At the bottom of the school pool, Altina dove deeper. She was the first to arrive for her club activities, so she has all the place to herself. She was not diving for the sake of exercise. She dives once in a while because she can. The deeper she goes, the higher the water pressure. How the water hugs her body brings her comfort.
Once she reached the pool floor, it was time to head back up. She placed her feet on the floor so that she could push herself up. And then she felt a bit of pain. She immediately lifted her feet as she somehow stepped on something.
Altina squinted her eyes at the floor. There is something shiny.
"Noooo!" Juna screamed as she chased the giggling Musse in the changing room. "Musse, you have to delete it!" Her face was red.
"But it's such a good shot!" Musse said as she ran around the room. For someone wearing a kimono, she sure is fast.
"I never gave you permission to picture me!" Juna said, stomping.
"Delete this?" Musse looked at her ARCUS. It was Juna in her tennis uniform. She was striking a cute pose in front of the mirror. "It's such a waste!"
"Oooh, but it's embarrassing!" Juna said, steam coming out of her ears. "Please, you gotta delete it! I have a reputation, you know?"
"Fine, fine," Musse said, waving her hand in apology. "I'm just teasing you. Although, it would be nice if other people would get a look of this cute side of you." She waggled her eyebrows.
"Musse!"
"Alright, I'll delete it." Musse started pressing some buttons. She smiled deeper. "Right after I send a copy to Kurt."
Musse stood frozen as an explosion, akin to a gunshot, rang beside her ear. She mechanically looked to the side and saw a tennis ball embedded to the steel locker door. Juna picked up another tennis ball, ready to serve it.
'I won't miss next time,' her face said.
"D-D-Do you want to do it?" Musse asked, proffering her ARCUS to her.
"Is Calvard attacking us?" Altina, in her swimsuit, asked as she burst thought the door.
She was soaking wet and leaving puddles on the floor. Altina looked at Juna, who was about to play an indoor tennis match with a racket-less opponent. Juna breathed out, half her stress leaving.
"No, Allie," Juna said. "Musse and I were just… arguing." She glared at the shaking noble.
"If we are not under attack," Altina said, walking up, "then I would like to show you something, Juna."
Juna looked down and saw that Altina is holding something. The little girl opened her palms. Juna blinked. It was a silver sepith crystal that was carved into a chess piece.
"A king?" Juna guessed, holding her chin. "That… looks kinda expensive."
The crystal was made with painstaking effort. It is decorated with gold and silver. It was intricate and mesmerizing to look at.
"May I see?" Musse asked and Altina gave it to her. She looked closely at it. She hummed. "A high-quality item. Where did you get it, Altina?"
"It was at the bottom of the pool," Altina said. "I have no idea how it got there."
"Could it be part of a chess set?" Juna asked.
"Could be," Musse said. She rolled the piece around her palm. "I feel… I feel strange holding this."
She then felt another strange feeling.
"Hey!" Musse say, snatching her ARCUS back from Juna. Juna was pickpocketing it.
"Don't 'hey' me," Juna said, frowning. "That picture is not yours to take. So, give it here."
Musse glared at her.
"I don't appreciate people stealing from me," she said.
"You said I could delete it on my own!" Juna said, crossing her arms.
"That does not give you permission to steal from me!" Musse fumed. "Honestly, you could learn a few manners while you're here in Erebonia."
"Wh-What's that supposed to mean?" Juna's face reddened in anger. She then stomped forward. "Forget it. Just give your ARCUS to me."
"Stay back!" Musse backed away, raising her ARCUS and the chess piece up the air as Juna tried to grab one of them.
"Gimme!"
"Juna, st—Whoa!"
The two fell on the floor. Altina raised her arms to her eyes as a bright light flashed over the room. After a long second, Altina dropped her arms and slowly opened her eyes. Beyond the green and purple splotches in front of her, Juna and Musse were trying to stand up.
"Are you okay, disciple?" Altina asked.
Altina still thinks that Juna is an RMP trainee that she is supposed to train.
"Quit it with the disciple shtick, will ya?" Musse said, holding her head. "Whoa… I feel light headed all of a sudden." She then coughed, holding her throat. "Wh-What happened to my voice? And my body a bit heavy all of a sudden."
"A-Am I naked?" Juna suddenly asked. She then grabbed her tennis uniform and sighed in relief. "Whew! It appears I am still decent. You should be careful next time, Juna. Only Instructor Rean is allowed to undress me."
