Change / 変化

It was a relatively cold yet sunny day. Now outside, I sprawled my arms up, as we walked to the bus stop.

“Yaaayyy!!!” I jumped with joy, “I made it! I’m so, so, so excited!”

She laughed, “Why weren’t you like that inside?”

“Didn’t want to embarrass myself,” I recognized, embarrassed.

“You just did, in front of me. But I guess you don’t mind that at all.”

“Yes,” I spun a full rotation, “Aaahhh, skirts are awesome!”

“Haven’t you worn one before?”

“Mhm, I had, just not outside. It feels so liberating though!”

“Indeed! I can’t wait to show you all the advantages of being a girl!”

I grabbed her hand and started running, “Then come, let’s go!”

“Hey, hey, waaiiit!”

I laughed, more overjoyed than I’ve ever been.

When we got there, we spotted our neighborhood friend furtively watching the surroundings of the stop, peeking sideways from behind one of its sides. The moment she sighted us—more exactly, me—less than a dozen meters away, it was as if a switch turned on inside her mind. She dropped her sniper posture and made herself visible.

“Heeeyyyy!!!”, she waved, continuing when we were face to face, “You look really beautiful and absolutely cute, Ishida!”

“Right? Right?”

“I’m also here, in case you’re interested,” Natsuko remarked, feeling left off.

“Ah, sorry. Morning, Natsuko!”

“Morning.”

Yokoyama took a different posture and began interviewing me, using her clenched hand as a mock microphone.

“Hi, everyone! It’s a wonderful day here in Fukuoka! How're we feeling today in this lovely morning?”

“Incredibly happy! You have no idea!”

“Oh? Does that mean you’re ready for the school day?”

“Of course!”

“There you have it! From the woman herself, Yuki Ishida,” she ended the interview.

Shortly after, the bus arrived and we got in. Entering school grounds again for the first time in a long while, I felt a comfortable atmosphere I'd never experienced before. Many students were outside the entrance chatting. Among them, closer to the main building’s doorway, stood two familiar individuals, discussing something.

“I've told you already! I’ll be the first one to greet Ishida!”

“No way I’m letting you! I’m her best friend, hence I have priority!”

“Ah, there she is. I’m going, see ya!”

Naoto was unfortunately reminded Kimura’s actions bypassed all known logic.

She quickly assumed a four-point start sprint position.

On your marks. Set. Go.

She shot off to where the three of us were.

“ISHIIIDAAAA!!!”

“Wo-Kimura, calm down!”, I struggled to say as she hugged and clang onto me.

“It’s so good to see you again!”

She sensed something was clashing against her chest and moved away from me.

“You have boobs now!”

“Of course I do… what part of it is so surprising?”

“Hmmm,” she started groping one of them, “They’re pretty good,” she observed.

Natsuko, watching closely, already expecting this, intervened and grabbed that naughty arm of hers.

“Kimura, would you be so polite as to get your hands off my girlfriend?” she questioned in a soft voice, attempting to hide her rage.

“N-No problem!”, she removed her hand swiftly.

“Scary,” Yokoyama muttered.

In the meanwhile, Naoto found us.

“Hey, Ishida.”

“Hi, Naoto. It looks like you’re the only boy now.”

“Yeah…,” he acknowledged with a sweaty smile, “I’m certain asking how you’re doing is pointless. However, there’s a whole class waiting for you inside who wants to know.”

“Then it can’t be helped.”

“Let’s go!”, Natsuko declared, winking at me.

We entered the classroom, but apparently, everyone was confused. “Is she a transfer student?”, “She’s a beauty, I tell you!”, and “I don’t know her, who is she?” could be heard inside.

“Waiting for me? Do they even know who I am in the first place?”, I stared at Naoto, disappointed.

“Not yet. Wait until the fun part.”

“Alright, alright,” I agreed, heading to my desk.

The five of us took a seat. In due course, our teacher arrived. To be precise, teacher Miyazaki, which rose my suspicions something was up.

“Good morning, everyone! I can see you’re all yearning to go on holiday but let me remind you there’s still a week left. Also, I have an announcement you all want to hear I’m sure,” she looked at me, “Yuki Ishida's back in the class.”

“Huh? Where, teacher?”, a student wondered.

“There,” she pointed at me.

I knew he had something up his sleeve. That damned Naoto. Cornered, I confirmed it, embarrassed.

“Y-Yeah, that’s me.”

My classmates flooded me and asked all sorts of questions, while the teacher stood still and did nothing.

“Ishida, is that really you?”

“Are you wearing a wig?”

“No, idiot, that’s definitely real. She’s even got boobs.”

“I bet you they’re fake.”

“U-Ummm…,” I hesitantly uttered.

“What now? Are you going to say she’s using a voice modifier?”

“How do you she isn’t?”

“She’s a girl, I tell you!”

A singular guy stepped in. It was the class rep, Daijirou Kohei.

“Cut it out. Yuki Ishida’s a girl,” he rotated two hundred degrees, “Teacher, isn’t it about time we continue the class?”

