Chapter Text
Kiyoomi expected to wake up in the solace of his room, surrounded by the familiar silhouette of his curtains and stuffed toy (a secret he kept), and the scent of white musk and sandalwood from his trusty dehumidifier. Instead, he woke up to the smell of antiseptics and isopropyl, and heard the beeping of a machine.
He was supposed to be awakened into a dark room, courtesy of his thick blackout curtains, but instead bright lights flashed around him as he was surrounded by unfamiliar walls of white, and wondered when did his vision become blurry. He had 20/20 vision just before, but now it seems everything is fuzzy, and his arteries pounded hard against his skull. Kiyoomi wanted to move his hands, but everything feels heavy, like an entire slab of stone weighed against his body and he does not have the physical strength to move.
‘Where the hell am I? Is this what they call ‘Purgatory?’ Kiyoomi thought to himself. The last thing that he remembered was that he was forced to join his university volleyball team to celebrate on the Izakaya for their win on the college championships – a three-peat championship for their university since Kiyoomi joined the team two years ago. He remembers not drinking a lot, but as a lightweight, it didn’t really matter. The result would stay the same: him having a headache in the morning.
“She’s awake. Tell the doctor that she’s awake.” An unfamiliar female voice said, and Kiyoomi tried his best to move his head towards the site of the voice. He was met with a silhouette of white, and he estimates the height of the person to be around 160 cm, holding a chart. The person then checked his vitals, and deemed it stable.
Kiyoomi wanted to shout for the first time in his life. ‘Why am I in a hospital? And why is this woman calling me Kaneko? And I’m not even a woman! Didn’t they check if I have a dick? I know that people tell me but I’m pretty for a boy, but how could they classify me as female?!’ Kiyoomi thought and sighed exasperatedly in his mind. He wants answers but his body doesn’t want to cooperate with him, feeling leaden despite having unrestrained and imaginative handcuffs.
‘Am I reborn as a baby girl?! It must be Motoya’s fault for introducing me to those isekai danmei novels! There’s not even a system or instruction in this world!’ Kiyoomi crashes out, fighting himself to control the body he’s in. Willing himself to move felt hopeless. He thought that taking on Ushijima’s spike a hundred times would be a better option, for at least he can dig it… occasionally (he is proud of that fact!). Kiyoomi simultaneously felt overwhelmingly nothing.
“Where–”. At long last, Kiyoomi managed to utter a word. He’s thankful that he managed to say only the word where in contrast to his mind spelling out “Where the fuck am I?”
“Kaneko-san. Ya are currently in a hospital. D’ya remember yer name, or why yer currently here?” The nurse gently said, pity evident in her eyes.
“No… “
“Okay. We have already called yer sister, and she’ll be here in an hour. Just rest and push this button if ya ever need any help.”
Kiyoomi just nodded. What else could he do but nod? He doesn’t have a sister, but only two older brothers overseas. Even his parents and grandparents are retiring comfortably overseas. A flicker of hope that maybe his sister in law came for him.
—-
That flicker of hope was quickly distinguished. Kiyoomi never thought he’d see this much pink in his life. Don’t get him wrong, he does not despise pink, but he could only tolerate so much. The bedsheets of his new room are decorated with pink, with a collection of sanrio plushies and squishmallows sitting on the bed. The walls are colored pastel pink, with posters of Sabrina Carpenter and Wang Yibo… a mixture who he deemed tasteful. The vanity table is adorned with a multitude of products that he does not know, with some being familiar to him, as a skin care connoisseur. The blanket is adorned with My Melody, it’s texture soft to touch that it could only be cotton. Most importantly, Kiyoomi was happy to see the silk pillow sheets.
“Neko-chan, ya must be exhausted. I’ll leave ya to rest first. Call me if ya need anything.” Kiyoomi’s “sister” uttered, and he just nodded.
There stood the former 6 '4 Sakusa Kiyoomi, now standing 5' 5 feet in a pink room, wearing a pink summery dress, and having the body of a girl. The sight of having the said body is unwelcome, as Kiyoomi very much likes his own original physique. And another thing, he very much knows now whose identity he took. It was of Kaneko Mayumi, a villain of the novel he had just been reading – a personality he always greeted with utter distaste.
“To all the world and character I isekai’d into, why did it have to be her?!” Kiyoomi crashed out. Being born into a world is one thing, but to be reborn as the villainess of a romance novel is another thing. To say that Kiyoomi hated Kaneko’s guts, is an understatement, for she had every attribute that Kiyoomi despises in a person – self-centered to the point of stepping on other people, obtuse vanity, and the obsession on a male, specifically a loud, blonde male.
