They were completely outmatched.
Taichi couldn’t really explain how he knew, but he did.
Meanwhile, Inaba struggled to speak as she gasped for breath. “Guys... gghcck... Don’t... let him... get away...!”
“Shhh... Just take it easy, Inabacchan!” Aoki cut in, cradling her.
“Look... I don’t believe in violence, but it looks like we don’t have a choice here,” Taichi said, stepping forward. «Heartseed» looked in his direction and fell still.
Though it was wearing [Gotou’s body], there was something imperceptible about it that made Taichi reflexively recoil.
Nevertheless, Inaba was right. They couldn’t afford to let it get away—not when it was clear it was directly involved in the supernatural phenomenon that currently plagued their every waking moment. If they let it walk out the door now, there was no guarantee they’d ever get a second chance.
At this point, they had no choice but to resort to violence—and Taichi was obligated to step up to the plate.
With «Heartseed» wearing [Gotou’s face], the task at hand would not be easy, but again, he had no other option.
But then an arm shot out in front of his chest, blocking his path.
“Wait, Taichi. Let me handle this.”
It was Kiriyama.
“But I need to—”
“No, Taichi, you don’t need to,” Kiriyama interrupted. She was smiling, but her brows were furrowed in frustration, as though she were admonishing a spoiled child. “Besides, you and I both know I’m stronger than you. Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”
Taichi opened his mouth to argue, but fell silent and bit his lip instead. She was right. While he may have had superior physical strength, Kiriyama had trained in full contact karate up until middle school. She was so talented, in fact, many considered her to be a child prodigy.
And yet, her voice was shaking.
“Then let’s team up and—”
“No thanks, deadweight.”
Rejected before he could even finish his suggestion.
“Yui! What about me? I could back you up—”
“Get lost.”
Evidently she was in no mood to go easy on Aoki, either.
She hopped back and forth, assuming a low stance, her long reddish-brown hair bouncing along with her. She exuded an entirely different vibe now—one that seemed to recast every movement in slow motion. It felt like she might pounce with the slightest twitch... a fearsome aura radiating from a girl barely 150 centimeters tall.
It felt as though a bird of prey had manifested inside the room.
But «Heartseed» showed no signs of alarm; instead, it stared at her blankly.
“I’m ready to play! Not sure why you bothered waiting, though. You totally could have made your escape by now... so why didn’t you try?” Kiriyama asked as she edged her way closer.
“...Oh, you’re right... Ugh... Hindsight is 20/20... Anyway, I just thought I might get a glimpse of something mildly entertaining... though you’d be surprised just how trivial it turned out to be...”
“Guess I’ll just have to change your mind, then.”
Kiriyama took a step forward—then leapt into the air, launching a flying kick at [his] face like a hawk descending upon her prey.
“I’m sorry, Gossan!”
But right before her strike connected, «Heartseed» raised [his] arm to block.
In that moment, the twenty-centimeter height difference scarcely seemed to matter. And yet, in the blink of an eye, «Heartseed» had effortlessly intercepted the attack. This duel was already overwhelming for an average joe like Taichi—but it didn’t stop there.
As she descended, Kiriyama swung her fist in midair. With her tawny tresses flowing behind her, she looked ever more like a hawk in flight.
But «Heartseed» seized her wrist with [his] free hand—a feat Taichi knew no ordinary human could pull off, though considering the bored expression on [his] face, it certainly made it look easy.
As soon as Kiriyama’s feet hit the floor, her legs buckled, and she fell to her knees.
In an instant, her battle girl persona was shattered.
[He] was barely touching her, and yet she had completely lost the will to fight. She stared at the floor, trembling like a newborn fawn.
“Yui!”
“Kiriyama!”
Nagase rushed over, followed by Taichi.
But the next instant, his sight warped and dimmed.
The next thing he knew, he was on his knees, cradling Inaba in his arms.
Confusion set in. Then he realized.
If he was holding Inaba, that meant he was in [Aoki’s body].
A beat later, [Inaba] began to cough hoarsely once more.
“Whoa... You okay?!”
“...Inaban... Th... This really hurts...!”
Inaban.
