Vignette and Satania were also drawn over to the doorway, eyes round as saucers.
"What in the world is going on?"
Satania scratched at her ssy red hair.
Seeing the chaos inside, Vignette's face grew pink.
"D-Don't ask. We better get going!"
Afraid she and Satania would see sothing they shouldn't, Vignette hastily grabbed Satania's hand and fled.
anwhile, Nodoka was on the verge of tears.
"Mai-sis… how could you use my body with Rei Ao-senpai…? If you two ended up—"
"I said, nothing happened."
Mai heaved a sigh.
"She's telling the truth," Rei Ao interjected. "If you're really worried, you could ask Mai to let you check for yourself."
"What are you even saying?!"
Mai shot him an exasperated glare. Checking that kind of thing was beyond awkward.
"All right, enough. I'll go talk to Nodoka myself."
She stood up, walked over, and led Nodoka to the living room to carefully explain and apologize.
She really had no choice. This was, after all, her mistake. Having grown used to treating Rei Ao like a warm pillow, it was hard for her to change habits so suddenly.
…
After Mai's assurances, Nodoka believed her. Yet she still insisted gravely:
"Mai-sis, you mustn't do anything weird in my body!"
"Of course I won't."
Mai sighed.
"And let's not harp on what already happened, okay? Let's just say we're even."
"Even?"
Nodoka blinked.
What had she done wrong, exactly?
Mai's gaze turned distant.
"Rei Ao-kun told about last night. The mont our souls got swapped, you were already in my body, and apparently…you might've cooperated a little too eagerly under the impression it was a dream."
"Eh?!"
Nodoka practically jolted upright, color flooding her cheeks until she had to lower her head in sha.
"I… I'm sorry… It—it felt so comfortable, and I thought I was dreaming… uwu…"
She could only mumble in embarrassnt, practically wanting to vanish.
"…"
Mai, for her part, felt awkward as well. She was imagining what Nodoka must have witnessed—things that would mortify any normal relative.
She cleared her throat:
"Ahem. Anyway, let's stop talking about all this.
Classes start soon; you should get ready. Rei Ao-kun will go with you to school, and if there's any problem, you can ask him."
"Mm, okay…"
Nodoka answered ekly but couldn't help asking:
"So…Mai-sis, what'll you do? I an, my body—Mom's got my audition schedule and all…"
"I'll just erase my own presence so that no one notices I'm here, so there's no need to worry."
Mai blurted out. Then she realized Nodoka didn't know about her special situation with Rei Ao and the others.
"Uhh, in simpler terms, I have certain abilities. Enough questions. Hurry up and wash up, eat breakfast, then off to school!"
With that, Mai walked off, unwilling to elaborate.
"???"
Nodoka was left standing there, head spinning.
….
On the way to school
Nodoka saw a black-haired girl with a refined deanor step out from next door, walking alongside Rei Ao. Trying her best to imitate Mai, Nodoka straightened her posture. Unexpectedly, that girl—Yukinoshita Yukino—suddenly spoke:
"Rei Ao-kun, so Mai's body is actually occupied by her cousin, correct?"
"???"
Nodoka froze. Did she see through right away? Am I that bad at pretending?
She brimd with self-doubt. Rei Ao calmly nodded:
"Yep, that's Toyohama Nodoka. She's going through sothing much like Yui did—Puberty Syndro."
"I knew it was like Yui's situation."
Yukino mused. She understood why Rei Ao wasn't fixing it yet, so without pressing the point, she tugged discreetly on his sleeve in mild reprimand.
"Um…"
Nodoka noticed their subtle interactions and gleaned that Yukino and Rei Ao likely had an unusual relationship.
Rei Ao introduced them:
"She's Yukinoshita Yukino, my girlfriend. She already knows about you and Mai."
"Huh??"
Nodoka nearly staggered. Another girlfriend?
"Right," Rei Ao went on. "In Yukino's Service Club, there's a mber nad Yuigahama Yui, who also had a Puberty Syndro incident like yours. Maybe chat with Yui soti—you might find it helpful."
"Eh?!"
The string of new info left Nodoka reeling all the way to the classroom. She was so overwheld, she just drifted around in a daze.
…
In fact, Nodoka's predicant had spread through the chat group to quite a few people in the sa world, especially those who were close by or concerned about Mai.
In the "this-world chat group":
Eriri: "I heard Mai's in so trouble. Didn't that person nad Toyohama Nodoka join the group?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha: "I took a look; the group mbership doesn't show any 'Toyohama Nodoka.' But I do see soone new: Fujimiya Sumika."
Kobayashi: "Oh, indeed."
Kobayashi: "@Fujimiya Sumika, newbie, are you there? Care to say hi?"
Fujimiya Sumika: "Um…h-hello, everyone, I'm Fujimiya Sumika!"
Sumika typed anxiously, unsure if the group would accept or reject her. Rei Ao joined in:
Rei Ao: "Let introduce her—Sumika is my new girlfriend."
Michiru: "Whaaa?!"
Shinomiya Kaguya: "Uh? A-again?!"
In her seat, Kaguya practically gawked. Just how many are there now?
Kirisu Mafuyu: "Rei Ao-kun, this is going too far. You never even told us."
Hiratsuka Shizuku: "Hehe, maybe he just caught her a day or two ago."
Rei Ao: "Indeed, we got together just yesterday—when I visited Marcille's place. Right, Sumika?"
Fujimiya Sumika: "U-um, yes, I confessed to Rei Ao-kun. It's not his fault!"
Eiriri: "We're not blaming him."
Katou gumi: "Yeah, we've kinda gotten used to it by now. Welco, Sumika."
Furuhashi Fumino: "Already used to it…?"
Seeing that ssage, Furuhashi Fumino's cheeks glowed, and she fell into a bit of a daydream. Not far away, Ogata Rizu silently cast a pondering glance at her.
~~~
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