A Dream Come True part 2

While Ryobi was jumping for joy and showing her stuff, on the other side of town Miyabi and Imu were about to descend into drama.

"I'm here!" Imu calls out as she enters Miyabi's home, scanning about for any sign of her.

Imu had received a call from Miyabi earlier that morning saying that something was wrong, but she had failed to get any details out of her. Worrying for her friend's well-being, Imu rushed over in a flash, but now Miyabi is nowhere to be seen.

The glasses-wearing girl searches every room in the house: the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom, and everything in between, all to no avail.

Only one room remains, and as expected, the bedroom door is locked shut.

"Miyabi, it's Imu! Please answer me!" she says as she knocks firmly on the door.

The lock clicks and the door opens just enough for Miyabi to peek through. She appears to be fine, but her expression is full of worry. Why is she hiding like this?

"O-Oh, Imu..." Miyabi stutters.

"What were you talking about earlier?" Imu asks her. "You sounded pretty upset."

"Well..." Miyabi hesitates. "I'm not sure I want you to know... I don't know how you'll react..."

"Miyabi, I'm your friend," Imu says, looking sternly into Miyabi's eyes. "I've promised time and time again to support you no matter what happens. You can tell me anything. If you can't trust me, who can you trust?"

"Imu..." Miyabi says softly.

Something is certainly off about her, Imu noticed. Miyabi doesn't normally act this way. The gruff, strong-willed girl Imu was so familiar with was nowhere to be seen. Instead, this Miyabi was acting all shy and delicate.

Imu wasn't sure how to feel about this change.

Still, Miyabi had something troubling her, so Imu swore to do what she could to shoulder Miyabi's burden and help her however possible.

She wedges her arm through the gap in the door and flings it open.

Miyabi, startled, clutches a balled-up sweater to her chest.

"Now please," Imu continues, blushing a little, "Talk to me."

"You see..." Miyabi starts. "It's... my body. It's... different."

"Your... body?" Imu's mind inadvertently drifts to thoughts of Miyabi's supple form at this comment. The confidence and strength with which she holds herself. The swell of her figure. Her smooth skin... Her golden eyes, wordlessly begging... Her warm breath... Her soft lips...

Imu shakes her head, snapping herself out of her trance. 'No! Bad Imu! HELPFUL! I'm here to be HELPFUL! No distractions!'

"What about it?" Imu asks, taking off her glasses to wipe the condensation from them. "It's not your left arm acting up, is it?"

"No, it's not that..." Miyabi replies. "Oh... how do I put this..." she says as she buries her face into the sweater she's holding.

"This isn't like you!" Imu snaps, growing impatient. "You can start by putting that down!" she says, snatching the item from Miyabi's hands.

And then she sees the big deal. Or rather, the lack of it.

There is nothing underneath the sweater. Miyabi's night shirt hangs down towards her waist with nothing interrupting it.

Her chest is as flat as a board.

 

"Huh..." Imu says, still processing this development. "What happened?"

"I don't know!" Miyabi speaks up. "I woke up this morning, and my b-boobs were just... gone!"

As the realization sinks in, Imu begins to panic. "This is serious. Do I need to take you to a doctor? Could this be the result of malnutrition or some sort of stomach parasite?"

"No, nothing like that!" Miyabi waves her hands, trying to calm her down. "The rest of me is fine! I feel totally healthy! It's like they just... vanished!"

"Well, what did you do yesterday? A pair of boobs don't just walk off on their own!" Imu retorts.

"I went to the shrine with the rest of you and then came straight home," Miyabi answers. "I didn't do anything else out of the ordinary."

The shrine...

"It can't be..." Imu says to herself.

"What?" Miyabi asks.

"Remind me what your fortune said," Imu replies.

"Something about my dream coming true and not being discouraged," Miyabi answers. "I don't have it on me anymore, but I remember that much."

"Well, what did you wish for yesterday?" Imu asks. "Because that's the only explanation I can think of."

"I wished... that I could be more girly," Miyabi says hesitantly. "You think that fortune came true? But why would it do this to me if that was the case?"

"I'm not sure," Imu confesses, now out of plausible leads. "My first suggestion to make someone girly sure wouldn't be to take away one of the most feminine parts of the human body."

Miyabi bangs her fist against the wall. "Damn it... What do I do, Imu?"

"That fortune is all we have to go on," Imu thinks out loud. "I guess we just wait for something good to come of this. It said not to give up, right?"

"True..." Miyabi mutters. "But I really don't want to go outside like this. I get mistaken for a man enough as it is. I don't want to think about what will happen now that I look even more like some teenage boy."

"I don't think you have a choice," Imu says. "You don't have any tops that fit now, do you? If this isn't just a temporary problem, you'll need to do some shopping eventually."

"Aaagh..." Miyabi groans.

Imu puts her hand on her friend's shoulder to try and comfort her, this action eliciting a twinge of red in both their cheeks.

"It's okay, Miyabi. I know it must be hard for you, but I'll come with you and be there the whole time. If anyone gives you trouble today, they'll have me to answer to!"

"Thanks, Imu..." Miyabi replies with a smile. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

Imu furrows her brow as Miyabi changes into something suitable. Hopefully this change doesn't last forever. Something seems off about Miyabi, aside from her missing chest, but she can't quite put her finger on it...

