"Congratulations!" The doctor suddenly stood up from his chair and enthusiastically extended both hands toward me.
I blinked. "Did I win something?"
"Indeed you did!"
"What?"
"Puberty!"
"I don't think this is how puberty normally works."
"Correct!" The doctor adjusted his glasses with a proud smile. "You've awakened Puberty Syndrome!"
I stared at him for a long moment. "That is the dumbest disease name I've ever heard."
"Syndrome," he corrected.
"That doesn't make it better."
He ignored me and dramatically pulled out a thick folder before placing it on the desk with a loud thud.
"Behold!"
"Why did you say 'behold'?"
"Because, young man, you've become one of the chosen few! Roughly one in ten million people awaken Puberty Syndrome!"
"That sounds less like a medical diagnosis and more like a mobile game rewards."
"Exactly!" He flipped open the folder, revealing page after page of strange medical reports and photographs. "Puberty Syndrome manifests when puberty fully matures. At that exact moment, your body faithfully answers the strongest wish buried deep within your heart."
He pointed at me with a grin. "In other words... Congratulations on becoming exactly what you wanted!"
The room instantly fell silent.
Mom and dad slowly turned toward me.
I suddenly found the clinic ceiling absolutely fascinating. "This is a misunderstanding."
Dad folded his arms and looked me straight in the eyes. "Son. Did you, at any point in the last twenty four hours..."
He paused dramatically. "Wish to become a girl?"
"Maybe."
"How many times?"
"...Enough to apparently unlock a syndrome."
Mom pinched the bridge of her nose before letting out a long sigh. "I knew that rejection hit you hard. You've never even had a girlfriend before, but I never imagined you'd be this desperate, my poor son."
"MOM!" I protested, my face burning. "I WAS JUST BEING DRAMATIC!"
The doctor chuckled. "Teenagers wishes can be surprisingly unpredictable. And remember, you're far from the only person who's developed Puberty Syndrome."
"Tell us about the others," I said, secretly hoping someone had made an even dumber and embarassing wish than changing their gender, because of heartbroken.
"Oh, certainly." He flipped to another page. "This young man wished he were taller."
"Then, what happened?"
"He's now three meters and six centimeters tall."
Dad's eyes widened. "That's an amazing wish."
Mom nodded in agreement.
I looked back and forth between them, feeling utterly betrayed.
"Can we trade?" I asked with a half hearted smile.
"I'm afraid not." Without even looking up, the doctor flipped to the next page. "This patient wished to look more mysterious."
"And?"
"He now naturally has wind blowing through his hair."
"...Even indoors?" I asked skeptically.
"Yes. Even indoors."
I stared at him for a few long seconds. "Really?"
The doctor suddenly snorted and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "I'm joking."
I blinked. "So there isn't some guy walking around with dramatic anime wind blowing through his hair twenty four hours a day?"
"No." The doctor adjusted his glasses with a resigned sigh. "Puberty Syndrome only changes a person's physical body according to the strongest wish in their heart. It doesn't grant supernatural powers."
He closed the folder with a satisfied nod. "And unfortunately, there is no cure."
My shoulders slumped. "So... this is permanent?"
"As far as modern medicine knows, yes." The doctor smiled brightly before giving me a thumbs up. "So, congratulations on your puberty."
"That's literally the last thing I wanted to hear." I let out a long, defeated sigh.
"Congratulations, my daughter," Mom said with a warm smile.
I turned toward her. She looked... strangely happy.
I sighed again. "I think you're enjoying this way too much."
An hour later, Mom dragged me into a women's underwear store.
"Do I really need to be here?" I muttered, already trying to back toward the exit.
"You do," Mom replied without a hint of sympathy.
"But I'm still mentally a guy."
"And physically, you're wearing a girl's body."
"But can't we just order everything online?"
"You don't even know your own size."
"Fair point." I looked around the store in horror.
Rows upon rows of bras and panties stretched in every direction, decorated with lace, ribbons, and enough pastel colors to make my eyes hurt.
The clerk smiled professionally, as though she dealt with embarrassed customers every day.
"First bra?" she asked.
I nearly choked. "Do I have to answer that?"
Mom answered for me. "Unfortunately, yes."
The clerk nodded sympathetically. "Don't worry. We help a lot of customers who are unfamiliar with bra sizing."
