【ᴍᴜsᴜʙɪ】

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The ringing sound of a phone's alarm woke up (Y/n). Hearing that the tune was not the anime opening she had set up, she quickly realized that she must have switched with Amane once more.

The ringtone was from Amane's phone. (Y/n) assumed that she'll be living in the country side again for today. She quickly sat up from the futon, already formulating the plans she had with Kou for the cafe project, she's been working on for their bus stop spot.

Amane had warned her about touching his body, seeing that the boy took precautions with how many layers of clothings wrapped around his body. The two were not quite sure when would the switch will occur, so they have to be careful.

(Y/n) was too. Remembering the fact that her pajamas have gotten really conservative lately. She was used to sleep in a oversize T-shirt of her favorite boy band without a bra and some shorts. But ever since she found out that Amane had been touching her body, She started wearing a pajama shirt buttoned up all the way.

But again, she was so facinated of being switched bodies with a boy that she couldn't help but slowly reach towards her crotch.

Her hands paused.

"I feel bad doing this to him... Maybe I should lay low with watching hentai...."

The sliding door rattled open. Tsukasa peaked in the room and sighed at the scene, feeling tired and already used to his older twin brother's odd behavior. "You really do like your crotch, Don'tcha, Amane?"

That was all he said while (Y/n) has her hands on Amane's shorts.

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"Grandma. Why's the body of our shrine's god all the way out here?" Tsukasa whine.

(Y/n) walked besides him. The twin's grandmother who was walking in front of thim, answered the younger twin's question without turning around. "Thanks to Mayugorou, I don't know, either."

"Mayugoru?" (Y/n) muttered to herself. She never heard of him before. But again, since she switched with Amane, she was learning so much about his culture. She turned to Tsukasa and whispered. "Who's that?"

"Huh? You don't know? He's famous." The golden yellow eyed boy stared at his brother as if he grew another head. But what he didn't know was the person he was talking to was not his brother at all.

(Y/n) was in confusion. She really don't really know how these kind of relationships work in the country side where Amane lived in. She was a city girl after all. Amane was just a country boy she met by a sudden magical connection.

The three family members have been hiking the mountain roads for almost an hour by now. (Y/n) was informed that they'll be taking an offering up to the body of the Yugi shrine's god on top of the mountain. (Y/n) was impressed with these people. They really are living in a folktale.

The sun shining through the canopy of maple leaves dyes them bright red. The air is crisp and dry, and there’s a strong scent of dead leaves in the pleasant wind. It was now in October. Nobody knew when it had happened, until the moment they found out, it was already a full autumn in the town.

(Y/n) stared at the eldery woman walking infront of her, wondering how old she was seeing that she knew so much about the country side tradition and cultures. She was in awe to think that even on the mountain trail they were walking on, the woman was wearing traditional clothes. Amane's grandmother was a surprisingly strong walker unlike the ones she often saw in the city. Her back was slighty curved and she’s using a walking stick. (Y/n) never lived with an old person so she can't even begin to guess her age or what kind of shape she was in. All she had was her mother who was working really hard in the office.

"Hey, Grandma!" (Y/n) broke into a run and then kneel in front of her, offering her back. Or maybe Amane's, since she was in his body. She was currently a male, so might as well as show a little manners. Amane will definitely thank her for this. After all, this little old lady is raising him and his twin brother. (Y/n) knew how she always packs them really good lunches, for she had tasted the woman's cooking before. "Let me give you piggyback. If you want..."

"Oh, may I?" Even as she spok, she had happily lowered her weight her back. (Y/n) caught distinct whiff of a mysterious fragrance she smelled once at somebody else’s house a very long time ago. For a moment, She started getting a strange, warm feeling, as if this moment has happened before. The old lady weighted nothing. (Y/n) mentally thanked Amane's body for being able to lift things easily. For someone scrawny as him, he has a suprisingly large amount of strength.

Something she always wished that she could have.

