Person | Personality
Kotori → Maki
Maki → Rin
Rin → Eli
Eli → Nico
Nico → Kotori
Umi → Nozomi
Nozomi → Hanayo
Hanayo → Umi

*****

"Your fortune for tomorrow is..." Nozomi began happily, but then paused, studying Honoka's hands. "Is...um..."

"What?" Honoka asked, standing up. "Nozomi-chan, what is it?!"

"Well..." Nozomi glanced over at the card she had already laid on the table, before slowly bringing her eyes to meet Honoka's. "My prediction is... I believe that tomorrow you're going to be in a state of confusion..."

"A state of confusion?" Honoka asked. "What does that mean?"

"I'm guessing it means you're going to be confused about something," Maki said sarcastically. "Obviously."

"Wait, Maki-chan, when did you get here?" Honoka asked.

"Just now," Maki said. "I've been composing music for a new song and I thought I'd take a break. What's going on here?"

"Tomorrow is going to be the worst day of my life!" Honoka wailed.

"Calm down, Honoka-chan," Eli said in a calming smooth voice. "I'm sure it won't be. You never know, these are only predictions. Nozomi-chan may be wrong."

"Me? Wrong?" Nozomi repeated with a gasp. "Eli-cchi, have you lost hope in my spiritual power? The Gods won't be impressed, you know!"

"Well, maybe there's nothing to worry about," Eli tried again, fiddling with the chain necklace around her neck. "Maybe your class is getting a pop quiz?"

"Pop quiz?!" Rin yelped.

"Rin-chan, you're not even in my class," Honoka reminded her.

"Wait, when did you get here?" Eli asked Rin.

"I followed Maki-chan, nya!" Rin smiled.

Maki rolled her eyes. "Rin-chan, I've told you so many times that I don't like you watching me when I'm writing music!"

Honoka shook her head. "As long as I keep my head held high and my mind clear, I shouldn't have any trouble."

"That's the spirit," Eli nodded. She gave an encouraging smile.

"Sorry that my prediction wasn't as nice as I was hoping," Nozomi said to Honoka glumly.

"Don't worry!" Honoka reassured Nozomi. "These things happen to the best of us." Honoka glanced at her phone. "Afternoon classes are starting in a few minutes, and Umi-chan won't be impressed if I'm late."

Maki pushed Honoka's school bag towards her. "Good luck in your afternoon classes."

"See you later, nya!" Rin grinned.

"And try not to think about the prediction too much," Eli advised. "Who knows? Maybe everything will be better once you sleep on it..."

*****

"... Long walks tend to do the trick, but headaches and pains - " Umi continued.

Honoka snapped out of her daydream. "Wait, what?"

Umi looked up. "Hold on, Honoka-chan, have you not been paying attention to anything I've been saying?!"

Rin gave a little giggle. "I think she fell asleep, horosho!"

"She was just daydreaming," Kotori shook her head. "But then again, she always does that when someone is telling her something useful - that's why she barely passes her exams."

"Not ALWAYS," Honoka grumbled. "...Wait, Kotori-chan, when did you get here?"

"Just now," Kotori said. "Composing is not going as successfully as I would have liked, so I thought I'd take a break."

"Honoka-chan, don't worry about a thing," Maki said, jumping towards Honoka. "I know you don't feel well, but you'll be fine, nya!"

"Wait, when did you get here?" Rin asked Maki.

"I followed Kotori-chan, nya!" Maki smiled.

Kotori just rolled her eyes.

Honoka paused. This scenario seemed a lot similar to the daydream she had just had. But it wasn't a daydream - Honoka was sure that what she had just recalled about were the events of the previous day...

Honoka jumped up, causing Maki to yelp and fall onto the floor.

"Honoka-chan?" Rin asked. "Where are you going?"

Honoka held her arms up. "I had an idea - if I reenact my exact movements of yesterday I'll be able to figure out what happened to make you all change personalities!"

Kotori look puzzled. "Change personalities?"

"Honoka-chan, I think you should go home and rest," Rin advised, concern in her voice. "I hate to say it, but you're going delusional."

"I need to start by going to my afternoon lesson!" Honoka began to head out of the door, but Kotori firmly grabbed her arm.

"Honoka," Kotori said sternly but calmly. "The school day is finished... Everyone's gone home. You'll have to wait until tomorrow for lessons."

Kotori's grip was tight and harsh, and it made Honoka freeze briefly, thinking about her dear friend and wondering what in the world happened...

"But, I - " Honoka began.

