There's something strange. Like a surge, or like a wave washing over the world. It burns through me, until I squint my eyes open and it resolves into real sound.
It's my mobile ringing.
Rolling onto my side, I swipe it off the desk next to my bed and immediately answer before I miss the call. “Yeah? What is it?” I groggily mumble, trying to wake up, but totally failing. It's only my mother's frantic voice that manages to keep me conscious.
“Seiko! Are you alright?”
“Uhh, yeah?”
“Oh thank goodness! They reported a psi tremor at your school! I'm so glad you're ok!”
“...Yup....”
“Ah, did I wake you up? Sorry, growing boys need their sleep. I'll call you later, alright?”
“...Sure...”
I almost slip away, my mobile sliding out of my hand, to bounce away on the floor, before Ken's voice rouses me again.
“Psi tremor?”
“Yeah.”
“Man, your mom worries too much.”
“Yeah...”
I bury my head in my pillow again, the sound of the news coming from the projector. Ken always was an early riser, wasn't he...?
...
I have to pee... Grumbling my way up out of bed, I stumble past him in his desk chair, to our little attached washroom. I flail and almost fall over getting the toilet seat up and my boxers down. God, I feel like I'm going to fall asleep on my feet... The hell happened last night that I'm so tired? Why do I feel so hot? What time is it anyway?
“....”
Something is wrong.
“.....Huh.....?”
Why are my legs all wet?
Shit, did I actually fall asleep standing up and miss the damn bowl...?
I practically fall against the sink, fighting to keep myself upright, and, splashing water down my legs to clean them. It doesn't take long to realize it's a lost cause, I failed miserably and totally soaked myself. Ugh, fucking gross... God, what's wrong with me today...? Fumbling into the shower, I stumble into the side and grunt in pain. I run the water, washing my own damn piss off myself.
Then I throw a towel on the floor and give it a kick, but the floor is all wet. I almost fall over and knock myself out on the edge of the shower before giving up. Shambling my way back through our room, I mumble out something about missing and fall back into bed.
“Wait, Sei? You left everything running! Ugh, why'd you piss all over the floor? Sei?!” I don't hear anything beyond that before I'm out again.
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I'm being shaken. “Whuh...?” I flail a little, trying to right myself, then realize that it's Ken shaking me. He holds out my mobile for me to take while I stare up at him through bleary eyes. “Hello?” I croak.
“Seiko, you sound awful. You aren't sick, are you? You've only been gone a day!” Mom?
“I'm... uhh? Sorry, I just woke up.” I don't even need to say anything, I just wave a hand at Ken and he tosses me a bottle of water. Pinning my mobile against my shoulder, I crack it open and take a long drink.
In the meantime, Mom starts in. “What? It's already three in the afternoon! You can't go getting lazy just because you're living on your own you know. Get up and get some food! You won't grow if you don't eat!”
“Yes, Mom,” I hold back from sighing. I've only been gone a day and I'm already getting lectured... I flop my head down on my pillow as she continues lecturing me on how only worthless men lie around all day. I'm trying not to fall asleep, but I've heard this so many times already...
“Good, as long as you've learned your lesson,” she suddenly finishes up out of nowhere. “Now, here's your father.” Ugh, Dad...? Mom was bad enough already...
“Sei?” Dad's voice comes over the mobile, and I can't help from frowning at myself.
“Yeah, I'm here, Dad.”
“You sound terrible,” are the first words out of his mouth, and my heart falls further. “And you sound different, is your voice starting to change?”
In an instant of panic, I grab my throat, but I don't feel anything there. Ok, nothing's changed...
“No, Dad, not yet.”
“Fine. You have to focus on your weight training, you didn't think I didn't notice you haven't been doing it, did you?”
I have been, just not with you around because it makes me self-conscious... “Yes, Dad.”
“Good. And make sure to get plenty of protein. Now that you're finally going through puberty, it's time to really pack on the muscle. Maybe one day you'll be stronger than your old man.”
Yeah right, like any amount of training would get me to his idiot strength. “Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks, Dad.”
