We climbed back into the SUV and Mrs. Kozue drove us to the nearest mall. For the first time since we had started swapping bodies, I felt insecure merely walking through big crowds. I was sure they were looking at me and judging me, meaning they were judging Emi as well.

However, I didn't dare compare it to how Emi was feeling. She—my body—was barely getting used to talking with Mom and me; making her walk through big crowds didn't help the anxiety at all. 

She never raised her head the entire time we walked to the clothing store. About to enter, Mr. Araki suddenly took a card out of his pocket and offered it to Emi.

"Call us when you're done," he said.

Emi and I stared at the card and then looked at him.

"Eh?" Emi uttered.

Mrs. Kozue added, "There's no reason for us to go in the store with you, we would only make it more cramped. We'll be taking a stroll in the meantime."

Although Emi still seemed confused, she grabbed the card. "Sure."

Out of nowhere, Mom began rummaging in her purse. "I didn't plan to go shopping today, so I didn't bring my debit card and I don't have much money," she worried.

"Don't worry, we'll pay for it," Mr. Araki replied.

"I know money isn't a problem for you, but I still don't want to make you spend more than you should," Mom laughed nervously.

"You can give us the money later, then," Mrs. Kozue said. "Take it as a favor for the problems my daughter's playfulness has caused."

"Hey!" Emi yelled.

Mom smiled and sighed. "Alright, thank you. Keita, don't buy expensive things, okay?"

"Okay," I replied.

She and Emi's parents walked away, leaving the two of us alone. We glanced at each other in silence and stood still for a while.

"Let's get this over with," Emi said and stepped into the store without even looking at me.

I followed her and, once again, we stood still in the middle of the path. There were dozens of aisles in front of us.

"Should we split up?" I asked.

"No. We might've swapped bodies, but we still know what's best for our own bodies."

"You're right. The shirts are closer, so let's start with that."

She nodded and we headed to one of the many aisles with men's shirts.

I wasn't picky when it came to clothing, meaning it wasn't going to take long. However, Emi insisted on choosing something that would look nice on me. She would grab several shirts, approach one of the mirrors in the aisles, and put each shirt in front of her to see how it would look.

Finally, she chose the six shirts she liked the most. She wanted to take more, but I didn't mind her using the clothes I owned. She also held back knowing Mom had asked me not to spend too much.

The same process was repeated for Emi's body and our bottom wear. She slowly changed her opinion about using each other's clothes, but that option was thrown out of the window as soon as we arrived at the women's underwear aisle.

Although I knew I was in a girl's body, my face grew warmer and warmer the more I looked down the aisle. On the other hand, people repeatedly glanced at Emi, who merely stared at the floor.

"I'll leave," she stuttered. "I don't want you to know what underwear I would pick, anyway. Just look for medium-sized pairs that look normal."

"Understood. You should find some boxers while I do this, also medium-sized. Let's meet at the entrance when we're done to check if the underwear we chose is fine."

She nodded and walked away.

A long and deep breath came out of my mouth as soon as I realized I was alone on this. I stood still in the middle of the aisle as young girls and older women wandered around and discussed with each other the reasons to choose one type of underwear over another.

My face continued to melt, but I had been standing for too long. I needed to move before someone thought I was planning to do something weird, so I gathered the courage to approach a shelf.

Dozens of packages hung in front of me. I gulped and grabbed the closest one. The front of the package had a drawing of a sporty-looking pair of bra and panties, while the back showed a picture of a woman wearing them. They were medium-sized and they looked normal, so I put them in the shopping bag I was carrying.

My hopes were quickly brought down, however. The rest of the packages varied a lot; some had multiple panties but no bra and vice versa, while others had different sizes or looked a little too excessive.

Finally, I headed to the entrance after picking up three packages. Emi was already waiting for me.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"It was easier not having to worry about bras. And you?"

"It was hard," I laughed nervously.

"Can imagine."

We swapped our shopping bags to check what we had chosen. I saw two packages with five pairs each, which was a fair amount, if not a little excessive. However, they weren't the type of underwear I was used to wearing. About to tell her about it, I stopped myself. They didn't have to be a specific type and she didn't need to know.

"They look good," I said.

"Same. Let's go to the checkout."

We approached the checkout line and waited for a couple of minutes. We took everything out of our bags and lay them on the conveyor belt. The cashier checked them one by one until the total price appeared on the screen. It was a little higher than what I was used to spending when shopping, but it also made sense since we were two people buying entirely new sets of clothes.

Emi took Mr. Araki's card out of her pocket and placed it on the scanner; it recognized it instantly and the purchase went through. Meanwhile, the cashier was already putting the stuff in two other bags, so we simply grabbed them and walked out of the store.

We stood still. I didn't know what Emi was thinking but only then did it hit me that we had just gone shopping for clothes together.

"Don't think anything weird about this," she said. "We're only doing it because of our situation."

"Yes, I know," I laughed nervously.

She took her phone out of her pocket and called Mrs. Kozue, who asked us to meet at a fast food stall to eat. I was incredibly hungry, so that lifted my mood a lot.