“Yes.”

She rose her tone, “Everyone, go back to your desks!”

And so my eventful day continued. During the lunch break, I was messaged by Nishimura, informing me of her intentions to hold a club meeting to celebrate my return. After cleaning time ended, I strode off to my destination. As I got closer to the science club’s room, I noticed the door was ajar—I wasn’t the first to arrive there… or was I?

I pondered that as I entered the classroom, finding neither anyone inside nor any discernible noise. Only part of the lights was on.

“Strange…,” I commented, detecting a couple of instruments out of place.

Confused, I ambled around, searching for any signs of presence, convinced someone was here beforehand.

Not long afterward, I heard two metallic sounds coming from behind me. Suddenly, before I could make anything of it, four people appeared on opposite ends of the room, coming out of two metal closets.

“Welcome back!”, they announced, slightly out of sync.

“NISHIMURAAA???”

I was caught completely off-guard, in spite of having suspicions ever since I stepped inside.

“Hi, Senpai!”

“Good to see you again, especially with a new look,” the other first-year smiled.

“Ishida, I’ve missed you so much,” Suzuki sobbed, dashing past the underclassmen and rushing to hug me.

“However, why are you a hot girl now? We used to be equals, two brothers desperately searching for love,” he added, ungluing his arms from my back.

“I’ve always been a girl, it’s just become clearer now.”

Upset with how he described our friendship, I took on a more aggressive tone, “Also, where did you get that notion? We’re just club members, friends at best. Don’t lump me in with you virgins.”

Suzuki was shot in his shoulder.

“C-Can I at least ask you out? Just to get a feel of what it’s like to date a wo—”

“Sorry, I already have a girlfriend.”

He was shot again—this time in the heart—and fell to the ground. Kinoshita, seeing him so miserable, sought to comfort him.

“It’s okay, Senpai, I’m here for you.”

“Thank you, Kinoshita,” he sobbed again.

Seeing how I was free from the others, Nishimura approached me.

“I always imagined you’d look better as a woman. As expected, I was proven right,” Nishimura observed pridefully.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. How’s it been without me around?”

“H-Harder to hold back…,” she stuttered, infected by her anger towards her classmate.

“Has he been acting stupidly more often?”

“Y-Yes…,” she struggled to keep her body temperature below forty degrees Celsius, “That first-year spoils him way too much,” she remarked with a calmer stance.

“I can see that much,” I recognized, disappointed in my fellow club member, “What about the first-years?”

“Having those two underclassmen join us this year was more important than I'd initially thought. Besides not being as annoying as him, they admittedly saved our club during these months you were away. If it weren’t for them, this club would've been suspended eventually.”

That’s right. Despite my absence being justified by health issues, the school rules state that a club, even in a situation such as this one, can only remain with two members for a month at most.

“Also, why'd you take so long? I could doll you up myself and get the same result,” she argued, attempting to hide the fact she missed me during these months.

“Even under the hood?”, I lifted up my skirt.

“H-Huh, what the heck are you doing?”

“Proving you wrong.”

“Why're you showing me your panties?”

“To show you I'm a woman like you,” I replied, no longer able to hide the embarrassment from my actions.

“Alright, I get it, I get it!”

I let go of my skirt.

“S-Sorry, Nishimura… that was embarrassing.”

“Y-Yes… though I’m glad you did it. The truth is I missed you. We all did, in some way or another.”

Nice. Just killed two birds with one stone. I got a tsundere to be true to her feelings and flexed my newfound womanhood. If this isn’t a victory, I don’t know what is.

The first-year girl, suspecting something was up between us, intervened.

“What's going on with you two, Senpai?”

“Ah, nothing, don’t give it too much thought. I think,” she nodded to me, “we’re all up to date with Ishida.”

“I see,” she slowly answered, still with suspicions, choosing to let them wander her mind, “Then I think we should all go our ways now.”

So that’s what the purpose of all this was. Not for club duties, but for you to welcome me back. I wonder whose idea it was. If this was months ago, I’d say Suzuki with the most convinced expression in the world. However, I don’t really know anymore. Perhaps, it was Nishimura. Or maybe I’m overestimating how much she cares about me.

“Yes,” I lightly grinned.

“Who has the keys?”

“I do,” Suzuki responded.

In the hallway, each of them said their goodbyes.

“See you on Monday, Senpai!”

“See ya.”

“Bye, Ishida. Although we’re still friends, I’m not over your betrayal yet,” Suzuki reminded me, shedding some tears.

“Shut up, damn it, just get over it already! What Ishida-senpai does is none of your business! Come!”, Kinoshita forcefully dragged him across the corridor.

Noticing everyone else had left, I addressed Nishimura.

“Going to get something at the vending machine?”

“Not really.”

“Then, want to accompany me to the entrance?”

“If you want to, I don’t mind.”

There she was again, feigning ignorance, as if she didn’t remain there until everyone had gone their ways so she could have some time with her fellow third-year.

