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 4: Everyone Assembles!? The Great Love Traffic Jam and the Crumbling Takunaha
Once they cleared the Kazamidori Forest, the city of Takunaha came into view in the twilight.
Fushi stopped walking.
"…Something's wrong."
From beyond the stone walls came screams. Laughter, too. And crying. All of it mixed together into a garbled, chaotic noise.
"The city's in an uproar."
Gugu—now in a girl's body—furrowed his brow beneath his mask. Short black hair swayed in the evening wind. He carried the luggage for all three of them on his shoulders. Thin arms, yet his face showed no strain.
"We should hurry."
Rean—now in the form of a gallant young man—spun her long blonde braid and broke into a run. Despite the male body, there was something elegant about the way she moved.
The three of them passed through the north gate.
The gatekeeper stood there, face pale.
"Y-you three… you made it through safely?"
"What happened?"
"Everything! Just look at that!"
Where the gatekeeper pointed—in the middle of the market street, a man was shouting.
"There's something weird on my chest!"
He was clutching his chest and crying. Looking closely, his body was a woman's. He still had his beard, but his hips were rounded and his voice was high.
"Mister, you were a man till this morning!"
Beside him, a woman stood dazed, touching her beard. Broad shoulders, deep voice.
"I-I don't understand either… I just noticed and it was like this…"
"Kyaaa! My skirt ripped! A-and my legs are so thick!"
"Hey, someone get me my pants—wait, you, you were my wife till yesterday! Why're you a man now?!"
"I don't know! And why do you have a woman's face?!"
The market street was swarming with people whose sexes had been swapped. The greengrocer walked with a swaying hip, while the fishmonger woman stood legs apart like a stubborn old general. Children cried and laughed at the sight of their parents. Even the dogs were barking in oddly demure voices.
Fushi bit their lip.
(Because I came back to this city.)
(Because I'm carrying the curse.)
They clenched the flower-shaped mark on the back of their left hand.
"Fushi."
Gugu tapped Fushi's shoulder. A girl's hand, but the strength was the same as ever.
"It ain't your fault. Don't sweat it."
"But…"
"No buts. Right now, we do what we can."
With that, Gugu walked to the center of the market street.
"Hey, you lot! Calm down!"
His high voice rang through the street.
Everyone turned at once.
"W-what's with that masked girl?"
"I ain't a girl! I'm Gugu! Gugu of Gugu's Inn!"
"Gugu—you mean that big guy…?"
"That's right! The curse turned me into this too! But panicking won't help! For now, go home and calm down!"
Gugu stood firm in a girl's body. Small and delicate, yet somehow reassuring.
"…Hearing that from you doesn't exactly carry weight."
Rean muttered under her breath.
"What'd you say?"
"I mean, you're a cute girl right now. Your voice is high, too."
"S-shut up! You're a man and you've still got that braid!"
"Wha—this is my trademark!"
"A man's trademark?!"
The two of them started bickering.
The people around them stared, dumbfounded.
Fushi gave a small laugh.
(They're both doing fine.)
That was when it happened.
"Fushiiiii!"
Someone came running from across the street.
That familiar bright brown short hair. Those big amber eyes. But she was tall. She should've been 145 centimeters, but now she was nearly 160. Her body wasn't a child's anymore—it was an adult woman's.
"March…?"
Fushi's eyes went wide.
"Ehehe, that's right! It's me, Fushi!"
March spun around in front of Fushi.
The hem of her skirt fluttered out.
"Look, look! An adult body! Amazing, right?!"
"Amazing… is it really you, March?"
"Yep! In Ninanna Village, I woke up in the morning and I was like this! Parona too—she turned into a man!"
"March! Wait!"
Another person came running from behind.
Black hair tied back, sharp dark eyes. Parona, who had been a 160-centimeter girl, was now a young man close to 175. Broad shoulders, long limbs. His clothes were hastily stitched-together men's wear.
"Hah, hah… March, I told you not to run off alone."