"Huh?" Altina asked, cocking her head.
Slowly, Juna and Musse finally looked at each other. Silence. They slowly stood straight. Juna rubbed her chin. Musse scratched her head. The two then looked at their own clothes. They ran their hands over their bodies.
Up at the upper floor of the clubhouse, Kurt was teaching his rival, Ash, on how to play chess. Their respective club members were late. While Kurt despises the man before him, his desire to show him the world on the joy of chess is much more important than his rivalry with him.
Suddenly, the two could hear Juna and Musse screaming. The sat frozen.
"Wh-What in Gehenna is happening down there?" Kurt said as soon as the screaming ended.
"Lemme check," Ash said, opening his ARCUS. He dialed Juna's number.
"Hey, I can hear you two screeching from up here," Ash said as soon as Juna picked up. "You two have having a screaming contest?"
"Ash?" Musse said.
Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Musse?" Ash said back. "What are you doing with Juna's ARCUS?"
"It's my phone!" Musse shouted. "I-I mean, I just happen to pick it up. Yeah! Musse's—I mean, J-Juna is a bit preoccupied for a moment."
"…Gotcha." Ash shook his head. "Look, are you two okay? Should we head down there?"
"No!" Musse shouted. "I-It's not like there's an emergency or something. We can handle it!"
Ash raised an eyebrow. "You sound weird, Musse."
"Musse? Oh, right! I'm Musse!" Musse nervously laughed. "Musse's fine—I mean, I'm fine! Catch ya later, buh-bye!"
"Hold on!" Ash shouted. He then looked at his phone. "She hung up on me."
"Should we…" Kurt started.
"Nah." Ash put away his phone. "Nine times outta ten, they're naked down there. If we barge in right now, they're going to tear our throats out."
"Naked?" Kurt shook his head. "You're impossible sometimes. Well, most of the times." He sighed. "Let's just hope those two can solve it on their own. Or at least call us if things got out of hand."
"Right." Ash nodded. He then gestured at the chessboard. "So… you were saying?"
"Ah." Kurt pointed at the king piece. "Castling. The rules of castling are very simple…"
At the changing room…
"Give me my body back!" Musse said, shaking Juna.
"I don't know how!" Juna replied as she held on to Musse's wrists.
"I am very confused right now," Altina said as she watched the two wrestle each other.
Musse zipped to Altina, pointing at her own face.
"Allie, it's me!" Musse said. "It's Juna! Don't you recognize me?"
"Honestly, you're just making things worst, Juna," Juna said, patting her shirt. "Of course Altina can't recognize you."
"Is this what you non-spies call a two-man comedy act?" Altina asked.
"Why is this happening to me?" Musse screamed as she ruffled her own hair.
"Hey!" Juna shouted, grabbing her wrists. "Quit messing with my hair! It took me a long time to get it to perfection."
"You… You two seriously switched bodies?" Altina asked as she watched the two fight.
The two girls froze and looked at Altina. Juna opened a locker door and looked at herself at the mirror.
"Aidios in Heaven, Altina is right," Juna said as she touched her face. "This is Juna's body. How in Zemuria did this happen?" She then pulled the collar of her shirt and immediately scrunched her nose. "Phew! Juna, do you even wash these?"
Musse slapped Juna's face.
"Are you telling me that I smell?" Musse screamed, her cheeks pinking. "H-How dare you!"
"I'm only stating an objective fact!" Juna shouted back as she held her stinging cheek. "Do you even use antiperspirants?"
"I don't even know the meaning of the word!" Musse whipped her head away, folding her arms. "So what if I sweat? It's natural when you do sports. No one cares."
"Kurt does."
Musse looked at Juna with horror on her face.
"H-H-He does?" Musse breathed. She then turned around, blushing. "Y-You don't fool me, Musse! You don't even know what Kurt is thinking. Besides, h-he only sees me as a friend. I don't think he even sees me as a girl, even though he got a face full of my Crossbells. The gall of that Erebonian…" Musse's shoulders slowly slumped.
Juna was touching her own chest.
"What in Gehenna?" she said, her eyes widening. "Y-You're bigger than me?"
"Huh?" Musse said, looking at her. She then touched her own chest. Her eyes widened. "Oh, wow! You are smaller than me!"
