Nothing seemed different. Just another day had passed. Nothing was different. Everything was as it was yesterday and the day before and most likely the day afterwards.

The weather was appropriately stormy, as the forecast had foretold. Having just come back from yet another typical day of college classes, Carlos expected nothing less and especially not anything more. Today was just another day marked off the calendar. Another day of logging onto DA, checking for any new messages, responding to comments, checking up on his watches, and pretty much just fulfilling his daily ritual. The only difference was a few select comments on his profile all more or less stating the exact same thing: Happy Birthday!

'Oh yeah,' Carlos thought to himself in passing. 'Guess I'm 23 now. Forgot about that for a moment. Oh well.'

And so life went on as usual. He gave his thanks to every one of his friends and fans that had wished him a happy birthday and pretty much wrapped up the rest of his dailies. Now he could...actually, he didn't really have much else to do. Well, there was that poster assignment due in a couple days. Might as well work on that.

Before the TG artist could even open up Photoshop, however, fate intervened.

Knock, knock!

"Hey, Carlos!" the voice of his older brother called out from the other side of the door. "Somebody sent a package for you."

"A package?" the receiver of said delivery asked out loud before answering the door. Sure enough, there his brother was with a small paper package addressed to Carlos that he curiously accepted, yet without any visible return address. "I don't remember ordering anything. Maybe somebody in the family just wanted to wish me a happy birthday."

"Happy birthd-oh yeah!" He snapped his fingers as if the words just connected to form a proper meaning. "Almost forgot it was your birthday." There was a short pause between the two. Said pause then became elongated for quite some time as the two simply looked back at each other. "Well, happy birthday, I guess." And so he left, closing the door behind him.

"Yeah, thanks," Carlos replied to the air in complete deadpan. At least his birthday meant no more to his family than it did himself. Then again, shouldn't it? Sure, it was something that came once every year, something they'd celebrated or at least acknowledged 22 times before, but...shouldn't there be a little more to it than just an acknowledgement he's legally one year older? Shouldn't there be some celebration in the fact that he's managed to survive for a whole other year?

Maybe he shouldn't be complaining, though. After all, somebody was already thankful enough to send him a gift through the mail. Whoever did that. Time to find out, he figured, before ripping open the package and inspecting its contents within the carefully placed bubble wrap. By the looks of it, the gift had come in two part: a letter and a CD. Out of common courtesy, Carlos took the letter out first, which read thus:

Dear Carlos,



Whattya know, it was actually extremely easy to find your address! Anyway, just thought I'd thank you for living another year. Although we have never truly met, I feel as if I owe more to you than most people I actually see. Have a happy freakin' birthday and enjoy the gift enclosed. If you have already enjoyed the gift and read this afterwards, that was rather rude of you. Still, enjoy your birthday, you deserving person you! Sincerely, Cam P.S. Still working on your story! I swear, I'll have it done....that's the end of the sentence.

Carlos read the letter and chuckled inwardly. Of all the people to give him a legitimate gift on his birthday, it had to be his friend from all the way in the States to send it to him. He'd certainly have to thank him later, maybe even write a thank you letter, mail taxes permitting. Might as well see what else he sent as well.

"Oh, what's this?" the man asked out loud as he pulled the mysterious CD out of its package, only to be rewarded with cover art containing nearly a dozen familiar-looking Japanese idols smiling back at him. Having listened to quite a bit of J-pop in the past, Carlos was almost certain of the band and the label in the left corner confirmed it. The CD was nothing less than an AKB48 album imported from Japan to America and then over to him all the way in Ecuador. Carlos's grin grew even wider at the thought. Spartan really did go all of the way with the gift, didn't he?

Sitting back as his computer, Carlos proceeded to don his headphones before slipping in his fresh new disc. After a bit of internal whirring on the laptop's part, iTunes popped up exactly as expected and it was not long before blasting out a cry of "A...K...B...48....!"

So began the first song on the album, which Carlos already recognized as RIVER, one of the band’s most popular songs. Considering the catchy riverdance-esque percussion from which the song got its title from, he could see why. His feet almost immediately started bobbing up and down to the beat. Seeing that Spartan was currently away and unable to contact at the moment, Carlos chose instead to open SAI and...well, he figured something was bound to happen.

