After they were done with wigs, they dragged me to a clothing store. Same doll-mode incoming — miserable.
“Hey, isn’t buying clothes just to crossdress me kind of a waste of money?”
“Oh, today’s purchases will become Riona’s and my wardrobe.”
“Same height, so we can wear them too.”
True — I’m 2cm taller and the gap is small enough that the clothes would translate. I am not short, they are tall as girls. (Internal disclaimer.) While I was deflecting, they brought a selection.
”…Look — I’ve given up on the clothes, but skirts, please—”
“Skirts are non-negotiable, sorry.”
“A guy in a skirt is a problem.”
“Ryouya is becoming a girl, so it’s fine. And men in Scotland wear traditional kilts, so it’s not even unusual.”
That confident delivery aside, this is Japan, not Scotland. I attempted persuasion and lost. Skirt incoming.
The staff was visibly whispering to each other from a distance — the worst. After being dressed up, they bought the clothes and we left the shop.
“Got the clothes too.”
“Makeup, and Ryouya is complete.”
“Are we — really doing this?”
“Of course. The wigs and clothes were prep.”
Riona delivered the death sentence. Apparently crossdressing was not avoidable.
“Go change in the bathroom.”
”…Okay.”
“And — try to run and there’s an additional penalty.”
“If you do it the punishment increases.”
I’d been considering inventing an emergency and bolting. They’d anticipated it. I took the wig and clothes and headed for the bathroom.
Using a male bathroom for crossdressing felt like asking for trouble, so I went to a multi-purpose stall.
“I have lost something important today.”
I came out and headed back to them. The lower-body draft from the skirt was deeply unsettling and I was hyper-aware of being watched.
“I changed without running.”
“You look amazing. I knew Riona and I had an eye for this.”
“Cute Ryouya.”
“Hey — no pictures!?”
The two raised their phones for a shot and I covered my face. They’d upload to social like always — even on a friends-only account, Mio follows.
“Last step is makeup. Sit and hold still.”
“If Ryouya moves it takes longer.”
They produced a makeup kit from their bag and worked on my face with the same fluid efficiency they had cooking. Never had makeup applied. Disorienting.
“Done.”
“Now Ryouya is presentable anywhere.”
“In this outfit, no I am not.”
“Look at the result.”
Reona held up a mirror. The reflection was fully girl. Saying nothing, I would pass — that’s how high quality the result was.
“So — are we done? Going to change back.”
“What — Ryouya-kun is staying like that all day.”
“A brief moment is not ‘experiencing being a girl.’”
“Wait — what?!”
I’d been assuming this was the end of the punishment. Apparently not. All day?
“In the current shape calling you Ryouya is weird, so for the rest of today you’re ‘Ryouka.’”
“We’re resuming the school-trip shopping as we are, so Ryouya-kun — sorry, Ryou-ka-chan — please act accordingly.”
No reading where this was a joke. Bolting earlier would have been better, it occurred to me — though if I had, the penalty would probably have escalated to something even worse.