Volume 5 Chapter 13 A Step Toward the Dream’s Edge
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Hibiki-senpai, what does a method for making my chest smaller have to do with… that kind of stuff¹?”
The question echoed in the quiet air of the private stall in the girls’ restroom after school. Akira’s voice, trapped in the narrow space, was thick with the sheer confusion of a mind unable to grasp what she’d just heard. What Hibiki had suggested felt too far removed from reality for Akira, yet the girl standing right there was looking back with an intense, serious gaze, clearly not making a joke.
Akira only had one simple desire: to lighten the burden on her chest so she could run even a fraction faster in her track competitions. Why, then, did the phrase ‘that kind of stuff’—referring to intimate or sexual matters—even enter the conversation? Anyone in her place would tilt their head in utter bewilderment.
”For now, I can’t explain the details, okay?” Hibiki replied, her voice softening just a bit. “But could you make some time for me later?”
”Of course I will! For you, Hibiki-senpai, I’ll definitely clear my schedule!” Akira declared with her usual bright enthusiasm.
”Heh. You really are an energetic one, Akira.” Hibiki chuckled. “If we can solve this problem, you might become even more energetic.”
”I—I think… I think that’s probably true…!” Akira stammered, already imagining the freedom.
The truth is—I can make her chest smaller with ‘Fat Burning’ or even bigger with ‘Breast Growth.’ The only real question is whether Akira herself can accept and agree to Hirose’s treatment… Thinking this, Hibiki decided to end the discussion for the time being. She made a mental note to introduce Akira to Hirose on a later day.
* * *
The day of the meeting arrived. Since Akira attended a different school, they had no contact there. Hibiki chose the evening, right after club activities, as the designated time—the sky already beginning to dim—and the place: Hibiki’s own house.
”Hello there!” Akira’s cheerful voice rang out from the front door.
Hibiki led the enthusiastic girl straight to her own room. Hirose was already waiting inside. The moment Akira saw him, her initial surprise turned into an expression of bright, unconcealed excitement.
”Hello. I’m Takanashi Hirose,” he greeted her politely.
”I—I’m Suruga Akira. …You must be Hibiki-senpai’s boyfriend…!” Akira pressed, her eyes wide with a mix of awe and shyness.
”A Bokukko², huh… It’s my first time meeting one… I mean, she’s so handsome, I’m shocked,” Hirose observed, surprised by her masculine charm.
”Fufu~, I know, right? Akira’s super popular with the girls!” Hibiki boasted, proud of her friend.
Akira had that kind of refreshing, handsome smile and an aura that drew people in regardless of gender.
You couldn’t help but feel you’d never dislike her. As Akira and Hibiki sat down side-by-side, the evening was getting late, so it was time to dive into the main topic.
”Akira. Do you remember when I said that if you want to make your chest smaller, something a little grown-up³ is necessary?” Hibiki asked, getting serious.
”Eh, ah… Y-yes! Of course, I remember…!” Akira replied quickly. “…It’s just, talking about it in front of your boyfriend makes me a little embarrassed…”
Akira’s cheeks turned a deep crimson at the thought of discussing ‘that kind of stuff’ in front of a boy. Focused solely on track, she was utterly innocent when it came to romantic love⁴, making this a particularly stimulating conversation for her.
”Alright, Hirose. Could you explain it, please?” Hibiki prompted.
”Okay. —Suruga-san, what I’m about to tell you needs to be kept completely secret from others. Can you promise that?” Hirose explained softly.
”M-most certainly! I would never, ever betray Hibiki-senpai!” Akira declared, her enthusiasm overcoming her embarrassment for a moment.
”Thank you. Then I’ll start the explanation.”
Hirose began to talk about his Gift and its skills, quietly and carefully. Akira looked bewildered at first, but as the explanation continued, her eyes began to shine brighter and brighter until, by the end, her face was filled with a look of pure hope. But—the moment she heard the phrase, “I have to touch your chest directly,” her cheeks flushed scarlet again, and she froze stiff.
”…In short, making your chest smaller is possible. However, there is one risk. I would have to directly… massage your chest.”
”Hibiki-senpai’s boyfriend, touching my chest… W-won’t that feel like… cheating on her?” Akira’s voice was barely a whisper.
”Akira, don’t worry about that part.” Hibiki quickly reassured her. “Hirose has already touched the bodies of over ten different people. They all had a complex or a problem, and Hirose lent his power to solve it. A few of them… well, they were special cases, of course.”
