Ironmouse's Big Transformation! Chaos, Chaos, and a Little Heart-Pounding
The popular VShojo VTuber Ironmouse wakes up one morning to find her body has transformed into a boy's. The pink and purple fluffy hair and demon horns are there, but everything else is different. Panic! But she's not the only one. Zentreya becomes a boy too, and a certain pathetic slug-like manager becomes a girl. The entire VShojo office is in chaos, and the fans absolutely cannot find out.
As if that weren't enough, everyone's feelings of love get scrambled. Rivals suddenly seem attractive,
Ironmouse's Big Transformation! Chaos, Chaos, and a Little Heart-Pounding - The dragon silently became a man.
Outside the window, dusk was dyeing the streets of Glendale orange. The convenience store sign was beginning to glow faintly.
Ironmouse sat motionless in her streaming chair.
(I don't want to move.)
Her body felt heavy. Her throat hurt. The horns on her head were asserting their presence far too insistently.
—How many hours had passed since then?
She'd been like this ever since the stream ended. She'd smiled, sung, and played the demon character to the thousands of viewers on the other side of the screen. That alone had drained every ounce of strength from her body.
(I want to talk to someone.)
A small voice spoke from deep in her heart.
(But with this voice? With this body?)
Impossible. She didn't want to see anyone. She had no face she could show.
That was when it happened.
Her phone buzzed.
The screen lit up on the desk. An incoming call. A video call. When she saw the caller's name, Mouse's eyes went wide.
—Zentreya.
"Eh... from Zen?"
A low voice fell into the quiet room.
Zentreya. A fellow VShojo member, a VTuber with a dragon avatar. She didn't speak. She always used text-to-speech software for streams and conversations alike. Quiet and cool, but in truth more caring toward her friends than anyone—a reliable presence.
Mouse tapped the screen with trembling fingers.
—The next moment, she nearly screamed.
There was a man on the other side of the screen.
Long crimson hair tied back into a single tail, sharp golden eyes staring straight at her. Reptilian vertical-slit contact lenses. No doubt about it—those were Zentreya's eyes.
But the outline was different. The shoulder width was different. The line of her neck was unmistakably masculine.
"N-No way... Zen too...!?"
Mouse shouted without thinking, forgetting that her own face was on camera.
—Her bare face.
Her masculinized face, without an avatar.
"Ah!!"
She frantically turned the camera off. Her heart pounded violently deep in her chest.
(She saw me. She saw me, she saw me, she saw me...!)
Zentreya on the other side of the screen remained expressionless. No sign of alarm. She just quietly operated the tablet in her hands.
A notification chime.
A chat message arrived.
'Same, then.'
Just one word. That was all.
"...Same, you mean..."
'Woke up this morning and I was like this.'
'You too, Mouse.'
"...Yeah."
Her voice trembled.
(Zen too. I wasn't the only one.)
Tears threatened to well up, and Mouse bit her lip.
'Calm down. It's fine.'
'I don't use my voice. No impact on my streams.'
'Mouse, where are you right now?'
"...At home. My apartment in Glendale."
'Come to my place. We'll talk there.'
'I'll send the address.'
Another chime. A map link arrived. Near Anaheim. About forty minutes southeast by car.
"B-But... I'm scared to go outside. In this body."
'It's fine. I'm in the same kind of body.'
'Mouse, don't carry this alone.'
Those words seeped warmly into the center of her chest.
(Don't carry this alone, huh.)
Mouse let out a deep breath. Then, slowly, she nodded.
"...Okay. I'll go."
The call ended.
Silence returned to the room.
Mouse stood up. The mirror was still covered with cloth.
(I don't need to look. Not now.)
She opened the closet and pulled out a deep-hooded parka. A black, oversized one. Perfect for hiding her face.
"...This should keep anyone from recognizing me."
She muttered in a low voice and pulled the hood down deep.
—Then, fearing exposure, she dashed out into the twilight city.
The residential neighborhood near Anaheim was quiet.
The scenery outside the car window gradually shifted from city to suburb. The bustle of Glendale faded away, and houses with yards became more frequent.