“You're welcome. Don't get discouraged, as long as you keep working at it, you'll grow up big and strong, just like you always wanted.”
Just like I always wanted, huh...? “I will.”
“Good, good. I won't hold you up any longer, so get that lazy ass up.”
“Sure, love you. Bye.”
When the call disconnects, I let the mobile slip from my hand, bouncing away on the floor again. I just want to go back to sleep...
“Oh no, come on, Sei,” Ken stops me. “You look sick and you've been out for a long time. You really do need some food.”
“Ugh, fine...” If Ken says so...
“Cool, come on.” He waves, then walks out of the room. Right, right, food. Following just behind him, I stop for a second to grab a shirt and some baggy jeans from my dresser, throwing the shirt on, then struggling into jeans as I follow him out the door.
“Ugh...” I grunt, staggering into the far wall. God, I feel like shit... I guess I am sick. My head's spinning, I'm hot all over, and there's this painful tightness in my chest... It's not hard to breathe at least, but if it gets any worse, would I need to go to a hospital?
No, no, the Larosian healthcare system is a burning dumpster fire, I'd be as likely to catch The Plague there as literally anything else. Then probably get thrown into the military in a futile attempt to pay off the medical debt.
Leaving those stupid thoughts behind, I follow Ken into the common room. “Woah, dude!” are the first words I hear, and I want to groan. What is it going to be this time?
“Yo, are you that guy?”
“Dude, he's gotta be, literally no one else fits his description,” someone else laughs.
“What is it? We're hungry,” Ken asks the group of five plus guys all gathered around, moving in front of me protectively.
“There's this crazy rumor about a guy that looks like a chick. Mason-san was giving him a hard time, being his shithead self. Didn't believe he was a guy, so this dude straight up flashed his dick to prove it!”
“Ugh...” I groan, hiding my burning face in my hands. God, why are there rumors about that?!
“Damn man, I don't care how you look, you've got balls of steel!” one of them laughs and slaps me on the back. Wait, seriously? They're praising me for doing something so, so... ugh. I can't believe these people, why is everyone around me like this?
“Well, there you have it. Seiko Maka is a badass, so stop giving him so much trouble all the time, got it?” Ken says, and somehow, everyone agrees. Enthusiastically. What... the actual fuck...?
With all those guys out of the way, we get to the kitchen, and Ken searches through the fridge for something edible.
It's not like we know anything about cooking, having literally just moved out of our parents' houses. Since I'm clearly incapacitated, he at least manages to throw some meat and vegetables in a frying pan and heat them up so I don't get food poisoning or anything.
Certainly not the best meal in my life, as I chew my way through a stalk of undercooked broccoli, but I'll live. When I've had my fill, we toss the rest. I can't eat much anyway, my stomach is all twisted up in knots...
Once I'm fed, I start feeling hotter again. I have to hold myself up against the counter to stay upright. “Yeah, I'm done,” I pant, so Ken helps me back to our room. I'm out again as soon as I hit the bed.
I wake up a few times. Sometimes with Ken there to give me food or water. Sometimes it's just me. Then, Jen is there.
“Sei, you're up!” she exclaims, leaning down and hugging me.
“Yeah, I'm up...” I waver, trying to sit, until she grabs my arm to steady me. I'm still in our dorm, right? What time is it? When I ask, she tells me it's already Sunday afternoon. Our first day here was a Friday, so I've been out for a day and a half...?
“Ken told me how you've been out of it, how do you feel?”
“Kind of hot, but mostly better, I think,” I answer honestly. “I guess I caught a cold?”
She sighs. “As long as you're feeling better, Sei. I was worried because you had a really rough first day, you know?”
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“Yeah...” I don't even want to think about it...
“Oh, about that, Jen. You wouldn't believe it but...” He waves her closer and starts whispering in her ear. He isn't...
“Oh my god, Sei?”
“Nooo!” I flail and cry out. “Don't tell her about that!” Blushing again, I cover my face.
“You've really grown some balls, haven't you?”
