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It was supposed to just be another normal day. That was all it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be the "same as always" as it always had been. But, yet, things weren't the same as always. Not for Ran Mitake, at least.
It's one thing to wake up and suddenly be in an unfamiliar place. It's another thing to wake up as a cat in an unfamiliar place. That was the dilemma that Ran found herself in.
She was in an alleyway. Her clothes were nowhere in sight. Not that it mattered. It was just about five in the morning. Ran started to panic. What would happen when she didn't show up to school.
Ran nervously got up. She had no clue how to walk. She was really bad at it. She yelped in pain as she fell onto her face. She was not a good cat. That was definitely for sure. Ran felt hopeless. What could she do? She had no clue what was going on.
Ran laid on the ground. She couldn't get back up. She was stuck. Ran was scared. She hated that she was scared. But, she was. She was defenseless in an unknown body and place. How would she survive?
The answer soon presented itself. It was not what Ran had been expecting. She also had not been wanting this answer.
Yukina was standing at the end of the alley. She had a backpack on. Ran didn't know what to do. She didn't want to get help from her. That was the last thing she wanted. But, Ran was desperate. She had no choice but to try and get help from her rival.
Yukina walked closer to her. Ran tried her best to meow. It sounded strange. It felt strange to do as well. Yukina bent down and looked at Ran. Ran tried to stand up, but to no avail.
"Are you hurt?" Yukina asked, "Poor thing..."
Ran hoped she would take her somewhere safe. Somewhere away from here. That was all she could ask for. She hated that it was Yukina, but there was nothing she could do about it. She needed help.
Yukina picked her up, "I'll take you home with me. But you have to stay quiet."
Ran was glad she was going away from the alley, even if it was with someone she didn't necessarily want. Yukina carried her to her house. They went to her bedroom. Yukina set Ran down on the bed. Ran tried again to stand up. This time, she managed to stand for a little bit.
"I don't have anything to feed you. I promise I'll get you something soon." Yukina said as she reached over and started petting Ran.
Ran froze in place. She didn't know how to react to that. It was strange. She didn't like her current situation. She just wanted to be a human again.
...
Ran had been left alone while Yukina had gone to school. Ran was worried. How would everyone react when they saw she wasn't there and wasn't at home either. She couldn't figure out what to do. She had no idea how to get herself back to being a human.
Ran spent the day pondering that. Yukina came back at around five. She gave Ran some ham that she had snuck up from the kitchen. She couldn't let her parents know that she had a cat here. Ran was grateful she wasn't having to eat cat food.
Yukina sat on the edge of her bed. She started texting the other Roselia members. They were having a discussion about their set list for an upcoming show.
Ran hesitantly walked over to Yukina. She wanted to thank her. After all, she might be dead by now if it hadn't been for her. Ran climbed onto Yukina's lap. Yukina started petting her as she watched the chat.
"Hmm..."
Ran looked up at Yukina. She wanted to know what she was looking at now.
"Mitake-san's gone missing..." Yukina whispered to herself, "How strange..."
Ran felt fear seep into her. She was reported as missing now. She could only imagine how worried everyone was. Ran wished she could do something to let them know that she was okay.
Yukina set her phone down and looked at Ran, "You remind me of her. With that red on you."
Ran didn't know if that was a good thing. Maybe she could somehow tell Yukina it was her. Ran didn't know how, though. She couldn't speak. She could only meow.
"I hope she's okay." Yukina looked up at the ceiling, "I don't want her to get hurt. Even if we are rivals, I don't wish ill upon her."
Ran was the same way. She would never want something bad to happen to Yukina either. They were friendly rivals, in a sense. They still respected each other. Some rivals didn't. They never understood that at all.
...
It had turned to night. Ran found herself unable to sleep. She was sleeping on the bed beside Yukina. Yukina was asleep. Ran sighed. She didn't know what to do. She needed to figure out a way to tell someone what was happening.
