Chapter Text
It's a warm humid night. The sticky air still hovers near 30 degrees, even though the sun set more than an hour ago. Not even the house offers some relief. Having made the mistake of leaving the windows open for a little too long, the atmosphere has become unbearable.
Minato steps out of the shower, his last stand against the blazing heat outside. At least for a moment, the water helped him cool off his body and his brain. This summer feels more like a punishment than a break. As he exits the bathroom, he notices his sister waiting outside, clearly annoyed.
“Please be faster next time. I’m boiling out here”, she mutters as she brushes past him and closes the door.
“Yeah…”
Minato slumps into his room and flops on his futon. Summer break: The time of the year you can normally be free of all responsibilities and spend all night playing games and eating snacks. But not today. Earlier he’d somehow managed to spill an entire glass of orange juice all over his keyboard. Now it’s completely useless.
I should ask Yuuta… Or maybe Mahiro. I could head over to play something at their place together… Yeah, Mahiro is the better option. And if she doesn’t invite Yuuta too, maybe, just maybe…
“MINATOOOOO!!!”
Kanata’s scream echoes through the house. Minato’s daydream vanishes in an instant. Without hesitating, he sprints to the bathroom.
“I’m coming in.” he shouts, opening the door. This was a mistake, as he got blasted with dense steam. The mirror is completely fogged and beads of water cling to the tiles. He slowly creeps inside, squinting at the floor. Not that he can see anything in this fog anyway.
“What’s wrong, nee-chan?”
Silence. Then Kanata’s hesitant voice breaks through the mist.
“My conditioner has run out. Can I use… that disgusting stuff you use?”
Minato’s face lights up. A mischievous smile creeps across his lips. For a moment he thought she was going to blame him. But no. This is his chance.
“It is fine,” he says. “But under one condition…”
It smells… Kinda nice!
Minato buries his head in the pillow for a third time, inhaling deeply. The fabric is soaked with a sweet, soft scent - faint shampoo, maybe body spray. So this is how girls really smell… he thinks, staring at the pillow that moments earlier was almost connected to his face. I wonder if Mahiro smells like this too… Or maybe she has her own scent.
This thought lingers in his head a little too long. A sudden warmth runs through his chest. And then lower.
Wait-no!
His eyes open in an instant. A silent scream rattles through his head as his face turns red. Embarrassed, he jumps out of the futon as if he stepped on a needle.
Baka. It’s your fault. This is what you get for making your sister switch rooms.
Still flustered, he falls onto the futon. The wig is a bit itchy, but in addition to Kanata’s clothes, they leave a strange feeling of euphoria. The ceiling blurs out as his eyes closed.
Mahiro ambles around the corner. She keeps looking at the fashion shops on the side of the pavement, pretending she hasn’t noticed the waiting Minato just a few steps ahead.
“You look pretty as always, Mahiro.”
Minato strolls toward Mahiro, matching the casual vibe she gives off. She tries to keep her composure as Minato gets closer but the blush on her face betrays her.
A sudden strong wind gust pushes Minato in Mahiro’s direction. She smiles at him. Minato can’t help but observe how beautiful she looks: Her silver hair flowing in the wind, her smile, warm and inviting, and her pink dress, make her look more like a goddess and less than someone in his league. Without a word though, she offers her hand. He takes it.
“Shall we get going?” Mahiro’s soft voice breaks the silence.
Minato’s heart leaps. He hasn’t felt this nervous since… ever. Is this what a real crush feels like?
“If you insist.”
A few blocks later, they reach their destination - somewhere both agreed would be perfect for a first date: The local maid café.
Minato holds the door open for Mahiro, doing his best to reveal his inner gentleman. She smiles as she steps past him and together they enter the café. There a cute maid, probably not so much older than them, welcomes them in with a cheerful bow and leads them to a table on the second floor, right next to a big window. This floor is even more beautiful than the one below. The walls are painted in pastel colours and soft but energetic music plays in the background. The two lovers are lost in their thoughts, observing their surroundings. A sudden but faint scent of syrup and cinnamon brings them back to reality.
As they settle down and wait for their order, a figure in a maid outfit passes by. She looks familiar - eerily familiar. They both notice her at the same time. Their eyes follow her as she moves through the room before it clicks.
“Yuuta-kun?!” Mahiro exclaims, jumping out of her chair. Minato’s brain short-circuits. No, this can’t be real. He stares into the void. The guilt hits him like Truck-kun. How could he go out with the girl they both liked? In a slow and stiff motion, he turns his head towards Yuuta.
“Hey Mahiro-chan,” Yuuta says with a friendly smile. “I didn’t know you were friends with Kanata-san.”
These words echo through Minato’s mind as if it was a deep canyon. Kanata-san? Why can’t he recognise me? I’m his best friend! In a moment of realisation, his stomach drops. He glances down at his body with fear.
And then it hits. A sharp pressure on his face and stinging pain. His vision blurs. And everything turns into darkness.
