Those of you who are familiar with my work know I have a hobby of taking yaoi couples and turning them into yuri couples. Gender bending has always been fascinating and fun for me, and many of my readers have enjoyed it as well.

I also missed the JR universe as well, as I seem to be stuck in my Finder fics lately. I miss me some Usagi.

This piece originated because my dear friend Cerberus urged me to write more fem Egoist after I included them in a scene in another yuri fic. That idea naturally took off and here we are.

Probably about three or four chapters for this fic, including a lady lemon.

If you are interested in more yuri fics, please check out my stories "Starry Night" (Junjou Romantica, Usagi/Misaki) and "Deflowered" (Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi, Onodera/Saga).

Where on She Stands

An Egoist Gender Bender

By TBF101

Chapter 1

Warning: Angry Dyke

Kamijou Hiroki scowled at her reflection in the bookshop window, her spirits not even lifted by all the stacks of old books. Inside the store she could see a silhouette leaning against a magazine rack, and the familiar face made her sigh. Finally, she decided it was time to woman-up and went inside, stuffing her hands in her coat pockets as she approached her childhood friend and best-selling author, Usami Akihiko.

"What's up, old maid?" Akihiko smiled, tucking her magazine under her arm. Hiroki blinked a few times at Akihiko's glittery appearance. Her friend was dressed to the max as always, wearing an edgier look of dark skinny jeans, spiky ankle boots, and a bright red leather jacket. She had straightened her hair completely and was wearing quite a bit of dark makeup.

I'd forgotten how goddamn gaudy she is, Hiroki thought.

But after she inwardly criticized her best friend's ensemble, she immediately felt ashamed about it. Secretly she wished she could be so bold as to wear something like that. In all honesty, it made the author look pretty bad-ass, even though that was far from the case.

I would only scare the crap out of people if I wore that, Hiroki said to herself. I might as well be wearing a blinking sign that reads "Warning: Angry Dyke."

"Uh, nothing much," Hiroki replied, pretending to peruse the titles on one of the shelves.

"Nothing much?" Akihiko said, raising her perfectly-shaped eyebrows. "You said you needed a favor and begged me to meet you today. Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, I guess."

Akihiko's shadowed eyes narrowed. "Hiroki, in a delightful turn of events, my delectable little lipstick*girlfriend is off school today and I've just finished a very big deadline. If you don't cut the bullshit and tell me what you want, I'll ditch your ass so fast your head will spin."

"Fine! Fine! Everything sucks balls, if you must know," Hiroki spat, lowering her eyes. "Today is Nowaki's birthday, and I have nothing planned."

"Jesus, Hiroki. I mean, I'm not exactly surprised, given what I know about you and remembering dates of social obligations. But you and that Amazon have been together how many years?"

"Six."

"And you forgot to make plans for her birthday?"

"It's not that I forgot!" Hiroki snapped. "I just…didn't know what to do. To be honest, Nowaki and I have only celebrated two birthdays between us in all this time, either because of work schedules or other things. But this year we're both able to do it, and I have no fucking idea what I'm doing."

"Did it ever cross your mind to just ask Kusama what she wants to do?"

Akihiko saw a rosy blush rise in her friend's cheeks and grew very amused. "Come on, spill it."

"I…I wanted it to be a surprise, okay?" Hiroki snarled, thoroughly embarrassed by this entire situation.

But Akihiko only smiled and wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Stop twisting you panties, Hiroki. I'll do you a favor. First things first, on a scale from flustered to hopeless, how lost are you?"

"Not too bad, I guess," Hiroki replied. "I think I wanted to have us go out to eat."

"Why would you need my help with that?"

"Because, I wanted to go somewhere fancy…and have nothing to wear."

Akihiko's eyes went wide as saucers, but she quickly closed them and took a deep breath.

"Old maid, I am getting very, very excited right now, so if this is a cruel joke, I entreat you to stop now before you get your eyes scratched out later."

Hiroki said her next few words as if she was giving someone permission to behead her.

"No, it's not a joke."

Akihiko's eyes went wide again in excitement and a sudden laugh came from her lips. "Holy fuck, Hiroki. Wonder Woman sure has you wrapped around her finger. You wouldn't even dress up for that cute cheerleader you fancied in high school."

"Yeah, yeah. Have fun at my expense while you can, Akihiko," Hiroki muttered.

