The surges peaked like a tsunami crashing against rockone wave after another, pounding her consciousness to pieces.
Miyamizu Mitsuha felt like a small boat hurled into a raging sea. All she could do was cling to Rei Aothe only pillar within reachrising and falling in that dizzying storm of sensation.
Then, just as her awareness was flung to its highest point, a strange sense of separation struck hard. It wasn't a physical conclusion; it was more like her soul being yanked out of a warm, familiar harbor.
Everything before herRei Ao's deep eyes right at hand, the ornate ceiling above, the sultry haze in the airblurred and receded like a fading canvas, and was swallowed by endless darkness.
"Uh!"
Mitsuha's eyes flew open as she jerked upright in bed.
Her breathing was ragged, her heart hammering as if she'd just sprinted a hundred meters. A fine, heated sheen still clung to her skin, along with that blush-inducing, tingling afterglow.
But something was off.
Darkness everywhere, silent as a tomb. This wasn't the luxurious room with the towering windows and glittering night view. The air held a faint, pleasant fragrancethe scent of someone freshly bathedyet it was unfamiliar. She'd never used a body wash that smelled like this. The mattress beneath her was very softalso unfamiliar.
"Rei Ao?"
She called out without thinking, her voice husky and lost in the dark.
No answer.
Was it over? Had Rei Ao already left?
Mitsuha was baffled. Had the intensity made her black out? Did Rei Ao bring her here? But where was "here"?
She looked around in confusion. As her eyes adjusted, she could just make out the outline of a room. The layout and furnishings were utterly unfamiliardefinitely not her room at the shrine.
And
She raised a hand to her chest on reflex. Her palm met a heavy, full weight.
Huh?
Her confusion deepened. She peered down, but in the darkness could only make out shapes. Had they always been this full, this substantial? The solid weight felt nothing like her own slimmer build.
A powerful unease swept over her. She felt her way off the bed, bare feet meeting a cool, smooth floor, and groped along the wall by instinct.
Click.
Warm yellow light flooded the room, pushing back the dark and revealing a space completely unfamiliar to her.
It was a sleek, minimalist apartment bedroom: spotless and orderly, with a crisp, urban feel. A laptop and some documents sat on the desk; a rack held several well-made coats and dresses.
"This isn't my home at all!"
Her heartbeat quickened. Panicking, she looked down at herselflong, even, pale legs; a high-quality off-shoulder silk nightdress; and at its neckline, a breathtaking curve that made her eyes go wide.
"T-this isn't my body!"
She lifted her hand. Slender fingers. Nails neatly roundedpainted, evenwith a pretty pale-pink shimmer.
A manicure?!
"I've never even had my nails done!"
Panic coiled around her heart like icy vines. She stumbled out of the bedroom, found the bathroom by instinct, shoved the door open, and hit the light.
Under the harsh glare, the mirror showed her exactly as she was now
A completely unfamiliar face. A clearly adult woman's face.
Mid-twenties, exquisitely featured, with a gentle, captivating air. Light-blue eyes blown wide with fear. A proud nose; lips slightly parted, richly colored. Long, black, silken hair spilled over smooth shoulders.
A striking, magnetic city beauty.
But not Miyamizu Mitsuha.
The stranger in the mirror stared back in the same panic, mirroring her every move. Mitsuha raised a hand; the woman raised hers. Mitsuha pinched her cheek; the woman did too.
"Ah!"
A short, terrified scream finally broke free. She staggered back and slammed into the cold tile; the chill shot through her body.
How could this be happening?!
How had she become someone she didn't know at all? And where was this?
The shock and helplessness were so intense she went cold, her teeth starting to chatter. Through the chaos, one image surfaced firstthe man who had held her with both gentleness and fierceness.
Right. Rei Ao!
He would know what was going on.
Clutching at that lifeline, she ignored how uncanny everything felt, pulled up the contract chat group, and sent him a message.
Miyamizu Mitsuha: "@Rei AoRei Ao, I-I think something strange just happened to me?"
After sending it, she gripped her phone tight, like a prisoner awaiting judgment, heart about to leap from her chest. Her greatest fear was that all of this was fakechat included. If so, she had no idea who to rely on.
Almost at once, his reply popped upso fast it startled her.
Rei Ao: "I already know. Wait there. I'll come to you when I'm finished."
His tone was steady, as if he'd anticipated everything. That calm bled into her panic, giving her a small anchor.
Miyamizu Mitsuha: "O-okay! Got it!"
She fired back and let out a slight breathbut the storm inside her was far from calm.
Chapter 909: Soul Swapped? The Group Chats Reaction Varied....
