Maybe this was crisis of virginity? In this situation, however, who was the owner of the virginity... No, these things weren"t worth thinking about right now. Taichi began to panic.

"You, you should first calm down, Fujis.h.i.+ma! If we calm down and talk, we could understand each other correctly!"

"Yeah, so let us talk... using our bodies!"

"Bo...Bodies? Wa...Wait!"

Actually, what really happened that resulted in this situation?

Taichi couldn"t grasp the force that caused this.

Now another person rushed into the cla.s.sroom with surprising momentum.

"Tai—Chi!"

Breathing heavily and screaming was the person—[Yaegas.h.i.+ Taichi]... No wait, it should be "someone with the body of Yaegas.h.i.+ Taichi", right?

Taichi used his still-puzzled mind to predict any possibilities.

Fujis.h.i.+ma called Taichi as [Nagase]... Then, if not neglecting those supernatural phenomena, thinking logically, the person now moving and entering the cla.s.sroom in [Taichi"s body] should be Nagase?

"Yae, [Yaegas.h.i.+-kun]?"

Suddenly rus.h.i.+ng in, [Taichi] caught Fujis.h.i.+ma in a tight corner.

"Fujis.h.i.+ma-san! If you need to talk to Taichi... No, that"s me... no, need to talk to [Nagase Iori], then sorry! Because of emergency situations , I need to take her away! Ok. Now come with me!"

The person now moving as [Taichi], who was most likely [Nagase], came beside Taichi and pulled his hand, planning to bring him outside.

At this moment, Fujis.h.i.+ma grabbed Taichi"s other hand.

"Wha... What"s the matter, [Yaegas.h.i.+ Taichi]? Don"t you see we are doing something important now?"

"Right, something serious almost happened! Let me go, Fujis.h.i.+ma! I have to go!"

Taichi [Nagase] said.

"Look, that"s even what Taichi... Nope, that"s even what [Nagase] is saying!"

Nagase [Taichi] said.

"Why do the tones you guys are using seem so weird? Anyway, if you want to take Nagase-san away, give me a good reason!"

Fujis.h.i.+ma still showed a sign of rejection.

"Hmm, then have a taste of this!"

Nagase [Taichi] jumped on Fujis.h.i.+ma as she cried.

"Tickle, Tickle, Tickle..."

"Eh, ah, stop it...! My abdomen can"t take it... Hahaha. And [Yaegas.h.i.+ Taichi], what you are doing now is s.e.x- s.e.xual hara.s.sment... Ahahaha, stop, stop please..."

Cla.s.s 1C"s cla.s.sroom sunk into sharp cries from h.e.l.l.

"So, what kind of prank are you trying to pull this time?"

Inaba eyed Taichi and the others with cold eyes.

[Taichi] and [Nagase], having returned to the clubroom, immediately confirmed their statuses together. Although they screamed at their faces in the mirror during the process and were caught in a mess, they had now already calmed down.

According to Nagase, she was in the cla.s.sroom when she suddenly blacked out. Then, when she got back on her feet, she was in the clubroom facing Inaba and the others. By the way, according to those who witnessed the situation (Inaba and the others), [Taichi"s body], which was originally sitting, suddenly fell forwards as though losing consciousness, then bent up again at the next instant.

Then Nagase temporarily went into a flurry; however, she remembered Aoki"s words from yesterday and thought, "Isn"t this a similar situation?". With that in mind, she flew to the cla.s.sroom where [Nagase] was... this should have been what had happened up until now.

"Ah... rather than souls, it seems more like our personalities were exchanged!"

Ahaha... Nagase [Taichi] spoke in an unbelievably swift tone and laughed cheerfully.

"Tai, Taichi having such a refres.h.i.+ng smile is kind of rare... His laughs normally are quite twisted."

Kiriyama, surprised, blinked as she spoke in a low voice.

"Yes. In fact, his appearance isn"t bad. If he smiled like that all the time, he"d be loved by many girls!"

Aoki also chimed in with them.

"Is my smile really that bad...? I think I"m just smiling normally..."

"...Those things don"t really matter! Don"t change the subject!"

A "Pong" could be heard as Inaba struck the table with her fist.

"—Ouch..."

"That strike just then must have really hurt?"

"Taichi, would you please..."

Inaba planned to strike a deathblow at Taichi [Nagase].

"Stop talking..."

But just before hitting him, she turned her body over and let her sweeping side punch[1] deviate from its path towards Taichi. Posing like a ballet dancer, she held out her hands and remained still on her feet. Her face continued to twitch, either because of her shame or her anger.

"Inaba looks quite happy!"

Nagase [Taichi] ferociously struck a deathblow.

"I think this is just what happened—Inaba was attacked by Taichi"s skilled unwanted sharp-tongued responses and wanted to strike back at Taichi with a physical attack as usual, but after seeing that he"s now Nagase... she stopped herself midway."

"Inaba was even criticised by a guy like Aoki, how sad..."