She handed me several bras in different sizes.
"Please try these on. The fit is important."
I stared at the pile in my hands. "Why are there so many?"
"Different cup sizes."
"I didn't even know I had a cup size."
Mom folded her arms. "That's exactly why we're here."
I looked between the bras. "How am I supposed to tell if one fits?"
"The band shouldn't ride up, the cups shouldn't gap, and nothing should feel like it's trying to strangle you," the clerk explained with a practiced smile.
"There are this many rules just for bras?"
"You'll get used to it. I'll go look for some other sizes," Mom said, piling several more bras and matching panties into my arms. "Try these on first."
"Got it," I replied in defeat.
The clerk politely drew the fitting room curtain shut.
Once I was alone, I let out a long sigh and took off my shirt. "This shouldn't be so hard..."
I picked up the first bra and stared at it for a few seconds, trying to remember everything the clerk had just explained. "Which strap goes where again?"
After a bit of fumbling, I finally managed to put it on.
It felt... wrong. I adjusted the straps.
Still wrong.
I tried another one. Too tight.
The next one felt loose. Another rode up awkwardly.
"How does half the population do this every morning?" I groaned.
After trying on several different bras, I still couldn't tell whether I was wearing them correctly or if they simply didn't fit.
Giving up for the moment, I changed back into the one that felt the least uncomfortable and sat down on the small bench inside the fitting room.
"I'll just wait for Mom," I muttered. "She'll know what I'm doing wrong."
Ten minutes passed.
"Mom?" No answer.
"Seriously?" I sighed, slid the curtain open, and stepped out bare chested while absentmindedly holding my shirt in one hand. "Mom, what's taking so lo—"
The entire store went silent.
Several customers stared.
One employee nearly dropped a stack of boxes.
Mom slowly turned around. "Kaoru."
"Hm?"
"Why are you outside?"
"I got bored."
"And why aren't you dressed properly?"
I looked down at the shirt still hanging from my hand before smacking my forehead. "Right. I forgot."
"You forgot?"
"I spent eighteen years walking around the house half dressed whenever I woke up. My brain hasn't updated yet!"
Mom stared at me in disbelief. "Kaoru..."
"I've only been like this since this morning!"
She covered her face and let out a long, exhausted sigh. "I know."
As she slowly pushed me back toward the fitting room, another sigh escaped her lips. "I really did raise an absolute idiot."
Even the employee couldn't hold back a nervous laugh.
As I turned to retreat, the clerk called out with perfect timing. "Oh, and Miss?"
"Yeah?"
"I think the C-cup fits you better than the B," the clerk said with a polite smile.
The entire store somehow became even quieter. Every pair of eyes slowly turned toward me.
I scratched my cheek and let out an awkward laugh. "Can everyone please stop holding a meeting about my chest?"
Nobody answered.
"Please...?"
Mom pinched the bridge of her nose.
That night, I stood in front of my bedroom mirror.
The girl staring back at me still felt like a complete stranger.
I took off my shirt, leaving myself in nothing but my underwear as I gave my new body another thorough inspection.
I flexed one arm. "Still got it."
Then I experimentally cupped my chest, tilting my head from side to side as if I were evaluating a new purchase. "Hmm... not bad."
Then I tried to remember Kazuha's list. "Short black hair."
I ran a hand through my messy black hair. "Easy."
"Taller than her." I stood up as straight as I could and grinned at my reflection. "Still got that one."
Then came the biggest hurdle. "A girl."
A huge grin spread across my face. "Bingo."
I pointed confidently at my reflection. "Listen carefully, future me."
Tomorrow, I'd be going back to university.
Sure, I'd somehow become a girl overnight.
Sure, the doctor claimed I'd won the rarest lottery in human history.
Sure, Mom and Dad had accepted the whole thing suspiciously fast.
But none of that was what mattered most.
There was one undeniable fact.
Kazuha Saegusa liked girls.
A slow, triumphant grin spread across my face. "Which means..." I jabbed a thumb toward myself. "I've got a chance again."
I nodded firmly, completely convinced by my own flawless logic. "This is genius."
With that brilliant conclusion, I happily climbed into bed, blissfully unaware that my spectacular plan was about to make my life even more chaotic.