"Amane....Tsukasa...." (Y/n) heard the old lady’s voice over her shoulder, sounding serene as they continued on with their small journey. "Are you familiar with musubi?"

"Musubi?" Tsukasa asked the question from beside (Y/n). he was hugging Amane's backpack to his stomach. Below them through the gaps between the trees, They could see the whole round lake. They have climbed pretty high. (Y/n) could feel Amane's body coming sweaty from climbing with his grandma on his back.

"In the old language, our local guardian deity is called Musubi. Creator of spirits. It's a word with several very profound meanings."

(Y/n) was facinated. There is a Guardian deity? The grandmother had sudden talked about it out of nowhere. For some reason, the old lady's voice reminded her of the narrator out of the Manga Japan Folktales program. It was oddly persuasive.

"Did you know?" She started again. "Joining threads is called Musubi... Joining people is also Musubi... The passage of time is Musubi too....They all use the same word. It's a name for our god, and the god's power. It describes the braided cords we make, divine acts, and the flow of time itself."

(Y/n) payed attention. She could hear the running water of a flowing stream nearby during the process. The grandmother continued.

"They converge and take shape. They twist, tangle, sometimes unravel, break, then connect again. Musubi is knotting. That's time."

(Y/n) started visualize a stream of clear water, without giving it much thought. It had been running up against rocks and splits, mingles with others, joins up again, and seen as a whole. Suddently it all made sense with her. It was all connected. She  really didn't understand what the elderly woman had said but (Y/n) felt like as if she had just learned something very important.

Musubi. She had to remember the word even if she wakes up back in her own body. Sweat drips off from her chin and fell to the ground, absorbed into the dry mountain.

"Here, drink up." The three had taken a short break in the shade. The twins' grandmother gave (Y/n) a thermos, containing sweetened barley tea. (Y/n) was impressed of how shockingly delicious it was from the moment the hot drink entered her mouth, next thing she knew, she had already drain two cups. This might have been the best drink, she  ever had. Far more better that the local beverages sold in cafes she always have.

"C'mon! Me too!" Tsukasa began pestering his older twin brother, feeling that he would drink up the entire tea without giving him any.

"That's another musubi." The eldery woman laughed.

"Huh?" As (Y/n) gave the thermos to Tsukasa,  she involuntarily look over at the older woman who was sitting at the base of a tree.

"Putting anything your body, whether it's water, rice, or sake, is also called musubi. Did you know that? What you put in your body binds to your soul, you see. And so, the offering we're making today is an important tradition meant to connect the god and humans to each other, a custom that the Yugi family has observed for centuries."

Before she notice, the trees had finally end, and the lake town below them, was now about the size of her sketchbook back home, half hidden beneath the clouds. She had looked up, the mist of clouds still overhead seemingly thin, transparent and shining. Flowing rapidly into the distance and dissolving in the strong wind. They were now in a rocky area where only moss grows. Finally reached the peak, where the old lady said, their destination was.

"I see it, I see it!"Tsukasa skipped around, in complete happiness. (Y/n) had caught up to him, seeing that he was ahead and follow his gaze. Infront of them was a crater like basin about the size of an athletic field, as if the top of the mountain has been gouged out. The inside was a green, marshy area, and near its center stands a massive, lone tree.

(Y/n) had never imagined such view existed.  It was almost like a natural floating garden. Never had she able to see it from the town, Almost like a fairytale.

She only hoped that she could remember the details and paint them once she return back into her body. She would never miss this opportunity, painting the scene infront of her was a huge chance for an artist with the lack of inspiration such as herself.

"This is the edge of the other side." The twins' grandmother said as they have gone down to the basin floor. There was a little brook flowing in front of them. The big tree was ahead.

"Other side?" Both Tsukasa and (Y/n) said in unison.

"The hidden world, the next world." The elderly woman's folktale voice told. (Y/n)'s feet falter a little. Where they was standing was a sacred mountain. The atmosphere saturating around does seem to belong to some other world as (Y/n) concluded. She only hope that the place was not those ones that do not allow anyone to leave once entered.

