"A pop quiz???"
The bell for the second period rang, interrupting Kisaki Tetta's thoughts and covering up Miyamizu Mitsuha's quiet cry of despair.
"God, please don't let the body swap happen today... or Hojou Kyousuke might actually kill me."
Cursing her divine luck, Mitsuha buried her head in her textbook and began studying.
The school day flew by quickly.
Even though she knew she couldn't bring back memories from when she was in Kyousuke's body, Mitsuha, who had just resolved to study harder, kept pushing herself.
Her painfully slow pace of solving problems made Kisaki Tetta's liver ache. But, unsure if his boss was onto some new technique for studying.
So, he kept his doubts to himself, suppressing them.
"Kisaki, Kisaki, where are we eating after school?"
As they walked toward the kendo club, Mitsuha excitedly asked.
"So, you're not going to the 'Garden of Words' again today?" Kisaki asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Garden of Words? Oh, right, the Italian restaurant. I thought I'd change it up today, so I won't go." With a couple of nervous chuckles, Mitsuha quickly urged Kisaki to decide on dinner.
"How about Indian food? One of my subordinates just opened an Indian restaurant."
"Ugh, no way." Even for a countryside girl who was open to trying new things, Indian food was a hard pass.
"Why not? It's really good," Kisaki scratched his head, not understanding.
Of course, the Indian restaurant in Tokyo had been localized, so it wasn't as overwhelming as the original version.
"How about some Spanish food? I remember you're are learning how to make Spanish food. You could ask the restaurant to make some authentic dishes."
The mention of Spanish food made Mitsuha's eyes sparkle with interest, but when she heard the rest of his suggestion, she felt like she had just been doused with cold water.
She sighed deeply and waved her hand dismissively.
'Spanish food? I didn't even know a single word of Spanish, if I go eating Spanish food now, I'll just end up giving myself away.'
She lamented inwardly.
'Why did the gods have to pick someone so amazing for me to swap bodies with?'
'Couldn't they have chosen someone more... normal?'
'No, no, this is fine. Don't change it, don't change it!'
Her thoughts spun wildly, and a series of strange, bizarre male figures flooded her mind.
She quickly apologized to the gods.
"How about sushi? But you had that last weekend, right? Never mind."
Since Kyousuke, the younger-than-usual leader, had come into power, the Rampaging Angels had indeed transformed, just as Makki Hojou had hoped.
However, this transformation seemed somewhat off.
The delinquents had turned into fanboys—fervent and loyal.
Just like that weekend when they ran into Kyousuke and his two loud troublemaker subordinates and their followers in Shibuya.
After parting ways, they immediately wrote an emotional account of the encounter and posted it in a chatroom that didn't include Kyousuke.
This sparked an outpouring of envy from other subordinates and a chorus of excited cries from the delinquents.
———————————————————————
"I want to go to Shibuya to line up for the boss too!"
"+1"
"+1"
———————————————————————
Fortunately, Kyousuke later went to Meiji Shrine, or else the Takeshita Street might've been overrun by the Rampaging Angels.
In a way, this even helped boost the local economy, right?
That's also why Kisaki knew Kyousuke had sushi over the weekend.
'Sushi...' Mitsuha silently cried inside, wishing she could try Tokyo's sushi.
She decided that no matter what she ate today, she'd look at photos of conveyor belt sushi while eating!
She wasn't sure if this new habit of looking at photos to make meals more enjoyable was influenced by Kyousuke's body.
"What else can we eat?" Kisaki asked, feeling just as lost as Mitsuha.
"Oh! There's a newly opened family restaurant near the school. It's been getting good reviews among Higashi students!"
What? Mitsuha's eyes lit up with excitement as she waited for Kisaki Tetta's next words.
"They say it's a restaurant specializing in countryside dishes. The owner can make many things you can't find in Tokyo."
...
???
!!!
'I came all the way from the countryside to Tokyo, and now you want me to eat countryside dishes?' Mitsuha felt an explosion of anger inside her and, without thinking, let the unique physical advantages of Kyousuke's body take over.
"Change it! I'll think of somewhere else right now!"
Seeing her eyes clearly telling him she was dissatisfied, and sensing the fierce air around her, Kisaki froze.
In the midst of the conversation, they had already reached the door of the kendo club.
"Hey, boss, want to go to a coffee shop after school?" A teasing voice called from far away.
Although Mitsuha didn't recognize the person, the mention of a coffee shop immediately made her decide that person was her best friend now!
"Silly, why would the boss go to a coffee shop with us? He would go with those cute girls, of course."
As they got closer, she saw the person she had just decided was her best friend being hit on the head by a person with black hair, and she thought to herself
'Hm? How could you hit my new best friend's head? And what's that nonsense you're saying? I, Miyamizu Mitsuha, am definitely going to that coffee shop today!'
"Sorry, boss, I didn't think about that. We'll just go ourselves."
The one talking so casually to Kyousuke was, of course, Eikichi Onizuka, and his reason for wanting to go to the coffee shop wasn't so simple.
"No! Let's all go after school!"
"Hm?" Everyone—Makki Hojou, Tsuzuki Ryou, the Onizuka duo, and Kisaki Tetta—looked at their boss in confusion.
A coffee shop wasn't exactly on the list of options for a big eater like him.
"Coffee shop, huh? Let's go together, is that okay?" Mitsuha, feeling awkward under their gazes, quickly repeated herself.
"Of course, it's fine!" Eikichi Onizuka said enthusiastically before Danma Ryuji grabbed his head and pulled him down.
Turning away from the others, the two began to whisper loudly.
"You idiot, did you forget the real reason we're going to the coffee shop?" Danma Ryuji knocked Eikichi Onizuka on the head.
"Of course not! It's Operation Love Battle 23, the Coffee Shop Battle. Any fashionable girls or rich women go to coffee shops. With our charm, we're sure to find a date!"
"Yeah, but if we bring the boss along, do you think anyone will even look at us?"
Onizuka froze.
He turned to look at Kyousuke, who wore a clueless expression.
Ryuji did the same.
They stared at Kyousuke for a few seconds, then turned back.
Double heartbreak.
"Ryuji, maybe we should just save up for plastic surgery."
"Good idea. Let's go to the clinic Ryotaro recommended to us. They give a 9.9% discount if you bring a magazine."
"You two idiots!" Makki smacked them both on the head.
"Why not just ask the boss to get the girls' numbers for you? Or use the excuse of 'getting to know the boss better' to build connections."
"Genius!"
"Makki, you're our hero!"
With their battle plan ready, the Onizuka Duo bowed to Mitsuha.
"We're counting on you, boss!"
Mitsuha didn't understand what just happened, but her dream café trip was secured.
And best of all... she didn't have to pay?
As a proud daughter of the Miyamizu family, she couldn't accept this.
"Thank you, but I'll pay for my own meal."
Everyone looked at her like she was crazy.
"Boss... are you sure you still have money?" Kisaki asked.
"Huh?"
Mitsuha opened Kyousuke's wallet. Inside was a single, lonely 10,000 yen bill.
"You refused your family's financial support and decided to live independently, remember?"
"...?!"
Clutching the bill like it was her lifeline, Mitsuha's heart sank.
This was barely enough for half a meal in Tokyo.
"Kisaki... I'm counting on you. I'll pay you back. Someday."
For now, all she could do was pray that Kyousuke would figure out a way to survive in Tokyo.
"By the way, boss, shouldn't you change if you want to practice?"
Change clothes?
Mitsuha's heart skipped a beat.
...Wait.
This is the boys' locker room!