The Gender-Swap Curse and the Fact That I Still Like You
Fushi has a secret: an ancient power of regeneration that's kept them alive through things that should've killed them. But when they touch a strange pale-pink flower at the edge of the Kazamidori Forest, they pick up something new—a curse that swaps the sex of anyone it touches. And it's spreading. Fast.
Now the whole city of Takunaha is flipping, and Fushi's best friend Gugu—a burly seventeen-year-old boy—wakes up as a petite girl with the same mask and the same hopeless crush on the beautiful
The Gender-Swap Curse and the Fact That I Still Like You - Episode 1: The Pale Pink Temptation — The Cursed Flower and the Mask That Awakens to Love
"...What is this?"
Fushi stopped in their tracks.
Three days north of Takunaha. They'd been walking along the edge of the Kazamidori Forest. Through a gap in the trees, pale pink suddenly flooded their entire field of vision.
Every time the wind blew, the whole flower field swayed softly. A sweet scent drifted through the cold forest air.
"It's beautiful."
The words slipped out before they could stop them.
Silver hair, smooth and fine, stirred in the wind. Clear golden eyes gazed at the sea of flowers. A white shirt, brown trousers, a satchel slung over one shoulder. Slender but lithe — a boy of about sixteen. That was Fushi.
On the back of their left hand was a small flower-shaped mark. Not something they'd been born with. A trace left behind by something, long, long ago.
Fushi stepped into the flower field.
The blossoms reached waist height. They resembled dream-bells, but something was off. Dream-bells were more bluish. These were a softer pink, warm like living blood.
(I've never seen these before.)
Fushi crouched and brought their face close to a single bloom. Five petals. At the center, a translucent droplet of nectar glittered.
They reached out a finger.
Touched a petal.
The instant they did—
Thump.
Something leaped deep inside their body.
"Ugh—ah...!"
Heat poured in through their fingertips. It raced up their arm, through their chest, down to the tips of their toes. Their heart began pounding at twice its normal rate.
Two forces were swirling inside them.
One was a power they knew well. The power of regeneration. No matter the wound, given time, it would always heal. Something Fushi's body had carried since long ago.
The other was unknown.
Warm, yet somehow it sent a chill down their spine. A sensation like the scent of flowers overflowing from within.
"...What just happened?"
Fushi stared at their own hand.
Nothing looked different. Still the silver-haired boy. The flower mark on their left hand, same as always.
But something had definitely changed.
(Did the... essence of that flower enter me?)
Fushi scanned the flower field.
A sea of pale pink. The wind blew. The flowers swayed.
Beyond them, something moved.
"...Huh?"
At the edge of the field sat a wild rabbit. Gray fur. Ears pricked up, watching.
Then the rabbit suddenly shuddered.
Its ears shrank. Its body became a size smaller. Its fur shifted from gray to light brown.
Male to female.
Right before Fushi's eyes, the rabbit's sex had changed.
"...Why?"
Fushi backed away.
(Because I touched it? Because I touched that flower, that rabbit...?)
Their heart raced now for an entirely different reason.
Fushi frantically checked their own body. Arms, legs, chest, face. Nothing had changed. Still the silver-haired boy.
But inside, two forces warred against each other. The power of regeneration and the power to swap sex. As if trying to tear their body in two.
"...This is bad."
Another presence stirred from deeper in the field.
Semi-transparent, tentacle-like things. They coiled around the flower stems, slowly stretching toward Fushi.
Knockers.
Fushi's body was screaming at them to run.
They turned and bolted.
◆
It was late that night by the time Fushi made it back to Takunaha.
They stumbled into the tavern "Gugu's Place" on the eastern edge of the merchant city. Takunaha was a trading hub of over forty thousand people, bustling with travelers and merchants. The market street held a morning bazaar every day, lined with the weapon shop "Iron Claw" and the general store "Popo's."
Fushi had lost count of how many times they'd come to this city. Somehow, they always ended up back here.
"...I'm exhausted."
Fushi entered through the tavern's back door and dropped into their usual corner seat.
