Moving and the New School Year

The Shizuki family began their move.

There had long been buyers interested in their house, offering generous sums, but Ryoko Shizuki had always held off.

Now, with her daughter’s approval, Ryoko acted swiftly, hoping to settle into the new home before the school year started to avoid disrupting the children’s studies.

Ryoko’s thoughtfulness was felt by both Mana Ochi and Misaki.
Over the next few days, neither went out to play, instead staying home to help pack.

A week passed in a flash.

When the last piece of furniture was carried away by the moving company, Ryoko softly whispered, “Goodbye,” and led her two daughters to their new home.

As expected, the new place was familiar to Mana, but the apartment next door, where “Takuro Ochi” should have lived, remained empty.
The layout was a 1LDK—6.5 yen monthly rent, 5000 yen management fee, with a separate bath and toilet.

The single living room was shared by Mana and Misaki.
Compared to their old standalone house, it was much smaller, but neither Mana nor Misaki complained.

After arranging furniture and essentials and accompanying Ryoko to greet the other tenants, Mana returned to her room to prepare for school tomorrow.

Yurina attended Sensui Academy, which used a suit-style uniform.
Mana had tried it on several times, including the underwear, and felt confident she wouldn’t slip up there, though changing still brought some embarrassment.

For stationery and bags, she kept things as they were.
But cosmetics and accessories were trickier—she researched for hours but only grasped the basics.
Finding the school rules banned excessive makeup, she didn’t delve further.

Still, as a girl, Yurina needed to maintain her skin and hair.
The first time, Mana researched for hours, becoming a theoretical expert, only to fumble repeatedly in practice.
Now, she could finally manage the full routine decently.

“Being a girl is tough,” Mana sighed, exhausted, collapsing onto the desk.

There were so many types of cosmetics—how much would that cost?
This gave her another reason to work part-time.
Asking Ryoko for money was a path she’d never considered, and she believed the real Yurina wouldn’t either.

“No one showed up today… Ugh, so scary.”

Mana also researched menstruation, as she wasn’t the body’s owner.
She had no idea how intense it would be, when it would come, or how to make the body more comfortable.
She could only prepare as best she could, but the unknown was terrifying.

Her biggest worry was handling Yurina’s relationships.
Fortunately, Sensui Academy’s second-year students would be reshuffled into new classes.

During introductions, she was confident she could memorize everyone’s names.
The rest would depend on observing who seemed familiar.

But there were still issues.
Three days ago, a girl named Rie Takashiro called to invite her out.

Mana declined, citing the move, but from Rie’s follow-up LINE messages, it was clear she and Yurina were classmates and friends.
Even if they weren’t in the same class this year, avoiding her would be hard.

“I’ll just have to fake it.”

Yurina’s relationships had to be maintained so she wouldn’t return to awkward situations.
For this reason, the trickiest issue was how to face the boy named Kanzaki.

Mana had tried convincing herself that in this timeline, Kanzaki hadn’t died, so she shouldn’t look at him like he’s a ghost.
But she wasn’t sure how she’d actually react.
Even if she overcame that, another problem arose—if a girlfriend screamed and fled in fear from her boyfriend, how hurtful would that be?

But comforting Kanzaki felt wrong too.
Despite growing used to a girl’s life, she was still a man at heart and would eventually switch back with the real Yurina.
The thought of holding hands, hugging, cuddling, or even kissing Kanzaki sent shivers down her spine, goosebumps rising.
That absolutely had to be avoided!

“Sorry, Yurina.”

No matter how close Yurina and Kanzaki were, the most Mana could manage was polite distance, maintaining a relationship just shy of hand-holding.
Even that wouldn’t be easy.
After much thought, she could only come up with flimsy lies, hoping Kanzaki, as a considerate boyfriend, wouldn’t press her excuses.

After fretting, Mana reviewed her schoolwork, then climbed into the top bunk of the double bed to sleep.

The next morning, Mana woke early, took time to fix her hair and wash up, helped Ryoko prepare breakfast and bentos, then woke the bed-loving Misaki for breakfast.

“Mom, I’m off to school.”

“Be careful.”

After breakfast, Mana left first.
The walk to the station took ten minutes, and the train ride to school was an hour.
From their old house, it was a fifteen-minute walk, but since Ryoko’s main workplace and Misaki’s school were near the new home, Mana had to bear the inconvenience.

As the first day of the new school year, the school was bustling.
Watching students brimming with youthful energy enter the gates, Mana felt a mix of nostalgia, emotion, and guilt.
‘To think I’d return to school like this…’

She hadn’t recovered more memories these past days, but her “high school dropout” status made it clear she’d broken countless rules, hurting teachers, classmates, and likely family who’d had hopes for her.
She didn’t know if her past self felt regret or wanted to change, but she did.

“This time, I can’t mess up.”

Making a quiet vow, Mana tried to muster some energy before stepping through the gates.
The class assignment board was by the main path.
The second year was split into six classes, each with about forty students.

“Let’s see… Shizuki… Ah, found it, Class 2-C.”

After confirming her class, Mana memorized her classmates’ names.
Soon, she spotted “Rie Takashiro” and “Takuya Kanzaki” on the list.
Checking all three grades, she found only one “Kanzaki.”
She sighed.
“Couldn’t avoid it…”

Given the situation before the body swap, the odds of them being classmates were high.
But with the butterfly effect of time reversal, Mana had secretly hoped for a miracle.

“Oh no, I accidentally memorized the whole school’s names.”

Her memory was inexplicably sharp.
Anything text-based, under ten thousand words, she could recall after one read-through.
“Maybe because Yurina’s brain is so good?”

After some thought, she decided that was more likely.
If her past self had been a good student, she wouldn’t have been expelled and turned into a vile stalker.
Still, this meant she’d need to excel in exams to avoid tarnishing Yurina’s image.

“Shizuki-san?”

A voice like a nightmare came from behind.
It was Takuya Kanzaki, Yurina’s boyfriend.

Taking a deep breath, she turned, flashing a bright smile.
“Kanzaki-kun, long time no see!
How was your break?”

Oh no, was that too much talking?
For a couple, this level of conversation should be fine, right?
Just a bit distant…
After a moment’s thought, Mana added, “Did you miss me?”

Kanzaki’s face turned odd but he quickly replied, “I had a good break.”

What’s going on?
Was she too cold?
Were they already at the “darling” stage?
Or the complete opposite?

Mana didn’t know what to do.
She wanted to say something to ease the tension, but a swarm of girls rushed in, pushing her aside.

“Kanzaki-kun, we’re in the same class! I’m so happy!”
“Kanzaki-kun’s as handsome as ever today!”

The girls chattered around Kanzaki, their enthusiasm like fans meeting their favorite idol.

“See you later,” Mana said softly, slipping away from the crowd.
After a while, noticing Kanzaki didn’t follow, she frowned and headed to the field.

Even she, as a man, found Kanzaki handsome.
Standing out among high school boys, his popularity wasn’t surprising.
But ignoring his girlfriend to flirt with a bunch of girls—wasn’t that too much?

Even if her assumptions were wrong and they weren’t officially together, a playboy like him didn’t deserve Yurina.

Of course, as a murderer, Mana knew her thoughts were hypocritical.
She should feel ashamed, regretful, and grovel before Kanzaki, begging forgiveness.

But for some reason, anger took over.
“I thought you were someone trustworthy…”