"Honoka-chan," Rin stood up. "Please, go rest. Even if you don't want to go home yet - just find a place to rest. I'll round everybody up and we'll start practising on the roof. You can come when you're ready."

Honoka nodded slowly, realising that there was no point in her trying to argue. "Right... Okay... Thanks."

Honoka left the club room before anything else could happen, and she headed to her classroom. She sat down at her desk and placed her bag on the floor next to her. 

Honoka tried to recall her actions yesterday after Nozomi gave her prediction. Honoka went to her lessons, met up with Kotori and Umi, fell asleep and then...

Wait. Honoka couldn't remember what happened next. Did she stay and rehearse at school? Did she go home? Did she go shopping for bread?

It was that moment when Honoka realised that Nozomi hadn't given the prediction the previous day - she had given her prediction that day... That lunchtime.

So something must have happened during the afternoon which had caused everyone to swap personalities...

"Honoka-chan?" A timid voice said.

Honoka turned to look, to find Nozomi stood cowardly by the door.

"Nozomi-chan," Honoka greeted her, remembering that Nozomi had Hanayo's personality. "What's wrong?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Nozomi said, slowly entering the room. "You've been worrying everyone today." Nozomi looked around and gave a small smile. "Oohh, I've never been in this classroom before."

"I'm fine," Honoka lied, placing her hands on her desk.

Nozomi tilted her head. "I just saw Maki-chan... What's all this you're talking about, regarding us switching personalities?"

"It's nothing," Honoka lied again. "There's no point in even trying to explain. Everyone thinks I'm crazy anyway."

Nozomi clasped her hands together slowly as she thought. "In this...dream you had...who was I?"

Honoka looked up. "Huh?"

"In your dream, who was I?" Nozomi repeated.

"My dream..." Honoka began slowly, trying to remember her list. "Ah, right. You were Umi-chan."

Nozomi's eyes widened. "I was?"

Honoka nodded. "Yeah."

Nozomi looked out of the window. She gave a little giggle. "I can't imagine being Vice President of the Student Council! And... Um... Who was Eli-chan?"

"Rin-chan," Honoka replied, resting her head on top of her hands, her eyes fixed in Nozomi. "Why do you ask?"

Nozomi took a small step back, as if she had made a mistake. "Oh! It's just... Um, when we were on the roof, um, and Eli-chan spoke to me... This is going to sound crazy..."

Honoka tried to hide her sadness, seeing Nozomi fumble over her words and lack confidence to speak. "It's okay, take your time."

"This is going to sound totally crazy," Nozomi repeated, "see, Eli-chan and I haven't really spoken before, but when she addressed me and held my hand it all seemed...familiar, somehow..."

Honoka raised her head. "Familiar? How?!"

Was Nozomi remembering something...?

Nozomi, however, just shook her head. "Um... Nothing. I'm probably over thinking. Just ignore me. Um, you get some rest, and we'll all be waiting on the roof."

At that moment, Nico entered the room, carrying a white paper bag.

"I thought I might find you in here," Nico beamed kindly at Honoka. She held up the bag. "I bought you some bread, Honoka-chan, to help you feel better."

"Oh, thank you!" Honoka smiled gratefully.

Nico walked over to Honoka and placed the bag on her desk. "Try get better, okay?"

Honoka nodded. "Sure."

Nico smiled and turned to Nozomi. "Rin-chan told me to gather everyone up and send them to the roof."

Nozomi's eyes widened with horror. "I left my rice cooker up there!!"

And Nozomi dashed out of the room.

Nico gave a little giggle and then turned to face Honoka. "Honoka-chan, I don't really understand what's going on, but if you need to talk or vent, just let me know. I'll always be here for you."

"I just need to figure out a few things," Honoka said quickly. "Don't worry."

Nico gave a sad smile. "Honoka-chan, I always worry about you. And Hanayo-chan does too, even though she doesn't always show it. Are you sure you're alright?"

Honoka nodded.

Nico nodded back. "I should leave you to rest. We'll see you on the roof then."

And Nico left the room.

Honoka put the bag of bread in her school bag. Normally, Honoka loved bread, but today her appetite was missing.

Honoka rested her head on her desk again, thinking about what Nozomi said, and trying to piece together everything that was going on.

Then Honoka had an idea...

Maybe if she could get everyone to partake in an activity their former self would do, maybe she could trigger something inside their memory to help them remember their true self?! But what if people thought Honoka was weird...

Well, everyone thought Honoka was going crazy anyway, so this was worth a shot. Honoka would do anything to save her friends, and this idea was all she had.

Honoka stood up, grabbed her bag and sprinted out of the room...