From behind the counter, the proprietress Miranda poked her head out. A forty-eight-year-old widow, plump and cheerful, with a voice that carried.
"Oh, Fushi. Welcome back. You look terrible."
"...I saw something strange."
"Something strange?"
Fushi didn't answer, just set their satchel on the floor.
(Should I tell her about the flower? But I don't even understand it myself yet.)
"Miranda, where's Gugu?"
"That's the thing — he still hasn't gotten up today. Normally he's awake first thing, chopping firewood."
"He's still asleep?"
"Seems so. Well, it's fine once in a while. That boy works too hard."
Miranda said this while wiping down the counter with a cloth.
Fushi looked up at the ceiling.
(If that flower's power really is spreading...)
A bad feeling settled in their gut.
◆
The next morning.
Fushi woke to a scream.
"GYAAAAAAAAAH!!"
Fushi shot upright.
"Wh-what!?"
They ran toward the voice — Gugu's room — and threw open the door.
What they found was—
"Wh-who are you!?"
A girl they'd never seen before.
No, that wasn't right.
Short black hair. Brown eyes. Height... much shorter than usual. About a hundred and fifty centimeters, maybe. The muscular build had become delicate, shoulders narrow. The clothes hung loose on her.
And on her face—
A mask.
Gugu's mask.
"...Gugu?"
"Fushi!? Fushi, that's you, right!? Help me! My body — my body's all wrong!!"
The voice was high.
Gugu was supposed to be a big seventeen-year-old boy. Strong, dependable, like a brother to Fushi.
And now that Gugu—
Had become a girl.
"...You've gotta be kidding."
"I'm not kidding! I woke up like this! I looked in the mirror and some girl I don't know was standing there! What am I supposed to do!?"
Gugu grabbed at their own body with both hands and shouted.
"My chest! I have a chest! Where did my pecs go!? And my waist is thin! My shoulders too! What is this!?"
"...Calm down."
"How am I supposed to calm down!? You try being in my shoes!"
Fushi remembered the flower they'd touched yesterday.
(That flower's curse reached even Gugu...)
"...I'm sorry, Gugu. This is probably my fault."
Fushi explained what had happened. Finding the pale pink flower field at the edge of the Kazamidori Forest. Touching the petals. The wild rabbit changing sex.
Gugu listened in silence.
"...I see."
Gugu let out a slow breath.
"As long as you're okay, that's what matters."
"...What?"
"I'm glad you didn't get dragged into something and get hurt. A body change is nothing compared to that."
Gugu laughed. Beneath the mask, the corner of their mouth moved just slightly.
(Gugu...)
Fushi felt something warm spread through their chest.
"But there's one thing that's a problem."
Gugu stood up.
"...What?"
"I want to see Rean."
"Huh?"
"I'm going to see Rean!"
"Hey, wait—!"
Gugu didn't stop.
Now in a girl's body, Gugu bolted out the tavern's front door.
"Hey, where do you think you're going dressed like that!?"
Miranda shouted from behind the counter.
"I'm going to see Rean!"
"Rean — you mean the young lady of the Rean household!? Do you even know what you look like right now!?"
"I know! But I want to see her!"
Gugu ran off.
"...The moment that boy turns into a girl, he gets that bold, huh."
Miranda sounded exasperated.
Fushi stood up.
"I'm going after them."
"Please do. Who knows what that one will get up to."
Fushi dashed out of the tavern.
◆
They sprinted through the market street.
It was the hour when the morning bazaar was setting up. Merchants opened their stalls, and the street filled with people.
"Gugu!"
Fushi ran through the crowd, searching for Gugu.
Then they noticed.
Something strange about the people passing by.
(Wait...?)
The butcher. Yesterday he'd been a burly man with a beard. Now the beard was gone, and his build had grown rounder.
The young baker's daughter. She always wore her hair up long. Now it was short, and her shoulders were broad.
A dog walking along the street. It had been male — now it clearly had a female's build.
Cats too. Pigeons too.
(The curse... it's spreading.)