Juna slapped Musse.
"What the heck was that for, you psychopath!" Musse shouted, holding her stinging cheek.
"You don't have to rub it in, you damn gorilla!" Juna shouted back, her face reddening in both embarrassment and anger.
"Girls?" Altina called as the two started pinching each other's cheeks.
"You're hurting my beautiful face!" Juna shouted as Musse stretched her cheeks.
"You quit it!" Musse shouted as Juna does the same to her.
"Could this be the work of a Zemurian artifact?" Altina asked.
"Huh?" the two girls said, looking at Altina.
"The one you're holding, Musse." She pointed at Musse's hand. "I mean, disciple."
Musse looked at the silver king piece she is holding. Juna leaned forward to observe it. After a few seconds, the two screamed. Musse threw it across the room. It bounced against the locker and landed on the middle of the floor. It was standing.
The three girls all had their backs against the wall, staring at the chess piece as if it were a live grenade.
"Wh-What should we do?" Musse asked.
"I don't know," Juna said. "Give it to the Septian Church? They know what to do."
"I advise you to not do that," Altina said. "Once the church founds out that you two switched bodies because of an artifact, you two will be shipped to the Holy City of Arteria. You might not get out of there for a long time."
The two girls gulped.
"Th-Then we should just leave it at the chapel," Musse suggested. "We'll make sure no on sees us."
"Not yet," Juna said, narrowing her eyes on the chess piece. "That thing is the reason we're in this predicament. We might have to use it again so we could switch back."
After some arguing, the three inched closer to the thing. It looks harmless. Juna gulped.
"Here goes nothing," Juna said.
She slowly reached down and picked the chess piece up. Once she noticed she did not explode, she placed it on her palm and slowly rolled it.
"Odd," Juna said.
"What is it?" Musse asked, her hands on her lips.
"I… I don't feel it anymore." Juna closed her eyes and rolled the chess piece on her palm again. "I can't feel the mana."
Musse lowered her hands. "What are you talking about?"
Juna offered the chess piece to Musse and Musse eeped.
"Can you hold it?" Juna asked. "Maybe my body has a greater affinity on detecting mana." Musse stepped back, furiously shaking her head. Juna sighed and glared at her. "Do want to be stuck on my body or not?"
Musse hung her head in defeat. She hesitantly grabbed the chess piece and rolled it across her palms like what Juna is doing.
"What am I supposed to find here?" Musse asked as she felt nothing from it.
"Can you feel a hint of electricity?" Juna asked. "Like, you feel a small shock on your skin when you touch it. Like it's sticking to you. Do you feel it?"
Musse rolled the piece again and shook her head.
"Nothing. Sorry," she said, her eyes down.
"So the artifact most likely expended the last of the mana it is storing," Altina surmised, holding her chin. "Unless we have a way to recharge it, which we do not know how, things will be… difficult from now on."
"Aidios," Musse prayed, clasping her hands and looking above. "I don't want to be in a body of a pervert forever!"
"Wh-Who's the pervert?" Juna screamed.
The door suddenly opened. Leonora came in and grinned at Altina.
"Allie!" she said. "You dipped on the pool without me? Ya know you could've waited." She then looked at Altina's classmates, who were in different stages of panic. She whistled.
"Looking good, ladies!" Leonora said. "Say, don't you two have club activities or something?"
Musse gasped.
"I forgot!" she said.
Altina stood in front of the two.
"Let us meet at the gate as soon as our respective activities is over," she said. "Stay… discreet."
Musse and Juna walked out of the changing room in order to discuss further.
"Okay, Musse," Musse said, holding her hips. "You know how to play tennis?"
"I play tennis casually," Juna admitted, scratching her cheek.
Musse nodded. "That's good enough. You can lose, but don't lose too hard. I have a reputation, you know?"
Juna sighed.
"Yes, yes."
She then looked at Musse and scowled. She walked forward to fix Musse's hair.
"Hey, quit it!" Musse said, swatting her hands.
"You made a quite a mess," Juna said. "Comb it as soon as you get back to my clubroom."
"Wait a minute! I don't know how to do this tea ceremony stuff."
Juna held her chin, looking down.
"Just say…" Juna said, "…it's your turn to observe." She nodded. "Tell Maya and Kairi that you're going to observe the two so that you can determine that they're doing the steps properly." She then grabbed Musse's shoulder. "That's all you have to do, got it?"
