With slender fingers she twirled a strand of hair, her eyes on Rei Aohalf expectation, half complaint.
"You promised to spend today with me, and you broke it again."
Her voice carried the slightest trace of reproach.
The rising lilt at the end sent ripples through the quiet room.
A scented candle on the bedpost had already burned halfway down; wax tears clung in irregular shapes to the glass, marking every second she had waited for him.
Rei Ao could only shake his head and chuckle.
He turned, locked the door, and his footsteps vanished into the thick carpet.
With practiced ease he unbuttoned his suit jacket and draped it over an armchair.
Moonlight through the floortoceiling windows outlined his tall frame, the lines of his shoulders halfvisible beneath the shirtthe quiet charm of a grown man.
"Couldn't help it. Mio's deal was set for tonight."
He walked to the bedside.
His fingertips brushed the curve of Mai's calfsilk over skin, exquisitely softand his Adam's apple bobbed before he noticed.
"I didn't expect you to greet me like this. You didn't warn the others first, did you?"
"Hmph. If I don't catch you off guard, how could you be mineeven if only for now?"
A blush crept up Mai's ears like the shy pink of sunset.
She deliberately lifted her leg a little higher.
The soft hiss of fabric filled the silent rooma melody meant to stir the heart.
"Last time you said you wanted to see me in this"
Her habitual shyness colored the whisper.
"So I bought a new oneeven more"
Before she could finish, Rei Ao bent down and kissed her.
Mai's thoughts melted away; in that instant, there was only Rei Ao.
She had endured far, far too much during her body swap with Nodoka
In the room next door
"!!!"
NodokaToyohama bolted upright in bed.
Fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead, faintly shimmering in the moonlight.
"Ha"
She gulped air.
Pink hair clung to her damp nape, leaving her a little disheveled.
The rhythmic crash of waves outside barely steadied her frantic heart.
Yet the sensations from the dream still scorched her skin, as though a fire raged inside her that nothing could quell.
"Another one of those dreams"
Irritated, she raked her fingers through her hair, tangling the pink strands.
Ever since she dreamed of Rei Ao, similar dreams had plagued her nights.
That man always looked at her with eyes she could not resist; every glance felt like a hammer on her heart, sending ripples through her soul.
She reached for the nightstand.
The ice in her water glass had melted; the remaining water was merely cool. She drained it, but the burn in her throat did not fade.
The AC must be set too high.
Impatiently she kicked off the thin quilt, yet the blaze within her still raged.
"Damn it"
Swinging her legs over the side, she stepped barefoot onto the cold floor, hoping to douse the inner heat.
Outside, a full moon hung high.
"If only it weren't just a dream"
She murmured.
But the moment she closed her eyes, something felt different.
"Huh?"
She snapped them open.
Rei Ao's handsome face was inches away.
Another dream?
Her first thought was that she had slipped into a dream within a dreamhow else could he appear again?
"But this dream is way too"
Her voice caught, shock and embarrassment tangled in her throat.
It was absurd: before, they had merely gazed at each other, and even that tender look he reserved for Mai had left her restless.
Now they were skipping straight to the final step?!
The unnervingly real sensations made her wonder if this was truly only a dream.
No time to think.
"Hmm?"
Rei Ao frowned slightly, surprise flickering in his eyes.
"Why are you"
"Don't talk!"
In a panic Nodoka covered his mouth.
If this is a dream maybe I can be a little bolder?
She trembled at the thought.
In the blushsoaked air, she leaned down and kissed him first.
Just this once!
It's only a dream she told herself, determined to pour out every feeling she had long repressed.
~~~
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(Bonus Chapter) Chapter 796: Switcheroo Still Do It!
Faced with the sudden turn of events, a glimmer of understanding flashed across Rei Ao's iridescent eyes.
But he did not expose it.
Nodoka felt as though she were melting.
All rational thought had already evaporated.
She was completely immersed in what she believed to be an illusion.
Just then
"Wah!!!"
The bedroom door was flung open.
"Nodoka Toyohama!"
That familiar, furious shout made Nodoka freeze.
Her head turned stiffly, bit by bit.
She saw "herself" standing in the doorway.
The familiar face was twisted with equal parts shock and angerso fierce it looked as if she might be swallowed alive.
Uh what kind of bizarre dream is this? AmI catching myself in the act?
