First morning as Airi

"FATHER!" I woke up, screaming and shaking like crazy, before realising that I was in Airi’s room… "It was... a nightmare...?" I was panting heavily, disturbed by what I just saw… "T-that was... so intense..."

I closed my eyes. "What... What did that mean...?"

I now had full access to Airi's mind, and could look for the answer I was seeking… The sentences I heard in the nightmare were things her father really said to her… And he died shortly after, apparently from suicide… But I found a shocking thought inside Airi’s mind.

"A-Airi... suspects that her mother… Killed him? W-what?"

As far as I could see from her memories, Airi's mother always cared about her, and Airi even liked her when she was a child and a young teenager… And Margaret also had a somewhat normal relationship with her husband...

"I don't understand… Her mother never acted in a strange way, from her point of view… Why would she suspect her?"

Airi's alarm rang, distracting me. "I... I'll think about that later… I have to get ready for class…" I stood up and stretched, my body still tense from the nightmare. "Let's get ready for my first day as Airi."

I went to the drawer and pulled out a clean uniform and pair of underwear to wear.

I did a small twirl while observing the mirror. “I really got used to wearing skirts fast, thanks to this ability." Like with Sophie, I didn’t feel an ounce of dysphoria. "Is it weird that I don't miss my manhood? I-it's probably just because of the memories..."

I didn't know if that was really the case, but Airi's body felt so natural now, as if I had always been her. I even noticed how my posture became similar to hers, even though I wasn't trying to imitate her.

"Let's just get on with it… Time to sink into Airi's persona for the day...

Despite knowing that she would remember everything, I was pushed by the guilt I felt from stealing her life. I wanted her to still enjoy it, somewhat. My gooey body started to sink inside her brain like I did with Sophie yesterday. My sense of self started to merge with hers, as before. But Airi's personality was stronger than Sophie's...

We sighed. "Did I really deserve to be controlled by him like this...? This is so humiliating…" Our fists clenched. "And I don't even have the power to do anything about this… Let’s just go to school... I still have my reputation to uphold.”

During the walk to school, we couldn't help but ponder about what would happen. He liked the lesbo, but I hated her… What would happen? Would I have to kiss her? If it weren't for his hold on me, I would have puked at the thought… But his influence only made me aroused instead...

We noticed that... Sophie... was waiting for us at the entrance...

"B-Ben!”

We couldn't help but sigh as we heard that name… “He told you to call us Airi, remember? If it weren't for him controlling me, I would have laughed at you right now."

"H-huh?" Sophie was confused.

"Remember what happened yesterday morning? He is doing the same thing to me. My influence on him is stronger than yours was, so more of my personality is showing."

Sophie’s eyes widened. "W-why would you do that, then?"

We closed our eyes. "He felt guilty for stealing my life, so he wanted to give me the opportunity to remember and experience life still." We then smiled at her. “But, don't worry. We will still hang out with you, even like this. He wants for me to become a better person, and it starts by being a better daughter and being your friend."

“O-okay.” Sophie hesitantly said. “This is so confusing...”

We giggled. "You'll get used to it."

“I-I hope so, hehe…" Sophie suddenly looked serious. "Anyway, we need to talk."

"What is it?"

“Nadia came to see me and Jane last night, with a policewoman. You've been reported missing, now."

"No surprise… Though, with him being in me, there's no way anyone could find him. What did you two tell them?”

"We told them that we haven't seen you since two days ago. The policewoman looked worried, as a **** apparently happened last Saturday, and they're too busy to search for you efficiently.”

It made us sigh again. "They don't need to… We should continue this conversation after school. We have to maintain my image of a studious girl."

Sophie nodded. "Right… I should go to class, now."

"Yes. We'll see you at lunch."

"See you, Airi."

We went inside the building, ready for a new day of class. We shared most of our classes with Sarah today. I wasn't particularly close to her, but she was my friend nonetheless. My only real friend, until today… But he wanted me to be more friendly with people.

We went to my seat, waiting for the class to start. We took out our textbook and started to review today's subjects. But Sarah arrived and went to see us.

"Hi, Airi."

We smiled at her. "Good morning, Sarah!"

"Huh?" She was apparently taken aback by how happily we greeted her. "Seriously, what happened to you? It's like you're a completely different person since yesterday… First you say you want to stop following your father's will, then I see you being buddy-buddy with the girl you used to hate, and now you greet me like that?"

We remembered that Sarah sometimes tried to defend Sophie when I was insulting her, so she was surprised to see us talking, of course.

"I told you, didn't I? Until now, I only lived following what Father told me to do. But I'm done with that. I want to live for myself, to allow myself to be happy. And it starts by being more friendly with other people. You included. I wasn't a good friend, and I want to change that.

Sarah stayed silent for a moment, processing all that happened. But she then made a teasing smile. "Well, I can’t say that you were a bad friend before. If that’s what you think though, I can’t wait to see an improved Airi."

“I planned to see Sophie at lunch, come join us. She's... a nice girl, actually. But I was too blinded by Father's teachings to see that..."

Sarah chuckled. “"If she doesn't mind me being there, why not?"

We grabbed Sarah's hand to reassure her. "She won't mind, don't worry."

The bell rang, and Sarah went to her seat next to ours. "We'll talk later, then."

Class in that state was a weird experience. It was like I was on autopilot, taking notes without thinking, while he was thinking about his situation. Should he try to go back to the castle, and free me? Should he try what he thought of doing with Sophie, sharing my body with him? Should he talk to Nadia, despite her being a drunkard? Was she really worried about him? Mother was so good to me, it was something he was envious of. But it would mean lying to her, and that was something he had a hard time accepting… All these questions kept bothering him. His guilt only grew stronger each time.