Ryuji... is actually a girl?
"Um..." Ryuji's voice still sounds masculine.
"Huh?! Uh..." I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. "So, you're a girl?"
"Yeah... I am," Ryuji replied.
I paused for a moment, taking in the information. Ryuji's appearance matched her gender, with straight indigo hair that had a unique length, strands covering her ears, and bangs parted in the middle.
"Um..." I stammered, trying to process everything. "Ryuji, are you using a voice changer?"
She nodded and said, "Let me turn it off."
After a brief pause, her voice transformed into that of a girl. It was soothing, reminiscent of my little sister's voice.
"There."
"Ah, It's much better." I thought to myself
The two of us fell into silence, and I was the first to speak up.
"I never imagined that Ryuji is actually a girl."
She remained silent for a moment before nodding. "I'm sorry."
"Eh? What are you apologizing for?"
"I'm sorry for hiding my gender from you."
I stayed quiet, shaking my head. "There must be a reason for it, right?"
"Well... There is," she sighed. "You see, whenever I play online games like FPS or MMORPGs, I often face verbal abuse from other players just because I'm a girl. Despite not doing anything wrong, they lack respect..."
"...Those kinds of people," I muttered, I couldn't help but feel frustrated at the unfair treatment she had endured. I knew all too well how toxic some online gaming communities could be.
"That's terrible," I said with a hint of anger in my voice. "No one should have to go through that just because of their gender."
"That's why I've always been cautious about revealing my true identity. I didn't want to face that kind of discrimination again."
"Well, Ryuji, I want you to know that you can be yourself around me," I reassured her. "I'm here as your friend, and I'll always support you."
A genuine smile formed on Ryuji's face, and her eyes sparkled with warmth. "Thank you, Kou. I'm glad to have you as my friend too.
"...Well, I'm going to play some Valorant... wanna join me?"
"Hmm, yeah...! But first..." She activates her voice changer.
"Alright, let's go." But just as I'm about to open Valorant, she interrupts me.
"Kou... calling me Ryuji even though I'm a girl... sounds weird, right?"
I ponder for a moment and respond, "...I mean, not really."
"Really?"
I nod.
"Then call me by my nickname."
"Nickname?"
She nods. "My nickname is Ichi."
"Meaning 'one'..." I murmur to myself. "Alright, Ichi, let's play..." Before I can proceed, she halts me.
"But you're not allowed to use my nickname when streaming, okay?"
"Yeah, I won't."
"Good. Now then, Kou, let's play~" She flashes me a smile.
I blush slightly, seeing her smile. "Y-Yeah." and quickly turn off my webcam.