The electric shock cruising through his body, dressed in skintight shirt and shorts, made him writhe, but as he was constrained to a wooden table, all the movement was to no avail.

The shadow in front of him laughed as the staff of the mage descended on him.
"This will be pretty uncomfortable, but I needed a test subject. You're lucky, I had only one test to do right now. Otherwise your friend would've gotten some magic exposure, too."
His voice booming while pointing to Takamiya, who just had woken up from the artificial sleep, the wizard put him under.
"Nothing that'd make you happier, though. If everything goes by plan, your life will be completely different."

After a little chuckle, the wizard aimed his staff back at the hapless teen. A red ray impacted his chest enveloping his whole frame and then vanishing into him.
For a few seconds nothing happened until suddenly his shoulders started cracking and shifting inwards. Simultaneously his hips moved into the opposite direction while his waist receded, too. A bit later, he started to feel himself getting shorter, the skintight clothes shrinking with him, though.
Next, his chest started to ripple and two bumps on his chest pushed themselves out into two small mounds which seemed bigger than they actually were through the shirt they were pressing against.
Now, however, the most uncomfortable feeling of all took place. From the outside, it seemed rather minor, just a bulge vanishing and a fat crotch forming, but of course it felt a lot different experiencing the shift of genitals personally.

In the aftermath of that, his, or more fittingly, her hair slowly turned into a pinkish colour and got a lot longer having to form into long twintails.
Some other, comparatively minor, changes were, two fangs, thin arms, hands, legs, feet, a girlish face, the bangs and even some noticeable age reduction. It seemed that she had lost about two years, as she looked like 16 now, however one could confuse her for even younger.

As soon as all the changes were done with, the wizard send in another, blue, spell, which, physically, didn't do anything.
"Everything worked just fine now" He dropped some clothing, specifically a girl's school uniform including fitting underwear, and an ID on the table next to the one the poor boy gone girl was still strapped on.
"Have a happy life, Aoyama Rika . This name will be the only one you can recall as yours."

Just as mysteriously as he had captured both, the wizard vanished, but not before magically swapping the skintight clothing with the school uniform leaving it to Takamiya to unbind her.

"A-Aoyama... Rika?" Takamiya asked to thin air. "Aoyama..." he thought he'd heard the name somewhere but he couldn't be sure. Groggily he stood up, heaving himself from a sitting position to his knees and then pushing upwards to stand on his feet. "Are you okay...?" he asked, not sure if she could even hear him. He stumbled to the girl's table and looked at her newly-slender arms, her long hair and to her breasts - but quickly looked away. He wasn't a pervert. That wizard... who was he? And... where even are we? ...this has to be a dream... surely... he can't possibly have turned into a girl...

Thoughts aside, he had to get her off the table and away from this place somehow, though they appeared to be somewhat trapped. First things first, he had to untie the girl. He tried to undo the tough knots that stopped her escape, but soon found that trying that was almost impossible. He looked around the room. Something sharp... there's gotta be something... a rock...?

Once he had scanned the room a few times, his sharp eyes noticed a grey-ish, silver-ish object that appeared to blend in with its surroundings. Flint. It was on the other side of the room. He walked to it and picked it up, seeing a jagged edge. He walked back to the table. "You trust me, right?" he asked his childhood friend, and began to cut the rope.

While Takamiya was unbinding her, Rika awoke from her dazed state of mind and her consciousness returned to her.
"I trust you..."
When she heard her new voice, she took a deep breath
"Wow... this is weird..."
Said voice sounded high, but also slightly raspy. All in all, not as girly as she had feared, but still, she sounded noticeably like a young girl.

As soon as all the bindings were removed, Rika slowly got up and simply stood in front of that table staring at her new body. "Girl... I'm a freaking girl... This is... crazy..."
She looked at Takamiya and had to gasp.
"Taka... you're tall... or... I am small..."

Rika shuffled towards Takamiya and noticed, she only went up to his chest.
After checking that, she swiftly jumped backwards while exclaiming: "I'm so light, makes me so agile!"

Her antics didn't last long until she broke down onto the ground and started to cry.
"What do I do now...?!", she sobbed.

"You really are a girl... wow..."

Takamiya pinched himself and winced. He felt it all right. "Is this... is this real? It must be... but it can't be... what...? I..." He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "You are... kinda short..." he admitted. "But I mean... uh..." he was simply stunned.

When Rika started to cry, Takamiya crouched down beside her and gave her a hug. "Aww. Don't worry. You'll be okay. Listen, it's not all bad. You're kinda..." he paused. "Well, you're kinda attractive.

"Anyway. We have to get out of here. Do you have any suggestions? It seems kinda... small. And concrete. No windows to be seen. There's only... a door." He walked over to the door and rapped on it, causing it to make a satisfying clanging echo. "Anyone there? No magic genie to get us out? ...No? Didn't think so... oh well. There's gotta be some way out. Stay POSITIVE!" He grinned, staying optimistic in this dire situation. After looking around the room some, he sat back down next to Rika. "We'll find some way out."