"Yaaaay, it's the next world!" Tsukasa cheered and splashed across the little stream. This action made (Y/n) smile. She love how the boy was carefree towards everything, no wonder she realized of how much Amane treasured him. Atleast on what his notes told her. She then took the old lady's hand so she would not get wet, and started to cross the brook on the stepping stones.

"In order to return to our world....." The eldery woman started, suddenly sounding solemn. "You two must leave behind what's most precious to you."

"Huh?!" (Y/n) suddenly freezed. Amane's voice suddenly turned high pitched as she tried to protest. "W-wait, Grandma. Don't say that after we're already here!"

The old woman only gave her a smile, eyes squinch up. "There's nothing to fear. I meant the sake. Take it out." The older woman instructed. Both Tsukasa and (Y/n) took out small urns from their backpacks. (Y/n) gave the boy a confused look, once she saw him took out two.

"It's Hanako-nee's." Tsukasa told his brother once he saw the confused look he send towards his way. "She wasn't able to come with us so grandma said that we should bring hers along with ours."

(Y/n) only nodded, still confused of who ever was this Hanako person, Tsukasa mentioned. By seeing that only the Yugi's has these stranges traditions, the other one might have been belong to one of their relatives. These urns were the kind that tend to see on Shinto altars in people's houses. Made of glossy white ceramic, their rounded shapes are a few inches across, and they widen into a pedestal at the base The lids are sealed with braided cords, and (Y/n) could hear the sound of the liquid sake, splashing inside.

"Below the god's body...." The twins' Grandmother continued, gazing at the enormous tree. "There's a little shrine. Offer them there. That sake is half of you, you see."

The Half of Amane.

(Y/n) look at the urn in her hands. It was that special sake, he made by chewing up rice. The sake was made by binding rice.

Amane was the one who made the sake, but here was (Y/n), the one offering it. It made her feel uneasy and awkward.

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For the first time, She heard the sound of the real evening cicadas. (Y/n) knew of the sound the insects make due to the always used for evening in movies and video games. She was glad that she was able to hear the real ones.

There was suddenly a loud rustling, and a flock of sparrows bursted out of the brush right in front of her. Having been under the impression that birds just hung out in trees, She startled. But being the kid at heart, Tsukasa run after them Looking like he was having fun.

The three were now close to the town.

"It's already twilight."

Having completed the day’s formal business, Tsukasa sounds relieved, like he had finally finished his homework. The evening sun lights up the boy and the elderly woman sidelong, like a spotlight. It was as perfect of a newly finished painting.

"Whoa...!"

The sight of the village coming into view below them had made (Y/n) her breath hitch from her throat. She could see Amane's entire town around the edge of the lake. Blue shadows have already engulfed the town itself, but the lake reflected the red sky. On the hillsides here and there, pink evening mists gathering. Dinner smoke rised from several houses, trailing high and thin, like smoke signals. The sparrows skimming through the air over the town gleam randomly. (Y/n) took a mental picture of the scene, wishing to paint them later on.

"Think we'll be able to see the comet soon?" Tsukasa was searching the sky, blocking out the setting sun with his palm.

"Comet?"

(Y/n) remembered that they were talking about something like that on TV during breakfast, about how the comet's been close enough to be visible to the naked eye for a few days and how, just after sunset, they woulf be able to see it if they looked diagonally above Venus.

"The comet..."

(Y/n) said it aloud one more time. All of sudden she fet like as if she had forgotten something. Narrowing her eyes, she began searching the western sky. Soon she found what she was looking for. Above Venus, was the bright comet, the two mentioned. It's bright shining blue tail had been slowly moving pass them with a tint of purple and pink. In the depths of the young girl's memory, something had been trying to surface.

(Y/n) finally remembered. She saw the same comet not long ago.

"My, my....Amane..." The twins' grandmother had moved closer towards her, staring directly at what seems to be her grandson's face.

