Chapter 23: The Pretty Girl Goes Out to Play [Moeka’s House Arc]

"Hmm..."

I sit on my bed, staring at three different outfits spread out before me, humming in thought.
Not because I’m wondering which one looks the most fashionable—no, I’m trying to decide which one will make me stand out the least.

As much as I hate to admit it, I’ve come to realize that I attract attention now.
Why is it that I was so plain as a guy, but now that I’m a girl, everyone notices me? I really wish my old self had gotten even a little of this spotlight.

Well, I’ve already turned into a girl, and I have no idea how to turn back. Thinking about the past won’t change anything. I just have to live in the now.

Anyway, the reason I’m choosing clothes is simple: I’m going out.

Today’s Saturday—my first weekend since starting high school.
And on this precious day off, Moeka-chan invited me over to her house.

I mean, going to a girl’s house is nerve-racking, sure, but how could I refuse? Even if I get nervous, of course I want to go. I’m a guy, after all. Well… at least on the inside.

And so, here I am, picking out what to wear. Truth be told, I’ve hardly gone out alone since turning into a girl.
Usually, Ryoji walks with me to and from school. The only time I went out by myself was during spring break to run an errand. Back then, I didn’t realize how much I stood out.

I wish I could’ve stayed blissfully unaware of that forever… But now that I know, I’ve been choosing the plainest clothes I can.

"Alright."

Alone in my room, I nod to myself.

This should do!

I decide on a white-and-black striped long-sleeved tunic. The hem has black lace, making it look like I’m wearing layers at a glance. I’ll pair it with black knee-high socks.

Yep. All black. With this gloomy look, I’ll blend right into the background.

I quickly change clothes. At first, seeing myself in just underwear used to make my heart race—but after doing it every day, I don’t feel anything anymore. Even taking a bath doesn’t faze me, so a bit of underwear doesn’t matter.

…Still, the fact that I’ve gotten used to wearing bras and panties—what kind of shameless pervert have I become? And yet, I can’t deny that women’s underwear really does fit the female body well. It’s… impressive.

I put on a camisole over my underwear, then the tunic.

Okay, all set. Time to make breakfast.

"Oh my, Ayumi-chan, you look adorable again today!"

Mom—also known as my mother—calls out from the bathroom.

"Mom, this doesn’t stand out, right?"

"Hmm, sorry, but with that cute loli look, you’ll probably stand out even more♪ You must’ve dressed up since you’re going out today."

"W-what!? No way…"

I wasn’t trying to dress up at all! But apparently, that’s how it looks. What am I supposed to do!?

"And watch your language, young lady! Next time, I’m cutting your allowance, okay?♪"

As always, my mother’s “girly training” is relentless.

I’m meeting up with Moeka-chan at the entrance of the station nearest her house.

I ended up arriving thirty minutes early. I left home early so I wouldn’t be late, but… maybe a bit too early.

I look around just in case, but she’s not here yet.

I sit down on a bench by the station entrance and take out my smartphone.
When I text her “I’m already here,” she replies almost instantly: “I’ll be there in about ten minutes! (≧▽≦)”—complete with an adorable emoji.

Ten minutes, huh. Guess I’ll just play on my phone while I wait.

I open a game I installed recently—a simple tap-action game. You just tap to make the little character jump and avoid falling into holes. The goal is to see how far you can get.
It’s ridiculously simple, but somehow addicting. I’ve been playing it whenever I get bored lately.

As I sit there, people passing by keep sneaking glances at me.
Looks like Mom was right—I really do stand out.

Feeling self-conscious, I try to focus harder on the game. Of course, that doesn’t help. My score tanks.

"Oh, there you are! Ayumi-chan, heeey!"

After a while, Moeka-chan shows up.

"Hi," I greet her back.

Today, Moeka-chan’s wearing a light pink hoodie with a red-and-black checkered mini skirt and black tights underneath. The soft, spring-like colors suit her perfectly.

"Wow! You look super cute today too! Your casual outfit’s just as adorable as your uniform, Ayumi-chan♪"

She says that as she pats my head.

"Come on, let’s go to my house!"

