~ Renji's Pov ~
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'What does she even mean by, he looks a bit different?'
I texted Sekai back, 'Are you sure there? Maybe your mind is playing tricks on you.'
I got an immediate reply back, 'YES! I'm sure of it, he's practically taller too!'
That was odd, but... Now that I think about it. Didn't something like this happen to me a month ago too? Ayano looked pretty simple, then he came in taller and slightly, well... better looking. This sounds kind of similar so far to what I've experienced with him as well, and even I found it weird as well.
I texted her that I was almost there, I was already past the school's entrance... I just hope she was exaggerating this...
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She wasn't exaggerating... Who was this guy sitting in Ayano's seat?
I stopped for a second just past the doorframe, blinking like someone had yanked the background blur off my vision. He was sitting there, same posture, same vibe… kind of. But everything else? It was like someone swapped him out with the upgraded version they'd kept in the back for a rainy day...
I wasn't even kidding at this point.
The new Ayano looked like he belonged on the cover of one of those shoujo mangas—the same kind where the quiet transfer student turns out to have a tragic past and a six-pack under his uniform. I had to look again just to make sure I wasn't tripping.
Same eyes, just… oddly, clearer. Same hair, but it actually looked like it had style now, like it'd fallen into place naturally instead of by accident...
'Dude, what kind of protein shake are you drinking, and where do I sign up?'
I made my way to my desk, but the whole walk over, I felt like I was passing through this invisible fog of secondhand attention.,, The classroom wasn't loud, but it sure as hell wasn't quiet either. Whispers. Quick glances. I caught one girl trying to sneak a selfie with Ayano in the background—and failing, 'cause her flash had went off.
I nearly laughed.
But more than anything?
I was genuinely confused.
I flopped down into my seat next to Sekai and leaned toward her, whispering just enough so only she could hear.
"Yeah... You weren't kidding Sekai. That's... That's Ayano?"
She nodded quickly without even glancing at me. Her eyes were still locked on him. "Told you," she whispered back. "He looks really different now…"
I hummed, not even bothering to hide my curiosity at this point. "You think this is new type of puberty he's discovered without telling the rest of us?"
Sekai let out a light snort, trying to cover it with a cough. "If that's puberty, then I pretty much got scammed."
I leaned back, arms crossed, still keeping my peripheral on Ayano...
He looked, calm. Too calm. I felt like the old Ayano would've folded in on himself with this much attention. But now? He just looked… like he belonged there... Like this version of him had always existed and we just hadn't noticed before.
I got up next to Sekai, and walked over to him, "Hey man, what's up." I said.
"Hey man, morning to you too..."
I need to test something "Yeah, I was wondering... Could you to stand up for a sec?"
He looked at me with one of his eye brows raised, but he eventually did... When he stood at his full height, his eyes met mine. He wasn't an inch or two shorter than me anymore... He's slightly taller the me now too...
"How... Wha~" I couldn't find the words to say what I wanted to.
He didn't even saying anything, he just sat right back down.
I blinked, still standing there like my brain hadn't caught up yet.
He just stood up, casually out-heighted me, and then sat right back down like that wasn't a monumental shift in the laws of reality!
"…Huh," still staring at him. I quickly turned back to Sekai, mouthing a silent "What the hell!?" at her. She just gave me this look—equal parts smug, confused, and very much I told you so.
Ayano, meanwhile, just rested his elbow on the desk, chin in hand, eyes drifting back out the window like we hadn't just discovered he swapped out bodies overnight. The guy wasn't just different. He was new game plus.
I slid back into my seat beside Sekai, and leaned toward her again. "Okay, no. There's no way this is just glow-up magic. Something is off."
Sekai nodded slowly, then whispered, "But… It's as if it's a bad kind of 'off', right?"
I stared at her. "Right, and I'm secretly a reincarnated prince from another world. C'mon, do you really thank all that?"
I saw her hesitating a little, and even what I said made me pause too...
When I glanced down, I saw the way her fingers fiddled with the strap of her bag, and how her gaze was lingering just a little too long in Ayano's direction again. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was crushing on him. Wait a minute...
'Oh, no.' I thought.
'She's caught up in this.' I couldn't even blame her either.
"Ah, crap..." I leaned back again, sighing internally. Whatever happened to our quiet little group? First Ayano becomes a walking main character, now Sekai's acting like she's one smile away from writing his name in her notebook with hearts around it...
You know what!
'Forget it, I'm done...'
