The next day in the morning, Mizuha went to school with Elly after they had bumped into each other at the road junction earlier.
"The weather is starting to get hot now, right?" Elly said.
"You're right. We're already at the end of spring, and we're heading into summer next week," Mizuha said.
"Next week, we'll switch to our summer uniforms. I can't wait to see how I look in them," Elly said.
"Oh, I haven't even looked at how my summer uniform looks yet," Mizuha said, suddenly remembering.
Suddenly, they heard another voice calling both of them from behind.
"Mizuha-chan, Elly-chan, good morning," Shimizu said.
"Oh, Shimizu, good morni—" Mizuha was stunned, seeing Shimizu approaching them in a feminine, polite manner, even dressed similarly to how she had appeared in Mizuha's dream the day before.
"Elly-chan... is that Shimizu!?" Mizuha said.
"Yes, it is, but why is she dressed like that?" Elly said, also feeling unsettled about Shimizu. Both of them were shocked by Shimizu's change into feminine politeness instead of her usual tomboyish manner.
"Elly-chan," Mizuha said.
"What is it, Mizuha-chan?" Elly said.
"Can you slap my face?" Mizuha asked.
"Umm... okay...," Elly said.
Slap
"Thanks...!!" Mizuha said, confirming she wasn't dreaming like yesterday.
So, this isn't a dream like before... why has she become like that? Mizuha wondered.
"Good morning, both of you. It's a bit hotter today, right?" Shimizu said with a polite, feminine charm that was the opposite of her usual self.
Elly then approached Shimizu and suddenly pulled her cheek. "Stretch," Elly said with a smile.
"Ah, it hurts, Elly-chan, it hurts," Shimizu said with a softened tone.
"Eh, wait Elly-chan...!?" Mizuha said, not expecting to see Elly doing that.
"Not like that, Elly-chan, you should pull her cheek like this," Mizuha said, suddenly pulling her cheek stronger than Elly had.
"It hurts so much, you know! What's wrong with you two today!?" Shimizu shouted suddenly in her usual tone.
"Ah, she's back to normal..." Mizuha and Elly said at the same time.
"What's wrong, Shimizu? You suddenly dressed up and are acting so polite, just like in my dream earlier," Mizuha said. "I thought I was still dreaming like yesterday, you know," she added.
"Ah, actually..." Shimizu began to explain her reason, like she was being forced.
The day before, her mother had said, "Shimizu, sit properly and close your legs. You're a girl, you know, but you act so manly, like a boy. I'm worried about you. You lack feminine charm."
"But Mom, this is how I usually act. I've been a bit boyish since I was a child," Shimizu had resisted.
"I know, but sometimes you must act like a proper lady. If you stay this boyish, I'm sure you won't get a single boyfriend by the time you're an adult," her mother had replied.
"But how am I supposed to act like a proper lady?" Shimizu had asked, clueless.
"I have an idea. Why don't you try being polite and feminine at school tomorrow? I'm sure you'll get used to it bit by bit," her mother had suggested.
"Huh!? No way! If I act like that at school, my friends will laugh at me and think something's wrong with me," Shimizu had still resisted.
Her mother, a bit upset by Shimizu's refusal, had warned, "Do it, or do you want your allowance for this month that you're supposed to get tomorrow to be cut in half?"
Shimizu, fearing the threat, had agreed, "Alright, I'll do it... just don't cut my allowance, please."
"Okay, it's settled then. We have a deal," her mother had said with a smile.
Shimizu, upset, had muttered under her breath, "This old hag, how dare she threaten me by cutting my allowance. If you weren't my mother, I'd beat you up."
"Did you say something, honey?" her mother had asked, turning to her with a yandere-like smile.
"No, no, I didn't say anything... I promise to do it tomorrow," Shimizu had stammered and run to her room.
How do I act polite and feminine? Should I copy how Elly behaves every day and speak politely using honorifics? she had wondered. Suddenly, she had remembered how she was polite in Mizuha's dream earlier. Do I need to act like I did in her dream?