As Minato wakes up, he looks down at his body. He looks pale as paper. The fear of an unwanted transition still persists. “Kanata’s clothes… This can’t be real…” he whispers. “Did I really just turn…”
A second cute bunny plushie hits his head with brutal force. It hurt even more than last time, as the hard edge of its eye hit him first. This is what he needed to wake up. In his effort to recall why he is in Kanata’s room, he stares into the void, completely oblivious to his sister’s deadly gaze.
“I see… It must have been a dream then,” he says and yawns simultaneously.
“How come every time you sleep in my futon you take ages to wake up?”
Minato looks up at Kanata’s face. She looks ready to murder him, and for a good reason. He was the one who barged in to begin with, and from her expression, she wants him gone. He just woke up though, so his reflexes are too weak to understand that he is playing with fire.
“I am going to my room to change. I will bring your pajamas right after,” he mumbles as he stands up from her futon.
He tries to leave but Kanata grabs him from the sleeve.
“Not so fast, sir.” She says in a demanding voice. “I have a meeting with the guild members today. I will bring you the clothes you will wear.”
“Wha-”
“Don’t argue. I know you like it.”
Minato freezes. He doesn't say a word, but his expression says everything. She's got him. What is her deal always?
His eyes drift away for a second, as he gets lost in his mind. Moments later, a sudden headshake brings him back to reality, only to realise that Kanata has vanished. He shuffles slowly toward the door, unsure if he should try to escape. Before he gets too close though, the door flies open.
Kanata storms in, holding a beautiful pastel pink and slightly oversized shirt in one hand and a black miniskirt in the other.
“Wear these,” she says bluntly as she hands the bundle to her brother.
Minato opens his mouth to object, but the door slams shut before he could say a word. Click. The sound of the lock seals his fate. Now it is just him - and the outfit.
Yuuta’s gonna lose it if he sees me like this… “Your sister is really cute” - no this won't work… What about Mahiro? “Let me show you how it's done, amateur”… god, no!
He stares at the clothes. The fabric feels smooth and light against his fingertips. He hesitates, but eventually slips out of the pajamas. Putting the outfit on feels oddly comforting. It feels… better than last time.
He glances at the mirror and strikes a quick pose, only to abort mid-motion, face blazing red.
Click-click. The lock turns. His heart plummets. Kanata's face appears behind him in the mirror. His face turns from red to ghost-white in a heartbeat.
“KAWAIIIII”
Kanata's voice stabs his eardrums.
This. This was the one thing he didn't want. He knows he is cute. The mirror makes it obvious. But hearing it from her? It's a level of shame he could never be prepared for.
Minato creeps out of his house, careful to not draw attention. The heat hits like a train, the asphalt shimmering under the midday sun.
And yet… the skirt kinda helps.
“Guess it's one benefit,” he grumbles to himself, brushing a strand of hair from his face.
Hesitantly at first, he begins walking through the neighborhood. It's quiet - too quiet even. A pattern starts to form in his mind: Every house he passes has its curtains drawn shut. Strange. At this hour, people usually welcome the sunlight.
As he rounds a corner and sees the highway in the distance, a wave of familiarity washes over him.
Finally, some signs of life.
The emptiness of the streets had distracted him from reality. A boy in a girl's outfit. But oddly, he doesn't feel embarrassed. The suburbs slowly melting into the soft buzz of the shopping district. His legs carry him forward almost automatically while his eyes drift across the nearby fashion shops. Colourful mannequins, pastel shirts, stylish accessories. He is lost in it.
Until-
He gasps, stopping dead in his tracks. His reflection in a shop window stares back. For a moment he doesn't recognise it.
That's right, I'm Kanata now. He glances down at his body and back at the glass.
I really am cute.
With a slight hopping, he makes it the last few blocks, until a familiar sign greets him: a small fast food restaurant.
This place…
A flicker of nostalgia washes his face. He and Yuuta brought Mahiro here once, on a pseudo-date, after they picked up a new release. It had been her idea. It was such a dumb, simple thing. And yet, it felt like a memory from another lifetime.
Good times… I hope I see her again soon.
He takes a deep breath, clearing away the throwback haze and glances up at the restaurant's sign: ‘WucDonald’s’.
Here we go.
He steps inside. A quick scan of the room reveals some familiar faces. Without hesitation he skips over and slides into a seat.
“Kanatan! You are early!” Ponta’s sharp but energetic voice cuts through the silence.
Minato checks his phone. 11:48 a.m.. He glances back at the group. Ponta. Lucas. And a very flustered Yuuta.
Ah, they were having a guys’ talk before the meetup.
From their awkward expressions it is obvious that the topic was Kanatan - or rather Minato.
“It’s okay,” he says, avoiding eye contact, “I can come back in 10 minutes. Sorry for interrupting."
“NO!”
Yuuta practically launches off his chair, startling everyone. His face is redder than ketchup, but the intensity of his reaction speaks for itself. Still, his heartbeat is pounding too hard to say anything more.
Lucas, noticing his friend's struggle, steps in. He knows all too well about Yuuta’s little crush.
“It’d be rude to send you off now you’re here,” he says, voice calm and smooth.
Minato always admired that: he has this chill, grounded aura, even when he is joking around.
“To make it clear,” Ponta adds, “we should probably wait for the others before we start ordering.”