‘Now, what to draw, what to draw?’ the artist pondered to himself as his feet continued to tap away. Little could he see his foot losing a size with each tap, his socks becoming increasingly looser in the process. Eventually, Carlos began fidgeting with his socks (in rhythm, of course), eventually slipping them off with little effort. Having done the same to his socks before, though probably never as easily as then, he thought little of it. Not as if he’d figure his feet were now a comfortable women's size 7 in the first place.

The song soon segued from riverdance to a slightly more hip hop beat as the chorus of girls chanted along with their stomping. The beat proved infectious, causing Carlos to tap his fingers along the sides of his tablet, flinging his stylus around as well. As luck would have it, looking down at the tablet to start drawing in the first place allowed him to notice something a little...off about his hands. As he nearly instinctively tapped away, his digits appeared to become...longer? No, no, that couldn’t be true at all. If anything, they were just looking thinner...and his fingernails looked longer...wait…

“No...no...way…” Carlos muttered as his tapping was temporarily ceased so he could look over his...new hand? No, no, that was ridiculous. You can’t just grow a new hand, this isn’t a transformation story like the ones he and so many others wrote, like the one Dancing Spartan was supposed to be...making...for...him…

The artist’s train of thought was suddenly deterred by another change in the tune. The song had taken a sharp turn into more J-Pop territory, complete with plenty of synths and guitar. That alone was enough to get Carlos’s mind off the possibility of a transmutation. Though, that did give him a sliver of an idea of what to draw. Perhaps he could try drawing himself turning into one of the AKB48 girls. There were so many beautiful girls in the band, he wasn’t even sure who to choose from!

Ah, he was certain he could come up with one specific girl if he just thought hard enough. He started to wonder if he remembered any of the 127 members by heart, even as he began instinctively nodding his head to the song. Some of the voices sounded oddly distinct, even as they blended together into a single chorus. So, his train of thought was once again diverted from another set of changes, namely the sudden discoloration of every brown follicle of hair upon his head, turning them all black down to the roots. Said roots also began to extend a great deal, growing out his hair in not just length, but sheer volume.

Only after faint traces of black bangs began to interrupt his head bobbing did Carlos start to wonder if something was really going on. An attempt to push his newly extended bangs revealed a soft ball of hair where once there was simply a rough patch of hair before. Moreover, it appeared to be covering his headphones now and...damn it, the music was still playing!

After quickly rushing his mouse over to pause the song within mid-rock, the artist sat his tablet down in his chair and started slowly walking out towards the bathroom within his room. Now he could get a good look at himself.

And so he kept on looking at himself for nearly a solid minute. After much hesitation, Carlos finally started to move his trembling, tiny hands over to his new hair, a sort of bowl cut much more fitting for...for a girl...like his hands...and now that he got a good look at them, his feet were looking a bit-

Carlos shook his head, only to end up flopping his new raven black hair around and having to spit out some from his mouth. He leaned in even closer, cupping his hands around his face while taking off his glasses as if making sure his reflection didn’t try to deceive him any further. Closer inspection found that one of his eyes seemed slightly...off. Now that he thought about it, his vision was becoming slightly more blurred than usual. Not so much that it’s a nuisance, but it felt as if one of his eyes was more lopsided than the other, almost like the other was…

Slanted. His other eye was slanted. His hair was jet black, his hands were tiny, his feet were tiny, and just one his eyes was slanted! Was there even any use denying it? Carlos was starting to feel the harsh reality that he appeared to be in the midst of real-life TG story…

...wait. He was in a real-life TG story…

...what the hell was he worrying about?! This was….this was awesome! His hands were so tiny, his hair was so long and cute, his face was already half-Asian! What wasn’t there to like about this situation?! The only problem that really came to mind was that he wasn’t finished! But...how did it all begin in the first…?

Carlos slapped his head. Duh, the CD! According to the basic structure of TG stories, both ones he had read and created himself, there’s always a certain catalyst that ignites and, under some circumstances and most likely including this one, allows it to take course. By that rule, the CD seemed like the logical catalyst at the moment and holy crap, this was real and he couldn’t be more excited! For a brief moment, could almost see an approximation of the Japanese idol he was sure to become granted said catalyst and proceeded to happily clap his now adorable hands in utter glee. Then, with post haste, he rushed back over to his room, not even attempting to be stealthy on his way back.

