Last Day of Summer

The last day of summer. Wednesday.

It was kinda too warm for a perfect day, but still nice enough to make me feel bummed about school starting again tomorrow. I was grabbing some stuff for my folks' time shop when I spotted Saeki Tomoko. She was just standing there, waving me over.

Man, Saeki's seriously hot, like way more than any idol you see on TV or in magazines, but she doesn't always dress to show off her figure, even though with her figure, it would be incredibly easy for her.

That day she was wearing a thin short sleeved shirt, a long vest with the ends left dangling around her thighs that she wore unbuttoned, so it would flap in the hot breezes, and catch air as she walked, letting people see her short mini-skirt.

Alright, let's see... I remember walking up to Saeki that day, and man, her voice... it's something else. It's sweet, kind of sexy, and high-pitched, you know? The way she talks, it's always alluring, with just a hint of... I don't know, something that just mesmerizes you instantly.

When she started talking to me, my brain went haywire. It was like her voice cast some kind of spell on me. I couldn't focus on anything she was saying; my mind was just spinning. It's embarrassing, but I can't remember a single thing we talked about.

I was so nervous, like usual. It's a miracle I even managed to stand there without making a complete fool of myself. But then, she asked me to come to her apartment. I remember being surprised when we got there; her place was a bit bigger than what you'd expect for a Tokyo apartment. The whole situation was just so unreal, especially for a guy like me.

Got inside the apartment and wow, it was like walking into a sauna. Spotted an air conditioner hiding behind this little plant. I kinda threw out there, 'Hey, maybe we could turn that on?' but Saeki just gave me this look, so, nope. Then she's like, 'Gonna shower, brb,' and left me sitting there on the loveseat in the living room, just trying to not look too lost.

Oh, by the way, I'm Momonari Junta. I consider myself pretty average, maybe on the shyer side. Alright, definitely on the shyer side. My big problem is, well, whenever I get a bit too excited by a girl, even just a photo, my stomach goes into overdrive. If it's really intense, I end up throwing up or even fainting.

I call this condition "Female Allergy".

I'm a student at Fukoma Private High School. When Saeki transferred there, she instantly became the talk of the school, earning not only the title of Miss Fukoma, but the hottest Miss Fukoma EVER! Our school's known for its pretty JK, winning many nationwide Miss JK Contests before, but Saeki? She set a whole new standard.

Even though we were in the same class, we, uh, never actually talked much before. I always kind of thought that to Miss Fukoma, I was just, you know, like someone from a different planet.

While my mind was all over the place, really confused, I just kind of looked around without thinking. And then, suddenly, I saw something that made me blink. It was skin, and for a moment, I couldn't believe my eyes – it seemed like Saeki was, um, walking around NAKED in her bedroom!

It took me a bit to figure it out, but then I realized it was just her reflection in a mirror. The mirror was standing next to the TV cabinet. It's the kind you'd use to get dressed, I guess. But strangely, it was in the living room, not her bedroom.

Before I could have my typical unfortunate reaction, I saw her step into a pair of panties in sky blue color, standing so that I could see her in profile, the back of her body gloriously on display, including a brief glimpse of her god-forbidden tempting naked ass, too soon hidden as she pulled up and adjusted the panties, apparently for a snug fit.

Then she wrapped a bath towel around herself, covering from her breasts to high on her thighs, higher than any skirt I'd ever seen her wear.

As she came into the living room, she was talking about needing to take multiple showers when it's hot... I glanced up and there she was, approaching me, just in a towel wrapped around her.

I was, um, really surprised to see her like that, and the way she was talking... Gosh, I felt myself starting to sweat, and I had to swallow a lot, trying really hard not to embarrass myself in front of Miss Fukoma...

****

As Tomoko glided past Junta into the kitchen, the warm, golden hues of the setting sun filtered through the windows, bathing the room in a soft, amber glow. The light played across her face, highlighting the stunning contours and the delicate finesse of her features. It was in this ethereal light that she turned towards Junta, her face breaking into a smile that seemed to capture the very essence of the sunset itself.

Her smile was a revelation, a perfect symphony of joy and seduction. It was a smile that could turn the coldest of days warm, a smile that seemed to light up the entire room.

In the soft glow of the sunset, her face, framed by the cascading waves of her hair, seemed to possess an otherworldly beauty. The light accentuated the soft curve of her cheeks, the delicate line of her jaw, and the playful twinkle in her eyes. Her face was a canvas of perfection, each feature contributing to an image of unparalleled beauty.

