Chapter 11 – Operation: Spy on Myself

Monday.

Back to school.

Back to… her.

But which one?

I braced myself as I walked toward the school gate.

She was already waiting there.

Leaning against the gate, arms crossed.

No ribbon. No smile.

Just Airi.

“You’re late,” she said.

I checked my watch. “I’m early.”

She ignored that.

“Follow me,” she added, walking ahead.

“…Are you going to stab me or something?”

“Not today.”

We ended up behind the school building.

Empty, Quiet.

She turned to face me.

“So,” she said, “you’ve met her properly now.”

I nodded.

“The other me.”

“Usagi, She said you call her that.”

Airi looked away.

For a second, she seemed… unsure.

“She’s not me,” she muttered. “Not really.”

I didn’t reply.

She glanced at me again.

“But you like her right?”

“What?”

“She’s soft and sweet. The kind of girl who gives you tea and asks about your day.”

“…You were there too. You kicked me out.”

I looked at her.

She looked serious.

“I want to know what she’s like,” Airi said. “When I’m not watching.”

“You are her.”

“No,” she said softly. “I’m me. She’s... me but diffrent.”

She stepped closer.

“Tell me what she does.”

I blinked. “Why?”

“Because I want to see what you see.”

She dragged me to the empty hallway before first period.

Notebook in hand.

With bunny sticker.

“Name three things you liked about her,” she ordered.

“Is this a quiz?”

“It’s research.”

I sighed.

“She was gentle.”

She write something down.

“She was warm.”

More writing.

“She smiled like she meant it.”

That made her pause.

She stared at the page.

“…I smile too.”

“Yeah. But yours feels like you’re about to blackmail me.”

“Maybe I will.”

“Exactly.”

She snapped the notebook shut.

“Fine. We’re doing a test today.”

“A test?”

“Comparing.”

“…What exactly are we comparing?”

“You’re going to follow me around. Watch what I do. Then tell me if it felt like her or not.”

“…So like a weird date?”

She froze.

“Don’t call it that.”

It was totally a weird date.

She made me carry her bag between periods.

She bought two drinks from the vending machine and handed me the orange one.

“She probably would’ve picked something fruity,” she mumbled.

We sat under a tree during break.

She made me rate her expressions.

“That one’s too smug.”

“Too cheerful.”

“Too blank.”

“You’re just making up faces at this point.”

She glared. “You’re a terrible test grader.”

At lunch, she pushed my tray aside and put hers next to mine.

“Observation continues,” she said.

Daiki gave me a look from across the cafeteria.

I gave him a helpless shrug.

She held up a rice ball.

“She probably offered you food, right?”

I nodded.

“Did you take it?”

I nodded again.

“Did she say something stupid like, ‘Say aah~’?”

“…Yes.”

Airi groaned. “She’s so embarrassing.”

But then she held out the rice ball anyway.

“Say aah.”

I stared at her.

“You just said it was embarrassing.”

“It is. But I want to know what it feels like.”

I opened my mouth.

She fed it to me.

It was warm.

And for a second, she looked nervous?

“…Well?” she asked.

“Pretty good.”

“Of course it is.”

After school, we walked together.

Just like that.

A simple walk.

No threats.

No teasing.

Just peace.

Step by step.

She stopped at the corner.

“I think she used to like walking this way,” Airi said. “Back then.”

“Back when?”

She didn’t answer right away.

Then she reached into her pocket and pulled out something.

A little moon, A charm?

“Show this to her. When she shows up again.”

I took it.

“You sure?”

She nodded.

“She meant to give it to you a long time ago.”

I blinked. “How do you know that?”

“…Because I remember wanting to.”

She looked down.

Then back at me.

“…Don’t let her take all the credit, okay?”

“…What do you mean?”

Airi smiled.

But this time, it wasn’t smug.

Just soft.

Almost like…

Her.

“Nothing.”

She turned away.

And left without another word.

Yuuji’s Mental Diary – Monday

Airi : Spy Mission turned Secret Date (?)

Emotional Confusion : MAXIMUM

Rice Ball : 1

Heart Situation : Unstable

Charm Acquired : looks like it's glowing

Things Left Unsaid : Too many

The bedroom is quiet. Airi sits at her desk, moonlight catching the edge of the open diary. She picks up her pen.

Dear Me,

He followed me today.

Through the halls, across lunch, down to the gate.

He didn’t ask why.

He didn’t complain.

Even when I said it was an “experiment,” he played along.

Like it was normal.

I gave him the charm.

You always meant to.

I just… did it first.

He smiled.

And for some reason, I didn’t want to look away.

I don’t really get it.

But maybe you do.

That’s enough for now.

She finishes writing and sets the pen down, Closes her eyes and Sleeps.

Hours later. The same room. A softer hand opens the diary and reads. Then writes below.

Dear Me,

I think he understood what today was.

Even without us saying it.

You let him see a side you don’t usually show.

I’m glad.

He didn’t run away.

He stayed close.

Maybe that means… he’s not just watching me.

He’s watching you, too.

Thank you for giving him the charm.

You didn’t have to.
But you did.

Let’s just keep going one day at a time.

That’s enough, isn’t it?

—Usagi 🐰