It’s just the two of us today.

Wait—just the two of us!? Isn’t that basically a date!?
Well, not really, since we’re both girls… but still, emotionally speaking, it kind of feels like one.

She reaches out her right hand, and without thinking, I take it.

"You held my hand so easily! I’m happy~"

"Eh? Ah—s-sorry!"

Why did I grab her hand so naturally!? The embarrassment hits me a second later.
I really need to stop acting on impulse like that.

I try to pull away, but Moeka-chan doesn’t let go.

"Let’s keep holding hands till we get there♪"

She looks so cheerful that I just nod.

And now, here I am—standing in front of Moeka-chan’s house.

She opens the front door and waves me in.

Ugh, I’m so nervous! I’ve barely ever been inside a guy’s house, let alone a girl’s! This is next-level difficulty!

"What’s wrong? Come on, hurry up."

Moeka-chan tilts her head as I freeze up at the entrance.

Please, give me a moment! Entering someone else’s house feels like stepping into enemy territory—it’s such an intimidating mission! And if it’s a girl’s house? That’s like “very hard” mode!

Okay, deep breath. Prime numbers. One, two, four—wait, messed up already! Ugh, whatever!

"Excuse me for intruding…"

I slowly step into the entranceway.

So this is Moeka-chan’s house...
Whenever you go into someone else’s place, it always smells different from your own. What even is that difference, anyway?

"Haha, relax! My parents aren’t home today."

"Oh, really?"

That makes me feel a bit relieved.

"So we can do whatever we want today♡"

"Huh? Whatever we want?"

Does she mean, like, make noise? Can two girls really get that rowdy?

Moeka-chan giggles as I tilt my head.

"Ayumi-chan’s still too innocent, huh~"

"Innocent? About what?"

"Hehe, don’t worry about it♪ Anyway, let’s go to my room!"

She slips off her shoes and hops upstairs.

Hop, hop—wait, her skirt! I can almost—ah, no, I didn’t see anything! Why am I the one blushing!?

I hurry to take off my own shoes and follow her up. In the end, I didn’t actually see anything—she’s clearly more experienced at being a girl than I am.

At the top of the stairs, she stops in front of a door.

"This is my room!"

With that, Moeka-chan opens the door and steps inside.

So this is… a girl’s room.
I honestly thought I’d never enter one in my entire life, and yet—here I am, in the strangest way possible.

But… is it really okay for me to be here? Inside, I’m still a guy.
Yeah, this doesn’t feel right. It’s not like I’m tricking anyone, but somehow it feels that way.

Maybe noticing that I froze at the entrance, Moeka-chan comes back out and tugs on my hand.
Before I know it, she’s pulled me into the room.

Inside, the place is filled with cute plush toys and little trinkets—definitely what you’d call a “girl’s room.”
Even the wallpaper is a soft pink. It’s… really cute.

Meanwhile, my room back home is the total opposite—completely bare, the perfect example of “a guy with no hobbies.”

A-and it’s not like I feel defeated or anything! I don’t need plush toys! Seriously!

"Come on, Ayumi-chan, sit down."

The room had a cream-colored carpet, with a small white table in the center.
Around it were three soft floor cushions. I did as I was told and sat on one of them.

"I’ll go make some tea, so wait here, okay?"

Moeka-chan left the room, leaving me alone.

Okay. Don’t think about anything.
Don’t think about how there’s this faint, sweet smell in the air. Definitely don’t.

As I sat there fidgeting, the door behind me suddenly burst open.
Startled, I jumped and turned around.

"Big sis, you got a friend over?"

Our eyes met. A girl stood there—about Moeka-chan’s height, with a similar face, though she looked a bit younger.
Moeka-chan already looked youthful, but this girl had an even more childlike vibe.

"Eeeeh!? Who’s this!? She’s so cute!!"

Letting out a loud squeal, the girl dashed over and threw her arms around me.
Then she started rubbing her cheek against mine.

"Wow, your skin’s so smooth! I can’t believe someone this doll-like actually exists!"

She was so energetic that I lost my balance and toppled backward onto the floor.

Wh-what’s with this kid!? She’s so strong!