****

Holding a bag of popcorn, her smile kind of playful, she asked, "Momonari-kun, let's play a game?" Her voice was soft, a bit teasing, kind of filling the room in a nice way.

That moment, um, my heart felt like it was exploding, spreading like stardust everywhere. In her apartment, as it got darker, Saeki Tomoko's beauty was, you know, really strong, kind of echoing with my heartbeat.

She brought the popcorn to the couch and asked me to sit close, then explained the game…

****

As Tomoko sat next to Junta on the couch, her natural body scent immediately captivated him. It was an intoxicating mix of sweet cherry blossoms and a subtle hint of rose, laced with a seductive, musky undertone. This combination was disarmingly alluring, stirring a whirlpool of emotions within Junta.

****

The game was pretty simple. It was just about feeding each other popcorn, but with eyes closed. I nervously agreed to try.

I picked up a piece of popcorn, my hand shaking, and tried to bring it to her mouth. But I dropped it just before it reached her. When I was about to grab another one, she gently stopped my hand. "Shouldn't waste food like that..."

I looked at her again, and then, sort of hesitantly followed her gaze down to where the popcorn had fallen, between her slightly parted thighs...

As I reached down, something was telling me that I should get up and run before I humiliated myself in front of Saeki. She spread her legs further apart and with her hand still on mine, guided my hand to her fantastic thighs.

"Her thighs are so soft…?! Like indestructible puddings..." Those were my honest first impressions when my hand finally touched her thigh.

She pulled downward on my hand, saying "The mirror… is sitting at the perfect angle… you saw me naked, right?"

My heart almost stopped. She stood up and her voice was breaking a bit as if she was starting to cry: "I was planning to show myself to the person I married only. But now… well…"

She paused a bit, starting to unwrap the bath towel on her, slowly revealing more skin of her god-forbidden breasts: "...it's not like I'm saying I want you to marry me, but at least… please be my first…"

I lost it. Completely.

As I crouched there, right at her feet, it was like my stomach had its own terrible agenda, rebelling against me in the most humiliating way. I was helplessly expelling stuff I didn't even recall eating, all over the towel I had grabbed in a panic to protect her carpet.

Her screams, so loud and full of disbelief, seemed to echo in my head, amplifying my shame. I spent what felt like forever trying to clean up the mess I'd made, feeling smaller with each passing second.

When I finally emerged from the kitchen, there she was, sitting on the couch in shorts and a halter top, looking every bit the unattainable idol she was. Her words felt like a punch to the gut, "Am I really that unattractive to you? Is it so hard to look at me that you have to throw up?"

In my head, I was scrambling for an explanation, but nothing came out right. Then her voice cut through my panicked thoughts, sharp and dismissive: "Just leave!" I shuffled out of there, feeling completely defeated, like the loser I always believed myself to be.

****

Outside, on the way between Tomoko's house and Junta's, a mysterious young woman in a purple bodysuit and futuristic white body armor and helmet stood on the top of a building. When Junta came into view, the camera equipped on her helmet zoomed in on his face, and compared what she saw with a historical picture of Momonari Junta.

Somehow, there were distinct discrepancies between the picture and the person, the person somehow looking softer, younger, but with exactly the same small moles under each eye. Somehow, he looked defeated, nearly broken in spirit, compared to the picture, in which he seemed to radiate confidence and charisma.

****

Dragging my feet, I trudged home, my head filled with thoughts of all the embarrassments I've faced. It's like my life's turned into a series of cringe-worthy moments. Kurimoto Ami, my neighbor and childhood friend, must have caught sight of my dejected look. She came out of her house and whacked me on the back – the same way she's done since we were kids. "Hey, Junta. Why the gloomy face? Another girl shoots you down?"

I plopped down and began picking my nose, a habit I'm not proud of, especially in public. But, well, it was just Ami. We've known each other forever. She was pacing behind me when I finally managed to mumble, "You don't really get me, Ami."

"Oh, really? What about that time you pooped your pants in kindergarten? I remember the color and everything!"

"Ugh, Ami, stop bringing that up…"

I hesitated a bit, then said, "You know, Ami, you're the only girl I can talk to like this. Did you know that? I guess it's because you don't seem like a girl to me at all…"

I couldn't even finish what I was saying. It's hard to speak when you're being strangled by a tomboy like Ami.

