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Our lips quickly parted.
Miyu lowered the hand touching my cheek. Her mouth as she gazed at me formed a small smile.

I couldn’t think straight.
Kissing is the proof. Proof of what?
I couldn’t make sense of it, I could only ask.

「J-just now, what did you…」
「You see, I like cute girls over boys. That’s why I don’t need a boyfriend.」

With a smile, Miyu beautifully tilts her head.
I don’t know why, but I feel a surge of nostalgia. Her smile reminded me of something I’ve long forgotten.

I… Back when I was a boy, I loved Miyu.
No, it’s even presumptuous to say that. She was just someone who could only admire from afar.

Since I was just a kid, I didn’t really have a concrete idea of what I desired. I want to talk to her, to play with her; that’s the most my mind could imagine.

So many boys found Miyu cute and liked her.
To the extent I felt ashamed of even saying that I like her. She was a flower far out of my reach.

Miyu mostly spent time by herself. She wasn’t the type to stand out and become the center of the class, but she doesn’t fall behind the popular kids.

Miyu had a mysterious aura that would keep any ordinary boy from approaching her, much less speaking to her.
Whenever she reads a book, she just looks so graceful, so delicate, so ephemeral…

But since I became a girl, things have changed. I’ve changed.
I started becoming aware of my looks, and, with the praises from the people around me, I grew to have some self-confidence.
Before I realized it, I could now speak to Miyu without any reservation.

But not as a member of the opposite sex; as a fellow girl, as a friend.
I’ve always had feelings for her, but I couldn’t be sure if it was romantic love or not.
I assumed that she naturally would fall in love with a boy. It was never going to be requited anyway, so I erased it from my mind.

But just now, Miyu said that she likes girls.
That she doesn’t need a boyfriend.
In other words, she’s romantically inclined to girls?　
She’s the same as me?

I can feel the blood pumping through my veins. My heart is beating so fast.
Kissing me, saying that she likes cute girls… Was that just now Miyu’s way of confessing?

Confessing to me?
So if I give a response…?

「… I… Miyu, I like you too.」

Before I realized it, the words left my mouth.
I couldn’t look her straight in the eye; my gaze lowered slightly before I could continue.

「Truth is, I’ve liked you for the longest time… but I wasn’t really anything special. You probably wouldn’t have given me the time of your day… And while we’re close now, we’re both girls… so I just… gave up on it…」

I lifted my head a bit to see her response.
Miyu looked directly into my eyes and spoke with a gentle tone.

「Misaki, you like me, huh?」
「Yeah… I like you, I love you.」

This time, I was able to speak with full certainty while maintaining eye contact.
Misaki smiled. It made my heart flutter; I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
So beautiful, so pretty; she’s like an angel, a goddess.

That expression of hers, I don’t even need to hear her answer.
*I love Misaki, too.*
Goal in. Congratulations.

It’s an upset victory. There was no NTR. The little fight we had merely strengthened our bond. In other words, all that’s well ends well.

With a finger on her chin, she tilted her head on one side.

「*Hm～m*… But you’re kinda not my type, though.」

… *Hah?*

「W-w-what do you mean ‘not your type’? Well sure, I don’t got no d̲i̲c̲k̲ but…」
「Hey, why are you speaking that way? Are you still stuck on that “I was a boy” thing? Even now? Are you f̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g with me?」
「I-I’m not f̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g around! It just happens sometimes! I’m completely serious!」

Me trying my best to show how long I’ve been in love with her backfired. Maybe I should just bury this all into the darkness.
No one’s going to believe me anyway; I’m starting to doubt myself, honestly.

「*Ha～h*」

And then Miyu-san let out a heavy sigh.

「Nope. Disqualified.」
「*Eh?*」
「I understand that you’re completely smitten with me. But I don’t like your ‘I was guy’ bit. It’s not funny, it’s unpleasant.」
「B-but aren’t there a lot of women on the internet that speak in a masculine way these days!¹」
「None of them say that they were a man who suddenly became a woman, though? Seriously.」

Nonono, no one just says it out loud IRL, but there should be a good number of people who suddenly changed sex. There’s a lot in manga and anime, after all. And time-stop men must exist too; even though 90% of it is acting, 10% of it is probably true².

With an exasperated look, she nudges me with her finger.

「For your information, that’s not my only problem, okay? Misaki, you’re always so unkempt; you sit down with your legs spread out; you’re so messy when you eat; you don’t feel any shame even when seen in your underwear; you yawn so loudly and you sneeze loudly, too. And why do you never properly lock the door when using the bathroom?」

It was nothing but the truth; there was nothing I could refute even if I wanted to.
*Eh*, wait, am I perhaps about to get shot down?　
Was it all a misunderstanding I had from the excitement of the kiss?

No, can’t be. There’s no way. She absolutely has feelings for me. I should’ve triggered the correct flags³.
I wanted to keep this a last resort, but I’m left with no other choice.