She is NOT a cute catgirl!

Aoi bounces down the stairs in her newly bought outfit, her tiny feet barely making a sound. When she reaches the lobby, she pauses, staring at her old, rusty bicycle chained to the rack. She tilts her head, frowning.

“I’m too small to use that now,” she thinks, shaking her head disappontedly.

Sigh. “Looks like I’ll have to walk,” she mutters, pulling out her phone to search for the best route to the doctor.

Soon after, she struts out of the building, still feeling a bit smug about conquering and even taming the evil system this morning. She is so focused on her phone, looking for the best route, she almost didn’t notice the nearby whispers.

“Did you see that little girl over there? She’s absolutely adorable!”

“Right?! Even her cosplay is on point… though, her clothes are kinda normal-looking for cosplay, don’t you think? But, maybe she is an actor or something?”

Aoi’s fluffy new cat ears perk up, picking up every word, that clearly weren’t intended to be heard by her. She blinks in confusion and lifts her head, only to be met with a bunch of curious gazes by a large group of onlookers.

“Wait, what cosplay…?” she thought.

Then it hit her like a pillow to the face. Oh no! She has cat ears and tails now, something completely unnatural!

＜(＞0＜)＞

Her cheeks flushes a bright pink, and she instinctively pulls her hood over her ears and stuffs her tail into her pants as fast as possible. The spectators watch this action, puzzled. “Why is she hiding her cosplay. If she doesn’t want to be seen with it on, shouldn’t she just take it off?”

Aoi can’t take it anymore. Her face is practically steaming from the embarrassment, she really has a problem with all this attention, so she does the only thing she could think of….she bolts, retreating from the curious crowd as fast as her tiny legs would take her.

By the time she reaches the hospital, she is out of breath, her hood still tightly pulled over her head. The line at the reception feels like it stretches forever, with some giving her weird glances.

The tall, scruffy man in front of her even starts an argument with the receptionist, when she is just one spot from her turn. But after some time, he finally gives up and leaves. She shuffles forward, barely tall enough to peek over the counter.

She places her medical card on the desk and whispers in a tiny voice, “U-Um… hello…”

The receptionist looks at the card, then at Aoi. A confused look enters her face as she once again looks down at the card in her hands. But the receptionist aunty still gives a gentle smile as she follows up with. “Hello, little sweetheart. Are you looking for your parents? And why do you have this card? Is it your brother’s?”

“N-No, it’s mine!” Aoi squeaks in her adorable voice. “A-And I’m not a little girl! This morning… I woke up like this and I don’t know what’s going on!” Her voice wavers, but she tries to sound as tough and manly as possible.

The receptionist blinks, eyes widening slightly. There was that rare disease she’d read about recently… Could it be? She leans closer, squinting at Aoi as if trying to solve a puzzle. She didn’t believe this disease would really exist, but if this little girl doesn’t lie, she maybe just found someone with that rare disease.

“Well… okay, sweetie. Take a seat in the waiting area. The doctor will see you soon.”

Hours later, Aoi sits in the doctor’s office, surrounded by chaos. Nurses and doctors bustle around her, some whispering urgently into phones, others flipping through medical papers Aoi doesn’t even try to understand. One doctor, frowning deeply, finally approaches Aoi after what felt like a million tests.

“It seems like you really have TS disease… The first one in this country… and not just any form, but a mutated version of it,” he says, glancing over the papers with disbelief in his gaze. “It’s an extremely rare condition, but I’ve never heard of a case that… well, gives someone animal ears and a tail.”

Aoi stars at him, wide-eyed. The system really covered her transformation up perfectly. She starts to feel a little guilty as she just deceived all of these doctors, but quickly shakes her head to refocus herself. It's not her fault! The system is the evil one who transformed her! It should be blamed for it!

The doctor continues, “You’re 18, so you can make your own decisions, but I strongly recommend talking to your parents about how to proceed. As this disease will probably change your whole life. Should I call them, or—?”

(」°ロ°)」

Aoi’s ears shot up in alarm. Her parents?! No way! If they see her like this, she’d be toast! She shakes her head frantically, her tail puffing up in panic. “N-No! Please don’t tell them! I don’t want them to know! A-And your aren’t allowed to tell them if I don’t want to!”

The doctor pauses, watching Aoi, clearly concerned. After a moment, he sighs. “Alright, I won’t contact them. But I’ll need to update your school records and change your gender on file. You’ll still be able to attend your same classes, though. We are going to handle the rest of the legal stuff. Is that okay?”

Aoi nods quickly. “O-Okay, thank you…”

With a relieved sigh, she thanks the doctor and nurses one last time and leaves the hospital, with the promise to be able to attend school tomorrow. 

She needs to get the system to turn her back fast, otherwise her parents are going to find out!

It is now afternoon, the long visit having eaten up most of her day. Thankfully, there are fewer people on the streets, with the risk of gathering a crowd like this now greatly decreased. But just to be safe, she still keeps her ears tucked under her hood and her tail well-hidden.

When she finally makes it home, she still feels incredibly relieved that everything just has gone so well at the doctor. How she knows her luck, normally everything would go awry in such a situation…

grumble~

But now, she once again has the problem of food just like this morning. She should really go buy some groceries sometime soon... She opens the refrigerator, glaring at the still unattainable demon fish on the top shelf. How much she would like to be taller right now.

But then, she suddenly has a great idea, making her eyes shine with stars in them.

“Uhm system… I recently made you submit to me, s-so… Could you help me with that evil fish over there, please?”

Aoi makes her eyes look as big as possible, in hopes of convincing it to help her. Her tail even sways in anticipation of the final victory over this demon fish!

“No.”

“B-But”

“No!”

.·°՞(˃ ᗝ ˂)՞°·.

How blunt! She can’t believe it, wasn’t this system supposed to be scared of her and do what she says?!

But in the end, the system doesn’t give in. Too sleepy and hungry to really cause the conflict, she can only reluctantly make some instant noodles with an unwilling face.

She quickly eats before flopping onto her bed like a cat. She had been through way too much for one day! She stares at the ceiling, feeling the exhaustion in every tiny bone of her body.

“This was the most exhausting day ever” she thinks, her eyelids drooping. And for once, it isn’t the system messing with her, that makes her sleepy. "Tommorow, school starts once again..."

With a soft yawn, she snuggles into her pillow, and soon drifts off into a peaceful slumber. Even a tiny purr can be heard.