"Alright, I'll act like both Elly and the polite, feminine version of me from Mizuha's dream," Shimizu had decided. She had let her hair down, adjusted her speaking style to be polite, and practiced walking very femininely. She had repeated this over and over, training herself until midnight.
That morning, Shimizu's mom had finished preparing breakfast for her children and called both her daughter and son down to the kitchen from below: "Shimizu, Shinichi, breakfast is ready."
"Yes, I'm coming," Shimizu had replied.
Shimizu had then come down from her room and greeted her mother. "Good morning, my dear mother," she had said in a very polite and feminine tone.
Her mother was shocked, dropping the chopsticks she was holding, and had exclaimed, "Huh!? Who are you?"
"What are you saying, Mom? It's me, your daughter Shimizu," Shimizu had responded in a girly tone.
"Eh...!!!" her mother had exclaimed again. "Really, are you really Shimizu?" her mother hadn't believed it was Shimizu.
"Yes, it's me, Shimizu," Shimizu had said, while thinking, Ah, this is so annoying.
"That's it... that's it... Shimizu..." her mother had said, amazed by Shimizu's change. "I didn't recognize you at first when I saw you," she had said. She had taken out her phone and started taking photos of Shimizu from every angle.
"What are you doing, Mom?" Shimizu had said, feeling annoyed, and had reverted to her usual tone.
"Finally, finally, I have a daughter..." her mother had said, feeling blessed.
Have you seen me as your son all this time? Shimizu had wondered, feeling weird about it.
"Oh, good morning," Shinichi replied politely. Who is this cutie? Is she one of my sister's friends? he wondered.
"Are you my big sister's friend? I'm Shinichi, her little brother," Shinichi introduced himself.
"Hahaha..." both his mother and Shimizu laughed.
"Why are both of you laughing? What's so funny?" Shinichi asked, confused.
"What are you talking about, Shinichi? That's your older sister," their mother said.
"Huh!? You mean this cute girl is my tomboy big sis?" Shinichi said.
Shimizu stood up and immediately grabbed his neck with her arm. "Who are you calling tomboy, huh, Shin-chan?"
"It hurts... I give up, I give up!" Shinichi said, trying to release himself. This is really her. I've been deceived, damn it, he thought.
"You're so mean, big sis. How dare you deceive my eyes this morning? I almost fell for you earlier," Shinichi said, a bit disappointed, as he ate his breakfast.
"Eh, you almost fell for me, huh, Shin-chan? Then how about you go out with me, Shinichi?" Shimizu said again in her polite and feminine style, while holding her little brother's arm.
"Ah, shut up! I'll never fall for the same trick again," Shinichi said, pushing Shimizu aside.
"Both of you, hurry up and eat your breakfast, or you'll be late for school," their mother said.
"Ah, you're right. This is your fault, big sis, for playing around like this," Shinichi said, blaming Shimizu.
"Shimizu, don't forget what I asked you to do yesterday, or you know what will happen to your allowance if you don't," their mother said.
"Alright, I know, I'll do it," Shimizu said as she was about to leave the house.
"That's the reason I must act like this today—it's to save my allowance from being cut in half," Shimizu explained to both Mizuha and Elly.
Ah, she's actually worried about her allowance being cut, both Elly and Mizuha thought, looking weirdly at Shimizu.
"I can't believe I woke up late today," Hikaru said while eating bread as he walked together with Zul after they had bumped into each other earlier.
"It's so rare to see you late; you usually get to school earlier than me," Zul said.
Then, both of them saw Mizuha and her friends in front of them and approached them. "Good morning, you guys," Hikaru called out from behind. Mizuha and her friends turned around to greet them.
"Ah, you guys, good morning~ Hikaru-kun, Zul-kun, tee-hee," Shimizu greeted them with her polite and feminine style. Both Hikaru and Zul stopped, shocked at what they saw. Hikaru even dropped the bread he was holding.
"Hikaru, you dropped your bread," Zul said.
"I know," Hikaru said.
"Zul, can you please slap my face?" Hikaru asked, wanting to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"Sure," Zul said, immediately slapping Hikaru's face. Slap!
