Another morning, more loud blaring from my alarm. I reached over and shut it off, groaning as I pushed myself upright. I’d passed out at my desk while working on my project, apparently, judging by the Google Doc labeled New Haven History Project containing a few pages of research notes and about 40 pages of miscellaneous mashed letters.

I stood up out of my chair and almost immediately took myself out again by tripping over my own pyjama pants.

I’d rolled up the legs when I put them on last night, but apparently they’d come loose as I slept. They also seemed even longer than they had before.

With an angry yank of each pant leg, I trudged over to the bathroom to take care of business.

Except that peeing standing up was no longer an option, and the shock of that revelation caused me to very nearly lose control and piss all over myself. Thankfully, I kept my composure enough to not do that, and for the first time in my life I peed as a girl.

Because that’s definitely what I was now.

I wiped and pulled my boxers back up - they clung uncomfortably tightly to my apparently larger hips and ass, and pressed against my new groin, reminding me of exactly what I was.

I hated it.

Stepping over to the sink to wash my hands, I realized that I couldn’t even see my whole face in the mirror anymore. I’d definitely gotten a bit shorter.

I bared my teeth in the mirror to see if I was rocking fangs, only to see that they’d shrunk back to normal size.

I smiled. At least I didn’t have vampire fangs.

The girl in the mirror smiled back, and she was devastatingly hot.

Fuck.

I hated her. I hissed angrily at her out of some new reflex that seemed right - and my canines extended almost instantly to a set of top and bottom fangs.

Holy shit!

Pulling back in shock, my teeth retracted as well.

I felt my heart pounding against my ribcage from the shock I’d given myself. Apparently I have retractable fangs. Convenient, but terrifying if you aren’t expecting it…

The other thing I noticed in the moment was that my eyes had changed - now a dark crimson.

I kinda liked that, actually.

What I didn’t like was the smell wafting off me. I hadn’t showered last night because I didn’t want to see my body, but there was no way I was going to manage today without showering.

I headed over to my room and grabbed a change of underwear and undershirt and retreated back to the bathroom.

Showering as a girl was a fucking nightmare.

My breasts felt massive, as did my hips and my ass.

I rushed through cleaning my body as quickly as I could with minimal touching to the more sensitive places.

During that shower I became aware of just how much my hair had grown overnight. It felt like a wet blanket across my back, with the drippy ends just above my ass.

I wrapped it up in a towel and dried off as best I could, pulling on my boxers and undershirt.

The fabric felt very coarse against my nipples, and I could tell it was going to be massively irritating. I’d seen enough anime to know that there was totally an easy fix for this… so after taping some medium sized bandage patches left-over in the medicine cabinet over my tits, I headed to my room to get dressed.

Unfortunately, there was no way I was getting my pants over this ass. They barely even fit up over my thighs.

My larger, longer pants fared a little better, but they were still way too tight.

That only left one option.

No, not skipping school. I’m not letting a vagina ruin my perfect attendance, goddammit. 

I grabbed the girls uniform I’d been issued at the start of the year out of the back of my closet, peeling the plastic wrap off of it, and pulled it on.

My phone lit up with an alarm I hadn’t heard in a while. The 8 a.m. alarm. I was late for class.

By the time I made it there, I’d definitely miss first period.

Period.

No, fuck, not thinking about that right now.

I reached for a pair of socks and my usual shoes, but instead grabbed the stupid stockings that came with the girls’ uniform.

 

The bus ride to school was… entirely unwelcome. I had to catch a later bus than I was used to, and I felt like I was being stared at by countless eyes.

The skirt felt too short despite reaching just above my knees, the cold air was unwelcome swirling around my legs.

Just getting to class wore my nerves to the breaking point, and sitting through an entire day of classes and questions and strange looks didn’t help any.

I was on the last fibers of my last thread when I stormed towards Miyu at the bus stop at the end of the day.

At least I assumed it was Miyu. He looked similar - or maybe she was more appropriate.

Miyu’s hair had grown as well, and she looked slimmer… but she was still taller than me.

Fuck.

I felt so damn short.