But she didn’t stop there—still hugging me tightly, still rubbing against me, breathing a little too heavily for comfort.

"Aahh, you’re way too cute! I just wanna dress you up—yes, yes, I need to dress you up!"

Her eyes were glinting suspiciously!
Help! Someone, help me!!

She grabbed my tunic and started tugging on it—
W-wait, she’s trying to undress me!?

This is seriously dangerous! Stop that! It’s really going to come off!
And you’re pulling too hard! You’ll take the camisole with it!

"Hey! Aika! What do you think you’re doing to my Ayumi-chan!?"

"It’s not like she belongs to you either, sis!"

"Wait—Aika, you mean this is the friend you were talking about?"

"And don’t call her ‘this kid’! She’s my classmate!"

"Oh, right! If she’s your friend, then she’s your age… huh!? She’s a high schooler!? You make her sound like some old lady by comparison!"

"I am not an old lady! Keep that up and you’re getting kicked out!"

Honestly, I had no idea what was happening anymore.
Out of nowhere, I’d been tackled, pinned to the floor, nearly stripped—and now I was just lying here, ignored. What even is my life right now!?

"Ah, sorry for the wait, Ayumi-chan! I brought the tea."

That’s not really the issue here!

"Hey! Aika! Stop trying to strip Ayumi-chan already!"

When Moeka-chan said that, the girl—apparently named Aika—reluctantly, very reluctantly, let go of me.
Don’t look so disappointed, geez…

I quickly straightened my messed-up clothes.

"Um… Moeka-chan, who is she?"

"Oh, her? She’s my little sister. Her name’s Aika."

"Nice to meet you~!"

"Ah, yeah, nice to meet you. I’m Ayumi Sakura."

"Okay! Nice to meet you too, Ayu-chan!"

"Don’t get too familiar, Aika!"

"I don’t really mind," I said.

"See? You’re too stiff, sis!"

"Am I really…?"

Moeka-chan glanced at me out of the corner of her eye.
Stiff, huh? That’s funny—up until now, I’ve never once thought of Moeka-chan as shy or reserved.
Is this… another side of her? A hidden form? Like, Moeka: Third Evolution or something?

"Anyway, come on, sis, sit down!"

"Wait, wait! This isn’t even your room!"

Even as she complained, Moeka-chan sat down, and I adjusted myself on the cushion too.

"Ayumi-chan, the real reason I invited you today is because Aika wouldn’t stop bugging me about it."

"Well yeah! You were all like, ‘There’s this super cute girl~♪’ every single day! Of course I wanted to see her!"

"And? Now that you’ve met her, what do you think, Aika?"

"She’s super cute♪"

Aika looked at me with dreamy eyes, and I instinctively scooted backward.

"See!? You’re creeping her out! This is why I didn’t want to bring her!"

"But she’s just too cute! And she’s so defenseless—it’s dangerous!"

"Yeah, you’ve got a point."

"Right~?"

You two get along way too well!
And what kind of household is this, where the first thing the younger sister does is try to undress a guest!?

"A-Ah! It’s not like I wanted to strip your clothes off, Ayu-chan! I just love making outfits, and I’ve been looking for a cute girl to wear them!"

I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.

For the record, Aika-chan’s apparently in her third year of middle school. That makes her one year below us. Maybe that’s why she acts more like a friend than a younger sister.

"And you know! And you know, Ayu-chan! Since you’re here, why don’t you try on one of my outfi—"

"No!"

I shook my head back and forth hard enough to rattle my brain.

"Eeeeh! Why not? It’ll be fun!"

"H-How about you get your big sister to wear it?"

"No waaay. My sister’s face looks just like mine. It’s not fun when someone who looks like me wears it!"

"I don’t want to wear Aika’s outfits either. They’re embarrassing."

"So you’re gonna make me wear the clothes that even you’re too embarrassed to put on!?"

"Wait, wait! It won’t be embarrassing if you wear them, Ayumi-chan! It’s just sad when I wear them, but you’ll totally look adorable!"

What kind of logic is that!?

