Sawashiro Aki

is a major character in the Tensei Pandemic manga series.
==Appearance==
Aki is a person of average build. In middle school, she had long, straight hair that falls below her shoulders and wore a pair of thin-framed, round glasses. In high school, she would cut her hair shorter, and after transforming into a boy, he would remove his glasses as well. After the time skip in Chapter 74, Aki would revert to his original appearance, growing her hair long and wearing glasses once again.
==Personality==
In his high school life, Aki is a confident and assertive person. He is a quick-thinking opportunist, able to quickly adapt to changes and use situations to his advantage to achieve his personal motives. Though he maintains a facade as the upright class president, he is particularly affectionate towards Hinata, and is extremely bold and proactive in his advances.
==Plot==
Growing up as a girl, Aki's father expected her to behave femininely and made her attend an all-girls middle school in Kyoto. There, she struggled to fit in with the rest of the students and disliked their gossiping and superficial nature. As the class president, she remained a quiet person, never laughing or doing anything cute. This was until one day, when a classmate named Youka suddenly approached her and complimented her cuteness. She took off the president's glasses, revealing the natural charm that the president had kept hidden. Afterwards, the two would start spending more time together, deepening their relationship. The president cherished Youka's company wholeheartedly, despite knowing that a relationship between two girls did not fall under societal norms. One day, Aki bought some new clothes, hoping see Youka's reaction. However, on the streets, she stumbled upon Youka holding hands with a boy. In disbelief, she attempted to speak with Youka, but Youka would tell her that they should end their relationship, as it was strange for two girls to be together. This breakup was devastating to Aki, who would retreat back into her old shell.
In high school, Aki would move to Tokyo become classmates with Imamura Hinata, as well as remain as a class president. On the surface, she seems serious and cold, and disapproved of Hinata's lack of masculinity. However, she would secretly develop an affection for him. One morning, Hinata comes to school not feeling well, and is sent to the infirmary. Worried, the teacher sends Aki to go check on him. In the infirmary, the school nurse is temporarily absent, and she finds Hinata alone asleep in one of the beds. Unknowing that Hinata is actually pretending to be asleep, Aki takes this opportunity to indulge herself. She sits down next to Hinata and reaches an arm out to Hinata's face, calling him a cutie. Continuing to speak to herself, Aki questions why Hinata isn't a girl. She would then take things to the next level, as she leans down to kiss Hinata on the lips.
Preparing to leave, Aki feels a chill run down her body. Though she initially suspects she might've gotten a cold from Hinata, she soon begins to feel something strange under her clothes. Taking off her clothes to check, she cannot believe her eyes as she realizes that she has transformed into a boy. Hinata, hearing the commotion, goes to check on her, forgetting to put on his shirt, and they are both shocked to see each other transformed into the opposite gender. Despite the intial shock, Aki quickly calms down. Hinata tells Aki the story of him receiving the suspicious injection, leading Aki to speculate that the change could be contagious, having never visited the clinic herself.
Hinata proposes that they go to the clinic together to seek a reversal, but Aki declines, sharing that becoming a boy has always been a dream of hers — since she only liked girls, she thought she would rather be a boy. Puzzled, Hinata mentions the president shouldn't have known about his transformation when she kissed him, prompting the president to confesses to her special affection — Hinata is the first boy that she liked, so she always thought of him as a girl. Reiterating her feelings, Aki admits that she couldn't be happier that Hinata has become a real girl. Despite being told to calm down, Aki pins down Hinata on the bed by his arms. However, the heated moment is abruptly interrupted as a baseball bounces off the clinic window and a student walks by to picks it up. Regaining composure, the president apologizes for getting carried away, and tuns to head out. She entrusts Hinata with their shared secret, affectionately calling him "Hina-chan" as she leaves.
