Kenichi kept moving his hands around the mirror in disbelief. He pinched himself, hoping this was just a dream, but the sting was clear.
'So this is for real.'
"I became Kyoya Futami."
Kenichi had always wanted to be like Kyoya Futami, but actually entering his body was a matter entirely different. His chest tightened as he realized how this would affect him.
He had a mother, father, and sister, and now, those relationships no longer existed. His relationship with Akira Tanabe and Kiwato Nakamura was also over.
To make matters worse, he'd have to pretend to be Kyoya Futami.
'What if they realize, I'm not him?'
Kenichi's heart pounded at the thought. If he failed to be Kyoya Futami, he could end up losing the status and friends that Kyoya has. Compared to his old life, despite the constant bullying, he still had friends and family, but now he might end up alone.
'I need to fix this.'
But there was no fixing it. He remembered that moments ago, he had hung himself. Wait—
'So if I'm in Kyoya Futami's body, does that mean that he's—'
A shiver crawled up his spine.
'Did I... Kill Kyoya Futami?'
If they had swapped bodies while Kenichi had hung himself, that would mean that Kyoya Futami was dead. Kenichi had inadvertently killed him. It was similar to Morikawa-Sensei's story. As a matter of fact, Tonight was February 14th, just like in the story.
Feeling overwhelmed, Kenichi's legs buckled, his knees hitting the floor. His hands pressed on his face. In just one moment, so many things had just happened, it was too much for him to process.
'What do I do now? I'm screwed.'
He was gripped with a sense of dread of the unpredictable future that was to come; however, unbeknownst to him, he felt a foreign sensation the likes of which he had never felt before.
Hope and determination.
For some reason, he began to feel a sense of hope that things would work out, and a determination to make sure they did.
'Why do I feel like this?'
It was uncharacteristic of him to have such a feeling. He had just killed himself after all, so why was he feeling like he could overcome his situation?
He stood up.
'Well, if I feel like I can do it, then I might as well try.'
His thumb and index finger pressed on his chin as he pondered.
'There is still a lot, I don't know about Kyoya.'
With the lack of info, it'd be difficult for Kenichi to pretend to be him. However—
'The more I find out about him, the easier it'll be.'
Kenichi's hand wrapped around the washroom's doorknob, pulling it open. He stepped out and observed the layout of the house.
As he walked around, the place had plastic bottles and garbage bags littered across the floor. Inside the living room, there was a table with empty cups of ramen.
'Yeesh, how can anybody live like this?'
The house had one bedroom with a single futon, and outside was a balcony, so it was probably some crappy apartment.
'Does Futami live alone?'
It was illegal for a child to be living on their own. So where were his parents?
'What is he, a shounen protagonist?'
Stepping outside onto the balcony, he saw cars driving on the streets, and there seemed to be some homeless people hanging about.
'This really is a shitty apartment.'
His nose caught the scent of cigarettes in the air. It came from the balcony next to him.
There was a young man with a patchy beard and a scar on his face, smoking.
The man's head spun toward Kenichi, glaring daggers at him.
"The hell are you lookin' at?"
"..."
Sweat beaded down Kenichi's face. He spun around.
'Nope! Nope! Nope! Nope! Nope! Nope!'
He rushed back into the apartment, his heart racing.
'That guy was scary; it'd be best to avoid him.'
But now, Kenichi had an idea of Futami's living condition. Futami seemed to be living alone in a crappy apartment in what looked like a bad neighborhood, and no parents around. In comparison, Kenichi lived with his family in a nice two-story home in a nice neighborhood.
'Guess even the self-proclaimed 'god' Kyoya Futami didn't have everything.'
On top of that, how was Kyoya even paying the rent? Does he have a job? Where would a guy like him find the time?
As Kenichi pondered, a knock could be heard from the door.
Kenichi's body shook.
'Is that scary guy? Did he come to kick my ass?'
Kenichi inched his way to the door, staring through the peephole.
Risa Amemiya stood at the door.
'Risa Amemiya!? What is she doing here?'
Now that he thought about it, it made perfect sense for her to be here; she's dating Kyoya. Kenichi was so wrapped up with being inside Kyoya's body that he hadn't realized…
'Wait… Doesn't this mean that… Risa Amemiya is my girlfriend!?'
At first, it sounded great, but as Kenichi's hand reached the doorknob, he froze. Risa Amemiya had just rejected him; he didn't feel ready to speak to her.
She began pounding on the door once again.
"Kyoya, c'mon open up. I walked all the way here. Are you gonna make me walk back?"
Kenichi began to feel bad for her. But if they did speak, what if she saw through his facade?
However, once again, Kenichi felt a sense of hope and determination. Just what was this feeling, and where did it come from?
Kenichi gulped and faced the door.
'I can do this, just channel your inner Kyoya.'
Using all the experiences he's had with Kyoya, Kenichi put on a cocky expression. He pulled the door open.
"Geez, what took you so long?" Amemiya said as she strolled on into the messy apartment.
"Sorry about that, and… Sorry for the mess, Amemiya-san."
Risa Amemiya paused, staring back at Kenichi.
"Are you really Kyoya?"
The question felt like a jolt to the body. Did she already figure it out? How?
Kenichi's lips quivered.
"W—What do you mean?"
"Why are you being so formal? And since when do you apologize for anything? There's no way you're Kyoya."
Two seconds in, and he already blew it.
FUCK!