Hololive☆Gender Panic! ~Yukihana Lamy and the Six Trials~
One morning, the talents of Hololive wake up to a huge shock. Yukihana Lamy, the leader of the popular VTuber group, discovers that some of her friends have had their genders swapped overnight. The always gentle and graceful Shirakami Fubuki has become a cool young man with a snow-country charm. The tiny, adorable Sakura Miko is now a lively shrine heir. On the other hand, the dependable Ookami Mio has transformed into a gentle, fluffy-haired beauty.
Panic ensues! What caused this? Can they tur
Hololive☆Gender Panic! ~Yukihana Lamy and the Six Trials~ - Upside-Down Tokyo and the Invisible Pink
The torii gate of Musubinomori Shrine glowed vermilion in the morning sun.
Lamy glanced at Mio's profile beside her. A jet-black bob cut, trimmed neatly at the shoulders. Soft, fluffy hair. Her large golden-brown eyes wavered with unease. The confession Mio had made yesterday at Café Tsukiakari still lingered faintly in Lamy's chest.
"[serious]So this is Musubinomori Shrine."
Mio spoke. Her voice trembled, just a little.
"[excited]That's right! Nyaa, the air feels super tense here!"
Miko bounced around, full of energy. Her shortened cherry-blossom hair bobbed up and down like a puppy's. Even in a boy's body, her large, dark eyes hadn't lost their usual mischievous sparkle.
"[serious]Miko, quiet down. You have to behave properly at a shrine."
Lamy scolded her, but couldn't help smiling. The beauty mark under her left eye lifted slightly.
The three of them entered the shrine grounds together. It was a small shrine. *The grounds are about eight hundred square meters,* Lamy recalled — she'd read that in some online info she'd looked up beforehand.
The grounds were meticulously maintained, with care given to every single pebble of gravel. The water in the purification basin sparkled, reflecting the morning sun.
"[gentle]Excuse me. Is the head priest, Souichirou Tsurumi, here?"
When Lamy knocked on the shrine office door, a hoarse voice from inside answered, "Oh, coming out now."
The door slid open with a clatter.
The man who appeared was an old man with long white eyebrows that drooped like a crane's. His head was completely bald, and though he must have been over seventy, his back was perfectly straight. In his deeply wrinkled face, a boyish curiosity sparkled brightly.
Souichirou Tsurumi looked over the three of them. Then, his eyes stopped on Miko.
"[excited]Oh! Ooooh!!"
The old priest was so overjoyed he nearly jumped.
"My word! Cherry-blossom hair, a small frame, and above all, that dignified presence! Have you come to succeed me as the head priest of Musubinomori Shrine!? Ah, I never thought this day would come! Today is a joyous day!"
"[surprised]Wrong!!!"
Miko shouted, her face bright red.
"I'm not a guy! I was totally a girl until just yesterday! It's just, some weird mirror did this to me!!"
"[surprised]What? A mirror, you say?"
The joy vanished from Souichirou's face. In its place, a stern expression surfaced.
"…The Sakasama Mirror. To think it would appear again in this day and age."
Lamy stepped forward.
"[serious]You know about it?"
"[serious]Aye. There's an oral tradition passed down from my grandfather's grandfather's generation. One hundred and fifty years ago, the 'Age Reversal Incident' occurred here in Tokyo — a strange phenomenon where the elderly grew young and children aged. The cause was a cursed object created by the god of mischief, Zenrak: the Sakasama Mirror."
Mio caught her breath.
"[scared]Zen… rak?"
"[serious]Indeed. He's less a god and more akin to a conceptual entity from a different dimension. He has no physical form and can only interfere with this world through mirrors or water surfaces. Once that entity interferes, he imposes trials."
Souichirou invited the three of them into the shrine office.
Inside the room, there was the scent of old tatami mats. One entire wall was tightly packed with ancient documents and scrolls. From among them, Souichirou pulled out a single, tattered Japanese-bound book.
"[serious]These are the rules of Zenrak's trials. There are three."
He opened the page with his wrinkled fingers.