Those special cases included Himari and Kairi, individuals for whom the Gift was used without a problem to solve from the start.
”I haven’t made anyone’s chest smaller yet, but I have made them bigger. Want to see a picture?” Hibiki offered.
”Eh… Is that allowed?” Akira asked, curiosity piqued.
”It’s fine, no faces are in the shot.”
Hibiki showed her a photograph of Aoi before and after the treatment. The change in chest size was obvious, and her skin was surprisingly beautiful as well.
”Wow…! It really did get bigger. And her skin is so beautiful…” Akira gasped.
”That’s the effect of Hirose’s ‘Skin Quality Improvement’ skill. It cleans up everything all at once.”
”…Will my chest look like that, too?”
”I haven’t seen yours directly, Akira, but I’m sure it’ll become beautiful,” Hibiki affirmed warmly.
Akira looked down at her own chest—the one she had tried to flatten and hide for the sake of her track career. Even so, the girl’s desire to be beautiful, to be truly lovely, had always remained deep in her heart.
”—Akira, you’re a second-year. You’ll have another year of high school club activities, right? Think about this carefully. Hirose is my boyfriend, but to you, he’s still a stranger. For a girl to let a boy touch her chest, that in itself requires a lot of courage and determination.”
”Hibiki-senpai…! Ah, I’m so glad I decided to talk to you… To think you’d be so concerned about me…” Akira felt a rush of emotion.
”I’ve struggled with my own skin and complexes for a long time, too. A complex is a truly heavy weight to carry for a person. That’s why I want you to think about this seriously.”
”Yes, I will!”
Akira nodded, genuinely moved. Having seen so many people burdened by their own anxieties, Hibiki’s words carried a powerful conviction. What her answer would be—that remained to be seen.
”Oh, and one more thing: Hirose is someone who is even kinder and more considerate than me. So, I want you to face him openly, too.”
”Of course! C-can I call you Hirose-senpai?” Akira asked shyly, testing the new waters.
”Uh, yeah. That’s fine with me. Then I’ll call you Akira-chan, okay?” Hirose smiled.
”Ah, Akira-chan…?”
”Oh, you didn’t like it?”
”N-no, I didn’t! It’s just… I’ve never been called by the cute suffix ‘-chan’⁵ at school, so it feels a little embarrassing, maybe…” Akira confessed.
”Should I just stick with Suruga-san, then?”
”No way! Please call me whatever you like!”
Akira gave a shy laugh. At school, she was known as The Prince and constantly surrounded by girls. Being called something as normal as ‘-chan’ felt both ticklish and strangely new.
They decided to break up for the night, and Akira’s answer was postponed until a later date.
* * *
”…I wonder if Akira-chan will be alright. I’ve met people who were uncomfortable around boys before, but Akira-chan seems like a slightly different type, somehow…”
After seeing Akira off, Hirose voiced his worry in Hibiki’s room. Akira’s whole environment was quite different from that of a normal high school girl.
”Akira actually has a fan club, you know. And an honor guard, too. Isn’t that amazing?” Hibiki told him.
”Seriously…? That kind of thing really exists?” Hirose marveled.
”And apparently, boys are strictly forbidden. Boys aren’t allowed to go near her. Though they do interact a bit in club activities.”
She wasn’t confessed to, nor was she seen as a potential object of romantic interest. That was what made Akira unique.
”If she weren’t doing track, she’d probably be a model or in Takarazuka⁶ by now.” Hirose mused.
”Ah…” Hibiki’s expression shifted instantly at Hirose’s comment, a flicker of surprise crossing her features.
”What is it?”
Hibiki admitted it, a little self-consciously. “Actually… I was asked to become a model.”
”What?! That’s incredible! Was it Housaka-san? Or maybe from Hourai-san’s company?” Hirose asked, thinking of their connections.
”Neither. The offer came from—Koi-chan.”
”…Eh?! Seriously?! That’s absolutely huge!”
Nikaidou Koi was a super top model in Japan, whose breast had recently been regenerated by Hirose’s skill following a mastectomy—a very fresh memory for them.
”Koi-chan’s agency is a major one, so it seems pretty serious. …I’ve actually been talking to her for a while, and when she showed the agency my picture, they apparently became interested.”
”That’s amazing… Hibiki, you’ve always wanted to be a model, haven’t you? …This is your chance!”
