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I never liked Japan. No, really. I wouldn’t have come here in my life if it weren’t for Lilian. Oh, Lilian… Lilian Smith, if you only knew how hard it is for me. It’s hard to watch you smile, talk about the guys you meet, and call me your best friend.
“You’re such a good guy, Hunter! I’m so glad to have a friend like you!” you say, and I smile, but inside everything tightens. Yes, my name is Hunter, Hunter Johnson, and I’m your friend. But still, I want to tell you everything about how I feel. I want to. But every time that fear—the fear of rejection, the fear of breaking what we have — stops me. After all, we’ve been friends since childhood.
I remember when it first really hit me. I was fourteen. We were sitting on the swings outside her house, and Lilian was talking about the movies she liked. Her hair was blowing in the wind, and I caught myself not hearing a word, just staring at her. That’s when it first became clear: she wasn’t just a friend to me. The thought pierced my heart, and I didn’t know what to do with it. I thought it would pass. After all, this is so strange, damn it, who the hell falls for a girl you used to crawl beside when you couldn’t even walk yet?
— Hunter, don’t lag behind! — Lilian called cheerfully, jumping over a puddle on a narrow street in Shibuya, and, as she often did, smirked and added — What are you thinking about, you fool?
I, already on autopilot, felt myself smile back and said one of the usual excuses, trying to just joke it off.
— I was thinking about how you jump over puddles so skillfully, — I replied, a bit annoyed, but still smiling, trying to hide my awkwardness.
— Oh, we have a comedian here! — Lilian responded cheerfully, turning to me with that silly smile she always wore when she tried to get under my skin. I was about to say something, but then I noticed her eyes widen, and her smile grew even bigger.
— What’s going on? — I said right away, feeling the tension rise inside me and my heart beat faster. Lilian was in her usual style—always looking for something interesting, but sometimes this “interesting” made me really nervous.
— Hey, let’s go in here! — Lilian grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door of a small café with a wooden sign that had some more kanji characters.
— What the… Lil, why did you speed up? — I managed to say, though I could feel my heart starting to race.
— Hey, don’t slow down, — she laughed, pushing me with a smile. — Didn’t you get it? This café is just like the one in that anime I showed you recently.
Anime... Yeah. Lilian loved anime. Wherever she went, she always tried to find some element that could remind her of her favorite universe. This Japan, strange and unfamiliar, she liked as a movie setting. As for me, I saw it differently—all those insanely bright lights, crowds of people, and information overload. And then this café… It seemed out of place. Too cozy, too quiet for this world full of noise. I bent my legs, sitting at the table and looking at Lilian, who was chatting with the barista in Japanese with such enthusiasm.
— What were you talking about? — I asked, trying to hold back my surprised look that couldn’t hide my confusion. Lilian had just come back from the counter, where she’d been talking to the barista, and there was a cheerful smile on her face.
— Oh, nothing special, he just told me they have a drink that grants wishes! — Lilian sat down across from me, her eyes sparkling. — I told you, here you can wish for anything, and it will come true.
I rolled my eyes, knowing what was coming next—another one of those phrases Lilian loved to say.
— God, Hunter, you’re such a buzzkill! — Lilian laughed, teasing me, and I felt myself blush sitting across from her. Her bright smile, full of genuine joy, seemed to pull me out of my own head, and it was like I was splashed with something cold, and I didn’t want to breathe.
I opened the menu and briefly lingered on the green drink. "A wish? Seriously?" Of course, I was skeptical, but deep down, I couldn’t shake the strange feeling. I looked at Lilian, who could no longer hide her smile, and suddenly, completely unexpectedly, as if someone had pushed me from behind, I decided: “Screw it, let’s do this.”
— Alright, I’ll take it, — I mumbled, feeling my face burn. Lilian immediately giggled.
— Ooooh, there’s my Hunter, — Lilian laughed, and I felt something tighten in my chest. My Hunter... My. Ugh... I barely suppressed a sigh. She always said that, but in that moment, her words hit me differently. I was so embarrassed. So embarrassed. I realized I was blushing.
— What will you be ordering? — the barista asked with a smile, approaching right after Lilian waved him over. I grimaced and rubbed my palm on my jeans, feeling the belt pressing a little too tight. Lilian immediately smiled, closed her menu, and said something in Japanese, which flew right past my ears.
Time passed unnoticed, and soon two cups of coffee and that strange green drink were sitting on our table, with little bubbles fizzing inside and the faint sound of hissing in the air. I sat there, thinking how absurd all of this was. Lilian continued to stare at me with that cheerful look, waiting for me to say or do something. Oh, how she loved my reactions. I felt awkward as hell.
