Saya Yoshino.

A girl so filled with overflowing optimism for the world that I wanted to wrap duct tape around her mouth the first time I met her 2 years ago.

I still remember that day like it was yesterday.

It was the second week of a new year in junior high and it was the middle of Spring...

Ka-pow--!

The boy that looked like more like an oversized monkey than a student in his final year of junior high fell down to the concrete floor of the school grounds, his nose splurting blood.

Standing above him was another student, a tall boy sporting a muscular build and wild messy black hair that was often mistaken for horns growing out of his head.

But most distinguishing of all were his eyes.

Black soulless eyes that seemed to stare down at you with anger so fierce that you could had sworn the air suddenly got hotter.

Alas, that boy towering over the other was me.

Or, I should say... the former me.

"H, hey--! What are you doing to him?!"

That was the first time I met her.

Light cherry hair falling atop a perfect face and tied behind her head. Round marigold eyes that held a sparkling light filled with determinism. Strawberry pink lips that looked as though they would melt away with a single touch.

She was dressed in her school uniform, a white collared shirt tucked underneath a red striped skirt that fell over her knees.

She rushed over down to the fallen boy, checking on him with a concerned face.

At first, I did not care for this strange girl that had came out of nowhere. It wasn't like there weren't any other pretty girls in the school.

"Don't worry," I had said, "He will live. I barely put any weight behind that punch, if you could even call it that."

"Y, you...!" The girl shot an angry glance over at me, getting up from the unconscious boy. "You're Takeru Amano, right...? The new transfer student...?"

"Heh," I shrugged my shoulders casually, "What can I say? I didn't know I was already that popular amongst the girls in the school."

Yes, I know.

15-year-old me was a complete jerk.

By that time I had already been kicked out of more schools than I could count on both hands. 

Students were no match for me, and all the teachers and adults around seemed more scared of me than they were of the local hoodlum.

It was a recipe that fueled the egotistic disaster that was a teenaged boy going through puberty.

"Listen, Takeru..." The girl said, her marigold eyes staring at me with a fierce resolute despite her softspoken voice. "I don't know what you think, but I'm not scared of you."

"..."

I stopped for a moment, caught by surprise at her words and the look in her eyes.

"Don't think that just because you were born stronger than everyone else that means you can pick on the weak," She said, her cheeks catching onto a light blush, "Some day, eventually, you will need help from somebody else... and when that day comes, you're going to realise that no one is going to help you!"

I remained silent, staring into her unwavering eyes, then, "Sorry, who are you again...?"

"Wah--! How could you not know...?! I'm in your class, and I even sit right next to you!!" She exploded, her face going red from embarrassment. "Saya Yoshino...?!"

I glanced at her with a blank look, trying to remember who sat next to me in class but all I ever did on the days that I did go to class was sleep at my desk.

"N, nevermind..." She said, glancing to her side embarrassedly, then back at me. "Look, Takeru, you can't keep doing what you're doing... At this rate, you're going to get kicked out of the school soon..."

"Yeah, yeah, and why do you care?" I said, cleaning my ear with my pinky disinterestly. "So what if I get kicked out of the school? It's none of your business."

An angry frown flashed on her face, "So what? I'm just supposed to stand by and watch you destroy your life?" She paused for a second. "You're right about one thing though, Takeru. That I don't care about you personally. I care about the people that you hurt, and I'm not going to turn the other cheek and pretend that I don't see what you're doing!"

"..."

"You can still change, Takeru," Saya's voice got softer and so did the look on her face, "Don't become what people say you are..."

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"..."

Slowly, I walked up to Saya, the height difference between the two of us clearly obvious. 

I stopped when I was right in front of her, staring down at her beautiful marigold eyes that were like two rays of sunshine and she stared back at me, hesitating.

Then, I lifted a hand up and poked her at the centre of the forehead with an index finger.

"Ow...!"

"Stop dreaming, kiddo," I smirked at her patronisingly as though she was a child that had just told me how to handle my finances, "The weak are weak for a reason. If they don't like it, all they have to do is get stronger."

"H, hey...!"

"Laters, thanks for the laugh!"

~x~

Looking back at it now, I cringe at myself every time I think about how I had treated Saya.

But, when the heck did she ever had a sister?!

In the whole year that I had been at the same school as Saya, I never heard anything about a sister!!

And now for some reason, I had woken up in her sister's body?!

Was this god's punishment for how I had treated her back at school...?!

Saya pulled away from me, wiping tears from her eyes, and I blushed, seeing her face up so close.

Her lips looked even softer from this distance, I don't think I had ever been this close to her before--

Wake the hell up, Takeru...!!

Firstly, I need to figure out what's going on!!

"S, Saya..." I coughed, and shuddered at the sound of a girl's voice coming from my mouth, "I need to talk to you for a minute..."

"Hm...? Of course..." She glanced up at me behind wet eyes and my face heated up, "what is it, sis...?"

"Uhm... the thing is..." I stopped, then glanced to my side to see her mom standing there, watching us closely. "Waah--!! I, it's something I have to say to Saya in private!! We will be right back...!!"

Grabbing Saya and dragging her back to the bedroom I had woken up in, I slammed the door shut, panting heavily.

