This is Me

A row of torches encircled the interior of a rocky cave, with a person sleeping on top of one of them, her body draped in a long blue coat. Despite the fact that the entire area was built within a cave, there was a wall in which the door was shut, and a large pool of pink hot water continued to splash with a manufactured wood supporting it, where two long blades sat. They opened in a flash, and another girl with a hooded head went through.

She carried a basket with a delicious food that drifted across the room and onto the sleeping woman's nose, which began to twitch as soon as it came into contact with it. The woman pushed the basket to the side and went over to check on the sleeping woman. She examined the incision on her left hip and reached for a handkerchief, which she dipped into the pink water, which had a pleasant perfume.

"The wound appears to have been made by something sharp, but no blood is visible. Was this woman injected as a result of something caused by Empress Oriyana? Well, it isn't too late for her, so perhaps she will awaken tomorrow."

However, a shadow fell over the woman's knelt body, with crimson eyes gleaming behind her from the sleeping woman's face. The woman turned behind her and became horrified when she saw the woman wake up and charge at her, shouting.

"Meat!!!"

The woman yelled in surprise, covering her face with her hands and shaking her head frantically. "Wait! Hold on, I'm not supposed to be eaten! Eeeeek!!!" The woman floated through the room, passing the other woman, and then began to bite into the meat in the basket.

The woman who delivered the meat glanced at her puzzled after she received it, and she felt her own sweat drip down her brow, who fell onto her butt cheeks and revealed her face. She spotted the eating woman sitting there in silence with flushed cheeks, and she quickly devoured the entire source of food. She leaned back and tapped her tummy once she was full.

"Delicious! Wait, where am I?"

The woman was perplexed as she looked around the room until she noticed a blue-haired woman seated behind her, perplexed. Her hair was tied into a broad, shorter ponytail and she wore a black tank top and leggings. Her hair had streaks of white at the front tips, and her eyes were as frigid as ice.

"Hey, you probably know where I am. Do you mind telling me, what am I doing here? You know, at first I remember being trapped in a sauna with some type of empress, and then I remember being discovered in front of some very good meat."

"What the hell?! You almost gave me a heart attack! I thought you were unconscious!"

"Huh? I guess the meat just woke me up. Do you have more of it? I'd like to eat more of it! I mean, it's no where near as good as Ralphie makes, but in honesty it would be amazing!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about? All I know is that I saw you falling from the sauna room in which Oriyana usually spends time. I don't even know your name!"

"Oh, right! My name's Tim, sorry! Guess I should've told you that earlier, haha!"

The woman was immediately suspicious of the girl's name and glanced at her sideways. She scraped the side of her own hair and eyed Tim from top to bottom.

"Were your parents legally blind? Unless you did something to your body and preferred to become the polar opposite of who you were before, they gave you a boy's name."

"What's the harm in giving me a man's name?! As far as I can tell, I'm supposed to be a boy. Look at me, I'm completely nor-!" Tim's eyes suddenly bulged out of their sockets, and she shrieked.

"What the heeeelllll?!?" She began to examine herself, noting that her body had developed a larger chest and that her entire body felt different. Her body froze in place as she clutched her T-shirt and gazed into the cleavage. She instantly turned away, her cheeks flushed, and grabbed her head. Her muscles were slender and her hair were long enough to be dragged to the front. She hopped up onto her feet and spun around, looking at her bottom. She turned white in the next few seconds before falling back into the pink water. While the woman appeared perplexed at her behavior, a large splash emerged.

Tim's soaked head emerged from the water and quickly returned her gaze to the woman, who was crouched on both knees, staring at Tim without realizing what was going on. "I'm a girl... Isn't this a dream?"

"Um, no. You're not hallucinating; you *ARE* a girl. You have every hormone a woman has, plus you wouldn't be able to feel yourself if you were dreaming, but based on your reaction, you appear surprised to be a woman? Right before you fell through the window, you didn't hit your head or anything?"

"I'm very sure I'm supposed to be a boy! If you wish, you can ask my friends about it! Maybe it will solve your questions!!! I'm meant to be Tim the 'White Haired Pirate.'"

"Even my voice sounds weird..."

Tim dunk his mouth under the pink water and immediately started blowing out bubbles. Her hair was completely soaked as well as his body. He felt lighter than usual, and the tone of his voice was softer and more of a higher pitched.

"Hold on?! You're the 'White Haired Pirate' Tim?! You're the one whose name started to jump in popularity?! Impossible!! My name's Yumiko, I'm such a big fan of you! You're so strong! Can I get your autograph?"

