Walking across the campus to her art class, Akiko Fubihara reflected on things. She was giddy with excitement, realizing she had exactly three months before graduating from college. However, she was also anxious for the future. She recalled that her best memories were from high school, when she was in her teen years. Her college career had been enjoyable, but it wasn’t as great as high school, in her estimation. Maybe I’m just getting old, she thought. She pushed these ideas out of her head as she approached the building where her art class resided.
The sketching pencil scratched across the paper, drawing the fair face of a woman. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, with only the faintest of wrinkles stemming from her decidedly Asian features. She had feathery black hair cut in a short style. The artist moved her pencil down the sheet, sketching out the woman’s body. She was in good shape, and had a curvy sort of figure. Her breasts were ample, and were accentuated by a tight cerulean T-shirt with nonsense English sentences decorating it. She wore tight jeans with a slight flare at the ends of their legs. On her feet were heavy black boots, adorned with several shiny metal buckles. The boots gave her a large boost in height, but she didn’t need it. Even from looking at the illustration, one could tell she was quite tall.
The drawing was of Akiko, by herself. It was mostly accurate, besides the wrinkles, which were rather exaggerated. The class had been instructed to create self-portraits, and the teacher was ambling around Akiko’s way. He was an elderly man, but walked without any kind of stoop. His grayed hair was cut in a conservative style. The teacher peered at Akiko’s drawing, and nodded his approval.
“Quite good, Fubihara. Except...” Here he pointed with the butt of a pen. “You don’t flatter yourself with these wrinkles. You don’t look half that bad.”
He smiled at her, and she merely gave a blank look back. “Thank you, Kitabatake-san.”
The old man was satisfied, and sauntered off to inspect more students’ work. Over at Akiko’s table, a fellow student leaned over to speak to her.
“Always worried about the wrinkles, that’s our Akiko!” said the student. She was one of Akiko’s friends, and knew about her fixation with aging. Her name was Chiaki. She, in contrast with the majority of their Japanese school, was white. She had long, curly blonde hair and an air of arrogance about her. She was attractive, and seemed much younger than she really was. This was a constant source of annoyance for Akiko.
“Quiet, Chiaki.” Akiko snapped. She could discuss this subject quite easily with her other friends, but not Chiaki.
“I’m not done yet. You know I read an interesting report the other day? It said that Asian women tend to age poorly.”
“Don’t make those kinds of jokes.”
“No! I’m serious! It has something to do with their skin, or something. I don’t remember. Look it up if you want!”
Akiko chose not to respond, and returned to her illustration.
After class, Chiaki and Akiko walked together to another building, which they both had a class in. Along the way, they spotted a familiar person jogging their way. It was another one of their friends, a girl named Ryo. She was a year older than Akiko, but didn’t act it. She had her long hair tied up in pigtails, and wore a pink backpack with a ridiculous amount of anime-themed charms and pins clutched to it. She wore glasses most of the time, but had recently started wearing brightly colored contacts. Today her eyes shone a vibrant shade of purple.
“Chiaki! Akiko! You wouldn’t believe it!” she started as she approached them, gasping for breath. “You know that cosplay convention they’re having week after next? They just announced their mystery musical guest!” She looked at the two, waiting for them to ask her who.
“Who?” asked Akiko.
“TM Revolution!” Ryo said, practically squealing. Akiko knew this was important to her, as TMR was one of Ryo’s favorite pop idols. In fact, he was her absolute favorite. Saying he was one of her favorite things in existence would be more accurate.
“One of you’s got to come with me!” she continued, looking hopefully at them. Chiaki gave an arrogant snort, as if such things were below her. Akiko seemed to consider, then Ryo suddenly grabbed her arm.
“Oh, Akiko! You’ve got to go with me!” Ryo said, looking to her pleadingly.
“I don’t know, Ryo. I’ve got some hard classes to study for...”
Ryo whimpered a bit.
“I’ll think about it, okay?” Akiko said, if only to console her.
“You will? Great!” Ryo gushed, as if Akiko had promised to go. “Oh yeah, one more thing. You have class with Izumi-san next, right?”
Akiko nodded an affirmative.
“Well, look out today. She’s somewhat cross.”
“Why?” asked Chiaki.
“Well, apparently the tea in the teacher’s room wasn’t to her liking. You know how she needs the caffeine, and somebody used some sort of weird herbal tea with no caffeine. I bet it was old Kitabatake-san, I hear he can’t see well enough to read anymore.”
They walked to rest of the distance in silence, Ryo departing with an enthusiastic goodbye. Akiko and Chiaki endured their cultures class, with a very cranky Izumi-san.
After her classes, Akiko headed home. Her house was small, but fairly decent, considering she had no roommates and paid all the rent herself. It was the weekend, and Akiko wanted nothing more than to rest through it. In her earlier years, she would have been eager to spend the weekend out partying and having a good time. Now, she simply didn’t have the energy. She lounged about for a while, then had dinner and went to an early bed. The next day, she studied for her classes, until she heard her doorbell ring. She hurriedly rushed to the door and opened it. No one was outside. Akiko looked around, and noticed a nondescript brown package lying on her doorstep. She picked up this curiosity, and went back inside. It was about this size and shape of a bottle of perfume, and seemed to contain some liquid, judging from the faint gurgling noises from inside. Akiko tore the wrapping off, to reveal a purple bottle filled with some kind of liquid. She looked at it quizzically, and then turned it over in her hand. On the other side, in large kanji, it read: “Youth Potion”.
The curious look on Akiko’s face was replaced by one of anger. Someone was obviously playing a joke on her! She tore through the wrappings to see if there was some kind of note or card, and found one. It didn’t mention who sent it. Instead, it contained instructions. It read:
For males: one dose reverses one year. For females: one dose reverses four years. One dose is a capful. Restoration will be gradual. Expect at least a day for each recovered year.
Akiko was disgusted. She threw the wrappings and instructions in the trash, and left the bottle on her kitchen counter. She tried to return to her studying, but was too flustered to concentrate. She turned on the television and watched it for a while. An advertisement came on for the cosplay convention Ryo was talking about.
Akiko thought of the conventions she had attended with Ryo in the past. They had definitely been fun, but that was almost half a decade ago. Akiko didn’t think she could find the energy or interest to manage it. She decided that she’d tell Ryo she wasn’t coming.