It wasn’t long before the guy was sitting back at his computer, not being able to slip his headphones back on fast enough. A mere tap of the spacebar allowed the music to blare once more in all of its poppy goodness. With his tablet and stylus in his dainty hands, Carlos began sketching away to the beat. For the first time, he could feel the changes occuring, his face tickling as he felt any trace amount of masculinity upon melt away into an undoubtedly adorable mold. Or so he imagined, anyway. He really wished he could see it himself...then he came up with the brilliant idea of shutting off his computer screen with the simple command of Fn+F7, leaving only a dark reflection.

The reflection he saw wasn’t perfect or crystal clear, in fact it seemed a little bit blurry...actually, really blurry. Everything seemed blurry all of a sudden! It took a couple seconds of panic before Carlos considered the probable cause. Slowly and carefully, he began to take off his glasses again, only to be greeted by the near crystal clear image of two large, shimmering, slanted eyes staring back at him.

“Holy crap…” he muttered before rubbing his eyes and looking back. He slipped his glasses back on. Blurry. He slipped them back off. Blur-wait, no, clear! He...He could see clear as day...this was...this was amazing...he could see his entire skull seem to remold itself like clay, eventually filling out into a smaller, softer shape that perfectly accentuated his now adorably large, innocent eyes. His lips grew into a wide grin as they puffed out, becoming perfectly pink and pouty, though Carlos could hardly give off any expression other than sheer elation. At least that allowed him to see his teeth not only shrink, but whiten into a near perfect set of pearly whites that perfectly complimented his dimples. Also, he had the most adorable dimples~!

“This is too weird,” Carlos laughed, nearly giggled as he began feeling his smooth, adorable face. Everything just seemed so perfect about it, from the button nose to the smooth as silk skin to his Epicanthal folds, even the arched eyebrows. Every new feature seemed to work in perfect harmony to create one of the cutest faces he had ever seen before in his life. It was almost enough to make said face cry.

Speaking of harmonies, though, the song had already begun transitioning into the chorus proper, the idols no longer simply chanting, but singing in perfect unison. It didn’t take long for the artist to become enthralled by the melody, even mouthing the lyrics to his reflection. A couple of measures in, however, he was overcome by a short coughing fit. Each cough rose a new scale before taking on an undeniably Japanese accent, replacing his originally Spanish one. By the time it was over, there was a noticeable lack of lump in Carlos’s throat, which the young man immediately took notice upon and began to feel his necks new smoothness, culminating in his first ever girlish giggle, though far from his last. He was quick to pause the song in order to try out his new vocals.

“Kon'nichiwa,” Carlos cooed at the Japanese beauty on his screen before immediately giggling at his new fitting voice. “Anata wa koko ni yoku kimasu ka?” Wait...he didn’t mean to say that. He meant to say it, yes, but he expected it to come out in English or at least Spanish, not in language he had a very tenuous idea of at best!

‘Naze nihongo o hanashite imasu ka? Dono yō ni watashi wa nihongo o hanasu nodesu ka?’ Kaiza pondered to himself, unsure why or how he couldn’t help but automatically default to Japanese whenever he attempted to...to...he was even thinking in Japanese! This could have been potentially troubling in the future...but for now, he was just excited to finally not only understand Japanese on a deeper level, but speak it fluently as well. If need be, he could just learn English and Spanish later on. Those were easy. How many other people did he know that could speak fluent Japanese, though?

Without further concern, Carlos simply leaned back, relaxed, and started up the song once more. The chorus seemed to be wrapping up, though, for the first time ever...he could understand the lyrics, both on a language and cultural standpoint. Now, what was once pure nonsense was an actual song about struggling to believe in yourself and love and support and perseverance...okay, so maybe not all of it made complete sense, but at least they actually sounded more like words than just syllables. Not that any amount of words could keep the young man from happily swaying his hips around in his seat. His swaying may have proved to be too much once his headphones were forcibly torn from their jack, causing the music to blare from his computer’s speakers instead.