Before I left the house, I checked and found out that I barely clocked in at 5’4” now.

Of course, as I got closer and realized she was arguing with her bag, there was no mistaking who she was.

“...Uh… Miyu?”

Miyu startled and looked over at me quickly. “Nyo I wasn’t arguing with my bag! I was–” she trailed off, looking me over from head to toe.

“Wait, Evan!?”

I looked away, glaring at a spot on the sidewalk. “Emma,” I said.

I’d picked the name during third period when the teacher asked if there was something else I wanted people to call me now.

I figured Evan wasn’t exactly a girl’s name.

“If I’m stuck this way I can’t exactly keep calling myself Evan, can I?” I grumbled.

“Well–” Miyu began, but I cut her off. She moved so casually, and seemed so… comfortable… with what had happened to her. It was really pissing me off.

“What about you?” I snapped. “Are you really okay with turning into a catgirl!?”

“Of course nyot!” she shot back defensively, shrinking in on herself a bit and holding her backpack closer, with Yuki hissing from within in response - to the hug or my yelling at her, I don’t know.

“Th-This nyaccent is really embarrassing and it’s not like I can hide my cat parts forever…”

I realized just how close I’d gotten when I was upset and yelling at her, so I took a quick step back. “S-sorry… It’s just been a crazy week and now… this…” I gestured at my hyper-feminine body. “It sucks.”

Miyu let out a soft purring sound of agreement, nodding slightly, but said nothing further as the bus rolled up.

We boarded in mutually agreed upon silence, and maintained that silence as we rode to the cafe. I noticed a guy across the aisle checking me out, and flipped him off as I got up and exited at our stop.

 

“Hiya! Welcome~” Sachi casually greeted the two guests that had just entered, smiling wider when she recognized them. She looked over her shoulder towards the kitchen and called out: “Ada and I are taking our breaks!”

Strange that these two were always here right after school. Maybe they drove and didn’t have to wait around for a bus? Oh well. Not important.

Ada stepped out to join her and smiled at me, carrying a tray of the same drinks we’d had yesterday.

Sachi was following close behind with a paper bag. “You two look… girly.”

The comment was like a knife to my gut, and I groaned audibly. It was a cutesy sound that hurt almost as much as the comment. “Yeah, I know,” I mumbled.

 “Sorry, dude,” Sachi said, patting me on the head. “We’ll try to find a way to fix it.”

Being patted on the head made me feel like a child being talked down to. I scowled and looked away, mumbling. “Don’t treat me like a kid…”

Sachi’s ears folded a bit as she offered one of the cups with the blood boba to me. “Aww, c’mon. Some boba will help cheer you up, right?”

Yuki’s head popped up out of the bag and she meowed eagerly.

“Only good girls get snackies, Yuki,” Miyu said, gently shoving her back down into the bag as we took a seat at an open table.

Her backpack mewled plaintively. 

“So you picked up on Nyanese, I see,” Sachi giggled.

Miyu blushed hard, glancing at me. “Y-yeah… nyot by choice, exactly…”

“Yeah, youkai can be kinda pushy like that,” Sachi giggled again, handing over the bag she’d been holding. “Here, some supplies to help you out.”

She pulled out some shark that smelled funky, a bracelet, and a blanket.

Weird care package, but okay.

“The charm bracelet will help hide your cat features if you put it on and then grab the paw print charm,” Sachi explained.  “And the blanket’s been enchanted to feel like it always just came out of the dryer - you’ll be a lot colder at night now.”

“What about the shark?” Miyu asked.

“Oh, that’s just a blahaj I rubbed some catnip on. To help you sleep at night.”

“Huh,” Miyu grabbed the charm and pressed on it. A subtle light spread from the bracelet and the triangles under her beanie that I knew now were cat ears suddenly disappeared.

“Wow, um… thanks, Sachi. This helps out a ton. How much do I owe you? I don’t have a lot, but I can-” Miyu started to offer, looking a bit embarrassed.

Sachi tilted her head, interrupting her. “Owe me? No no, don’t worry about it! I’m just helping a fellow catgirl in nyeed!”