"Thanks, even though it hurt my face so much," Hikaru said.
Who is that person? Don't tell me that... I hope it's not her... Hikaru thought, feeling goosebumps.
"Calm down, dude, it's just Shimizu being polite and feminine," Zul said, immediately finishing Hikaru's trailing thought.
"I knew it," Hikaru said.
"Ara~ Ara~ you two, why are you suddenly stunned after seeing me like this?" Shimizu said as she approached them. "Do you want to say something to my face?" she asked with a fake smile, holding back her anger while speaking politely and femininely.
Ah, she seems angry. I better not make her upset, Hikaru thought. "No, no, we're just shocked to see you like this. It's unusual, right, Zul?" he said, not wanting to mention anything about Shimizu's changes. Zul just nodded his head in agreement with Hikaru.
"Oh, I see. Then I forgive you guys, tee-hee," Shimizu said.
"Umm, what happened to her? Did she hit her head somewhere?" Hikaru whispered to Mizuha.
"Haha, we were also shocked to see her like this earlier, actually," Mizuha replied to Hikaru, explaining what had happened.
"Haha... you became like this to save your allowance. That's so hilarious, Shimizu," Hikaru said, laughing.
"Ah, shut up. It's my own business. Do you have a problem with it?" Shimizu said in her normal tone.
"No, it's nothing, but it feels off seeing you like this. You somehow look cute like this," Hikaru said.
"Ah, cute, you said? I don't want to hear that from someone like you," Shimizu said, blushing as she pushed Hikaru away from Mizuha and took his place instead.
"Let's go, Mizuha-chan. Let's ignore this pervert and walk together with me," Shimizu said with a feminine voice.
Mizuha also glared at Hikaru while pouting. "Hmph!" she said.
Eh, why is Mizuha making a face like that? Is she jealous because I called Shimizu cute earlier? Hikaru wondered, sighing.
"Umm, Mizuha... are you jealous?" Hikaru asked.
"No, it's nothing... I'm not jealous at all," Mizuha said, still pouting and walking faster.
"Ah, please wait for me, Mizuha," Hikaru said, chasing after her.
"I feel weird after seeing Shimizu turn out like that," Zul said. Elly just chuckled, hearing Zul complain like that.
"Zul, do you want to call her cute too, like Hikaru?" Elly said with a slightly scary smile as she immediately grabbed and held Zul's hand. Zul could feel jealousy from Elly.
"Elly, what are you doing? Release your hands; we're near the school, and everyone is watching," Zul said, a bit nervous. Elly was the only one who could make Zul talkative and nervous like that. Afterward, the five of them arrived at school and entered their own classes.
Arriving at class, Shimizu made her grand entrance with charisma, looking like a rich lady. All her classmates looked at her and wondered:
"Who is that?"
"Do we have someone this beautiful in our class?"
"Is she a new transfer student?"
"But why is she sitting at Toyama-san's seat?"
Seriously, they don't notice that's Shimizu, Mizuha thought. Seeing Mizuha walking behind Shimizu, some of her classmates stopped her for a moment.
"Hey, Yuki-san, who is that? I saw you and Sakamoto-san walking with her earlier," her classmate said.
"Huh? You guys didn't notice? That's Shimizu, you know," Mizuha said.
"Eh...!!!!" her classmates shouted in shock, realizing that the beautiful girl they had seen earlier was actually Shimizu. "Seriously, is that you, Toyama-san?"
"How did you turn into someone this cute?"
"What happened to you? Are you okay?" the female classmates asked as they approached them.
"I'm fine, thanks for your concern. There's nothing wrong with me," Shimizu said.
The male classmates started talking among themselves. "Wow, she looks so cute today."
"Do you think she'll agree if I ask her out?"
"Let's ask her to hang out with us," they said, approaching Shimizu.
"Hey, Toyama-san, do you want to hang out with us today?"
"Yeah, we're planning to go to karaoke after school. Do you want to join us?"
"Toyama-san, please go out with me," they said.
Ah, they are so annoying, Shimizu thought.
"Umm.... actually.... I.... I...." Shimizu said, pretending to be shy.