Still, the music was still going on and the song had just left its first chorus for a triumphant return of the guitar riff from earlier. Having been restricted by his headphone wires before, he chose instead to simply raise the volume up and start dancing on his feet, other family members be damned!

And so, Carlos practically jumped out of his chair and started to move along with the music, feeling the rhythm overload his body. Already, he could feel his limbs smooth out, their fat and muscle rippling away while any trace of body hair was raised from his skin, falling straight to the floor. Both his arms and legs became long and slender, yet probably still had more muscle than he ever had before. They weren’t exceptionally strong, just taught, fit, flexible, all sorts of adjectives that would have been unthinkable but moments ago. They even appeared longer, perfectly in line with his now dainty appendages. Also perfect for pulling off increasingly elaborate choreography, swaying back and forth with his now simultaneously considerably shorter, yet much longer legs, while perfectly imitating the sort of hand gestures appropriate to the song. And not a single lesson!

Once the chorus started up once again, the artist couldn’t resist going all out, initiating the most intense cardio workout he had ever been a part of. Despite having only seen the video of the song once, maybe twice, a tiny part of his subconscious seemed able to remember the dance down to the beat, which he appropriately performed to an audience of none (thankfully). The only problem appeared to be Carlos’s as of yet unaltered torso, which honestly looked borderline ridiculous against his more ladylike limbs. Luckily for him, cardio was incredibly slimming. Slimming of course meaning that his entire stomach started imploding in on itself, fat twisting and turning within himself as both his organs and skeletal structure started restructuring themselves. Strangely enough, this didn’t even hurt the guy at all. In fact, it kinda tickled.

“Kimi no kokoro ni mo...kawa ga nagareru, tsurai shiren no kawa da…” Carlos started singing to himself as his body became increasingly more nimble with each step, probably due to each step eating away several pounds. Soon, the young man, who was honestly looking much more like a teenager by the second, was left with a figure none too dissimilar to a Coke bottle, if one of the smaller, leaner ones. Now all the way down to a mere 94 pounds with a considerably shrunken torso, shoulders caved in upon themselves, and pretty sure he had an extra rib, Carlos felt freer than ever before, his movements now as flowing as water. It simply felt great to be alive at the moment.

Eventually, the chorus came to a sudden halt, causing Kaiza to bend down and twist his legs towards each other in ways he honestly hadn’t thought humanly possible before the very moment, before giving out a loud, proud cry out of “RIVER!,” naturally waving his arms out as he did so. The song became even more bouncy and poppy than before, with the downright androgynous figure unabashedly reciting the lines of “Ah-ah-ah-ah-” and enjoying every second of it, even as he performed the greatest workout of his life with all of his rapid dance moves.

After awhile, he started to notice just one last limiting factor in his private performances: his remaining, baggy clothes. Currently, his t-shirt was slipping off of his now loose shoulders, while his pants and underwear could barely be held by his incredibly shrunken waist, being held up only by his enlarged thighs. Every article of clothing on his body was slipping off at an alarming rate and, unfortunately, there only seemed to be one solution. Still, at this incredible high, Kaiza barely cared about petty matters such as clothing, worrying only if he could take it all off without missing a beat. Turns out he could. Quite easily, in fact. The rapidly shifting artist managed to stay true to the sophisticated choreography, effortlessly slipping off his shirt within a single shimmy, which also helped to loosen his lower clothes. Then, with one swift kick, both his pants and underwear went flying up into the air before dropping safely to the ground.

Wind blew across Carlos’s now bare essentials, causing him to giggle before peering down at his lithe, naked form. Funny, this entire time, he hadn’t even notice the perfect heart his butt had become or his...uh...shrinking...stuff. Dammit, made him miss a beat. He managed to get back on track almost immediately, though, almost as if he was never distracted in the first place. Though, the cold air blowing against his chest caused him to feel a special sort of chill down at his nipples. One throwaway glance revealed that not only had said nipples lightened in color, but were starting to puff out like nozzles on a beach ball.

