Chapter 6.5
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
Chapter 6.5: Side Story: On The Way Home One Day (No Erotica)
Author’s Note: It’s a sweet, relaxed yuri-themed story from Akane’s perspective.
************************************************
For Shirosaki Rin, going to school was an experience fraught with pain and fear.
It wasn’t because she disliked classes or was being bullied, but rather due to the terror of someone discovering her secret—that she was a hermaphrodite.
Deep down, she longed to be an ordinary girl, but she had spent her life striving for perfection, playing the role of the ideal “Shirosaki Rin.” She pretended not to hear the screams of her heart, living with a composed expression while trembling under the weight of others’ gazes.
If anyone found out about her condition, they would surely distance themselves from her. The underclassmen who admired her as an “older sister,” her classmates, her best friend, and even the person she had feelings for—they would all recoil in disgust and avoid her.
Rather than face that, Rin had lived her life making countless sacrifices.
She skipped swimming, which she was actually good at, using excuses like illness or her period. She pretended not to notice the disappointment in her teachers’ eyes at her transparent lies.
She often arrived late to PE class to avoid changing with the others. Naturally, she couldn’t join any sports clubs because she couldn’t risk being seen undressed.
She missed her middle school trip due to “illness” and spent the day crying at home—because communal baths were mandatory. The night she heard Akane’s stories about the trip, she cursed her body and clawed at her chest.
To ensure no one discovered her secret, she was constantly vigilant about her appearance. Her efforts to remain expressionless to avoid slipping up left her unable to laugh from the heart.
She couldn’t even confide in her childhood friend and gradually began rejecting physical contact. The look of abandonment in her friend’s eyes when she pushed her away felt like a vise around her heart.
She suppressed her desire to dress up, avoiding skirts outside of school and wearing pants even when hanging out with friends, making her stand out awkwardly.
As she grew older, her younger sister’s gaze began to carry a hint of disgust as she became aware of Rin’s condition. At school, her sister would pretend not to see her, treating her like a complete stranger.
Of course, there were happy moments too.
Her kind friends would chat with her openly, and conversations with her one and only best friend made her heart race so much that the school bell felt like an annoyance.
Sometimes, she received fan letters from underclassmen she didn’t even know. Occasionally, she was even confessed to passionately.
After entering high school, she developed feelings for a boy. Just looking at him sent a sweet ache through her chest. Her eyes would drift to his every move during class. She had never liked anyone before, but she instantly recognized this as love.
Despite the pain school brought her, she loved her high school life so much that she still wanted to go.
But—no, precisely because of that—because it was so irreplaceable, the thought of it all crumbling in an instant terrified her more than anything.
She feared the day when Akane, Kouki, her classmates, or her underclassmen would turn on her with cold, scornful gazes.
Recently, however, her school life had become incredibly fulfilling.
Rin had stopped obsessing over her hermaphroditism and was now living more naturally than ever.
Of course, she still took care to hide it, but she no longer hyperfixated on others’ gazes like before.
As a result, she stopped bottling up stress, found mental peace, and enjoyed school life more than ever.
Perhaps this change showed on the outside too—her sharp edges softened, and her expressions became much warmer. With newfound confidence, she smiled more radiantly than ever.
Her beauty, already near the limits of human perfection, seemed to shine even brighter, skyrocketing her popularity among both boys and girls.
She made more friends and often found herself at the center of her class’s social circle. Though, most boys were too intimidated to even speak to her, so it was mostly the girls who admired her that flocked to her.
There were some changes Rin didn’t particularly like, though.
She was being confessed to by boys she had no interest in more often, which privately annoyed her. Each time, she coldly rejected them, and while rumors about her harshness spread, the confessions only increased. Sometimes, the lecherous glint in the eyes of the boys who approached her sent chills down her spine.
But none of that bothered her enough to dampen her enjoyment of her new life. It was as if a grand flower had bloomed around her.
To outsiders, the change was nothing but positive.
The once-reserved, shadowed demeanor of the sheltered young lady had softened. She became more approachable, and girls who had previously hesitated to get close now eagerly chatted with her. The boys, too, were more than satisfied just admiring the beauty of the girl they could only gaze at from afar.
Even the teachers, who had found her perfection somewhat difficult to handle, praised the positive shift in her behavior.
—
However, not everyone was entirely comfortable with her transformation.
After school, on a day so warm it hardly felt like winter, a pleasant breeze brushed against Mitsuka Akane’s cheeks as she stole glances at the girl walking beside her.
Perhaps because of their height difference, Akane found herself looking up slightly to see Rin’s face. From the side, Rin’s expression was relaxed, her eyes narrowed in contentment, radiating happiness.