"You're dreaming, aren't you?"

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(Y/n) gasped as she suddenly sat awake. She noticed that she was finally back in her own body and into tokyo, but that was not her current concern was. (Y/n) flung the sheet away, watching it as it falls off the bed without a sound. Her heart was pounding hard, but It seems that she wasn't able to hear her heartbeat.

But just after the thought formed, little by little, the young artist began to start hearing her blood pumping.

".....Tears?"

(Y/n) touched her cheek and was confused to find droplets of water on her fingertips. She doesn't know and can't remember why. She wiped her eyes with her palm. The twilight landscape from a moment ago and the elderly woman's words, disappeared, through her memories as if nothing had just occured.

(Y/n) then heard the sound of her notification going off. Her messages to be exact. Picking up her phone by her pillow, she read the message.

'I'm almost there. I'm looking forward to today.'

It was a Line message from her senior, Minamato Teru.

(Y/n) tilted her head in confusion until she gasped. "Wait, did Amane..? Not again!"

She panicked as she frantically went through her phone and read Amane's memo. "A date?!"

(Y/n) quickly bolt out of bed and got ready at top speed.

'Date with Minamoto-senpai in Roppongi
tomorrow! He'll be waiting in front of Yotsuya Station at 10:30. It's a date I want to go on, but if I'm unlucky and it ends up being you, be grateful and enjoy it.'

Fortunately, the place where the two were going to meet was nearby. (Y/n) sprinted flat out and arrived with ten minutes to spare. As she tried to catch her breath, she checked her phone to make sure if she was on time since Teru was not there yet. Even though it was a weekend morning, the area around the station was still pretty lively.

(Y/n) wiped away any visible sweat and patted her  skirt. She was wearing a (f/c) shirt underneat a black jacket, a white skater skirt and a black and muttered. "Amane, you idiot." three times.

She then, began looking for Teru. Realization finally dawned, she was finally on a date with Teru. This was infact her very first date in her entire life. The thought itself made her really nervous that she hoped that it was not too late for Amane to switch in with her.

"(Y/n)~"

A voice startled her from behind that the said girl couldn't help but let out a small yelp. Hastily, she quickly turned around to see Teru giving her one of his charming smiles.

"Sorry. Did I keep you waiting?"

"No, I wasn't waiting! Uh, I mean, yes, I was! Or, no..." (Y/n) stuttered. She mentally screamed. Why is she even this awkward with her senpai?! She is currently making a fool out of herself. "Urn, I, er...."

(Y/n) was completely flustered. She then look up to see Teru standing right there, infront of her, smiling brightly. Not bothered of her being a stuttering mess.

Her eyes wided. Teru was wearing a simple blue button up shirt that was left open, a white undershirt and some black jeans. He was also wearing a pair of white tennis shoes and a baseball cap. His outfit was simple and yet he looks like a model.

"...I just got here." (Y/n) said. Looking away when she realized she was staring. Luckily for her, Teru just brushed it off with a chuckle.

"Oh, good..." He laughed as he walked ahead before looking back and reached a hand towards the young girl. "Shall we?"

(Y/n) blushed, seeing how much of a gentleman Teru was being. But again, he was always like this not just around women but everyone. He treated them all with kindness, something she had admire him for.

She slowly took his hand as he then lead her towards their destination. (Y/n) could see how big his hand was compare to hers.

This is what she was always wanted but yet holding Teru's hands, doesn't feel right at all.

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"The conversation keeps dying..."

(Y/n) now finds herself standing in the bathroom with a feeling of wanting to bash her head against the mirror.

It has been three hours into the date and (Y/n) already felt more exhausted than she had ever felt in her life. She had no idea that she was this bad with guys. She was still young and inexperience after all.

She somehow wanted to blame Amane for throwing her into this situation unprepared and also blame Teru for being too much of a prince type of guy.

She noticed how every girls the pass by stare at him with their mouths hanging open, their eyes in a daze. Teru was in fact attractive that even the same gender had their eyes shape into hearts.

