Higashi Middle School – Kendo Club Staff Room
In the club's shower room, the shrine maiden from Itomori was facing perhaps her most formidable challenge yet, bathing in Hojou Kyousuke's body.
As the warm water rained down from the showerhead, Mitsuha was vividly reminded of the terror of that one time she had to use the bathroom during their second body swap.
They'd switched so many times by now, and at most, she'd only wiped down Kyousuke's body while he was still wearing shorts.
But this time, she was standing completely bare under the shower, seeing his form reflected faintly in the misty bathroom tiles, this was the first time.
Her face flushed so red it felt like steam was rising off her cheeks.
Hands instinctively covering her chest, despite it not being her body at the moment—Mitsuha turned on the water.
Warm droplets cascaded over her head, down her neck, across defined chest muscles, sliding along toned abs...
For the first time, she fully registered that Kyousuke was a guy a real, flesh-and-blood male, with a body vastly different from her own.
The sensation of water tracing his skin made her too nervous to move.
Still, she knew that just rinsing with water wasn't enough to get clean.
Turning off the water, she groped blindly for the shampoo.
Washing Kyousuke's short hair was so easy compared to her own long locks, it took hardly any time at all.
But that ease only reminded her, yet again, that the body she was caring for belonged to someone else.
Then came the harder part: washing the rest of the body.
Avoiding direct contact, she grabbed a towel, squeezed out some body wash, and started from the neck and carefully, methodically wiping down every inch she could manage.
And with each new patch of skin she touched, her thoughts shifted.
'Kyousuke isn't just an amazing person... he's an amazing man.'
The more she learned about his body, the more the realization sank in.
Too flustered to deal with the most sensitive areas, Mitsuha skipped them altogether, rushing through the rest of the shower.
Even drying off afterward was torture, every touch sparking embarrassment so intense she nearly passed out.
'I have to stop sweating during practice. No more workouts. Ever.'
An unrealistic goal, she knew, but one she clung to in desperation.
After such an intense day, physically and emotionally Mitsuha had no energy left for shopping or eating out.
Back home, she pulled out the premium beef Kisaki Tetta had given her, whipped up a quick stir-fry, and called it dinner.
Dressed in the oversized shorts she now used as sleepwear, she collapsed onto the bed with Kyousuke's body.
Her first instinct was to message Sakura and the others about her very unique bathing adventure… but just thinking about it made her curl up in shame.
Better to keep that story to herself.
Instead, she opened the chat with her new friend "Naoto"—the name used by Kasumigaoka Utaha. Seeing the "online" status lit up, Mitsuha typed without hesitation.
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"Good evening!"
"Good evening. Are you done with your tasks for the day?" – Naoto
"Yep. I'm totally wiped out."
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Back in her own room, Utaha read the message and immediately thought of all the sparring reports shared in the "Rampaging Angels" group chat.
Each one detailed intense practice sessions with Kyousuke.
So much for him saying it was "no big deal" helping her.
Clearly, he'd gone to great lengths to support his teammates.
Utaha felt a warm swell of gratitude.
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"Then maybe you should get some rest?" she replied gently.
"Nah, it's not every day I find someone who actually gets this novel. Let's keep talking!" – Sayuka
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Her heart skipped a beat.
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"Okay then. Sayuka, what are your thoughts on Sayuka's character in the novel?"
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Mitsuha paused as her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
"She's so moving. Sayuka is really..."
She stopped herself.
No, that's too shallow. Naoto was clearly a die-hard fan too—saying something generic would make her sound like a clueless fangirl.
She leapt off the bed, ran to the bookshelf, and pulled out Love Metronome—Kyousuke's copy.
Inside, it was full of notes: original passages, Mitsuha's tear-stained impressions, and Kyousuke's deeply analytical scribbles.
There it was, his final note on Sayuka. She typed it out word for word.
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"Sayuka is a character the author based on herself. Of course, she used writing techniques to disguise and refine it, but the core is still her."
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Mitsuha smirked. That ought to impress Naoto.
Even though she never really believed a girl like Sayuka could exist in real life—giving up her love just to chase her dreams?
That only made sense if the guy she loved wasn't good enough. If he was just too far behind to catch up.
But then she thought about herself.
Wasn't she, right now, chasing after Kyousuke?
Today's crash course in "human anatomy" had shaken her deeply.
It made her reflect on her motives. Had she only been trying to become as good as Kyousuke to prove something?
What came after that?
She thought of Sakura. Of Shouko. Of Naoka...
While Mitsuha was tangled in a haze of pink, adolescent confusion—on the other side of the conversation, Kasumigaoka Utaha froze.
That message.
She hadn't expected anyone, especially a stranger to realize Sayuka was based on her.
The one and only time she'd poured her entire self into a character.
So Kyousuke had seen right through her?
Knew she was this solitary, stubborn, painfully proud girl?
'Is that why he refused to meet me?'
The glow in her wine-red eyes dimmed slightly, though her heart beat louder than ever.
Her fingers hovered over the keys before she typed:
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"Yeah… the author must be one of those gloomy, unlikable girls."
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And with that, she buried her face in her soft blanket, too embarrassed to even peek at the reply.
Ping!
The message tone echoed in the quiet room.
Utaha didn't lift her head, but her hand crept across the blanket to feel for her phone.
Breath catching, heart thumping, she peeked one eye open.
Under the pale white light, a splash of vivid wine-red flickered to life.
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"No way! The author is someone with incredible writing talent, talent that's already been honed and a master of storytelling techniques!" — Sayuka
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'Yeah! Hojou-kun… Hojou-kun really understands me!'
The moment she saw those words of praise on the screen, Kasumigaoka Utaha broke free from the spiral of negativity that had been dragging her down.
She suddenly shot up from her bed and began bouncing in place like an excited kid.
Even certain other parts of her seemed to bounce along with her joy, in perfect sync.
Thank goodness Editor Machida wasn't there to witness this scene, if she did, she probably would've needed two extra bowls of rice to cope.
"Kasumi Utako-sensei has an unfathomable depth of writing talent…"
How many times had Machida said those exact words to her?
So many times she'd lost count.
Yet this stubborn, prideful girl still fell into gloom and despair every time things got tough.
And now, she was this happy over hearing the same words again?
She spent a while just basking in that warm feeling, her long black hair falling messily over her chest as she finally sat back down, cheeks still glowing.
"How did you figure it out?" she typed, her eyes fixed on the screen, filled with anticipation.
'Say more, Hojou-kun. Just a little more… please.'
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"Well, you see, when Sayuka first appears, the author goes out of their way to describe the exact length and slope of that hill… and that's because—" — Sayuka
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