Chapter 31: — “Magical Mayhem"

Riku had been sitting in the back corner of the classroom for the past hour, staring blankly at floating symbols and parchment pages as Mika scribbled notes excitedly beside him. His hands were folded, tapping lightly on the desk.

“I’m bored,” Riku muttered under his breath, glancing at Mika.

Mika looked up with a small smile. “Bored? Come on, Riku. This is kind of interesting.”

“Interesting if you’re into glowing letters and people making fireballs with their hands,” he replied dryly.

Akari, sitting a few desks ahead, glanced back at them. “Don’t complain. At least you’re safe here.”

Riku rolled his eyes. “Safe… yeah, because staring at magic for an hour is so thrilling.”

Before Mika could respond, Sensei clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention. “Alright, class, let’s move on from theory. Time for some hands-on spell training.”

The room shifted with murmurs of excitement. Some witches immediately perked up, eager to demonstrate their skills, while others bit their lips nervously.

Sensei’s gaze landed on Riku. “Since we have a guest today, let’s try something special. Three of you will pair up with him. You may cast spells on him to test if you’re performing them correctly.”

Riku froze mid-sip of his cocoa, eyes wide. “Wait… what?”

Mika leaned over, whispering excitedly, “Riku! This is your chance to—”

“NO. I did not sign up for this,” Riku interrupted in a loud whisper, nearly choking. “I did NOT! I—”

Sensei, unfazed, simply nodded. “You heard me. Go ahead, class.”

Riku groaned, throwing his head back. “I did NOT sign up for this… testing spells on me? This is ridiculous.”

Mika laughed quietly. “Riku, come on, it could be fun!”

“Fun? Fun is when I’m not the target of fireballs, ice spikes, and… whatever else you all can throw at me!”

Akari smirked faintly, already sensing how this would unfold. “Just stay calm, Riku. You’re in good hands.”

Riku muttered to himself, glaring at the three witches approaching him: “Good hands… sure… if I want to be turned into a frog or something.”

Riku stepped hesitantly toward the three witches who were assigned to him, the floor beneath him creaking slightly as he tried to look as composed as possible. He had been told he could “help” the students with spell practice, but judging by the mischievous looks on their faces, he immediately regretted agreeing.

The witches—two girls with bright, sparkling eyes and one slightly taller girl with a nervous smile—leaned toward each other and whispered rapidly, voices overlapping in a torrent of excitement.

“Can you believe he’s actually here?” one of them gasped.

“I know! I’ve never... like, a boy in class?” another squealed.

“Oh my god, he’s even taller than I thought. And his shoulders—” the taller girl whispered, blushing deeply.

Riku’s brow furrowed, trying to make sense of the whispering, but the words were so jumbled and rapid he couldn’t catch any of it. He raised a hand slightly. “Uh… excuse me? Could you... uh... speak one at a time? I, uh…”

The girls squealed again, this time in unison, and it took everything in Riku not to throw his hands in the air and run. He had never seen witches act like this, even when he was in trouble with school brawls.

Meanwhile, Mika, sitting with Akari and a few other witches who were practicing minor levitation spells, noticed Riku being surrounded and blushed faintly. She could feel a familiar sting of jealousy bubble up in her chest.

“Focus, Mika,” Akari murmured, leaning over to nudge her sister. “They’re just witches practicing spells. Don’t let your emotions distract you.”

Mika huffed, pouting slightly, but tried her best to watch the demonstration alongside Akari. Still, she couldn’t help sneaking glances at Riku, noting the way the girls leaned in toward him, whispering with excitement and flustered expressions. Her hands curled into fists in her lap.

Back with Riku, he took a deep breath, trying to regain composure. “Uh… can you… maybe be gentle? I mean… nothing dangerous, okay?” His voice was calm, but there was an undertone of clear nervousness.

Before the witches could respond, the smallest of the three raised her hand and muttered a soft chant under her breath. A subtle spark shot out and… Riku blinked.

“Wait... what—” His words were cut short as a small beam of silvery light enveloped his mouth. Suddenly, his voice was gone. He opened and closed his mouth, but no sound came out. His hands instinctively clutched at his throat.

“W-What did you... hey! Stop! I… can’t... talk!” he muttered silently, though the witches looked at him with panic.

“Oh no! Oh no, no, no!” the same small witch stammered, waving her hands frantically. “I—I’ll fix it! I swear! I just… wait—”

She waved her wand again, murmuring incantations that were meant to reverse the effect. A faint purple glow wrapped around Riku’s head. But something went wrong. A loud pop echoed through the room, and his reflection in the nearest mirror shimmered oddly.