The next day, Akiko went back to her studying. She still couldn’t concentrate, still fixated on the Youth Potion. She then thought of Chiaki’s claim of Asian aging. She got up, sat down at her computer and searched for it.
Everything she found, every report she read, echoed what Chiaki said. Despairing, Akiko’s thoughts drifted to the Youth Potion. She shook her head, resolving not to fall for the prankster’s trick.
On Monday, Akiko dreaded seeing Ryo again. Ryo caught up with her at lunch, her bright face optimistic.
“So, Akiko, you going to go to the convention with me?”
“Uh, actually... I don’t think I’m going to. I have to study for a big test that weekend.”
Ryo looked crushed. She blurted, “Chiaki’s right! You’re getting too old too fast! You act like an old lady!” With that, she dashed off. Akiko could just hear a stifled sob.
Akiko felt terrible the rest of the week. Her friend, Ryo, wasn’t talking to her, and what she had said truly hurt her. She thought often of the Youth Potion throughout the week, fantasizing about what it would be like if it worked. On Wednesday, she met up with another friend of hers. He was a short but muscular guy who Akiko had met in college. He had a round face prone to smiling, and wore his short dark hair in carefully managed spikes.
“Jin, nice to see you again.”
“And you, Akiko.” the man replied, getting his food from the cafeteria buffet line. “Would you like to eat together?”
“I would love to.”
The pair seated themselves at a table, ready to continue to conversation.
“Jin, do you think I look old?”
“Of course not. What gives you that idea?”
“Nothing. You’ve heard me talk about this before.”
Jin chuckled. “Yes, I remember. Trust me, you still look fine.”
Akiko remembered that Jin was a notorious practical joker. She had suspected him of sending the Youth Potion, and tried to extricate the truth from him. “Say, you play any of your jokes on anybody lately?”
“You could say that.” Jin said, with a slight grin.
“Really? On anyone I know?”
“Oh, you probably know her.”
“That’s interesting, because a girl I know seems to think you did something to her.”
“Hmm, I think I might know who you’re talking about. But sometimes... it only seems like a joke.” Jin winked at her, slurped up a final swath of noodles, then stood up to leave. “I’ll see you around, Akiko.”
The rest of the week was rather dull for Akiko. She spent the weekend studying, interrupted with musings about Ryo’s comment, or the mysterious conversation with Jin. She went to bed on Sunday very troubled indeed.
Asleep, Akiko started to dream. In it, she was going to class as usual. Everyone was giving her strange looks, and she didn’t know why. When she went to the bathroom, she saw herself in the mirror. She was an aged, forty-year old woman, with graying hair, wrinkles, and a fat belly. As she watched, the woman in the mirror aged rapidly, decaying before her very eyes. Her body bloated even further, the wrinkles multiplying. She became gaunt and stooped.
Akiko awoke from the nightmare with a start. She was cold with sweat. She tore the sheets off and looked down at herself. She was just as young as she was before, her smooth skin glistening with sweat. She heaved her breasts, making sure they weren’t the saggy ones she possessed in her dream. Akiko laid back down, trying to go to sleep. But she couldn’t get the image of the dream out of her head. In a moment of compulsion, she got up and walked to the kitchen. She seized the bottle of Youth Potion, and looked at it.
“But if it works...” she said, untwisting the cap. “The instructions said one year per capful. Simple enough. If I’m 23, then I’ll take four, to make me nineteen again. Yeah.”
She was dimly aware that she was talking to herself, but didn’t care. She poured the first capful and stared at the liquid. Unlike the bottle, the liquid inside was a green color. “What a sharp contrast,” she said, before looking at the capful for one more brief moment. With that, she brought the cap to her lips and swallowed the liquid down. It tasted somewhat fruity, and altogether pleasant. Akiko repeated this three more times, then put the cap back on the bottle and set it back down on the counter. She waited, wiggling her fingers in anticipation of something, anything, that was about to occur. Several tense minutes passed.
“Nothing.” She sighed and started to make her way back to the bedroom, dejected. As she made it to the doorway out of the kitchen, she started to feel light-headed. She backpedaled, resting her hand on the kitchen counter as her head started to spin. She started to fear that the potion was some kind of poison, but then, something happened. A tingling feeling worked its way from her stomach to the rest of her body, growing more intense as it traveled. It didn’t subside, and continued to course throughout her body. Akiko was overcome with the sensation, and fell to the floor. She began to feel warm throughout her entire body. She was then wracked with a peculiar shrinking feeling. It felt as though she was diminishing, shrinking to the size of a small animal. As suddenly as it came, the shrinking feeling subsided, and was replaced by a violently powerful tingle, this one centered on her breasts and crotch. It felt like an orgasm, but was different... and more intense. Everything stopped a few moments afterward, and Akiko lay on the floor, stunned. She didn’t move, and eventually fell asleep.
It was late at night when Akiko drank the potion, but it was almost midday when she awoke. She felt very weak, and couldn’t stand up at first. She eventually mustered the strength, and staggered out of the kitchen. She walked through her house in a daze, not really sure what was happening. Finding herself in the bathroom, Akiko didn’t realize she had walked anywhere at all. She remembered the potion, and wondered what had happened. Had she drank too much? What age was she now? She cleared her head and thought how stupid she must be. Obviously, it was no “Youth Potion”, but some kind of drug. Stupid, stupid. All the same, she turned to the full-length mirror, half expecting to see a younger herself. What she saw was a disheveled woman, wearing only her blue panties and bra. She didn’t see any sort of change. Peering closer to the mirror, she tried to see if any of her wrinkles had vanished, hoping that the potion had, at the very least, done that. Akiko examined her face closely. She blinked several times, then peered closer. To her, it seemed as the potion had affected her wrinkles! The mild lines stemming from Akiko’s eyes had definitely thinned, as far as she could tell.
“I must be imagining it…” muttered Akiko, rubbing her eyes in exhaustion and disbelief. Akiko suddenly became aware that it was rather bright outside, and she had class that day. She hurriedly ran to her clock. It read 12:30. Cursing to herself, Akiko stormed to her bedroom and hastily dressed herself. She then took a few minutes to make herself appear presentable, and dashed off to the campus.
As it turned out, Akiko only missed one semi-important lecture from the classes she had missed. She shrugged it off and resolved to get the notes from a classmate later. Still feeling a bit off from the “Youth Potion”, Akiko went home after her classes and went to bed early.
