Chapter 70: A Beautiful Girl Spends Her Birthday with Her Best Friend (Part 1)

For a solid thirty minutes, I’d been agonizing over where to put the teddy bear everyone had given me.

I tried the shelf, my desk—every conceivable spot—but none of them felt right. Since it was a gift from my friends, I wanted it somewhere noticeable. That was my intention, at least, but my room simply had no "perfect" spot that stood out.

On top of that, the arcade prize plushies Ryoji restocks from time to time are surprisingly large and plentiful. This little teddy bear, barely twenty centimeters tall, just got buried in the crowd. But I liked the prize plushies too, so I couldn't just shove them aside.

Utterly lost, I slumped onto my bed, still holding the bear. At this point… maybe I should just sleep with it…

Just as that silly thought drifted through my head, my smartphone chimed with an incoming call.

Moeka-chan once told me I should at least set a proper ringtone, but I’m clueless about trendy music and never know what to pick. In the end, I just left it on the default setting. It’s not like it matters—my phone is always on silent when I’m out anyway.

Muttering that pointless excuse to myself, I checked the screen.

Oh. It was Ryoji.

"Hello? What’s up?"

"Oh, Ayumi? You free right now?"

"Yeah, I’m free."

Hearing my answer, Ryoji paused. I could hear him breathing on the other end, as if taking a deep breath. He sounded… strangely nervous. What on earth was he planning to say?

"If you’re not busy tomorrow, want to hit the arcade?"

But his question was just a normal invitation. He’d asked me to hang out countless times, so why the nerves now? Ah—maybe it was because I’d turned him down last time for plans with Aoi-kun… I still felt bad about that.

But tomorrow… Tomorrow was my birthday. Not that anything special was happening, but going out sounded better than lazing around the house. And it was a rare invitation, after all.

"Sure. Sounds good."

Once I agreed, Ryoji started deciding on a time. The meeting place didn't need discussion; it was always my house. We’d done it that way since middle school whenever we went to the arcade near the station, and there was no changing it now.

"Come to think of it… tomorrow’s your birthday, right?"

"Yeah, that’s right. You remembered?"

"Mm. Yeah. I mean, I’ve never forgotten it."

Those casual words made me a little happy. Back when I was still a boy, no one made a big deal about my birthday, but hearing that he remembered warmed my chest just a bit.

"Then let’s go buy you a present."

"Eh? No, no—you don’t need to. Same as always is fine."

Just because I’d become a girl, suddenly getting presents felt… weird. As long as Ryoji hung out with me like always, I was perfectly happy.

"Nah, come on. I’m spending your special birthday with you—it’d feel wrong not to give you something. Calling it a ‘present’ sounds fancy, but I’ll get you something."

"R–Really…? But picking out a birthday present together… that kind of sounds like a date."

Ryoji clearly had no intention of backing down, but I kept stumbling over the idea of choosing a gift together on my birthday. I knew he didn’t mean anything weird by it, yet I couldn’t help being conscious. It was Ryoji—so why was I reacting like this? I had never once thought about him in a "boy-girl" way before.

…It was probably because I went to see a movie alone with Aoi-kun. Ever since then, hanging out one-on-one with a boy felt… different somehow. Everyone kept calling it a date, and now that idea was stuck in my head.

But that was just me overthinking things. For Ryoji, it was surely—

"Yeah, it’s a date."

"Wha—?"

A strange noise escaped me before my brain could even process his words. A heartbeat later, their meaning hit me.

"Eeeeh!? Are you serious!?"

Why?? Why would he say that all of a sudden!? My thoughts scattered in every direction. What was I supposed to do with this…?

"...I’m kidding. Don’t worry about it."

Ryoji laughed through the phone.

A joke?
I exhaled a long, relieved sigh. Even so, my heart was still thumping wildly. That was too much for a joke—seriously.

I didn’t know why the word "date" affected me so much, but for some reason, my heart had skipped a beat. Not in a bad way—just… a vague uneasiness, like being caught off guard.

"Anyway, see you tomorrow."

"Y–Yeah."

I hung up and rolled onto my back, pressing a hand against my chest. My heart was still racing. I hugged the teddy bear tight.

So… hanging out with Ryoji alone meant we were a boy and a girl spending time together.

We’d been hanging out since middle school, so I’d never paid attention to our genders. Even after I became a girl, a part of me still thought of Ryoji as… well, the same as me. But from the outside, that was obviously not how it looked.

