Vol 1 Chapter 76 – MRI【Vol 1 – Turning Point】

The next day, I was back at Hiro-nii-chan’s hospital.

“Glad you came.”

The soft smile Hiro-nii-chan gave me left no doubt in my mind; he already saw me as someone close to him.

In other words, his little brother. He completely sees me as his little brother.

“I’m here for the exam today! Hiro-nii-chan!”

Since that was the case, I decided to act a little closer to him, too. In response, Hiro-nii-chan muttered under his breath.

“Cute…”

He seemed to be blushing, just a little.

That’s the first time I’ve ever thought a grown man was cute.

Handsome guys are really something else, making even another guy like me think that.

“Hiro-kun. Make sure you take good care of Rin-kun, okay?”

But it seemed Mama hadn’t heard him. More than that, she was worried about me.

“Of course. With the MRI scan, we’ll be able to confirm one way or another if you have a uterus.”

That was the turning point that would decide if I could continue to live as a man.

After he said that, Hiro-nii-chan observed me a little more carefully.

“W-What is it?”

Embarrassed, I had to ask.

“I’ll do the scan.”

With that, Hiro-nii-chan offered me his hand.

“You want to hold hands?”

Hiro-nii-chan nodded, so I took his hand.

Hiro-nii-chan squeezed my hand back and stood up.

“Mama, you come too.”

He started walking as he spoke.

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We arrived at the MRI room.

“Dr. Kujo!? What are you doing here!?”

It seemed that was Hiro-nii-chan’s real name.

But Kujo is a surname I’ve heard in Japanese history class. I think it was the name of the people who served as the emperor’s regents.

Maybe nii-chan is someone amazing even outside of being a doctor.

“I will be performing the MRI on this child.”

“Huh!?”

I was shocked. An MRI isn’t usually done by a doctor, but by a different kind of specialized technician.

“Ah, uh… Oh, are you family? His clothes have a lot of metal parts on them, don’t they?”

“Something like that.”

With those words, Hiro-nii-chan dismissed the MRI tech.

“Take off your clothes.”

Once the tech was gone, Hiro-nii-chan spoke to me.

“Okay…”

He just mentioned my clothes have a lot of metal. It’s probably like an X-ray; you can’t have metal in an MRI. I have to take these clothes off. There’s nothing shameful about this. This is a medical procedure being done by a doctor.

That’s what I told myself.

“Ugh…”

But it was embarrassing, and my face felt hot.

“The more you think about how embarrassing it is, the more embarrassing it gets! Chin up, Rin-kun!”

Mama’s encouragement helped. I handed my clothes to her and lay down on the examination bed.

“This will be over quick.”

As Hiro-nii-chan spoke, the machine began to whir. It passed over my lower abdomen and then stopped.

“Done. You can get dressed.”

Once Hiro-nii-chan announced it was over, Mama brought my clothes to me.

As I was putting them on, I saw Mama making a mischievous face.

“Boys’ underwear just won’t do, will it…”

“Eek…”

I know exactly what she’s getting at. Mama is trying to make me wear women’s underwear. She’s completely intent on turning me into a girl.

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Back in the consultation room, we checked the MRI images. As he scrolled with the mouse, cross-sections of my abdomen flashed across the screen one after another.

“Good. There’s no uterus. And you do have a prostate.”

I was relieved. It seemed that, appearances aside, I could continue living my life as a man.

“So then, Rin-kun’s body is completely male?”

“It’s immature, but yes. We could activate his male functions with testosterone injections. It might even be possible for him to have children in the future. But, his voice might change.”

“Eh? Your voice can still change even when you’re an adult?”

“It’s called gender incongruence, or FTM—Female to Male. Most people in that situation find their voices change when they take testosterone. There’s a high probability the same phenomenon would happen to him.”

“I see…”

Listening to Mama and Hiro-nii-chan’s conversation, I was conflicted. This high-pitched voice is one of my weapons now. What would happen to me if I lost it…?

“I want you to think about it slowly. For a VTuber, this is an incredibly big decision.”

Hiro-nii-chan said, his expression serious.

It really is a difficult decision. There’s a chance I could lose my current soprano voice.

“I’m sure you already know this, but no matter what you decide, Mama is on your side!”

“I’m on your side, too.”

But those words alone were more than enough to give me courage.