Just like the previous metaphor, the area around the two nozzle nipples immediately began to inflate. Having read and even written plenty of TG stories himself, he was more than aware of what was to come next, and, frankly, he couldn’t wait. Slowly but surely, he could feel balls of flesh form against his chest. The feeling was exhilarating, to be honest, and it only made Carlos want to dance even more. Eventually, a slight bounce started to accompany each new rapid movement. The song began to slow down, the dance slowing along with it, allowing the barely man to look down at himself further. Considering all of the impulses he had given into within the short span of three and a half minutes within a single song, he barely hesitated to feel his new protrusions, only to end up recoiling from the sudden surge of pleasure the lightest touch had sent. It was such a bizarre, downright exotic sensation that he had never felt before and one he couldn’t hardly wait to experience again.

Luckily, the sensation did not appear content to merely stay around his newly formed breasts, instead choosing to expand to new horizons below. However, by the time it reached the artist’s gradually dilapidating privates, the sensation had become nearly unbearable as it left him just on the tip of pleasure. Even while his testicles popped into his body, leaving only an empty sack to be reformed for later, Carlos couldn’t find any true release from the nearly agonizing feelings of...oh wait, the music was picking up again. Once again not even missing a beat, Kaiza began to dance away his frustrations through the final utterance of the chorus.

“Kimi no me no mae ni…” he continued on, trying his hardest to ignore the nearly aching sensations of his final change. He obviously knew what was to happen next, but just wished it could occur faster. Please, occur faster! Unfortunately, it appeared that there was still much internal progress to be done, organs to be rearranged, wombs to be formed, fallopian tubes, the sort. Carlos was truly lucky that the dancing kept the adrenaline pumping up enough to nearly counteract the massive amounts of estrogen now flowing through his veins. Speaking of veins, his Type O+ blood also miraculously metamorphosed into Type A. It’s the little things that made it all worth it, truly.

The potential pleasure finally came to a peak, however, upon the final bridge, the very edge of the song. Slowly, but surely, a new cavity started growing along Carlos’s crotch...what was left of his former malehood was being sucked away...he just had to keep on dancing, keep on singing….

“There’s a river

Running in your heart too

A river of sweat and tears!”

Carlos continued to sing along with the song in perfect Japanese, even as his entire sex started to slip away.

“Even if you fail

Even if you’re swept away

Just start over…”

Start all over...was that what he was doing? Wiping the slate clean, leaving a new identity in his wake? Was that what he was so excited about? He had nothing against his life as Carlos, but...this just seemed so much exciting, so much more fun and spontaneous and...and…!

“Never say die

Hang onto your dreams

Until the day your wishes come true!”

With those words muttered, Carlos’s wish finally came true. She experienced a wave of pleasure throughout her entire body, the likes of which she had never felt before. It was all complete, vagina, womb, and all. She was a girl now...in fact, the name Carlos hardly even seemed fitting of a beautiful young lady such as herself. All she needed to do was come up with a name...

“Kawa wo watare!

You can do it!”

Sakura. Yes, that sounded quite fitting~! Sakura...Miyawaki. Miyawaki Sakura. It already felt like home.

Sakura simply stood there, smiling as she stood there nakedly in the final pose of the dance, her arms extended out as if asking the music to stop, which it happily complied. However, the newly christened girl only just then realized the dangers of dancing and singing buck naked for three minutes straight to such a high temp song. Namely, she was incredibly sweaty now. And stunk. Bad.

The second song on the CD began to play, but Sakura saw it best to save the rest for later, choosing to pause the album. Music could wait, but a proper shower felt urgent. Though, while she was at it, she only saw it fit to thank the one responsible for it all. So, she turned the screen back on before logging back into Skype, immediately going over to his chatroom with Dancing Spartan.

She was just about to write out a simple greeting, asking if Cam was available to talk on the other side, but the girl found her hands freezing up at the keyboard. Looking down, she could recognize the letters and the various sounds they made, but...the words she was looking to express couldn’t seem to formulate within her head. Nearly every word in English Sakura attempted to visualize just ended up translating into Japanese. Every now and then, certain syllables began to match up to form what sounded like English, though most likely not within its most accurate form.

Still, she had to at least attempt to contact Cam. Okay...showtime...

