Dream (2)
Beeeep-beeeep-beeeep. The alarm blared relentlessly, urging me to wake up from my dream. But my phone had fallen under the bed, and I couldn't reach it to turn the damn thing off. Wait, wait. An alarm? On a weekday? School?
"Ugh... ahhh..."
I dragged myself out of bed with another weird grunt, just like always. That dream had left a weird aftertaste. No, a really sticky one. But hey, I'd gotten stronger, so it was fine! Yeah, yeah. This was me inching closer to becoming a proper magical girl.
Thanks to the alarm, I made it to the lecture hall right on time. Not that any of the professor's words sank in—my head was full of other thoughts. So even as a magical girl, I still had to go to school, huh? Well... I couldn't exactly tell the prof, "Hey, I'm Spica, cut me some slack for being late."
Maybe next time if I was running late, I could just fly to campus...
"Haaah."
Yawns kept splitting my face open. Had the weather warmed up already? It was still a ways off from summer, but it felt kinda toasty. No wonder I was so sleepy.
"And that's where we'll wrap up for today... Read what I mentioned by tomorrow..."
Huh? Lecture over already? Even if I couldn't remember a single thing the professor said, it didn't matter. Every magical girl had one essential thing...
"Chae-hyu~nnaaa~"
"Yuseong-ah, you dozed off again, didn't you? I saw you yawning your jaw off earlier..."
"Yeah, yeah. Sung-ah, I'm sooo sleepy."
"Cut it out..."
"Heeheehee."
Couldn't be helped~! I'd been out protecting the city last night, after all!
Chae-hyun. My one and only friend of nearly ten years. But that didn't mean I could tell her I was a magical girl. Ahem.
"Aren't you cold? Already rocking short sleeves."
We headed out toward the next lecture hall, but I didn't feel chilly at all.
"Nope! Not cold one bit!"
I swung my arms around and hopped in place. Chae-hyun stared at me hard, then...
"...Yuseong-ah."
"Huh?"
"Your... boobs gotten bigger?"
"Keh, kehok, kerrrk, ke, kuh."
What the hell?!
"Jump like you just did. They feel a little heavier, bouncier than usual..."
"W-what are you saying? Crazy? No way, no no no!"
"Well, yeah. They'd have to be bigger for it to be weird at this point."
My face burned. I fanned myself with my hand. I'd coughed so hard in shock that my chest felt a little tight now.
"I... think I got something in my throat. Water, please."
"Ugh... here."
Chae-hyun pulled a water bottle from her bag and handed it over. I twisted off the cap without thinking, brought it to my lips, and tilted it slowly—glug glug.
"Pffft—! Puh, haa, haa...!"
"What the—? Why'd you spit it out mid-drink?"
Wha... what was that? I was just swallowing water. But it felt familiar, kinda tickly...
"I-is this water? Or some kinda drink?"
"Just plain water."
...So why did it taste faintly sweet?
"You're acting weird today. Something up?"
"Huh? N-nope, nothing at all."
I couldn't exactly confess I'd debuted as a magical girl out of nowhere, so I brushed it off. I handed the bottle back to Chae-hyun.
Something was off. Really off. Those sensations just now... they matched the dream. When I lost. That giant eye... It said there'd be no changes in reality!
You lied to me... I won't forgive you! Just you wait till next time.
"Who?"
I'd forgotten Chae-hyun was right there and muttered to myself.
"Uh, uh? Th-the prof. Yeah."
"Won't forgive the professor...?"
"A-anyway, we'll be late. Let's go."
I ignored her super suspicious look and hurried to the next room. Maybe I should've picked up on it more clearly right then.
It was my schedule, but... perfect. Lectures all done, nothing major on the agenda today. A prime day for Magical Girl Spica to deploy.
I'd clutched the Spica's Jewel tight during class, focusing hard, but felt nothing. No rifts nearby—good news, I guess? Boring, but peace is nice!
Waiting at the outdoor table while Chae-hyun popped into the convenience store—
"Here, Yuseong-ah."
