Chapter 5: The Past

Kana-chan has been staying over almost every day lately.

We used to meet after work, have dinner together, and then go to a love hotel—but, as you can imagine, that lifestyle got expensive fast. So, we decided to change things up.

Now, Kana-chan comes to my place nearly every day and cooks for me. Today was no different.

After dinner, we relax together on the sofa.

"Thanks, Kana-chan. That was delicious."

"It’s fine! I’m just happy that Senpai enjoys my cooking."

She’s such a good girl.
Let’s get married.
Also… she’s got big boobs.

"Are you staying over tonight too?"

"Senpai, you’re such a perv."

Even as she says that, Kana-chan loops her arms around mine.

"You’re the pervy one, Kana-chan."

"It’s your fault, Senpai!"

I’ve won.
I’m a winner.
Come back soon, my dear Desert Eagle.

"Hehehe."

"Senpai, you’re so cute. Oh, by the way—what’s that?"

Kana-chan points to a book lying on the floor.

"Ah, that’s my high school yearbook."

I’d been feeling nostalgic, so I took it out.
For the record, back then—I was a girl.
Yeah. What the hell?

"Can I take a look?"

"Sure."

Though honestly, I’d rather be looking at Kana-chan.

She gets up from the sofa, picks up the yearbook, and starts flipping through it.

"Ah, found you, Senpai! You wore a sailor uniform, huh?"

It’s true—our school used sailor uniforms.
Not that I remember ever wearing one, of course.

"Yeah, that’s right."

"I wore a blazer at my school. I always wanted to try a sailor uniform though. Do you still have yours, Senpai?"

Wait—
Is Kana-chan going to wear it!?

"I’ll go look for it!"

I rush to the bedroom and start rummaging through the closet. I brought all my stuff when I moved, so it should be here somewhere.
Although, it should’ve been a boys’ uniform, not a sailor one…

I open up some cardboard boxes and dig around—until I find it.

"Got it!"

Jackpot.
I’ll have Kana-chan wear it!

"Ohh! You found it? Then, please put it on."

…Huh?

"Me?"

"Of course. It’s yours, isn’t it?"

Well, yeah, but…

"I thought you were going to wear it?"

"I’ll wear it next time. Today, Meg-chan is the one who’s going to wear it."

"Uh… okay."

For some reason, when Kana-chan calls me “Meg-chan,” I just can’t argue back.

So, I take off my clothes and slip into the sailor uniform.
And immediately, Kana-chan grabs my arm and pulls me onto the bed.

"Everyone—did you check your old photos and uniforms?"

We were at our usual family restaurant with the usual group, so I decided to ask.

"Old ones?" Shachou tilted her head.

"Yeah. Yesterday, I found my old high school sailor uniform while cleaning up. Not that I remember ever wearing it, of course."

"But you did wear it yesterday, nya. Eromi, you’ve got marks on your neck again today, nya."

Noisy Nyako.
It’s not my fault Kana-chan got all fired up!

"That’s not the point. Or do you want the full story?"

"No thanks. You always tell it way too… vividly."

"Yeah, I’ll pass too. Eromi-san being Eromi-san, right?"

What’s that supposed to mean—“being Eromi-san”?

"So anyway, what about the rest of you?"

"I didn’t check my uniform, but all my photos had changed," Shachou said.

Well, she is Shachou. Probably has tons of photos.

"What about you, Nyako?"

"Call me Tama, nya. Honestly, I don’t really know, nya. I only had tracksuits in my closet and no photos, nya. For stuff like this, you should ask someone still in school, nya."

Fair point.

All of us turned to look at Chihirochi.

"Well, you can probably tell just by looking, but the uniforms had changed."

Today, Chihirochi was wearing hers in a very loose, gyaru-style way, but it was definitely the school uniform.

"Hmm… this is starting to feel like some kind of supernatural phenomenon. What about casual clothes?" Shachou asked.

"Well, in my case, the unisex stuff is still around, but everything else has disappeared. Also, the suits I wear to work are women’s—tight skirts that match Kana-chan’s."

"Same here."

Shachou nodded, unsurprisingly.

"Hmm… that’s strange."

"Honestly, the simplest explanation is that the four of us have completely lost our minds…"

Shachou laughed self-deprecatingly.

"No, that’s not it."

I said it clearly.

"Why not?" Shachou asked.
Nyako and Chihirochi both looked at me.

"Because I remember. That night—I brought newly-dating Kana-chan home, saw those huge boobs, and felt the heartbeat of my soul! And I felt Desert Eagle’s trigger pull in my hands!"

At that moment, I definitely wanted Kana-chan—immediately!

"Setting aside Eromi, what do you think?"

"I don’t want to think about that theory, and I shouldn’t even consider it, nya. It makes you stop being yourself."

"I feel the same way," Chihirochi added.

"I see…"

Huh?
Ignoring me?