K-Kyamu...you here?

Kyamu? Huh. It wasn’t until she attempted to write her friend’s name that she realized how she kept on referring to him mentally. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind all that much. Actually, the name Kyamu actually sounded kinda...cute…

Sakura immediately gave a loud cough in order to clear her throat, right before closing her laptop. Hopefully Cam would have replied by the time she got out of the shower. Actually, was she sweating even more?

It was not too much longer before Sakura found herself underneath the showerhead as freezing water began pouring down her currently extremely sensitive body, causing it to shiver in delight. Come to think of it, this entire time, the girl was more marvelling at what her body could do rather than her body itself. With a slight blush complimenting an awkward smile, the girl began running her hands down her new form, taking in every curve and crevice of her tiny form. Not in a perverted way, mind you, but in a much more curious one, marvelling at the adorable girl she now was.

Granted, there was more than just her body to enjoy right now! Something about the transformation had made Sakura just as undeniably adorable on the inside as in the out. After getting a good feel of her new body, she began posing once again, though no longer concerned with rhythm. Instead, she began cycling through the usual repertoire of idol poses, everything playfully tugging at her lip to forming a totally kawaii heart with her hands, even popping her leg up as she did so. She held her hands out in the classic “10 Fingers” pose, before curling up her fists and pumping it in the air, as if to say “I did it!” Which she of course did, albeit in bubbly Japanese.

Sakura continued to get more and more into the act, happily performing before an imaginary audience of thousands all lined up to see her perfect image of glowing innocence. For a brief moment, the girl even forgot about her current shower, imaging herself upon a brightly lit stage at night, the spotlight on her as she gleamed over droves of adoring fans. They continued to cheer before she finally announced “You too, you too, in everyone's heart, Sakura Bloom!” She gave off the classic heart pose. “Miyawaki Sakura, I'm 16 years old, from the Kagoshima Prefecture!”

Huh. Weird how that specific age and location just popped into her head, but no matter. She had an imaginary show to perform! With the crowd invisibly adoring her, Sakura began to start a rousing solo variation of the AKB48 song 10nen Sakura by sheer memory, starting to lather shampoo into her hair as she did so.

“Dokoka de sakura no hanabira ga…”

The walls were not all that thick between the girl’s bathroom and the hallway next to it. Melodic Japanese rang throughout the house, catching the attention of more than a few of its other inhabitants. It was Sakura’s older brother that noticed how it appeared to be coming from his younger brother’s bathroom as the shower ran. Was he listening to J-pop in the shower? Why was it acapella? Actually, why was the acapella track constantly giggling? Many questions arose that he was hoping to find answers for. After his brother’s shower, of course.

It wasn’t long before Sakura had managed to sing no less than four songs in what was most likely the longest, most fulfilling shower of her life. The bathroom was covered in steam and her mirror covered in fog by the time she turned off the water and stepped out, as refreshed as ever. She let out a sigh of sheer relief before strolling over to her fogged mirror, eventually wiping it clean to get another good look at her full body. Maybe she was just developing into a narcissus, but she couldn’t help but continue admiring just how amazing she looked from just about every angle. She looked adorable, sounded adorable, acted adorable...what wasn’t there to love?

It was only after posing for herself for quite some time that the artist formerly known as Kaiza noticed a small little detail she had failed to notice before: she had no clothes. That could...be a problem...maybe she could just ask her mom for some! Though...none of her clothes would probably fit...and...she’d have an incredible amount to explain. In Japanese, of course, since that seemed to be the only language she knew now. Damn it, even her pout was adorable…

“Heh...rou!” Sakura attempted to speak as she left the bathroom with a loose towel around her waist. If only she knew how to actually tie them in place, then she wouldn’t have to hold it together with her hands. “I...Cah-ros...hear CD friend...I...exprain!” She then stomped her foot down in frustration, letting go of her towel in the process. “Kuso! Dono yō ni watashi wa eigo ga kaite, sore o hanasu koto wa dekimasen!”

Looked as if she’d either have to take her chances hoping her family could understand her broken English or have to write down everything she wanted to say. Perfect. After a loud groan (which she begrudgingly admitted was adorable as well), the girl sat back at her desk, choosing to browse her laptop until a proper plan came to mind. Oh hey! Looked like Cameron already responded!