I couldn’t believe what I’d just seen. That was real, demonstrable magic!

“That was magic, wasn’t it?!” I asked excitedly, “Where’d you get it? How’d you do it?”

“I made it,” Sachi casually replied. “My moms taught me to enchant things when I was little.”

“Your… moms?” I knew lesbian couples were a thing, and I had no problem with that - or any LGBTQIA+ people for that matter… but… teaching their kids magic? Real magic?

“Just who are you two, really?” I asked.

“We’re…” Sachi and Ada traded a look with each other.

“Let’s just say our parents are the founders of this city,” Ada finished. “Oh, but that’s not official, so don’t go writing that into your history report!”

Their parents… founded New Haven? The city that didn’t exist until a few years ago? That must mean they had some seriously crazy magic. Way beyond making a heated blanket and disguise bracelet.

“If your parents made this whole place, then surely they could fix me, right?” I pressed desperately. This could be a fix for this whole fucked situation!

Ada’s face turned serious. “Probably, but… Look, the more we tell you, the more dangerous things will get for you and everyone you know. If you want the truth, swing by here tomorrow morning. I’ll tell you what you need to know, and help you get some control over those vampiric urges of yours.”

All day I’d been noticing things like the heartbeats of my classmates, or the smell of someone’s blood after they got a papercut. It had been driving me slightly mad, so I was glad to have some tips to mitigate that.

“Sure, I’ll be here. I want to get to the bottom of this.”

Sachi looked at Miyu seriously. “You come too, okay? I’ll show you some things to look out for now that you’re part cat.”

“Um… I can’t. Mum said we were going to the shelter tomorrow morning to drop off Yuki, since we can’t afford to keep her.”

Yuki’s face snapped out of her milk cup, and she started mewling wildly. 

Sachi looked between Yuki and Miyu. “Don't worry, I’ll take care of it. What does your mom do for a living, Miyu?”

“Um… she’s a waitress at a cheap seafood restaurant. Why?”

“Cause she won’t be tomorrow,” Sachi paused. “Er - that sounds like I’m going to kill her. I’m nyot! Promise! I’m just going to send a little bit of good luck her way. You and Yuki won’t be separated, count on it.”

“R-Right…” Miyu fidgeted with the hem of her skirt a bit as if she was thinking of what to say next. ”Then I’ll be here with Yuki tomorrow morning?”

“Great! See you then!” Sachi said, beaming.

Ada stood up. “Our break’s almost over so we should probably get back to work. If you’re free Sunday, we can give you a couple of extra myth lessons then, too. See ya tomorrow.”

Sachi stood up and waved. “Later Miyu, Evan, Yuki!”

I winced. If other customers heard her calling me my real name, they’d think I was weird, and I’d attract even more attention.

“It’s… Emma, now. I can’t keep going by my real name looking like this.”

“Oh,” Ada and Sachi exchanged another look. “Right,” Sachi said. “Emma, then.”

I nodded, and the two left to get back to work.

Once they were out of (what I assumed was) earshot, I slumped over and let my head hit the table with a dull thud. “What the hell is going on in this crazy city?”

“Umm… well, we’d better get the report done so we have time to find out?” Miyu offered.

“But none of the stuff in the history books about this place actually happened, right? It’s all fake!” I asserted, pushing myself back up off the table.

“Well - it’s real now!” Miyu protested, seeming a bit annoyed. “And I want to keep my A in history, so let’s just get it done. At least we don’t have to figure out what our Halloween costumes will be, so we’ll get that extra credit?”

Oh yeah, extra credit. That was totally my concern. As if I was going to turn up dressed as Draculina or some shit. “You’re such an optimist,” I grumbled.

“It comes nyatrually when you’re always looking for handouts. Come on, chin up. We’ll knock it out tonight over discord?” Miyu asked, offering me a hand up.

I wanted to stay mad, to sulk in my own little bubble of misery… but at least I had a friend by my side. I wasn’t alone in this madness… and tomorrow we might very well get some answers, and a solution!

“...Alright, yeah, just gotta make it to tomorrow,” I said, a faint smile forming on my lips.