Chapter 3: Your Mom Wants You to Be a Girl

(Part One)

Riding the packed subway back to Chiyoda, one of Tokyo’s twenty-three wards, Cola feels like a wreck.
Her head’s stuck on one thought: ‘Why’s Japan so tiny yet so crowded?’
She nearly misses her stop.
Tokyo’s subway stations are nothing like the spacious ones back home.
Everything feels cramped and suffocating.
The ticket gates are usually open, relying on people to swipe their cards honestly.
Sure, there’s staff watching, but Cola doubts they can keep up during rush hour.

Skipping the elevator line, she hitches up her oversized pants and jogs up the stairs, bursting out of the station.
Her place is near the subway—about seven or eight minutes on foot.
Normally, that is.
With her new short legs, it takes nearly fifteen minutes.

She lives in a high-rise apartment.
The rent’s not cheap, but it’s covered by her mom’s ‘basic expenses’ budget, so she doesn’t sweat it.
In fact, not renting some dirt-cheap, ten-thousand-yen-a-month place shows she’s got some conscience.
With her family’s wealth, even a hundred-thousand-yen monthly rent would be pocket change.
Whether her mom would pay for that, though, is another story.

Her room’s small—about fifteen square meters, including a bathroom and a mini kitchen.
Fine for a solo dweller.
But for an international student from back home, it’s painfully tight.
Even with minimal luggage, coming home feels like there’s no space to stretch.

“The streets outside are narrow, the room’s narrow…
Japanese people living like this their whole lives are miserable…”
Cola mutters, pushing open the door.
She kicks off her oversized slippers, slams the door shut with a back-kick, and takes a few quick steps before diving onto the springy mattress.

Her petite frame bounces twice, looking as cute as a kitten.
“Ah… so comfy…”
She rolls over, flicks on the AC, and grabs her iPhone—switched to after coming to Japan—to check the time.
She tosses it onto the nightstand.

She switched phones because Androids are a pain here.
No apps for basic stuff, not even for swiping train fares.
Lots of everyday functions just don’t work.
Reluctantly, she got an iPhone.
Her old Android, super popular back home, is worthless here—not even good for secondhand sale.
It’s now a retro game emulator in a drawer.

“No way—”
She was about to close her eyes but bolts upright, shaking her sweaty hair.
“I’m all gross.
Gotta shower before resting…
Haven’t bathed since yesterday…”

With her new legal identity, she’s calmer now.
Finally, she has time to reassess her situation.
Carrying a weirdly heavy mood, she steps into the clean, bright bathroom with a small window.

The mirror shows a silver-haired girl, hair matted with sweat.
Her red eyes gleam like gems, clear and pure.
Delicate features form a slightly chubby, doll-like face.
Her skin is flawless, so smooth it could break with a puff.
A 360-degree, no-flaws beauty.
Cola can’t help but grin stupidly.

When the mirror girl flashes the same goofy smile, she snaps out of it, collapsing onto the sink in despair.
“F*ck!
She’s totally my type!
If I had a girlfriend like this, I’d be happy even as a rich kid!
Why, why, why did I turn into this?!”

As a guy, she was six-foot-two—a walking fortress in Japan.
But with a big head, flat features, and rough skin, she never got any girls’ attention.
Still a virgin, she dreamed of a girlfriend like this.
That possibility’s gone now.

“Fine, I’m a vampire, whatever.
My citizenship’s gone, fine.
But why the hll did I have to become a girl?!
I’m still a fcking virgin!
Old man, how could you?!
I curse you to miss heaven!
Wait… can vampires even go to heaven?”

She sighs, glancing back at the mirror.
She loves her red eyes.
Not scary, just gorgeous.
“I could cosplay at Comiket without makeup…”
She smacks her lips.
The prettier the mirror girl looks, the more her heart aches.

As a modern anime fan, she’s watched all kinds—trap protagonists, guys turning into girls.
But she never identified with the protagonist.
She imagined being the side character who’d flirt with them.
If a friend turned into a girl like this, she’d tease them, maybe even bend their orientation for a wild, taboo romance.
Sadly, the one who changed is her.

“…Damn old man.
I curse your whole family to turn into girls…
Sh*t, that’s me!”
Cola clutches her head.
“Ugh, whatever, I’m sticky.
Shower first…”

Giving up, she steps into the shower, reaching for the showerhead.
Her hand grabs air.
Looking up, it’s way out of reach, even on tiptoes.
She blinks, stunned, then grits her teeth.
“F*ck, was I that tall before?!”

Thinking back, yeah, she was.
Her head nearly hit the ceiling when showering.
Now, the ceiling feels miles away.
“I’m gonna f*cking change back.
I’ll re-read the old man’s diary.
There’s gotta be a way…
Argh, I can’t reach!”

The silver-haired girl jumps several times, barely grabbing the showerhead.
Landing, she slips, crashing flat on her back.
Glaring at the ceiling, she clenches her teeth.
“Old man, just wait.
I’ll change back and take back everything I lost!”

(Part Two)

Water sprays loudly.
Our vampire miss, now free of clothes, gently scrubs her hair.
She glances down at her slightly curved body, swallowing hard.
Her hand, meant for her hair, somehow lands on her smooth, flat stomach.
Her body feels like it’s burning.

Of course it does!
She’s not just a virgin—she’s at the peak of youth!
This perfect, tempting body?
If she didn’t react, she’d have some mental issue.
The soft skin sends her mind reeling.
She swallows again, her fingers creeping downward like they’ve got a mind of their own.

“Uh…”
Reason screams to stop, but the blazing desire nearly consumes her brain.
No doubt, this is a stunning body…

Water keeps pouring.
The blue sky outside the glass window is so clear…

(Part Three)

It’s a glass bottle of Cola, fresh from the fridge.
Crystal droplets cling to its curvy bottle.
A pale hand strokes the bottle, trying to wipe the beads away.
But the more it wipes, the more droplets form.
The calm Cola starts bubbling.
One bubble rises, then another, then clusters, then waves…

The cap’s sealed tight.
No matter how the Cola churns, it can’t break through.
This is an ice-cold Cola, slowly warming.
The gas and liquid expand.
Finally, the cap loosens slightly, then pops off.
Bubbly Cola erupts, soaking the floor.

The hand’s owner, unprepared, scrambles to block the bottle.
But Cola spills through her fingers, unstoppable.
Until the bottle’s empty, the volcanic eruption finally stops…

(Part Four)

“Hah…”
Miss Cola stares at the distant ceiling, panting heavily.
She’s sprawled on the shower floor, touching the sticky tiles.
“So… tired…”

Her mind’s blank.
Her body’s drained.
After resting a bit, she finishes the hour-long shower.
Stepping into the AC’s cool air feels refreshing.
Like she’s been purified, cleansed of all worldly grime, pure as crystal.

“Lust is emptiness…”
She flops onto the soft bed, suddenly noticing the clouds—white as snow.
The sky’s a dreamy blue.
She grabs her phone, finding her mom’s contact—nicknamed ‘Empress Dowager’—without scrolling.

“When did she send this junk again?
Big company CEO, still forwarding clickbait…”
She smirks, lazily hitting the video call button, taking a deep breath before it connects—

“Hey?”

“Hey!!
Mom, look at what that fcking old man did!
For his shtty inheritance, I turned into a girl!
What now?!
I was six-foot-two!
Shrunk!
All shrunk!
I demand a million… dollars!
Compensation!”

On the video, her mom—only slightly wrinkled—narrows her eyes, propping her chin with crossed hands, smirking.
“Silver hair, red eyes…
Hmm…
Yes, all according to plan.”

“What?!”