Chapter 3: The Beautiful Girl Faces the Men of the Sakura Family

I was completely at a loss after getting out of the bath. Mom had said, “I’ll get out first,” and left me behind to start making breakfast.

Waiting for me when I emerged were: a sports bra, a pair of panties so small I wasn’t even sure I could fit in them, a denim skirt, a pale pink camisole, a light blue hoodie, and an absurdly long pair of white socks.

Our family has four members: Dad, Mom, me, and my little brother. Which meant these girly clothes laid out before me had no rightful owner in the household. There was no way these were Mom’s.

“Mom! Mom, where are my clothes!?”

Still wrapped in a bath towel, I hurried through the living room toward the kitchen.

“My, Ayumu! Dressed like that—are you trying to tempt someone? You’ll have to wait until after breakfast, though.”

“That’s not it! Where are my clothes!?”

“This morning’s collection truck took them away.”

“What!? You can’t just throw out old clothes! What were you thinking!?”

“Oh, whoops! Mommy messed up.”

She stuck out her tongue playfully. For a mother of two, that level of cheekiness was impressive. Not that it helped the situation.

“That’s not the point! Why’d you throw them out!? What am I supposed to wear!?”

“Oh, come on. I laid out some clothes for you in the bathroom, didn’t I?”

“Those are girl clothes!”

“Well, you are a girl, Ayumu.”

…I see. Indeed, by certain standards, one might say that. Wait—why am I agreeing with that!?

“I-I don’t want to wear girls’ underwear!”

“Ayumu! I won’t allow you to show your bare chest to anyone but your mother!”

What kind of logic is that!? I don’t plan to show it to you either!

“Listen, Ayumu. No matter how you look at it, you’re a girl now. And not just any girl—a super adorable one! So cute I could just squeeze you all day—fufhii~”

Mom had started serious but quickly descended into madness.

“Ahem! Anyway, if a girl walks around without a bra, she’s basically a pervert! Is that what you want to be? A magnet for creeps?”

“Uh… I’d rather not?”

“And if a girl wears boxers under a skirt, it shatters every boy’s dream when they get a peek! You want that on your conscience?”

“Honestly, I don’t think I care that much.”

“No! Peeking is a sacred art! The joy of a fleeting glimpse beneath an impenetrable fortress of fabric—if the result is boxers, that’s a crime against beauty itself! That poor boy! Every time he sees an upskirt photo from then on, he’ll remember the boxer tragedy! Ayumu, could you bear such a burden!?”

“Why is this turning into some epic moral crisis!? I don’t even plan on wearing a skirt—”

“If you wear the skirt, I’ll buy you a new computer.”

“Gladly, Madam. I’ll put it on right away.”

I got played. Totally baited by material temptation. Pathetic. But still! I couldn’t just ignore such a golden opportunity. Mom had said she wouldn’t buy me a computer until university, so this was my big break. A real man knows when to seize his chances.

For the record, I don’t even have a phone. What? It’s fine. Really. Totally fine.

Anyway, having already agreed to wear it, I had no choice but to head back to the bathroom. But a question came to mind.

“Hey, we don’t have any girls in the house, so where did those clothes and underwear even come from?”

“Oh, that? When you were in elementary school, I used to—cough cough—never mind! Don’t worry about it. Let’s just say I conjured them with alchemy.”

“Like hell you did! Now I am worried! Wait, hang on! I was a boy just yesterday, you know!?”

But after that, all Mom said was weird stuff like, “Armor is useless unless equipped,” and refused to give me a real answer.

Defeated, I went back to the bathroom. The clothes and underwear were still there. So I had to wear them, huh… They might fit perfectly on the outside, but mentally, this was a hundred percent wrong.

“Achoo!”

I shivered. Even though it was warm out, walking around wrapped only in a damp towel left me freezing in the hallway.

Ugh, fine! Whatever! There’s nothing else to wear anyway! Even I know walking around without underwear is not an option. That goes for both genders.

I picked up the panties and unfolded them. They felt so soft compared to my usual boxers—and had a faint, pleasant scent. Wait, why am I smelling them!? I’m turning into a total perv!

Forcing my mind blank, I slipped them on. Huh… they actually fit really well. Compared to the awkward feel of boxers, this wasn’t bad at all.

Next was the sports bra. Did I even need this? And how was I supposed to put it on? Over the head like a T-shirt?

I tried pulling it on that way and slipped my arms through. It felt… weird. Probably because the chest area wasn’t lined up right.

After fumbling for a while, I somehow got it into shape. Never thought I’d struggle this much with a bra in my life. What kind of bizarre world had I ended up in? I felt like a part of my humanity had died just now.

