Chapter 13
Before Vita greeted them.
The situation just before that.
-Have you left yet, Senior?
-Have the others all arrived?
-Yes, hurry. We're all the way at the back of Bluebell.
Vita finally found them while looking through Lu's messages.
Bluebell was a bar located in the center of the busy district. At the very back, Vita found a group chatting merrily.
At a glance, they looked pure and innocent—socially awkward, even.
And they were all good people.
Vita usually believed that even if there were poser otaku, no genuinely devoted otaku in this world could be bad people.
Isn't the definition of an otaku someone who immerses themselves in a particular interest?
Someone with that kind of passion couldn't possibly be a bad person.
Like his junior Lu, those guys could be called Vita's comrades. In other words, they were the friends he was relatively close to.
“Ah, hey, guys!”
But when Vita approached, every one of them went blank.
“W-who…?”
Their reaction was exactly what Vita had expected, so he said with a smile,
“I told you already. It's me, Vita.”
Even after he'd told them he'd turned into a woman, they really didn't believe him. They looked utterly flustered.
The four or five men exchanged glances before finally asking Vita,
“Um, no… What is your relationship with Vita?”
“Did he perhaps get some kind of hold over you?”
“I told you, it's me.”
Only his junior Lu wore a triumphant expression.
“I'm really not lying.”
Well, he'd already met that guy Lu once over the weekend.
Of course, Lu had been kicked out almost immediately after making useless comments about how there was a strange smell in the room.
“No, but still…”
It really was hard to believe.
“Why are you going along with this, Lu? How could that be Vita…?”
“Look at the eyes and hair color.”
As Vita listened to that exchange,
he looked around and only then noticed someone, his expression stiffening slightly.
“Why is he here…?”
At the words he blurted out so openly, the atmosphere instantly turned cold.
The guy Vita had referred to seemed to realize something from Vita's remark and wore an unexpectedly surprised expression.
“Oh, what's with this reaction? Is this Vita?”
Vita frowned without answering.
“Ah, wait. Come outside for a moment, Senior.”
At Lu's quick-witted suggestion, Vita's face hardened, and he followed his junior.
“What's with that guy? Why is Nathan here?”
His name was Nathan Jackal. Put simply, he was a delinquent.
In other words, he was a poser otaku—with ulterior motives. He'd ruined the atmosphere at the last cosplay festival, too.
“You don't know that he hit on the female cosplayers?”
“Well, Senior…”
Lu scratched his head and spoke with an awkward expression.
“Everyone decided we should let it slide just this once.”
“That's ridiculous. Without even discussing it with me?”
“Everyone figured they could predict how you'd react, Senior…”
Lu scratched his head again, apparently feeling guilty himself.
“Still, you never know. What if it was just a one-time mistake?”
“…Do you really think that guy is going to change?”
Vita said that while pressing a hand to his forehead.
They simply didn't know Nathan's true nature. Vita understood to some extent, since he was the only one who had happened to see it.
“Please, Senior. For everyone else's sake, too.”
“He said he regrets it, too.”
Lu continued trying to persuade him.
‘Rather than ruin the mood for no reason…’
Vita's thoughts gradually began to turn in that direction. He still had a good relationship with his other friends, so there was no need to ruin the mood of this gathering for no reason.
“…Fine. Whatever.”
Vita calmed himself a little by making small talk with his junior Lu.
“By the way, Lu. Why is your face so red? Don't tell me you're already drunk?”
“…Well, maybe. Everyone had a little drink before you got here, Senior.”
“You got drunk from just one drink?”
“It feels like it's been a long time since I last drank.”
With his light pink hair and an equally red face, the guy looked rather funny.
“You're such a lightweight.”
When they went back inside, Lu suddenly said something strange.
“But, Senior… why did you get so dressed up?”
“What are you talking about? What did I dress up for?”
He didn't even own a pair of dress shoes, so he'd come wearing men's sneakers, and he wasn't wearing any makeup at all. He didn't even know how to apply it in the first place.
“What about this is dressed up?”
“Well… something like that.”
Lu's reaction left Vita feeling strangely uneasy.
“I wondered if you were already enjoying being like this.”
“…You keep saying ridiculous things.”
Whack-
Lu seemed to have a masochistic streak.
Anyway, Vita's mood had eased a little thanks to Lu. He returned to his seat, took a brief deep breath, and said just one thing.
“Sorry—let's drink!”
He figured it would be fine just this once, even if there was someone he disliked.
***
“All right, cheers!”
The bar's interior was bright and lively.
Although it was called a bar, it had an atmosphere much like a café. Since couples came here often, glasses clinked beneath the bright vermilion lights.
“Ah, this is the life.”
Drinking openly was a privilege reserved for adults.
Everyone here had reached adulthood this year. Strictly speaking, even Lu was only Vita's junior by one semester; they were the same age.
“Then, perhaps…”
The atmosphere, which had been nothing but awkward, gradually loosened up.
“Do you know Lara, too?”