Even from an objective standpoint, Moeka-chan is definitely on the cute side.
If she says something’s embarrassing, there’s no way it’ll suit me any better!

"Ayu-chan, you won’t wear it?"

"Ayumi-chan, you won’t wear it?"

You two really are in perfect sync! Don’t both look so disappointed like that! Now I feel like I just kicked a puppy or something!

"Just one outfit! Please! Just one!"

"Even if you say that, I’d still be embarrassed!"

"Auuuh! What’s with that shy look!? I can’t believe such a cute girl is the same kind of girl as my sister! Unbelievable!"

"Aika, you’re basically the same as me!"

"This level of cuteness needs to be dressed up! Not dressing her up would be a crime against humanity!"

Aika-chan was wiggling her fingers in excitement. Her hands looked way too eager. I instinctively stepped back.

"Hey! Don’t scare Ayumi-chan like that! What if she never comes over again, huh!? Are you ready to take responsibility for that, Aika!?"

"Eeh!? You wouldn’t stop coming, right? You’ll still come, right?"

"Uh… yeah?"

Her tone sounded a bit off, but I ended up nodding anyway.

"Alright! You heard her! She said yes! She’s gonna wear it!"

"Dirty…! My own little sister, and she’s so dirty!"

So that’s what she meant! No wonder her emphasis sounded weird!
I filled in the blanks on my own, and this is what I get for it! I can’t believe I fell for that trick—ugh!

"…Hey, Ayumi-chan. Do you hate coming over now?"

"Uh, well…"

Don’t look at me with those teary eyes, Moeka-chan. That’s cheating.

Unable to even beg for mercy, all I could do was shake my head in denial.

So weak! Pathetic, even. But come on, it’s not like I have a choice here!

When I shook my head, Moeka-chan smiled brightly. Ugh, she’s just too cute.

"Alrighty then, big sis, don’t ruin the mood! We’re about to have Ayu-chan try on one of my outfits!"

"Eh, so I am wearing it after all?"

"Ayu-chan, you won’t wear it for me…?"

You two really are a matching set! Why are you both looking at me with the exact same sad puppy eyes!? I can’t say no to that!

I gave up, hanging my head in defeat.

"Just one outfit, okay…?"

"Really!? Yay♪ I’ll bring my best one—wait right here!"

Aika-chan darted out of the room with the energy of a launched missile.

Now’s my chance to make a run for it…

"I know you’re worried, Ayumi-chan, but Aika’s outfits are amazing! They’re super pretty and really cute—you’ll be fine!"

That’s not exactly the part I’m worried about, but sure, let’s go with that.

Before long, I heard heavy footsteps thundering back down the hall—Aika-chan burst through the door again, just as fast as she’d left.

"This one, this one! Put this on!!"

She was holding a light blue… smock?

"Wait, that’s a kindergarten uniform!"

"Yeah! I think you’d look adorable in it, Ayu-chan!"

"Rejected!"

"“Eeeeh, why!?”"

Stop harmonizing, you two! You’re too in sync!

Of all the outfits she could’ve brought, it had to be that! I mean, sure, it’s well-made, but putting that on right here would be nothing short of public humiliation. My brain would overheat from embarrassment—and my face might actually catch fire.

"Absolutely not! If I have to wear that, I’m never coming here again!"

"Never come again…?"

Both Moeka-chan and Aika-chan deflated like popped balloons.

"Ah, um… I just meant I can’t wear that one, so maybe let’s skip the dress-up today, okay?"

"Then… you’ll come again another time?"

"Yeah, I’ll come again."

"Really, Ayu-chan?"

"Really."

"Okay then… I’ll let it slide today."

"Sorry, Ayumi-chan. My little sister can be a handful sometimes."

Honestly, I didn’t think Moeka-chan was all that different, but that’s a secret I’ll take to the grave.

At least things ended peacefully. I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Then let’s play a game or something, Ayumi-chan!"

"Later, let’s go check out clothes near the station—Ayu-chan, you and big sis too!"

Well, she’s not a bad kid after all. Hard to hate, really. Same goes for Moeka-chan.

My first visit to a girl friend’s house was… chaotic, but honestly? It was fun.