Sorry, had to go uptown. Dancing Spartan had responded to Sakura’s previous message. Judging by the pet name, I take it you got my package on time, though?

Sakura audibly gasped before writing her response. Knew?! Y-You...gift is this?

There was a slight pause from the other side. Yes, I...knew. I sent it, remember? Wrote the note and everything. Thought I made that abundantly clear. I tried sending it at just the right time so you could get it just in time for your birthday.

Understand, but...change too?! How? G-Gomen, Engrish...can't write anymore.

Change? Are you in a rush or something? Why are you writing in Engrish?

N-no, is...you know not? B-But gift is yours!

An even longer pause ensued. Oh wait, I get it! Because of the CD, right? Trying to make a joke about the Engrish?

NO! Sakura immediately typed back in frustration. Kyamu, I change! I become girl! Not know how...but true!

Two whole minutes pass. O...K…are we RPing right now? I’m all up for it, but give me some warning first, will ya?

Mou!! the girl furiously typed in reply. RP not! Real is! Real! I listen to AKB48 song, body feel strange, then I start become girl! Is true!

Hey, that actually does sound like a fun RP.

Mou!! >_< Sakura was practically foaming at the mouth trying to explain herself now. Then, a tiny lightbulb flickered in her head. Wait little! I give proof! Video! Not deny!

Despite being close friends with each other, Carlos and Cameron never really chatted via video. They had exchanged pictures of each other before, sure, for Sakura to send an actual video of herself meant serious business. So, she simply clicked the option to send a video message and nervously smiled up at her video camera. Sort of forgot about her clothes situation, though.

“Heh-ro...Kyamu…” the girl struggled to greet with a nervous grin up at her webcam. “Is...Cah-ros...uh...Sakura now…” She gave a nervous cough as her cheeks glowed as red as the sunset. “I, uh...a-arigatou…” Slowly but surely, her nervousness lightened up slightly as her smile became much more genuine. “Arigatou for...CD. This...mean lot...to me...uh...me. I...not good Engrish...so...yeah.” After a loud sigh, Sakura finished recording and sent the message post haste.

Five minutes passed. Well, Cameron wasn’t exactly known for his trusty internet. It would be a miracle if the message even came through, honestly. All she could do was nervously tap on her laptop while softly singing Namida Surprise! to herself before a response finally popped up.

Holy crap…

Believe me? Sakura immediately typed back with a hint of satisfaction.

I want to argue more, but...I...I don’t think I can refute that. Not like you could have gotten such an adorable Japanese girl to make the message for you. Still...wow.

P-Pretty? Sakura blushed quite heavily for a moment. Her best friend just called her pretty...her heart was pounding. Was she...flattered? Huh. Maybe she’d have to get used to that. A-Arigatou…

Wait, did you say the CD I sent you did this to you? Spartan asked from the other side. Suddenly, I regret not listening to it first. Also, uh...you’re welcome...I guess?

I thought you gift this is. Because...love it!

No, I just meant to give you a CD because I knew how much you loved J-pop! Another pause. Wait, you do?!

Sakura was practically beaming with joy at this point as she typed away. Hai! I nervous first, but...I cute and singing! Voice is so kakkoii! I feel never so good before!

Well...I definitely can't deny the cute part. Cameron replied, seeming to grow slightly more acclimated to the idea of such a transformation. Being a TG writer himself probably helped as well. And...really? Perfectly content with being a cute Japanese girl then? You honestly don't look like much more than a teenager.

But exciting! the girl happily typed in reply, giggling as she did so. Needless to say, she felt plenty comfortable in her new situation. Young is, but happy. So free and cute! Japanese love and now is Japanese! Best is!

The two friend’s conversation was cut short by the sound of Sakura’s door unceremoniously opening without so much as a knock. She immediately whipped around in a panic, shivering with nervousness. There at her door was her older brother...just standing there...staring...at her naked body.

“Who the hell are…?”

Kyamu...I’ll be right back.

