Who Should Cross-Dress, You or Me? Flying to a Girl's Room

Sunday, 8:00 a.m., Service Club activity room.

With the battle drawing near, the three members of the Service Club were truly sharpening their weapons and preparing for war.

Bai Yu was still leaning by the window, warming up his voice. From time to time, he looked up at the dark clouds piling across the sky, foul vapors obscuring the sun, as though dragons and serpents were about to emerge.

His brows immediately furrowed slightly.

Then he sensed footsteps behind him carrying a murderous air as they approached. Before long, they entered the activity room openly, without concealing their sharpness.

Turning around, he found that the visitor was none other than the defeated general who had lost to him on the tennis court that day and taken herself out to salvage her dignity.

Yet she now seemed to have reforged her former bearing. Her confident gaze was fixed directly on him, and her calm air of being reborn through tempering and reaching a new realm was startling.

"G-Good morning, Horikita."

Perhaps she had sensed the subtle change in the atmosphere.

The voice that came from the girl who served as a civil official had lost some of its usual refined composure, gaining a trace of unease and restraint.

Her expression was noticeably more cautious as well.

Meanwhile, the military general and founding minister beside them was still busy fishing in troubled waters.

For no apparent reason, he felt the temperature around him suddenly drop several degrees. He cast a faintly probing glance behind him, and his lifeless eyes instantly sharpened.

"Good morning, Shiina."

The visiting guest temporarily stopped radiating her chilling aura.

After offering that calm yet polite greeting, she walked over to the smiling girl nearby.

She brushed away whatever dust might have been on the chair, then sat down.

"Bai, you really are relaxed and carefree."

"Likewise. Horikita, you're no less so."

"..."

"..."

For a moment, their gazes seemed to turn into blades, slashing against each other with a few sparks flying.

After a round of probing in which neither yielded, Horikita Suzune suddenly turned toward Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and said, "Ayanokoji, I have something to tell you."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka turned his head like a wooden carving, wearing an innocent expression. "What is it?"

Horikita Suzune glanced once more at the man by the window before withdrawing her gaze. "There's something I'd like to ask you to help with. I helped you before too, didn't I?"

"Uh..."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked to both sides and cautiously asked, "Can't you say it here?"

"No."

Horikita Suzune gave him a forceful stare.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced at the man in front of the window, who clearly had no intention of stepping in. He sighed, stood up, and looked at Horikita. In a suicidal tone, he said, "Then let's go. What kind of matter requires the conditions of a friend..."

Horikita Suzune's gaze instantly went for Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's head. He wisely shut up at once and obediently followed after her.

"Bai Yu, is this really okay? Ayanokoji still has to..."

"Cut him some slack."

With a sympathetic expression, Bai Yu said, "There's a blade held to his throat."

"Will the commission be okay, then?"

Shiina Hiyori looked worried.

Bai Yu pondered for a moment after hearing that, then suggested, "How about Shiina replaces Ayanokoji?"

"Me?"

Shiina Hiyori was briefly bewildered. When she realized what he meant, she repeated in surprise, "Huh? Me?!"

Bai Yu deliberately mimicked her and nodded repeatedly. "Mm-hm. Shiina, you can take over Ayanokoji's role."

For the moment, Shiina Hiyori was too distracted to notice his deliberate teasing. Her eyes shifted, her thoughts becoming a mess. That meant...

She was going to pretend to be Bai Yu's girlfriend?!

It was a little sudden. In the next second, she spoke with a hint of nervousness. "I... Should I put on makeup, or change my hairstyle? What kind of personality does Bai like? No, what kind of girl would look good with Bai?"

Shiina Hiyori fired off a string of questions in just a few seconds. She had never even considered this role before, but now she truly wanted to take on the challenge!

Bai Yu across from her rubbed his chin and seriously considered her doubts. Then he realized he had wasted more than ten precious seconds of his life and said, "I don't know either, but that isn't important. Our commission is to make Ichinose Honami agree to Shironami Chihiro's confession as much as possible."

"Huh?"

Shiina Hiyori calmed down and made a questioning sound.

Bai Yu continued, getting to the point. "Originally, I planned to drag Ayanokoji into the challenge of cross-dressing as girls so we could carry out this commission. But later, I realized I hadn't grown enough to gladly accept wearing women's clothes, so we changed it to having two people stay as they were and fence in front of Ichinose and the others."

Shiina Hiyori's face went pale when she heard that.

Bai Yu continued, "Now that he's been called away midway through, I can only cross-dress by myself and work with you, Shiina. Along with Ichinose and the others, we'll have a gathering between best girlfriends."

"...Or do you want to challenge yourself by cross-dressing as my buddy?"

Shiina Hiyori made her choice without hesitation. "Please be my best girlfriend, Bai!"

Why did that feel like it had hit exactly what she wanted? Bai Yu hesitated inwardly, then added as insurance, "But I won't wear anything too feminine. At most, like when I joined the School Cheerleading Squad, something androgynous..."

"Would a crop top work?"

Shiina Hiyori suddenly perked up. Expectation and enthusiasm overflowed from her bright eyes as she reached out and clasped his hand.

"...As long as it isn't a skirt." Bai Yu looked away, unable to meet her eyes.

"Got it!"

Shiina Hiyori happily agreed, then dragged Bai Yu out of the classroom. The two charged toward the dormitories together.

"What happened to those two all of a sudden..."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had just finished discussing something with Horikita and returned to the classroom, only to see the two of them rushing out in a panic. Bai Yu even looked unwilling...

For a moment, he found it difficult to imagine what had happened while he was gone.

But when he thought of what he had just agreed to do for Horikita, his stomach began to ache faintly again.

There was nothing he could do. He had used her once before for certain purposes, so now that she had brought it up and ordered him to return the favor, he had no grounds to complain.

He could only accept it.

Still, perhaps this would let him escape this commission, since the club president would no longer have him participate? Looking at it that way, it did not seem like a loss.

In any case, things on the club president's side were nearly settled no matter what. He might as well go with the flow and repay Horikita's favor.

When all was said and done, this was all because of the club president. As the source of all evil, he should have nothing to say about it.

Perfect! It was happily decided, then.

But...

Come to think of it, he had never received a confession from a girl himself. Yet his first time was going to happen in such a fake and sloppy manner.

His feelings were somewhat complicated.

What would happen if he changed his mind at the last minute?

?

Ichinose was the acknowledged school beauty. Why not just see this path through to the end, use public opinion to pressure Ichinose into becoming my girlfriend, bid farewell to my bleak single high school life, and become the man everyone envied, hated, and resented?

I'd rather die!

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka performed a smoldering one-man show in his heart.

Compared to getting a girlfriend, being exposed to everyone's eyes would practically kill him.