And the size fit perfectly. Which, honestly, terrified me.

The mirror reflected a girl wearing only her underwear. She didn’t look sexy or anything—probably because of her short height, childish proportions, and baby face.

Sigh. Why do I have to wear girls’ underwear anyway? If I somehow turned back into a guy while wearing this, I’d want someone to just kill me. I do want to turn back, though…

I put on the camisole and hoodie, then the skirt. What the heck is with skirts!? It feels like I’m wearing nothing! So breezy! I can’t stop worrying someone might see under it.

How do girls live like this? Are they exhibitionists!?

Even standing still, I kept wanting to hold down the hem in front and back. The denim fabric was stiff enough not to flip easily, but I didn’t feel safe at all. Still… it was better than walking around in just underwear.

Yes. Better than that. Definitely better than that.

Muttering that like a mantra, I put on the long socks. They reached all the way above my knees. So these were the famous over-the-knee socks, huh.

When I finished getting dressed, I looked into the mirror. What I saw was unmistakably a girl. One hundred percent, no question.

It had only been about two hours since I’d turned into a girl, and yet it already felt like there was no going back.

Sighing deeply, I suddenly heard the bathroom door open.

“Wah!? Who are you!?”

Standing there was my little brother—Kaname.

“Ah, Kaname. Sorry, I’ll be out in a sec.”

“Huh? How do you know my name? Who are you?”

As I apologized, Kaname’s expression practically had a question mark floating above it.
Turning into a girl and still not realizing it… as her big brother, that stings a little.
I gave Kaname a sidelong stare, and he blushed, looking away awkwardly.

“What, you’re embarrassed because I’m staring at you? Did you forget your big brother’s face?”

“No, it’s just… if you look at me with such a cute face, a shy boy like me doesn’t stand a chance! Wait, did you say ‘big brother’?”

“Yeah. I don’t know how I ended up like this, but I’m still your big brother.”

“For real!? Now that I look closer, you really do look alike… but are you really Ayu-nii-chan?”

Kaname calls me “Ayu-nii-chan.” Since I was shy and didn’t have many friends, I spent a lot of time playing with Kaname.
Kaname, unlike me, had plenty of friends and was very sociable, but at home, we always played together.
By the way, Kaname is eleven. He’ll be a sixth grader next year.

“Whoa, that’s amazing. Ayu-nii-chan turned into Ayu-nee-chan. And you’re super pretty too, Ayu-nee-chan.”

“Wait, hold up. Why are you already switching over to calling me ‘Ayu-nee-chan’? Just stick with Ayu-nii-chan!”

Even though he’s my little brother, he’s still our mother’s child. His adaptability is off the charts.
…Wait! The fact that I’m walking around calmly in women’s underwear and a skirt means I’m also highly adaptable!?
Kaname gave me a puzzled look as I protested.

“But, you know… calling you ‘big brother’ when you’ve turned into such a cute girl feels weird.”

“Even if it feels weird, I’m still a guy.”

Yeah, I’m a guy. On the outside, I’m one hundred percent a girl, but on the inside, I’m one hundred percent a boy.
That’s why being called “big sister” is off-limits! It feels like I’m denying the gender I was born with.

“Hm. Well, if Ayu-nii-chan’s okay with it, then fine. But when my friends come over, should I still call you Ayu-nii-chan? People are gonna give us some weird looks.”

“Um… how about you only change what you call me when other people are around?”

“There’s no way that would work. I’m not that smooth.”

Ugh.
Yeah, from an outsider’s perspective, calling a girl “big brother” would look strange.
If rumors spread that Kaname had a perverted cross-dressing brother, I’d feel bad for him—and my own life points wouldn’t survive the hit.
Ugh… at this point, wearing women’s clothes already counts as cross-dressing emotionally. And even my underwear’s female now… this is a dangerous level. I wanna die.

“Fine. Call me whatever you want…”

“Okay then! Ayu-nee-chan it is!”

Ah. Sure. Fine.

“You know, even when you were still ‘big brother,’ people sometimes thought you looked like a girl because you were cute. But now that you’re an actual girl, you’re really cute, Ayu-nee-chan!”

“Uh, yeah. Thanks?”

Being called cute gave me mixed feelings, but since he was genuinely complimenting me, it didn’t feel bad.

“Kaname, doesn’t it creep you out that your big brother suddenly turned into your big sister?”

“Huh? What’s creepy about it? If anything, you’re so cute it’s kind of scary.”

It was an offbeat answer, but at least it wasn’t rejection.
I felt relieved and patted Kaname on the head.
When I was still a boy, I’d ruffle his hair roughly.
But now I’m shorter than Kaname. Just standing on tiptoe took all my effort, so I couldn’t put much strength into it.