Rei Ao's lips curved into a small smile.
Time to lay everything bare.
He suddenly stood, lifting the "Nodoka Toyohama" in his arms, and carried her straight to the fulllength mirror.
With a tilt of his chin he said, "Take a good look at the situation."
"Hm?"
She had thought dreamRei Ao was simply teasing her, and being carried like this certainly felt thrilling.
But he clearly wanted her to look in the mirror.
Still puzzled, she glanced over
"What?!"
Her pupils shrank.
A surge of absurdity flooded her chest.
Because in the mirror she could see that the body cradled in Rei Ao's arms was SakurajimaMai's!
She had become SakurajimaMai?!
A familiar djvu washed over her.
Nodoka's mind crashed.
"This this isn't a dream?"
Her voice rose, filled with terror and disbelief.
There could be only one explanationAdolescence Syndrome had struck again!
But why at a time like this?!
Just as the first time, Rei Ao and Mai had been
"Heh."
Rei Ao chuckled softly and turned her toward the mirror.
"Seen it clearly now?"
His movements never paused; if anything, he went right on holding her that way.
In the reflection, she saw Mai's face flush bright red.
The sight made Nodoka's heart race; waves of shame crashed over her, leaving her nowhere to hide.
"Rei Ao!"
The "Nodoka" at the doorwayreally Mai's soultrembled with rage.
Fury and grievance were written across Nodoka's face.
Storming over, she demanded,
"You knew all along, didn't you?!"
"Yes."
Rei Ao shrugged, admitting it outright.
And even that didn't slow his "advance."
"After all, Nodoka's reactions were so inexperiencedtotally unlike you, Mai. I sensed it immediately."
"?"
Nodoka was so mortified she nearly fainted,
yet her body answered his movements in spite of herself.
"You!"
Mai lunged to pull them apart, but the moment she touched Rei Ao's arm, he turned and swept her into his embrace as well.
"Since things are already like this"
Rei Ao's rainbow irises drifted between them, shining with deep, enigmatic light.
"Why don't we all share?"
"Are you crazy?!"
Mai struggled,
but her strength was insignificant against Rei Ao.
Yet when she caught the scent of the shower gel on Nodokaone she herself had used specially that dayshe stiffened.
A tangle of complicated feelings welled up inside.
Nodoka suddenly burst into tears.
"I'm sorry I really honestly thought I could"
"I just have feelings for Rei Aokun"
Her guilt choked her words.
Because of her feelings for him she'd ended up in this embarrassing mess.
Tears poured down like a breached dam, splashing onto their intertwined arms.
Mai's struggles stopped.
She stared blankly at Nodokaat her own face showing a vulnerability it had never worn before.
"So your Adolescence Syndrome"
Mai's voice was dry, laced with a faint, barely perceptible ache.
"was triggered by that?"
Because Nodoka had feelings for Rei Ao, because she envied Mai being with him, she had once again become Mai
For a moment, Mai didn't know what to say.
Rei Ao gently set Nodoka on his knee.
His fingers brushed away her tears, as though handling something fragile and precious.
Mai looked at the marks on her own body, then at Nodoka's tearreddened eyes.
The anger and jealousy in her heart slowly melted into understanding and pity.
Seeing Nodoka in such pain, she couldn't bring herself to blame her.
At last she let out a long sigh.
"Rei Aokun take her in."
"Eh?"
Nodoka snapped her head up, eyes wide with shock and delight, tears still clinging to her lashes, sparkling like gems in the moonlight.
"I said"
Mai turned away, ears blazing red, the blush blooming like a vivid flower.
"Make this idiot your girlfriend! Since"
Her voice trailed off.
"since you've already got plenty of girlfriends in that weird chat group of yours anyway"
Rei Ao raised an amused brow. "You're sure?"
"But!"
Mai suddenly spun and grabbed his collar, eyes warning.
"If you dare play favorites"
Her threat was cut off when Nodoka pounced on her in a hug.
The two girls knelt on the bed.
Mai stared in astonishment as her cousinusing Mai's own bodyhugged her tightly.
"Thank you thank you, Oneechan"
Nodoka buried her face in Mai's shoulder, sobbing with gratitude and joy.
Mai froze for a moment,
then slowly lifted her hand to pat Nodoka's back, the motion turning gentle.