The topics of anime and the cosplay festival certainly played a considerable part.
“What are you talking about?”
Vita answered one friend's question with a laugh.
“Of course I know Lara. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm Vita?”
How could I not know Lady Lara, the most famous cosplayer of Magical Girl Eve Rosaline?
Vita was, after all, an extremely devoted fan of that famous cosplayer, Lara.
In fact, wasn't that why he hated Nathan—that shameless poser otaku and delinquent sitting across from him?
‘How dare that guy…’
Try to lay hands on Lady Lara?
Vita remembered it clearly. He had happened to see it, and he had been the one to stop it.
[What are you doing?]
The minor problem was that the other three friends didn't know the details of this.
If they'd known everything, they probably wouldn't have invited Nathan in the first place.
But Vita didn't want to reveal it to anyone. Lara was his favorite cosplayer.
“I even got her autograph myself last time. You two were at the art booth right next to us then.”
Though remembering what had happened made him angry, Vita continued speaking without letting it show.
“I went to brag that I'd gotten her autograph, tripped, and knocked over one of the life-size standees in front of that booth.”
That detailed account left them looking confused.
“No way, seriously…?”
“You really do seem like Vita when we talk to you…”
“I'm telling you, I am. How many times do I have to say it?”
This sort of exchange repeated three or four times. Even so, the awkwardness was definitely less than before.
The bar had a bright atmosphere, and the snacks were fruit and desserts.
Every so often, Vita deliberately changed his way of speaking and teased them.
“Do you normally turn your heads away when you drink?”
It was unlike his usual manner of speaking.
“Pfft!”
As expected, they were startled and sprayed out their drinks.
“Let's stop joking around now. Y-you really are Vita's younger sister, aren't you?!”
“I didn't know he had a younger sister, but I'm not falling for it anymore.”
They giggled among themselves.
Lu stared at his senior in disbelief, though he could also understand their reactions well enough.
‘So today's Senior is…’
A gray checkered skirt and an ivory knit top. Put plainly, the outfit gave off an intensely feminine impression.
“Pffft—this is hilarious. What are you guys even doing?”
Even the way Vita laughed naturally drew their eyes, giving them the strange impression that he was a beautiful member of the opposite sex.
‘Get a grip. That's Senior Vita!’
Reminding himself of that fact, Lu emptied his glass.
***
Even as Lu thought this,
Glance-
he simply couldn't stop his eyes from wandering that way, so whenever he realized what he was doing, he drank again.
The same was true of the other friends, not just Lu. Vita, who had created the situation in the first place, merely tilted his head in puzzlement, while the others quickly grew drunk as the drinking picked up speed.
“Huh, how should I put it… The alcohol's hitting me hard today.”
“For some reason… me too.”
“Why are you all drinking so fast?”
And how much time passed after that?
“Whew… this is exhausting…”
They had made ample plans for the cosplay festival to be held in winter.
It was after they'd shared all sorts of stories and gotten thoroughly caught up.
It was vacation, after all, so apart from Lu, it had been a long time since Vita had seen the others. They were completely caught up in the excitement, and the drinks went down easily. They hadn't even drunk that much.
However, for some reason,
the others had drunk more than usual and were now woozy, while Vita himself had developed a slight buzz.
‘We should wrap things up soon.’
Just as Vita thought that and looked around,
it happened.
“…Hey, Vita.”
Perhaps he had some awareness after all; the delinquent, who had been fairly quiet today, finally opened his mouth.
“Even so, isn't ignoring me a bit much? I've been holding it in this whole time.”
“So what do you want me to do about it?”
When Vita snapped back, Nathan replied with a crooked grin.
“Are you really Vita?”
Vita didn't answer, but Nathan continued, apparently already convinced.
“Honestly, I'm a little surprised. Wow, really…”
What was he so surprised about?
“When you first came over, you were so pretty that I couldn't speak for a moment.”
His lustful gaze swept over Vita from head to toe.
Since it wasn't worth answering, Vita continued to ignore him.
“So here's what I'm curious about… Did anyone ask for your number on the way here?”
What a shitty question. Ignoring him really had been the right answer.
When Vita said nothing and tried to shake Lu awake, Nathan chuckled.
“Of course they did. Anyone who let a pretty girl like you go would be an idiot. Ah, of course. If you're really Vita, that makes things a little weird.”
‘But this guy really…’
A string of vicious curses rose to Vita's throat. He'd tried to ignore him, but the man's words were making him thoroughly uncomfortable.
“Why don't you come to your senses?”
Vita snapped at the lowlife delinquent, Nathan.
“If you want to meet women, act decently, you bastard. Instead, you hit on cosplayers and got humiliated.”
Nathan's expression hardened. Vita must have hit the nail on the head.
“…Ah, I'm reflecting on that incident, too.”
But something didn't feel right.
Why was he admitting it so readily?
Still, Nathan had been drinking.
His eyes were glassy with drunkenness, and the smirk tugging at his lips made Vita feel uneasy.