In the novel, Kaneko would follow the male lead everywhere, to the point where privacy is just a word in the dictionary. She would perch on the male lead’s garden and take videos, and she has given the male lead a stuffed toy with a camera inside. This took on since the first year of high school until the male lead started working after graduating. In her belief, the male lead hasn't tried loving a real woman, and is only curious or experimenting dating the same sex. And in the last updated chapter, as the novel is still in progress, the villainess tried to poison the main lead’s love interest, but poisoned the male lead too instead. In that scene, Kaneko pretended to be a waitress at the restaurant where the main characters were, and placed a poison on the soup, resulting in the couple’s demise. Kiyoomi should have read the recent update, if not for him waking up in a different universe. Now, he regrets being drunk, and should have just stayed at home and read the ridiculous story – not that the story decreased his stress levels. Kiyoomi could even say that this story and being in the story gave him an equal amount of stress.
Kiyoomi could even say that Kaneko in that sense resembles his father, excluding the killing intent. Kiyoomi can’t believe he’s going to be like his father.
A sudden white screen appeared in front of Kiyoomi, accompanied with an unknown robotic male voice.
Welcome, User 002! This system will be your guide into this world and you will be given some tasks to finish. Are you ready?
“What — No! I’m not ready!” Kiyoomi voiced out, then pinched himself just to make sure that he’s not hearing things.
Good. Task one: Make yourself known to the male main character, Miya Atsumu, and his love interest, Suna Rintarou.
Kiyoomi’s jaw clenched, and he wanted to cry on the spot. He thought that maybe this is his punishment for getting Dai-kyo (Great Curse) from an omikuji, or from his lack of faith and prayers.
With nowhere to run, Kiyoomi sat at the pink bed, his new weight barely making a dent from the soft mattress. His hands rumpled the silken sheets, and a multitude of questions took over his brain.
“What happens if I don’t fulfill my task?” Kiyoomi asked, although he already has an idea on what will happen, thanks to the mangas he read, and anime watched.
You die in this world, and the original world.
“Fuck! I accept my fate then. All men do is inconvenience me.” Kiyoomi assumed that the voice is male, and what better way than blame them for his bad luck?
Warning! OOC. Kaneko is competitive and doesn’t like to lose.
“... I should be in character ?!”
Accumulate points, and you can be yourself, Ki - yoo - mi. This is not as hard as you make it to be, as you yourself have many similarities with Kaneko. If you have no more questions, then I will leave. System logged off.
“What do you mean I have a lot of similarities?! I am not like her! You make me hate men even more.”
System log on. You’re literally gay. Log off.
———-
Task 01: Make yourself known to Miya Atsumu
Kiyoomi woke up after two hours of sleep, eyes feeling heavy and body feels like he just played for five sets without rest.
Good morning, Kiyoomi. For today, you shall do your first task which is introducing yourself to the main lead, Miya Atsumu.
“I know. The system literally floats with that sentence the entire night. How could I forget?” Kiyoomi indignantly said.
You could have said to remove it, and it will disappear. Anyway, failure to do the task within the day will result in the death of your character in the story, as well as your death in the real world.
“Consent is just an empty word here?!” Kiyoomi shouted, and was shocked at how shrill his voice sounded just now. “What if I completed the task?”
Then congratulations, and salutations. If you finish the task, then you will unlock the two other tasks. The task will depend on the direction of your first task. After finishing the first task, you do not need to act out of character, and you can act as yourself. Not that it has any difference.
“Subjecting me to my death, that I can accept. But comparing me again to her?! You know I despise obsessed people like her!” Kiyoomi’s shrill voice made an appearance again. “Since when am I homophobic? Wouldn't that be considered self hate if I do that?”
Semantics. You are obsessed with volleyball, and she, with Atsumu.
“Wow. Semantics indeed.” Kiyoomi thought that talking with the system diminishes 10% of his already short lifespan.
For your subtask, you must do your makeup, and hair, and then go to the school. The details of your academics will be given on the school. Best of luck, Ki -yoo - mi.
Kiyoomi stared at his newfound appearance. His black doe eyes red from rage, stress, and lack of sleep. Long hair framed his rice-shaped pale face, reaching up to his waist. He wonders how sleep did not manage to tangle the said hair.
“How do I even do make up?” Kiyoomi just sighed, and plopped into his bed for resignation. “You can do it, Kiyoomi. How hard can make up be?”
As it turns out, doing makeup is indeed hard work, and Kiyoomi applauded silently to the battles women face daily. His hair now adorned with pink bows, lips a shade of subtle pink, and eyebrows neatly shaped straight and narrowly. All that, and an hour was taken out of his time, and he stumbles to wear his shoes, else he will be late to his first class as a senior in high school for the second time.