“Whoa, this is amazing! You even smell nice! I’ve decided—I’m gonna marry you, Ayu-nee-chan!”

Kaname looked delighted.
But I couldn’t help feeling like this was heading in the wrong direction.

The clock read nine o’clock in the morning.

Right now, I was in the living room. On the table sat a delicious-looking breakfast: golden-brown toast, bacon and eggs, sausages—the whole deal.

I could feel two intense gazes drilling into me from across the table. Kaname’s and Mom’s. Wow. Being stared at like this is… seriously noticeable.

Mom’s heavy breathing added an extra layer of danger—I could practically feel my life slipping away.

Apart from that, I was just plain nervous.

Dad would be walking into the living room any moment now.

“Walking” might be too dramatic—he wasn’t going to attack or anything. He’d just… show up normally.

Today was Sunday.

On a weekday, Dad would already be gone by this hour, and I wouldn’t see him until night. But on his day off, there was no avoiding a morning encounter.

Well, even if I didn’t see him now, I couldn’t hide forever. But that didn’t mean I wanted to see him right now.

As I fidgeted nervously, Mom fired an unforgiving command.

“Ayumu, Dad’s running late. Go wake him up.”

“What? Why me!? If I go in like this, there’s no way I’ll get out unscathed!”

After all, I was dressed like a girl. Skirt, bra… and not just the appearance—on the inside, I was fully a biological girl now.

Dad might not even realize this girl was me. Even Kaname hadn’t noticed at first, so it was entirely possible Dad wouldn’t either.

Back when I was still a boy, I once tried waking Dad while he was asleep. He mistook me for a trespasser. The second I touched him, he nearly broke my arm. Brutal.

Now my arms were even slimmer than back then. If he did that again, they’d definitely shatter.

“It’s okay. Dad’s a gentleman,” Mom said.

“‘Gentleman,’ huh? More like someone who could probably kill a person or two,” I muttered.

Right—our father, Shigeru Sakura. Forty-two years old. Supposedly engages in street fights every day in back alleys.

Just kidding.

In reality, he works at a city bank. Something about personal investments, I think… but I don’t really understand banking.

He claims, “Keeping your body in shape is part of my job,” which is… debatable. Still, thanks to training, he has a perfectly toned body and stands over 180 cm tall, giving him a naturally intimidating presence.

“Mom, you know what happened last time when he almost broke my forearm! If that happens now, it’ll shatter!”

“He calls it ‘bonding,’ you know,” Mom replied.

“If that’s ‘bonding,’ then literally anything can be called bonding!”

“Relax. If Dad tried to break your beautiful little arms now—heh heh heh—it’d be a disaster. But I doubt it’ll happen.”

I could feel the air grow tense. There’s always someone higher up. Mom was on a whole different level.

I glanced at Kaname, seeking some kind of salvation.

“D-don’t look at me like that, Ayu-nee-chan. I’ll… I’ll lose it!”

Since when did Kaname become such a hopeless little brat?

“But, but… I want you to keep staring at me with that troubled face!”

“Kaname, you understand me so well! I want to take a picture of Ayumu like this and frame it!”

When did this house get so full of completely broken people?

I gave up and headed for the hallway. Honestly, at this point, I almost thought it might be simpler to just get killed by Dad right now—it might even be… refreshing.

As I reached for the doorknob to open Dad’s room, the door suddenly pushed outward from the inside. Dad was coming out at the same time.

Caught off guard, I tumbled backward onto my butt.

“Ouch…”

“Ah, sorry. Huh!?”

Dad noticed me sitting on the floor, even after apologizing. His eyes should have been seeing a strange girl.

“Ayumu?”

“Y-yeah.”

Under that sharp gaze, I froze like a frog caught in a snake’s glare.

“I see. You’ve gotten quite cute,” Dad said, then gently took my hand and helped me to my feet.

How natural. How gentlemanly! Not a shred of agitation at this sight!

Behold, my proud father.

“Don’t you think something’s… strange about me?”

“Raising a son and suddenly realizing he’s turned into a daughter… sure, it makes one think. But if I had to point out one important thing…”

“Point it out?”

“Your old man… always wanted a daughter.”

“Excuse me?”

“Could you call me ‘Papa’?”

“Huh? Papa?”

And just like that, Dad trembled slightly before charging into the living room with wild energy. Then he shouted one word:

“Mom, we’re having red rice today!”

Behold again—this is my disappointing father.

When did this house become full of hopeless people…?

I mean, seriously, couldn’t at least one person be a little disappointed? Not that I want anyone crying or anything, but come on.