"Guys... I... I have something very important to talk to you about." Leo Tsukino walked into Classroom 3-A after school, his face clearly showing a level of confusion and alarm he had never displayed before. In his hand, he clutched a small letter, now slightly crumpled from being held tightly all the way. His eyes went straight to his close friends – Iris Mikazuki, Takumi Yoshida, and Ken Arisawa – who were packing up to go home but stopped short when they saw his demeanor.
"Hey, Leo, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," Ken was the first to speak, his tone lighthearted but his eyes showing concern.
Leo didn't answer immediately. He walked straight to the desk where Iris was sitting, slumped into the chair beside her, exhausted, and then handed her the letter. "Read this... I just found it tucked in my physics book in the clubroom... during the open house." His voice trembled slightly.
Iris took the letter with a puzzled expression, slowly unfolding it and reading it carefully. Takumi and Ken moved closer, craning their necks to look at the contents of the paper with interest. The once-bustling classroom fell silent, leaving only the sound of rustling paper and Leo's heavy breathing.
The content of the letter was simple yet filled with specific details. It didn't accuse anyone or explain any supernatural occurrences. Instead, it spoke of small, very personal memories between the writer and the recipient... about dropping a pen on the first day they were paired for the project, the Saturn keychain at the amusement park, words whispered on the Ferris wheel, and the shared laughter over quantum theory... These were all things only the "real Lumine Komori" would know. And it ended with the poignant question: "If you still remember the girl who once made you laugh about quantum physics... please look for her again... she might be closer than you think."
When Iris finished reading, she looked up at Leo, her eyes filled with surprise and complex thoughts. "Leo... this... the person who wrote this letter... they know very specific things about you two. Especially that gift you told me you were planning to buy for Komori-san."
"That's what I'm trying to say!" Leo exclaimed, his voice thick with pent-up emotion. "For the past few days, I've felt that Lumine... the person I'm with now... it's not her! She's changed too much. She forgets important things we did together, gives strange answers, and her demeanor... it's not the Lumine I know at all! At first, I tried to tell myself I was overthinking it, but after reading this letter... I... I don't know what's what anymore." He buried his face in his hands, utterly confused.
"Easy there, Leo," Ken patted his friend's shoulder gently. "Maybe there's another explanation... right?" Even as he said it, Ken's expression showed uncertainty.
Takumi, who had been standing silently in thought for a long time, spoke in his usual calm but firm tone. "This letter... is a significant piece of information. It doesn't accuse, but rather 'stimulates memory' and 'questions' the reality you are currently facing. This aligns with several observations we've also made regarding 'Komori-san's' recent abnormalities."
"Yes," Iris added. "As I discussed with Takumi, many of her behaviors contradict the original personality we knew too much. Both her inconsistent memories and her emotional expressions seem more 'forced' than natural."
The atmosphere in the classroom was now incredibly tense. The suspicions that had once been fleeting thoughts began to solidify into a clear picture in everyone's mind. That letter wasn't just a piece of paper; it was a "whisper" from someone who might need help, and a "key" that could unlock a shocking truth.
"If... if this letter is really from the real Lumine..." Leo mumbled, his eyes wide with concern, "it means she... she might be in danger, or need our help with something!"
"And that would mean the 'Lumine' we see every day..." Iris paused, looking at each of her friends, "...might not be her."
Those words were like a time bomb detonating in the classroom. The four of them looked at each other, no one speaking further, but in each of their hearts, they sensed the ominous situation unfolding and the necessity to find the truth to help their friend.
"We have to do something," Leo said resolutely, the confusion in his eyes starting to transform into determination. "We can't let this remain ambiguous."
"I agree," Iris replied. "But we must proceed cautiously. A direct confrontation might not be the best solution if... someone is indeed 'impersonating' Komori-san."
"Takumi, what's your opinion?" Ken turned to ask the friend who seemed the calmest in the group.
Takumi pushed his glasses up his nose lightly. "We need more 'data' and 'tests' that can distinguish the 'real' from the 'fake' without the other party knowing, or at least make her reveal inconsistencies. Continuous behavioral observation, specific questioning, and creating unexpected situations might be effective."
And so, the plan to "test" the new Lumine quietly began in the following days, with Leo at the center, and Iris, Takumi, and Ken acting as observers and supporters from behind the scenes.
During lunchtime, Iris pretended to chat with "Lumine" (Sora in Lumine's body) about stories from their first year in the same club, things the "real Lumine" should remember accurately.
