Seraph Squad Gender-Bender Panic! ~The Day My Girlfriend Became My Boyfriend~ - What's a Kissing Rain!? A Heart-Pounding Discovery in the Underground Exploration

The training building—officially named the Arena Complex—echoed with the ragged breathing of cadets from early morning. Even though it was Tuesday, the air felt far heavier than Monday. Which made sense, considering every single one of them had swapped bodies. "You lot! You're lacking spirit!" A voice that seemed to rise from the depths of the earth boomed through the training ground. The speaker was a giant of a man, easily over 180 centimeters tall. His rugged black hair was cropped short, and bulging muscles strained against his training tank top. Veins stood out on his arms, and his clenched fists looked like boulders. But the instructor badge gleaming on his left chest was the same as it had been yesterday. "Ugh, Instructor Yui..." "We're resuming training today! How long do you plan to mope around!" Instructor Yui stood with arms akimbo, feet planted wide. To anyone looking, they were the very picture of a battle-hardened male soldier. But. "First, we confirm basic fitness. Three laps around the running course! Anyone who falls behind gets triple the usual extra menu!" Someone snorted. Instructor Yui's sharp gaze immediately snapped toward the sound. "What's so funny!" "N-no, nothing..." "Liar! Your face is twitching!" Another cadet's shoulders shook. Because honestly—the image of that demon instructor was now a ridiculously buff man. It should have been terrifying, but somehow it was just bizarrely surreal, almost comical. Pfft. This time, a louder laugh burst out. "Y-you scum! Stop laughing!" The instructor's face turned bright red. The more they shouted, the louder the laughter grew. "I-I wasn't always like this, you know! As a woman, I had a certain amount of pride, up until I was twenty-eight..." "Instructor! You don't need to say that kind of thing!" Ryou hastily cut in. Their glossy black hair now reached their waist, swaying as their slender eyebrows drew together in a fluster. Their body, so much more delicate and smaller than it had been just yesterday, was somehow intensely, well... Thump. "Ryou..." Watching Ryou's profile as they warmed up beside them, Karen felt their own heart make a strange sound. Why? Ryou was their best friend. Their closest comrade, who they'd always fought alongside. But looking at Ryou, now a girl, something deep in their chest tightened, and they couldn't get their voice out properly. "Hm? What's up, Karen?" "N-nothing! Come on, let's run!" Karen hurriedly averted their eyes and dashed off toward the running course. The running course through the Evergreen Woods was 3.2 kilometers long. Morning sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, and the scent of still-damp earth rose up around them. "Wait up, Karen! Don't just suddenly sprint off!" "It'll work out! Ryou, hurry up!" Karen shouted without looking back. Behind them, Ryou's light footsteps chased after. The closer those steps came, the faster their own heartbeat pounded. (This is bad, bad, bad! Why am I this nervous just running next to Ryou!) "Argh, seriously!" As if to distract themself, Karen ran at full speed. --- After training ended. Instructor Yui stood before the sweat-drenched cadets and spoke gravely. Though the instructor had also done the run, Ryou could tell from the side that they were secretly dejected about not being able to move with their usual sharpness. "...This morning, something was discovered in the base's basement." A murmur rippled through the group. "Beneath the base, there's an old research facility. A structure that predates the base's construction. There, a fragment of a notebook was found, detailing a method to counter this curse." "You found out how to break the curse?!" "No, we haven't deciphered it yet. The writing is cryptic and encoded. But there is definitely a clue. So, we will begin the investigation now." Instructor Yui looked over everyone, then spoke. "From here on, we enter the restricted zone beneath the base. The party will be minimal. Karen! Ryou!" "Wha?!" "Yes." The two answered at the same time. Then, they glanced at each other and immediately looked down. "Is there a problem?" "Well, uh..." "It's nothing." Their face felt hot. It wasn't exactly alone with Ryou, but it was a mission together. The three of them, walking through the dim underground passageways. (My heart's pounding! Why?! This is a mission!) "Alright, let's go! It'll work out!" Karen forced their voice to be cheerful. The entrance to the base's basement was behind the command building, beyond an old iron door. Instructor Yui pulled out a thick bundle of keys and unlocked it with a heavy clank. "Watch your step. The footing's bad." The three of them stepped into the chilly air. The underground passage had crumbling walls in places, and dust drifted down from the ceiling. The walls were carved with incomprehensible diagrams, like worms squirming, and what looked like ancient script. The portable lamp in Karen's hand was their only source of light. "Hey, Ryou. This place has been here since before Veil was founded, right?" "Yeah. The instructor said before it's a remnant of an organization that researched paranormal phenomena." "Huh... Doesn't it kind of feel like a secret base? Kind of exciting?" "You always did like that kind of thing, Karen." Ryou laughed softly. That smile floated up dimly in the lamplight. (C-cute...) Karen hurriedly faced forward. "Don't talk nonsense. This is no time to be excited." Instructor Yui said it