The clock struck midnight. Ran felt a weird tingling overtaking her body. The next thing she knew, she landed on the floor with a thud. She was human again. But, she had cat ears and a tail. Ran gulped as she realized she had no clothes on.
Yukina stirred from the thud. Ran tried to cover herself with her arms. Yukina stared at her with wide eyes. Ran stared back with eyes full of fear. She didn't know what was going to happen now.
"Ran?"
That was the first time she ever heard Yukina call her by her first name. Ran gulped and nodded. She was too afraid to speak. She didn't know what she would even say. How was she supposed to explain what was going on? It sounded crazy.
"What's going on?" Yukina sat up.
"I don't know..." Ran replied, her voice hoarse and shakey.
"Here." Yukina tossed a blanket to Ran.
Ran gratefully accepted it and wrapped it around herself. She was shaking slightly from the cold. Yukina climbed off her bed and sat down in front of Ran.
"Tell me what you know." Yukina requested.
"I... I woke up and... and I was a cat... I don't know what happened..." Ran said, her voice still shaking no matter how hard she tried to calm it.
"I don't know what could have happened either. To turn into a cat... it's so strange..." Yukina mumbled.
"What do I do? What if I stay like that forever?" Ran asked.
"I don't know." Yukina had no answer.
"You wish to turn back to a human?" A voice asked.
There was no person to go with the voice. Yukina and Ran both looked at each other. They didn't know what to think.
"I do..." Ran hesitantly answered.
"Then you must get a potion. From a small witch in the town. She works as a fortune teller." The voice replied, "You have a week before you'll forever be a cat. I suggest you hurry up. She's only open two days a week."
Yukina grabbed her phone and searched up the place. It took a long time to find it. Ran looked at her phone. There was only one day they could go now. And that was the day Roselia was supposed to perform at a major event.
Yukina didn't know what to do. She told Ran the problem. She wasn't available. Someone else would have to do it.
"Who else would do it? No one else will believe you..." Ran protested.
"There's nothing I can do about that. I'll tell anyone you'd like." Yukina stated.
"Sorry girls. It can only be you. No one else will be able to activate the potion's effects." The voice came back.
"Great..." Yukina sighed.
"Please..." Ran pleaded, "You're the only one who can help me now."
"I can't. Do you realize what I'd have to give up. You could do it yourself. I'm sure you could call her and explain the issue." Yukina defended.
"Yukina, please! I can't do it myself..." Ran started crying, "I don't want to be a cat forever.... I want to go back to normal!"
Yukina felt bad. Ran had gotten extremely upset over this. Yukina realized how insensitive she was being. She was saying Ran didn't matter as much as her career.
"I'll do it, okay?" Yukina said, "I guess it is more important to help you."
"Thank you so much!" Ran said.
"So... where are you going to sleep now?" Yukina looked around the room.
She didn't wait too long for an answer. It had already been three hours. Three AM came around. Ran suddenly shifted back into being a full-blown cat. Yukina stared in shock.
Ran meowed as she was trapped under the blanket. Yukina removed the blanket and tossed it back onto the bed. She picked Ran up and placed her on the bed. Yukina laid down again.
Ran hesitantly curled up on the bed. She tried her best to sleep. This time, she did fall asleep.
...
"What do you mean we can't perform!?"
"Yeah! We've been working so hard for this moment! What gives!?"
The members of Roselia didn't take the news too well. They didn't want to give up this opportunity. Yukina wished she could explain to them why, but she knew they wouldn't believe her.
"What even is the problem? There's nothing wrong." Sayo demanded.
"Something came up for me." Yukina stated.
"And this something is so important that you'll give up this opportunity?" Sayo stared her down, "You realize by dropping out we'll lose respect."
"It is. And I know. Yell all you want, I've already pulled us out." Yukina replied.
"How could you!?"
"Yukina! Why!?"
"Why don't you enlighten us on what's so important that you'd throw away the opportunity of a lifetime." Sayo asked with a growl.
"Yeah, what gives?" Ako joined in.
"I need to help someone. And it's the only day I can do it." Yukina said.
