CDD 54 - The end

Once again I ask for your help. If you see any typo or other mistake, please tell me

“I never thought I’d go to a Japanese high school festival,” Erick said as he looked around. It’s just like anime, he thought, even though they were at the entrance.

“You’re thinking it’s just like anime, right? You’re such a weeb,” Rin joked, elbowing him on the ribs lightly.

“Yeah,” he admitted with an embarrassed smile. “I can’t help it.”

“Then we’ll give you an anime experience,” Mikki said with a grin.

“You’re already a harem protagonist anyway,” Kanata added, also smiling.

“C’mon. Let me show you guys the place,” Izumi said. He too looked excited, though for another reason. “I wanna see my old class.”

“Oh yeah, you studied here,” Erick said.

“You look awfully happy to be back at your old school,” Rin commented.

“Not everyone was like you. Some of us had fun during high school,” Mikki replied.

“Sorry I didn’t have a boyfriend like you, you damn normie.”

“Yes, there’s nothing more normie than being a gay cross-dresser. You have no idea how much popular I was.”

“So popular you got caught naked with your boyfriend plowing you,” Rin added with a mischievous smile.

Mikki blushed at once. “I don’t know why I told you that. It’s one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.”

“T-that really happened?” Izumi asked, astonished.

“Yeah. Let’s just say that my mom was a little more shocked than you are right now,” he muttered with a hollow chuckled. “But at least I never sent my dad a picture of me sucking a random guy’s dick.”

“I regret nothing,” Rin said with pride. “That was the fastest way for dad to believe I was gay. And how do you know that?”

“You told us when you were drunk once,” Kanata said.

Gen let out a hearty laugh. “I see you boys are good friends.”

“Yes, they are.” Yuuki laughed too. “You boys seemed to be having fun. We probably won’t be able to accompany such youth.”

It was clear that he wanted some alone time with his new boyfriend. Everyone understood that. As usual, he was wearing an elegant yukata and Gen wore a suit. They made a good-looking couple.

Rin, Mikki, and Kanata exchanged grins. “Loud and clear, Yuuki. Have fun you two.”

Yuuki blushed but he looked happy as he accepted Gen’s arm and they headed to the school building.

“Do you think they’ve already done it?” Rin asked the moment they were alone.

“Of course,” Mikki said.

“Remember that weekend they went to a hot spring?”

“Yes, Yuuki-san came back very happy,” Izumi said, very interested in the conversation despite his embarrassment.

“There’s no way they didn’t do it,” Kanata said.

“That was the face of a man who got dicked and loved it,” Mikki added.

“You’d know it,” Rin muttered.

“Yeah, and you’re even worse than me.”

“With pride!”

Everyone laughed at that.

“Let’s stop this conversation and check out the festival. Remember why we’re here,” Kanata said.

“Don’t worry. After we’re done with him, Erick won’t remember the meeting that could define the next months of his life,” Rin said with a huge grin.

“Thanks for reminding me.” Erick let out a weak chuckle. Thanks to his friends, he had managed to forget about the editors’ meeting for a while, but now that Rin reminded him, it was all he could think about. His stomach was tightening again.

“Look at his expression. He’s thinking about it,” Kanata said.

“Way to go, Rin,” Mikki said, shaking his head.

“D-don’t worry. Even if they reject your manga, you’ll have so much fun you won’t be able to forget!” Izumi said, and he truly meant it.

Erick smiled. “Thanks. I’m counting on you all.”

Led by Izumi, they check the classes cafeterias and restaurants, with themes that variated from cosplay to butler cafe. To their surprise, they met Yuuto and Seiji, who were also dressed as butlers and helping advertise the shop.

“What are you boys doing here?” Yuuto asked, smiling at them as they told him why they were there. “I see. I would tell you to relax, but I know it won’t make any difference. My sister was like that too.”

“Yeah, but she lashed out her frustration on us. It was even worse when she didn’t get it,” Seiji added. Despite his words, he had a nostalgic smile.

“This wasn’t our first choice,” Rin said. He shook his head and sighed. “We offered to release some of his sexual tension, but he refused.”

“Ignore the idiot. Yuuki is here too, by the way,” Mikki said.

“Is he? He didn’t say anything about coming,” Seiji said.

“It’s because he’s with his boyfriend,” Mikki said.

“I wonder if he’s shy about introducing Gen to his family so early. They’ve been dating for only a month,” Rin wondered.

“We’ll probably see him around,” Yuuto said.

