"Who? Why are you screaming?" Kazuha's calm voice somehow hurt more than if she'd screamed back.
She had already finished getting dressed after wrapping herself in a towel moments ago, and now stood in front of me wearing a simple white blouse and black skirt. She tilted her head slightly, her expression filled with confusion instead of panic.
Meanwhile, my brain had completely crashed.
[SYSTEM ERROR!]
[Reason: Crush detected within two meters.]
[Additional Error: Said crush is now roommate.]
"I..." Should I lie? She'd definitely freak out if I told her the truth.
I glanced at her.
She stared straight back at me with those sharp eyes, patiently waiting for an answer.
Idiot, the campus already knew about my Puberty Syndrome. She'd find out sooner or later.
Confident Kaoru!
"I-I'm Kaoru... and it looks like I'll be your roommate starting today." I smiled.
Then, for reasons my brain still refuses to explain, I threw in a wink.
Why? Why did I wink?
She blinked. For a brief moment, I thought I saw the slightest hint of red on her cheeks.
"Ehm..." She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Are you... sure you're Kaoru?"
I nodded with the confidence of a man who absolutely wasn't panicking.
She narrowed her eyes. "Kaoru Fujimori?"
I nodded even harder. "That's me! The one you rejected last time."
...
The words left my mouth. My soul immediately left my body.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING, KAORU?! WHY WOULD YOU LEAD WITH THAT?!
There were literally thousands of better introductions. But no, I had chosen violence against myself.
Silence filled the room.
Then...
"What?!" Kazuha covered her mouth with both hands before quickly stepping closer. Her face was only a short distance from mine now.
"W-Wait..." She looked at my face, then my hair, then... my chest. "H-How?"
I quickly pulled the folded medical certificate from my bag like it was some legendary artifact then cleared my throat. "Ahem. Before you misunderstand anything, allow me to present this."
She accepted it.
To my surprise, she read every single page seriously.
I explained everything—from waking up as a girl, my parents screaming louder than I did, the doctor congratulating me for "winning the Puberty Syndrome lottery," and Joseph laughing at my suffering.
By the time I finished...
"Wow." She said.
That was it?
"I see."
That was seriously it?
Honestly... She was taking this way better than everyone else. My mom cried, dad questioned my entire wish, and Joseph laughed until he almost passed out.
Yet she simply nodded thoughtfully.
"Did you have any secret?" she asked. "About how it happened?"
I scratched my cheek. "Nope. The doctor said Puberty Syndrome is basically life throwing darts while blindfolded."
"I see..." She nodded slowly. "Then... why did you wish to become a girl?"
Critical hit.
My smile vanished. I could physically feel an invisible spear stabbing through my chest.
Despite always ranking near the top of our class, she was surprisingly slow when it came to things like this.
I looked away. "Because..."
My face felt hotter than the sun. "...you said you're only interested in girls."
...
I risked another glance.
She blinked. "You're... doing all that..." She pointed at me. "for me?"
"I-I really liked you." My confidence began evaporating.
"So... what else was I supposed to do?" I rubbed the back of my head. "I couldn't exactly file an appeal."
"But..." She lowered her gaze.
"I'm sorry." There was another pause before she continued. "I still can't have romantic feelings for you."
"Even though I'm a girl now?"
She looked at me again. There was another faint blush on her cheeks.
"Yes." She hesitated. "Because... you're still Kaoru inside."
Every word became another arrow. My HP instantly dropped to zero. A tiny version of myself inside my head dramatically collapsed onto the ground. GAME OVER.
She sighed softly. "Also... I have to object to us becoming roommates."
"Huh?"
"I'll talk to the dorm administration after class." She picked up her bag. "Sorry, I have class now. So, I'll be going."
The door closed.
I sat there alone.
"So..." The problem wasn't only my gender. Whether I was a boy or a girl didn't matter. The problem was... Me.
I wanted to cry, then reality slapped me across the face. "WAIT! We have the same class!"
I grabbed my bag, locked the room, and sprinted toward the lecture building.
Running turned out to be significantly harder than I remembered. Every step reminded me that my center of gravity had apparently submitted its resignation.
Ten minutes later...
I quietly slid open the classroom door. The professor had his back turned while writing on the board.
Perfect. Mission Impossible.
I tiptoed toward an empty seat near the back.
Almost there...
Without turning around, the professor calmly said, "You're late."
"Traffic...?"
"We're inside the campus."
"Aggressive pigeons...?"
He finally turned around. "Sit down."
"Thank you for your mercy."
A few students chuckled.
I buried my face on the desk.
After classes ended, Kazuha immediately marched toward the dorm administration office.
I followed behind her like a criminal being escorted to prison.
"I'm requesting a room change," she said politely.
The staff member checked the computer, then checked again.
Finally... "I'm very sorry. The women's dorm is currently full."
"What?" Kazuha blurted.
The staff gave an apologetic smile. "We don't have any vacant rooms available at the moment."
Kazuha stood there completely speechless.
Meanwhile... I felt oddly guilty.
This wasn't exactly how I'd imagined living with my crush. Actually... I'd imagined she would happily welcome me. Not file paperwork to escape.
The walk back to the dorm was painfully quiet.
When we finally reached our room, I took a deep breath. "I promise I won't do anything that makes you uncomfortable."
No response.
"Let's divide the room." I stretched both arms dramatically.
"This half is yours." I pointed at my side. "This half is mine. I won't cross the border."
Still nothing.
"I promise I won't do anything naughty also."
She slowly looked at me, then sighed so deeply I thought she'd lost the will to live.
"Why are you sighing so much?" I scratched the back of my head. "It's not like I planned any of this."
"Because..." she began, sounding ready to snap at me, but stopped herself halfway. Instead, she pinched the bridge of her nose and let out another frustrated sigh.
Honestly, it was fascinating. I'd never seen this side of Kazuha before. The calm, composed honor student I admired always seemed unshakable.
Kazuha sat on the edge of her bed, pretending to read a book, while I climbed onto mine and lay back, staring at the ceiling.
Then without warning, she suddenly leaned over and shoved me back onto the mattress, trapping me beneath her.
I froze.
"Because..." Her face was only inches from mine, close enough for me to feel her warm breath. My heart instantly went into overdrive.
"K-Kazuha...?" My voice came out as little more than a trembling whisper.
"Because... right now, you're really my type," Kazuha whispered, then she gently pressed her lips against mine.
The kiss was soft and warm. Before I knew it, I was kissing her back. Then, as if acting on instinct, one of her hands slowly drifted toward my chest.
Squeeze.
"Gah!" The sound escaped my mouth before I could stop it, my heart pounding so fast it felt like it was about to explode.