Akiko woke the next day, full of energy. She hummed a favorite tune throughout her morning routine, and went to class feeling better than she had in recent memory. Whatever was in that potion, she thought, it’s doing something.
Akiko felt in such a good mood that day, she decided to strike up a conversation with Ryo, after their more than week-long silence.
“Hey, Ryo, how’s it going?” began Akiko.
“Oh, hi, Akiko.” replied Ryo, seeming somewhat despondent.
“What’s wrong? You’re not still mad at me?”
“No, no! Of course not!” Ryo quickly said.
“Oh, okay. You want to go for a drink later tonight, then?” Akiko said, hoping she could abolish any hard feelings with a round or two of sake.
“A drink? Oh, well, uh. I mean, sure. What time?”
Akiko told her to meet her at a local bar at six. Ryo agreed, but with a bit of reluctance.
Ryo and Akiko met at the bar on time. Akiko immediately ordered a round of sake for the both of them. They drank, making idle chitchat, mainly about what had happened to one another since they had last talked.
During their second round of drinks, Ryo said, “Hey, Akiko, you look kinda different.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t put my finger on it... but you just look different.”
Akiko thought of the damned potion, and said nothing until Ryo spoke again.
“You’re also acting kind of weird. Are you okay? You’re not coming down with something, are you?” Ryo asked, concerned.
“No, I feel fine. In fact, I feel great. Say...”
“What?”
Akiko smiled. “You still going to that convention?”
Ryo’s face split into a wide, childish grin. “You want to come?”
“Yeah. It’d be just like old times, right?”
Ryo squealed with joy and leaned over to hug her counterpart. “I knew you’d change your mind! I registered for two, just in case. Oh, but...”
“What is it?”
“You’ll need a costume, of course! Have you thought of what you want to be?”
“Oh, I don’t know... won’t it be hard to make a costume in a week?”
“Hmm.” Ryo said, deep in thought. “Oh, I know! There’s a costume I was working on, and I had most of it finished. You’d look great in it! It’s a costume of Smile, from Pop’n Music! We’d have to put some touches on it, but...” Ryo stopped, seeing the slightly confused expression on Akiko’s face.
“Wait, which one was he again?”
“You know, crazy-looking mummy guy. Blue skin, bandages, cool coat?”
A look of comprehension dawned on Akiko’s face. “Oh yeah, I remember him.” Akiko smirked at Ryo. “I’ve never cosplayed a guy before though.”
“Oh don’t you worry! Besides, he’s all the rage lately! You kinda look like him with that feathered hair of yours…” Ryo reached over and ruffled Akiko’s hair.
Akiko giggled, moving out of range of Ryo’s attack on her hair. “Stop that! It’s hard to get it like this.”
Ryo ceased her impromptu hair sabotage, stifling a giggle. “So you want to do it?”
Akiko shrugged and smiled, taking a sip from her sake before responding. “Sure, I’ll go as him. It’ll be great!”
The two enthusiastically discussed the upcoming event, making plans to go shopping for costume accessories the next day.
On Wednesday, Akiko felt even better than she had the day before. She was styling her hair in front of the mirror, singing happily. She tried imagining herself as Smile. “Ryo was right,” Akiko mused. “I do kinda look like him.” As Akiko continued to work her hair, she paused to look closer at her face. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The tiny wrinkles that had caused her so much grief throughout her recent years had vanished completely. She turned her face at every angle, and couldn’t detect their presence at all. Akiko was both pleased and frightened. If her wrinkles had disappeared, that meant that the potion was indeed working. She hoped it wouldn’t make her too young. In theory, losing a few years of age was a great thing, but was less so when one had to complete a few more months of college. It was hard enough as someone in their early twenties, much less as a teenager.
Akiko sat through her classes, her thoughts drifting from the Youth Potion to her planned afternoon shopping with Ryo. Eventually, she was free from her classes and met Ryo on the campus lawn.
“Ready?” Ryo said.
“Oh yeah. Let’s go.” Akiko answered.
Ryo had already made the coat to go with the costume, and Akiko had platform boots more or less similar to the character’s footwear. They shopped downtown for miscellaneous parts. The gloves were obtained from a store specializing in winter goods. The hair dye was obtained from a beauty parlor, as well as some makeup for the blue skin. They purchased a supply of bandages from a medical supply store. They found everything they needed, and then agreed to piece it together the next day.
As was becoming typical that week, Akiko had even more energy on Thursday. When choosing shoes for that day, she decided to be different and wear a pair of shoes she hadn’t worn in a long time. They were bright blue platform sneakers, with at least a five inch lift on them. She had worn platforms a lot when she was younger, as it was a popular style choice back then. She particularly enjoyed looking down on the guys she used to look up to, and enjoyed the feeling of confidence they gave her. She took a few practice steps in them, as walking in platforms was something one needed to be skilled at. After a few steps, she realized she was still good at walking in them. “Like riding a bike,” she said with a smile. Satisfied with her eclectic footwear, she went about her day.
Ryo was surprised to see Akiko when they first met that day. “Akiko! You grew!”
Akiko laughed at her friend’s obliviousness to her footwear choice. “Hardly! I’m wearing platform sneakers, Ryo!”
Ryo stared down at her feet. “Wow, I haven’t seen shoes like that since we were teenagers!”
Akiko winked at Ryo. “Well, I figure since we’re reliving old times with the cosplay, I’d relive old styles.”
“Gee Akiko, you’re acting like your old self again! I’m so happy! But, seriously, those shoes! They make you soooooo tall! You were a bit shorter when you were wearing those before! I feel awkward just standing here next to you!”
Akiko chuckled and wrapped her arm around Ryo, resting her chin on the top of Ryo’s head. “Well you better get used to it! The Smile costume is going to have eight inch plats!”
Ryo looked dizzy for a moment, but quickly giggled at the thought. Their conversation shifted to other things as they made plans for the next couple days. Like they promised, Ryo and Akiko went to Ryo’s house after school to try on the costume.
“As you know, the convention’s tomorrow, so we gotta do everything today.” Ryo said.
“I know. This is great that you can get all of this put together in such short notice, though!”
Ryo smiled slyly. “Well, I knew you’d change your mind, so I prepared some things in advance.”
Akiko was shown the coat Ryo had constructed. It was a near-perfect rendition of Smile’s outfit.
