Hirofumi was having a panic attack

 

 

 

Due to Hinako calling their dad, Toshi and his sister were riding in the back seat of the family car home from school. Hirofumi was complaining nonstop about having to take time off from getting dinner ready while also lamenting that his son was getting into fights and that his son needed to be careful because if you get hit in the balls you can go sterile and no woman wants a sterile man oh and are you SURE you didn't get kicked in the balls because we should take you to a doctor if that happened so that you can get a check-up and on and on and on.

 

Toshi was ignoring him and using GooHoo to figure out what was going on. Apparently, boys and girls do fight. There isn't as strong a social taboo against women hitting men here as the reverse in his original world. Here, the reason isn't 'because boys are weaker.' It's because if boys get hit in the balls, they go sterile. This could be technically true, but the fear is so blown out of proportion that it is an urban myth. A myth so well known that it's taken as 'common knowledge' in this world. Kicking a guy in the balls thus rendering him sterile is grounds for a lawsuit, or in the old days, a reason for demanding that they get married.

 

Toshi stopped to look out the window and let that one sink in for a while.

 

After nodding and agreeing with his father several times, Toshi finally got home and everyone went inside. He was told to wait up in his room whereupon he spent the next few hours surfing the search engines to figure out this particular slice of society. One thing he stumbled upon when looking up how boys and girls interact was that a familiar title, Please Don't Bully Me, Hachioji was a rather popular Manga in reverse Japan. Looking into it deeper, he stumbled across a piece of social interaction that had escaped him up until this point.

 

Guys don't like shy girls.

 

If a girl isn't aggressive, it isn't a turn-on, so guys just tune them out. ~The dreaded 'friend zone' exists in every dimension, it seems.~ Toshi mused as he surfed the internet. However, more and more girls were just dropping out of the dating scene since it was turning into such a minefield. Guys like pushy girls, but being pushy is grounds for getting charged with sexual harassment. It was a catch-22 that was decidedly unfair and led to the rise of 'Cowgirls', which was this universe's version of the herbivore male. Toshi thought back to his old life and how he wound up a single workaholic at the age of thirty-two. In retrospect, it wasn't anything that particularly bothered him. He just sort of 'slid' into his old situation.

 

He got up from the computer to head to his bed, ~This world isn't a complete one-eighty of my old one, but it's damn close.~ He sat down as he took off his shoes, ~But what caused the discrepancies? Why are so many names close, or a strange mish-mash of things? How do so many things get almost the same, but not quite?~ He bent over to stare at his feet, ~Is it God? Does he have some sort of corrective measure to keep bringing things back in line if they stray too far from baseline, or is this just the far end of the bell curve?~ He blinked, "Wait."

 

He looked out his window off towards the darkening sky. The sun was setting and pastel colors could be seen on the horizon. It was starting to be washed out as more and more artificial light sources turned on throughout Tokyo, ~God said there are no infinities. If there are no infinities, then there isn't an infinite number of universes. There isn't every possible combination of choices out there. That means something, God or some sort of natural law, keeps pulling this world into a mirrored alignment with my old world.~ He spread his arms out as he laid back on his bed, ~If that is true, can I take advantage of this? If this IS what is happening, can I then predict the outcome of social trends?~ He put his hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling, ~More importantly, SHOULD I take advantage of this?~

 

While he was contemplating the morality of his position, his eyes wandered around the room. He put up a bunch of posters that belonged to the old Toshi and never gave them much thought. Now he looked at them intently trying to determine exactly what his old self saw in them. Just about every poster was of girls in uniforms of some sort, ~What sort of universe finds women in full military garb attractive?~ He peered at their faces and noticed for the first time that the eyes were drawn wrong, ~Wait a sec... all the boys have big eyes and all the girls have narrow-~ He smacked his forehead, "I'm an idiot. Why didn't I notice it before?"

 

"Didn't notice what?"

 

Toshi's mom was standing in the doorway. She looked rather stern, but at the same time, her expression carried a hint of worry. Toshi sat up and waved, "Oh... just how the world works."

