Transformation

Time seemed to slow down infinitely. I couldn’t say whether it had been a couple of seconds or minutes, but in that moment, time felt frozen. I was dazed and didn’t know what to do or how to react, but then Rui pulled a sword seemingly out of nowhere, and raised it above her head, as if ready to strike me down.

Eh? Why does she have a sword? And where did it even come from? Wait, why does she have a sword?! Is she planning on killing me?!

I started panicking, frantically waving my arm and kicking my leg, trying to get her to stop.
The parts of my body I couldn’t control were still moving on their own, so I had to interfere. Although I don’t know exactly how I looked, I imagine it was similar to a turtle struggling on its back, unable to get up.

Luckily, my comical performance seemed to work. Rui no longer seemed eager to kill me, though I had no idea why she wanted to in the first place. Now, she looked bewildered, as if she was seeing a ghost.

Now that she had put her sword away, I stopped waving and kicking. Out of sheer desperation to avoid being beheaded, I simply waved at her with my right hand. That made her astonished expression look even weirder, but honestly, I found it kind of cute.

She fixed me with a piercing stare, as if peering into my soul, and asked in a voice that sounded almost magical.

“Are you awake?”

Huh? Am I awake? Do I look like a sleeping person to you?

As I couldn’t talk, I made a thumbs-up gesture with my right hand.

“Can you see me right now?”

Although I thought it was an irrelevant question, I obliged and gave another thumbs-up.

“Can you talk?”

I rotated my wrist, giving a thumbs-down.

“Are you able to control your body?”

I hesitated, since it wasn’t a question I could answer with a yes or no, but eventually, I pointed at my right shoulder and left thigh.

I hope she understands what that means.

“Are you saying you can control your right arm and left leg?"

Good, she understood. Seems like she’s really smart.

“How did you manage to control those parts of your body?”

...Or maybe not. How am I supposed to answer that with a yes or no?

When I wasn’t pointing or giving a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, it seemed like she remembered I couldn’t talk.

“Right, you can’t talk.”

...I’m so confused.

After a while, she finally composed herself and started questioning me again.

“Can you control any other body parts?”

I gave her a simple thumbs-down, and then I thought of something. I mimed holding a phone to my ear.

If she has her phone, I could type more detailed answers than just yes and no.

“Hm? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Oh, come on! How can she not realize I’m asking for a phone? Maybe she’ll understand if I pretend to hold a pen.

“...Are you writing something?”

Yes! Exactly! You get a thumbs-up.

“But I can’t see what you’re writing if you don’t have a pen and paper.”

Is she serious? How can she be this dense?

I tried gesturing with my palm, signaling I wanted her to give me something, and thankfully, she understood that.

“Are you asking me to give you a pen and paper?”

Yes!

“But I don’t have those.”

I know that! I don’t need a pen and paper specifically, just something to write with.

“Wait here, I’ll go get some.”

Huh? Is she for real? Is she actually going to find pen and paper at this time of night?
Doesn’t she realize that all the stores are closed? Don’t tell me she’s going to run home to get some. Or worse, break into a store?

Rui then turned around and ran away. When she returned a couple minutes later, instead of a pen and paper, she handed me a phone.

“I couldn’t find any, so I’ll just lend you my phone. That should work, right?"

Yes, thank you, that’s what I wanted from the start. Why did it take so long for her to figure that out? Well, at least she didn’t actually go rob a store or something.

I gave a resigned thumbs-up and took the phone, but it was locked.

She didn’t even unlock it. What am I supposed to do with a locked phone?

When I showed her the locked screen, she looked at me like I offended her somehow. She then typed in her password, unlocked the phone, and handed it to me, still frowning.

I opened the ‘Notes’ app and started typing.

“Ask away.”

“Okay. How did you manage to control your arm and leg?”

Typing with only one hand was a little slow, but after a while, I showed her the screen with my message.

“I focused really hard on controlling a single finger first, and then moved up from there.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“How are you conscious right now?”

“Idk.”

“What does that mean?”

She doesn’t know what ‘idk’ means? Does she live under a rock?

“I don’t know.”

“Oh. Do you know how you got yourself into this situation?”

“No. I just woke up without being able to control my body.”

“But you can control some parts now, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Why can’t you control the other ones?”

“Low energy. If I try, I might pass out.”

“How do you know that?”

“Just a feeling.”

Before she could ask me another question, I quickly typed my own.

“Why did you have a sword?”

“...You don’t need to know.”

“Why are you here in the middle of the night?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Seems like I won’t get any answers. Oh well, it was worth a shot.

After that, her interrogation continued.

“When will you have enough... ‘energy’, to try and control other body parts?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did anything unusual happen before this?”

Anything unusual? That could be a long list.

“Yes. I started having a weird feeling at the back of my head a while back. Then, one day, some parts of my body started going numb, and now I’m here.”

“Hmm, yes, that confirms it.”

“Confirms what?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Of course I don’t... Wait, what’s with her ears?

I had been too distracted to notice before, but her ears were much longer than those of the average human, and they were pointed too. Without thinking, I typed.

“Why are your ears so long?”

The moment she saw that message, her face went pale, even more than it already was.
Then, a bright light flashed, forcing my body to shut its eyes. What I saw next was still Rui, but her clothes and even hair color had changed. She was now wearing her usual oversized black hoodie, her hair, now dark brown, was mostly hidden under a black beanie, along with her ears.

“You would have normally been dead by now.”

Huh?!

After composing myself a little, I asked.

“Why?”

Rui just glared at me like never before and repeated her usual answer.

“You don’t need to know.”

Scared she would do something to me, I obediently replied.

“Okay.”

“...I have a proposition for you, so listen carefully. I will help you with your current situation, and in return, you will never, ever, tell anyone what you saw today. If you do,
I will kill you without mercy.”

Normally, I’d dismiss it as a joke, but after everything that had happened, I was sure she was serious.

“Okay.”

“Good. Now that you understand, let’s go.”

She turned around and started walking away, then stopped, realizing I couldn’t walk.
A blinding light flashed once more, and when I opened my eyes, her attire and hair had transformed again. Her long, pointed ears were now fully exposed, and her shimmering, light blue hair, tinged with silver, flowed with the breeze.

Without saying anything, she picked up my struggling body off the ground and lifted me over her head as if I weighed nothing, then jumped into the air.

Whoa! What the heck? She just jumped at least twenty meters high, maybe even more.
Oh, oh no! We’re going to fall!

But we didn’t. Instead, we floated for a moment before shooting forward, faster than a speeding car.

Are... are we really flying? Is this real, not just a really vivid dream? I thought nothing else could surprise me today, but oh, was I wrong.