Hibiki slid open the door of the club room with a sigh. "Miyuki, I'm here." He sleepily reported with his eyes half-open, the back of his hand wiping the tears stemming from his tiredness. "What's the big problem that you made me come to school early for? You know, I'm directionally challenged....." His voice started to trail off as his vision cleared and he saw Miyuki combing the hair of a girl sitting in the chair in front of her, a girl he had never seen before.

"Ah, Hibiki you're here-"

"W-Who is that beauty?!" He exclaimed, wasting no effort to get within arm's distance of me, his face full of excitement. "T-Those plump cherry-colored lips! I could kiss them! Those hazel eyes that complement her exquisite brown hair!" When his eyes hit my chest, he staggered backward, covering his nosebleed, his lecherous eyes the only part of his face visible. "And those...those...."

"Hibiki cut it out!" I screamed, attempting to cover my chest area with my hands, though it was clear he had just learned how to perform X-Ray vision since his eyes didn't avert for even the slightest second.

"S-She even knows my name! Miyuki, have you brought me here to show me my wife!? What's her name?!"

Miyuki smirked as she set the comb down and grabbed my shoulders, clearly enjoying the look of my red-hot humiliated face. "She's as cute as a doll, isn't she?" Miyuki asked Hibiki, with him responding with a series of head nods. "Go on, introduce yourself." She encouraged, her face moments away from bursting with laughter.

"It's.....Arata."

"Arata?" Hibiki questioned. "She....has the same name as our Arata?"

"No..... it's me, Hibiki."

Hibiki paused for a moment, his face showing clear signs of confusion. "Mikyuki, you know, I'm not the brightest. Did she just say that she's Arata?"

Miyuki erupted in laughter, clutching her side as she cleared the tears from her eyes.

"Miyuki it's not funny! You said you wouldn't laugh anymore!" I wailed.

"Sorry, sorry, I just can't believe it myself. But to answer your question Hibiki, this is indeed our Arata." She revealed, causing Hibiki's eyes to widen and his jaw to drop as close to the floor as it could get. "Apparently, he woke up this way."

"No way! But, you're so......womanly." He stated as his eyes started to scan me once again, causing my face to flush even hotter. "And those cute reactions.....it's like you're a real girl!"

"That's because he is a real girl. His appearance isn't the only thing that's changed. From what I deduced in the short amount of time before I called you, it seems like his mannerisms and emotions are running unchecked as well."

"But how?! How did he end up like this?!"

"It's her fault." I accused Miyuki as I stuck a fierce finger at her. "She made me drink one of her concoctions and I ended up like this."

"I didn't make you do anything, Arata.  You were the one who barged in yesterday and drank it before I could tell you not to."

"Why the hell was it in a water bottle?! Who puts something like that in a water bottle?!"

"I ran out of test tubes."

"Then don't make it at all!" I yelled, erupting out of my seat. I closed my eyes and angrily took deep breaths before returning to it. "And now I'm a girl. I can't believe it, Miyuki. You've really outdone yourself."

"Look Arata, I'm not denying that this is partly my fault. But I need you to calm down if we're going to fix this."

"I don't think he needs fixing." Hibiki chimed in. "I think she's perfect."

"Shut the hell up."

"Anyways, I can't fix this right away, I need time," Miyuki stated before glancing at her watch and sucking her teeth after. "And that's something we just ran out of." As if on cue, the bell tone rang through the school, signaling the five-minute warning before the first period of classes.

"Great." I grumbled. "What am I going to do now?"

"What else can you do? You'll attend class of course. You're already in the skirt I let you borrow so you wouldn't stand out."

"As a girl? No way."

"I mean, what choice do you have?" Hibiki interjected, agreeing with Miyuki. "You have to blend in for now."

"Exactly," Miyuki said as she hung up her lab coat and walked towards the door. "I'll make arrangements for a new transfer student in our class. It's short notice, but if it's me telling them, I'm sure it'll work out."

With that, she left the club room, leaving only me and Hibiki inside. I slumped back in my chair and sighed. "Hibiki, how am I going to get through this?" I complained.

"I think you'll be fine, Arata." He comforted me as he placed his hand on my shoulder. "Sure, it might be tough, but I think Miyuki can find out how to fix you. She's always come through when it mattered in middle school, didn't she? Shoot, those study sessions we had with her over the summer are the only reason we're together again. She made that possible. When the going got tough, Miyuki was always there. She'll figure something out."