"Wow, it's so cute..." they said.
Ah, this has gotten more annoying. They really like me when I look like this. It's so irritating. I'd better make them go away, Shimizu thought.
This.... this is really similar to my dream yesterday.... fu... Mizuha tried to hold back her laughter. Shimizu noticed Mizuha holding back her laughter and thought, Mizuha, damn you, you want to laugh at me, huh?
She dropped the shy act but maintained her polite and feminine style as she replied to the guys who had approached her, "Sorry, guys, I'm not interested. I can't join you."
"Don't say that, just hang out with us for today," they said.
"Didn't you hear what I said? I said I'm not interested. Do you want me to beat you up? Tee-hee~" she said, rejecting them with a polite and feminine style.
"Oh no, she's upset. Let's get back to our seats now, guys," they said, scared of Shimizu's words.
"Ah, it's so tiring to act like this. I hope this day passes as soon as possible," she sighed, feeling a bit tired of acting this way. It's that old hag's fault. If she hadn't threatened me earlier, I wouldn't be so tired right now, Shimizu thought, a bit upset with her mother.
Oh, she needs some pictures as proof too, that I acted like this at school, Shimizu suddenly remembered.
"Mizuha-chan!!" Shimizu called out as she approached Mizuha.
"Yes, can I help you, Shimizu-chan~?" Mizuha responded, playing along with Shimizu's act on purpose.
"You see, that old hag at my house wants a photo as proof that I acted like this today. Can you take my photo, please?" Shimizu asked with her feminine act.
"Oh, why didn't you tell me earlier? Leave it to me, okay, Shimizu-chan," Mizuha said, still playing along with the act.
"Hey, why are you acting like me too? Are you trying to mock me?" Shimizu whispered in her normal tone into Mizuha's ear.
"Because it's so funny to see you like this, Shimizu-chan," Mizuha chuckled.
"You're so mean, Mizuha-chan, how dare you do this to your close friend, sob... sob," Shimizu pretended to cry.
"Stop it, Shimizu. I... I can't hold it in anymore..." Mizuha said, wanting Shimizu to stop acting because she was about to burst into laughter.
After that, Shimizu interacted with her female classmates with a polite and feminine act while Mizuha took photos of all her interactions.
"I think this is enough," Mizuha said after taking so many photos of Shimizu.
"Yes, this is it. These are really nice photos to show that old hag," Shimizu said.
"Thank you, Mizuha-chan," Shimizu said, still acting that way.
"Ah, enough with it, Shimizu," Mizuha sighed, as she no longer had the energy to laugh.
After lunch, Shimizu stopped by the toilet and asked Mizuha and the others to return to class without her. "You guys go back first; I want to stop by the toilet for a moment," Shimizu said. "Could you bring my bento box back to class too, Mizuha-chan?"
"Yes, yes, I'll bring it. Now go ahead," Mizuha said with a slightly lazy response.
Shimizu went to the toilet after that. After using the toilet, she heard a lot of noise and chaos from inside the toilet room. What's that noise coming from? She took a peek and saw a group of girls ganging up on one girl.
"You just brought this to us, but it's not enough. You should bring more money for us," the group leader said.
"But this is all I have for now. I don't have more than that," the girl being bullied said.
Huh, it's that group, the ones who used to bully Elly before. They still haven't changed since then, and now they have a new victim, Shimizu thought.
"Because you failed, you'll be given a penalty for this," the bully leader said again.
She's bad. I must act now to save that girl from getting bullied worse, Shimizu thought as she rushed toward the group.
"Ara~ what do we have here? A group of seniors ganging up on one girl? That's unfair, you know," Shimizu said, acting feminine while walking in front of the girl being bullied. "This isn't a good thing to do, you know, senpai. What would happen if teachers knew about this?"
"Get out of here, let me handle this, okay?" Shimizu whispered slowly to the girl.
"But, you..." the girl said, worried about Shimizu.
"Don't worry, I will be okay, just leave now," Shimizu said. The girl understood what Shimizu was asking and ran out of the toilet.
"Hey, who are you? How dare you suddenly interrupt our business!"