"What will happen if you don't help them? Why can't someone else do it?" Lisa asked, her manner a lot calmer than Sayo's.
"You won't believe me if I tell you the truth. Just understand that if I don't do this, they'll pretty much die. Maybe not physically, but mentally and emotionally." Yukina said.
"Tell us the truth then. Let's see if we do believe you." Sayo demanded.
"So... I found a cat in a alley yesterday. I brought them home because I felt bad. They couldn't even stand. Well, at midnight last night, they turned into a human. Well, they still had ears and a tail." Yukina started off.
"Okay, that's a lie." Sayo stated.
"Told you you wouldn't believe me." Yukina said.
"Continue?" Lisa requested, "I'd like to hear the full story even if it sounds made up."
"The cat... it's Ran. I know it sounds made up, but it's not. And, there's a fortune teller who can give her a potion to turn back to a human again. If she doesn't get it by the end of this week, she'll stay a cat forever. The fortune teller is only open on the day of the concert. That's why I had to cancel it." Yukina finished.
"Why don't you just tell us the real reason you canceled our show?" Sayo still didn't believe her at all.
"I told you. It's up to you to believe it." Yukina replied, "You can hate me for this, but I know what I have to do."
"C-could you possibly give us proof of this?" Rinko finally spoke up for the first time in this conversation.
"Maybe. Let's have a sleepover at my house. She should shift at midnight. Then you'll see for yourselves." Yukina nodded to Rinko.
"Very well. You better not be bluffing."
"Since when have I ever done this 'bluffing'?" Yukina asked.
...
Ran had not been expecting all of Roselia to come over. Yukina explained to her the reasoning. Ran understood it. She was nervous, though. They all were watching her warily.
"Hey, Ran, if it is you, then come here." Sayo demanded.
Ran gulped and nervously walked over to Sayo. Sayo was surprised, but hid it. She could still explain the behavior. It didn't mean that it was Ran.
"To prove you're Ran, go bring something here." Sayo ordered. No regular cat could do that. They'd never understand what she was saying.
Ran very much did. She walked over to a dresser and picked up a pen lying on the ground. She brought it back over to Sayo and then meowed in a mocking way. She was annoyed by Sayo's demands.
"Very well. We'll see at midnight." Sayo accepted the action as proof.
...
Midnight came slowly. Yukina had asked them all to step out of the room. She remembered that Ran had no clothes on when she shifted. Yukina left her a set of clothes to put on.
Once midnight struck, Ran changed. Like before, she still had the ears and tail. Ran quickly changed into the clothes and then opened the door. Everyone but Yukina stared at her in shock. They hadn't truly believed it was her until now.
"Sorry I doubted you..." Sayo mumbled as an apology.
Ako walked over to Ran. She was examining her cat ears and tail closely. Ran was nervously watching her. Ako eventually stepped back. She felt they were real. She just wanted to make sure they weren't fake.
"So... you need a potion to turn back to normal?" Lisa asked.
Ran nodded, "Yeah..."
"Good luck you two. It's strange to see you guys not glaring at each other." Lisa commented.
"Yeah! You guys are always giving each other glares." Ako agreed.
"I'm sure it'll soon be back to that." Yukina stated.
"I hope so." Ran said.
"Can we tell anyone else about this?" Ako asked. Everyone knew she wanted to tell Tomoe.
"I don't know that they'd believe you. And you can't give them proof." Sayo pointed out.
Ako pouted, "Aww..."
"Tomorrow is the day, right?" Rinko asked.
Yukina nodded, "It said she's open tomorrow."
"I hope you can find the potion quickly." Rinko said shyly.
"Thank you. I hope we can too." Yukina replied.
They stayed up and talked in Yukina's room for a while. At three AM, like before, Ran suddenly changed back into a cat. Everyone was startled by the change. Ran struggled to get out of the clothes which she was now trapped in.
Sayo was the closest to her, so she carefully picked her up and pulled her out. Ran looked like she was pouting. Sayo set her down on the floor.