“Wow, Ryo! That’s incredible!” Akiko gushed.
“Oh, well, thank you!” Ryo said, blushing slightly. “Well, try it on!”
Akiko shed her clothes and donned the heavy coat.
“It looks great on you! Here, there’s a mirror over here.” Ryo guided Akiko over to a full-length mirror to check herself out. It did look great on her. The coat complemented her tall figure well, and its low cut showed off her ample breasts appealingly. Ryo must have tailor made this outfit for her, as the hem came just down to her ankles. Akiko admired herself in the mirror for a few more moments before Ryo spoke.
“Now all we have to do is try on the bandages and do your hair.”
Akiko nodded. Ryo fetched the roll of bandages they had purchased, and instructed Akiko to remove the coat. “You’ll probably also want to go braless, or else it’ll mess up the bandages.” Ryo said, gesturing to Akiko’s bright red top. Akiko complied with some reluctance, and allowed Ryo to apply the bandages on her upper body and arms. Ryo then removed the strip of white bandage and measured it with a nearby meter stick. “Hmm. I don’t think we got enough bandages. There won’t be enough for a second application.” She looked at Akiko and giggled. “You’re just too busty, Akiko!”
Akiko smiled back at her, hefting her chest. “I guess I’ll be the bustiest mummy-guy at the convention then!”
Ryo waited for Akiko to put her clothes back on, then motioned for her to sit in a chair. “Okay, we’re going to have to bleach your hair pretty good before we put in the blue dye, because it’s so dark.”
“Yeah, I know. You’ve dyed my hair before, remember?”
Ryo looked blankly at a distant nothing for a moment, then seemed to come to. “Oh yeah, I guess I have! Well then, let’s get to work.”
And get to work she did. In a relatively short time, Ryo had bleached Akiko’s black hair, put in the blue dye, and styled it to almost perfectly imitate Smile’s hair. Next, they applied the makeup to her face, giving her the blue tone that would mimic the character. Her face absolutely glowed after they were done, Akiko seeing just how young and vibrant she looked. Were it not for the blue skin, she would have looked incredibly sexy. After admiring her handiwork for a brief moment, Ryo excitedly made Akiko try on the rest of the costume.
Standing in front of the mirror, Akiko thought to herself how well Ryo knew her stuff. Akiko looked just like a living, female Smile. The only thing missing were the platform boots, as she had left those at home. Her blue sneakers were a sharp contrast to the rest of the outfit. “It looks perfect, Ryo. Just wondering, but who are you going to cosplay as?”
Ryo smirked. “You’ll see.”
Akiko questioned her no further on this, and changed out of her costume, washing off the makeup. The dye job was more permanent, but Akiko didn’t mind. Blue was her favorite color, after all! The pair briefly discussed things, most notably the convention next day, before Akiko left for her house.
Akiko was too excited about the convention on Friday that she wasn’t thinking of the effects of the Youth Potion. However, when she was getting dressed that morning, she was reminded. She had put on her bra, and noticed that it seemed to be slightly larger than usual. Thinking it was just a defective bra, she discarded it and tried on another. It, too, was mildly oversized. Akiko, worried, hefted her breasts in her hands. They were definitely smaller than normal.
“I’m still getting younger...” Akiko murmured to herself. She looked like she did when she was eighteen. Hoping that her regression would stop soon, she got dressed and headed to school.
Halfway through the day, when Akiko was starting to get angry at her ill-fitting bra, she saw Ryo on one of the college’s lawns. She seemed depressed about something.
Akiko approached her. “Something wrong, Ryo?”
Ryo looked at her with swollen, moist eyes. “It’s, it’s...” She paused for a moment, as if what she had to say was painful for her to say. “TMR’s not going to be at the convention.” Ryo burst into a fresh wave of tears.
“Oh, it’s all right...” Akiko said, comforting her companion. “It’ll still be lots of fun...”
Ryo nodded, and wiped her eyes dry. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know why I should have believed him...”
“What’s that?
“Somebody told me TMR was going to be there. I checked their program schedule today and it didn’t say anything about him. I can’t believe he tricked me...”
Akiko had nothing to say but vague condolences. The two left for their respective classes and met up later that afternoon to head to the convention.
Ryo cheered up considerably on the trip to the convention center, beginning to speak excitedly about the upcoming event. The pair arrived at their hotel, and checked in. After putting away their things, they went to work putting on Akiko’s costume. Everything went fine, until Ryo was done putting on the bandages on Akiko’s chest.
“Strange...”
“What?”
“This is the exact same strip I put on you yesterday, and I put it on the exact same way, but there’s way more extra gauze this time. Are you okay? It’s not too tight, is it?” Ryo said, her voice becoming panicky.
“No, it’s fine.”
“I wonder why there’s so much extra bandage...”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Alright.”
Ryo finished applying the bandages, and Akiko put on the rest of the accessories: makeup, earrings, miscellaneous jewelry, gloves, and the large platform boots missing from yesterday’s dressing session. She hadn’t worn the boots in years, and they felt a little loose around her feet. She figured it must have stretched a little since last time, and stood up for Ryo to check her out.
Ryo was awestruck by the imagery. “Oh my…you look so beautiful! And…huge! Couldn’t you wear smaller boots?”
Akiko stepped closer to Ryo, looking down on her. “Smile’s not a short one Ryo! This really makes me look imposing, don’t you think?”
Ryo nodded, a blank look on her face. Akiko was relishing the perspective, one she hadn’t had in quite some time. Ryo blinked for another moment before snapping out of her trance, picking up a couple bags she had brought with her.
“I’m going to put on my costume now, be right back.” Ryo said, retreating to the bathroom with the bags.
After about half an hour, Ryo emerged from the bathroom. She was dressed in an impressive Ryoko (from Tenchi Muyo) costume, with the character’s blue and pink outfit. She was wearing a bright green wig, styled into believable spikes. Ryo had recreated nearly every detail, down to an authentic-looking earring, and the amber-colored contact lenses.
“Oh my, Ryo... you look terrific!”
Ryo blushed, and twirled around a bit. “I thought it would be fun, plus my name’s so similar to hers, it seemed like a natural choice.”