"As a replacement, you'll take that girl's place instead of her."
"Do what we ask, or we'll beat you up," the bullies said, trying to threaten Shimizu.
"Kyaa, so scary! Anyone, anyone, please save me!!" Shimizu shouted, pretending to be a helpless girl in a feminine tone.
"Look, she's shouting like that, hahaha," the bullies laughed at Shimizu.
"If you want to be safe, just give us the money you have now, and we'll leave you untouched," the bullies' leader said.
"Alright, alright, please do not hurt me, I'll give you my money. Please wait a moment," Shimizu said.
"Eh.... oops, I forgot I already used my money, tee-hee. All that's left in my pocket is this hair rubber band. Do you want it?" Shimizu said, showing her usual rubber band that she always used to tie her hair.
"Hey, please be serious with us, or you'll taste this punch from me," the bullies' leader said.
"Hahaha, serious... with you guys? What's that?" Shimizu laughed.
"What's so funny?" the bullies said, angry with her.
"Hey, hey, with just a few weeks passed, you guys already forgot about me? That's so mean, you know," Shimizu said while tying her hair back with that rubber band in her usual style. She also unbuttoned her blazer and changed her feminine expression to her usual tomboyish look.
"Did you miss me already, senpai?" Shimizu said, completely back to her usual tomboyish style. "With me acting like that today, you didn't recognize me? That's so pathetic."
"Wait, you're...!!" the bullies' leader said.
"Ah, it's her, the first-year tomboyish girl that beat us up earlier," her companion said.
"Yes, I remember her. It's so bad to meet her again," the leader said, scared.
"Oh, you guys still haven't changed since then. Maybe I should give you more lessons today," Shimizu said smugly.
"Wait, please don't..." the bullies said, scared, but it was too late, and Shimizu beat them up.
"If you guys cause chaos like this again, you know your fate," Shimizu warned them.
The bullies ran out of the toilet, watched by the girl from earlier. Huh, what happened to them? Why are they running out? the girl wondered.
After a few minutes, Shimizu left the toilet after untying her hair and changing back to her feminine style for today's act.
"Ah, you're still here. I thought you had already gone back to your class. Are you okay? Did you get hurt by them?" Shimizu asked in a polite tone.
"I'm okay. Nothing bad happened to me earlier. Anyway, thank you so much for saving me," the girl said before returning to her class.
If my mother hears about how I acted today, I bet she'll immediately cut off my allowance without mercy, Shimizu thought. I'd better return to my class and end this annoying act quickly.
After a few more subjects, the school day finally came to an end. Shimizu arrived home with a tired expression.
"I'm home..." she said in a lazy tone, tossing her bag aside and collapsing onto the sofa.
"Ah, welcome back! How was school? Did you do what I asked you to do?" her mother asked.
"Today was the worst. I did what you asked, but now everyone thinks I've lost my mind for acting like that," Shimizu replied. "Here's the proof that I acted feminine at school today," she said, handing her phone to her mom.
"Ah, my cute daughter at school," her mother said, feeling happy as she looked at the photo of a feminine Shimizu.
"Hey, I'm really your daughter, you know," Shimizu added, emphasizing that her femininity wasn't just her mother's perspective.
"Good, that's good. I see you actually did what I asked," her mother said. "Here's your allowance for this month. As I promised, I won't cut it in half. Instead, I'll give you extra for your hard work today."
"Oh, the thing I was waiting for, finally!" Shimizu said, glad to receive her allowance with the extra payment. "Thanks, Mom."
"That's no problem," her mother replied.
Extra amount, yes! Shimizu thought to herself.
"Hey, hey, how about you act like that again tomorrow? I really liked seeing you act feminine like that. Please, Shimizu, do it again," her mother teased.
"Oh, please give me a break, Mom. I really don't want to do that ever again," Shimizu complained, not wanting to repeat the experience.
"Don't worry, I'm just joking with you, tee-hee," her mother said, teasing her.
"Oh, Mom!!!" Shimizu said, a bit upset by her mother's teasing. This old hag!!! she thought to herself.