The extracurricular school day began.
Per the official instructions, Suzuka turned toward the campus's central garden island, where a hundred students—the four third-year classes—gathered in front of a makeshift platform.
She joined them at the back, where she could still see pretty well thanks to her height.
A stand with a box on top stood on the platform. A red blanket covered the box, though not at the back. Still, she couldn't see what was under it.
The incessant chatter around her wouldn't let her focus on any of their topics, nor could she hear the water running through the canals around the small island.
She noticed the teachers moving around beside the platform. The students gradually quieted down as Ms. Shimamura took the stage, holding a megaphone.
She raised it to her mouth.
"Welcome to this year's Egg Hunt. All of you, the four third-year classes of Kasen, will be the first to hunt today. The rules are the same as every year, but I'll remind you of them.
"There are eggs hidden all over the campus except bathrooms, laboratories, staff rooms, or buildings like the warehouse. Basically, if you see a closed door, don't go in."
Suzuka listened to the speech in awe.
Ōshitsu would've never taken an event like that so seriously—had they organized one, in the first place.
Ms. Shimamura continued, "You'll form teams of three, but you'll only get one basket to put the eggs in."
A hand raised among the crowd.
"Yes, Hayashi?"
Suzuka recognized Takuto's voice when he spoke.
"Can we give the basket to another person?"
"Sure. Only with your teammates, of course. And remember that the eggs have to be in the basket when the time runs out to be counted."
"Understood! Thank you, Ms. Shimamura."
She nodded with a smile before continuing.
"With that said, you can't steal someone else's eggs once they've picked them up."
Takuto raised his hand again.
Everyone turned to stare at him.
Ms. Shimamura's smile froze. "What is it, Hayashi?"
"What if someone drops an egg? We still can't take it?"
"You can grab an egg as long as it's not in someone else's hand or basket."
"Thank you very much, Ms. Shimamura!"
He lowered his hand.
Ms. Shimamura's deep inhale could be heard through the megaphone.
"Last but not least, you can't push other people or fight, or throw eggs. No violence, basically."
Takuto's hand emerged from among the crowd again, but Ms. Shimamura continued speaking.
"Form your teams and line up to grab a basket, then wait in this garden before getting…"
She hadn't finished speaking when everyone stampeded around the garden shouting unintelligible names.
Suzuka stood still at the back. She had never witnessed something chaotic, yet… alive.
But what was she supposed to do?
She recognized Tsuga in the distance, also thanks to his height, though he was already talking with two girls.
Aside from him, she didn't recognize anyone else. She didn't even know if Kōji would participate due to his ankle.
And just as she thought of him, she saw a glimpse of red.
About to walk to him, she noticed Hisa and Rem.
Of course, he'd want to spend more time with them. He'd already avoided them enough due to the body-swapping.
It was logical, yet she…
"Hey, there."
Suzuka turned around to see Tsuga again, now standing before her.
"Don't have a team yet?" he asked.
"I don't."
He glanced past her. "I guess you missed the chance to team up with Kurei. Wanna team up with me?"
"Don't you have a team already?"
"Nope. Is it that unexpected?"
Suzuka looked him in the eye.
"Do you have an ulterior motive for teaming up with me?"
His expression didn't change. Instead, his shoulders dropped. His eyes deviated, but they remained steady.
He rested a hand on his chest and raised the other one.
"I swear I have no ulterior motives for teaming up with you."
No matter how long she scrutinized him, she saw no hint of falsehood, though there was something else she couldn't put her finger on.
"Alright, let's—"
"Oh, yeah? Then why did you reject those girls?"
Suzuka and Tsuga turned and looked down at the girl who spoke up.
Sae Narumi.
Tsuga crossed his arms.
"How would you even know that? Are you implying you were spying on me?"
Narumi scoffed. "If you call overhearing while passing by 'spying,' then sure."
"You were able to overhear my conversation with all this noise? Damn, you must have pretty good hearing, or a very lively imagination."
She scowled up at him with a raised brow.
"How—?!"
She looked at Suzuka and growled.
"Araki, don't fall for this guy's tactics. He acts like the typical handsome gentleman all the time, but he's always plotting something."
"Says the girl who asked a guy on a date despite hearing the rumors about him going out with another girl. But hey, thanks for the compliment."
The staredown continued with Narumi scowling and Tsuga smirking.
Narumi took her phone from her pocket.
"Wanna see a funny video, Araki? It's amusing how losing a place in the grades can make someone scream—"
Tsuga suddenly covered her mouth with his hand.
"Okay, okay, we get it. No need to show how obsessed you are with me."
She yanked his arm away.
"You freaking wish! You—!"