Without any further conversation, Ryo and Akiko headed off to the convention center, which was a few blocks from the hotel. As they walked, Akiko began to acknowledge how beautiful Ryo was. Her normal, plain clothing didn’t show it well, but she had a slim, attractive body. Akiko also realized that even though Ryo was a year older than she used to be, she had very smooth, vibrant skin.
Even outside the entrance to the convention, the pair was stopped continually for pictures. They gladly posed for any, especially enjoying the lusty stares of the fanboys. Akiko noticed with some satisfaction that she was looking over the heads of quite a few people, none coming close to her sole-enhanced height. The convention was in full force as they entered. Everywhere, there were people dressed up as anime and videogame characters. A portly Lum cosplayer spoke animatedly to a man dressed in a cheap-looking Rockman costume. Troupes of high school-age girls were masquerading as Sailor Scouts. Akiko started to count the Yuna costumes, but quickly gave up.
“Wow, this is great!” gushed Ryo. The two watched the procession of people moving about for a few more minutes, before being greeted by a plain-looking young man, wearing normal clothing.
“What are you supposed to be?” asked Ryo condescendingly.
“Maybe a Shinji?” Akiko replied, eliciting giggles from her companion.
“Ha, very funny. Actually, I don’t dress up for these things; I just come to take pictures.” The young man replied, lifting a camera. “Might I get your pictures?”
The two women said yes, and struck a variety of poses for the photographer.
“Thanks. Great costumes, by the way.” He flashed them a smile and left.
“Nice guy.” Akiko remarked. “Hey, let’s go by the dealer’s room real quick.”
On their way to the dealer’s room, an announcement came over the building’s speakers.
“Attention, cosplayers. We have an important announcement to make. Tomorrow at 6:00 PM, our esteemed guest TM Revolution will be holding a concert in the convention center’s auditorium.”
This announcement was followed by a great amount of confusion and fangirl squealing. Those in charge of the announcements seemed to have anticipated this, however, and after a few moments it began again.
“TMR requested that his presence at the convention be kept secret until now as a sort of surprise.”
Ryo was beside herself with joy. She kept jumping up and down saying “TMR! Tomorrow! Yay!” Akiko played along with Ryo’s enthusiasm, but couldn’t help wondering about the eccentricity of the musician’s decision.
They spent the rest of the day conversing with fellow cosplayers, shopping at the dealer’s room, and attending the occasional panel. Akiko was constantly distracted by the cameras and atmosphere of the convention that she hardly noticed the bandages on her chest become looser and looser as the day went on. When the two returned to the hotel room at the end of the day and removed their costumes, Akiko saw how slack the bandages had become and gasped. Ryo hadn’t noticed her, so she slipped into the bathroom quickly to look at her chest. Her breasts were still quite large. However, it was obvious to her that they were decreasing in size, though she still had a very adult chest. “I hope this doesn’t last any longer,” she whispered to herself. “I don’t want to have to explain this to Ryo.”
Akiko stepped back out of the bathroom, not wanting to discover any other changes that might have overcome her. She saw Ryo lying on her bed, wearing only her underwear. She was fast asleep. Her costume was piled on the floor next to the bed. Sheesh, thought Akiko. If I turn into a child, I don’t want this kid taking care of me. She gently threw a blanket over the slumbering Ryo, changed into a nightgown and got into her own bed.
Akiko awoke to an excited Ryo hurrying her awake. “Come on! TMR’s today! Hurry! We have to get a good place for the concert!”
“What time is it?” Akiko mumbled, groping about as if she might find an alarm clock.
“Nine.”
“Nine? Nine?! Are you serious? The concert doesn’t start until six!”
“Yeah, well. I was just too excited!” Ryo explained sheepishly.
“Fine, fine.” Akiko said, sitting up. She looked around. Her costume had been neatly piled next to her bed, and she noted that Ryo had already donned hers. Rolling out of bed, she looked up to see Ryo standing over her, holding the strip of white bandage.
“Ready to put your costume on?”
“Hold on. Let me go to the bathroom first.”
Akiko went into the bathroom to freshen up, trying to avoid looking at her chest. She came out, shed her nightgown, and started putting on parts of her costume. She turned to the waiting Ryo to apply the bandages to her torso. Ryo skillfully wound the white strip up and down Akiko, the same way she had done before. When she was done, she found herself holding an even longer extraneous length of gauze than the last day.
“Why is there so much extra bandage?” Ryo asked. “Are you sure this isn’t too tight?”
“No, it’s perfect.”
“But this extra length...” Ryo said, sounding genuinely worried.
“Don’t worry about it.” Akiko reassured. Changing the topic suddenly to deflect her friend’s concern, she said, “So, how do we get in to the TMR concert? Do you suppose there’s some sort of registration?”
“Oh, you’re right! I bet there is!” Ryo said. “We better get down there quick! Hurry up, put on your costume!”
Akiko complied, and the two soon found themselves walking at a brisk pace toward the convention center. As it happened, there was no registration of any sort required, but there was already the beginning of a line forming in front of the auditorium.
“Oh! A line! Okay, I’ll keep our place in line, and you can do whatever.”
“What? Are you sure? It’s going to be another seven hours, at least, before they let anyone in.”
“Doesn’t matter. Go ahead, but make sure to come back, I’ll get hungry!”
Akiko shrugged her shoulders resignedly, and left her friend to camp the line. She spent the early part of the day wandering about the convention, posing for frequent photos. At lunchtime, she stopped by a restaurant and bought lunch for herself and Ryo. The two ate in relative silence, neither having much interesting to say about the day. After Akiko left her companion, she went straight to a dressing room. The bandages on her chest had become progressively looser throughout the day, as she had feared. She pulled the bandages forward and looked down at her breasts. They were still shrinking, no doubt about that. She had also been bothered lately by her coat and boots. They seemed to fit on her strangely now. Akiko pulled off the bandages and tried to reapply them tighter. She found that it was impossible without a partner. Holding her piece of bandage, she looked about the room for someone who might help her. There were none.
Akiko waited for about five minutes before a woman dressed as Etna from Disgaea came into the dressing room. She seemed to have a slight tear in the tail accessory of her costume.
“Excuse me.” Akiko said. “Could you help me?”
“Sure, what do you need?” asked the woman good-naturedly.