"Oh don't worry about it, Old maid," Akihiko smiled. "I'll help you shop for a dress and I'll even find a restaurant for you. But there are a few ground rules we should lay out first."

"I couldn't agree more," Hiroki retorted. "If you think I'm going to just wear whatever you pick out, you've got another thing coming."

"A compromise then? No purchasing a dress unless we both like it?"

"Fine," Hiroki sighed.

"But wait, dressing you up is all well and good, but what about Kusama?"

Hiroki's thoughts flashed back to a set of events a week ago. She had been in a thrift store searching for a particular book on a whim when she'd seen it. It was a long, formal dress, brand new with the tags still on it. It was a shimmery pthalo blue dress and had a tight bodice that flared down into a trumpet skirt, giving it a slight mermaid style. It was made for someone tall and curvy, and Hiroki had imagined what Nowaki would look like in such a dress. She had paid for it and given it to Nowaki that night, claiming her partner needed something formal to wear if she was going to be a doctor. Nowaki had been surprised but accepted the gift gratefully, even though she bashfully admitted that she really didn't have anywhere to wear it to.

This is partly what had sparked the birthday dinner idea Hiroki was currently suffering through. She was so proud of Nowaki and everything she had accomplished despite so many obstacles, and just for one night, Hiroki wanted to treat Nowaki like her queen. Hiroki wanted her to wear that dress and turn heads as she walked by with that natural glow on her face.

After putting up with me for six years, Hiroki thought. She deserves that much.

"Nowaki has something she can wear," she replied to Akihiko, who was tapping away at her phone.

"All right, shall we go?" Akihiko said, shoving her phone into her clutch and grabbing several magazines from the rack, going to the counter to pay for them.

"What's with all the magazines?" Hiroki asked.

"Misaki's been reading my Cosmo subscription lately," Akihiko smiled. "And it never hurts to spark her imagination of how we can heat things up at night."

Hiroki wrinkled her nose in disgust, shoving her hands back into her coat pockets as Akihiko finished her purchase and the two of them left the store, heading for the shopping district.

It had been almost two hours, and Hiroki was ready to throw in the towel. She sat in the dressing room in her bra and panties, her head bowed towards her lap. Why on earth had she agreed to this? Shopping with Akihiko was a nightmare in its truest form. Once they had reached a store, they had split up and picked out dresses they each liked. But when they regrouped, things quickly took a turn for the worse.

Akihiko, of course, had thought Hiroki's choices were too plain or dated. And Hiroki thought Akihiko's picks were too gaudy or revealing. This had led to a heated argument that soon transformed into a verbal cat fight that echoed throughout the store.

The employees had long given up on offering any assistance or trying to calm the situation. They merely brought different sizes and other requests but no longer offered any opinions.

Hiroki's head shot up as Akihito suddenly came into the dressing room and shut the door behind her.

"Gah, get out!" Hiroki said, angrier at Akihiko than embarrassed about having no clothes on.

"I think you need to take a chill pill, Hiroki," Akihito said, crossing her arms. "You've gone from difficult to irate."

"Oh I've gone way beyond irate, Akihiko," Hiroki growled. "Right now I'm somewhere between an aneurism and a homicidal binge."

"Why do you do this every single time we go shopping?" Akihiko moaned. "I had less difficulty getting my law degree than you do picking out a goddamn dress."

"Well excuse me for not giving a damn about superficial appearances."

"Don't give me that shit. If you didn't care, we wouldn't be here."

Hiroki's eyes widened and she went silent.

Akihiko sighed and went to sit in the chair beside her friend. Akihiko paused for a few minutes, and Hiroki knew she was gathering words together in a careful way that she only did when she wrote.

"Hiroki, you know why I was really excited to go shopping with you? Because you're a goddamn fox. And the way you dress isn't bad, but it just doesn't reflect you very well. You could do so much better."

"That's easy for you to say," Hiroki muttered. "You've always had more confidence than me. But no matter what I do, I just don't feel sexy. I never have."

"Just because you feel that way doesn't mean it's true. I mean, your Amazon—er Kusama-san follows you around like you're the goddamned queen of England. Don't you think it would make her happy for you to put a little effort into yourself?"

Hiroki sighed, Akihiko's perspective calming her anger with guilt. "Fine."

Akihiko nodded and was about to go retrieve the sales clerk when there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, miss," an attendant said as she passed a garment over the top of the door. "This is a new dress that just came in and we had one in her size. Is it something you're interested in?"

