Chapter 5 | Haru and the boring day I

 

Haru woke up with a yawn feeling refreshed yet a bit uneasy. ‘That dream was wack! I turned into a girl, and Kanade fawned over me, then I had these cat ears grow on me and Kanade tried to fluff my tail…’

 

Haru opened her eyes. 

 

“No way-”

 

Two large mounds, much like what she had seen yesterday were within her view.

 

“So yesterday wasn’t a dream, nya? And why do I have my tail?” 

 

Haru looked at her tail. Visible marks of fluffing were all over it. “Kanade… How could you?”

 

She was disappointed, to say the least. “I shouldn’t be that angry over it really.” 

 

Haru got out of bed like she had done yesterday. She glanced at the digital clock on the table. “Kanade should have left for work by now… I’m a late riser.”

 

The clock displayed 10:00 (am) on the red LCD screen. 

 

Haru walked out of the room to make some breakfast and to remove her feline features. Using the kitchen sink she splashed water onto her face, removing the cat ears and tail. ‘At least now they won’t be bothering me when I’m cooking.’

 

She lit the induction stove and took out eggs, butter and bread. 

 

‘Toast with a sunny side up eggs!’

 

She happily munched on the golden toast with lightly salted eggs, all while thinking of what she would do today. ‘What should I do today? Kanade has a full shift so she won't be back until evening, maybe I could go out?... Or maybe not. I could play some games, but most of them are co-op!’

 

‘Why did I invest so much time in online games?’ Haru whimpered for herself. 

 

‘And I’m not prepared to face my online buddies with voice chat yet… Ah! I have uni tomorrow. That’s not good!’

 

Haru stressed out slightly.

 

‘But you know… I kinda want to try out some clothes now…’

 

Haru got up from the chair. She walked to the closet in the bedroom and opened it. Racks of clothes lined up the upper part of the closet, with drawers populating the bottom part.

 

“Where would she put the clothes…” Haru rubbed her chin while thinking. “Probably in the drawers. But she could also have put some clothes in the racks.”

 

Haru pulled out a drawer. “P-panties?!” The drawer she had opened was full of panties of differing colors. “I’m still wearing boxers right now… Maybe I should try wearing one?”

 

“Let’s just put that thought on hold for now and ignore that this drawer exists.” 

 

Haru closed the drawer full of panties and opened another one. “At least it’s not full of pantsu…” Haru looked at the dozens of t-shirts folded neatly. “Kanade sure is inconsistent.”

 

Looking through another few drawers she found more clothing, ranging from shorts to pants, skirts to dresses, and most importantly the all-mighty hoodies.

 

Haru took a skirt and some streetwear and tried them on. The dark blue cardigan coupled with a flannel skirt and white t-shirt gave off a very innocent and cute look. Haru gazed at herself with a body mirror.

 

“Cute…”

 

She shook her head. 

 

“Okay. That’s nice, but I could do better.”

 

She dove into the closet again, this time finding some school clothes. “Are these Kanade’s? They kinda are my size… I might as well try them, not like anyone’s gonna know right?” 

 

The gray blazer was tinted with a slight blue, while the button-up shirt was white. The accompanying skirt had a dark blue color, and three different ties were inside the folded shirt. ‘Which one do I pick? The red, green or blue one… I think I’ll go with the green!’

 

After dressing up she looked at herself in the mirror.

 

“I look just like a high schooler… How am I supposed to go to university? I don’t have an ID to prove my identity with! Alright alright one thing at a time, maybe I can ask Kanade’s friend to get me an ID.”

 

Haru quickly changed back to her usual attire of a hoodie and shorts. She glanced down at the drawer which was filled with panties. She opened it again and picked up a white pantie. 

 

‘This feels so wrong, just looking at it! But I’ll need to wear one of these at some point… Maybe I should just get over it right now.’

 

She quickly swapped underwear.

 

‘So snug fit! And it doesn’t feel loose like the boxers… It’s actually quite a bit better. No! These thoughts… I’m conflicted!’

 

While Haru was in a moment of dysphoria the platter of rain started. “Ah! The clothes!” 

 

She quickly remembered that there were clothes still drying outside, she hastily opened the balcony door and threw in the clothes as fast as possible. 

 

“They’re still damp… And it’s just gonna get more humid!”

 

While Haru’s hair was pretty short, only reaching her shoulder at its longest. But even so, it still got messy from the humidity. 

 

She scratched her head. “I guess I’ll let the clothes stay close to the door for now.”

 

Still bored as ever, Haru lazed on the couch watching internet memes and browsing social media.

 

“Looks like the rain is gonna last for a while… Maybe I should play some games anyway?”

 

She looked at the laptop. “Or maybe not.”

 

‘Oh crap.’ 

 

While looking at some funny videos on her phone Haru contemplated what to do tomorrow. 

 

‘Tomorrow is Monday, which means University. Normally, that shouldn’t be a problem, but nobody probably knows me now that I am a girl. And how should I explain this to them? “Oh sorry, guys! I just happened to turn into a girl randomly!” That won’t work. And I’ll also stand out now, I’m way too short for anyone to believe that I am an adult.’

 

She groaned and continued to internally monologuing. 

 

‘But maybe I should just YOLO it? It’s not like a lot has changed… Except me and my clothes I guess. But will I be treated the same as before? I’ve read a few of those manga where the main character has their gender swapped and suddenly everyone treats him differently.’

 

While Haru was drowning in thoughts lightning struck outside, sending a thundering boom.

 

“Argh!”

 

Haru jumped from the thunder, and her cat ears appeared. 

 

“N-not thunder nya!” Haru cried out.

 

The lightning strike had caught her completely off guard, making her jump off the couch and landing onto the floor. She slowly stood up, recovering from the sting of landing almost face first into the floor. 

 

“The weather report didn’t mention thunder or lightning!” She angrily complained. 

 

Haru looked down at herself. “I’m a girl. No surprise.” 

 

“But why am I a girl? I haven’t had anything weird to eat, and I haven't been involved in drugs either… So how come?” Haru rubbed her chin while thinking.

 

“There can't be any logical reason, that’s for sure.”

 

Haru moved on from pondering on the why, and thought about what comes next. ‘I’ve become a girl, but what next? I don’t have any valuable skills that I can put to use and I’m still studying…’

 

The growl of her stomach took her right out of the existential crisis she was having. She looked at the clock hanging on the wall.

 

“Huh. It’s afternoon already.”

 

She walked a few steps over to the kitchen to make something to eat. 

 

“I think I’ll take a nap after this.”

 

After having cup ramen for lunch Haru found herself feeling a bit drowsy. The combination of humidity and being jumpscared earlier contributed. She stumbled back onto the bed and tiredly fell asleep.