Aoki and Kiriyama pa.s.sed the baton and described Inaba dismally.

Inaba"s face twitched, but she still kept a good pose, as if deep breathing autonomously.

"This is the first time I"ve seen such an interesting Inaba!"

Taichi [Nagase] poured words from his heart. Inaba eyed Taichi sharply.

"...You wait and see, Tai..."

Just when she spoke, Inaba rolled her eyes and became silent.

Nagase [Taichi], as though waiting for this moment, smiled wickedly.

"Inaba, you just turned to [Nagase] and called her Taichi, right?"

Nagase Iori was perhaps the only person who can repel Inaba in the club.

"Hmm—"

Inaba had a bitter expression.

"That"s because... You two have such strange acting skills..."

"Do you think Taichi can act like me, Nagase Iori, so well?"

Nagase, having the [appearance of Taichi], stormed towards Inaba. Her voice and appearance were of that of [Taichi]; however, her actions and way of speech belonged to Nagase.

"Inaba, you probably won"t believe this... even I don"t quite believe it, but you"ve got to trust me! I am Taichi, and this [Taichi] over here is Nagase."

Despite being uncomfortable and uncoordinated with his high pitch, Taichi [Nagase] still pleaded his case.

After biting on her nail, Inaba asked the others.

"How do Yui and Aoki see this? Yesterday you two... Nope, it was only Aoki, argued that something like soul exchange occurred?"

"Yeah, Taichi and Nagase must have exchanged their souls. This is a talk of experience ! Does Yui agree with me?"

"Hmm... Looks like... I can only admit it really happened..."

"I thought you denied that strongly yesterday?"

Inaba complained.

"Because that was an awful experience!"

Kiriyama clapped her hands on the table with a "Pong" while rising, causing her chestnut hair to flutter vibrantly.

"Oh. So that means Yui admits she exchanged her soul with mine yesterday night, right?"

Although she was being asked with a playful smile, Kiriyama expressed her extreme disgust, but still replied lightly with a "Yeah..." and nodded her a.s.sent.

"That"s because... if I were to say that was a dream, it would really be strange, and Nagase and Taichi have said that they have exchanged too..."

"Hey... are you guys for real? Soul exchanging happens in fairy tales, not in reality..."

It was understandable that Inaba couldn"t believe it; after all, this "phenomenon of soul exchange" wasn"t believable with just words.

However strange and contrary to common sense and knowledge some things were, to those who have been accidentally touched by them, they can, surprisingly, easily accept it as the truth.

Even if it were logically impossible, once you"ve experienced it, even the impossible will become mundane.

Inaba looked at the countenance of the four members. They were all nodding their a.s.sent.

"So you guys accept this so easily...? Can"t you at least freak out or something?"

"Ayah... once you"re part of it, you will feel that "ah, eh? Yeah!""

"Nagase, you didn"t explain it at all."

Taichi [Nagase] responded with a sharp-tongued reply.

"I, I am starting to feel a headache coming... but if we continue like this, this will never be settled... Let me confirm this again, you two are not kidding, Nagase and Taichi exchanged their souls for real... or may I say exchanged their personalities?"

"That"s why I am Taichi despite appearing to be [Nagase]."

"This shows that you, having [the body of Nagase], should know only what Taichi knows; and you, having [the body of Taichi], should know only what Nagase knows, right?"

She suggested, wanting to identify them from what they knew.

"This really is the easiest way. Any question is fine. Ask me, and I will be glad to reply... Although, wouldn"t it be too hard to find something that Inaba and I know but Nagase doesn"t...?"

Nevertheless, Inaba didn"t quite care about Taichi"s dilemma. She confidently waved her hand and said,

"Ah, don"t worry about that."

"Alright, from now you should reply to my questions. I"ll only believe you if you reply immediately."

Inaba got up and leaned close to Taichi. Despite his heart pounding due to her inconceivable s.e.xual charm, Taichi [Nagase] still firmly endured her scrutiny.

"Come on!"

"You have to reply in a few milliseconds."

"Ok. I know."

"Alright, then let"s start!"

Inaba deeply inhaled...

She quickly asked the question in one breath!

"What"s the name of the latest AV[2] Aoki lent you?"

""Big b.o.o.bs Girl High..." Wait, what are you trying to get me to say! And Inaba, you don"t even know the answer yourself!"

Taichi [Nagase], who had almost accidentally thrown out the AV name, began to panic.

"Ohoh! It is quite rare to see Taichi speak so loudly and then get fl.u.s.tered... But first, putting that aside, how did Inaba know of our trade?"

"That doesn"t matter. Also, Aoki"ll help verify the answer. So, Taichi, the answer is...?"

Although Inaba seemed serious, you could see a bit of pleasure and joy somewhere deep in her eyes.