Her childhood friend and best friend—Shirosaki Rin—was a beauty.
Her face, like a masterpiece of art with a hint of foreign ancestry, her skin as flawless as porcelain yet glowing with health, and her figure—curves in all the right places, rivaling that of a supermodel.
She was the kind of girl who made people sigh in admiration, and lately, rumors had spread that she’d grown even more stunning. Even Akane, who was used to her looks, couldn’t help but be captivated by her newfound radiance.
When Rin noticed Akane’s gaze, she tilted her head curiously, her expression so natural it made Akane realize how much of her past behavior had been an act.
Akane had been wondering when to bring it up, but steeling herself, she stopped abruptly and locked eyes with Rin. Rin paused too, looking puzzled.
“…Hey, Rin. Did something good happen recently…?”
“? Why do you ask?”
“Well, you’ve been in such a good mood lately, and your vibe’s changed…”
“…No, nothing’s really changed.”
Rin answered with a thoughtful tilt of her head, her casual gestures effortlessly charming.
But Akane wasn’t convinced.
Rin’s recent transformation had been a series of shocks for Akane.
The girl who had rarely shown her true self or sought deep connections with anyone outside Akane now laughed openly and relaxed in class.
She had also become harder to hang out with. Invitations after school were often declined with “I have plans,” and she frequently disappeared during lunch breaks. Thinking back, this was the first time in a week they’d walked home together.
There had to be a reason for such a drastic change.
And Akane had a hypothesis—one that was the source of her unease.
It was the rumor circulating around school.
For Akane, the content was so terrifying that even voicing it made her tremble. If it were true, she’d break down crying.
“…Is it true that you’re dating Kanzaki-kou…?”
—
Shirosaki Rin was dating Kanzaki Kouki.
They said love made girls more beautiful, and now the entire school was abuzz with this rumor.
Similar rumors had floated around since their first year. After all, they were an exceptionally handsome pair. Even though they barely spoke, sharing a class was enough to spark gossip.
It was the kind of rumor high schoolers loved. Of course, being baseless, they usually fizzled out quickly. But this time, given Rin’s noticeable change, the rumor carried an air of plausibility.
—
If it were true…
Just imagining it made something dark and ugly well up from the depths of Akane’s heart.
Regretting her impulsive question but unable to back down now, Akane stared into Rin’s beautiful eyes, silently demanding honesty.
Clenching her sweaty hands and suppressing her pounding heart, she waited for an answer.
“–Heh, hehehe.”
Rin blinked, processing Akane’s words, then burst into laughter.
While Akane was dead serious, Rin giggled uncontrollably, making Akane’s anger simmer.
“Hey! I’m being serious—!”
“I-I know! Hehe, but really—of all the things to ask! Me, dating Kanzaki-kou…!”
“B-but you’ve gotten so much prettier… And we haven’t been hanging out as much… So I thought maybe you got a boyfriend…”
Her voice trailed off, cheeks flushing.
The overly serious atmosphere from earlier now felt ridiculous, and she grew increasingly embarrassed.
Noticing this, Rin’s eyes momentarily took on a cold, predatory glint, but she shook her head and smiled gently.
Her radiant smile left Akane utterly disarmed, staring in awe.
“Don’t worry, Akane. I’m not dating Kanzaki-kou.”
“R-really?”
“Really.”
Rin cupped Akane’s cheek reassuringly, her slender, flawless fingers brushing against Akane’s ear.
It was something she used to do when comforting a sulky Akane as kids.
Though they weren’t pressed together like back then, the cool softness of Rin’s palm was just as comforting.
Lost in nostalgia and ticklish warmth, Akane suddenly noticed the stares from passersby.
Well, two beauties sharing such a yuri-esque moment in the middle of the street was bound to draw attention. Some guys were even staring so hard they had nosebleeds.
“W-well, as long as that’s the case!”
Blushing, Akane turned away and quickened her pace to hide her embarrassment.
Rin was definitely hiding something.
Akane had her suspicions, but for now, she was content to wait until Rin was ready to talk. Just knowing Kouki wasn’t her boyfriend was enough.
—
From the bottom of her heart, Akane felt relieved.
Was it relief that the person she liked wasn’t taken, or was it—
—
P.S. As a side note, it seems some students from Yasou Academy witnessed this scene, sparking rumors about Akane and Rin’s “forbidden relationship.”
************************************************
Author’s Note: A Little Extra.
For the record, Rin still has feelings for Kouki. But it’s no longer the passionate love it once was, and if forced to choose between him and Kaede, she wouldn’t be able to answer immediately.
Also, I’ll aim to post 2-3 times a week. If you leave comments, the update speed might increase by about 1.08x.
