“...Huh...? I’m not sure... But in terms of my role here, I’m the one who watches over all of you, I suppose you could say...” It sighed. “Forget it... Let’s just say I’m a nobody named «Heartseed» and leave it at that...”
“You watch over us...? Wait, but... then what happened to the real Gossan? Is he in [someone else’s body] right now?”
“Ah... Quite astute, Yaegashi-san... Thank you for helping things along... Basically, yes. Though, to be exact, in my case, it’s not a ‘switch,’ per se... That would take too much time... More like I’m just visiting, I guess...? I don’t really need you to understand, I suppose... Ugh... Why did I bother explaining, then...? Do you mind if I get right to the point...? Just let me say my piece so I can go home... Thank you for your cooperation...”
With its lethargy and blatant apathy toward everyone else, [Gotou] «Heartseed» was in full control of the conversation.
“Then, does this mean you will enlighten us as to the circumstances we currently find ourselves in, my good sir?” Aoki asked, apparently having adopted some sort of strange, overly-polite persona.
“Oh... Well... More or less... But it might not be the explanation you’re all hoping for... After all, there’s no point in living up to your hopes in the first place... Now then... Let’s get started... Oh, wait... Does one of you want to take notes or something...? Oh... Right... I guess you don’t have to, since you can just rely on Inaba-san’s photographic memory...”
“How do you even know about that?” Inaba muttered, but [Gotou] «Heartseed» ignored her and carried on.
“Let’s see... Well, for the time being... The five of you will be switching bodies with each other, completely at random... I’ll go ahead and say this... You’re all doing a great job so far... Not that I actually meant a word of that... Wait... I shouldn’t have said that last part... Oops... I did it again... I’ve been talking to myself a lot lately... It’s a bad habit I’d like to unlearn, but... well... I don’t care that much, I suppose... Guess I won’t bother unlearning it, then...”
“So it’s totally random who ends up switching with whom? And it happens at random, too?” Nagase asked. She was surprisingly calm and rational—much more so than Taichi had ever seen her. Her voice seemed... colder, somehow.
“Ah... I knew I could count on you, Nagase-san... Yes, that’s exactly right... The five of you will be switching bodies at random, and I’ll be observing the results... That’s all there is to it... Oh, but I won’t be infringing on your privacy 24/7, so no need to worry about that... I only watch under certain conditions... I don’t watch for the fun of it, after all... It’s too much effort... Does that answer all your questions...? Though, even if it doesn’t, I’m not planning to do anything about it...”
“That doesn’t even begin to answer our questions,” Taichi retorted.
Inaba let out a breath. “Okay... Normally this is the part where I’d say ‘you’re not making any goddamn sense,’ but then again, our current situation doesn’t make much rational sense, either. So, I’ll bite. I have a few questions for you. One: why us? Two: do you have full control over what happens to us? Three: how do we make this stop? Four: what is your objective in doing this?” She paused. “Honestly, I have a hell of a lot more where that came from, but I’ll leave it at that for now.”
[Gotou] «Heartseed» froze, staring blankly in Inaba’s direction for a few moments. “Those are all very astute questions, Inaba-san... I’m impressed you didn’t bother asking me how I’m capable of doing this in the first place... Under circumstances like these, it’s a common question, but upon further reflection you soon realize it doesn’t actually matter... Ugh... There I go rambling on about pointless nonsense again...” It droned on at a snail’s pace. “Let’s see... Regarding your first question, you were chosen purely by chance... Nothing more to it, really... Well... More accurately, you were chosen because you happened to be interesting, kind of...”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Taichi muttered.
“Come now... Wouldn’t you agree the five of you are a bit more fascinating than most...? Oh... Right... I forgot... Some people are patently oblivious...”
By “some people,” it seemed it was referring to the five of them. But what did it mean by it?