Cherry blossoms and the sound of laughter greeted Kiyoomi as he walked through the school. Aged two years backward from his original age of 20, Kiyoomi is not pleased. His polished black shoes with heels reverberated as he walked, and he isn’t even sure if such shoes are permitted at the school. But alas, this is not the real world (Kiyoomi tells himself).
After finding his way to his assigned room, there he saw a mop of blonde hair, grey-hair, and raven haired people. With one look, he knows that it is Miya Atsumu, Miya Osamu, and Suna Rintarou. In the novel, the twins both liked Suna. However, Osamu, upon knowing that his twin likes the same boy as him, decided to not let his affection for Suna be known. Thus Suna and Atsumu started dating, and the restaurant scene happened.
Kiyoomi took deep breaths, readying himself for the task. He slowly paced near the blonde, and slightly tapped his shoulder. Atsumu looked annoyed at the one who disturbed him while talking with Suna and Osamu.
“What d’ya want?”
“I’m Kaneko Mayumi. Bye.” That statement left a sense of bewilderment amongst the three men.
“What am I gonna do with that information?!” Atsumu semi-shouted, amazed and clueless at what just happened. He just scoffed and went back to Osamu and Suna talking about volleyball.
Kiyoomi paced fastly away from the blonde, and decided to sit at the front row. A flurry of students started to enter one by one, all of them blurred on Kiyoomi as he tried to calm his heart beat.
‘What the fuck was that introduction, Kiyoomi! System! I did my job now. Do I get a reward?’
Greetings Kiyoomi. You haven’t done your job, as it turns out, Atsumu won’t remember you that way. You can turn this event into an easy one.
‘And you didn’t tell me sooner? I want this to be an easy one!’
You need to pay charisma points.
‘How many charisma points do I have?’
You have none.
‘Can I loan some?’
Yes. But failure to pay would result in death.
‘Wow. It is easier to get a loan from the bank than a loan from you. Fine, How much is it?
Easy mode would require 10 charisma points. And 10% simple interest per month. There will be no interest if you pay in advance.
‘This is like those games where I need to pay for my choices. And you’re going to make me stay here for a month? Fine. I want the easy mode.’
Okay. System off.
Kiyoomi’s veins fight for the urge to not appear on his forehead, but failed. By talking to the system, it reminded him of his cousin, who also got into his veins. However, he would greatly prefer the presence of his cousin right now, as annoying as he can be sometimes.
—-
Time flew by, and Kiyoomi has no idea on how the system will handle the easy mode of the task. He made his way into the shoe cubbies to wear his outside shoes, when a sudden tap into his left shoulder made him halt his movements.
“Yes?” He looked back to see who had touched him, “No.”
“What dya mean ‘no’?! You literally placed a love letter and a chocolate on my locker. Did’t peg you as a tsudere, but ya are, are ya Omi-chan?” Atsumu’s cocky grin greeted Kiyoomi’s face, and he wondered who he hates more right now, Kaneko or Atsumu.
“I did not —.” Warning OOC. “Yes… I may have done that…” Kiyoomi muttered, and continued wearing his shoes. ‘Damn you system, making my life easier and harder.’
“Eh? Yer Kaneko Mayumi right? Yer name is quite mouthful, so I’ll call ya Omi-chan. Dya want me to read the letter, you professing yer love to me right now?” Despite receiving a couple of love letters weekly, this particular girl took his attention. Atsumu loves a pretty face, and he felt that there is something interesting about the said girl. Most importantly, he likes a pretty face (regardless of the gender), and a tsundere.
“Can’t you read on your own?----” Warning OOC! “Can you just read it in the confines of your room?” Kiyoomi felt the heat rising into his ears and cheeks, as well as the cold numbing his fingers.
“I will definitely read this again and again. See ya, Omi!” Atsumu just laughed at the expression of Kiyoomi, and that made him want to know the other person more.
‘Whatever, Miya.’ Kiyoomi thought, and left before he could embarrass himself further.
Congratulations, Kiyoomi. First task done. You have earned 12 charisma points. Would you like to pay your due or would you like me to store it for future use?
‘Nice of you to think I have a future here. I would like to pay my due.’ Kiyoomi thought as he walked into his new home. ‘I would like to pay my due.’
Alright. Your current balance is 2, and your loan is 0. Congratulations again. You have now unlocked OOC.
Kiyoomi just sighed, hoping that the other two tasks would be as easy as today. As he reached his new house, he went directly into the bathroom to have a long, hot bath. Then sleep found its way into his body.