"Thanks. You know, you really say some smart things sometimes."

"What can I say?" He grinned. "Those grand speeches they give in anime really do stick. And in the event she can't fix you and you're stuck like this, well, I wouldn't mind making you my wife you know. So it's a win-win."

"Get away from me."

-----------------------------

Before I knew it, I, in full schoolgirl mode, was waiting outside my classroom waiting for my teacher to introduce me and give me the signal to walk in. Miyuki had worked her magic with the faculty members and somehow was able to land me in the same class as Hibiki and herself.

"At least I won't be alone." Impatient, I found myself fiddling with my hair. "I hope it looks okay—wait why do I care?!" As Miyuki deduced, the girly mannerisms were taking their toll on me. At this rate, it won't be long before I'm interested in what the latest fashion trends were and what slang everyone was using. Just thinking about it made me sick. I began to pick at the hems of my skirt, which were well above my knee caps in disgust. "How do girls even wear this stuff? It's short as ever. And it's getting breezy down there. Wait.....down there? I've never even seen what's down there."

"Come in and say hello to the class." The teacher called from inside the classroom.

"Great." I gathered my wits and stepped forward. "Here goes nothing."

I slid the door open and stepped inside. Just as I expected, not a single eye from anyone in the room strayed away from their new classmate. My newfound tendencies kicking in, I couldn't hide the embarrassment and shyly stood by the teacher with my hands folded in front of me. I tried to ignore the murmurs from the guys in the class about my looks, but my repulsion must've shown on my face since my middle school duo were trying not to snicker when they looked at me.

"Enough boys," The teacher reprimanded before turning her attention to me. "Go on,"

"Okay, just like Miyuki told me. I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Hello class, my name is Akari. Nice to meet you all." Was the phrase Miyuki gave me, and I rehearsed it several times outside of the classroom. But when the time came to perform, I completely butchered it. Like, stammered on every word butchered. When I finished choking the introduction out, I couldn't help but turn red and stare at my feet.

A moment of silence swept through the classroom before the entire male population of the class (including Hibiki) roared in approval. The cheers went on for a while before the teacher was able to calm the boys’ excitement level down. I ended up taking the only seat available, which unironically belonged to me.....well the boy version of me, and that was that. After the class was over, in a frenzy, the entire class swarmed my desk, bombarding me with questions.

"Where did you transfer from?"

"Um...."

"How'd you get a body like that?"

"Uh...."

"What are your three sizes?! The people need to know!"

"91-59-..."

"Miyuki!"

Thanks to Hibiki and Miyuki's efforts, eventually my curious classmates withdrew from their attack, though I was sure that wouldn't be the end of it. I sighed, dropping my head onto the top of my desk. "This is the worst day ever." I grumbled.

"Well, at least you're popular." Miyuki joked. "This is what you wanted in high school. I even loved the little improv you did earlier with your introduction. "

"M-My n-name is..." Hibiki started to playfully mock before he was greeted with the back of my notebook. 

"It wasn't improv." I retorted, whipping around to face her. "I can't do anything without feeling embarrassed by it." I pounded my head against the desk. "This is the worst."

"You'll get used to it, though we're hoping you don't have to." She eyed the other students heading out of the classroom and filing into the hallway. "We should get going though. The principal called for an assembly after first."

I reluctantly rose to my feet and followed behind Hibiki and Muyuki. We were about to enter the gym for the assembly when I felt a gut-wrenching feeling in my stomach that was strong enough to make me stop in my tracks and crouch, clenching my stomach area.

"Akari, are you alright?" 

"N-no," I somehow managed to squeak out. "I feel like my sides are caving in. I think I need to go to the bathroom." I rose to my feet, and before Miyuki could say anything else, I took off running in the opposite direction, my arms wrapped around my waist. I nearly ran into the boy's bathroom before remembering I was Akari and correcting course, barging into a stall in the girl's bathroom and throwing myself onto the covered toilet. As soon as I felt like I couldn't hold the sensation anymore, the unthinkable happened. 

I sneezed.

A puff of pink smoke immediately encircled me, and when it cleared, I was Arata again.

"What the?! I'm....back?"

I patted down my chest, which was now completely deflated. I slowly felt the outside of my skirt and sure enough, my sword had returned to its rightful place.

"It's back! I'm back!" I yelled in joy, my fist raised in the air.

However, the jubilation didn't last long.

"Are those......footsteps I hear?"

And well, you know the rest.