The next day, Aki, taking advantage of family connections, re-enrolls at the school under the name of Akira, claiming to be Aki's cousin. Enrolling on the same day is another transfer student — Minami Yurina. Noticing from their interaction that Hinata is acquainted with Yurina, he stands his ground, wrapping an arm around Hinata and trying to display their bond to Yurina. Whispering in Hinata's ear, Aki declares his plan to enjoy life as a high school boy and makes Hinata promise to keep his secret, threatening to also reveal his "girl secrets" otherwise. Surprised and visibly awkward at Akira's closeness with Hinata, the innocent Yurina greets Akira with a warm smile, only to earn a cold response.
Not long after, Hinata and Aki's transformations and the existence of the virus would become known to the school nurse, Ms. Katsurako, by a series of chaotic coincidences. Katsurako advises them to stay quiet about the matter and avoid kissing anyone. Aki takes advantage of this situation, promising that while Hinata cannot kiss anyone else, he alone will always accept Hinata.
Some time later, Akira, dressed in women's attire and headed for home, runs into Hinata on the way, finding him in a difficult situation. Hinata has tripped and fallen into a fountain as a talent scout persistently attempts to recruit him to become an idol. Akira intervenes, whisking Hinata away from the crowd and inviting him to his home for a change of clothes, they are greeted by Akira's mother, who mistakes Hinata for a cute girl, prompting the president to suggest that Hinata continues the masquerade to avoid complications. In his room, Akira offers Hinata a dress to wear, admiring his cuteness in a manner that leaves Hinata feeling akin to a doll. Hinata, still unable to accept his change, asks for the president's help in finding the doctor, worried that he won't be able to keep the secret forever. The president's response, asserting that if Hinata would never want to change back again if he knew the pleasures of a woman, culminates in physical advances, which fortunately for Hinata, would be interrupted by the call to dinner from Akira's mother. Going to sleep after a bath, to Hinata's surprise, Aki offers to help him find the doctor responsible his injection. Unknown to Hinata, the president is secretly planning to destroy the antidote once she found it, in order to ensure that Hinata will stay as a girl forever.
The next day, as they set off to look for clues about the doctor, they unexpectedly run into Yurina. With Yurina not recognizing Aki in her female form, Aki introduces herself as Akira's cousin. Yurina invites them to join her and her younger brother, Yuuri, at a karaoke lounge. When Yurina goes to the restroom, Aki uses a playful ambush on her as a bizarre greeting from her supposed girls' school. Aki teases Yurina about her popularity and supposed affection for Hinata, leaving Yurina stunned before dismissing it as a joke, unknowing that Aki is secretly her rival. This interaction boosts Aki's confidence, realizing that as long as Hinata fears transmitting the virus to Yurina, their mutual affection poses no threat to her. During their time at the karaoke, Yuuri accidentally drinks from Hinata's glass, becoming infected with the Tensei Virus via the indirect kiss. Upon realizing this, Hinata distracts Yurina with a food order, while Aki convinces Yuuri to sneak out with her. She takes Yuuri into a secluded alley, handcuffing him to a pipe. After Hinata arrives, she inform a confused Yuuri about the virus that he has contracted, leaving him devastated.
Some time later, Hinata and Akira discover another classmate affected by the Tensei Virus — Shirayuki Mikoto, the quiet librarian, who received the same injection as Hinata three months prior out of curiosity. She shares that he has been aware of Hinata and Aki's changes, and their situation has reignited her interest to observe their "fairy tale" as an outsider, after the initial excitement of her transformation wore off.
Hinata, Yurina, Mikoto, Kyousuke, and Akira later go on a trip to the sea. Originally planning to have some time alone with Hinata, Akira's plan was foiled when Hinata's other friends eagerly tagged along. Despite this setback, Akira still has a backup plan: The private beach at his family's villa. After arriving, in order to keep his gender change a secret, Hinata tries to find an excuse to avoid swimming. Seeing an opportunity, Akira invites Hinata to the private beach. However, Hinata ends up getting lost, and Aki eventually tires of waiting and gives up on the plan.