 

Asuka nodded once and walked in, "Your father is very upset with you starting a fight." She sat down next to him without looking at him directly. She hunched over slightly and looked off into the distance, "I'm supposed to lay down the law with you and give you a good talking to."

 

Toshi looked at Asuka, "Why do I hear an unspoken 'but'?"

 

Asuka hung her head, "I haven't had you in my home for over a year, I failed as your mother and..." She gave Toshi a weak smile, "You are Mommy's little boy. Mom's always spoil their sons."

 

Toshi rolled his eyes and put a hand on Asuka's shoulder, "It's cool."

 

Asuka stared at Toshi for quite a while before lamenting, "Oh god I lost my boy!" She abruptly grabbed Toshi and held him in a bone-crushing hug. Toshi let out an 'Ack' and pushed her off him reflexively. This left her looking even more sad.

 

Toshi grabbed her by the shoulder, "Look. Stop it. I don't understand. I'm sorry. Okay? You... didn't fail me. I'm-" He stopped short and thought about it for a while, ~If I was a girl I would...~ Then abruptly hugged Asuka instead, "I love you!"

 

Asuka tried to be strong for about two seconds then hugged back, "My boy is so cold. I know it's not your fault but... oh god it hurts. I miss the bubbling ever happy whirlwind of emotional nonsense you were! You never made any sense and you drove your mother insane with your crazy ideas but I'll take that over what you've become."

 

Toshi slowly pulled away, "Oh." His face grew dark with concern.

 

Asuka shook her head, "It's not what you think. You have become so cold. So dispassionate. So logical and disconnected from everything. I can see how much of you that... you have lost. I L-" She cleared her throat and spoke softly, "love you, no matter what. I just..." She gently patted Toshi's head, "I just wish I didn't give in to your father. I love him so much that it's hard to argue with him. I should have put my foot down and stopped your idol career. You've lost so much."

 

Toshi cradled Asuka's face with both hands, "Will you listen to me for once? I. Am. HAPPY."

 

Asuka just stared at Toshi, "How? How can you say that?"

 

Toshi squeezed then let go, "Can you just accept me as I am? I'm sorry I'm not the son you want, but I'm the one you got. I'll do my best to make this work. Will you?"

 

Asuka looked a bit surprised, "I never said I didn't want you! I..." She rubbed her eyes, "I'm never good at this emotional crap. Your father was always-"

 

Toshi abruptly shook Asuka and said, "LET IT GO!"

 

Asuka didn't know how to respond then let out a sigh as she forced a smile, "Fine. I just got to accept you aren't thinking normally and... that's... fine." Again a pause before speaking, "Don't get into fights if you can avoid it, but..." Asuka leaned over to look out the doorway then leaned in to speak softly to Toshi, "You want me to teach you how to defend yourself?"

 

Toshi almost reflexively told her no, but thought about it, then nodded, "Sure. I'm good with that. Whenever you got time."

 

Asuka nodded and checked the door again, "I'm not going to go easy on you, just saying."

 

Toshi smirked, "Yeah. I'm good with that."

 

Asuka seemed to be in higher spirits and gave her son another hug, "You need me to buy you some new clothes?" Toshi looked at the closet and then at his mother, "I can make do with what I got. I was wondering if I could... buy some computer parts. My tower is a bit on the underpowered side." Asuka nodded and gave Toshi a pat on the leg, "Sure thing. I'll ask your sister to help you."

 

Toshi repressed a sudden urge to yell at her and forced a smile instead, "I just need the funds. I'll save money by buying the parts and assembling it myself."

 

Asuka gave him a sideways look, "Since when do you know anything about computers?"

 

Toshi inwardly cursed but rolled with it, "I want to figure out how to do it myself."

 

Asuka laughed a bit and patted her son on the cheek, "I'm sure you do." Then stood up, "I'll have her help you, just to learn the ropes." She ruffled Toshi's hair before walking out. Toshi watched her walk out then shifted his attention to the mirror next to the door.

 

 

 

 

 

He stared at his reflection for quite some time, wondering for about the thousandth time who was looking back.