“…Article Four. Cultural expression training such as tea ceremony, flower arrangement, traditional Japanese dance, ballroom dance and ballet…”

Her vision blurred. But her hand could not stop turning the page.

Supplementary Clause: Japanese Cultural Accomplishment Program

・In the tea ceremony, one shall learn ‘stillness’ and ‘softness’ through posture and attentiveness.

・In flower arrangement, one shall internalize the sensation of ‘becoming the flower oneself’ while harmonizing with nature.

・In traditional Japanese dance, one shall acquire the ‘atmosphere of femininity’ that resides in gaze, fingertips and spacing.

・Japanese attire, tailoring and etiquette shall also be practiced daily, cultivating refinement as a Japanese woman.

Gō imagined it.

Sitting in seiza with her knees neatly aligned, gently presenting a bowl cupped at her chest—with carefully arranged fingertips and soft movements, a silhouette of ‘womanhood’ inevitably seeping through, her own figure composed into quiet grace.

Tracing a stem with her fingertips, lightly setting it against the rim of a vase.

Within those still gestures, a supple, lustrous presence seeping through—her own form again.

The collar of a pale-pink kimono following the line of her shoulders, the obi wrapping her waist, gliding forward in suri-ashi with a fan in hand—a delicately composed, faintly lustrous version of herself.

Every image was unbearably shameful to Gō.

And then—Ballroom dance, ballet…

Wrapped in a pink leotard, made to sway her hips and align her fingertips—

A sweetly lustrous figure where manhood was erased and she was made to perform as a woman. Her once-trained body seeming to be refined for ‘being touched’—even such an illusion crossed her mind.

Herself being made to dance gracefully and sweetly.

…And the line of her chest rising beneath the leotard.

The sensation of being treated unmistakably as a ‘female body’ sent a chill down her spine.

‘No… but… it already… looks that way…’

That imagination alone sent a cold shiver through her back.

‘There’s no way I can do something like this…’

And yet, she would surely be ‘made’ able to do it.

Here, whether one can do something is not the issue.

Obedience—that is what is evaluated.

This article exists solely to complete ‘Hinako.’

‘I’ will turn from Gō into Hinako.

This is no longer a plan. It is a settled fact.

And in response, she herself—was wavering.

Even if she resisted, even if she denied it, the thought of ‘it can’t be helped’ was slowly spreading within her.

That realization frightened her the most.

“You don’t have to force yourself to resist anymore, Hinako. Because you’ve already noticed, haven’t you? That living as a woman is much easier.”

Maki’s whisper descended quietly.

Her words were gentle, without any cold rejection. And yet—

“For example… yes. Picture yourself wearing a pale-pink kimono, performing a tea ceremony. White tabi on your feet, knees aligned as you bow… serving tea to someone as ‘Hinako.’ Can you imagine it?”

Hinako’s heart clenched tight.

“Or in a pink leotard. Swaying your hips, Turning shyly, aligning your fingertips as you bow. And everyone watching says ‘how cute.’ Fufu.”

Her fingers tightened around the paper.

But it was not anger—rather, something closer to inescapable shame.

“You know… the fact that you can feel ‘embarrassed’ is already proof that you’re a woman. You’ll understand soon. When a pale-pink kimono suits you and someone tells you ‘you’re cute’… at that moment, you’ll be smiling. So for now, properly put away the ‘Gō’ inside you—and let yourself be finished, beautifully. If you were still a man, you wouldn’t feel embarrassed, would you? That’s how you break down, little by little. Feminine and cute.”

Still smiling, Maki quietly stood up.

In her eyes, it was as though a ‘completed Hinako’ was already reflected.

“…Right now, you’re beautiful enough to make people stare, as ‘Hinako.’ You just haven’t realized it yet—fufu. That’s why it’s beautiful.”

Those words pierced Hinako’s chest more deeply than anything else.

On the paper, the articles still continued.

But inside her, she could no longer read another word.