For example, when we went to the summer festival together—just the two of us—hadn’t that basically been a date, too? The thought made embarrassment gush out all at once.

I wanted to stay friends with Ryoji. But was that hard if we were different genders? No, it shouldn’t be…

He said it was a joke… but what did he really think? I had always believed Ryoji would never see me as the opposite sex. Because of that, we could always hang out as friends.

But what if that assumption fell apart?
What if we started being conscious of each other?

…No. I shouldn’t overthink this.

I suddenly sat upright. Ryoji said it was just a joke, and I had no way of knowing if he meant it. Brooding over something so uncertain wouldn’t get me anywhere. Tomorrow, we were just going to the arcade like always.

Forcing my thoughts to a halt, I left my room and headed for the living room. I would just clean or something—reset my brain.

And just as planned, after throwing myself into chores for a while, my head finally felt clear again.

The next day, I stood checking my reflection in the full-length mirror.

I wore a thin white blouse paired with a brown flared skirt. The neckline was slightly open, so I added the necklace Moeka-chan and the others had given me. It might have been a little plain, but since I wasn't aiming to stand out, the outfit felt just right.

This was just a hangout with Ryoji, after all. There was no need to go all out. I knew that. Really, I did. I just… wanted an excuse to wear the necklace.

I looked at my reflection again. I wasn't sure if it actually suited me, but for some reason, wearing it made me feel a little more "leveled up." I wanted someone to see it, and it would be nice to get a compliment. I wondered if Ryoji would notice.

The thought made me break into a natural grin.

No, no, stop it—I can’t let myself look so sloppy!

Accessories were nice. I had never paid them much mind before, but they really did change your appearance. Dressing up like a girl had so many layers to it. Maybe I should even learn about makeup sometime… I could ask Yoshino-san next time…

A glance at the clock told me I still had some time before Ryoji was due to arrive. As I tried to smooth down a few stray hairs, a knock came at my door.

"Ayuu-neesan, I’m coming in!"

"Yeah, come on in."

My little brother, Kaname, walked in.

Not long ago, Kaname used to get away with practically anything—touching, teasing, you name it. But our dad had recently gotten strict with him. From what I heard from Mom, after I decided to live as a girl, Dad had taken it upon himself to teach Kaname how to properly treat women. Even with family, he couldn't just do whatever he wanted; it would be bad if he tried the same things elsewhere. Thanks to that, Kaname had mostly become normal… well, a little—or actually, a lot—of a siscon.

"Whoa, Ayuu-neesan is so girly!"

"What’s with that reaction?"

"Eh, but you’re going to hang out with Ryoji, right? Are you really going all out like this?"

"Uh… do you think he’ll be weirded out by the necklace and stuff?"

Kaname looked me up and down. I really didn't appreciate being sized up like an exhibit.

"Nah, I don’t think he’ll be weirded out."

"Really?"

"Yeah, yeah. He might even be happy to see you like this."

"R–Really…?"

Kaname had known Ryoji since middle school, back when Ryoji often came over to our house. If Kaname said Ryoji would be happy, then… maybe he was right. And if he was happy, that was the most important thing.

Still… what was I even aiming for? What was I trying to accomplish by making Ryoji happy?

A vague unease lingered in my chest, though I couldn't pinpoint its source. Maybe I shouldn't think too hard about it…

"What’s wrong? You seem worried about something."

"Huh? N–No, it’s nothing."

True to form as my little brother, he was sharp. I shook my head vigorously in denial.

"We’re going to the arcade, right? I want you to take me too, next time."

"Haha, if you went, Kaname, you’d blow through that tiny allowance of yours in no time."

"Darn it."

Kaname scowled. Being in elementary school, he only received a small monthly allowance. And nowadays, with a single arcade play costing more than a hundred yen, he'd be broke in minutes.

"So… why did you come here, anyway?"

"Oh, right. I came to borrow some manga."

With that, Kaname began rifling through my manga shelves. Lately, thanks to Moeka-chan’s recommendations, I had been buying some shoujo manga, but I still maintained my collection of shonen series from over the years. Kaname was after those.

"Make sure to return them properly, okay?"

"I know, I know."

I checked the time again. Ryoji would be arriving soon.

"Well, I’m going to head out now."

"Okay, have fun!"

Leaving Kaname to his search in my room, I grabbed my bag and headed for the front door.