Through a wall of tears, Rika's view slowly turned red as rage started to consume her. She was angry, that was for certain.
Quickly all her desperation converted into anger and hate. Standing up, she stomped to the wooden door and rattled on it. The cold air flowing trough her legs and up her pleated skirt didn't really help her state of mind.

"That... guy! I'm going to get him! And I'm going to maul him!", Rika screamed and then kicked the door with all her might.
Surprisingly to both of them, her fragile looking foot impacted the door, but instead of ricocheting off it, it went right through it sending splinters flying.
When she pulled back her foot, she noticed some bleeding cuts on her shin, yet she didn't feel at that moment. So she kicked the door a couple more times until the pain set in and she tumbled backwards onto Takamiya.

"We're free...", she whispered and flinched as her hand touched the scratches on her shin and calf.

"W-whoa." Takamiya stuttered, quite afraid at the anger and power that Rika held. He had never seen his friend quite as irate as she was now. When Rika tumbled backwards onto his form, he hurriedly caught her, his arms under her armpits, and gently lowered her to the floor. He looked at the cuts. "Are you alright? Those cuts have got to hurt..." he looked around the room for a bandage or something of the sort, but he saw nothing. Of course not, he reflected, this guy wasn't going to leave something so vital here. In fact, he probably set this whole room up so we would escape with Rika weakened.

"C'mon," he said. He got Rika into a position where she could easily jump onto his back. "Piggyback." He looked back and smiled. "Now that you're not as fat as you were before I can probably give you one." He made sure that she knew it was just a joke. "We're gonna get out of here. We can either complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." He promised, quoting Abraham Lincoln as the final sentence.

"Hey! I wasn't fat before!", Rika pouted, but she did get onto his back.
She felt so tiny on his back that it was almost scary even.
"Be careful, please...", she whispered, her presence on his back somehow making her timid until she remembered something.
Just to be sure, she growled at Takamiya.
"Don't touch anything indecent...!"

"Aw, I thought you trusted me," he teased. "Don't worry, I won't!" he hitched her up by the back of her knees and started to walk out of the door into the corridor. He looked around. The place they were in was hard to describe. It was featureless, almost deliberately so. All he could see was navy blue brick after navy blue brick. When he was walking however, he did notice that there were other wooden doors, every single one of them broken, every single one of them deserted. Hmm. Odd. Takamiya thought. But I'm sure they were all deliberate.

"Hey, 'Rika'," he asked. "Do you have any idea what's going on? Because I have no idea at all. It's very strange, all of this." He kept walking. He saw an iron door at the end of the corridor and pushed it with his foot. It was open. When he stepped into the room he repulsed slightly. "Uhh," he started. "What... is this?" they had stepped into a wide room with a tall roof, floor-to-ceiling windows, a tiled floor... and hospital beds, littered everywhere around the room. It looked like some insane asylum or badly maintained hospital. He walked over to the closest bed, Rika on his back, but instantly backed away. The bedsheets were bloodstained.

What on Earth have we gotten ourselves into this time... Takamiya thought, horrified at the sight.

When Takamiya carried her around like that, she felt helpless, somehow defenceless, but still safe. Nevertheless, she hated that feeling. She didn't wanted to depend on her childhood friend, not that being a girl meant to depend on someone.
Her train of thought was interrupted when Takamiya entered that certain room.
"Eugh...! This is disgusting!"
On his back, she shuffled around in utter disgust at the bloody beds.
"I...I think I've heard of this place before... Taka, let's get out of here... as far as I can remember, a necromancer has his "storage" here..."
Unconsciously, she slung her arms around his chest while saying that, her being overwhelmed by the influx of female hormones making her timid and scared.
She hoped, everything would balance itself out as soon as the influx died down.

"Rika... you've heard of this place before?" Takamiya questioned, his voice echoing in the silence of the asylum. "Where? Who told you about it...?"

He walked around the room, knowing the two things that he was looking for. First of all, he scanned the tile walls of the place, straining his eyes in the not-quite-pitch darkness. He could see, but only just. When he came across what he was looking for, an "Aha!" graced his lips. A light switch. "Rika, could you turn the lights on for me? My hands are kinda stuck behind your knees." This light switch was vital evidence, however. It confirmed that it was built in or after 1917 - the first toggle light switch was invented in this year by a US inventor. Along with the bloodstained beds, that meant that it was quite likely that this was a war hospital or asylum. It seemed that it had been renovated a few times, or it would certainly have fallen into disrepair. Although it was possible that the light switch had been installed with one of the renovations. Why would a wizard want to do these sorts of tests in a place like this? Takamiya thought.

The second thing that Takamiya was looking for would be more difficult to find. He searched every nook and cranny of the place until he finally found some. Bandages. They were also stained with dried blood, but only the first few layers - Takamiya softly yet efficiently lay Rika down on the tile floor, unwound the bloody parts from the roll and applied some clean parts to her legs. "You should be alright," he assured her.