"[serious]First, the subjects of the trial must resolve it themselves. No intervention from gods or third parties is permitted. Second, the time limit is from one new moon to the next — approximately 29.5 days. Third, if it is not resolved within that time, the change becomes permanent."
Lamy's chest tightened painfully.
(*29.5 days… How long until the new moon?*)
"[serious]What is the current state of the moon?"
Souichirou looked up outside the window.
"[sad]Last night was the first quarter moon. Which means… until the next new moon, I'd say about twenty days remain."
Twenty days.
Lamy's fingertips trembled faintly.
"[scared]Twenty days…"
Mio repeated the words in a hoarse voice. Her wolf ears drooped flat. Her fluffy tail swayed slightly, anxiously.
"[sad]If we don't hurry, we're gonna be stuck like this forever, huh."
Miko's shoulders slumped dejectedly.
"[serious]It's too early to give up. Every trial has a key path. In this case… it may be a separate space called the 'Corridor of Utsushiyo.'"
Souichirou unrolled another scroll. On it was drawn a left-right reversed cityscape of Tokyo.
"[serious]What is this?"
"[serious]It's a mirror world that appears when the Sakasama Mirror's influence grows stronger. Another Tokyo where all of reality's scenery is reversed. Here, it's said that people's emotions become visible as light."
"[surprised]Emotions… as light?"
Mio's golden-brown eyes widened.
"[serious]Aye. Affection appears as pink light, anxiety as a blue mist. The time limit for staying within the corridor is roughly three hours. Exceed that, and you'll be forcibly sent back to reality, no questions asked."
Souichirou then showed them a single sheet of washi paper.
"[serious]And this is a 'Kotodama Tag.' Apparently, a total of twelve are hidden within the Corridor of Utsushiyo. It's a washi paper that, once per tag, can deliver the words you write to the intended recipient without fail. Perhaps these might serve as a clue."
Lamy stared intently at the drawing of the aged washi paper.
"[serious]Kotodama Tags…"
"[serious]However, be careful. The most important thing is to deliver your true feelings. That, it is said, is the greatest key to solving Zenrak's trial."
Deliver your true feelings.
At those words, Mio flinched.
(*I confessed to Lamy yesterday…*)
Her face flushed hot. She'd been acting brave just moments ago, but now she suddenly hung her head.
"[surprised]Mio-san, what's wrong? Your face is totally red."
"[angry]I-it's nothing!"
Mio hurriedly hid her face with her hands. But her ears were dyed bright red.
Seeing that, Lamy felt a pang in her chest.
(*Mio… she's still bothered by what happened yesterday.*)
"[gentle]…Souichirou-sama. Thank you for this valuable information. We will definitely overcome this trial."
Lamy bowed deeply. Her light-blue twintails flowed smoothly over her shoulders.
Souichirou smiled gently.
"[gentle]Aye. Such spirited young ladies. Surely, a path will open for you. Take care."
And so, the three of them left the shrine.
The road from the shrine to the station wound its way through an old residential area.
"[sad]Twenty days, huh… That's pretty rough."
Miko walked along, kicking a pebble.
"[serious]It's okay, Miko. We can definitely do this."
When Lamy encouraged her, Miko showed a small smile.
It was when they reached an intersection.
A puddle from yesterday's rain reflected the sky on the asphalt like a mirror.
Lamy casually glanced down at that puddle.
—In that instant.
The surface of the puddle warped, twisting.
"[scared]Eh…!?"
The next moment, an intense floating sensation.
As if the ground had opened its mouth, the three of them were sucked into the puddle.
"[scared]Gyaaaaaa!!!"
"[scared]Lamy!!"
Their vision flipped upside down.
"…Owwie…"
At Miko's voice, Lamy opened her eyes.
It was an unfamiliar place.
No, she knew it. She knew it, but it was wrong.
It was the residential area they'd been walking through just moments ago. No doubt about it. But — all the letters on the signs were backwards. A sign reading "Convenience Store" looked like it said "Erots Ecn einevnoc," and the arrows on the traffic lights were reversed left and right.
The color of the sky was a dull sepia.