 

As ready as they'll ever be, Imu and Miyabi leave the house in search of a clothing store in town.

Along the way, the pair come across a group of girls wearing the Hebijo academy uniform. They immediately recognize these girls as members of the school's notorious "Miyabi Fan Club"; the sort of types that Imu would have to fend off with brute force to keep their love letters and other advances towards Miyabi at bay.

"Oh god..." Miyabi says to herself, bracing for the worst. "I don't need this crap right now..."

However, nothing remotely terrible happens.

"Oh, hello Imu-senpai! Miyabi-senpai!" one of the girls waves to them.

Imu relaxes her grip on her shrunken Ruyi Bang in her pocket when the other girls also politely greet the pair and leave without incident.

"Huh," Miyabi remarks, perplexed. They didn't stampede and try to gush over her. They didn't even comment on her appearance. Did they mistake her for somebody else? But they called her by name...

"See, Miyabi? Today is already a blessing in disguise," Imu comments.

Miyabi does not share Imu's optimism. This experience is too alien to her for her to enjoy. As much as they frustrated her, maybe she had grown accustomed to the misunderstandings she has to deal with.

The two girls arrive at the shopping district and step into the first store on the block.

"Can I help you find anything, Miss?" the clerk asks.

Miyabi pauses for a moment, waiting for Imu to answer, until she realizes that she is the one being addressed.

"U-Umm, do you have anything that would fit me?" she asks nervously, clutching her hand to her nonexistent chest.

"Of course!" the clerk replies. "We don't get many women customers in your... size, but we pride ourselves on our selection! Right this way!"

'She didn't call me sir...' Miyabi thinks to herself as she is shown through the store.

At last they arrive at the changing room with several clothes hangers in hand.

Miyabi gives Imu an apprehensive look before entering and closing the curtain behind her.

Miyabi looks through the clothes that had been picked out for her, surveying her options.

At the top of the stack is a pink tank top with a peculiar logo that she swears she's seen one of Homura's squad-mates wearing. It felt kind of childish, but she supposed that this was what girls in her... situation... should wear.

Miyabi changes into the tank top and examines herself in the mirror for a moment. It actually fits her figure quite nicely. Miyabi spins around once in front of the mirror before opening the curtain to ask for a second opinion.

"Wow! That looks nice on you!" "You look very cute, Miss!" Imu and the clerk respond.

"I see..." The tank top fits, feels comfy and apparently looks good on her, but something still doesn't sit right with Miyabi. She returns to the changing room to try on other outfits.

Miyabi shows off various shirts, jackets and dresses for the two of them, and it feels good seeing each one garner similar reactions.

Not once does the dreaded word 'handsome' come up. For some incomprehensible reason, people suddenly see her as perfectly feminine.

Still, where was this all her life? At least once or twice a day Miyabi would have to correct someone for mistaking her gender, but now that she looks even less like a woman she somehow comes across as even more feminine? What was wrong with people? What was wrong with HER?

Even though Miyabi is putting on a happy front, this whole experience continues to leave a sour taste in her mouth.

She raises an eyebrow, however, when she comes to the final item: a white kimono with a red and pink flower motif. She has never been able to wear kimonos before, but this one just feels right to her now.

Miyabi slips into it and ties the sash before stepping tentatively outside.

"Beautiful! You look so ladylike!" The clerk's reaction is the most positive one yet.

"Y-You really think so?" Miyabi asks with a blushing smile.

'Maybe this could work out,' she thinks to herself. 'Maybe the fortune was right and this is all for the best.'

Imu is left speechless, but not in a good way. She nods and works out an "Amazing..." for politeness' sake, but deep down, she is strongly conflicted.

Imu can't deny that the outfits look good on Miyabi, and she is touched that Miyabi is depending on her for support today. But with every item she tries on, it feels as though Miyabi is drifting further and further away from the person Imu cared so deeply for.

And yet Miyabi looks happier and happier at the same time.

Why couldn't Imu be happy for her?

 

After a bit, Miyabi and Imu leave the store with several new outfits in tow.

Feeling slightly more confident, Miyabi decides to spend a little more time in town and takes Imu out for a bite to eat.

Along the way, Miyabi is bombarded with compliments from fellow students and passers-by alike.

Not once does someone call her a man.

Not once does anyone comment on her chest.

Not once does she need to say anything.

And yet her doubts continue to linger.

"I still don't get it, Imu..." Miyabi says while the two wait in line.

"What don't you get?" Imu asks.

"I don't feel any more girly, and I sure as hell don't think I look it, so what is everyone else seeing that I'm missing?"

"I wish I could tell you," Imu shrugs. "Maybe your boobs were more masculine than we thought."

"How does that even work?" Miyabi replies. "Then again, nothing today has made sense..."

"I miss them, though," Imu sighs under her breath. "Both your boobs, and your masculinity."

"Hey," Miyabi points. "Isn't that...?"

As Imu follows Miyabi's finger, she spots a busty, brown-haired girl with green and blue eyes storming her way out of a store, spouting obscenities.

One particular snippet of dialogue the two pick up is "I'm a woman, dammit!"

"I think I found where they might have went..." Imu says to herself.