Last night, Ren barely slept. Every time he stood in front of the mirror, there was an unfamiliar girl staring back. He understood it logically—that girl was him—but he couldn't get used to it. Messages came from Kouta. Then from Natsuki. *"What do we do tomorrow...?"* *"We'll have to borrow girls' uniforms."* The only saving grace was that Katase-sensei—the school nurse at Furin High—had prepared three spare girls' uniforms yesterday. She seemed easygoing, but somehow she moved fast when it mattered. In the morning, Ren changed without looking properly at the mirror. Wearing a skirt for the first time in his life felt strange. The wind passed through it. It fluttered with every step. He couldn't settle down. Only the piercing in his right ear remained from yesterday, and it was the only thing keeping him feeling like "I'm still me." --- When they stood in front of Class 2-3's classroom, Kouta whispered. "[scared]Ren, I'm... getting nervous" "[sarcastic]Being nervous won't change anything. Let's go" Natsuki silently gripped the sliding door. *Clack.* There was a second of silence. Then every eye in the classroom snapped toward the three of them. And then—it exploded. "[surprised]Huh?" "W-Who are they!?" "Transfer students!?" "Three!? All at once!?" The boys panicked. The girls buzzed. Especially the girls looking at Natsuki—"That girl... isn't she amazing?" "The silver-haired one has different colored eyes!?" Kouta just stood there with his natural charm and voices drifted over: "So cute..." Ren stepped into the classroom with a bitter expression. "[angry]We're not a show!!" His voice was high. He knew it. Yelling in a high voice made it worse. One of the boys muttered "No, that's cute..." and Ren's frown deepened. Then Yasuda-sensei, their homeroom teacher, walked in. Thirty-eight, math teacher, famous for thirty-minute lectures every week. The serious-faced teacher with glasses stopped when he saw the chaos. "Uh... um, wait... who?" He took off his glasses, wiped the lenses on his shirt hem, and put them back on. He looked at the three of them. Took them off again, wiped them, put them back on. "[serious]It's me! Sakuragi! Ren!" "...Huh?" "No, no, no, Sakuragi's supposed to be a rough guy... his voice is way deeper..." "[crying]It's really me, Yasuda-sensei! I'm Sugimoto! Hanyu's here too!" Natsuki silently pulled out their student ID and held it out. Yasuda-sensei slowly took it and compared the face to the photo. Compared again. One more time. Then he collapsed into a chair. "...What in the world is happening..." The class erupted in laughter. Ren couldn't laugh at all. --- In the back of the classroom, someone had seen everything. Hinata Aoi—Class 2-3, front seat by the hallway. Long, glossy crimson hair down to her waist and freckles by her cheeks. She was said to be the cutest in the year, though she didn't seem to care. Aoi had frozen the moment Ren walked in. She couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Her face slowly turned red. When her friend leaned in asking "Aoi? You okay?" she couldn't answer. After homeroom ended, Aoi jogged after Ren into the hallway. "[gentle]S-Sakuragi...!" Ren turned around. Aoi stared at his face—and her breath caught. "Y-You're... cute..." It came out. She realized what she'd said and covered her mouth with both hands. "N-No, that's not—I mean, um...! That's not what I meant...!" Her hands fluttered. Her ears were red. Ren felt heat rise to his cheeks. Being called cute for the first time in his life—he didn't know how to react. He looked away. "[sarcastic]W-What... don't look at me like that" "...No, that's not it. Um" Aoi's voice steadied slightly. "[gentle]I've liked you since middle school—" She stopped mid-sentence and covered her mouth again. Her face turned bright red. Then she said "Sorry!" and ran away. Ren stood in the hallway for a while, watching Aoi's back disappear around the corner. *(What was that...)* His chest felt unsettled, but he decided not to think about it. --- "[sarcastic]Well, well. You've gotten pretty cute" A voice came from behind. He turned to see Mishima Yuki standing there with a smirk. Yuki was Class 2-3's committee chair and vice-chair of Furin High's discipline committee. Ranked 12th in grades. She seemed to make teasing Ren her daily hobby. Her skirt pleats were perfectly neat, her uniform impeccably worn—she looked like a model student—but her eyes always held some scheme. Yuki circled around him. "[sarcastic]Hmm. You've got a chest, a thin waist. You're turning into quite the woman" "[angry]Shut up! Leave me alone!" "[cold]I can't do that" Yuki's expression suddenly turned serious. "[serious]Because I'm going to help you turn back" But her eyes weren't serious at all. She said she'd help, but her eyes were amused. Like a cat that found an interesting toy. "[sarcastic]Doesn't it sound fun? Boys turning into girls, and other girls fighting over them" "[angry]Fighting over!? Who's fighting over who!?" At that moment, Aoi came back. She'd run away earlier, but now she'd returned. "[gentle]Sakuragi, about what I was saying before—" She saw Yuki and froze. "[surprised]...Mishima-san. What are you doing here?" "[sarcastic]Perfect timing. Will you help too?" Yuki smiled. A smile without warmth. Aoi's soft brown eyes fixed on Yuki. "[serious]...Mishima-san, do you really intend