Time at Hikari ga Oka High School flew by quickly after the start of their third year. The relationship between Leo Tsukino and "Lumine Komori" had become officially known among their group of friends. The initial sweetness that Sora Aoki (in Lumine's body) had tried to create gradually transformed into an intense, sometimes over-the-top effort, which began to create a strange feeling for those around them, especially Leo himself.
Lunchtime on the school rooftop remained their meeting spot, but the atmosphere had started to carry a subtle tension. Sora (in Lumine's body) continued to be openly affectionate. She would sit pressed close to Leo while eating her bento and often found opportunities to feed him.
"Leo... open wide. I made heart-shaped takoyaki for you today," Sora (in Lumine's body) smiled sweetly, holding a small piece of takoyaki to Leo's lips with her chopsticks. The eyes that once held the original Lumine's shyness now shone with blatant expectation.
Leo sighed softly. He was getting used to being fed, but he still felt awkward every time. "Thanks, Lumine, but I can really eat by myself." He tried to reach for his own chopsticks, but she shook her head gently.
"No way... I want to feed you. Come on... please?" Her wheedling tone still had some effect on Leo. He reluctantly ate it, but the warm feeling he used to get from the original Lumine's quiet displays of affection had vanished, replaced by a slight sense of being pressured.
It wasn't just feeding him. Sora (in Lumine's body) also tried to display her ownership of Leo more openly in front of their friends. In the classroom, she would frequently walk over to Leo's desk, chat loudly, or even playfully pinch his cheek in front of others, making Leo both embarrassed and flustered. Sometimes, while walking in the school corridors, she would grab his arm and link it with hers intimately, even when he tried to gently pull away, feeling unaccustomed to it.
"This Lumine... she's changed a lot, hasn't she?" Ken whispered to Leo during one class, after "Lumine" had just walked over to give Leo a small note with a heart drawn on it. "She seems a lot more cheerful, but sometimes... uh... isn't it a bit much?"
Leo could only force a smile. "Well... I guess so." He felt the same way. The original Lumine would never do things like this. She would express her feelings through small actions or sincere words, not such overt and blatant displays.
Leo's discomfort began to accumulate, especially when Sora (in Lumine's body) started talking about rather personal matters and expecting greater intimacy.
"Leo... when are we going on a real date? How about an overnight trip to the countryside, just the two of us? It would be so romantic," she said one evening as they were walking home together. Leo almost tripped over his own feet at her words.
"An... an overnight trip? Lumine... I think that's a bit too soon. We're still students," Leo tried to refuse as gently as possible.
"Why not? We're a couple now, aren't we? What's wrong with it?" Sora (in Lumine's body) pouted. "Or don't you love me anymore, Leo? Don't you want to be close to me?" Her voice began to tremble, tinged with reproach.
Leo sighed deeply. He was starting to get tired of dealing with the mood swings and unreasonable expectations of this "Lumine." "It's not like that, Lumine. But everything has its own pace," he tried to explain, but she didn't seem to understand.
This change did not escape the notice of Iris and Takumi.
"Komori-san seems... unusually energetic lately," Iris remarked to Takumi in the student council room while they were reviewing documents. "Especially with Tsukino-kun. It seems like she's trying too hard to assert her ownership."
Takumi, who was sketching something in his notebook, nodded slightly without looking up. "Sudden and drastic changes in behavior often indicate internal insecurity or an attempt to conceal something... Her blink rate and hand movements when near Tsukino-kun are also higher than her previously recorded baseline."
"What do you mean?" Iris frowned.
"It might be nothing... or it might be something more complex than we see," Takumi replied flatly, but his eyes held a thoughtful look.
Meanwhile, Sora (in Lumine's body) began to sense Leo's growing distance. She didn't understand why the more she tried to get close, the more he seemed to pull away. So, she decided to consult Himari, Lumine's (original) best friend, who seemed to understand matters of love the most.
"Himari-chan... um... I have something bothering me," Sora (in Lumine's body) began with a sad tone as they sat together at a café after school. "It's... Leo seems a bit strange lately. Like he's not as interested in me as before, even though I've been trying to do everything for him."
Himari raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Really? But I thought Leo-kun was still treating you well. Are you sure you're not just overthinking it, Lumine-chan?"
"I don't know... but I can really feel it," Sora (in Lumine's body) said, looking down. "Did I do something wrong? What should I do to make Leo interested in me again like before?"
Himari thought for a moment. "Hmm... well, sometimes guys like a bit of a challenge, don't they? Like... you don't always have to be the one chasing them. Sometimes, acting a bit hard to get, making yourself seem more valuable and mysterious, might make him more interested in you! Try, like... playing a little coy, make him be the one to approach you!"
Himari's advice, perhaps spoken casually as a typical teenager might, was interpreted differently in Sora's (in Lumine's body) mind. "Make myself seem more valuable and mysterious... make him be the one to approach..." She repeated the words in her mind, a faint, mysterious smile playing on her lips.
On Friday evening, Leo tried to avoid "Lumine" again, claiming he had to help out at the science club. He was busy assembling some circuit with Zeno when the clubroom door was flung open forcefully.
"Leo!" The loud, indignant call made Leo jump. Sora (in Lumine's body) stood akimbo at the doorway, her face scowling.
"Lumine... is something wrong?" Leo asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Yes, there is! Why do you keep avoiding me all the time! Or is it that you don't love me anymore, is that it!" Sora (in Lumine's body) marched towards him, her voice growing increasingly aggressive. "Answer me! All this time, did you just see me as a toy!" Tears began to well up in her (Lumine's) eyes.
Leo looked at the furious "Lumine" before him with mixed feelings – exhaustion, confusion, and a growing, distinct sense of "wrongness." The Lumine he knew would never show such intense anger or accuse him like this. "Lumine... I never thought that way," he said, his voice calm but firm. "But lately... I admit I feel like you've changed a lot. Changed so much that... I'm starting to doubt if the person standing in front of me right now is the same Lumine I once felt good with."
Leo's straightforward words were like a hammer blow to the facade Sora (in Lumine's body) had painstakingly tried to maintain. She stood frozen, agape, speechless. The confidence (however misplaced) that had filled her eyes now flickered with fear and panic. Leo was suspecting her... Was he really starting to see the cracks in the mask she wore? Was all her effort about to crumble?