I remained seated, lost in my own daydreams. Amidst my reverie, I faintly caught the words of Ami's friend, Takanashi Kotomi. Her voice carried a mix of jest and an undertone I couldn't quite place, "He's got this dark aura around him, must be a loser," she remarked casually. A laugh followed, as she playfully nudged Ami, "Only you, Ami, could end up as his girlfriend." The comment seemed to sting Ami more than usual, drawing a sharp look of annoyance from her.

Takanashi always seemed so much younger, more like a kid sister than anything else. Just like Ami, she doesn't set off that weird reaction I have around other girls.

The next morning, the first day back at school after summer, I kinda shuffled towards school, bumping into a couple of my buddies. There's Someya Kakimaro, you know, Mr. Overconfidence himself, always cracking jokes about my epic fails with girls. And Ichikawa Ichigo, this super scrawny dude with hair dyed some weird shade of brown – honestly, he kinda looks more like the typical high school loser than even me.

On the way to school, people were talking about the September issue of a popular gravure idol magazine that just came out yesterday, featuring Saeki Tomoko as the cover girl, with the very dramatic title "The most miraculous discovery this summer ~ The pretty highschool girl that would only appear once in 4.5 billion years!".

My mind started to wander, imagining Saeki on that magazine cover, striking one of those classic gravure idol poses. But even the thought of it was too much for my stomach. I could feel that all-too-familiar sickness creeping up. "Oh man... I had this one shot with Saeki and I screwed it up so badly..."

Kakimaro, who was walking next to me, overheard my mutterings. His reaction was immediate and exaggerated, typical of his over-the-top personality. "Did you just say Saeki? Seriously, YOU?! Not a chance! You have a better chance winning Loto 7, 63 times in a row. Let me handle her!"

Ichigo mumbled to himself: "Is Saeki really that good? She got the look but how about personality?"

As we got closer to school, right by the front gate, I saw Saeki Tomoko.

My heart kinda skipped a beat, thinking maybe, just maybe, this was my chance to fix what happened yesterday. So, feeling all jittery, I mumbled some excuse about needing the bathroom to the guys and split from them. I kinda rushed, following Saeki to the back of the school building. That's when I heard her voice, kinda loud and clear, saying "Why?"

I couldn't catch what was said back, but curiosity got the better of me. I tiptoed over, hiding just around the corner. Peeking out, I saw her talking with Sagashita Ryuuji. You know, the guy everyone calls the King of Fukoma High. He's got this look, all confident and stuff, and he's rich and influential too. But, honestly, he's kinda arrogant. There they were, just talking, and I couldn't help but feel a bit out of my league watching them.

There they were, Sagashita with his back turned to Saeki, and she's all fired up, asking, "and I want to know why yesterday you stood me up again? Let me guess, you must be dating another girl, and the girl is different from the one you dated last time?!"

Sagashita , cool as ever, responded, "Tomoko, as I'd expect of you, you understand me well, don't you? Sadly when girls come to me, and ask, I can't honorably reject them. It was my DNA. My DNA is too attractive for them…" He had his hand on his head, looking like he was in some deep drama movie or something.

Saeki was getting really heated then. "What's DNA got to do with this? If this keeps up… I don't want to date you any more!"

But Sagashita , he was just so... Sagashita . "Well, you can't do that. You have been complaining a lot lately but do you know why you keep coming back to me? It's also the DNA. At the deepest level, our DNAs are tugging against each other."

It was almost funny, in a weird way. "But Tomoko, I intend to become important to you. I want you to know that I was only messing around with those other girls...." he said.

I was just watching, feeling kind of invisible, when Saeki cut in, "If I am really important to you, you'd leave the other girls alone! If you can't do that, then I'll break up with you!" It was true, she looked beautiful even when she was angry.

Then Sagashita dropped a bombshell, "Well… I didn't want to bring this up… but speaking of dating, some friends of mine told me that yesterday you were also with some boy… "

My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. He was talking about me, wasn't he? I could see Sagashita's smug face, and he was eyeing Saeki like she was a prize or something.

She hesitated, then said scornfully, "That…that was nothing. I was so upset that you stood me up yesterday, and I happened to run into a loser… I just want to tease him…"

That's when it hit me. I was just a pawn in their game. I turned away, feeling like I didn't belong in this scene. I was just a tool for Saeki to make Sagashita jealous. Whatever was going on between them, it wasn't about me. I was just... I was just not part of it.