Parona spoke in a young man's voice. Low and calm. But at the edges of her words, the usual Parona cadence remained.
"But I wanted to see Fushi as soon as possible!"
March gripped Fushi's hands in both of hers.
An adult woman's hands. Warm and soft.
"Fushi. There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a long time."
"Eh…?"
March's amber eyes looked straight at Fushi.
"I decided that once I became an adult, I'd tell you."
"March, what are you…"
"I like you, Fushi."
The street went quiet.
"I really, really love you. I always thought that when I grew up, I wanted to be your bride."
March smiled brightly.
It was a smile like the sun.
Fushi froze.
"Um, uh… March, you're, that's…"
"Fushi, your face is all red! Cute!"
March squeezed Fushi's hands tight.
"March!"
Parona stepped between them.
The young man's face was serious.
"March, calm down. Do you understand what you're saying right now?"
"I do! I love Fushi! Now that I'm an adult, I can say it properly!"
"That's not the point. You're still fourteen, this body is because of the curse, and Fushi's troubled by all this too."
Parona's voice was trembling.
"Parona, why are you stopping me? I finally became an adult, you know? It's been my dream forever!"
"March…"
Parona's words caught in her throat.
Fushi looked at Parona's face.
A young man's face. But those dark eyes were the same as ever—watching March with worry.
(Parona looks like she wants to say something.)
That's what Fushi felt.
Parona clenched her fist.
"…I mean, I too, honestly—"
"Parona?"
"I too, about March—not just as family, but… that is…"
Parona's face went bright red.
"Parona, your face is red?"
"S-shut up! It's nothing!"
Parona turned away sharply.
In a young man's body, blushing to the ears.
Gugu muttered beside Fushi.
"…Jeez, hopeless. Neither of 'em can be honest."
"Gugu, did you say something?"
"Nothing. More importantly, is this really the time for those two to be playing tag?"
Where Gugu pointed—
March was trying to cling to Fushi, and Parona was trying to pry her off. An adult woman and a young man, chasing each other around.
"Fushi, don't run!"
"March, let go!"
"No! I wanna be close to Fushi!"
"You—!"
Fushi had no idea what to do and just stood there.
(What am I supposed to do?)
Then another voice cut in.
"Oh my, how lively."
Turning around, a brown-skinned young man stood there.
Tall and lean. Short hair, narrow eyes. In his hands, a blank book and a quill.
"Tonari…?"
"Hey, Fushi. Long time no see. Though—looks like you've got it rough too."
Tonari smiled cheerfully, jotting something in the blank book.
"Tonari, you too, from the curse…"
"Ah, this? Woke up this morning as a man. Well, either way's fine with me. Easier to move around."
Tonari said it casually.
"You're as carefree as ever."
"Yeah? And you're still silver-haired as ever. Oh, I should write that in this diary. 'Fushi: still silver-haired. Gender: which?'"
"Uh, I'm…"
"Well, either's fine. Let me observe you thoroughly later."
Tonari ran his pen along, looking delighted.
"Tonari, where's Sandel?"
"Sandel's in the back, treating the townspeople. See?"
Where Tonari pointed—
In a corner of the market street, a brown-skinned girl was crouched down.
Sandel, who had been an eleven-year-old boy. Now a small girl. Short hair, serious eyes. In her hands, a simple bandage made of cloth.
"It's all right. The wound is shallow. But many people are feeling ill from the confusion of the sex change. First, drink some water and sit down."
Sandel was giving instructions briskly.
"Sandel, you've got it rough too."
"Fushi. The ones who have it rough are the people of this city. As a doctor, I just do what I can."
A girl's voice, a boy's manner of speech.
But those eyes were the same Sandel as always.
"Still, I want to record the symptoms of the curse. Later, please tell me in detail, including the changes to this body."
"Y-yeah. Got it."
Sandel ran off to another patient.
"Sandel's a doctor wherever they go."
"Yeah. Amazing."