At night, Hinata finds Akira alone on the balcony, now wearing glasses and exuding a different aura. Akira asks Hinata for his preference regarding the glasses. Giving it some thought, Hinata answers that the glasses makes him looks more like a president. He then shares with Hinata his past relationship with Youka and their painful breakup. Reflecting on the past, the president muses that to Youka, their relationship was no more than a youthful adventure. Hinata, though unsure of Youka's character, agrees that the president looks best when he smiles. Moved, the president giggles, and declares that after all, she wants Hinata to be his wife. The moment is interrupted when Yurina knocks on the door, looking for Hinata. As Hinata heads to the door, Akira, following behind, asks Hinata if he likes him back, leaving him at a loss for words. When Yurina calls for Hinata again, Akira nudges him forward, allowing him to go. Once he has left, Akira collapses onto his bed, frustrated with his own unusual behavior.
Later, Akira decides to take a stroll to clear his mind. Walking in the forest, he spot Hinata and Yurina together on the beach. When he walks closer, Yurina suddenly advances for a kiss, unaware of the consequences. However, despite their kiss, Yurina would display no signs of change in the days that follow. Hinata reports this situation to Akira and Ms. Katsurako, as well as informing them about Suzugami Miya, a third-year girl that she met at an idol contest that who apparently changed genders without any kissing involved. Akira and Hinata locate Myaako in hopes of finding more information, but she still does not provide any additional details. Instead, she invites Hinata to work part-time at a maid cafe, and Aki, unable to resist the thought of having Hinata dress up as a maid, decides to switch sides and add fuel to the fire, pushing him to take the job.
Some time later, Aki, once again assuming her female identity, attends a summer festival. Hinata, Yurina, Kyousuke, and Mikoto also attend the festival as a group. Aki locates Hinata at the festival and leads him into the forest, where she attempts to make physical advances on Hinata, but is interrupted when Yurina, sensing something wrong, comes looking for him. Entering the forest, Yurina only finds Aki alone, as Hinata has already left. She confronts Aki, demanding to know what he did with Hinata.
Aki tells Yurina to not get the wrong idea, lying that he merely helped Hinata retighten his yukata. As Yurina is about to head back, Aki suggests going together. She reveals to Yurina that she likes Hinata, and remarks sarcastically that it's unfortunate Yurina also likes Hinata, as he had hoped to have girls' talk with her. Yurina questions Aki why she is telling her this, and whether this is her reason for coming today. However, Aki then poses an unexpected question: "What would you do if Hinata turns into a girl? If he would never be able to turn back into a boy again, what would you do?" Yurina struggles to grasp the meaning behind Aki's question, but when pressed for an answer, Yurina admits that she likes Hinata regardless of his gender. Admitting that her motive was to gauge Yurina's readiness, Aki acknowledges Yurina's answer as profound if true. However, she then declares that if those feelings aren't genuine, she would never lose to such a half-hearted person.
A school festival is coming up next, where Hinata's class plan to perform a gender-swapped version of Snow White. The roles are decided by a raffle, and Yurina is cast as the prince, while Akira is cast as Snow White. Originally wanting to perform the kiss scene with Hinata, Akira is unsatisfied with the results. He soon comes up with a new plan however: instead of focusing solely on removing Yurina from the equation to win over Hinata, he now plans to not only separate Hinata and Yurina but also win them both over for himself. The next morning, he makes an unexpected move on Yurina, boldly declaring that despite the assignment of the roles, Yurina is the princess in his heart. Over the following days, Akira continues with his efforts to win over Yurina. One day, they find themselves alone together in a storage room. Yurina remarks on Akira's recent kindness and shift in his behavior. Akira however, denies any change in himself. This leads Yurina to misunderstand his intentions, arriving at the conclusion that Akira is doing this to help her understand how to properly portray the role of the prince. Yurina, taking Akira's "lessons" to heart, suddenly pins him against the wall with a kabedon, surprising him completely. Akira, momentarily flustered, asks what she is trying to do. Yurina responds that she's merely applying what she believes Akira has been teaching her. Realizing that Yurina is a natural, Akira nearly falls for her charm. However, he quickly regains his composure and, while praising her for her performance, he tells her it's still not quite perfect. He promises to continue guiding her until the festival and boldly declares that he will make her fall for him one day.