“Ugh...” I groan into my hands. “No, I just didn't know what else to do, he was threatening to call the cops on Ken, and I was so mad...”
“Uhh, what?” Jen deadpans.
While I roll over and bury my face in a giraffe plushy, Ken explains the whole story, which leaves Jen fuming. “What an asshole! Good job putting him in his place, Sei.”
“Mrrmmm...” I mumble into my plushy. That earns a sigh, and she rubs my head for a bit. Oh, it feels really nice when she runs her fingers through my hair like that... It nearly puts me to sleep before she realizes what's happening.
“Ooh, this is new, I think I found his weak point,” she chuckles, and redoubles her efforts. I let out a long, contented sigh, and I'm drifting off before I know it.
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The next time I wake up, I don't feel hot anymore. In fact, I think I've slept so much, I actually feel pretty great. I push up out of my bed, to find Ken across, snoring away softly in his own. Huh.
My back feels a bit sore from lying down so long, so I do some quick stretches to work the tightness out.
“Ahh, that's nice...” I mumble, rolling my shoulders and neck a few times. “Alright, so...” Looking around, I take in my new room for the first time in... what, a few days? Damn, I was really out of it, wasn't I?
I grab my mobile, and check the time. Monday..... two in the morning. Alright then. At least I'm up in time for school. Sort of.
Well, I'm a sweaty, hungry, thirsty mess. Let's fix that. I have the time, if nothing else. So first, I go to the wash room, moving slow and quiet in the dark so I don't disturb Ken. I brush my teeth, wash my face, drink some water from the tap... Should I take a shower or a bath? I plop down on the toilet and start going through notifications I missed over the last two days.
Yeah, after those calls from my parents, they texted me a few times. I send one back to assure them I'm alright and everything is normal. I was just... busy over the weekend. No need to tell them and get them all riled up over a cold, they'd just wind up calling me and then I'd have to talk to them more...
With that done, I scroll through more random notifications, but nothing immediately jumps out at me, so I just clear them all and set my mobile down on the sink. I lean back and sigh. Another day of school ahead, huh? Another day with Vance and a terrifying psion in my class. Another day of dealing with... with everyone around me.
No, it'll be fine. I'm finally growing, finally becoming what I'm supposed to be... right? Even if thinking about it disgusts me, I did something pretty manly on Friday, didn't I? That's what everyone keeps telling me anyway. And as awful as they feel, I can get erections now, which means I'm becoming a man.
...Right? Even if it needs time to grow to be big and... and manly, all I have to do is wait... My hands move between my legs to poke at my penis, but...
Uhh? Blinking into the dark, I shift my legs closed. Why don't I feel it there? Spreading them again, I reach between my legs, moving my hands over the space there in the dark. I confirm it, my penis is gone. Just... poof.
In its place, there's a slit. My finger slides over the surface, then into the crevice. Even if I've never felt anything like it before, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess. Vagina...
Why? How?
But I'm... supposed to be a man...
I sit there in the dark, just pressing my hand against that spot, telling myself over and over that this is actually happening.
I don't know for how long, before I finally move on. My hands come up to my chest automatically. To the place where there was never anything before. Slipping my hands up under my shirt, I touch myself, and get a slight soft feeling. A little squishy and springy. Small, but definitely there. Breasts.
Once more, I just sit for some time, letting the feeling from both my hands and breasts confirm that this is real.
Wait, I'm not dreaming, am I? Nothing about this feels like a dream. Nothing weird is happening around me, nothing but the changes to my body.
But why? Why did I change? And why like this? It's almost like-
Something supernatural. Like a psion ability.
That psionic tremor on Friday.
Did that affect me somehow? I can't think of any other possibility. What else could possibly change someone's body like this?
My hands finally fall to my sides. My heart is beating fast, but I keep my breath steady. Ok, not freaking out. Just have to take things nice and slow. As sad as it is, having girl parts isn't even that much of a step back from where I was before. I just have to figure out how to change back, then I'll be able to become a man, right? Like my parents always said.