"[scared]Where is this!? I can't tell right from left anymore!"
Miko's eyes were spinning as she started twirling around on the spot.
"[serious]Calm down, Miko! Hold your head and stop!"
Lamy hurriedly grabbed Miko firmly by both shoulders.
"[scared]This… is the Corridor of Utsushiyo that the priest mentioned."
Mio said, looking around.
That was it. The separate space where emotions became visible as light—.
It was then.
Mio's gaze stopped around Lamy's shoulder.
"…Lamy."
"[surprised]Eh, what?"
"[whispers]…You're glowing."
Where Mio pointed. Around Lamy's body, a faint — pink light flickered.
Like tiny fireflies, it drifted softly.
Lamy herself couldn't see it.
"[surprised]Where? I don't see anything?"
"[scared]Pink light… it is. Around you, Lamy."
Mio's voice trembled.
*Affection appears as pink light* — the words Souichirou had spoken echoed in her mind.
(*Does Lamy have someone she likes?*)
(*Is it Fubuki?*)
Deep in her chest, a crushing pain squeezed tight.
Mio tried to make a smiling face. But her facial muscles twitched stiffly, and she couldn't smile properly.
"[scared]Mio-san? Are you okay?"
Miko peered worriedly into Mio's face.
"[angry]O-of course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be okay!"
"[surprised]Eh, ehh…!? She just snapped at me for no reason!"
"[serious]Anyway, let's sort out the situation first. If this is the first layer of the Corridor of Utsushiyo, there has to be an exit."
Lamy switched to her leader face. But she seemed somewhat distracted, and as if trying to wave away the "invisible pink light" that was supposed to be around her, she brushed at the air with her right hand.
The three of them began walking through the left-right reversed cityscape.
Utility poles grew upside down, and the buttons on vending machines were flipped left and right. Most of all, the fact that there wasn't a single person around was the eeriest thing.
"[scared]It's this scary when no one's around, huh."
"[serious]Yeah… it's like we're the only ones left in the world."
Even as Mio said that, she kept glancing at the pink light drifting around Lamy's body.
(*That light… who are those feelings directed at?*)
(*Is it Fubuki after all? It was Fubuki who sent Lamy a message at the café yesterday. And Fubuki, after becoming a guy, was really cool—*)
Her fingertips trembled faintly.
Just then.
At the end of an alley, Miko raised her voice.
"[excited]Ah! There's some paper stuck here!"
Miko ran over. Lamy and Mio followed.
At the dead end, there was an upside-down utility pole. At its base — meaning, up high — three sheets of aged washi paper fluttered in the wind.
"[excited]Aren't these the Kotodama Tags the priest mentioned!?"
Miko jumped and snatched one.
Lamy also stretched up and took one. Mio, too, received the last one.
The washi paper had a strange texture. Smooth, yet somehow warm. In the center, small characters were written in ink — "Put your feelings into words, deliver those words."
"[serious]Once per tag. You can deliver the words you write to the intended recipient without fail…"
Lamy repeated Souichirou's words.
The three of them looked at each other.
Miko stared intently at the tag. Then, as if she'd thought of something, she quietly tucked it into her pocket.
Lamy also thought about who to write to and what to write — and in the end, she quietly slipped the tag into the pocket of her white gothic dress.
Only Mio clutched the tag tightly.
(*What am I supposed to write on this?*)
*'I love you, Lamy'*? No, she'd already said that yesterday.
*'Look at me instead of Fubuki'*?
—There was no way she could write that.
The hand gripping the tag trembled faintly. So that no one would notice her fingers shaking, Mio wrapped her other hand around them.
"[laughing]…None of us can write anything, huh."
Miko murmured.
"[surprised]Eh?"
"I mean, in the end, we all just put the tags away. Without anyone writing anything."
"[sarcastic]…Shut up."
Lamy pouted.
"[laughing]Ahaha, Lamy-senpai, your face is bright red!"
"[angry]Miko, you shut up too!"
Mio ended up laughing too.
The three of them looked at each other and giggled. Even though they had the Kotodama Tags, none of them could
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