Read Me: Hello! Did this update take longer than expected? If so, a thousand apologies to all readers. My goal's to have at least one chapter published every week. It's more difficult than I thought, though, with the circumstances I'm currently in. But I'm still hoping for your continued support, and your reviews are a great way for showing this. Speaking of reviews, thanks a lot to all who gave them! Short ones are much appreciated too, so please don't hesitate to share them with everyone else.
Oh yeah, I'd like to clarify something. For simplicity's sake, I'll be using the terms gender and sex interchangeably though they refer to different concepts. Sex refers to the biological distinction between males and females; by contrast,gender concerns the social differences between males and females. I hope you don't mind. Anyway, let's begin!
Ritsu
"Great."
Totally great. I face palmed. I just had to say that, didn't I?
"You just had to say that, didn't you?" Mio grumbled.
It's like one of those cliché scenes when a certain character babbles some random, dreaded event he never really expected to happen but then it happens anyway. Right after he says it. I usually laugh whenever I watch such scenes on TV. To have the same thing played on me, of course, is just plain cruel.
I looked at Mio in panic. Apparently, she was feeling the same way I was feeling. It was written all over her face. Yui was getting closer to the door, her light footsteps and cheerful humming sounded louder by the second.
"Get in bed, quick!" Mio suddenly commanded. As I scrambled into bed, she spread a blanket on top of me.
"You're sick, you're too cold to walk around without a blanket, and you're about to take a bath. Got it?" Mio hastily whispered to me. I nodded to her obediently. Then, before either of us could even face the door, it swung wide open to provide access to the life form that nearly triggered certain heart attack in me. Hmmm…I'm definitely going to install another lock on my door. A STURDY one.
"SURPRIIIIIIISE!" squealed the said life form upon entry. That, dear Hirasawa-san, is an understatement. I nervously pulled the blanket over my head. Whatever it is Mio's planning, I hope it works!
"Ah, Yui, you're here!" Mio said in delight. Or at least she tried to. I could easily tell she felt just the opposite.
"Yup! And I'm here with a very special cake from Mugi-chan," Yui replied with genuine delight as she presented a pink box to us. Normally I should be attacking the cake by now, 'specially since it's one of Mugi's cakes. Plus, Yui said that it's "very special". But with the given situation, all that I did was to stare at the package Yui was holding from the small opening I made on my protective covering.
"Eh? Ricchan?" Yui sounded puzzled. Ah, she's finally noticed my current state.
"Mio-chan, that IS Ricchan, right?" said Yui as she carefully approached us.
"It's him, I mean he-her, alright. She's caught a terrible cold, so she couldn't handle school today. And since her parents aren't around, I decided to look after," explained Mio while stroking my head gently. I felt the hairs on my neck tingle a bit at her touch. Overly-gentle Mio is weird! Her nervousness is getting the better of her. Her acting still needs a lot of work. But as for my acting, *cough cough*. There, that should convince Yui a bit more.
"But she seemed fine yesterday. It's not something serious, is it Mio-chan?" Yui was already next to my bed, just beside Mio. The puzzled look on her face was replaced with one of concern.
"Well, she um, played in the rain last night. It rained heavily, didn't it?" Mio said a bit too quickly. Heh, played in the rain? That's lame! Not even Yui would fall for-
"That sounds just like something Ricchan would definitely do!"
"What kind of person do you think I am?" Well, that was what I was supposed to say. But before I could even let the words out, Mio quickly transferred the hand she was just using for stroking my head to the top of my mouth to muffle whatever sound came out from it. And then she gave it a squeeze. A very tight squeeze.
"Whoa, she nearly gave quite a sneeze there. Good thing I held it off," said Mio without releasing her grip on my mouth. I squinted to keep the tears from falling.
"Oh yeah, I heard you playing Elizabeth before coming up here. It sounded like Ricchan was drumming too. Was she using these?" said Yui as she held up my drum sticks and gestured at my makeshift drums on the table.
