“Say, Dial… Was it too hard? All this time I mean”, asked Yai, this time with a lower voice, showing some slight concern. “It’s ok if you don’t want to say anything…”

The innocent laughter that filled the air vanished in an instant, with Mayl and Dial looking at Yai a bit serious. Mayl let out a low “Yai” as a sign of concern and scolding. The red-haired girl could still remember how bad her girlfriend was during all those previous months. She could still remember her confession clearly! Dial had to overcome a lot of obstacles and fears to come out as her true self and Mayl didn’t want Dial to relive all that pain. Suddenly, she felt something soft on her shoulder: it was Dial’s hand. Both girlfriends looked at each other, but Mayl was surprised at seeing Dial smiling gently at her. “It’s ok”. There was no need for words. If Dial was comfortable talking about that, she wouldn’t stop her.

“It was hard”, confessed Dial. “I always felt uncomfortable, but didn’t know why. I always had that wish, becoming a girl, but I never knew what it meant. Everybody saw me that way, expected me to be that way… It felt like I wasn’t allowed to have that wish. It hurt a lot. In the end, I understood that was much more than a wish: it was who I am. I was happy, but also scared of telling you all. I feared you would reject me. But I’m happy you accepted me”.

Yai listened to her friend with attention. She wanted to say something along the lines of “Of course we accept you, you should have told us sooner”. However, the young girl knew that would feel like she was diminishing her fears. For years, Dial felt restrained, unable to express herself, unable to be herself. She could still remember a few comments she made in the past, tagging Dial in the same group as Dex when saying “You boys don’t get it”. Even though she didn’t know back then, she regretted making such comments. But things were different at that moment. She could see Dial’s smile, so pure and honest. She was finally fulfilling her wish. She was who she was, one more girl just like Mayl and Yai. And Yai would be there to support her friend and enjoy their revitalized friendship.

“Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Still, if you need to talk, I’m right here, got it?”, said Yai. “Of course, Mayl will be there for you as well, right, ‘girlfriend’?”.

Yai was still Yai and she would never miss the chance to tease her friends, especially Mayl, whose face turned as red as her own hair. That was just part of their friendship, she wasn’t mad at Yai for that. But she felt embarrassed every time she was reminded that her confession worked out and now she and Dial were together. Dial blushed a bit and giggled. Mayl’s reaction was proof enough of how much she cared about her.

It was still early after finishing dinner and the girls surely had lots of plans for that night, beginning with a manicure session. Mayl and Yai were surprised at seeing Dial applying nail polish carefully. The girl didn’t think it was that great, but she explained how her mother made her manicure everyday and how she slowly learned doing it by herself. She even shared some pictured she had on her PET with her different nails and hair styles she tried over the weeks. Seeing all those pictures and how happy Dial was trying out all those styles, her friends offered her to arrange her hair for the night, to which she bashfully agreed. Mayl took one of Yai’s brushes and began brushing Dial’s hair. It felt as soft as it looked, the brush moving smoothly up and down.

“You know, I just noticed… Your hair’s longer, right?”, asked Mayl. “Are you letting it grow?”.

“Sure thing. It has grown a bit over the last months, but it was already a bit long before I began the process”, explained Dial.

“Really? It didn’t look like that, all spiky and such”, commented Yai surprised.

“Yeah, well… Since I was young, I never wanted to cut it. But you know, people made comments and… well, all that. And one day, I found an alternative. With my hair band and arranging it all spiky, it didn’t look that long. At least I could keep it without being mocked”, explained Dial.

“Spiky hair doesn’t look that long?”, asked Mayl confused. “Would it be the same for Yai and me if we did it?”.

For a moment, all girls imagined in their heads how Mayl and Yai would look arranging her hair with a spiky style. Mayl probably wouldn’t look that much different from Dial before her transition, but Yai… The idea of having her long hair pointing towards the ceiling at all times was hilarious, making all the girls laugh at it. Even Yai couldn’t help but laugh as well! The group still spent some time working on each others’ hairstyle and trying out accessories from Yai’s personal and wide selection.