Ever since she had become beautiful and gained more confidence, Hibiki had started to think about becoming a model. She hadn’t taken any action, but now the door to her dream was beginning to open.
”But… I’m not tall enough. That’s the only thing making me nervous about whether I can actually be a model.”
”Your height, huh…”
”Koi-chan is tall, and Akira is, too…”
”I wish I had a skill to make people taller.” Hirose sighed.
”Heh, but I don’t have a complex about my height. So if I were to use a skill to make myself taller, I think I’d lose my self-confidence. If I’m chosen, I want them to choose me as I truly am.”
Hibiki’s eyes wavered. She had gained her appearance through her Gift’s power, but her height was the one thing she wanted to keep as her own.
”You’re being so negative, which isn’t like you at all, Hibiki.”
”…I know. When your dream is right in front of you, it gets scary. Even though I thought I’d gained confidence…”
Hirose gently pulled the lonely-looking Hibiki into a tight hug. He whispered softly into her ear:
”Your charm, Hibiki, is that you’re bright, a little noisy, full of energy, and you tend to drag people along with you.”
”Is that even a compliment?” she asked, nestled against him.
”Of course, it is. I mean it completely. Your face is small, and your figure is more than enough. Height doesn’t matter. Anyone who looks at you can tell you’re gorgeous.”
His words were the truth. Hirose had met many women, but now and then, Hibiki was the one he found the cutest.
”Just try it first. Deciding after you’ve tried won’t be too late. Nikaidou-san is rooting for you, right?”
”…You’re right.”
”Don’t worry. I can honestly stand here and say that you, Hibiki, are the best!”
”What kind of thing is that to say…? It has nothing to do with the modeling talk… but I’m incredibly happy.” Hibiki laughed, her face flushed red. Hirose’s words sank deep into her heart, filling it with warmth.
”…Then, I guess I should meet the agency people once.”
”Yeah, that’s a great idea.”
”Hirose… I love you.”
”I love you too, Hibiki.”
Hugging each other tightly, the two exchanged words of love. That night, Hibiki moved one step closer to her dream.
—
Summary:
Akira, the handsome track star, meets Hirose to discuss reducing her chest size with his Gift, leading to massive embarrassment but also hope. She has to decide if she’s willing to let Hirose intimately touch her, an awkward situation for the girl who is innocent about romance. Separately, Hibiki reveals she received a serious modeling offer from Koi Nikaidou’s major agency. Though she’s anxious about her height, Hirose lovingly reassures her and gives her the confidence to pursue her dream, sealing the night with their deep affection.
—
Character Insight:
Akira’s ‘prince’ persona is a shield; she’s an extremely innocent, easily flustered girl who is deeply feminine beneath her handsome exterior. Hibiki, despite her new confidence and beauty, is still vulnerable to self-doubt when a major life dream is at stake, proving her emotional journey is ongoing.
—
Behind the Scene:
This chapter sets up two major character arcs: Akira potentially overcoming a physical and emotional complex via the Gift, and Hibiki’s first real attempt to professionalize her beauty by accepting the modeling offer. The risk for both is significant: Akira’s emotional comfort and Hibiki’s self-worth.
—
T/L:
¹ This phrase is a common euphemism for sexual or intimate matters in Japanese. ↩
² A Bokukko is a girl who uses the boyish first-person pronoun ‘boku’ for self-reference, contributing to her ‘princely’ or tomboy image. ↩
³ The Japanese source uses ‘ecchi na koto’ (something grown-up/lewd), which has been softened to maintain the story’s core meaning without violating the R-15+ (Muslim standard) restriction. ↩
⁴ The original uses Koi-ai, which specifically means passionate/romantic love. Akira is innocent about this type of feeling. ↩
⁵ Chan-tsuke is the act of calling someone by their name followed by the diminutive and affectionate suffix ‘-chan’. For a handsome ‘prince’ like Akira, it’s a very unusual and embarrassing term. ↩
⁶ The Takarazuka Revue is an all-female musical theater troupe in Japan where women traditionally play both male and female roles. Her ‘princely’ looks make her a perfect candidate for the male roles (otokoyaku). ↩
Notes:
• Suruga Akira – She used to be the junior high Prince of Track and Field, the kind of runner everyone expected to win before the race even started. Tall and slender with a quietly strong, athletic build, I-cup, short nearly-blonde hair, and a sweet, androgynous face that often had people mistaking her for a boy, she gathered admirers without trying—especially among the girls.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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