"She wasn't tired until just a minute ago," was Mio's swift reply. "I mean, I was hoping to put her to sleep by playing a tune, but then she joined in and I just let her continue. It wasn't long before her exhaustion took over, though."
"Oh, okay," said Yui as she nodded. She looked pretty convinced. Then, she got closer to me before asking me softly, "How are you feeling, Ricchan?"
"Better, thanks to Mommy Mio here," I said with the voice I used whenever I was "sick".
"Ricchan! You really do sound sick. You're voice has gotten a lot deeper!" whispered Yui loudly in surprise. Shoot! I forgot about that.
"You-you're exaggerating…" I said nervously. I subconsciously pulled the blanket tighter around my body as Yui gave me a long and hard stare.
"Oh yeah, it's time for her bath!" Mio suddenly exclaimed. I sighed quietly in relief. It was about time she interrupted.
Yui backed off a bit from my bed as Mio gave me the assistance I seemed to need. The blanket was still draped over my body and I slumped to hide my true height.
"She's too cold to walk around without a blanket," explained Mio when Yui looked at me questioningly.
As I dragged myself out of the room with Mio lending me support, Yui asked, "Mio-chan, you'll give her a bath too?"
"Oh, she already did last night."
WHACK!
And that was the last thing I managed to say before arriving at the bathroom. Remarkably, I was still in one piece. Having Mio work in the medical field is definitely out of the question.
When I got there, the tub was already filled with hot water. Satoshi had prepared it as soon as he had the chance. He kinda sensed that I needed it. As I lowered myself into the tub, the bruises and wounds in my body started to ache when they came in contact with the water. I was careful to keep my stab wound from getting wet, though. After finally changing back into my original body, I dressed into the clothes Mio gave me. I was just about to get out of the bathroom when I decided to have a look at the mirror first.
While gazing at the image reflected on the mirror, wonder began to fill me. Sure, I was already getting used to the whole gender-changing thing. But sometimes, it feels scary, cool, and just plain weird all at the same time. It's quite overwhelming, if you ask me. Good thing there's no pain involved during the change. Mio in the pain department is more than enough.
"Mio…" I murmured to myself while fiddling with my bangs. I'm glad she accepted the change unconditionally. Even without her saying it, I can feel that she did. Although she threatened my existence at times, she'll always be that special person no one can ever replace. So with her acceptance, it was as if a huge weight was lifted off my chest. There was still some weight that needed lifting, though. Yui, Mugi, Azusa, and maybe even Sawa-chan…their thoughts and feelings about me matter too. What if they won't accept me the way Mio did? What if they won't accept me at all? What if, somehow, I might even ruin our goals and cause our band to break up, damaging our friendship along the way?
"Ritsu, are you done now?" Mio's voice interrupted my thoughts as she knocked on the door. After a moment, she added with hesitation, "Do you, um, need help with anything?"
Hehe, I could already picture her blushing behind the door. I felt the natural urge to tease her, but I held back from it, for now. I'm just glad to break away from those thoughts. Worrying is so not good for my health.
"Nah, I'm fine. Thanks. I'll be out in a moment," I replied. I took a deep breath before I planted a huge grin on my face. Satisfied with it, I finally got out of the bathroom.
"Missed me?" I said as I closed the door behind me.
"Knock it off," was Mio's reply.
Feeling lighter than when I left it earlier, we both headed back to my room where Yui was waiting. Or so we thought.
"She was still here when I returned to get you some clothes," said Mio as she looked around the room with worry.
I let out a sigh as I swept my room with a glance. I can't tell if did so out of worry or out of relief. I was just about to sit on my bed when I noticed that the pink box Yui had brought from school was left lying on the floor. Then, before I even reached it to pick it up, the door opened and Yui came in. With a huge glass of water in her hand. My heart rate increased greatly right away.