Musse raised an eyebrow. "Is that allowed?"
Juna nodded. "I'll have to make it up for them tomorrow." She sighed. "If we can fix this before tomorrow that is."
The two then agreed that Musse is going to hold the king piece as Juna is the one doing sports. Musse only has to sit in one room.
Musse was then walking through the hall towards the Tea Ceremony Club room. It was rather difficult as this is the first time she had to wear a kimono. Suddenly, the door to the Chess Club opened. Musse gasped at the sight of Kurt and Ash.
"Hey, Musse!" Ash said, waving his hand. The two ran to the frozen girl. "You mind telling us what's going on?"
"Is Juna alright?" Kurt asked.
Musse looked away, cupping her blushing cheeks.
"I-I'm fine!" she said. "Y-You don't have to worry."
"I can see that, Musse," Kurt said, nodding. "I'm asking about Juna."
"What?" Musse faced him. "I-I mean, yeah! Juna's all honky-dory!"
Ash blinked. "Honky-dory?"
"If you looked outside, you could see her practicing."
She leads the two to the window.
"Ta-da!" Musse said.
Juna was indeed outside. She was having a match with Jessica.
"See?" Musse said. "No problem, right?"
"She looks a bit stiff," Kurt said, observing Juna's movements.
"Everything's fine!" Musse said with panic. She then pushed the two away. "Now go. Shoo! I got tea to drink or something." She then stopped. "Oh! And, uh, the three of us girls are going somewhere tonight. Just letting you guys know."
"Musse, wait," Ash said, but Musse quickly entered her club room.
Ash and Kurt shrugged at each other.
"Phew!" Musse said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
She then froze as she saw Kairi and Maya staring at her. Maya raised an eyebrow.
"Are you okay, Musse?" she asked.
"I'm fine!" Musse replied, waving her arms. She then cleared her throat. "Okay, here's what we're going to do." She remembered the real Musse's words. "I'm, uh, going to observe you guys today. See if you got the, uh, steps right. I'll show you my stuff tomorrow, okay?"
Kairi and Maya looked at each other. The two are wondering what is causing Musse's discomfort.
"…Very well," Maya said, nodding. "Please observe me well, Miss Egret."
They will have to ask her after club is over.
Later, Musse struggled to keep her balance on this weird sitting style the two are doing. She kept fidgeting.
Oh no, Musse thought, her eyes widening. I think I can't feel my legs.
Outside, Jessica missed the ball. Juna now scores. Jessica has observed Juna's movements well up to this point, but today, it is as if she changed styles overnight. She could not read her at all. Juna was cumulating points fast.
"Wow!" Juna said, touching her lip. "You're easier than I thought."
Louise gasped. "J-Juna!" she shouted. "What are you doing?"
Juna looked at Jessica. It is as if she is secreting a malevolent aura. She mechanically faced Juna with eyes filled with murder.
"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" she carefully asked.
"W-Wait!" Juna said, waving her arms. "I-It was a slip of the tongue! That's it!" She laughed nervously.
Jessica picked up another tennis ball.
"I shall teach you the meaning of pain, Juna," she snarled.
She threw it up the air, about to serve it.
Juna lost the match by a wide margin.
After club is over, Musse bolted out of the room.
"See ya tomorrow, guys!" Musse shouted as she ran away. She was slow as her legs are somewhat asleep.
"Musse, wait!" Maya shouted, coming out with Kairi. The two were very worried. "We got to talk to you!"
Unfortunately for Musse, Ash exited his clubroom as well. When he saw her, he blocked her path by spreading his arms. Musse skidded to a halt. She used this time to let the blood go back to her legs.
"Whoa there, green locks!" Ash said. "We gotta talk."
"Musse," Kurt said, exiting his clubroom. "May I have a moment of your time?"
"I need to be somewhere!" Musse shouted.
Musse lifted her skirt and prepared to pass through Ash. The blonde was not having. Musse carefully approached him, and then stepped to the side. Ash fell for the feint. The girl then jumped to the other side, passing through him entirely.
"What in Gehenna was that?" Ash asked, not believing Musse was this athletic.
"I don't know," Kurt said. "But we got to catch her. Come on."
Kurt, Ash, Kairi and Maya started chasing her. Maya was the last as she struggled to run with her kimono.
