40 - My feelings for Nagi

"Yuichi-san!" Akane called out my name, while giving me a warm smile. "What's up?"

I found myself momentarily stunned as I caught a glimpse of Akane's genuine smile, one she had always kept hidden. She was far more beautiful than I had imagined.

"Akane-san..." I nodded slowly. "I called you here to talk about Nagi..."

Akane's face remained calm, showing no signs of surprise at my statement. Had she already figured everything out? "I knew it! You told me before, didn't you? That you have a crush on Nagi-kun!" Akane's small exclamation made my shoulders reflexively rise in shock.

A warm flush instantly spread across my cheeks and engulfed my entire face as Akane's words sunk in.

E-eh?! Th-that means... My feelings were that obvious?! How did Akane figure it out..?

Could it be that all this time... In front of so many people... I looked like someone who was head over heels in love...?

NO, NO, NO!

T-this is so embarrassing...

No wonder there were so many students that silently staring at me today. Did I walk around school grinning like a fool because of these feelings?

Ugh...

At this moment, I wanted nothing more than to bury my face in a pillow and escape the embarrassment...

But...

I swallowed nervously.

I wouldn't hide it or deny it anymore... My feelings for Nagi is real.

Yes, I love him.

So what? That's perfectly fine, right?!

Even though I wasn't sure if Nagi felt the same way about me- not to mention that I wasn't born as a girl. Despite my current body, I was still a former guy.

Still, I wouldn't back down until I got an answer from Nagi about his feelings for me. Regardless of whether it ended well or not, I would move forward.

I turned my attention back to Akane, looking at her with starry eyes.

"Akane-san! Could you give me advice on how to win over Nagi?" I stepped closer and, as I asked, clasped Akane's hands tightly.

Akane gave me an awkward smile, looking visibly flustered.

"Um... Well... Yuichi-san... I don't have any experience in romance either, so..."

I tightened my grip on Akane's hands.

"That's okay!"

"Akane-san, you're knowledgeable about all those shoujo manga you love to read, right? You can give me advice based on that!" I continued eagerly, leaving Akane no room to escape my question.

"A-a..." Akane struggled to respond, the silence between us stretches for a moment. Finally, she sighed deeply. "Alright..."

***

Afterward, we delved into detailed discussions about the behaviors and preferences of male characters in the shoujo manga Akane had read.

One of the most common tropes was that they always liked obedient, submissive girls. Most shoujo manga protagonists were written to fulfill that criteria.

Of course, that wasn't me. I wasn't a meek girl, nor the protagonist of a shoujo manga... The only similarity I had was in the "submissive" behavior.

I shook my head quickly.

No way..! Recently, I had to admit that I discovered I'm an M-type. No matter how much I denied it, unfortunately, it was true.

But there's no way I'd show this embarrassing side to Nagi...

Setting aside that mortifying realization, male characters in shoujo manga also tended to act aggressively toward their female interests.

Yup, the exact opposite of Nagi.

Nagi was stiff and oblivious. Yet somehow, he always came through in critical moments.

It's confusing, really...

Anyway, moving on. Despite their cold and aggressive image, those cool ikemen characters hearts always melted when the female lead turned aggressive instead. Their façade would crumble under a counterattack.

It's cliché, but realistic, I think.

Having been a guy, I knew it didn't take much to fluster one. Back in middle school, a girl once teased me with some kind of flirtatious jokes, and I nearly fainted from embarrassment.

It felt like an arrow of love struck me, only for disappointment to come the next day, when I found out that the girl who teased me already had a boyfriend.

So, after all that discussion, Akane's most important point was: "BE AS AGGRESSIVE AS POSSIBLE WITH NAGI-KUN!"

The key was to be bold!

I nodded in understanding.

"Heheh..! I wonder how Nagi will react when I try this."

After a long walk, I finally arrived at my apartment. Climbing the stairs to my floor, curiosity got the better of me, and I peeked into Nagi's room through his window.

Empty.

No one was there.

"Huh? Where's Nagi?"

I thought he'd already come home since I spent a while chatting with Akane on the school's rooftop. So where he is now..?

I take out my phone from my uniform pocket, then I check the messaging app.

"Still unread..."

Frustrated, I repeatedly spammed stickers from the keyboard, sending them to Nagi.

At this hour, where could he possibly be?

I mean, I really wanted to talk to him right now.

"Hmph!"

Don't tell me...

IS HE ON A DATE WITH A GIRL!?

A-

It's just an assumption though...

But-

My heart felt pierced by thorns as I thought about it, and my breathing grew heavy.

"That's impossible, right..?"

It wasn't out of the question, considering how handsome Nagi was. But still, why did my heart ache at the thought of it..?

It's not like Nagi was mine to begin with. Whether he got a girlfriend or not, it was none of my business.

But- even so...

I let out a long sigh.

Ever since the video evidence about Rion spread, Nagi's popularity skyrocketed as everyone learned he was the one who foiled Rion's schemes.

Throughout my time at school, all I heard was the endless chatter about that topic.

While most people paired Nagi and Akane together, like some knight and princess story, quite a few girls seemed to develop feelings for him as well.

"Ugh... Thinking about this just makes me even more annoyed. Why do you have to be such a sudden popular guy, Nagi?" I grumbled in frustration, puffing out my cheeks as I continued to spam stickers in Nagi's chat.

"It should be only me who knows your charm... Now I've got so many other competitors..!" I muttered under my breath.

BANG!!!

"WAH!" I reflexively stepped back when my room's door suddenly slammed open from the inside.

Natsu emerged from my room, casually wearing my clothes while munching on potato chips.

"Hey, stop talking to yourself out there. Come in already. It's already this late, aren't you cold, big sis?"

Natsu just calmly turned back into the room after saying that. I stared at her in disbelief for a moment.

"NATSU..."

"Huh?" Natsu turned her head slightly, looking at me in confusion. "What?"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?!" I snapped angrily. Not only was she wearing my clothes without my permission, but she also stole my snacks!

"Ah..." Natsu looked at me with an expression that said, "Oh, I get it!" Before winking her eye with a wide grin. "Don't worry, I won't tell Nagi-kun about what you said just now."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

Without hesitation, I snatched the snack from Natsu's hands and pulled both of her ears mercilessly.

"OUCH! IT HURTS! FORGIVE ME!!!"

Natsu cried out in desperation. After feeling satisfied, I finally released her ears.

Natsu rubbed her reddened ears with a sad look. "You're so mean, big sis! This is an assault, you know!"

"Hmph! You're the one who barged into my room without permission. On top of that, you stole my snacks," I said, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Trying to calm myself down, I reached into the chip bag Natsu had been eating from earlier, only to find it... EMPTY.

"NATSU..." My anger flared again. I glared at her with fiery eyes as she slowly backed away.

"Um... Big- bro... Isn't the ear-pulling punishment is... enough..?"

"I-I'm your little sister, remember? B-boys aren't supposed to be mean to girls, right..?" Natsu stammered desperately.

"Oh, is that so." I nodded understandingly, continuing to step forward.

"Too bad, though. Because guess what... I'm a girl now," I said, while cracking my knuckles as I walked closer to my dearest little sister♡.

"A- FORGIVE MEEEE!!!"

TO BE CONTINUED.