The Childhood Friend Who Used To Be A Wild Little Brat Turned Out To Be A Very Beautiful Girl.... - Chapter 2

After I returned to my family home, Grandpa and Grandma welcomed me back, and I stayed insanely busy getting ready for my new school starting the next day.

Grandpa had already handled the transfer paperwork, so there wasn’t much I needed to do there, but between unpacking all the boxes that had arrived and everything else, it was total chaos.

I didn’t fall asleep until after one in the morning.

The long trip had worn me out, so I slept like a rock—but because of that, I ended up oversleeping a little.

“Hey, get up…! You’re gonna be late!”

My futon got yanked off me rough, and when my eyes blinked open, a beautiful girl in an unfamiliar sailor uniform was leaning over and peering into my face.

“W-Who are you…?”

She looked down at me with an exasperated expression while I panicked from being woken up like that, and her face felt weirdly familiar…

“You still half-asleep or what?”

My sleep-fogged brain finally clicked, recognizing who the beauty was.

“M-Makoto?”

“Yeah. Hurry up and get up. You’re seriously gonna be late.”

The girl…wait, the boy…no, the girl in the sailor uniform peeled the futon right off me.

“Ooh… so this is what morning wood is.”

She grinned, clearly amused, as she stared at me in nothing but a T-shirt and boxers.

I freaked out and covered my crotch, then threw the first question that hit me at Makoto.

“Why the hell are you wearing a sailor uniform?”

“…Even I think it doesn’t suit me, but… it’s the school uniform. What am I supposed to do?”

“Uniform…? Wait, do guys wear sailor uniforms here?”

“…No.”

“Huh? …So you’re saying, Makoto… you were a girl this whole time? Since when?”

“Since when…? Since I was born, obviously—…Ah. Right.”

“‘Right’ what?”

“Ahh—this is gonna take a while, so later. For now, hurry up and change. You’re seriously gonna be late.”

“O-Okay…”

My head was still a mess as I hurriedly tried to get dressed, but…

“Why are you staring so hard?”

“Like I haven’t seen you change before…”

“Being watched by someone in a sailor uniform feels kinda—”

“Just hurry up and change already…”

I changed reluctantly, grabbed breakfast without really tasting it, and we rushed out the door.

And on the way to school, Makoto started telling me what had happened while I was gone…

“Yeah, I get why you’re shocked. I was surprised at first too…”

“Surprised how? What do you mean?”

“It was right after you moved away, I think?”

What Makoto started talking about was what happened after I left.

Makoto’s family had originally been from a samurai line that set up roots around here, and because of that, it was the kind of household where having a boy was treated like a big deal.

But Makoto’s grandmother could only have daughters, and even after they married out, every child born was a girl.

Makoto’s mother—the youngest daughter, the only one who stayed—also ended up having just one daughter.

Makoto’s grandfather, who desperately wanted a boy, apparently treated the only granddaughter left in the house like a boy.

I remembered that old man too.

For some reason he really liked me, and I remembered him playing with us a lot. Though, from his point of view, it wasn’t “playing”—he seemed to think he was personally drilling us in old-school martial arts…

Even after we moved, I used to come back every weekend, and he’d teach us all sorts of techniques.

Well, that ended up creating two bratty kids who never lost a fight. But I remembered him passed away the year before I went overseas.

Normally, I should’ve noticed the difference between boys and girls once I hit elementary school, but I left town before that happened.

Since I only saw my childhood friend on weekends, I’d just accepted Makoto as “a guy friend.”

Makoto herself lived pretty much like a boy in elementary school too.

Unless class forced a split by gender, she usually stuck with the boys, which apparently caused teachers a lot of headaches.

In the end, she said she got all the way up to her first period without a strong awareness that she was a girl.

Makoto got her first period right after I moved overseas, so in my mind, Makoto stayed locked in as “my male childhood friend.”

“Anyway, I’m still me, right? Not like I’m that different.”

Makoto said it lightly, but finding out your childhood buddy—the one you thought was a guy—was actually a girl felt like a pretty huge shock.

“Oh, right. Just so you know—this way I talk? It’s only with you.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because… saying ‘ore’ while dressed like this… that’s weird, isn’t it?”

“So at school you’re putting on an act?”

“When I got to middle school, I had to wear a skirt with the uniform…”

“Doesn’t look like your chest grew though… still flat as a guy…”

“That’s not it… it’s just—this is…”

Makoto started to explain, but—

“Good morning, Makoto-sama.”

A voice suddenly called out from behind us.

When I turned around, there was a group of girls wearing the same sailor uniform as Makoto.

At the center was a cute girl with long black hair tied back and braided into one thick braid that fell over her shoulder.

Behind her—more like one step back on either side—were two more girls, making three total.

The two in back were a girl with light brown hair in a short ponytail, and another with sleek black hair cut into a neat bob.

They looked like attendants, hovering behind the braided girl like maids.

A little farther away, I noticed a guy who looked super athletic blatantly staring at them, which was… kind of distracting.

All three of them had really pretty faces, so maybe they had some kind of fan club?

“Morning, Kanou-senpai.”

“Honestly, Makoto-sama, I always tell you—just call me Yukina.”

The braided girl puffed her cheeks a little, like she was sulking.

“Makoto-sama??”