A cold chill ran down Fushi's spine.
The curse of the dream-bell flower spread from anyone who touched Fushi to the people around them.
(I did this to everyone...)
Fushi bit their lip.
(This is bad. I have to fix this fast.)
But how?
They knew nothing about the flower. Or how to break the curse.
(First, I have to stop Gugu.)
Fushi ran.
Toward the Rean estate.
The district where Takunaha's wealthy families lived. Rean's family home was one of the largest mansions there. Her father Roderick was a retired merchant, her mother Celestina a famous beauty. There was an old well in the garden.
Gugu had made it to the mansion's front gate.
"Rean!"
Gugu shouted.
The gate opened.
"...Who are you?"
The one who appeared was a beautiful girl.
Long black hair. Pale skin. Large eyes.
Rean.
The young lady of the Rean household, said to be the most beautiful in all of Takunaha.
The moment Gugu saw her—
"...Rean."
Their voice trembled.
"Um, you are...?"
Rean tilted her head.
"It's me. Gugu."
"...What?"
Rean's eyes went wide.
"Gugu...? That Gugu...?"
"Yeah. It's me. Rean, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time."
Gugu took a step closer to Rean.
"C-calm down, Gugu. Your body... what happened to you?"
"A flower. A flower's curse turned me into a girl. But that doesn't matter."
Gugu took both of Rean's hands.
"Rean. I'm in love with you."
"...What?"
"I've loved you for so long. Every time I talk to you, my heart won't quiet down. When you smile, that alone makes my whole day happy. But I'm a servant, and you're a young lady. We could never be equals — I could never say it."
"Gugu..."
"Now that I'm a girl, I understand. Even in this body, my feelings for you haven't changed. If anything, they're clearer than before. I love you, Rean."
Gugu's voice was wet with tears.
"...Wait, Gugu. I — I had something I wanted to tell you too."
Rean's eyes were welling up as well.
"I also—"
"Gugu!!"
Fushi caught up.
"Fushi!? Don't interrupt! This is the good part!"
"It's not the good part! Do you understand your situation!? That body — the curse might just be making you say things you couldn't normally say!"
"That's wrong! This isn't the curse! This is how I really feel!"
"Gugu..."
Rean squeezed Gugu's hands back.
"I'm happy too. Hearing your feelings — I'm so happy."
"Rean..."
The two gazed at each other.
Fushi couldn't move, watching the scene unfold.
(...Is this because of the curse? Or are these real feelings?)
Fushi didn't know.
But one thing was certain.
(I have to break this curse, and fast. I have to turn everyone back.)
Fushi watched the two of them from behind, and made up their mind.
◆
Evening.
Fushi sat at the back door of Gugu's Place.
The sky was stained pale pink.
(The same color as that flower field.)
Fushi looked at the back of their left hand. The flower mark.
(This mark is shaped like a flower, too.)
A trace left by something, long ago. Fushi still didn't know what it was.
But today's events had given them a hint.
(I've "acquired" all kinds of things. Stone, moss, wolves. And now, that flower too.)
Fushi looked up at the sky.
(I've acquired that flower's power. The power to swap sex. And the power to spread the curse.)
(I have to do something about this power. I have to turn everyone back.)
They thought of Gugu's face.
Even as a girl, Gugu was still Gugu. The scars beneath the mask, the feelings for Rean — none of it had changed.
(...But still.)
Fushi smiled, just a little.
(I'm glad Gugu could say how they feel.)
They thought of Rean's face.
(Rean looked happy too.)
Maybe it was because of the curse. But in that moment, the two of them had truly connected.
(...Someday, I want that too.)
Fushi pressed a hand to their chest.
Their heart was pounding.
(What is this feeling?)
It was an emotion Fushi didn't yet have a name for.
But it didn't feel bad.
"Fushi."
A voice.
Fushi turned. Gugu was standing there. Still in the girl's body. Still wearing the mask.
"...You're back."
"Yeah. I talked to Rean. A lot."
Gugu sat down beside Fushi.
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