Rei Ao and Mitsuha's exchange naturally drew the attention of everyone else in the group chat.
Stella: "Something strange? Mitsuha, what happened? The cometwas it taken care of?"
Misaka Mikoto: "Yeah! @Miyamizu Mitsuha, is Itomori okay? Did Rei Ao handle the meteor?"
Tohru: "Heh. If he stepped in, there's nothing to worry about. Mitsuha looks fine, doesn't she?"
Shiba Miyuki: "That's true enough."
Seeing her friends asking, Mitsuha realized she hadn't shared the good news yet and hurried to reply.
Miyamizu Mitsuha: "Mm! Rei Ao already took care of the comet. Itomori is safe. Don't worry!"
Busujima Saeko: "Phew good."
Busujima Saeko: "But what was that 'something strange' you mentioned? @Miyamizu Mitsuha"
Miko Yotsuya: "Yeah, yeahwhat happened to you, Mitsuha? How did you end up somewhere unfamiliar?"
Miyamizu Mitsuha: "II don't know what's going on I think I suddenly found myself in an apartment I've never seen before and, and I think I turned into a totally unfamiliar, very pretty older lady"
Shiba Miyuki: "Turned into a stranger?"
Shiba Miyuki: "What do you mean? Magic? But didn't Rei Ao say there's no magic in your world."
Kasuga Hijiri: "A soul projection? Or some kind of cognitive interference?"
Sakurajima Mai: "You mean you're fully conscious, but the body you're controlling belongs to some woman you don't know?"
Mai's tone shifted, as if something had clicked for her. The situation felt very familiar.
Miyamizu Mitsuha: "Yes, yes! Mai-senpai! Exactly! The girl in the mirror isn't me at all!!"
Like finding a kindred spirit, she rushed to confirmit all had her completely at a loss.
Sakurajima Mai: ""
Mai fell silent for a moment. This was exactly like when she and Toyohama Nodoka swapped bodies because of "Adolescent Syndrome."
Yukinoshita Yukino: "If I'm not mistaken, you've swapped bodies with someone."
Yukino offered a cool judgment. She hadn't experienced it herself, but someone close hadYui and her mother. Yuigahama Yui and Mrs. Yuigahama's case came to mind immediately.
Marcille: "Huh?! Body swapping?! That exists?"
Marcille was stunned; even she had never heard of such magic. If it did exist, it would probably be classified as forbidden.
Couronne: "That's way too incredible!"
Tohru: "Oh? Just a simple soul-exchange spell. Pretty common."
Tohru waved it off as a trifleshe even knew ways to turn women into men and men into women.
Frieren: "Soul-exchange magic, Tohruyou know it? Interesting. Teach me? I want to try swapping with Aura."
Hearing that such a spell really existed, Frieren's dangerous academic curiosity flared.
Miyamizu Mitsuha: "S-swap bodies?"
The guess left Mitsuha stunned. If it was a swap, didn't that mean the original owner of this unfamiliar "Oneesan" body was currently using Miyamizu Mitsuha's body?
And right before she blacked out, she had been with Rei Ao
!!!!
A thought exploded in her mind, making her scalp prickle and her blood run backward.
Thenwouldn't the woman whose soul had swapped with hers be the one with Rei Ao right now?
"Huh?"
Mitsuha's head rang. Her face went scarlet in an instant, like it could drip blood; she wanted to crawl into a hole.
How could this be happening?!
Inside the space Rei Ao had created.
Okudera Miki lay staring blankly at the ceiling. Not deadbut she'd given up on thinking, steeped in exhaustion and afterglow.
Beside her, Rei Ao had casually slipped on a silk robe and straightened up a little. Leaning against the bedside, he crooked a finger under "Miyamizu Mitsuha's" chin, guiding those amber eyesstill mistywith a gentle lift.
Satisfied with the "result," a faint, not-quite-a-smile curved his lips. His gaze lingered on the body that belonged to Mitsuha, though in truth it looked straight through the flesh to the soul withinan unfamiliar, mature soul that had clearly just weathered a violent storm.
"All right, beautiful."
His voice was husky with postlude laziness, yet it still carried an undeniable authority.
"I'm good. Can we introduce ourselves now?"
He paused, adding with a playful note, "After all, the body you're usingMiyamizu Mitsuhais my girlfriend's. I'm Rei Ao."
A flicker passed through Miki Okudera's eyes; complicated emotions welledshame, confusion, helplessness, and a hint of awe toward this mysterious, powerful man.
She pressed her lipsreddened from the kisslooked away from that soul-piercing gaze, and, in a husky, faintly trembling voice, murmured:
"Okudera Miki That's my name."