"Ricchan, I got you some water in the biggest glass I could find. My mom always says you should drink a lot when you're sick," Yui said as she was moving toward me quickly. Then, the worst thing happened in an instant.
"Yui, be careful with that!"
"It's okay, Mio-chan. Here you- Agh! Dobo-chan!"
"Gah!"
Yui and I were both sprawled on the floor. She collided into me when she tried to avoid the cake she was about to step on. And now she was on top of me, her face buried in my chest. I realized at once that it was seriously lacking in size.
"Ricchan…?"
The next thing I knew, Yui's hands were all over my chest, frantically feeling for something that wasn't there. She suddenly looked up to me straight in the face.
"Y-Yui…" My voice trailed off. I didn't know what to say. She slowly reached for my face and stroked it gently. I remained motionless until she finally got off me. Still wearing an expression of shock and confusion, she looked at Mio, then at me, and then back at Mio again.
"What's going on…?"
Tongue-tied, I left the explaining to Mio.
Ten minutes later, Mio was holding a kettle filled with hot water. After relating the details of the curse to Yui, we decided to let her see for herself how it worked. Throughout Mio's explanation, Yui remained silent. We didn't get much more of a reaction from her after her initial one. It was so unlike her. As I watched her from the corner of my eye, my heart only felt heavier.
"Say something, Yui," I whispered to myself. Any reaction is better than no reaction. Is it all too much of a shock for her?
"Ready?" Mio asked as she raised the kettle above my head. We were all in my room, including Satoshi, with me sitting at the middle. After nodding to her, she slowly poured the water on me.
"Ouuuuuuch…" I said quietly through gritted teeth. But the pain doesn't matter, so long as this could get some sort of reaction from Yui.
As soon as I was a girl again, Yui immediately came close to me and gave me another one of her intense stares.
"H-hey!" She just poked at my chest! I felt myself blush a bit at the attack. I noticed Mio and Satoshi turn a little red too. Suddenly, Yui got up and rushed down the stairs. She left without even saying a word!
"Well, things can't always turn out the way we want them to," I said sadly as I gazed at the half-open door.
"Nee-chan…" Satoshi placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Mio sat next to me and smiled at me sadly.
Then, unexpectedly, we heard footsteps coming up the stairs. The three of us exchanged looks of confusion.
"Excuse me!" Yui cried out as she entered the room, this time with a bucket in her hands.
"Eh?"
SPLASH!
Mio and Satoshi got out of the way just in time. I, on the other hand, was not as fortunate. My clothes were soaking wet again; not even five minutes have passed since I last got wet! When they said water therapy, I never had this in mind!
"What are you-?" Pretty soon, Yui hands were roaming my chest again.
"They're not there…" she murmured to herself. I was about to push her back a little when she got up to grab the kettle on the floor.
"Oooowwww!" I cried out in pain as hot water flowed down my body. But this time I didn't let my guard down. Yui's hands were positioned for another invasion when I grabbed them with my own.
"What the heck was that for?" I asked angrily. Yui just stared at me as reply. When she did, I immediately mellowed down and released her hands. She had a contemplative look on her face.
"Sorry…" I said as I avoided her eyes. Then came a moment of silence in the room.
"So it IS true…" Yui finally said, as if it were some sort of conclusion. "I'm not dreaming!" she announced, sounding satisfied.
"Of course you're not!" I exclaimed in annoyance.
"Yui, please explain," Mio said calmly as she handed me a towel.
"Um, well you see, I thought I was dreaming. And I also thought that I heard you wrong when you said Ricchan could turn into a boy so I had to splash water on her too," Yui explained before smiling apologetically.
"But you saw! You saw!" I cried as tears ran down my face and while pointing an accusing finger at her.
"Like I said, I thought I was dreaming. But when Ricchan yelled in pain, I realized that I really was awake," Yui added.
"Aren't you supposed to hurt yourself to make sure you're awake?" Satoshi said with a hint of confusion on his face.