“What else was there? Do I have control... How to make it stop... My objective...? Okay, I’ll answer them in that order... Wait... Was I ever obligated to answer all this in the first place...? Ah, yes... This is entirely pointless and unnecessary, isn’t it... I was so caught up in the flow of the conversation, I nearly told you everything... That was a close call... Whew... Anyway, there’s no set rules... You’ll be switching bodies for a while, and once I feel you’ve proved sufficiently entertaining, that’s when it will end... It won’t be for too much longer... Not that I know your definition of ‘long,’ nor do I care to find out...”
“So, judging from that last part, I take it you’re in full control of this situation—or at least, you decide when it ends. In which case, I think it’s safe to say you’re the one who made this happen,” Inaba declared.
“Uh oh... Busted... Actually, I wasn’t ‘busted’ until just now, when I copped to it... Anyway, please just go about your daily lives and try not to worry about it too much... Worrying about it is a waste of time, after all... Think of it as just another one of life’s little hurdles, or something like that... You’re not in any mortal danger, after all... Also, I encourage you not to waste time thinking about the science behind how the body-swap works... It’s beyond your understanding... And if possible, I would greatly appreciate it if you could forget I ever existed... The five of you have more important matters at hand... Use that time to think about yourselves instead... That way the body-swap won’t have to be dragged out any longer than it needs to be... It’s a win-win scenario for both of us... Yes... How lovely it would be...”
Did «Heartseed» actually expect them to just learn to live with it?
“Am I forgetting anything...? Oh, right... I strongly recommend you keep this body-swap situation to yourselves... It’ll only complicate matters... Not so much for me, but almost certainly for you... You know what I’m getting at, yes...? I’m going to assume you do...” [Gotou] «Heartseed» scratched [his] head and stared up at the ceiling like it was reviewing a mental list. “Okay... I think that’s everything... In fact, I’m just going to assume I’m done so I can leave... Anyway, best of luck... I’ll be rooting for you from the top of my heart... Oh, wait... I should have lied and said ‘the bottom of my heart’ instead...”
With that, [Gotou]—or rather, «Heartseed»—turned and headed for the door. Clearly it had no interest in helping them understand. It just wanted to show up, drop its bombshell, and leave—
“Hold it right there!”
—but naturally, Inaba wasn’t about to let it off the hook. That would go against her motto, after all.
She strode over and seized «Heartseed» by the shoulder. “Up ‘til now I was content to shut up and let you say your piece, but I still have a ton of questions. And you haven’t even answered the ones I asked earlier.” If she was afraid of it, she certainly didn’t act that way.
“We’re in the middle of a crisis here. You don’t really think we’d just let you leave, do you?” Nagase added, cracking her knuckles.
Inaba had a naturally combative personality, and Nagase was easily influenced by her surroundings. Let the two of them fall in sync and there would be no stopping them.
«Heartseed» looked back over [his] shoulder. “Like I said... The five of you have more important business to be dealing with... As for me, I’m not trying to pick a fight with you... I sincerely mean that... Not that I care if you like me—oh, I shouldn’t have said that part...” Judging from his expression, he didn’t seem too upset by his slip-up. If anything, he looked to be mildly annoyed at most.
Inaba forcibly spun him back around to face them. “We’re not just gonna roll over and let you have your way!”
The next instant, his eyes glinted with unearthly light, and a dull impact rippled through the room as flesh and bone collided. Inaba flew backwards, colliding with Nagase, and Aoki behind both of them. Chairs and tables toppled as the three of them crashed to the ground—almost like a scene out of an action flick.
Someone screamed.
Collapsed on top of Aoki, Inaba clutched at her chest, coughing up fluids. It looked like she’d taken a hard elbow strike to the solar plexus.
“Ouchie...” Nagase had fallen squarely on her rear and was now rubbing her tailbone. Judging from her goofy tone, she was probably fine.
“I didn’t want to have to do that, but maybe it’s the fastest way to help you understand... Seriously though, I didn’t want to do it... Too much effort...” In a blink, the bloodthirsty aura from moments before had faded, and «Heartseed» was back to its usual, sluggish self.