But when they saw her with him, they began to give (Y/n) the stink-eye. Scoffing as they watch a little girl, holding hands with a guy, twice her height.

Teru was a college student after all, and she was just a middle schooler. She knew that she was out of Teru's league, but she was not the one who asked him out. She didn't even know how Amane asked him out in the first place.

(Y/n) have absolutely no idea what to talk about. Teru could see it and tried starting conversations with her but that somehow made her insanely uncomfortable which makes it even harder to talk. (Y/n) almost wished to know what Teru and Amane usually talk about when the country boy swaps places with her.

Hoping for a lifeline, (Y/n) decided to open her phone and check Amane's memo.

'...That said, I bet you've never been on a date before.

And so, below, I've put together a collection of handpicked links, just for you!'

"Whoa, seriously?!" (Y/n) beamed, silently thanking the heavens above that Amane left a few tips on how she would please Teru. She began skimming through the links.

Link 1: How I got me a boyfriend even tho I has a communication disorder.

Link 2: Conversation skills for the person who's never, ever been the tiniest bit popular!

Link 3: Conversation ideas for awkward people! A feature on texts they'll sure love!

(Y/n) deadpanned as she sighed, before putting away her phone. Somehow, she felt like Amane was making fun of her.

Her and Teru were currently in a museum. Somehow, Teru found out that she has an interest towards art and decided to continue their date on a local museum.

(Y/n) was bored. Not particularly interested in the photo exhibit, which is titled Nostalgia. The conversation died down a long time ago. Teru is currently five feet ahead of her, strolling slowly, placidly gazing at the pictures.

Furano, Tsugaru, Sanriku, Rikuzen, Aizu, Shinshu. The exhibition is divided regionally, but for (Y/n), all the rustic scenery looks the same. She just don't know the right way to appreciate photos. The only differences she could make out are whether the background is mountains or ocean and whether the season was summer or winter. The houses and train stations and roads and people all seem oddly similar. (Y/n) assumed that rural Japan probably looks like this, where ever she goes.

Reaching the section labeled Hida, (Y/n) felt her feet stop all by themselves. The one exhibit that felt different from the others. The photos still look similar, but somehow, she felt that know the places in the photos.

The contours of the mountains, the curve of the road, the size of the lake, the shape of the red shrine gates and the layout of the fields. She just felt that she know this from somewhere. (Y/n) had never actually went to visit relatives in the country during summer vacations when she was a kid, but that's what this feels like. The powerful sense of deja vu about the place, is what she was currently feeling when she stare at the photographs.

"(Y/n)?" The young girl turn to the one who called her name. Teru was standing right next to her. For a second, she had forgotten about the older male's entire existence.

"You know, (Y/n)..." Teru started with an even smile. "You seem like a different person today."

Teru began to stride away, leaving the young girl behind. From that moment, she felt like she just ruined her own first date. But again all she did today was trudge through the date, Amane planned like the whole thing had been a chore. (Y/n) knew that she kept coming up with excuses and didn't even consider what was her senpai, who was right there with her, might be feeling.

It was Amane who asked him out, not her. But he was using her body, so that counts as her. She should have been ecstatic just to get to spend time with him. She did wished and waited for her whole life hoping for a miraculous day exactly like this.

From the pedestrian bridge, (Y/n) have a clear view of the cluster of Roppongi buildings we just left. Hundreds of windows shine golden in the evening sun. Her eyes went back to Teru ahead of her. Quiet and was not saying a word.

His blonde hair gleamed and clothes look brand new. (Y/n) felt guilty that Teru might have gone to all that trouble just for her. Just by thought of it made her throat tighten, suddenly feeling the oxygen had suddenly thinned and was hard to breathe.

"Um, Minamoto-senpai?" (Y/n) called out, but the said male didn't turn. "...Are you hungry? We could go get dinner somewhere-"

"Why don't we call it a day instead?" Teru suggested. His tone was patient, that he didn't seems crossed or upset with her.