The day of the play arrives, and although Hinata is suddenly missing, the play proceeds to the kiss scene thanks to Mikoto's improvisations. However, this is when Akira suddenly breaks character and confesses his feelings for Yurina, asking her to forget about Hinata and go out with him. Yurina asks him how he learned about her feelings for Hinata, which he answers that his "cousin," "Aki," had told him. Despite Akira's confidence in his move, Yurina would politely refuse, admitting that she doesn't have any feelings for him. She explains that when she shared her feelings with "Aki" at the summer festival, they were still half-hearted. However, after giving it more thought, she discovered that she genuinely likes Hinata — not just the Hinata that she thought was a girl, but the current Hinata too. Yurina then firmly tells Akira to inform "Aki" that playing with her defenseless heart was really cowardly. Just as the kiss scene is about to proceed, Hinata, who was dragged into a crossdressing contest, finally arrives backstage, which flusters Yurina, leading to an awkward pause in the play. Mikoto, as the witch, improvises a twist to the play by revealing that the princess is actually a doll created with magic, so the prince will become poisoned as well when he kisses it. Hinata then enters the stage, announcing himself as the real princess. The witch casts magic to put the real princess to sleep, but she too collapses from using too much magic. In order to break the spell, Yurina picks up Hinata and goes for the kiss. However, just as the play is about to end on a good note, Akira, unable to stand seeing the two kiss, interrupts, insisting that he is the real princess. Despite ensuing chaos, the play manages to conclude successfully, earning positive reception from the audience.
The next day, Hinata brings up to Akira that he wants to go outside as a girl. Though totally shocked, Akira is happy with Hinata's new attitude, and agrees to meet up with him at the station on Sunday. However, Hinata ends up getting the date wrong, and leaves Akira waiting for an entire day.
When the class embarks on a school trip to Kyoto, everyone is excited, except Akira, who has something on his mind — Kyoto is where he attended middle school, as well as the city that Youka still lives in. As soon as they arrive, Akira encounters Youka on the streets by chance. Youka cheerfully greets Akira, but she quickly notices his unusual quietness. She places a hand on his shoulder and asks what's wrong. Akira, however, brushes off her arm, telling her not to touch him, making Youka realize that he still hasn't forgiven her for their breakup. Youka tries to explain herself, justifying her decision by saying that, as they are both girls, life would be more fun if they dated boys, and reflecting critically on her past choice to date another girl. Akira, visibly frustrated by these remarks, grows increasingly tense. Youka tries to lighten the mood, telling Aki once again that she looks cuter when she smiles. However, this only fuels Akira's anger, causing him to explode, shouting that she never wants to hear from Youka again. Witnessing this reaction, Youka decides to leave, though she still tells Aki to stay safe, even if they never meet again.
The class continues their tour at Ninenzaka. Hinata is forced to put on a kimono and a tall pair of geta sandals. Struggling to walk, she stumbles multiple times, each time falling on top of Akira. Despite this, Akira remains cold to his surroundings. Having witnessed Akira's reunion with Youka, and noticing him not acting like his usual self, Hinata approaches him and asks about Youka. The president finally opens up, admitting that he still doesn't understand why Youka broke up with him, as well as how she is able to speak with him with such a smile, oblivious to his feelings. Akira apologizes to Hinata. With tears in his eyes, he says that he didn't want Hinata to see him crying because of Youka, and abruptly runs off.