(Zen's place... it's been a while.)
Mouse exhaled softly beneath her hood.
They'd collaborated on streams countless times, but this was the first time she'd actually visited her home. Their relationship had always been through the screen. The dragon avatar on the monitor, the text-to-speech voice.
(But today is different.)
The car stopped.
Standing in front of the house, she saw a lizard ornament in the yard. Zentreya's house.
Mouse took a deep breath and pressed the intercom.
"...I'm here."
Her voice was low, as expected.
After a moment, the front door opened.
"...!"
Mouse was speechless.
Standing before her was the masculinized Zentreya.
Long crimson hair. Sharp golden eyes. Much closer than she'd been on the video call. A 175-centimeter body. Broad shoulders, large hands. A black shirt and a jersey that clearly didn't fit right.
(She really... became a boy.)
The reality that hadn't been visible through the screen was now right in front of her.
"...Zen."
Zentreya nodded silently. Then she held up her tablet.
'Come in. It's cold out.'
Mouse gave a small nod and stepped through the doorway.
—She wasn't alone.
That fact finally sank into the core of her body.
Two cups of warm cocoa sat on the dining table.
Steam rose quietly from them.
"...Thanks."
Mouse took off her hood and sat down. Her fluffy pink and purple long hair fell over her shoulders. It looked slightly shorter, as if adapting to her masculinized body.
Zentreya sat across from her. She operated the tablet in her hands and launched the text-to-speech software.
'How was your stream?'
"...Awful."
Mouse took a sip of cocoa. Sweet.
"My voice just wouldn't come back. I faked it with a voice changer, but people in the comments were asking if my voice got cooler."
'I see.'
"What about you, Zen? Are you okay?"
'I don't use my voice. So there's no impact on my streams.'
'Actually, since this body change, viewers have been saying I've gotten more handsome.'
"...Huh?"
'My avatar's movements seem sharper than before.'
'Perhaps the motion capture accuracy improved.'
Mouse burst out laughing.
"What is that! Just because you got a male body, your movements are sharper...!"
'It's a fact.'
'You'll get used to it too.'
"There's no way I'll get used to it!"
She shouted while laughing. Her voice was low, but her tone was the same as always—it felt strange.
But her heart felt just a little lighter.
'Now, to the main topic.'
Zentreya's text-to-speech software continued in its flat voice.
'I'll help you adjust your voice changer settings.'
"...Huh?"
'My voice doesn't change. But yours is different. With your current settings, your real voice leaks out when your emotions run high.'
'If you're going to keep streaming, adjusting your voice changer is essential.'
"...Yeah, I guess so."
Mouse wrapped both hands around her cocoa cup.
(I know. I know, but—)
"Hey, Zen."
'What is it?'
"I'm... scared."
Her voice trembled.
"With this body, with this voice, having to keep streaming from now on—I'm so scared. I keep thinking about what if the fans find out. That's all I can think about."
Tears began to well up.
"I want to stay as Ironmouse. That energetic, cheerful demon on the other side of the screen. But my body changed on its own... and it feels like I'm losing myself."
A tear dropped onto the table.
"...Ugh. I didn't mean to cry."
Mouse wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
Zentreya said nothing. She just gazed quietly at Mouse. Her golden eyes reflected the twilight, swaying gently.
—That was when it happened.
Mouse looked at Zentreya's profile and felt something tighten deep in her chest.
(What... is this?)
Broad shoulders. The low sound of her movements. The quiet way she drank her cocoa. Everything was strangely burned into her eyes.
(Has Zen always been this cool?)
Her heart skipped a beat.
(Wait, what am I thinking?)
Mouse hurriedly averted her gaze. Her face was hot.
'Mouse.'
"Y-Yes!?"
'It's fine. You are you.'
'Even if your body changes, what's inside doesn't.'
The flat voice of the text-to-speech software sounded strangely gentle.
'I just became a man. You're still you.'
"...Zen."
'Don't carry this alone. I'm right here beside you.'