Yumiko immediately grasped Tim's hands and pulled her closer to her body. Tim looked at her with a shy face and blushed. "Oh, you think I'm strong? Aw, you're making me blush."

"Although I didn't expect you to be a girl. Your poster showed you as a boy."

"Can't you hear me?! I *AM* a boy! Why do you have such a lack of information and understanding?! That Oriyana person must've done something to me since I now have a strange appearance and my chest feels tight and heavy, and I'm not talking about the inside!"

"Uhh... I guess you really don't know how a woman's body works, huh?"

"I told you! I'm not a woman in the traditional sense! Please tell me you're capable of doing anything about this. I don't want to appear in front of my friends like this!"

Yumiko helped her out of the water in which she stood and then in disappointment denied her request. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about your body? If it was Oriyana who did that to you, then I think she could change you back to a boy."

"Then that's my next step! Thanks a lot, Yumiko! I owe you! I'll be back the very instant I become a boy!"

Yumiko stopped Tim from running outside and forced him to listen to her unpleasant speech. "It doesn't give you the right to run outside into the throng and disclose yourself to them just because you're supposed to be a woman who used to be a guy! You're drenched and your clothing exposes far too much! If you want to go out now that you're a woman, at the very least dress up and put on a bra!"

"Ha?! Look, I know I told you I owe you, but for you to order me to dress up like a woman! That's way too inappropriate for a boy! This is no time for jokes, Yumiko!"

"I'm not doing it for the laughs! You'll be the one who acts inappropriately if you go out like that! Because you're a woman right now, others will perceive you as one, which means you should be like one! You don't have to act the part, but you should wear the part! Look, while you're here, I'll go get some clothing for you."

"Fine, but can you at least go grab my clothes? I at least want to wear some natural clothes, not some type of a dress or a skirt."

"And how am I going to transport *your* clothes?! So, you want to go to Oriyana, correct? Then allow me to assist you. I'm a member of the 'Sun Soldiers', and I have unlimited access to the castle. I can take you there as soon as we get you some new clothes, but I can't go acquire garments from the palace since I'm sure they'll be suspicious, especially Oriyana, if I'm spotted. The only alternative, or at least what I should do, is to go to the store and buy them."

"You seriously can enter the castle at any time?! That's awesome, but I guess you do have a point. Simply find my ship, which should be somewhere on the island. Inside the room, you should be able to find some clothing. My crew, unless they've already left the ship, will be glad to help you. But it makes no difference. Even if no one is present when you arrive, you have my permission to look around and take my clothes. I'm sure you won't miss them!"

"You want me to grab the clothes from your ship? I guess that's doable, as long as I'm not attacked."

"I'm sure they'll let you in as long as you explain why you're there; so, please, would you do this for me, I ask you!"

Yumiko's eyes glistened with anticipation as she clasped her palms together. Sparkles began to fly around her as she began to nod fast. "Yes, without a question! I'm looking forward to seeing your crew and the ship! I'll be right back! Don't go till I return!"

Yumiko reached for the doorknob and grabbed the keys. "I'll take the keys, before you go off out and run into the town. Listen to me, for as long as you're a girl, you need a new name, because Tim exposes your entire identity, okay?"

"What? You want me to lie to people about my actual name? But I don't even know what my name should be."

"If you're so much in love with you name, just pick a similar name to your original name. For example, like Tem or something. Tem does sound quite feminine."

"Tem it is!"

"Huh? That was just an example!"

"I don't care! I like it!"

"Well, Tem it is then... Remember, don't go out and cause ruckus, okay?!"

Tem took a deep breath and crossed her arms. She sat down onto her bottom and sat there in silence, blushing for meat. "You bet! I'm not going anyplace till I have some clothes. Unless there's a tasty meat smell!" Yumiko interrupted her in seconds flat.

"Not even if there's meat, got that?!"

Tem's cheeks bubbled as she blushed. "Fine... Then you better get me some food as well."

"Why are you so needy?!"

"Meat *AND* clothes, or nothing!"

"FINE! I'll go get you some meat as well!"

Yumiko whirled around and quickly heard Tem's gratitude.

"Thanks a lot! You're the best!"

Yumiko's eyes twinkled once more as she began spinning around in a cloud of sparkles. "This is the most wonderful gift! Being thanked by such a cool person, such as him! I mean, her! So, here I go! I'll be right back!"

Yumiko hurried away once the door opened, entirely forgetting to lock it, and Tem had already become bored after only five seconds.

"I'm bored..."

To be continued...