However, at night, Hinata would arrange Aki and Youka to meet again at a bridge. At Aki's mention of Hina, Youka remarks that she noticed Aki seems to like Hina. She adds that it's okay because Hina is very kind and mentions that Hina even looks a bit like herself, which makes her happy. However, Aki becomes furious, disappointed that this is all Youka has to say, and turns to leave.
Seeing him turn away, Youka begs Aki to wait. She finally confesses that she has always wanted to apologize, admitting that the breakup, her new "boyfriend," and everything she said about their relationship were lies, not reflective of her true feelings. Aki, however, declares that he already knew Youka never wanted to end their relationship and had figured out that something was wrong when she didn't act like herself. What truly hurt him was that Youka wouldn't even let him help. He questions why, even now, Youka hasn't opened up to him, despite him having shared everything about himself and exposing his vulnerabilities to her.
Tearing up, Youka admits that she wanted to share everything with Aki, but her own cowardice held her back, not a lack of trust. However, Aki then acknowledges that they can no longer go back to the old days, confessing that he has changed as well. Simultaneously, the two both lift their dresses. When they realize that they have both turned into men, they burst into laughter, the tension between them dissipating.
Hinata, who had been watching from a distance, approaches them, relieved that the misunderstanding has been cleared and the two are happy. Having reconciled much quicker than Hinata expected, the two part ways. However, before leaving, Aki surprises Hinata with a kiss on the cheek, thanking him for everything he's done.
The following night is when Hinata's secret finally becomes exposed to the class after a series of chaotic events. Ms. Katsurako, being the only member of staff aware of the virus, manages the chaos and gathers the students to explain the situation, and instructs the students refrain from posting about this on social media. After the trip, Hinata would start coming to school as a girl.
A few weeks later, a Akira learns of a surprising development — Mikoto has transformed back into a girl. Akira asks Mikoto if she knows why this happened, sensing that she is hiding something. However, Mikoto is too embarrassed to answer, and she runs off while apologizing. Later, Akira finds Mikoto on the rooftop. He asks her why she didn't want to say the reason in front of Hinata, and voices his suspicion that the way to return to one's original gender is actually really simple. At this point, Mikoto finally opens up, admitting that she fell in love with Hinata. She has become jealous of Yurina, wanting Hinata to see her as a cute girl just like how she sees Yurina. The fact that she wanted to be a girl again from the bottom of her heart is the only reason she can think of. Hearing Mikoto's feelings, Aki approaches her and declares them rivals. Though Mikoto doubts her chances, Aki admits that he's in the same boat and encourages her not to give up. He adds that if they fail, he'll gladly accept Mikoto as his second choice. Later, Akira reflects on the situation, still skeptical that the solution to reverting could be this straightforward, especially given how Hinata genuinely acted like he wanted to turn back. He is reminded of Yako, certain that they are out there watching and likely making a move right this moment.
On a call with Youka, Aki informs her of the recent developments. Youka raises a concern about the culprit's plan to cause a gender-changing pandemic. She questions how a virus transmitted by kissing could spread so rapidly on a large scale. She asks Aki who else has been affected by the virus. Aki lists out Yuuri, Suzugami Miya, as well as Goriyama-sensei, but Suzugami Miya's name alone catches Youka's attention. She recounts to Aki the unusual friendship that she and "Miya-kun" shared back when they were young, as well as his sudden disappearance one day after sharing a final cup of tea with her, only a few days before Youka's gender change. This leads Aki to conclude that the virus was in the tea, and Myaako is the new identity of Miya who is responsible for everyone's transformations. She soon confronts Myaako with her friends, and becomes one of the people witnessing the start of the Tensei Pandemic first-hand.
After a three-year time skip, society has adapted to the new reality where people can freely change their gender. In the end, Aki loses to Yurina in their rivalry over Hinata, and decides not to return to his former relationship with Youka. Instead, Aki has entered a relationship with her new boyfriend — Mikoto, who she now acknowledges as equally special.
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