"Okay." (Y/n) answered on the spur of the moment. Teru had finally turned around, but his expression, faded into the evening sun that she couldn't see his face that well.

"(Y/n)... I'm sorry if I'm wrong, all right?"

"Sure."

"A long time ago, you liked me a little bit, didn't you?"

"Huh?!" (Y/n)'s (e/c) eyes widened as her face flushed red. Teru actually knew about her little crush on him, but the way he talked about it so casually that it doesn't seems to be affecting him that much.

"And now there's someone else you like, isn't there?" Teru added making the young artist sweat like a waterfall.

"N-no, there isn't!"

"Really?"

"Th-there isn't! There's absolutely nobody like that!"

"I wonder..."

Teru examines her face skeptically (Y/n) was sure that there was no other person she liked other than Teru. But for a moment she could see an image of a boy with raven black hair and golden yellow eyes flicker through her mind but vanished almost immediately.

"You know, (Y/n)..... I'm too old for you." Teru told her with a gentle smile. His tone was soft like he was a little afraid of hurting her feelings.

"Huh?"

"Thank you for today. I'll see you at work." Teru lifted a hand and gave her a gentle headpat, then simply walks away.

Mechanically, (Y/n) open her mouth but then close it again. Repeating the process but no words come out. while she was doing that, Teru's back descended from the pedestrian bridge and disappears into the crowd in front of the station.

(Y/n) gazed at the evening sun, feeling as if she had been abandoned on the edge of summer. There are no breaks in the cars streaming under the pedestrian bridge and after she had been listening to them for a while, she start feeling as though she was on a real bridge, over a river. The sun was beginning to set and was disappearing behind the water tank on top of a mixed-use building, yet she stood there. (Y/n) focus on it the entire time, intently, as if trying to reclaim something.

It felt like there are other things she should be doing, but for some reason, she can't think of anything specific. She really wanted to go back to Amane's town again.

She felt like becoming Amane means talking to her again. When they swapped, at the same time, (Y/n) felt connected with him in some special way. They were trading experiences. Bound together the way his grandmother was talking about. If she could turn into Amane, she thinks she could be able to talk about what happened with her recent experience. She wanted want to joke around with him.

"That's why you're not popular, you know."

"It's your fault for promising stuff without checking first."

(Y/n) open the memo on her phone. There was more to Amane's note.

'-The comet should be visible just about the time the date ends.

Ha, how romantic, bet you'll wish it was me your on a date with! ;)

But Whether it's me or you, let's do our best on the date!'

"Comet?" (Y/n) began to look up at the sky. The last traces of the sunset were already gone. A few of the brightest stars are out, and a jet was flying past, humming faintly. That's all she saw up there. There were no comet like what Amane said in the memo.

"What is he even talking about?" (Y/n) muttered quietly. She knew that if there was a comet, people could actually see it passing. It would have been pretty
big news. So she thought that maybe Amane was just joking.

But for some reason. Her heart twinges uneasily with abruptness in its darkest recesses.

Something was also trying to surface in her mind.

(Y/n) began to flip through the phone and pull up Amane's cell number, staring at those eleven digits. Back when they first started swapping, she had tried calling the number several times, but for some reason, it never went through. (Y/n)'s finger hovers above the call button before pushing it with a fingertip. The "calling" sound plays, but then she heard a voice from the speaker:

"The number you have dialed is unavailable. Either the number is not in service or the unit is turned off or out of range..."

The thirtheen years old girl pulled the phone away from her ear and press end call. She sighed. So calls really don't get through. She mutters to herself as she began to walked away.

"Whatever. I'll just tell him about this train wreck of a day next time we swap. I'll ask her about the comet, too. We'll switch tomorrow or the day after, anyway."

With that in thought, she had finally descend the pedestrian bridge. Above her was pale, smooth half-moon overhead, all alone.

But after that day. (Y/n) didn't knew that she and Amane would never swapped again.