"S, sis..."

"Huh...?" I glanced up wearily from the ground, seeing Saya staring down intently at our hands that were still holding onto one another from when I dragged her up.

"Bleeeaagh--!!" I made a noise that sounded like a rabid animal, then released my grip of her hand, pulling away. "I, I'm sorry, Saya...! That wasn't...!"

"It's okay..." Saya said, rubbing her hand with a blush. "I, it just... hurt a little... that's all..."

...

She was just way too cute...! The way her eyes flickered downwards--

BAM!

I hit my head into the wall next to me, feeling steam coming from the top of my head.

"S, sis...?!" Saya mouthed, raising a concerned hand towards me. "A, are you okay...?!

"It's okay..." I muttered, wanting to punch myself in the face. 

Stop wasting your time and tell her already...!

Shaking my head to compose myself, I clutched onto Saya's shoulders, staring into her face seriously.

She jumped, surprised by me suddenly grabbing her, then glanced up at me nervously.

"Listen... Saya..." I said, meeting her eyes. "The thing is, I'm not your sister, okay...?"

"..."

"I don't know what's going on, but..." I sighed, continuing, "yesterday, I was... in another body, I was..."

I paused.

I didn't really want to tell her who I was...

It would kind of make it impossible to ever talk to her again once I figured out a way to get back into my own body...

...

I mean did it really matter that she knew who I was...?

What mattered was that she knew that I wasn't her sis, right...?

If I said that I was her classmate from junior high, that would only freak her out more.

...

"I was... I was someone else..." I continued, deciding that was enough to explain the situation, "and when I woke up today, I just found myself in this body that belongs to your sis..."

"..."

"That's all I know, I don't know anything else..." I said, grimacing, then I glanced into her eyes solemnly. "Do you understand what I'm saying, Saya...?"

Saya stared at me quietly, her marigold eyes serious.

"So..." She began quietly, "You're saying that you're not my sis...?"

"Y, yes...! Exactly!" I smiled at her, surprised that she got it that quickly, "that's exactly what I'm trying to say!"

"So..." Saya's voice got softer, "you're not Kaya...?"

I nodded, still smiling, "That's it! You've got it!"

"..."

Without a word, Saya turned away from me, then slowly headed for the window inside the bedroom.

"S, Saya...?" I blinked, watching her. "Um... where are you going...?"

She opened the window, and I glanced outside at the quiet sunny neighbourhood. The weather was pretty good today, no clouds, a clear sky, and the wind was soft.

That was when I noticed Saya climbing half way out the window.

"Sayaaaaa--!!!" My mouth almost hit the floor, and I quickly made a run for her, horrified.

"Don't come any closer!!!" Saya screamed, and I stopped, "If you come any closer, I swear to god I will jump out of this window!!!"

I was in a stunned state of disbelief, feeling my knees tremble beneath me like two slabs of jelly.

"S, S, Saya... wh, what are you doing...?" I stuttered deliriously, "come back from the window... it's dangerous over there... you know...?"

She propped herself at the window's edge, turning to stare at me with angry tears flowing from her eyes. "Why are you doing this to me, sis...? Why would you say all those hurtful things to me...?" She shook her head furiously. "D, do you know... how long I have waited for you to come back...?!"

"B, but..." I stammered, "I'm not your sis..."

Saya edged herself further out of the window and I screamed, waving my hands in front of me, "Waaaah--!!! S, Saya!! H, hold on!! What I meant was...!"

She stopped, glancing back at me from the window, waiting.

"I meant that..."

Shit, what the fuck was I supposed to say in this situation?!

I glanced around the room anxiously, trying to find a way to get her back in from the window safely.

"I'm going to jump," she said dully, and I glanced back at her frantically.

"L, listen, how about we talk about this inside...?!"

"No."

"B, but, Saya...! Uhm... this is only the second floor...! You won't die if you jump out from there..."

"I'm going to try to land on my head."

"B, but--!! Please... can't you just... let's talk about this...!"

"Why? If you're not my sis, you shouldn't care, right?"

"...!"

"If you're not my sis, then you shouldn't care whether I die or not, right? What does it matter to you if I kill myself?"

"T, that's..."

"Anyways, I'm going to jump now, se--"

"H, hold on--!!!"

"..."

"I... I..."

Saya glanced out the window, preparing to jump.

"I, I'm your sis--!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "I'm your sis, okay?! So please...!! Don't... don't jump..."

Saya froze, then slowly glanced back at me, her lips trembling.

"I, is that the truth...?" She asked. "You're not lying to me...?"

"Y, yes... it's true... 100%..."

~x~

Why the fuck did I say that?

Lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling in the darkness, I sighed, rolling onto my side.

Whatever, let's just spend the whole day tomorrow figuring out how I can get back in my own body so that this nightmare can end.

There was still so many things I had to do...

I wonder if my kobuns from the gang were missing me...

"Kayaa~! Your school uniform is clean now and I left it at the living room for you tomorrow, okay? Goodnight!"

"Goodnight..." I mumbled back to mom's voice that had called from outside the bedroom.

...

Hang on.

Did she say school...?