My parents... As soon as I think about them, the tears come. I can't stop them at all. What would my parents think? I've failed the one thing they always wanted so badly, would they ever even talk to me again?
Why did this have to happen?
For a while, I sob quietly into my hands. I don't know what to do...
My shoulders are still trembling when I stand up. Come on, I can't just wallow, I have to get to work. This new body of mine isn't going to bathe and feed itself. Since the baths are absolutely out of the question now, I take a shower.
“Oh, wow...” I mumble to myself as I wash. My body feels so good... Just touching my own skin gives a really pleasant sensation under the hot running water. I try to avoid my breasts though, they feel a bit tender to the touch and I don't know what that means, so I avoid messing with them for now. By the time I finish and get out, I'm actually relaxed again, despite my current circumstances.
Moving through the dark room once more, I listen for Ken's soft snores while I open my dresser and rummage around inside. What am I supposed to tell Ken? Do I tell him?
Duh, of course I have to tell him, he helps me with everything! Besides, even if I wanted to hide it for some reason, we're roommates. Just because these new breasts on my chest are small, that doesn't mean they aren't dead obvious to anyone who would see me without my shirt on. Like, say, my roommate who regularly sees me change.
Ok, so telling Ken somehow, who else? Absolutely not my parents, no matter what, which means not the school. Adult or not, I'm sure they would tell them about what happened, and I'm not looking to get disowned or something. I do not have the means to survive without their financial support and I know it.
So, I have to hide it at school. That shouldn't be too hard, right? Then my stomach drops out.
How much has my appearance changed?! Shuffling back into the bathroom with silent terror building, I slowly swing the door closed before I turn the light on and look myself over in the mirror.
Oh. Ok, this is fine. There's no real changes to my face that I can tell. Still the same round face, pouty lips and big, delicate blue eyes. In short, I... still look like a girl. Because I always did from the beginning.
Great, so now I won't be telling people I'm a guy because I don't look like it, I'll basically just be lying outright. But, no, I am a boy, it's just that my body is messed up right now! I just have to fix it, then I'll be how I'm supposed to be...
Right, this is all so I can become a man. I have to keep my goal in mind...
Finally getting past that, I decide to give my naked body a look. Besides the small breasts, I don't think my build is much different. Still as skinny, slight, and feminine as ever... My hips might be a bit more full? And it's kind of hard to tell in this light, but my skin might be a little nicer. It felt softer in the shower, anyway.
Sitting down on the floor, I use my mobile's camera in place of a mirror and spread my legs. Hmm, it's smooth, no real coloring any different from my skin. It basically just looks like a slit. When I spread it open, it's a bit pink inside. I nod to myself. So that's what it's like, alright.
It's only after I stand back up, that I finally realize, I just stared at a girl's naked body and all of her private places. And I didn't feel anything? I wasn't turned on at all... Do I not like girls anymore because my body is like this? Am I going to start feeling weird around guys?
No, scratch that, being around guys is always weird. No change there. But, does this mean that I can't get a girlfriend until I fix my body?
Duh, of course I can't! No one can know about what happened! Why am I even thinking about stupid stuff like that right now?!
Pressing my face to the sink and releasing a long sigh, I try to return to my actual problem. So, I don't feel turned on or anything looking at myself in the mirror now, right? Maybe it's just me? I basically looked like this before and it didn't bother me then.
Pulling up my web browser, I do a quick search for sexy women and... ok, yeah, I definitely still like women. Which is great! It means I'm definitely still a guy! On the inside at least...?
Actually, I'd say the feeling is way more clear now than it was before. Like, ding ding, you like women! Rather than just getting all flustered and getting a disgusting, embarrassing erection... Now I kind of feel all warm and tingly as I scroll through images. It's a surprisingly nice feeling, actually. I do it for a little longer, just to enjoy the feeling.
Ok, getting back on track. I swipe the images away and return to productive thoughts. Like getting dressed. Once more approaching my dresser in the dark, I pull out underwear, a shirt, and another pair of jeans. I slide into them, and confirm that my hips are definitely a tad wider. The jeans actually feel kind of rough against my legs now. Hmm, maybe my skin is a bit more sensitive? Well, I can deal with that later.