It was already dark outside, as the girls could see through the balcony in Yai’s room. But it was still too soon to go to sleep. Instead, unintentionally boasting her richness, Yai made a screen show up from one of the cabinets in her room just by clicking in a remote. “It’s movie time!”. The short girl’s announcement reverberated through the room, accompanied by the cheers of her friends.

“What are we gonna watch?”, asked Dial with enthusiasm.

“Since it’s your first night with us, why don’t you choose? Is there anything special you like?”, proposed Mayl.

Mayl and Yai expected some cheerful recommendations, but instead, they observed Dial fidgeting shyly.

“It’s… it’s ok. Choose whatever you want!”, said Dial nervously.

But looking at her friends’ eyes, staring at her with excitement, inviting her to open up, Dial feared she couldn’t convince them so easily. Sure, she was watching a show, but she was ashamed of sharing it. Would Mayl and Yai find it ridiculous? Somehow, Mayl could see through Dial’s mind. “We’re not gonna laugh”. Mayl held her girlfriend’s hand, instilling her kindness and calmness. Dial knew she could trust them.

“Do you… you remember a TV show called… Magical Digirala?”, asked Dial bashfully.

Mayl and Yai remained silent for a moment. They weren’t exactly sure, but that name sounded familiar to both of them. Then, the red-haired girl jumped.

“Sure I do! It was a magical girl show. I watched it a lot. Do you like that?”, asked Mayl with curiosity.

“Yeah… I liked it. Well, I still like it. I’m watching it again”, confessed Dial. It might be a childish show, but it was something that she longed for so many years. However, feeling her friends wouldn’t like it, she added: “But it’s ok! We can watch other thing!”.

“Here it is!”.

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by Yai who, indifferent to Dial’s shame, asked Glide to look for the show in the digital library. All the girls looked at each other surprised.

“What? Sounds good to me! I never watched it. I’m curious! What about you, Mayl?”, asked Yai naturally, making her friend giggle.

“Sure! I barely remember it. It’ll be nice to watch it again!”, said Mayl while smiling to Dial.

Dial’s instinct told her to insist in watching something else. She didn’t want to impose to her friends. However, she felt it. Mayl and Yai weren’t compromising on anything just for her sake: they were actually interested in the things she liked, just like she shared the same interests with them. Settling on that show, and with Dial’s permission to watch the first episodes again, the three girls gathered together on the bed, all kinds of snacks around them, and began watching the show.

“Bringing a smile to everybody with my magic. That’s my wish! I’m Magical Digirala!”.

Protected by the darkness around them and their comfy blankets, the three girls witnessed together the show of lights and colors. A young girl who met a magical Net Navi and became a witch to help people with magic. Even though she had already watched that episode recently, Dial could still feel that excitement. Using magic to become someone so pretty and colorful. But at the same time, with Mayl and Yai by her side, commenting together about the show and the characters… She felt in her heart she had already become a pretty and colorful girl. That thought made her incredibly happy.

It was by the end of the third episode that the girls began feeling sleepy. It was already quite late and their night had to end at some point. Even though she had her own bed, Dial was surprised to see Yai asking for three futons so they could sleep together on the floor. Every moment that night was a big surprise for the girl, but precisely for that, every moment felt so special.

They finally went inside their futons and turned the lights off. Dial wasn’t sure if there was something more or not. Or maybe it was her own excitement? For whatever reason, she stared at the ceiling for a moment.

“Say, Dial… Did you like it?”.

A low whisper came from her side. She turned around, finding Mayl looking at her with her eyes wide open. Funnily, when they were about to sleep, they found themselves unable to do so. All the moments they shared together appeared in Dial’s mind: the café, eating together, arranging their hairs, watching anime… All those memories made the young girl smile.

“Yeah… It was fantastic. I wanted something like this for so long… Thanks, you two”, say Dial softly, making Mayl smile.

“Don’t worry. We are gonna do this more times!”.

Dial was surprised to find Yai was also awake, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she looked at her, still smiling. She was truly grateful for her friends welcoming her.

“But you went over Dex’s house sometimes. I know it’s different. I mean, it’s Dex we’re talking about, but was it THAT different?”, asked Yai with confusion.

