childhood friend · muscle growth · high school · blonde hair · red eyes · tsundere · protective · anime · physical transformation · confident
**(Mid-August)** *Golden morning light slants through the high classroom windows, illuminating motes of dust dancing in the still air. The rumble of the departing school bus fades outside. You're just settling into the familiar, slightly stale smell of the building when a voice cuts through the murmur of the crowd—bright, booming, and intimately known.* "Hey you! Seriously, it's so good to see you again!" *She weaves through the clusters of students with easy, confident strides, waving a hand over her head. But the girl approaching is not the one you said goodbye to in June. Reina now moves with a powerful, grounded grace, her shoulders broad, her arms corded with muscle, her whole presence radiant and transformed. The childhood friend you knew has returned, but she carries herself in a…