"Alright, ladies," Juna said as she shifted her shaky legs to walk away. "Let us continue our battle tomorrow."
I'm sticking to badminton from now on, Musse thought.
"Hold it right there, Juna," Jessica said.
Juna froze and slowly looked over her shoulder. Jessica was resting her racket on her shoulder and was chewing gum. No one has ever seen how she got gum in the first place. She then blew a green bubble. It popped, which sounded like a gunshot in Musse's perspective. Her eyes were still filled with hatred.
"C-Calm down, Jessica!" Louise said, blocking her path. "She didn't mean any of that."
Jessica simply pushed her away, as if the floor was ice.
"Apologize to her, Juna!" Louise cried.
Jessica stopped in front of Juna. Her nose was reges apart from Juna's.
"I-I'm sorry?" Juna squeaked.
"You have a lot of nerve to trash talk me back there," Jessica said. Her breath smells of mint.
"I'm really sorry about that, Jessica." Juna started to walk in reverse. She was sweating real hard. "H-How about I treat you to tea? Cake?"
The wind blew over them. Juna took this opportunity to run. Jessica went after her.
"Don't kill her!" Louise cried as she ran after her.
Altina already changed back to her school uniform and exited the locker room. She then stopped as she felt an earthquake coming. She looked around to try and find a table to hide under.
"Aidios, help me!" Juna pleaded as she started running to Altina's direction.
A menacing Jessica and a teary eyed Louise were after her.
"Leave me alone!" Musse cried as she running to the little girl from the other direction.
Kurt, Ash, Kairi and Maya were chasing her, shouting questions.
Altina looked left and right, wishing that it was an earthquake instead. At least an earthquake is more survivable. At the last second, Altina jumped back. Juna and Musse smashed against each other.
A flash of light and everybody stopped to cover their eyes. A wind of pure mana was flowing through them. When the light show was over, they looked down to see a very disoriented Juna and Musse on the floor.
"Mommy?" Juna groaned, sitting up. "Huh?"
She looked down and saw that she was wearing her tennis uniform again. She touched her face and then her hair. She could almost cry when she felt that her precious ponytail was back.
"I'm beautiful again!" Musse said as she touched her kimono. She touched her hair and immediately frowned. She looked at Juna. "Didn't I tell you—"
"We're saved!" Juna shouted, hugging Musse tightly. "Aidios has answered our prayers! Hallelujah!"
"I-I can't breathe!" Musse squeaked.
And then, a hand grabbed Juna's skull. Jessica lifted her head up so she could face her.
"Is something wrong, Jessica?" Juna asked, sweating nervously.
A vein bulged on Jessica's temple.
"Why you…" she seethed. She then gave Juna a toothy grin. "Doesn't matter. In the Schleiden Family, we have a special punishment to those who lose to us after insulting our abilities."
"I'm begging you, Jessica!" Louise said, grabbing her friend's skirt. "You don't have to do this! Juna will apologize!"
"Musse?" Juna asked as Jessica dragged her away. Louise was being dragged by Jessica's skirt.
"Aidios will have mercy on you, child," Musse said, bowing her head.
Ash coughed. Musse slowly turned around to see Ash, Kurt, Kairi and Maya. They were breathing hard.
"We gotta talk," Ash said, his eye twitching.
"Um…" Musse said.
She was dragged up the stairs. Altina blinked, not knowing what just happened just now. A shadow loomed over her.
"Something is going on, is it?" Kurt asked her, crossing his arms.
"You could say that," Altina said.
At midnight, three girls silently entered Leeves Chapel. Juna, in a sad clown costume, a very exhausted Musse, and a sleepy Altina knelt on the pew, asking for Aidios for forgiveness. When they left, the silver sepith king piece was left behind on the pew.
Fortunately, Sister Rosine saw this when she noticed the three girls coming in. She gasped at the sight of the chess piece. She took it and placed it in a special box in her room. She will have to speak to her Dominion personally about this matter. She would do her best to not involve the three girls on this one.
"Huh?" Kurt said as he felt his ARCUS vibrating underneath his pillow.
He rubbed his eyes and opened it. He was wide awake on the picture Musse sent to him. It was Juna, in her tennis uniform, striking a very uncharacteristic pose in front of a mirror.
I-I should delete this, Kurt thought immediately.
He then imagined Juna posing the same in front of him. He immediately blushed.
I should really delete this.
In the end, he did not.