Chapter 18: Hangover

"My head hurts…"

The morning after staying over at Shachou’s house, I sat at the table, my head in my hands.

"Here, drink some water."

Shachou handed me a glass, and I drained it in one go.

"You drank too much, nya."

"You partied way too hard. Also, Eromi-nee… put some clothes on already."

Now that she mentioned it… I realized I was completely naked.

"Why am I naked? Did someone—strip me? Or worse?"

"You took them off yourself, nya."

"Why though?"

What an idiot.

"You suddenly started talking dirty, said Kana-chan shaved you last time, and began showing off your lower half."

Yeah… that’s just stupid.

"I do remember something like that. I was thinking that once I turn back into a guy, I’d shave Kana-chan’s too."

"I heard that too, nya. You said you’d shave her while sitting backward in front of a mirror and show her… the connection part. We were horrified, nya. Are you a masochist or a sadist? Make up your mind, nya."

Yeah… I definitely said that. Because I really was thinking it.

"And why am I topless?"

"That was when you were arguing with Tama about whose chest was bigger. You said you’d demonstrate how soft a B-cup is—and took your top off."

Chihirochi said it with exasperation.

"Idiot."

"Total idiot, nya. You even tried to undress Tama, nya. That’s way past harassment—it’s practically r***, nya."

That’s not r***.

"Shachou, where are my clothes and underwear?"

"They should be scattered on the sofa."

I looked over, and the first thing that caught my eye wasn’t my clothes—but the mountain of empty bottles on the coffee table.

"Did we drink that much?"

"You did. The worst part was when you tried to stick an empty bottle into Tama."

"What the hell!?"

That’s horrifying.

"You said you were gonna take Tama’s virginity, nya! You’re pure evil, nya! You’re supposed to be a harmless, fluffy little loli, but you’re a total demon, nya!"

Yeah… she had every right to be mad.

"Ugh… I don’t remember any of that…"

Sighing, I stood, walked to the sofa, and put on my underwear, then my clothes.

"You’re awful, nya."

"Well, it’s you, Nyako. You’ll forgive me, right?"

Nyako’s kind—she’d forgive me.

"I will not, nya! Not okay, nya!"

"Ahh, my head hurts…"

"Are you ignoring me, nya!?"

Once I was dressed, I returned to the table.

"Chihirochi, sorry. You shouldn’t have had to see something so… indecent."

Must’ve been poison for a minor’s eyes.

"It’s fine. It was just the usual Eromi-nee."

What’s that supposed to mean?

"Anyway, let’s go to the family restaurant, nya."

"Family restaurant?"

"Why?"

We could just stay here.

"You said we should finally talk seriously about how to turn back, nya."

"I said that? While being a total nutcase?"

"Yep. You suddenly snapped out of your insanity and started talking seriously, nya. Oh, and by the way, you were holding a vibrator when you said it, nya."

Wow. Certified lunatic.

"What was even happening then?"

"You were going, ‘This is going inside me!’ like a fool, then suddenly got serious and said that line, nya."

"Was there… something extra in the champagne?"

I can’t think of any explanation besides that. Or maybe they were just making it up.

"There’s no way, idiot. Anyway, let’s go. The housekeeper’s coming soon."

Shachou glanced at her watch, urging us to move.

"Rich people, man…"

We left Shachou’s mansion, got into her Benz, and headed for the family restaurant.

"…So, how exactly do we turn back?"

At the restaurant, I filled a glass with apple juice at the drink bar and returned to the table before asking.

"That’s what we’re here to discuss. I’m convinced we all share some kind of common factor," said Shachou.

"Tama thinks so too, nya. We all turned into girls at exactly the same time, nya."

"Actually, I’ve been checking social media for similar cases since then, but nothing comes up. Looks like it only happened to us," Shachou continued.

Nyako nodded in agreement.

"A common factor, huh? But our ages and jobs are all different."

"I remember during our first introductions, we noticed everyone’s surnames had one of the directions—East, West, South, or North—and our given names could work for either gender, right?"

Chihirochi and I joined in.

"Yeah, that’s right. Anything else unusual?"

"I do have something—I got a girlfriend."

"True. But that doesn’t apply to the rest of us."

They’d already checked that much.

"Okay, but even if not a girlfriend, maybe something good happened recently?"

"I don’t think so… it was just a normal day. If anything, I just remember thinking it’s Friday, so tomorrow’s my day off."

"Same here. Just thought, ‘Yay, no school tomorrow since it’s Saturday.’ But that’s literally every week."

Yeah. We all celebrate Friday night and despair Sunday night. That’s just life.

"What about Nyako?"

"Tama’s… kind of irregular, so I didn’t really think much about it, nya. That day was just another boring one, nothing special, nya."

So that theory’s out then…

"I wanna ask everyone—have you ever wished you could be a girl?"

Chihirochi suddenly brought it up.

"A girl?"

"Yeah. I’ve got an older sister, and honestly, I’ve thought a bunch of times that being like her would be nice. So I wondered if that could have something to do with it."

I see.
So, maybe the “wish come true” theory.

"Tama’s had that thought before, nya. Like I said earlier, I used to like one of my male teachers, so I thought it’d be nice if I were a girl, nya."

So… did Nyako ever confess to him back then?
She still seems hung up on it a little, so maybe I shouldn’t ask.

"I never really felt that way… What about you, Eromi?"

Shachou looked at me.

"Of course not. You can’t even ✕✕✕✕ like this! Besides, I’ve got a girlfriend—why would I ever want that?"

"Yeah, that makes sense for you, Eromi-nee. Guess that rules this theory out too…"

Chihirochi looked thoughtful, frowning in frustration.

"Hey, how about we each write out our backgrounds—like a short profile? Maybe we’ll notice something in common that way."

Shachou suggested it.

"Sounds good to me."

"Tama agrees, nya."

"I’m in too, but how should we do it? One person talks at a time?"

"Nah. I’ll put together a document for everyone to fill in. Just give me a little time to make it."

Well, if she’s gonna prepare it, I can wait as long as it takes.

"You sure? You’re not too busy?"

Shachou’s usually swamped with work, after all.

"No problem. I actually enjoy organizing stuff like this."

"Then we’ll leave it to you."

We all bowed our heads slightly toward Shachou.

"Alright. Next topic, then—Eromi’s horrible drinking habits."

Hey, no, skip that one…