Akiko explained what she needed done, and the Etna cosplayer did it for her. Akiko thanked her, and left. She spent the next few hours hanging around the art gallery they had set up, having more photos of herself taken, and admiring the other costumers there. She was surprised to find that more than a few people were coming up to her height now, even with her platforms. There were still a large percentage of people she met that she towered over, but she wondered if her breasts weren’t the only thing that were shrinking. At 5:00, she met back with Ryo, who was now near the beginning of what had become a very large line. Ryo looked more excited than Akiko had ever seen her.
She could hardly speak, mainly gasping, “TMR! Soon!”
In a few minutes, the doors to the auditorium opened and the crowd eagerly surged in. Ryo and Akiko, being near the front of the line, were assured places near the stage. A great, noisy din soon filled the chamber as fans poured in. Soon enough, the concert began.
Akiko and Ryo watched the show with enthusiasm, dancing and jumping along with the music. TMR played five songs in a row, then took a short break. During the pause, Akiko noticed a young man dressed as Vash the Stampede leering at her chest. When she looked his way, he blushed and looked away instantly. Akiko didn’t think much of it until Ryo spoke.
“Akiko!” She whispered, pointing to Akiko’s chest. Akiko looked down, and saw that the bandages on her torso had become very loose, from a combination of her shrinking and the amount of jumping she did during the concert. They had become so loose, and her coat was now resting so low on her body, that one of her nipples was clearly exposed.
“Ack!” she gasped, throwing her hands over her chest.
“I’m sorry, Akiko!” Ryo pleaded. “I should have told you to wear a bra! We’ll fix you up after the show, alright?”
Akiko just nodded, and watched the rest of the concert while holding the slack bandages to her chest.
After the concert, the two retreated to a dressing room. On the walk there, Ryo could not stop apologizing for suggesting Akiko not wear a bra, and Akiko accepted her apologies while telling her it was not her fault. Ryo re-tightened Akiko’s bandages at the dressing room, and they spent the rest of the evening conversing with other con-goers about the concert, watching the costume competitions, and fruitlessly searching about to see if TM Revolution stuck around the premises.
They arrived back at their hotel a little after midnight, exhausted. At once, Ryo fell onto her bed and fell asleep. Akiko quickly shed her costume in favor of a nightgown, and went to her own bed after washing off the makeup.
Without the promise of a TMR concert to rouse her, Ryo slumbered peacefully while Akiko woke at about 9:30. Letting her friend rest, Ryo decided to take a quick shower. Letting the water pour over her, Akiko decided to scrutinize the changes to her body. Running her hands over her bosom, she was surprised to find how much it had shrunk. Formerly a D cup, she estimated that she had lost an entire cup in cleavage. Though they had lost mass, Akiko noted how perky and vibrant they seemed. Taking stock of the rest of her body, Akiko found that she had become quite slimmer, especially in her butt. The curviness of her figure had dimmed somewhat, as her hips had lessened. She got out of the shower and approached the mirror. Wiping steam off it, she was greeted with the youthful face of a sixteen-year-old. She raised a hand to her face, to confirm if it was real. She had changed so much! Her face had regained the youthful complexion of a high-schooler, and her eyes sported the unquantifiable innocence of that age. She wondered if Ryo would notice. Probably not, she thought. She always was a bit spacy.
Akiko stepped out of the bathroom in a bathrobe, and checked to see if Ryo was awake. She wasn’t. Akiko waited for about half an hour for her to do so, then opted to wake her. Ryo rolled over and murmured quietly. After a few minutes, she sat up, bleary-eyed.
“Morning, Akiko. What time is it?”
“About eleven, I’d say.”
“Huh. Well, let’s get some breakfast. I’m going to go wash up.”
Ryo went into the bathroom and Akiko could hear sounds of water being splashed. She came out a few minutes later, and the two got dressed. They went for breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, and then went back to their room to change into their costumes.
Akiko put on her costume, suddenly self-conscious of how her immature body looked in it. She was surprised that Ryo hadn’t said anything yet. However, trouble came again when it was time to put on Akiko’s costume’s bandages.
“Are you sure you don’t want to wear a bra this time?” Ryo asked.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Akiko replied, remembering that none of her bras would fit her very well anymore.
“Alright, if you say so.” Ryo said resignedly, finishing up the job. She was left with even more excess bandage than before. “Seriously, Akiko, why am I ending up with more gauze every day?”
Akiko took a deep breath. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“What? What do you mean? You’re okay, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Listen...”
“Please, tell me.”
“Okay, I want you to promise you won’t laugh, because I’m telling the truth.” Ryo nodded, which was good enough for Akiko. “A couple weeks ago, I got a weird package on my doorstep. It was a bottle of some liquid, and it said it was a ‘Youth Potion’.” I thought it was a joke, and didn’t think much of it. Later, though, I drank some. Ever since, I’ve been getting younger.” Akiko saw the disbelieving look on Ryo’s face, and added, “Really.”
“I don’t know, Akiko... maybe you’re just imagining it?”
“No! Ryo, the reason I went to this convention with you is because I took that potion. I felt like I had more energy, because I was getting younger. The reason the bandage has been getting looser is because, well, they’ve been shrinking.” She pointed to her chest.
“What? No way!” Ryo denied, but took a closer look at Akiko’s chest. “Oh my God! They have! I must be stupid not to notice!”
“Now look at my face.” Akiko instructed.
“You look just like you did back in high school!” Ryo blurted.
“Told you.” Akiko said, smiling.
Ryo spoke as though she hadn’t heard Akiko. “So, how old do you think you are now? How young will you get? How does it work? Where can I get some? What does it taste like?”
“Easy! I think I’m sixteen now. And I don’t know how young I’m going to get. I thought I took enough to make me only nineteen, but it looks to be continuing. I might get much younger.” She paused, and seemed to consider something. “Ryo, I have to ask you something.” Ryo nodded. “If I get really young, too young, will you help me out? Like, tell people a story for where I’ve been, and help me buy fitting clothes and stuff?”
“Yeah, sure.” Ryo said casually. “Just as long as you let me have some of the potion.”
Akiko chuckled. “Sure thing. I got a whole bottle of it back at home.”
Ryo’s face brightened. “Well then, let’s get the rest of our costumes on and go to the con!”
Akiko nodded, and they resumed getting her costume ready. As she applied the blue face make-up, Akiko couldn’t help but notice that she had lost the sexy quality of her face, seeming to look cuter than anything. Her skin still glowed and appeared soft with the make-up on, but it was missing something, making her look less like the Smile she had seen in the mirror when she first put it on. She finished in a hurry, then went with Ryo out of the room and into the con.