Finally dressed, I make sure to double check myself in the bathroom mirror to ensure that... that my boobs aren't easily visible through the shirt. Thankfully, it's loose enough to mask the shape of my body, so I think I'm safe.
I'll probably have to wear more jackets and hoodies to cover these up, won't I? Any tight fitting clothing is right out. On the bright side, at least they're small. If they were huge like what some girls have, there would be no hiding them and I'd be totally screwed.
Finally making my way out of our room after those disturbing thoughts, I rummage through the kitchen. I don't know how to cook, so I grab some vegetables and scarf them down. Ok wow, crashing out in bed for two days leaves you hungry, doesn't it?
Quickly retreating to my room again after my meal, I check my mobile again. Alright, food, shower, and existential crisis only cost me three hours, not bad. School starts at eight, so Ken will probably be up around six or seven. I should just wait and try to relax and calm down until then. After all, my hands are shaking like leaves in a storm...
I settle in on my bed, and I'm about to grab a plushy, when I notice how disgusting my bed is. Right, I basically just fever sweated into it for two days straight, didn't I? Changing the bedsheets would probably make too much noise right now, so I just sit on the floor, back against my bed frame, and play some mobile game. Something nice and simple and fun, to get my mind off things for a while and calm down.
When six o' clock rolls around, I put my mobile back on my desk, and gently shake Ken. It took me a while to come to grips with things, so he might need some time too. So I work to get him up, which isn't too hard. He's an early riser anyway.
“Sei?” He rubs at his eyes. “Ah, looks like you're up again. How are you feeling?”
“Good, I'm better. But there's something I need to talk to you about.”
“Alright, what is it?” He sits up, legs hanging over the edge of his bed, still rubbing at his eyes, and I plop down next to him. All at once, it hits me. What I'm about to tell him. It's like a crushing anxiety, but I thrust myself forward before my stupid brain can seize up.
I just blurt it out. “I became a girl.”
“Uh huh. Good for you.” I... don't think he gets it.
“No, no, bad for me.” I wave my hands uselessly. “I'm supposed to be a boy, but my body became female.” Clearly, it's still not making it through entirely. I sigh into my hand. “I lost. My dick.” I drone at him.
He nods slowly. “Oh, ok.” Then, I see when he finally gets it. God, he can be slow right after he wakes up. “Oh!” He blinks rapidly at me. “Shit, so you what, you got girl parts now?”
“Yes.” He thinks about that briefly, but I can tell from the way he's looking...
“Ugh.” I roll my eyes and pull up my shirt. When I lower it again a moment later, I glare at him in an attempt to hide my burning red cheeks, but it clearly doesn't work.
“O-oh, shit, I'm sorry Sei, you didn't have to show me,” he apologizes immediately. “You're still you, no matter what your body is like.”
My glare softens. “Eh, it's fine, you're always helping me with everything after all. In return, I've shown you your first pair of boobs,” I try to joke to play it off, but even that isn't helping with the heat in my cheeks. “Sorry they aren't bigger.” I try again with a shrug, but my heart is doing flips. Oh god I'm making it worse not better. Abort abort abort...
“So, uhh, right,” I cough into my hand. “My best guess is it had to do with that psi tremor the other day, because that's when I started feeling weird. So for now, my plan is to talk to Vicca-san since she's the only psion we know, and, you know, keep this all a secret from basically everyone else.”
“Really? Why's that?” he asks immediately, so I explain how becoming like this, my parents would think I failed them and would disown me. Well, maybe not Mom, but definitely Dad. Seeing his son like this... he'd totally have a fit...
“Alright, I've got you so far. We have a plan, so... what do I do?” Ken asks.
“What do you do?” It seems like a weird question, I have no idea how to answer it at first. As it turns out, it's simple once I stop trying to overthink it. “Just keep being you. Help me get through the day without anyone finding out?”
He grins. “That...” The grin fades. “Oh god, that could be really hard.”
“Yeah...”