With those words, Mouse could feel the anxiety that had pooled in the depths of her heart slowly beginning to melt.
"...Thank you."
That was all she could say, her voice thick with tears.
—She wasn't alone.
That sense of relief spread warmly through her entire body.
'Now then, let's begin the record.'
Zentreya read that out, then took out a notebook and pen.
"Record?"
'I'm going to document this phenomenon.'
'When, where, and which parts of the body changed. Voice pitch, bone structure, skin texture. I'll put it all into a checklist.'
'It might be a clue to finding a way to change back.'
"...I see."
Mouse was genuinely impressed.
(That's Zen for you. So level-headed.)
'First, height.'
'I was originally 170 centimeters. Now I'm 175.'
"You grew five centimeters!?"
'Yes. None of my clothes fit anymore.'
"Ahh... that must be rough."
Mouse looked down at her own body.
"I'm still 152 centimeters. My height doesn't seem to have changed."
'What about your bone structure?'
"My shoulders got broader. My hands are bigger too. Also... my chest is... gone."
After saying it, she felt a little embarrassed.
'What else?'
"My voice. It got lower. My throat hurts."
'Your skin?'
"...It's a bit... rough."
Mouse stroked her own arm. A boy's skin.
'Understood. Next, shall we look at my Adam's apple?'
"Eh."
'Here.'
Zentreya tilted her chin up.
—There was an Adam's apple.
A man's Adam's apple.
"...I shouldn't have asked."
Mouse turned bright red and covered her face with both hands.
(What is this? Why is my heart pounding so hard!?)
Her chest was racing.
(Is this because of the Flip phenomenon? Or is it just feelings I always had, surfacing because of the body change?)
She couldn't find an answer.
But Zentreya's Adam's apple was burned into her eyes, and she couldn't look away.
'Mouse, what's wrong?'
"...Nothing."
Mouse answered, still covering her face.
'Your face is red.'
"I-It's not! I just got warm from the cocoa!"
'I see.'
Zentreya backed down easily. That, in turn, made Mouse's heart stir even more.
(Ugh, what is this feeling...!)
Mouse downed the rest of her cocoa in one go.
"...Hey, Zen."
'What?'
"That side of you... it really is like a guy. It feels weird."
'I became a man, after all.'
"I know that! I know, but... it's just weird."
'Get used to it.'
"Isn't that mean!?"
'It's a fact.'
Mouse pouted. But that exchange was strangely comforting.
(Zen hasn't changed. Even if her body changed, inside she's still the same Zen.)
That fact put Mouse at ease.
'Mouse, you should head home. It's dark out.'
Zentreya held up her tablet.
Outside the window, it was completely night.
"...Yeah. I will."
Mouse stood up.
'Take this.'
Zentreya held out the record notebook to Mouse.
"Eh, are you sure?"
'You hold onto it. We'll use it at the meeting tomorrow.'
"Meeting?"
'Name-san should be contacting us. We'll sort out the situation at Vox Tower.'
"...I see. Got it."
Mouse clutched the notebook to her chest.
"Zen, thank you so much for today. I really felt like I'm not alone."
'Of course. We're friends.'
"...Yeah."
Mouse smiled.
—A genuine smile from the heart, for the first time in a while.
In the car on the way home, Mouse opened her phone.
(I wonder how Zen's stream went today.)
She casually checked social media.
—That was when her finger stopped.
'Hasn't Zentreya's text responses changed subtly? Like, more masculine than before, or sharper?'
The poster was Mirror Man.
A chill ran down Mouse's spine.
"...No way."
Mirror Man's posts continued.
'Multiple VShojo members reporting anomalies. Ironmouse's voice, Zentreya's text. Is this a coincidence? Or—'
'It's only a matter of time before it all comes out.'
Mouse gripped her phone.
(This person... he's caught on to Zen too.)
(All of VShojo is being targeted.)
Her heart made an ugly sound.
—This isn't just my problem.
—This is a problem for the whole agency.
Mouse clutched the record notebook to her chest and let out a trembling breath.
(T
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