[Warning 15+]
Part Five
―Even If, I Can't Treat You with That Same Energy Anymore
Chapter 194
Mirror Image
―Even If, I Can't Treat You with That Same Energy Anymore
Chapter 194
Mirror Image
"U-Um, sorry if I got it wrong!"
"Um, er, wait... ...how did you know!?"
"B-Because I'm the same way..."
"!?"
Sayin' that, the girl lowered her eyes, her face turning bright red.
"I-I felt like I was lookin' at how I used to be, so I just blurted out... ...Askin' out of nowhere was super annoyin', wasn't it? Sorry about that. Ahaha, what am I even doin'?"
For the girl, it was probably a totally spur-of-the-moment thing. Overwhelmed with embarrassment, she spun on her heel, preparin' to bolt.
For Saki, she was just randomly called out to by a stranger. Saki could've just let the girl walk away.
But as the girl turned around, Saki caught the look on her face—flashin' shades of loneliness and regret—and Saki just couldn't bring herself to brush it off as someone else's problem.
"U-Um!"
"!?"
Before she realized it, Saki was squeezin' the girl's hand tight. This time it was the girl's turn to be shocked, her shoulders flinchin'.
Then, on pure instinct, Saki voiced the desire burnin' in her chest.
"I-I wanna change myself for the better! At this rate, I'm still lackin' in so many ways, and... ...if I don't do anythin', I can't change how things are now!"
"...Eh?"
"But I also kinda don't even know how I'm supposed to change on my own..."
"...Oh."
Saki knew she was makin' zero sense.
Not to mention this was Saki's first time meetin' this girl. Nothing she said was probably gettin' across properly.
Still, Saki just couldn't keep it bottled up inside.
Did Saki's passion manage to reach the girl? The girl seemed to chew on her thoughts for a second, then stared back at Saki with a fierce, deadly serious look in her eyes. Then she grabbed Saki's hands with both of hers.
"L-Let's change then!"
"Yeah!"
"Right, keepin' things as they are is no good... ...I completely forgot somethin' super important."
"Forgot...?"
"Here, take a look at this."
Sayin' that, the girl held out her smartphone to Saki.
Displayed on the screen was a plain-lookin' girl in a school uniform.
The girl's eyes were covered by her hair, lookin' totally frumpy with a gloomy vibe—the kind of girl who'd just blend right into the classroom background.
"Um..."
Wonderin' what the deal was with this girl in the picture, Saki looked back and forth between the smartphone and the girl in front of her whose radiance was impossible to hide.
Then, lookin' a bit embarrassed, the girl spilled her secret.
"Um, that's me from back then."
"Eh~nggh!"
Saki almost let out a loud yell, hurriedly coverin' her mouth.
The transformation was so unreal it was hard to believe.
"Crazy how much someone can change, right?"
"I-I mean yeah, sure, but um~!?"
"Though on the inside, I haven't really changed all that much, I guess..."
At Saki's reaction, the girl bashfully smiled as if a little prank of hers had just succeeded.
Then, with a bit of self-deprecation, the girl began talking about her past self.
"I used to be this plain nobody who always kept her head down, quietly hidin' away in the shadows. But then someone said to me, 'You'd look so much better with your head held high and your chest puffed out.' So... ...ahaha, pretty simple-minded of me, right?"
"That's not true at all!"
"!?"
"I got complimented that my dancin'—which I didn't even know what I was doin' it for—was beautiful and cool, so... ...s-so please don't say that about yourself!"
"...Oh."
It was as if the girl was a mirror image of Saki herself.
That was why Saki desperately denied her self-deprecatin' words. Saki just couldn't accept them.
Did Saki's feelin's reach her? The girl blinked in surprise, then her eyes softened.
They stared at each other for a moment.
Before long, neither knowin' who started it, they both broke out into soft giggles.
"Sorry for suddenly callin' out and interruptingl' you while you were pickin' outfits."
"No, not at all, it was really nice talkin' to you."
"Are you goin' to a Festival or somethin'?"
"Yeah, well, it's not just the two of us, but... ...I kinda want him to see a different version of me."
"I see..."
Noddin' at Saki's words, the girl placed a hand on her chin, scannin' Saki up and down intently. Then, the girl let out an awestruck sigh.
"You have such a pretty face... ...and a great figure too. So I think you could pull off anythin' you wear... ...but that's exactly what makes it so hard.""Fueh!? N-No way..."
"With the one you're holdin' right now... ...let's see, excuse me for a second."
"U-Um, wait...?"
No sooner had she said it than the girl unbraided Saki's hair, dexterously stylin' it into a voluminous half-updo with experienced hands.
Then the girl picked up the yukata Saki was holdin', pressed it against Saki's body, and gestured for her to look in the full-length mirror.
"Here, take a look."
"...Eh?"
A weird sound slipped out of Saki's mouth.
Reflected in the glass was Saki, yet not Saki—an unfamiliar, dazzlin' girl standing there.
Saki reflexively started pattin' and feelin' all around her face to double-check if this was actually her.
"I thought it'd be way more effective if you matched your hairstyle to the outfit, not just the clothes."
"A-Amazing..."
"Whoa, Saki-chan!? That hair looks so good on you! Wait, how'd you even do that!?"
"!?"
"Hime-chan!"
While Saki was feelin' flustered, Himeko came back.
Lookin' super intrigued by Saki's hairstyle that completely transformed her usual look, Himeko's eyes sparkled as she walked in circles around her to check it out.
"Hey, hey, Saki-chan, how'd you get your hair like this!?"
"Um, well, she helped me..."
"Ah, hi..."
"!... ...Eh?"
When Saki introduced the girl who had called out to her, Himeko's face suddenly went stiff. Then Himeko's eyes widened in complete disbelief.
As Himeko impolitely scanned the girl up and down with an intense stare as if tryin' to verify somethin', the girl shrank back uncomfortably.
Just as Saki, feelin' she had to stop her bestie's rude behavior, slid in between the two of them and was about to speak up.
"Um, Hime-ch—"
"B-By any chance, are you Satō Ai—"
'''KYA!'''
Right at that moment, an Earth-shatterin' cheer suddenly echoed out from somewhere nearby.