Hozuki Nozomi looked down at himself.
Short legs. Tiny feet. A body that barely reached chest-height on most adults.
He padded to the bathroom on these unfamiliar little legs and stared at the mirror.
Good heavens.
Miyamizu Yotsuha's face stared back at him—the fourth-grade elentary school loli, complete with twin-tails and an expression of pure bewildernt that was entirely his own.
He'd definitely drunk from the left jar. The one he himself had placed there, the one containing Mitsuha's kuchikamizake. He was certain of it.
Which ant that after he'd left the hidden world, that mischievous little gremlin Yotsuha had swapped the offerings.
Of course she had.
Hozuki Nozomi sighed, the sound coming out in Yotsuha's high-pitched voice. There was no going back now—the kuchikamizake was consud, its power activated. He was here, in this body, and he'd have to make it work.
First: find Mitsuha.
He checked the ti. Around 6 AM. In all his previous possessions, it was always Yotsuha who woke Mitsuha for breakfast. The little loli was surprisingly diligent—she had breakfast ready before anyone else even stirred.
Wearing Yotsuha's tiny slippers, Hozuki Nozomi clip-clopped down the hall to Mitsuha's room and pushed open the door.
There she was, sleeping peacefully on her futon, utterly oblivious.
"Honestly. Sleeping in at a ti like this."
He marched over on his short legs and pinched her nose shut.
Miyamizu Mitsuha's face scrunched. She batted at the air, trying to breathe, and finally cracked her eyes open.
"Ugh... Yotsuha? What are you doing?"
"What do you think? Waking you up!" Hozuki Nozomi crossed his small arms and fixed her with a glare. "Do you have any idea what ti it is? When's the festival? How long until the cot falls?"
Mitsuha's sleep-fogged expression snapped into sharp focus. "Yotsuha, how do you know about—wait." She sat up abruptly. "I never told you about any of this!"
"Foolish Mitsuha." Hozuki Nozomi sighed dramatically. "It's . Hozuki Nozomi. Have you already forgotten spending my money in Tokyo and stuffing my body full of desserts?"
Mitsuha's jaw dropped. "You?! You're Hozuki Nozomi?!" She stared at her little sister's body in disbelief. "Why are you in Yotsuha?!"
"I'd like to know the sa thing." He shrugged, the gesture looking ridiculous on Yotsuha's small fra. "But we don't have ti for that. Listen carefully."
He stepped closer, his expression turning serious.
"This is probably the last ti we'll et like this. The Kamimusubi is exhausted—it's already broken. That ans you failed, Mitsuha. The people of Itomori Town died."
Mitsuha's face went pale.
"The connection between us is gone. We won't be swapping bodies anymore. I only made it here by drinking the kuchikamizake at the shrine." He paused. "I drank from the left jar—the one I placed there. But sohow I ended up in Yotsuha. Your sister must have swapped them after I left."
He shook his head. "Doesn't matter now. What matters is what happened. Mitsuha—do you rember?"
Mitsuha's eyes filled with tears. Images flickered through her mind—fragnts of a disaster she'd already lived through once.
"I... I rember now. I died. We all died."
She clutched her head, forcing the mories to surface. "I followed your plan! I had Teshigawara use water gel bombs from his family's warehouse—he blew one up to simulate a disaster. Natori Sayaka broadcast the evacuation notice from the station. Everyone was supposed to go to the high school plaza!"
Her voice cracked. "I went to convince Father. At first, everything was working. But then... Sayaka got caught. Father canceled the evacuation. And when the teor fell..." She trailed off, tears streaming.
Hozuki Nozomi summarized flatly: "You couldn't convince your father."
Mitsuha hung her head in sha. "I couldn't even see him. Sothing happened—I don't rember what—but I never got the chance."
"The one thing you don't rember." Hozuki Nozomi's eyes sharpened. "That's our answer. Sothing interrupted you. Sothing—or soone."
Mitsuha looked up, desperate. "Today is the festival! It's happening now! What do we do?!"
Hozuki Nozomi took her hand. His small fingers wrapped around hers, warm and steadying. "We go see your father. Now. Together. And we find out what stopped you last ti."
Mitsuha's eyes widened. Then she nodded, determination replacing despair.
...
After a hasty breakfast and a brief explanation to their grandmother—who simply smiled knowingly and wished them luck—the two sisters ran through the streets of Itomori Town toward the mayor's office.
They burst through the doors, slightly out of breath, and found Miyamizu Toshiki at his desk, reviewing docunts.
The mayor looked up, startled by their sudden appearance. "Mitsuha? Yotsuha? What are you two doing here?"
Mitsuha marched straight to his desk. "Father. Listen to carefully."
She spoke rapidly, urgently, laying out the truth: the cot, the teorites, the destruction of the town, the only safe location.
Toshiki's expression shifted from surprise to disbelief to irritation. "Mitsuha, what nonsense is this? Is this so kind of prank? Have you lost your mind?"
He straightened in his chair, his mayoral authority asserting itself. "You need to understand—I am the mayor. Every word I speak, every action I take, must be carefully considered. At this critical mont in the election campaign, I cannot afford to indulge in your fantasies!"
Mitsuha's temper snapped.
She grabbed his tie and yanked him forward, shouting directly into his face: "SHUT UP!"
Toshiki's eyes went wide with shock.
"Are people's lives less important than your precious image?! Less important than your career?! I am your daughter! Can't you believe just once?!"
"Mitsuha..." Toshiki stared at his eldest daughter as if seeing her for the first ti.
Hozuki Nozomi tugged at Mitsuha's sleeve. "Calm down. Let handle this."
He stepped forward, eting the mayor's gaze with Yotsuha's innocent eyes.
Toshiki frowned. "Yotsuha, don't address so casually. What's gotten into you two—"
FWOOOSH.
A ball of fla erupted in Yotsuha's small palm, hovering inches above her skin. The heat radiated outward, warming the entire office in seconds.
Toshiki's words died in his throat.
Hozuki Nozomi output a bit more magic. The flas intensified, turning from orange to blue-white, the temperature rising until the air itself seed to shimr.
"You—!" Toshiki stumbled backward, knocking his chair aside. His face cycled through terror, confusion, and finally settled on protective fury.
"Whoever you are!" He positioned himself between the fla-wielding creature and his daughters. "If you an to harm them, you'll have to go through !"
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