Chapter 12: The Shift in Common Sense

I’d just finished the most intense part of my workload, so I decided to take a paid day off.

Since it was Friday, that meant a three-day weekend.

When I told Kana-chan I was taking the day off, she said she’d take one too. We decided to make the most of it—slept in late that morning, caught a movie in the afternoon, wandered around the mall for a bit, and by evening, went out for drinks.

Of course, we made sure to go somewhere far from the office—and naturally, far from either of our homes.

After drinking for a while, we stepped out of the bar.

"Heading home?"

"Hehe, I don’t really want to let you go tonight..."

Kana-chan slipped her arm around mine, pressing close as she whispered in my ear.

Ah… a love hotel, huh?

"Yeah, sounds good."

I didn’t mind. We both had tomorrow off, and relaxing in a hotel didn’t sound bad. Love hotels have all the amenities—and honestly, they’re kind of fun.

"...We can be as loud as we want, right?"

"...Yeah."

"Then I’m gonna spoil you like crazy tonight!"

Wait—hold on.

That’s… backward. Definitely backward.

Oh well. She’s cute, so whatever.

We walked down the street, arms still linked. That’s when I noticed a sleek black Benz parked ahead. Instinctively, I lowered my gaze and kept walking.

"Eromi?"

Huh?

I looked up at the sound of my nickname—and there was Shachou, leaning against the Benz, cigarette in hand.

"Ah, Shachou. Oh, this is your car? Jeez, don’t park a Benz in a place like this—you’ll scare people."

"Can’t help it. It’s the only one I’ve got... Ah, nice to meet you."

Shachou gave a polite nod toward Kana-chan.

"Kana-chan, this is Itou... um, Shachou, what was your first name again?"

I forgot.

"You’re terrible. It’s Kaoru."

"Right, right. This is my friend Kaoru Itou. You’ve probably heard me mention Shachou before—this is my girlfriend, Kana-chan."

"Good evening."

"Good evening."

They exchanged polite bows.

"So, what are you doing here, Shachou?"

"Company drinking party."

Well, it was Friday.

"With your car?"

"I... don’t drink. So I’m driving everyone home."

She quickly switched her usual ore to watashi in front of Kana-chan.

"I see."

"Anyway, I’ve gotta go—looks like they’re coming back. See you later."

"Okay. Good night."

"Yeah."

We parted ways and headed toward the love hotel.

"So, what’s ‘Eromi,’ anyway?" Kana-chan asked, flashing a teasing grin.

"It’s just a nickname, that’s all."

"Hee~"

Kana-chan’s teasing mode was fully activated.

"The day before yesterday was the first time we met outside this place, right?"

I asked, sitting across from Shachou at our usual family restaurant.

"Yeah. Didn’t expect to run into you."

"Where’d you see each other?" Chihirocchi cut in.

"In the bar district. She was walking with her girlfriend, arm in arm. Looked like a total kid. The two of them really didn’t fit the nighttime city vibe."

"And then they went straight to a hotel, nya."

Well, yeah.

"Shachou called me ‘Eromi,’ and Kana-chan latched onto it—‘So you really are Eromi-chan!’—and just kept teasing me after that."

"Yeah, we didn’t need that report, nya."

"My bad."

"Eromi-nee and Kana-san are as close as ever, huh."

Well, I did enjoy getting to appreciate Kana-chan’s soft chest again, so no complaints here.

"Eromi, there’s actually something I’ve been wondering. Mind if I ask?"

Shachou’s tone suddenly turned serious.

What’s this about? I’m not giving up Kana-chan’s measurements, if that’s what she wants.

"What’s up?"

"It’s about Kana-san."

Yeah, still not telling!

"What about her?"

"Do you think she’s straight, or... into women?"

"Huh? Hmm... I’m not sure. But she accepted my confession back when I was still a guy, so I don’t think she hates men. She still talks normally with our male coworkers too."

There hadn’t been any issues or awkwardness at work.

"So, kind of like Tama—maybe bi?"

"Probably. Why are you asking?"

"I’m starting to think she might still see you as a man."

...Huh?

"No way. She totally knows I’m a woman."

"Poor phrasing. I know she recognizes that you’re a woman. What I mean is... maybe your becoming one caused a kind of shift in perception—a rewriting of common sense, so to speak."

What should I do?

I couldn’t quite grasp what Shachou meant.

"Common sense rewriting… you mean like how everyone just assumes Tama and the others were always girls, nya?"

Uh-oh.

Nyako seemed to get it.

She acts like an airhead, but she’s sharper than she looks.

"Exactly. A man turns into a woman. Normally, people around them would panic, right? But in reality, no one has. Instead, everyone’s perception has shifted—they think we were always women."

Now that she mentioned it, that was true for the people at my company too.

No one had ever questioned it.

"But haven’t you noticed strange inconsistencies here and there?"

"Strange...?"

"For example, I’m a company president. And you know how it is—female presidents are often underestimated. I know a few others, and they all struggle with that. Yet I’ve never once had that problem."

Ahh, yeah. That actually made sense.

"Now that you say it, my company might be like that too. Everyone’s careful around Kana-chan since she’s the only woman on our floor. But me? No one treats me any differently. I still get the toughest work assignments."

My manager always checks on Akemura, tells me not to overwork her, and makes sure she gets proper breaks.

But me? Not once.

"Tama wouldn’t notice that kind of thing, nya. But Chihirocchi probably would, nya."

We all turned to look at Chihirocchi.

"Now that you mention it, yeah. I’ve never told you guys this because it’s kind of embarrassing, but... last year I confessed to a girl and got rejected. Some classmates used to tease me about it. The other day, they brought it up again—but none of them questioned the fact that it was girl-to-girl. Nobody even blinked."

At that age, that kind of thing could easily have turned into bullying.

"So, it is happening. Common sense itself is being rewritten..."

Even I was starting to understand.

Reality itself was being rewritten—but here and there, cracks were starting to show.

"I get that, but what does that have to do with Kana-chan?"

"Probably this: she’s not bi. She’s straight. She fell for you when you were a guy. But now, what is she? If she’s still attracted to you even after your change, that’s not her preference—it’s the rewriting at work. Could you ask her whether she likes girls or guys?"

...Why did that feel so impossible?

Something deep inside told me I shouldn’t.

That if I did, something precious might end.

"Sorry... I don’t think I can."

"You don’t have to," Shachou said, shaking her head.

"Yeah... among us four, you’re the most irregular case, nya. You were literally with your girlfriend that night. You should tread carefully, nya."

"Agreed. I think so too," Chihirocchi said.

Everyone was dead serious.

We’d been girls for nearly half a year now—

—and this was the first time we’d ever had a real meeting.