After they said goodbye, the boys continued checking the stalls, attractions, and displays. Seiji and Yuuto weren’t the festival’s only surprise. Yuri also had been a student at Hyouzan High and he came to check the manga club, which he was in during his high school days.

Though Erick tried to keep it cool, he was embarrassed as they faced each other. The last time they had seen each other personally was when they slept together. To their luck, Izumi was a fan of Yuri’s manga, and he stopped any awkward mood from arising.

“I’m so happy to meet you,” the writer said in a shy voice. “I love sci-fi manga, but there’s not a lot. Thanks for making an interesting story.”

“-=H-adeossdjasoidhjasijfrewpiorfjwerlifjsedrflikH-hearing that from Boy skirt-sensei is an honor. I’ve read all your books.”

“R-really? I’m happy to hear that.” Even Yuri couldn’t avoid blushing at Izumi’s smile.

Neither of them was cross-dressing now, and Erick wondered how they would react if they found out.

“How are you doing?” Yuri asked Erick as the boys checked out the manga the club members had made. “I heard you put a proposal in today’s meeting.”

“Yeah. I’m… hanging in there. Thanks to them,” Erick replied.

“I know what might help you,” Yuri said with a smile. He called a few of his juniors that were free right now. “Everyone. This is my friend, Erick. He’s also a manga artist and is waiting to get his series.”

Erick was almost surrounded by the club members. They all had hopeful eyes, eyes of people who also wanted to walk the path he was walking right now, and asked a lot of questions. They were interested in how a foreigner had come to Japan to become a manga artist.

After twenty minutes of answering their questions, they finally left the manga club display.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Erick said with an embarrassed smile.

“You say that, but you liked it,” Rin said, elbowing him again.

“The idiot is right. You looked like a cool senpai,” Mikki added.

“Maybe you encouraged some of them to chase their dream to become manga artists too,” Kanata said.

“He’s right. You looked cool,” Izumi said.

“S-stop that, guys. You’re embarrassing me…”

“And we’ll embarrass you even more!” Rin exclaimed, grabbing his arm. “Let’s go. There’s still a lot to check!”

They checked almost everything the students had to offer, from the food and game stalls to the plays and concert. Then, sooner than they expected, the festival was over and the students were gathered around the bonfire to dance, which symbolizes the end of the first day of the festival.

“You better dance with all of us!” Rin demanded.

“Okay, okay,” Erick said, chuckling.

And he kept his promise. Not only he dance with Rin, but with Mikki, Kanata, Izumi, and even Yuri as well. Yuri was embarrassed because he wasn’t cross-dressing, but he still looked cute and girlish and they didn’t get any funny looks. Yuuki was dancing with Gen, and never realized the boys recorded them.

“That was fun,” Erick said when they got home. He was exhausted in a good way and couldn’t stop smiling. He hadn’t thought of the meeting at all. “Thanks for today, guys.”

“You’re welcome,” they all said together, beaming at him.

“Speaking of which, the editor never called, did he?” Yuuki asked.

Then, almost as if cue, Erick’s phone rank. They all looked at him, eyes full of expectation.

Suddenly Erick’s stomach tightened again. He took his phone from the pocket of his pants and looked at the screen. It was his editor. With his heart pounding loudly, he answered. “H-hello?”

“You got approved,” Akira said without even greeting.

“What?” Erick had trouble listening. It was as if the world had gone mute. His mind refused to celebrate until he was sure of what he had heard. “What does that mean?”

“You got approved. Your manga is gonna be serialized in the magazine.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’ll talk to you tomorrow so we can discuss all the details, but you can celebrate.”

“Yes, thank you.” Erick hung up and looked at his friends.

“So? Did you get it?” they all asked.

“Yes. I got approved,” Erick said, still having trouble believing in it himself.

“That’s great!” they all shouted and smiled. “Congratulations!”

Suddenly Erick couldn’t stop smiling. Then he started crying and everyone hugged him.

He was happy, but it was different from what he expected. It was a good feeling; he had reached his goal, but that was only the second step of his overall dream. Now he had to maintain a series.

I’m closer to my dream. And I couldn’t have done that without all the people supporting me.

“Thanks,” he said, cleaning his tears, but it made no difference. They still kept coming out. “I only got this because you all helped me.”

They didn’t say anything. Only smiled at him.

The end

Thanks for reading until the end. Hope you enjoyed Cross-dressing Dormitory. I could still write a bit more, but it could turn into Bakuman and I don't want that. Who was your best boi? I'm totally bias but I liked writting Rin a lot. But Mikki and Kanata were great too. It's hard to pick.