"The baskets are ready to be picked up," Ms. Shimamura announced through the megaphone. "One member from each team, please form lines in front of the teachers."
The students scrambled around, some even crashing into each other.
"We should go," Suzuka said.
"Agreed," Tsuga replied.
They began walking, including Narumi, who kept bickering with Tsuga.
Not knowing what to do about them, Suzuka lined up in their stead.
The line advanced rather fast. By the time she returned with the basket, their backhanded compliments had slowed down, but not yet stopped.
Suzuka had no other choice but to step in.
"Who's going to hold the basket?"
"I'll do it," Tsuga answered instantly. "It'd be too troublesome to hunt for the eggs while holding it."
She handed him the basket.
Narumi scoffed. "And it won't be for you? Or are you gonna make us do all the work? Besides, who put you in charge?"
Suzuka didn't recall agreeing to her joining the team. Not that she minded. It didn't seem like anyone was left without a team either.
On top of that, she could get to know her better from up close, without the rumors interfering.
Narumi tried to snatch the basket away, so Tsuga raised it too high for her to reach.
"We're a team now, Narumi; we shouldn't fight over something like this."
"But you're definitely plotting something with it!"
"And you aren't? You appeared out of nowhere."
"Don't feel superior just because you're a few places above me."
"Whoever said that? You and your childish tantrums. I couldn't care less about that."
"Should I remind you of the video—"
"If we can't agree, then how about we let Araki hold it?"
Narumi glanced at Suzuka before answering.
"Fine by me."
Tsuga handed the basket back to Suzuka.
Did that mean she was going to be the pillar of the team?
"Good morning, Kasen High School students."
All chatter ceased the moment a woman with a deep voice shouted from the platform without a megaphone.
It was Mrs. Asuka, the principal.
Everyone stared at her. Suzuka recognized her from the opening ceremony and from the teachers who stood beside the platform earlier.
"Now that you've formed your teams, it's almost time to begin. But before that, I'll tell you about this year's prizes."
Murmurs began to spread across the garden.
"What do you think they'll be?" a girl gossiped to a guy in front of Suzuka.
"Who knows. First place won three restaurant coupons last year."
"I hope it's something better this time, like no homework for the whole year."
The guy chuckled. "I wish."
"Keep quiet," Mrs. Asuka shouted.
The murmurs stopped instantly.
Even Suzuka's posture stiffened despite not making a sound.
Mrs. Asuka continued, "Thank you. We shall begin with the prizes. For third place, we have…"
She reached into her suit jacket and pulled out three tickets.
"Three restaurant coupons."
Some of the students clapped.
"Again?!" a guy complained in a low voice.
"That was last year's first-place prize, though," another guy noted.
"Wait, does that mean the other two prizes will be better?!"
The claps stopped, and Mrs. Asuka continued.
"The prize for the team in second place is…"
Again, she reached into her pockets and took out another three tickets, though much more colorful.
"Three tickets for the recently inaugurated theme park."
More people than before clapped. Some even uttered in amazement.
"That's actually good!" a guy said.
"I could ask Tadokoro out on a date with that," a girl added.
"Don't assume one of us will give you our ticket for that."
"And shouldn't the guy ask the girl out?"
"As if he knew I exist."
Was that how that worked? But Narumi was the one who asked Kōji out.
Once the noise quieted enough, Mrs. Asuka resumed the announcement.
"Finally, the prize for the team that collects the most eggs on the hunt is…"
The garden fell into complete silence.
Everyone stared at her.
Even Suzuka's heartbeat rose a little.
"This!"
Mrs. Asuka stepped aside and extended her arms to present the blanket-covered box behind her.
The silence remained.
"The prize hides under this blanket," Mrs. Asuka continued as if nothing had happened. "It will be revealed when the team in first place receives it here on the stage. Now, without further ado, prepare for the hunt!"
Everyone took off and ran to each of the four bridges connecting the garden island to the rest of the campus.
Narumi grabbed Suzuka's wrist and pulled her.
"Run!" she shouted amid the chaos.
Tsuga ran a little ahead.
Suzuka clasped the basket tighter with her other hand.
"What's… happening?" she asked between breaths.
The three of them stopped behind a huge crowd.
Tsuga answered, "The ones further ahead will have the advantage."
"We're all the way back," Narumi scowled.
Suzuka glanced at the other three bridges.
She didn't have to look for long to see Kōji standing with Hisa and Rem on the adjacent bridge. The three of them grinned and laughed.
"Are you ready?" Ms. Shimamura spoke through the megaphone from the garden.
Everyone cheered in confirmation.
However, at that moment, she saw Kōji's smile vanish.
His eyes closed, and his brows furrowed.