"Come here, Ran. I wanna pet you." Ako called.
Ran hissed at her and backed away. She didn't like being pet that much. Ako pouted at her. Ran stared at her for a bit. Eventually she gave in and sat in Ako's lap. Ako smiled and gently started petting her.
Ran had to admit that being pet felt calming. She found herself starting to doze off. Roselia continued to talk to a while longer. Ran decided to just go and sleep. She was okay with Ako petting her for now.
...
The next day, Yukina carefully hid Ran in her purse. They left the house and went to find the fortune teller. Thankfully, it was easy to find. Yukina entered the shop. Ran hid in the purse.
"Hello, how may I help you?"
"Are you a witch?" Yukina asked.
"Yes, I am. What do you need?"
Yukina pulled Ran out and placed her on the counter, "I need a potion to turn her human. She was changed into a cat and I want her back as a human."
"I see. Let me see if I have one in stock." The witch left them.
Ran looked up at Yukina. Yukina sighed. If she didn't have a potion, what would they do then?
"Here you go. This will change her back. She just needs to drink it." The witch came back with a bottle.
"Thank you. How much is it?" Yukina asked.
"I'll give it to you for free. This is a very peculiar occurrence."
Yukina and Ran left with the potion. They went back to Yukina's house.
"Do you want it now or would you rather wait till you shift?" Yukina asked.
Ran growled at her. Yukina realized her mistake.
"Right. Um... stand on the pillow if you want it now. Stay where you are if you want to wait." Yukina said.
Ran stayed where she was. She didn't think it would be easy to drink it as a cat. Yukina accepted the answer and hid the potion. She didn't want anyone else to find it.
"I hope it works... if not..." Yukina sighed.
Ran meowed and nodded. She also hoped the same thing. If it didn't work, she'd be a cat forever. She didn't want that.
"I wonder if Ako tried to tell anyone." Yukina mumbled as she laid down on her bed.
Ran laid down beside her. Yukina reached over and pet her. Ran sighed. She didn't care anymore. Yukina liked petting her. Ran didn't really like it, but she gave up complaining.
...
Midnight came again. Ran shifted. Yukina handed her the potion. They were both sitting on the floor. Ran opened it up. She sniffed it. It smelled very strong. Ran took a deep breath and drank it.
She finished it. Ran waited, but nothing happened. She and Yukina shared glances. Did it not work? Was the effect delayed?
Ran felt very tingly again. She assumed that meant she was changing into a human again. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. She changed back into a cat.
Laughing started up nearby. The witch appeared before them.
"You lied to us!" Yukina glared at her.
"Yep. Now she's gonna be a cat forever. And she doesn't even get the luxury of being half-human anymore." The witch laughed.
"Why? Why did you do this?" Yukina demanded.
"She wronged me, so I wanted revenge." The witch explained, "Have fun!"
She vanished after that. Yukina couldn't believe what had just happened.
"Ran?" Yukina looked over at Ran.
Ran was unsteady on her feet. She collapsed to the ground moments later. She had passed out from the realization she was never becoming a human again. It was too much for her to handle.
"Ran!" Yukina picked her up and placed her in her lap.
Ran came to a few seconds later. She weakly lifted her head and looked at Yukina. Yukina gave her a solemn look. Ran blacked out again. Her emotions were too wild for her to handle.
Yukina didn't know what to do. She just pet Ran as she waited for her to wake up again. Yukina couldn't believe what had happened. She had been lied to. Now Ran was stuck as a cat. Yukina wished there was something she could do to fix that.
Yukina pulled out her phone. She texted Roselia. She told them that the potion was a bluff and Ran was now permanently a cat. They all were in dismay. They felt the same anger Yukina did as well. That witch had just made enemies with the wrong group.
And, if they could convince Afterglow of the truth, there would be four more people against her. Yukina knew what she had to do tomorrow. She needed to tell them the news and get them in on their revenge plan. That witch was not getting away with ruining Ran's entire life.
...