Akihiko grabbed the hanger and held out the dress, studying it for a moment before her eyebrows suddenly lifted. "Thank you. Hiroki, try this one on."

Hiroki looked up wearily and glanced at the dress. It was bright red with very subtle texture with a v-shaped neckline and a fitted paneled skirt. However, when Hiroki got a look at the back, she shook her head.

"It shows way too much skin."

"Not as much as you think."

"It's too short."

"It won't be on you. Hiroki," Akihiko insisted. "You can't tell anything about a piece of clothing unless you try it on. If this one doesn't work, we'll go to a different store."

Hiroki hesitated but finally gave in. But as she took the dress off the hanger, she noticed something.

"How are you supposed to wear a bra with the back this low?"

"You'll probably have to get an adhesive bra."

At this, Hiroki shook her head. "No. No. No. No way am I doing that. Let's go."

"Hiroki—"

"Actually miss," the attendant said from outside. "The bust has a built-in bra, so you don't need to worry about that."

"There, you see?" Akihiko said. "I'll be waiting outside."

The door shut behind her and Hiroki unclasped her bra and began to slip into the dress. Honestly, she didn't want to go to another store. She wanted to go home, drink cheap vodka, and peruse a book she'd read five times. That was more her. Not this.

But when she had finished doing the clasp at the back of her neck and turned towards the mirror, she was shocked.

"Hiroki?" Akihiko said. "Are you done? Come on out."

Hiroki opened the door of the dressing room and stepped out, her cheeks flushed as she tried to find something random to stare at.

"Now that's more like it," Akihiko said, flashing a beautiful smile. "Don't you think so?"

Hiroki turned towards the large mirror in the midst of the dressing rooms, shifting here and there as she studied herself. The neckline was a little lower than she thought, but the skirt almost came to her knees so that was fine. But when she turned around and looked over her shoulder, her blush deepened. The back of the dress looked like it had a large triangle cut out of it, starting near the center of her shoulder blades and extending to her sides and waist. And although she secretly liked how it looked, Hiroki was uncomfortable wearing something so revealing.

She slowly shook her head and Akihiko's eyes narrowed.

"What exactly is wrong with it?"

"It shows too much skin."

"I have parkas that show more skin than that!" Akihiko barked, her frustration reaching its limit. "Hiroki that dress is perfect for you and you're turning it down without even thinking about it."

"I don't need to think about it," Hiroki muttered. "I've already decided."

Akihiko breathed in sharply through her nose. "You know Hiroki, I know you don't think you're sexy, but if you always stay inside your comfort zone how are you ever going to conquer that? It's like you don't really want to change it."

Hiroki looked at her best friend in shock, and was surprised that Akihiko's expression wasn't sarcastic or angry, it was concerned.

"Hiroki," Akihiko said. "The sexiest thing a person can have is confidence. Have the same self-assurance you have when you teach."

Hiroki sighed and looked at herself in the mirror again. Her anger had somewhat deflated but she was still at a bit of a loss. But when a simple question came to mind, she made her decision.

Would Nowaki like it?

"Okay, I'll take it," Hiroki said.

Everyone in the store breathed a sigh of relief.

Hiroki purchased the dress, trying not to scream as she saw the total amount and how many books that equated to. But she contained herself and followed Akihiko out of the store.

"All right, on to hair and makeup. Then we can swing back and get shoes," Akihiko said.

Hiroki's expression didn't change, but secretly she didn't mind getting a haircut as much as shopping. She wanted to ask about a few products that could maybe give some life to her thick, uncooperative hair.

The two ladies pressed on in the direction of a hair salon, and surprisingly, Hiroki was feeling a bit more hopeful.

*Lipstick: a lesbian who favors a more traditionally feminine style.

I find it endlessly fascinating to write Hiroki and Akihiko together, and having them be women in this adds an interesting flavor. Reflecting on this chapter, I realized I wanted to convey an intricate friendship between them. While the male counterparts tend to hide their true thoughts and feelings (this is Japan), I feel like it's more natural to have them be platonically intimate as women. The kind of besties who can be completely weird, violent, and honest with each other.

End of rant. Hope to hear from you all!

Kiss kiss,

TBF101

P.s. For those of you following my youtube channel: Get Norse, there is now a new yaoi vid up for DRAMAtical Murder. I can't post a link so just search Dramatical Murder - Hold Me (Yaoi).