I Really Didn't Do Anything
There's a saying: if there's an effect, there must be a cause. In short, causality. It's the law of the world that applies to everything. It's that classic law of causality you see in stories where they build up the atmosphere—necessary to justify powers beyond human limits, acting as a restraint on strength. When something happens, there's always a reason behind it. There are no effects without causes in this world. Ice melts because the temperature is high enough. Wind blows... well, I don't know the exact science, but air moves for some atmospheric reason or another. Yeah. So the phrase "nothing happened" doesn't even make sense to begin with.
For example, when someone says, "The computer broke and I didn't do anything," from their perspective, it means they didn't smash it with a hammer or pour milk into it—extreme acts of destruction like that. But all the little things they did before? Those don't even factor into their thinking. Didn't our ancestors say it? "No smoke without fire." Note: it's ttaen, not tteol. Meaning, if there's smoke from the chimney, you must've lit the fire for heat. Cause leads to effect. Old sayings never miss the mark. Well, actually, proverbs exist for pretty much every situation, so they all seem to fit perfectly. Even ones with totally opposite meanings. Of course, from the user's perspective, none of them can be wrong.
Anyway, that's how the world works—it's a universal truth. So in personal matters without third-party involvement, claims like "I didn't do anything, this is so unfair" rarely hold up. Most people respond, "You must've done something to deserve it." And that's usually the truth. But... even knowing that, I had to say it anyway.
"I really didn't do anything..."
I muttered blankly at the full-length mirror in the room. What rang in my ears was a voice so adorably cute, I couldn't believe it came from my own mouth. It was like something out of the high-class cultural pursuits I'd indulged in—more suited to an anime character than real life, full of dissonance.
The reflection showed a girl so tiny, it was almost comical. A cute, dainty face that matched her shoulder-length black bob perfectly, but everything else visible was small. Short stature. Small face. Hands, arms, legs—all short and petite. She looked so fragile, like a light tap would send her tumbling or snap something. The kind of girl who might pass for a middle schooler, staring blankly at the mirror with dazed eyes.
I raised my hand, and the girl in the mirror did the same, like she'd been waiting. What a coincidence, lifting our hands at the same time. I thought hazily, but reality didn't budge. With a sigh, I lowered my arm. The girl sighed too.
Yeah. This is me. This tiny, frail girl... is me. It was hard to believe, something that shouldn't have happened. But I'd turned into a girl. For real. And I hadn't done anything!
In a case like this, what the hell was I supposed to have "done" to become a girl? If there was a way to turn a sturdy adult man into this scrawny little thing overnight, I'd be the one wanting to know. What did I do? I just lived my normal life, like always. Still, I had to find the cause. I plopped down on the floor and slowly retraced my memories.
Right... before waking up in this body...
...
"No good streams on tonight," I grumbled, scrolling through platforms I'd already checked and dipping in and out of communities with no new posts. No miracle where my solo muttering got a dead stream going, no late-night posters crawling back online. I glanced at the clock: 4:48 a.m. The awkward limbo between dawn and morning... Not bedtime yet. Especially not tonight.
"What to do till 6..."
I muttered to myself, even though no one was listening. No idea when this habit started. Maybe from all the voice chats with friends while gaming, or just aging naturally. Probably both. As a kid, I never got why old guys groaned "ungh" getting up or hummed tunes. Now here I was, doing it too.
Anyway, I leaned back in my cheap gaming chair, pondering how to kill the next hour. The chair creaked under my bulk. Not super fat or muscled, but tall enough that the weight came with it.
Habitually, I threw together a community post: title like "Virgin Company.jpg," slapped in a random meme image, copy-pasted a link, and hit post. Comments rolled in quick: "Slut company," "Virgin confirmed lol," thumbs-up emojis. No need to check who; night owls were all the same. Ignored.
Normally, I'd be settling into bed by now, phone-scrolling to wind down. But not tonight. At 6 a.m., a major JRPG series' new entry unlocked. I'd played a few, not a diehard fan, but I was waiting for one reason: the link in my post. A stream starting at 5:50.
More precisely, the VTuber running it.
When did it start? Getting hooked on internet streams—VTubers, no less. The exact "why" and "when" were fuzzy now. But I remembered hating the whole inbang scene, VTubers included. That was 4 or 5 years ago. Time flies? Or just wasted life? Moody dawn thoughts.
Refreshed the platform, hunting for something to watch. Everything was Japanese: subbed VTuber lives, kirinuki highlight clips. Rare non-Japanese stuff like trending game intros or "chill vibes" ASMR.
Used to be random algorithm Japanese vids from my refined tastes, but not this heavy. Korean content was rarer now.
How long had it been like this? Instead of dwelling, I clicked a video and zoned out—then snapped to. Oh yeah, late-night snack—or breakfast? Food was prepped. Nothing fancy: cup ramen, frozen stuff to microwave. Better eat and clean now than scramble during the stream.
Decision made, I shot up from the chair, stepped toward the kitchen—then sensation vanished from my foot. No, my whole body. Power drained, control gone, a dizzy vertigo. The floor rushed up at me like it was attacking, and I—
...
"Did I... die...?"
Sitting on the floor, hugging bony knees, I muttered blankly. No memory after standing... probably collapsing. Not a doctor, no clue what went wrong, but it wasn't good.
Fine, say I died. Feels off, unreal, but possible. Sudden deaths happen to healthy folks all the time. Bad luck? Sure. But if I died, why'd I wake up in this tiny girl's body? Why?
No answers no matter how much I pondered. So... just live? Easier said than done. Terrifying, really. Joked online about easy life as a cute girl, but now? Scary as hell. How to survive this frail body in a brutal world? A middle-school boy with bad intentions could overpower me easy. Like being tossed naked into a beast cage.
And girls? Their subtle bullying was infamous even to clueless guys. Without physical edge... "Ugh... this sucks."
Staring at the mirror, the girl looked doomed. Cute, sure, but bullies target pretty, easy marks like this. Guys? Scary too. World was dangerous. Missed my sturdy male body.
Deep sighs later, enough pity party. Time to assess. To live as this body, know its owner. Avoid "why'd she change so much?" from others.
Rocking with knees hugged, sifting body memories—then I froze.
"Fuck, I'm Japanese?"
No wonder the pronunciation felt off.