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 - Name-san in the conference room is so beautiful it causes total chaos
The morning light was slowly beginning to illuminate the streets of Glendale.
Ironmouse lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to move. Clutched to her chest was the record notebook Zentreya had given her. She hadn't been able to let go of it since last night.
*(There's a meeting today.)*
Name-san's message repeated in her head. *"Meeting in Room V of Vox Tower. Today. Both of you, come."*
"…I have to go."
A low voice fell into the quiet room.
She slowly sat up. Outside the window, the convenience store sign looked pale in the morning sun. Daniel from the night shift had probably already gone home by now.
*(I don't want to see anyone.)*
But she had to go. This wasn't just her problem. It was a problem for all of VShojo.
Mouse opened her closet. The mirror was still covered with cloth.
"I won't look. I said I won't look, so I won't."
Telling herself this, she grabbed a large black hoodie. The kind with a deep hood that could hide more than half her face. Then she pulled a cap from the back of her closet.
"This should… be fine, right?"
Her voice was trembling.
She changed while facing the wall, avoiding the mirror. She was afraid to see with her own eyes the male body she'd become.
—She was ready.
She put the record notebook in her bag, grabbed her phone and wallet. When she opened the front door, the hallway air was cold.
"I'm heading out."
She murmured quietly to the empty room.
She left the apartment and stepped onto the street.
Morning Glendale was more crowded than she'd expected. Commuter cars, people walking on the sidewalks, an old man walking his dog. Everyone living their normal lives.
*(I'm the only one who's wrong.)*
Mouse pulled her hood down lower and walked quickly.
It was when she passed the nearby convenience store, "Quick Stop."
"Oh, Mouse-san?"
Her heart jumped.
She turned to see Daniel emerging from the store entrance, looking like he'd just finished the night shift. A twenty-one-year-old college student with perpetually sleepy eyes. A familiar face from when Mouse went to buy snacks in the middle of the night.
"Good morning. You've got a different vibe today."
"O-oh, really? What do you mean?"
Her voice nearly cracked. She squeezed her throat, trying not to let the low voice out.
"You're dressed kind of like a boyfriend. With the hoodie and cap."
Daniel said it casually, mid-yawn.
"Ahaha, what are you talking about! Me, a boyfriend? That's ridiculous!"
A fake laugh. Her heart was pounding. She wanted to escape.
"Well, it looks cool, so it works. Anyway, take it easy."
Daniel waved his hand lazily and walked toward the parking lot.
Mouse stood frozen in place for a few seconds.
*(Cool…?)*
The current her? The male-bodied her?
"Stop it, already…"
She muttered quietly and started walking. Her legs were trembling slightly.
Twenty minutes by car to Burbank.
While driving, Mouse almost checked her face in the rearview mirror several times, then stopped herself. Her face hidden under the hood. A man's jawline.
*(It's fine. It's fine. No one will notice.)*
She told herself.
She arrived at Vox Tower just past ten in the morning.
A seven-story office building. VShojo occupied floors three through five. She parked in the parking lot and went up from the basement to the first floor.
It was when she passed the first-floor café, "Morning Bite."
"Oh, good morning."
The café manager, Lisa Chen, called out from behind the counter. A forty-two-year-old Taiwanese-American. She didn't know the VShojo members' faces, but she always looked out for "those kids."
"G-good morning."
Making her voice as high as possible.
"Oh? You've got a boy's voice today. How lovely."
Lisa said it with a smile. It should have been a casual remark, but cold sweat ran down Mouse's back.
"Ahaha, I've got a bit of a cold… my throat."
"Oh, that's rough. Want some honey lemon? I'll make you some."
"I-I'm fine! I'm in a hurry!"
Mouse fled toward the stairs.
*(Hurry. Hurry to the third floor.)*
She pulled her hood down again. Her heart was loud in her ears.
Third floor. The management floor.
At the top of the stairs, Mouse stopped.
*(Room V is that way.)*
Down the hallway. Three meeting rooms lined up. The one at the very end was "Room V." The room that had been turned into the Flip Phenomenon countermeasures headquarters.
—Her legs were shaking and wouldn't move.
"…What are you so scared of?"
She told herself.
But her body wouldn't listen.
*(Beyond this door is Name-san.)*
*(Name-san, who became a woman.)*
She'd heard their voice on the phone yesterday. A beautiful woman's voice. But this would be the first time actually meeting them.
*(What kind of face do they have?)*
*(What kind of face should I make?)*
Mouse took a deep breath. Once, twice.
"…Here I go."
She murmured quietly and took a step forward.
She stood before the door of Room V.
Hand on the doorknob, one more deep breath.
—Click.
She opened the door.
"…!"
Her breath stopped.
Inside the room stood a beautiful woman she'd never seen before.
Long black hair. The ends curled naturally inward. Soft brown eyes. Slightly drooping, giving a gentle impression. A white blouse and a dark navy skirt.
*(Who? Who is this person?)*
Mouse froze in place.
"Ah, Mouse…!"
The beautiful woman called out to her, flustered.
"Huh? Huh? Wait, who are you?"
"I… I mean, I-I! I'm Name…"
Name-san covered their own mouth.
"Wha…?"
Mouse's mind went completely blank.
At that moment, from the back of the room, she heard an electronic beep.
She turned to see Zentreya.
A masculinized figure with long crimson hair tied back in a single ponytail. Sharp golden eyes looking at Mouse. From the laptop at hand, a text-to-speech voice flowed out.
*"That's Name-san. Feminized."*
A flat mechanical voice.
Mouse let out a silent scream.
"Are you SERIOUS!?"
She stumbled backward, her back hitting the wall.
A dull thud.
