Note: Chapter submitted and writtem by anonymous
March wiped her eyes with her fingers as she stepped out of her room—so pretty and colorful that it was hard to believe it was right next to Dan Heng's. She felt a mix of admiration and fear over the fact that he and Stelle could sleep on the floor or in a box like it was nothing. Every time she asked about it, Stelle would tell her something like "It's part of my training as a super soldier" and then hide inside herself inside of it, as if that would somehow make her magically undetectable. Letting her get obsessed with video games had been the worst mistake they had ever made.
But March didn’t have time to dwell on negative things. The best day of her life day had finally arrived! It had taken weeks of begging and countless hours practicing her best puppy-dog eyes in front of the mirror, but Robin had given her free tickets to her next concert in Penacony. She was so happy when she got them that she didn’t even hear her say she could have just asked them over the phone.
She was so overjoyed that it was lucky no one else was in the halls—otherwise, she would have crashed into them without realizing it. She had woken up at noon again, just like Stelle did whenever she spent so much time playing video games that she started yelling things like "Chaos Control!" and "PK Fire!" randomly during fights. March wasn’t worried, though—the concert was at night.
Still lost in her happy trance, she made her way to the party car, prepared the most complex breakfast her half-asleep brain could process (a glass of milk and a handful of randomly picked fruit pieces) and started eating. She almost spilled her milk on her skirt when she heard someone speak right in front of her.
"It's always great to see you half-asleep, March. I don't think I've ever seen anyone enjoy sleep-walking as much as you do."
March almost summoned her bow but relaxed when she saw it was just Himeko. She was smiling at her, lips stained with coffee. March sighed.
"Aren’t you going to eat anything else?" she asked.
"Oh, do I need to eat anything else?" Himeko replied honestly. "I make sure my coffee is as nutritious as possible. This one has—"
"Forget it. I don’t want to know."
Himeko laughed, leaving March with an exasperated expression. March was sure she wouldn’t like Himeko’s coffee even if she had her taste buds.
"Anyway, you’re going to that concert tonight, right?" Himeko asked. "I’m not sure if the others will go. Dan Heng and Welt aren’t too interested, Herta has kidnapped Stelle again, and I—"
"Please, you have to come! Even if you don’t like music that much, you have to come!" March whined like a little kid. "You’ll love it! You’ll adore it! You’ll regret ever being born if you don’t come with me!"
Himeko laughed again, this time with an even more maternal tone than usual.
"Ah, I love how passionate you are, March. I’m a bit more of an adult, so I’m afraid my soul isn’t as lively as it used to be. Sometimes I wish I could go back to having a personality like you—"
Himeko never finished her sentence.
At first, March thought the coffee had upset her stomach, but she grew worried when she saw Himeko's eyes go blank, staring without blinking. She stayed like that for about four seconds, motionless, doing nothing.
Then, suddenly, she blinked and moved her head—but now with an expression of confusion that gradually turned into joy. Her hands started feeling her face, and a huge, childlike smile spread across it.
"No way…" she murmured.
She examined her nails carefully, then stroked her hair, then looked at her own legs in fascination as she moved them.
"Himeko? Is something wrong? If you guys decided to fake being crazy again to scare me, I’m going to get mad. I-I mean it! I still haven’t forgiven Stelle for coming up with that stupid prank…"
But Himeko wasn’t listening. She stood up and walked (with some difficulty—she almost tripped over her own heels) toward a window, where she could see her reflection. Her smile became identical to that of a nine-year-old girl.
"Yes way! Yes way!" Himeko exclaimed, raising her arms. "I’m so tall… and so pretty… and so grown-up! God, is this how adults see the world? It’s amazing! I feel like a giant! I…I really am Himeko! Ah, I knew she was a good choice."
To March’s utter bewilderment, Himeko started jumping in front of the mirror. Then she stroked her hair again before turning her head and talking to her.
"March, look at me, I’m Himeko! It’s incredible! Oh… wait, that’s right, I am Himeko. You shouldn’t be surprised to see me."
March would have said something, but she was too frozen in confusion.
Himeko started walking around. At first, she struggled with her heels, but then she suddenly moved naturally, as if she had finally accessed the part of her brain responsible for the task.
"Just watch me, walking in heels like the adult I am, with these long legs that make me so tall… and drinking coffee like a real grown-up!" Himeko added as she turned her gaze toward the table.
March’s instincts told her she should stop her for some reason, but she wasn’t fast enough. Himeko took a long sip from the cup—only to spit it out right in March’s face half a second later.
"What the hell is wrong with—
"Jeez, this tastes awful!" Himeko interrupted. "It tastes like mud. Does Himeko really drink this?... Oh, March, I’m sorry!" she suddenly said. "Let me help you clean up."
Himeko started wiping March’s face with a napkin while cheerfully whistling. March would have already complained if she weren’t convinced that this was some kind of stupid bet Stelle had come up with. It wouldn’t be the first time she had organized competitions like “Try to make March mad on purpose without her suspecting it!” If they were playing games with her, they were going to regret it. She was ready to show them all the discipline she had gained from her sword training.
"No, seriously, I’m sorry," Himeko continued. "I’m supposed to be Himeko, and Himeko would never do that. If my new memories are correct, Himeko is calm, kind, smart… and intelligent enough to be the navigator of the Astral Express…"
Her eyes lit up as she spoke, as if she had just realized something incredible.
"That… wait… that means I’m your boss!"
"What?!" March accidentally shouted.
Himeko placed her hands on her hips and grinned, showing an expression that was both arrogant and childlike.
"How did I not realize this before? I’m the one who decides where this train goes, so everyone has to obey my orders. March, make me a proper coffee right now."
"Excuse me?! I don’t know what kind of ridiculous game you guys are playing, but you’re not going to treat me like a slave! If you want coffee, make it yourself!"
"Would you rather be the one cleaning the toilets tonight?" Himeko asked, bringing a hand to her chin. "It would be a shame if you had to do that instead of going to that lovely concert."
March’s fists started trembling.
"You wouldn’t dare."
"March, I am the Great Bright-Shining Himeko of the Stars. It’s only natural to demand a little respect. As my loyal second-in-command, go and fulfill your duties."
Himeko once again put her hands on her hips, this time with the dumbest look of satisfaction she had ever worn, as March stormed off the Express to buy coffee.
They didn’t have a single gram of regular coffee left—Himeko had taken complete control over its distribution.
As soon as she left, Hook stepped closer to the window to admire her reflection again. It didn’t take long before she burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, that was amazing! Now that I’m the boss, she can’t disobey me! Ah, possessing Himeko was a genius idea. You don’t mind, right, Himeko?," she asked her own reflection. "I know you don’t because I am you, and I think it’s great that you’re my main body for the next month. Ah, it’s so fun being you that maybe I’ll stay inside you instead of possessing others…"
Hook still hadn’t decided if she wanted to possess more people, even if just for a few hours. The reason she had chosen a Nameless—besides the fact that it would be fun to be around them—was that they traveled to many worlds. She would have to think about it later. Nothing was stopping her from being a Genius for a while, or an important person in the Luofu, or giving March the best rock and roll concert of her life during the night.
But it was a bit too soon to think about that. She needed to get comfortable in her new body, so she walked toward her new room, considering giving herself a fresh new look.
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author
