Ren Arisaka was no stranger to pain. In fact, he thrived on it. Whether it was the sharp sting of a perfectly executed dive or the burn of his muscles after a long training session, he'd long ago learned to embrace discomfort. As a top athlete on his high school's volleyball team, he needed pain to push past his limits.
But nothing, nothing, prepared him for the excruciating sensation of being flattened by a scoreboard.
The sound of metal crashing down. His body smashing against the cold, unforgiving ground. The blur of concerned voices calling out his name. And then… nothing.
When Ren opened his eyes again, the first thing he noticed was the smell of… flowers?
The second thing was the soft, unfamiliar feeling beneath him. Not the hard, grimy gym floor he'd last remembered—no, this was plush, comfortable.
Ren blinked rapidly, sitting up and instantly regretting it as the world around him spun like a broken carousel.
"What the hell…" he muttered, trying to shake the dizziness from his head. But the moment his hand went to push himself up, he felt something strange.
Breasts.
He froze.
This couldn't be real. Was he dreaming? No, this felt way too real. He looked down at himself and immediately regretted it.
His chest was... soft, curvy, and... undeniably feminine.
Ren stared, wide-eyed. His mind raced.
"What the hell happened? This... This isn't possible!"
He frantically looked around and finally noticed where he was—a bedroom, by the looks of it. Soft pink curtains hung from the window, and the shelves were lined with frilly stuffed animals and cute school bags.
Wait.
He quickly scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping over a giant fluffy pillow on the floor. "This has to be a joke," Ren muttered to himself. "I'm definitely dead, right? Is this… Heaven?"
As if answering his question, a voice echoed through the room.
"Renka, are you awake yet?" The door opened slightly, revealing a woman in a sharp uniform.
Ren blinked. Renka?
"Wait. That's—" He turned to face the voice but was immediately hit with a wave of dizziness. He staggered, only managing to catch himself against the soft bed. His mind raced even faster. Was this some kind of prank? Or worse, had he been dragged into some alternate universe?
The woman—no, the coach—took one look at him and frowned. "Come on, Renka, don't tell me you're still pretending to be asleep just to skip breakfast. Get up, you've got volleyball practice in an hour."
Volleyball practice?
Ren blinked again. That sounded oddly familiar. But he couldn't be on a girls' volleyball team—he was a guy. He was supposed to be with the boys' team, winning national championships, not in some freaking pink nightmare!
"No… no," Ren whispered. "I'm not Renka. I'm—" He froze, his brain trying to make sense of it. He looked down at the soft, schoolgirl uniform he was now wearing—an absurdly short skirt, a tight top with a collar, and loose socks.
Was this real? No, this couldn't be happening.
"Renka!" The voice came again, sharper this time.
"Yeah, yeah," Ren muttered, still trying to comprehend what had happened. "Coming, Coach…"
His body moved on autopilot. He walked toward the door, his mind still in overdrive. A glance in the mirror as he passed it stopped him cold.
The reflection staring back at him was the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen.
Long, silky black hair cascaded over his (now her) shoulders. A delicate, heart-shaped face framed by large, innocent eyes—eyes that didn't belong to him. The body was... well-endowed, to put it mildly, with curves that Ren definitely didn't remember ever having.
This couldn't be real. Was this a reincarnation?
"Okay, okay," Ren muttered, gripping his (now her) head, which felt like it was about to burst. "Okay, just take it slow, Renka. I'm Ren. I'm still Ren. This is just a dream. A really weird, perverted dream. Just—"
Suddenly, the door opened wide, and a girl burst in.
"Renka! You're up! Let's get to practice, or Coach will have us running laps in the rain again," the girl said, grinning mischievously.
Ren blinked again. The girl was Aoi, the team captain, known for her strong personality and serious attitude on the court.
Ren tried to smile back, but it came out as a nervous twitch. "Yeah, sure. I just… need to… um, stretch."
"Stretch?" Aoi raised an eyebrow. "You're such a weirdo. Come on, let's go, star player."
Ren's mind was spinning, but somehow, his body moved before his brain could catch up. Star player?
A wave of awkwardness hit as he followed Aoi down the hallway. He couldn't focus on anything except the two words that kept echoing in his mind:
Girls' volleyball team.
The rest of the world was a blur as Ren tried to catch his breath and keep his growing panic under control. He couldn't let anyone find out who—or what—he really was. If anyone found out about his secret…
Well, things were about to get very, very complicated.