"Mouse, calm down…!"
Name-san hurried toward her.
"Wait, wait wait wait! Don't come closer! Huh, Name-san!? THAT Name-san!? The useless pathetic slug man!?"
"That's mean! Now I'm a useless pathetic slug woman! …No wait! I— I mean I'm the one who's in trouble here!"
Name-san swept their hair back with a voice on the verge of tears.
The black hair flowed smoothly.
That gesture was far too alluring.
"Stop! Stop doing that gesture! It's bad for my heart!"
Mouse screamed, still plastered against the wall.
"Wh-what is!? I'm not doing anything!"
"Yes you are! You just did something incredibly sexy!"
"I did not! I just pushed my hair back normally!"
*"Both of you, calm down."*
The mechanical voice cut in quietly.
Mouse looked at Zentreya, breathing heavily.
"Zen… is this a dream?"
*"It's reality."*
"Yeah… figured."
Mouse slid down the wall, still leaning against it, and sat on the floor.
"I'm the same… every morning, I nearly faint when I look in the mirror."
Name-san muttered quietly.
"…Name-san, you just said 'I' in the masculine way."
"Huh!? That didn't count! I! I said it the feminine way!"
"You corrected yourself too slowly."
"Well, I lived as a man for thirty-three years! I can't just suddenly switch to feminine speech!"
Name-san covered their face with both hands.
"…Well, yeah. You can't just change overnight."
Mouse let out a small sigh.
*(This person really is Name-san.)*
Their appearance was that of a perfect beauty, but inside they were still that unreliable manager. That gap was funny, and it made her feel a little relieved.
*"Let's start the meeting soon."*
Zentreya's mechanical voice echoed through the room.
Mouse finally stood up.
"…Yeah. Sorry, I lost my composure."
*"Don't worry. I was surprised at first too."*
"You're always so calm, Zen."
*"I don't put emotion into my voice."*
"That's cheating."
*"It's convenient."*
Mouse couldn't help but laugh.
The three of them sat around the table in Room V.
Three whiteboards lined the wall. The VShojo logo was displayed on the large monitor. On the desk, boxes of pizza someone had brought were stacked up.
"Um, so… let's begin the meeting. …I mean, let us begin."
Name-san spread out some documents.
"Name-san, you don't have to force yourself to be formal."
"No, as a manager, I'll do this properly. …Properly, I will. …Properly, I shall. …Ugh, enough!"
Name-san clawed at their hair.
*"Calm down. You're fine as you are."*
"Zentreya is so kind…"
Name-san straightened the documents, looking dejected.
"So, the reason I asked you both here today is none other than the streaming countermeasures for the Flip Phenomenon."
Their voice suddenly became serious.
Mouse straightened her back.
"First, VShojo's most important rule: the Persona Protocol. The information management regulations to protect the identities of the people behind the characters. If this is violated, contract termination is possible."
"…I know."
"With this Flip Phenomenon, the most dangerous thing is the voice change. Especially you, Mouse. Your voice is the easiest for listeners to notice."
"Huh, me?"
"Yes. You do a lot of singing streams. Your high notes are your selling point, but with your current voice, low tones inevitably mix in. When your emotions run high, there's also a risk of your natural voice leaking out."
Mouse was at a loss for words.
*(I know. I know, but—)*
"So I have a proposal. During streams, I want you to change your voice changer settings to these values."
Name-san handed Mouse a sheet of paper.
"These are the recommended settings for VoxShift. Raise the pitch slightly and adjust the formant. With this, you can get closer to your old voice."
"…I tried that. But it doesn't go back perfectly."
"It doesn't need to be perfect. We just need to reduce the discomfort before listeners start thinking 'huh?'"
*"Name-san is right."*
"Also, sudden collabs and offline meetups are prohibited for the time being. SNS posts are also temporarily suspended."
"Huh, SNS too!?"
"Yes. Right now, the most important thing is not putting out information. We don't know what people like Mirror Man might sniff out."
Mirror Man.
The moment she heard that name, Mouse's chest tightened.
"…Is he already making moves?"
"There's no decisive evidence yet. But it's only a matter of time."
*"So we strike first."*
"Right. Now, about your streams, Mouse."
Name-san looked at Mouse.
"I want you to reduce your singing streams."
"What!? No way!"
Mouse stood up without thinking.
"Wait, hear me out. Instead of reducing singing streams, we'll shift to mainly zatsudan streams. Singing is the core of your interaction with listeners, so I won't make you stop completely."
"…But not being able to sing means my identity dies."
"I understand. So this is a compromise. I'll only allow short singing segments. For the high notes, we'll try mixing with pre-recorded audio."
"Pre-recorded…?"
"Yes. We layer a voice recorded in advance over the live stream audio. To the listeners, it sounds like you're singing live."
Mouse slowly sat back down.
"…Can you actually do that?"
"Technically, it's possible. Zentreya will help with the setup."
*"Yeah. Leave it to me."*
Mouse looked back and forth between the two of them.
*(When did these two talk about this?)*
A small pang in her chest.
"…Fine. I'll reduce the singing. But I'm not stopping completely."
"Right. That's fine."
Name-san smiled with relief.
That smile was, of course, beautiful.
*(Why are you so pretty?)*
Mouse looked away.
The meeting continued for about another hour.
Name-san proposed countermeasure after countermeasure.
"We'll share the voice changer settings with everyone. We'll also reorganize the streaming schedule. For collabs, we'll center them around Zentreya, who doesn't use their voice."
"Huh, me, the center!?"
*"I don't use my voice. I'm the safest."*
"Right… I mean, yes. Zentreya uses text-to-speech, so voice changes won't be noticed."
"Yeah.
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.