"Hey Komori-san, remember that time we almost broke a beaker in the lab, and Mr. Satoru almost caught us? We were so scared that day," Iris recounted, observing "Lumine's" expression.
Sora (in Lumine's body) forced a smile and a dry laugh. "Oh... I remember... that day... it was funny, wasn't it?" But her eyes were blank, and the details she tried to add didn't quite match reality. She tried to recall information she might have overheard Lumine's friends discussing or stories she had imagined, but her fragmented memories couldn't deceive Iris's sharp eyes.
In the evening, while walking home together, Ken tried a joke that had always worked on the "original Lumine." But "this Lumine" merely gave a weak smile, as if she didn't understand what was funny, making Ken even more certain something was wrong.
As for Takumi, he chose a more sophisticated approach. During a free period, he created a short behavioral psychology test (which he claimed was homework from an elective class) and asked "Lumine" to do it. The questions were cleverly designed to analyze thought patterns, personality traits, and knowledge in areas the "real Lumine" should have been proficient in. The results from "this Lumine" showed significant deviations from the "profile" of the original Lumine that Takumi had secretly compiled (through observation).
Leo wasn't idle either. He tried talking about a "dream" he had only ever told the real Lumine, or a "surprise birthday plan" they had playfully schemed together. "This Lumine's" reaction was silence, or a quick attempt to change the subject. Sometimes she tried to "guess" or "agree" with what he said, but the incorrect details only made Leo's heart grow heavier. The mask she wore was skillful, but the cracks were becoming more visible with each passing moment.
While the "testing" continued intensely, Lumine (in Sora's body), observing from afar, felt both hopeful and anxious. She was glad her letter was having an effect, and that her friends and Leo were starting to suspect the imposter. But she also worried if Sora (in her body) would do something reckless or damage her relationships beyond repair. She could only pray for the truth to be revealed soon.
Sora's (in Lumine's body) patience, under constant scrutiny and "testing," was reaching its limit. The paranoia of her secret being exposed, combined with her frustration over Leo's increasing distance, made her start to lose control of her emotions.
And then, the day the mask trembled most violently arrived, when the group of friends and Leo decided to "confront" her with direct questions that could no longer be avoided. In the crowded cafeteria during lunch, after "Lumine" had just exhibited yet another piece of clearly "out-of-character" behavior, Iris initiated the confrontation.
"Komori-san... can we ask you something serious?" Iris's voice was calm but firm.
Sora (in Lumine's body) flinched slightly, looking from Iris to Leo, Takumi, and Ken, her eyes starting to show a tremor. "What... what is it, Iris? Why do you all look so serious?"
"Can you answer us honestly..." Leo spoke next, his eyes fixed on the "Lumine" before him with complex emotions, "...who are you, really?"
The question was like a thunderbolt striking Sora (in Lumine's body). She turned pale, her hands starting to tremble. "Wh-what are you talking about! I'm Lumine! Lumine Komori! Your friend! Your girlfriend, Leo! Why... why are you all looking at me like that!" Her voice began to shake uncontrollably.
"If you really are Lumine," Takumi interjected coolly, "then can you explain why your 'memories' of several important events you should remember accurately are so distorted, and why the specialized 'knowledge' you once possessed seems to have vanished from your mind?"
"I... I just... I might have been a bit out of it lately, that's all! Why are you all interrogating me like this!" Sora (in Lumine's body) started to raise her voice, tears welling up. "I am who I am! I'm Lumine! Don't you trust me at all!" She turned to Leo with a look of reproach, pleading for his understanding.
Leo looked at the "Lumine" who was about to cry. A pang of pity flickered in his heart, but the letter and the abnormalities he had sensed were too clear to ignore. "Lumine... if you really are Lumine... you should remember the 'promise' we made on the rooftop on the first day of term, right?"
That question made Sora (in Lumine's body) freeze again. She tried to remember... racked her brain... but she couldn't. Because she hadn't been there that day. Her prolonged silence was the clearest answer for everyone.
"I... I don't know! I can't remember! Can you all just stop asking me!" Sora (in Lumine's body) shouted at the top of her lungs, confused and desperate, before shoving her lunch tray, scattering food, and running out of the cafeteria in tears. She left the group of friends staring after her with a mixture of pity, confusion, and a growing certainty that... that girl... was not the Lumine Komori they truly knew.
The crucial confrontation had begun, and it seemed the "revelation" that would follow might not just expose the truth, but also unavoidably open up the deepest wounds and hidden feelings of everyone involved.