to help Sakuragi?" "[sarcastic]Of course. Just my way, though" The air between them tensed. Ren stood in the middle, completely lost. --- After school. "[serious]Let's go. The roof" Ren led Kouta and Natsuki up the north building stairs. The roof door's interior lock had been broken since first year, so it opened easily. The moment they stepped outside, the evening wind blew. Ren's skirt fluttered and he instinctively held it down. Still not used to this. About two hundred square meters of concrete. A water tank and two air conditioning units. An old bench Kouta had found in the southwest corner. The three of them walked the spot where the light had fallen yesterday. "[serious]We were around here yesterday, right" "[serious]Yeah. By that water tank" Natsuki slowly walked across the concrete floor. Then stopped. "[serious]This" The other two approached. Words were carved into the concrete. Not handwriting. Like they'd been embedded there from the start—crisp, clear letters. —*"When you find your true self, the curse breaks"* "[surprised]Was this here yesterday" "[serious]It wasn't. It appeared after the light fell" Rare for Natsuki to be so definitive. When Natsuki spoke with certainty, there was usually conviction behind it. Ren stared at the words. "[angry]What's a true self... I'm me, aren't I" Kouta crouched down and gently traced the letters with his finger. "[gentle]But... what if the selves we are now—as girls—are the real ones?" Naturally hitting the core. "[angry]Shut up! Don't say any more!" Natsuki didn't answer. Just stared at the concrete words. Those mismatched eyes—right blue, left red—quietly thinking something. The meaning was unclear. The solution unknown. Only this one sentence was their only clue. --- Kazamachi Station. Near the entrance to Kazamachi Shopping Street, Ren parted ways with Kouta and Natsuki. They headed to the bike racks. Ren walked toward the station. The evening station was crowded. Salarymen, housewives returning from shopping, students in uniforms. Ren kept his head down and walked fast. Whether he was embarrassed in the girls' uniform or just angry, he couldn't tell. "Hey, you there. Furin student?" Someone called out. He turned to see three boys in loose-collared uniforms. Kitakuchi Industrial—a private high school in Minakaze City—badges visible on their chest pockets. "You're so cute. You free right now?" A hand reached out to grab his arm. "[angry]Don't touch me!!" Ren reflexively pulled away and raised his fists. He was about to throw a punch when—his girl's body wouldn't obey. No strength. Completely different from the body he'd had yesterday. "[laughing]Wow, feisty and cute" He heard amusement in the voice. Ren's punch cut through empty air. Frustration. He was this angry but couldn't land it. That made it worse. "[angry]Stop it!! What are you doing!? Stop!!" A loud voice cut through. Aoi. She'd come from somewhere and jumped between Ren and the three boys, grabbing his hand. "[serious]I'm calling the police box at the station!!" A shout. Her voice was completely different from usual. The three boys hesitated. In that moment, Aoi pulled Ren and they ran. They cut through the station rotary, down a narrow alley, and stopped. "[sad]Haa... haa..." Aoi was breathing hard, leaning against the wall. Ren's breath was ragged too. "[gentle]You okay? Are you hurt?" Aoi leaned in to look at his face. Close distance. Ren, still gripping Aoi's shoulders, looked at her. Her crimson hair down to her waist was slightly disheveled from running. Her cheeks were flushed. Her freckles caught the evening light. Her soft brown eyes looked straight at him. Something in his chest began pounding hard. *(What is this...)* Not anger. Not from running, probably. Something. His heart was racing just because Aoi's face was close to his—that had never happened before yesterday. Aoi noticed too. She realized how close Ren's face was and her eyes widened. For a few seconds, they stared at each other. "[surprised]...!" "...!" They both stepped back at once. "[angry]W-Why are you helping me!? I'm supposed to be the one helping!!" "[gentle]Because... I was worried... and even if you became a girl, I still... you..." Her words trailed off. Aoi closed her mouth. Unable to find the right words, she looked down slightly. Ren had nothing to say. That chest pounding from before continued. Not anger. Not panic. Then what—Ren didn't know. But not knowing terrified him. "[serious]...Let's go home" He turned and walked. A few steps later, his pace slowed slightly. "[whispers]...Thanks" Barely audible. Even he was surprised how small it sounded. Behind him, Aoi said a small "yeah." Her voice sounded like she was smiling. Ren didn't look back. He left the alley, heading toward Kazamachi Station. The ticket gates came into view. The evening sky was stained orange, and the Komachi Hills' silhouette floated black in the distance. *(Is my feeling... because of the curse)* *(Or is it... real)* He didn't know. Not at all. Only the words carved into the roof echoed in his mind. —*When you find your true self, the curse breaks.* *(What's my true self...)* He passed through the gates and sighed. Then he thought of Yuki. Those eyes weren't genuine. She said she'd help, but something was being plotted behind them. What she'd do next—that was the only clear anxiety right now.