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
Currently You can Read 220+ Chapters Ahead of Others!
Chapter 910: Looking at Oneself, Okudera Miki's Wish
In that unfamiliar Tokyo apartment, Miyamizu Mitsuha (in Okudera Miki's body) didn't even know how she eventually fell asleep.
She'd meant to wait for Rei Ao's reply, but the shock, confusion, and a hard-to-name, complicated emotion were finally crushed by sheer exhaustion. Curled up on the soft, unfamiliar bed, her consciousness sank into a chaotic deep sea.
It felt like a long time, and also like a blink.
Through the haze, she seemed to hear a voiceso familiar, and carrying exactly the comfort she most neededsoftly calling her name.
"Mitsuha wake up"
The voice was quiet, yet it cut through the fog like a beam of light.
Mitsuha pried open sleepy eyes; the blur slowly came into focus. The first thing she saw was Rei Ao's flawless, handsome face. At some point he had arrived at the apartment and now stood by the bed, leaning slightly, looking down at her, the corners of his mouth lifting with that same reassuring yet unreadable smile.
"Rei Ao!"
Joy leapt in her chest and she almost sat up at onceonly to freeze in the next second.
Because standing beside Rei Ao was another person. Someone she knew better than anyoneherself.
Black hair. A youthful yet delicate face. Big amber eyes filled with the same shock, confusion, and helplessness as her own. She was even wearing last night's familiar pajamas.
That was her body.
A soul swapso the soul inside that body right now was
Miyamizu Mitsuha (in Okudera Miki's body) and "Miyamizu Mitsuha" (with Okudera Miki's soul) locked eyes in midaira jolt like electricity shot through them. Both froze as if under a binding spell, staring wide-eyed, disbelieving.
It was an eerie, surreal experience: more real than any mirror by a thousandfold, and more absurd than any dream. The self looking at the "self"; a soul in an unfamiliar vessel studying the skin that once belonged to it. The alienation, dislocation, and roaring sense of wrongness surged up from deep within, threatening to break the dam of reason.
"I"
Okudera Miki (in Mitsuha's body) spoke on instinctbut what came out was Mitsuha's clear voice.
That startled even her. She clapped a hand over her mouth, panic flaring in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Mitsuha (in Okudera's body) couldn't help lifting a hand to touch herOkudera Miki'scheek. The skin was smooth and delicate, yet utterly unfamiliar. Seeing yourself in a mirror and seeing a living person wearing your face are completely different feelings.
They just stared, dumbstruck. The air grew thick with an extreme, awkward silence.
Rei Ao was the one to break it at last. Amused, he chuckled.
"Heh. Looks like you're both awake."
"In that case, why don't we change the setting and sit down for a proper talk?"
Snap
He snapped his fingers. Space around them rippled like water. In the next instant, the three of them had left the bedroom of Okudera Miki's apartment and appeared in a minimalist, comfortable living roomlike a high-end hotel suite.
They each sat on a soft sofa. Mitsuha and Miki both instinctively straightened their backs, hands placed primly on their knees, sitting stiffly and overly formal.
Mitsuha's stiffness came from how alien this mature, voluptuous body felt; every breath made the rise and fall of her chest exaggeratedly obvious, leaving her at a loss. Miki's unease came from a tidal wave of guilt and embarrassment.
My god. She was using someone else's body. And not long ago she had done that kind of thing with someone else's boyfriend. And now the rightful owner sat right across from her.
It was the most outrageous love-triangle battlefield she'd ever experienced. She didn't dare lift her head to meet the gaze of the person oppositeher own face; her cheeks burned and she wished she could curl into a ball.
"Um Rei Ao"
In the end, Mitsuha couldn't stand the suffocating silence any longer and spoke first, voice small.
"W-what on earth is going on? Why did I swap souls with Okudera Miki-san?"
At that, Miki immediately looked up too, the same confusion and urgency in her eyes. After last night's intense encounter, she'd been so exhausted she fell asleep at onceshe hadn't had the chance or the mind to ask.
Lounging lazily against the sofa back, Rei Ao let his gaze travel between them, finally settling on Miki. A meaningful curve touched his lips.
"As for the cause of all this"
He drawled, "I'm afraid we'll have to ask you, Okudera."
"Me?"
Miki stared, dumbfounded, reflexively protesting in Mitsuha's voice, "II didn't do anything! How could I possibly have that kind of power?!"
She was just an ordinary office workernothing special.
"Think carefully," Rei Ao prompted. "What did you door thinkyesterday evening at the window when the comet was about to disappear?"
"The comet evening"
Miki frowned, searching her memory. Suddenly, her eyes flew wide, disbelief washing over her face.