In the morning, Yukina explained the plan to Ran. Ran was happy that they were willingly to get revenge for her. Yukina took Ran with her. She hoped she could convince them of the truth.
Ran was still struggling to come to terms with the fact she was stuck as a cat. It was hard to deal with. Everything she had worked so hard for was gone in seconds. She'd never get it back. She never get to sing with Afterglow again.
Yukina spotted one of the members. Himari was skipping down the street while humming a tune. Yukina moved into her path. Himari stopped and stared at her in confusion.
"Um... you need something?" Himari nervously asked.
"I need to talk with you and the rest of your band." Yukina stated.
"Um... okay... I'll call them here." Himari quickly texted everyone to come quickly.
Within a few minutes, the other three had arrived. They all sat down in the grass nearby. None of them knew what to think of this. Why would Yukina want to talk to them?
Yukina pulled Ran out of her bag. Ran looked at them all. She wanted to cry. She missed them.
"Why did you bring a cat?" Moca asked.
"I know it's going to sound crazy, but this is Ran." Yukina stated.
"You expect us to believe that?" Tomoe rolled her eyes.
"It's the truth. A witch cursed her to be a cat." Yukina said.
"Where's the proof? How can we know if this is Ran?" Himari questioned.
"Ask her to do something." Yukina suggested.
"Ran~ Come give Moca a big ole hug~" Moca called
Ran walked over to Moca and climbed into her lap. She nuzzled her face into Moca's shirt. She hoped that was enough to convince her. Moca picked her up and held her in the air. She examined her closely. Ran was staring back at her, unsure what she should do.
"Why would a witch curse her?" Tsugumi asked.
"I don't know. She didn't tell us that." Yukina replied.
"What do you think, Moca? Is that really Ran?" Tomoe asked.
Ran turned her head to look at Tomoe. She growled at her in annoyance. Ran didn't think it would be too hard to get them to believe.
"Okay, cats do not growl at people like that. She looks so annoyed right now. I think it's Ran." Himari stated.
Ran nodded. The rest of Afterglow all stared at her in shock. They couldn't doubt that it was her. Moca set Ran down. Ran nuzzled her again. She moved on and did the same to all of them. Then, she sat between them and Yukina.
"Is there any way to turn her back?" Moca asked.
"I don't know... we tried, but the witch lied to us and gave a potion that made her permanently a cat... she used to change into a half-human half-cat at midnight until three AM. That doesn't happen now." Yukina said.
"We need to try. Maybe we can force the witch to change her back?" Tomoe stated.
"Y-yeah! We can't just give up!" Tsugumi agreed.
"Well, Roselia has already planned something. Care to join our plan?" Yukina asked.
They nodded. They'd do anything to get revenge for Ran. They'd do anything to try and get her back. They needed her. They weren't giving up no matter what. They'd find a way to change her back. They would keep looking even if that witch didn't do it. Someone has to be able to, right?
...
The next day, Afterglow and Roselia met up. They were discussing what they could do. While Roselia may have made a simple plan already, they needed to improve it more. It wouldn't do them much good to only follow that guideline. They needed to think of more things to do.
The plan they came up with so far was that they would go find the witch. They'd surround her and try to threaten her into turning Ran back. They just needed to think of what to do if she managed to escape them. They had to find a way to track her down.
This was their only hope of getting Ran back to a human. They didn't know what else they would be able to do if this failed. Ran may stay stuck as a cat if they couldn't succeed in their plan. None of them wanted that at all.
After what felt like hours, they came up with a plan they felt could work. They decided they'd do it tomorrow. She should be open then. They'd go to the store and surround her. They just hoped she wasn't able to harm them with magic. That would be pretty bad.
The next day came before they knew it. Everyone was gathered right beside the store. Moca was holding Ran. They were nervous. They didn't know what they'd do if this failed.
They all went inside. The witch was there. She walked around the counter and over to them. She didn't seem scared or intimidated by them. That already wasn't a good sign.
"Come to beg me to change your friend back?" The witch teased.
"No. We've come to force you to do it." Yukina stated.
