Kozue Suzuka
"Eh?!" Hisa and Rem shouted after I told them that I actually asked Araki-kun out on a date. We met at Rem's house during the weekend to chat and the first thing they asked me was about Araki-kun because they saw me—Araki-kun inside my body—deviating from the usual path I took to the train station.
"What happened?! What did he say?!" Rem shouted, sitting on the floor.
"Most importantly, what did you say?!" Hisa asked, sitting beside me on the bed.
"Hey, what do you mean by that?" I replied with a straight face. "I just asked him if he wanted to go out on a date with me." It's not like I was forced to do it since he found out about the tickets…
"Then?" Rem asked me as she and Hisa stared at me with eagerness.
"He took a bit of time to reply, but he said yes." I can't believe how nervous I was. What if he said no?
"Huh?! He took time to reply? To you?! Now I want to punch him on the face!" Hisa yelled. I just stared at her, already used to her acting like that.
"It's been a while since you've shown your true self," Rem said.
"I know! But why would he even think about it?" Hisa added, still upset.
"Well, I'm also glad he did," I said. Hisa and Rem looked at me, puzzled. "It means he gave it a thought and didn't do it out of an impulse," I continued. Hisa and Rem's expression didn't change much after I explained it. Maybe I'm weird.
"You know, you can be quite mature sometimes. Very rarely, though," Rem remarked.
"Hey," I let out.
"But that's boring. There must be a reason why he hesitated," Hisa continued. "Also, why do you have dark circles?" she asked me.
"Yeah, you never have them," Rem added. Yeah, they even have told me they're jealous of me because of that.
I sighed before replying. "I've been working until later to get money to go to the theme park with Araki-kun and then with Yu-tan on her birthday, but I don't think I'll get it on time."
Rem said, "Oh, we can help you—"
But I interrupted her, "No. I need to get it on my own. And you already gave me your tickets, I'll pay you back when I can."
Hisa shook her head and replied, "We gave you the tickets because we wanted. And why don't you give something cheaper to Yu-tan, save more, and take her to the theme park another day?"
"Because she found the tickets and I told her that was her birthday gift… I can't take it back, she would get really sad," I responded.
"You can't make Yu-tan sad!" Rem shouted.
"Exactly," I said. I yawned and lied down on the bed. "Why did you have to mention the dark circles, now I'm sleepy."
"What? But it's only seven!" Rem said. "Hisa, what should we do to keep her awake?"
"I don't know. Maybe she'll get a bit lively if we talk about her Araki-kun," Hisa smirked. I instantly sat back on the bed as my face felt warmer. Oh no, I knew it. The questions are coming…
"Tell us, Kozue Suzuka-san, what do you like about Araki Koji-kun?" Hisa asked. Why does this feel like an interview?!
"Well… I'm not sure," I responded. I really am not sure. I've been trying to find out why, but I always end up thinking it's because we swap bodies.
"You're not sure," Hisa said with a straight face. "In that case, describe him. We haven't met him properly yet and we want to know more about the guy you like."
"Describe him?" I replied and looked at the floor, with my hands on the bed. Araki-kun appeared on my mind and I began to describe, "His voice is kind of deep, he's very tall, his eyes are completely black, and his hair is so black that it almost looks blue."
"What about his butt?" Rem grinned.
"W-What?!" I screamed.
"I'm kidding," she giggled. "But you should be aware of it." What does she mean?!
"So you started by describing his appearance. Interesting…" Hisa said while gazing at me. What is she thinking?
"Do you think he's attractive?" Rem asked me.
"Eh? W-Well, he's not bad looking at all…" I replied. My heart raced as Araki-kun's image was still fixed in my head.
"So you like him physically," Hisa added as she still gazed at me. "What else can you tell us?"
Her stare is scary! "What else… He's a bit annoying and negative sometimes, but he's a nice person. He's confident, straightforward, and serious, but he can be funny and talk a lot more some times. He also seems to listen and be supportive, but I don't know him enough to tell yet." Oh, and he's scared of thunder, but I doubt he would like me to tell others about it.
When I stopped talking, I realized I was remembering the moments when Araki-kun and I interacted. My heart calmed down, but I also noticed that I was smiling. Hisa and Rem stared at me, smirking. My cheeks felt hot and I looked down at the floor again to avoid eye contact as I fidgeted with my fingers. That was embarrassing!
"There you go, that's what you like about him," Rem grinned.
"Eh? But isn't it normal to like that on someone?" I asked.
"He's handsome and seems like a nice person, but he's not my type," Hisa replied.
"What's your type, then?" I questioned Hisa.
She instantly replied, "Someone that can help me achieve my goals, decided, relaxed but serious if needed, and good looking."
"Oh, you actually know what you want quite well," I said.
"Of course, it's important to know" Hisa replied.
"It also sounded like you were describing Rem," I chuckled and Hisa and Rem laughed out loud. "What about you, Rem?" I asked her.
She stopped laughing and took a few seconds to reply, "Someone I can work with, isn't afraid of failure, protective, and always wants to do something new," she smiled.
"Now you're describing Hisa," I giggled and Hisa and Rem laughed again. At least now I know that I don't like Araki-kun only for swapping bodies, but now I wonder why he likes me. Maybe he's struggling to find out too, but I don't know who would he ask about it.
