Leave a comment

Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

After their visit to the aquarium, Kou and Hijiri wandered around some old castle ruins in the city.

From time to time, they would take refuge from the sun in cafes and share some tea, or look through the nearby museums, without really a determined destination. But as with all fun things, time seemed to pass rapidly. Before they noticed, the sun had gotten considerably lower.

Their last stop, chosen by Hijiri as she continued to pull on Kou’s hand behind her, was a nearby viewing platform. And when they got there…

“Ahahah, we got the whole place to ourselves!”
“I mean, VR is enough to sightsee anywhere…”

Hijiri ran off happily to the windows offering a vast panoramic view of the city.

…Places like that, just like the aquarium before, had become less frequent in recent years. Usually, the only people going there were on a date, not too dissimilar from Kou and Hijiri.

After all, anyone could experience visiting any popular spot around the world, or even outer space in a more convenient form.

“Still, being here in person feels special, and it’s kinda fun too.”
“Yeah, seeing this together with someone else feels pretty nice. I’m starting to get tired from all the walking though.”
“Ahahah, we did walk a lot today. I can already tell we’ll have sore muscles tomorrow.”

While Hijiri laughed without much worry, Kou decided to ask something she had been wondering about the whole day.

“Hey, Hijiri… Why did you decide to just invite me on a date like this?”

They had hung out together plenty of times in the past. But this was the first time Hijiri had specifically called it a date, which felt odd to Kou.

When Kou asked about it, Hijiri turned to look at her with a gentle smile.

“You see…it’s just because you’ve changed.”
“I have…?”

There had been an extremely obvious change in the recent months, with Kou turning into a girl and all, but that did not really make much sense to Kou, so she just looked down at herself before tilting her head in confusion.

“Ah, I mean, you did turn into a girl too, yeah. But that’s not what I meant… Hmm…I don’t know how to explain it…” Hijiri began to mumble to herself, trying to find the right words, until she took a deep breath to steel her nerves before looking straight at Kou. “I mean, you always used to worry and fuss over this.”

Saying that, Hijiri gently touched her own neck.

“If I had asked you back then, I’m sure you would’ve felt forced to do it, out of guilt.”
“I…yeah, I probably would’ve.”

Every time Kou saw the scar on Hijiri’s neck, she felt a pang of guilt and like she needed to atone for it. Hijiri was aware of that, and so she avoided asking much from Kou.

In recent months, Kou had seemingly gotten over it, no longer minding the scar, or even going past that and actually valuing it together with the rest of Hijiri.

“I feel like back then, I would’ve been taking advantage of you, so I just waited, waited until you got over it. And…I felt like now was the right moment.”
“Then, you don’t think that I’m doing this because…”
“Mhm, you’re not doing this out of responsibility, but because you yourself wanted to come here with me.”

There was a moment of silence after that, as Hijiri took many deep breaths before locking eyes with Kou.

“All this time… I’ve always liked you. Even before you turned into a girl…and after that too. I’ve always…always liked you.”

The sun turned orange behind Hijiri as she declared that, her voice firm even as she repeated herself.

“I…I’ve also…mmph?!”

The feelings lying dormant for many years in Kou’s heart began to well up, gushing forth so rapidly she tripped on her own words when trying to express them. But she felt like she needed to reply, so she opened her mouth…only for Hijiri’s lips to seal those words away.

For a moment…Kou felt the taste of bananas and chocolate. Ten odd seconds passed like that, which felt like an eternity for Kou, and almost disappointingly, Hijiri stepped back, their lips parting ways.

“Ah…umm…I got carried away, I’m so sorry!!”
“Hweh?! Ah, right!”

Hijiri’s face was beet red as she nervously waved her hands around trying to explain, and Kou, her face just as red, shook her head rapidly trying to show it was okay. Then they fell into an awkward silence, the two trying to glance at the other before looking away embarrassed right after…until finally Hijiri broke the silence.

“I’m…I’m still a bit scared to hear what you wanted to say. So…you can tell me another time, after you’ve thought about it.”
“O-Okay…if you say so…”

Kou gave a vacant reply, still in a daze as her fingertips lightly grazed her lips, trying to relive the sensation from earlier.

“Anyway…sorry again! We should go back now, before it gets too dark and they start worrying.”

Hijiri seemed to return to her usual self shortly after. Taking hold of Kou’s hand again, the two began making their way back.

But their relationship had already changed dramatically. Kou now seemed to be following Hijiri’s lead almost absentmindedly, her heart still pounding, her senses a whirlwind of confusion. And yet, beneath all that, there was a floating, excited sensation steadily growing in her chest.

Afterword:

They grow up so fast, eheh

Support Us

Unlock Early Access ------- Select Project ------- Project Gender Bender Project Necro ∴ Support your favorite series and unlock chapters before the public release.