grumpily. But the instructor's own steps seemed heavy somehow. "Instructor, are you okay? You seem kind of down." "...Every time I look in a mirror, my proud hair is this rough buzz cut. There's no way I'd be okay." "Ah, uh..." So they really were bothered by it. They were such a beautiful instructor, Karen thought. That black hair tied back, swaying during combat—it had looked so cool from behind. "Here." The second basement level. The three stopped in front of an old wooden door. When Instructor Yui pushed it open, musty air flowed out. The room was full of junk and dust. Fallen bookshelves, broken beakers, scattered piles of documents. "Split up and search for writings related to curse-breaking. If you find pages written in ancient script, prioritize those." "Roger!" Karen started yanking open the drawers of a half-broken desk one after another. Ryou carefully picked up the documents scattered on the floor, one sheet at a time. "...Karen." After a while, Ryou spoke in a quiet voice. "What's up?" "Look at this." Ryou held out a bundle of old notebooks with what looked like scorch marks. The pages were yellowed, and the writing was nearly faded away. "Let's see... 'Regarding the Curse-Breaking Procedure'?" "That page." When Karen turned the page, beneath a string of squirming ancient script, a few lines of modern translation were scribbled in. "...'When feelings... are exchanged.'" Karen read it aloud. "'A rain of kisses... falls.'" Silence. "Huh?" "...So it says." Ryou's face turned bright red—and not because of the lamplight. "What's that supposed to mean?! A rain of kisses?!" "W-well... I don't really understand it either." "What does that mean!" Karen shouted too. Their face was burning. "Hmm..." Instructor Yui stared intently at the notebook. "It seems that breaking the curse requires an emotional connection and some form of physical contact." "Physical contact... You don't mean we actually have to kiss, do you?!" "Possibly. Whether 'rain' is a metaphor or refers to a specific situation, I don't know." "No, no, no!" Karen clutched at their head. They'd found the key to breaking the curse. But it was the most troublesome method possible. "...Karen." Ryou stepped forward, trying to peer at the notebook too. That was when it happened. "Eek!" Ryou's foot caught on a pile of books stacked on the floor, and their body tilted sharply. "Ryou!" Instantly, Karen reached out their arms. Ryou's slender body tumbled into Karen's chest. "Whoa!" "Ah..." They somehow managed to catch them. But. Before they knew it, their faces were only a few centimeters apart. Ryou's large black eyes wavered anxiously. Their breath brushed softly against Karen's cheek. Their heart was so loud. The hands gripping Ryou's shoulders trembled. "Ry-ou..." "Karen..." After saying each other's names, no more words came out. The lamplight cast the shadow of Ryou's long eyelashes onto their pale cheeks. Beautiful. Were their eyelashes always this long? Their neck, so slender. If they just got a little closer, like this— "HEM!!" An exaggerated, loud cough echoed through the basement. "Whaaaaa!" "Eep...!" The two sprang apart as if shocked. Karen crashed into the bookshelf behind them, and Ryou put a hand against the wall, panting with their shoulders. "W-what are you doing, Instructor!" "That's my line! How long were you planning to hold each other!" Instructor Yui's face was also kind of red. "W-we weren't holding each other!" "That's right! Ryou was about to fall!" "Anyway, we found the materials. Let's get back, quickly!" The three hurriedly left the room. No one spoke a word on the way back through the underground passage. The silence was a hundred times heavier than usual. As they walked, Karen glanced at Ryou's profile. Ryou kept their head down, their eyelashes trembling. (This is bad. This is completely awkward now.) Just as they thought that and looked away, something glinted on Ryou's ear. A small, star-shaped earring. (Ah...) Their chest tightened sharply. A matching earring was now on their own left ear. That was from the day they first came to this base as cadets. Karen had been full of anxiety, and Ryou, from the next room, had given it to them as a present. 'It's a charm. I wear the same one.' They still remembered clearly Ryou's shy smile as they said that. (Ryou... still wears it.) That simple, obvious fact made them incredibly happy—and painfully so. --- What awaited the three when they returned to the base was continuing chaos. Instructor Yui said they were going to report to the command center and left with a stern expression. "...Hey, Ryou." "Yeah." They stopped in the hallway of the training building. "What do you think 'a rain of kisses' means?" "...I don't know. But I think it must be something really important." "Yeah. Alright, we investigate again tomorrow! It'll work out!" Karen deliberately said it brightly. "Yeah." Ryou nodded slightly. The earring on their ear caught the afternoon light streaming through the window and sparkled once more. They had found the key to breaking the curse. But putting that method into practice required far too much courage. Lying on their bed, Karen recalled the moment Ryou's face had drawn near. Their heart was so loud. They couldn't make excuses and call it friendship anymore. On the other side of the hallway, Ryou was also clutching their own earring, letting out a small sigh.

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Episode 2

Name: Seraph Squad Gender-Bender Panic! ~The Day My Girlfriend Became My Boyfriend~
Author: Novelia

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