While Takamiya was busy bandaging her leg, she tilted her head in a way to be able to see him best.
"You remember when we were playing around with magic. There was a newspaper at that shop. One of the articles was about this house..."
She looked around and shivers ran through her body.
"Taka, please... This building is freaking me out... let's get out of here... and somewhere safe", she pleaded.

Carefully, she stood up trying to not to put too much pressure on her wounded leg.
"I can walk now. Thanks. We should see a magical medic. Maybe he can help me..."

"Really?" Takamiya asked. "I didn't see that. I suppose I'm not the most observant person." Takamiya rubbed Rika's arms to warm her up. "Don't worry. We'll get you out of here." Somehow I don't think it'll be that easy, he thought to himself. This was clearly all planned by someone. There will probably be traps and obstacles along the way.

"Are you sure that your leg is okay, though? Do you think it's broken? It seems more serious than a few cuts. Although that might just be me worrying too much. We'll be sure to find you a magic medic, and then we'll find out." He nodded at her to reassure both her and himself. He was scared, that was for certain, but he wasn't going to show it. "Let's go."

"It's not broken"
Carefully Rika walked forward, stumbling out of the room.
"Here's the door. Come on!", she waved him over and went for the door and pressed down the handle. Slowly the door opened and let in a stream of daylight.
She stormed out of the door and onto the street.
"Air! Air! Air!!", she gasped and collapsed on the ground in relief staring up at Takamiya and into his eyes. Then she stretched out her arms to him and, in no way deliberately, cutely groaned:
"Carry meeeh!"

Oh. Takamiya thought. Perhaps our captor just didn't plan his cells out properly. Huh.

He followed Rika, a bewildered look on his face. "Well, we're out." he said in astonishment. He looked down at Rika. "Are you quite alright?" he asked. He was taken aback when she asked him to carry her. "Uhh, sure. If you wish." he deftly put his hands under her armpits, lifted her up and then supported her by moving his right arm from her armpits to under her backside, blushing a little in the process. "Um." he said.

As he lifted her up, she started blushing too, but, of course, she tried to hide it as well as she could.
"This is so comfortable!", she exclaimed happily and pointed to the obvious white building with the red cross on it.
"Forward, my knight!"
She giggled. "Sorry, I've always wanted to say that once... I think all the new stuff is getting to my head..."
Rika sighed and leaned her head to his chest.
"What do I do now? What will my life be now?"

Takamiya rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Okay, okay," he said, submitting to his fate. He started walking towards the building pointed out by the girl. "What do you think it is?" he asked her. "Some kind of monument? Windmill? A church?" He shrugged.

When Rika leaned her head on his chest, he blushed even more, though he was puzzled why he would do so. She was always quite feminine, he thought to himself, I suppose her female side really has got out. "I mean," he said, beginning on answering her question, "I think it'll be fine. Don't worry too much. Just live a normal life, y'know? You can do it, I'm sure."

"That is the hospital, you dummie", she giggled. She pointed at the red cross. "Don't it make sense? White building with a red cross, come on!"

Then her expression got a lot more sullen. "What even is normal... I don't even know who I'm attracted to now anymore"
She pondered a bit more. "According to my new ID, I'm currently 16... that means I'd have to go to school, too... as a girl..."
Again, she shuddered in his arms. "I may have to switch to tsundere there...", she mumbled.

"...oh. Right. Duh, of course it's the hospital." If he could have, Takamiya would have slapped his forehead with his palm. How stupid can you get? he thought to himself. It has a goddamn red cross!

Takamiya's face fell with Rika's. "Now that I think about it, who knows what normal is? In today's society, it seems that being 'normal' is abnormal. I don't even think normal exists. But then again, don't you think that normal is boring? What's a life worth living if you're just gonna tiptoe through it to arrive safely at death? To be remembered would be a wonderful thing. You won't be remembered if you're normal."

They arrived at the hospital. "Well," he said, "Even tsunderes have a kind side."

Rika hrummpf'ed. "I'd rather not be remembered for being that one guy who got turned into a girl. If any, and I already have to stay a girl, I'd rather be remembered as just a girl."
She turned her head to stare into his eyes. "I hope you will remember both me as a male and what will happen to me as a girl. Remember both me's, will you?" Playfully, she poked his nose, but then blushed.
"Not that I like you or anything...", she pouted.

"Well," Takamiya said. "Maybe we'll just tell people that the real you has run away and then say that you're a new student that I know. You look nothing like your former self anyway."

"And don't worry. I couldn't forget the old you if I tried." he stuck his tongue out at her good-naturedly. When he got his nose tapped he was surprised, but poked Rika's cheek in response. "You sure you don't like me?" he teased.

Inside the hospital was white, blinding cleanliness. Takamiya approached the counter. "Hey there. My friend-" he motioned to Rika - "has a bad leg. Are there any doctors we can see soon?"

The secretary smiled. "Yes. We'll get to you as soon as possible. Please sit in the waiting room." she directed them to a hallway which opened into a room with seats, where a few people sat, waiting for their turn.

Takamiya lifted Rika once more and walked towards the waiting room. He lowered her gently to a chair and sat down next to her.