We spent the next half an hour eating before we headed to our house since it was closer than Emi's.

Mom invited Emi and her parents to wait inside. Mamma welcomed us at the door and stayed with them in the living room while they waited for Mom and me to pack our stuff.

Even though we worked as quickly as possible, it still took us forty-five minutes to finish. Everyone helped carry the boxes to the car and we were ready to leave. Mom and I hugged Mamma since we were going to be away for a few weeks or even a couple of months and drove off toward Emi's house.

The same process was repeated and, one hour later, we were back at our new, temporary house. The five of us grabbed a box and, instead of staying outside as we had a few hours earlier, we finally stepped inside.

Mom and I had to stop as our jaws dropped once again. A massive TV hung on the only wall that wasn't a window in the living room and, beneath it, there was a wide cabinet with a slim speaker and the latest game consoles on the market.

There were four sofas, of which two of them were long enough to be curved, and a coffee table with a small plant in the middle of the room.

And to top it off, the shutters suddenly began to slide into the solid walls, letting in the sunlight through the windows. The place had gone from being rather dark to being beautifully lit in a matter of seconds.

"Amazing, huh?" Mrs. Kozue smiled.

Mom and I nodded frantically.

"This room alone probably costs the same as our house," Mom said, perplexed.

"And ours too. Wait until you see the rest of the house; you won't be able to sleep with ease knowing how expensive everything is. That's a joke, please sleep properly."

Mom laughed. "Where should we take these boxes to?"

Mr. Araki replied, "Since we're the owners' friends, Suzuka and I will be taking the master bedroom, which is downstairs. There are three, completely identical rooms upstairs, so you can take the one you want. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," I replied. "I'll take the furthest one so that you don't have to walk too much every time you come downstairs."

"No, I'll take the furthest one," Emi said. "I'm already used to the house being big. And the bathroom is closer to that room."

"Alright," Mom smiled. "I'll take the middle, then."

"Let me take that one," I said.

Mom glanced at me. "Are you calling me old?"

"No! I just…"

"I know," she grinned. "That's very kind of you, but I also want to be close to the bathroom."

"Ah, okay."

Finally, we headed upstairs.

My arms were getting numb after climbing up the stairs. I also had to open the door, so I dropped the box outside of the room. I swept the sweat away from my forehead and took a few deep breaths before opening the door and pushing the box inside.

As soon as I raised my head, I saw a room of a similar size to mine, just a little bigger. However, it had the same simplistic design as the living room and the little things that were in the room seemed just as expensive: a double bed, a huge TV, a sofa, an empty desk, and an empty wardrobe.

It was quite dark, so I looked for the light switch to turn the lights on. A screen next to the switch turned on at the same time. It had more lighting options, AC controls, and a section for the shutters which, unlike in the living room, hadn't opened on their own. As simple as it seemed to press the buttons, I preferred to wait and ask so as not to break anything.

The five of us continued carrying boxes and helped each other as soon as we finished moving our stuff. Several minutes later, we were done.

I asked about the control panel in the room and Emi offered to help me. It functioned as I expected, but it was comforting to be reassured.

We spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking and getting comfortable. I was finally done as the sun was setting, so I got into bed to relax a little, careful not to break anything.

As soon as I extended my arms, a smell hit my nose. I sniffed my armpit to confirm it came from there. It wasn't too bad, but it was enough to make me feel uncomfortable.

I sat up on the bed and stared at the wall. I had been trying my hardest to avoid it, but time was running out. It took several minutes of internal arguments for me to give up.

I approached the shopping bag with the clothes we had just bought and took out a shirt, shorts, a package of bras, and a package of panties. I ripped the packages open and grabbed one of each.

Hoping no one would see me, I stepped out of the room and headed to the bathroom on the same floor. However, guilt attacked me as I was about to knock on the door. I turned around and knocked on Emi's door instead.

She opened it a couple of seconds later. "Yes?" She instantly realized I was holding clothes.

"I'm sorry, but I have to," I said.

She remained silent for a moment before stuttering, "Why are you telling me?"

"I'm not sure. It's your body, so I feel like I need your permission."

Her face wouldn't stop growing redder and redder. Suddenly, she shut the door.

"Emi?"

She didn't answer. I was starting to get worried, then she quavered, "Just do it." Her voice even broke.

I felt bad for her, but there was no other choice. She was going to have to do the same sooner or later.

I knocked on the bathroom door and stepped inside after no one answered. Knowing I was wearing a tank top underneath, taking off my shirt was the easiest part, but I got stuck after that. Whether I took off the tank top or the shorts, I was going to see something forbidden for guys my age.

I stared at myself in the mirror, which probably didn't help. The anxiety kept rising until I let out a growl. I turned around not to see myself in the mirror anymore and pulled the tank top up to take it off.

A few seconds later, it was done, but I hadn't opened my eyes. About to do so, Emi entered the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

"Emi?! What are you doing—"

"Shut up and close your eyes! I'll take your clothes off."

"What?!"