Akiko suddenly felt very insecure at the convention. She was painfully aware of her reduced assets and increasingly girlish figure. It seemed to her that Ryo was getting the greater share of attention from the cameras that day. Her coat fitted strangely on her, and seemed to be rather cumbersome. Her platform boots also felt heavy throughout the entire day, and were slipping on her feet. What was worse, her bandages were still getting looser.
Later in the afternoon, a middle-aged man, dressed in plain clothes, approached the pair. “Excuse me, ladies, but could I get a picture?”
“Only on the condition that you tell us what you’re costuming as,” replied Ryo.
The man gave a slight chuckle. “Oh, I stopped wearing my costume yesterday.”
“And what was your costume?”
“Sailor Moon.”
Ryo and Akiko decided not to question him further, and posed for a photograph.
“I hope you don’t mind me prying, ladies, but are you two sisters?”
They stared at him blankly for a moment before Ryo answered, “Yes, we are! I’m Ryo, and this is my little sister Akiko!” She embraced her companion in a hug.
“Ah, that’s what I thought. The family resemblance is astounding. And it’s nice to see that you get along, despite your age difference,” said the man, and left.
“What a dumb old fool, huh?” said Ryo, turning to look up at Akiko. “We don’t look at all like sisters.”
“Then why’d you tell him we were?”
Ryo looked thoughtful for a moment. “I dunno. Maybe because I’m starting to think of you as a younger sister.”
Akiko chose not to reply to that, but instead wondered how that man could think Akiko was the younger one. Despite her youthful face, she thought she seemed older than Ryo, what with her height and reserved mannerisms. She certainly wasn’t a “little” sister. Then she realized she wasn’t that much taller than Ryo these days. She noted with some satisfaction that she still had a good six inches on her. She paused. She looked down at her feet, realizing that she was wearing her large platform boots that gave her a rough eight inches in height, in contrast with Ryo’s thin-soled sandals.
Oh my god, thought Akiko. I’m shorter than Ryo now. Hopefully she won’t notice...
Akiko recalled that she had enjoyed quite the growth spurt during her late teen years. She dimly realized that she definitely wasn’t enjoying it in reverse. If she tried, she couldn’t put her chin on Ryo’s head like she had done before. The people at the convention all seemed to loom higher, and the imposing, beautiful Smile she had started the convention as had been reduced to a cute, unthreatening cosplayer. Ryo remained oblivious to Akiko’s insecurities, and the two spent another few hours at the convention before heading to their room.
They returned to their room to shuck off their costumes and don their normal clothes, and to check out from the hotel. During the walk down to the front desk, Ryo noticed it.
“Wait a sec, Akiko... stand right there for a moment.”
Akiko stopped walking and looked to face her friend, hoping this wasn’t what she thought it was.
“No, stand still for a second, yeah, like that...”
Akiko felt Ryo press herself upon her back. She couldn’t feel, see, or hear Ryo’s hand measuring the height difference between the two, but she knew it was there.
Ryo spun around and grabbed Akiko. “Akiko! You’re shorter than me now! That’s amazing!”
Akiko blushed a little. “Just by a bit...”
“This is so weird! Ever since I’ve know you, you’ve been way taller than me! This is great! You really are my little sister now!”
“Heh, I guess so...” Akiko replied, more than a little embarrassed.
“Well, let’s get going, ‘Shorty’!” Ryo exclaimed, leading them towards the lobby again. She seemed to enjoy her friend’s new stature, and would often pause to pat her on the head, or look at her, only to giggle when Akiko had to glance upwards ever so slightly to meet her eyes. This continued throughout the entire trip back to their homes, with Akiko threatening more than once to put her boots back on. Ryo smiled back at her and stopped, but resumed later on. Finally they were back near the college. They stood by Akiko’s home, saying their goodbyes.
“Say, Akiko...” Ryo said.
“Yeah?”
“Are you planning on going to class tomorrow?”
“I am. Why?”
“I wouldn’t, if I were you. You’ve really changed these past few days; people will notice.”
“Wow, you actually said something rational for once.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Okay. Well, see you later. I’ll stop by tomorrow to see how you’re doing, alright?”
“Sure, sounds great. Thanks, see ya!” Akiko finished, waving to her friend and heading into her house. It was quite late, so she headed immediately to her bedroom. She paused to look at herself in the mirror. Having not worn her normal clothes for a couple days, she was surprised to see how poorly they fit. Her chic red shirt, normally skintight, was loose on her, as if it were a few sizes too large. Her jeans had become too long for her shortened legs, and the ends of them enveloped her shoeless feet. She noticed with annoyance that they had been slightly frayed at the ends, as she had been walking around in them. Sighing, Akiko stripped off her clothes to go to bed. Looking down at her chest, she sighed again. Her bra, a D-cup, looked out of place on her diminished breasts. It sagged uselessly, providing no support. Akiko flipped the light switch and went to bed.
Akiko woke up early the next day, though she had no reason to. She promptly inspected her body for any signs of continued regression. Sure enough, her chest had receded slightly, and she was convinced that she had gotten shorter. She grabbed a selection of clothes and stomped into the bathroom.
Taking a more thorough look at herself, Akiko found that her ass had lessened, and her hips had receded, removing much of her curvy figure. She began putting on her clothes, and looked in dismay at the extra space in her bra. She then glanced over and saw a roll of tissue paper. No, she thought. She looked back to her chest for a long moment, then grabbed the roll. Tearing off strip after strip and stuffing them into her bra, Akiko couldn’t help but feel foolish. As soon as she had filled her bra with the tissue, she definitely felt foolish. She looked at her reflection, with its bra brimming with white tissue, and reassured herself that it would look better when she put her shirt on. Akiko finished dressing, and admired her work in the mirror. It looked as though she had her old bust back, although they were slightly uneven. Fiddling with them a bit, Akiko pronounced herself satisfied and went to her shoe closet. She browsed through it until she found a particular pair of boots with a generous six inch platform on them. She reasoned that that was about how much height she had lost, plus a little more so people wouldn’t notice. She slipped the boots on, noticing a large amount of space between the back of her feet and the boots. Reaching for the roll of tissue again, she stuffed the toe until the boots fit comfortably. Satisfied that her boots weren’t slipping, she headed downstairs.