A voice called my name, and suddenly my cheek stung with icy cold.
"Eeeek—!"
"Drama queen over ice cream."
Chae-hyun had pressed a wrapped popsicle against my face.
"You've been saying you're hot since earlier?"
"Ma... matcha flavor, I want matcha."
"Just eat what I give you."
No matcha, sadly, but whatever. Chae-hyun was the mom-friend type who always looked out for me. It wasn't that hot—just kinda sticky? Lukewarm? Maybe a cool popsicle would help.
I tore off the wrapper and shoved it in my mouth whole.
"......"
"...?"
Chae-hyun's stare from across the table was getting weird...
"Mmph? (What?)"
"Dude... who eats ice cream like that?"
What was I doing wrong? I pulled out my phone, switched to selfie mode, and checked.
"......"
Pursed lips, cheeks slightly hollowed. It looked... a little—no, a lot. Pretty damn suggestive...?
"Ptooey—! Haa, haa... N-no, I didn't mean to!"
"You... stayed home all weekend, didn't you? Don't tell me you were—"
I could feel her pulling away bit by bit.
"N-no, I wasn't!"
Today was so weird. All because of that dream? No... definitely that eye and the dream. Stuff like this wouldn't pile up out of nowhere otherwise.
"I-I gotta go. Think I caught a cold."
Best excuse I could think of.
"Hmm~ And colds make Yuseong-ah's boobs grow?"
"Th-they didn't grow! Quit saying weird stuff!"
Not the kinda convo for a convenience store table, but I was dead serious.
"I-I'm going. See you tomorrow!"
I bolted home like I was fleeing. Felt so sticky. Not dirty, just... off. Hot, too. And why did the water taste sweet? Just plain drinking, and weird thoughts pop up. The ice cream... no, stop it!
It's all that giant eye's fault. Next time, you're dead.
I huffed in front of the mirror, but thanks to Chae-hyun, my eyes kept drifting to my chest.
"Hmm... uh-uh. Nah. Just my imagination."
Had they... grown a bit? My bra from this morning felt snugger... Was that why I felt hot?
I cupped them from below, gave a little squeeze.
"H-heep—♡"
A sharp static jolt of pleasure shot from my chest, zipping down my spine through my body. And with it, a bizarre sense of suffocation. Unfamiliar, like something crushing me... overwhelming me.
I squeezed my eyes shut; when the tingle faded, I opened them.
"Wha—scared me..."
Not imagination, then. Something had definitely changed in my body. Or was I still growing? Magical girls don't all get boobs just from transforming. No way.
Couldn't ignore this. Time to get answers. Straight to bed.
Why? To meet that eye. And to do that, I had to sleep and dream.
"...Can't sleep."
Too early for night proper. I rarely napped anyway. Falling asleep wouldn't be easy, but I'd try my best...
Failed. I slept deep for once... but dozed off in the afternoon, and now it was nearly midnight.
"...Why no dream?"
I rubbed my eyes and stared blankly out the darkened window, muttering.
I needed a dream to meet the eye. To get an explanation... or demand it fix my body. Asking other magical girls was an option, but... no contacts.
"Wait... do I need a fragment to dream and meet it?"
Sounded plausible. No fragment, maybe no Abyss even if I dreamed. Anyway, needed one to see the eye.
I closed my eyes, clutching the jewel—now a bracelet.
"Please, please... just one little rift..."
Like how my prayer to become a magical girl reached the stars, someone heard me this time too. In the darkness, I sensed something. Like with Sirius. A rift nearby—not far.
Couldn't tell if small or big from the feel alone... but I'd check it out. If huge, other girls would be there already. If small, I could handle it solo.
"Said to shout loud for transformation. Tsk... apartment noise, hope it's okay."
If anyone heard, they'd just think some magical girl superfan. I got out of bed, took slow deep breaths—
"Ma... Magical Girl Spica, transform!"
No helping magical girl this time—just me. Heart pounding. A bit risky, but... ready. Let's go.