"Aww... you really think you can make me do it? How cute." The witch laughed.
"Do it now or we'll hurt you." Sayo growled as she moved forward slightly. She wasn't in the mood to go back and forth with this witch.
"I don't think so." The witch said.
She summoned her magic and cast a spell. It hit Sayo, causing everyone to focus on her. The witch easily escaped while they were all distracted.
"Are you okay, Sayo?" Lisa asked.
Sayo growled as she tried to get the magic off of her, "Yeah. It was just a bluff."
"She ran... what do we do now?" Tsugumi whispered.
"We'll never find her... it's hopeless. Unless there is another witch around, I think we're doomed." Tomoe sighed.
"There's no other witch around here. We've been beaten..."
"W-wait! I remembered something! There is another witch close by!" Himari perked up.
"Really? Who is it?" Ako asked excitedly.
"I-it's... Kaoru..." Himari suddenly was a lot less hyper, "No one's supposed to know about that... so, maybe it's a bad idea..."
"We have to try. How do you even know about that, though?" Tsugumi asked.
"Um... Kokoro kinda mentioned it by accident. She looked mortified after she realized what she said." Himari nervously explained.
"Whether or not we should know about this, we need her help. It's our only chance." Moca said.
"I guess we can go and find her."
That's exactly what they did. The ten of them went to see where Kaoru was at. They started at her house. She was home, thankfully. That meant they didn't have to go and search everywhere.
Kaoru was confused by their arrival. She didn't know what to think about all of them showing up. She invited them inside. Everyone awkwardly stood around the entrance.
"What brings so many of you here?" Kaoru asked.
"You're a witch. We need your help." Himari stated.
Kaoru's eyes went wide, "H-how did you find out about that?"
"Kokoro slipped up and told me." Himari explained.
"Well, what do you want from me?" Kaoru tried her best to stay calm. This was not a situation she ever wanted to find herself in. It was so shocking she wasn't even able to talk like she normally did.
"An evil witch turned Ran into a cat. Can you change her back?" Moca stepped forward and held out Ran.
Kaoru had no words for that. She hesitantly took Ran from Moca and examined her. Ran waited, hoping Kaoru could indeed do something for her. She was screwed if the answer was no.
"I'll see what I can do. You can come to my room." Kaoru said and motioned for them to follow her.
They all went up to her room. It was very cramped. Sayo and Lisa opted to stay outside of the room and wait. Rinko quickly asked to join them. She didn't want to be in such a crowded place either. The three of them waited outside and listened.
"I can't guarantee I'll be able to do anything for you, but I'll see what I can do." Kaoru said, "This is very strange. I've never heard of someone doing such a thing before."
"I still don't understand why they did this..." Himari said, "What was the point?"
"She said she was getting revenge for something." Yukina replied, "What that something is is not something I know."
Kaoru was busy looking through a spellbook. She wasn't sure if she knew a spell that would work. It wasn't a normal spell to have to use. Normally a spell like that wore off after a while.
"I think I found something." Kaoru said as she placed a spellbook on her desk.
"Will it work?"
"I'm not sure. I've never used it before. There is always a chance if failure." Kaoru replied, "But, I do think this will work."
"Please..."
Kaoru placed Ran on the desk. Ran sat down and watched Kaoru with interest. She was praying for the spell to work. She couldn't stay a cat forever. There's no way she'd manage.
Kaoru started reciting the spell with one hand touching Ran. Everyone waited in anticipation for her to finish. The air was tense and uncertain. No one knew what the outcome would be. That made everyone nervous.
After a few minutes, Kaoru finished the spell. She stepped back and looked at her book.
"Well?" Ako asked impatiently.
"The spell shall take effect tonight. It needs time to undo all the magic. By morning, if it worked, she should be human again." Kaoru said.
"And if it doesn't?" Moca questioned.
"Then I'm afraid she's stuck as a cat."
"Thank you for your help. Sorry to just barge in like this." Himari said.
"It's fine. I'm glad I could help." Kaoru replied.
