Magirawashi Miyu (紛らわしい見ゆ)

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"Aah..."

A short sigh escaped my lips as an aunty passed by me, effectively cutting in line for the register. It wasn't the first time this happened,

"Um, excuse me? I was here before you..."

I would timidly say after tapping on their shoulders, and usually there were two distinct results: I was yelled at and called a liar, or I was persuaded to be "more respectful" towards the elderly. That's correct, I'm that kind of unlucky girl who not only is barely noticeable, I'm also really shy of strangers.

Toritsuku (取りつく), my boyfriend, always tells me not to mind, but how can I not? I'm not like him, I can't stay cooped up in our room for such long periods of time. I have to help Mother-in-Law clean up the house, resupply Tori-kun's favourite snacks for the day, study (I hope to become a veterinarian one day!), do the laundry on even days and cook on odd days.

Mother-in-Law is even busier than me, but that's only going to last until I'm accustomed to doing the other chores myself. Fumu, life is only going to get busier and busier for me.

"... And that's why, young lady, next time you shouldn't even mind the small stuff, we're old people and who knows when we might leave this world? You should be more respectful toward your elders."

The aunty's ending jab brought my mind back on track. Focus, focus!

I smiled, in bitterness, and nodded with my head to indicate to her that I "understood and accepted her reasoning." Accepted my ass, what else could I do? If I started yelling at her, no matter how right I was, I would just be judged as a "disrespectful and despicable" girl or something along those lines. I speak from experience.

Sometimes, I ask Tori-kun if he really thinks that it was a good idea to have brought me to live with him in this place. I always feel so out of place, being the only one of my kind here. I mean, true, I constantly see other non-humans going around town, but none of them were like me.

It was soon my turn and once I was in front of the cash register and the supermarket's employee, I stole a furtive glance at her. My body reflexively relaxed once I noticed it was a familiar face, meaning I didn't have to submit myself to strange gazes or even painful questions. Well, the questions weren't painful per se, what was painful was the amount of times I had already answered such questions.

"Hello, Magirawashi-san. How are you today? Is Tsukkun working you too hard? If he is, you just come here and tell me, we shall see if this time's beating won't fix him, hmph!"

This particular acquaintance of mine was one of those outspoken fox girls that you could meet almost everywhere in this country. Really, meeting a fox girl which wasn't even a little bit cheerful or extroverted was like searching for a grain of sugar in a mountain of salt.

... Fumu, it seems that I'm a bit too hungry, it's even started to affect my analogies.

"... I'm good, thank you for worrying about me, Inpon-san (淫奔)."

I left shortly after a brief conversation. I'm really not good with such people, most of the time they aren't even a little bit ashamed of talking about such subjects, even when there is a line of people waiting to be served behind them. As I was leaving, I didn't miss Inpon-san's smirk, surely because even in that short amount of time we chatted, she was able to make my face beet red.

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Like I stated before, I'm unlucky: I was in such a hurry that I didn't even notice the rogue-looking person I ended up bumping into. Straining to look up at him, I could see his face slowly form into a scowl as he looked left and right for the culprit. Where was I? I was already miles away from the crime scene. He will never catch me alive!

Cough, cough. Jokes aside, I guess it's for times like this that I'm grateful to be myself, and to have such a caring boyfriend: if it wasn't for the technique he specially came up with for people like me, I doubt I would still be in one piece now. Still, I'm never going to shout out such an embarrassing thing like "Crab-walk Escape Ninjutsu!" like he told me to do.

"Are you okay, Miyu? You seem really tired, do you want me to cook instead?"

"N... no need, Mother-in-Law. I, I was just so eager to come back and prepare Tori-kun's lunch that I may have run a bit too much."

Mother-in-Law narrowed her eyes at my response, and I once again realized that I truly couldn't hide anything from her! That said, Mother-in-Law does not have only a sharp mind, but she also has a very sweet and kind heart, and that is why she didn't pursue the matter further. I don't really remember what kind of "dere" Tori-kun said she is, but I will never forget how Mother-in-Law was always ready to stand by my side to help me when I truly needed it, like when I first came to this place.

I was confused, scared and lonely.

It was her gentle hug that slowly brought light to my mind submerged in darkness, and this, I will never forget.

I softly knocked on the door,

"Tori-kun, lunch is ready~"

I gently said to my beloved on the other side of the room. I'm sure I had a bashful expression, for I could feel my face heating up. It always made me happy to know just how much Tori-kun liked the food I made for him, and each time before his first bite I couldn't help feeling all fidgety and stuff. Really, I was happy.

"Un, I see, it's already lunchtime, uh? Sorry for making you wait."

"Uum... um... how, how is she?"

"Oh? Ah, yes, I understand. She's almost ready. Wanna see her?"

To my nod, Tori-kun responded by opening the door to his room so as to let me in too. As I walked forward, in the direction of his desk, I sent curious glances all over the room; it didn't matter how frequently I came here, it was always different in one way or another.

I looked down and I saw the drawing of a girl: she resembled me for the most part, but her eyes were a different colour, she was younger and had a more boyish look, and

"Thus the much smaller chest!"

said Tori-kun, seemingly proud to have guessed (somewhat) and interrupted my train of thought.

'Does he like smaller ones?'

I wondered for an instant before concentrating on the drawing once more. The reason why it's obviously a girl and not a boy, is because Tori-kun drew her naked. Really, he can be such a pervert sometimes!

"Hu… humans aren't born with clothes on them."

He said while looking away, trying to justify his perversions. I don't hate such a Tori-kun, but to establish dominance, as Inpon-san taught me, I looked at him coldly! And, and I even rebutted him with a "We're not humans."

But, sigh, he was so cool when he just gently took my hands into his, looked into my eyes and calmly said "To me, you are."

Sigh, my heart is melting. Au revoir, cruel yet beautiful world!

"Cough, cough, cough. Do you guys want to eat your food cold?"

Mother-in-Law's deliberate coughing broke our pink world, and in a panic, I tried to return to the previous subject,

"S-so, when are you gonna do it, Tori-kun?"

"Aah, well, the drawing is done, so I thought that we could bring her to life this afternoon? If you're okay with it, of course."

"Obviously! I can't wait, after today, not only am I going to have a little sister, I'm also going to have another one of my kind here with me!"

I beamed a brilliant smile at my dearest boyfriend and creator, Tori-kun.

Really, a 2D Girl's life in a four dimensional world is truly full of exciting days.