Haru Miyazaki was average in every possible way. His grades were fine, his social life nonexistent, and his free time was mostly spent watching anime streams and lurking on Twitch. If someone asked him what made him stand out, he'd probably just shrug and say, "Uh… I dunno. Nothing, really."
That was, until the night his phone buzzed with a strange notification.
[System Installation Complete! Welcome, User, to the Cosplay System!]
"…What?" Haru blinked at the glowing words on his cheap screen. "Cosplay System? I didn't download anything like this…"
Curious, he tapped the icon. A menu slid open, filled with characters—except every single one was a girl. Battle priestess, gothic idol, demon queen, magical knight. Not a single guy.
[Starter Character Unlocked: Crimson Saber—Fiery Sword Princess! Transform now?]
Haru chuckled. "Yeah, right. Sword Princess? What is this, some kind of prank?" Still, curiosity gnawed at him. He tapped Yes.
Light engulfed his body. His arms shrank, his legs stretched, his chest—oh no—and a flood of new sensations hit him like a truck. When the glow faded, he stared at his reflection in his darkened monitor.
Long crimson hair framed a sharp, beautiful face. Silver armor clinked when he moved. And when he spoke, the voice that came out was high-pitched, sharp, and undeniably feminine:
"Wh-What the hell is this?! Why am I—?!"
Before he could panic further, text popped up in front of his eyes:
[Cosplay Personality Synchronization Engaged. Tsundere Mode Activated.]
Haru's face burned. "Tsundere mode?! That's—th-that's ridiculous, you baka!" he barked into the empty room, then slapped his hands over his mouth. Did I just call myself… baka?
The system's chipper reply nearly drove him insane:
[Reminder: While transformed, cosplay personality traits will influence your behavior. You may switch back to your original body at any time. However, Popularity Points can only be earned while transformed.]
"Popularity… points?" Haru muttered.
[Popularity Points are required to unlock new characters. Recommended Activities: Live streaming (Twitch, YouTube, etc.), attending cosplay conventions, public appearances.]
He froze. Public appearances? Streaming? His heart thudded. He could barely talk to his classmates, let alone… what, livestream as a tsundere anime girl?!
Still… his eyes wandered back to his reflection. The armor gleamed, his crimson hair shone under his desk lamp, and his eyes… sparkled. He looked like he had stepped straight out of an anime.
"Hmph! It's not like I care if people think this looks good or anything… b-baka," Haru stammered at himself, his cheeks burning bright red.
The system dinged again:
[First Mission: Stream for 30 minutes in cosplay. Reward: 50 Popularity Points.]
His stomach dropped. He had never streamed before, and now he had to do it dressed—no, transformed—into a tsundere anime heroine?
Haru groaned and flopped back on his bed, armor clanking awkwardly. His life had just gone from painfully average… to painfully embarrassing.
And yet, deep down, a tiny flicker of excitement stirred.
Could this be the start of something new?
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Don't ask why i created this i was bored