"Satoshi, ask no more. It's Yui, after all," Mio said with a sigh. Truly, it was best to follow Mio's advice, so we did just that.
"Ricchan, you'd better change your clothes or your condition will get worse," Yui said as she faced me. Relief washed over me as she beamed her usual smile at me.
"Uh, su-sure…" I stammered.
"But before that…"
SPLASH!
"Could you please stop doing that?"
" Ehehehe…sorry, Ricchan. It's kinda fun to watch, you see."
"Wow, this tastes great! Is this really Mugi's first cake?" I said after taking my first bite of Dobo-chan, as Yui called it. We had just finished recounting to Yui the details of how I got cursed in China, and of last night's events too. Of course, Mio and I didn't tell everything. We left out some particularly, um, intimate points. This time, during our story-telling session, a wide variety of expressions showed on Yui's face. Amazement, fear, joy, sadness, worry – they easily shifted one after the other. She even nearly cried at some point. We paused several times just to assure her that everything was going to be alright.
"It really is impressive, just by looking at it," Mio agreed while enjoying her slice.
"Isn't it?" Yui said happily.
"Hey, how many slices have you had?" I asked after sensing that she was about to get another one.
"By the way, why didn't you guys tell me about the curse right away?" Yui asked as she settled her empty saucer on the table. Trying to dodge the question, eh? But since she looks like she isn't going to get another slice, might as well answer her. Ugh, now I want to do the dodging.
"Cause it's weird," I blurted out without thinking. "Doesn't it freak you out?"
"Ritsu…" Mio said quietly. I thought I already got over it, but I guess haven't yet. Not completely.
"Nope," Yui replied simply. "It just makes you more interesting."
Yui's words took me by surprise. I guess Mio wasn't expecting them too, judging by the look on her face.
"Um, how do I put it?" Yui continued nervously. The intensity of our gazes probably made her feel that way. "Azunyan is Azunyan. Mugi-chan is Mugi-chan. Mio-chan is Mio-chan. And," she turned to face me, "Ricchan is Ricchan. The way you look on the outside doesn't change who you are. Even if you turned into a monkey instead of a boy, you'd still be among my best friends because you're Ricchan."
It's strange how the simple words of an airhead can also be so profound. And encouraging. A huge grin spread on my face.
"Come here, you!" I said as I locked Yui in a chokehold-sort-of hug. "So you want me to become monkey, eh?"
"Ricchan…have some more of Dobo-chan…o-kay?" she offered while trying to escape.
"You two'd better stop before someone gets hurt," Mio warned. And yet, she was also smiling at us.
"Rikkun!" Yui exclaimed out of the blue when I released her.
"Huh?" Mio and I looked at her questioningly.
"From now on, we'll call you Rikkun whenever you're a boy and we're around people you don't want to reveal you real identity to. Like an alias!" Yui said.
"Riku, huh? It think it's suit you," Mio agreed.
"Riku, Riku, Riku," I repeated, trying to get the feel of it. "Riku, Riku, Riku…
"Riku. I like it! Way to go, Yui!" I said happily.
Tainaka Riku. Cousin of HTT's president and drummer. The new persona I have to bear whenever the need arises. With a new identity to help cover up my secret, and with added support from two of my closest friends, I returned to school the day after the next with the confidence needed to take on the challenges ahead.
"But they can't be that bad, right? I mean, what can happen?" I told Mio on our way to the classroom.
Mio stopped walking and looked at me anxiously. "Now we know that something's definitely going to happen."
It didn't take long for me to find out if she were right.
Read Me: I intend to make this story rather long, so it won't be ending anytime soon. Definitely not with the pace I'm going. I'm sort of having trouble motivating myself to continue sometimes, but I do want to finish this story. Any suggestions for self-motivation?
Aaaanyway, thank you for reading! I'll try to make the next chapter more exciting. Longer too. 'Til next time! XD