“Shut up… just be quiet for a second.”

“Oh? And who is this? I don’t believe I’ve seen you before…”

“Ah, um… he. He’s a transfer student. He’s my childhood friend. He was overseas for a while, and he only just came back recently.”

“Oh my. Is that so? Pleased to meet you. I am Kanou Yukina, a second-year. I’ve been fortunate enough to be on friendly terms with Makoto-sama.”

“Yeah. I’m Kinoshita Takuya. Makoto and I lived right next to each other, so we’ve been stuck together since we were little—like a bad habit, basically… Wait, ‘I’?”

“Just… don’t worry about it. I’ll explain later.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

“Kinoshita-san. Pleased to meet you. Are you in the same year as Makoto-sama?”

“Well, we’re the same age.”

“I see. You look quite mature, so I thought perhaps you were in the same year as I am. I look forward to getting along with you.”

After saying that, she walked off at a brisk pace.

The two behind her didn’t say a single word. Seriously—rich girl and her entourage.

“Who was that?”

“Kanou-senpai? I met her after starting high school, but… I guess she took a liking to me. She talks to me a lot.”

“Huh… she really has that rich-girl vibe. Even her manners and speech are all proper…”

“Yeah, she’s definitely an ojou-sama. Her family’s involved with the redevelopment project in this town.”

“Ooh. So the rich girl likes you… are we talking sugar-mama jackpot?”

“Idiot. We’re both girls—”

“Oh, right… You’re a girl. Man, this is still messing with me…”

“Yeah… seriously, get used to it already…”

“I found out literally today. You expect me to adjust instantly?”

“…Fair. But be careful at school, okay?”

“…Got it. But… ‘I’—”

“Don’t say it. I know it doesn’t suit me. I know.”

“Anyway, you’ve gotta go to the staff room for the pre-transfer stuff, right? Stop talking and hurry up.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

When we arrived at school, Makoto guided me to the staff room.

At the staff-room entrance, I split off from Makoto. A staff member led me to the principal’s office, where I got a quick explanation, then my homeroom teacher took me to my classroom.

This was the school my dad attended too, and apparently the principal used to be my dad’s homeroom teacher, so he ended up telling me a bunch of stories from back then…

My homeroom teacher was a young woman. Around thirty, maybe?

It had to be coincidence, but I ended up in the same class as Makoto.

Since I was a returning transfer student in a rural high school, I got bombarded with questions, but Makoto stepped in a lot and helped keep things under control.

I spotted a few faces I recognized from long ago, but not many—probably because a lot of people went to schools outside the city or private schools. This was a public school, after all.

“Taku, let’s go home together.”

Since it was the start of the new term, between the opening ceremony and homeroom, the day ended in a flash. Makoto called out to me.

“Taku” was the nickname Makoto had used for me since we were kids. When it was just the two of us, it was more like “you” and “me,” though.

From watching her for half a day, it seemed like at school she was going with a “boku-girl” persona.

“Makoto, you’re not in any clubs?”

“Hm? Not really interested… Taku, are you thinking of joining one?”

“They didn’t really have clubs where I used to be, so I’m kinda curious… but joining halfway sounds like a hassle.”

“Then let’s just be in the Go-Home Club together.”

“Yeah… that works.”

“And if we stay too long, you know…”

Makoto started to say something, when—

“Makoto-sama. Are you heading home?”

That same polite voice came from behind her.

“See? There she is…”

Makoto looked like she’d just failed to slip away.

The upperclassman from this morning—Kanou-san—walked in like she owned the place, even though she was supposed to be in a different class.

She was alone this time… or so it seemed. When I glanced toward the doorway, the same two girls from earlier were peeking in from the entrance.

…Seriously.

An entire entourage.

“Oh, Ka—… Yukina-senpai. I already have plans with him today… Also, shouldn’t you be at committee work?”

“Yes. It’s the first day of the term, so there isn’t much to do. Oh—aren’t you the one from this morning?”

“Hello. You’re Kanou-senpai, right?”

“So you ended up in the same class as Makoto-sama… I’m jealous.”

“Haha…”

This girl gives off a seriously dangerous aura…

While thinking that, I flicked my eyes at Makoto… Her eyes said it all.

That’s why I wanted to run earlier…

Even after being apart for years, we were still having full conversations with just eye contact. Being stuck with someone that long… really was something.

“Sorry, senpai. I promised Makoto I’d let her show me around and help me out today…”

“I see. Then it can’t be helped. Makoto-sama, please have tea with me sometime soon.”

“Yeah. Soon…”

“It’s a promise. Then, please excuse me.”

Kanou-san left the classroom looking a little disappointed.

At the door, she rejoined the two girls, spoke to them briefly, and then they left together.

“…I’m tired.”

“Is she always like that?”

“Pretty much… She’s been glued to me since I enrolled.”

I looked at Makoto again as she slumped forward on her desk, exhausted.

She looked good—short hair suited her. Like I’d thought when we first reunited, if she wore men’s clothes, she’d be straight-up handsome.

Seeing her in a sailor uniform still felt wrong to me, but she had that Takarazuka “male role” vibe.

I could see why girls might be into her—she had that “cool onee-sama” feel.

“Makoto-sama, huh…”

“Don’t.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go home… I still gotta keep unpacking too…”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”