Rei Ao watched the cousins, a smile lighting his eyes.
He wrapped both of them in his arms.
Mai made a token struggle before surrendering and leaning against his shoulder.
Nodoka, like a shy little creature, curled up between them, savoring the hardwon warmth and happiness.
Far off, waves crashed against rocks, mingling with the room's gradually steadying breaths.
"From today on"
Rei Ao's voice was low and tender. "You both belong to me."
Mai gave a soft "hmph" but didn't argue.
Nodoka shyly nodded, her fingers quietly hooking Rei Ao's sleeve.
"So for tonight I won't switch you back. I think this is pretty fun, don't you?"
"Huh?"
Mai blinked.
Before she could react, Rei Ao pounced again.
He clearly had the power to restore themyet insisted on letting the mistake stand!
How infuriating!!!
~~~
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Chapter 797: Confrontation inside Shinomiya Family! Shinomiya Oko!
The sea breeze, heavy with salt and moisture, swept across the beach, lifting fine grains of sand that whirled in the air.
The hem of Amagami Chiharu's white miko robe fluttered lightly, like a cloud reluctant to leave.
She stared blankly at the spot where Rei Ao had stood only moments before.
Now, all that remained there were a few scuffed grains of sand and a shallow footprint.
Just three seconds ago, Rei Ao had been standing there.
Then, together with his beautiful female companions, he had waved goodbye to them.
Their holiday was over; it was time to go back.
And then
As though rubbed out of reality by an eraser, their figures gradually faded from the air,
until they vanished completely.
"Mom"
Amagami Yaegripped her mother's slightly trembling hand in worry.
She could feel the warmth draining rapidly from that hand in the sea breeze.
As the eldest daughter, she had never seen her mother lose composure like this.
Chiharu's pupils were slightly dilated, her lips quivered; it was as if her very soul had been taken away.
All that intense reluctance was centred on Rei Ao.
Amagami Asahiand Ynaexchanged a complicated glance.
As shrine maidens of the Amagami Shrine, they prided themselves on a high tolerance for the supernatural.
Yet Rei Ao had merely snapped his fingers and disappeared with a whole group of people.
Such divine power lay far beyond their comprehension.
What concerned them even more was their mother's abnormal reaction.
The lost, desolate look in Chiharu's eyes was like someone who had just lost the most important thing in life.
Yna noticed their mother's fingertips unconsciously rubbing the amulet hanging at her necka treasure passed down through generations of the shrine,
said to protect its wearer from evil influences.
Their mother only did that when she was extremely uneasy.
It seemed she had fallen very deeply for Rei Ao.
There was nothing the daughters could do about that.
"The villa!"
Yna suddenly raised her voice, deliberately breaking the mood of parting.
"Didn't Rei Ao say he's left the villa to usthat we can use it as we please?"
She waved her arms exaggeratedly, pointing at the white seafront villa not far away.
"The sun's perfect right now; why don't we go and enjoy the private villa a bit more?"
As she spoke she winked at her sister Asahi.
Asahi caught on at once.
She hurried forward to take their mother's other arm.
"That's right, Mom. It's a rare chance; let's go swimming together."
She blinked mischievously.
"Bigsis Yae secretly bought a supersexy new swimsuit, didn't she?"
"Asahi!"
Yae's face flushed bright red; she glared at her sister in embarrassed anger.
As the shrine's next heir she was known for her poise; buying that rather daring swimsuit had indeed been an impulsive act.
Yet, to Asahi's surprise, Yae did not retort. Instead she cooperatively led their mother toward the villa.
She, too, understood that her sisters wanted to help their mother pull herself together.
And so the three daughters clustered around Chiharu, moving like escort ships guiding a flagship that had lost its course.
Chiharu's steps followed her daughters mechanically, but her gaze kept drifting back to the vast, empty beach.
The sea breeze tousled her jetblack hair; a few strands stuck to her slightly damp cheeks, yet she seemed unaware.
"He'll come back," Chiharu murmured, her voice almost swallowed by the waves.
It did not sound like a question, but rather like talking to herself.
Walking behind them, Tsuruyama Shirahi and Anekoji Mahiruexchanged looks on hearing this.
"Rei Aokun said that as long as someone messages the group chat, he'll appear anytime,"
Shirahi said calmly, with conviction.
"He's never broken a promise."