Dragging my feet through the school halls, I finally hit my locker. Opening it, bam, there was this note, all neat and stuff. It was from Saeki, asking me to come over tonight. Yeah, right, like I was gonna dive back into that whole mess... I squished the note into my pocket, feeling kinda weird about it.

Then, heading home, things got super crazy.

I was just walking, mind kinda blank, when this metal clicking sound freaked me out. I looked up, and whoa, there was a gun right in my face! My heart was pounding like crazy.

The person holding the gun, she was like this anime character come to life, all in purple and white, looking super high-tech. She had this cape that was just flowing behind her. Seriously, it looked like some next-level cosplay.

She took me to this Café K2R place, making sure we sat by the window. The whole thing was just surreal. Like, what was even happening? Why was this sci-fi looking girl dragging me around town? My head was spinning with all these questions and stuff.

"Aren't you hot wearing that rain cap?" I was curious.

"What? This? It's air conditioned to all sorts of extreme conditions..." She reached up to her shoulder, touched a button that I had thought was decorative, and suddenly there was a hissing, and the leaves of the plant behind her moving suddenly in a stiff breeze coming from the back of her neck, and the helmet deflated, and she brushed it back onto her back.

"Check it out, it becomes really soft, see?"

She pinched some of the material between her fingers, and it looked like she was playing with folded satin…

My heart did this weird jittery thing when I first saw her face without the helmet. She had these super green eyes and light blue hair with a bit of purple, I think. And there was this tiny braid by her temple, which was kinda cool. She wasn't drop-dead gorgeous like Saeki or anything, but there was something about her tomboy look that was, well, kinda cute.

Thinking back, I guess being the kinda shy high school guy I was, not really confident or anything, I was sorta drawn to girls who looked tough, you know, like those heroines in anime or manga. Kinda like they could be an older sister. I think I just wanted someone who seemed like they could protect me or show me the ropes or something.

"Ok, let's get to the point... I am what is known as a DNA Operator. My job is DNA modification, and I've come here from 63 years in the future."

When she said that, I wasn't really buying it, though I gotta admit, her gadgets looked straight out of some sci-fi movie.

"Oh really? Hahaha, what happens to the people you modify?" I asked, kinda half-joking. I mean, it's not like she was messing with animal DNA or something.

"Well, for example, I could take somebody who is an utter genius, and when I do a modification on him, the next day, he'll be a fool, if I have orders to make him that way. As far as the modification is concerned, the way I do it is that the bullet in my gun has medications in them… called D.C.M."

She took the magazine out of her pistol and showed me a bullet. It had this thin red line around the cartridge. Pretty high-tech looking.

"Each person can have a different reaction to one medicine, so each bullet has to be tailored for the person." I was kinda lost for words, not sure if this was some TV prank. Then I thought, why not play along? "So, why are you here in the past?"

"Well, in the future there is a serious overpopulation crisis, and it's been a criminal offense to contribute to the overpopulation problem, enforced around the world. At that time there is a person who has at least a hundred children with 100 women. We called him the Mega-playboy…"

"...When this was found out, he had already passed away, but that still leaves the problem of the more than 100 children left behind with his Mega-playboy's DNA patterns."

"Oh… I can see how that would be a problem, since the children with his DNA would probably tend to try harder to have more children, wouldn't they? I guess the easiest way to handle that problem would be to go into a time before any children were fathered, and change the guy's DNA…"

"You're BRIGHT!" She pointed the gun at me, and I started to feel a bit uneasy. "Anyway, what is your blood type?"

"Huh? Mine? It's O negative."

She clicked the gun, and I felt a chill. "Name?"

I swallowed hard. "My name? It's Momonari Junta." Suddenly, everything felt way too real.

"Ah, that's what I suspected, but I needed confirmation. Hard to believe, but your answer, coupled with my mission's objectives, lines up perfectly." She pointed the gun at me, her movements all precise and stuff.

Then she pulled the trigger. In that split second, it was like time slowed down. I saw the cartridge fly out as this huge force hit me right in the chest. I fell out of the booth, her last words ringing in my ears, "bye bye Mega-Playboy."

My head smacked the floor, and everything went topsy-turvy. Then, just like that, everything went black.