— So, Hunter, are you ready? — she cheerfully handed me the glass. — After all, it's your choice!
I stared at the drink, feeling a strange mix of doubt and anxiety. Seriously, a wish? Well, okay, I didn't believe in this stuff, but... something about this moment made me hesitate. It all felt like a joke. What the hell...
I looked at Lilian, and my heart skipped a beat. She was so beautiful. That smile, that look, those sparkling eyes. God, I just want to... Hug her, tell her everything, just as it is. But instead, here I am, sitting like an idiot, staring at this damn drink she handed me so cheerfully.
— Come on, stop zoning out, Han! It's just some soda with matcha! — she pointed at the bubbles, then, slightly flustered, added as if she forgot about her joke. — Well, more like "magical" soda. Hurry up and make a wish, or the "magic" will fade!
Alright, a wish, huh! Fine!
Matcha soda... yeah... This is complete nonsense, but... I want... Damn. I want you to see me differently. I want you to understand that I'm not just your friend. I want... for you to finally notice me, not just like you always do. Not with that encouraging look, like I'm just another clown to you.
With that thought, I quickly downed the drink, feeling the sweet liquid slide down my throat, leaving a faintly bitter aftertaste.
— Hey! Me give! — Lilian was as relentless as ever. She snatched the glass out of my hands before I could finish. — You here come any time, I guest, Hin, why so much drink... um, cup, yes?
Lili... Why did she call me Hin, and why did she suddenly speak with such a weird accent? I felt a chill run down my spine. Something was off, like I'd lost something. My eyes fell on her face — it was Lilian, but something was wrong. She looked at me in a different way. I glanced back at the glass with the bubbling drink, then at Lilian, and my heart skipped a beat again.
— Lilian, what are you... — I started, but suddenly stopped. The voice I had just heard now sounded so... strange, too high-pitched and melodic. I didn’t even understand what was wrong. I tried to speak again, but instead of a normal sentence, a fragment of speech came out of my throat, in a completely different language.
I snapped my mouth shut in shock, feeling my elbow brush something soft and voluminous on my chest. Shit, my chest! It felt heavy, way too heavy, like two bags of sand had been placed on it. Instinctively, I reached for my chest with my hands, but instead of the usual flat surface, my fingers brushed something soft, very full, barely fitting in my palms. I froze, unable to understand what was happening. My breathing quickened, and my heart pounded like it was about to burst out of my chest.
— Hinata-chan, you okay? — I heard Lilian's voice, but it sounded strange, like it was coming through water. I lifted my head, feeling something tickling the skin of my neck, and saw her face, but it seemed so far away, even though she was sitting right in front of me. Her black hair, her smile, her eyes... Everything was familiar, but at the same time, it felt alien.
— What... what's going on? — I tried to say, but my voice... My voice! It was really high-pitched, melodic, completely different from what I was used to hearing. I tried to speak again, but the words came out in another language. What language? Japanese? It sounded like Japanese! But I don’t know Japanese!
— Hinata-chan, you look like… um, word, ghost, yes! — Lilian laughed, and her laughter sounded like music. She reached out and touched my palm, but I recoiled as if from fire, seeing my hand with long, slender fingers and bright pink, long nails. This was too... too strange, too unexpected!
— Lili... — I started, but fell silent again. My thoughts were tangled, and my body... God, my body! I looked down and saw my cleavage, barely fitting my large, female breasts! The black dress clung to me, with thin straps digging into my shoulders. I felt the fabric hugging my waist, then flaring out at my hips, which were now so... wide, like my ass had been attached to a cushion. I tried to stand up, but my legs, now so slender and long in heels, gave way, and I almost fell.
— Careful! — Lilian shouted in English, which now sounded too foreign, though I still understood her meaning.
— Mirror... — I muttered, feeling my cheeks burn with shame. I needed to see myself. I needed to understand what was happening.
— Mirror? — Lilian raised an eyebrow, but then nodded. — Hey, barista-san, mirror, please?
Moments later, an elegant mirror with a carved frame appeared in front of me. I took it with trembling hands and held it up to my face.
What I saw made me freeze in place. In the mirror, a girl with pink hair, big eyes, and lips slightly parted in surprise stared back at me. Her face expressed shock, but it was... beautiful. I reached up to touch my face, and the girl in the mirror did the same.
— Is... is that me? — I whispered, and the voice I heard was so soft, so feminine, I could barely believe it was mine.
Lilian looked at me with some strange expression, one that didn’t show surprise or shock. No, she looked at me with a smile, as if, on the contrary, she was thinking about something else, and as if my appearance was completely normal to her.