Taichi glanced at Kiriyama and Nagase [Taichi] and examined their faces. Kiriyama looked at Taichi with a blazing red face. And Nagase mumbled, "Big b.o.o.bs ah..." while looking at Taichi with the whites of her eyes. Along with Nagase having the [appearance of Taichi], Taichi was on pins and needles.

"Then, Inaba-san, could you cut me some slack and let me whisper the answer to Aoki?"

After being silent for a while, Inaba lifted her chin towards Aoki.

Relieved, Taichi [Nagase] quickly moved to Aoki and told him the answer in case Inaba changed her mind.

"How"s the answer, Aoki?"

"Completely correct, captain Inaba! Also, hearing those perverted words from [Nagase] is quite lucky!"

Aoki"s stupid speech made Nagase [Taichi] think, "Eh? What is this? I feel I just lost something important . Should I ask him for compensation?" and had a feeling of insecurity.

"Then, now that we know we have two big breast fetish idiots in our club, let"s test the person who has [Taichi"s appearance] to see if she"s Nagase."

"Would it be that Inaba, while confirming whether our answers are correct, is actually trying to get revenge for teasing her?"

The appalling fright caused Taichi [Nagase] to groan with a shudder.

"Must abstain from antagonising Inaba..."

Kiriyama looked as if she had become even more frightened of Inaba.

Inaba stood up, walked to Nagase [Taichi], and whispered something in her ears. Then...

"Poof! *Cough...cough*, Wait... Ina, Inaba-san, is that true?"

"True."

Inaba said distinctly.

"Why will... You don"t have to say such things now."

Nagase [Taichi] covered her eyes with her hand while slipping under the chair. She looked like she had been whispered to with some impulsive content.

"But... we truly are grown-ups now, right...*Sob*"

What did she say that made her like this? This was really curious.

Inaba returned to her seat without turning a hair. She then released all her tension, then looked up and gazed at the ceiling, mumbling,

"Personality exchange... I believe it."

Ohoh... The other four members celebrated Inaba"s compromise.

"Even if it were an act, between the possibility of Taichi making such diverse expressions and the possibility of personality exchange, after thinking about this carefully, the latter seems more likely."

"How should I respond to that opinion... And also, why are those three people nodding with an obvious "Oh, so this is what happened" look on their faces..."

Taichi really wanted to ask them about what they thought of him.

"I understand the personality exchange between Nagase and Taichi... Alright, a.s.sume I understand... So, what will you two decide to do from now on?"

Although a bit late, Inaba pinpointed the most vital problem.

"Hmm... Ha... ～What to do?"

Nagase [Taichi] smirked.

"Why do you seem so free today..."

Inaba also felt surprised.

"Before that, let me hear from Aoki and Kiriyama about their exchange. You eventually switched back later on, right?"

"Yeah... How can I put it? It should"ve been sometime around 3 a.m. at night? When I was sleeping in my bedroom, I suddenly woke up and felt a bit insecure. Then I looked around the room and found out that I was in a room I had never seen before. Though I was frightened when I was confirming the situation, it was a pleasant surprise when I saw Kiriyama in the mirror! "Ah..." This made me even more confused; however, I changed back to myself and returned to my bed when I wasn"t paying attention. That was the kind of feeling I had. Did Yui have a similar feeling as well?"

"Yeah, similar, but the difference is, I thought it was a nightmare when I saw myself in the mirror so I was cowering on the bed. Really, I didn"t even care if it was my own bed or not. Also, after I returned to my own room... Nope, after I returned to [my body], I found a big mess in my room."

Kiriyama looked at Aoki with disdain.

"Ab...About that, I am really regretful."

Aoki apologised.

"Oh... how long was your exchange?"

Nagase [Taichi] asked Aoki.

"I think it was no more than an hour. About thirty to forty minutes?"

"Only about thirty to forty minutes... how strange, though of course the phenomenon itself is already really strange..."

Inaba frowned.

"So does it really have to do with time? Or is it affected by something else—"

Before ending his question, Taichi"s vision and consciousness was suddenly stopped as if being unplugged.

"—Oi! Are you okay?"

With such loud voices rampantly swirling in his mind, Taichi frowned and reopened his eyes. The dark had suddenly vanished, and the usual view of the club re-entered his eyes... Nope, not right.

Until just now, Inaba should have been in front of him and on the right. Now she was in front. Aoki and Kiriyama"s seats had also changed. And [Nagase] now had "the appearance of Nagase" and was staring at him.

This meant that...

" "We"re back to normal!" "

Taichi cried simultaneously with Nagase, whose countenance suddenly brightened up.

"Is this for real..."

Inaba murmured while slipping off from her seat.

In the end, that day"s meeting still ended with vice-president Inaba"s order: "This personality exchange phenomenon is temporarily confidential and should not be told to anyone."

Translation NotesJump up↑ Sweeping side punch is a technique in karate that uses fingertips to attack the opponent"s throat, abdomen, eyes and etc. body parts. There are four types of sweeping side punch, from using one finger to four fingers.Jump up↑ AV is short for Adult Video.

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