“What... now…?” Riku’s eyes widened. He reached up and touched his face. The hands that met his cheeks were… smaller. Softer. The reflection in the mirror shifted…

“Oh no… oh no no no!” one of the other witches cried, waving her hands desperately, “I’ll fix it—I know the counter-spell... oh, please don’t panic!”

The third witch, a girl with a slightly taller frame, glanced nervously at the first two and muttered something in a garbled, exaggerated chant. “Oh mighty… boy… return him to… boy?”

A wave of sparkling energy hit Riku’s entire body. He stumbled slightly and looked down, then screamed in absolute shock. His frame had changed. The broad shoulders he remembered were gone, replaced with a much smaller, more feminine figure. His clothes hung oddly, and the room seemed to tilt around him.

“M-Mika…? Akari… what… what happened?!” Riku’s voice, now unmistakably high-pitched, squeaked from his lips.

Mika’s head snapped up from her seat beside Akari, her cocoa nearly tipping over. “AHHHHH… R-RIKU???” Her hands flew to her mouth, and her legs kicked in surprise. She was frozen in place, staring at the altered figure of her friend.

Riku spun toward the mirror across the room. His eyes widened in horror as he saw his reflection: long hair framing a delicate face, his body shrunk to a feminine form, and his uniform altered to fit the new shape. He held his hands to his cheeks.

“What…? Dear god… don’t tell me I’m—” He gasped as his voice squeaked again. “I… I’M A F*CKING GIRL?!”

The classroom erupted into chaos. The witches who had cast the spells flailed their hands, muttering frantic apologies.

“I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean—” the first girl squeaked, her face red.

The second tried waving her wand to fix it again, but it only made Riku’s ears twitch slightly, taking on a softer, rounder shape. “Oh no, no, this isn’t working... wait! I—”

Riku shrieked, hopping in place. “GET ME BACK! I DON’T WANT THIS! THIS IS NOT ME!”

Mika clutched Akari’s arm tightly, her tears already brimming. “Riku…! Don’t… don’t panic! You… you’ll be okay!”

Akari quickly rose, stepping between the panicked witches and Riku. “Everyone stop! Step back! I’ve got this,” she said, her voice calm but firm. Her eyes narrowed as she recited the spell with precise hand movements, the glowing runes spinning around her fingers.

The room fell silent as all eyes focused on Akari. Slowly, the air shimmered around Riku, and the transformation reversed. His hair shortened, shoulders broadened back to their original frame, and the feminine shape melted away, leaving him exactly as he had been.

Riku collapsed slightly, breathing heavily. “Finally… FINALLY,” he muttered, hands on his knees.

The three witches looked mortified. “I… I’m so sorry! We didn’t mean…!”

“I-I didn’t… I didn’t think it would do that!” another whispered.

Riku waved his hands weakly. “Yeah, okay… I’m alive… that’s enough for me. Just… don’t… touch me with spells ever again!” He muttered, glaring at them in mock anger, though his relief was obvious.

Mika rushed forward, kneeling beside him and squeezing his arm gently. “Riku… are you… okay? Really okay?”

Riku glanced at her, giving a small smile. “Yeah… I’m fine now… thanks to Akari.” He pointed to Akari, who was already turning to check the other students, making sure everyone was calm.

The classroom buzzed as whispers spread. “Wow… he’s… he’s really… impressive.”

“I didn’t know he could survive that!”

Mika, still slightly flustered, nudged Akari. “He… looked… really weird…”

Akari smirked faintly. “I’ll handle the ‘weird’ part next time,” she said softly, mostly to herself, before helping Riku settle back into his seat.

Riku slumped in his chair, muttering, “Next time… there won’t be a next time.” Mika laughed lightly, finally feeling a sense of relief, though she still gave Riku a worried glance.

The bell rang, signaling a break between classes. Mika bounced into the seat beside him, humming and kicking her legs.

“You’re really okay now, right?” Mika asked, glancing at him with wide eyes.

Riku gave a weak nod. “Yeah… I think so. Still… traumatized a little, maybe.”

Akari sat across from them, calm as ever. “You’ll survive, Mika’s cheering for you too,” she said with a small smirk.

Mika leaned closer, whispering, “You looked funny as a girl earlier… kind of cute, actually.”

Riku groaned, pressing a hand to his forehead. “Cute? Mika… never speak of that again.”

Mika giggled, ignoring his protest, while Akari rolled her eyes but stayed silent. The trio ate quietly, enjoying the calm after the chaos.

Finally, Riku looked out the window, letting a small smile slip through. Mika rested her head on his shoulder, humming softly. Akari glanced at them, satisfied that for now, the morning’s chaos was behind them.