The only person in the CRC—no, the entire school—who used that nickname was Nagase.
Taichi looked up and glanced around the room.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone in [his body] collapse weakly to the floor... probably Kiriyama, judging from the state she was in just moments prior. Meanwhile, [Kiriyama] was frozen in place on [her] knees, [her] wrist still in «Heartseed»’s grasp, her face white as a sheet. Lastly, someone in [Nagase’s body] was standing tall with [her] arms folded across [her] chest.
“Wait... Did the body-swap just kick in...? That’s actually... sort of fascinating...” said «Heartseed», looking down on Taichi and the others with an expression that suggested it wasn’t fascinated in the least. “Alright... This looks like a good time for me to leave... For real this time...” It let go of [Kiriyama’s] wrist and reached for the doorknob.
“Wait. At least answer me this,” said whoever was currently occupying [Nagase’s body]. “Obviously we’re powerless to stop you, so let me ask: will we ever have another opportunity to see you again?”
“...Good question... I imagine you’ll see me again once this is all over... No guarantees, though... Now, could you please stop trying to manhandle this... what was it... ‘Gotou-san’ person...? You’re only wasting your time...”
“That so? Well then, looks like we won’t be able to oppose you. Hmph... Guess we don’t have a choice. I would’ve liked to kick your ass, but ah well... Unfortunate. Say, «Heartseed», before you go, would you mind if I pointed out something I just noticed?” [Nagase] asked, smirking, her tone strangely casual.
Taichi could think of only one person who would have the guts to act this way—Inaba.
“When you first got here, you said you came to us because we were ‘getting good and panicked over this body-swapping business,’ yeah? Which suggests if we hadn’t met your standards, you wouldn’t have come. And considering you said you were ‘impressed’ by my choice of questions, that must mean you’ve done this at least once before, right? And another thing—if you have a name, that would imply there are more than one of you, correct?”
Even in the face of utter chaos, Inaba could always be counted on to analyze what small scraps of data she had in order to turn the tables against her opponent... and her wicked grin was even more terrifying coming from the ordinarily sweet and innocent [Nagase].
In response, «Heartseed» offered just two words.
“Who knows...?”
Then, for the first time, [his] lip curled slightly—a shadowy, eerie smile that [Gotou] could never have managed. For a moment, Taichi could practically see sparks flying between it and [Nagase] (Inaba)... but then it returned to its usual lethargic self.
“Well... Try to put up a good fight, I guess... Oh... That kind of slipped out in the heat of the moment... I don’t actually intend to fight with you... I guess I just wanted an excuse to say it for once...”
With that, «Heartseed» walked out of the clubroom, leaving them to deal with the aftermath of its absurd experiment.
Belatedly, Taichi realized that [Kiriyama] was (Aoki) via process of elimination.
Some time later, the CRC decided they needed to check on Gotou. When they arrived at the staff room, sure enough, there sat Gotou Ryuuzen, advisor to Class 1-3 and supervisor for the Cultural Research Club, looking just the same as ever. When they asked him to recount his memory of the day’s events, he replied, “What do you mean? I’ve been working on paperwork all day... Wait, what the?! How is it already this late and I haven’t made any decent progress?! That’s so bizarre... Maybe it’s one of the seven mysteries of Yamaboshi! You should write about this in the next issue of the Culture Bulletin!”
At this, Inaba nearly lost her patience, but then he added, “Hm? Why does my arm hurt...? Whoa! It’s all red, too! Wait... If I put these two observations together, then logically... I’ve got it! I must’ve fallen asleep resting my weight on my arm! That explains it. Silly me! I need to get my act together.” It was a comment so utterly blithe that Inaba lost her temper, put him (a grown man who also happened to be her teacher) in a headlock, and gave him a vicious noogie, right there in the middle of the staff room.
“Owww! Inaba! I’m technically your teacher, you know!”
“Oh yeah? If you’re a teacher, then have some damn SENSE! I don’t even want to bother interrogating you for clues now... Pretty sure you’d just waste my time!”
Somehow, Taichi got the sense he knew why «Heartseed» might have chosen [Gotou]... though there was no telling for sure whether his assessment was accurate.