“So, Vita. Help me come to my senses a little.”
What kind of bullshit was he spouting now?
“If what you say is true, let's do it just once. You used to be a man anyway, so it shouldn't matter, right?”
Nathan spoke with undisguised lust in his eyes—the way a man looked at a woman.
He made a circle with two fingers and inserted a finger from his other hand through it.
“Let's hook up just once. I'll pay you if you want, and I'll make you feel good. So? How about it?”
“What the hell are you saying, you bastard…!”
Was he really this much of a scumbag? Vita had known he was bad, but still.
At a loss for words, Vita stood up in anger and shouted.
“Wh-what…?”
“What's wrong, Senior?”
The commotion, which wasn't exactly small, drew the attention of everyone around them.
Vita bit his lip because so many people were watching.
With his mind in turmoil, he barely managed to restrain his anger.
“Go die, you fucking bastard!”
In the end, he spat out those curses and stormed out of the bar.
***
Darkness had fallen over the street.
Soft vermilion magic lamps illuminated the shadows of people passing through the shopping district.
“Damn it, seriously…!”
Vita kicked an innocent stone.
“Mom, that lady's pretty, but something's wrong with her.”
“Maybe that lady's head is messed up. Ew, ew.”
Even as a passing mother and daughter said that and walked by,
Vita was too angry to notice any of it.
As he walked along the tree-lined street, Vita continued thinking.
‘…If there hadn't been anyone around, I would've beaten that bastard half to death.’
It made him angry all over again just thinking about it.
It wasn't as though he and that delinquent were even close. He'd intended to ignore him in the first place.
That only made him angrier.
‘I should've just left the bar right away…’
He'd given Nathan an unnecessary opening. Vita knew that bastard's true nature.
He'd seen Nathan hit on several female cosplayers more than once.
After witnessing him do the same to Lara, his favorite cosplayer, Vita had even warned him once.
Later, when Vita looked into it on his own, he found that Nathan had already had a bad reputation from the start.
-They say that even after he sexually harassed someone, his wealthy family smoothed it over with money…
-Oh, really?
He was a vile guy.
Anyway.
Knowing all that, Vita felt as though he'd still been taken in, which left him pointlessly indignant. He continued fuming.
‘I was… taken advantage of?’
Vita stopped at the thought he'd just had.
‘…What was done to me?’
He thought about it for a while, but couldn't identify anything in particular.
But he felt that this anger wasn't simply because Nathan had spouted some bullshit. That wasn't the only reason he was this upset.
‘…What is this?’
It was so frustrating that tears welled up in his eyes.
Had becoming a woman weakened his heart as well?
Of course, being a man didn't mean he never cried, but he was sure he wasn't the sort to cry over something like this.
This version of himself shocked Vita anew, and all he could do was wander aimlessly through the night streets.
Bzz- Bzz-
His Magiphone kept ringing. It was obviously Lu, his junior, but he wasn't in the mood to check it.
As Vita wandered, someone suddenly slammed him hard against a wall.
“Ugh…!”
“There you are.”
Before he even realized what was happening,
his wrist was seized, and he was yanked toward the wall before being slammed against it again.
It was none other than Nathan, that lowlife delinquent.
They were in the blind spot of a dark intersection. Surprisingly, the people passing by showed little interest in this side street.
“When someone is talking to you, you should listen to the end before walking away.”
He was unmistakably drunk.
“What kind of girl just rudely screams and walks off?”
Like most delinquents, Nathan was fairly large and heavily built.
But perhaps Vita was actually glad this had happened?
‘Good. Just who I wanted to see.’
Someone this out of control needed to be taught a lesson. Vita was still furious over what had happened earlier, anyway.
‘!!’
But.
Why was this happening?
No matter how hard he strained, he couldn't pull his arm free.
For an instant, Vita panicked.
“You're cute.”
When Nathan chuckled, Vita tried once more, but his arm still wouldn't come free.
‘I can't overpower him with my strength…?’
The realization struck him then.
Vita instinctively felt his whole body break out in goosebumps.
He became aware of the difference between his strength as a man and that of his current body, as well as his opponent's size, something he had never noticed before.
Another shock came crashing down.
‘I can't beat him…?’
Just as Vita stood dazed for a brief moment from that shock,
“Why don't you scream again? Or maybe try acting cute.”
He heard the sound of mocking laughter.
His opponent was a drunk delinquent, and he had one hand raised as if he were about to strike.
If things went bad, Vita instinctively thought, he could kick Nathan in the groin and run.
But at that very moment.
There was no longer any need.
“What are you?”
Nathan's large body rose straight into the air.
The sight was comical, like a scene from a play, but the newcomer didn't seem amused.
“I said, what are you?”
It wasn't an unfamiliar voice. And the figure before him was unmistakably familiar.
Casually tousled black hair and cold, golden eyes.
Only then did Vita realize who was standing in front of him.
For some reason, at that moment…