He lowered his head, then lifted it and brushed his wavy hair back with his hands.
Breathing through his mouth, he opened his steady eyes.
His face was filled with spirit.
With ardor.
Determination.
What was the emotion she felt if not attraction?
"Go!"
Ms. Shimamura's shout snapped Suzuka out of her trance.
She caught up to Tsuga and Narumi, who were already a little ahead on the bridge.
They quickly reached the end of it.
Just as Suzuka planned to have a short strategy meeting with them, they both ran in opposite directions.
How were they supposed to bring the eggs together?
Perhaps they talked about it while she was lost in Kōji's actions?
It didn't matter anymore.
She crossed to the other side of the building through the tunnel with the stairs and arrived at the alleyway between the building and the soccer field.
Several people looked for eggs between the trees and bushes, but far fewer than she expected.
There were no eggs in plain sight as she walked, and the longer she took, the more people arrived.
She approached the gap between a bush and a tree and crouched.
Again, there was nothing special, though there was a strange pile of rocks; she had never seen that kind of arrangement in the garden of her estate.
Not knowing if she was allowed to mess with the decorations, she carefully moved the rock at the top.
An egg painted with flowers appeared underneath.
She gasped and grabbed it, gently lifting it to put it in the basket.
She stood up and saw many more people covering every gap in sight.
It was obvious that the alley would soon be empty, so she sprinted back to the tunnel.
She turned around the corner and…
BAM!
Someone came around the corner at the same time, crashing into Suzuka and causing both to fall to the floor.
After a few blinks, she recognized Kōji's face above her.
"Sorry, I was—Suzuka!" He jumped to his feet. "Are you okay?"
She sat up. "I am."
She had even managed to keep the basket safe.
"I'm very sorry; I was distracted while running," he said.
"No, I shouldn't have been running—Ugh!"
A sudden burning sensation took a groan out of her.
She had scraped the back of her hand, likely against the wall while trying to protect the basket.
A drop of blood dripped out.
Kōji offered her his hand.
"Let's go to the infirmary."
She looked at it. "We shouldn't touch."
"We probably touched already, so it doesn't matter."
There it was again.
His face, filled with purpose.
It made her heartbeat even louder.
She held his warm hand, and he squeezed hers to pull her up.
"Good thing we're close—Hm!"
He cut his groan short, but he couldn't hide the limping on his left leg.
Nonetheless, he kept walking.
"Kōji, stop," she said.
"It's okay, I can—"
"Kōji."
He looked at her, his drive fading away.
Although she raised her voice without thinking, it made him stop.
"Please sit on the stairs," she asked.
After a moment, he complied.
He held onto the handrail until he reached the step.
"I'll make my way to the infirmary after resting a bit," he said, smiling. "You can go ahead and make sure the scratch's nothing serious, then keep hunting—"
"No."
He frowned. "Suzuka?"
"I care more about you, so I'll stay with you."
They stared at each other.
"But…"
"Hey, did something happen?!"
Hisa arrived from the corridor, holding two eggs.
"No—"
"We crashed into each other, and that hurt his ankle."
Suzuka interrupted Kōji's deflection attempt.
"You crashed into each other again?! What are the chances?" Hisa questioned. "Anyways. Araki, please take him to the infirmary."
"But what about—?"
Hisa interrupted his deflection attempt by pulling him up by his right arm.
Suzuka lowered the basket to the floor and helped by gently pulling his other hand.
Relying entirely on his right foot, he didn't have any support on his left side.
When Suzuka noticed him leaning too much, she held him by the side of his torso.
He jolted, and his face reddened a little. Although he didn't say anything, he avoided her eyes.
Hisa walked around them and took Kōji's arm from Suzuka.
"No, no. It should be like…"
She wrapped his arm around Suzuka's back so that he could hold onto her waist.
Suzuka jolted at the electrifying shock, then turned into goosebumps.
The spreading warmth was so distracting that she barely noticed how Hisa guided her other arm under Kōji's to hold him by his shoulder.
The stance didn't feel very stable.
"That's much better," Hisa smirked. "Get on your way. And don't you dare worry about the hunt; Rem and I will get that first place. Well, Rem will do most of the work while I root for her."
Kōji chuckled. "I'll hold you to it."
"Are you saying my team doesn't have a chance?" Suzuka said.
She meant to make a little banter, but her usual coldness might've given the wrong impression.
"Eh, maybe a tiny teeny chance, but I'd like to see them try."
Hisa's smirk spread to Suzuka.
"Okay, I should really get going if we want a shot at winning." Hisa grabbed Suzuka's team basket and sped away. "I'll tell your team what happened. See you after the hunt!"