“Oh, sure! He’d only invite me over to sleep when he got a new video game. That’s all we did: playing that game all the time. It was that or watching Netbattles on his PC and talk about that”, explained Dial with sadness.

Mayl and Yai found that strange. They imagined the “boys” (when they still thought Dial was one) would spend some time with games and such, but from Dial’s tone, it really seemed that was the only thing they did.

“Really? You didn’t do anything else? Like… talk?”, asked Mayl, uncapable of believing such situation.

“Not at all. Dex never was a chatting guy”, said Dial. “I got him to talk sometimes about his little brother, but we quickly went back to the game”.

“And what about… movies? I can’t believe Dex doesn’t watch any movie at all”, added Yai.

“I tried, really. Sometimes, I suggested watching a movie, one he liked, with action and those things. ‘Nah, this game is super cool!’. He always said something like that. But there’s a limit, you know? There’s much more than one game”, explained Dial.

A strange silence filled the air. Mayl and Yai understood why she was so excited and nervous about that night. It wasn’t just that she never had a girls’ sleepover. Dial never enjoyed the experiences she had access to. The girl they knew, the one the spent that night with, so cheerful and happy, would never like the plans she had with Dex. They knew the boy was not the most sensitive person out there, but they still thought there was more in him than that.

“I mean, Dex is not a bad guy”, added Dial, catching her friends’ attention. “Just… I never fit into his world. But I forced myself to do it. I thought I had to. I thought I didn’t have other option. But now, I… I just don’t want to do those things anymore. Dunno if that makes me look bad”.

“No, Dial. You aren’t bad”, comforted Mayl. “You can’t keep forcing yourself to do things you don’t like. You need to find your path. I’m sure Dex understands that at least”.

“And who knows? Maybe this is good for him too”, added Yai. “He’d benefit from having more friends”.

“Yeah, well, I heard him the other day talking with other boy about playing games together. They have met several times during these months. I felt happy that he’s moving forward as well”, said Dial.

For a long time, Dial felt guilty at the idea of telling something to Dex about her discomfort when they spent time together. Dex didn’t have that many friends. If she said something, it would be like abandoning him. Staying as close friends with Dex didn’t feel natural, more like a responsibility. However, Mayl and Yai were right. She needed to follow her own path, find her happiness. She wouldn’t stop being Dex’s friend, but their friendship was meant to be something different. It was up to him to find new friends, just like Dial was closer to Mayl and Yai and she was also meeting other girls. That was comforting, the idea of being with friends that understood her, who she could share hobbies and interests with, who she could talk about her feelings with… It really was comforting, so much that she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. Before falling asleep, she could mutter:

“Mayl… Yai… Thanks for… being my friends…”.

The two girls stared at their friend falling asleep instantly, in awe at her last words before she got inside her own dream world. They both looked at each other and smiled. They really wanted for Dial’s first sleepover to be fun, but they didn’t expect her plan would make the girl so happy. Yai yawned. It was finally time to call it a day.

“Better rest well, sleepy princess. Tomorrow’s breakfast will be great. Good night, Mayl”, said Yai before turning around in her futon.

Mayl murmured “Good night” lowly. She didn’t want to wake Dial up. She looked at her girlfriend, sleeping peacefully. There was nothing else she wanted to do than contemplating her, but she was getting sleepy as well. Making sure that Yai wasn’t looking, the red-haired girl approached Dial, kissed her on her cheek and murmured:

“Good night, milady. I promise you’ll have so much fun from now on”.

After that, Mayl curled in her futon, as close as she could from Dial, and fell asleep.

Mayl was right. Dial would surely enjoy her life so much. Not just the next morning, while they enjoyed the wonderful breakfast the service prepared. Not just the following weekend, when they all prepared a trip to the mountain. Over the next days, weeks, months and years, Dial would grow up, experience so many new things, meet new people, say goodbye to others, keep her friends close to her, nurture her love for Mayl, make a family along her… all that while living as her true self, as the girl and woman she was always meant to be. Even with its ups and downs, she would finally enjoy her life.

Year 20XX. It was then that Dial Hikari’s life would begin.