"I guess we can go now." Tomoe said.
Everyone slowly left the house. They were still nervous. They wouldn't know if the spell worked until tonight. There was a lot of time left to worry about the fact it might not work. That Ran might never become a human again.
"So... what should we do now?" Lisa asked.
"I say we hang out until we know if the spell worked." Ako suggested.
"Whose house could hold everyone, though?" Sayo pointed out.
"Good point..." Ako sighed.
"I think they can handle this by themselves now. We can go." Yukina stated.
"You sure?"
"Yes. There's nothing more we can do but wait." Yukina nodded.
The Roselia members bid farewell and went their own ways. Except for Ako. She hung back with Afterglow.
"Why don't we go to our house?" Ako suggested.
"I guess we can."
They went to the house. Everyone was unsure what to do. It was hard to do anything. Everyone just wanted it to be night already so they could see if Ran was going to become human again. They had a while to wait still.
...
After what felt like ages, night finally fell. They all tried to stay up to wait, but slowly everyone fell asleep. Ran was the only one still up. She was too anxious to sleep. Her nerves were everywhere.
Midnight came and she still hadn't changed. Ran was starting to wonder if the spell hadn't worked. It was hard to wait. She wanted to turn back. It seemed hopeless, though. But, Ran tried to stay positive. The night wasn't over yet. There was still time for her to change back. If dawn came, then she'd start to panic.
Time droned on by. Ran still didn't change back. She had given up hope at this point. It didn't look like it had worked.
"Ran?"
Ran jumped at the voice. Moca had woken up. Ran walked over to her with her head hung low and her tail dragging across the ground.
"Still haven't changed yet..." Moca sighed.
Ran laid down and curled up close to Moca. She gave up waiting. She'd just go to sleep and see what happened in the morning. Moca laid an arm around her.
"I'm sorry... I know this is really tough..." Moca whispered, "But, even if this doesn't work, I promise we won't give up."
Ran just closed her eyes in reply. She didn't have hope. There was no way she'd turn back. She was going to be stuck as a cat forever.
...
Morning came. Everyone woke up late. Himari was the first one up. She yawned and stretched. She sat up and looked around the room. Himari's eyes went wide, and then a smile found it's way onto her face.
"Guys! Wake up!" Himari started waking everyone else up.
Everyone groaned in annoyance. They didn't want to get up.
Ran opened her eyes. She realized her perspective seemed different. She sat up and then it dawned on her. She was human again. It had actually worked.
"Ran's back!" Himari declared, before she hugged Ran suffocatingly tight.
"So, it did work..." Moca smiled as she sat up.
"Yeah... I'm back..." Ran couldn't believe it still. She had given up all hope. It was nice to know she wasn't going to have to spend the rest of her life as a cat.
...
Later that day, Ran was out by herself. She had, thankfully, actually switched with clothes on. That would've been a lot more awkward if she had shifted and been naked. Especially since her abd Moca had ended up hugging each other during the night.
Ran was out in the town. She was looking for a certain someone. After all, she had to thank her. If it wasn't for Yukina, she would've never even had the chance to turn back.
Ran eventually found her. She was walking down the street. It didn't seem like she was in a hurry. Ran caught up to her.
"Yukina."
Yukina paused and turned around. She stared at Ran in silence for a while.
"The spell worked then?" Yukina said.
Ran nodded, "Yeah..."
"You need something? Seems weird you chase me down just to tell me you're back." Yukina asked.
"I just... I guess I should thank you... if you hadn't helped me, none of this would've ever happened." Ran mumbled as her face started to become red.
"You're welcome." Yukina replied, "Do you have any plans for today?"
"Um... no. We got me off the missing person's report, so now I'm fine." Ran said, "Why?"
"I'd like to talk with you. Just casually." Yukina said.
"I guess we could." Ran replied.
"Shall we go?"
"Sure." Ran nodded.
The two of them walked down the street together. It was a strange sight. It almost seemed like they were friends now. Perhaps this entire ordeal did change their relationship a little bit.