Kōji and Suzuka watched her disappear behind the corner.
They stood still in silence.
A few people ran past, but they didn't care about them.
"Where's the infirmary?" Suzuka asked.
"Oh, it's that way."
He pointed to her left, so she slowly started walking to give him time to react.
Before long, he had taken charge of the pace, so she merely supported him.
They didn't say anything else, nor did they look at each other.
More people ran past them without a care. It was strange knowing there must've been chaos within and behind the buildings, yet she could hear the running water of the canals.
Whenever her heartbeat didn't deafen her, that was.
"Is everything alright?"
Ms. Nishime—the chemistry teacher—asked them with her usual soft, high-pitched voice as she approached them from the bridge.
Kōji answered, "I am. My ankle hurts, so Su—Araki is helping me get to the infirmary."
Ms. Nishime glanced down at Kōji's hand on Suzuka's waist.
Were they in trouble?
"I see," Ms. Nishime said. "Please be careful"
Kōji and Suzuka nodded before resuming their walk.
Both sighed in relief at the same time, taking a chuckle out of them.
A student stepped out of the last room in the hallway, which was supposed to be the infirmary, and ran off.
Just as Kōji and Suzuka approached the door, a man wearing glasses and a lab coat rushed out.
He stopped so as not to bump into them.
"Kurei?" he asked.
"Hey, Doc." Kōji laughed nervously.
The doctor smiled. "I haven't seen you around here in a while. Well, I suppose the year just started, and it's not like seeing you around here would be a good sign…"
"Doc?"
"Ah, excuse me." He looked down at Kōji's lifted foot. "Did you hurt your ankle?"
Kōji nodded. "She also scraped her hand."
"Okay. Please lie down in one of the beds. I have to tend to an emergency. I'll come back with some ice and check your ankle."
The doctor kept talking as he walked backward.
"Grab a band-aid from my desk if the cut's nothing serious. Please watch him for me for a bit, okay?" he asked Suzuka. "Thank you!"
He didn't wait for an answer and ran off.
Kōji and Suzuka glanced at each other.
They stepped into the infirmary and approached a bed from the right so that Kōji could lie down more easily.
He exhaled a long breath.
"Thanks."
Suzuka nodded, then walked to the desk to look for a band-aid.
But she didn't see anything. She couldn't.
She had never felt such a strange, powerful combination of sensations.
An oppressive heat in her stomach that somehow turned pleasant, yet that didn't take away the distress in her chest.
Was that the butterflies Fujisaki mentioned?
But why in that situation?
"Suzuka?"
She jolted. "Yes?"
"I asked if you found the band-aids."
"Oh, I…"
She hadn't been looking for them, but when she looked down at her hand, a band-aid already covered the cut.
"Yes, I did."
"Great." He stared at the ceiling. "I hope the doctor can at least ease the pain before we swap bodies."
The fire within Suzuka flared.
She walked to Kōji and stood beside the bed, looking down at him.
"Suzuka? Are you okay?"
Neither the pressure in her chest nor the lump in her throat would calm, no matter how deeply she breathed.
"Su—?"
"Why did you defend me against my father?"
His eyes widened.
"How do you—?"
"Just… answer."
His mouth stayed open, though not for long.
"I… just couldn't stand watching him ignore his daughter like that."
It didn't matter that it wasn't what she wanted to hear.
It didn't matter how disappointing it was.
She kept looking him in the eye.
Until he looked away.
"And because I think I like you."
A whistle deafened her.
All of the pressure was freed at once, almost pushing tears out of her eyes.
"Please ignore me if it's weird," he said.
"No. I also think I like you."
He snapped his head toward her.
"Seriously?!"
He brushed his face with his hands, muffling his nervous laughter.
"That's…. I'm glad."
Suzuka's heart didn't threaten to explode anymore, though the heat stayed.
"Now what?" she asked.
"I don't know." He moved his hands away. "This is a first for me."
"It is for me, too."
They smiled at each other, yet it felt… entirely different.
A frown of worry suddenly appeared on Kōji's face.
"But what about the body-swapping? How are we…?"
"What about it? We just swap bodies when we… touch…"
Even though their faces were already redder than usual, they flushed even more at the realization.
Suzuka turned away.
"I… I'll let you relax. We can hold back the swap until after you get your ankle checked."
"Sure, okay."
She took a couple of steps toward the door and stopped.
"And Kōji, thank you for defending me, and for telling me how you feel."
No response came for a while.
Just as she was about to walk away, he replied.
"Thank you… for everything."
Without looking back, she walked out of the infirmary.
She could only take a few steps before she had to lean against the wall.
She covered her mouth with two hands and took loud, deep breaths.
What was going to happen next?