Seraphim is a Bystander

A Changing Daily Life
 
 
I was standing with the teacher in the hallway just outside our usual classroom. From inside, I could hear the familiar voices of my classmates.

"Aoi-kun... I'll explain things first, so could you come in afterward?"
"Okay…"
I answered in a voice that had gotten slightly hi-gh-er than usual, while feeling a bit guilty watching the teacher, who looked troubled, step into the classroom.

"Good morning, everyone~. Today, I have an announcement..."
As I listened to the teacher’s voice begin to address the class, I found myself staring into the glass window next to me.
Reflected back was the image of a girl—wearing cute clothes, and looking exactly like Seras.
Why am I like this…?
To explain that, we need to go back a few hours earlier...

The alarm rang loudly. I opened my eyes, sat up as usual, and turned it off using the nanomachine control panel.
"...Gru?"
Next to me, Sou, who had apparently slept with Seras last night, blinked sleepily as he looked at me.

"Good morning, Sou. Good morning, Seras-san."
…
...?

"Huh?"
Something felt very wrong. Even though my voice had always been a little higher than average, it now sounded even higher.
Still drowsy, /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ I got out of bed and went to wash my face. It was a bit odd that Sou didn’t go back to sleep like usual, instead watching me the whole time. But I left the room and stood in front of the sink.

"...Huh?"
The moment I saw my reflection in the mirror, my half-closed eyes shot wide open. And I immediately understood the source of my discomfort.
"WHYYYY?!"
The scream that burst out echoed in the high-pitched voice that sounded exactly like Seras.
Yes, my body—was still Seras-san’s.

"Seras-san?! Hey, Seras-san!! My body hasn’t returned yet!!"
…
I called out to Seras, who should be inside me, but unlike usual, there was no response at all.

"Aoi~? Is something wrong~?"
The first to respond to my shout was Mom, who was making breakfast in the kitchen. Seems like my voice had carried that far.
Yesterday, I’d handed over control to Seras and fallen asleep. So if something happened during that time, maybe Mom would know. With that thought, I rushed into the kitchen.

"Mom!"
"What is it, Aoi? …Oh? Seras-chan?"
"No! It’s me—Aoi!"

"Aoi, did you turn into a girl or something?"
Because I looked and sounded like Seras, Mom thought I was just joking and laughed a little as she said that.
"I’m serious! I’m really Aoi! When I woke up, I was still in Seras-san’s body… You didn’t notice anything strange?!"

"Oh? You really are Aoi?"
"That’s what I’ve been saying!!"
After desperately explaining myself, Mom finally seemed to understand. She stopped cooking and walked over.

"What’s wrong? Didn’t Seras-chan say anything?"
"That’s the thing—she hasn’t responded at all since I woke up…"
Now that I thought about it, she didn’t answer when I said good morning either. Did something really happen to her?

"Mom, did Seras-san go somewhere yesterday?"
"Go somewhere? Well… she came shopping with me?"
"…That’s it?"

"Yes. She seemed tired and went straight to bed when we got back."
…Shopping? And that somehow led to this?
Even after asking for more details, Mom insisted that nothing strange had happened—they just went shopping.
…But wait, Seras gets tired? Even though she’s an angel?

…
Usually, if I talk or even think about Seras this much, she responds right away. But today, I hadn't heard a word. Something really might be wrong.
"Um, Aoi—can’t you switch yourself back into a boy?"

"...Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever done that on my own."
Whenever we switched before, I always asked Seras and she took over. I’d never consciously tried switching myself back.
"So… what should we do?"

"...I have no idea."
Today’s the first day back to school… I have to prepare a presentation as class leader and summarize the school trip and everything…
"What should we do? Want to stay home from school today?"

"Ugh… I’d rather not miss class, though…"
Hearing that, Mom suddenly clapped her hands, as if she remembered something.
"That’s it! You have clothes, so why not just go like that for now?"

"…Huh?"
I couldn’t comprehend what she was saying—or rather, I didn’t want to. So I reflexively asked back.
"Remember? Yesterday we bought lots of cute clothes for Seras-chan, right? So just wear one of those and go to school!"

As she cheerfully added, "I’ll contact your teacher for you," I felt like her words were passing straight through my ears. My mouth hung open, and the only thing I could utter was:
"…Whaaat?!"