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~ Ayano's Pov ~
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Yeah, It's clear that their curious about how I looked to them now... The most I could do is play it off as best as I could. Not like I could tell them that a interdimensional system thing was doing these things to me...
My question was a why it was even doing it in the first place. Why go through the process of hiding my growth to the mass, rather than just make it gradual? It'll at least allow me to not feel so awkward when I go out to public, or interact with my near everyday friends.
Sigh~
But, before I could continue down my train of thoughts; I finally saw Katsura walking into the classroom, 'Great, I might as well hide myself from her...' I covered up a bit more with my hoodie, turning towards the window to hide my face completely. From her angle, it shouldn't be possible for her to see me.
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"Alright everyone, tests are going to start, take out your things and prepare yourselves."
'Thank goodness it's starting...'
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Later, after the test…
"I'm absolutely starving..." Renji yawned, got up and left, he probably realized what I was trying to do, leaving me to myself; curse his ass.
I slowly got up as well, to make a quick get away, I couldn't be bothered with the attention I was getting now... Heck, I think I might just skip lunch altogether too entirely, since I'm not really hungry either.
Now, I just needed to find a place to that's quiet so I can relax from all this. I quickly left the classroom, walking past both Sekai and Katsura before they could stop me.
I feel a bit bad doing something like this, but I felt like I genuinely needed some alone time today. Still, where should I even go? The roof top has been pretty occupied lately, so that's a no go, and people are also generally all bout the campus too...
'C'mon, think... What place does even a working student hardly go to.' I thought for a solid minute before I finally found the answer I was looking for, 'The library, of course!' Practically no one goes to the library, and even if their were people around, it's most likely to be pretty empty either way.
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I made my way towards the library, since it was pretty close to the stairs to get to the roof top, I had remembered where it was since then...
After passing by some more classes while keeping my head low, I could see the double doors up ahead. 'Looks like I'll finally get some well needed alone time for myself...' Just as I was about to enter...
Bump
'Hmm?' I felt someone collide with me, almost as light as a feather but definitely sudden enough to snap me out of my focus... I looked down a bit.
It was a girl, a very tiny girl. I caught her and steadying her just as she was about to fall backwards, I took the initiative to apologize first, "Ah, s-sorry for bumping into you, miss.."
When I got a good look at her, I realized that she was pale—like, noticeably so. Her hair was such a dark green it was almost black, falling just below her shoulders towards her back. But, it was her eyes that really stood out—light shade of red, almost glowing in the hallway light.
She looked... fragile. Not in the weak sense, but more like porcelain. Delicate. Kind of haunting, honestly.
She blinked up at me, quiet, like she hadn't registered the bump yet... It's possible since that power gave me a decent boost to my overall perception. I'll realize things faster than most people ever will...
Knowing this, I stepped back ever so slightly, letting go of her once I was sure she could stand on her own.
"Sorry again," I repeated, a bit softer this time.
Fortunately, she just nodded. Didn't say a word to me...
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Okay, that was... unexpected.
Still, I held the door open for her anyway, giving a slight gesture like, "You first." She hesitated for a second, then walked inside without looking at me again.
I followed behind her, finally stepping into the silence I'd been looking for... I looked around the room, spotting seats that were relatively empty. Fortunately, there was one next to the back right of the room...
I adjusted course slightly to pass by, but ended up brushing against her again—barely, but enough to make it obvious.
'No way... again?'
She turned slightly toward me this time, not a full turn, but enough for me to see her expression. Still calm. pretty much emotionless. Her red eyes blinked once, but slow.
I scratched the back of my head, giving her a small, sheepish smile. "I guess we had the same idea, huh?"
There was a beat of silence.
Then finally, in a voice so soft I almost thought I imagined it, she replied:
"…Seems like it."
Her voice, it was, simple. Near monotone even. But not unfriendly. I just nodded, slightly surprised at it. "Umm, you mind if I sit here?"
She looked at the chair, then back at my direction, and gave a small shake of her head.
"Go ahead."
I quickly slid into the seat beside her, trying not to make a sound as I settled in. I was still careful in hiding my self, I let my eyes drift out toward the window, while giving my mind so time in processing the sheer randomness of today.
But hey... at least the library was quiet.
Sort of.
But, since the air between us was so awkward, I might as well get to know her right? "Um, excuse me, since we kind of started off on a weird note, I'd like to formerly introduce myself, the name's Ayano Keiji, and what about you?"
She didn't look at me right away—just kept staring down at the open book in front of her. I started to think maybe she didn't hear me, until finally, she turned her head just a little...
"It's, Setsuna Kiyoura." she said quietly.
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END