Araki Koji
The weekend arrived after Kozue asked me out on a date. I was lying down on my bed studying music on my phone to prevent what happened last time when we swapped bodies from happening again. I should buy some instruments.
However, it was the first time I struggled to keep focus while studying. Kozue constantly appeared in my mind and deviated me to think about her and the date. I rolled around on my bed. It's still one week away. Should I read stuff about dates? I wonder how much romance mangas and animes would help in real life. Maybe they actually help me find out why I actually like her. I need to stop thinking about it and study!
My phone started vibrating and the video chat app showed up on the screen. Mother?
I sat on the bed and accepted the call. The video loaded in no time. "Good morning, sweetheart!" she greeted me with her usual smile.
"Good… What time is it there?" I asked her.
"It's evening, one day before than Japan. You live in the future! Isn't that amazing?" she smiled.
She had told me that dozens of times already, but I still smiled a little and nodded. "Good evening, mother. Why are you calling?"
"Hm? I can't call you because I feel like it?" she responded. "Why is your hair so messy? Did I disturb you? Oh, were you busy with boy things?" she hid her smirk with her hand.
I ignored her joke and replied, "I was studying music."
Her smirk disappeared and her eyes widened up. "Music? You're interested in it now? Didn't you tell me and your father that you didn't like it?"
"I didn't like it in those schools."
"So why did it catch your attention now?"
My mouth opened to say something, but I stopped before saying any word. I can't tell her about the body swap like this, she'll think I'm crazy. What should I tell her?
"Don't tell me…" she gasped. "Is it because of a girl?" My breathing stopped for a moment and I hesitated to reply.
"It is!" she squealed. "I didn't know I have the power of deduction of a mother!" Why does she sound so proud?
"I didn't expect it at all, but it's a great surprise! What are you waiting for? Tell me about her!"
"Tell you about her?" I asked her.
She put her hand on her chin as she thought about something. "Tell me about her appearance."
I sighed, but the image of Kozue suddenly came to my mind and I began to describe her, "Her hair is red, her eyes are green, she's very short, and she's quite in shape."
"What about her boobs and butt?" she naturally asked me.
My brain took a few seconds to process what she said. My face flushed and I hesitated, "W-What are you asking, mother?!"
"Fine, fine. don't answer if you don't want, but I know you think about those things," she giggled. "Tell me about her personality, then."
"Her personality…" Memories about Kozue appeared in my head. "She can be easily influenced, but she's cheerful practically all the time. She's emotional, expressive, bad at lying, smart, funny… Even though she's always smiling and playing, I know she takes things seriously."
"You like a lot about her!" my mother snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Like?" I questioned.
"Hm? Oh, I see what's happening now. You like her but you didn't know why so you were rolling around on your bed thinking about it and that's why your hair is that messy." What the hell?! Her power of deduction is too strong!
"Look, sweetheart. For me, one of the best ways to fall in love is when you don't even know why you're in love. I had many boyfriends before your father and the only time I didn't know why I liked a guy was with him."
"Really? I didn't know that."
"Then I realized it was because he acted though and rude, but he actually was fragile and sensitive inside. He would blush almost every time I talked with him." I didn't expect him to be like that.
"Also because his butt is nice," she smiled.
"Mother!"
"Sorry, sorry," she giggled. "What is her name, by the way?"
"Kozue Suzuka."
"Oh, that's a pretty name," she said. She then sighed. "I know you don't like talking about it, but how is her family? You know that your father cares a lot more than I do."
At least she went straight to the point, not like him, trying to hide the question. "All I know is that her family is struggling with money right now."
"I see… I don't mind too much, but please be careful, you know that people can be—"
"She's not like that."
My mother stared at me for a second, then she smiled. "Good, as long as you're certain. Have you told your father?"
"I haven't."
"Please tell him as soon as you can. For me!" she said as her expression changed to that of a cute puppy; big and teary eyes.
"Fine, I will," I replied.
"Yay!" she squealed and clapped. The conversation stopped and we stared at each other for a little. She has more white hair and her dark circles are even darker now…
"You know, I think I finally made my decision," she said.
"What decision?" I asked, puzzled.
"I'll return home and stay there for a long time!"
My chest suddenly felt tight. "What?"
"Yes! I'm bored of all this business crap! Oops, sorry for the bad word," she nervously giggled. "I'm getting older and I get tired faster. But, more importantly, I don't want to miss more about your life." A lump formed in my throat and I had to gulp.
"What if you suddenly have a girl and I can't be there when she's born!"
"T-That won't happen!" She even already gave it a gender…
She giggled. "But I'm serious, I won't tolerate missing important events anymore! I bet your father feels like this too, but he's too scared to admit it. So I'll return as soon as I can wrap everything up here and I'll make him confess! I'll take a few months, but I promise I'll be there in less than a year. Sweetheart, I promise you that," she smiled.
Anyone knew that she would keep her promises. I couldn't help but smile. I was unable to find any words, but I nodded.
"Good! Now—" Someone interrupted her. "What? Really? Now? Fine…" she replied to the person and sighed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I need to go. It's always nice talking to you, but this time was even more fun. Okay, we'll talk again soon! Take care and greet Kozue Suzuka for me! Oh, and don't let your guard down, make her yours!" she giggled. "Bye-bye!"
"Bye," I said as she waved with her hand. "Oh, mother—"
The call ended before I could finish. Dammit, I should've asked her about the date.