Akiko spent most of the day watching daytime trash television, eating, and occasionally studying her notes. Later in the afternoon, Ryo stopped by, as she had promised. Greeting her at the door, Akiko let her in. At once, Ryo looked in shock at Akiko, who was standing slightly taller than her again. She then looked down at Akiko’s boots.
“Oh,” she whined, “you’re supposed to be shorter than me.”
“I’m sorry, Ryo, your ‘big sister’ complex can wait.”
Ryo fumed a bit, then noticed Akiko’s inflated chest. “Wow! They got bigger! How did that happen?”
Akiko began fumbling with an explanation, while Ryo leaned over and began prodding her in the chest. “What the?” Said Ryo. “You’re not...”
“I am.” Akiko said sheepishly.
“Well, whatever works for ya.” Ryo said with usual exuberance. “So, how have you been?”
“Alright, I guess. I’m still getting younger.”
“Do you know when it will stop?”
Akiko shook her head. “All I know is it had better stop soon; I can’t afford to get much younger.”
Ryo nodded. “You should let me see your Youth Potion.”
Akiko led her to the kitchen, where she had the potion stored in a cupboard. She took it out and handed it to her friend.
“Ooh, pretty. Did it come with any instructions?” Ryo asked, turning the bottle over in her hands.
“It did, but I can’t find them. I must have thrown them away. It said something about one capful for a year, so I drank four capfuls.”
“Hmm.” was all Ryo could say.
“Maybe if we take it down to a chemist or something, they could figure it out.” Akiko offered.
“No! I have a better idea! A friend of mine knows a guy downtown who’s supposed to be a magician! He would probably know!”
“A magician?” Akiko replied with some skepticism.
“Look, if you’re dealing with a potion that makes you grow younger, I think it’s possible that this guy’s a magician.” Ryo said, suddenly sounding angry.
“Alright, alright. So we go see this magician.”
“Okay, let’s go!” Ryo said, suddenly cheery again.
The trek to the magician didn’t take as long as Akiko expected, but her platformed feet still felt sore when she got there. Her legs seemed to lack the muscularity she developed from lifting the heavy soles. The impact was more of an annoyance than a problem, but she knew she’d have a hard time lifting these boots if her regression continued.
They were in front of a small shop. Its narrow entrance was ringed by several mysterious hanging objects, and it was too dark to see what was inside. The two cautiously stepped inside, taking in the curious odor that hung in the air. Behind a counter sat an old Chinese man, looking every bit the stereotypical ancient wise man. He had a long white beard, crinkly eyes, and bushy eyebrows. As Akiko and Ryo stood, looking at the various items strewn about the walls, he spoke.
“Can I help you?”
Akiko looked startled, and answered the man. “Uh, eh, actually, you can. Do you know what this is?” She asked, extending the bottle of Youth Potion towards him.
He took it delicately, and surveyed it for a moment. He opened it, and smelled inside. “Ah yes, this is definitely a Youth Potion.” He looked at her piercingly. “And I assume you sampled some?”
“Yes, I did.” Akiko said, slightly embarrassed.
“I see.”
“I’d like to know how to reverse it!” Akiko blurted.
“Hmm, yes, you would. Tell me, how much did you drink?”
“Uh, four capfuls.”
“Where there any instructions with this bottle?”
“Yes, but I don’t have them.”
“Ah, I see. Well, come back tomorrow and I’ll see if I can help you.”
“Why tomorrow?”
“Well, I must analyze it. I’ll know by then.” replied the old man. With a wave, he bade goodbye to them.
Akiko and Ryo walked back together, and Ryo said she wouldn’t be able to stop by the next day, on account of a large test she had the next day that needed studying for.
Akiko was optimistic about the old man, wanting to skip home were it not for her choice of footwear. She had so much energy! She checked her clock and saw that it was still early in the afternoon. She wanted to go out and do something, but wondered where she could go. She didn’t want to risk going to her usual hangouts for fear of being recognized in her condition. Then she realized that if she was a teenager, she might as well go to teenager places. She considered her current outfit. Surely she wouldn’t fit in well with high schoolers if she wore the mature, fashionable clothing she had as an adult. She wondered if she had anything that would be appropriate...
Then she remembered! She had kept it, more for posterity than anything, in a box in her closet. She raced to her bedroom, and retrieved the brown box. Opening it, she was greeted with an old sight: that of her freshman-year high school uniform. Pulling the pieces out, Akiko found that it was all there: the sailor top, the skirt, and even the loose socks. She also found that a pair of panties and a bra were in there, white and adorned with the small ribbon. Setting the box down on the floor, Akiko began to undress. Looking down, she regarded her overstuffed bra, then the uniform top. She concluded that if the disguise were to work, she’d have to abandon her artificial cleavage. With some reluctance, she shed the bra and all its wadded-up tissue paper, and adopted the conservative white one from the box. She found that it fit much better than her old bra had in the past few days, but thought it unflattering. She put on the rest of the outfit, and turned to the mirror.
Akiko looked every bit the fourteen-year-old schoolgirl that she now was, physically if not mentally. Despite her dislike of being regressed this far, Akiko had to admit that the uniform looked good on her. Her flyaway hair (which was still dyed blue) went well with the uniform’s green color scheme. To complete the disguise, Akiko swapped her boots in for a pair of girly looking platform sneakers that had a lower, four-inch boost. She was reminded of the number of shoe sizes she had lost when she had to transfer the tissue from her boots to her sneakers to make them fit. Still insecure about her chest, she stuffed some tissue paper in before she left.
Though she thought it would be difficult, Akiko returned to the world of teenage mingling quite easily. All afternoon, she socialized with high schoolers who were at the same places she would frequent when she was a student. Occasionally she would be asked where she was from, haven’t seen you before, and she would answer that she was just visiting from somewhere else. Later she was invited to a party by an older student. She normally wouldn’t have considered such a young boy attractive, but was now smitten by him. She blushingly accepted the seventeen-year-old’s offer.
At the party, Akiko was somewhat disappointed. She was expecting to have rows of guys chatting with her and offering her drinks in a hope to get her drunk. Instead, she only enjoyed the lusty stares of the boy who invited her there. Akiko realized that she probably wasn’t fourteen anymore, and was probably closer to the physical age of thirteen, accounting for the lack of interest from the guys.