Then—this time, a horse's neigh rang out.
"Make way! Do not block my path!"
Looking over, a figure on a white horse was advancing down the market street.
A dazzling dress. Long black hair. Pale skin. And a large ribbon at the chest.
"Prince Bon…?"
"Indeed! It is I!"
Prince Bon puffed out his chest from atop the horse.
By any measure, the figure was a beautiful woman in women's clothing.
"Prince Bon, that appearance…"
"The curse turned me into a woman as well! But this form is wildly popular with the ghosts of Renril!"
"Popular with ghosts?"
"Yes! The ghosts of the royal castle all come flocking to speak with me! 'Lady Bon, how beautiful.' 'Lady Bon, where did you get that dress?' 'Lady Bon, I want you to find the place where I died.' So they say!"
Bon declared imperiously.
"…Is that what you call popular?"
"Obviously! I am a man beloved by the living and the dead alike—no, a woman now. Either way! I am I!"
Bon laughed loudly.
Fushi couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha, Prince Bon, you never change."
"Indeed! Fushi, I'm glad to see you well. Now then, what is this commotion? The townspeople are running about in forms where one can't tell man from woman."
"It's the Tententou grass curse. Because I touched the flower…"
"Hmm. I don't know whether it's your fault, but if it's a curse, then breaking it should suffice. So—what will you do?"
"If I obtain the original flower in the flower field, it'll break. But the Nokkers are in the way, so…"
Just as Fushi started to explain—
"Fushi-samaaa!"
Like a gust of wind, something came flying in.
A petite girl. The captain of the Guardian Corps, Hisame.
"Fushi-sama! I've been longing to see you! Now, please let me embrace you!"
Hisame lunged toward Fushi.
But midway, she stopped dead.
"…Huh?"
Hisame looked at her own hands.
Looked at her own body.
"I-I feel like my body is… weird?"
Hisame's body was not a girl's.
Tall, broad-shouldered. Her voice, too, was a little low.
"Hisame, you too, from the curse—a man…?"
"E-ehhhh?! I've become a man?! And this body, when I want to embrace Fushi-sama…!"
Hisame turned bright red and crouched down on the spot.
"Even so, I want to cling to you… I want to cling… But touching Fushi-sama with this body is, well, that is, embarrassing, or rather…"
Fidgeting, Hisame timidly pinched the edge of Fushi's sleeve.
"I-if it's just my fingertips, is that all right…?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure."
"Ahh… Fushi-sama's sleeve… Fushi-sama's warmth…"
Hisame looked utterly entranced.
"The captain never changes."
A calm voice spoke.
Turning around, a young man stood there.
The Guardian Corps' successor, Kahaku.
"Kahaku, you came too."
"Yeah. I followed the Nokkers' presence. …So, Fushi, what's with that form?"
Kahaku stared at Fushi.
"This form? I've always been like this."
"No. Weren't you Parona's form just a moment ago?"
"Ah, right—I tried becoming Parona's form just now, to test it. Like this."
Fushi shifted their body.
From a silver-haired youth to a black-haired girl. Parona's form.
Kahaku's expression changed.
"…!"
"Kahaku?"
"Y-you…!"
Kahaku's voice cracked.
"Eh, what's wrong?"
"No, it's, it's nothing. …No, it's not nothing. That form—it's no good. It's bad for my heart."
Kahaku clutched his chest and took a step back.
"Kahaku, your face is red?"
"Shut up. It's your fault."
"My fault?"
"Yes. Because you—you turn into a form like that…"
Kahaku trailed off.
That was when it happened.
Kahaku's left arm suddenly began to pulse violently.
"Guh…!?"
Kahaku clutched his left arm and doubled over.
The Nokker parasitizing his left arm was going wild.
"Kahaku! Are you okay?!"
"No good… the Nokker is resonating… reacting to your—that form…"
From Kahaku's left arm, translucent tentacles began to seep out.
"Kah
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