Oh well, some things never change.

After she and I went our separate paths, I rapidly sighted my friends outside. Earlier, I told them I had something to do, but they—specifically, the three girls—insisted on waiting for me by the school entrance. Naoto wasn’t as ecstatic as they were, he simply wanted to be there when I left.

“You’re finally here! What took you so long?”, the athlete wondered.

“It’s only been twenty minutes. And, besides, you're the ones forcing yourselves to stand here. Anyway, I met up with fellow science club members. They’re humans like you, so they missed me as well, especially after three months.”

“You do have a point.”

“Come on, Ishida, we have plenty to do,” Yokoyama revealed her impatience.

“Indeed, we can’t waste any more time. I told you in the morning already that I’d show you the advantages of being a woman, didn’t I?” Natsuko reminded me, smirking.

“Now, let’s go, the shopping mall’s this way,” Kimura reinforced, as the other placed their arms on my back.

“Yes, yes. We have a lot of clothing for you to try on, a lot of stores to visit.”

“And I want to see my girlfriend in all kinds of outfits.”

Without any escape route and stuck to the promises I had made, I let them guide the way. Well, it’s not like I didn’t want to go with them. No matter how you look at it, this current situation was like a dream come true. I was merely scared of how far they’d go.

“I-It seems I’ve got some stuff to do, see ya Naoto!”

While they escorted me, I momentarily turned my head to face him one last time, spelling an “I’m sorry” with my mouth and borrowing his signature sweaty smile.

As we disappeared into the distance, he commented to himself, “She really hasn't changed at all… now I understand the meaning of what she told me back then…,” recalling some of his memories from junior high school. Precisely, a certain day from his third year of junior high.

We were eating lunch next to each other as usual.

“Hey, Ishida.”

“What?”, I inquired, putting my chopsticks atop my lunchbox.

“Do you still want to become a woman?”

“M-Mhm,” I shyly replied.

“I-It's okay if you're not comfortable with it at all! I—”, he hesitated for a brief moment, “I'll change topics, sorry!”

“It's alright,” I reassured him with a more relaxed composure, “Yeah, I still do just as much, if not more.”

“Woah, you're being surprisingly direct, I wasn't expecting that, that’s unusual of you. However, won't that change who you are?”

Afraid he might have gone too far again, he recomforted me.

“If I'm being rude, just tell me and I'll stop.”

“It's fine. To answer your question, no, not really. The only thing that’ll change will be how you see me, from the outside that is.”

“Ah, got it. I'm relieved.”

“You’ll see I’m right! I'll make it a reality one day!”, I faced him, “You know, one of my dreams would be to graduate high school as a girl. Pretty silly, no?”, I giggled.

“Huh? I don't really think so.”

“I want to treasure those future memories of myself as a girl. The pictures, the banter, the ceremony, all of it. It's an experience, don't you agree?”

“Yeah.”

“We'll be there, both of us. I'm sure of it.”

He thought to himself, “What I didn't realize back then was just how serious she was. There was a hidden sadness in those words. It's as if she knew it'd be an impossible goal, yet she still strived for it nonetheless.”

Later that day, after leaving together when classes ended, we were walking around town. I spotted a group of girls mere meters away, presumably from a senior high school, entering a clothing store.

Naoto, aware I was staring, broke the silence.

“Are you jealous of them?”

“Yes,” I confirmed in a lower sound volume.

“Of them or the store?”

“Both,” I replied with the same tone.

“Is that so? Then there’s only one thing to do—let's head right in!”, he wrapped his arm around my neck, dragging me along.

“W-Wait!”

“Don't worry, we'll be fine!”

And so we headed inside the store. We tried to act as normal as we could whilst edging closer to the women's section. The same girls I sighted outside were visible from where we stood.

“Here we are.”

“W-What do we do now?”

“Pick something. I'll buy it myself.”

“R-Really?”

“Don't look at me like that, I'm doing this for you! It's embarrassing, so hurry up. I’ll cover for you.”

I did as he told me to and rushed to pick something, avoiding looking at people's faces. I picked a black padded bra and handed it to him, sporting the most embarrassing expression imaginable, once again hiding my face.

“This one.”

He nodded affirmatively and we walked to the checkout counter.

Attempting to deflect all sorts of suspicions that it was for either of us, he justified it to the cashier, mentioning it was for his girlfriend. When we were outside, he handed me the plastic bag, “It's yours, take it”. I readily accepted it and thanked him.

“You're welcome. Ah, crap, there go thousand yen down the drain. Promise me you'll take care of it, ok? I'll be heading home now, see you tomorrow! I'll get you a dress next time!”

At that moment, neither of us realized how expensive a proper dress was. In the end, when we took our chances at another store, he couldn’t keep his promise. It was completely fine though. He’d already done enough for me. I’m sure he knew that too.

“Maybe I was the one who changed. Don’t you think so, Yuki?”

No longer spotting either of us on the horizon, he began walking away.

“Ah, she’s already gone. I should get going too.”