The sound of general hustle and bustle echoed throughout the backstage of Koshien Stadium. Men and women alike were rushing to get various lights, speakers, and food from point A to point B. Various managers and producers could be heard giving out orders to get everyone in line, some more gently than others. Sound tests temporarily muted out all of directions as the speakers blared.

Yet strangely, all Cameron could really hear was the beating of his own heart as he slowly walked through the controlled chaos. He stared back down at the VIP pass had been sent to him, autographed by its donor herself, Sakura Miyawaki. As he fiddled with the pass, his palms growing increasingly sweaty as his destination came closer into focus.

A full 365 days passed since that fateful day and boy were they eventful. Once the initial shock of Carlos becoming a Japanese girl looking no older than 15 or 16 wore out (with as proper an explanation as the new girl could provide), the real craziness began.

In truth, it all started with a simple night of karaoke in an attempt to help adjust to Sakura’s new role. Not that Sakura needed any adjusting, as she was as comfortable as could be, but her family was still a little...uneasy about it all. Luckily, the girl had the bright idea of a family fun night out for karaoke. Of course, no one was willing to tell her scientifically perfect pout no, so they naturally agreed. What followed was an incredibly performance on Sakura’s part, garnering a loud round of applause and just so happening to peak the interests of a couple of attendees interested in the girl’s natural gift. What followed started off as mere sponsored performances at the karaoke place, followed shortly by a couple of gigs at local restaurants. It was one of those performances that attracted the attention of a small anime convention on the other side of the country that was willing to pay her to perform. Whatever had turned Sakura into who she now was must have also given her an incredible luck streak, as she always seemed to impress the right people at the right time. At that anime convention happened to be an agent of AKB48 itself.

Soon enough, Sakura was on the fast track towards stardom, moving over to Japan with her family and auditioning for a place in the prestigious idol group whose music literally changed her life. With such raw talent and marketability, it would have been crazy not to accept her, so accepted her they did! In practically no time flat, in no small part due to her near instinctual idol-like behavior, the girl was assigned to the band’s HKT48's Team KIV, where she immediately integrated into the idol lifestyle. Eventually, even her name was legally changed to Sakura Miyawaki, the name she was born to wear!

Luckily, Sakura was not one to let fame go to her head, and was quick to thank all of those that got her into the position she was in today. She was always sure to thank her fellow bandmates for creating the music that quite literally changed her life, her family and friends for supporting her all the way, and certainly never wasted an opportunity to thank Cameron, the unwitting trigger of her fortune. The two continued to talk, mainly over Skype, though a lot more sporadically than before. Sakura was a busy girl and he had grown to accept that. Still, the two both grew nostalgic for the long conversations about this or that they would always have as guys, conversations that were few and far between now. That saddled Sakura with a fair amount of guilt, though she had come up with the perfect way to make up for the digital conversations not taken: the friends’ first ever true one-on-one meeting.

Which of course lead to Cameron nervously standing in front of the door to his best friend’s personal makeup room, the name Sakura Miyawaki plastered on glistening metal sign. There was nothing to for him to worry about...this was just...meeting a friend, right? Yes...just a friend, definitely not one of the cutest girls in all of Japan. With understandable reluctance, he lifted his fist and knocked on the door.

It took nearly ten excruciating seconds for the door to finally be answered. Once it did, however, there was left two awkward teenagers staring back at each other in surprise for several more.

After recognizing herself as the host, Sakura managed to snap out of her initial shock and break the ice. “K-Kyamu…?”

Cameron might as well have been in an ambulance, considering all he could hear were sirens in his head. Okay, so one of the cutest girls in all of Japan, the very one that had brought him over here, and the very same he helped create out of his best friend. How the hell was he supposed to respond?!

“H-Hey…”

Another prolonged silence ensued.

“"A-Ah, s-sou desu..." Sakura muttered, rubbing her arm over how awkward it all seemed to be. God, why was her chest feeling so heavy? She needed to stop acting nervous, mou~! Okay, deep breaths…

“"Engrish still no good, but better a little," she finally struggled to say, mentally reminding herself to work on those English classes. Still, c’mon! Her best friend was here! She gave herself a quick slap in the face, before turning back Cameron with her always winning, cheerful smile. “Come in! Come in! We talk and catch up!”



